The orphanage in the mountains was quite extravagant for an orphanage. Not only was there an annex to the cathedral decorated with colorful stained glass, but the three-story main building, which served as the dormitory and dining hall, could practically be called a mansion.
The failing orphanage was no longer in a state that could be considered failing. The nun had refused, but Yeon-woo had insisted. It was because he had earned a lot of money once he entered the rankings.
After unpacking his luggage in the room he had used for ten years from the age of five, Yeon-woo came out to the dining hall. It was also lunchtime, so he decided to have lunch and then head out to carry out the request.
He tried to help prepare lunch, but Claire adamantly refused his help and disappeared into the kitchen. As he awkwardly sat at a table in the dining hall, he felt gazes from the cracks in the door.
Numerous pairs of eyes met his. They must be the children from the orphanage.
Gulp.
When his eyes met a pair of purple eyes at the bottom, gulp.
With the sound of cute hiccups, the door opened and children came pouring in. Eight of them. The gender ratio was exactly 1:1. Was his face really that scary? He hadn't expected them to fall over, so Yeon-woo, who had hurriedly stood up, stood there awkwardly.
If he had magic, he could have caught them... He shook his head, erasing the thought that suddenly crossed his mind.
"Are you okay?"
As he reached out his hand, the children began to tremble. Looking at the eight pairs of eyes that seemed about to overflow with tears, Yeon-woo felt troubled.
"D-Don't touch our kids! Who are you, mister?!"
A boy with orange hair stepped forward. Well, he had expected them not to recognize his face. This had happened often in the past ten years, so Yeon-woo pulled out his trump card from the beginning. He fiddled with the ring on his right hand, and a mountain of objects poured out to his left.
The artifact, [Relin's Warehouse]. It was a fairly high-performance artifact that could store luggage up to a certain weight.
Although it was quite expensive since even people without magic could use it, he had acquired it by chance in a dungeon a long time ago and had been using it effectively ever since.
The gifts he had prepared in advance came pouring out. There was no particular standard. He had just swept them up.
"I'm, well..."
A sudden surge of playfulness came over him. The children's faces, looking back and forth between the pile of gifts and himself, were a mixture of tension and joy.
"I'm Tall Uncle. I've prepared some gifts, would you like to receive them?"
"...You're not that tall."
"...Right."
The innocence of children was sometimes cruel.
....
After a noisy but enjoyable lunch, Yeon-woo gathered his equipment. The magic spear and armor set that he had been using for years.
Since he couldn't use magic to enhance his body, he had to focus on evasion, so everything was made to be light and sturdy.
As he operated his miniaturized phone, the details of the request appeared. [Exploration of Unidentified Gate]. A map rendered in augmented reality indicated the path to the destination with arrows.
It wasn't long before he reached his destination and saw the ominous sight of a black and red gate.
Booooooooo-.
A silver whale adorned with twinkling stars spewed stars.
Now he knew that whales weren't flying animals.
He knew that if he entered its mouth, there wouldn't be a vast space like Geppetto's workshop, but death. He knew that they were actually mammals and what they spouted from their backs wasn't water but breath.
He knew now. That it was all a dream. That there was a big difference between the whale in his dream and a real whale.
Suddenly, he turned his head and saw a child looking up at the starry sky with a joyful face. The child was sitting on a rock, swinging their legs with a delighted expression.
Then the child turned their gaze to Yeon-woo and, with a thin arc forming on their lips, silently mouthed:
[──────.]
"──Gasp!"
The breath he had inhaled sharply circled through his windpipe and into his lungs.
Damp, cold air. Had he lost consciousness while passing through the gate? It happens sometimes, but he had never experienced it himself. If he, without magic, had gone through this countless times, he would have been nothing but bones by now.
Something like a cave wall was supporting his back. He hurriedly looked around, but the exit that should have been there was nowhere to be seen.
'A closed gate, huh.'
There were various types of gates.
Unlike most gates where the interior could be ascertained from the outside through the form of magic, unidentified gates required entering them to find out.
And among those unidentified gates, the worst case scenario was a closed gate.
Unlike other gates, closed gates couldn't be dealt with from the inside or outside until they were either cleared or everyone inside was wiped out. Since such types existed, unidentified gates required thorough preparation, but...
"The measured magic type didn't seem like it would be a closed gate. This is a mess."
Anyway, he couldn't just waste time like this. If he disappeared for days again and worried the nun, she might actually shed tears this time.
『I apologize for that.』
A shiver ran down his spine. It was because a voice that shouldn't have been heard came from behind him.
What he had mistaken for a 'wall' against his back woke up. Golden eyes, slit like a snake's, were revealed. As he watched the enormous eyelids lift, he hurriedly tried to get up and point his spear, but his body wouldn't move.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh......
Flames erupted in the vast cave. Its massive body was revealed.
Among all living creatures in the world, they were called the strongest. Except for a few known individuals, even the number of individuals in their species was uncertain.
But the reason their numbers were unknown wasn't because the rest were insignificant.
Their scales scoffed at divine silver.
Their very existence was akin to magic.
Their breath burned down cities.
They had hidden themselves, wary of their overwhelming power.
The dwarves called them 'Rulers of the Mountain Range,' the giants called them 'World Eaters,' the elves called them 'Harmonizers,' and humans called them this:
Dragons.
