Chapter 138: Celestial Arrowgarden

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A fairly thick, cold mist enveloped the surroundings. Julian gazed at all of it calmly, while his mind was fixed on something else.

He glanced at the system screen for a moment, tempted to check what was wrong with him and why he had become so strong and gained so many additional skills.

But before that, he needed to finish off the Dragon first.

Once the thick, cold smoke subsided, a giant Dragon could be seen there, the only one who had survived, though with a terribly fatal wound on its lower belly.

Dark blood seeped out, mixing with the ground that had turned into a frozen crater.

Because the air was so cold, the blood didn’t last long, slowly showing signs that it would soon freeze.

Julian didn’t waste time. He took one step and his entire body vanished, appearing right in front of the Dragon itself.

’So big. Could it be used as a mount? I suppose, with this size, it could carry many people at once.’

Julian carefully touched the thick scales, feeling a rare curiosity as a man who had once been a normal human from a place where something like a Dragon was only a myth.

Even so, Julian still felt it was a great pity that Dragons turned out not to be good creatures. Who would have thought they were one of the Races that liked to invade weaker worlds?

’I suppose their Pride has already fallen to this point. There are no more gallant Dragons in this world.’

Julian sighed sadly. For some reason he felt something strange within his body, deep inside, something seemed to stir and feel angry.

"....."

It was a strange feeling, but Julian ignored it as a sharp gaze, full of hatred, was directed at him.

"Remarkable. You’re still alive."

As expected of a dragon. Julian gave a small smile as he looked at Tulkan, who was still alive, panting and trying to speak in the same language Julian used.

"You will die."

"...?"

"Hah... Hahaha...! You will die."

Julian froze in silence, showing not the slightest change in his expression.

However, to Tulkan, that silence had a different meaning.

Look! That human couldn’t even respond after hearing the threat of his death!

Thinking that, Tulkan burst into laughter, deeply satisfied, feeling that Julian had finally realized the terrifying situation he was facing.

Even though his body ached, even though he felt he was at the brink, Tulkan wasn’t afraid at all. As long as he was still alive, in the end he still had a chance to survive.

The meteor he had used wasn’t actually an ordinary power. It was a power his family forbade him from using. So, the moment Tulkan used that power, it was the same as summoning his own family to come.

In fact, many other Dragons would come too.

Tulkan hadn’t expected that this would turn out to be useful to him. With that, he could avoid being lectured, on the pretext that a powerful intruder had appeared.

"Hehehe... hehehe...!"

He kept laughing, then stopped and looked at Julian, who was still frozen.

"Scared now?" he said arrogantly.

However, Julian wasn’t actually afraid at all.

He was simply silent, his expression unchanged in the slightest, while his own mind was filled with shock for a completely different reason.

"...A Dragon is talking to me."

That made Tulkan flinch, his face wrinkling with an expression hard to read. Meanwhile Julian raised his hand and rubbed his face.

"Oh, no. Actually, isn’t that normal? A rabbit girl, a huge creature that resembles a fly, and a few others. Yes, I almost forgot, but I suppose they can talk too."

"Y-you...!"

Realizing what had happened, Tulkan’s face looked utterly betrayed.

"Do you know who I am, you bastard!?"

Hearing that loud shout, Julian wrinkled his face and glanced at Tulkan. "A Dragon?"

At this point, Tulkan felt he truly wanted to drop every one of the frozen celestial bodies up there. Unfortunately, his condition made that impossible, and he could only be patient while enduring all the insults he received.

As for Julian, after saying that, he shook his head, tossing aside his thoughts of trying to tame the Dragon as he remembered their situation again.

There were so many things he needed to understand, so Julian had to set aside the important matter of having a Dragon as a mount for now.

So, Julian glanced at Felicya, who was wrapped up, completely enclosed by the ice spikes that Julian had deliberately made to protect her.

Of course, he had done it for Monk too.

"Felicya, what should we do with this Lizard?"

The ice spikes shattered into soft crystal fragments. They had no destructive power, just fragments falling beautifully, creating a unique sight as Felicya appeared there.

Her white hair twinkled because of the falling crystal fragments caught in it, making it look as though she held stars there.

With one eye closed and one eye open as she looked back at Julian, she was still so lazy and unpredictable.

"Kill it."

"...Really?"

Julian blinked, then his eyes gave off a strange light as he looked at the Dragon again.

He could see so many red threads, and Julian could even feel his connection to them.

’Are these red threads the fate that might exist between us? That we’ll often be entangled together?’

Even knowing that, Julian couldn’t tell whether it meant a bad entanglement, a good entanglement, or something else.

He didn’t know, so with a slight frown, Julian looked far more intently. And that was when Julian found something strange.

The red threads, which seemed to be connected to Julian, made him feel uneasy.

’Is that a bad entanglement?’

His instinct said yes.

Even though Julian wasn’t afraid, the risk of danger he sensed made his instinct choose the simple path after feeling that ill omen.

The Dragon had to die.

It was a great pity, considering that Julian had wanted to have at least one dragon to ride.

He was tired of walking, and having a dragon would make everything easier.

So, once he reached his conclusion, Julian took out his sword.

But before that, he froze.

He instinctively used the skill he had received from Ilunia, and fate immediately whispered in his ear.

"Get out of here."

"..."

Julian’s face wrinkled, then he turned his gaze slightly. His instinct, his awareness, everything about himself felt so much broader that Julian could sense it.

Something was approaching, in an enormous number.

"Huhu... huhuhu...! You’ve noticed now?"

Tulkan, who had the same instinct and awareness as Julian, was able to sense that great arrival.

"They’re already here. My family, my soldiers, and in the end, you will die here, human."

Just as fate had said, Julian ignored what Tulkan said. He thought about leaving, but his mind kept returning to Tulkan, who had a number of red threads involving Julian.

And that entanglement felt so great that it seemed like a problem that would be hard to solve if he simply ignored it.

Julian hesitated. Should he leave right now?

But leaving Tulkan, who carried all that ill fortune, also felt wrong.

By then, Julian could already feel them drawing closer, their speed shattering the wind, and from there, small dots appeared, slowly growing larger.

An extremely strong killing intent also felt thick coming from the swarm.

Julian lowered his head and looked at his own hands.

’...Alright, let’s greet them.’

Had his mind gone dull or something?

But ever since Julian woke from that very long sleep, his body had truly felt like it was swallowed by a strange sensation.

Something that made him act a little differently.

It might have been the influence and exhilaration that came after boredom that had felt like an eternity.

’Coincidentally, I still have one more that’s making my hands itch.’

Julian created his bow.

His Mana had in fact already been drained heavily, but playing one more time wouldn’t get him killed.

That confidence felt strange to Julian. But he liked it, far better than being a mere coward.