Chapter 55
Chapter 55
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Dragon's Domain
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A rumbling vibration and the crunching sound of rupture.
I whipped around at the ominous noise, but the tunnel interior was already blocked by collapsed earth and debris.
Damn it, did Vabus have this kind of ability?
“Run!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs and bolted toward the tunnel exit, but fist-sized clumps of dirt began raining down from above.
I hastily pulled out my codex and fired off force shields one after another, but since I hadn’t replenished them midway, I was down to just a few and they ran out in no time.
“Lord Adelrian, watch out!”
I turned at Zero’s voice to see dirt mixed with rocks falling. I shrank back, and at the same moment, Kane drew his sword and cleaved the debris.
“Kane! Please protect the young master!”
Kane scooped me up, Luna hoisted Zero onto her back, and they sprinted for the entrance.
Twice as fast as if I’d been running on my own feet.
Kane batted away the falling dirt and stones along the way, bursting out of the entrance—and the instant we did, hot blood splashed across my face.
“W-what the...”
*Kruk?*
Had Vabus planted monsters outside the fog?
No sooner had we emerged than Kane sliced a monster clean in half, and I wiped the splattered blood from my face with my sleeve, lifting my head. That’s when I saw it: a massive horde of monsters.
Stretching to the horizon, they looked like an army, numbering in the tens of thousands—no, hundreds of thousands.
“Grak?”
“Kiyuwung...”
“Sniff, sniff!”
I could see both inside and outside the fog, leaving me utterly dumbfounded.
An impossible number to kill. Even for Kane, it was too many.
Kane slashed the throats of monsters piercing the fog, or at least severed their windpipes to silence them, moving ceaselessly.
“Stay quiet.”
At Kane’s words, Zero clamped a hand over his own mouth to muffle any sound. Kane slowly set me down, sword at the ready, and nodded toward me—as if signaling to lead the way to safety.
But...
‘What the hell...’
Monsters everywhere I looked, nothing but hordes of them. For now, I slipped between monsters, threading the narrow gaps, racking my brain.
Think, think.
Vabus couldn’t command a horde this size with his known abilities. Besides, if these were Vabus’s monsters, they’d have spotted us regardless of the fog.
Yet here they were, milling about in confusion, clearly trapped in the fog just like us.
And they were utterly different from the monsters in Vabus’s colosseum. Which meant...
Not lizardmen, orcs, or wood golems—this was like a monster exposition, every kind imaginable.
From small fry like goblins and kobolds to giants like twin-headed ogres, basilisks, and earthworms.
Monsters that would normally fight or devour each other, all gathered in one place. The reason wasn’t hard to guess...
‘Vabus, that bastard. He moved his ruins to the center of the monster horde.’
Vabus’s ruins spawned randomly. Not fixed to one spot—they appeared somewhere in the Charvid Plains under a blanket of fog, at its heart.
Meaning Vabus could relocate the ruins at will, whenever he wanted.
That’s why we’d emerged not in the empty plains where we’d tethered our horses, but in this monster-infested wasteland.
‘I was too overconfident.’
It had been an unavoidable choice to demand only his artifact in the contract, figuring he might balk at signing if we took everything else as collateral—his artifacts, and more.
Killing Vabus had been the same. Sure, he was a sleazy NPC who stole memories and extorted artifacts, but in Innocent Saga, he’d never killed anyone. I hadn’t expected this level of viciousness.
‘I put too much faith in game knowledge.’
Realistically, having everything he cherished stripped away, of course he’d try to kill me to get it back.
That floating sensation—this subtle feeling that this wasn’t reality—eased anxiety over death or failure, but it came with side effects like this.
The tunnel was gone if I tried to go back. All we had left was the four of us and the pale fog.
And hordes numbering in the thousands, tens of thousands. Giant monster silhouettes loomed to the horizon.
Time passed, and the fog began thinning bit by bit. Looking around, this wasn’t the entrance we’d used—it was a vast wasteland plain leading to a massive volcano and canyons.
Where to go?
Fortunately, we’d emerged near the edge, not the heart of the horde where space was tight. I took the lead as guide, picking the direction with the fewest monsters, navigating through the fog—Kane silently dispatching any we encountered.
But the fog’s space wasn’t vast enough to contain all these monsters. To escape, we’d have to enter their line of sight eventually.
Staying put to catch our breath and replan wasn’t an option either—the fog was dissipating by the second.
‘Vabus, if I meet you again, you’ll pay dearly.’
I gritted my teeth and reached into my subspace.
This fog was Vabus’s magical handiwork. Using a teleport scroll inside it was a gamble.
Magic fog like this interfered with coordinate-locking scrolls—high chance the surrounding mana fluctuations would mess up the targeting.
So I had to tear it outside the fog, where the scroll could lock coordinates without mana interference.
‘Activation takes about a minute, right?’
A random teleport scroll I’d grabbed early on for escapes, in case the family sent assassins.
No fixed coordinates to avoid tracking—instead, it scanned for safe landing spots on land, sea, or sky to avoid hazards—but that meant longer prep time than standard scrolls.
‘I figured even if a horde of assassins came, Kane and Luna could protect me for a minute.’
But in this monster swarm?
I glanced at Kane, coldly guarding our rear with his back to me, vigilant all around; Luna, stone-faced, shielding my front and flanks; and Zero, huddled behind me.
No choice but to trust them.
“Kane, Luna. Listen up. Once we’re out of the fog, I’ll use a teleport scroll. It takes a minute to activate.”
“I’ll protect you, young master.”
Luna’s voice didn’t waver or tremble.
“One minute.”
Kane replied flatly.
“I... I want to help too... I’m sorry.”
I patted Zero reassuringly—he was, in truth, no more than a newborn despite his size.
I steadied my breath, trusting them, and stepped out of the fog. The moment countless monster eyes locked onto our scent...
I tore the scroll.
No.
I tried to.
—*Kraaaah!*
A roar that struck not my ears, but my brain directly.
“Grrr...!”
“Guuuh, ngh...”
Instantly, every monster prostrated in reverence or collapsed vomiting blood. Luna clutched her ears; even Kane staggered, dropping to one knee.
Was this the floating sensation too?
Amid the flattened giant monsters, I alone stood tall, slowly lifting my gaze to the sky.
—So, an alien mana zone appeared in my domain. And what do I find? An insolent human.
Not sound, but thought.
Bypassing my ears, it embedded straight into my mind—a concept, pure and simple.
I gripped my shuddering body and met those red eyes.
The massive form floated regally in the air, without displacing so much as a breeze, descending silently to the canyon’s center.
A body glowing deep red, like rubies studded with halos. A long tail, enormous leathery wings. Crimson cracked horns.
I knew what it was. Never seen one in person, but I knew this being well.
It was instinct, like breathing.
“Dragon...”
Even in Adelrian’s mana-insensitive body, I could tell.
Mana density incomparable to the fog. My body tingled—was this dragon fear?
It radiated from the dragon in waves, invisible tides sweeping over us.
Tearing the scroll now would be pointless.
“Ow... ugh...”
Luna’s pained groan pierced my ears softly, and without thinking, I stepped forward to shield her and Kane.
Her breathing eased slightly right after.
‘The fear doesn’t affect me.’
Withstanding dragon fear that floored even ogres and basilisks, and moving to shield my companions from its range—the dragon fixed its gaze on me.
—You dare look me in the eye. I am Repid. A mere maggot larva.
Oppressive pressure.
That vicious vise. Mana currents choked my body like ill-fitting shackles; I took deep, slow breaths, lowering myself gradually.
Its visible form alone was apartment-building sized. One step, and we’d burst like overripe fruit.
Terror flashed through me, then vanished—like someone had scooped out the fear with a spoon.
—Pathetic human, yet you endure my fear. Arrogant maggot. Infuriating, utterly infuriating. Consider it an honor. You’ll perish for it.
Loathing darkened those eyes meeting mine.
‘Arrogance!’
An unexpected trait had bitten me hard.
No—even without arrogance, forgiveness was impossible.
Aggroing a dragon, of all things. Well, it was a dragon—maybe the effect was amplified. Creatures forged from more pride than anything alive.
The outpouring fear retracted toward the canyon like a receding tide, and soon the dragon’s throat glowed faintly.
The moment the squeezing mana vanished from all sides, I hastily tore the scroll in my hand.
A portal hummed faintly, forming at its center.
60 seconds left!
“Kane, snap out of it.”
Luna was curled up, barely clinging to reason, immobile. Zero cradled her protectively.
Hit point-blank by dragon fear this close, their bodies numb—they could hardly move.
Even the giant monsters hadn’t recovered; smaller ones lay dead, vomiting blood. Breathing was a blessing.
But Kane—you have to be different. You must be.
You’re the protagonist I believe in.
“...Command me.”
Kane rose unsteadily. His eyes, bloodshot, gleamed golden.
“Grab Luna and Zero.”
No matter how strong Kane was—even if he’d face dragons later—this was early game, barely wielding a sword.
Just standing was incredible, and I knew it. But right now, he was all I had.
Kane staggered, wiped blood from his mouth with his hand, then scooped up the unconscious Luna and trembling Zero.
The dragon’s throat, swollen with mana, glowed crimson as its maw slowly parted.
—Perish.
20 seconds left? 10?
Time slowed. My brain burned hot, thoughts sharpening.
‘This won’t work.’
If we teleported mid-breath, we might get dragged along. Even if my necklace blocked one hit, the residual force would wipe us out.
And would the necklace even hold against dragon breath? If their collision disrupted the mana waves and interfered with the scroll?
I turned, etching Kane, Luna, and Zero into my eyes.
Yeah, protagonists don’t die.
“Adelrian!”
Sensing something, Kane shouted desperately at me—and at that moment, I wedged the scroll into his clothing, clutched my necklace, and hurled myself toward the onrushing breath.