The Pulse of the Dragon
-Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The mercenary Pabel was having an experience he had never encountered in his entire life.
‘Am I dreaming?’
As a veteran of Milberg’s Compass, he thought he had seen and survived every possible situation… yet here was something he never could have imagined.
Right now, he was riding in a carriage pulled by a drake.
The speed was impressive enough, but the complete absence of monster attacks felt almost luxurious. The road to any ruin was normally plagued by relentless assaults from wild monsters, yet the drake’s mere presence had swept the area clean.
Inside the carriage, three mercenaries from Milberg’s Compass rode alongside Lim Dojun. When they glanced outside, they saw the drake galloping steadily while dragging the carriage behind it.
Of course, ordinary horse harnesses and yokes could never have fit a five-meter drake. Lim Dojun had solved that problem with magic. He had shaped connectors out of ice to perfectly match the drake’s size, fitted them in place, and they had set off.
-Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Thanks to that, they could travel in such comfort…
“Dreck. The vibration is too strong. Ease up a little.”
Lim Dojun rapped on the carriage wall and called out. A sharp -Kyaaak! rang out in reply, and the shaking of the carriage lessened noticeably.
The mercenaries watching this exchange were left utterly speechless. They were already riding more comfortably than they ever had in their lives, yet he was complaining about the vibration?
But Lim Dojun was completely serious.
‘The ride quality is terrible.’
Carriages inevitably grew exponentially more uncomfortable past a certain speed. Expecting modern suspension in a fantasy carriage was unreasonable, yet the discomfort was still considerable. Feeling somewhat guilty that his own drake was causing inconvenience to the others, Lim Dojun turned to the mercenaries.
“I apologize. I should have made the ride more comfortable for you. Our Dreck can be a bit rough. Please bear with it.”
“......”
“......”
The mercenaries agonized over what possible response they could give before simply closing their mouths.
‘The mind of an Elder-rank mage is… truly beyond comprehension!’
A drake could traverse mountain paths with complete freedom. Rugged, treacherous terrain? Its wings might be small, but short glides were possible, allowing it to leap, bound, and soar its way forward. The carriage strapped to its back posed no significant hindrance.
“I told you to smooth it out!”
“Kyaaaaak!”
Though Lim Dojun’s constant scolding was irritating, the drake eventually came to a stop exactly where he wanted.
They had reached the midpoint of a deep mountain slope. After racing through the range for nearly a week, resting only briefly, they had finally arrived at their destination.
Once the carriage halted, Amber disembarked first and offered a respectful bow.
“Thank you for providing transportation, Elder.”
“Not at all. You were the one who prepared the carriage, Amber.”
“...If I had known things would turn out this way, I would have brought a much better one.”
She meant every word. Even a carriage built for eight horses probably wouldn’t have been too difficult for the drake to pull.
Lim Dojun scanned their surroundings.
“By the way, is the ruin around here?”
There were no visible traces anywhere.
“We’ll have to locate it from this point onward.”
“Locate it?”
“Yes. Ancient ruins rarely have precise records remaining.”
Exploring ruins usually began with the faintest of clues. The rest had to be filled in through sheer effort and intuition. That was why it was so difficult. If detailed information existed, anyone could go exploring; there would be no need for specialized professionals. The standard process involved starting with vague hints, gradually gathering concrete data, and trudging across the land until the ruin was finally discovered.
“Of course, our situation is slightly different. With reliable clues, we have a high probability of success. That’s why we invited you all the way here, Elder.”
Amber quickly added the explanation. She had not pinpointed the exact location or obtained solid information—only ambiguous clues. Calling an Elder of the Blue Magic Tower under such circumstances could have earned her severe criticism with no room for excuses.
“The reason I am able to lead the mercenary company known as Milberg’s Compass is because of an ancient superpower called ‘Compass.’ That’s also why I named the group as such.”
When exploring ancient ruins, one could occasionally obtain abilities completely unlike anything modern humanity possessed. These were known as superpowers.
The superpower Compass had a simple effect: if a ruin containing ancient power existed within a certain range, it would reveal the direction.
For ruin explorers, it was an enviable ability. There were many fake ruins and worthless ones, but trusting the Compass guaranteed you would reach a site imbued with genuine ancient power.
“...That does sound quite tempting.”
Lim Dojun’s eyes sparkled after listening to Amber’s explanation. He found the ability far more desirable than the circlet known as the Third Eye.
‘Should I ask for that as well?’
The original trade condition had been to bring her along to the dragon ruins, but he now wanted this ability too.
“Ahaha. Elder, you offer far more considerate words than other mages. It is a humble ability, yet I am grateful you view it favorably.”
Most ancient ruins yielded useless items. The exploration process was difficult and time-consuming, with rewards that were rarely worthwhile. There were times when ten ruins in a row produced nothing but garbage. Because it could devour vast amounts of time and money, ruin exploration was often considered a necessary evil.
“Humble? I am speaking sincerely. The Compass ability is far more attractive than that Third Eye circlet. Would it be possible to include it as an additional trade condition? I am willing to pay in gold coins if necessary.”
“...You truly mean that?”
Amber felt a surge of pride hearing an Elder-rank mage speak so highly of her ability. She continued with an apologetic expression.
“I am truly sorry, but this power is not bound to an artifact. It is imprinted directly in my mind, so I cannot give it away.”
Superpowers obtained from ancient ruins were sometimes imbued into objects, but other times they became engraved upon the explorer’s very soul. In Amber’s case, it had been imprinted upon her brain.
“Would it be difficult to survive if your head were severed?”
Lim Dojun asked, half-curious. If a compass could reside inside a head, surely there could be an ability that allowed survival even if that head were cleanly removed? Something like rapid regeneration might exist!
“......?”
Hearing those words to her face, Amber was horrified.
‘This… insane mage!?’
It sounded no different from declaring he would cut off her head and take it with him. The mercenaries swallowed hard in tension. Amber seriously considered striking first.
“It was a joke.”
Seeing her reaction, Lim Dojun realized it was impossible and simply shrugged.
“Ha, haha…”
Amber laughed awkwardly. She still wasn’t entirely sure whether he had been joking.
Amber’s ability proved truly remarkable.
“It seems to be this way, Elder.”
After wandering the mountain for a short while, she quickly locked onto a direction and began moving with purpose. As long as she possessed basic information about a ruin’s location, she could locate it without fail.
‘I really do want it.’
Lim Dojun stared at the back of Amber’s head with burning intensity. Having that ability would be an enormous help in his future searches for ruins. Even if he didn’t keep it for himself, handing it over to his faction would dramatically increase the efficiency of their operations.
“......”
Amber felt that gaze and broke into a cold sweat along her neck. The terror of not knowing when magic might come flying from behind her was palpable.
What saved her was the entrance to a massive cave.
“Ha, haha. It appears to be here, Mage. Fortunately, the ruin doesn’t seem to be buried or concealed underground.”
The cave sat within a crevice of the cliff face. It was easy to miss at first glance, but it was clearly a natural formation rather than an artificial one.
Only then did Lim Dojun finally shift his gaze from Amber to the cave entrance. He fell silent for a long moment.
-Thump. Thump.
-Thump. Thump.
Simply looking at the cave made his heart pound violently.
‘What is this…’
There was no mistake. Inside lay a dragon-related prize, dormant and waiting. And it was so enormous that its presence could be felt even from outside the ruin itself!
This was the first time a ruin had affected him so strongly. Impatience surged through Lim Dojun.
“Let’s head inside immediately. I’ll take the lead.”
“What? Elder! It’s dangerous!”
In any properly sized party, positions mattered. Shield warriors at the front, attacking warriors in the middle, reserve attackers or thieves on the flanks, and mages in the rear. That was the basic formation, the one that offered the highest survival rate. Once that formation collapsed, the party’s odds of survival plummeted.
‘Damn it! I heard he was the mage who toppled a marquis family, but he’s way too overconfident!’
Shield warrior Pabel swallowed a curse and rushed forward. If the Elder were injured, there was no telling what kind of retaliation the Blue Magic Tower might unleash upon them.
“Dragon-related ruins are often places where the ancients conducted research. Many of them have countermeasures against intruders!”
The moment Pabel tried to move past Lim Dojun—
-Creeeeak!
The ground beneath Lim Dojun’s feet froze instantly. Ice shot outward in every direction. Traps or hostile creatures made no difference. From floor to ceiling, the entire cave corridor had frozen solid. Nothing could emerge.
Yet within this world of ice, the mercenaries remained completely unharmed. They did not even feel the slightest chill. Despite the corridor clearly looking bitterly cold, the advanced magic—Domain Domination—had achieved perfect friend-or-foe recognition.
“What kind of magic is this…?”
While the mercenaries stared in astonishment, Lim Dojun moved swiftly across the ice. The deeper he went into the cave, the more violently his heart pounded. It was an intensity he had never experienced before.
‘Is there… actually a dragon corpse inside?’
The expectation rose unbidden.