Chapter 15: Confused Little Dragons, II - Manhwa chapter 9

Louis arrived at a large stone pedestal with a sword embedded in its flat surface. He compared it to the blade he held in his hand.

“They’re identical.”

The two bastard swords looked like they had been cast from the same mold. The sword on the pedestal also featured an attribute stone set in the hilt, which was cracked and close to breaking.

Everything suddenly made sense to Louis.

“Did this connect both worlds?”

“It seems so…” Fin nodded in agreement with Louis’s assessment.

Teleportation, huh…?

Long-distance teleportation was rare in Evan’s dimension due to its extremely high requirement of spatial attribute power and the scarcity of beings capable of casting such spells. As a result, inhabitants relied on land, sea, or air routes for travel. Among these, aerial routes were exclusively used by those with wealth, authority, or brute force, thanks to various flying monsters patrolling the skies.

I thought the circuitry was related to subspaces, but it turns out it’s actually for teleportation… No wonder it looked so complex!

Louis berated himself for not recognizing the teleportation circuit earlier. However, it was too late now. Realizing this, he decided to change course.

“Where are you going, Louis?”

“We need to figure out where we are before finding our way home.”

“Aha!”

The twins and Fin trailed behind Louis as he ventured forth to explore their surroundings. Locating the exit wasn’t difficult since there was only one path connected to the vast open area they were in.

They hadn’t gone far when…

“It’s blocked?” Louis frowned at the massive rock obstructing the passageway.

Unconcealed irritation crossed his face as he extended his hand forward.

If it’s blocked, I’ll just have to blast through.

With that thought, his dragon heart responded accordingly.

Vwoom…

“Solidify.”

Instantly, empty space hardened upon Louis’s command.

“Fire!”

The solidified space crystal propelled forward with immense force generated by Strength Attribute Power.

BANG!

The intense pressure from the crystallized space shattered the massive rock effortlessly. A chilling gust of wind rushed through the newly opened hole, so cold it felt like his face was freezing over. White crystals floated toward Louis and settled on his cheeks. He wiped them away with a puzzled look on his face.

Although he had never seen anything like this in this life, he knew exactly what they were.

He murmured softly, “…Snow?”

Louis’s expression hardened as snow fell for the first time since his possession of Evan.

“…?!” Shocked, he hastily ran outside.

His eyes landed on a towering peak that pierced the sky.

The peak stabbed at the sky like a sharp needle. Louis paled.

“N-no way?”

It resembled the mountain he saw daily from his home, but there was one key difference. The nearby mountain had only its summit covered with snow, while this mountain was entirely white, as if someone had poured white paint over it.

Realizing what the snow-covered peak represented, Louis muttered, stunned:

”…Oh God.”

Behind the petrified Louis, Fin and the twins approached, also spotting the pristine mountain.

“Huh? I can see that from our house too.”

“Louis, why is it so white?”

“Huh?!”

It was Khan, Kani, and then Fin’s voices in order. Unlike the bewildered twins, Fin understood what they were seeing, and he gulped audibly before blurting out:

“T-The Right Fang of Earth?!”

”…Damn it!” Fin’s horrified voice confirmed their fears.

Louis quietly cursed as his mind raced through the map of Evan’s world.

The continent of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter - Evan’s dimension consisted of four large landmasses arranged sequentially from west to east, each named after the seasons.

The reason for these names was simple: Each continent maintained its respective climate throughout the year.

Louis’s and the twins’ home was located on the western side of Spring Continent, which corresponded to the left fang tooth.

“Oh… Oh no.” Louis looked distraught as he stared at the snow-capped peak, the right canine tooth of the landmass.

This mountain stood at the farthest eastern point of Winter Continent, meaning they had been teleported to the location furthest from their home.

Whooooosh.

“…”

A cold wind swept past the stunned group, ominously foreshadowing their future.

Back at the clearing, Louis was distraught.

Ah, damn it! Even if this cliché dragon rebirth scenario involves me running away from home as a hatchling…I don’t want any part of it!

Just existing put Louis constantly in danger. That’s why he never entertained the thought of venturing out into the perilous world beyond his lair for even a second.

I’m freaking exiled!

Upon further reflection, though, this might not be considered exile.

Forced exile? Or maybe stranded?

And not just alone but with two lumps attached to him.

“Sis…something’s wrong with Louis.”

“It’s okay. Dad said it’s normal for kids our age.”

“Oh, really?”

Khan and Kani muttered as they watched Louis writhing around, pulling at his hair in anguish. Fin simply gazed upon him with pity.

These two are more typical of our kind… Our master is just exceptional.

Despite being 250 years old, Louis was still considered young for a dragon, which meant he had much to learn.

“Ahhh.” Louis agonized over how to resolve this predicament.

“W-wait!?” His head snapped up as if struck by inspiration, eyes wide with realization.

“I-if I ran away without permission—no, got lost like this…?”

Louis’s thoughts reached Genelocer, who was currently stationed on Silver flower City overseeing matters in another part of the universe.

Genelocer adored his son dearly, so if he found out Louis had gone missing…

Louis paled. “W-wouldn’t that be disastrous?”

A furious Genelocer might wreak havoc across the continent.

“N-no way, right?” Although Louis tried to downplay it, the more he thought about it, the more plausible such a scenario seemed with someone as temperamental as Genelocer.

If my father turns into the Wild Dragon again…

Over time, Louis had grown very fond of Genelocer and desperately hoped to avoid such an outcome. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head.

That’s it! The communication stone!

With renewed hope, Louis retrieved the communication stone from his pocket dimension.

However…

“It’s no good…”

The signal didn’t reach beyond their world. Disappointed, Louis put away the communication stone and continued racking his brain.

What should I do…?

After much agonizing contemplation, he reached a simple conclusion.

“I’m going back—no matter what it takes!”

It would be approximately ten years before the Genelocer returned to this place. He had to find a way home within that time frame.

Having made up his mind, Louis stood resolutely.

“Louis is awake!”

“Ohh! Louis, you seem taller now! Worrying really does make kids grow faster!” The twins spouted nonsense as usual, but Louis ignored them and turned to Fin.

“Fin, crossing the Magic sea… Would that still be impossible?”

“No way! Absolutely not!” Fin vehemently protested Louis’s suggestion.

Geographically speaking, the westernmost and easternmost points of a continent were relatively close to each other. After all, it was possible to walk around the entire globe on foot. The same applied to Evan’s world as well. If one traveled east from the Winter Continent and crossed the sea, they would quickly reach the Spring Continent.

However, that particular body of water posed a problem.

“The Magic sea?! Even Adult Dragons avoid that place!”

The Magic sea, also known as the demonic ocean, was forbidden territory due to its corruption by the remnants of the most wicked dragon. Unfortunately, this treacherous expanse lay between the Winter and Spring Continents. Louis sighed at the mere thought of venturing there.

“Yes… I know that much. Fin, how long would it take to cross from here to the continent on the left side of the Magic sea?”

“…Hmm.” Concern etched itself onto Fin’s face as well, realizing the gravity of their situation.

After pondering for some time, he spoke up again. “I’m not entirely sure, but if we were walking, it’d probably take at least ten years.”

“Oh?”

“We could shorten the journey with transportation tools.”

“Great.”

Ten years gave them hope. Louis nodded, gathering his resolve before turning around. There stood two wide-eyed bundles of energy.

“Troublemak—no, twins!”

“Yes!”

“What is it?”

“Listen carefully now. We’re currently facing a grave crisis.”

“A crisis?”

“What’s going on?”

“Do you know where we are? We’re at the right canine of the land.”

“Huh? Isn’t that really far away?”

“No, it’s here now. And our home is incredibly distant from us.”

The twins started paying attention to Louis as he calmly explained things in terms they could easily understand.

“It would take ten years to walk back home from here.”

“Then why not just fly?”

”…Do you want people to catch hatchlings like us for advertisements?”

“For ads?”

”…Yes, such things exist. Anyway, flying is out of the question. Like ordinary humans, we must return home within ten years.”

“Why not? Can’t we just take our time?”

“You idiots… What if Dad and Father come home after ten years, but we’re nowhere to be found?”

“Uh…”

“Hmm…”

The twins pondered Louis’s difficult question, but he couldn’t wait for them to reach their own conclusion. With a menacing expression, he intensified the somber mood and continued.

“Listen up, you two. Let me explain what will happen if we aren’t home in ten years. When Dad and Father return, they won’t find us. Shocked, they’ll tear apart the entire continent searching for us.”

“Oh wow, I see!”

“That makes sense!”

”…”

The twins’ incredulous stares made Louis realize he hadn’t explained it properly.

Now that I think about it, what I said was quite obvious.

He hastily changed tactics and added, “And! Our dads will be furious with us for running away without permission, right? They might not give us any snacks or toys for a hundred years!”

“…?!”

“No, no way!” Their reactions were completely different this time.

Seeing the twins value their toys more than the peace of the continent, Louis inwardly felt relieved. With his explanation seemingly resonating with them, he continued.

“In any case, we’re heading straight home for these reasons. Before our dads come back, mind you! And I’m the leader of this expedition! Listen to me carefully from now on!”

The twins immediately protested Louis’s declaration.

“No way! I want to be the leader!”

“I wanna be the leader too!”

“…”

Louis stared at the ceiling as the twins squabbled with stubborn expressions.

I really…

Deep inside his heart, something welled up within him. For the first time since becoming a dragon…

Is it okay to feel like this…?

He felt like crying.