NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15
Chapter 15. A Bewildered Dragonling (2)
Lois found himself in front of a spacious stone platform. Planted firmly on the flat stone was a sword. Comparing the weapon in his hand to the one on the platform, Lois realized,
“They’re the same.”
The two bastard swords were identical, as if cast from the same mold. The sword in the stone also had an attribute stone embedded in its pommel, which was crisscrossed with cracks and appeared to be on the verge of shattering.
It was then that Lois understood the entire situation.
“Did it link two spaces?”
“It seems so…”
Finn nodded in agreement with Lois’s deduction.
‘Spatial teleportation…’
In the world of Evan, long-distance spatial teleportation was a rare skill. Not only did it require a tremendous amount of space attribute power, but there were hardly any beings capable of creating such a spell. As a result, travel in Evan was limited to roads, sea routes, and air routes, with air travel being the exclusive domain of the wealthy and powerful due to the dangers posed by various flying monsters.
‘The circuit I thought was for subspace storage was for spatial teleportation… No wonder it was so complex!’
Lois chastised himself for not recognizing the teleportation circuit sooner, but it was far too late for regrets. Accepting the inevitability of the situation, he turned to leave.
“Where are you going, Lois?”
“We need to know where we are if we’re going to get back home.”
“Aha!”
Setting out to explore their surroundings, Lois was followed by the twins and Finn. Finding a way out wasn’t difficult; there was only one passage leading from the wide clearing they were in. They hadn’t gone far when Lois came upon an obstacle.
“It’s blocked.”
A giant boulder obstructed the path, and Lois’s face twisted in annoyance. With evident displeasure, he extended his hand forward.
‘If it’s blocked, then we’ll just have to break through.’
As the thought passed through his mind, his Dragon Heart stirred.
“Solidify.”
With Lois’s command, the empty air hardened into a crystalline form.
“Launch!”
The solidified space crystals, propelled by the strength attribute, shot forward.
Boom!
The impact shattered the boulder into pieces, and a blast of icy cold air rushed through the opening. The intense chill was enough to sting the face, and tiny white crystals from the opening settled on Lois’s fair cheeks. Though he hadn’t seen it in his current life, he knew all too well what it was.
“…Snow?”
Seeing snow for the first time since possessing Evan, Lois’s complexion turned ashen.
“?!?!”
Startled, Lois rushed outside, where he was greeted by the sight of an imposing peak piercing the sky.
“Could it be?”
The peak closely resembled the one he saw every day, but this one had a distinct difference. Unlike the mountain near his home, which only had snow at the summit, this peak was entirely covered with white as if blanketed in white paint.
Realizing the identity of the snow-covered peak, Lois was struck dumb.
“…Good heavens.”
Behind a petrified Lois, Finn and the twins caught up. They, too, could see the white peak.
“Huh? Isn’t that visible from our home?”
“Why is that one white, Lois?”
“Gasp!”
Khan, Kani, and then Finn spoke in turn. Unlike the confused twins, Finn, who had grasped the situation, sucked in a breath. The identity of the white peak soon spilled from her lips.
“The Right Fang of the Land?”
“…Damn!”
Finn’s voice, filled with dread, was as good as a confirmation. A curse slipped from Lois’s lips as a map of Evan swept through his mind.
The Continent of Spring.
The Continent of Summer.
The Continent of Autumn.
The Continent of Winter.
Evan was formed by four large landmasses aligned in a row, each named Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, from west to east.
The names were straightforward; the climate of each continent remained consistent year-round.
The Left Fang, near which Lois and the twins’ home stood, was on the western side of the Spring Continent.
“Ah… This is a disaster.”
Dismay filled Lois’s eyes as he gazed at the Right Fang of the Land, located on the easternmost edge of the Winter Continent. In essence, Lois and company had been teleported to the farthest point from their home.
The wind howled past them, as if foreshadowing their bleak future.
* * *
Back in the clearing, Lois sank into deep contemplation.
‘Ah, darn it! I don’t need this ‘runaway hatchling’ cliché in my life!’
He found himself in a perilous situation merely by existing. That was why he had never even considered venturing into the dangerous outside world.
‘A runaway indeed!’
The more he thought about it, the more it didn’t seem like a runaway situation.
‘Forced runaway? Or perhaps, stranded?’
And he wasn’t alone; he had two troublemakers in tow.
“Sister… Lois is acting weird.”
“It’s okay. Dad said that’s how kids grow.”
“That’s right!”
While Lois was pulling his hair out in frustration, Khan and Kani murmured to each other. Finn could only look on with pity.
‘The children are normal… It’s our master who is the extraordinary one.’
Though he was a dragon of 250 years, he was still young, and his thought processes reflected that.
“Ugh.”
As Lois anguished over their predicament, a sudden thought struck him.
“Wait a minute?!”
His eyes widened with realization.
“If this is an unauthorized departure… or rather, being stranded…?”
Lois’s thoughts turned to Genelocer. His father, who was currently handling business at the Silver Lotus Castle in space, adored Lois. If Genelocer were to discover his son missing…
Lois’s face turned pale.
“This is bad, isn’t it?”
If Genelocer went berserk, he could lay waste to the continent in his search.
“Ah, but surely he wouldn’t go that far?”
Despite his attempts to dismiss the idea, the more Lois thought about it, the more he concluded that Genelocer might indeed react that way.
‘If father turns into a mad dragon again…’
Lois had grown deeply attached to Genelocer over the years and hoped his father would never revert to being a mad dragon.
That’s when an idea flickered through Lois’s mind.
“That’s it! The communication stone!”
With a sliver of hope, Lois retrieved the communication stone from his subspace. But…
“As expected… It doesn’t reach?”
Disappointed that the communication couldn’t extend to space, Lois put the stone back and continued to ponder.
‘What to do…?’
After deep thought, the decision was simple.
“We’re going back. No matter what!”
He had roughly ten years before Genelocer was due to return. By then, he had to be back home.
Resolute, Lois rose to his feet.
“Lois is up!”
“Wow! Lois looks a bit taller! Kids really do grow when they brood!”
The twins’ senseless chatter didn’t deter Lois, who turned to Finn with a question.
“Finn, crossing the Demon Sea… that’s impossible, right?”
“No way! That’s definitely not happening!”
Finn’s vehement reaction was understandable. In theory, the far west and far east of a continent are close to each other. “Walking around the world,” as the saying goes, applies here too. Evan was no different from Earth in that regard. If one traveled from the Winter Continent continuously eastward across the sea, they would quickly reach the Spring Continent.
But that sea was the problem.
“The Demon Sea? That’s where even ascended dragons avoid going!”
The Demon Sea, marked by the remnants of the worst evil dragons and tainted by demonic energy, was an absolute forbidden zone. The infamous Demon Sea lay between the Winter and Spring Continents. Lois sighed, recalling the Demon Sea’s fearsome reputation.
“Yeah… I’m aware. So Finn, how long would it take to cross the continent from here to the Left Fang?”
“…I’m not sure.”
Finn’s face also showed concern, realizing the gravity of their situation. After pondering for a while, Finn spoke.
“I don’t know exactly, but if we were to walk, it would take at least ten years.”
“Really?”
“That time could be reduced if we use some means of transportation.”
“Okay then.”
There was hope in ten years. Nodding, Lois gathered his spirits and turned around. There before him were the twins, their eyes wide with wonder.
“Nuisance… no, twins!”
“Yes!”
“Why?”
“Listen carefully. We are in a grave crisis right now.”
“Crisis?”
“What is it?”
“Do you know where we are? This is where the Right Fang of the Land is located.”
“Huh? Isn’t that really far?”
“Not ‘there’, but ‘here’. And now our home is incredibly far away.”
The twins started to pay attention to Lois’s tale. He calmly explained so the children could understand.
“To walk from here to our home would take a whopping ten years.”
“Then why don’t we just fly?”
“…Can someone please catch this hatchling here? Why isn’t there an ad for that?”
“An ad?”
“…Yes, there’s such a thing. Anyway, flying is out of the question. Like normal humans, we need to get home within ten years.”
“Why? Can’t we just take it slow?”
“You dimwit twins… What do you think will happen if, after ten years, our parents come home and we’re not there?”
“Uh…”
“Um…”
The twins pondered Lois’s challenging question. Unable to wait for them to come to a conclusion, Lois set the somber tone and continued sternly.
“Listen up, twins. If we’re not home in ten years when our parents return, they’ll scour the continent for us, turning it upside down.”
“Oh, I see!”
“That makes sense!”
Their responses were as if it was the most obvious outcome. Lois realized he may have explained it wrong.
‘Now that I think about it, I did state the obvious.’
He quickly shifted gears and added,
“And! Our parents will be furious with us for leaving without permission. They may not give us snacks or toys for a hundred years!”
“?!?!”
“No, that can’t happen!”
The twins reacted entirely differently this time. The welfare of the continent seemed less important to them than their own toys. Relieved that his story had an impact, Lois continued.
“In any case, for that reason, we must march towards home, starting now, before our parents return! And I’m the captain of this journey home! From now on, listen to me!”
The twins immediately responded.
“No! I want to be the captain!”
“I want to be the captain too!”
Lois could only look at the ceiling helplessly at the bickering twins.
‘I really…’
Something deep within him surged.
For the first time since becoming a dragon…
‘Is this really okay?’
He felt like crying.