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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The dragon egg was white with blue speckles. There was only one way to hatch it.
We had to go to Atlan, the Dragon’s Nest.
Arthur and I were researching how to get there. I already knew, but I had to pretend I didn’t.
We split up and asked around.
Arthur spent hours asking people in the town square about Atlan. Their reactions were predictable.
They probably looked at him like he was crazy. Atlan was a legendary place, after all.
My communication crystal buzzed. It was a message from Sepia.
[Where are you, Ethan?]
[Town square.]
[I’m coming.]
Sepia and Vivian soon arrived.
Arthur, who had been asking around about Atlan, returned, looking dejected.
“Everyone thinks I’m crazy…”
“What’s going on?”
Sepia asked, and Arthur chuckled awkwardly. We moved to a quiet alley and explained what had happened last night.
“Are you serious?”
Arthur pulled the dragon egg out of his inventory. Sepia looked skeptical, even after seeing the egg. Vivian looked surprised, but she didn’t say anything.
“So, how do we get to the nest?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Haha.”
Arthur scratched the back of his head.
“I did hear about one way…”
I said, casually bringing up the method Arthur and Sonny had used in the original story. A sailor named Ted Bernardo had taken them to the entrance of Atlan.
“There’s a sailor named Ted who’s rumored to have been to Atlan.”
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The harbor was crowded with ships. Seagulls soared overhead, and merchants bustled about, conducting their business.
“Do you know someone named Ted?”
Arthur asked the sailors.
“Ted Bernardo? Why are you looking for that crazy old man?”
As expected, it wasn’t difficult to find him. Ted Bernardo was famous in this area. He was known as the Crazy Sailor.
“We have some business with him.”
“That’s him over there.”
The sailor pointed to an old man with a sturdy build, arguing with another sailor.
“I saw it! There’s a dragon in Atlan, under the sea!”
“If you saw a dragon, then I saw Beelzebub in the demon world.”
Ted had no proof. No one believed him. Adventurers’ tales were often exaggerated.
And sometimes, they were complete fabrications. You could easily find adventurers boasting about their exploits in any tavern.
“Damn it! Atlan exists! I saw a dragon there, during a storm!”
“When? Twenty years ago? Was it Leviathan? Stop talking nonsense and get back to work!”
The other sailor turned and walked away. Ted gave him the finger.
There was only one way to reach Atlan: sail there during a storm. There was a blue hole in the middle of the ocean that led to Atlan.
“Excuse me, sir.”
I approached Ted.
“What do you want?”
“I’m Ethan. And these are my friends.”
I introduced Arthur, Sepia, and Vivian.
“What do you want from an old sailor like me?”
He was grumpy, just like in the original story. It was understandable, considering how he had been treated.
He also had a tragic backstory. He had been captured by pirates during one of his voyages.
“We want to ask you about how to get to Atlan.”
The mention of Atlan seemed to pique his interest.
“You believe in Atlan?”
“Yes, I do. Atlan exists.”
“Why do you want to go there? It’s where the dragons live. If you’re after their treasure, I suggest you give up.”
I made him promise to keep it a secret, then showed him the dragon egg.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a dragon egg. We want to return it.”
“Good heavens!”
Ted’s voice rose in alarm. He looked around nervously. I explained how we had obtained the egg.
We hadn’t stolen it. A thief had stolen it, and we had accidentally gotten it. And now we wanted to return it.
“If that’s true… then we’re in trouble! A disaster is about to strike the city!”
His voice trembled. He was right.
“What’s going on with the weather?”
People were murmuring.
Dark clouds gathered in the sky, the waves growing choppy and violent. A massive waterspout formed, reaching towards the clouds.
“What is that? A giant column of water?”
“Weather manipulation magic…”
Sepia gasped.
“I’ve never heard of such magic.”
“Only one creature can do that!”
“Who?”
“A dragon.”
Ted wasn’t surprised.
He seemed almost pleased that the waterspout had appeared, proving him right.
Something leaped out of the churning waves.
“Lizardmen!”
Arthur, his vision enhanced by mana, identified them. They were the guardians of the Dragon’s Nest.
And they were coming for the dragon egg.
A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. It hadn’t started raining in the port city yet.
Hundreds of lizardmen were charging towards the harbor. The guards and the citizens panicked.
“Lizardmen! Lizardmen!”
“Guards! Guards!”
The city guards rushed towards the harbor.
“Emergency! Emergency! Lizardmen attack! Emergency!”
We had caught the thief, but we couldn’t tell them. They wouldn’t understand.
Arthur had tried to explain the situation in the original story, but he had failed.
“Arthur, Sepia, Vivian, prepare for battle.”
“Ethan, shouldn’t we try talking to them?”
“I don’t think they’ll listen…”
And I couldn’t show them the egg. We would be attacked. Even if they did understand, they wouldn’t believe us.
They would think we were the thieves.
A few lizardmen were struck by arrows, but it didn’t slow them down. Their scales were too tough for ordinary arrows to penetrate.
The lizardmen reached the shore.
“Defend the beach! Defend the beach!”
The soldiers formed a defensive line, their shields raised. We stood behind them.
The lizardmen clashed with the city guards, the sounds of metal against metal echoing through the air. Swords and spears clashed, sparks flying.
They were Retiarius Lizardmen.
They wielded tridents and nets.
A net flew through the air, ensnaring one of the guards and pulling him out of formation.
I leaped forward and cut the net.
The lizardman looked at me, surprised. I punched him in the stomach, and he collapsed.
Sepia created a wall of fire, but it was quickly extinguished by the rain.
“I need a weapon! Anything!”
“What? What?”
Sepia ignored the confused soldier and used her telekinesis to gather the weapons dropped by the fallen guards.
Spears and shields flew through the air, striking the lizardmen.
We joined the battle.
Vivian drew a blade from thin air and swung it with practiced ease. She was a Weapon Master and a Battle Maid.
Arthur and I fought side-by-side at the front lines.
We had to end this fight. And this was just the beginning.
Defeating the lizardmen would bring a temporary peace. A day or two, at most.
In the original story, Arthur had been attacked a second time. And the monsters in the second wave were much stronger than the Retiarius Lizardmen.
They were Sea Serpents, Rank 4 monsters.
Swords and spears clashed. An injured guard retreated and drank a potion. The battle raged on, both sides holding their ground.
Another guard took the fallen soldier’s place, raising his shield.
The Retiarius Lizardmen were ferocious. But the city guards were also fearless.
“Don’t retreat! The city is celebrating! We have to defend the harbor!”
The battle continued.
More and more lizardmen and guards fell.
I didn’t want to release my mana, but I had no choice.
I didn’t want to kill them, but they wouldn’t stop attacking.
I channeled my mana into my sword, a blue aura erupting around me. The soldiers gasped.
Linchester Swordsmanship, Second Form: Sword Soul!
I swung my sword downwards, unleashing a wave of blue mana towards the lizardmen.
Arthur charged forward as I gathered my mana again. His blue mana surged outwards.
We were in perfect sync.
“What… who are those boys?”
“They’re taking down dozens of lizardmen with a single swing!”
“Lizardmen are known for their tough scales! And they’re fighting so well together!”
It was my turn again. Arthur retreated, and Sepia used her telekinesis to deflect the incoming nets and spears.
I swung my sword again, the mana taking the shape of a dragon and engulfing the lizardmen.
Thankfully, I was attacking towards the sea.
If I had attacked towards the city, there would have been countless casualties.
After a few more swings, the area around us was littered with lizardmen corpses.
Hundreds of them.
I couldn’t kill hundreds of living creatures without feeling something.
But someone had to do it. The thief had stolen the dragon egg. I sheathed my sword.
“We did it! We saved the city!”
“Four heroes saved the city! Not two, but four!”
I could hear the cheers of the soldiers behind me. The citizens were also celebrating.
“Hurrah! Hail the heroes! Hail the Hero Candidates! They’re true heroes!”
“Idiot! Look at their uniforms! They’re Neydia students!”
“Does it matter? They saved the city, so they’re heroes!”
I stared out at the sea.
The rain was letting up, but the sky was still dark, and the waves were choppy.
And the waterspout showed no signs of disappearing.
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