By Zephyria 
The mosaic tiles decorating the floor and ceiling of this corridor were scattered sparsely, forming geometric patterns. Occasionally, colored tiles clumped together to form patterns of the sun, moon, stars, and flowers, but they were considered mere decorations without significant meaning, so I didn’t look closely.
However, the image etched in tiles on the impossibly high ceiling now clearly depicted the form of a dragon.
The dragon, with two small horns, red eyes, and a plump body, was a bright red like a ripe apple. The eyes looking down from the ceiling in the tiles sparkled with a lifelike vibrancy, as if they could leap out at any moment.
“…What kind of dragon is this?”
“It appears to be Karzentia…”
“…What? You mean one of the past Empresses, about whom there’s a legend of being a dragon?”
Benjamin answered without hesitation.
“That’s right. Although she looks much younger than the portrait in the complete edition, she is the only dragon known to have two horns among Red Dragons.”
“Hmm.”
A remark Gano Paquin had made in passing suddenly came to mind.
“Come to think of it, earlier… when I first met Spiritus.”
“Yes.”
“Gano Paquin mentioned that twenty dragons had already died. Do you know anything about that?”
I recalled the story Gano Paquin had let slip when questioning my existence.
‘Twenty dragons have already died, Peter. Think about how each of your kin died. How different are they from this one? Just a bit longer-lived and healthier? A Grand Sword Master is usually about that much.’
At the time, I had just accepted it and moved on.
But now, recalling it, there was something strange. “Think about how each died” – did that mean they had all already died and were gone?
Benjamin continued walking steadily, answering readily.
“It is said that there were a total of twenty-one dragons on this continent. Dragons are generally considered mere infants until they reach 500 years old, receiving the care of their families, and then live for at least ten thousand years. Seven of those dragons were born together on the seventh day.”
“I heard the continent is only a little over a thousand years old.”
“That’s right. The first-generation dragons of this continent are said to have died young, ironically, due to loneliness.”
The gods were in such a state, and now dragons too?
“According to legend, the Dragon Lord, Spiritus, was not skilled in childcare and scattered the newborn hatchlings across the continent, entrusting their upbringing to others.”
“To… whom, in various places?”
“Well, some were entrusted to gods, others to humans. Those dragons who claimed independence were allowed to live on their own even earlier.”
Benjamin continued his explanation in a voice that was strangely subdued. I couldn’t see his expression since he had his back to me, but he seemed very cautious.
It was a common theory that large monster species like Wyverns possessed vast amounts of Mana but had lower intelligence than humans. Intelligent, long-lived, sentient beings capable of using magic attracted the attention of many.
Humans on the continent treated dragons in various ways: cherishing them, fearing them, getting close to them, and keeping their distance. Influenced by their fast-paced and passionate lives, the dragons developed somewhat human-like ways of thinking.
Time passed relentlessly. After most of those they had grown attached to died, the dragons became interested in not dying. They sought out similar beings, their kin, who had been socialized in different ways.
“…”
“The dragons, scattered widely across the continent, naturally sought out their own kind to create eggs. Spiritus originally intended for them not to lay eggs so early, even though he had placed them far apart. Immature dragons became weak from the great expenditure of energy during the process of creating and caring for eggs.”
“…”
“The dragons born from those eggs were weaker than the first generation, and the third generation is said to have been weaker than the second. Karzentia belongs to the third-generation dragons. There were always those who claimed she was human, not a dragon, due to her low Mana capacity and lack of recorded magic use.”
I looked up at the ceiling again. Karzentia’s portrait was so large that even after walking for quite some time, her eyes in the painting still looked down at Ikyun.
Marcus and Sienna, still holding their breath, stayed close to Benjamin’s shadow. It was better to be quiet than to be presumptuous in an unfamiliar place. They silently listened to Benjamin’s explanation.
“And then, about four to five hundred years ago, some dragons stopped using Polymorph and appeared in the world in their true forms.”
“Why would they?”
“Dragon scholars attribute it to them reaching 500 years old and regaining their 10th Circle power. When an immature being suddenly gains great power, they tend to want to test it. In any case, many people died, and various heroes set out on dragon hunts to show off their strength. Some of them succeeded.”
“…Did Spiritus just let that happen?”
“Who knows. The complete edition of the twenty-one dragons in history, and all stories related to dragons, only record their lives and do not explain their deaths. It was most common for dragons claimed to have been killed by heroes to actually be large monster species.”
Marianne, who had been listening quietly, suddenly interjected.
“If I hadn’t heard Gano Paquin’s words this time, I wouldn’t have believed that all the dragons were dead. Most stories featuring dragons end with ‘Dragons will still be living around you, so always be careful in your actions.’ That’s how old tales usually go.”
“…A cautionary tale…?”
“Yes. And among wizards, the discovered dragon lairs are more detailed resources than dragons whose existence is unknown. The lair of Bel Vifer, on the border of Felix and Biban, is the most famous. Biban Capital is even named after a dragon, so that says it all.”
“Why?”
“The treasures found there were immense. All sorts of magical history books, coral reefs and pearls more precious than those held by the Yulan royal family, and vast amounts of gold were piled up. Before Spiritus manifested, there was a layer claimed to be the ruins of an ancient sage, but now everyone agrees it was indeed a dragon’s lair.”
“The cave where Spiritus was lying down before…”
“You mean the one he used for temporary hibernation after yielding his original lair? That would explain why it was so empty.”
Now, the entire group stopped walking.
At the end of the corridor they had arrived at, there was a door. The door, elaborately decorated with golden reliefs of all sorts of beasts and flora, seemed to be at least ten or more stories high. With the doorknob at the very top, I felt like a mouse sneaking into a giant’s house.
Marianne, squinting at the door from the center of the corridor, let out a deep sigh.
“Still, it’s fortunate. I don’t see any magic circles for sealing or repelling intruders. At most, there are circles for status maintenance, preservation, and Clean. I’ll have to check again once we’re inside.”
“You mean the door isn’t locked?”
“Yes, at least not by magical means. I don’t know about a physical lock.”
Then, Benjamin walked over and grabbed the edge of the cracked seam of the door, pushing hard.
Benjamin was naturally strong. I had known him for years, but this was the first time I had seen him exert himself with such effort. His face and neck turned bright red as he pushed, and then he braced himself, rolling up his sleeves for another attempt.
But then it was my turn.
“If it’s locked, can’t we just break the doorknob?”
“There’s a Preservation Magic circle on it. It’s a higher-level magic than mine, so to dispel it, you’d need reagents, Mana Stones, or something similar… and we don’t have any with us.”
Right. The reagent pouch was usually hung inside the robe.
I kicked off the floor, bouncing a couple of times to gauge the distance, and kicked the door with a loud KWAANG!
Seeing the door, which remained intact with barely a scratch despite my kick, was astounding. I looked back at the Earth Spirit, as if to say, ‘Try to do something about it,’ but it cowered again, trembling, and burrowed into Benjamin’s arms.
The magic circle was so complex that I couldn’t even find its core. As I placed my hand on the sword hilt and paced back and forth in front of the door, Marianne gasped in surprise.
“What is it?”
“Mikael, can you pull this door?”
“…What?”
“There are two ways to open a door: pushing and pulling. Since pushing didn’t work, why not try pulling…?”
“No, does that make sense? It’s not like there’s a lock mechanism…”
Hilariously, she was right.
Using the Telekinesis skill, I grabbed the doorknob and pulled. The door opened surprisingly easily. Of course, it would require strength like mine, but that was something. The door opened silently, revealing a vast chamber beyond, furnished with an equally enormous sofa and table.
From atop the three-story-high sofa, a gnome peeked its head out.
If Benjamin’s Spirit had eyes like two parallel lines, the Earth Spirit that hopped down and buzzed in front of us looked like two pebbles stuck in eye sockets.
It seemed very familiar with Marcus, rubbing its entire body against him, but the old man Marcus seemed unable to see the gnome at all.
Fearing it might harm the elder, I gently nudged it upright. The gnome flinched in surprise and looked up at me.
The gnome, whose small body was a little shorter than my forearm, kept shedding tears from its round dot-like eyes.
Its babbling and chirping speech was not human, making it difficult to understand immediately.
[Midor, Mide Mi. Deureureuk Dung…]
“Yes, it’s okay. We’re not here to harm you. Do you know the son of this elder?”
[Dongdong!]
“Yes, Sam Marcus.”
While the gnome was fussing, Sienna and the elder’s gazes wandered aimlessly into the empty air. Seeing this, I understood that spirits were merely clumps of Mana and invisible to those with weak Qi sense. Marianne stepped forward, scratching the top of the spirit’s head, and coaxed it.
“Yes, yes. I understand, so first… show us the people you took. We’re not blaming you.”
[Arreureu Mido.]
“Yes, we’re here to make sure you’re not hurt.”
Soon, stairs rose from the floor up to the armrest of the sofa.