Right after Minjun returned from Pangaea, Rokan could tell at a glance that he had grown considerably since they last met. But even more surprising than his growth was something else: according to Minjun, he had not only grown stronger but had also learned to use Dragon Fear, at least a little.

Rokan had not shown it when he first heard the claim, but he had his doubts. Dragons—and even members of other races who acquired dragon power later in life—usually learned dragon speech before Dragon Fear. Dragon Fear was something they picked up naturally over time after mastering dragon speech. Yet Minjun claimed to have used it without fully mastering dragon speech. It was like saying he had learned to run before he could properly walk.

So Rokan wanted to use this opportunity to see whether Minjun's claim was true.

'He might have been mistaken.'

Minjun had no reason to lie deliberately, but he could easily have confused something else with Dragon Fear. Or even if he had used it, it might have been the result of one coincidence piled on another. But every one of Rokan's theories was wrong.

When Minjun roared and drove a powerful sword strike at him, Rokan felt it unmistakably: Minjun was using Dragon Fear in its proper form. Granted, it was far from powerful. It was weaker than the Dragon Fear of a young hatchling who had only recently learned dragon speech—barely enough to affect monsters that would be roughly C-rank by modern standards. But its strength was beside the point. What mattered was that Minjun had succeeded in using it at all.

'What in the world happened to him over those few days?'

Rokan had heard the whole story from Minjun a few hours earlier, but hearing about it was different from seeing and feeling the results firsthand. He could only marvel at how quickly Minjun had grown.

'What exactly are Bellium's Tears, to have made him grow this much in so little time?'

Rokan knew something about Bellium from an ancient book, but even he had never heard of the sacred relic called Bellium's Tears.

And now, swallowing his amazement, Rokan calmly parried Minjun's sword.

CLANG! CLAAAANG!

With each exchange, Rokan could feel that the heavy vibration traveling into his fingertips was stronger than before. But what held his attention even more was the aura radiating from Minjun's sword. The once-dim, dark aura Minjun had shown him now had stars blooming within it, sparkling like supernovas. Rokan had never seen an aura like it—not from Earth's top-ranked hunters, nor even from any Swordmaster in Pangaea.

'Even I couldn't do that.'

Rokan might be able to imitate it, but producing an aura exactly like Minjun's would be impossible.

'Perhaps Minjun is the only one in the entire universe who can create an aura like that.'

If Minjun one day grew strong enough to wield dragon power so freely that he could use dragon speech at will, what sort of aura would bloom from his sword then?

Confusion, anticipation, exhilaration. Perhaps it was because all those tangled emotions swept over Rokan at once.

CLANG!

Caught up in them, Rokan lost focus for a moment and dropped his sword.

"Lord Rokan...?"

Knowing Rokan would never lose his sword against someone like him, Minjun looked back and forth between Rokan and the fallen weapon in bewilderment. Rokan looked flustered himself.

"Forgive me. My mind wandered for a moment. Let's continue."

He picked up his sword, and they sparred until the allotted time was up without further incident.

As they fought, the aura on Minjun's sword grew a little clearer, and his Dragon Fear also grew slightly stronger, though the change was subtle.

"Phew."

After the sparring ended, Rokan stood in a daze, absorbed in the lingering thrill of fighting Minjun.

"Thank you for the spar, Lord Rokan."

"Yes. Well done."

Even as he answered, Rokan was replaying everything Minjun had shown him over those ten minutes.

"Lord Rokan."

"..."

"Lord Rokan...?"

"Forgive me. There's something on my mind."

Minjun found Rokan's uncharacteristic behavior puzzling. He had been like this a few hours earlier, when they talked about Elysium and Bellium, and now he was spacing out again.

"Lord Rokan, you're not feeling unwell, are you...?"

Perhaps Rokan simply wasn't feeling like himself today, Minjun thought as he asked cautiously.

"No, that's not it. What you told me today, and what you just showed me... I can hardly describe how shocking it all was."

Relieved by the answer, Minjun also felt secretly pleased by the praise. Rokan wasn't usually stingy with compliments, but he rarely praised anyone this highly.

"Was I really that impressive?"

"You were. And to think you used Dragon Fear when you still can't use dragon speech properly. It may be too much for you to use in a real fight yet, but the fact that you managed it at all is significant."

Rokan explained what using Dragon Fear meant. By the time he finished, Minjun could not hide his surprise.

"... I really am different from everyone else, aren't I?"

"You are. Didn't I tell you that watching you grow is a pleasure?"

He meant it. Even among dragons, who spent their long lives having countless experiences beyond the reach of other races, few would ever experience what Rokan was experiencing.

"In any case, I'll tell you by tomorrow how much more time you can spend with Shasha. Ah, one more thing."

Rokan put his sword into his pocket dimension.

"You said you had to give the Hunter Association a statement about what happened inside the gate, didn't you?"

"Yes. I was going to ask your advice about that. I'm not sure how much I should tell them."

"Good thinking."

Rokan gave Minjun a guideline.

"You can tell them you went to another dimension, but it's best to say nothing else. Don't mention Bellium's name, Elysium, or even Pangaea."

Minjun had known he would have to leave some things out, but Rokan restricted far more than he had expected. Rokan, however, knew the whole truth and had to consider even the worst-case scenario.

"Just tell them that another dimension exists, and that you met intelligent beings there who resembled humans rather than monsters."

It was unlikely, but if word of Minjun's story reached other dragons, things could become dangerous. Rokan could not tell Minjun that, though.

"Minjun, if something like this happens again, come to me and ask, just as you did today. Anytime."

"I will."

Rokan wasn't saying it lightly. Minjun was an extraordinary being. Even a small, unintended action on his part could set off a chain reaction, affecting not just Minjun himself but Sia and Rokan as well. Perhaps it could even affect every dragon settled on Earth.

* * *

The day after I returned to Earth, I decided to get the statement out of the way before enjoying my trip. I contacted the Hunter Association's Jeju Island branch and told them what I had experienced inside the gate. Of course, I didn't share everything with them, just as Rokan had advised. Judging by their reactions, even what I did tell them was shocking enough. After I'd finished, the person in charge asked if there was anything else—anything at all—but I drew a firm line and said I knew no more. They had no way to check, anyway.

Once that was done, I resumed my trip. I walked the Olle Trail, took in the beautiful scenery, ate good food, and unwound. I'd been through so much lately that I had hardly any energy left, but as I relaxed, I could feel my exhausted body and mind slowly recovering.

And at last, the day of my long-awaited date with Sia arrived. Maybe it was my imagination, but I felt even more excited and nervous than usual. The fact that I'd grown strong enough to increase the time we could spend together in one visit from four and a half hours to about six was probably part of it. But I suspected it had more to do with everything we'd been through in such a short time.

"Please, let today go smoothly."

It was bad enough that we could meet only once a week, for just a few hours. Did something have to go wrong every single time? When Sia and I tried to get intimate, I'd passed out in the middle of it because of some incompatibility between our energies. Another time, we'd run into an older girl I'd known as a child, which had put Sia in a bad mood. Then, just when I thought we'd finally have a normal date, a gate break had ruined it. And on our last date, Sia had gone out of control through no fault of her own and gotten hurt.

"Come on. Please."

Surely it was time we had an ordinary date. Then again, whenever I wished for something this hard, the exact opposite seemed to happen.

'Right. Don't think about it.'

If something happened again this time, I really...

...wouldn't know what to say.

I hadn't been at our meeting spot long when I saw Sia running toward me from a distance, waving her hand.

"Oppa!"

"Sia!"

She wore a denim jacket and black pants—a modern, everyday outfit that looked effortlessly put together. The moment we met, we threw our arms around each other. After a long, tight hug, Sia took one look at my clothes and seemed amazed.

"Wow, no way! Oppa, isn't this crazy? How did we manage to dress alike without even talking about it?"

"It is. I just felt like dressing this way today. We must be on the same wavelength."

My outfit was pretty similar, except I had a hoodie on underneath and my pants were dark gray instead of black. What a coincidence.

"By the way, Oppa..."

Sia looked up at me, her eyes bright with anticipation.

"Do you notice anything different about me today compared to yesterday?"