Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“It still doesn’t work, huh…”
Rhode let out a soft sigh, gazing at the card in his hand. He flipped it over where the specific details of the card were written——[Void Dragon (God Card Attribute. Unique. Soul-bound). Appoint a target to use. Infusible. Creator God. Holder can appoint himself and turn into the dragon form. All attributes will be strengthened by one-third in the dragon form. Attacks of different levels will be ineffective on the holder. Received the highest authority (The wings of void concealed Earth. The figure enveloping all things comes back to life once again)]
If it were an ordinary summoning card, Rhode could appoint it to one of the ten card seats. But it seemed like the system had its own intention. Or perhaps the strength hibernating inside him which belonged to its owner was overly broken and this led to Rhode being unable to summon a Void Dragon. Instead, he received an equipment card that could turn him into a dragon. Although he refused to believe in heresy and experimented with the card, the system quickly responded to him in the same way———[Target Exists. This card can’t be summoned again. Appoint seat]
Rhode let out a helpless sigh at the sight of this result despite expecting it. After all, it was only the clone of the spirit fragment that spoke to him in the other world back then. Moreover, now that her power had fused with him, it was no wonder that she said she couldn’t be awakened. Now it seemed like this was the truth. The system recognized Rhode and his younger sister as one person, so it was impossible to summon himself at all. In fact, instead of deciding that the card in his hand was the original ‘Void Dragon’, it would be more appropriate to say that it was the ‘Void Dragon’ that was born from the merging of Rhode’s and his younger sister’s power. Rhode couldn’t possibly summon himself because he was still alive and kicking. Since he still existed, how could he be summoned? Besides, his younger sister’s strength had completely fused with him. The only problem left was if he could be awakened and make use of the strength since they couldn’t be separated after the fusion.
If one were to refine candy that had melted into the water, the only option was to boil the water completely.
Forget it. This isn’t too bad either.
Rhode gnashed his teeth at this thought. He extended his finger, stroked the card, and sensed the familiar spiritual undulation. At the same time, he heard a sweet-sounding voice.
“Big Brother, are you still worried?”
“…”
The corners of Rhode’s lips lifted as he read the words. Even though he failed in the end, he didn’t fail completely. He couldn’t see, hug, and kiss his younger sister on her lips anymore. But she was living inside him now. During the previous summoning, she revived in another form due to some possible issues in some areas. And now, Rhode sensed that his younger sister had merged with the system. In other words, she was as though an artificial intelligence in the system that controls the core.
“Welcome back. How do you feel?”
“I feel great, Big Brother. Although I don’t have a body now and can’t cast my power, I’m still surprised that I could be revived. This is a great result, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…”
Rhode sighed to his younger sister’s response.
At least they were together in some form again. Although Rhode didn’t have any solution now, this didn’t mean that he had given up on finding one. Since his younger sister had regained her consciousness through the system, he was certain that there were other solutions. In sci-fi movies, wasn’t it common to create bodies for artificial intelligences? Rhode believed that he would succeed if he looked for it.
“I will find a way to let you have your own body. Believe in me.”
“Of course… I’ve always believed in you. Haven’t I, Big Brother?”
As Rhode communicated with his younger sister in his head, he suddenly heard an anxious voice.
“Rhode, what happened earlier?”
Marlene and the others rushed up the stairs and crowded around him worriedly. They witnessed the burst of light columns from before. They knew that Rhode was pondering deeply on the balcony, which was why no one wanted to disturb him. But they were really concerned after the light column vanished and didn’t hear a sound from him, which explained why the group of young ladies ran up to check on him. Rhode shrugged helplessly.
“It’s nothing. I was just confirming a thought.”
“Have you succeeded?”
“Well, you can say so…”
Rhode gazed at the group of young ladies and let out a sigh. Shortly after, he cleared his head. Even though he didn’t feel great from not truly succeeding, he had to accept the fact. After all, it was unlike back then. He could only gaze helplessly at his younger sister’s passing and sense the other half of his life fading away in his body. He couldn’t even let out a tear as though it weren’t his younger sister who died, but him instead. Back then, it left a deep impression on him. He struggled for a long time walking out of the trauma and accepting reality. And now, the situation that he faced was much better than he anticipated. At least he could see the hope of the future now. Perhaps that was only a dream, but if one had no dreams, what was the difference between one and a salted fish? Rhode shut his eyes at this thought and took in a deep breath. Then, he opened his eyes, facing the group of young ladies. He threw the final trace of sorrow and depression to the back of his head.
“By the way, look at this awesome stuff.”
Rhode said as he lifted the card in his hand. At the next moment, a dazzling radiance enfolded him entirely and once again transformed into a blinding light column. The scorching air and immense pressure forced the group a few steps back. After a few moments, the light faded and the group sucked in a deep breath of cold air at the sight before them.
Dragon.
A dragon stood on the balcony with its expanded wings. It had an enormous body and even the balcony of the size of a plaza couldn’t contain its claws. The massive wings spread apart majestically, concealing the sky above them. Its wings presented the deep, illusory color of the night sky instead. It wasn’t like the tone of darkness of the Dark Dragon. Instead, it was as though the starry sky of the cosmos, with a dark, surreal color and texture. As the wings flapped, the airspace around them rippled in dazzling spiritual lights. The people instantly felt immense pressure at the sight of the large pair of golden eyes.
“How is it?”
Rhode cocked his head with a proud expression, gazing at the stupefied group. After turning into a dragon, he clearly felt the presence of his younger sister. She was chuckling away softly and silently. But Rhode was aware that she was right behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck, shutting her eyes, and quietly feeling their warmth… But Rhode had no intention of revealing this to anyone. At least for now.
“Not bad. You look just like the final BOSS. Come to think of it, Leader, why do I feel like you’re much stronger than that BOSS we killed in the game? Not only your imposing presence, but you also look twice as large…”
Mini Bubble Gum asked, scanning Rhode curiously from top to bottom with knitted brows. Canary revealed a dubious expression, but Rhode knew the reason behind it. According to the Creator Dragons, the strength of the Void Dragon who fought alongside them was only one percent of the true Void Dragon and also an existence who was re-represented by the form of data. And now, he had the strength of two people and became the perfect Void Dragon. He couldn’t be mentioned on equal terms as the Void Dragon in the game.
“Of course, I feel really great now. I’m confident to even kill three generations of Ultraman if they come find trouble with me now.”
Rhode spoke, swaying his head. He wasn’t speaking with his mouth. Instead, he used telepathy to transmit his voice into their heads. If not, the group on the balcony would perhaps be blown away. Not only that, but the body of a dragon also felt entirely different from a human’s. This was a refreshing experience for him. For instance, even though he had a massive body, he felt really lightweight. He might even be able to straighten his body and perform eight-set radio calisthenics now. Besides, it felt completely different having a tail and a pair of wings. He attempted to swing his wings and the instant burst of gales left everyone on the balcony leaning unsteadily from side to side. Rhode was sure that if the Dark Dragon were to fight him alone, the latter wouldn’t stand a chance. But Rhode wasn’t that certain of his chances against the twin dragons. After all, fighting with their mouths was the twin sisters’ expertise and even Rhode wasn’t confident if he could defeat them as they ‘shot their mouths off’. But… the best way to not turn enemies into enemies was to rope them in, wasn’t it?
“Bubble, Lize, you two are free now, right? Hop on. I’ll show you an awesome place.”
“Huh?”
Lize was startled by the invitation. On the other hand, Bubble cheered excitedly with both hands raised, darting forward and climbing up Rhode’s lowered head. Lize hesitated, gazing at Mini Bubble Gum’s actions. Then, she quickly followed and crawled up Rhode’s head too. This wasn’t easy for them. After all, Rhode’s head was more than a dozen storeys tall. But fortunately, as ‘combat’ clerics, Mini Bubble Gum and Lize had their means. They cast a nimble spell on themselves and lithely climbed up like feathers, grabbing Rhode’s scales. After ensuring that the two young ladies were seated tight, Rhode gradually expanded his wings.
In an instant, he burst straight up into the sky.
