Dragons are existences that exist but never existed.

If you think about it based on the standard mind of people on earth, then it would be incorrect to describe dragons as just a rare species. More accurately, dragons are ancient creatures. Dragons are creatures whose existence has become extinct.

They are creatures that have never been known for certain. Whether they still exist or not, nobody knows.

Although evidence of the existence of dragons has been discovered in a number of locations across this continent, no one has ever actually witnessed a dragon.

At least, that was what everyone on the Averus Continent knew right now.

But here I am, finding the Dragon Eye.

'Is this real?'

When I heard from Nya Nu's mouth that the eyeball in front of me was the Dragon Eye, I began to suspect that it was fake. But looking at the intense pressure that continuously emanated from it, I was slightly convinced that it was really Dragon Eye.

[Name: Dragon Eye.

???]

And the World System also convinced me.

"Where did you get this? And for what?"

"That ..."

Nya Nu looked hesitant.

I forced him to tell me.

But instead, he began a long, long story.

I wanted to stop him, but it seemed what he said was important.

But unfortunately, the more I listened, I knew that he could not narrate the complete story to me.

The story that he told me was full of holes.

He couldn't even remember the time and place of the events in every story he told, which was very strange, wasn't it?

Firstly, early in his existence as a Lich, he realized that his soul was already bound to one of the 72 Demon Commanders. That was the earliest memory he had.

Oddly enough, he didn't know which Demon Commander he had entered into a contract with.

After that, he was given the Dragon Eye and told to research it. That was an order.

"Somehow, I have a burning desire to research Dragon Eye. Maybe it's because of the contract that binds me."

"Then what is the purpose of your passion in researching Dragon Eye?"

"The ultimate goal I want to achieve is to find a way to transplant Dragon Eye into the body of a Devil."

That makes sense.

Even though the devil's body is powerful, they can't just stick a Dragon Eye into their eye socket just like that.

There were serious complications if they didn't do it carefully. The problem could start from the mismatch between the demon's body and the Dragon Eye, or the mismatch between the Mana in the Dragon Eye and the Demonic Mana inside the demon's body.

That's what Nya Nu said.

"And why are you researching in this Fier Mountain?"

"I don't know the reason, but I was asked to do research here. What's more, I can't go too far from this place. That's what my subconscious told me to do. But now that I'm free from that contract, I was feeling so free, hahaha."

He raised his hands to express the pleasure he had.

What a strange sight.

"By the way, how long have you been on this mountain? Or this cave?"

"I don't know because I've never kept track of time. For a Lich like me, the concept of time doesn't exist."

"I see... Then you are a true hikikomori."

"Hehehe. Thank you for your compliment, Master."

I have now digested all the important information in the story told by Nya Nu.

It's time to do what I should have done from the start. Looting.

Looting was the main thing that everyone should do when exploring dungeons. And that's also what I want to do.

Then I told Nya Nu to transfer the Dragon Eye to a smaller-sized storage tube. So that when I put it into Inventory, I don't need to use too much Mana.

[Skill Inventory - Activate.]

Time to feed the Inventory with all kinds of things in the lab room.

Besides that, I also looked around in other rooms.

What amazed me the most was the room with so many Magic Crystals in it. All of that was more dazzling than the piles of money belonging to the branch headquarters of the Black Box Organization.

It turned out to be a Magic Crystals kept by Nya Nu.

Nya Nu often hunts monsters to serve as experimental material in transplanting Dragon Eye. And that's where he got this stack of Magic Crystals from.

Let's put aside that these Magic Crystals are low-level Magic Crystals. All of that was still a number that could make anyone kill each other, even if it was their siblings.

I immediately put everything in the Inventory.

I also put all the research journal books into the Inventory. Who knows later it will be useful.

After plundering everything I could plunder, it was time for me to leave Fier Mountain.

I didn't know exactly how much time had passed since I entered Fier Mountain. But I can make a rough estimate. Maybe about five days?

The reason I wasn't starving was because of some of the food I stored in the Inventory. After deliberately starving myself to lure the Big Treant, I started eating before entering this cave.

As I did just now, I took a bite of the roasted meat that I took from the Inventory. This meat came from the Magical Beast that I defeated and then cooked.

"Master, how can you use such amazing magic? You don't even need to cast a spell or use a magic circle."

When Nya Nu saw me use the Inventory skill, he jumped up and down with excitement.

The soul of a researcher inside him must have been struggling to get out.

Grab!

I gripped Nya Nu's head.

"W-what are you doing, Milord?"

He panicked.

I want to put him in Inventory, but it seems that it won't work. The black space that appeared refused to let Nya Nu go inside.

Nya Nu looks very obedient. But I can't get him into the City. I don't want him to follow me all the way. If he follows me, he will be attacked by everyone. Every person who looked at him would think that Nya Nu was a monster. Although that is also true.

Most importantly, I don't want to cause unnecessary trouble.

[The Stigma of Darkness can store creatures under your control.]

[Would you like to save the creature called Nya Nu?]

Oh, what a very helpful feature.

Without much consideration, I immediately kept Nya Nu.

"I will call you when I need you."

"W-What is this? Milord???"

Before he could even sulk any longer, the Stigma of Darkness began to manifest over the back of my hand and began to suck him in.

After sucking up Nya Nu, the light that had been coming out of the Stigma of Darkness began to dim. The black flower image that characterized the Stigma of Darkness also began to camouflage with my skin color.

***

Even though the boss of a dungeon has been defeated, a dungeon won't just disappear.

This is also the case with Fog Dungeon.

As soon as I came out of the cave inside the Fog Dungeon, I saw that the fog still shrouded the peak of Fier Mountain. This mist that shrouded the top of Fier Mountain was the entrance to the Fog dungeon. That meant the Fog dungeon still existed.

Even though there was only one dungeon boss, which meant that after I was defeated it wouldn't appear anymore, but small monsters like goblins would continue to appear. They regenerate endlessly.

Because of that, the dungeon can also be interpreted as a Magic Crystal mine.

For the Lords, which means the nobles' family, most of them have dungeons that they manage in their respective territories.

But, some regions don't have dungeons, such as Baron Warwick's fiefdom. Part of the reason Baron Warwick's territory was still such a desolate and impoverished place.

Fortunately, before I left this Dungeon in Fier Mountain, I had ordered Nya Nu to summon all the skeleton soldiers and Death Knights that were serving him.

I ordered them to stay inside the Dungeon and prevent anyone from entering the Fog Dungeon.

Despite having struggled for a while, the Death Knight, who had recovered his limbs, became obedient after Nya Nu said that the skeleton soldiers and the Death Knight needed the training to be ready to protect him.

Rustle!

I am currently walking through the forest.

If this was my first experience, then I would be lost. But I've already gotten lost while entering the forest in my previous life. So I won't make the same mistake.

The first way I could try was to use the direction of the sun, but since I couldn't see the sun, I chose the other option, which was to look at where the moss was growing. Moss grows by avoiding sunlight, so they grow in the west. Seeing that, I was able to determine the right direction.historical

First of all, I went to the place where Anas should be.

Along the way, the corpses of the dead Magical Beasts were scattered about. They die in pain. That was reflected in the foam that came out of their mouths, and their eyes filled with tears.

I could even see a Wild Boar that had a wound on its buttocks. Very sad.

I believed that all of this was Anas' doing.

Once I got to the place where Anas should be, I couldn't find her. After searching for a while, I instead found an inscription engraved on a tree trunk.

'She left a message by carving the inscription with a dagger, huh.'

[Master, I'm really very sorry.. But I have to leave you for the time being.. I promise that I will repay all of your kindness later..]

What occurred to me when I read her writing was to think that she was carving a farewell letter for her lover.

Without having to pay close attention, I could tell what she was trying to convey.

I don't need to think about it too deeply.

Most likely, Anas' goal is to return to her hometown.

I don't know what happened there. And why does she look in such a hurry? But I'm sure that we will meet again in the near future.

I remembered that Baron Warwick had poisoned me. And I can guess that the source of the poison must be connected to Anas' hometown.