“Oh...”
Annetsha, who was idly watching Taesan’s training, suddenly stood up in surprise.
A thin old man emerged from the bush, kneeling and crying profusely. The old man took off his tattered robe.
He revealed black hair and black eyes.
Annetsha covered her mouth in shock.
“Habenek...?”
“Princess... It is an honor to see you.”
The old man, called Habenek, knelt in tears. Annetsha burst into tears and ran to him.
“You’re alive!”
“When the castle was set on fire, I barely escaped... I apologize. We left you behind and only saved ourselves...”
“It’s okay! As long as you’re alive!”
While watching the emotional reunion, Taesan left the place. He headed towards the forest clearing, leaving the voices mixed with tears behind.
In the clearing, Taesan drew his sword and swung it.
Pow!
The air exploded along with the afterimage. Taesan looked at the tip of the sword with an unsatisfied face.
“Is this as far as I can go?”
A prickling sensation came from the sword. At this moment, Taesan was on the fine line just before obtaining Aura.
It seemed like a few more days of training would do the trick
But unfortunately, the demons found Annetsha.
“I’ll have to do the rest while moving.”
It wasn’t that he gained nothing at all. Thanks to his ceaseless sword training, his proficiency with the Stormscar Sword also increased by 3%. Wolf Fang and Dance of the Sword became smoother than before.
Atria, who had been watching Taesan so far, inwardly marveled.
‘He has managed to grasp the sense of Aura in just three days.’
That in itself was certainly surprising. Considering that there were swordsmen who trained for decades to gain Aura, it was an overwhelming speed.
But it was also a speed he could understand.
Taesan had already reached the level of a Sword Master regarding the sword. As Aura was the power that certified the qualification of the sword, Taesan, who already had the qualification, could easily gain it.
What surprised him was not because of that.
Atria was amazed at Taesan’s broad power.
The power of Taesan that he witnessed was perfection itself.
While using magic that surpasses even Tower Masters and learning Aura, his physical abilities were also outstanding.
And he didn’t even get tired.
He swung his sword every day for four days without even breaking a sweat.
If Atria recalled their battles, even if the sword was stuck in Taesan’s body, there was no problem with his movement.
He was able to ignore injuries and move, or the range of lethal injuries was significantly narrower than theirs.
‘...Is that the power of the labyrinth?’
Atria had almost lost interest in his own world.
‘It’s not fun.’
He looked up at the sky with cold eyes.
He pursued strength and became a Swordmaster. Then, there was no more strength to pursue.
He became bored.
He became idle.
He didn’t care about the gods or anything. What he wanted was strength. He followed Harmon’s revelation, which he didn’t care about, out of curiosity because the one who protected the princess was strong.
‘Labyrinth.’
Atria’s eyes sparkled.
An hour later, Taesan returned. Both Habenek and Annetsha had swollen eyes. Perhaps all their tears had been shed.
“Habenek. This man has been protecting me.”
“Ah...”
Habenek, who had been looking up at Taesan with eyes filled with fear and respect, bowed deeply to the ground.
“Thank you so much. You risked your life to protect our princess......”
“I received my payment, so it’s okay.”
Habenek stood up and bowed slightly and expressed his thanks for a long time.
“Thank you. Then, princess, let’s return to our land.”
“Uh, yeah!”
Annetsha looked at Taesan with a broad smile.
“You’re coming too, right Taesan?”
“If you’re going, I should follow.”
It was impossible to know how the quest would be completed. Confirming her safety could be the end, so naturally, he had to follow.
Habenek looked noticeably flustered.
“Ta, Taesan, you’re coming too?”
“Yep. He’s my benefactor, so it’s natural. Is there a problem?”
“No.”
Habenek glanced around with anxious eyes.
“The place is hidden, so it’s difficult to bring outsiders...”
“What are you talking about?”
“I thought it might be a big shock, so I planned to tell you later... but to keep it simple...”
Habenek pointed to the mountain covered in autumn leaves.
“There is a dragon there.”
“What?”
Annetsha’s face turned pale.
“A dragon?”
“Don’t worry,”
Habenek reassured Annetsha.
“Fundamentally, it is a being that doesn’t even obey the command of the gods and has no interest in our residence. If you exclude the anxiety, it’s the best place as even the gaze of the gods cannot reach.”
The dragon was the guardian of the world. Its presence prevented interference from transcendents. It was the most suitable place for the demon tribe, which was being chased by the gods, to stay.
“In fact, we have been staying here for over five years, but the dragon has never shown its presence. There is no problem.”
“Really?”
Taesan looked at the mountain with suspicion.
“It doesn’t seem so.”
He muttered to himself.
Since they seemed to feel nothing, there was no need to speak now. Taesan changed the subject.
“So, are we not going?”
“Let’s go, Princess.”
Annetsha carefully stepped onto the mountain.
They began to climb the mountain. Whether it was true that no one had come to find them, the path was not maintained, and it was very hard to walk.
Even Annetsha, who had been trained in stamina through long chases, was a little tired, and Habenek requested a rest several times.
In the end, they reached the middle of the mountain, where there was a small village.
“Ah...”
Annetsha exclaimed. Among the buildings that seemed to be all collapsed and crumbling, there were several people with black hair.
They ran towards Annetsha with surprised faces.
“Wow!”
“Princess!”
“It’s the princess!”
“Everyone! You were alive!”
She cried as she embraced them. Hearing the commotion, all the demons in the village rushed over.
Taesan counted the numbers one by one.
‘About fifty.’
He vaguely remembered that the number needed for a tribe to thrive was definitely more than fifty.
It seemed that the demon tribe would go extinct in this place.
“Oh! Princess!”
“Atunekia! You were here too!”
A demon who appeared to be the village chief found Annetsha and happily ran towards her. Annetsha also greeted him with a smile.
Though they were a ragtag bunch, they all seemed happy.
“Ridiculous.”
Taesan, who had been watching them for a while, turned his back. Annetsha, who didn’t notice that Taesan had left, pointed happily in the direction where Taesan had been.
“This gentleman brought me here... huh?”
She looked perplexed.
There was nobody in the direction where Taesan had been.
[Are you okay?]
“He’s indifferent to demons. I don’t think he will attack me.”
There had been a presence calling out to him ever since Taesan entered the mountain.
“He’s quite impatient.”
He intended to leave after he finished his conversation and confirmed their safety, but he couldn’t help but leave because he was constantly being rushed.
Taesan arrived at the peak of the mountain. There was a huge cave there.
And there was a golem guarding the place.
Kugukung...
The giant made of rocks looked down at Taesan. Taesan let out a gasp of admiration.
“What’s this?”
It was strong.
Even if he confronted it now, he couldn’t guarantee victory. In fact, it meant that he couldn’t touch the inhabitants of this world.
Kugukung...
The golem who was looking at Taesan moved aside.
Taesan entered the cave.
“Mhm.”
There was a dragon there.
The creature with golden scales and majestic horns looked down at Taesan.
The dragon, which filled the cave, greeted Taesan.
[Welcome, the one who came following the will of the Demon God.] [You have encountered the Golden Dragon Balbenares.]