Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Forgotten Main Quest?
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I'd been playing Dragon Defense for ten years.
Never once had I laid eyes on a dragon.
I'd only ever sensed their presence indirectly through ruins or ancient items.
Never actually made contact with one.
My gamer instincts were screaming at me now.
The destruction of the Arcana Kingdom was right here in front of me.
Because of those massive dragon bones.
"About 4,976 years ago, our Founder King, who bore the blood of dragons, founded this Arcana."
A kingdom older than the Empire.
The dynasty with the deepest history on the continent.
There was a legend that the Founder King who established Arcana was a half-dragon, half-human.
I'd always thought it was just the usual myth tacked on to venerate the founder...
"After a long period of training, the Founder purified the tainted human blood within and finally awakened the dragon blood, reborn as a pure dragon."
"And then ascended."
No one in the kingdom—not even the nobles—believed it was true. I figured it was just a fairy tale.
But it was real?
So that's why the game was called Dragon Defense?
Those developer bastards.
If they'd hidden a secret like this in the tutorial, I would've pushed the main story ages ago.
Why leave it buried for ten years?
Hold on. The founder got booted from the company a year after launch. Did that bury the main event?
If the Arcana main quest was like a treasure island the founder had hidden away...
And after he got kicked out, no one knew, and it got forgotten?
"My son, I know that the Founder appeared to you in your dreams in the form of a dragon. The same happened to me, and to the king before me."
This was absolutely not the time to say I'd never had a dream like that.
"They say it was such a powerful manifestation that others witnessed it too. It overflowed beyond what your consciousness could contain."
That was just the effect from a lookalike mythic-grade item...
"I'm certain of it. Perhaps in your generation, our royal family's long-cherished wish will finally come true."
His wrinkled hands gripped mine tightly.
"The Founder will surely return one day. They will dwell once more in the flesh left on this earth, protecting our kingdom in their glorious draconic form."
"...Father, why would the Founder, who ascended with such difficulty thousands of years ago, come back down to this insignificant mortal world?"
I was a little worried I'd get scolded for blasphemy.
But the king remained unflinching.
"Because they promised they would."
"..."
"The reason for their ascension was precisely for us, their descendants, and for the kingdom. To contemplate the great laws that govern the world and attain divine knowledge—that is the purpose of ascension."
"They will return to share that forbidden knowledge with us humans."
Suddenly, I thought of Prometheus, who gave fire to humanity only to have his liver pecked out as punishment.
Sharing forbidden knowledge with humans usually didn't end well.
Wouldn't it incur divine wrath or something?
The Arcana Kingdom was the beginning and end of the game's lore.
They set up a killer opening, but when the founder got ousted, the ending got forgotten.
Damn it.
Just when I'd packed up all my stuff, this happened. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Cough! Cough!"
I supported the coughing king as we returned.
Mana exhaustion wasn't enough for this guy? Why push himself so hard?
Before closing his eyes on the bed, the king gripped my hand tightly and pleaded.
"My son, the day you were born... I dreamed of massive dragon wings enveloping the entire kingdom. It was too vivid to be just a dream."
"Father, enough talk. You need to rest now."
"Descending to the mortal world may be far more difficult than ascending. Perhaps the role of we descendants left behind is essential..."
"Uncovering that and aiding the Founder's return is the duty of our royal line..."
If this were really a game,
'Main Quest: Journey for the Dragon' or something might've popped up.
The king fell asleep.
I headed underground alone.
Placing my hand on the silver door etched with ornate patterns, it opened with a burst of light.
A vast cavern.
Massive dragon bones preserved in perfect form, like a restored dinosaur skeleton.
The wingspan alone exceeded hundreds of meters.
So this is the final boss of the Dragon Defense world?
The king believed it fervently.
"The Founder has surely completed their preparations to descend to the mortal world."
"We must carry out whatever preparations are needed to welcome them."
"Uncovering that is the royal family's long-cherished wish."
"Examine the shed skin of ascension closely..."
No quest window appeared, of course.
But this had to be the main quest, no doubt about it.
I slowly circled the massive dragon bones.
It's huge. And not decayed at all.
It's been here for thousands of years.
Yet the bones gleamed with luster.
Not a speck of dust anywhere.
I finally stood before the dragon's skull.
Its empty eye sockets brimmed with darkness.
If this is truly the Founder King's remains, then what's in the royal crypt is fake or symbolic.
The darkness pooling in those hollow eyes.
I couldn't stop staring at it.
I gazed blankly into the abyss within the skull for a long while. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Object <Dragon's Remains> observed. Unique Skill Discernment Eye (F) rank has increased. What?
My mod... no, my unique skill could level up like this? ⚔ STATUS ⚔ ✨ Unique Skill: Discernment Eye (E) Can pierce through all items and objects without restriction. ⚔ OBJECT INFO ⚔ 📦 Name: Dragon's Remains: Shed Skin of Ascension 📜 Description: Remains left on earth by the Founder King of the Arcana Kingdom ✨ Status: Faintly resonating with the ascended Founder's soul. The only path for their return to the mortal world ⚠️ Note: Contains high magical rank. Can be dismantled into items, but not recommended. Object scanning...
My original mod never had such an evil feature.
Using cheats ruined the fun of discovering game elements.
I'd installed it just to save time appraising items while running around town.
But observing dragon bones made it evolve?
Object discernment, huh. This'll make clearing the game easier... no, surviving in this world much better.
Hidden ruins or shrines.
Mines with rare ores or terrain infused with magic.
Magic towers or dungeons disguised as ordinary landscapes.
I could spot them all.
But veterans like me never used it.
Object discernment mods could seriously ruin the game's fun.
Let's see, then...
I observed the dragon bones.
The skill activated automatically.
As if rewinding time, the bones transformed.
Ligaments and muscles formed on the bones, fascia covered them, veins connected, flesh and scales grew.
Not the dragon coming back to life,
But observing its form as it lived.
So this is what it looked like alive. Or... can it even be called fully dead?
It was pure white, reminiscent of sunlight.
Its massive eyes pierced me with vertically slit pupils.
I locked eyes with the dragon.
It felt like communicating across thousands of years.
The dragon split in two.
A translucent soul separated from the body and ascended high.
I looked up, witnessing the dragon's ascension from millennia ago.
The pitch-black night sky.
The dragon's soul soared vigorously beyond the stars.
Into a storm of sparkling starlight, the soul vanished into the distance.
"..."
The scene returned to normal.
The ancient cavern, the massive dragon bones.
A strange emptiness washed over me.
For a moment, it felt like my very being had elevated...
Like flying through the sky only to suddenly lose my wings?
Dizzy, I sank to the ground for a bit, still observing the bones.
The lingering presence in the bones connects to a higher dimension.
I could see faint light leaking from the bones, stretching to impossibly high skies.
The effect of Discernment Eye at E-rank.
Assume the Founder King can observe the kingdom through these remains.
Like a grandfather goose who left for a higher dimension to make big money.
Watching his beloved descendants via home cam, waiting to return, hoping they're eating well.
Then one wastrel descendant kills his own father and seizes the throne?
I'd flip out too.
In rage, the resonating bones went berserk, wiping out the Arcana Kingdom,
Turning what was once a kingdom into ocean?
The Founder probably didn't intend to destroy the kingdom.
The bones resonated with fury and caused a disaster on their own?
Sounds like a solid quest scenario.
Good.
So the Founder, watching home via cam, has no reason to rage anymore.
Kingdom destruction route safely averted...
Rumble! Roooar!
"Wh-what?"
The cavern shook faintly.
I could see the leaking presence destabilizing the leylines. ⚔ OBJECT INFO ⚔ 📦 Name: Dragon's Remains: Shed Skin of Ascension 📜 Description: Remains left on earth by the Founder King of the Arcana Kingdom ✨ Status: Joy "F-Founder! I get that you're happy, but please calm down! We'll all die!"
The bones were merely linked to the Founder's soul in a higher dimension—no control possible.
Discernment Eye told me as much.
I hurriedly fled the underground cavern.
The vibrations faded the farther I got.
The palace folk hadn't felt the quake at all.
I wasn't sensing it directly now either—just observing the leylines' tremors via Discernment Eye.
Startled birds took flight all at once.
The countless insects hiding in the garden marched in lines.
Ants poured from their burrows, carrying their queen, eggs, and food in orderly procession.
The omen of destruction that once erased the Arcana Kingdom and turned it to sea.
Yet the palace folk went about their days as usual.
Because it was a threat humans couldn't easily detect.
That was when it happened. "My descendant of the 200th generation, Prince Ragna, hear me." A faint voice wormed into my ear.
It felt like a whisper directly into my mind.
Light gathered before my eyes, forming a human silhouette.
Long silver hair nearly pure white.
Pale white skin without a trace of color, red lips.
She was a beauty so unreal, I lost myself staring.
The Founder King... is a woman?
The ethereal beauty waved her arms desperately as she explained. "The shed skin I left behind is going berserk. This is not my will." "It's dangerous—hurry to the Dragon's Rest, where I founded this nation, and take shelter." "I swear it's not me causing this... please don't misunderstand... I'm truly sorry... find me again at the altar..." By the end, tears genuinely welled in her eyes.
The Founder King vanished before finishing.
I stood there dumbfounded for a moment.
No, why is she a woman?
And ridiculously beautiful too. Not even useful...
"This isn't the time."
I immediately summoned the Prime Minister.
No time to gather all the retainers.
Whining about packing was a bad omen, huh.
"We will immediately begin a holy pilgrimage to pray for Father's recovery! Every single citizen of the kingdom moves to the holy site!"