Chapter 6: The dragon egg

The dragon of the great catastrophe, Angragon

I slowly observed the distorted faces of those bastards.

‘Earth was their playground.’

They caused disasters.

They trampled humanity.

And they laughed while enjoying the screams and despair.

That was their form of entertainment.

Even at the end.

The so-called Absolute God, ‘Irresistible,’ descended.

The reason was simple.

He wanted to savor even the final despair.

And besides, he was certain.

‘That I would fail.’

Humans are weak.

They would never be capable of destroying their own home, Earth, with their own hands.

That shallow and ridiculous confidence.

That mistake of believing that Kim Jeongseok, someone who always lived properly, would never commit such madness.

But they were wrong.

I tore out my own heart without hesitation.

I burned the corpses of my companions.

I turned Earth into a bomb and smashed it into his face.

I smiled faintly.

‘Now it’s the other way around.’

The positions have changed.

I came to their world.

This place is now my ‘playground.’

I’m going to play with you.

I will completely crush you, mock you, and finally lead you to destruction.

Kim Jeongseok.

Just like the name my parents gave me.

I lived my whole life following the proper path.

In my studies, in magic, even while trying to save the world.

I always pursued the most orthodox answer.

‘I’m going to abandon what is right.’

The rules.

The morality that suffocated and bound me.

All of that burned together with Earth.

So I’ll show you something.

When someone who always lived properly loses his mind.

When that kind of person finally breaks.

How terrifying he can become.

“…….”

“…….”

Hostile stares.

Eyes filled with contempt.

I could even feel killing intent.

‘What a warm welcome.’

I smiled.

Clap!

A light applause echoed throughout the underground.

“Well, well.”

An adorable voice.

But the power contained within it was not light at all.

The entire space froze from the force.

Everyone’s bodies became motionless.

“You all have far too much hot blood. But fighting is prohibited. You may only do so in designated zones.”

The owner of the voice appeared.

Waddling.

A creature in a tuxedo walked toward us on short legs.

“…A penguin?”

Someone muttered in astonishment.

And yes.

It was an emperor penguin.

Barely one meter tall.

Round eyes and shiny fur.

It looked like an adorable doll.

It slapped its chest with its flippers.

“Nice to meet you, future gods! I am the supervisor and administrator of the ascension test for Floor 1, Gugu!”

Administrator.

I searched through the memories of my past life climbing the tower.

‘I never saw one.’

I reached nearly the very end of the tower, but something called an administrator never appeared.

‘Are they the ones who maintain the tower’s system?’

If so, they must be beings that even the gods cannot treat lightly.

Gugu spread its wings and smiled.

Well, it seemed like a smile because it had a beak.

“Alright, enough chatter. Since a spot opened up on Floor 1, we must hurry.”

Clap!

Gugu clapped again.

And then.

Fwoooooosh.

A strange sensation covered my entire body.

My vision distorted and gravity twisted.

I narrowed my eyes.

‘Forced spatial transfer.’

And on a massive scale.

He moved thousands of people with a single clap, without even casting a spell.

‘This far surpasses the level of a Great Mage.’

The pinnacle of spatial magic.

An absolute power that does not even require coordinate calculations.

Those so-called administrators may be more troublesome than I thought.

Flash!

The radiance disappeared.

The scenery had changed.

It was no longer the gloomy underground prison.

It was an endless white temple.

Thousands of stone altars were lined up perfectly.

“Where are we?”

The seeds began murmuring.

The confusion was obvious.

Gugu jumped onto a platform.

“Do not be alarmed. This is the ‘Hall of Selection.’”

Gugu pointed at the crowd with its wings.

“There are currently a total of 5,501 seeds gathered here. Including the last participant to arrive, Mr. Rag.”

All eyes turned toward me.

I shrugged.

“That’s a lot. But unfortunately, there is only one vacant spot on Floor 1!”

Gugu raised the tip of his wing.

“Through fair competition, only the worthiest will ascend to the position of god.”

Glup.

Nervous gulps could be heard everywhere.

Competition.

5,501 against 1.

The odds did not even reach 0.01%.

“There will be a total of three tests.”

Only after overcoming all three would the owner of Floor 1 be decided.

“And the first one is very simple.”

Gugu pointed at the altars.

“Every god needs assistants to act as their hands and feet. The Familiar Summoning Ceremony!”

Familiars.

Servants or beasts bound to them.

Angels, demons, or divine beasts that serve the gods.

“The method is very simple. You must offer the altar the most valuable object you possess.”

A sacrifice.

The law of equivalent exchange.

“The value of the object will determine the rank of the summoned Familiar. Naturally, the more powerful the Familiar, the higher the score.”

Gugu smiled.

“Now then, begin!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the seeds began to move.

Everyone quickly took out their treasures.

“This should be enough!”

A man resembling an oni, with horns on his head, pulled out a red gem the size of a fist.

A blood-colored gem.

It seemed to be the treasure of his clan.

Boom!

When he placed it on the altar, a magic circle shone.

Kwooooom!

From the red smoke emerged an enormous wolf.

A demonic beast covered in flames.

“Infernal Wolf! 65 points!”

Gugu immediately announced the score.

“What a start!”

Exclamations erupted everywhere.

Excited, the other seeds began taking out their own treasures.

“I offer the legendary sword of my tribe!”

“This is a branch from the World Tree of the elven forest!”

“A pearl from the depths should be enough!”

Jewels and relics appeared one after another.

Representative treasures of each race.

Everything they had brought to become gods.

Flash. Flash.

The altars kept shining nonstop.

“Vampire Lord! 77 points!”

“Griffin! 79 points!”

Monstrous creatures began appearing one after another.

“See that? My Familiar is a Medusa!”

“Damn it! Why did I get a Slime King?”

“Cerberus!”

Joy and despair mixed together.

Cries of excitement and lamentations filled the place.

Meanwhile, I remained still with my arms crossed.

‘The most valuable object…’

It was complicated.

Not because I had nothing.

But because everything was too ambiguous.

I opened the inventory.

[Spirit Wings]

[Fragments of the Broken Golden Law]

[Dragon Egg]

The list was short.

Only items obtained as rewards.

‘The Spirit Wings are useful.’

The ability to fly is too valuable.

‘And the fragments are indispensable.’

Without them, I cannot use 100% of my power.

They are literally my lifeline.

Then there is only one option left.

‘The dragon egg.’

The ultimate reward from the lucky dice.

But for me, it was a double-edged sword.

‘I don’t know how long it will take to hatch.’

Dragons grow slowly.

It would take a very long time before it became useful.

‘And right now, I can’t use it.’

I made a decision.

Then using it here is the best choice.

Besides.

‘With a dragon egg, something good should come out.’

In terms of value, it is still a great offering.

Just then.

“What the hell?!”

“It’s an Abyssal Dragon!”

The place became noisy.

Someone had summoned a dragon.

Gugu excitedly flapped his wings.

“Excellent! Abyssal Dragon, 95 points!”

The Abyssal Dragon was one of the strongest beasts of the upper floors.

A true monster worthy of the title of divine beast.

And as an adult, it was even worse.

Even the final group had trouble against one.

As a Familiar, it was practically perfect.

“Hey, nepotism boy.”

A mocking voice.

I turned my head.

A dark elf was looking at me with an arrogant smile.

The Abyssal Dragon was behind him.

“Don’t you have anything and are just standing there watching? Are you some poor bastard?”

All eyes turned toward me.

Curiosity, contempt, and hostility.

They seemed to think Heimdall’s favorite wasn’t much of a big deal.

“Who knows.”

I smiled faintly and took an object out of the inventory.

“I’m not exactly broke.”

When the egg the size of an ostrich egg appeared, the dark elf burst into laughter.

“Looks like you picked up the egg of a dead dragon.”

The Abyssal Dragon behind him exhaled heavily.

Bluish-black scales.

Terrifying fangs.

Even freshly summoned, it was intimidating.

“Even so, it won’t help. Even if it hatches, it will never be able to defeat my Abyssal Dragon.”

The other seeds nodded.

They were right.

Not all dragons are the same.

The difference between them is enormous.

That’s why.

‘I agree.’

The possibility that this egg would produce something on the level of an Abyssal Dragon was minimal.

At best, it would be a wyvern.

Or a lesser dragon.

I shrugged and walked toward the altar.

The dark elf’s mockery echoed behind me.

“Do your best, nepotism boy!”

I ignored him.

I placed the egg on the altar.

And then.

Hummmmmm—

The altar began to tremble.

The vibration intensified.

The stone creaked.

Ding!

A message appeared before me.

[The ‘First Altar’ can only summon a Familiar once.]

[Offering the sacrifice ‘Unknown dragon egg’.]

[Beginning summoning ritual.]

[Rolling dice (1~100).]

A dice?

I didn’t know something like that existed.

Though it makes sense.

Summoning depends on probabilities.

I watched the floating dice spin slowly.

It rolled.

And stopped.

[100!]

[Maximum value!]

[Jackpot!]

The highest possible score.

And then.

[Analyzing the summoner’s talent.]

[Necromancy(MAX), Spiritualism(MAX), Summoning(MAX)……]

[You have reached mastery over Creation.]

[All elemental affinities have reached the supreme level.]

[The measured talents forcibly unlock the limit of the sacrifice!]

Kwooooooooom!

A pillar of black light exploded from the altar.

As if it were going to pierce the ceiling.

“W-what is this?!”

“Another earthquake?!”

The seeds fell to the ground screaming.

Even Gugu nervously flapped his wings.

“I-I’ve never seen a reaction like this before!”

Crack! Crack!

The altar began to crack apart.

It could not endure it.

A mere stone altar was incapable of containing the existence being summoned.

I took a step back.

My instincts screamed danger.

But at the same time, I felt excitement.

BOOOOOOOM!

The altar exploded into pieces.

Fragments flew everywhere.

And from the center of the rubble.

[The Dragon of the Great Catastrophe, ‘Angragon’, has been summoned!]