Thanks to the awakening of the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, Shin Akira didn't waste a second.
He raced back to Orario at full speed, his mind set on one goal.
And the mont he arrived—without even catching his breath—he headed straight for the tower of Babel.
"Hephaestus, I need you to update my Falna. Right now."
Without knocking or formalities, Akira stepped into the room and spoke with urgency.
Inside, Hephaestus, goddess of the forge, was calmly reading over a thick report filled with Familia affairs and recent problems requiring her divine input.
"Huh? What's going on? Why the rush?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"There's sothing important. Just update my Falna first. I'll explain everything afterward."
"…Alright. Just give a second."
Hephaestus reached into a drawer and pulled out a thin silver needle. Without hesitation, Akira pulled off his shirt and presented his back.
A single drop of divine blood fell from the goddess's finger onto his back, activating the Falna update process.
— — —
[Shin Akira]
[Level: 2]
Strength: I·99 → SSS·1199
Endurance: I·99 → SSS·1199
Dexterity: I·99 → SSS·1199
Agility: I·99 → SSS·1199
Magic: D·599 → SSS·1199
— — —
Magic:
Shadow Touch
Shadow Domain
Crimson Fla of the Dragon
— — —
Skills:
King of the Shadowkhan
ntal enhancent.
Able to summon Shadowkhan warriors.
— — —
Greed
An insatiable desire for everything.
Greatly accelerates growth.
Increases monster-killing proficiency.
— — —
Shadow Force
Greatly boosts dark affinity.
Enhances magic affinity.
Grants control over shadows.
— — —
Dragon Blood
Bloodline of the Red Dragon.
Significantly extends lifespan.
Imnse boost to magical affinity.
Great resistance to magic.
Drastically increases physical durability.
— — —
Developnt Ability: Magecraft · D
— — —
Hephaestus stared at the updated status sheet, her single visible eye wide in disbelief.
"…Incredible."
She was speechless.
Just recently, Akira had ranked up to Level 2—and now, he'd already maxed out all his stats? Even the requirents to ascend to the next level were already fulfilled.
Not only that, he had gained a powerful new spell, Crimson Fla of the Dragon, and an entirely new skill—Dragon Blood. Even his Magecraft developnt ability had jumped to rank D.
But what shocked her the most… were the traits of that Dragon Blood.
Drastically extended lifespan, heightened magical affinity and resistance, and reinforced physical resilience. This wasn't just a power boost—this was what it ant to be part dragon.
"Akira… what in the world happened to you?"
Even Hephaestus couldn't keep her composure now. His growth from Level 2 to Level 3 was even faster than his jump from Level 1 to 2.
"Here, take a look~"
With a calm grin, Akira raised his right hand.
Glowing crimson scales shimred faintly across his palm. Clear, unmistakable—dragon scales.
As a goddess of smithing, Hephaestus was no stranger to the draconic race.
In ancient tis, long before humans walked the land, dragons reigned supre.
She herself had hunted many of them—using their bones and blood to forge legendary weapons. Compared to any other material, dragon remains were second to none.
"…So you're a dragon? Or… part dragon?"
"At this point, I'd say I'm sothing in between," Akira replied with a chuckle.
"Hold on. That doesn't make sense. I've examined your body before. You were fully human. There was no trace of dormant bloodlines or hidden ancestry."
"That's because of this artifact."
Whoosh—
As he spoke, Akira summoned the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, materializing it fully on his arm.
The gleaming red dragon-claw shimred in the room's light.
Hephaestus' eye imdiately locked onto it, her face turning serious.
As soone who once forged divine weapons, she could tell instantly—this wasn't a normal artifact.
Not anymore.
"…That's no ordinary item. There's a soul sealed inside it. A powerful one. No doubt... it's the soul of a dragon. At least Dragon King-class."
She stepped closer, her breath hitching slightly.
To kill a dragon was already a monuntal feat. But to seal its soul into an artifact?
Even she—Hephaestus, goddess of the forge—could only admire such craftsmanship.
"You're right," Akira nodded. "This Gauntlet houses the soul of the Red Dragon Emperor—Ddraig."
"Ddraig... The na fits. With a presence like that, he has every right to be called an Emperor."
"Thanks to this artifact, it seems I've inherited part of his bloodline."
"Incredible... Absolutely incredible…"
A strange spark lit up in Hephaestus's eye.
The way she looked at him—intense, gleaming—it almost felt like she was staring at a rare treasure. Honestly, if he didn't know better, he'd have mistaken that for lust.
…But it was worse.
She was looking at him like a blacksmith discovering the ultimate material.
Akira blinked.
Should I tell her to chill out and focus on the important part?
"Okay, okay, forget how amazing the artifact is for a second," he said quickly. "What I really need to know is—will this dragon blood affect in the long term? Will I end up turning into a full dragon?"
Back in his original world, the Boosted Gear didn't have that kind of side effect.
But now, with the Gauntlet severed from its original system and adapting to this new world… anything was possible.
Hephaestus rolled her eye and gave him a deadpan look.
"What kind of dream are you having? Humans turning into dragons? Don't be ridiculous."
She snorted. "Even with all that power, at most, you'll have draconic traits and so enhanced abilities. If you want to beco a dragon, try again in your next reincarnation."
"Phew… that's a relief."
Akira sighed, finally relaxing his shoulders. After living so long as a human, he wasn't exactly thrilled about turning into a giant fire-breathing lizard.
Especially not in a world where dragon-slaying weapons and entities like Samael—the Dragon God Slayer—existed.
Having such a weakness would be too risky.
But in this world… dragon blood seed to be nothing but a blessing.
Well—mostly.
There was just one thing bothering him.
Once Ddraig woke up… how exactly was he supposed to explain all this?
World-hopping wasn't exactly sothing easy to wrap your head around.
"Oh yeah, Hephaestus. I'm ready to level up now, right?"
"You are," she nodded, still staring at the status board. "But seriously—what did you do in the dungeon?"
"Uh... because of the dragon blood, I kind of lost control and went on a rampage. Ended up taking down a black variant monster too."
"I see…"
Hephaestus nodded again and helped him complete the level-up process.
It had only been ten days since Shin Akira arrived in the Labyrinth City of Orario.
And in that ti, he had gone from an unranked adventurer… to Level 3.
Even for soone like Hephaestus—
She was officially out of words.
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