Chapter Title: Fate's Key (2)
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Dragon Vein.
It was the only power in this damned world that came close to myth.
The Pellow family had passed down the Dragon Vein through generations.
The family founder, Round Pellow, had made a contract with a dragon to ensure this Dragon Vein continued across generations, and it remained effective until the dragon's death.
However, there was a problem with it.
Under the principle of primogeniture, this power changed in nature with each passing generation.
Some ancestors gained immense mana, while others wielded genius-level administrative abilities.
Occasionally, a magic circle allowing spellcasting from the palm would be inscribed.
In other words, it was like a gacha game.
No one knew what power the next heir would inherit.
The current head of the Pellow family, Baron Ark, possessed immense physical strength.
Thanks to this, he had managed to revive the nearly crumbling family to some extent.
His greatest achievement was earning a modest merit in the war against the Lapis Kingdom a few years ago, receiving a significant number of slaves in distribution and formally annexing the land where Barbarians roamed as family territory.
That land was always a source of trouble, but if they could secure it someday, they could rule it without interference from the kingdom's central politics.
Since it was rare for a single generation to leave such accomplishments, one could say Baron Ark Pellow had poured much effort into the family.
Now, Baron Ark Pellow's era was fading, and Jeron Pellow's era was about to begin.
Though Jeron himself did not want it.
"Bring the relic."
The so-called Dragon's Relic.
No matter the crisis the family faced, they had never sold this relic.
It was a golden chalice encrusted with jewels, used to pass down the blood of ancestors to their descendants.
Jeron truly did not want to do this, but he had no choice but to hand the dagger to his father.
Slick.
Then, Baron Ark Pellow sliced open the palm of his remaining arm.
The chalice filled with blood, sloshing around.
Sss.
At that moment, something astonishing happened.
Jeron had never witnessed mana in motion before.
A mystery he was seeing for the first time in his life.
The red blood absorbed mana and turned golden.
As if his life force had been drained, Baron Ark Pellow's complexion worsened further.
"D-drink it."
There was no helping it.
In the most absurd way, he was dying from tetanus after being shot by an arrow, so Jeron had to inherit that power.
Gulp, gulp.
As the golden blood went down, Jeron collapsed on the spot.
Shwaaaa!
An abyss trapped in infinity.
Moments later, a massive golden dragon pierced through the darkness and appeared.
Jeron realized this was not reality, but the world of the mind.
He had heard about the Dragon Vein from his father since childhood, but he hadn't believed a dragon would actually appear before him.
In this world overflowing with barbarism and cruelty, it was hard to believe his family possessed such power.
And it was a family inheritance, not even a personal one.
Yet with the dragon right in front of him, he had no choice but to believe.
[Heir of the Dragon Vein, what is the wish you desire?]
[W-wish?]
As if he had any wish.
Since he had died on the ruined Earth and gained a new life, his wish could be said to be living well and eating well.
Light flowed from the dragon's golden eyes, and Jeron's blocked memories burst forth like a dam breaking.
Memories of his previous life spilling out in all directions.
When the world fell to Mutants, Jeron too had lost his loved ones.
Especially his family.
Having those memories from birth had been torment at first, but now he kept them buried in a corner of his heart.
"If only I had even a single photo. Now I can't even recall my wife and children's faces."
If that counted as a wish, then perhaps it was.
[You have memories of your previous life, and such a special experience at that. Your wish has reached me, and so it shall be granted.]
"W-wait!"
But that was the end of it.
When he came to, his palm burned, and a golden key was tattooed there like a brand.
His father was still gasping for breath.
Baron Ark Pellow's lips parted.
"That is... your power."
His father fainted.
From his shallow breathing, it seemed the next few days would be critical.
In this damned world, there was no way to treat it.
It had been a long time since he last dreamed of his previous life.
Perhaps because that damned dragon had dragged up memories he had deeply buried to the surface.
Like everyone surviving the age of destruction, he had lived under constant threat of death for a very long time.
If he had been alone, it might have been different, but to support his family, he had done all sorts of things.
He had risked his life for a single piece of bread, and taken others' lives as well.
Jeron often called this world an age of barbarism after reincarnating, but in truth, true barbarism had unfolded in the ruined world.
He had witnessed countless deaths.
His son died, his daughter died, and finally, even his wife was lost.
It was fortunate he hadn't succumbed to mental illness and suicide.
But not all memories were unhappy. Even in that barbaric age, love had bloomed, and he had felt the warmth of people living together.
Memories now faded and worn like old film.
As the montage of his life flashed by like raging waves, Jeron awoke drenched in sweat.
"Haa, damn it. I thought I'd forgotten it all by now."
It felt like the trauma of his previous life was awakening again.
He had thought his current life was barbaric enough, full of all sorts of shocking events, but now he realized that wasn't the case.
He gulped down the water on the table.
Then, turning his head to look ahead, a familiar scene unfolded beyond a transparent membrane.
The final shelter he had tried so hard to forget.
There, Jeron had buried his family, and in the end, he had been torn limb from limb by Mutants and died.
He himself had no grave, reduced to Mutant fodder and vanished.
A bitter feeling welled up.
"A dream?"
There was no other explanation.
Slap!
He struck his own cheek.
Intense pain surged in. He clutched his stinging cheek and rubbed his eyes.
He wondered if the mad dragon's trick was making him hallucinate.
He rubbed until his eyelids were red, but the ruined Earth's landscape stretched out sharply.
Suddenly, he recalled the Dragon Vein.
The special power given by the Gold Dragon.
It was a key, with no explanation provided.
The golden key etched on his palm glowed faintly.
In other words, this key had somehow opened a door to another dimension. To the Earth where Jeron had lived his previous life, no less.
He cautiously flicked his finger at it.
Ripple!
The dimensional door rippled like water.
He peered behind the dimensional door.
The opposite of the scene he had seen before unfolded.
Not a serene farmstead, but a gray city loomed in the distance.
A gray forest of concrete.
Who knew how much time had passed; the tall buildings were covered in green moss. Plants had overgrown, making the city seem littered with vegetation.
At least he knew this wasn't an illusion.
Then, could he pass through?
He hesitated to shove his body in right away.
Instead of his body, he drew his longsword and thrust it in.
Ripple!
Ripples formed again, and it slipped in smoothly.
With this, Jeron was convinced.
The power of his Dragon Vein was to open dimensional doors. To the ruined Earth, specifically.
His heart began to pound fiercely.
He had wished for just one family photo, and had that wish created this dimensional key?
And he considered countless possibilities.
That place was Earth.
This world was a hopelessly primitive society with no answers, while Earth, though ruined, had built a highly civilized society.
If he could freely go back and forth there?
How much wealth and incredible items must be scattered inside.
Even in ruin, it wasn't nuked; humanity had simply vanished due to Mutants.
"Monopolize the Earth..."
It seemed entirely possible.
Jeron didn't have much time.
If only his father, Baron Ark Pellow, had been safe, he might have approached more cautiously.
He didn't know what would happen entering an unknown portal, nor how many Mutants swarmed inside.
And that wasn't all.
If there were survivors like him right before death, that would be even more dangerous.
The ruined Earth was a place where all sorts of mentally ill people ran rampant, after all.
So he wanted to take time, observe, make plans, and do more experiments, but if a few days passed like this, he couldn't guarantee Baron Ark Pellow would survive.
First, save his father.
Even if treated immediately, he wasn't sure about surviving a year with aftereffects, but he couldn't just ignore it.
He packed his belongings and did one final test.
"Open."
Any activation word would do.
He just had to think of forming the dimensional door and infuse it with will; the golden key on his palm would glow and create it.
Sending the will to close it would shut it—a very simple mechanism.
He tossed in the bag full of gear.
Ripple!
The bag bounced back out.
"..."
With this, Jeron learned he could only take things touching his body across.
What about living humans?
If they were touching him, perhaps people could cross too?
Time was too tight for an immediate test, and explaining it would be tricky.
Dragging someone else along could wait until he at least got some antibiotics.
He shouldered his backpack and checked his armament.
A longsword at his waist, a crossbow on his back, full armor with helmet, greaves, gloves, and more—he was completely geared up.
He planned to open the dimensional door and cross back if danger arose, but one never knew.
If he got bitten and turned into a Mutant for nothing, the Pellow family would collapse completely.
After checking all his gear, Jeron stepped through the dimensional door.