After a night filled with tension and clashes, the team members woke up the next morning. The sunlight shone brightly, accompanied by the gentle morning breeze and the sounds of birds roaming the area and dancing atop the branches of the dense trees.
On the other side, Ryan had already awakened, and joy was evident on his facial features, while Carlos and Ravan had woken up a little earlier than him, packing their simple belongings to depart once again.
At that moment, Carlos called out to both Ravan and Ryan together.
"Hey, Ravan. Ryan. Come a little closer."
Ravan responded positively to Carlos's call and approached him, while the situation was the opposite for Ryan. Ryan refused and said to him,
"I can hear you from here, so just speak."
Despite that, Carlos continued and ignored Ryan, who could hear everything being said from his nearby position.
Carlos said, "Alright. We are now actually at the border between the Kingdom of Arcadia and Valdaria. From this point onward, things will become more difficult, because the terrain will grow more violent and dangerous. We will face extremely sharp elevations, and there are also many hurricanes that strike this region with intense force constantly."
With that, Carlos ended his words with this warning. However, before he finished completely, he remembered something else—or rather, someone else.
"There are also those rumors related to the dragon that lives here. Even though it is a seventh-rank dragon, do not let that deceive you. It is still a dragon regardless. Under such conditions, a seventh-grade dragon can be extremely dangerous, so you must be cautious."
After saying that, he sighed lightly and continued,
"And especially you, Ryan. Do not think that I do not know the reason behind your insistence on coming here. That is why I will say this to you for the last time: forget about that dragon and focus on crossing these mountains. That would be better."
Despite Carlos's words, which were the height of logic and composure, there was another person lying off to the side who paid no attention to this advice at all. Once he set a goal before his eyes, stopping him would be nearly impossible.
At that moment, Ryan sprang up from his place with a light leap, as if it reflected his vitality and energy, then dashed toward his destination, ignoring his companions.
While Carlos and Ravan were still planning, Carlos happened to glance toward Ryan's location, only to be shocked when he did not find him there. Panic struck him as he looked right and left. Where did he go? Wasn't he here just moments ago? Suddenly, Ravan spotted him.
"Look, he's already gone."
Carlos said, "Tch, that bastard. He always makes me worry in situations like this. Tch, tch."
Returning to Ryan, who suddenly stopped and looked back, he himself was surprised by how far he had advanced—so far that his two companions could barely be seen. He shouted and waved his hands,
"Hey, hey Carlos! Why are you standing there like that? Come on, I'm not going to wait for you to catch up."
And thus, the team crossed the boundary separating Arcadia and Valdaria. What was clearly evident was how much worse the terrain had become, far more severe than before, in addition to the powerful winds violently striking the area. Soon, those towering mountains that dominated the entire region revealed themselves. The scene was dangerous and terrifying, as if they were no longer on the continent of humans at all. There were no signs indicating the presence of any form of life in this region, as though it had become the property of someone who forbade life from existing within it.
Returning to the team, who were enduring extremely harsh conditions due to the powerful winds obstructing their advance, Carlos was constantly complaining, with irritation clearly etched across his face.
"Tch. If only we hadn't listened to you, we'd be in a much better state right now. I'd rather walk for two extra days than travel under these awful conditions."
These words spoken by Carlos did not represent him alone; Ravan felt the same. He had now become convinced that standing on Ryan's side in the past had been the biggest mistake he had ever made.
Ravan said, "Haaah… I would never have agreed to come here if I had known this beforehand. How foolish I was. I apologize to you, Carlos, but from now on, I know very well whose side I stand on."
These two were clearly conspiring against Ryan, while Ryan walked beside them. Hearing this was certainly irritating, yet they were right. Even so, Ryan paid no attention to it and instead began shouting, calling out to someone. This was so strange and shocking that Carlos and Ravan turned toward him in disbelief.
"Hey, what are you doing? Stop shouting. You're really annoying."
Despite Ravan's request, it was flatly rejected.
Ryan raised his voice even higher this time, calling out to the dragon,
"Heeey! You cowardly dragon, come out! I'm here! I came to fight you! Come out!"
Ryan continued shouting for a long time, but to no avail. His cries achieved nothing at all. Instead, they only earned him mockery from Carlos and Ravan, who collapsed into laughter at their friend's state. It was as if they had achieved a decisive victory over him.
Despite all the hopes Ryan had pinned on the existence of this so-called dragon, it still did not appear—despite the distance they had traveled and Ryan's irritating shouting. But was it even real to begin with?
While Carlos and Ravan were mocking Ryan, Ryan himself began to lose hope as well. He was exhausted from shouting to the point that his voice nearly vanished.
At that moment, Carlos spoke to Ryan, attempting to calm and console him slightly,
"Hey, Ryan. Don't tire yourself out any more. I told you from the beginning that there's no truth to such rumors. All of these rumors are nothing but empty talk with no basis in reality. Think about it carefully. If the rumors were true, the Kingdom of Valdaria would have sent some adventurers to investigate at the very least. But they didn't, which means these rumors are nothing more than nonsense."
Although Carlos thought these words would ease Ryan's frustration, they only made things worse. Ryan did not care whether the rumors were true or not. What he truly wanted was to test his strength and fight an ideal opponent. As a mutant who carried dragon genes within his blood, Ryan undoubtedly possessed that instinct—the instinct of dominance, conquest, and absolute supremacy. These were natural emotions that dragons commonly experienced.
However, it did not stop there. Even if Ryan carried dragon genes, that was not all. Ryan possessed the most terrifying genes of all—the Crimson Dragons, the worst in history. These dragons were infamous for their excessive desire to dominate other dragons. Not only that, they were beings driven solely to spread ruin and destruction. Among all dragons, the Crimson Dragons were the most lethal, their power manifesting as the core of absolute destruction. Their destructive force surpassed imagination, and they never entered a battle without leaving behind their unmistakable mark—the mark of ruin and devastation.
Returning to Ryan, who had resolved not to give up and to continue searching, this time was different. He did not rely on shouting alone. Instead, he cast the bait and waited for the prey to take it.
When he realized that conventional methods would not work, he took an even more reckless action. He unleashed the transformation genes within him, and the mutation began to appear across his body little by little. Then he gathered a massive amount of aether toward his mouth.
When Carlos saw this, he was struck with intense panic, and Ravan was no different.
Carlos shouted, "Hey, hey! What are you doing? Stop! What are you trying to do? Hey, Ryan, are you listening to me?"
Despite Carlos's shouting, Ryan did not listen at all. The aether surrounding him formed a terrifying crimson aura that screamed of destruction, while Ryan appeared to be preparing to unleash something.
Soon, he finished channeling the aether into his mouth. This time, the goal was not to release a breath of fire, but something entirely different. Ryan thought of something far stranger: dragons possessed the ability to roar at an extremely high volume, loud enough to be heard across vast distances. And I am a mutant dragon as well—why can't I amplify my voice like that? If there truly is a dragon here, it will appear without fail.
In a single moment, Ryan roared at an incomparably high volume. This time, the sound was ear-splitting, paralyzing movement and making hearts tremble with overwhelming fear. The roar of the Crimson Dragon carried a uniquely distinctive nature, the most fierce and terrifying of all.
"GAAAAAAA—!!!"
This roar was like a sonic bomb, shaking the entire mountain and echoing across an immense expanse. Ryan himself was stunned. Was this really real? Why hadn't I discovered this earlier? So many things could have changed, considering that a single roar was enough to kill living beings. It was horrifying.
He turned toward his two companions, who were utterly stunned. Even Carlos, who used to treat Ryan like a small kitten, was now looking at him with fear. Ryan's voice then broke the silence,
"Hey… what's wrong with you guys? Why are you so shocked? It was just a single roar. I didn't know it would be this powerful. I'm really sorry. And Carlos, I think what you said earlier was right. If there really were a dragon here, it would have appeared after that roar."
Despite Ryan's words, the look in their eyes did not change at all.
However, Carlos finally snapped back to his senses, as if he still could not believe what had happened, and chose to ignore it.
Carlos said, "You say that now? I told you from the beginning that this dragon doesn't exist at all. Tch. Next time you plan to do something like that, give us a warning beforehand so we can cover our ears."
While Ryan was being scolded and reprimanded for his actions, something else had awakened because of what had occurred.
End of Chapter