“No way...”
That wasn’t all.
In addition to the chest, several slots appeared around the head and tail as well.
But among them, the one that grabbed Su-ho’s attention without question was the single red square glowing on the dragon’s chest.
Su-ho imdiately raised the Blacksmith’s Hamr and approached the creature’s chest.
“......”
At first glance, the exposed cross-section of the chest showed nothing but muscle.
Yet, there it was—clearly marked in red on the system grid.
Seeing is believing.
Su-ho started hamring right away.
[Targeted Harvest activated.]
Clang! Clang! Clang! Smash!
[You have obtained Fragnt of the Molten Dragon’s Heart (S).]
“......!”
Su-ho’s eyes widened as the notification appeared.
A fragnt of the heart!
That’s exactly what the system labeled it as.
Without wasting a second, Su-ho checked its details.
[Fragnt of the Molten Dragon’s Heart]
Grade: S
A fragnt of the Molten Dragon’s heart.
Though incomplete, it is undoubtedly a Dragon Heart.
Grants “ 20% total mana” and “ 100% mana recovery speed” when used.
“This is...!”
The cube he’d collected through Targeted Harvest didn’t look like a heart at all—it was just a glowing crimson cube.
But the mont you saw the stats, there was no denying it was a Dragon Heart.
And the effects—20% increase in total mana and 100% boost to mana recovery speed—were incredible.
‘So that’s what a Dragon Heart offers?’
Still—
‘It’s... weaker than I expected.’
He ant it.
Just because one killed a dragon didn’t an they would automatically get a Dragon Heart.
And truthfully, Su-ho had only encountered dragons twice before. He’d barely even seen a Dragon Heart, let alone collected one.
Even so, so gate-related materials and scattered items had hinted at its existence.
That’s how Su-ho had known about it.
Then, sothing in the item description caught his eye.
Though incomplete, it is undoubtedly a Dragon Heart.
“Ah...”
Su-ho squeezed his eyes shut.
He wasn’t an idiot—the aning was obvious.
An incomplete Dragon Heart.
And the cause? Likely his own finishing blow.
‘Who would’ve thought the final attack I used to kill the Molten Dragon would ruin the heart?’
Disappointnt tugged at him, but he quickly let it go.
After all, he had slain a dragon.
Its exact strength wasn’t known since the level wasn't displayed, but a typical player would have stood no chance.
‘A regular hunter would’ve died from the heat before even catching a glimpse of the Molten Dragon.’
It was the sa with the Tower Dragon.
If not for Jang Pyung-ho’s Pocket House, Su-ho never would’ve stood a chance back then.
So he accepted the result as a lesson for next ti.
There were still other dragons in the world for Su-ho to hunt down.
He resud collecting the remaining resource nodes from the creature.
[You have obtained Fragnt of the Molten Dragon’s Horn (S).]
[You have obtained Fragnt of the Molten Dragon’s Claw (S).]
[You have obtained Fragnt of the Molten Dragon’s Tail (S).]
[You have obtained Fragnt of the Molten Dragon’s Hide (S).]
...
As expected of a dragon.
Like cows and pigs, nothing goes to waste.
Although there weren’t many collection nodes, each item was unique and, excluding the damaged heart, all the other materials were perfectly intact—with exceptional stats to match.
‘These are so insane materials.’
After collecting every single usable resource from the body, Su-ho paused and silently observed the dragon’s corpse.
But it didn’t disappear.
That was unexpected.
The Ironclad Warrior had faded away as soon as all of its parts were harvested.
‘In that case...’
Su-ho thought of the Guiyeong Spear.
But there was one more thing he needed to consider: the mana crystal.
The Blacksmith’s Eye no longer showed any collectible parts.
Still, just in case, Su-ho struck several unmarked areas with the hamr—but just like with the Ironclad, nothing ca out.
So the only remaining thod was a standard item loot scan.
Su-ho activated Mana Detection.
[Mana Detection activated.]
If there was a mana crystal, its concentrated energy would be picked up.
But no matter how carefully he searched—there was nothing.
‘Did I misread the signs?’
That couldn’t be.
The system wouldn’t make an exception just for the Molten Dragon.
Still, to be thorough, Su-ho focused on the sa spot where he had collected the Dragon Heart and began tearing through the body.
“......”
But no matter how deep he dug—there was nothing.
Just gunk and impurities.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Su-ho muttered to himself.
‘Next ti, if it doesn’t show up in Mana Detection, don’t waste your energy.’
But why hadn’t the mana crystal shown up?
Could it have been destroyed when he collected the heart?
A plausible theory.
‘I’ll need to run more tests to be sure.’
Now, only one thing remained.
Su-ho summoned the Guiyeong Spear and plunged it into the dragon’s shadow.
A dragon-level sacrifice would surely contribute significantly to unlocking the spear’s final seal.
[The Guiyeong Spear reacts to the Molten Dragon’s shadow.]
[The Guiyeong Spear absorbs the Molten Dragon’s shadow.]
SHWAAAA!
Only then did Su-ho finally drop to the floor with a sigh.
“Haaah...”
That was a rough raid.
No exaggeration — it was the hardest Gate Su-ho had tackled since returning to the past.
And that ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) made it all the more satisfying.
‘In my past life, the from this ti wouldn’t have even dread of this.’
But now?
Now, after his regression, he was different.
He had beco the first player to achieve “Green Stat” specialization, and he was now confident he was the strongest in the world.
And rightfully so — Su-ho hadn’t unlocked just one Green Stat.
He had three.
After catching his breath, Su-ho opened his status window.
[An Su-ho]
Level: 182
Class: Crusader
Traits: ,
Strength (G): 13
Mana (G): 2
Perception (G): 2
Bonus Stats: 17
Despite everything, he’d only gained two levels.
Honestly, that was still amazing—leveling up twice in a single gate at that tier was no joke.
It just felt underwhelming after such a grueling battle.
After a mont’s thought, Su-ho invested all 17 bonus stats into Mana—primarily for the blacksmith’s necklace.
‘Stats can always be raised again.’
Plus, he’d already experienced the Unification Perk from raising three stats to G rank.
From here on, he needed to manage them strategically.
There was no other known thod to get 99 stat points in one go like that.
After distributing the points and resting a bit longer—
[The Guiyeong Spear has completely absorbed the Molten Dragon’s shadow.]
[The Guiyeong Spear has been strengthened.]
The absorption was complete.
Su-ho glanced at the spear, half-expecting a change.
Nothing.
‘Greedy bastard.’
Even after consuming a dragon’s shadow, the weapon hadn’t evolved.
Oh well.
There were plenty more shadows out there.
Shrugging, Su-ho walked to the exit portal.
The mont he stepped outside, a gust of cool wind greeted him.
The weather was normal, but compared to the furnace he’d just escaped, it felt like winter.
“Uooogh...”
“Uooooogh...”
The ghouls below moaned as they waved their arms at him.
Su-ho, standing on a tall structure, looked down at them and drove a spare Guiyeong Spear into the ground.
“See you next ti.”
Then activated a skill.
[Shadow Movent activated.]
SHWAAAA!
Chunks of mana were torn away as he vanished.
He reappeared near Imjingang Station, where he had parked his car.
Sliding into the driver’s seat, Su-ho headed ho, determined to rest for the day.
*
Once ho, the first thing Su-ho did was take a shower.
Then he grabbed a cold beer from the fridge, changed clothes, and finally collapsed on the sofa.
The house was empty.
Everyone was busy following his orders.
Only then did Su-ho turn on his phone.
After a few days away, he had a mountain of ssages waiting.
He glanced at them but soon set the phone aside.
Instead, he took a long swig from his beer.
“Ahh, that hits the spot.”
After that ordeal inside a hellish Gate, he deserved a couple days of complete rest.
But after a mont, he sat up.
‘Don’t get complacent.’
This was his second life—earned through pain.
No room for indulgent thoughts.
He reached for his phone again, then seed to rember sothing—and opened his inventory.
He pulled out the Blacksmith’s Necklace.
The Fragnt of the Great Fla was still perfectly embedded inside.
Instead of touching the pendant, he held the string.
Then checked its information.
[Sealed Necklace of the Great Blacksmith]
Grade: S
A radiant legacy granted only to the blacksmith’s most cherished successor.
The first seal has been partially released through the dearest fla.
Complete unsealing requires mana.
The description had updated.
Now it ntioned that completing the unsealing simply required mana.
So that’s all that remained.
He’d rested plenty. His mana was fully restored.
After a mont’s pause, Su-ho placed the necklace around his neck.
Instantly—
SHWAAAA!
A surge of mana poured out of his body.
He felt light-headed again.
He quickly pulled the necklace off and gave a dry laugh.
‘No chill at all, huh?’
He was starting to get the picture of how the absorption worked.
Ti to prepare properly.
First, Su-ho removed an Ironclad Fragnt from Socket 2 of the Great Hamr.
He inserted the Fragnt of the Molten Dragon’s Heart in its place.
[Fragnt of the Molten Dragon’s Heart equipped in Socket 2.]
[Mana capacity increased by 20%.]
[Mana recovery speed increased by 100%.]
First step—boost total mana and recovery rate.
He checked how many Gi Seung-hwan Orbs he had left, then began using them.
[You are fully absorbing the technique XP stored in the Gi Seung-hwan Orb.]
[Please select a skill to enhance.]
He selected Un-Gi-Jo-Sik — the Movent Energy Technique, a ditative martial art he had obtained from the Martial Library.
It increased both stamina and mana recovery.
Currently ranked B-grade, Su-ho planned to use the remaining orbs to raise it to A-grade.
That would improve recovery effects from 20% to 30%.
[Your understanding of Un-Gi-Jo-Sik is exceptional.]
[The system is reevaluating your talent.]
[Congratulations! Un-Gi-Jo-Sik has been upgraded to A-rank.]
Perfect.
He was fully prepared now.
With the Great Hamr equipped with the Heart Fragnt, and mana fully restored through Un-Gi-Jo-Sik, he was ready.
Su-ho placed the Blacksmith’s Necklace around his neck.
At that mont—
SHWAAAA!
Mana drained at an intense rate.
Su-ho imdiately sat cross-legged and began ditating, activating Un-Gi-Jo-Sik once more.
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