Episode 16
EPISODE.08
“Whoa.”
Russell, looking at the towering mountainside and the natural scenery unfolding below, lightly wiped away 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… … .’
If you add in the time wasted here and there, it’s been a little over a week since I left the academy.
‘It was my first trip, but I somehow managed to arrive.’
The smell of sulfur faintly mixed in the wind.
And even the hot springs that can be seen everywhere.
This was a volcanic area spread out at the beginning of Pompeo Volcano.
Pompeo Volcano.
It is the name of an extinct volcano that currently does not even have the power to cause an explosion of any kind.
However, in the past, it was also a volcano that had a history of causing terrifying explosions that completely covered the entire area.
According to the record of a scholar who witnessed the eruption of Pompeo Volcano from afar at the time –
‘It was written that it felt like the heavens and earth were on fire and screaming.’
It is said that Pompeio Volcano was named after the ancient city that was destroyed at the time.
However, unlike the horrendous records that remain… … .
‘Now it has completely turned into a tourist destination… … .’
Russell chuckled as he looked at the map that recorded the natural scenery surrounding the volcanic area and the locations of luxury hot springs located throughout the scenery.
‘Well, thanks to you, work became easier.’
As it became a tourist destination, roads were built and built, so you will be able to easily get to the halfway point of the mountain, even if it is not to your destination.
‘Because it’s so popular, even monsters won’t attack you until the middle.’
With that thought in mind, Russell took a step forward.
Hwaak-.
I opened the subspace and took out a piece of parchment with a courtesy x mark on it.
“hmm.”
Contrary to what the green window says, the light will show you the way when you get close to the location marked on the map.
‘There has been no change to the parchment yet.’
Maybe I should get closer.
How long does it take to climb the mountain path like that?
“Now if you look this way-.”
“That thing you see over there is a sulfur spring, and the temperature is… … .
Various voices are heard from all over the place.
It was not Russell’s voice, but the voices of guides hired by other tourists.
As the volcano is famous as a tourist destination, there are quite a few people who make it their job as a guide.
“Did you know that Mount Pompeo was not a volcano at first but an ordinary mountain?”
One of those voices caught Russell’s ear.
“According to legend, Pompeo, originally an ordinary mountain, turned into a volcano after a being settled on this mountain a long time ago.”
Even if you search the world, there is only one being that can change the natural environment and terrain just by settling down.
“yes. “As some of you may have already guessed, in legend, the being that settled on Mount Pompeio was the Red Dragon.”
Dragon.
A magic pilot and transcendental species that roamed this continent during the Age of Gods.
Only they can do that.
“Maybe that’s why they say there are legends and traces related to dragons all over Pompeio Volcano.”
After that, the guide started talking about legends related to the fire dragon.
There is a place where a dragon lay down, and there is a record of it roaring loudly.
Of course, it wasn’t very nutritious content.
Among them, the only thing that caught Russell’s attention was the information that a fire dragon lived.
‘The heart of a dragon, a ring resembling a dragon’s eyes… … .’
Through those two, he returned to the past and gained special powers called the Green Spear and Mission.
And when I followed that mission, I found a mountain where there was a legend where a fire dragon lived.
‘Simple coincidence… … ‘It would be difficult to ignore it.’
It was clear that his return to the past and his acquisition of the green spear had something to do with a dragon, or a very high-ranking dragon species.
Dragons and polyps.
Russell quickened his pace, remembering two keywords.
After that, I continued to climb the mountain path, passing the guides and tourists.
After climbing to a fairly high point, Russell stood tall and stopped in place.
I looked back and forth between the mountain path ahead and the poorly organized forest.
‘I guess it’s not a good idea to ride the mountain path from here.’
They say the path was correct up to this point, but from now on, we had to move to a place that was completely far from the mountain path.
There was also quite a bit of distance left on the map.
Although the scale is not clearly indicated, if you roughly calculate it by comparing it with the distance traveled so far –
“Approximately 40km… … .”
It is by no means a short distance.
Even if you travel diligently, it takes a full day, and if you consider traveling on rough mountain roads, you should allow at least two days.
If you were an ordinary Magic Academy student, this distance would not have been physically easy for you.
That’s why Russell quietly sued.
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Thanks to his time as a mercenary, he had some experience with homeless people.
As well as-.
“I never thought that my physical training for Overlord and Wizard Body would help me in this way.”
The problem is the monster.
If possible, it would be better to hide your presence and move carefully.
“I need to be on alert with alarm magic even when I sleep.”
Muttering to himself, Russell left the well-made tourist trail.
And then I walked into the completely untidy forest.
The good news was that the trees and bushes were not that dense.
‘It’s nice that the sunlight comes through the trees, so there’s no need to make a separate fire.’
Before long, the tourist mountain road that was visible from afar disappears.
And soon the silence of the mountain came, with no sign of human presence at all.
A strangely quiet forest.
At what point did it start?
There was hardly any sign of animals, let alone monsters.
‘It’s too quiet even though it’s quiet.’
If you came in here, it would be normal if you encountered at least one goblin.
“hmm… … .”
.
.
The abnormal phenomenon was not limited to just the first day.
The second day was also the same.
Although a few wild animals appeared occasionally, there was still nothing that could be called a monster.
‘This. like-.’
Territory of predators… … .
The moment Russell tries to guess something!
… … Ujikkeun, boom!
The sound of something breaking or collapsing coming from quite far away.
Russell instinctively stopped at the sound.
chuck.
Then, half-hiding his body under a huge tree trunk, he checked the direction from which the sound had come.
If you’re familiar with it, it’s a habit you picked up during your time as a mercenary.
… Thump, boom.
Ujikkeun, boom. Big thump!
Meanwhile, the sound of breaking and collapsing continues to grow louder.
‘It’s coming this way.’
Russell raised his magic power with a nervous expression, and right after!
Ujikkeun, boom-!!
It appeared.
It has a shell as hard as a rock, skin as rough as the bark of a tree, and a body length that appears to be at least 3 meters.
‘Komodo Lizard!’
Russell was inwardly shocked when he saw the monster in the shape of a lizard.
‘Damn, I said it was too quiet for some reason. ‘I never thought it was the Komodo Lizard’s territory.’
Komodo Lizard.
A branch of the dragon species that is said to have inherited the genes of the dragon, a dragon that went extinct a long time ago.
However, it is not as powerful as the famous dragon species of Drake or Wyvern.
Perhaps due to the difference in the inherited dragon factor, the ability itself was much lower than the previous two entities.
In terms of pure strength, he is similar to or lower than an adolescent troll.
but.
‘He’s definitely not an easy opponent.’
The hard shell did not allow penetration by any spear or sword.
As he was born with the dragon factor, he also had magic resistance, albeit to a certain extent.
‘Should I hide my presence as much as possible and run away?’
A fleeting thought occurred to me.
Soon Russell shook his head.
Looking at the way it sniffs, it is clear that it has caught the scent of prey.
‘There’s a good chance you’ll become prey here.’
Compared to its massive size, its speed when hunting was quite fast.
The charging ability of a guy that runs by breaking trees with its hard skin is not something to be ignored.
The story goes that even if you run away, they will chase you, so you have no choice but to fight.
‘Even in my past life, two mercenary groups were there to catch one of those… … .’
What if now, unlike in the past, we have reached the 3rd circle?
Fire Bolt.
‘no. Lightning bolts, which can temporarily paralyze movement, might be better.’
If you cast as many lightning bolts as possible, add some rotation, and then fire a concentrated burst at one location… … .
Even if it couldn’t be defeated, there was a chance it could cause injury and paralyze it for a moment.
‘After that, decide whether to defeat it or run away.’
Even if you run away-
‘I guess I’ll have to shove magic into the nose of the guy who stops and paralyze his sense of smell.’
Thinking so, Russell carefully casted the spell.
That moment.
Ujikkeun-.
The guy turned his head.
I looked exactly where Russell was.
‘I got caught!’
It was a painful situation for him, who was looking for a surprise attack, so he had to get out of the way.
Russell, who made a quick decision, tried to make that move.
However, the first thing he did was show strange behavior.
“uh?”
The moment it spotted Russell, instead of rushing forward with its massive body to attack, it slowly stopped in place.
It stared at Russell for a while, then slowly bent its two front legs.
Then close your eyes and let your head touch the floor.
‘What is it doing now?’
If you were to compare it to a human, it would be a posture similar to bowing.
Russell stared at the scene without even thinking about taking a step back from the guy’s completely unexpected actions.
Nevertheless, the guy just continues to maintain that posture.
No threats or attacks are made towards Russell.
‘Could this happen?’
Komodo Lizards were famous for not letting enemies invade their territory.
But it looks like that.
“hmm… … .”
Russell, who briefly fell asleep, began to slowly walk backwards.
I was worried that they might change their stance and attack.
But even until Russell left that place completely, the guy continued to maintain the same posture…
“What on earth is going on…?” … .”
– Still, just in case, Russell muttered as he turned away and left the place.
I know that it is not a problem that can be answered by thinking about it.
But even so, there is nothing I can do about this problem as it lingers in my head.
Fortunately, we haven’t been attacked by Komodo lizards or any other monsters since then.
Light came out from the parchment as if it was right near the x mark.
Wow-.
The powder of light flowing from the parchment’s magic coalesced in the air and spun around Russell.
Soon it started flying slowly in one direction.
“Is this what it means when light shows the way?”
Kwagwagwagwagwagwagwa-!
What greeted Russell as he chased the powder of light was a huge waterfall.
A huge amount of water pours down non-stop, creating spray.
Sunlight was reflected in the spray, and rainbows appeared everywhere.
A natural wonder created because no human foot has ever touched it.
The powder of light did not stop there, but flew to the back of the waterfall.
Slurp, slump-.
As I chased after him, I saw the entrance to a small cave behind the waterfall where the water was still pooled.
Only after confirming that Russell had followed him did the light powder scatter and disappear in front of the entrance to the cave.
“It’s a cave behind the waterfall… … .”
It’s pretty classic, but it seemed difficult to find.
To begin with, the waterfall was located far away from most people.
“No one would bother to come all the way here and behind the waterfall.”
Russell mumbled and bent his knees.
It seemed like the mission was pointing to this area.
I felt like I had to go inside the cave.
Swoosh, swoosh-.
The space inside, which Russell entered with his posture lowered to the floor, was much larger than he expected.
It was dark so I couldn’t see it clearly.
“Light.”
When the light was turned on using magical power, the scene inside the cave was clearly visible.
A cave so huge that it is not only wide but also several meters high.
Even traces of wave patterns along the walls of the cave.
‘This is a trace of magma flowing.’
Through the traces, Russell was able to easily guess the cause of the cave’s creation.
“Lava Cave.”
What on earth are you asking me to do here?
Tsk, after lightly clicking his tongue at the still unresponsive mission window, Russell took a step toward the inside of the lava cave.
Jerk, jerk.
wizard who swallowed a dragon
