Vol3 Chapter 9 Dragonkin

Amos stood alone in the forest, the wind whispering softly through the trees as leaves rustled around him. In the distance, a monster’s roar echoed faintly. High above the artificial world, the player count kept dropping.

673

672

669

Amos ignored it. His gaze remained fixed on the place where Mira Cedar Dale had disappeared.

"..."

Nothing.

No footsteps, no broken branches, no flicker of mana, no hint of presence.

Even after stretching his senses as far as he dared—still nothing.

The elf was gone. Completely.

Amos rubbed his chin slowly.

"Impressive."

He really meant it. She’d almost shot him, dragged him across multiple regions, tampered with another applicant’s badge signature, trapped him, and waited until his temporary pass was about to expire—then disappeared. Impressive. Amos glanced up at the notable board still hanging in the sky. Mira Cedar Dale—her name rested easily among the top performers.

"..."

He stared at it, then slowly lowered his gaze. The smile lingered, but something was different. Amos reached for his hand—more precisely, for the ring, the artifact resting on his finger. His fingers froze.

"...Hm."

He’d been holding back.

Don’t draw attention. Don’t overdo it. Don’t give away too much. Don’t let anyone notice the oddities. Don’t let the eyes become an issue. Don’t let them sense his presence. Don’t—

Amos glanced at the forest, then at the floating screens showing the examination, and finally at the player count.

666

"..."

He sighed.

"This is a game."

And he had just lost a very big game because he was still following habits that didn't matter inside a temporary simulation.

Amos looked at his ring.

"Just for a second."

His fingers tightened around it.

Then, he slipped off the ring. For a moment. Exactly one moment. Everything changed.

The forest fell silent. Completely silent. Birds stopped singing, insects ceased their hum, and small monsters froze in place. A wolf-like magical beast, several hundred meters away, crouched low to the ground. Its instincts screamed a warning—something ancient had awakened. Amos’s green eyes shifted; his pupils narrowed into draconic slits, and the world revealed itself to him.

"..."

Amos froze, breathless. Mana was everywhere—not just as energy, not just as some vague light, but as traces, layers, currents, residue, and footprints. Every living thing left something behind. A rabbit slipping through the bushes left a faint thread. A monster that had passed an hour earlier left a fading stain. A spell cast minutes ago lingered like smoke. An applicant crouched behind a rock gave off a pulsing trail of nervous mana, while another moving through the forest carried a bright, unmistakable signature.

One after another. Then more. Dozens. Hundreds. Until the whole region unfolded into a map.

"ARGH"

A flood of information hit him all at once, making his eyes widen. There—Mira. A thin, almost imperceptible green trail wound its way through the forest, twisting and turning, crossing streams, slipping past trees, scattering mana residue on purpose. To ordinary senses, it was invisible. But to Amos now,

"There you are."

Then he noticed even more.

A red trail. A blue trail. Three applicants traveling together. Seven crouched near the ruins. One hidden underground. Two perched above the canopy. A monster curled up asleep inside a cave. Another applicant masked by an illusion. A large group gathering along the shrinking-zone path. Everywhere he looked—players. So many players.

"...Oh, this is unfair."

A second passed.

Click.

The ring slipped back onto his finger.

The world settled. The crushing weight disappeared. The forest exhaled. Birds burst from the branches. Small creatures scattered. The wolf-like beast stayed pinned to the ground for several seconds longer, too scared to move.

Amos blinked and his eyes were more normal.

"..."

He stood in silence, touching his forehead as memories flooded back. The traces, every single one, came to him: their directions, strengths, movements, and rough distances. He recalled the fading paths, the hidden players, the groups, the monsters, and Mira. Slowly, Amos turned toward the elf’s trail.

"..."

He paused, thought for a moment, and then a smile spread across his face.

"No."

He looked elsewhere.

Mira had escaped fairly.

He had hunted her.

She had outplayed him.

Using the eyes now just to chase her again felt

"...Cheap."

Amos nodded.

"I'll get you next time."

He turned toward the closest group, seven applicants moving in unison, and his smile grew wider.

"But you people..." Mana surged into his legs. "...are fair game."

BOOOOOOM!

Amos vanished.

***

Far away, far beyond the forest, past the river, through a ruined settlement, and near the edge of a mountainous region, Lucra stopped.

"..."

She had been making her way toward a group of four applicants when they closed in around her. One gripped a spear, another brandished twin swords, the third held a staff, and the fourth was speaking, though Lucra had already tuned them out. Slowly, her head began to turn.

"...?"

The spear user frowned.

"Hey."

Lucra froze, eyes widening. Something had brushed against the world—just for a moment. So, fleeting that a human might have written it off as imagination. A second, maybe less. But Lucra wasn’t entirely human. Her blood stirred before her thoughts caught up. Thump. Her heart pounded hard. Her pupils tightened. The mana around her shivered.

"..."

The four applicants stepped back. The mage frowned.

"What happened?"

Lucra paid them no mind, her gaze drifting toward the far-off forest. Distant—so distant—but she had felt it. A presence. Not human. No, that wasn’t quite right. Human, yes, but underneath… something else. Something she knew. Something that tugged at her very blood. Her lips parted.

"...Kin?"

The word slipped out before she could stop it. Her whole body went rigid. Impossible. There couldn’t be—no. She knew every other dragon-blooded person she was meant to know, every recognized bloodline, every presence. But that one… that one was a stranger. And yet, for one fleeting second, her blood had responded. Just one second. Then it was gone. Completely gone. Lucra just stared.

"..."

The twin-sword applicant raised his weapon.

"Are you ignoring us?"

Lucra slowly turned.

"..."

The four applicants tensed as her expression shifted. Moments ago, she had seemed relaxed, but now she wore a look of impatience.

"Move."

The spear user frowned.

"What?"

"I said move."

The mage raised his staff.

"You think we're going to—"

Lucra disappeared.

BOOOOOOM!

The ground erupted, and the spear wielder caught sight of a hand. In the next instant, his badge was gone.

Click.

Flash.

The twin-sword user turned.

Too slow.

Click.

Flash.

The mage screamed.

"WAIT—"

Click.

Flash.

The fourth applicant ran.

Lucra watched him.

"..."

She glanced toward the distant forest. The presence had vanished. Every moment counted. She bent her knees.

BOOM!

The fleeing applicant felt something brush past him. He stopped, glanced down slowly, and realized his badge was gone.

"..."

Flash.

Lucra didn't even watch him disappear. She was already running.

***

Back near the forest, Amos appeared behind a group of seven applicants.

"..."

One of them turned.

"What—"

Click.

Flash.

Amos moved.

Second.

Click.

Flash.

Third.

A sword swung.

Amos ducked.

Fourth.

Click.

Flash.

"SPREAD OUT!"

Too late.

Fifth.

Flash.

Sixth.

Flash.

The final applicant stared.

Amos smiled.

"Hello."

Flash.

He looked toward another remembered trace. A group of twelve. Farther east.

"Next."

He moved.

***

Far away, Lucra ran.

She didn’t know who she was looking for, or what exactly she had felt. She couldn’t explain why the presence had vanished, but she knew one thing for certain—her blood had recognized something. Something far away, buried deep, that had surfaced for just a heartbeat. And then, without hesitation, she crossed the river.

BOOM!

Passed through ruins.

CRASH!

Ignored two nearby applicants.

One shouted after her.

"HEY! YOUR BADGE!"

Lucra didn’t look back. She kept moving, heading for the forest, chasing that one vivid memory. Her heartbeat quickened.

"Kin."

A smile slowly spread across her face, her excitement unmistakable.

Almost disbelieving.

"There's another one."

She accelerated.

***

Meanwhile, Amos was completely clueless. He stood on a cliff, watching as twenty-one applicants battled fiercely over a monster drop. Amos just stared.

"..."

A glowing object hovered in the center. Twenty-one players. One prize. Everyone else was distracted. His eyes widened slowly.

Then, huge grin spread across his face.

"Oh."

He crouched.

"This is perfect."

Far behind him, somewhere beyond the forest, Lucra drew nearer and nearer, chasing a presence that was no longer there, searching for someone she thought was kin. Meanwhile, Amos, completely unaware, leapt off the cliff toward twenty-one unsuspecting applicants.

"FREE LOOT!"

The applicants below looked up.

"...?"

A blond young man fell from the sky.