Ch-198. **The True primordial Treasure**
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* What the hell is going on?
* No, wait. Am I really seeing this right?
* This is way too weird. Did the system break?
The Player Chat erupted once more into chaos.
After the war ended, once Issera died, the contribution ranking window appeared.
Most of the rankings were acceptable — easy to agree with.
Park Tae-woo, of course. And even though Darkstar fled, he had still taken the lead in gathering Union members from around the world.
* Didn’t he not even join the battlefield?
* Did he join while hiding his identity again?
* No way — if he joined, we’d know. He’s in 1st place!
* Right. That means he contributed even more than the one who brought the Dragon God Lucaria.
How could we not know about him?
* Yeah, it doesn’t make sense.
After quite a long wait, the identity of the No. 1 contributor finally appeared.
And the players who confirmed it… simply could not accept it.
If he had participated in the battlefield, there was no way they wouldn’t have known.
Even if he had acted while hiding his identity — this was No. 1.
If someone contributed more than Park Tae-woo, who summoned the Dragon God Lucaria and fought until the very end, there was *no possible way* they could have failed to notice him.
…That’s how it should have been.
* If it were Randolph, at least we could make sense of it!
* If it were Phantom, we could believe he’s the master of the Blade Dragon God or whatever!
* Exactly! So why *isn’t* it Randolph?
If it had been Randolph, they could at least try to rationalize it.
He had been doing insane, impossible things countless times until now.
But because it wasn’t Randolph, they couldn’t understand it.
* MintChocoIsDelicious is 1st place…?
* How the hell did that happen?
* Rise, Mint-Choco believers!
* Rise, ye Mint-Choco people oppressed by the Church of Phantom! The time has come!
* …These people are insane.
—
—
Gracia frowned hard.
A window appeared before his eyes.
The “Contribution Ranking” that every single player witnessed — and the name registered in first place was one nobody expected.
《The No. 1 contributor has been revealed!》
《1st Place: “The Gate Destroyer Who Prevented Further Invasions — MintChocoIsDelicious”》
《Congratulations!》
*
*
Long ago.
In an age far too ancient — a time when everything existed in its **original primordial** form.
There existed a Dragon God who collected every **primordial** of things that had disappeared through the ages.
“Why are you collecting things like that?”
“Such crude, pathetic objects… That’s nothing but a heap of trash!”
Of course, they weren’t considered treasures at the time.
So the other Dragon Gods of the primordial age could not understand him at all.
A Dragon God who filled his treasure vault with garbage — nothing could be more eccentric.
“You fools. With time, the value of these will shine.”
But he didn’t care about their understanding.
He simply, silently continued collecting the very first things ever created, storing them in his vault.
The first-made swords and spears, the first armors and equipment.
However, anything made first is unavoidably crude —
until it evolves and develops into something “better.”
“They’re not flashy like jewels. They don’t shine. They’re too crude even for gods like us to use.”
“Hmph. Why gather things made by mortals who only just gained intelligence? What could these possibly be used for?”
“I can’t understand it.”
So they mocked him.
“What’s the point of collecting worthless junk?”
“…Your arrogance will one day drag us into destruction.”
The Primordial Dragon God mocked them in return.
They created nothing.
They were fools who did nothing, relying only on the divinity they were born with.
From birth they were overwhelmingly powerful — so powerful that they never needed to *try* to grow.
But mortals were different.
Once they gained intelligence, they began creating countless inventions for survival — like creators themselves.
Ever since they stole “fire” from the gods, they continued advancing without rest.
*We are stagnant. Yet humans, with only a small spark of fire, create the unimaginable.
So I shall collect the primordials.*
The Primordial Dragon God lacked the creativity to make something new himself.
That was the curse laid upon their kind.
But he possessed, at the very least, the foresight to prepare for the future.
So he chose to gather and store the very first primordials ever created.
Because after countless years of evolution and development, primordials would naturally possess the highest “rank.”
*…We cannot stop destruction.*
The stagnant gods would inevitably fall before “Destruction.”
The Primordial Dragon God witnessed countless worlds destroyed by destruction.
If left unchecked, the vicious cycle would repeat endlessly.
*When these primordials accumulate supreme rank in the distant future,
a being who can stand against Destruction will appear before me.*
Eventually, the primordial era came to an end.
But the Primordial Dragon God sealed the vault and left his soul behind.
Time passed. An unimaginably long time.
And in that time, those who possessed “qualification” found their way to his treasure vault.
Every one of them was a being strong enough to be called a legendary hero —
monsters who had achieved transcendent feats and were granted entry into the primordial age.
*Only those who rewrite an entire era may set foot in the primordial age.*
Once every thousand years, or every ten thousand.
Sometimes not at all — but still, some did appear.
Those who forcibly opened the gate and stepped into the primordial age.
The Demon who made the heavens tremble.
The Lone Emperor who conquered the continent.
The God-Slayer who killed the Sun God.
The Whale who crushed the Axis of the World.
The Child of the Sun, blessed by countless gods.
The Child of the Moon, cursed by countless gods.
The Abyss King who ruled the most abysses.
*…None of them could see.*
And so the Primordial Dragon God simply clicked his tongue.
Their power rivaled or even surpassed his own — yet none could recognize the value of the **primordial**.
What was the point of being strong?
If you see a true treasure and fail to recognize it, then you are blind.
A treasure only shines when taken by someone who knows its worth.
*The true primordials still remain in my vault.*
Despite countless eras passing, despite civilizations rising and falling…
No one stopped Destruction.
And no one ever took the primordial treasure.
Of course, the other treasures were not worthless.
Everything in the vault possessed tremendous potential — each a one-of-a-kind original.
But… could no one really see?
*Is there truly no one who sees as I do?*
Disappointing.
In the end, those who mocked him and those who entered the vault were no different.
…and surely, this time would be the same.
*…It has been a long time.*
The Dragon God’s long-slumbering soul awakened.
Someone had satisfied the qualification and opened the door.
*Let’s see. How many feats has this one accumulated?*
He wasn’t expecting much — but he was curious.
The “karma” accumulated by mortals becomes “rank,” strengthening their soul.
Unlike stagnant divinities, mortals possess creativity.
All who entered this place achieved impossible feats.
This time would be no different — that was all he wondered.
*Oh…?*
Indeed.
The Primordial Dragon God nodded after examining the one who entered.
Compared to previous visitors, his raw power was terribly lacking —
yet for some reason, his accumulated karma was vast.
And not merely the karma of one life.
*His accumulated karma is not lacking compared to the others.
He has surpassed countless limits, pushed through even the smallest ordeals to their very end.*
Such cases existed from time to time.
Those who refused to give up despite their struggles seeming pointless to others.
Those who endlessly whipped themselves forward, endlessly breaking their limits.
Such souls were always remarkably pure and noble.
*But something is strange. As if he lived multiple lives…*
He was the first such case.
Only mortals could enter this place — living multiple destinies was supposed to be impossible.
Yet the human before him was different. Clearly different.
The Primordial Dragon God could see all the karma of those who entered.
“Undetectable” conditions did not work here; entry itself granted him permission to observe.
And the deeper he looked, the more shocked he became.
*He killed the Demon King, killed the pet of Destruction, resurrected a divinity, created a divinity… What exactly is this thing?*
This was the first time such a cluster of achievements existed in one body.
Normally, someone would enter after only one of these achievements.
There had been only one vaguely similar case — but this was still unlike anything before.
One thing was certain.
*…He won’t see it.*
In the end, he, too, would be blind.
Every visitor up to now had been.
No matter how unusual, nothing would change —
he would eventually choose one of the flashy, glamorous weapons that littered the entrance.
*Time to go back to sleep.*
He had confirmed the entrant.
Once the visitor chose a treasure and left, it would be over.
The Dragon God had nothing to do.
He expected nothing.
The dazzling treasures piled at the entrance, lining the path —
weapons flaunting divine ranks, impossible to ignore.
They were too tempting for anyone to walk past.
*Hm…?*
But this entrant was a little strange.
Contrary to expectation, he showed zero interest in anything dazzling.
He glanced once — then turned away, walking past without hesitation.
*No way…*
…No.
He must simply be surveying the whole vault.
The Dragon God gave up his momentary hope.
But when the man finally stopped before one particular place,
the Dragon God’s soul trembled in excitement.
*Does he… truly see?*
The place where the man stopped.
There was the **primordial** that transcended all value.
The treasure that everyone mocked and no one recognized, abandoned in the vault for eons —
known only to the Primordial Dragon God himself.
Not a sword.
Not a spear.
Not a bow.
Equipment like that overflowed in the vault.
Those were primordials too — but **not true** primordials compared to this.
Where the man stood…
Before him lay a treasure incomparably superior to the rest.
The true **primordial** that made all other treasures possible.
*Is he really choosing *that*?*
Yet no one had ever realized it.
Even those who built a new era — monsters beyond monsters — walked right past without seeing it.
How could *this* human recognize it?
Was it coincidence?
Was he merely resting in front of it?
*Ah…!*
In the end, the Primordial Dragon God’s soul could only tremble.
Because the man reached out and took the treasure.
The beginning of all creation.
The fire stolen by mankind.
The first primordial that contained that fire.
…A pitch-black, miserably charred wooden stick —
the most unimpressive object in the world.
