When Minjun first mentioned Bellium, Rokan had pretended to be calm. In truth, he was stunned.

'How does Minjun know that man's name?'

He had told Minjun and Sia that he knew little about Bellium, but in fact, Rokan knew him all too well. There was an ancient book only the Dragon Lord could read. It detailed everything Bellium had done in the past, why dragon society had tried to erase all records of him, and the truth of the day the dragons invaded Elysium. Recalling what he had read, Rokan sighed.

Minjun should never have learned that Bellium existed in the first place. And yet, somehow, a connection had formed between them.

'What a cruel twist of fate.'

Rokan frowned.

It was good news that Minjun had returned safely from the gate, grown stronger, and unlocked part of his sealed skill. But learning that he had landed in Pangaea—Elysium, of all places—and encountered the remnant of consciousness of that Bellium was anything but welcome.

Minjun did not know it yet, but Rokan did: this experience had brought Minjun one step closer to the key to a secret about himself that even he did not know. Rokan, however, believed that uncovering it would be anything but desirable.

'He's better off living his whole life without knowing.'

At least Minjun probably could not have discovered his secret from this experience alone. Yet Rokan was seized by an inexplicable sense of foreboding—a feeling that this would not be Minjun's last experience of its kind.

* * *

Just after Rokan left, things were awkward between us, given the mood he'd left behind. Before long, though, we were chatting as normally as ever.

["Oppa, where are you staying?"]

"Actually, I haven't booked anywhere. The trip was so spontaneous that I figured I'd wander around wherever I felt like going and find a place each night. But as you can see, then all this happened..."

I'd planned to walk around until evening and check into whichever nearby guesthouse I found. With everything that had happened, I hadn't even found a place to stay.

["If it weren't for that restriction, you could stay at my place. What a shame."]

"I know. That would have been nice."

Sia's lair was on Jeju Island, too. It would have been perfect.

"It's a bit late in the day now, so I'll stay at your grandfather's lair tonight. Tomorrow I'll head back to Jeju Island and pick up my trip where I left off."

I'd come all the way to Jeju Island to clear my head. I wasn't eager to go straight back to Seoul.

["By the way, Oppa, how long are you staying on Jeju Island?"]

"Hmm, I'm not sure. I haven't really thought about it. I figured I'd go back once I felt I'd had enough of a break. What about you? You said you were going away for a change of scenery too."

Come to think of it, the whole reason I'd come to Jeju Island was that Rokan had suggested Sia go away for a change of scenery. Since she was taking a break, I'd thought I might as well come down here and clear my head too. A lot had happened lately to weigh on her mind.

["I am going, but... nowhere really appeals to me. Where should I go? Oppa, can you recommend somewhere?"]

"Hmm. Where would be good?"

As I helped Sia consider destinations, a thought suddenly struck me.

"Sia, you can still take your trip on your own, but while we're both here, how about we spend a day together on Jeju Island?"

Normally, she would have jumped at the suggestion. But I knew that, after everything that had happened between us lately, meeting me in person might still be hard for her.

There was the time Sia went on a rampage while we were on a date at the Tomb of the Dragon Sword, and I nearly died. Then there was the woman who called me aside and openly tried to seduce me. Both incidents had shaken us badly. Sia had guilt to contend with on top of it all, so facing me in person probably wouldn't be easy. That was why Rokan had told us to take separate trips to clear our heads and sort out our feelings.

As I'd expected, Sia seemed hesitant. She acted as though she was fine, but the wounds from back then didn't seem to have fully healed. Still, there was no harm in bringing it up. I spoke to her from the heart.

"During those days in another world, it hurt to think I might never see you again. But if you're not ready yet, I'll respect that."

In Elysium, as I lay down to sleep each night, I'd thought about Sia often—as often as I thought about the mysteries surrounding me and Elysium. I felt as though I could understand, in some small way, how she'd felt just after her reincarnation. The more I understood that feeling, the more I missed her.

If I could, I wanted to be in Sia's arms right now. But I knew that wouldn't be easy.

After I'd opened up to her, I looked at Sia. She parted her lips as if to speak, but then lowered her head without saying anything. Looking closer, I saw her face slowly turning red. At last, as though she'd made up her mind, she spoke carefully.

["Actually, Oppa, I... I was planning not to see you for about two weeks. I thought it would hurt too much if I kept thinking about you."]

"I understand. I think I'd have done the same in your place. If you'd rather just talk on the phone—"

["That was my plan, but I've changed my mind."]

She said what had changed her mind was what I'd just been through.

["This might be a strange way to put it, but something else could happen and we might never see each other again. We should spend as much time together as we can while we have the chance. Don't you think?"]

Sia answered with her bright, familiar smile. Seeing it, I finally felt at ease. She must have put enough of the hurt behind her to accept my suggestion gladly.

Once we'd set a date, we started planning what to do together. We were happily narrowing down places to visit when Rokan returned from his study.

"Oh, Rokan."

"Looks like you two were planning a date."

"Yes."

"I thought as much."

Despite his words, Rokan smiled at us, apparently pleased to see us getting along.

"By the way, Minjun, I didn't get a chance to mention it earlier, but I can certainly sense how much stronger you've become."

"Yes. I can feel it too."

Besides unlocking Concealment, I could clearly feel that I'd grown stronger, perhaps thanks to absorbing Bellium's Tears.

"I'd put you at roughly A-rank."

"A-rank?"

I knew I'd gotten stronger, but I'd never imagined I was now on par with an A-rank hunter. It felt like I'd only just become a B-rank hunter after my rank reassessment. Could anyone call this a normal rate of growth?

["No way! Oppa, that's incredible! How did you get so strong so fast?"]

"Thanks. I... can hardly believe it myself."

["How is that even possible? Hehe, that's my Oppa!"]

Sia sincerely congratulated me on my newfound strength. Rokan watched us with a fond smile, then added something.

"We'll have to measure it properly, of course, but it seems you two can spend more time together than before."

["Really?"]

Sia's eyes lit up at the news. It was hard to believe she'd been crying only an hour ago.

["How much more? Grandpa, how much longer can we be together?"]

"We won't know exactly until we test it, but I'd estimate... another hour a week."

["Hehe."]

As a smile spread across Sia's face, I couldn't help smiling too.

"We should spar to see exactly how much stronger you've become, but today doesn't seem like the right time. You've just spent days in another world. You should rest. Then tomorrow... Ah, that's right, Minjun. You're in the middle of a trip."

With everything that had happened, I'd briefly forgotten that before the gate swallowed me, I'd been traveling around Jeju Island on my own. Rokan suggested we arrange it after I got back, apparently not wanting to interrupt my trip. But my plans had already gone so far off course that I didn't mind another change.

"Tonight works for me. I'm not as tired as you might think. I have things to talk about with Sia for now, but if tonight works for you, I'd like to do it then."

I truly didn't mind when we sparred, and I was eager to know exactly how much stronger I'd become. Besides, finding out precisely how much more time Sia and I could spend together would help us plan our dates. Seeing how determined I was, Rokan nodded.

"If you're sure, then all right. Tonight it is."

* * *

After eating my first meal since returning to Earth, I headed to the Garden of the Dragon Sword with Rokan.

"Rokan, how are the repairs coming along?"

I'd heard it would take quite a while to repair the damage Sia's rampage had done inside. But the work must have gone faster than expected. Rokan wouldn't have brought me here unless it was usable to some extent.

"The outer area is fully repaired. The inner area, where you trained, still needs work. I expect it'll be finished within a week."

I couldn't train inside yet, but the eerie outer area where the swords stood embedded was intact. That meant we could at least have a light sparring match.

"That must be a lot of work."

"Not at all. I told you I'm grateful you eased Shasha's pain. Come on."

I followed Rokan into the Garden of the Dragon Sword. Looking around, I saw little difference from the last time I'd been here, at least on the surface. This part must have been less affected by Sia's rampage.

"Don't think of this as training today. We'll just get a quick sense of how much you've grown, then stop."

"All right."

I drew my sword, and Rokan took out a wooden practice sword.

"We'll cross blades just long enough to gauge your strength. Let's see... ten minutes should be enough."

He raised his wooden sword and took his stance at once.

"You have ten minutes. Attack with everything you've got."

Rokan had never said anything like that during our usual sparring sessions. It felt strange, even a little exciting. Normally, he trained me so hard I ended up panting and on the verge of throwing up.

"Sounds good."

For the next ten minutes, I'd swing my sword with everything I had, just as he'd told me.

"I'll give you goose bumps before those ten minutes are up, Rokan."

"Go on, then. Let's see you try."

Apparently pleased by my spirit, Rokan smiled and leveled his sword at me.

"Begin."

The moment he finished speaking, I swung my sword hard.

CRACK!

A tingling shock ran through my fingertips. Seeing Rokan's satisfied smile, I felt again just how much I'd grown.

The now-familiar sensation of dragon energy boiling up inside me and gathering at the tip of my sword. Without hesitation, I swung again, and the mysterious aura I'd seen in Elysium appeared once more: a dark aura studded with shimmering clusters of light, like the Milky Way scattered across the night sky. At the sight of my transformed sword aura, Rokan looked pleased as he knocked my sword aside.

"It seems I'll need to bring a sturdier sword the next time we spar."

His words sent a thrill through me. But it was too soon to simply bask in my progress. Growing stronger wasn't the only thing I'd achieved. I could now use Dragon Fear. It might not be very powerful, but that alone was an enormous gain.

I recalled how it had felt when I'd used it before, gathered all the energy in my body, and unleashed Dragon Fear at Rokan with all my might.