◈ Episode 407. Four Days (2)
“The mission given to you for the next four days is as follows.”
Was it trying to imitate Hoyeol as much as possible?
Froznax spoke with all its feathers puffed up.
Though, in the form of a chick, it didn’t exactly have much impact.
“Nash and Emilio, along with the three senior mages, will take the lead in observing Antonium’s movements. However, I will not permit any rash entry.”
Nam Taemin and Leonie whispered to each other.
“Which side are we supposed to join?”
“I’m fine as long as it’s not that blond from the Magic Tower.”
“By Magic Tower blond, you mean Senior Vensh William?”
A shit hunch.
Leonie tilted her head, not understanding what he meant.
But for some reason, Nam Taemin wanted to avoid Vensh.
Why? Just look at him now.
“Huhu. At last, my time, Vensh William’s time, has come!”
He was the only one unusually excited.
Hisagi remained silent.
Whichever side he ended up joining, it didn’t matter to him. ‘Everyone here is far stronger than us, after all.’ There was a much bigger question on his mind.
The chick before his eyes, the self-proclaimed Ice Dragon Froznax.
Why had the one who vanished in a flash of light.
Appeared, of all things, in the form of a chick? ‘Well, I suppose it’s not important.’ He didn’t know the exact reason, but it didn’t matter.
Commander-in-Chief Hoyeol was alive and well in reality.
For now, it was enough that their guess had been proven right.
Matisse’s gaze turned toward Bellier.
“Senior Bellier, did you suspect it?”
“By suspect, you mean Chief Lee, right?”
“Yes.”
Senior of Black Magic, Matisse Dean Karl.
Matisse had been observing Antonium’s movements from the south, the exact opposite direction from the north. Because of that, he had learned of the situation the latest. However, he understood the gravity of the matter no less than those who had witnessed it firsthand.
The blackened ring.
Suitable mana originating from the past.
The north, the entire region, was surging with suitable mana.
From a past not even a few hours ago.
For suitable mana this dense to have occurred?
It meant an event of that intensity had taken place.
Because of that, he could not help but grow serious.
Matisse opened his mouth.
“Out of needless concern, I worried for Chief Lee.”
Bellier smiled faintly.
“I did as well.”
“Truly?”
“I even asked the chief directly.”
Before the Cataclysm.
The power of resurrection granted only to adventurers. Bellier had asked him directly whether Chief Lee still possessed that power of resurrection, and if not, why he was prepared to sacrifice himself.
Bellier continued.
“Of course, I didn’t get a proper answer. No, perhaps he did answer properly, and I simply failed to understand……? But what is certain is this.”
Bellier let out a smile.
“For the next four days. Chief Lee has given us no small number of missions. Senior Matisse, you know as well, don’t you? What kind of scathing words will come back if we disappoint Chief Lee.”
At Bellier’s words, Vensh, who had been quietly listening, nodded vigorously.
“I do know. This Vensh William knows better than anyone.”
Nash’s eyes sparkled.
“As expected of you, Brother Vensh! There’s nothing you don’t know!”
Why four days?
For those who did not know the effect of the title, [The Last Adventurer], there was no way to resolve that question. However, they absolutely had to produce results. If only for the final words Froznax had added.
“The Dark Dragon will enter the Arcana Continent with the Lionheart Knights exactly four days later in Arcana time. So, humans, move quickly!”
Nam Taemin glared at the chick.
“That thing is kind of annoying, isn’t it?”
It had just been trying to kill them moments ago.
Did it spit out the evil fruit and turn over a new leaf? How could it change its attitude as easily as flipping over a hand? Well, did it really think of Hoyeol as its mother hen…… No, as its leader?
Had it noticed Nam Taemin’s gaze?
Froznax turned its tiny head.
It opened its beak and replied.
“At this age, one grows by fighting, human.”
“Grow by fighting? How old are you to be saying that……”
“More importantly, I do not see one human.”
A hatchling in its storm-and-stress years.
Froznax shamelessly changed the subject and recalled Hoyeol’s message. Just as the others had been given important missions, Froznax had also received a crucial mission.
—“Find the Dragon Knight.”
Froznax was genuinely impressed.
As expected of the Dark Dragon, who was said to look down upon all things.
That reputation had not been exaggerated.
“I cannot understand how you can look down upon even one insignificant human…… But, Dark Dragon, as it is your command, I shall carry it out faithfully. So where is he, that arrogant human who dares call himself a Dragon Knight!”
A Dragon Knight, then Skal?
“……
Right.”
At Froznax’s barked words.
The Giant Alliance belatedly remembered Skal’s existence.
Because he was like an extra side dish, they had only belatedly noticed his absence.
“He should’ve just stayed put. That guy has no luck either.”
Nam Taemin scratched his head and continued.
“That…… He’s probably combing all over the Arcana Continent by himself, saying he’s going to find a dragon. I don’t know exactly where he is or what he’s doing, but he’s probably suffering like a dog even now.”*
[Class Quest: Dragon Blood]
Dragon Knight, if you wish to mount a dragon, then carry the same scent as they do. The only thing that can make that possible is pure dragon blood. Drink dragon blood and be acknowledged as kin who have shared blood with them.
—Acquire dragon blood. (In Progress)
Nam Taemin’s guess was accurate.
“Where am I supposed to find something that precious?”
Skal had no luck.
The fact that dragon blood had gushed from the wound Hoyeol had left on Froznax, and even the fact that thanks to Hoyeol, he no longer needed to go through the trouble of drinking dragon blood to gain a dragon’s favor—there was no way for the current Skal to know any of it.
“For now, let’s fly a little faster.”
Skal’s steed on the Arcana Continent, a griffin, cut across the sky.
First, he headed toward the Zero Mountains.
It was to search for traces of dragons.
“I hope something remains.”
A large-scale regular update.
As everyone knew, the Zero Mountains had been updated into reality.
Therefore, on the Arcana Continent, there should have been nothing left where the Zero Mountains once stood. But Skal recalled the advice of the romantic explorer, Lorentsk.
—“The king of all things leaves behind an overwhelming presence. In the mountains, in the fields, in the earth, and even in the air! If it were me, I would first look around the site of the Zero Mountains.”
The summit of the Zero Mountains.
Since it was a place where dragons had lingered for a long time, traces might remain. Indeed, Lorentsk’s prediction was correct. The place where the Zero Mountains once stood. As the altitude grew higher and higher, the griffin began to whimper.
It was clearly frightened in advance by the presence left behind by the king of all things.
“It’s all right. There are no dragons here.”
Stroke.
Skal patted the griffin’s head.
While calming the griffin, he flew a little higher.
And then he witnessed it.
A rift in split dimensions, a fissure.
[Hidden Piece: Dragon Temple]
“……
Found it.”
The sanctuary of dragons that transcended dimensions.
However, Skal could not dare bring himself to enter.
The message that appeared was enough to make him doubt his own eyes.
[Appropriate Level: Transcendent]
[Collapse Rate: 100%]
A collapse rate approaching one hundred percent was not surprising. The dragons likely had not been able to appear in reality and on the Arcana Continent for no reason. But.
“……
Transcendent?”
The appropriate level was anything but ordinary.
From the days of the Arcana Continent Chronicle until recently.
It was a word even he, who had maintained a position at the very top of the official rankings, had never heard before. ‘There was a similar phrase in the Zero Mountains too, but.’ Not recommended for anyone.
The phrase expressing the appropriate level of the Zero Mountains.
He had wondered whether there could be any warning beyond that of the Zero Mountains.
“This is worse……?”
Indeed, a warning born from the unknown felt even more dangerous.……
Gulp.
Skal swallowed dryly without realizing it. ‘Sir Hoyeol, the Commander-in-Chief, does he know something?’ Once again, he was forced to recognize his place.
Even if he had found a trace. The king of all things was not a being who showed his dragon countenance to just anyone. Skal took hold of the reins of the griffin, which had been fidgeting since earlier.
“In any case, we found a clue. That’s enough for today.”
He had achieved his goal of locating the dragons.
He was tempted by the newly updated class quest, but……
Even he, whose eyes would spin at the mention of dragons, could not bring himself to attempt it.
To obtain dragon blood meant he had to wound a dragon. And the current dragons were in a state where it would not be strange if they turned into evil dragons at any moment. Skal suppressed his desire and muttered.
“This isn’t the time when they were just chunks of data, Skal.”
Do not mistake this place for the Arcana Continent Chronicle.
If you die, you truly die.
Skal repeated that to himself as he flew through the sky. ‘I have to report this.’ Of course, he did not know how useful the current information would be.
After all, Transcendent. No matter how great the Commander-in-Chief was, he could not possibly know everything. Perhaps they would have to waste time satisfying the conditions of that appropriate level called Transcendent.
Just as Skal swallowed a sigh.
“Kieek!”
The griffin began twisting its body.
Lurch—!
The saddle shook violently.
However, his Riding proficiency was close to Master level.
Skal quickly regained his balance.
At the same time, making use of his understanding of mounts.
He swiftly followed the griffin’s line of sight.
“……
What is that?”
Then he saw “something” crossing the distant ground below.
Quadududuk—!
More precisely, a grotesque tentacle advancing at a terrifying speed.
“Kieek!!”
The griffin was considered a spiritual beast even on the Arcana Continent. In terms of grade, it meant it was a pet easily worthy of [Unique]. It possessed a spirit that would not shrink before most monsters.
Flap—!
Skal could not help but be startled. ‘It’s more anxious than when we discovered traces of the dragons.’ Just what was that tentacle?
For now, its power looked truly destructive. It advanced as though slicing through the earth like a soft sandy beach, with such force that if anything obstructed its path, not even bones would remain.
But the tentacle seemed to have a clear destination.
“Calm down. Griffin, that thing won’t harm you.”
It was simply heading “somewhere.”
It was not chasing the lifeforms fleeing from it.
However, Skal’s relief did not last long.
Because while watching the tentacle, he realized something.
“……?”
Wait, that direction is toward the imperial capital, Antonium!*
Froznax.
The chick suddenly opened its beak.
“Ah, I had forgotten one thing.”
“Huh? Forgotten?”
“No. Is that thing even really the Ice Dragon to begin with?!”
Had it polymorphed into a chick and ended up with a chick-sized brain, its intelligence turning birdbrained as well? Just as Nam Taemin and Leonie exchanged serious looks.
Unbothered, Froznax opened its mouth.
“Guarding the newly sprouted seed of the World Tree was also one of your missions. The Dark Dragon said that you humans would surely remember the seed of the World Tree and its characteristics……”
“……!”
The moment they heard those words, the players remembered.
The fact that [The Garden of the World Tree]
had originally been [Predator’s Swamp].
Moreover, Nam Taemin, Hisagi, and Leonie.
The three of them had experienced the Predator Rift.
“Didn’t all sorts of named mobs flock there?”
“They were all after the tremendous blessing possessed by the World Tree’s seed.”
“But I think they stopped fighting after it sprouted? Didn’t they?”
Then, now that the World Tree’s seed had sprouted.
Wasn’t there no reason for monsters to gather?
Questioning gazes turned toward Froznax.
The party in question, Froznax, shamelessly flapped its wings.
“No, this enemy is on a different level from such rabble. To explain it simply, it is the root cause that corrupted my mother and my siblings. Moreover, what it desires is not the blessing, but the new World Tree itself.”
The being that corrupted the World Tree and dragons?
Its goal was to devour the new World Tree whole?
Something that outrageous was going to come……?
No, why are you only saying that now?!
Had it noticed their resentful gazes?
Froznax opened its beak.
“Did I not say it? When one is young, such things can happen.”
That thing, bringing up its age again.
Its shamelessness was going too far.
To begin with, how did being young even make any sense?
“Didn’t they say dragons are at least a thousand years old?”
Leonie added a word.
“I want to take a look at that World Tree family register.”
She was certain.
Shamelessness to that degree had to run in the family.
However, they no longer had the leisure to grumble.
Because they had begun to feel it.
Quadududuk—!
The Primordial Evil.
The tentacle it had extended toward the new World Tree.
An immense malice.
[Demon, “Byproduct of Primordial Evil,” appears.]
At that moment, the Giant Alliance honestly resented Froznax. Because that birdbrain had completely forgotten, there were no senior mages, no imperial palace mages, and no king of the Scavengers nearby.
And in such a situation, they had to protect the World Tree’s sprout.
However, the Giant Alliance did not know.
That there was an unavoidable reason behind Froznax’s shamelessness.
Yes, it was the nature of a being born as the king of all things.
Naturally. The price for touching such a king could only be paid dearly. Soon, the chick floated into the air. Uncontrollable mana began to pour out from Froznax.
“So it was you.”
The cold of the Ice Dragon began to flow out.
“The one who corrupted my mother, the World Tree, and deceived me and my siblings. I, Froznax, have been waiting for you. At last, I shall avenge them.”
A stormy cold covered the area.
“Freeze where you are and stop.”
Everyone was horrified.
“Before I beat you to death.”
Good heavens.
What kind of foul-mouthed chick.
No, what kind of dragon was that!