Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 61: The pity system in the gacha pool can't be completely unreliable, right?
The unexpected turn of events completely baffled Rean.

"Wait, you can refuse? You can refuse the Heroic Soul Compendium?!"

Rean was surprised, but did not respond.

But this silence itself may also imply acquiescence.

The Heroic Spirit Compendium is a simulated personality constructed from memories; of course, you can refuse it, or even ignore it completely.

This is a rather magnificent hero illustration, depicting a lion-man warrior with red hair and a red beard, who does not back down in the face of surging flames.

The dragon occupies a unique corner on the Heroic Spirit Card, its flames covering the entire field.

The hero roared to the sky from within the ring of fire, cleaving through the flames alone. The sparks from his cleavage extended around the Heroic Spirit Card, becoming its decoration.

A very cool hero card; you can feel his indomitable spirit and anger even through the paper. Behind him, who refuses to back down, are silhouettes of children and the elderly.

Even when faced with a desperate situation, the hero's eyes remained pure, and his expression remained confident and decisive, seemingly without a trace of fear.

Perhaps this is the passion and purity that fairy tale heroes should possess.

Rean was very familiar with his sword, the dagger at his waist, and even his crown. If the face hadn't been so similar to his own, Rean would have been even more satisfied.

Do not awaken me, forget me — Lex Thorne

But the other party was very direct; they simply didn't want to talk to you and gave you three conditions.

Just one glance sent chills down Rean's spine.

Completing either of the next two tasks will be considered fulfilling the Hero's Request and Last Wish, thus meeting the requirements for forcibly linking with the Hero's Soul.

1. Investigate the truth behind the destruction of the kingdom's old capital.

[2. Meet the kingdom's 'princess'.]

[Note: Under the current circumstances, completing commissions will also increase Heroic Soul satisfaction, but this will only accumulate until the Heroic Soul is possessed, at which point the satisfaction level will be calculated.]

Of these two tasks, the first one is clearly a huge trap. Doesn't this obviously indicate that there's something fishy going on in the officially acknowledged "Great Catastrophe (Dragon Plague)"?
Finding the princess is the second option, since Suliman seems to be one of the princess's people, and the princess seems to still be in this city.

It shouldn't be difficult to ask her to help arrange the visit, but...
"Is this princess really a princess of this era?"

This is the last wish of the heroic spirits. The current princess seems to be named Dania. She was born half a year after the disaster, meaning she was a posthumous child. Theoretically, her father may not have known of her existence.

So, does this princess refer to Her Majesty the Queen? That's quite possible, after all, they are husband and wife.

But Rean still felt there was something fishy going on. Otherwise, why would this guy refuse his link? Wouldn't it have been better to just see his wife through him?
If you take a second look, your satisfaction level might just skyrocket.

Is there a third condition? Yes, there is, but Rean gave up after just one glance.

[If you don't complete the Heroic Spirit's request and obtain its permission, you can also forcibly link against its will, but your physical and spiritual strength must be at least one-tenth of the Heroic Spirit's peak strength to avoid serious loss of control. The current test is unsuccessful; please continue your efforts.]

One-tenth? If the legend of the hero who shattered the city wall with a single strike and crushed the dragon with a single stomp is true, even one percent isn't enough. Let's just give up.

"What exactly happened back then?" Rean guessed that if the princess wasn't the current princess Dania, it might be more reliable to explore the truth of the events of that year.

Moreover, Rean himself was also a little curious about what happened back then.

I didn't really care before, but now it seems like I'm the one involved?!
"The First Hero, Rex." Ever since he arrived in this kingdom and this city, Rean has been repeatedly bothered by this name and this title.

As many people in the city chatted, they started talking about this person. It wasn't that they really missed him, but rather they missed the time when he was alive, the powerful quasi-empire, and the safe and stable good days.

It can be said that, with his fall as the dividing line, the kingdom went downhill all the way.

Later, a so-called second-generation hero was trained. However, judging from the feedback from all parties, he is no match for the first-generation hero.

"His individual strength should be at the top of the continent, and with these two pieces of equipment, he is truly a force that even gods could fight against."

The Sword of Courage greatly enhances power and luck in dire situations, while the Blade of Suicide marks the opponent's fatal weakness, allowing them to deliver a fatal blow.

"The Blade of Despair has added a death countdown to itself. If it swings its sword at the last second and dies in a desperate situation, who knows how much it can be strengthened."

Based on these two pieces of equipment alone, Rean could glimpse just how outrageous this hero was back then.

His own abilities were at least top-tier on the mainland; otherwise, how could he be worthy of the title of "Hero of the Mainland"? In addition, his combat power was temporarily boosted by an infinite amount when facing powerful enemies. Who could withstand that fatal blow in a desperate situation? Yet, such a person died inexplicably. There seems to be something wrong with him no matter how you look at it.

"His journey to becoming a hero also had some issues."

This information is publicly available; Rean can't possibly not know it even if he doesn't want to.

Every street troupe, every bar tune, every flower-scented song—as long as you live in this city, you'll be part of this epic tale.

The kingdom's inhabitants also cherish the poems and legends of the past.

That is both a praise of heroes and a remembrance of the past strength and prosperity.

"On the day the world was destroyed, the hero took up the sword of courage, gathered a coalition of nations, successfully defeated the demon king, and saved the world. It's a classic, cliché story, but the more you look at it, the more problems you find."

It's fine for a hero to defeat the Demon King, but where did the Demon King come from? Do demons even exist in this world? Nobody knows the answer to these questions.

The Alliance of Heroes boasted in great detail, mentioning the elite legions of various countries, the seven heroes and three kings, the most brilliant sun, and the invincible continental hero Lex. However, they never clearly described who they were fighting or what their specific race was.

"The opponent's specific information has been deliberately obscured."

They can boast about their own side however they want, but when they mention the opponent, they simply use terms like "demon king" or "monster," and when they mention the demon king's army, they describe it as a colossal mammoth that blots out the sky.

"Deliberately obscuring the information, could it also be a 'beast,' an ancient beast that has broken free from its constraints?"

Having just experienced those things, and with some basic information about the beasts, Rean naturally made the connection.

A fully-fledged beast truly possesses the power to destroy the world, and its information must never be leaked. The more Rean pondered this, the more plausible it seemed; this explanation made sense of the quasi-empire from back then.

"The beasts have revived, causing crises in various countries. The hero Lex and the allied forces joined the battle, and he eventually succeeded in slaying the beasts, earning the title of hero recognized by the entire continent. It seems that the ancient beasts cannot be killed, so at least the beasts have been sealed away."

"Then he will also gain a great deal of prestige for the kingdom. Then, leveraging this power, he can marry the princess and become the legitimate heir of the kingdom. After obtaining the claim, he can then attempt to annex several neighboring countries."

"At this point, it's entirely possible for me to declare myself emperor and elevate the kingdom to an empire. However..."

The more Rean deduced the situation, the more subtle it seemed.

From this perspective, if Rean's malicious speculations are true, there must have been many people who wanted Lex dead back then, and everyone had a motive.

This suggests that there were many shady dealings involved in the events of that year. It's possible that when the kingdom weakened, other smaller neighboring countries were already celebrating.

This explains why, when the old capital was destroyed and the heroes died, other countries disregarded the alliance's goodwill and immediately took advantage of the situation.

From their perspective, they might actually wish the kingdom that once threatened to annex them would be completely destroyed.

But the more Rean analyzed the fairy tales and epics so openly, the more pathetic he felt.
"This hero seems more like a tool. Waiting for beasts and other strange creatures to appear, then pushing him out to be used up."

At this moment, Rean felt even more strongly that he should stay away from the hero's business; it was a complete trap.

If you actually obtain this power, you'll likely be sent there as a consumable ammunition if something goes wrong anywhere.

No wonder the kingdom was in such a hurry to find the second-generation hero, Lena. Another demon king could appear at any moment, but the "nuclear bomb" has gone missing.

"Sigh, it seems I can't rush this Lex card. I'll have to take it slow as a long-term quest. Luckily, Brother Sull was helpful this time and gave me a second card."

If there's no second card, is the only option to grit your teeth and try to solve the puzzle? Rean asked, but the encyclopedia still didn't respond.

But now, don't worry about those things, just believe in yourself.

"This time, it must be a mage, a heroic spirit that's easy to get along with."

Rean murmured, preparing to draw a card. Then he stopped; when you're on a losing streak, you can't afford to get carried away.

He went to the bathroom to calm down, washed his face, and washed his hands three times.

Finally, he sat back down and began drawing cards.
[Heroic Spirit Unlocked. Random Completion. Heroic Spirit 'The Most Humble Greatness' Kuku Descends! Soul Module Activating]

Something doesn't sound right.

【Ah! It's a Paladin!! The most detestable stinky canned food! Get out! —Kuku】

No, no, please don't!
At this moment, Rean finally understood how lucky he was to have drawn a Brother Sull on his first try.

Brother Suer, thank you so much! I was complaining before that you were killing me for fun, but looking back now, this little bit of pain is nothing!

But this might just be the magic-type hero card that Rean has always wanted!

The messy room was filled with all sorts of strange magical items. A short figure wearing a cloak whose face was obscured was stirring something in a large pot, holding a stick taller than himself with two pale red little claws.

Above his head, there was a blue stone, a flame crystal, and an ice pillar swirling around him.

This perfectly matches Rean's image of a mage.

The more he wanted it, the more anxious he became, fearing that the other party would refuse the connection again, or that it would be impossible to do it at all.

[Heroic spirit Kuku is dissatisfied with your status as a paladin; current satisfaction level -10%.]

Uh, this thing can be negative?!
Rean was relieved, though; it was already a good thing that the link hadn't been rejected.

But he was too happy too soon.
[Dragons! Dragons are even more annoying!! The most annoying dragons! Bad dragons! —Kuku]

Rean is really about to cry.

No, what do you hate? I'll change it.

Race can't be changed? Uh, how about I put on a picture of a lizard for you? It looks so real, even the local police wouldn't be able to tell it's fake.

Fortunately, Rean's humility and self-deprecation probably touched this senior, because even though he frequently made mistakes, the other party still did not refuse the connection. Perhaps it was because the requirements for refusing the connection were quite high.

Thinking about it this way, that hero probably really is quite ill.

[Heroic Spirit Kuku is extremely dissatisfied with your being a Dragonborn; current satisfaction level -30%]

At this moment, Rean was completely numb.

In short, as long as the link isn't rejected, it's a good thing.

He no longer expected to get anything from this mage who disliked him; the way he spoke suggested something was off. He decided to move on to the next one as soon as possible.

[Activation Confirmation? Note: Current satisfaction level is -30%, and unforeseen circumstances may arise. It may not be as user-friendly as it seems.]

But Rean, did he have a choice? These two gentlemen today made him deeply miss his old brother Sull, who had just passed away.

He seriously wondered if there was some kind of newbie protection, allowing him to be the first one to draw such a friendly hero.

But now, it seems there's no other choice.

"Let's activate it. We're all Lee Eun-suk, we shouldn't go too far, right?"

In the days that followed, he regretted his decision countless times.

(End of this chapter)