Chapter 170
Chapter 170
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: Briareus's Lair
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"What are you doing?"
*Rustle-!*
He hastily pushed aside the papers covered in equations and symbols that were spread across the room.
Herteias stood up awkwardly, like a child caught in the middle of some mischief.
"Hm? It's nothing."
"Looks like something to me."
Do-jae picked up a piece of paper that had fallen by his feet.
It was covered in familiar formulas.
*Fwip-. *
"Hehe. I told you, it's nothing. Thanks for picking it up, though?"
Herteias snatched the paper from Do-jae's hand and quickly gathered the scattered sheets.
Then, he summoned a flame in his palm, instantly turning them to ash.
"Hmm… I feel like I've seen that somewhere… It was definitely related to summoning…"
"No!"
"Hm?"
"No! It wasn't summoning… It was for Eurabia… I need to build the temple quickly… to make the surroundings pretty… Right! Civil engineering! I was creating a useful spell for civil engineering!"
Thoroughly flustered, Herteias rambled incoherently.
Do-jae narrowed his eyes and glared at him before pointing toward the storage room.
"Well, I don't care if you're making summoning magic or civil engineering magic. I've cleared out the storage room."
"You have? Good job! The storage was getting full anyway, so I was thinking of cleaning it out. Perfect timing. I should give it a good rinse with water while I'm at it. Hahaha."
Do-jae was dumbfounded.
This dragon's lair wasn't some deep cave in a forest; it was protected by all sorts of complex spells and maintained by dwarves, elves, and other races who roamed about.
He had been in the storage room and knew for a fact that not a single speck of dust had settled on anything.
"Right, I'd like you to free the other races you're using as slaves. Don't you think they'd want to protect their own homes?"
"Oh, sure, let's do that. And they're not slaves, they're retainers. I provide them with proper food and a place to sleep."
"…If you say so."
"You! Come here!"
Herteias called out to a tiger-person who had been trying to sneak away.
"You called for me!"
The tiger-person, with a large, inverted-triangle torso and a long tail, ran over briskly and stood at attention.
"You, go tell all the retainers here to go home."
"G-Go home, sir? Where to… we have nowhere to go…"
"Anywhere! You must have a place where your kind gathers, don't you?"
"Yes, sir! Understood!"
The tiger-person looked crestfallen, but at Herteias's irritated tone, he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.
"There, satisfied?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Shall we head to Briareus's lair now?"
"Uh… let's go."
Herteias suddenly taking the initiative to handle things made him even more suspicious.
But Do-jae couldn't figure out what he was thinking, so he decided to head to Briareus's lair for now.
***
*Flash-!*
They arrived in a place where a cool breeze was blowing.
Thick wild grass grew, and lush trees stood tall.
"The eastern part of the continent, where Briareus's lair is. Let's go in."
When Herteias used fire magic on the bare ground, the surroundings charred black, revealing a brass door.
The door, set into the ground, was locked with a thick chain and a padlock.
*CRASH-!*
"Give me a heads-up next time…"
"Got it."
Because Herteias had destroyed the door without warning, the recoil sent the brass door flying far into the sky.
The door wasn't just secured with a physical lock; it was also enchanted with Lock magic, so he had to overwhelm it with his own magic to force it open.
"Couldn't you have just teleported inside the lair? Did you really have to break down your friend's front door?"
"You think you can just teleport anywhere you want? It's a surprisingly delicate magic. A dragon's lair is protected by all sorts of alarms, surveillance, and defensive spells. If you just barge in, there's no telling what might happen."
He might be able to do it in his own lair, but he couldn't recklessly intrude upon another dragon's.
They were a race that valued their territory quite highly, and some dragons would meticulously cast defensive spells not just over their lairs but for several kilometers around them.
Fortunately, he had visited Briareus's lair from time to time. The defensive spells outside the lair had been set not to react to Herteias, allowing him to enter easily.
"It should be around here somewhere."
After descending a long flight of stairs into the ground and passing through another long passage, they came to a space that looked habitable.
They continued down a corridor that resembled a medieval royal palace until a single door appeared.
"This is it!"
One thing he'd noticed on the way here was that Briareus's lair was a bit more modest compared to Herteias's.
Relatively modest, that is. Various works of art were still scattered everywhere.
There just weren't any golden statues to be seen.
"That guy. He sure made it complicated."
Herteias fiddled with the door a few times, then stepped back and placed his hands on his hips.
"What's wrong?"
"The Lock on the door is too powerful. I don't think I can undo it easily."
"Just break it like before."
"If it were that easy, I would've…"
*KRRRANG-!*
Do-jae pulled the Black Scale from his Subspace and slashed at the door.
However, there was only a massive shower of sparks; not even a scratch appeared on the door.
He was more worried that the Black Scale might have been damaged.
"I told you it wouldn't work. It's enchanted with Absolute Physical Nullification magic."
"You could have told me that earlier."
"I was about to, but you were the one who just went and slashed it."
"I didn't think there was anything the Black Scale couldn't cut."
Absolute Physical Nullification magic.
The ultimate spell, usable only by dragons.
And even for a dragon, it was a spell that required intricate mana circuits and an immense amount of mana to cast.
Normally, one wouldn't go so far as to put this level of magic even on their own lair.
If an alarm spell went off, they could just teleport back to the lair and deal with the intruder.
But to have Absolute Physical Nullification cast on it?
That meant whatever was inside was either incredibly precious or a treasure beyond imagination.
"Should we just go?"
"Just go? When we don't know what's inside?"
"Maybe it's just some personal collectibles?"
"That's what we came here to find."
Do-jae gave him a look of disbelief.
Herteias spoke playfully.
"Eh, there's probably nothing special. That guy might be eccentric, but he's not greedy for treasure."
"That's not the Briareus I saw. He seemed pretty obsessive and greedy."
"No way. I've known him for ages. He's definitely not like that."
Do-jae stared intently at Herteias once more.
The way he kept avoiding his gaze and smiling sheepishly made it seem like he couldn't undo the magic.
"Don't tell me. You can't break the spell, can you? Because the magic Briareus cast is too powerful…"
"What! Me? Ha! My magical skills are a cut above his, you know? I can break a pathetic little Absolute Physical Nullification spell like this in no time if I just look at it for a bit!"
As soon as Do-jae poked at his pride, Herteias reacted.
As expected, bruising a dragon's ego was the best way to get them to listen.
"Really? How long will it take?"
"Not long!"
"Alright. I'll go have a look around the lair for a bit then."
Leaving Herteias to plop down on the floor and get to work, Do-jae set off to explore Briareus's lair.
*Click-. *
Do-jae touched a phonograph standing in a corner.
A rather esoteric piece of music began to play.
"Interesting."
There was no electricity, no batteries, no power source at all, yet the music drifted gently through the air.
He started walking again, taking in the sights of the lair.
While Herteias's lair had only the necessary spaces, Briareus's was full of things to see.
Do-jae felt as if he were in a museum.
A few hours later.
"Still not done?"
"Ugh… Just a little, just a little more time."
Herteias was staring at the door, his neck craned forward.
Nothing seemed to have changed from before.
All Do-jae could see was Herteias's tired-looking back.
It didn't look like this would be over in a day or two.
"I'm going to step outside for a bit."
He could strongly feel Mangol's presence.
That meant Sari was nearby.
Do-jae glanced once more at Herteias's unresponsive back, then left the lair.
***
"Hamar, have you contacted Oson?"
"Yes. I told them the Gray Elves of Franken will head to the temple. They will likely relay the message to Oson Ironhammer."
The Gray Elf Hamar carefully placed a transparent, purple crystal orb into a cloth pouch as he replied.
Sari patted Hamar's back, telling him he did well.
"Where do you plan to go now?"
"To the closest place from here, Black Lake Village."
Black Lake Village.
It was the home village of the elf in the skull mask from the past fighting tournament.
"Will that be alright? They are a people who live in isolation from the outside world. They are famous for not accepting help from other elves, no matter how much danger their village is in…"
"I still have to go. Their strange arts and skills will be a great help."
"That is what worries me. They are a heretical group that worships evil gods instead of believing in the gods of Tranepeon. There may be a major conflict."
Hamar glanced at the Gray Elves beside him.
They had fled their village and traveled nonstop to reach Elatra's temple.
Even with the short rest they had there, the subsequent forced march to meet with other villages and races had left everyone's condition at rock bottom.
In such a state, encountering the elves of Black Lake Village—the Dark Elves—without preparation was akin to a gamble.
"That's why I'm thinking of going alone."
"What? What are you saying? Absolutely not!"
"Hamar, don't worry. I'll be going with Mangol here."
"I still forbid it! We don't know what kind of arts they might use to endanger you, Chieftain. Wouldn't it be better to just skip Black Lake Village?"
Hamar pleaded with her.
Sari understood Hamar's concerns well.
She also knew there was a high probability the Dark Elves would not be friendly.
But this was a time when she had to take such risks.
In a situation where they were borrowing the hands of even the naive young Gray Elf boy sitting over there gulping down water, she couldn't simply pass by the Dark Elves.
"I heard something once. The chieftain of Black Lake Village owes my grandmother a debt. If I mention my grandmother's name, they might be willing to talk."
"That is far too optimistic."
Sari touched the area around her neck.
A necklace was fastened around her slender throat.
It was a necklace engraved with the symbol of the Nightingale Forest, passed down through generations of chieftains.
"Please, trust me."
"…Chieftain."
Hamar's shoulders slumped.
Seeing the resolute look in Sari's eyes, he couldn't argue any further.
*Kkadeuk-!*
Just then, Mangol's body turned, and he looked off somewhere and spoke.
"Master. Is close."
At Mangol's words, Sari and Hamar turned their gazes in the same direction.
Both of their expressions gradually brightened!
"Hamar, if I'm with Do-jae, it'll be fine, right?"
"Yes. If you go with him… it will be fine."