◈ Chapter 342. In the World Where I Am (1)
The Colosseum.
The tectonic upheaval of the Zero Mountains had created tens of thousands of battlefields.
Nam Cheolmin, an analyst of the Great Alliance, pushed himself unsteadily to his feet.
“Ugh……”
The Elder Dragon Yunaxus, who had swallowed the Evil Fruit.
The moment the message appeared, the Great Alliance’s base camp was smashed to pieces. At present, those remaining in the base camp were only non-combat personnel and ordinary civilians, so the damage could not help but be devastating.
He had no idea what was going on, but……
Now that everything had been turned into a wasteland,
the fact that this had been the safe lowlands was no longer any comfort. ‘I have to take up a weapon.’ Clack— Nam Cheolmin opened his inventory and equipped a shield. Then he picked up the tablet PC rolling on the ground. Fortunately, it still worked. With a tectonic shift of this scale, fragments must surely have flown in every direction.
“Please, please……”
Nam Cheolmin prayed desperately.
That even one of the drones flying over the mountains was still intact.
Soon, color returned to Nam Cheolmin’s face as he bit his lip.
“……
I’m saved!” Out of 127 units, only one.
A surviving drone was filming and transmitting images of the Zero Mountains, thick with dust. Nam Cheolmin quickly connected to the drone and took control of it. First of all……
“Is Taemin safe?”
The back of his neck felt bare.
The impact had been enough to make his body stagger, and he couldn’t see where the headset he’d been wearing had fallen. His means of contact with Taemin, and with everyone in the Great Alliance, had been cut off.
Ssssss— The dust settled.
The Zero Mountains began to reveal themselves.
Nam Cheolmin had only now realized it.
But hadn’t it already been said?
Because of the tectonic upheaval,
the landscape of the Zero Mountains was no different from a colosseum.
“What the hell is this……?”
The reason Nam Cheolmin had equipped his gear was purely because he had learned his lesson.
The backflow of the Zero Mountains.
Not long ago, monsters from the highlands had been swept down into the lowlands. Because of that, the Zero Mountains had almost become an area where new players could no longer set foot.
As befitted an analyst, Nam Cheolmin did not overlook the uncertainty of the Zero Mountains.
He had put on equipment in preparation for the worst.
But this was beyond imagination.
“At this rate, all the plans we made will be useless……”
The violently rising Zero Mountains had become enormous walls.
They had scattered not only the Holy War Allied Forces but even the players who did not belong to the Allied Forces in all directions. That alone meant the loss of combat power was already extreme.
“Damn it!”
The monsters of the Zero Mountains had been mixed in.
Without distinction between highland and lowland habitats!
The distance between players and monsters was far, far too close. On top of that, because of the aftereffects of Dragon Fear, the monsters were clearly agitated.
Nam Cheolmin’s mind produced a despairing estimate. ‘Holding out is possible.’ Compared to the past, the players’ levels had risen greatly.
On top of that, he could glimpse the mages of the Magic Tower here and there. If a group had them, perhaps they could do more than just hold out—they might even be able to help other groups.
However.
“Our goal isn’t just some Zero Mountains mobs, is it……?”
That was right.
The enemy of the Holy War Allied Forces was not the monsters of the Zero Mountains.
It was the Elder Dragon Yunaxus, who had swallowed the Evil Fruit.
Whoooosh— He controlled the drone and raised its altitude. It was to observe Yunaxus’s condition. At this point, he could only hope that Yunaxus had not come out unscathed. ‘There’s no need to even assume he’ll use his Breath.’ If Yunaxus began to rampage even slightly in the middle of this hellish melee, from that moment on, the Holy War Allied Forces—his allies—would begin to suffer uncontrollable damage.
“Please……”
But was it called a miracle because it could not be repeated?
“Damn it.”
Yunaxus was completely intact.
Due to the fall, the white outer wings that had emitted five-colored light were torn to shreds.
However, on the Dragon Skin, said to boast a hardness greater than any mineral, there was no sign of any wound from the fall. Even the wounds from the magical bombardment appeared negligible from the outside.
In contrast—
Crunch!
The golem of the elder mage, Yugweed, which had held the dragon’s ankle, had its mana heart crushed and shattered, reverting into nothing more than ordinary rocks.
“!”
Nam Cheolmin hurriedly opened the messenger.
At a time like this, who would be checking their smartphone?
Even so, he had to make contact somehow.
He had to convey the news to at least one person.
—Yunaxus is fine. Preserve as much combat strength as possible and prepare for a long ba……
But soon, Nam Cheolmin’s fingers stopped.
The reason was simple.
Because it had been caught on the tablet screen, by the drone camera.
“……
Huh?”
A cat was running through the air as if it were its own living room.
It went without saying, but no matter how well-informed Nam Cheolmin was, there was no way for him to know about a cat whose true identity was unknown even to many in the Magic Tower.
“A named mob from the mountains?”
Or a boss mob?
So at first, he thought it was only a monster of the Zero Mountains.
But it wasn’t.
The community reactions updating on one side of the tablet screen.
Nam Cheolmin glanced at them, then was startled out of his wits.
“T-that cat blocked the Breath?!”
Because he had been focused on the Holy War Allied Forces, he had not witnessed the scene.
That was why he could not believe it.
Just what was that cat?
Not only had it withstood a Dragon Breath,
it was even able to advance toward the dragon on its own feet?
Fortunately, his question did not last long.
—“Hey, Draggy. Your opponent is me.”
“!”
Because he felt it in that voice, overflowing with confidence.
“……
That light?”
Because he felt it in the light wrapped around the cat’s body.
At this moment, the presence of the Commander-in-Chief who had left his post!
It was not Nam Cheolmin’s imagination alone.
The community reactions updated once again.
—It’s Hoyeol-nim’s pet? That actually sounds plausible……?
—If it’s on the level of an Akshan wolf, doesn’t it stand a chance?
—Seeing how it took a Dragon Breath, it’s more than enough!
—A cat is saving the world!!!
Nam Cheolmin made his decision.
Ssssk— The message was erased.
And then a new message was written.
—If anyone sees this, run toward where Yunaxus fell right now! The cat…… I mean, the Commander-in-Chief’s pet is drawing its attention. This is our only chance!
*
Mages are a breed that does not believe in things like fate or miracles. If such things existed, then the very fact that they had survived until now would make no sense.
The Magic Tower.
While they advanced toward the truth,
those trampled beneath the Magic Tower’s steps were too many to count. But neither miracles, nor even the goddess of fate, had ever smiled even once upon those who were trampled.
Thanks to that, the Tower Master knew as well. ‘This is not like a candle burning brightly just before it goes out.’ There was a reason for the power surging from him at this moment.
However, he had no leisure to trace that power back to its source.
Above all, it did not matter.
Grrrrraaaaa—!
Its pupils dyed black,
in order to face that old dragon rampaging ferociously,
should he not gratefully accept power, no matter who had given it?
The five senses of a cat, already superior to those of a human, became even sharper.
Dragon Fear was clearly visible to the naked eye.
Lightly— The Tower Master dodged the sound wave and immediately drew a magic circle with his tail.
Normally, in the middle of battle,
he would never have done something like draw a magic circle.
The power of a formal manifestation, engraved all the way to a magic circle, was several times greater than a manifestation that only recited a spell, but such leisure was never granted on an urgent battlefield.
However. ‘Mutual trust is important.’ Had he not witnessed it through Chief Lee—the possibility of adventurers?
—“It’s a pattern! Since it unleashed two big attacks in succession, we’ve been given our dealing time as well. Though I don’t know how long that time will be.”
The Tower Master had not forgotten Skal’s words. He had said it was a pattern, that after a big attack, an opening would inevitably appear. The Tower Master’s faith was not betrayed. 『Meteor Strike』 Meteors began to form from the magic circle drawn by his tail.
It was an ultra-high-level spell that even the Tower Master could manifest only by pouring in his mana. In his current imperfect physical state, even if he manifested only three or four meteors at most, he would be unable to avoid mana exhaustion. ‘Is it thanks to this mysterious light wrapped around my body?’ There was no hesitation in the Tower Master’s manifestation.
Grrrrr— Even so, the king of all creation was not so easy. Having cast aside the dignity accumulated over eons, a dragon that fought with nothing but its innate wildness was a completely different kind of calamity.
Gape—!
As Meteor Strike flew right up to him, Yunaxus’s maw opened.
Crunch—!
With that vicious maw, he chewed up the red-hot meteor as it was.
The Tower Master let his tail sway.
“Your body may be in tatters, but it seems your teeth haven’t fallen out.”
It made his praise of the cat’s body seem meaningless.
Dragon, just what kind of body did you have? Not only did you chew up magic, you dismantled it and converted it into mana. And then you immediately prepared to fire Dragon Breath.
Slide— The Tower Master surveyed the Zero Mountains with the eyes of a cat.
Adventurers and skilled apprentice mages were scattered everywhere, fighting the beasts of the Zero Mountains. If even a little of the Breath splashed out, there would be no guarantee of their safety.
He had no choice but to take it once more.
“How truly ironic.”
The Tower Master no longer evaluated his own condition objectively.
His bottom had been exposed long ago anyway. From here on, the issue was how long his willpower could hold out, and how long the unidentified light wrapped around his body would remain.
Grrraaaaaa—!
The Tower Master twisted the trajectory of the Breath pouring out once again and focused it on himself. This time, it did not end with a few strands of fur and whiskers being singed. His fur melted away, and his delicate skin began to peel off from burns.
That was when it happened.
Tat-tat-tat—!
He heard the sound of feet kicking off the ground and leaping up.
The sound of someone climbing the fortress built by the king of all creation, the dragon.
And not only that, there was someone rushing toward the dragon.
To be precise, there were “someones.”
The vanguard was a man even the Tower Master could recognize.
The Empire’s Lionheart Knights, Knight Commander Harkon.
Sword energy that grew clearer on the boundary between life and death. Harkon’s sword, wrapped in sword aura so clear it was intense, aimed for Yunaxus’s rear. Then, around Harkon, three shadows rose.
A greatsword.
Twin swords.
A spear.
Three people wrapped in sword energy just as clear as Harkon’s.
Nam Taemin, Hisagi,
and Leonie, covered in blood,
were charging toward Yunaxus.
The Tower Master laughed despite himself.
“How utterly reckless.”
It was an abnormal monster that swallowed even ultra-high-level magic
and converted it into its own mana.
What could they possibly do with those tiny swords?
If it had been his past self,
he might have sneered,
as expected of swordsmen whose brains were lumps of muscle.
However, the Tower Master did not overlook it.
The king of all creation.
They had broken through the fortress built by the dragon
and run all the way to this place.
And so, the Tower Master also charged toward Yunaxus.
It was an action born of certainty.
Since his own body had reached its limit,
there would be no better opportunity than this.
The Tower Master raised his mana.
Flinch!
His body did not listen.
Was it because he had taken the Breath head-on?
Even with borrowed power whose origin he did not know, manifestation would be impossible. Could it not be helped? If he had no teeth, then he had no choice but to collide with his gums. The Tower Master compressed mana into his body.
Abandoning interference and manifestation entirely.
“!”
The aura emitted by the Tower Master, who was prepared to become a single mana bomb, was so immense that even Yunaxus could not ignore it. Of course, the Tower Master did not expect much. ‘At best, I’ll only knock off a few scales.’ But my role is to draw his attention.
What the Tower Master believed in was not himself.
It was Harkon and the trio of adventurers leaping up behind Yunaxus.
Ah, and one more person.
He must not forget the dragon knight waiting for his turn atop the wyvern.
“Hey. Don’t make me say this over and over, Draggy.”
And so the Tower Master raised his tail.
His fur bristled on end.
For the first time, he hissed ferociously.
“Have you forgotten that this is the Dragon-Magic War? Your opponent is me.”
Perhaps that Tower Master seemed insignificant and annoying.
Slide— Yunaxus raised a foreleg and struck the Tower Master away as he was.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang—!
The title “king of all creation” was not limited only to magical aspects. Even if mana did not exist. Even if it could not fly. It meant that with physical ability alone, a dragon was still the strongest living creature.
Screeeee—!
The Tower Master was sent flying at the speed of light. Even as he vomited blood, he did not close his eyes. It was to confirm whether their swords had lodged in Yunaxus’s back.
But damn it. ‘At this rate…… I can’t see anything.’ Instead, what he saw was himself ten-odd seconds later at most.
At this speed, even if he collided with an ordinary rock, his body would burst apart.
Considering the mountains had been turned into a wasteland, would they even be able to recover a single bone fragment?
The Tower Master laughed again. ‘Compared to me, you who froze to death had a peaceful end, Senios.’
He had lingering regrets.
But he did not think of them.
At the final moment, rather than recall his regrets,
he thought it might be better to offer a prayer.
Please, let my death not become a dog’s death. ‘……
No, since I am not a dog, is it a cat’s death?’
The pointless thought lasted only a moment.
The Tower Master’s eyes closed.
And the Tower Master’s body, truly ten-odd seconds later,
collided with “something.”
However.
“……?”
The Tower Master’s body did not burst apart.
The something the Tower Master had struck was far too soft to be called a rock. But to call it the afterlife, or his mother’s embrace…… the texture against his skin was far too smooth.
Yes, it felt as if his whole body had been wrapped in luxurious silk……
Soon, the Tower Master slowly opened his eyes.
Then he spoke.
“……
Hey, Chief Lee. I thought you couldn’t stand cats.”
A cat that had not only lost fur but become covered in blood.
That cat, the Tower Master,
was being held in Chief Lee’s arms without hesitation.
Hoyeol answered.
“You are correct. I still dislike cats.”
His voice was not cold.
“However, you are a proud tiger.”