The Legend of the Dragon
Instant rice with a tuna-mayo can, and a cola to wash it down when thirsty.
In Korea, it was the kind of combination few people would turn down.
Lee Chaerin, tasting it for the first time in fourteen years, was openly crying.
“Sniff… gulp… sob… ugh…”
“There, there. You can talk while you eat.”
She was spitting all over the place.
Lim Dojun kept his real thoughts to himself and simply waited for her to finish.
The portion wasn’t large, so she took her time, savoring each bite as if she were tasting something sacred.
When she finally seemed to have calmed down, Lim Dojun spoke.
“I heard bits and pieces from the others before, but do you know the full story behind why the Pope wants to see me?”
The previous visitors hadn’t known the deeper details.
They only understood that the Pope had grown interested in the method of taming a drake.
Lim Dojun suspected there was more and pressed her.
“It’s because of the dragon legend.”
Lee Chaerin answered only after she had eaten most of the food and regained some composure.
At first she had been ready to die rather than speak, but her attitude had completely flipped.
“The dragon legend?”
“Yeah. One of the ancient records says a dragon tore through the sky and crossed into another dimension.”
The Pope was endlessly training to surpass human limits.
With even the smallest catalyst, she believed she could do the same—tear open the heavens like the dragon in the legend or the first Pope.
That single step, however, had refused to come. Then she heard the rumor about Lim Dojun, the man who had tamed a dragon species.
So that’s what this is about.
What a monster.
How could a human possibly tear through dimensions?
Even Lim Dojun, who had mastered advanced magic and dragon soul magic, considered such a feat something that only existed in the realm of imagination.
“Then does the Pope have any weaknesses?”
Even as the words left his mouth, Lim Dojun realized he had asked something rather ruthless.
Even if she had originally come from Earth, she was now a member of the Extreme Martial God Sect. There was no way she would—
“Got any more cola? I’ll tell you everything I know about the Pope.”
“…Here.”
“Ooh!”
One can of cola was all it took. Lee Chaerin’s face lit up, and she poured out every piece of information she possessed.
The organizational structure of the Extreme Martial God Sect, the list of its strongest members, the Pope’s approximate level of power, people who required special caution—nothing was held back.
After listening to it all, Lim Dojun mentally organized the information.
“So you belong to the Divine Martial Unit, the organization that worships the Pope as a literal god and shows the highest loyalty. Correct?”
“You caught on quick.”
“But is this really okay? You’re completely betraying the Pope right now.”
“Divine Martial Unit, whatever. How am I supposed to say no to cola?”
Lee Chaerin shrugged.
After fourteen years in another world, this Korean woman had genuinely concluded that cola was greater than the Pope.
“And you, the guy who hands it out so freely—you’re basically a living god. Want to start a religion? I’d join you in a heartbeat.”
“I’ll pass.”
“I was being serious. Well, if you don’t want to, I can’t force you. In that case, can I ask you something?”
“If you’re asking how I brought Earth goods here, it’s one of my unique abilities.”
Lim Dojun gave her the same story he had told the Astelgard Returnee Association—that it was a supernatural power he had coincidentally obtained inside ancient ruins.
“Ancient ruins… It’s true that many mysterious powers are said to lie among ancient knowledge, so that checks out.”
It was a lie, but it sounded believable enough that Lee Chaerin simply nodded.
Of course, if she died later, returned to Earth, and visited the Astelgard Returnee Association, things could get complicated.
At that point, the fact that Lim Dojun could travel between Earth and Astelgard might be exposed.
Well. What happens later doesn’t really matter.
He had already grown far stronger after learning dragon soul magic. How much more explosively he would grow from now on was anyone’s guess.
Lee Chaerin wasn’t going to die in a day or two.
By the time his lie was discovered, he doubted anyone would be left capable of holding him accountable.
Time was on his side.
Right now, Lim Dojun’s attention was on a different matter.
“In any case, the Pope won’t give up on me.”
He would keep targeting him with the desperation of a drowning man clutching at straws.
Actually, even if the Pope himself didn’t care, his subordinates would act on their own.
Just as Lee Chaerin had attacked, members of the Extreme Martial God Sect would surely keep coming without rest.
“Alternatively, is there no way to defeat the Pope? I’m also planning to challenge for an Elder seat in the Blue Magic Tower. Once I hold a position that high, I could ally with other continental powers and have a proper showdown with the Extreme Martial God Sect.”
The sect was already half a public enemy of the continent. If public opinion was guided properly, it wasn’t impossible.
After all, the sect members secretly operating across the continent were constantly causing incidents.
“There are many powerful forces on the continent. The so-called prestigious families, the great magic towers, the medium and small towers, knight orders, monastic orders, mercenary companies… If they all truly united, there’s no telling what could happen.”
“Exactly. There must be countless strong organizations. Uniting them won’t be easy, but if they somehow succeed, even the Extreme Martial God Sect would…”
“If every one of those forces joined together, the Pope facing them alone might find it a little difficult. The odds would be about fifty-fifty.”
“……?”
Lim Dojun doubted his ears.
“The Pope alone against the entire continent has a fifty-fifty win rate?”
“Yep.”
“What if the Extreme Martial God Sect supports him?”
“What’s there to even say? It’s a guaranteed victory.”
Lee Chaerin shrugged again.
The reason the Extreme Martial God Sect remained hidden inside Monster Land was purely the Pope’s own will.
If not for that, the continent would have been overturned long ago.
It was almost impossible to believe, yet Lee Chaerin had no reason to lie.
Above all, the casual way she spoke proved she was simply stating facts.
“…I suppose I’ll just have to avoid them carefully on my own.”
“You don’t have to worry about the Pope himself. He never leaves the main headquarters.”
“Is there some kind of restriction?”
Lim Dojun asked, hoping for a weakness, but Lee Chaerin shook her head.
“It’s not a restriction placed by anyone else. He simply refuses to leave. He’s broken through several walls while meditating inside the headquarters. So he says he won’t step outside until he attains enlightenment. It’s a kind of jinx.”
Like athletes who refused to break their personal rituals, the Pope did not want to abandon the lifestyle he had maintained until now.
Thanks to that stubbornness he had reached the pinnacle of the continent. Even though it was a restriction of his own making, he would uphold it without fail.
“That’s fortunate, at least. Still, the constant attacks from everyone else will be annoying…”
“Want me to help?”
“You?”
“We’re fellow Koreans, aren’t we?”
“You must want something in return.”
Lim Dojun smirked, seeing straight through her.
“Let’s hear how you plan to help.”
“If a Divine Martial Unit member like me claims that I’m the one targeting you, the others won’t come looking until they learn I failed. Unless the Pope personally orders them, that is.”
“But you did fail.”
“If both of us keep quiet, no one will know.”
It was a rather tempting offer.
The sect members always brought decent gifts, but he couldn’t stay on edge forever.
Even this time, if luck hadn’t been on his side, Lee Chaerin’s ambush could have caused serious damage.
“Fine. If that method works, I promise to supply you with Earth food on a regular basis.”
“Okay! Deal sealed!”
Lee Chaerin broke into a bright smile, and the two shared a satisfying handshake.
The original reason Lim Dojun had left the city was to test his own strength.
After learning dragon soul magic and stepping into advanced magic, he wanted an objective measure of exactly how powerful he had become.
Although he had unexpectedly clashed with Lee Chaerin, the outcome left him satisfied.
At this level, I’m clearly in the upper ranks even among returnees.
It had only been a few months since he entered the other world. This was a more than satisfying result.
Moreover, the dragon soul magic had stabilized his body for the time being. There was something he needed to handle.
—Hiss.
Lim Dojun rose from the capsule and sat down at his desk.
He opened a drawer, pulled out a thick bundle of documents, and set it down.
It was the file the masked old man from the Ghost Temple had given him.
Beside it, he placed the soul stone.
“Come out.”
U…nderstood…
The soul floated up from the stone.
It was Park Chan-woo of the Ghost Temple.
Go Wonjin had sealed him inside, and a cooperative magician from the Extreme Martial God Sect had personally released the soul from its prison.
The release had happened some time ago, but other matters had kept Lim Dojun too busy to check until now.
He had worried the damaged soul stone might have already destroyed the soul, but it still appeared intact.
“I’m going to read this report now. Stay beside me. If you have anything to add, speak up. Answer any questions I ask as well.”
Park Chan-woo, who had already lost half his mind and could only obey, gave a slow nod.
Lim Dojun began reading the report.
Flip. Flip.
With every page his eyes changed.
As I suspected…
He had guessed after seeing the Ghost Temple last time, but the Crystal Dragon had been an artificially summoned monster.
An error during gate manifestation caused certain Earth humans to fall into the other world before returning. We drew our concept from this phenomenon. If returning Earth humans are possible, could we not also summon monsters from the other world? The following document records the experiment that originated from this question.
The summoning of the Crystal Dragon was not an independent action by the Ghost Temple. The Temple acted merely as a subcontractor. A higher organization issued the orders, and the project was carried out jointly after negotiations with the government.
The appearance of the Crystal Dragon in Paju was no coincidence. The government had simply supplied a site near the local military base.
Even the leader of the Special Counter-Abnormal Team was aware of this experimental plan.
Lim Dojun crumpled the report in his fist.
“Ha…”
The incident that had killed all his subordinates and nearly left him bedridden for the rest of his life had been nothing more than an experiment born from someone’s twisted desire.
And his own direct superior had known about it.
Just what had he and his team sacrificed themselves for?
After taking several deep breaths, Lim Dojun continued reading.
He intended to burn the faces of every single culprit into his memory.