Chapter 293.
*Crack*
—A sensation of transference surged through him, accompanied by the feeling that space was tearing apart.
It felt as if he were riding a massive stream of water, drifting along.
And when that flow abruptly ceased, Hanbit stood on a ground overgrown with bushes.
“…Is this another dimension?”
A space that was neither Earth nor another world.
Based on the atmosphere he had only heard about, it felt like a very barren boundary.
However, the place where Hanbit had set foot was different from his imagination.
*Rust*—The
deep, transparent sky and blue fields stretched endlessly, embracing the wind.
Trees of mysterious shapes swayed gracefully here and there, and wildflowers bloomed, emitting a light never seen in reality.
Just one thing.
The mana filling the space was distinctly heavy and rough.
“Hmm…”
Standing all alone, Hanbit lightly moved his hands and feet.
This place could be seen as his father’s hometown, but to him, it was simply an unfamiliar place.
Even though he had inherited the soul and blood as the Sage had said, he felt nothing in particular.
“Is that the castle?”
The view of the massive city spread out before him.
In the center of that place devoid of walls, a castle stood towering as if to pierce the sky.
It appeared to be the Dragon King's castle.
Whoosh—
the energy emanating from the castle was distinctly alien.
The thick barrier, visible to the eye, was more intense than anything I had ever seen before.
It felt as if it were filtering out souls.
Sssss—
the dragon crest in my hand held a serene glow.
The Black Dragon, which had split off from the primordial dragon race living in the other dimension.
This object, said to have been created with his power, possessed the property of connecting one dimension to another.
Of course, Hanbit's existence was in a situation where it connected three realms, including Earth.
“Huh?”
Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind.
Turning my head, I saw a girl standing there with her eyes wide open.
Her raised index finger was naturally pointing toward me.
“A-a human!”
I recognized at a glance that the girl with the short red hair was of the Dragon race.
From the two small horns on her head to her reduced-size wings and a fluttering tail, she was completely different from an ordinary human.
In particular, the faint, shimmering afterimages of beautiful scales around the shoulders and arms naturally drew attention.
Perhaps its age was similar to that of Riventia.
Zzzzz—
just then, something began to appear above the girl's head.
Before long, it settled into a familiar form.
[5th Rank Dragon Belua]
Although slightly blurry, it was not difficult to read the content.
It seemed the Sage's description of it as another dimension of RP was making sense.
“You, do you live there?”
“Wow! It really talks…”
Belua marveled as if she had met an imaginary creature.
The girl continued this reaction for a while before snapping back to reality.
“Yeah, I live over there in Dracones. But how did you get here? You’re human, yet you aren’t broken?”
“I came from another world to meet the Dragon King.”
“…Huh?”
Upon hearing the answer, Belua froze for a moment.
It was immediately clear where she was surprised.
“Y-the Dragon King… so you came to see the Celestial Dragon?”
“The Celestial Dragon?”
“Right, the Heavenly Dragon! The dragon that rules Dracones!”
The girl explained in a hurried voice.
It seemed the Dragon King was referred to as the Heavenly Dragon here.
“Well, let’s assume he is the Heavenly Dragon. Do you know how to meet him?”
“Are you kidding me? How could someone like us possibly meet the Heavenly Dragon! We’d die just from making eye contact!”
Belua raised her voice with a look of disbelief.
It seemed the gap in status was significant.
“But what if I still want to meet him?”
“No…”
“Just tell me the method. I’ll go to the castle by myself.”
“Of course! Why would I go there!”
Belua snapped, frowning.
Deep fear filled her eyes.
“Haa…”
The huffing girl soon let out a sigh.
Then, gazing at the towering castle, she said,
“You can request an audience. The problem is, unless you are a Dragon of the 3rd Rank or higher, you’ll be chased away at the gates.”
“Just how high is the 3rd Rank?”
“Of course, the middle of the five tiers… Ah, you wouldn't know since you're human. How do I explain this?”
Belua crossed his arms and fell into deep thought.
He seemed to be searching for a simple way to express it.
“That’s right! Scales!”
“Scale?”
“I’m the lowest rank, so I’m all blurry like this, right? But the dragons of the higher ranks have darker colors and incredibly vivid scales!”
“Really?”
Hanbit nodded at the girl’s explanation.
He had encountered dragons in the other world as well.
However, they were so few in number and based on a simple hierarchy of power, so such a method of distinction did not exist.
“What colors are they?”
“The 4th rank is blue, and the 3rd rank is red. I think the 2nd rank was silver… and was the 1st rank gold? I don’t know, I just heard it.”
“Then what about that Celestial Dragon?”
“They say the Celestial Dragon has a mix of black and white. They said he has scales completely different from the other dragons.”
“Hmm.”
Hanbit processed the colors the girl had told him in his mind.
Since he didn’t know which ones were stronger or weaker, it was best to be wary of them all for now.
“But there is one problem.”
Just then, Belua suddenly scratched his cheek and spoke.
His eyes held a look of pity, somehow.
“What problem?”
“You’re human, aren’t you? Then you can’t even enter the city, let alone the Heavenly Dragon’s castle.”
“Why can’t I?”
“Do you see the barrier over there?”
The girl pointed at the city with her finger.
Looking closely, it was visible that a very thin membrane enveloped not only the central castle but the entire city.
“Grandfather told me it’s a barrier set to prevent other races from entering. If you try to force your way in, your body will just shatter with a ‘CRACK!’”
Belua fidgeted with her hands, describing the danger.
Hanbit shifted his gaze and looked toward the entrance.
“Isn’t there a gatekeeper to guard the city?”
“A gatekeeper? Why would we need one? We are the strongest.”
The look on his face, as if asking what kind of question that was, was somewhat chilling. No
matter how low-ranked they were, they were Dragons.
Pride in their strength was ingrained like an instinct.
“…If there isn’t one, that’s fine.”
Giving up on explaining, Hanbit immediately set off.
A pristine stone pavement was visible above the blue fields.
It was the path leading to Dracones.
“W-wait! Are you really going?”
Belua followed, looking flustered.
Hanbit spoke nonchalantly.
“If you’re scared, stay away.”
“No, it’s not that I’m scared! I’m telling you, you’re going to die!”
“Then it can’t be helped.”
“What do you mean by that!”
While they were having this conversation,
they had somehow reached a position where the barrier was becoming clearly visible.
They hadn’t realized it from a distance, but now that they were this close, they could feel just how powerful it was.
“Think about it one more time. Huh? The Heavenly Dragon might go out, or something, huh? That could happen, right? Just wait 100 years for now!”
Belua pleaded, grabbing Hanbit’s arm for a final attempt at
persuasion. By the standards of the Dragon Clan, 100 years wouldn’t be a big deal.
But Hanbit was human.
Well, that was something that still didn’t matter.
Whoosh—
As they took another step forward, the flow of the barrier shifted.
It felt like mana from another dimension was vibrating violently.
It felt as if touching it would truly cause one’s body to disintegrate.
“I’m telling you, no! I’m going to pull you away, even if I have to force it!”
Unable to hold back, Belua tried to pull Hanbit’s body away.
However, Hanbit's hand had already touched the barrier.
“Ah…!”
The startled dragon girl squeezed her eyes shut.
At the same time, an alien sensation flowed into the edge of Hanbit’s skin.
*Sssshh—*
It felt as if a cool wave of power was spreading through every vein.
*Whoosh—
* Soon, Hanbit’s body was pulled inward, as if being sucked into the barrier.
“…Huh?”
A bewildered voice escaped Belua’s lips as she slowly opened her eyes.
The human she was certain would die was standing perfectly fine inside the barrier.
“Aren’t you coming in?”
“Ah… yeah.”
At the nonchalant voice, Belua reflexively moved her feet.
But her steps stopped immediately.
“…What is this?”
The girl’s expression hardened as she looked at the barrier before her.
The spot where Hanbit had passed was still open.
It was a situation she had never heard or seen before.
“Wait a minute, what happened? Huh?”
“What?”
“The barrier! It’s still open! It’s not being repaired!”
“It must have just broken for a moment.”
“How could a barrier created by the Heavenly Dragon be broken!”
“Just come in.”
Hanbit
stretched out a hand and pulled Belua’s arm.
Then, she slipped right through the gap in the opened barrier.
“I feel like my head is going to go crazy…”
Belua, clutching her head with both hands, was still unable to recover from the shock.
Watching her, Hanbit turned his gaze to the cityscape.
“It’s certainly different inside.”
The interior of Dracones was distinctly different from what had been seen from outside the barrier.
The castle, piercing the sky, was even more imposing, and the roads and architecture spread out below resembled exquisite crystal.
It felt quite surreal.
“That’s the way, right?”
Hanbit tried to head straight for the castle.
However, Belua, having come to her senses belatedly, quickly blocked his path.
“Wait. Just wait a moment.”
“I’m going to go even if you block me. You got through here just fine, didn’t you?”
“I’m not stopping you, so come on! You can at least show some manners!”
“Manners?”
At the unexpected remark, Hanbit lowered his gaze. His
attire was such that anyone would immediately think of an adventurer. As a
member of the investigation team, he didn’t need to dress in a particularly grand manner when having an audience with the King.
However, this was a place inhabited by the Dragon Race of another dimension.
Since I came here for my awakening, there’s no reason to deliberately make a bad impression.
“What should I wear? Just so you know, I have no money.”
“Don’t talk like you’re bragging.”
Belua let out a deep sigh at the confident remark.
Looking somehow tired, she pointed to the left corner with her finger.
“Come to my house. Grandpa will help you with anything.”
“The grandpa who taught us about barriers?”
“We aren’t related by blood, but he’s like a teacher to us Fifth-Rank Dragons. He’s lived for an incredibly long time. Let’s just go.”
Adding her explanation, she led the way.
Hanbit followed behind, scanning her surroundings.
“The atmosphere here is different.”
Unlike the glittering and glamorous scenery of the city, the space leading to the alley in the corner was dark.
It felt different from the slums of Edlen, but it was clearly evident that this was the lowest class.
“Because it’s the Fifth Rank. We should be grateful that there is a space for us.”
Belua replied nonchalantly and gradually moved further inside.
“Huh?”
“A human?”
“Belua, what’s that?”
Another dragon poked its head out of an old building.
Their gazes all converged on Hanbit.
“I don’t know! Don’t pay attention!”
Belua waved her hand to fend off the onlookers and made her way to the house in the far corner.
A girl, who hadn’t bothered to knock, flung the door open and said,
“Grandfather! You’ve brought a strange human!”
“Belua, what kind of prank are you playing this time…?”
The old man, who had been reading a book inside, slowly turned his head.
When his gaze fell on Hanbit, his eyes, hidden by his white eyebrows, opened wide.
“Black Dragon…?”
