In the year 13805 of the Divine Calendar,
for the Material Plane of Arlesk,
this was just an ordinary year.
But for the Human Kingdoms of the Eastern Continent, the events of this year would likely be recorded in the history books.
First, the Duchy of Reny suddenly launched a war against the rising mixologist faction in the God-Forsaken Land.
This war was dubbed the “Red Wine War.”
Just as people began to think they would never again drink that affordable wine with its uniquely distinct flavor,
news of the Duchy of Reny's defeat swept back!
Along with it came the revelation that the mysterious mixologist faction in the God-Forsaken Land was actually backed by two black dragons.
It was an absolutely explosive piece of news.
According to the refugees who fled back, neither of those black dragons was a normal dragon.
One fed on iron and was made entirely of metal.
Its body was so massive it blotted out the sun.
Even a sky full of blazing fire could not kill it.
The other was like a great terror straight from the abyss.
Merely drawing near to it filled one with involuntary fear and disgust.
Countless multicolored lights flashed upon its head.
No one could look it in the eye.
It was a memetic contamination comparable to that of an evil god.
Although no one had yet been able to accurately describe the exact appearance of the two dragons,
based on the fact that they had slain the two Gold Rank experts leading the Duchy of Reny's forces,
some powerful figures speculated that these two dragons were likely legendary aberrant dragons.
In other words, mutated dragons.
One had likely mutated into something akin to a metallic dragon,
while the other had mutated in the direction of an abyssal evil god.
Because of this, some dragonologists bestowed two highly dramatic titles upon them.
They were: “Wings of Burning Steel” and “Wings of Depravity.”
However,
before those well-informed fellows could use this news as gossip to score a few free mugs of ale at the taverns
and hold forth on the matter,
even more shocking news arrived in rapid succession.
The Duchy of Reny had been destroyed.
And the culprit behind its destruction...
was also a black dragon!
An adult black dragon!
Before panic could spread through all levels of society in the Eastern Kingdoms,
the Rose Empire, the most powerful nation on the Eastern Continent, issued a proclamation.
The Legendary Grand Warrior Tracy, known as the Valkyrie, had personally set out.
She would undoubtedly drive out the invading evil dragon.
Following that, a protracted battle erupted within the borders of the Duchy of Reny.
The aftershocks of the battle were so far-reaching that they even affected neighboring countries.
As a result, no one dared to watch the fight.
Only after two days and two nights
did the battle finally subside.
More than half of the Duchy of Reny had been reduced to rubble in the clash.
And the invading black dragon, having earned the title of the Mother of Shadows, fled in panic with chests full of treasure, scurrying back to hide in the Great Gana Forest.
Upon her return, the Valkyrie Tracy refused to see anyone.
Rumors spread that Tracy had also been severely wounded in the battle,
nearly falling from her Legendary Rank.
But regardless, with the exception of the Duchy of Reny, the other kingdoms were safe for the time being.
After another quiet period of several days, once it was clear that the God-Forsaken Land remained silent as well,
the royal families of the major nations finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Yet, to certain opportunistic individuals, this display of restraint looked like a sign of weakness.
Driven by greed, wave after wave of adventurer parties left the Eastern Kingdoms.
Carrying dreams of becoming dragon slayers, they set foot on that land cursed by the gods.
They were firmly convinced that the two black dragons in the rumors were heavily injured.
Otherwise, why would they remain holed up in the God-Forsaken Land without seeking revenge?
That was hardly the way of an evil dragon.
In the eyes of these adventurers, killing those two dragons would not only win them the title of dragon slayer,
but also allow them to plunder the vast mountains of gold coins earned from selling red wine!
With a bit of luck, they might even make off with a few dragon eggs.
They would rise to prominence overnight and climb to the top of the world!
At this moment, a three-man adventurer party was traversing this wild, savage land.
...
“Damn it! Why is this hellhole so cold at night?”
A short adventurer named Gexi spat, shivering as he wrapped his blanket tighter around himself.
As a rogue, his build was far from robust.
This meant that despite being a Silver Rank expert, he still found the harsh nighttime environment of the God-Forsaken Land hard to bear.
Hurrying his steps, Gexi caught up with the rest of the party.
“Hey! Hollis!”
Gexi placed a hand on Hollis's shoulder, shivering as he spoke:
“Do you have any more Lava Potions?”
Hollis turned around and saw his teammate, who was usually cheerful and bore a passing resemblance to a rat, now hunched over from the cold.
He looked even more like a rat now.
In the darkness, Hollis's first thought was that he was looking at an oversized Cavens ratman.
This caused him to let out a startled cry. “Oh, my goodness!”
He swung his wooden staff right at him.
Fortunately, the composure he had cultivated over the years allowed the middle-aged mage to pull his blow at the last second.
Thus avoiding a disastrous blunder.
Still, it gave the small, skinny rogue a decent whack on the head, prompting a sharp “Ouch!” from him.
“Hollis! What the hell are you doing?!”
Gexi clutched the swelling bump on his head and cursed, “Being on a team with you is absolutely terrible!”
“Sorry, sorry!”
Hollis reached out awkwardly, casting a minor healing spell in a soft glow of light.
Only then did he retrieve a crimson potion from his storage ring.
“You know I'm terrified of rats. Just now, I thought...”
“I knew it! You mistook me for one of those filthy, wretched creatures again!”
Gexi snatched the Lava Potion, yanked out the cork, and took a swig.
Feeling his body gradually warm up, he couldn't help but squint, shuddering with sheer comfort.
But when he opened his eyes and saw Hollis's weathered face, his expression soured with disgust once more.
He reached out, poking Hollis's chest with a finger, and said one word at a time:
“This. Had. Better. Be. The. Last. Time.”
“Otherwise, when we get back, I'll definitely have the captain kick you out of the party!”
Just then, a sudden voice cut in.
“Gexi, keep your mouth shut.”
The two of them looked toward the source of the voice and saw their captain, Sotu, had turned around at some point.
He was an incredibly heavily-built man.
Judging by the single-edged broadsword on his back,
there was no doubt he was a warrior.
Sotu leaned against a boulder behind him, pulled a piece of dried meat from his storage ring, and stuffed it into his mouth.
As he chewed, his fierce, fleshy face twitched, making him look even more menacing.
Muffled words came from his mouth.
“Don't think I don't know that you secretly went to see that fellow Gomu last time, trying to join his adventurer party.”
“How... How did you find out...”
Gexi clearly hadn't expected his highly secretive actions to be discovered. His expression shifted.
He felt his newly warmed body go cold all over again.
The atmosphere within the three-man party instantly became tense, as if swords were about to be drawn.
At this critical moment, it was Hollis who stepped in to defuse the tension, blocking their lines of sight.
He quickly changed the subject:
“Sotu, don't forget we're here to slay a dragon.”
“There's no need to make things so tense right now.”
“Worst case, when we get back, we'll just give Gexi a smaller share of the gold.”
Rate on N.U.
