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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 84: Conflicting Quests
[The dragons of the Kalvine planet follow Asgard. Now that the hatchling Drakina has grown into an adult dragon and is developing as the successor to the Dragon God, there is a risk of a rift forming within the neutral faction. If an internal conflict breaks out among the dragons, the neutral faction will collapse. Subdue Drakina before she becomes the true heir of the Dragon God.]
[Difficulty: Extremely Hard]
[Destroy Drakina’s Dragon Heart.]
[Quest Rewards]
SP 300,000
Obtain Dragon Heart
S-rank random skill reward
[The dragons of Kalvine have forgotten the Dragon God due to Asgard’s influence. Make them realize who their true deity is. Awaken Drakina as the Dragon God. Both heroes and dragons will obstruct you.]
[Difficulty: Impossible]
[Awaken Drakina as the Dragon God.]
[Quest Rewards]
Resurrection of the Dragon God
Dragon Heart upgrade
Attainment of divine authority
Delayed liberation of the Chaos faction
[The Dragon God Resurrection quest is a time-limited quest.]
The quest required either killing Drakina or keeping her in the Land of Dragons for a year.
Both rewards were exceptional.
However, if I looked only at the rewards, the latter quest was more tempting.
The first quest’s rewards—SP 300,000, an S-rank skill, and a Dragon Heart—were certainly great...
But the second quest’s rewards seemed even more valuable.
Especially the last one—delaying the liberation of the Chaos faction.
If I completed this quest, the revival of Chaos on Earth would be slowed.
On top of that, reviving the Dragon God, upgrading the Dragon Heart, and obtaining divine authority...
That was quite the grand set of rewards.
The difficulty level was listed as “Impossible.”
If both heroes and dragons were getting in the way, it made sense.
But how exactly was I supposed to awaken Drakina as the Dragon God?
The quest didn’t specify.
If I considered only the rewards, the second quest was better, but I didn’t have enough information right now.
For now, I’d return and think it over.
I also needed to check whether I could obtain SP from Drakia.
“Return.”
Back on Earth.
Valkyrie Aria greeted me.
“You took a little longer this time. That means things are going well, right?”
“Yes. There’s been some progress.”
There was no need to tell her about the quest.
She nodded and then spoke, as if suddenly remembering something.
“Oh, I forgot to relay a message from Loki.”
“What is it?”
“Asgard always wishes to maintain a good relationship with you, Kim Jiho.”
Why bring this up now?
Was it because of the main quest?
Aria’s smile was as usual, but...
“I see. I feel the same way.”
“Good. Then I hope you achieve great results...”
She saw me off with a smile.
She hadn’t mentioned anything about the quest, nor given any hints.
Was it just a coincidence that she said that?
Leaving the association building and returning home, my mind felt tangled.
“Drakia?”
I called his name just in case he had followed me to Earth, but there was no response.
Giving up on summoning him, I opened the Soul Mediation window and was shocked to see that Drakia was generating SP on par with Odin.
In just one day, I had accumulated about 40,000 SP.
That was useful.
The next day, Drakia woke up and spoke to me.
[Forming a Soul Mediation contract with you makes a real difference. SP is gathering, even if in small amounts... I never knew the contract was this beneficial. Can I make multiple contracts at once?]
Drakia was excited as he asked.
Multiple contracts?
Curious, I tried to make another contract.
[Your Soul Mediation level is too low to create duplicate contracts.]
Oh-ho.
So it was possible at higher levels?
It seemed different from soul smuggling, which was unlocked at level 7.
“It seems I can’t yet. My level is too low.”
[How unfortunate...]
“By the way, I received a quest.”
When I told him about the two quests, the Dragon God made an unexpected remark.
[Awaken Drakina as the Dragon God? It will be difficult for you to protect her until she fully ascends. From an efficiency standpoint, killing her would be better.]
“Even though she’s your daughter?”
[I have too many offspring to count. There’s no need to pour excessive affection into a single one.]
Gods really were cold-hearted.
I had heard that dragons were extremely protective of their kin, but if the Dragon God was like this, that didn’t seem to be the case.
[However, the rewards for the Dragon God Awakening quest are remarkable. Who set these rewards?]
“Aren’t you the one granting them if you revive?”
[No. I would give a separate reward. Those rewards come from the neutral faction, but Asgard would never want me to return... Strange.]
The Dragon God sounded puzzled.
Hmm.
So the rewards for the Awakening quest were guaranteed?
If they were, I could claim the Dragon God’s separate rewards as well, making this an incredible opportunity.
But how exactly was I supposed to awaken her?
Would more details appear if I accepted the quest?
If this were a normal quest, I could just reset and try again if I failed.
But the fact that this was a time-limited quest concerned me.
Even Drakia had never heard of a time-limited quest before.
If I accepted it, I had to assume this was my only chance and give it my all.
Still...
Heroes and dragons.
How was I supposed to handle that combination?
I could deal with the heroes using soul energy, but the dragons...
Hmm.
No, wait.
The hero I defeated was A-rank.
The dragons wouldn’t be much higher than that.
If I was willing to burn through SP, I might be able to fight them.
The real issue was how to awaken Drakina.
“Drakia, do you know a way to awaken your daughter?”
[Are you considering taking the Awakening quest?]
“Yes. I already have a Dragon Heart, and I wouldn’t be able to use an S-rank random skill right now anyway. I’m limited by my B-rank skill cap. I’d like to give it a shot.”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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[You wish to attempt it... Hmm. Then, would you be able to wait ten days? And in the meantime, could you waive my Soul Mediation fee? I need SP for something.]
The fee?
Drakia’s earnings were quite useful.
But ten days wasn’t too long.
I could take the long view and let this slide.
Hmm.
Actually, even if I did waive the fee for ten days, I’d only be missing out on about 70,000 SP...
“What’s the method? If it’s that important, should I just send you SP directly?”
[Directly? I currently can’t access the SP shop.]
"I have a skill I've never used before."
Soul Trade.
A skill that governs SP transactions for all beings, regardless of rank.
It summons a trade window and takes a 0.1% commission fee.
I heard that later, I could even establish an SP exchange, but that’s only possible when I reach S-rank, which is a long way off.
Hermes said he’d give me a hefty commission, but I never actually used the trade.
It’s a skill that governs transactions, but can’t I also be a participant in the trade myself?
When I explained that I had the Soul Trade skill, Drakia was startled.
[Such a skill exists? That’s truly fascinating. Then, could you transfer 100,000 SP for now?]
"I can invest more."
[No, given my current state, that amount is just right. Once I receive the SP, I will create the Dragon Core necessary for the Dragon God's awakening.]
I activated the Soul Trade skill and designated my trade partner.
A trade window appeared, showing both my name and Drakia’s.
When I clicked on my SP, a field appeared where I could enter the amount.
I set it to 100,000, and then I noticed a message below:
‘When the Soul Trader trades with themselves, no commission is collected.’
Well, that makes sense.
After transferring the SP, Drakia looked delighted.
[The SP has really been received. Thank you. Now, I will begin the creation process. Stay on Earth for the next 10 days.]
"Understood."
Hmm.
The daily grind of endless labor had suddenly come to a halt.
What should I do for the next 10 days?
It felt like an unexpected vacation, but I had nothing to do.
Browsing the internet, I found that the world had stabilized, and people were focused on leveling up.
Every nation was mobilizing all their resources into hunters.
Portal articles were entirely about hunters, and politics and economics had taken a backseat.
A Hunter Training Act was now a fixed section on portal sites.
It wasn’t something relevant to me at my level, but since I had nothing else to do, I clicked on it.
[Distribute all your stats as evenly as possible.]
[Do not choose a class while at E-rank. If you do, the Hunter Association will revoke your hunter license, and you will be banned from entering dungeons.]
[This time, thanks to Asgard’s blessing, E-rank hunters will be promoted directly to D-rank without an advancement test. You must maintain a beginner class and wait until D-rank to obtain a good class.]
"Huh...?"
Was this happening only in my country?
I checked Google and found the search page strangely empty, except for a message at the bottom stating:
"The development of Soul-type Awakened individuals is being prioritized."
So that’s what this was about?
No advancement tests?
Digging deeper into the internet, I found that many people had already changed into unique classes.
[Since I transitioned into a Giant class, I’m no longer a loser. But now I'm 4 meters tall... I can't even enter my house. Don't pick this class, guys. I can't even use my smartphone because my fingers are too big.]
The guy posted a verification photo of himself getting a physical exam at the Hunter Association.
His face looked like a regular young Korean man, but everyone around him looked like dwarves.
The height measurement read 423CM.
Other people were showing off too—some had bodies partially made of fire, while others could control monsters.
C- and D-rank hunters were already jealous.
[Man, if I had been E-rank, I could’ve gotten a special class too.]
[Can’t even reset my class… I’m jealous.]
[Hunter Association, let us reset our class choices!]
"But I don't see any Soul-type Awakened here."
If people were distributing their stats evenly and waiting to choose a class, there should be others like me.
But not a single mention of a Soul-type class existed.
Did Asgard already recruit them?
Even if they did, there should at least be rumors online.
SP and Soul-type Awakened—there wasn’t a single line of discussion about them.
Was it that rare?
With that lingering curiosity, I spent the next few days leisurely.
Lounging at home, taking walks by the Han River, drinking, and just enjoying the life of an unemployed person for about five days.
Then, I got a phone call.
[Is this Kim Jiho?]
"Yes. Who’s calling?"
[This is Valkyrie Aria. In three days, the World Hunter Association’s Broken World Investigation Team will be entering Kalvine Planet.]
"Kalvine?"
[Yes. Now that there are so many hunters, we need more leveling-up locations, so they want to gather intelligence. I thought I should inform you personally.]
Damn.
If regular hunters enter, time will start flowing again on Kalvine Planet.
I was planning to just chill on Earth until the Dragon Core was ready, but now things got complicated.
"Is there no way to postpone it further?"
[We tried to delay as much as possible. The World Hunter Association has been pleading for an investigation team ever since the Broken World opened. We stalled for about two months, but we can’t hold it off any longer...]
Aria trailed off at the end.
Of all times, why now?
The timing was too perfect.
"I understand for now."
[Yes. I hope you make a wise decision. Goodbye...]
A wise decision?
That sounded loaded.
Was she pressuring me to choose between quests?
"Drakia, did you hear that?"
[I did.]
"It sounds like they're forcing me to pick a side."
[Indeed. Still, considering how crude Asgard usually is, the fact that they’re applying indirect pressure instead of brute force shows how valuable a Soul Broker is.]
"It’s still pressure nonetheless. How long will the Dragon Core take?"
[Hmm... Even if I make it, Asgard will interfere heavily.]
True.
They wouldn’t just sit back and let a Dragon God revive.
[The first quest’s objective was to destroy Drakina’s Dragon Heart, correct?]
"Yes."
[But there were no conditions about erasing Drakina’s body or destroying her soul, right?]
"That’s right."
[Then that’s fortunate. Accept both quests. I will create Drakina’s Dragon Heart for you.]
Wait...
That’s possible?
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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