Mushoku Tensei – Old Dragon’s Tale

18. Study of metastases

The Dragon God crushed the world one after the other.

Sea realm, heaven realm...

Both worlds were unquestioned.

The destruction of the beast kingdom had also reinforced the "dragon kingdom forgiving seriousness" to the whole other world.

I didn't even know at the time. Okay, but they also had a reason to fight again.

There was no reason not to fight.

The sea and the heavenly realms had already gathered their armies and waited for us when we appeared.

Sea tribes had enough troops ready to dye the ocean black.

The heavenly tribe had so many armies that the sun could not be seen.

But such things did not mean anything to us, General Wu Long.

The battle is a burning around during the Beast Clan.

We, the Five Dragons General, exposed ourselves, the Dragon God destroyed God, struck our wrath into the world, and the world collapsed.

The few remaining people poured into the world in the favor of man God.

It was a victory after victory.

Nevertheless, we were not intact either.

The repeated battles hurt our bodies and diminished their power.

The Dragon God's body in particular was worn out.

From the bite wounds received from the Beast God, blood continued to flow.

The poison received from the Sea God continued to erode one leg of the Dragon God.

The aurora received from the heavenly god was putting one eye of the dragon god into the dark.

The Dragons are the most powerful species.

That's for sure.

But the six gods are only equal.

Even if there is a slight difference in our growth, the gods are equal from birth.

General Wu Long was also scratched, but not more than he could fight.

Anyway, there were still other worlds left.

Yes, the world inhabited by a species said to be on par with the Dragons.

The world of demons.

I was worried.

Fight the demon kingdom and you won't be safe.

Someone may be missing next among the five dragon generals.

Or the dragon god could die.

Can we keep fighting like this?

Should the demon kingdom also be destroyed?

Should we fight the demonic world?

Of course, I wasn't attached to the demonic world.

Rather, I can even say I hate you.

That world turned me down.

But seeing the beast world, the sea world, the heavens and the three worlds perish, I had a great sense of abhorrence.

I was wondering if we should do that.

A world that collapses.

People fleeing.

their desperate expression.

If we lose, the same will happen to the dragon kingdom.

No, it's probably gonna be worse.

The Dragons will try to escape confusion and escape from a collapsing world.

But will there be a world that embraces the Dragons?

The world?

Oh, if you're a man god, or maybe you'll try to accept the Dragons.

The god is the power of our dragon clan.

People are allies, so to speak.

Even if the Dragons lose, they will protect and help their survival.

But mankind is home to three races that we have already destroyed.

I was told that they had been given land, that they had increased in number, and that they had come to have prints.

They never forget the pain, pain, and humiliation they have suffered.

Even if the dragon refugees had flown into the world, it was visible that they would be uprooted by them.

No matter, I wasn't going to lose either.

I didn't mean to bring the dragon kingdom to such attention.

But the target is the Demon Clan.

There was a chance of losing.

I gritted.

Should we stop the Dragon God, or not?

To be honest, I thought Dragon God should lower his drinks and ask Man God to come in between and mediate.

Anyway, I'm not even sure who killed Master Lunaria yet.

I thought it was important to calm down first and explore there.

You just don't have to think hard and just stop.

You think so?

Right, I think so, too.

I should have.

But at the time, I worshipped the Dragon God really, really blindly.

Of course, I still worship... but at the time, I couldn't believe that Dragon God would do the wrong thing. I didn't even think about it.

Besides, I had a position as General Wu Long.

General Wu Long is expected to be most loyal to the Dragon God.

We must affirm everything about the Dragon God.

There is no way that the Five Dragons General can honor the actions of the Dragon God.

That's what I thought.

So I got lost.

I lost my way, watching the Dragon God and the Five Dragons preparing for the next battle one by one.

Couldn't, like, talk to someone.

Who can I talk to?

If Master Lunaria were alive, or he might have given me some kind of wisdom.

He was the only dragon god in the dragon kingdom who had an opinion.

If that one were alive, there wouldn't have been a fight or anything.

... The fact that he died was the beginning of the war.

But I'm not here now.

It's blocked in all directions.

I repeatedly floated and the days continued to comfort Saleyacht.

But someone noticed how I was.

It's Dora.

She invited me to her house one day.

Think about it, it was the first time I went up to her house.

Her house was so primitive that she didn't think it was General Wu Long.

As much as the squire counted with one hand, things also existed only at the minimum necessary.

Seeing those squires made me feel unbroken.

I almost forgot to hide in Master Lunaria's death, but the servants with Master Lunaria were also killed.

In the deepest part of the house was Pergius, still small.

I'm still old enough to open my eyes.

No nails, no fangs, sparse scales, small back feathers. The weak figure is inspired by a strong desire for asylum.

I guess I didn't have my heart attached yet.

Lady Dora said to me when I saw Pergius like that.

"Something to worry about, isn't it?

It was a gentle voice.

It was never about questioning me.

There was comforting softness.

I went back to the pattern between a former teacher and a former student for just a moment.

I almost cried.

After Dora and I were elected General Wu Long, we didn't even talk much.

But you've always cared about me.

"Actually..."

If you noticed, I was disclosing everything in my heart.

I was told it was disrespectful and I was prepared to receive the punishment on the spot.

……

Master Dora asked quietly.

No matter how absurd my voice was, Lady Dora didn't change her expression.

And when I heard it to the end, I said it in a quiet voice.

"I can't help knowing you don't know what Dragon God wants..."

It didn't feel like pushing it away.

Rather, it was a voice as if you were regretting something.

"Come, let me show you something good"

Lady Dora went on to say that, and she got up and left the house.

As I was told, I followed Master Dora.

Master Dora began to move out of town silently as it was.

I didn't ask where I was going either, followed by her.

For a while, maybe an hour or so... Master Dora kept flying and stepped down a mountain.

There's no such thing as a weirdo, a mountain without a name.

Lady Dora slammed her wings and opened her mouth there for the first time.

"Here."

"What is this place?

I asked back like an idiot.

It only looked like a mountain.

Master Dora must have soon realized that she couldn't just stand down in the mountains.

He did not answer my question, walked with Stasta and stood before a certain rock.

And I put my hand on the rock, and I started casting spells with Boso.

"This is..."

At the end of the spell, the rock had disappeared without a sound.

And in the place where the rock was, there were caves open to the extent that one person could pass through.

Hidden passage.

Master Dora still stepped silently into that cave, and I followed it.

Inside the cave, it was a narrow passage.

It was dim, but the passage could be seen as well maintained.

And there was a room at the end of the aisle.

It was a room originally built by expanding narrow caves, a room with low ceilings, like you don't even envisage flying inside.

Even so, would it have been to the same extent as in this House?

There was a desk lined up in the room, with a bunch of various pieces of equipment and paper on the desk.

And there were a lot of dragons.

He who sits at his desk, he who sits on the ground, he who works while standing.

Everyone was focused on their own hands.

"What is this place?

Metastasis lab.

"of metastasis…"

Until then, I knew the dragon kingdom was studying metastases.

But I didn't know where and how and how far it was going.

Even though it's General Wu Long.

"Knowing about this place will clear up your troubles too"

When Lady Dora said so, she started walking in the room.

"It's all researchers here."

"Heh."

I looked at them with admiration and realized there was.

Everyone had faded scales.

There were also many who had no skin membrane in their wings, and who had fallen out of their fangs.

Yes, to my surprise, there were only old men there.

"You're just an old man"

"Yes... there is only an end-of-life dragon warrior gathered here"

I didn't even ask why at the time, but I could somehow guess.

Metastatic magic is dangerous.

If you fail one experiment, it's not strange that one mountain is gone.

So it's researched by an old man who's not weird when he dies.

Of course, there must have been other reasons.

Calm old people are better suited for research than bloody young people, or something.

In fact, that happened in other worlds.

Demon worlds and so on, the long-living species are all retarded, so they used the species that die prematurely for research.

"Gentlemen! Good luck! One of the five dragon generals, the Dinobot King LaPlath, will inspect today! Nothing to be nervous about, recommend research as usual!

When Master Dora said so, everyone greeted me with the most salute.

It was a powerful salute, even in old age, to find that they were also dragon warriors.

"Welcome young, nothing, but take your time"

"… we will do so"

A little lost, I replied in a respectful tone.

I am the Five Dragons General, but they are the ones who have served the Dragon God more than before I was born.

I thought we should be respectful.

Come on, I'll show you around.

I followed Master Dora around the lab.

Dear Dora briefly explained the research being carried out within the laboratory.

But to be honest, I had no idea what they were doing at that time.

I am now familiar with witchcraft, but I didn't even know the magic devil's words at the time.

The old men had developed the magic formations where they are now, but it just seemed to me that they were graffitiing strange patterns.

But still, I tried to remember those laws.

It's like a habit.

I remember when I saw something new. Ever since I came to Dragon World, I've been doing that.

What are they doing.

I know what the purpose is, so I thought I must be able to do it myself.

I looked at the vast amount of research material from the past, and I tried to catch up with them.

Well, it was refreshing.

It wasn't easy enough for a beginner to see it.

"Don't you see?

"Yes."

"I guess. Understood in a matter of minutes, they've been doing research for thousands of years, and their position is gone."

Even now, in retrospect, it was an Au Parts nest.

What was being studied there was mainly the manipulation of space, such as metastases and summonses.

The great magic of the dawn was more magical than magic.

Still, there are many things I don't understand.

However, some had already been studied to the practical level.

A mountain of wisdom, written on dragon-skinned paper.

Had there been even a bunch of that left, the magic system would have changed dramatically now.

If only there was one person who could understand, though.

Then Master Dora showed me summoning magic.

It's the first subpoena magic.

Even in the first period...... is it not so much the same as now?

From the rest of the world, it's the art of calling out creatures.

What she called out was a small fish that was inhabited by the sea.

It doesn't hold any power, it's just a fish.

Already the sea realm has collapsed and is no longer a world inhabitable by man, but it seems that these little creatures still exist.

At the same time, I remember the first time I went to sea.

Now is the time to get used to it, but when I first saw an organism called fish, I was very excited.

I wonder if there are any other creatures like this in the world.

Look, fish would be in special shape, right?

You can only live in the water, in a weird way.

Don't you think? Can you catch fish in the back pond?

Right......

Well, I spent a long time in a world without the sea......

But even you, if you look at the Blue Dragon, think it's weird.

They only live in the sky.

"The Dragon God made sure that the general Dragon tribe was not informed of the research results of the metastasis. You know why?

"... no"

"Consideration. Metastases are not like demons, there is no way to deal with them. Therefore, you thought that publishing it would only confuse mischief."

That's what Master Dora said.

Well, other than that, there must have been a lot of reasons.

I might have spotted that doing the research would not immediately yield results.

We can expect a stronger hit on the research team if the results are not improved and the damage is increased.

"Why... Couldn't you tell me"

"Because you were appointed General Wu Long on the assumption that you would come into contact with the rest of the world"

I was shocked.

As General Wu Long, I thought I was standing alongside the other four.

Only myself, I have not been taught about secret work.

That means, maybe now, until this moment, I was afraid I might betray... that's what I thought.

"Don't look like that. It's not like I didn't tell you because I thought I'd betray you."

"So why?

"If a metastasis study reveals the" killer "of a metastasis or demon outbreak, it will interfere with your work."

Sometimes it's better not to know.

I understood that well at the time, too.

Some demons read their minds.

"I'm not depressed. Let's explain it in turn."

Master Dora slapped me on the shoulder and told me about the research.

Apparently, General Wu Long had each conducted research on metastases, summonses, demons, and junctions.

Crystal's research was metastases.

Master Dora inherited it in form.

She was a subpoena and metastasis expert.

"Summoning magic is more about calling animals than the rest of the world. Conversely, metastatic magic involves sending animals into other worlds. I would have noticed in the explanation that these two are essentially the same thing"

"Animals...... can't people call?

"I can"

Lady Dora said so with clarity.

"I guess that's why other world technicians got it wrong. Using our summons and metastases, we are plunging the Six Worlds into chaos. In fact, there's nothing you can't do if you want to do something like that."

……

"Therefore, the Dragon God forbade the summoning and transfer of human beings altogether"

Yes, the Dragon God forbade people to be summoned.

Naturally.

If we summon people from other worlds and transfer them to other worlds, we will be able to artificially cause divine concealment.

So there were several constraints attached to the basic procedure of summoning not to summon people.

And it's hidden in the depths of the technique, turning it into a black box.

Not yet, I can't even analyze it.

Even if you can use summoning magic, it doesn't mean you can mess with the root part of it.

Perhaps Dora is the only one who can disarm that black box.

"On the contrary, I even hid that there was a technique called metastasis or summons. You know why?

"If I had the means, would I use them?"

"That's right. We dragon tribes will be impotent with the intention of taking full responsibility for the dragon gods later."

I snorted at that word.

Simple story, if there is someone who interrupts the dragon god and he can't be killed by some kind of smugness, I will kill him.

The problems that will follow will all be handled as something I did at my discretion.

If Dragon God helps me with all my sins, I will not get lost and will do it.

Therefore, Lady Dora said that other Wu Long generals could not handle the art of summoning and transferring.

On the contrary, Master Dora doesn't know much about connections or demon-related technologies.

But there is, Master Dora said.

If we create demons and transfer them to other worlds, we can also harass them artificially.

If General Wu Long breaks the word of the Dragon God, we will talk about it.

Either way, there's no way General Wu Long would do that.

"But can it mean that demons and metastases were caused by someone"

"No... the results of the study showed that the metastases and demonic occurrences that were happening in the world were a little different from those that were happening in witchcraft"

"And say?

"We use magic as a technique, but there are no signs of such demons or metastases in the world."

The study progressed.

The metastasis and summons can now be carried out.

We also knew the emergence of demons and who God concealed due to metastases.

"Who are you?

"Our dragon power, what we call it."

Here's what Lady Dora said.

The six worlds are full of certain powers.

Dragon power is the dragon kingdom, and magic power is the magic kingdom.

Everyone has this power if they live in the Six Worlds.

Man, beast, fish, bird, dragon.

And demons and metastases were caused by this power.

When you take in a large amount of power, the organism turns into a demon.

The power that is given transforms the flesh of an organism into something more resilient.

Humans are no exception, but in the case of humans the appearance does not change so much, but wears more powerful or special powers than others.

My demonic eyes and the power to overwhelm the others of General Wu Long may also be described as a form of demon.

In addition, the forces are of a balanced nature in the six worlds.

If power is greatly diminished in one world, it sucks up from other worlds to make up for it.

This sucking force includes not only trees and animals, but also humans.

As a result, it's the metastasis that happens.

It's a god hide.

"But that's all we understand."

I know who you are.

But why did it happen so often to the border at some point?

Until then, research had not progressed.

According to the researchers' hypothesis, it is because the power of the world as a whole has been greatly reduced and biased from one period to another.

If there is a suction of power in each other's worlds, every passing shift occurs.

It is also easier for demons to emerge in dark places if they can be concentrated and thin in various parts of the world.

That's the theory.

Sounds like the most powerful theory so far.

But I didn't know why the power of the world had greatly diminished.

If it wasn't for some reason, it wouldn't be.

"It was only recently that I found out so far. Before the war began. I already had a good time telling you, but I haven't had a chance."

And it could have been done by the rest of the world.

"La Place. Do you understand why the Dragon God has allowed you to make a compromise with the rest of the world and invite technicians into the Dragon World?

"No."

"The Dragon God was going to release these technologies to the entire Six Worlds once a little more research progressed. Including the cause and how to deal with it, and precautions not to do the same."

When I heard that, I was struck in the chest by the greatness of Dragon God.

It's not just the dragon kingdom.

He was trying to save the whole world.

"The Dragon God is generous. They painted the face of the Dragon God with mud. What can I get lost in?

"... None"

The Dragon God was betrayed by the rest of the world.

Instead of being betrayed, he was left early and deprived of his beloved.

It's natural to be angry.

This battle is inevitable.

It's a natural reward.

My stray disappeared.

Truth be told, I didn't understand half the explanation for the summons at the time, but something blew it off anyway.

The next battle, I decided on my mind to cut ahead.

He walked out of the lab, dropped off Dora, who flew away satisfied, with the most salutation, and put his temper back into battle with the Demons.

True, he was a fool.

If I had been a little smarter at the time and had more knowledge of summoning and transferring, I would have asked Master Dora this.

'If that story is true, if we destroy the rest of the world, will the balance of power be further broken and there will be more transfers and demons......'

If you'd asked me that, it wouldn't have ended like that.

The wise Dora must have changed her mind just a little bit.

Not at all, I was stupid at the time.

And the battle against the demonic realm began.