READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 8
“Ready to go.”
Upon hearing those words, Yujin felt an involuntary thrum in his heart.
“Escape.”
All that torment over the past two months was for this moment after all.
“Are we finally leaving?”
He glanced around.
The massive, ashen Joint Space looked nothing like the world he once knew as a human.
As he recalled all the hardships he had endured here over the last two months, he couldn’t help but smirk bitterly.
“You said with the power of a dragon, I could leave the Maze.”
“Yes. If you were one of those trapped here, it would have been tough, but you’re not, right?”
There are two types of beings trapped in the Maze.
One is the Transcendents who became prisoners after being defeated in the Great War. The other is the monsters born of the powers of the Transcendents dwelling within the Maze.
The excessive power flowing out of the Maze reincarnates them as monsters according to its rules.
However, Yujin didn’t fit into either category.
Thanks to his contract with Tiamat, he had transcended mortality both physically and mentally. Bound to Tiamat, his soul could no longer be considered a mortal one.
Though still young, holding the heart and bones of Tiamat, the dragon chief, he was nothing short of a potential Transcendent.
Yet, the Maze was a prison built to contain Transcendents defeated in the Great War. Those unable to leave the Maze were those trapped when it was first established, not newly born Transcendents.
A child of a criminal isn’t necessarily a criminal themselves, right? Though it’s strange to assume a child could be born in prison.
Furthermore, Tiamat was already dead during the Great War, so the rules prohibiting escape didn’t apply to her. Naturally, who would think a dead being could escape?
Indeed, it was ridiculous to believe that a dead demon’s remnants could be sent outside from a Maze that operated on such rules. Though neither Tiamat nor Yujin knew that was the case.
In any case, Yujin, who bore Tiamat’s heart, was also a being capable of leaving with her.
Yet, some might ask like this.
‘Beings who entered the Maze by conventional means receive blessings to exit according to the rules, but is there an exit to leave without such blessings?’
There is.
Initially, the blessing to leave the Maze is reserved for emergencies. The Maze does have exits that can be exited without any blessing.
Most importantly, if you use a blessing to exit, you will only take back the items you had just before entering the Maze. In other words, items obtained after receiving the blessing in the Maze cannot be taken back.
Thus, unless it’s a truly dangerous situation or one absolutely impossible to escape, emergency escape blessings are not commonly used. All the efforts of exploring the Maze would go to waste that day.
Either way, there is indeed a way to leave the Maze. Of course, if it were the original Yujin, he wouldn’t have been able to reach that exit even if it existed…
“How do I use the dragon’s powers?”
“Wait. I will pass my knowledge to you now.”
Now was different.
Tiamat’s Tomb is typically a closed-off place that cannot be exited, but with the power of a dragon, that changes.
Dragons are among the closest to omnipotence among the Transcendents. With just a word, they can overturn laws and manifest their desires.
Though they are fewer in number compared to other Transcendents, and were defeated during the Great War due to the joint assault of their enemies, the Giants… the powers of dragons were still second to none among the other Transcendents.
In fact, with just the power of a dragon, Yujin and Tiamat could leave even without a conventional exit from the Maze. In reality, that was exactly what they intended to do.
Tiamat shared everything with Yujin regarding the powers of the dragons. There was no need for lengthy explanations. Connected at the soul level, transferring knowledge directly into his mind was more than enough.
Yujin went through a brief period of digesting the wealth of knowledge Tiamat conveyed to him. The vast amount of information eclipsed all the alchemical knowledge she’d shared before he became a dragon.
The former Yujin would not have been able to handle such a deluge of information. Yet now, he was different.
“…Hmm, I understand.”
He rapidly processed everything she shared. A Transcendent, no less, now a dragon, endowed with the intellect and analytical prowess innate to the very study of magic itself. His capacity for information processing and reasoning outstripped that of any mere mortal—more akin to a supercomputer.
Having obtained knowledge of the dragon’s powers, Yujin was about to speak up immediately.
“Oh, wait.”
If Tiamat hadn’t preempted him, he would have. Yujin turned to Tiamat.
“What’s wrong?”
“You do remember this is my tomb, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then do you know what’s inside those sarcophagi?”
“Sarcophagi…”
At that, Yujin looked back at the sarcophagi.
Countless sarcophagi stood in rows, and he swore he felt an abundance of sacred energy emanating from within them.
…Could it be?
“Are there perhaps offerings inside?”
Offerings.
Items buried with the deceased during funerals.
He wasn’t sure if dragons even had such a custom, but if it existed… Then being the tomb of a dragon chief, it wouldn’t contain ordinary items.
“Right. While they may not be as grand as what’s in my lair, they’re certainly valuable things my children offered for me.”
“…But is it okay to just take them?”
“Why not? I’m the owner of the tomb.”
“I guess that’s true.”
It wouldn’t be a desecration of the deceased when the deceased had practically given him permission to take them upon leaving. So he might as well take them.
“Since I’ve also given you magic knowledge, creating a Space Pocket won’t be a difficult task. Let’s gather those and head out.”
“That sounds good.”
Yujin said this, and began rummaging through each sarcophagus, pulling out the items…
***
After some time.
Yujin had gathered multiple items while sifting through the sarcophagi.
Most were treasures made of gold and silver, with plenty of ancient artifacts.
Though unsure of their purposes, each item felt extraordinary, so he packed them all into the Space Pocket he crafted following the knowledge Tiamat imparted.
Additionally, one of the sarcophagi contained elixirs, and Tiamat explained what was dubbed the Philosopher’s Stone.
“The Philosopher’s Stone… it looks suspiciously similar to a dragon’s core, doesn’t it?”
“Well, the Philosopher’s Stone is a result of mortals trying to replicate a dragon’s core. It seems one of my children made it out of curiosity?”
“Replication… it really does generate infinite mana, though.”
A dragon’s core is a unique organ that generates infinite mana. And this Philosopher’s Stone was emitting infinite mana like the real deal.
“But to be fair, it lacks compared to an actual dragon core. The quality of the mana generated is different.”
“Definitely. Compared to Tiamat’s core, this mana is quite inferior.”
In all honesty, it was of a level just barely above what Yujin had back before becoming a dragon. Essentially, it was of no actual use to the current Yujin.
“My child probably just wanted to show it to me; it isn’t something meant for me to use. But it’s still an amazing treasure by mortal standards.”
“Is that so?”
“Hmm… It may not be in the current era. Back when I lived, the Philosopher’s Stone was something that only existed in dreams for mortals. They didn’t even know how to make it, not even its materials. But who knows? Perhaps mortals have developed to the point where they can synthesize something like the Philosopher’s Stone.”
Yujin felt confident that wasn’t the case. After all, he had never seen anything generating infinite mana even once in the Maze Academy.
Besides, he recalled hearing from a guild of alchemists that the Philosopher’s Stone was still viewed as an enduring dream and ambition of alchemists. Yujin spoke up.
“Haha… that doesn’t seem likely. The Philosopher’s Stone remains a product of imagination.”
“Oh really? You’re definitely a child of this era. I must’ve momentarily forgotten.”
Yujin might be from Earth, but he just smiled and refrained from correcting her.
Still, he found it striking. The Philosopher’s Stone was still imagination for mortals, yet for dragons, it was merely a trinket made out of curiosity thousands of years ago.
‘Transcendents truly are on a different level.’
And now, he was declaring himself a Transcendent. The world is truly a mysterious place.
“In any case, I should gather this too.”
“Yes, collect everything. Oh, it seems there’s a place where someone collected weapons and accessories.”
Once Yujin finished gathering all the offerings, the tomb was utterly empty. The once-dominant energies in the area felt significantly weaker.
It seemed the energies that had filled this space stemmed from the offerings and the heart and bones of Tiamat. With everything packed away by Yujin, the energies too faded away.
“So, shall we go now?”
“Yes, finally leaving this dreadful place.”
With Tiamat’s words, Yujin smiled and declared the next words.
“Then, let’s leave this place.”
The power that twists laws and manifests the speaker’s desires, the Dragon Language.
As that was realized…
Fwoosh!
Yujin and Tiamat vanished from the tomb.
At last, the two beings had escaped the tomb.
And the sarcophagus, heart, and offerings that completely disappeared from the tomb began to…
Rumble…!
Slowly collapse and dissolve away.