The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Roaaaar!

Mavliones unleashed a breath attack imbued with demonic energy.

“Hah!”

Raul formed a circle with his hands, and Infinite Parts moved to intercept.

Boom!

The breath attack deflected off the barrier created by Infinite Parts, redirected towards the ceiling of the cavern. Meanwhile, countless spells collided and illuminated the plaza as they were generated in midair.

The magic clashed endlessly, surpassing the power of both vocal spellcasting and incantations. Even Rabel, who rarely lost in spell duels, struggled to gain the upper hand.

「It seems he’s more recovered than we thought. He’s even stronger than the dragons we saw during the Great War!」

「Right, they said he was stronger than the Lord. But he can’t last indefinitely. This space barely has any mana flow.」

The area they were fighting in was unique, as Raul’s observation suggested. Dozens of layers of protective barriers installed to slow Mavliones’s recovery. These barriers prevented external mana from entering the space.

‘Meaning we have to fight using only the mana within our bodies.’

In this context, Mavliones was at a disadvantage. While it was unclear how much mana he had accumulated, maintaining combat with such a massive body would consume a significant amount of mana.

Moreover, having been asleep for a long time due to mana deprivation, he wouldn’t be at his best. Holding out could ensure victory.

This was the assessment of both Raul and Rabel, and Mavliones thought the same.

‘Impressive. Stronger than any human I’ve encountered. But…!’

Nevertheless, a human. The amount of energy one could store in a human body had its limits.

For now, Raul was defending well against his attacks, but he would eventually reach his limit. Yet, even as five minutes passed, and they closed in on ten, Raul showed no signs of fatigue.

‘What’s going on? What am I missing?’

Swinging his massive tail to strike Raul, Mavliones squinted at him. Then, as if realizing something, he roared in frustration.

“Borista, you damned old man…! You plan to hinder me even in death?!”

The mana emanating from Raul’s heart. It unmistakably resembled the mana of Dragon Lord Borista.

How a mere human possessed a dragon’s heart was beyond Mavliones’s comprehension, but it was clear that if things continued as they were, he would run out of mana faster.

‘I had hoped to conserve my mana and end this quickly!’

The realization that prolonging the fight could turn against him made Mavliones desperate.

Roar!

He straightened his hunched body, stretched his neck, and moved to bite Raul.

‘Damn…!’

Raul barely dodged, pulling back just in time to avoid the snapping jaws. However, the confined space of the plaza made it challenging to face Mavliones’s physical onslaught.

Clang, clang!

While Mavliones’s large size meant there was more area to attack, his dragon body itself was a fortress. The legion of weapons relentlessly battered his entire form, but couldn’t penetrate his tough scales.

Despite dodging frantically, Raul’s expression remained calm.

‘He’s noticed, hasn’t he?’

The beast’s full attack was driven by sensing Raul’s unique aura— the aura of the ‘Dragon Heart (EX)’ implanted in Raul’s body. Initially, Bae Dohyun had obtained three mythical items:

The bracelet-like power armor, ‘Regnator.’

The book, ‘Skill Book.’

And the third item, ‘Dragon Lord’s Mana Heart (Dragon Heart).’

The first two items appeared as replicas in his inventory when he transcended dimensions, but the Dragon Heart wasn’t listed. In reality, it had been dormant within Raul’s body.

Its presence was revealed during the unification process of the other two items, awakening its formidable mana. Raul was now using the powerful mana from the Dragon Heart to stand against Mavliones.

‘Without it, there’d have been no reason to step into this mana-devoid space.’

Raul also needed to hasten the battle’s conclusion. Should the fight drag on, the marquises from the Empire’s capital might intervene at any moment.

「Rabel! Hold him off!」

「Are you going to use that?」

「Yes, maintain the magic barriers and spells!」

「Understood! Let’s end this cursed old dragon!」

Raul deflected Mavliones’s descending claw with Infinite Parts and channeled his power into Regnator.

‘It’s time to reveal your true form. Regnator, awaken!’

Pure golden mana flowed from Raul’s chest into Regnator.

Clang, clatter.

With a sound like locking mechanisms coming undone, ragnarator’s final ability was activated.

Rumble.

The golden armor that protected Raul, ragnarator, began to grow rapidly, emitting thunderous roars.

3 meters, 5 meters, 10 meters…

Finally, when Regnator reached a towering 50 meters tall, its eyes glowed with radiant light. The last weapon of humanity that stood against the tyranny of demons, dragons, and celestials during the Great War manifested once again.

“How can that cursed weapon appear now? I heard it was destroyed…!”

Mavliones, shocked by the sudden appearance of Regnator, took a step back. In the early days of the Great War, the only weapon capable of contending equally with the higher races.

It was an overwhelming burden for humans to handle, requiring the life of its rider to operate. Dozens of masters perished in the cockpit, but they took down far more demons in exchange.

Eventually, it was sealed away, a relic too dangerous to wield, with no one left to pilot it—Regnator. However, at this moment.

Even as Regnator’s true form awakened, Raul showed no signs of strain. The Dragon Heart engraved in his chest resonated with Regnator’s core, intertwining seamlessly as if they were a single life force.

The mana flowing through the two hearts, like a Möbius strip, exponentially amplified, supplying Raul with near-limitless energy.

“Now, it feels like we’re on equal footing. Come at me, lizard!”

The dragon, once towering like a mountain, now looked up at him. As Raul assumed a fighting stance and taunted, Mavliones snorted and roared.

“Just because you’ve grown bigger, you think anything has changed…!”

Smack!

Raul’s punch sent Mavliones’s jaw flying.

“Nice hit.”

Roar!

Mavliones, its head snapping back, breathed out a dark breath and swung its tail at Raul. But Raul blocked the breath with his left palm and caught the incoming tail with his right.

“Hah!”

Bang! Bang! Crash!

Raul swung the captured tail, slamming Mavliones into the plaza’s walls and ceiling.

Thud, thud.

But Mavliones flapped its wings, launching a kick that pushed Raul back.

“You wretch! Let’s take this to the end!”

Swish! Whoosh!

Behind Mavliones, hundreds of magic circles opened instantly, releasing a barrage of spells as he lunged at Raul with bared teeth.

“You think you can defeat me? This will be your grave!”

In Raul’s giant hand, a transparent sword forged from Infinite Parts appeared, and five more swords materialized over his shoulder.

A brilliant golden aura filled the plaza.

*

“It’s unbelievable. To think you actually defeated the Dark Dragon Mavliones.”

“He never ceases to exceed our expectations.”

“We can no longer deny his capabilities.”

The three sages exchanged glances, nodding, and then straightened their attire.

Simultaneously, they knelt before Raul, bowing their heads.

“Count Raul de First, we acknowledge you as the true master of the Connect system.”

“As the Controller, we ask that you guide this world towards peace and prosperity.”

“We pledge our utmost to assist the new Controller, Raul. Please accept our loyalty.”

Startled by the sudden oath of loyalty, Raul waved his hands dismissively.

“What are you doing? Esteemed individuals like yourselves suddenly doing this, it’s quite unsettling.”

However, they had no intention of changing their stance.

“Please, become the Controller and guide the chaotic Connect system.”

“We believe that you, Raul, can use the Connect system correctly.”

‘Oh dear…’

Even without their persuasion, Raul had already decided to accept the power of the Controller. Handing the Connect system over to someone else was out of the question at this point.

“Thank you. I look forward to your support. Please rise.”

As Raul accepted, they bowed their heads once more in acknowledgment and then stood respectfully before him.

A popup window appeared before Raul’s eyes.

Congratulations! Player Raul has been chosen as the Controller.

The Controller is granted control over the Connect system.

The Controller has access to restricted areas of the Connect system.

Warning: To exercise Controller privileges, the Master Key is required.

“Master Key?”

As Raul muttered, black approached and produced something from his robes.

“This is the Master Key to access the Connect system.”

“…! Is this really the Master Key?”

Raul’s surprise was warranted. What Black handed over was a ‘game cartridge’—strikingly similar to the one Bae Dohyun had found in the secret chamber where he had obtained the three divine items in his previous life.

But Black, unaware of this fact, responded calmly.

“Yes. However, there’s one thing to note: the Master Key originally came as a set of two. The system’s creator from Earth had the other one, but we haven’t been able to trace its location.”

“Two Master Keys?”

“Yes. But don’t worry. Having one Master Key is sufficient to control the system. Please follow me.”

The three sages led Raul somewhere.

They passed the secret chamber where the divine items had been stored and arrived at the room with the prototype capsule. At the room’s end were two hidden slots designed to hold something.

“Please insert the Master Key here.”

When Raul inserted the cartridge into the left slot, a rumbling sound echoed, and one side of the chamber door opened.

‘What is this place…?’

It was a completely different space from what he had seen so far. The area resembled a control room straight out of a movie, filled with various panels, magic screens, and mechanical-looking control systems.

As Raul stepped in, a voice echoed through a magical speaker.

– Welcome, new Controller. Do you wish to register as an official Controller?

It seemed to be the voice of the artificial intelligence currently managing Connect.

“Register me.”

– Please insert the cartridge into the console.

A slot opened on the console in front. Raul inserted the cartridge, and dozens of magical circles appeared, scanning his entire body.

Registering the new Controller. Please wait a moment. The magic circles began to merge into Raul’s body, engraving the system control rights within him.

Just as the registration process seemed to be proceeding smoothly, an issue arose when only a few magical circles were left.

– An undefined access key has been detected inside the Controller’s body. Analyzing.

– A higher-level authority protocol is activating. Unlocking sealed data.

– Data corruption detected. Backup data identified in the library. Do you wish to restore it?

What was happening?

A system message appeared before Raul’s eyes, asking if he wanted to proceed with the restoration.

‘Could it be…?’

Raul, curious about his sudden thought, pressed the restore button.

– Proceeding with restoration.

– Restoration is complete. Please check your inventory.

Following the artificial intelligence’s prompt, Raul opened his inventory.

“This, this is…!”

The item Raul pulled out from his inventory was none other than the game cartridge that Bae Dohyun had obtained in his previous life.

“That’s definitely the other Master Key!”

“How does Raul have it…?”

The three sages couldn’t hide their surprise, along with Raul. And finally, Raul’s last hidden trait was revealed. The status window displayed the entry 『True Successor of Connect (EX)』.

– Raul’s official registration as the Controller is complete.

– Raul’s second Master Key has been automatically registered.

– Both Master Keys have been confirmed. Controller Raul has been granted access to the ‘Core Control Room’.

– To transfer complete ownership of the Connect system, Raul will be transported to the System Core Room.

Beep.

Raul was enveloped in a magical circle and vanished from the temporary control room.

“The Core Room?”

“I heard even the Dragon Lord couldn’t enter that place.”

While Black and Gray were astonished.

‘Could it be…?’

White wore a peculiar expression. In his mind, he kept seeing the face of the creator who had crossed over from Earth.

(To be continued)