Rose, the owner of the Dimensional Tavern.
Even today, she was busy crafting dimensional ale.
“Please choose a card.”
“Here.”
The cards the successors chose were forged from Dimensional Power. She took the selected cards, converted them into ale, and stirred them vigorously.
Mixing different types of Dimensional Power created the strength needed to cross into another dimension.
She handed the glowing, iridescent liquor to the successor.
“I wish you good fortune.”
After drinking the ale, the successor used the power of the dimensional brew to cross over to another world.
Flash!
Seeing the successor disappear, Rose let out a long sigh.
“Hah, I’m exhausted. I don’t even remember how many glasses I’ve made.”
Brewing the ale consumed an enormous amount of energy.
Since the process involved blending various types of Dimensional Power, it was an unavoidable burden.
In the past, she could just hand over whatever drink they wanted.
However, after the fierce resistance of the Six Dragon Gods caused the base of the Lord’s Clan to be pushed back in an instant, their Dimensional Power had become absurdly scarce.
“Bell, are there any customers left?”
The dragon doll sitting on the bar opened its mouth to speak.
“Everyone has been served.”
“I feel like the number of customers has suddenly increased… Can you tell me why?”
“I believe three factors have interacted to cause this.”
“Three?”
Rose, who was tidying up the tables with a weary body, tilted her head in confusion.
“The first is the normalization of the Arena.”
“Ah.”
“As the clan of Gold, who was the gatekeeper of the Beginner Arena, collapsed, the successor candidates who were stuck below have begun to climb upward again.”
Rose had already been aware of this part. However, because it involved a dragon, she couldn’t just meddle with it.
To be precise, she could have solved the problem, but doing so would have consumed a staggering amount of Dimensional Power, so she had refrained from intervening.
But with Cheon Yongje defeating the gatekeeper, things had returned to normal.
“The second is Ilina’s performance. She is active on the front lines and has secured a large amount of Dimensional Power by defeating a Supreme Apostle.”
“As expected of the Rank 1. She’s on another level.”
“And the third factor is Cheon Yongje.”
If one had to pick the two most famous people in the Gold camp, they could point to only two. One was the current Rank 1, Ilina, whom Bell had just mentioned. The other was Cheon Yongje, who was growing with incredible potential.
“All the Dragon Gods are keeping an eye on Cheon Yongje, and the Red Dragon God’s excessive interference this time created a gap.”
“The Variant Hunter.”
“Yes. Because of that, an opening was created, and Ilina secured a vast amount of Dimensional Power by exploiting that gap.”
Ilina herself was performing remarkably, but combined with Cheon Yongje’s influence, they were pulling in an immense amount of Dimensional Power. Thanks to that, rewards were being distributed generously to the successors, which naturally led to more visitors at the Dimensional Tavern.
“Well, being busy is a good thing, right?”
“The overall growth rate is exceptionally high. At this rate, it could truly become the foundation for a positive future.”
“The problem is — “
Ting!
The door to the Dimensional Tavern opened. Cheon Yongje, who had been the subject of their conversation just moments ago, walked inside.
“Hello.”
“Yongje, you’ve come to visit later than I expected.”
“Ah. I think I might have swallowed the Dragon Heart the wrong way; I’ve been feeling tired for quite a while.”
“That’s likely because your body needed time to adjust to it. Are you feeling better now?”
“After eating and sleeping for about one week, I started feeling fine.”
Rose sat the tired-looking Yongje at the bar and prepared a light beverage.
“You’ll feel much better after drinking this.”
“Thank you.”
Yongje’s eyes widened as he drank what Rose handed him.
“Oh, I can feel the effect immediately.”
“Right?”
Looking more relaxed, Yongje looked at Rose and spoke.
“For now, I’ve managed to catch a Middle Apostle. I came here because I wanted to ask what I should do next.”
The information the Dimensional Tavern could provide was usually limited. However, Cheon Yongje was different.
Not only was the Dimensional Power secured through him substantial, but he was also an individual clearly worth investing in for the sake of the future.
If Cheon Yongje could just take down the two remaining Apostles, the Gold Dragon Clan would be able to deliver a devastating blow to the other Dragon Gods.
“High Apostles are truly powerful. It won’t be as easy to take them down with tricks as you did with the Middle Apostle.”
“How much stronger do I need to get?”
“You need at least three SSS-rank Guardians. And your own skills must improve as well. You’ll find it easier to deal with them once you become a ranker in at least the Upper Arena.”
“Is the combat style the same as the Middle Apostle?”
“It’s similar, but there are some differences.”
“What are they?”
“The battlefield will expand to cover all of Korea. And they will bring an incredibly large army with them.”
“It’ll be closer to an all-out war, then.”
“Yes.”
It was a battle that could result in countless casualties. Completely preventing this was impossible through any means. The outcome would depend on Yongje’s judgment regarding what plans they would use to invade.
“You must become as strong as possible to minimize the damage.”
“Hmm, I guess I’ll have to move busily for a while.”
Looking at Yongje’s expression, it seemed he had heard all the information he wanted.
“Now, shall we draw a card?”
Rose selected one from the many cards on the table. It was a colorless card with no hue at all. This wasn’t a card used for just anyone. She only brought it out for those who possessed a large number of Dimensional Tavern Passes.
“This card looks a bit different.”
“Yes. It will likely be a unique experience. You’ll have to visit and see the details for yourself.”
After shuffling the cards thoroughly, she spread them out.
“This time, you only need to pick one.”
“…One card.”
After staring intently at the cards, Yongje selected one. Rose cleared away the rest and lifted the chosen card. On the card, the word ‘Ancient’ was written.
As she held the card and flicked her finger, the card transformed into a glass, and liquor began to fill it. It was a deep, golden color. A faint, sweet scent wafted from it. Rose looked at Yongje and handed him the glass.
“To think you’ve already been recognized by them… your talent is truly extraordinary.”
“Them?”
“The Ancient-class dragons who have lived since the time of the Lord. They are the ones currently maintaining this world. If it’s them, you won’t have to worry about getting stronger.”
[Entering the Tomb of the Ancient Dragons]
As the message faded, a night sky filled with twinkling stars appeared. Beneath the countless shining stars lay a desolate land. It was a parched earth where not a single blade of grass grew. Enormous bones were visible everywhere.
There were massive wing bones and skull bones. Looking closely, the identity of the owner of these bones became clear.
‘Dragon.’
Is this why this place is called the Tomb of the Ancient Dragons? If so, why did it become a tomb?
As that thought occurred to him, a golden line shimmered before his eyes. It was a line that appeared whenever something special manifested. The line pointed deep into the interior.
He began to walk, following the line. Countless dragon bones lay scattered about. It felt strange to walk beneath ribcages of such staggering size. The deeper he went, the more he saw.
If he had only seen dragon bones at first, now he could see how they had been defeated and by what kind of magic.
Charred bones.
Bones that had turned into crystals.
Broken bones.
The remnants of magic remained etched into the barren land. Along with them, messages appeared in succession.
[Magic Blessing (EX) is identifying the principles and structure of ??? magic]
[Insufficient understanding]
[Failed to understand the magic]
The attempts to identify the magic represented by question marks and the subsequent failures repeated. He dismissed the messages and focused on the golden line.
A sandy wind began to blow slowly. As he moved further inward, the wind grew stronger until it became a massive sandstorm that obscured his vision.
He used Mana to secure his sight. He created a barrier to prevent the sand from touching his body and used detection magic to map out the structure within the sandstorm in his mind.
After passing through the dragon bones appearing right in front of him and crossing various crevices, he entered the heart of the sandstorm. The golden line disappeared.
‘…Is it here?’
Because of the sandstorm, he couldn’t see anything. He used the Mana stored in his Dragon Heart to conjure wind magic. He aimed it in the opposite direction of the sandstorm, creating a massive gale to blow the sand away. However, the sandstorm didn’t budge. Instead, it sucked in his Mana and grew even stronger.
Whoooooosh!
He had been thrown into the middle of a sandstorm without even a hint of what to do.
‘What does it want from me?’
The golden line and the ancient dragons wouldn’t have led him here for no reason. He stared at the raging sandstorm. He concentrated his mind to grasp the structure of the wind. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t an ordinary sandstorm.
‘Magic.’
It was a spell cast by someone.
Its structure was so natural that it seemed like a sandstorm caused by nature itself; the level of the magic was that high.
The synchronization of magic and nature. An existence capable of casting magic of such an incredible level was likely the one who had summoned him here.
‘Is this a test?’
He looked at the problem presented to him and thought of a solution.
[Using Transcendence]
[Using Dragon Transformation]
He prepared his most powerful magic by utilizing every skill he possessed.
If it was just wind before, now he was using a super-powered gale. He prepared the most efficient yet powerful wind magic.
K-Boom!
With a powerful sonic boom, a gale erupted.
The wind whipping around him gradually expanded its territory.
Just when it seemed the gale would push the sandstorm back, the gale lost its strength in an instant and vanished.
The strongest wind magic he could muster had failed.
‘That’s not the answer.’
He quickly shifted his thinking.
This time, he tried a different approach. The source of the sandstorm was the fact that the ground was dry and had turned to dust.
He lowered his posture and placed his hand on the ground.
Taking a potion from his Dragon Lair to quickly replenish his Mana, he concentrated his power into his hand to create water.
The water soaked the ground. Upon it, he planted a seed.
“Growth.”
He used growth magic on the seed to make it sprout rapidly. In the middle of the raging sandstorm, vines began to form.
They gradually expanded their reach. As the vines grew over the parched, water-soaked earth, the intensity of the sandstorm began to diminish.
The wind remained, but the sand had decreased noticeably.
‘This is it.’
With certainty, he used the rest of his Mana to grow the stems further.
When the lush green stems finally spread across the wide land, the sand vanished completely, and a land of life overflowing with greenery was born.
Then, someone descended from the sky.
There were exactly five humans.
They had halos above their heads, wings on their backs, and tails on their rears. It was a form similar to his own when he used Dragon Transformation.
“To think a Saint Dragon Level entity would deal with natural magic created by an ancient dragon… My, I’m so surprised I’m at a loss for words.”
“To remove the cause itself. That is a surprising idea.”
“Was there ever a fellow like this? I don’t think even Ilina went this far.”
“Is this a thought one can have because he is human? Interesting.”
“I’m curious to see how far he will grow.”
The five humans — no, dragons — looked at him simultaneously. Their eyes held expectation, greed, and wonder.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. We are the dragons of the Golden Clan who served the Lord. We are delighted to meet you like this.”
“Yes. It is an honor for me as well. The magic you showed me was truly impressive.”
Then, one of the five spoke.
“Shall we begin then?”
“Pardon? Begin what?”
“We are going to remove the limits you possess.”