What is a dragon?

From the primordial age, through the age of chaos, to the age of myth that saw the birth of Arthur and countless other heroes, dragons existed in every era. Beings that opened their eyes with the beginning of the world and would close them only when its end arrived.

Immutable, immortal, eternal beings.

Such were the creatures called dragons.

Yet some say that, lofty though they once were, they are now no more than beasts. They point accusing fingers at dragons, calling them hideous monsters that delight in devouring and burning living things.

“They’re not wrong.”

The mage who had lived through the age of myth, when the dragons’ corruption began, sighed with her chin propped on her hand.

“Dragons were originally lofty beings. Not all of them, but there were certainly dragons that were noble and dignified. Before the Dragon of the Abyss appeared, that is.”

Merlin, the Mage of the Lake.

“The dragon race cannot defy its source. The first and last dragon. The primordial and final dragon, the Dragon of the Abyss. Once that monster wished for the world’s end, it was only natural that all the other dragons would lose their minds.”

She shook her head as though utterly sick of it.

“The problem is that even after they were reduced to mere beasts, the Mystery inherent in their race didn’t disappear.”

“Mystery?”

“Yes. Remember what I told you before? That Mystery originally resides in certain special races or objects.”

Najin nodded. He remembered. Merlin had explained it before, pointing to Yuel as a human who harbored Mystery.

“Dragons are one of those races.”

“Then what Mystery do dragons possess?”

“Immutability, immortality, eternity.”

Immutable, never changing.

Immortal, never crumbling away into nothing.

Eternal, unbound by time.

“When I defined the concept of Mystery, there were about three races I found utterly ridiculous. Dragons were one of them. The other two were witches and giants. Their very existence is cheating. Their entire races are cheats.”

Merlin clicked her tongue.

“They’re perfect from birth. And they live for eternity in that perfect state. Those lizards’ scales deflect most sword aura, not to mention every spell of the Fifth Circle or below. And that’s not all.”

Merlin opened her mouth and let out a “Raaagh!”

Najin shot her a look that said, What are you doing? Looking sheepish, Merlin twirled her hair as she continued.

“Their breath is at least equivalent to Sixth Circle magic. Without paying any price, simply because they were born, they can spew fire that melts entire city walls. As for the Dragon of the Abyss... I don’t even want to remember.”

“And what about the inside of their mouths? Once you’re swallowed, that’s the end. The inside of a dragon’s mouth connects to an entirely different world.” Muttering this, Merlin stretched.

“Anyway, I’ve gone on long enough.”

Merlin moved beside Najin and flicked a finger. The droplets floating in the air moved right in front of his nose, tinted white and red.

“The dragons you’ll be facing—the red dragon and the white dragon—are essentially the same. The key is how to temporarily separate their Mystery from them... but I’ll explain that in due course.”

“Wait a moment, Merlin.”

Najin interrupted her explanation. He was happy to hear about defeating the dragons, but there was one point they needed to clear up first.

“I’m happy to hunt dragons. And I’m happy to have a chance to earn a star. But here’s the thing.”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t the white dragon and red dragon sealed away? Beneath Stonehenge. The heroic tale says you sealed them there, Merlin.”

The Life of Arthur, which Najin had read over and over. The white and red dragons appearing in its first chapter had been cast beneath the earth by Arthur and sealed beneath Stonehenge by Merlin. Surely that was how it went. How was he supposed to hunt two sealed dragons?

“You’re not planning to release them, are you?”

Najin frowned. He didn’t like that idea at all. Releasing sealed dragons just to hunt them would be staging the whole thing himself. He doubted he could earn a star through such a farce.

“No? Why would I let them out?”

Merlin tilted her head at his question.

“They’ll break out on their own, you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“You drew Excalibur.”

“I did?”

“They don’t know you’re the one who drew Excalibur, but the whole world knows the holy sword has been drawn. Not just the Inner Lands, but beyond the world, and even in Camlann.”

The day Najin drew Excalibur, Arthur’s constellation had led the night sky in upheaval. The sky surged. Constellations flashed. The tremors they produced were enough to wake those who had been sleeping.

“Time, frozen for a thousand years, has begun moving again.”

Merlin’s blue eyes fixed on Najin.

“A new myth is about to be written. How could the sleeping beings of the age of myth not rise? The red dragon and white dragon are only the beginning. More will awaken. The things Arthur defeated, the things he brought low, will begin raising their heads one by one.”

She pointed a finger at Najin.

“To kill Arthur’s successor.”

2.

On the second day after Najin began discussing the dragon hunt and making plans with Merlin, a summons arrived from the Central Guild. It concerned his promotion, and this time, no separate examination was necessary.

Najin had already been recognized as a Sword Seeker before three Sword Masters and the emperor. With the emperor having personally congratulated him on that achievement, conducting another examination would be tantamount to insulting imperial authority.

Besides, with all manner of baseless rumors about Najin’s affiliation circulating both within and beyond Cambria, the Central Guild deemed it best to promote him quickly. As a result, his promotion ceremony proceeded with unprecedented speed.

Najin was a Red-rank adventurer, and there was only one rank above Red.

White—the White Horn rank. The rank called the pinnacle of the adventurers’ city. Though White Horn status was no longer enticing enough to keep Najin here, he had no reason to refuse the protection of the Cambria Foundation that came with it.

Following Cambria’s tradition, the promotion ceremony took place before all its adventurers. An enormous crowd gathered outside the Central Guild, and people came from beyond Cambria as well to see Najin, the youngest Sword Seeker.

“That’s the youngest Sword Seeker.”

“He’s even younger than I expected.”

“Young, but his eyes are alive. A warrior’s eyes.”

“He’s seen countless battles. His stance is solid.”

Among them were some fairly renowned knights and mercenaries, who talked among themselves as they watched Najin standing on the platform.

TAP

At the appointed time, a noble stepped onto the platform. Since White Horn adventurers were effectively representatives of Cambria, tradition required a noble of the Cambria Foundation to attend their promotion ceremonies.

This time, Marquis Edelmar took the platform as the foundation’s representative. As Najin’s acquaintance and the foundation’s highest-ranking member, he was a fitting choice to preside over the ceremony.

“Congratulations on your promotion.”

He took an identification plate from a wooden case. Unlike the other plates, this one was made of rare metal and gleamed in the sunlight. The pure-white plate was engraved with the name Najin, not Ivan.

As Najin knelt on one knee and bowed his head, Marquis Edelmar presented him with the plate and a medal on behalf of Cambria. With that, Najin became a White Horn adventurer. Eight months to the day after setting foot in Cambria, he reached the city’s pinnacle.

Najin rose amid the torrent of applause. With countless adventurers and outsiders watching him, he stepped down from the platform.

The youngest Sword Seeker.

And the youngest White Horn adventurer.

It was the city’s tradition to bestow epithets on White Horn adventurers, but Najin had become so famous that its adventurers had no need to give him one. The world already had a name for him.

Nova.

It was a perfect epithet for the boy no one had anticipated, who had appeared out of nowhere and shattered the record for the youngest attainment. When Dieta later told him about it, Najin burst out laughing.

“Nova? I haven’t even earned a star yet.”

Despite his laughter, Najin didn’t deny that he rather liked the epithet. Yet he also knew that not everyone used the name Nova in a positive sense.

A nova could mean a star that suddenly shone bright, but it could also mean one that vanished after a single flash. The epithet carried a double meaning.

Which of those meanings it would take on would be determined by his actions from here on. And naturally, Najin had no intention of shining briefly and disappearing. Quite the opposite: he intended to live up to the name Nova by claiming an actual star.

Immediately after his promotion to White Horn, another letter arrived for Najin. Delivered in secret, it was a “White Horn Summons,” concerning a large-scale quest commissioned by the Central Guild.

In other words, the letter concerned the campaign to defeat the two dragons that would soon awaken.

3.

Deep within the Central Guild, beyond strict security, lay a meeting room. It had five seats, three of which were already occupied when Najin arrived.

Bashen Corte.

Richard Paulsen.

Roselin Ascalo.

All three were White Horn adventurers, and Najin had met two of them: Bashen Corte and Roselin Ascalo. He had briefly spoken with Bashen while dealing with the order’s attackers, and he regularly interacted with Roselin.

“Well, look who it is. Didn’t expect to see you here, rookie. Good to see you.”

Right after Najin became a Sword Seeker, Roselin had called him “Ivan,” but once his age became known, she started calling him rookie. Najin had once questioned her about it.

[“He’s eigh—fuck, eighteen years old. What else am I supposed to call him but rookie?”]

[“If you want me to use your name, get stronger than me first, then ask. I’ll even call you sir.”]

That was the only answer he got.

Recalling that exchange, Najin nodded with a wry smile. He was about to find his seat when Roselin patted the seat beside her.

“Where are you going? Sit here.”

“That’s not my seat.”

Najin pointed to the nameplate on the table. The name engraved on it was Grizel Paramelt. His own seat was across from it. Roselin picked up the plate, checked the name, and frowned before tossing it into the opposite seat.

“We can just swap seats. I don’t want to sit next to that one. That Grizel fellow gives me the creeps.”

Najin took the nameplate from his original seat and sat beside Roselin. Only then did she smile in satisfaction and whisper into his ear.

“By the way, rookie, I heard you had a go at the Empire’s foremost warrior. The rumors are everywhere.”

“That’s how it turned out.”

“So how was it? You’ve met Sir Karon too, right? Which one’s stronger?”

Roselin’s eyes gleamed. She looked just like a child asking who would win a fight between a tiger and a lion, but it was a rather difficult question for Najin to answer. His opponent hadn’t even used his full strength, after all.

While Najin considered his answer, the meeting room’s closed door opened. Two people stepped through. One was the Central Guild’s guildmaster, who had summoned the White Horn adventurers... and the other was Grizel Paramelt.

A White Horn adventurer about whom little was known. Najin studied Grizel. There was something incongruous about the man. Once Grizel sat down, the guildmaster began speaking.

“As stated in the letters sent to you beforehand, I have gathered all of you White Horns here regarding the dragons sealed beneath Stonehenge.”

The two dragons sealed beneath Stonehenge. The story at the heart of the legend surrounding Cambria’s founding.

“The sealing formula inscribed on Stonehenge has deteriorated and has been gradually losing its effectiveness for the past eight months. The imperial central authorities estimate that it will fail within one month, releasing both dragons.”

Najin already knew, having heard it from Merlin.

“Well, of course they’d notice the sealing formula breaking down. Looks like the Empire has caught on too.”

While Merlin muttered, the guildmaster continued. He explained that Cambria had secured priority rights to the hunt, that the Empire would cooperate, and that this information must remain confidential. After speaking on those matters for some time, he revealed the details of the campaign.

“The Empire will therefore provide a knight order, and the campaign will be conducted by a small, elite force. The five White Horns gathered here and the imperial family’s knight order will lead the operation.”

Documents were handed to each of them. Najin looked up as he skimmed his. If the hunt proceeded this way, then this was...

He raised his head and looked around. He wasn’t the only one. The White Horn adventurers gathered there were looking at one another. The meaning of their gazes was clear. At first glance, the five would be hunting as a single team, but beneath the surface, it was something entirely different.

‘A competition.’

This was less a hunt than a competition. Who would render the greatest service? Who would claim the glory of bringing down a dragon? And naturally, none of them looked inclined to yield.