The Allure of the Mountain

These days, the information circulating secretly among the Adventurers’ Guild wasn’t about dungeons or wizards’ towers, but about an ordinary forest.

Of course, it wasn’t truly an ordinary forest.

It was the forest at the foot of the mountain where the dragon’s lair was located.

It was a terrifying forest that ordinary people hesitated to enter, as it was clearly dragon territory and teeming with magical beasts drawn in by the miasma.

The reason why this place hadn’t been widely known to the Adventurers’ Guild until now was because of the dragon’s infamy.

From long ago, the Adventurers’ Guild had an absolute unwritten rule: never touch anything near a dragon’s lair.

It was a rule that had to be followed unless one was a transcendent being chosen by the gods.

But as time passed and dragons gradually left the land, leaving no trace of themselves on the continent, that unwritten rule began to be broken little by little.

Adventurers discovered new ores and resources in the glaciers where silver dragons had resided, and countries that had been unable to interact due to the forests ruled by green dragons and the territories of blue dragons were able to meet.

Of course, this change wasn’t all positive.

The Continental War intensified as people fought to claim the lands the dragons had left behind.

More people died and sacrificed themselves than when the dragons ruled.

After that fierce struggle, most of the continent became the domain of humans, but, coincidentally, not entirely.

The only dragon left in the world was standing firm at the edge of the continent.

The Black Dragon Drake.

He didn’t even have a name to call himself.

In addition to being a black dragon, which were already few in number, everyone who encountered him died and left no words behind. So, no one knew his name.

Whether no one had ever given him a name, or whether he killed everyone and didn’t reveal his name, as the rumors said, was unknown. But because no one knew his name, they called him “Drake,” the ancient draconic word for dragon, with fear and awe.

In fact, his infamy continued for quite some time even after the Continental War ended.

Drake was the one who had turned the now undisputed power of the continent, the Orta Empire, into ruins in the past.

Even the Overlord Chronos the Great, who made the Orta Kingdom an Empire, couldn’t defeat Drake and was forced to make a peace treaty, which shows how powerful he was.

〈Those who touch me and my territory will never survive.〉

Drake, who knelt the Overlord, left only those words and disappeared, placing a powerful barrier over the entire mountain.

People called the mountain range where Drake’s lair was located the Mountain of Death and didn’t even go near it.

At least for the last 100 years.

Then, a wanderer wrote a book about his encounter with Drake, bringing him back into the public eye.

He claimed that he had accidentally met the dragon in the Mountain of Death, survived, and even received a precious magical ore as a gift. At the time, the rumor was very popular among people suffering from the Orta Empire’s tyranny.

On the other hand, the Adventurers’ Guild didn’t pay much attention to the Mountain of Death until then.

There were countless dungeons and towers to enter in the Outchamber other than that place.

The rumor that the wanderer had spread gradually subsided.

Then, recently, a rumor spread within the Adventurers’ Guild.

It was that the evil dragon Drake was kidnapping people and killing them cruelly.

There was even a rumor that he had wiped out an entire village not long ago.

Adventurers full of chivalry left for the mountain to confirm the truth, and some famous adventurers even met with the lord directly.

Convinced that it was the dragon’s doing, they requested cooperation from Adventurers’ Guilds in various locations.

[Let’s save the people who are trembling in the face of the evil dragon’s tyranny!]

Numerous adventurers agreed with that statement and headed to the end of the continent.

At first, it was just for the sake of justice that made their hearts burn.

But they had no idea how their situation would change soon.

***

“Phillip, did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Phillip, the man who was called, turned to the side with a puzzled expression.

Then the archer, who was in a party with him, looked around and answered in a low voice.

“I heard that another party caught a mandrake a while ago and got an Immortal Herb.”

“What?”

Surprised, Phillip quickly looked around like the archer had done and bowed his head. And he asked as if whispering.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, the spirit I contracted with told me.”

「……!」

A small bird appeared next to the archer and opened and closed its beak towards Phillip.

It was Sylph, a lower-level wind spirit. Spirits can never lie to their contractors, so it must have been a clear fact.

But mandrake. It was a rare magical beast that didn’t show itself well even in the forests ruled by green dragons.

Mandrakes emit high-pitched sounds that are fatal to humans, making them difficult to catch, but if there is someone in the party who uses magic or spells to block the sound, they can be easily caught.

“It seems that there are quite a few rare magical beasts in this forest that are comparable to mandrakes.”

“Certainly, we caught a magical beast that wasn’t very strong yesterday, but the reward was quite good.”

Magical beasts leave behind high-quality magical beast stones and various materials depending on their grade.

Some magical beasts have tough leather that is better than that of animals, and some magical beasts’ fangs are stronger than steel and can be made into weapons.

Surprisingly, the magical beasts in this forest were easy to catch even though they were low-grade, and they were producing high-quality materials.

This place was not a forest of death, but a bonanza forest.

“Let’s go hunting quickly too. Are the other people ready?”

“I think it’ll be okay soon.”

Phillip and the archer quickly exchanged glances.

They had to start hunting before other parties swept away the good materials.

In their heads, the reason why they first came to the forest was no longer there.

“We have to catch everything before the others realize it. Hurry.”

“Okay.”

So, they ran quickly to urge the other party members.

The adventurers who came to catch the dragon ironically began to overdo it with the magical beast hunting they hadn’t expected.

The adventurers who arrived first to monopolize the hunting grounds kept it a secret, and soon there was excessive competition between the parties. This momentum continued for a while.

***

Sian, who received Cali’s report, nodded greatly with a satisfied face.

“The adventurers have taken the bait well.”

“Yes, you can rest assured for the time being.”

“But that won’t last long anyway.”

“Then, should we just sweep them all away…….”

“No, we can’t break the agreement first.”

“Tch.”

Cali clicked his tongue again at Sian’s firm words, but he actually knew it well.

What it meant to be isolated from the continent and become a common enemy.

Unlike then, Sian had a lot to protect. If he lived alone, he could do whatever he wanted, but the situation was different now.

The dark elves and dwarves, the villagers, and even the protagonists who were still growing up.

In order to protect them completely, he couldn’t move carelessly.

“What did the elders say?”

“They said that they will follow Sian’s will this time as well.”

“Hmm…….”

There were three elders in the Dark Elf village.

They managed the major and minor affairs of the village, but since the Continental War, they had been relying on Sian for everything outside. It seemed to be the same this time as well.

‘It used to feel like they were following me because they had no choice but to survive.’

All the dragons on the ground disappeared, and countless races who had been protected by them were in danger.

In particular, the elves suffered more damage because they lived separately, forming small villages due to their characteristics.

In addition, the dark elves were originally a race famous for living independently, but they had no choice but to come to Sian as the Continental War grew.

Perhaps if he were the real Drake, he would have driven them out mercilessly, but Sian didn’t do that.

He knew what would happen to them if he turned a blind eye, even though he had just been possessed and it was difficult to take care of himself.

In the original story, the dark elves were described as having been wiped out by the Continental War.

Sian, who accepted the dark elves, had to fight more desperately to protect them and eventually defeated the Orta Empire.

Because of that, the elders were sure to believe and follow whatever decision Sian made.

“First of all, make sure to manage the elves and people tightly so that they don’t go down the mountain for the time being.

There’s a barrier, but you don’t know what the adventurers will do. It’s dangerous, so don’t let anyone approach the barrier.”

“Okay.”

Cali, who nodded, turned around and approached the door to leave the study.

He stopped for a moment as he was about to grab the doorknob and stiffened his body.

He felt someone’s presence beyond the door.

“Who is it!”

“……!”

Cali shouted and slammed the door open. Then someone widened their eyes and looked up at Cali.