With as much enthusiasm I could muster, the research began in earnest.
First of all, I prioritized collecting Dialugia’s data, so I kept scanning her with my Mind’s Eye and made sure to check on anything I thought I would be missing.
Though I initially wanted her to lie down when I did my research, I now had no choice but to hope for Dialugia to move. This was because the research was conducted on how much of her athletic ability and her magic power could operate.
It was not possible to properly confirm how much power her breath held, but it was possible to obtain some data through her testimonies or her ability to manage her magic power based on her magic power stats.
‘One city?’
Her testimony was that she had enough power to incinerate a small city.
In fact, I didn’t doubt this at all. This was because it was judged that only those who matched the top ranks among the players with a magic power stat of 125 and advanced magical power management knowledge could do it.
Of course, in Mind’s Eye, I couldn’t find any traces of her acquiring advanced magical power management knowledge, but the evidence revealed that she possessed something similar.
In the first place, she wouldn’t have been able to use different types of breaths if she hadn’t acquired advanced magic power management knowledge.
There were also two types of breath, and they were classified as follows:
- A radial type with enough magic power to blow away a city.
- Concentrated type for those with high magic resistance or for those who are difficult to deal with simple magic power.
For example, the radial was a breath made to deal with multiple enemies rather than an individual. Although the range is large, the damage was less to humans of the same type as Cha Hee-ra, who had high endurance and magic resistance.
This was where concentrated breath came in.
As such, the concentrated type had a high density but narrow range. However, it was considered superior in all aspects.
It was difficult to calculate the exact number, but it was enough to penetrate the shield of an Archmage who had completed the 5th to 6th class change.
Of course, there was a difference in flying speed, so I thought that even those with high agility would not be able to properly avoid the concentrated type of breathing.
Of course, it wasn’t just the breath I focused on. I immediately pulled out data on how much power she could generate by assuming her agility and strength stats, and all other data were extracted and stored.
There was a small margin of error, yet I knew I could acquire more precise data later on. It all depended on the timing.
‘To intensively dig into only one side…’
Dialugia was so big and vast. She was a treasure trove of knowledge and a mountain range of knowledge. Therefore, it took a while just to study the specs.
Honestly, I wouldn’t be able to do this alone. Contrary to my thoughts that flight would be impossible, I was a little surprised that she could use magical power to fly. It seemed like she didn’t usually use it because it continually consumed magic power, but the ability to fly seemed important for her.
‘A dragon is a dragon.’
I had to raise Dialugia’s rating a little more.
Of course, I couldn’t be passionate only about the calculation of these said specs. Classifying and extracting such data was a basic task. It was merely a classification of information in order to facilitate future research.
Although the common principle was to wait for data to accumulate, Dialugia was not a dead creature but a living one. The blood or cells I could draw from her were almost infinite. A few liters of blood could repair itself in less than a few hours.
There was no reason not to accelerate progress while worrying about money and materials. Excluding the elements that threatened my safety…
‘I’ll just do it.’
A slightly dangerous experiment didn’t matter. I was willing to take the risk.
There was only one way to solve my problems, and I had more than enough alchemy kits to make real, substantial progress.
were continuously undergoing refining, and the magic fire circle never went out.
Of course, it was Jung Hayan that continually supplied magic power to this magic circle.
Everything about Dialugia was considered top secret.
The only one that could enter the lab was Jung Hayan. In fact, I thought that it would be better to call scholarly Hwang Jeong-yeon, but I didn’t dare call her because I had judged that the only one I could trust was Hayan herself.
Dialugia was my supreme treasure.
Even if Jeong-yeon and I came from the same guild, my greed dictated my reluctance in handing over precious data.
Except for the accidental burst on the first day of the experiment, no new developments occurred, but I didn’t feel nervous. This was because I was confident enough to know that there would be an improvement soon. The vast amount of data and kits that kept running day and night were similar to those of an automated laboratory.
Dialugia was looking at us without knowing anything but sometimes ended up falling asleep as she remained lying down for most of these procedures.
When the outer side made no progress, I focused on her inner resources.
Since I had no intention of dissecting the lovely Dialugia, I started by scanning her as a whole before experimenting in once.
Of course, the most memorable experiment among them was to enter her interior directly.
It sounded crazy, but Jung Hayan and I actually looked inside through her mouth before coming back out. With her help, I explored Dialugia’s esophagus and stomach, as well as other organs quite well.
-Must you do it in this manner?
“It’s all about the advancement of great alchemy. It’s also for your benefit.”
-I also don’t know how my body will react.
“If I think it’s dangerous, I’ll get out of it right away, so don’t worry too much.”
-It’s not because I think you’re in danger—I-It’s embarrassing.
“…”
-…
Surprisingly, it was also the first experiment that Dialugia didn’t feel comfortable with.
Dialugia described the experiment as feeling naked, but I found this funny, considering that she wasn’t dressed right from the beginning.
Fortunately, the heartbreaking possibility that Jung Hayan and I might end up dissolving in the acidic solution of Dialugia’s stomach did not happen.
This was because dragons did not digest what they ingested but rather decomposed them into magical power. In other words, Jung Hayan and I almost became her new source of magic power.
Dialugia’s organs had almost started disassembling without her knowledge due to past injuries, so she was able to get the help of Jung Hayan’s protective magic to fix them.
The first body exploration ended there. Special equipment was made in-house, and only after this was I able to look around relatively safely and comfortably.
The interesting thing I had discovered while exploring her body was that her organs’ structure was more complex than that of humans.
In a way, this would be obvious knowledge. She was, after all, a race that could be said to be a superior entity. The fact that her form of digestion would be to gather magical power was a surprising discovery in itself. I thought it would be amazing to see Tol To-ri do this since he ate more than double his size. Who knew he would have such an organ?
Like a common cliché in any fantasy novel, digested magic power was sent to the heart, and the heart would then supply it with blood to the whole body.
‘So, it was this.’
That was the reason why her blood could become a catalyst containing magical power.
All her other organs were also unique. In a way, her body was a huge power plant. The unrefined, contaminated magic power would also undergo a purification process without discharging it outside the body.
The secret of all the energy she turned into action lay in magic.
I just nodded when I saw all of that, but Jung Hayan, as if amazed just by the fact that Dialugia could even move, was analyzing the data in her own way.
There was something even she could learn from this. Eventually, she acquired her own achievement just by exploring Dialugia’s body.
Thus was the creation of a legendary-grade attribute.
[Archmage’s Heart (Legendary)]
This was absurd.
“How is this is an attribute? No, how…”
“I made one more organ made of magic power.”
“What?”
“I thought it would be nice to have something like this, too… I tried it once before…”
“…”
“I think I’ve accomplished it right away, Oppa… Hehehe…”
“I see… Good job, Hayan.”
“Hehehehe… ”
I knew this without the need for an explanation. However, my gaze continued to rest on Hayan. I knew she was a genius, but I honestly hadn’t expected her to produce something right away.
Like Dialugia, she couldn’t break down everything into magical power, but Jung Hayan certainly became able to constantly recirculate and recycle magical power in her body.
In addition to preparing a charger that could quickly recharge magical power in the body, she continued to purify and accumulate the remnants of magical power remaining after using magic.
Although the magic power level did not increase right away, it had established a system that could continuously circulate and recharge magic power in any situation.
Of course, Jung Hayan’s awakening proved to be quite the stimulus for me.
I didn’t feel inferior, yet I found this whole affair unfair. I was no longer satisfied with getting the legendary-grade title of Dragon Alchemist. I had to get another one.
Amidst continuing research on the serum to strengthen Park Deokgu, I approached the principle of how she could release that breath in my spare time.
The breath delivered the magical power stored in the Dragon Heart to a special organ in the neck before releasing it at once.
It was true that Dialugia was also at risk if we were to take samples of important internal organs.
If I did something wrong, and she ended up losing her breath ability, the damage would be very serious. I had no choice but to make a small model of this organ. After a complete scan of her organs with the Mind’s Eye, I eventually figured out how her organs worked.
Dozens and hundreds of experiments turned out to be useless, but I learned something new every time. Eventually, I created a small bottle that looked exactly like the main organ, thus making the breath ability available.
The deformed-shaped glass bottle had already undergone magical treatment and had been engraved several times with small spells for amplification, diffusion, and control.
The final touch of the potion was a magical catalyst made up of Dialugia’s blood.
With my magic, the stored blood all fell into a small vial.
Hmmm!!
The blood entered through the malformed glass bottle entrance and rotated violently like a motor, thus activating the spell.
It only took about 2 seconds.
Eventually, this small vial created a wave of magical power, releasing the magical power contained in the blood in all directions.
That was how dragons employed their breath. However, the glass bottle could not withstand the magic and broke in an instant.
Though this could not be classified as a radial or concentrated type since it was simply an explosion, this was enough to create the magic power of the magnitude I desired.
[Legendary-grade potion - discovered for the first time.]
[Intelligence increases by 1.]
[Please enter the name of the potion directly.]
[Enter the name of the potion.]
[Dragon Breath Potion (Legendary)]
Baaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnng!!
“Explosion is art!”
Dragon Breath Potion MK1. This was the moment when the continent’s first-ever combat potion was created.