chapter 25
The tallest mountain in the Dragon Mountains, a simple but incredibly tall mountain. A rocky mountain that rises so high as to pierce the sky, the height of which cannot be measured, and the monsters that live there that surpass common sense. It is a place that humans cannot dare to challenge.
But I’m not human. I simply climbed to the top, enjoyed a view that no one else would have seen, and then started to descend into the depths of the mountain.
Because the size of the mountain is so large, after passing through the underground of the mountain, the sense of direction and distance disappeared, and it took quite a long time to search than expected.
And after almost a week or so, I finally found it. There was a huge cavity deep in the center of the mountain, and a dragon that I had only seen in books was crouching there.
The sight itself was spectacular. Even though it was crouching with its tail and head curled, the golden Demonic Beast, boasting an enormous size that seemed to exceed 100 meters, did not even move.
[This is a dragon! Is it a gold dragon?]
I was amazed. What will happen if these terrifying creatures come into the world? And how did he get into this place without even an entrance? And how big it was, a huge soul that looked like a small sun, and the golden glow surrounding it. The dragon was also a creature that received the power of the gods.
At that time, the dragon’s eyes, which had been motionless as if they were dead, opened. Golden reptilian eyes several meters in size were looking straight at me.
[Are you finally here?]
The dragon, like me and Ctula, used the same thing as the former.
[Were you waiting for me?]
[Yes. Heir]
It seems that these beings generally tend to cut off the front and back of their words.
[Am I the heir? What do you inherit?]
[It is to succeed me, but I do not know exactly what it is.]
Is this a dragon-style Zen dialogue? I thought I might become good friends with the elf.
[How did you know I was coming?]
[You’ll know that much when you’re my age.]
[How old are you?]
[It’s been a long time since I counted, so I don’t know exactly]
Trying to get a little angry. This is the first feeling I feel after leaving the elven village.
[My life is short. I have a lot to tell you, so please listen.]
[Ah yes]
Dragon-sama said so, so that’s how it should be. Even if you don’t have to look at your skills, you can tell by feeling that the giant reptile in front of you is as strong as Cthula. Even if you just look at the size of the soul, you can feel the wall that cannot be crossed.
[Well, yeah, I guess I should start there. A long time ago, when I was a very small lizard. A golden fruit fell from the sky]
I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but I’m going to listen.
[The fruit fell to the ground and, of course, was smashed. The fruit had a really fragrant scent that I still can’t forget. I lost my mind and picked up the fruit and ate it. It was delicious, really delicious. I’ve never eaten anything tastier than that.]
As I listened to the story of the lizard eating the fruit, the moth started to sting.
[When exactly is that?]
[You said that earlier. I’ve never counted how old I am, and this is when I’ve just hatched from the egg. At that time, there were no demons and no humans in the world]
A time when there were no humans and witches? How long ago was that?
[And when I woke up, there was a baby monkey and three cockroaches around me. They also picked up and ate the fruit like me, and it was then that I started to have Izzy.]
[Then maybe]
[Yes. The baby monkey became the king of all monkeys. And they made so many offspring, and as they passed through the generations, their intelligence grew and their bodies developed. And they became the human beings now]
It was a shocking secret story of the birth of mankind. No, but how old is it? We know that mankind began to record history about 3,000 years ago. Since it seems at least a few thousand years ago, is this dragon at least 6,000 years old?
[Then what did the cockroaches become?]
[One cockroach evolved and became the current witch. The other one is still alive like me and the other one is unknown.]
This time, it is the secret story of the witch’s birth. And it’s a creepy story. A 6,000-year-old cockroach is not as big as this dragon, right? More than that, I have not seen anything like this dragon and a cockroach in any mythology or history. Where are you alive?
[Where are the live cockroaches?]
[It is everywhere.]
[yes?]
[All cockroaches in the world are one]
This is a really scary word. The more I think about it, the more terrifying it is. In fact, I thought that this might not be the strongest ability.
Even after that, the story of the dragon continued. After hearing it, it was possible to guess that the dragon’s age was at least a few hundred thousand years, not a few thousand years.
[So all the dragons in the history books are Drakan?]
The dragon’s name is Drakan. Surprisingly, it was a name given to it by a human a long time ago.
[Yes. I can’t be both
And what is surprising is the identity of the person who gave it the name.
[Who is the name of the person who gave the name Drakan?]
[I said Meiji.]
Isn’t Mage Arc Builders the progenitor of all magic? The creator of magic, also called the father of magic. So even now, among the great mages, those who made great discoveries or made outstanding achievements are called arch mages.
[Among the legends, there is a saying that Mage Arc Builders learned magic from the dragon.]
[The opposite. I learned magic from Mage]
This is another surprising fact. Perhaps Mage Arc Builders were also humans who received the power of God. That’s just speculation.
[Human life is short. The mage didn’t live particularly long. I practiced the magic taught by the mage for over a thousand years. Now, I must be much higher than Mage.]
Oh yes, of course you are. No matter how great talent is, it becomes powerless in front of overwhelming time. In the meantime, Drakan tells you the magic formula he has researched and developed.
Even hearing this magic ceremony, it felt like a year had passed. The kind of language magic that Drakan uses is based on overwhelming magical power. never very effective It was magic impossible for humans. Of course, while listening to it, I was studying it while transforming it little by little in my own way.
Drakan was very talkative. It seemed that he was trying to tell me all about the lives of dragons over tens, maybe millions of years. Among them, there were really trivial stories, and there were stories that would overturn the history of all continents if they were known outside. And there was a lot of excellent knowledge like the language magic. Just by listening to them, they were immersed in all the history of the continent from Genesis.
The opportunity was so great that I did not dare to leave. So many years passed. As I constantly listened to stories in the rare environment of Drakan, where the passage of time was unknown, I felt that this also belonged to the oblivion of time.
It took a very long time to feel that way. It has been a long time since the story of Drakan entered the realm of history as I know it at some point. So, my questions also increased.
He said he had no life left, but since he had a different concept of time, he couldn’t blame him for that. As I listened to the story, I felt like I knew what Drakan was trying to inherit from me.
The story of Drakan, which seemed endless, finally came to an end. I don’t know how much time has passed. I just vaguely feel that a very long time has passed.
[Now my story is over.]
[Thank you for your effort.]
[For a long time I thought I was immortal. And at some point I knew my mortal moment was coming. That is probably the moment you were born.]
[Is it destiny?]
[Yes, that’s the fate. At the end of my mortal life, I will enter the path of immortality, so there is no need to grieve.]
By my standards, Drakan and I have been together for a very long time. It will be a longer time than I have ever lived. That’s how much I heard.
[Are you going to become a god?]
[It is unknown whether he becomes a god or what he becomes. It can only be known that immortal life will begin.]
Today’s Drakan was on the border between creatures and gods. This is the so-called half-body state. At first, I vaguely felt it, but now I know that Drakan is a more powerful being than Ctula, a part of the Foreign God. Now, when life as a creature ends, Drakan will probably become a god.
[Now the time is up. good luck with the record We will meet again.]
Drakan’s eyes slowly closed. Absorbed the huge soul of Drakan that was escaping. It felt different from the exhilaration I felt when absorbing fragments of a large soul or a foreign body. It feels like the level of the soul has gone up a notch.
I’ve felt that way for a very long time now, watching Drakan’s remains. What Drakan left behind was not only knowledge. The remains of Drakan itself were a great treasure.
The national treasure of Venus is made from a piece of Drakan’s scale. However, the value of the entire remains of this huge dragon is hard to dare to put a value on.
And that wasn’t all. In this Drakan’s rare, there were a lot of things that Drakan had collected so far. That, too, was an enormous treasure.
Among them, I put only a few things that could be used right away in the subspace and got out of Drakan’s rare. The remains of Drakan, who looked back for the last time, seemed to be sleeping just like when they first met.
[See you later. Drakan]
Drakan said they would definitely meet again. Drakan had a kind of foresight as he was in the realm of demigods. So we will meet again. In order to reach that time, I may have to live as long as Drakan has lived, but one day it will definitely happen.
After coming out, I went to the nearest Count Ctolari House to check how much time had passed. And even though I expected it to some extent, I was surprised.
[86 years]
It was the time I spent in the Lair of Drakan. I went to the place where Ctula was just in case, but Ctula hadn’t woken up yet.
I headed to the Venus Empire. 86 years is too long for humans. Ether and Elizabeth are probably already dead. If he were alive, he would have been well over 100 years old. It felt uncomfortable to think that I hadn’t seen the children who seemed like children pass away.
However, there was something surprising about the stories he heard passing through various towns and cities along the way.
[The ether is still alive?]
During the 86 years, the Venus Kingdom continued to develop and its name was changed to the Aether Empire. And the ether is said to be still in good health. I started accelerating more.
Arriving in that way, the old Ether was half-lying on the bed, looking out the window at the place that had now become the imperial palace of the Aether Empire.
[Ether… you’re old]
Aether, startled, smiled. It was the same laugh I often saw when I was a child. But Ether, who has become an old man, was just awkward to me.
“You are here. Guardian Spirit, I’ve been waiting for a long time.”
[sorry. A lot happened.]
“I bet. I also had a lot going on.”
[Yeah, it was that kind of time]
Ether and I started talking about the past 86 years. As we talked for a long time, we laughed and were sad. Elizabeth said that it had been quite a while since she had passed away.
The secret of ether’s longevity seemed to be the ether heart. Ether said that she never taught anyone the Ether SIM method I taught her. Thanks to that, I let my son and daughter go first.
Aether’s expression looked very sad when she said that. I know the feelings of parents who send their children away first, but the situation is different. No matter how closely he thought of Ether or Elizabeth, he would not be able to feel Ether’s feelings the same way.
[Shouldn’t it have been handed down to the direct descendants of the imperial family?]
“This is too much power. There is nothing good about being released into the world.”
It’s not that I don’t understand the meaning of ether, but I wondered if it was necessary to go that far. Anyway, there were many strong people outside the standard, such as foreigners and dragons.
Ether was weakened as much as age was age. I knew it, and Ether knew it too. It probably won’t be long.
[I will be by your side until you pass away]
“thank you. May I ask you a favor?”
[I decline the same request as Isabella.]
“hahahaha!”
Ether burst out laughing, as if her intentions had been read. It must have been about taking care of my children. In this respect, this guy obviously resembles his insidious father.