Dream Life

February 25th.

He spends some relaxing time in the village of Coolato, a hot spring on Finis Island. So far it is unlikely that a boat to Aurelia will come, so I plan to stay for about ten days. Of course, I'm going to cut up my plans and go back because I'm arranging for a commercial guild to contact me when the ship arrives, but that's unlikely in the guild story.

I was planning to look around this village today.

After I took a morning bath and had breakfast, I asked the innkeeper if there was anything interesting.

"Is it an interesting thing? Right. There's no big deal, but there's a cave where the dragon man was."

"Are you a dragon man?" Mel asks.

"Yeah, they say there are dragon men on this island. I don't know if that's true or not, because no one has said that they've seen it for decades. But if you go to that cave, you'll see the tools the dragon man used."

Dragon men are said to be a kind of beast man and a race of people with dragon traits. The great library of the academic city of Doctus retains literature on the Dragon Man, and we know that the Dragon Men were present deep in the Kelsas Mountains in the Kingdom of Kaum.

He is a dragon man, but he has more magical talent than an elf and can use all attributes of magic, and he has more physical abilities than an animal man. It was noted in the literature that life expectancy was also elf-like and culturally high.

But he suddenly disappeared about two thousand years ago. Some researchers suggest a relationship with the demonic tribe chased from the West during the same period, but we do not know why.

I wasn't so interested in the dragon man, so I've never heard of him living on Finnish Island either.

"There was an old man in that cave who had met the Dragon Man a long time ago. That's when they tell me the story. Well, I don't know how far it's true, but it might as well be boring."

The only thing I have planned for today is to relax in the hot springs and go to the brewery and buy me a beer.

"I don't have any particular plans, and you want to go check it out once?," he shook to the four of them, all of whom came on board the story.

"I thought Dragon Man was a legend," says Liddy, laughing at Beatrice as "I guess it's a frown spit".

"But it sounds interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of tools you have."

Sharon has also shown interest.

Asking the employee where he was, he decided to head quickly because he was about twenty minutes away on foot towards the mountain.

As you go up the road along the gorge, you will soon enter the forest. Even when it comes to the woods, the promenade is maintained, and by the way, there is a freshly signboard for directions, which doesn't feel dangerous at all.

There are about ten soldiers stationed in this village of Kulat, who regularly hunt for demons and talk about not even coming out of weak demons.

Just in case, I only have a weapon.

The cave was seen in about twenty minutes, as the employee said.

"Sounds like that," Mel says, stepping forward a little faster. And I found something that looked like a sign,

"Looks like you're sure here," he waves. When I approached him, he pointed to the sign and told me, "Sounds like you have an admission fee".

"Fifty e (ale) per person? You're a real tourist spectacle."

Fifty ales is roughly five hundred yen in Japanese yen. A sightseeing spot just to see the cave and some tools, but the amount you would pay with little hesitation if you were a tourist opponent who is getting more concerned.

There was room for reception where I went into the cave. There sat an old man about seventy years old. When I give you five men's money,

"I have Noon's brother inside. I'm a little deaf, but if you want to talk, you can call me."

When I went inside thanking him, the magic props of the lights were installed at equal intervals, illuminating my feet.

Inside it was a cave made naturally, but going about five metres, it becomes a tunnel made by the hands of men.

From what I've seen, it's authentic using earthly attribute magic.

"It resembles the tunnel Master Zach makes. Was it made by the Dragon Man?" Sharon asked.

"I don't know. I don't know how many years ago it was, but it's subtly different from what the Imperial Mage made"

Many tunnels made by imperial mages are standardized in size. The width and height are strictly determined by the application. But this tunnel is different from the imperial standards I know. It is slightly larger than a smaller tunnel for people to pass by, but about two turns smaller than a tunnel for carrying luggage.

Going further back as we talked about that, there was a wooden door. When the door was opened, it was about ten metres square, with one old man sitting in a chair.

The old man was asleep or looking down, but with us in, he slowly looks up.

"Are you a customer?

"Yeah, I heard about the cave where the dragonman lived, so I came to see it. I heard some tools were used by dragon men?

"If it's a tool, look, it's there. Tools with strange metals. The dragon man says it was 5,000 years ago."

Ahead, which the old man pointed out with his hand, was a wooden platform, with tools such as scissors and spanners. The tool shines silver.

"May I see it nearby," the old man says, "if you don't touch it," and allows it.

If you look closely, it was made of stainless steel.

"This is the same material as the tank you make, right? I'm sure Dr. Raspade's lab had the same metal."

In Liddy's words, "Probably the same stainless steel. Well, the composition seems subtly different," he replies.

"Do you guys know about this metal?

"I didn't magically examine it, so I'm not sure, but it's probably the same metal used in ancient civilizations. I call this" stainless steel. "

The old man is surprised when he opens his eyes.

"Nobody believed me when it came to Yotai. Now you can believe that Nong met the Dragon Man..."

That's how I'm happy to weep.

"I am the one who learned in the academic city of Doctus. Anyone studying ancient civilizations in Doctus will soon find out."

When asked in detail, the people coming here seemed to think from the beginning that he was making up old men's stories and that he was polishing these tools every day as well.

"I'd like to ask you about the Dragon Man."

When I spoke, I nodded happily,

I've been recommending a chair on the edge of the room, saying, "I'm tired of standing up."

Sitting in a chair, the old man began to speak in a slow tone.

"It wasn't about seventy years ago that Non met the Dragon Man. Not when Nong was just a young man. I was a hunter at the time. There's a beautiful bird in this mountain, and I sold it to the rich using its wings. The bird is about a day east of here. I went that far with my father that day. But unluckily, it's raining..."

To sum up the story of the old man, he went to his usual hunting grounds for birds, but because it rained along the way, he interrupted the hunt to find a place to stay in the rain. But unfortunately, the rain was stronger than ever and he said it was enough to make the front invisible.

"... I stumbled upon a cave that I could use for a rainstorm. When I say cave, it's not like here, it's about three meters deep (melt) small. Non and his father went inside just to say that they had been helped, but there was a customer there. What a dragon man..."

"Did you find out right away with the dragon man?" Sharon asks the question.

"No, I thought it was a demon at first, so I panicked and turned my bow. Because he looked like a lizard. Then the dragon man says," Don't shoot me. "Raise your hands. At that time, I thought the demon had spoken and I almost lost my hips..."

Dragon figure, but the literature assumes a large hard head on lizard-like skin and a residue of degenerate wings on the back. The way the old man spoke was in line with that.

The dragonman had slipped his leg in the rain and was breaking his leg bone. Although he was lucky enough to find the cave, he said he had no means of contacting his people and was on his way. Apparently an old man and his father showed up there.

"... the dragon man was named Kaspar, and he asked us to send him to his village because he couldn't move, in a plundering, hard to hear voice. My father and I looked horrible, but when we talked about it, we thought we were different from normal people, so we drove him to the village."

Doubts arose and I accidentally asked questions.

"I've heard dragon men can use magic, but didn't they use healing magic?

Dragon Man is said to be a race where all eight attributes can be used, and naturally healing magic should also be used. Anyway, if you are seriously injured and unable to maintain consciousness, chanting is possible if you can talk, and if you hang the healing magic on yourself, you can talk.

"I heard my father knew about it, but he said he could use attack magic, but not healing magic."

The question remains, but questioning here does not give us an answer.

"I'm sorry I broke your hips on the story," he apologizes, and starts talking again.

"Mm-hmm. I don't know how far we talked... well, I just dropped you off at the village and said thank you and I got this tool. That and this cave thing was also taught at that time. They say this is an evacuation cave we used a long time ago. When they first found it, it was blocked by rocks, but when they removed the rocks, this cave appeared."

The old man's story is over.

"So are the dragon men still in that place?

"I don't know. I've had a few trips since then, but I'm not sure where it is. I was able to get there without hesitation because Kaspar guided me back then, but I couldn't find him again and again after that. My father and I were used to the mountains, so we never got lost."

"How many dragon men are there? What village was it?

I'm going to answer Mel's question as she remembers "I don't think so".

"It wasn't the five of us that Non saw. The entrance to the village is nothing. Probably just came out because Noona and the others were getting closer. So we haven't seen what kind of village it is."

The dragonman is talking about not showing up in public, but it seems more thorough than I thought.

"You can't find us when we say it," the old man nods loudly when Sharon hears.

"There have been many lovers who have heard the story of Non, but none have met him. Probably moved somewhere already."

I was interested in dragon men.

Using stainless steel tools is likely to survive ancient civilization. There has to be some relationship, even if it's not survival.

He then asked for more information on the location, etc. and left the cave behind.

On the way home, Beatrice said, "Are you going to go find the dragon man? I've heard."

"I'm a dragon man, but there's potential for the survival of ancient civilization. Regardless of whether you can see him or not, as far as that tool is concerned, there is likely a ruin of ancient civilization. There's no story of Doctus researchers on this island, so we might find something interesting."

"Right. A day on the hunter's feet means we should be able to come back if we have three days. I may miss the ship, but I'd love to go."

Sharon seems to be riding.

"I agree because I wanted to go into the mountains too. If you go in the back, there's a fire lizard (salamander), and if there's a stronger demon out there, it'll be good training."

Mel seems to want to go hunting demons, not dragon men.

"How's Liddy?," he said.

"I don't mind either. 'Cause this is a good place, but I think I'm gonna have some spare time."

Beatrice also seemed to agree and was headed to look for the Dragon Man.

The weather is still stable the next day, and even if it feels like asking the village farmers, they don't have to worry about rain for a few days.

Keep unwanted luggage in the inn and gear it up. When I left the inn, the employee dropped me off with a look of sorry.

"I wish I hadn't introduced you to something weird. Please be careful."

I seem to feel responsible because what I told you about the Dragon Man's Cave was the beginning.

"This is still an adventurer whose name is sold in the City of Adventurers (Periclitle). And if you can't, I'll be right back."

That's how I headed for the mountain.

Walking in the village, an old man showed up explaining himself in a cave.

"I remembered the old days and drew a map. I don't know if I can guess, but take this."

That's how they handed me a handwritten map. The map had written about trees, rocks, and how the sea was seen that were likely to be landmarks.

When I say thank you, the old man laughs, "I don't mind," but immediately turns to a serious look,

"No big demons, but be very careful."

He goes right into the woods after being dropped off by an old man.

The forest has many conifers, such as cedar, but also quite a few broadleaves. As a result, there are many deciduous trees, the light of day has reached the ground and the Australis Sea is well visible when standing on the ridge.

I walk in comparison to the map I got, but the landmarks were easy to find as to whether the terrain had changed little from a few decades ago.

It takes time to travel in addition to thoughts because it is in a mountain where there is no road. I don't know the exact distance, but it feels like we've gone about ten kilometers in half a day.

Few demons were seen, and very weak insect-based demons appeared but fled without fighting.

After lunch, walk in the mountains for another three hours or so.

"There's got to be a cave around here..."

According to a map written by the old man, he was approaching the place where the first cave to find the dragon man was located.

But it was seventy years ago, and I don't know if the terrain is or will remain at that time, and the trees are growing, so I can't even find traces.

I wander around for about an hour, but I couldn't find anything like it.

I spent the night finding the right place for the camp, but without any demonic raids, I'm getting a safe morning.

We discussed our upcoming plans over breakfast.

"Looking for one day today or cutting it up in half a day, but which would be better"

Liddy opens his mouth most of all.

"Right. I'm free anyway, and I think we could do another day or so of research."

"That's fine with me, too. It's just the right thing to put a drink in your dull body."

"I agree with Mr Beatrice, too," Mel agrees.

"I agree, but why don't we go a little further behind the mountain than around here? Because you said there were no traces of people going in, and your grandfather went somewhere."

"Sharon's right. Shall we go a little further back today and go back to the village of Kurat tomorrow"

Thus went further into the back.

Climbing the mountain for about two hours, the slopes became steep and the vegetation changed. Until then, it was a deep forest, but the trees are growing and the weeds feel sparse. So much so that on the ground the lava-like stones rolled in a gobble and thought again that it was a volcano.

I went into a big rock shade for a break.

The rock is almost buried on a slope about five meters high and ten meters wide, and can be called a rock wall.

At first it looked like a big rock with no weird philosophy whatsoever, but I felt uncomfortable watching it casually.

Sharon called out when she noticed that as she carefully observed it as she touched the rock.

"Is something wrong?

"Just wondering. I don't think this rock is the only one around me..."

That's what I'm going to look into further. I realized it was there. Only this rock has fine particles.

"This guy feels close to a sand-hardened sedimentary rock. But there are many other rocks that have solidified lava."

Just because it's a volcano doesn't mean it's all volcanic rock, volcanic rock. Because it is not strange to have the original sedimentary rock if a volcano is born after a protuberance due to crustal fluctuations.

But even if you look at the other rocks and stones, the particles are all coarse and zazzling, and the sedimentary rock is the only one of this large rock. Normally it wouldn't be strange if this rock was rolling a stone that could have cracked or collapsed, but it wasn't even there.

"It looks like a naturally made rock, but it's subtly unnatural..."

"Is it magically made? Though I think there were ways to consolidate soil and sand to make it," Sharon asked.

"Yeah, it's a little different when I make it, but when I make it with stone production (stone creation), it's often close to this."

In my case, it's different because it mimics a variety of rocks, such as basalt and marble, but there are many places on the imperial roads that use rocks that are close to this.

"Does that mean something is buried?

With that said, Mel holds the sword strong.

"This rock would make it easy to drill a hole, but you'd better do a little research"

That's all we talked about, and I heard Liddy screaming.

"The power of the Spirit is moving in the rocks! Something's coming!

I pulled my sword through that voice and turned my gaze in the direction she pointed.