Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Remnants of the Giant Magic Dragon (1)

The next day...

Serious training began in earnest, similar to what I underwent in the dwarf village. My daily routine remained unchanged: training with the skeletons under the old man’s guidance, massages, practicing the Great Blue Heart Technique and honing various skills. It was about eight hours of training per cycle.

The elven villagers paid little attention to my strange activities. However...

“Here’s the wool we gathered as you requested.”

“This is a bundle of silkworms. You can use that device to spin the thread.”

“We’ll just stack them here.”

“But please, don’t misunderstand... We’re only doing this because the Queen ordered it.”

“That’s right, it’s not because we like you or anything!”

They simply piled up materials before the makeshift machinery for weaving and item crafting.

Watching them, I couldn’t help but notice...

They’re so innocent.

If the dwarves were passionate and fiery, the elves were like a blank canvas, pure and untainted.

While Dagnar resented the Chief’s decisions, the elves seemed to follow the Queen’s orders without question, their hearts full of reverence and loyalty.

Even their titles reflected this difference. The ‘Chief’ and the ‘Queen.’ ‘Chief’ suggested a federation where representatives from regions or villages gathered to exercise voting rights, while ‘Queen’ implied a monarchy with ruling and subordinate classes.

In any case, it benefited me that all the elves faithfully obeyed Seraphine’s commands since I didn’t have to worry about earning their favor while getting things done.

“Please stack them here, thank you.” I smiled warmly as I received the materials. “No need to spin or weave anything yourself. It’s more effective if I do it.”

After all, I needed to increase Boney 6’s weaving proficiency. Even now, Boney 6 was hard at work spinning thread and weaving fabric. It had already reached level 2, working tirelessly day and night.

[Using skill ‘Intermediate Weaving’ (Lv.2).]

[Spun 1 ‘Intermediate Thread’.]

[Spun 1 ‘Intermediate Thread’.]

[Crafted ‘Waste Pile’.]

[Proficiency increased by 1.]

“When did you...?” Dagnar watched in amazement beside me. “How did you learn to use those devices so quickly?”

“Hm, well, it’s a secret technique unique to my people...”

As I mentioned, I don’t need to know how to use the machines. Boney 6 just needed to be near them to activate the skill.

“C-Come to think of it! You also smelt metal without going through the complicated processes last time, right? It’s so strange... Could you be a deity of some kind?”

“A deity? Does such a thing exist?”

“No, probably not. It was just an exaggeration.”

How silly.

—Whoosh!

I swung my sword. Today was the day to practice the first skill I learned from the old man, Rend. I sliced through the air, following the now-familiar flow of my unique form.

“By the way, how’s the investigation going?”

To investigate the location of the dragon’s seal—that was Dagnar’s task. He needed to pinpoint our current location and predict the seal’s direction.

There was no need to worry about arousing suspicion. He was just exploring the highlands of the village, and if questioned, he could simply say he was there to gather goat wool.

“Oh, right! I should head out again soon. I scouted the east yesterday, so I’ll check the south today.”

“Oh, is that so? Good luck.”

“Heh, luck has nothing to do with it! Thanks to you, I have the opportunity to fulfill the ancient duty passed down by our ancestors! I must give it my all!”

I admired his enthusiasm.

Dagnar would find the relics of his ancestors, and I would gain the key to the quest. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

* * *

“Hey! Huff, huff!”

Dagnar returned in less than three hours.

“You’re back already? It’s still noon.”

I wiped the light sweat from my brow. I had been the one training, yet Dagnar looked more exhausted than I did.

“This is huge...! Huge, I tell you...! Come with me!” Dagnar quietly whispered as he got closer, excitement clear in his eyes.

“Huge?”

“It was closer than I thought! No, it wasn’t just close...”

“Really? Then...?”

I put down the sword I had been swinging.

“Are you talking about the leader of the forest race who brought you here?”

“Yes, she was right there the day I was expelled by the chief and naturally guided me this way.”

“...”

“And since then, she hasn’t made any comments or objections. Almost as if she wanted me to find this place.”

“Hmm, you think she was leading you to the ruins.”

“Yes.”

It was suspicious. It wasn’t confirmed, but I had a strong feeling. Why did she allow Dagnar, a member of a different race, into the forest?

And even now...

Seraphine hadn’t appeared. She might have been watching me from a distance, just like when she observed me crafting the hammer. It felt unsettling and suspicious.

“Disciple.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t overthink it. It’s not a question you can get an answer to anyway.”

“Should I just go in without a second thought?”

“Yes, and if you’re suspicious of that elven leader, test her.”

“Test her?”

“Yes, make a big show of it before you enter.”

“Oh?”

I immediately understood what the old man was suggesting. The quest had appeared, so there was only one answer: I had to go into the Giant Magic Dragon’s ruins. So he wanted me to make a loud entrance and see how Seraphine reacted.

“Wait, but what if Seraphine had no such intentions? Wouldn’t I just be causing unnecessary trouble? If a being of the high elf queen’s level interfered, the quest could be upended entirely.”

“Tsk, tsk. I doubt it.” The old man clicked his tongue, smiling confidently. “According to you, that elven leader is on par with the chief, right? So she wouldn’t do that.”

“...”

“She’s probably even listening to you right now. Since eavesdropping on you would be easier than eating rice cakes in my prime.”

“...” I nodded silently.

Hearing that made me reluctant to say anything more. In fact, what I was saying right now was already plenty noisy. It meant she was okay with me heading to the ruins since she still hadn’t appeared.

I made my decision.

“Mr. Dagnar.”

“Y-Yes?” Listening quietly beside me, the dwarf’s eyes widened.

He was used to my frequent soliloquies by now and just thought of me as a mysterious being.

“So where are this dragon’s ruins? Let’s head there now.”

“A-Are you serious? I thought we were going to sneak in at night! What if we get caught?”

“No, we’re going now.”

It was better to face the music head-on.

Immeasurable difficulty?

—Thump, thump.

My heart pounded faster. I felt fear, excitement, and a sense of awakening something dormant within me.

Behind me, the old man chuckled contentedly. “You truly are a warrior. It doesn’t matter if you’re a genius or an ordinary person. You’re someone who knows how to fight against the world. Heh, and that’s why you’re my disciple.”

And so, I walked toward the highlands that Dagnar was guiding me to.

“Looks like it’s that hole up there.”

The old man stood by my side. “This trial will likely be another fortuitous opportunity for you. However, I’m not worried since it seems that the heavens favor you.”

I saw a dark and gloomy hole about five meters wide, with a decaying staircase leading down. That was the entrance to the ruins.

“What are you waiting for? If you’ve made your decision, go ahead, my disciple.”

“Yes, I will.”

I took a step forward.

* * *

In the sky above the forest, an elf with pure white skin quietly looked down.

It was the high elf queen Seraphine—the Queen of the Forest tribe and the revered leader of all the elves for 500 years.

Below her, she saw Joo Donghoon and Dagnar moving diligently.

“Foreign being... you’re finally... taking action.”

Her facial muscles trembled. Her expression was unreadable. But one thing was for sure.

There was no sign of displeasure.

“...”

After watching them silently for a long time, her figure gradually faded away like a mirage.