Debuff Master - Chapter 1158
Chapter 1158
“Huh? You want to transform into a Coral…?”
Ninetail was utterly baffled by Siegfried’s request the moment she arrived at the Coral Planet.
“Are you actually asking me to turn you into a Coral…?”
“Can’t you do it?”
“Do you think that is even possible? Disguises have their limits. And they will not last long enough either.”
“Then what do I do?”
“I think you are knocking on the wrong door, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“Wrong door?”
“Yes, my disguise skill is the best on the continent, but disguising you into a Coral? That is impossible. And even if it were possible, I doubt it could be used long enough for an infiltration mission.”
“Then what should I do…?”
“Dragons! Ask the dragons!”
“Huh? Dragons…?”
Siegfried finally realized what she meant by how he was knocking on the wrong door.
No matter how good her disguise skills were, transforming into a completely different creature was the specialty of the dragons. Dragons could freely change their appearance using Polymorph, which allowed them to turn into a completely different creature without any problems.
In other words, a dragon could turn Siegfried into a Coral.
“Oh yeah… Why didn’t I think of that? I can just ask the dragons.”
“Sigh… Why did you even call me all the way out here then? I am already busy as it is, sire.”
“S-Sorry…”
“I am leaving then.”
“No, come with me.”
“…Eh?”
“I’m going to see Elder Gerog. You might as well tag along.”
“…”
“Let’s go.
Thus, Siegfried took Ninetail with him and boarded a transport vessel that headed back to the Nurburg Continent.
There, he paid a visit to Gerog’s lair.
“Mmgh… What brings you here?” Gerog asked, still groaning in pain.
His wounds from the battle on the Coral Planet were so severe that he needed more time to recover.
“How are you, Elder?”
“An old dragon doesn’t heal as quickly anymore… ugh!”
“I am concerned about you, Elder. Is there any way I can help?”
“I can feel it. My time is running short and the days allowed for this old dragon are few.”
Gerog was not wrong. He was nearing nine thousand years old, making him an ancient dragon. In a few decades or a few centuries, he would soon be forced to return to the embrace of nature.
For humans, a century or even a few decades sounded like a very long time, but for dragons, it was nothing more than a fleeting moment.
“Please do not say that, Elder. You must live long and well! Look at you! You are still strong!”
“Strong, you say? Hohoho!”
“I mean it. I am certain that you will recover soon and enjoy your twilight years in peace.”
“Thank you for saying that. Now, what brings you here? You must be busy enough already with everything happening.”
“I came to check on you and to ask you something.”
“Hoho! I see. Now that you’ve seen me, what is it you want to ask?”
“Please use Polymorph on me.”
“Hm? Polymorph?”
“Yes, Elder.”
“Why do you need to be polymorphed all of a sudden?”
“I need to disguise myself as a Coral and infiltrate the enemy.”
“Hm?”
“The reason is…” Siegfried proceeded to explain the whole situation to Gerog.
“I see… So that Coral Emperor must be taken out for this war to end…”
“Yes, Elder.”
“And you will have to infiltrate the Corals in order to find information of his hiding place?”
“That is correct.”
“Ahem! Unfortunately, I cannot help you.”
“…Pardon? Why not, elder?”
“Polymorphing you won’t be easy.”
“Even for you, Elder?”
“That’s right.”
“B-But why…?”
“Polymorph is a spell designed to transform dragons into beings from our world. It was not made to transform us into creatures from another world.”
“Huh?”
“The way Polymorph works is the same. But each creature is unique in its own way, as there’s something we call their racial traits.”
“Ah!”
Siegfried immediately understood what Gerog was trying to say.
Polymorph was the general term for the spell that transformed the user into another creature. In other words, it wasn’t a universal spell.
For example, the spell to become an orc was Polymorph: Orc while the spell to become an ogre was Polymorph: Ogre.
“To create a spell for the Corals… I would need to gather data about them first,” Gerog explained.
“And how do we gather that?”
“You will have to hunt multiple Corals and collect their genetic data.”
“Huh? Genetic data?”
“Here, take this.”
Gerog opened his Inventory and handed Siegfried a book.
[Alert: You have obtained Polymorph Spell Tome: Blank!]
“What is this, Elder?” Siegfried asked.
“It is a magic tome that lets you create a new Polymorph spell.”
“Ooooh!”
“Keep that book on you and hunt the Corals. As you kill them, that tome will absorb their genetic data, which then will turn into a magic tome with the creature’s genetic data that will allow you to transform into them.”
“Wow! You are truly incredible, Elder!” Siegfried exclaimed in awe.
“Kekeke! This is nothing at all!”
“I will make sure to bring down the Coral Emperor and put an end to this war, Elder.”
“I trust that you will do so, Siegfried,” Gerog replied with a warm smile. Then, he added, “Protect our world from those invaders, on our behalf.”
“Yes, I will!” Siegfried exclaimed in response. Then, he bowed and said, “I will take my leave now. Please rest well! I will come see you again!”
“Good. Go on now.”
“Yes, elder!”
And so, Siegfried obtained the Polymorph Spell Tome: Blank, which provided him with the means to transform into a Coral.
***
Once Siegfried had left…
“Hohoho! What a polite young man! It’s a shame there aren’t more like him among the young dragons these days. Hmm… If he was an actual dragon and not just an honorary one, then I would make him my successor as the Dragon Lord without any hesitation…”
In Gerog’s eyes, Siegfried was the very definition of an upright young man, something the world would likely never see again.
Not only was he polite, but he was also quite capable, too.
In Gerog’s eyes, Siegfried was an exceptionally fine young man.
Of course, if someone who really knew Siegfried—Cheon Woo-Jin or Hamchi for example—heard Gerog say that, then they would probably die from laughing their butts off.
“If only we had one like him among us…” Gerog murmured under his breath. Then, he summoned a magical parchment that was used to send a message to all dragons scattered across the continent, and he began scribbling a message meant for every dragon out there.
He was not writing a will as the Dragon Lord. He was groaning in pain, but he was far from death’s door.
Gerog knew that he still had some time left before nature called him home, so rather than leaving a will, he sent out instructions to the dragons instead.
I hereby decree as the Dragon Lord.
We now face the greatest crisis since the dawn of creation.
(omitted…)
Indeed, the dragons were in the midst of a crisis.
Why?
It was all because their entire population barely numbered a hundred, as many had fallen at the hands of the dragon slayers or were killed during the expedition on the Coral Planet.
On top of that, those who survived the expedition were critically wounded.
The dragons were truly teetering on the edge of being endangered.
Therefore, for the prosperity and survival of our race…
(omitted…)
I hereby request the young dragons to take every opportunity available to mate, lay eggs, and boost our population.
(omitted…)
Gerog encouraged—no, commanded—the younger dragons to reproduce as much as possible. The dragon race was in danger of going extinct if their numbers were allowed to drop any further. To prevent their entire race from being wiped out, they had to lay more eggs and raise dragonlings.
This whole repopulation project would take at least five thousand years, but it was something that had to be done in order to ensure the survival of their species.
Once he sent out the message, Gerog began gathering his mana and focused it deep in his abdomen.
He carefully tinkered with his DNA to produce a small egg in him. Dragons, by their very nature, could reproduce asexually using their flawless genetics, and Gerog intended to do just that.
He planned to lay a few eggs himself and contribute to the survival of his kind.
A few hours after he started creating the egg.
“Hmm?”
Gerog was curled up in his lair, focusing his mana into creating the egg. Then, his eyes suddenly widened after he felt a crippling chill creep up his body and a wave of lethargy sapping away at his strength.
The mighty dragon’s body began to uncontrollably shake.
Gerog could sense that something was wrong. Even though his wounds were serious, they were not to the point where his condition would deteriorate this badly all of a sudden.
“H-How could this be…?”
He tried to gather his mana to check his condition, but it was to no avail.
Not only was he feeling weak, but his limbs had gone limp as well. He couldn’t even move a finger anymore.
“N-No…! Don’t tell me…!”
Realizing the identity of the crippling weakness, Gerog hurried to push himself upright.
Unfortunately, it was already too late, as his body refused to obey him.
“N-No—!”
Right then, a desperate cry reverberated across the Dragon Lord’s lair.
***
Meanwhile, Siegfried boarded the transport vessel and returned to the Coral Planet.
Having secured the Polymorph Spell Tome: Blank from Gerog, he had to gather enough Coral DNA to use the transformation spell.
“I believe it would be best if you transformed into one of the Elite Coral Knights, sire. That way, it will be possible to infiltrate much deeper behind enemy lines,” Hansen suggested.
“That makes sense,” Siegfried replied with a nod.
“I will locate the appropriate battlefield for Your Imperial Majesty to gather the data required.”
“Thanks.”
Siegfried left the command center and pulled out the Polymorph Spell Tome: Blank from his Inventory.
Then, he flashed his Rune of Insight to inspect it.
[Polymorph Spell Tome: Blank]
[A magical tome for creating a Polymorph spell.]
[Once completed, it transforms into a polymorph tome with the target creature’s genetic data.]
[Type: Spellbook]
[Rating: Legendary]
[Durability: N/A]
[Completion: 0% (0/10)]
[Note 1: This item can collect the DNA of only one type of creature.]
[Note 2: The type of creature cannot be changed once the first DNA is gathered.]
‘Okay.’
After studying how to use the Polymorph Spell Tome: Blank, Siegfried immediately set out in search of an Elite Coral Knight to extract genetic data from.
‘So I need ten of them? That doesn’t sound so hard. It would be another story if I had to hunt ten of those Top-Tier Coral Knights, but just the elite ones should be easy.’
Siegfried was strong enough to take on multiple Elite Coral Knights, so it was only a matter of time before he gathered genetic data from ten of them.
Unfortunately, disguising himself as an Elite Coral Knight would not be enough to infiltrate deep inside the enemy territory, as the Corals looked different based on their spot on their social hierarchy.
‘I could just wing it if they acted like humans. But these damn Corals have a stupid caste system.’
The Corals looked different based on their hierarchy, and it made them stand out.
Thus, Siegfried would rather collect the genetic data of the Top-Tier Coral Knights rather than the Elite Coral Knights.
However, Top-Tier Coral Knights were so rare that one would appear only once in a while on the battlefield.
‘Anyway, it’s time to collect their genetic data and complete this tome.’
With that thought, Siegfried headed for the battlefield and joined an operation to raid a Coral outpost.
“Aaack!”
“E-Enemy attack!”
“It’s the vile invaders!”
The Corals at the outpost scrambled in panic when the imperial army launched a surprise attack.
“I won’t let you do as you please anymore.”
Just then, the strongest and highest-ranking among the Coral Knights appeared.
[Coral Imperial Guard]
[An imperial guard of the Coral Emperor.]
[They have received Forced Blooming and are extremely powerful.]
[Warning: Proceed with caution.]
“Yahooooo!”
Siegfried jumped with joy and exclaimed at the top of his lungs after seeing the Coral Imperial Guards on the battlefield.
He coveted the genetic data of the highest-ranking knights, but he had to settle for the Elite Coral Knights instead due to the scarcity of the more powerful ones.
Siegfried couldn’t believe his luck upon seeing the most powerful and highest-ranking knights, the Coral Imperial Guards, appear on the battlefield.
