Chapter of Arkdragon: Prologue

Thunk, thunk, thu-thunk.

We walked through a town in the Desert Country of Arilai with the light sound of drums echoing around us. Something that sounded like an ocarina joined in the melody, making the mood more relaxing and cheerful.

This country had been developed by carving spots into rocky mountains along their slope. In such desert lands as these, water was crucial for survival, and so was resisting the infernal heat of the sun’s rays. This was why people pumped water out of the sand-colored river flowing from the back of this place.

I explained this to the elven girl as we weaved around people wearing turbans on their heads, and she simply replied with a mildly disinterested, “Huh.” Her pale purple eyes showed a glimpse of intellectual curiosity, but they were clouded by the sun directly above us.

“So how do they deal with this heat? That’s more important than their history or culture right now.”

Her eyes glanced over to me as she slightly lifted the hood of her robe covering her head. The sunlight accentuated the contrast between her skin color and shadow, making her white skin seem almost too bright.

My attempts to pique her curiosity with conversation were thwarted by her absolute hatred for the overwhelming heat. I wished it wasn’t so hot, but I was the one who invited her out to the desert region, so there wasn’t much I could say about it.

The girl’s name was Marie. She was of half-fairy, half-elven descent. Her full name was Mariabelle, and she was quite a rare species around these parts. However, no one dared bother her with the way she was holding her sorcerer’s staff with both hands, wearing an obviously irritated expression on her face.

Those who sought to unravel the mysteries of the ancient ways, known as sorcerers, were valuable and powerful not only in this country, but throughout the entire world. Marie was of an even rarer class known as a spirit sorceress, and she’d shown me just how priceless her abilities were just a few days ago.

She was staring at the city with a neutral expression, but then she directed her purple eyes toward me.

“This place sure is strange. I’ve never seen so many people taking naps on the street like this.”

“It’s because the sun is directly overhead. One of the interesting things about these desert countries is how they have different hours of operation, I think.”

“You don’t seem all that interested with that sleepy-looking face of yours. Besides, I can hardly believe it’s cooler just in that building.”

I chuckled and shrugged, saying, “Who knows?” then reached my hand out for hers.

Even in these harsh environments, people lived on. For all the time they’d pressed on, they’d surely developed some culture for entertainment and joy down the line, as well. Wouldn’t it have been interesting to see what sort of culture they’d produced?

“What’s that knowing look for? If you’re trying to trick me again, it’s not going to work, you know.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to trick you. I’ve heard you can enjoy some delicious tea in that building. Come on, let’s go check out some Arilai culture. My treat.”

Marie was in a bad mood due to the heat, as I’d expected, and turned her head away with her nose in the air. Though, it seemed she preferred to have some tea in the shade rather than stand out in the sun, because she placed her fingertips in my outstretched hand.

We were greeted with a “Welcome!” as we stepped into the rest area. The stone-paved floor was polished smoothly and lined with multiple human-sized carpets. There were people sitting on these carpets, enjoying some tea and food.

The air smelled of incense... No, it must have been some sort of spice. It made the back of my nose tingle, but it was a refreshing and interesting sensation that reminded me of smelling herbs.

There was an exotic atmosphere to the place, but the girl was surprised by something else entirely: a light breeze had blown in, cooling the heat on our skin.

“Oh, it is a bit cooler in here! How is it that the temperature is so different in here than it is outside?”

Now, now, you’ll find out soon enough...

I ordered two cups of tea along with some fruit and steamed chicken, then led her toward some empty seats.

The walls, which were a burnt sand color, seemed to be made of sculpted stone. There was a window positioned somewhat higher than normal, which was where the warm air seemed to be exiting.

Marie was still looking around curiously, so I pulled up a rug and invited her to sit with me.

“Here, take a seat. We might be able to get a glimpse of their culture.”

“I don’t see what we can learn by just sitting down...” she muttered to herself as she removed her boots and sat on the carpet. It seemed her feet were hot and tired from all the walking, because she let out a big sigh. “Nnh, it feels so nice! Wait a minute... What’s going on here? I never imagined the floor would be so cool to the touch.”

As I also removed my shoes and went barefoot, I could hardly believe how the heat disappeared almost instantly. The sweat seemed to withdraw from my body, and it was nice and cool, just as Marie had mentioned.

In reality, it wasn’t as if the AC was on, but the gentle sound of flowing water was coming from around and below the building, which helped alleviate some of the heat. I succeeded in making the girl’s eyes widen as I told her so, which made inviting her here worth it after all.

“I’m surprised this place has such an abundance of water despite being in the desert.”

“There are streams full of water in the upper layers. The people use the water that flows down here.”

Marie seemed impressed as she lowered the hood of the robe that was covering her face. Her lustrous white hair and long ears appeared, her radiance catching the attention of those around us. Even the beads of sweat on her skin were like accessories that emphasized her natural beauty.

I heard sighs from all around us as people admired her from afar.

I wanted her to relax and enjoy herself, so I placed a cushion behind her back and had her lay down. The looks she received were easier to ignore this way, and it allowed her to stretch her limbs out in comfort.

“Ahh, I feel so rejuvenated... So, this is the secret to spending time in the desert. I learned something useful today.”

“It’s kind of like how being in the shade of a tree feels cooler. Trees prefer cooler temperatures, too, so they absorb water from the ground, which is dissipated through their leaves. We just happen to benefit from this natural process, as well.”

“Hmm... I didn’t know that. Dissipation... You mentioned something about that before. If it’s this effective at cooling things, I’d like to find a way to put it into practice with spirits, too.”

That wasn’t a bad idea. I told her she should give it a try, since she had the ability to use Spirit Sorcery.

As we talked, our tea and food were brought over to where we were sitting.

“So, this country’s culture is to lie down and forget about the heat by enjoying some food. That’s the correct way to pass the time, if you ask me... Oh, you probably shouldn’t use that red sauce.”

Marie sniffed it a couple times, made a face that told me she would heed my warning, then pushed the sauce bowl aside. She then picked up a whitish piece of chicken meat and tossed it into her little mouth.

“I would be happy if you could at least introduce salt to them. Oh, but the herbs they use do give the dishes a refreshing aftertaste.”

Salt was quite valuable. Come to think of it, how would they have even made salt in desert regions? I made a note to look into that sometime...

It seemed Marie had gotten used to the practice of eating food with her bare hands. She complained about getting grease all over her fingers at first, but now she was eating chicken without utensils or hesitation.

The herbs served to remove any odors, so it seemed the food was tasty even to an elf’s sensitive palate. The chicken was just what we needed for our tired bodies.

The tea lingering in the cups was amber in color, and a fragrant aroma wafted up into my nose. Appreciating the smell, I was glad I’d chosen the one that was a little pricier.

Before me was an elf, relaxing and enjoying herself, and fragrant tea leaves that could only be found in desert countries like this one. It was quite the luxurious day.

I enjoyed the otherworldly atmosphere as I looked around the rest area.

As expected, the labyrinth seemed to be a hot topic among the people. I couldn’t blame them, considering an ancient labyrinth had suddenly appeared within a long-forgotten excavation site.

What did surprise me was that there was no hint of fear on their faces as they discussed it. I figured most people would be scared if a dungeon appeared so close to their homes.

I continued listening, and the reason soon became clear:

That site had apparently been used for the magic stone excavations in the past, and it had been about two hundred years since that great source of income had been cut off. There was a sense of fervor in the citizens as they spoke of tales from those times of great wealth.

Marie was also listening with her long ears. She leaned in to whisper to me.

“So it is a big deal that the labyrinth was discovered. We’re outsiders here, but we’re supposed to get a special permit to explore it, right?”

“Ordinarily, yeah. If they turn us away because this land is theirs, they’d have less adventurers coming in to their region.”

Although, with adventurers who were associated with any guilds, there had been cases where they were turned away with some payment for their troubles. As for us, Ms. Elf was in the Sorcerer’s Guild, so I doubted that would happen.

I mulled over the thought as I sipped some of the tea.

Yeah, that’s good...

There was a floral aroma that came with the flavor.

“Once we get that permit, let’s report back to the guild at once. I sent a messenger bird, but I’ve been out for a while, so they may be worried.”

“Yeah, we should let them know you’re all right. We can head to the ancient labyrinth after that. I’m looking forward to it.”

After I told her as much, Marie turned her calm gaze toward me.

“About that... We still don’t know if I can participate in the exploration. I hear the labyrinth has a high difficulty level, so it’s likely that my rank isn’t high enough to get approval.”

That... was a factor I hadn’t considered.

I crossed my legs and listened to her explain. According to Marie, the Sorcerer’s Guild checks a new labyrinth for its difficulty level, then assigns people who are adequately qualified. Even if we were the ones who discovered it, we may be barred from participation if they didn’t think we could handle it.

“Of course, they wouldn’t simply pass up an opportunity to unveil the secrets of ancient wisdom. In that case, they typically choose a substitute to investigate it instead. That way, they wouldn’t be wasting any time or resources.”

“Wait, you mean they might choose someone besides you? I don’t want to go exploring with some stranger. If that happens, I’m going to pass too.”

“Not much can be done about that. The discovery of a labyrinth that has existed since ancient times is almost unheard of. We still don’t know what they’re going to decide.”

So just be prepared, she added.

In other words, there was a chance we’d have to give up on exploring the labyrinth completely.

Well, I guess we’d just have to roll with the punches there. If I protested too much, it may have negatively impacted Marie’s future at the guild.

The citizens continued gossiping about how the royal family had sent a scouting party, and how the refinement method of magic stones had been discovered. It was mostly just conjecture, but as people who knew the facts of what was happening, all we could say was, “Rumors are pretty crazy.”

“The refinement method of magical stones... Do you think they’re talking about Mewi?” Marie whispered in my ear.

I nodded. “Probably.”

I didn’t expect the common folk to know about that, but I listened in on their conversation anyway.

Mewi was a boy from the Neko tribe we’d rescued from a group of bandits just a few days ago. For some reason, he was able to control the objects known as the magic stones.

I found rumors interesting because the more they were discussed, the more convincing they seemed. Out of the various ideas the people came up with, the most likely one to be true was the first one circulated. That became the starting point, which then became a line, and each iteration would be compared to other points in the story to check if everything made sense. Then, eventually, these vague ideas began to take form.

We continued eavesdropping with interest, but we didn’t realize there was another ear listening.

Forgotten in my shoulder bag was the present given to us by the Arkdragon. Legendary beings whose levels surpassed 1,000 were capable of using magic we couldn’t even comprehend. The dragon scale inconspicuously glowing with a bluish-white hue was connected to the depths of the Nazul-Nazul Ruins. Only lizardmen lived in the now-empty underground city, and only we knew of the magi drake who resided further in, beyond a secret passageway.

The dragon took a deep breath, then uttered to herself as she examined her surroundings.

“So, they’ve opened the door to the labyrinth. How carefree they are, ignorant of the accursed land that lies within.” She let out a sigh.

Then, another image entered her vision. It was the group that was conducting a preliminary search of the labyrinth. Among them was a radiantly glowing stone.

“Hah, hah, I suppose I will let them have their bait and return to their country for now. It seems they have become quite skillful in battle by now.”

No one yet knew who she meant by “they,” but her joyous grin seemed to be in anticipation for whatever change was about to come.

The look in the Arkdragon’s eyes then seemed to take on a smile of a different nature. She turned and directed her gaze at her feet, then stretched out her wings and covered her surroundings.

This way, no one could interfere. She wanted to keep the beautiful sight that was about to occur all to herself.

Cracks had begun audibly forming in the eggs she’d been warming for so long. The hatching that occurs once every millennium was a fantastical sight to behold.

The obsidian eggs resembled diamonds with geometric lines cut into them as they emitted a grandiose radiance. The shells had become transparent enough to reveal the whelps inside. They each laid in different postures, with some opening their mouths toward the sky, and others curled up as if they wanted more sleep.

There was clear maternal love in the Arkdragon’s eyes as she smiled, watching over her adorable children.

“Hah, hah, a sight which only comes once every one thousand years... Perhaps I should have shown them, as well.”

Surely, the looks on their faces would have been quite entertaining. They would have raised their voices in wonder, and perhaps they would have thought of their own futures as they looked at each other, turning red in the face.

As both a magi drake and a mother, it would have been an unforgivable mistake to show her own children’s birth to others, but at the same time, she had the feeling it would have been an unforgettably enjoyable experience.

“No matter. If they wish it, we will certainly meet again someday. Now, my children, it is time for you to awaken.”

The magi drake let out a breath from her nose, then moved her face closer to the eggs. As she did so, she knew she was also changing herself.

The resounding crack was the noise of a new life entering the world. At the same time, it was the sound of the dark future awaiting them that even she hadn’t anticipated...