Chapter 67

“You think nothing from your world exists in this one? Aren’t you underestimating human imagination a little too much?”

“Hmph. There’s a saying in this world, isn’t there? Reality is stranger than fiction.”

“Alright, fine. Even if I admit there’s something worth learning over there, can you even go there and come back?”

“What do you take me for?”

“A golden lizard.”

“……I am a Dragon Lord with martial prowess and knowledge on par with the absolute ruler of a world. There is nothing I cannot do.”

“Oh ho. So you’ve created a dimensional travel magic circle, then?”

“No. I haven’t managed to create one yet.”

“Is that so?”

“But if you help me, it becomes possible.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Those things called martial arts are divided into an enormous number of categories.”

“There really are all kinds. But is there anything that’d help with that sort of thing?”

“There’s something called formation arrays.”

“Huh. Formation arrays. Right. That exists.”

“The reason I looked into them is because they resemble magic circles. To be more precise, assuming the recorded teachings are true, they overwhelm magic in certain aspects. That’s why I believe combining them with magic could make it possible.”

At his words, Jaeha began to mull it over. Then he spoke.

“What is there in your world for me to learn?”

“Off the top of my head, about five things. First, the phantom races.”

“Phantom races?”

“Yes. That’s what we call the non-human species in our world, like pixies.”

“What kind of power do they have?”

“Their bodies are formed from what you’d call spiritual bodies. And they possess countless abilities. Explaining it all would take too long.”

“Well, fine. What about the rest?”

“The second is divine power.”

“Divine Power?”

“Indeed. Divine Power. The power of gods. It’s also called holy power and refers to the miracles of gods.”

“What’s that?”

“In this world, gods don’t step forward. But in our world, they often reveal themselves. It refers to divine majesty, divine miracles, and so on.”

“Not bad. And?”

“Next are the abilities of heroes.”

“Heroes?”

“In our dimension, there were those called heroes in the past. They possessed abilities beyond imagination.”

“Hmm.”

“May I continue?”

When Jaeha hesitated for a moment, he asked, and Jaeha nodded.

“The fourth is the abilities of the heavenly race.”

“Heavenly race?”

“You commonly call them angels.”

“Oh ho.”

Even Jaeha found that somewhat intriguing.

“Then the last one is……”

“Yes. The demon race’s. What do you think? Even just hearing about them, don’t you think it’s worth it?”

“It’s not bad.”

Muttering that, Jaeha thought for a moment before speaking.

“Alright, let’s do it. It’s not like I have anything to lose anyway.”

“I’m grateful.”

At that, he smiled.

“Then what do you want first?”

“There are three things I’m curious about in total.”

“Go on.”

“First, the internal energy cultivation methods. Things like orthodox arts or demonic arts don’t seem very useful to me. So I want one internal energy cultivation method, one weapon technique, and finally, formation arrays.”

“Going by the conditions you mentioned earlier, you’ll be giving me at least five new videos, so this is a fair deal.”

“So the deal is struck?”

“Yeah. This should be enough. Let’s go with that.”

“Are we going to write a contract?”

“No. If I teach you martial arts and we build the dimensional travel magic circle together, and then you don’t upload the videos afterward—well, I’d already know the dimensional travel magic circle by then. I’d just come find you and beat you up. Simple.”

“…….”

At that, he had nothing to say.

“Alright. Then first, I’ll teach you the basics of martial arts, and then I’ll get the formation arrays.”

“That sounds good.”

Nodding, Jaeha looked at him and spoke.

“Go back and wait for a bit. I’ll organize things and then come teach you.”

“Very well.”

With that, he left the room, and Jaeha looked at his status window.

[Na Jaeha]

[Traits: Ranged Dealer, Knight]

[LV: 69]

[Total Ability: 909]

[Skills: MuTube, Grant Me Power, Half Recovery, Divine Physician Hua Tuo’s Secret Art, Bow Mastery, Mana Shot, Marksmanship, Breath Control, Shadow Walk, Stealth, Shadow Eye, Metallurgy, Rapid Fire, Triple Shot, High-Speed Rapid Fire, Clone Technique, Indestructible Vajra Body, Five Elements Art, Throwing Arts, Enchant, Mana Conduction, Magic (Circles 1–7), Spirit Arts, Alchemy, Taiji Divine Art, Dragon Blood, Taiji Sword, Skill Conduction, Jiangshi Arts, Michael’s Blessing, Martial Arts, Taming, Bayonet Arts, Poison Arts]

He had a number of martial arts in his repertoire, but not many of them were suitable to teach Gersia.

‘Hmm. Still, Taiji Divine Art would be the best bet.’

It was the martial art he was most skilled at and used most frequently, and it was also relatively easy to learn since it wasn’t heavily influenced by various attributes.

‘At its core, it holds the principles of Taiji.’

It had the framework of a basic internal energy cultivation method, yet depending on one’s effort, it could grow into a top-tier martial art.

‘Alright. So I’ll use Taiji Divine Art for the internal energy method, and for weapon techniques…… well, I can just teach her whatever she wants to learn once I find out. Now I need to prepare the formation arrays.’

Having finished his brief planning, Jaeha immediately began searching for videos to obtain the formation arrays.

* * *

[Cheonbugyeong (Heavenly Scripture)]

[Rank: Ancient]

[A legendary scripture said to grant its possessor dominion over the heavens]

[Mechanism: Total Ability × 3000]

[Proficiency: 100%]

[Congratulations. Your Skill has received a synergy bonus and its Proficiency has increased.]

Jaeha nodded upon confirming the synergy.

‘It synergized with Five Elements Art. Well, of course—formation arrays can’t do without the five elements.’

With a nod, Jaeha rose from his seat. He’d spent far more time than expected acquiring the skill. Standing up, he went straight to Gersia’s door and knocked.

“Are you ready?”

The door opened, and Gersia’s voice came through.

“Of course.”

“Took longer than I thought. Anyway…….”

“Let’s head down to the sparring ground first.”

The two of them went down to the sparring ground. There, Jaeha taught Gersia the basic knowledge.

“Got it all?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now I’ll teach you the martial arts incantation, so start forming your dantian.”

“It won’t be easy, but I’ll give it a try.”

“There’s about three hours left in the day. Surely you can manage it in that time? You’re supposed to be a dragon called the Lord of mana, after all. A Dragon Lo.rd, at that.”

“…Don’t worry.”

With that, he began forming a dantian according to the incantation Jaeha had taught. Watching, Jaeha rose from his seat and began using Cheonbugyeong. As he activated it, a flood of information he’d never known before began pouring into his head. The sheer volume was enough to make his head ache.

Pausing the skill for a moment, Jaeha pressed his fingers against his temples and let out a sigh.

“Whew, even just mastering this is going to be a struggle.”

Of course, Jaeha meant within the three-hour window. He’d thought he could at least fully master Cheonbugyeong within three hours and reach the stage where he could apply it sufficiently. This skill had come with 100% Proficiency from the moment he acquired it.

That meant Jaeha had some natural talent in this area. Which was why he hadn’t thought it would be all that difficult. But contrary to his expectations, it contained far too much information.

‘I’ll just aim for fully mastering it, nothing more.’

With that thought, Jaeha immediately began organizing the incoming flood of information.

“Whew, good thing I finished first.”

Smiling, Jaeha patted his head.

“I should probably make something good for my brain to eat.”

Muttering under his breath, Jaeha rose from his seat. At that moment, Gersia also opened their eyes.

“Looks like you’re done too.”

“It wasn’t easy.”

At those words, Jaeha smiled. Then he spoke.

“Try it out for now. If you get stuck or anything, let me know.”

“I will.”

“I’m about to have my head explode just from organizing the formation arrays, so try not to call me unless you really need to.”

“Indeed. Trying to explain all of magic through magic circles would be endless.”

“The good thing is that it all branches out from a single concept.”

“Oh? I am curious. But now doesn’t seem to be the time for that.”

“Yeah. Until you reach a certain level, start with that.”

“I will.”

With that, Jaeha headed to a corner of the sparring ground, sat down quietly, and began organizing the formation arrays as he used them.

* * *

It took Jaeha over three days just to organize every formation array that existed within the Heavenly Code and bring them to a level where he could use them on the spot whenever needed.

That was how many formation arrays existed within the Heavenly Code, and the concepts contained within them were far too vast. He had reached a level where he could utilize them to some degree, but Jaeha still hadn’t fully mastered all of those concepts.

‘That just goes to show how much content the formation arrays encompass.’

Letting out a sigh, Jaeha rose from his seat.

“Ughhh~!”

Perhaps because he’d sat still in one position for a full three days, his body screamed in protest.

‘Hoo, well then, let’s go check how much Gersia has accomplished.’

Jaeha smiled and began walking slowly, leaving the sparring ground for the first time in three days. Coming up to the living room, Jaeha walked straight to Gersia’s room and knocked. When there was no particular response, Jaeha opened the door and found Gersia sitting on the bed, circulating energy.

“Hm. Should I just eat something while I wait?”

Thinking that, Jaeha closed the door again and came back down to the living room.

“Sia. Food.”

“Yeees~”

And not long after, Gersia approached Jaeha as he was eating.

Munch munch.

Jaeha, who had been eating, looked at Gersia and asked as she sat down.

“Looks like you’ve achieved a fair amount.”

“Personally, I feel it’s still far off.”

“Of course it is. You’ve only just reached the first star.”

Jaeha’s skills had been divided into 1–10 stars proportional to Proficiency. However, since Gersia wasn’t within the system’s influence, it was impossible to strengthen skills by raising Proficiency. She had no choice but to achieve the 10th star and reach mastery through pure effort alone.

“It’s probably impossible within a short period. You might reach the 3rd star at a fast pace, but after that, it’ll be extremely difficult. No matter how much of a dragon you are.”

“Hmm, don’t worry. My lifespan still has over ten thousand years left anyway. If I devote myself diligently during that time, I should be able to achieve mastery.”

“Handle that however you like. What about weapon arts?”

“Personally, I wish to learn spear arts.”

“Spear arts?”

“Indeed. It is the most common weapon in our world, and I have also used a spear many times during play. Therefore, I thought a spear, which I have some experience with, would suit me well.”

“Spear arts? Well, alright. I’ll organize it and teach you within a few days.”

After gaining the Knight trait, Jaeha’s talent was no longer restricted by close-range or long-range. Jaeha possessed truly immense talent in combat, and that talent was already in full bloom. As such, unless it was a martial art of legendary rarity, he could master it in an instant.

“Then…… now I need to teach you about the formation arrays.”

“Is there a problem?”

“Haah. Trying to explain all of that many things, I feel somewhat at a loss.”

“Is it really that much?”

“Yeah.”

At Jaeha’s words, she thought for a moment, then spoke.