Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Labyrinth (4)
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Ding!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Ancestor 'Dragon that Scatters Karmic Flames' gazes upon you.]
The epithet that appeared before my eyes: 'Dragon that Scatters Karmic Flames'.
I didn't need to think deeply to know what it meant.
It referred to the Draconian tyrant, Rahart, the most brutal dragon among the dragonkin.
An ancestor revered by his kind, yet also an object of fear—a savage dragon.
'This guy's the one I was planning to call later...'
The personalities of the first-generation characters I played were heavily influenced by my actions during the time I controlled them.
Elisis turning into a muscle fanatic.
Morduin becoming an artisan to his very bones.
Even Arkan turning into a playboy.
Because of that, I could easily predict the tendencies of the other ancestors.
And among them all, if I had to pick the one with the most dangerous personality...
I'd unhesitatingly choose Rahart.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Ancestor 'Dragon that Scatters Karmic Flames' lends an ear to your voice.]
The Draconian was the first race I chose, and Rahart was the first character I ever played.
He was pure—everything was new, I knew nothing, and I simply reveled in this world.
A character embodying that innocent style of play.
"Remember this—!! You'll all die shedding bloody tears—!! I...!! This mongrel you lot look down on will make it happen—!!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Ancestor 'Dragon that Scatters Karmic Flames' narrows his eyes.]
As pure as he was...
I treated this world like nothing more than a fun game.
Simply raising characters, passing down bloodlines.
And diligently raising the next generation.
I saw it as a player-friendly game like that.
"Kuhuhu, kuahaha!! A mongrel like you!! If you can, then try it!! I'm curious too, what can a worm like you even do...!"
Rahart was the sacrificial lamb of that naive mindset.
Rahart's growth process went smoothly.
The Draconian's cheat-like potential was more than enough to make him the strongest of his kind.
And so, Rahart became the idol of his race, a tyrant revered by all.
But...
——Rahart was betrayed by his most trusted comrade.
'So..., you can't just let this moment slide... right...?'
To me, the player, it was just a minor mishap from a bad choice.
But that mishap...
Cost Rahart his most precious lover.
And I executed the betrayer and all the Draconians involved.
At that time, Rahart must have shed tears and screamed in agony.
"I swear it—!! I swear on my life...!! I'll tear your limbs apart and feed you to the beasts—!!"
He went down in history as the most vicious tyrant.
A king trembling with rage at betrayal, bleeding from fury.
From then on, he killed anyone showing even a hint of treachery.
He was a hero who endured utter devastation through rage.
So I was certain.
Rahart wouldn't ignore this moment.
'Come on—. I'm here..., Rahart...! Just like that time you lost your mind and rampaged, a pathetic human begging for revenge while shedding bloody tears—!!'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Ancestor 'Dragon that Scatters Karmic Flames' bestows a gift upon you.]
On one hand, I was afraid.
Of him, who had burned everything in rage.
Would he allow me to hold back even a little?
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Acquired 'Blood of Rahart'!]
"Enough, this mongrel's struggling is no longer amusing. ...An order. Release your grip and fall, mongrel."
——Ziiing.
Pain surged from the shackle around my neck as it seized control of my body.
I resisted, veins bulging on my face.
But my hand forcibly opened, letting my body drop from the precarious cliffside hold.
Soon after, I plummeted toward the swarm of beasts below.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[——The blood of the ancestor begins to boil.] ['Draconian Transformation' begins.] [Inheriting some traits and skills from Ancestor 'Rahart'.]
Even as I fell, I kept my eyes on the sneering elves and dwarves.
I didn't look away from them.
And at some point, the edge of my vision looking at them...
Began to turn blood-red.
"Grrrrraaaaaahhh——!!!"
The dragon's roar chilled the air inside the labyrinth.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"...Ha, haha, all that big talk and look at him now."
"Struggling like a mongrel..."
Confirming the mongrel slave's fall, Half-Elf Kairel and Half-Dwarf Ragon peered down the hole with awkward smiles.
Honestly, when Number 17 cursed and screamed at them...
Their legs had shaken, cold sweat dripping.
...From a mere mongrel, of all things.
But to protect their elven and dwarven pride, they forced indifferent sneers.
Only when he finally dropped into the beast swarm could they sigh in relief and laugh.
"Um..., shouldn't we get out of here quick?"
Then, the Quarter Elf behind them cautiously suggested to Kairel.
"Ha, what is it, Arnor? Don't tell me you're scared of that mongrel's curse?"
"...N-No, not that, but."
To Kairel's feigned casual smile, the Quarter Elf returned an awkward one.
Honestly, he was afraid.
For some reason, that mongrel exuded an ominous aura unlike other mongrels.
But as a Quarter Elf, albeit diluted...
To fear a mere mongrel? His pride wouldn't allow it.
"Come on, job's done. Let's head back leisurely. All that's left is collecting our reward."
"Uhaha! Yeah, yeah! A normal mate for the likes of us halves! Everyone's thrilled, right? Huh?"
At Kairel and Ragon's words, the party's cowering faces brightened fully.
They remembered the reward they'd forgotten.
"Ugh..., so now I can live inside the kingdom's walls too...? As a regular citizen...!"
"Like a dream..., I thought my descendants would end up mongrels someday..."
For Quarters like them, gaining a normal mate was a dream harder than striking it rich.
People in this world never wanted diluted blood as mates, no matter how much money you had.
So the exploration party, shaken by the mongrel slave's screams, now beamed innocently as they prepared to return.
And then.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[————!!!]
——Kugugugung!!!
"Wh-What?!"
"Eek! A beast?!"
A ear-splitting beastly howl shook the labyrinth like it would collapse, trembling their legs.
Despair shrouded the faces of the elves and dwarves who had just dreamed hopeful dreams.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' coldly gazes upon her descendants.] [Ancestor 'The Creating Mortal' coldly gazes upon his descendants.]
Of course.
Not a single soul pitied them.
Kwaaaang!!!
"D-Damn it!! What the hell?! Did the labyrinth's master show up or something?!"
Kairel urgently drew his sword, staring toward the source of the roar.
The sound came from the room where the mongrel had fallen moments ago.
'No way...'
Everyone present drew their weapons, swallowing in unease.
The silence after the explosion...
That silence bred even greater terror.
And soon.
Step, step, step.
Amid the rising dust smoke, footsteps echoed.
"L-Leader...! We need to run...!!"
The elf named Arnor, who had suggested leaving quickly before, urged escape again.
——But his voice cut off there.
"Arnor...?"
When Kairel turned.
Arnor could no longer speak.
"......"
Horns sprouting from both sides of his head.
Ominous black dragon wings.
Those were the first things that entered Kairel's sight.
Then the black wings, covering most of his view, began to move.
As the wings folded back, his form appeared.
The mongrel slave with his hand shoved into Arnor's mouth.
"At-Att-Attack—!!!"
Kairel screamed at his party like a banshee.
A judgment from pure spinal reflex, bypassing the brain.
But that judgment was wrong.
He should have ordered a retreat.
His instinctive pride—that he couldn't flee from a mere mongrel—squandered their last chance at survival.
"Uwaaaaaah!!!"
"Dieee!!!"
Two elves and dwarves reacted swiftly to Kairel's command.
They raised their weapons and swung at Number 17 mongrel slave.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Skill 'Dragon Fear' used!]
"Grraaaaaahhh——!!!"
——Ziiiiing!!!
An overwhelming proclamation of presence burst from Number 17's mouth.
"Kuh, uh, urgh..."
"Ugh...!"
The two swinging weapons and the rest of the party froze stiff, halting mid-motion.
And in that instant.
Kwak.
Number 17 spun his body.
"......"
The dwarf's head who tried to attack flew off.
'What..., is that...'
Kairel struggled to comprehend the scene with his rigid body.
Something impossible had happened.
'That's..., that's...! A Draconian...!!'
Horns on the mongrel's head.
A pair of wings on his back.
Defining traits of the dragonkin, Draconians.
Moreover.
Black horns, black wings.
And crimson eyes like shedding bloody tears.
Undeniably—hallmarks of a pureblood Draconian.
"W-Wait...! Spare...!!"
Kwak!
While Kairel analyzed Number 17's state in his frozen form.
The elf trying to attack him lost his head next.
The Quarter Elf flipped his eyes back with a death rattle as Number 17 ripped it off.
And then, the party's stiffness began to ease.
"Run—!!!"
Kairel's shout burst out as bodies loosened.
Even without the order.
Everyone instinctively bolted in escape.
'Gotta run...!!'
'If that monster catches me...!! I'll die...!!'
'Great Morduin...!! Please help us!!'
As if by promise, they scattered in all directions.
Their only path to survival.
Some would die, but others might live in the chaos.
Entrusting to fate, they sprinted with all their might.
And.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Trait 'Quartet of the Wind' activated!] [Skill 'Thread of the Wind' used!]
Whoooosh—!!
A sudden gale whipped through the labyrinth, morphing into a single thread.
That thread connected to the axe in fleeing Ragon's hand.
"Uh, uwaaak?!"
Feeling sudden resistance from his axe, Ragon tumbled backward with his running momentum.
Soon, the axe floated in the air like a leaf in the wind.
Whirlic!
As if returning to its master.
It flew into Number 17's hand and was gripped.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Skill 'Dragon's Nest' used!]
Then Number 17 stomped once, mana surging through his foot.
Kwaaaang!!
Kugugugugu.
The stomp sent massive vibrations through the labyrinth, causing anomalies within.
"Yes...!! I made it...!"
Among the three fleeing, Quarter Dwarf Drugan spotted faint light ahead and sensed escape.
But despair soon reclaimed his face.
Kwang!
"Uwaaaak!! What is this—!!!"
A sinister dark-red barrier blocked the entrance.
The labyrinth's exit was sealed.
"Open...!! Open up, damn it!!"
Kwang! Kwang!
Drugan pounded the barrier with his hammer, wailing.
But it didn't budge.
Step, step, step.
Then, ominous footsteps approached from behind.
"Damn, ...D-Damn, ...Morduin."
Drugan wept openly, staring into the darkness at the flickering red eyes.
The three survivors.
They were trapped here.
And turned into prey.