Chapter 25: Top (2)

Chapter 25: Top (2)

If you mean the Red Dream Dragon is she a dragon?

When Kim Hyunwoo casually brought it up, Adria nodded and continued.

Yes, the owner of our Tienus Merchant Group is a dragon. Specifically, a Red Dragon, known to be one of the stronger beings among their kind. Thanks to her, we can trade under her protection without the need for armed escorts.

Kim Hyunwoo nodded as he listened to Adria speak with pride.

So thats why there were no escorts.

He knew that merchant groups typically always had escorts.

After all, merchant groups were naturally exposed to various threats, not just monsters.

Therefore, Kim Hyunwoo thought it strange that such a large merchant group entered without a single escort.

Indeed, if its a dragon, that would make sense.

At least during his time playing the game, dragons held a significant stature in the world of Arteil, similar to other fantasies, and were even treated as Raid Bosses.

Thus, with a curiosity that suddenly arose, Kim Hyunwoo asked another question.

Then, is the Red Dream Dragon also with the Merchant Group?

No, thats not the case. We dont need the guardian to follow us around since the magic she has cast is sufficient for us to trade without any trouble.

Kim Hyunwoo nodded at Adrias answer and suddenly thought back to the past.

Come to think of it, there was also a dragon in my territory.

More precisely, the hero in Kim Hyunwoos territory, Lartania, was not a dragon but a half-dragon.

Not just any half-dragon, but a 1-star half-dragon.

Thinking about it, it was quite absurd back then too.

Kim Hyunwoo found himself reminiscing about that time.

In the midst of browsing through a failed 500-year search, the hero he found was quite a peculiar one from his perspective at the time.

She was a 1-star, directly contradicting the communitys expectation that any notable hero should start at three stars.

Moreover, her mental resilience was fragile, and it took a lot of effort to cultivate her talent and traits.

Thanks to her, logging into the game meant at least 30 minutes of chatting as a routine, and he even bought a book titled Eight Ways to Console with money he didnt have to care for her mental state.

Of course, thanks to his diligent care, she became quite strong and proved her worth, and since she significantly improved his typing skills, she remained a hero of considerable significance to Kim Hyunwoo.

I wonder what shes doing now.

Suddenly remembering Adria was sitting there, Kim Hyunwoo cut off his train of thought and responded.

Excuse me, something just came to mind.

After a brief apology, he continued their conversation.

If its okay, could you tell me a bit about whats going on in the world?

Do you mean news about the world?

Yes.

He had quite a lot of information about Arteil.

Being one of the hardcore gamers who survived till the later stages, the information about managing territories and dungeon strategies still remained in his head, proving to be very helpful.

Yet, the reason Kim Hyunwoo sought information through Adria was that all the information he had was from ten years ago.

In other words, while the information Kim Hyunwoo accumulated remained useful, all other details needed to be updated.

After all, Kim Hyunwoo had no idea what changes had occurred in Arteil after he stopped playing, nor was he aware of any game updates.

Therefore, Kim Hyunwoo asked her for information, and after some contemplation, Adria slightly nodded and began.

That wont be difficult.

Well, it seems impossible to find what he wants since its only been a few months.

And replied.

Soon, the secretary, who had been nodding dumbly at Adria, lowered her gaze to look at an item Adria had placed on the office desk and asked.

That necklace?

The secretary was pointing at the necklace.

A necklace with a red gem, though it looked a bit modest compared to the jewelry Adria was wearing.

Ah, this? The Lord gave it as a gift for providing information. I heard it was a necklace he had kept for a long time.

Adria casually lifted the necklace in response to the secretarys question and said.

Include this as well in the offerings to be presented to him. He generally likes necklaces with red gems.

She was handing the necklace to the secretary while saying this.

Adria had added one more offering to be presented to the Master of the Merchant Group.

In a huge cave within a forest in the Southeast,

A woman was sitting in a very antique chair.

Behind the antique chair where the woman sat, treasures were piled up to an astonishing degree.

From a huge amount of gold coins, various artifacts were tangled together, and numerous weapons were embedded in the gold, exuding their grandeur.

It was a place that perfectly fit the definition of a dragons treasure, not odd to be called a utopia dreamed of by every adventurer.

Yet, the expression of the woman in the middle of these treasures looked terribly gloomy.

Her red hair was disheveled, tangled with her horns.

Her golden eyes, granted only to dragons, had lost their brilliant light and were soaked in gloom.

Moreover, the marks of self-harm on her neck and wrists silently suggested that she couldnt feel any happiness in this space, coveted by everyone.

She quietly turned her gaze and looked behind her.

A mountain of treasure unfolded in her gloomy eyes.

But she still turned her head away, looking at the wealth with gloomy eyes.

Then, looking straight ahead.

She grabbed her neck with both hands.

Crack-!

She strangled herself.

She also disliked pain.

But, she had to do it.

She was so broken that she couldnt sleep without doing this.

The dragon had to sleep, even if it meant doing this.

She had to enter her dreams.

Because in this golden treasure trove that everyone desired, there was nothing that the dragon wanted.

Because there was no Master.

She strangled herself.