I Pulled Out the Excalibur

Chapter 107 – Beyond the World, Outland (1)

What is a dragon?

Dragons existed from the earliest times, through the Age of Chaos, and into the Age of Myths when countless heroes, led by Arthur, emerged. They awakened at the dawn of the world and closed their eyes only when its end arrived.

Unchanging, immortal, eternal beings.

That’s what dragons are.

Yet some would claim that dragons are nothing more than mere beasts, reveling in the thrill of devouring and burning life, labeling them as monstrous creatures. These people pointed their fingers at dragons, calling them vile monsters.

“That’s not entirely wrong.”

A wizard who lived through the Age of Myths, when dragons first began their corruption, sighed as she rested her chin on her hand.

“Dragons were originally noble creatures. Although not all of them were, some were indeed noble and pure. But that was before the Dragon of the Abyss appeared.”

The Archmage of the Lake, Merlin.

“The race of dragons cannot defy their main lineage. The first and last dragon, the primeval and final dragon: The Dragon of the Abyss. When that monster sought the world’s end, it was inevitable that all dragons would begin to lose their minds.”

She shook her head in exasperation.

“The problem is that even if they have degenerated into mere beasts, the mystique of the dragon race still hasn’t disappeared.”

“Mystique?”

“Yeah, remember when I mentioned last time that mystique usually resides in certain races or objects?”

Najin nodded. He remembered how Merlin had pointed out Yuel Razian, a human imbued with mystique.

“Dragons are one of those races.”

“So, what kind of mystique do dragons possess?”

“Unchanging, immortal, eternal.”

Unchanging, meaning not changing.

Immortal, meaning not crumbling into dust.

Eternal, meaning not bound by time.

“When I defined the concept of mystique, dragons were one of the three races that left me dumbfounded. The other two are witches and giants. These bastards are simply cheating by existing. They’re scamming the whole world with their race-level fraud.”

Merlin clicked her tongue.

“They are born perfect and live eternally as such. The scales covering those lizards deflect most sword energy and completely repel all magic below the 5th circle. And that’s not even the worst of it.”

Merlin opened her mouth and mimicked a roar. Najin gave her a puzzled look, which prompted her to twirl her hair sheepishly.

“And then there’s the breath attack, which is equivalent to at least a 6th circle spell. They spew fire that can melt entire walls without any cost, merely because they were born that way. When it comes to the Dragon of the Abyss… I don’t even want to think about it.”

And what about its mouth?

Once you’re swallowed, it’s over. The dragon’s mouth connects to a completely different world. Merlin stretched as she murmured this.

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“Anyway, that was a long explanation.”

Merlin moved next to Najin and twirled her fingers. The water droplets floating in the air moved to hover in front of Najin’s nose, dyed in white and red.

“The dragons you’ll face next, the Red Dragon and the White Dragon, are basically similar. The key is finding a way to temporarily separate them from their mystique… but I’ll explain that in more detail later.”

“Wait, Merlin.”

Najin interrupted Merlin’s explanation. He was fine listening to how to hunt the dragons, but there was one thing that needed clarification.

“Hunting dragons sounds good, and so does getting a chance to earn a star. But tell me something.”

“Yes?”

“The White Dragon and Red Dragon are sealed, aren’t they? Under Stonehenge. According to the tales of heroes, Merlin, you’re the one who sealed them there.”

Najin had read The Chronicles of Arthur multiple times. In its very first chapter, the White Dragon and the Red Dragon were defeated by Arthur and dropped beneath the ground, where Merlin sealed them under Stonehenge. So how could they hunt two dragons that had been sealed?

“Are you planning to release them from the seal?”

Najin frowned. He wasn’t fond of the idea. If he had to pull out sealed dragons just to hunt them, it would be a staged show. He didn’t believe he could earn a star from such a farce.

“No, why would I release them?”

Merlin tilted her head at Najin’s question.

“They’ll break free on their own.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You pulled out Excalibur, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Though they don’t know that it was you specifically, the world knows that the Holy Sword was pulled. The news has spread across not just the mainland, but beyond the world and even to Camlann.”

On the day Najin had drawn Excalibur, the constellation of Arthur had led the night sky, which swirled in turmoil. The stars flickered, and their tremors were enough to awaken those who had been sleeping.

“Time, which had been frozen for a thousand years, has begun to move.”

Merlin’s blue eyes gazed at Najin.

“As a new myth begins to be written, how can the beings of the mythic age that were lying dormant not awaken? The White Dragon and Red Dragon are only the beginning. More and more will rise. Those who Arthur defeated and those who Arthur caused to fall will start to rear their heads.”

She pointed a finger at Najin.

“To kill Arthur’s descendant.”

Two days after Najin and Merlin had discussed and begun planning the dragon hunt, a summons came from the Central Guild. It was regarding his promotion, but this time, no separate exam was required.

Najin had already been acknowledged as a Sword Seeker in front of three Sword Masters and the Emperor himself. Holding another test would have been an affront to the Emperor’s authority.

Besides, rumors were swirling around Najin’s affiliation both inside and outside Cambria, so it was also in the guild’s interest to promote him quickly. Thus, Najin’s promotion ceremony progressed at an unprecedented speed.

Najin was an adventurer of the Red rank,

and only one rank existed above the Red rank.

The White rank. White-rank adventurers are considered to be at the pinnacle of the adventurer city. Although the position wasn’t particularly appealing for someone like Najin, staying under the protection of the Cambria Foundation was beneficial enough that Najin had no reason to refuse.

According to Cambria’s tradition, the promotion ceremony was held in front of all the adventurers. A large crowd gathered in front of the Central Guild, and even people from outside Cambria flocked to catch a glimpse of Najin, the youngest Sword Seeker.

『That guy is the youngest Sword Seeker.』

『He’s younger than I thought.』

『He’s young, but his eyes are sharp. They’re the eyes of a warrior.』

『He’s experienced countless battles. He’s well-composed.』

Among them were famous knights and mercenaries who chatted among themselves as they looked at Najin standing on the podium.

Tock.

At the promised time, a noble ascended the podium. Since the White rank represented Cambria itself, it was tradition for a noble from the Cambria Foundation to attend the promotion ceremony.

In this case, Marquis Edelmar stood on the podium as the Foundation’s representative. He was both close to Najin and the highest-ranking noble within the Foundation, making him a suitable host for the ceremony.

“Congratulations on your promotion.”

He took out a nameplate from a wooden box. Unlike other nameplates, this one was made of a rare metal and gleamed brightly in the sunlight. On its pure-white surface was engraved Najin’s name instead of Ivan’s.

Marquis Edelmar presented the nameplate and medal to Najin, who knelt on one knee with his head bowed. With this, Najin became a White-rank adventurer. On his eighth month in Cambria, Najin had reached the pinnacle of the city.

Amid the thunderous applause, Najin stood up. He stepped down from the podium, receiving the attention of many adventurers and outsiders.

The youngest Sword Seeker

and the youngest White-rank adventurer.

It was tradition to bestow titles upon White-rank adventurers, but Najin was already so famous that adventurers didn’t even need to give him one. The world had already started calling him by an alias.

The New Star.

It was the perfect title for the boy who suddenly appeared and shattered every record. Najin later heard about the title from Dieta and laughed.

“I’m not even a star yet, and they’re calling me the New Star.”

He laughed but couldn’t deny that he liked the title. However, he was well aware that not everyone used The New Star in a positive way.

While it meant a star that suddenly shone brightly, it also implied a star that vanished after a single gleam. A title with a double meaning.

Which meaning would prevail would be determined by Najin’s future actions. Of course, Najin had no intention of flickering and disappearing. Instead, he aimed to claim a real star in line with the title.

And so, right after attaining White rank, a confidential letter arrived. The secretive letter was a White rank Summons, a request from the Central Guild for a large-scale quest.

In other words,

it was about the hunt for the two dragons that would soon awaken.

Deep within the Central Guild, beyond strict security, was a meeting room. It had five seats, three of which were already occupied when Najin arrived.

Bashen Corte.

Rihard Polsen.

Roselin Ascalo.

All three were White-rank adventurers, and Najin was acquainted with two of them. Bashen Corte had a brief conversation with Najin while dealing with the Order’s assailants, and Roselin frequently interacted with Najin.

“Hey, it’s a surprise to see you here, kid. Good to see you.”

After Najin became a Sword Seeker, Roselin initially called him “Ivan,” but after learning his age, she started calling him “kid.” When Najin once questioned this:

『Eighteen, huh? What else should I call you if not a kid?』

『If you want to be called by your name, get stronger than me first. Then I’ll even add an honorific.』

That was all she had to say.

Recalling that, Najin smirked and nodded, looking for his seat, but Roselin patted the seat next to her.

“Where are you going? Sit here.”

“But that’s not my seat.”

Najin pointed at the nameplate on the seat, which bore the name Grisel Paramelt. His own seat was across from it. After checking the nameplate, Roselin frowned and threw it to the opposite side.

“Seats can be switched. I don’t like sitting next to that kid, Grisel. He creeps me out.”

Najin picked up his nameplate and sat down next to Roselin, who finally smiled and whispered into his ear.

“By the way, kid, I heard you went up against the First Sword of the Empire. Rumors are spreading everywhere.”

“Yeah, that happened.”

“So, how did it go? You also met Karan, didn’t you? Who’s stronger between them?”

Roselin’s eyes gleamed with curiosity. It was like a child asking who would win between a lion and a tiger. But for Najin, answering this was tricky since he hadn’t fought either of them at full power.

As Najin struggled to answer,

the meeting room’s door opened. Two people stepped through: the Guildmaster who had summoned the White-rank adventurers, and…

Grisel Paramelt.

He was a White-rank adventurer shrouded in mystery. Najin looked at Grisel, a man who seemed oddly out of place. Once Grisel took his seat, the Guildmaster spoke.

“I have gathered you White-rank adventurers here, as mentioned in the letter, to discuss the dragons sealed under Stonehenge.”

Two dragons sealed beneath Stonehenge, the central legend of the city of Cambria.

“The sealing sigils carved into Stonehenge have worn out, and since eight months ago, they’ve been gradually losing their power. The Empire has concluded that in one month, the seals will be completely broken and the two dragons will be freed.”

Najin already knew this from Merlin.

Well, there’s no way the Empire wouldn’t have noticed the seals breaking. Looks like they caught on.

As Merlin mumbled this, the Guildmaster continued. He spoke of Cambria securing the rights to the hunt, of the Empire’s cooperation, and of how the matter was to be kept confidential.

After the Guildmaster finished these formalities, he disclosed the details of the hunt.

“The Empire will provide knights to support the hunt, which will be conducted by a small elite group. The hunt will be led by the five White-rank adventurers gathered here and the Royal Knights.”

Each was handed a document.

After skimming through it, Najin looked up. If the hunt proceeded this way, then…

He glanced around the room. He wasn’t the only one; all the White-rank adventurers were staring at each other. The meaning in their eyes was clear. While it appeared that they were supposed to work as a team, in reality, it was far from that.

Competition.

This was a competition disguised as a hunt. Who would earn the most acclaim? Who would claim the glory of felling the dragons? And it was clear that none of them intended to back down.