Chapter 384: The Birth of Evil (1)

Raon’s cheeks were puffed out.

“Raon.”

"..."

There was no response.

"..."

His puffed cheeks swelled even more.
“...”
Raon’s fully inflated cheeks were a clear signal.
He was not in a good mood, especially with those sunken eyes practically radiating gloom.

“...”
Beside him, Hong was curled up like a soggy piece of paper.

“Well.”

The Heavenly Demon let out a quiet exclamation of admiration.
Two conflicting emotions flickered across Cale’s face as he looked between Raon and Hong.

Even the Wanderer ignored him—

On Cale’s face, which was looking at the two dejected little ones, annoyance and urgency coexisted.

That guy is in serious trouble now.

It seemed that even the Wanderer and the Gods weren’t as important as the sunken corners of these two little ones’ eyes.

“Ha, ha—”

The Heavenly Demon laughed.

Suddenly, he noticed something strange.

"..."

What?

What’s going on here?

"..."

The Heavenly Demon realized that everyone except him, Choi Han, Rosalyn, and even Alberu, had an expression of discomfort on their faces.

Everyone except him felt distressed at the sight of the two little ones’ sadness.

What?

He felt bewildered.

The Heavenly Demon couldn’t help but frown in disbelief.

Currently, they weren’t at the inn where they were staying before.

The Dark Abyss.

One of the five great organizations of the Kingdom of Lan, or rather, four now that the Justice Alliance had disbanded.

The Dark Abyss.

It was the lair where Passote, the leader of the Dark Abyss, stayed.

Since the Heavenly Demon’s appearance was known, Cale’s group needed a place where they could stay secretly. Passote, who had Choi Han as his bodyguard, offered to lend them his lair.

Therefore, Cale’s group was able to head to the royal palace without worry, leaving Rosalyn and the average ten-year-olds behind to watch over things.

Otherwise, those who had witnessed the battle between the Wanderer and the Heavenly Demon would’ve swarmed the inn looking for him—and that would’ve spelled trouble for the average ten-year-olds and Rosalyn.

"..."

Anyway, upon arriving at the lair, they were greeted by Raon, who had already received a message from Rosalyn.

Cale asked Raon,

‘Where is Eden Miru?’

But Raon said nothing.

Hong, who ran out after him, also remained silent at the same question.

"...You know."

At that moment, Raon opened his mouth.

"Yes, yes. Tell me."

Choi Han responded quickly.

The Heavenly Demon looked at Choi Han in surprise at his kind response, but Raon let out a deep sigh.
“Haa…”
Choi Han flinched at that.

The Heavenly Demon wondered if this was really the guy who had interrogated Sohyi, the Wanderer.

‘You don’t have to worry about dying.’

‘But don’t say you want to die either.’

‘Because you can’t make that decision.’

The guy who had said those terrible words to Sohyi was now restless.

"Come with me."

Flap, flap—

Raon turned around and, with slow flaps, guided Cale’s group.

"..."

Choi Han, with a slightly dejected face, followed him.

"Hmph—"

The Heavenly Demon felt bewildered, but he followed Cale.

Then he spoke through spiritual transmission.

– The egg doesn’t seem ready to hatch yet, does it?

Eden Miru, the Dragon Half–Blood.
The Heavenly Demon had witnessed his apparent end—the brilliant light that engulfed Dragon Lord Neo as he exploded was astonishing.
Yet when Eden Miru managed to extend his life in this game world as an egg, the Heavenly Demon felt a spark of hope.
He was curious to see how strong Eden Miru would be once he was born.

"..."

The Heavenly Demon looked at Cale, who didn’t react to his spiritual transmission, and then looked away.

Cale felt the Heavenly Demon’s gaze on him, but he didn’t react.

He had understood something from Raon and Hong’s behavior.

It seems like there’s a problem.

It wasn’t possible for Raon and Hong to react like that simply because Eden Miru hadn’t hatched.

Something must have happened.

However, it wasn’t such an urgent matter that Cale, who was in the royal palace, would receive a quick call.

‘What?’

The Dragon Half–Blood.

‘What happened to that guy?’

In reality, Cale had some uncertainty.

Eden Miru, who was originally a living creature from the real world.

He had become an egg in the game world and had started a new life.

Although this New World felt like a real world, it was still virtual.

Had this change of environment caused Eden Miru any problems?

Hmm.

Cale’s expression was indifferent, but his inner self was quite complex.

His own decision had greatly influenced the creation of this Dragon Half–Blood.

Flap—

Raon, having stopped his feeble flapping, spoke toward the paper screen sliding door.

"I've brought the human."

"Yes. Come in."

On’s voice was heard.

Yes?

Calm?

Cale’s eyes lit up as he realized that On’s voice was normal.

On was usually composed and mature, making it hard to read her emotions.
But when she was feeling down, her voice carried a distinct tone—
a subtle sadness that slipped through, no matter how indifferent she tried to sound.

Cale, who recognized this, saw a faint glimmer in On’s eyes.

What? Did she suddenly find a treasure?

The Heavenly Demon, who was observing Cale, couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

Creak.

Just at that moment, Hong and Raon opened the door.

“Eh?”

Alberu tilted his head to the side.

“?”

A question mark appeared on Choi Han’s face.

"...What? It looks the same."

The Heavenly Demon’s indifferent voice echoed in the atmosphere.

The egg, wrapped in a cloth embroidered with flowers, was placed on a cushion and a blanket that seemed very expensive.

The egg seemed to be in perfect condition.

Therefore, Choi Han and Alberu also showed their confusion.

There was no visible problem.

It was then...

"Just because it looks the same, it’s a problem."

Cale’s indifferent voice caused Rosalyn to react.

"...What was its hatching rate the last time we saw it?"

Cale answered her question.

"80%."

When the hatching rate reached that point, Cale left the egg in the care of the average ten-year-olds and resumed external activities.

And I was planning to go to the Seventh Evil when its reached 95%.

Cale checked Eden Miru’s status.

[Eden Miru]

[Status: Pre–Hatching. (Hatching Rate: 80%)]

[Title: Semi-dragon of light and time]

Eden Miru’s hatching rate had been rising quickly until now.
But for some reason, there had been no change lately.

“…Human, I don’t know why.”
“…Sniff.”

The corners of Raon’s and Hong’s eyes sank even lower.

“I don’t know either.”

On’s voice was calm, almost indifferent—but Cale noticed it.
The slight droop at the corners of her eyes.

And he knew.
When On’s eyes looked like that, it meant she was deeply worried.

"It can happen."

Cale said in a more indifferent tone than usual and approached the egg.

"Actually, his hatching rate has been increasing too fast until now."

"Yes. It was a state where his soul was almost destroyed, and for him to become an egg was already a miracle, so for his hatching rate to increase so fast was a miracle."

Rosalyn nodded quickly.

"Of course, it’s normal for anything to be harder to develop in the final stage than in the initial stage."

Alberu continued.

"..."

Choi Han, without saying anything, approached Cale awkwardly.

All the adults, except the Heavenly Demon, crouched near the blanket where Eden Miru’s egg was placed.

"Human, he isn’t even moving!"

Eden Miru.

An egg with a beautiful pattern created by the mixture of black, platinum, and purple.

They said the egg wasn’t moving.

"It can happen."

Cale said indifferently and stroked On, Hong, and Raon’s heads. The corners of the average ten-year-olds’ eyes rose slightly at his rough caress.

"He must be sleeping."

Cale’s words made the average ten-year-olds listen attentively.

"Yes. My dongsaeng Cale is right. To break the egg and come out, he needs a lot of strength, so he must be sleeping."

"Yes. His hatching rate hasn’t gone down, it’s just stopped, so there’s no problem."

Alberu and Rosalyn nodded quickly.

– Cale. Won’t it be a problem if it stops?

– Young Master, shouldn’t we go to the Seventh Evil right away and show it to the terrible Dark Bear? The fact that his hatching, which was going so well, has stopped means that there’s been a change in circumstances, right?

However, both of them were bombarding Cale’s mind with all sorts of words through magic.

These guys!

Cale’s face almost twisted, but he restrained himself.

"Ha."

Instead, he let out a sigh.

He extended his hand.

"Eh."

His hand went towards the egg wrapped in the cloth embroidered with flowers.

Meanwhile, he thought,

Should I go to the Seventh Evil?

Should I ask Dark Bear?

Or Sheritt-nim?

Should I ask Eruhaben–nim or the dragons?

How are dragon eggs born?

“Eden Miru. Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

Swoosh.

The moment Cale’s hand touched the egg—

Whoosh!

A burst of light erupted, swirling with black, platinum, and purple hues.

“Human!”

[Status: Pre–Hatching. (Hatching Rate: 80%)]

Yes, it was definitely 80%.

[Status: Pre–Hatching. (Hatching Rate: 82%)]

[Status: Pre–Hatching. (Hatching Rate: 85%)]

89%.

92%.

 "His hatching rate is increasing!"

 "The hatching rate is increasing, Human, it’s increasing!"

 "He’s about to be born!"

The average ten-year-olds were panicking.

"..."

Choi Han smiled awkwardly.

Pfft.

Alberu smiled mockingly, as if he had realized something.

The Heavenly Demon and Rosalyn looked at Cale with great interest.

And Cale—

Ting, ting~

He heard a bell sound in his ear.

"..."

[Event Mission Activated!]

Cale received an event mission.

A valuable mission that only a few players in the New World could receive out of all those who played.

It was an event mission.

"...Damn game."

The hatching rate was 95%.

The numbers were going up like crazy, and the letters appeared before Cale’s eyes.

[Event Mission ‘The Birth of Evil’]

[The next ruler of the Seventh Evil is about to be born.]

[The birth of a legend that everyone in the Seventh Evil will recognize!]

[Every legend has an extraordinary story in its birth!]

[Create a story for that legend!]

"...Eh."

Cale muttered, as if he was grumbling.

"Were you waiting for me because you couldn’t give the mission to the kids?"

Even though Eden Miru hadn’t created the mission, he surely knew of its existence.

Somehow, Cale was certain that it would be like that.

Wiggle.

Eden Miru responded.

“Human! Wiggle! Eden Miru wiggled!”

“Wow! He finally moved!”
“It looks like he’s about to be born!”

…Damn.

Cale shut his eyes tightly.

“95% hatching rate!”

Raon’s excited shout made him snap his eyes open.

95%.

The percentage he had originally set to go to the Seventh Evil.

 "Human, let’s go to the Seventh Evil! We have to hurry!"

Wooong—

Raon began to deploy a teleportation circle immediately. His wings flapped nonstop, like a helicopter, because he was excited.

"..."

And Cale looked into the void.

The mission window followed him.

[The birth of the new leader of the Seventh Evil will be announced to the entire game system.]

[Create a story that will make all the creatures of the Seventh Evil tremble, the story of the birth of a great evil.]

[The evaluation criteria for the story will be compared to previous legends.]

[The progress of the event mission will be displayed based on the highly developed system.]

[The leader of the Seventh Evil will be born when 100% of the event is completed.]

[The reward for the objective will change based on the completion percentage of the event. (From F to S Class)]

"Urgh—"

He let out a sigh without realizing it, and then added a groan as if he was lamenting.

"...For me to create a birth story that appears in legends and myths?"

There are countless legends.

The birth of heroes and villains in them is usually mysterious or grand.

For me to create that?

“Raon. Have you finished the teleportation circle yet?”

Cale made a decision.

 "Yes! It’s ready, Human!"

The large teleportation circle was ready.

Raon had already prepared it.

“Raon, tell Sheritt–nim to bring that guy Clopeh Sekka too.”

"Understood, Human!"

Raon responded immediately, and Rosalyn, who was beside him, and the other adults stopped.

Cale, who received the gaze of the adults, smiled kindly and said,

"He knows more than anyone about legends. We have to call an expert."

“Ha, ha–"

Cale laughed.

Wiggle, wiggle.

Eden Miru was also expressing his passionate will.

[Hatching Rate 95.2%]

[Birth Ceremony Progress 0%]

[Reward Class Undetermined]

"Ha, ha–"

Cale, seeing that the hatching rate was slowing down, decided to do it right.

Anyway, it’s not my birth ceremony, it’s Eden Miru’s.

“Birth is something that must be blessed. I’ll give you a grand ceremony to mark it.”

Cale smiled gently and stroked the egg.

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle—

The egg trembled faintly, as if it had surrendered its will… and was now reluctantly conveying it.

 -----
P/R Thought:

95% hatching… Raon’s flapping like a helicopter, and Cale’s about to write a villain origin story for the ages. 🐉💥

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Mayank]