Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 312

A system notification floated up.

And that wasn’t the only one.

[Your level has increased.]

[All stats increased by 1.]

[You have obtained 1 bonus stat point.]

A message confirming Su-ho’s level-up.

Though the Reincarnated Dragon wasn’t a boss monster, and Ieodo wasn’t a proper gate either, the system still awarded him a full level—as if in praise for the incredible feat.

Then came another series of messages:

[You have successfully slain the Incomplete Reincarnated Dragon.]

[Quest complete.]

[Congratulations! Your reward will be issued shortly.]

[Your level has increased.]

[All stats increased by 1.]

[You have obtained 1 bonus stat point.]

Additional quest-related notifications regarding the Reincarnated Dragon popped up.

And in that process, Su-ho gained yet another level.

He smiled with satisfaction.

It was the outcome he expected.

“Yeah, considering the quest difficulty, this much is only fair.”

Without [Weaken]... no, even beyond that—if it weren’t for all the other supporting skills he had—no matter how qualified a level 200 Player might be, there was no way they could take down the Reincarnated Dragon solo.

So he thought these rewards were entirely deserved.

“But... the reward will be issued soon?”

Usually, the system handed over rewards immediately.

But it wasn’t saying “no rewards,” just that they would be given soon. Su-ho nodded.

The system wasn’t the type to forget things like that.

More notifications followed.

[You have slain a Flying Dragon.]

[All conditions for unlocking the fourth Authority of Dragon Blood have been met.]

[① Reach Level 200.]

[② Slay a Flying Dragon.]

[The fourth Authority of Dragon Blood is now unlocked.]

[Dragon Egg (S) has been unlocked.]

New alerts appeared.

It was a notification for the unlocking of the Fourth Authority of Dragon Blood.

But this time, the system messages felt oddly dull.

“Last time, when an Authority unlocked, I got a bunch of skills right away.”

For example, when the third Authority, Dragon Grow, had unlocked, he instantly obtained Dragon Bone, Dragon Body, and Dragon Sense.

But now, why was it just one Authority unlock and nothing else?

Just as he was about to check the details of Dragon Egg, it happened—

SPLASH!!

The corpse of the slain Reincarnated Dragon, which had been floating in midair, finally fell into the sea.

A massive wave swelled from the impact, but Su-ho evaded it with Flowing Step and kept his eyes fixed on the dragon’s body.

“I’ll check later. This can wait.”

There was no need to rush.

Instead, he watched the Reincarnated Dragon as it slowly began ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ to sink.

Its body was largely intact.

Understandable—Su-ho had focused on internal damage through Heart Slash rather than attacking its tough hide.

Soon, the corpse was nearly submerged.

Su-ho briefly hesitated.

Should he throw Guiyeong Spear and feed on it for nutrients?

But the decision was made for him.

The Reincarnated Dragon’s body blinked white, then scattered and vanished.

That was when—

RUMBLEEEE—

A deep tremor shook the surroundings.

The sea began to churn as if a massive earthquake had struck, and the waves roared.

What is this? A tsunami?

Su-ho activated Flowing Step and backed away to avoid the crashing waves.

Before long, he identified the source of the tremor.

It was a natural consequence of something rising from the seabed.

What emerged was none other than... a reef.

More precisely—the reef people referred to as Ieodo.

Su-ho’s brows furrowed.

“Ieodo is rising?”

He wasn’t mistaken.

Previously submerged five meters beneath the surface, Ieodo wasn’t just exposed by waves—it was physically rising through the water.

From a distance, Su-ho watched the scene unfold.

He had never imagined something like this could happen in his lifetime.

“Even during the Gate incident, Ieodo didn’t do this...”

Which made the current phenomenon feel both majestic and mysterious.

RUMBLE RUMBLE!

Ieodo continued to ascend.

Ieodo was a volcanic formation.

A volcanic formation is created by magma erupting from a crater and building up around it, eventually forming a mountain of volcanic deposits.

In other words, what was rising above the surface now was a structure composed of hardened volcanic residue.

But even so, having long since hardened into rock, it shouldn’t have been breaking apart.

Yet—contrary to expectation—the rising Ieodo crumbled and shed pieces like ice melting under the sun.

Su-ho could only gape at the sight in stunned silence.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE—

The ascent continued.

Debris kept falling away, and the waves it stirred surged relentlessly.

But none of this was a threat to Su-ho.

He calmly dodged the debris and waves with ease, keeping his eyes on the ascending mass.

Ieodo was much larger than expected.

He had known it was big—but now, with its full size rising from the sea, he realized just how colossal it truly was.

Yes—the tip of the iceberg.

Watching this unfold, that phrase came unbidden to mind.

Time passed as the ascent continued.

Then, a few large chunks of debris broke away from Ieodo’s highest point and fell.

And at that moment, Su-ho unconsciously furrowed his brow.

“...That’s...”

An unmistakable form.

It didn’t take long to recognize.

They were wings.

Massive, thick wings—majestic and awe-inspiring depending on how you looked at them.

And as the wings emerged, something sharp jutted out in the distance.

Its identity was soon revealed.

As the base of the wings became visible, a tail also appeared.

And when both the tail and wings were fully exposed, the elongated body they were attached to came into view—along with a neck and head as long and regal as the tail itself.

A dragon.

It was a dragon.

What everyone believed to be Ieodo was, astonishingly, a dragon statue—one far larger than any dragon Su-ho had ever seen.

THUD!

With a massive crash, the tremors finally ceased. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Only after all four of the statue’s legs had emerged did the shaking stop.

From a safe distance, Su-ho stared up at the new Ieodo.

It was majestic and mysterious.

What had seemed to be a mere reef turned out to be a dragon statue.

But it had been submerged for far too long—parts of it were covered in moss, others cracked and broken.

Then, white light began to gather around the statue, and it suddenly gleamed like polished stone.

With a deep thump like a heartbeat, it seemed to pulse and grow slightly.

And a single system message appeared.

[A memory of an ancient dragon is being shared.]

A brief notification.

And then, unfamiliar memories began flowing into Su-ho’s mind.

“This is...”

Like a film reel playing in his head, the images were drawn in a style reminiscent of ancient Egyptian murals.

No narration, no background music.

Just images.

The first image—an enormous mountain.

Above it—an enormous sun.

Beneath it—an obsidian-black dragon, cloaked in darkness.

The black dragon devoured the sun hanging over the mountain.

And the world was plunged into darkness.

Humanity, deprived of light, began a desperate battle to reclaim the stolen sun from the dragon.

But the black dragon, now empowered by the sun, was invincible.

It ravaged the land, leaving endless casualties and burning countless regions.

The people called it the Solar Dragon.

And none believed it could be defeated.

That was how powerful it had become.

But nothing lasts forever.

One day, five mysterious beings appeared and waged war against the Solar Dragon.

In time, they succeeded in reclaiming the sun.

The world regained light and warmth.

But just because the sun had returned didn’t mean the Solar Dragon was dead—or tamed.

During the time it had devoured the sun, it had absorbed part of the sun’s power and claimed the greatest fire in existence.

As proof, a massive volcano sprouted from its back—spewing lava and meteors without end.

Furious from losing the sun, the Solar Dragon rampaged.

Even with light restored, the world could not rest easy.

The five mysterious figures fought again to stop the dragon.

It was a long and brutal battle.

And the Solar Dragon never relented—seeming on the verge of victory.

But then—a new being appeared from somewhere, suppressing the dragon in an instant.

This entity shattered the dragon’s body and scattered its pieces across the world.

Eventually, those pieces were sealed away.

FLASH!

The vision ended with a burst of light, and darkness returned.

The playback of the ancient dragon's memory was over.

Su-ho slowly opened his eyes.

And found himself standing on the massive dragon statue’s back.

“...How did I get here?”

He hadn’t felt any movement.

But that wasn’t what mattered now.

He had just learned the true identity of this statue—what he had thought was merely a dragon monument.

“Solar Dragon... That’s what it was called.”

The system had referred to it as an ancient or reincarnated dragon.

But after receiving the memory, Su-ho now knew its proper name.

The Solar Dragon.

Then something caught his eye—a small protruding spire he had seen earlier at the oceanic research station.

Compared to the massive size of Ieodo, it was no more than a hair-width.

Unlike the rest of the surface, it stuck out awkwardly.

Su-ho approached it.

And soon found something very familiar.

“This is...”

At the tip of the spire—what he saw was none other than the fossil of the Solar Dragon.

Originally an unidentified [?] item, it had revealed its identity as a fossil once touched by the Flame of Fire.

“But why is this here now?”

At that moment—

CRACK!

The spire surrounding the fossil crumbled like a cathedral’s egg pedestal, revealing an ivory-colored fossil before him.

Su-ho stared at it in silence for a moment, then reached out.

Anyone could tell—it was meant for him.

He checked the item's information.

[Fragment of the Solar Dragon]

A fragment of a powerful and ancient dragon once known as the Solar Dragon.

The Solar Dragon was shattered and sealed by someone, leaving behind remnants of its power in fossilized form.

Allows the inheritor to succeed the Solar Dragon’s strength and the primal power of the sun.

Bound to the first individual who obtains it. Once inherited, the Fragment of the Solar Dragon will alter its properties to match the inheritor.