Chapter 9

This time, there is a turning point in Chapter 1. New settings will also be introduced, so I will add them to the character and world introductions.

After much thought, I have decided to continue this novel as much as possible.

I aim to complete it, so I look forward to your opinions and impressions.

Nozomu was working part-time at the commercial district's collection yard the next day as well.

On this day, his partner was not there, and his boss had entrusted him with organizing and recording the cargo within the yard.

After confirming the incoming and outgoing cargo and reporting it to the supervisor, the supervisor said he had something to tell Nozomu and called him over.

"By the way, Nozomu, have you heard the story about a dragon that a hunter saw in the forest the other day?"

"A dragon...?"

Dragon.

The strongest existence on the continent.

One of the spirit species, boasting immense power.

It is said that there were those who defeated dragons and obtained their power in the past.

Those known as "dragon slayers" no longer exist and are only found in history textbooks and legends.

"But, is there really a legendary creature like a dragon near this town?"

"I think so too. It was probably a mistake. But since you often go into the forest, I thought it would be good to keep it in mind."

The boss laughed heartily.

A wyvern, unlike a dragon, is a type of magical beast.

Its power does not match that of a dragon, and its intelligence is low, but it is a significant threat to humans.

Its power is undoubtedly one of the highest in the category of magical beasts. No matter how I think about it, I have no chance of winning.

"I understand. I'll be careful."

Nozomu thanked his boss and set off for his master's hut.

He prepared his beloved sword and headed for his master's hut.

His attire was minimal, using the skin of magical beasts to allow for free movement. He attached a knife and a pouch to his belt, and inside the pouch were a set of healing potions and other medical supplies, as well as smoke bombs, sound bombs, and thunder bombs.

The smoke bomb, as its name suggests, generates a smoke screen, and the sound bomb produces a loud noise to startle and potentially drive away weaker magical beasts if things go well.

Finally, the thunder bomb.

This releases lightning comparable to high-level magic in the surrounding area when thrown, and it is quite expensive.

However, due to his low base abilities and the limited number of times he can use powerful qi techniques due to his qi capacity, his master bought it for him just in case.

While the effects of self-enhancing items that affect oneself are limited, the power of items that do not depend on one's own abilities is not, so he always carries them when he goes into the forest.

On the way to Shino's hut, fog began to rise, so he quickened his pace.

The fog gradually thickened until it was impossible to see even a meter ahead.

"This is bad," Nozomu muttered, and when he looked at his compass, it was spinning and not pointing in a fixed direction.

"What's going on?"

This forest is indeed home to many magical beasts, but it has no characteristics that would interfere with a compass.

Calming his anxiety with deep breaths, he rechecked his surroundings.

The trees were dense enough to hide in, but there was no place to rest safely.

"I might as well stay here for now."

Judging that securing a safe place was necessary, he walked, marking the trees he passed with his knife to avoid getting lost.

After a while, he seemed to have left the forest, as the trees thinned out and he came to an open area.

The fog was gradually clearing.

Just as he heaved a sigh of relief, the scenery around him suddenly distorted.

"Huh?"

In the next moment, he found himself in an unfamiliar place.

Surrounded by mountains, the land as far as the eye could see was barren. It was clearly not the area around Alkazam.

A massive shadow loomed over him, confused.

Looking up, Nozomu was speechless.

A huge black object covered half the sky.

It had five large, colorful wings, flapping powerfully.

Its scales were pitch black, and their thickness seemed to symbolize the years it had lived.

Its eyes held the darkness of the abyss, looking down at the insignificant human on the ground.

Everything about it embodied despair.

"The Dragon King Tiamat"

A dragon that even other dragons feared and devoured, an anomaly among anomalies.

A legendary dragon that disappeared from the earth over five thousand years ago was right there.

Nozomu stood there in a daze.

He couldn't understand his current situation.

Ordinarily, encountering a legendary dragon near his town, where magical beasts appeared, was unthinkable.

Unbeknownst to the confused Nozomu, this space was a temporary world created by the dragons using the continent's ley lines to seal Tiamat in the narrow space between the spirit world and the real world.

However, this temporary, narrow world sometimes wavered due to the immense power of Tiamat.

This waver, transmitted through the ley lines, sometimes connected to a place on the continent, creating a path.

This path was too small for Tiamat to pass through, but most living beings, including humans, could pass through it.

Nozomu had unknowingly passed through this path and ended up in this sealed world.

Tiamat looked down at Nozomu, its eyes filled with pure joy at finding a long-awaited prey.

The black dragon folded its wings and descended straight toward Nozomu.

Nozomu instantly tensed his body with qi and kicked off the ground to move away.

A moment later, Tiamat landed with a thunderous sound.

The ground was torn up by the dragon's weight and the impact of its descent, and shockwaves scattered debris in all directions.

Nozomu was tossed around by the shockwaves and slammed into the ground.

He managed to take a fall to avoid serious injuries, but he had cuts from flying rocks and debris.

He immediately decided to retreat.

He threw all his smoke bombs, and using the smoke screen as cover, he fled at full speed toward the forest.

He thought that hiding in the forest would buy him time to escape.

But his thinking was too optimistic.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO