Episode 16
EPISODE.08
“Whoa.”
Looking at the high mountain foot and the natural scenery below, Russell lightly wiped his sweat with the hem of his robe.
Three days and a little more by carriage from Walkerhill to Maldiva.
‘And it took about two more days to get here again…’
If you add in the time spent here and there, it’s been a little over a week since you left the academy.
‘It’s my first trip, but somehow I arrived well.’
The faint smell of sulfur mixed in the wind.
And even hot springs that can be seen everywhere.
This was the volcanic area at the beginning of Pompeo Volcano.
Pompeo Volcano.
It is the name of an extinct volcano that does not even have the power to cause a significant eruption.
However, in the past, it was also a volcano with a record of terrifying explosions that completely covered the entire area.
According to the record of a scholar who witnessed the eruption of the Pompeo volcano from a distance at the time-.
‘It was written that the heavens and the earth seemed to be on fire and scream.’
The name Pompeo Volcano is said to have been given after the ancient city that was destroyed at the time.
However, unlike those terrifying records left behind…
‘Now it has completely turned into a tourist destination…’
Looking at the natural scenery surrounding the volcanic zone and the map recording the location of the high-class hot springs located inside the scenery, Russell sighed and laughed.
‘What made things easier thanks to that?’
Thanks to the roads being built and polished as it became a tourist destination, even if it’s not to the destination, you’ll be able to get to the middle of the mountain comfortably.
‘Since there are a lot of people, even moderate monsters won’t attack until the middle.’
Thinking so, Russell moved on.
Anger-.
I opened the subspace and took out a piece of parchment marked with the letter X.
“hmm.”
Contrary to the green spear saying that the light will show you the way when you get close to the location marked on the map.
‘There is no change in the parchment yet.’
Maybe I should go closer.
How long does it take to go up the mountain?
“Now, if you look this way-”
“That thing you can see over
there is a sulfur spring, and the temperature is amazing.
It was the voices of the guides hired by other tourists, not Russell.
As the volcano is famous as a tourist destination, there were quite a few people who made a career as a guide.
“Did you know that Pompeo Volcano was not a volcano at first, but an ordinary mountain?”
One of them caught Russell’s ear.
“According to legend, Pompeo, originally an ordinary mountain, turned into a volcano after someone settled on this mountain a long time ago.”
There is only one existence in the world that can change the natural environment and land just by settling down.
“yes. As some of you may have already guessed, the existence that settled in the legendary Pompeio Volcano was the Fire Dragon, the Red Dragon.”
Dragon.
A transcendental species that was a manipulator of magic and walked this continent in the Age of Gods.
Only they can do that.
“Maybe that’s why there are legends and traces related to dragons left in Pompeo Volcano.”
After that, the guide recounted legends related to the fire dragon.
There is a place where the dragon lay down and there is a record of a loud roar-.
Of course, it wasn’t very nutritious.
Among them, the only thing that caught Russell’s attention was the information that the Fire Dragon lived.
‘A ring resembling a dragon’s heart and dragon’s eyes…’
Through those two, he returned to the past and gained the special power of a green spear and mission.
And after following the mission, the place that appeared is a mountain that holds the legend where Hwaryong lived.
‘It’s a mere coincidence… it must be too much to pass it over.’
It was clear that his return to the past and his obtaining the green spear had something to do with dragons or very high-ranking dragons.
dragons and polyps.
Remembering the two keywords, Russell accelerated his pace.
After that, I went up the mountain path for a while, passing by the guides and tourists.
After climbing to a fairly high place, Russell stopped in place.
I took turns looking at the mountain road ahead and the unorganized forest.
‘I guess it’s not a good idea to take the mountain road from here.’
It is said that the road was right up to this point, but from now on, I had to move to a place far away from the mountain road.
The remaining distances on the map were also not small.
The scale was not accurately marked, but if you roughly compare it with the distance traveled so far and calculate it-.
“About 40km…”
It’s never a short distance.
Even if you move diligently, if you think about traveling on a rough mountain road that takes an entire day, you should take about two days.
It is also a distance that would not have been easy physically if he had been an ordinary mage academy student.
That’s why Russell secretly sued.
Thanks to his life as a mercenary, he had some knowledge of homelessness.
As well as-.
“I can’t believe that the physical training I’ve been doing for Overlord and Wizard Body will be helpful in this way.”
The problem is the monsters.
If possible, it would be better to hide your presence and move carefully.
“Even when sleeping, I need to be vigilant with the alarm magic.”
Muttering a little to himself, Russell left the well-maintained tourist trail.
And I moved my steps into the forest that was not at all tidy.
Fortunately, the trees and bushes were not so dense.
‘It’s nice that the sunlight comes through the trees and I don’t have to start a separate fire.’
Before long, the mountain road for tourists, which was visible from afar, disappears.
And soon came the silence of the mountain, where no human presence could be found.
A strangely quiet forest.
from what moment
Not to mention monsters, the presence of beasts was barely felt.
‘It’s too quiet even if it’s quiet.’
If you’ve come this far, you’ll have to meet at least one goblin to be normal.
“Hmm….”
.
.
The anomaly was not limited to the first day.
The second day was the same.
A few wild beasts appeared from time to time, but still nothing that could be called a monster was seen.
‘This. like-.’
The Predator’s Realm….
The moment Russell tries to guess something!
…thump!
The sound of something breaking and collapsing coming from quite a distance.
At the sound, Russell instinctively stopped in between.
chuck.
Then, half-hidden in the back of a huge tree, I checked the direction the sound came from.
If you’re familiar with it, it was a habit you learned while living as a mercenary.
…thump.
Loud thump. Loud thump!
In the meantime, the sound of breaking and collapsing continues to grow louder.
‘He’s coming this way.’
Right after Russell raised his mana with a tense expression!
Loud thump-!!
it showed up
With a shell as hard as a rock, skin as rough as tree bark, and a body length that would seem to be 3 meters long.
‘Komodo Lizard!’
Seeing the monster in the shape of a lizard, Russell burst into astonishment.
‘Damn, I said it was too quiet for some reason. I never thought it would be the realm of Komodo Lizard.’
Komodo Lizard.
A branch of the dragon species that is said to have inherited the factor of a long-extinct dragon.
However, it is not as powerful as the famous dragon species of Drake or Wyvern.
The ability itself is far inferior to the previous two individuals, perhaps because of the difference in the inherited dragon factor.
In terms of pure strength, it is similar to or less than that of an adolescent troll.
but.
‘It’s never an easy opponent.’
The hardened carapace did not allow any spears or swords to invade.
As much as he was born with the factor of a dragon, he also had magic resistance.
‘Should I hide my presence as much as possible and run away?’
A fleeting thought.
Soon, Russell shook his head.
Judging by the way it sniffs, it is clear that it has smelled its prey.
‘I’m probably the prey here.’
Compared to his massive size, when he went hunting, his speed was quite fast.
The charge of the guy who breaks the tree with his hard skin and runs is not to be ignored.
Even if you run away, they will come after you, so in the end you have no choice but to fight.
‘Even in my previous life, two mercenaries stuck together to catch that one…’
Unlike in the past, now that I’m in the 3rd circle?
fire bolt.
‘no. A lightning bolt that can paralyze movement for a moment might be better.’
If you cast as many lightning bolts as possible, add rotation to them, and focus on one spot…
Even if you can’t knock them down, there’s a possibility of scarring them and paralyzing them for a moment.
‘After that, I decide whether to knock it down or run away.’
Even if they run away-
‘I’ll have to shove magic into the nose of the guy who stopped and paralyze his sense of smell.’
Thinking so, Russell cautiously cast his magic.
That moment.
Clumsy-.
The boy turned his head.
He stared exactly where Russell was.
‘I got caught!’
It was a painful situation for him, who was aiming for a surprise attack, so he had to withdraw.
Russell, who made a quick decision, tried to make that move.
However, it was the first thing that the boy showed abnormal behavior.
“uh?”
The moment he spotted Russell, instead of rushing forward and attacking him, he slowly stopped on the spot.
He stared at Russell for a while, then slowly bent his two front legs.
Then close your eyes and let your head touch the floor.
‘What is that thing doing now?’
If you compare it to a person, the posture is similar to bowing.
Russell stared at the sight without even thinking about stepping out of his feet at the completely unexpected action of the guy.
Even so, the guy just continued to maintain that stance.
No threats or attacks were made towards Russell.
‘Could this be?’
Komodo lizards were famous for not letting enemies intrude on their territory.
But what does it look like?
“Um…”
After a short pause, Russell began to walk slowly backwards.
It was because I was afraid that he would change his stance and attack.
However, until Russell completely left the place, he continued to maintain the same posture-.
“What the hell is going on…”
– muttered Russell, who had turned away just in case.
I know that it is not a problem that can be answered by worrying about it.
However, even so, there is no way to do as much as this problem is spinning in my head.
Fortunately, I haven’t been attacked by Komodo lizards or other monsters since then.
Light came out of the parchment, as if it was right near the x mark.
Hwaaak-.
The powder of light flowing along the magical power of the parchment coalesced in the air and circled around Russell.
Soon, it began to slowly fly in one direction.
“Did this mean that the light shows the way?”
Kwagwagwagwagwa-!
A huge waterfall welcomed Russell, who had been chasing the powder of light.
A huge amount of water flowed down without rest, creating splashes.
The sunlight was reflected in the spray and rainbows were formed in various places.
A superb view of heaven created without human feet reaching it.
The powder of light did not stop there, but flew towards the back of the waterfall.
slobber slobber -.
As we chased after them, a small cave entrance emerged from the back of the waterfall where the water was stagnant.
The powder of light scattered and disappeared in front of the entrance of the cave only after confirming that Russell had followed him.
“It’s a cave behind the waterfall…”
It’s pretty classic, but it seemed hard to find.
In the first place, the waterfall existed in a place far away from people.
“Because no one will come all the way here to see the back of the waterfall.”
Murmuring so, Russell bent his knees.
It seemed that the mission was pointing to this inside.
I felt like I had to go inside the cave.
Swish Swish-.
The space inside, which was lowered into as if crawling on the floor, was much wider than Russell had thought.
It was dark, so I couldn’t see clearly.
“Light.”
When the light was lit using magic, the scene inside the cave was clearly visible.
It is a huge cave that is several meters high as well as wide.
Even the traces of wave patterns along the walls of the cave.
‘These are traces of magma flow.’
Through the traces, Russell was able to guess the cause of the formation of the cave without difficulty.
“Lava Cave.”
what the hell are you trying to do here?
Tsk After lightly clicking his tongue at the still unanswered mission window, Russell stepped out toward the inside of the lava cave.
jerk jerk.
dragon-swallowed wizard
