Chapter 224

Screeeeeech—!

The [Rapid Charge] option fully activated.

The three-pronged Mana Circle rotated.

Fast. Faster.

It spun, stirring the space around it.

A flow of Mana formed.

Like water in a bathtub swirling and being sucked into a drain.

It began to devour all the Mana around it.

No—it chewed and swallowed it.

WHOOOOSH—!

The air rippled.

Tiny dust particles in the air withered.

The microscopic organisms clinging to that dust were no exception.

Even the bacteria lazily waving their cilia.

Even the viruses lying in wait to parasitize those bacteria.

They were instantly stripped of the Mana in the molecules that made up their bodies, and they withered away.

Of course, much larger prey around Lloyd was no exception.

Like the Bone Dragon’s skull.

CRRRRK—CRRRRK—CRRRRK!

The Bone Dragon’s skull surrounding Lloyd—especially the Brain Chamber he was in—let out an ominous sound.

The bones fluctuated.

Fragments twisted.

Mana was being ripped away without mercy.

CRACK! CREAK! CRACK!

The inner walls of the Brain Chamber discolored.

They trembled.

Like an earthquake had struck.

Or like they were struggling against sudden destruction.

Everything within [Rapid Charge]’s range was warped and violated.

Meanwhile, Lloyd was in a state of ecstasy.

He didn’t feel any of it.

He simply closed his eyes.

Like he was curled inside a cocoon.

Like he was lying in ambush.

He tried to destroy and devour everything around him.

So what about the Bone Dragon?

As if it were nothing, it shook its head once.

What is this?

The Black Wizard Targa muttered in bewilderment.

Lloyd Frontera—the man who’d been inside his skull, pestering him—was up to something again.

It was an enormous Mana absorption.

At first, Targa was briefly taken aback.

But that was all.

‘Well, I don’t know how he’s doing it, but it’s impressive, and it’s vicious.’

To be afraid of it?

The Bone Dragon’s bones were overflowing with Mana.

Not just a lot—disgustingly, ridiculously so.

So Targa wasn’t particularly anxious about Lloyd’s [Rapid Charge].

This Mana absorption Lloyd was attempting—

If it was like scooping water with a gourd, then the Bone Dragon’s Mana was a lake the size of a great city.

‘In other words, what you’re doing is ultimately no different from trying to empty a lake with a gourd.’

Of course, it could be done.

But it would take time.

At least several years.

Maybe even decades.

From Targa’s perspective, it was laughable.

‘Should I smash my head again?’

Should he hurt that man like before?

But Targa waited.

He was being subjected to Mana absorption, so the skull would be a little weaker than usual.

If he struck himself for no reason and cracked the skull, he’d only lose out.

‘Let’s watch for a bit.’

He decided to wait.

‘No Mana absorption lasts forever.’

That was obvious.

No matter how efficient the technique was, the absorber still had a limit to how much Mana they could hold.

Targa, once a Black Wizard, knew that well.

So this absorption would end soon.

He just had to wait.

Targa’s prediction was accurate.

The time limit for [Rapid Charge] drew near.

Ding-dong.

[Asrahan Heart Technique Skill Option ⑤: The activation time of Rapid Charge has ended.]

Riiing……

Inside the Bone Dragon’s skull, a message appeared before Lloyd’s eyes.

The rampaging Mana Circle calmed.

The savage rotation subsided.

The violent, indiscriminate Mana absorption ended.

Lloyd, done absorbing, slowly opened his eyes.

“Hoo.”

That special sensation that always came right after using [Rapid Charge].

He felt it—now familiar—and lifted his gaze.

As expected, messages floated before him.

[The level of the Mana Heart skill has increased.]

[Skill Name: Mana Heart]

[Stage: Sword Expert Intermediate Lv 10]

[Physical Ability Improvement Rate: 1,200%]

[Skill-specific options currently held: ① Shock Absorption ② Immunity to All Poisons ③ Trance]

[RP required for the next level up: 1,700]

[Your Mana Heart has achieved rapid growth in a short period of time by absorbing a large amount of Mana from the Bone dragon. In this series of processes, a small amount of Dragon Mana has settled in your Mana Heart. This special experience grants your Mana Heart skill a new exclusive option.]

[Skill-specific option ④: Half-Human Half-Dragon – By chance, a part of your Mana Heart has acquired the unique characteristics of a Dragon Heart. As a result, all dragons you encounter will show curiosity instead of hostility towards you. Of course, it is up to you to develop that curiosity into goodwill.]

‘Damn.’

Lloyd clicked his tongue as he read.

His Mana Heart had grown again.

Part of it had taken on the characteristics of a Dragon Heart.

And because of that, he’d gained dragons’ curiosity.

No, more than that—

‘If Mana Heart goes up just one more level, I’ll hit Sword Expert Advanced?’

He was startled.

Worries bubbled up.

If he misstepped, he might suddenly advance and get Swordmaster Syndrome—the last thing he wanted.

Sudden chronic insomnia.

But that wasn’t important right now.

‘What about the Bone Dragon?’

What happened to it?

It should’ve taken a proper hit from [Rapid Charge].

The option’s range was a full seven-meter radius.

The inside of its skull should’ve been thoroughly ransacked.

‘So let’s get out of here.’

Lloyd got up quickly.

Even with [Rapid Charge], he wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Bone Dragon.

But he expected he’d dealt it a meaningful blow.

A splitting headache.

A sudden blackout.

Something.

He thought he could escape in that gap.

‘I never expected to catch the Bone Dragon in the first place.’

The original purpose was to buy time.

So Ggoming could find Javier.

So the badly injured man could be moved somewhere safe.

That was the goal.

‘This is enough.’

He didn’t want more.

He didn’t want to fight a monster like this anymore.

So he turned toward the optic-nerve passage to escape.

And then—

A destructive shock slammed into his entire body.

BOOOOM—!

“……!”

Like a soda can hurled against a concrete wall.

Was this what it felt like to be a beetle trapped inside?

“Eok!”

Wham—he flew into the opposite wall of the Brain Chamber.

He collided—no, he crashed.

He felt the bones in his body shift.

Like his organs were spilling out.

His vision went dark for a moment.

Up and down.

Left and right.

He couldn’t tell anything apart.

‘Keo… heok! What—!’

Lloyd shook his head desperately.

His vision crawled back far too slowly.

Only then did he manage to think.

‘Is the Bone Dragon fine even after taking [Rapid Charge] head-on?’

Goosebumps crawled over him.

He wanted to deny it.

But he couldn’t.

Because it was the same as before.

The Bone Dragon was smashing its own skull.

And Lloyd was taking the full shock inside.

Nothing had changed.

So—

‘It was useless. [Rapid Charge] was useless.’

A moment ago, his vision had gone black from impact.

Now it felt like it was darkening from sheer despair.

But the darker it got, the harder Lloyd clenched his teeth.

He crawled.

‘I’m not dying. You think I’m going to die?’

He couldn’t die here.

Not after buying time like this to save Javier.

Dying after doing that would be too unfair.

‘I haven’t even gotten to enjoy the sweet part properly yet.’

In Korea, he’d been crushed by poverty in a goshiwon.

A miserable life at rock bottom.

It hadn’t been much different here.

From the start, a mountain of debt had greeted him.

He’d crawled through every kind of hardship to pay it back.

He’d survived countless life-or-death crises.

‘I finally built a territory where people can live. Now all I have to do is enjoy it!’

And to die here, to a Bone Dragon he never even expected?

He felt like he couldn’t accept it even if he died.

‘No. I’m living. I’m living no matter what. I am.’

A shovel in one hand.

Fingernails dug in with the other.

He crawled, desperate.

He dragged himself out of the Brain Chamber.

He wriggled through the optic-nerve passage like a caterpillar.

Finally, he spilled out of the eye socket, almost flopping onto the outside.

Cool night air filled his lungs.

“I made it…”

Lloyd smiled brightly.

Then the Bone Dragon smashed its skull again.

BOOOOM—!

“……!”

Lloyd’s eyes widened.

The impact was overwhelming.

He was blown away helplessly by the shock.

If a moment ago he’d felt like a beetle trapped in a soda can—

Now he felt like a driver without a seatbelt, thrown out of a wreck.

In that distant thought, he flew through the night sky.

He stared blankly at the forest passing a hundred and fifty meters below.

A hollow laugh slipped out.

‘Did I… save too much?’

Regret arrived late.

[RP], too.

[CP], too.

Had he lived too stingily?

‘I should’ve just used [RP]. I should’ve become Advanced Sword Expert.’

If he had, wouldn’t he have endured the shock a bit better?

Wouldn’t he have avoided becoming a limp rag, falling like this?

‘Or I should’ve used [CP].’

He should’ve used an [ending spoiler].

If he had, he would’ve seen this absurd end in advance.

He would’ve predicted today—his end.

He would’ve prepared.

‘Idiot. I saved too much.’

Each time he used an [ending spoiler], the [CP] cost jumped dramatically.

So he only used it when he had a truly terrible feeling.

Otherwise, he’d run out when he really needed it.

He’d saved and saved.

Now the past self who’d made that decision felt like a fool.

‘But I didn’t know it would end like this.’

He shifted his half-blurred gaze.

In the brutal headwind, the ground rushed up with terrifying speed.

Jagged rocks jutted out.

If he hit that—

His body would turn to mush.

So that spot.

That was where he’d die.

Goosebumps seized him.

Lloyd forced his eyes wide.

The end was right there.

He tried to face it calmly.

And just before he slammed into the ground—

Someone grabbed his belt.

Thud!

“Lloyd Frontera, wake up!”

Queen Alicia’s voice rang loudly in his ear.

Her strength yanked him hard.

Lloyd responded instinctively to the saving hand.

“…Uweok!”

A retching sound exploded out of him.

The belt cinched tight around his lower abdomen as he was pulled mid-fall.

It felt like his stomach was being cut in half.

“Keu—keoeok! Kulleok! Keueoeok!”

Half out of his mind, the pain still forced him awake.

It hurt too much to faint.

Thanks to that, he could finally take in his surroundings.

“Get on my back, quickly!”

‘Her Majesty… Noona?’

At some point, Queen Alicia had him on her back.

She was sprinting madly through the Great Garden with him clinging to her.

She vaulted over bushes and waterways.

She slashed apart statues blocking her path.

Shattering them and forcing her way through.

Her breath was rough, her sprint relentless.

That heat was transmitted directly through her back.

He could feel how urgent she was.

In other words, she was running with him on her back.

To escape the Bone Dragon chasing them.

Lloyd let out a short chuckle.

“Your… Majesty.”

He forced his mouth open.

“Why are you… saving me?”

“What do you mean, why!”

The Queen shouted harshly.

“I saved you because you looked like you’d die if I left you! Should I abandon you and run, then!”

“Please don’t.”

He answered sincerely.

Her safety mattered most.

So she shouldn’t even talk about abandoning him—the burden—and running.

He was afraid that if he said something like that out loud, she’d respond with, ‘It’s heartbreaking, but you’re right.’

‘I don’t want to die.’

Lloyd struggled to lift his head.

On the Queen’s back as she sprinted, he looked behind them.

The moon was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, a massive shape swallowed the sky, as if covering the moon itself.

It was the Bone Dragon in pursuit, flying after them.

“…….”

The Queen was slow.

At this rate, they’d be caught soon.

“Your Majesty.”

“What!”

“Run harder.”

“I’m already doing that!”

“Take my Mana, too.”

“……!”

Queen Alicia’s back flinched.

Lloyd grabbed her shoulder.

He squeezed out what Mana he had left and sent it into her.

Ding-dong.

[You are currently in a state of exhaustion. Therefore, you are under the effect of Asrahan Heart Technique Option ③: Power Saving Mode (Revised). The current Mana amplification rate is fixed at 25%, and the total amount of Mana transferred to others is limited to 2.5%.]

Riiing……

Only 2.5%.

That was fine.

Even a little strength could matter.

Because that was the only way he had any hope of surviving.

“By now, the royal capital garrison should’ve finished preparing a counterattack.”

“I know!”

“Escape toward… the garrison’s rally point.”

“I’m doing that!”

He encouraged her in his own way.

The Queen’s sprint grew even more desperate.

But why was reality always cruel at times like this?

Why was the Bone Dragon not tired, still flying, already closing in?

THUD—!

“……!”

Dust exploded with a massive roar.

Lloyd felt Queen Alicia stop short.

“…Ah.”

He heard the sound she made between ragged breaths.

Lloyd lifted his head, too.

He looked forward.

There stood the Bone Dragon, blocking their path like a cliff of despair.

His eyes met the gaze looking down at them.

“Ha, haha…”

Lloyd laughed without meaning to.

It was over.

He had truly done everything he could.

No matter how he racked his brain, he couldn’t find another way.

Once he realized that, only laughter came.

He felt the Queen’s shoulder tense as she gripped her sword.

He saw the massive silhouette of the Bone Dragon surging toward them.

Lloyd sensed the end.

In the crawling goosebumps, he forced the corners of his mouth up.

And he thought.

If he was going to die like this anyway—

‘Javier. At least you stay alive, you bastard.’

Live with the time I bought you.

And Ppodong and Bangul, Hamang and Bibeong, and Ggoming who’ll be left behind…

Take care of the kind Count and Countess, and Julian, too.

But if you eat well and live well, I think I’ll be annoyed.

Live with a beer belly, baldness, and athlete’s foot.

‘So…’

He raised his head.

The Bone Dragon’s mouth yawned open.

It rushed toward his face.

It was closing.

To chew them up.

Pillar-like fangs flashed.

Then a sword shadow, brighter than those fangs, appeared.

It blocked them.

……!

There was no sound.

No time to register it.

One flash—

And Lloyd’s eyes widened.

‘Javier?’

At some point, the back of the silver-haired knight stood in front of them.

Protecting them.

Facing the enemy.

He stood with his back to Lloyd, blocking the front.

His longsword swept sideways.

And the arc he drew was dyed with thousands of brilliant strands of Aura.

Lloyd suddenly remembered.

Iron Blooded Knight.

That figure he’d seen there.

The realm Javier had finally reached.

That was—

“Grand Master?”

The moment Lloyd muttered, the Bone Dragon’s entire body was cut into thousands of pieces.