Rogue Villain-Chapter 278: Living Volcano

Trana’s revelation and the implication of her words shocked Ackster. Due to Bo’s reaction upon learning the truth of Ackster’s identity, he had somewhat expected it. There was also the fact that he came from another world that made it easier for him to understand that he wasn’t the only one in the history of Millmeria to come from another world.

But to think that the Calamities themselves were also from other worlds.

"Are you saying that the Calamities are what? From other worlds? Is it some kind of weird tradition of invading Millmeria?"

Trana looked into Ackster’s eyes again.

"Aha! That’s it! You’re from—But not quite?"

Trana tilted her head to the side, her face full of doubt as she looked Ackster up and down.

"What are you?"

Ackster got a flashback from the Sword God asking who he was but ignored that and the trauma it caused.

"Last I checked, I was a human."

Trana shook her head.

"...No. That’s not what I meant. It looks like you’re both from and not from Millmeria. Ugh!"

Trana rubbed her skull with the base of her palms in frustration as she groaned.

’Doesn’t look like there’s any reason to hide it anymore.’

Ackster nodded.

"I guess that’s true. My soul is from a world called Earth, but this body is native to Millmeria."

"Ah! That’s it!"

Trana’s eyes flashed with understanding as she looked at Ackster. But then they shrank in suspicion.

"How is that possible?"

Ackster shrugged.

"I have no idea. The only things I know are that I died, and when I woke up, I was here."

"What—"

Ackster held up a hand and interrupted Trana.

"Now, can you tell me why me having Smelting Furnace is such a big deal? And what does it have to do with the Calamities?"

"Well, you see—"

"Skip the long explanation."

"Okay. Smelting Furnace is a skill that has only appeared once in the history of Millmeria. And it belonged to a Calamity that came worryingly close to destroying the entire world."

"Oh, fuck."

"That’s one way to put it."

Ackster tilted his head after a moment of shock. It was a surprise that he had the skill that only a Calamity had possessed in the entire history of the world.

"But isn’t it just because I’ve fulfilled the acquisition conditions that no one else has been capable of? Why did you suspect me of being from another world?"

"Well, the humans and beings of this world can’t handle the skills of otherworlders. The world would either try to come up and create something similar and equal in value or compensate for it with multiple skills. Otherwise, their souls would most likely collapse or get corrupted."

"...How do you know all of this?"

"A couple of reasons. Dragons, as a race, are old. We are also at a higher level of existence than most other beings in the world, so we can kind of communicate with the world. That lets Millmeria impart its wisdom on us, or rather, we learn from the world. We have gathered and amassed knowledge beyond human comprehension throughout countless eras."

"I see..."

’That sounds pretty amazing.’

The compiled knowledge of uncountable eras was bound to be a lot, especially if it’s knowledge gathered from the world itself. Ackster wasn’t sure what to think.

"Where is all of this information?"

Ackster almost wanted to take a look for himself.

But Trana shook her head.

"That’s all I can say regarding that matter. A Covenant prohibits me from saying anything else."

"What do you do when two Covenants have conflicting restrictions or goals?"

"The stronger Covenant wins over the weaker, and I don’t suffer any repercussions. For the record, maintaining the secrets of the dragon race is one of the most powerful Covenants I have made. Actively upholding it will temporarily make me strong enough to...—It’s hard to describe how powerful I would become since I’ve never tried it. But one look is all it would take to reduce you to dust."

"Oh, shit."

Ackster’s eyes widened in surprise.

’Maybe I should learn how to make Covenants, after all.’

"Of course, it doesn’t come without its cost. Covenants aren’t omnipotent."

Trana noticed Ackster’s intrigued and greedy gaze as she mentioned the power of her strongest Covenant.

"That power would be everything I have set aside ever since I made the Covenant. In order to protect the secrets of the dragon race, I sacrificed part of my strength each time I did not have to protect the secrets."

"I understand. The sooner I learn how to make a Covenant, the better."

Trana furrowed her brow slightly at Ackster’s confidence. It didn’t seem like he didn’t even consider the possibility of not learning it. Well, since his soul was from another world, it was very likely he could. But it would still take time.

But Trana didn’t say anything to discourage or warn Ackster about the time it could take since that would only be detrimental to his growth.

"Back on topic, Smelting Furnace also isn’t a skill that a human can acquire, even if they’re from another world. How do you have it? How did you get it?"

Trana decided to shift the topic before Ackster decided to test out the power of a Covenant for himself or start to try and learn it.

"Before I tell you, what kind of Calamity had it before me?"

"A living volcano would be the best way to describe it."

"I see. Well..."

Ackster proceeded to explain how he had learned Smelting Furnace by eating a bunch of stuff while his insides were hot enough to boil iron. Naturally, it wasn’t something that humans or other beings could achieve. Humans would die, and beings strong enough to survive that kind of treatment wouldn’t be able to smelt and refine what they eat to repeatedly rebuild their bodies.

"Okay, what the fuck?! That’s crazy!"

Trana looked at Ackster in dumbfounded shock. Her earlier assessment of Ackster being a monster was wrong. He was something far worse that she, even with her width of knowledge, couldn’t describe.