◈ Episode 249. Nothing Happened (2)

Just a single person.

I didn’t think it would be so creepy.

Lee Hoyeol, until he disappeared.

On the other hand, those who didn’t know the situation weren’t worried.

“Who does the commander-in-chief worry about?”

“That’s what I’m saying, worry about us while you worry about yourself.”

“What the hell is this level bug, seriously.”

The words were exchanged.

No one should be worried about Hoyeol.

He didn’t need to prove it, just look at his behavior.

The number of times he’d turned worries into victories.

Wasn’t that too much to count?

Go further.

No matter the circumstances.

His resolve had never been broken.

“So, everyone’s not too worried, Chief.”

Softly─

The top floor of the Magic Tower.

Tower Master waved his tail as he lay on the ground. However, unlike usual, the movement of his tail was subtly twitching, and the reason was naturally due to Hoyeol.

“It’s expensive to see the sights, yes.”

Three days ago.

On the day that Hoyeol headed to the Arcana Continent.

Tower Master Just take a nap as usual…….

No, he wished he’d stayed focused on his recovery.

“A portal to the Arcana Continent. How can I ignore it…….”

The problem was that his mage instincts as a mage were different.

For a day or two, he could get away with it.

By the end of the week.

His nerves were so bad he couldn’t even stamp his foot on the parchment.

Then Tower Master heard Marcelo’s voice.

“You’re lying down again, abandoning your duties?”

“Little Chief. I’m in a serious situation.”

“Serious and work are two different things.”

“Rude. Don’t talk back to me.”

“Noisy. Please be quiet.”

Shhh.

Marcelo grabbed the back of Tower Master head on the floor and lifted him up.

Then Marcelo placed it in its proper place at the table.

Like an object.

His disapproving gaze lingers on Tower Master.

“Soon the seniors will find the top floor.”

“Seniors? On the top floor? Why?”

“What do you think?”

Tower Master was dumbfounded.

……Did they notice the dry stamp?

They must have come to make a collective statement.

Conscience……. No, my conscience was pricked.

But fortunately, there was another reason.

“It’s probably because they’re concerned about Chief Lee.”

Magic Tower.

The senior mages, including the Chief, knew what determination Hoyeol had when he entered the Arcana Continent.

He might not have said it out loud, but his actions spoke for themselves.

Tower Master grumbled unnecessarily.

“What’s the point of packing up all those decisive magic items?”

That was all the grumbling he could muster.

Soon, twenty senior mages.

All of them stepped onto the top floor of the magic tower.

Behind them, an elder mage.

Yugweed slipped through the door.

“I have fully explained to the seniors, Tower Master, that we hide nothing from our leader. That we don’t know everything our Chief intends.”

A representative of the senior mages.

Matisse Deankarl, Senior in Black Magic.

He opened his mouth.

“I’m not here to ask what the chief intends.”

Yugweed turned her head to ask.

“Then what is your purpose, Senior Matisse?”

A request.

It’s simple and straightforward.

We can’t wait forever.

That’s what it was.

“Please allow the use of magic tools and connectors.”

The meaning of borrowing two out of ten magic tools for decisive battle is clear.

Chief Lee had entered the Arcana Continent, ready to face an enemy they could never have imagined.

And the fact that he didn’t return to the Magic Tower for more than three days means…….

“Clearly, he is in need of help.”

A sense of dread hovered on the top floor of the Magic Tower.

The Tower Master’s tail wagged.

Its fur stood up in full force.

“If such a thing were possible.”

“……?”

“Before I gave you permission to use it, I would have used that strange tool called a connector. Even if it wasn’t necessarily me…….”

Tower Master looked at Marcelo.

Marcelo nodded, as if to say he wasn’t going to argue.

Because Marcelo was thinking the same thing.

With Tower Master, with the seniors.

“But I’m sorry, Matisse, I can’t do that.”

For weeks.

For months, even.

Even if Lee Hoyeol didn’t return to the Tower.

He could not be allowed to enter Arcana through the connector.

The reason was simple.

“Principled, didn’t Chief Lee declare that?”

“……!!!”

“I will definitely use it according to its procedures.”

It wasn’t that the leadership hadn’t thought about entering the Arcana Continent. It was just that Hoyeol’s words had put that option out of his mind.

‘I’m sure Sir wouldn’t want any unauthorized help.’

Marcelo added.

“And if he is the Chief that I know him to be, he will return to the Magic Tower to honor that procedure. No, I have no doubt that he will.”

Chief Power.

“That’s right, that’s right.”

Among them, Bensch William, who has been through the procedure before, nods fiercely. That was how the sudden meeting was about to end.

Bazzaz─

For a moment, Tower Master’s hair stood on end.

He wasn’t the only one who felt it.

The elders, the chiefs, the seniors.

Even the adept and apprentice mages below the top tier.

“Is this ……?”

The immeasurably enormous aura struck a nerve.

Crumbling!

In an instant, the sky was dark.

Pouring rain.

Lightning.

The records of the Dragon Magic War overlapped with the landscape.

That’s right.

These were all symptoms that foreshadowed the arrival of a dragon.

Their purpose was unknown, but the tower master reacted quickly.

“As of this hour, I authorize all the members of the Magic Tower to depart.”

The lesson of the Dragon Magic War?

Simple and unforgettable.

Don’t you dare try to face a dragon.

“Tsk.”

But if you don’t face it.

What happens to the world of adventurers?

Magic Tower was well aware of the level of the players, the adventurers.

With the exception of Hoyeol and a few others, they were weaker than an apprentice mage.

It was a world where such people were revered as heroes.

“The Second Dragon Magic War with less than full strength.”

That’s why they had to step up, even though they knew they couldn’t fight back.

The Magic Tower prepared to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others.

It’s a funny thing to look back on.

But at the same time, it was unavoidable.

“Why is this chief’s vacancy even bigger than the Tower Master?”

Ho-yeol is now gone.

It’s up to us to take on the great burden he carried.

You must carry it on yourself and become a tower master.

That’s the way it’s supposed to be.

“How did you manage to carry such a heavy burden alone, Chief?”

.

.

.

Magic Tower was not the only one who moved quickly.

The Zero Mountains.

Even the players in the middle of the hunt felt the change.

“Everyone stop.”

“What’s going on……?”

“The sun was shining just a moment ago, and now it’s raining?”

It was more than just a rain shower.

It was like a hole in the sky.

Rain began to pour from the sky.

“Why can’t the weather report ever be right, man.”

“…… Wait a minute.”

“What, is it the start of the rainy season or a typhoon?”

“No, it’s not like that…….”

Something started to happen that didn’t make sense.

“Well, it’s because I majored in liberal arts. Is it possible for it to rain all over the world at the same time? And, scientifically……?!”

It was literally.

sswaaaa─

Deserts that don’t get a drop of rain all year round.

It even rains in the polar regions where it should be snowing.

I was at a loss for words.

As it turns out, the question didn’t last long.

Because they heard it.

Krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt!

“……!!!”

It was because it came to mind.

[Warning: mental capacity is too low].

The aftermath of a monstrous Dragon Cry.

“Dra-dragon……!!!”

Even the top players called Rankers didn’t dare to resist this state. Not to mention the average player, even the general public was overwhelmed by the cry.

But so far, this was literally just the beginning.

“Not one, three, no, five……. Six!”

Seven, eight, nine…….

A dozen dragons in all, tearing through the dimension.

They began to glide across the planet.

Most shocked of all was the AAU.

The Korean Branch.

“Haha…….”

Park Minjae spat out a weak laugh.

They knew what kind of race the dragons were, and they knew it well.

How hopeless their current situation was.

I could tell at once.

A trembling voice called out.

“……Yes, senior, there’s Skal!”

I wonder if ignorance is bliss?

In a situation where it’s not strange to panic.

Sung Hyunjoon grabs Yoon Soogyeom and speaks up.

“If you’re a Hidden Class Dragon Knight, shouldn’t there be a way out of this situation? No, if you’re a Skal……. he might have already sprung into action!”

Under normal circumstances.

I would have patted him on the shoulder for thinking out of the box.

But the status of the dragons on the monitor was a problem.

Park Minjae spoke up.

“Skal and all, no one will be able to get to it.”

Heavy rain pours across the planet.

In a word, those were dragon tears.

It’s not a metaphor.

For some reason, the dragons in the sky were indeed shedding tears. They were speaking in dragon tongue, dragon language.

“I will not listen to anyone, nor will I stop.”

“……,branch leader.”

“Until I find that Dark Dragon.”

Because of this, all AAU branches were in a state of emergency. This is an emergency command that states that the identity of the Dark Dragon that the dragons are looking for must be identified at all costs.

But no matter what databases they searched.

“…… not found.”

There was no information about the Dark Dragon.

“Really? I thought so.”

Park Minjae flashed a rotten smile.

“Dark Dragon, there’s no way I’d forget a name like that.”

So, as expected, the only one who knows about this is Raymond Sean.

He must be the only one.

No, maybe Hoyeol knows something, but…….

‘…… We can’t rely on Mr. General Manager.’

Hoyeol is away.

Besides, he can’t just take it forever.

Get back your conscience, Park Minjae.

Buck-buck─

Park Minjae washed his face dry.

Then he opened his mouth heavily.

“After all, it’s best to provide the information to the Magic Tower.”

With Hoyeol away.

The strongest force in humanity was undoubtedly Magic Tower.

Above all, the moment the dragon appeared.

The entire force left the tower to deal with the dragon.

It was a sure sign of an ally.

“Of course, we’ll have to relay the information to the Holy War Alliance.”

The Holy War Alliance, consisting of Yusra, Frost, and Holy Land Muon, was a force to be reckoned with. The only problem was that they were compared to dragons. The problem was that there weren’t just one or two of them…….

‘I don’t expect to win.’

I just hope we don’t collide.

Win or lose, the damage that would follow.

It wouldn’t even compare to what it was before.

So.

“I’m sorry…….”

Park Minjae could only clench his fists and beg desperately.

Not to God, not to Buddha.

To the most undesirable being.

He shamelessly ended up begging again.

“…… General Manager.”

.

.

.

Mage of the Magic Tower.

Holy War Alliance.

And the players looked up at the sky.

“My resolve is meaningless.”

Harkon spoke softly.

A dragon of legend.

A dozen of them, all living legends.

He vowed to die.

Perhaps this was no place to call a battlefield.

“What is it, crying like that?”

“That’s right.”

“it makes me depressed too…….”

Nam Taemin and Leonie stammered.

Hisagi wiped his chin with rainwater and said.

“I can feel their emotions.”

He didn’t need to put into words what those feelings were.

The falling rain spoke for itself.

Magic Tower was equally surprised.

Bensch whispered to Vangrit.

“This doesn’t look like any dragon I’ve ever seen.”

“Yeah, I thought it said they were quite violent.”

“Surely I didn’t read it wrong, Senior Vangrit, because it also said that it laughed with joy at the sight of all the high-level magic being thrown at it……!”

That’s the same arrogant dragon from the Dragon Magic War?

Even as he watched, he had his doubts.

At the same time, I had a question.

“What kind of existence is that Dark Dragon to them……?”

The King of All.

The dragon is mourning, longing, and crying out.

Would they be looking for him?

Of course, that doubt didn’t last long.

Soon, the person involved appeared.

Ttogak─

.

.

.

Damn.

The sound of his footsteps always draws attention.

He meets the gaze of those who look back.

Marcelo, Harkon, Nam Tae Min……. And a feral cat.

It seems like we just met a few hours ago, at most.

In real time, it’s been over a week, right?

If so, I can see why they’re so upset.

……But not you, right?

I looked up at the sky.

And our eyes met.

An unusual shiny dragon.

“……!”

It was Frostnax the Ice Dragon.

‘This is my guess…….’

It is clear that extreme cold has a negative effect on the temperament of both humans and dragons. Otherwise, there’s no way to explain Senios and Frostnax’s wild mood swings.

‘He lunged at me like he was going to kill me, and now he’s crying……?’

It was ridiculous.

I couldn’t help myself.

I just opened my mouth like I always do.

“I told you.”

“……!”

“You too.”

I said, shifting my gaze once more.

“And that you have no reason to worry.”

Yeah, because you’ve seen me alive.

Isn’t that enough?

I’m especially talking to you, dragons……!

‘Really……!’

Because I’m alive when you thought I was dead.

You’re surprised, yeah.

I can generously understand your feelings.

Just in case.

Don’t even think about calling my name just because you’re happy?

Don’t even think about calling me by my first name.

Lee Hoyeol Claudi, Dark Dragon……. No, no, no!

I don’t want to tell the world about my black history.

It’s better to be misunderstood as a touching reunion.

I can’t help it, just keep crying like now……!!!