Chapter 9: The Egg of Calamity
Everyone finally started talking one by one.
“What, what just happened?”
“Is it over?”
“Oh my god… in just one hit?”
The monster hunters now looked at Kranol not just with awe but with fear.
Who was this man that he could kill such a powerful corrupted dragon in a single blow?
His strength was unimaginable.
But something about Kranol now seemed… off.
“……”
As someone who knew the original story, he realized he had missed one detail:
The corrupted dragon, Girognal, was a loud, chatty beast who loved roaring dramatically.
And that roar?
It was the perfect trigger for Kranol’s madness.
“Ah!”
Kranol dropped to his knees, clutching his head and groaning in pain.
For the first time, the usually cold and indifferent Kranol cried in agony.
“C-Kranol! Are you okay?!”
Birg finally snapped out of shock and rushed to support him.
Kranol’s face was stained with blood and tears.
He turned to Aria, panicked.
“Health potion!”
“I—I don’t have much left… less than half a bottle.”
“Even that—give it to me now!”
Aria quickly handed over the nearly empty bottle filled with red liquid.
Birg poured it into Kranol’s mouth, hoping to stop the bleeding.
“…Cough!”
Kranol choked a little as the potion dripped into his bloody lips, but soon the nosebleed lessened.
Birg asked carefully:
“Are you okay now, Kranol?”
Kranol slowly looked up and asked bitterly:
“…Why did you feed me saltwater?”
Everyone froze at the unexpected question.
Then, one by one, they couldn’t hold back their laughter.
“Pffft. Hahahaha!”
Bunet laughed the loudest, holding his stomach.
“I told you! That potion is way too salty!”
Soon, the rest also burst into laughter—except for Aria, who looked offended.
“Don’t laugh! It’s not that salty!”
“Sorry, Aria. I know this isn’t the right time, but it was just too funny.”
Birg calmed himself and turned back to Kranol.
“Kranol, that wasn’t saltwater. It was a health potion Aria made herself. You were bleeding heavily and collapsed. It was all we had.”
Kranol replied with a straight face:
“I guess my mind came back because of the taste. It was just too salty.”
“Wait, you’re saying the potion taste snapped you back to your senses? Haha—ow!”
Bunet laughed again but got smacked by Aria.
Meanwhile, Kranol wiped his face and rubbed his temples.
Luckily, the madness didn’t reach its full limit and stopped just in time.
If I hadn’t taken that herb earlier, I would’ve killed everyone here.
Kranol’s madness wasn’t just some condition—it was a disease.
It never had clear rules.
Sometimes it needed immediate herbs; sometimes it faded quickly.
Sometimes it knocked him out cold.
Sometimes he held on with sheer will.
And one day, it might fully consume him.
If it gets worse, even herbs won’t help anymore.
That’s why, in the original story, Kranol went insane, ended up in a monastery as a mental patient, lost himself to madness, and committed a massacre.
He was locked away in a dungeon for most of the story—until he later escaped and gained something called “Calamity Affinity” in the final chapters.
Kranol stared at the dead dragon bones.
Still creepy, even now. I can’t believe I actually killed it in one shot.
Yes, he had enough power to kill a large-class monster instantly.
But that didn’t mean he was invincible.
In a world filled with powerful beings, some could easily survive even his strongest attacks.
If he got cocky, he might get himself killed.
But my magic will keep growing.
And so will the madness.
One day, even disasters would fall before him.
That’s why, in the final part of the original story, Kranol was nearly unstoppable—firing instant-kill attacks like they were nothing.
I’m looking forward to that… but I need to avoid going completely mad.
Kranol wanted power—but not the tragic path the original story gave him.
He wanted to cure this cursed madness.
That’s why he came all the way to the Whirlpool Cave.
“Anyway, how should we divide the rewards?”
A low-profile monster hunter asked shyly.
Now that the dragon was dead, it was time to collect their reward.
But the others looked at him in disbelief.
“Why are you even asking that?”
“Yeah. What’s there to divide?”
“Obviously, Kranol should take everything.”
Before entering this area, they had agreed to split the rewards according to contribution.
And there was no doubt Kranol had done everything.
“If it weren’t for Kranol, we’d all be dead. That wasn’t just any monster—that was a Corrupted Dragon!”
“Yeah. No argument here. He deserves it all.”
“Sure, I’d love a 5-star item too, but honestly, that’s way out of our league. I trust Kranol will use it well.”
Often, teams fall apart fighting over loot.
But here, everyone clearly saw Kranol’s contribution.
Good. No pointless drama over loot today.
But Kranol knew reality.
Many still betrayed their strongest members over rewards.
Luckily, these people seemed decent—for now.
He walked up to the dead dragon’s bones.
Not the infected baby dragon I saw before. This is the real deal.
He dug through the broken bones with his bloody hands.
There it is.
A small, dried, blackish-red organ.
It looked weak, but it was an incredible item.
A Dragon Heart.
[Item: Heart of Corrupted Dragon Girognal]
[Grade: Unique]
[Effect: Heart of a resurrected undead dragon. Though blood is rotten and veins are gone, it still holds a trace of great power. Consume to gain a weak Dragon Soul.]
[Side Effect: Will cause poisoning if eaten without fresh blood.]
A unique-grade item.
In this world, items were ranked:
Normal, Rare, Unique, Transcendent, Legendary.
This can’t be compared to a guardian star, but unique items are still incredibly valuable.
Dragon Hearts were priceless.
This one wasn’t as powerful as a real dragon’s, since it came from an undead—but it still gave a solid buff.
The Dragon Soul buff could help suppress his madness when things got bad.
He didn’t plan to use it now—he’d save it for emergencies.
Just in case herbs don’t work anymore.
He pointed to the leftover bones and scales.
“You guys can take the rest. I’ll leave them to you.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes. I can’t carry them all anyway.”
He could’ve stored it all in his baby dragon’s pocket dimension, but the dragon was invisible right now.
Sure, he could wait until they left and secretly collect it—but that felt unnecessary.
The corpse was too rotten and broken to be useful for gear.
Better to let the monster hunters take it. Their team has scholars who study monsters.
Even if it were rotten, it was still a dragon’s remains—those researchers would be thrilled.
Kranol had figured it out.
They were probably nice to me just to get these leftovers anyway.
Still, sharing was a smart move.
He wasn’t being kind—he was avoiding future trouble.
After all, acting greedily always led to problems.
As long as they get something, they won’t pick a fight.
He didn’t need the leftovers, and they could use it for their reports and rewards.
Kranol glanced away, already planning his next move.
“Then next… the dungeon’s final reward.”
Kranol pulled out the Gloves of Dark Magic from the reward chest and slipped them onto his hands.
The black leather gloves adjusted to fit his hands perfectly.
They were comfortable and stylish—he liked them.
But the most important reward was yet to come:
The Egg of Calamity.
“Shouldn’t that egg be hatched? How can we help?” one hunter asked.
“It’s not difficult,” Kranol replied. “Just gather around and place your hands on the egg.”
The hunters, still unsure, huddled close and touched the egg.
Kranol spoke a blessing aloud:
“O great one, protect the life hidden within this small shell.
When it is ready to face the world, bless its first powerful step.”
After the short chant, he gently packed the egg into his backpack.
It was so large that it filled most of the space inside.
“Huh? That’s it?”
“Yes. The hatching time has already shortened.”
With a group blessing—especially one by righteous monster hunters like these—the egg’s incubation sped up.
It was influenced by the nature of its parents, who were similar in nature.
“What will you do once it hatches?”
“There’s no need for me to share that.”
The hunters were curious but didn’t press further.
They had seen for themselves that Kranol had never been wrong—not even once.
Besides, they now understood—Kranol was no ordinary mage.
He could kill a large-class monster in a single blow.
There was no point in asking questions.
Birg sighed tiredly.
“Well, I guess it’s over. This dungeon really was hell.”
“Yeah. I miss sunlight. I can’t even remember the last time I saw the sky.”
They climbed up the stairs, leaving behind the cave filled with monster corpses.
“Ah, hold on! If we throw a grappling rope across here, we can cross to the other side.”
“Be careful not to fall! You’ll end up in the torture chamber again!”
Together, they carefully crossed over the collapsed ground at the dungeon’s entrance.
Outside, the howling winds of the wilderness had calmed.
Because Kranol had defeated the Corrupted Dragon, Girognal, the tornado had faded.
“But I still don’t get it. Why did that dragon create a swirling area here?”
“Yeah! It even called humans dumb and all that.
Wouldn’t it have been easier to just kill the ant monsters and leave the dungeon empty?
That way, anyone could’ve come in and smashed the egg.”
Kranol answered,
“I think the dragon wanted to claim this land, starting with the cave.
The swirls were its way of marking territory.”
“Ah… that makes sense. Just like a dragon.”
Dragons were greedy about their territory.
Some wanted to rule entire regions.
So, instead of clearing the cave, it left weak monsters as guards.
That way, humans might die before reaching the egg.
Or if they got through, it could just kill them after they broke the egg.
It probably killed the ant-queen monster to turn this cave into its lair.
At last, the dungeon mission was truly over.
Birg asked,
“So, where will you go now, Kranol?”
“I’m going back to the Birshi territory. I still have a mission to complete there.”
“Then I guess we part ways here. We’ll be returning to the monster hunters’ base.”
It was time to say goodbye.
“Well then, take care!”
“If we meet again, let’s have a better time next time!”
Kranol said farewell to the hunters.
He showed no emotion—just his usual blank expression.
He quietly watched them walk away, then turned and walked on his own path.
Once again, Kranol was alone.
But he was used to it by now.
“Kryaaaaa!”
“Oh.”
Right.
He wasn’t completely alone.
The baby dragon, now visible after ending its invisibility, revealed itself.
“Krya? Kryaaaa!”
It whimpered and cried out, worried for Kranol.
It must’ve feared he had died.
Kranol leaned down, his blood-stained face close.
“You’re not scared of me?”
What if he lost control again?
What if his madness harmed this little dragon too?
Just like the corrupted dragon he had shattered today.
But the baby dragon snorted like that was nonsense.
“Kryaaa!”
It walked right up and hugged him.
Its small, soft scales and warm body pressed against him.
Kranol silently looked down at it… then gently patted it.
“Kryaaa!”
Earlier, the baby would run from his touch.
Now, it was happy—snuggling close, wagging its tail.
And Kranol didn’t push it away.
Just then—
His backpack shifted.
He opened it quickly.
The Egg of Calamity was shaking.
Good. No delays.
It was a 5-star egg.
Normally, it would take over six months to hatch.
But saving and using the monster hunters sped that up drastically.
It was worth it.
Kranol was filled with anticipation.
The Egg of Calamity… In the original story, it never even got to hatch. It was destroyed first.
But this time, he changed its fate.
He hadn’t cleared the dungeon for nothing.
This egg held within it a truly insane creature.
Crack. Crackle.
Goodbyes often lead to new encounters.
The shell, glowing with a faint purple light, began to crack.
And from within…
A tiny, adorable new life began to emerge.
