Hatchling (5)

The tension was at a breaking point, coiled so tight that even a breath might have set it off.

Grraaaah—!

It was the Abyss that moved first.

From its black eyes, a darkness deep as ink came seeping out.

Flash—!

The darkness became a beam of black mana, lancing out toward the dragons.

KWAZIZIZIZIZIK!

The air itself screamed as it tore apart. I couldn't even begin to imagine how much mana had been compressed into that attack.

'Even a dragon couldn't shrug off something like that…….'

I watched the dragons with a face tight with anxiety, and then—

『Stop.』

The blonde male dragon reached out a hand and spoke a single word.

ZIIIIING—!!

Astoundingly, the black beam simply froze in midair.

- Watch closely. That is the Dragon Tongue.

'……!'

So this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was the Dragon Tongue—the sole inheritance of dragons, hailed as the mightiest authority on earth.

『Burst.』

A slightly softer voice this time.

As the red-haired female dragon standing beside him murmured those words—

KWAAAAAAAH!!

With a colossal detonation, a portion of the Abyss simply evaporated.

And not a small portion, either. A full quarter of the Abyss's mass was gone.

CHIIIIIK!

From the place it had been erased, black smoke boiled up without end.

Graaaaaah!

From the Abyss came a shriek that no living thing should have been able to produce.

Hearing that shriek, goosebumps crawled up my arms all over again.

At the same moment, the Abyss's two eyes narrowed once more.

I felt the omen of it—the creature was gathering itself to attack again.

But the dragons were a step faster.

『Burst. Shatter and be crushed. Be torn to ribbons and perish.』

BANG! Crack, SHIIIIK, KWAAAANG!!

The words of power fell one after another.

Parts of the Abyss burst apart and were ripped away.

Without even the time to let out a death rattle, chunks of the creature's body were ground and shredded—then scattered into nothing.

KWAAAAAAAAA!!

Where the Abyss had existed, only black smoke hung thick as distilled mist. And in the midst of it, a red light glinted.

You two. I remember you.

A voice that curdled the blood was aimed at the dragons.

"A thing bound to the Tower, unable to do anything, and all it has left is a big mouth."

"Remember this—if ever you are freed from your constraint, then so too shall we be freed from ours."

Graaaaaah—!

With a guttural roar in answer to the dragons' words, the Abyss vanished from its place at last.

"Good grief……."

A frightened voice came from beside me.

The destructive power of the Dragon Tongue had made even the Seven Ascenders tremble with fear.

"They're coming this way."

"Surely they're not hostile toward us as well?"

The dragons that had driven off the Abyss approached us. Up close, they looked even more unreal than before.

Walking statues, perhaps. I'd always thought I could hold my own anywhere in the looks department, but these two weren't even on the scale of humans.

- That is simply what their forms, shaped through magic, must be.

Polymorph, was it? That, too, was a magic out of legend.

It was a moment that let me appreciate all over again what it meant for dragons to be the progenitors of all magic.

"……"

The two dragons came to a stop one meter in front of us.

A silence that made the air hard to breathe settled between us.

- Seeing them this close, I'm certain now—that is not their true body. They are projecting avatars.

Just then, Aleon relayed the words into my ear.

They'd shown off power like that, and that wasn't even their real body—just an avatar?

- Indeed. And as for the Abyss—if it is the same being I know, then what appeared here was merely a faint fragment of its power.

'How faint, exactly?'

- If I had to put it in terms you'd understand—the grime under one of its claws, at best.

My jaw dropped.

That beam of destruction, capable of rending space itself—that had been nothing more than a flick of its claw?

…Whoa. The scale here is impossible.

Before those beings, the Seven Ascenders and everything else they stood for looked utterly meaningless.

- That is why I told you at the very beginning, no? Reaching 10-Star rank means you have merely earned the qualification to set one foot on the threshold of the universe's truth.

Right—now that I thought about it, Aleon had said exactly that when we first met. At the time, it hadn't really landed, and I'd just nodded along. But now I found myself wondering whether the widely accepted belief that Floor 10 was truly the end of the Sky Tower was even correct.

- That much, I cannot tell you. There are constraints. Go and see for yourself.

Apparently even Aleon couldn't speak on that.

- In any case, the Seven Ascenders only seem relatively weak because of the Tower's constraints. If they reach the 9th floor—their permitted limit—you would witness feats on an entirely different dimension from what you see now.

Yeah. I figured as much.

But wait—should dragons that powerful really be wandering around wherever they please? For all I knew, they could wipe out the entire 3rd floor on a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whim.

- Not so. They strained themselves enormously to manifest here at all. Even their use of the Dragon Tongue was only possible because an 'Abyss' of matching rank was present to receive it.

That tracked, I supposed. If they could have brought that kind of power to bear freely, the Abyss would have been raining attacks like that on us from the very start.

While I was deep in silent conversation with Aleon, a moan slipped from the lips of Lumina, still cradled in my arms.

"Kyuu……"

Oh!

I looked down at her, worry written across my face.

Her complexion was still deathly pale. Clearly, she wasn't going to recover like this.

"Lumina."

The blonde man gazed down at her with pitying eyes.

"Kyuu……"

Lumina could do no more than let out those faint, thin whimpers.

"Thanks to you, she was spared the worst of it."

The red-haired woman stepped forward and parted her lips.

They knew, it seemed—that Lumina and I had made our contract through the Oath of Destiny.

"Yes, but her condition isn't good."

"Indeed. This place binds down her very presence."

"To restore her, she must be taken to a higher floor."

They said exactly what Aleon's solution had been.

"Yes. I imagine there's no other way."

"Oh?"

At my words, the two exchanged a glance and let out a sound of approval.

"You already knew?"

"Yes."

"I see. You are indeed worthy of calling yourself Lumina's contractor."

They nodded, formally acknowledging me as Lumina's contracted partner.

A weight slipped off my chest. In the worst case, I'd been wondering what on earth I'd do if they refused to recognize the bond between Lumina and me.

"Have no fear. The contract you made with Lumina is a sacred oath conducted under draconic law. It is not without precedent even in ages past, and we have no intention of denying it. Set your worries aside."

Uh—wait. What?

Did you just read my mind?

- Understand this: dragons master nearly every discipline that exists in this world. Among them, telepathy is practically basic etiquette for them. That is why, whenever I dealt with dragons, I fortified my mind and raised walls around my heart.

Whew. Truly deserving of the title of strongest race, huh.

Wait—hold on. Can they read THIS thought too?

"If it troubles you, I shall read no further."

Oh. Uh. Thank you? Was that what I was supposed to say?

In any case, I was left marveling at the dragons' abilities.

"We know of a way to restore Lumina, so I will speak plainly. Will you entrust Lumina to us?"

That was, if anything, exactly what I'd hoped for.

But it worried me all the same. If I handed her over now, when would I see her again? I'd only just been formally introduced to the little thing, and now we'd be apart for who knew how long. It stung.

"I'll leave her in your care. But—might I ask when I'll be able to see Lumina again?"

"When you set foot upon the 7th floor, you shall meet again."

So that was how it would be. Just as I let out a short sigh, the red-haired woman, silent until now, spoke up.

"If you carry this, you will be able to communicate with her continuously even from afar, once Lumina has recovered."

With that, she held out a stone—snow white, no larger than her palm.

Hold on, wait. Looking at it closely, it was no ordinary stone.

This was……

A genuine Mythic-grade item. And a growth-type, on top of that.

'Good grief!'

Beftting its Mythic rank, the options and stats were absolutely monstrous. But there was exactly one reason I was this stunned.

'Thirty-five mana stat!'

KWAAAAH!

I could almost hear mana cascading down like a waterfall right beside my ears.

'This is insane.'

I'd been struggling along, starved for mana this whole time—and now, at last, I felt like I had the reserves worthy of a Level 3 mage-class Ascender.

Even after picking up Double Casting, I hadn't been able to make proper use of it thanks to my mana shortage. Now I could finally wield it to its full potential.

And that wasn't all.

'I'm not far off from activating now, am I?'

I flicked a glance at my stats.

My base mana was a measly 9. But with the bonus stats piled on, I'd crossed 60.

Only 39 more, and I could awaken the dragon blood of Dragonia.

- If you promote the Sage's Tome and the Sage's Robe to their next grades as well, your mana will approach 100.

With Aleon's remark on top of everything, the awakening of my dragon blood felt close enough to touch.

"Thank you. I'll treasure it."

Genuine gratitude welled up from the bottom of my heart. Perhaps sensing it, the red-haired woman who had handed over the Tooth of Dragon Lumina broke into a soft smile.

'And now I've gained the Dragon's Imprint on top of it all.'

The Mythic-grade imprint I'd obtained when I contracted my first dragon familiar earlier.

An imprint whose effects reached their peak when battling dragons or fighting alongside one as a partner. In other words, the moment Lumina was at my side, my core combat power would soar as well.

'I need to reach the 7th floor as fast as I can.'

Another reason to climb to the higher floors, and quickly.

"Then we shall await you."

The two dragons, Lumina cradled in their arms, sent us off with words of warm encouragement.

So all that business about dragons being terrifying turned out to be nothing but scare stories, huh. They'd even given me wonderful gifts and heartfelt encouragement—practically Mother Teresas, the pair of them.

"Lumina, I'll come find you soon. Get plenty of rest and recover well, okay?"

"Kyuu……"

At my words, Lumina lifted her head with visible effort and made a sound.

『Come… soon.』

Her thoughts echoed faintly, hesitantly, in my mind.

Yeah. Grow strong and healthy in your guardians' care. I'll come running before you know it.

The moment my exchange with Lumina ended, the dragons made to turn back at once.

And then—

James hurried forward, opening his mouth.

"Um—may I ask just one thing?"

"What is it, human."

The atmosphere was the polar opposite of how they'd treated me. A frigid wind blew through, biting to the bone.

Even though none of it was directed at me, the coldness made my joints ache. Ahh. Seeing that temperature gap, I finally understood. This was how they normally were. The warmth they'd shown me had been the exception.

"The blood of the Demonic Dragon flows in my body. The curse worsens with every passing day—is there any way it can be cured?"

James asked the dragons, his face edged with desperation.

"Hmm."

At that, the blonde dragon narrowed his eyes, studying James.

"When this one reaches the 7th floor, come find me with him. I shall tell you how it may be cured then."

"You are fortunate indeed, human. Consider it the blessing of a good connection."

With that, the red-haired dragon handed him a necklace.

"This will suppress the Demonic Dragon's blood from raging for the time being."

With those words, they opened a portal and vanished from where they stood.

"Whew. We've just lived through back-to-back things most people would never experience in a lifetime."

"Tell me about it."

Just as Ivan and Sophie said—today's events were the kind most people would never once encounter in their entire lives.

"Either way, it's a relief we've got a lead on a cure thanks to Unknown, James."

"That's true."

At Ivan's words, James turned to me with earnest eyes and offered his thanks.

"Thank you, Unknown. Thanks to you, I've found a path toward a cure. I will carve this debt into my heart."

"You flatter me. I'm just glad there's a lead to work with."

Whew. Having James thank me so formally was honestly pretty overwhelming.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

This guy—normally it takes someone of considerable standing to earn gratitude like that. To be fair, standing next to James had dulled my sense of reality, but he was, by name and by deed, the most influential Ascender in the entire world. And yet he was expressing such sincere thanks to a small fry like me.

At this point, didn't that pretty much settle the question of his character?

- It could simply be that he still needs your help. He must go with you, after all, if those dragons are to tell him of a cure.

No, come on—Aleon had been subtly cool toward James this whole time.

Surely that wasn't why James had acted as he did.

"Unknown, I was thinking of becoming your sponsor. Would that be acceptable?"

"My sponsor?"

"Yes. Only if you reach the 7th floor quickly can my own Demonic Dragon blood be cured."

- There. I told you. Everything he said was because his own interests were at stake.

Well, obviously. That much was only natural.

In any case, there was no reason to refuse James's offer.

"Gladly."

If the world's number one Ascender sponsored me, that would be nothing short of wings on my growth, wouldn't it?

I clasped James's hand, breaking into a bright smile.

James's sponsorship was extravagant.

Gold coins. Items. Everything that could be obtained on the 3rd floor, he showered on me.

If only he'd also found something to raise my mana stat while he was at it.

Items with attached stats were vanishingly rare to begin with, so hunting down mana on gear of 3-Star or below was no easy task.

Still, it wasn't as though I came away empty-handed.

Earrings that raised mana by a whole 3 points. A mere +3 to the mana ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stat, and it earned a Legendary rating.

Wow. Looking at it this way, I could really feel all over again just how absurdly overpowered the stats from the Sage's Tome and Sage's Robe were.

In any case, riding the wave of top-grade gear and equipment, I tore through the 3rd floor like a runaway train—and before long, I reached Level 30.

"Finally, Level 30!"

Tasting sweetness in my mouth, I stretched my back straight.

"I'll take the 4th floor Ascension Exam tomorrow."

My heart wanted to sprint straight to the exam right now, so desperate was I to reach the 7th floor as soon as possible. But pacing my stamina mattered too. And if I wanted to claim the number one spot on the Hall of Fame for this 4th floor Ascension Exam, recovering my condition first was the smarter play in every way.

So, with tomorrow in mind, I left the Sky Tower for the first time in a while to head home—and froze.

"Huh?"

Dozens of missed calls. I blinked at the sender information.

It was none other than my very first sponsor—Han Gain.