Old People Don’t Hold Hands - Chapter 124



Only Krnovel

Episode 124, Dragon’s Nest (4)

From the moment I finished my night watch until the moment I fell asleep, nothing much happened.

Of course, there were times when monsters would attack and fight while I was on night watch or sleeping.

Even if those guys’ skills surpass those of the regular monsters on the 4th floor.

Two or three of them didn’t budge.

Above all, the more we repeated the battle, the better the combination of Nowen and I became.

Moreover, if the relatively weak rear had to be protected, the battle would have been more difficult.

That too could be somewhat supplemented thanks to Biella’s power.

After clearing out those guys like that, once daybreak we started moving towards the head in earnest.

After a few days of entering the labyrinth, adventurers were now occasionally seen coming and going from the third floor.

Of course, most of them were people who wanted to quickly skip the third floor with a guide.

Even as they approached the dragon’s head, rather than its body, the adventurers began to lose sight of its nose.

At the same time, the closer you get to your destination… … .

Kieeeek-!!

The previously violent dramons began to run wild even more violently.

In fact, it was so cruel that it could be said that he had lost his reason.

The number of monsters also increased, so from here on out, the battles were bound to become more difficult.

Let’s blow some fire at those guys who are rushing in groups of three or four.

They moved away for a moment, then began attacking one by one, with a delay, as if trying to divert attention.

… … If you look at it this way, it looks like they are just rushing in, but they definitely seem to have intelligence.

Even in EndWorld, there were a lot of dramons in the head area and they would rush in without mercy.

There must be some reason… …, but I don’t know it yet.

Well, it did take a bit more damage than before.

I was able to deal with the dramons without much difficulty.

After a few more battles, we reached the dragon’s head.

“……what’s this?”

Where Biella looked with a frown, there was a dragon’s mouth.

In fact, the mouth was larger than any structure I had ever seen in the labyrinth.

An ominous atmosphere was lingering from the entrance, but I stubbornly pointed there and spoke.

“We have to get in here first.”

“… … Huh? You want me to go inside?”

“yes.”

“Ugh, but… … . I feel a little bad.”

… … Well, there was an explanation like that in EndWorld too.

The closer you get to the dragon’s head, the stronger the curse becomes.

However, it didn’t mean that the penalty activation speed was shortened, so it seemed to be closer to a ‘setting’ of sorts.

When I faced it in reality, my heart started pounding and it wasn’t a very good feeling.

Even though I have a steel penalty and high stamina, I’m in this situation.

It would have been even more noticeable to other people.

“Hmm! Then let’s go in!”

… … Of course, there were people who didn’t seem to care because they had just as much stamina as me.

Following Nowen, who was vigorously banging his fists together and shouting, I also went into his mouth.

Behind me is Diana, who has been following me without saying a word.

There was Biella, crouching at the very back and following along stealthily.

After walking for a while, I finally reached the deepest part of the mouth, where no light could penetrate at all.

So I.

“ignition.”

The fire was lit by ignition, and at the same time.

“Track it.”

The fire was sent forward to also secure visibility.

When I used that power, only then did the dark inside begin to come into view.

Since it was actually inside the dragon’s mouth, no traces were visible.

… … Only the occasional giant bone mound would trip you up.

“Oh, sir… … , are you sure you’re really here?”

Biella looked at the scenery and asked as if she felt uneasy about something.

“Yes. It’s there if you go straight this way.”

“T-T, when was that…? It felt like I walked for almost half a day!”

… … Oh, really, that’s a joke.

I guess since I have the lowest physical strength among us, I seem to be the most sensitive to curses.

If this continues, I don’t know how much harder it will be for them in the nest.

… … Anyway, as I continued to drag Biella, a faint light began to appear ahead.

“Huh? There’s a light over there!”

Let’s follow Nowen who pointed there.

At the place they arrived, there was a huge temple.

And on top of that is… … .

“……fire?”

Colorless and odorless.

But no trace was revealed.

I could tell what it was because of the faint light and temperature.

There was a fire burning above the temple.

That fire was also of a fairly large size.

“… … Hmm, this is a first. A fire that can’t even be seen.”

“… … That’s right. Who started this fire?”

If you look for the source of this fire… …, it will definitely be the owner of this body, the Demon Dragon.

Until I started playing EndWorld and finally leveled up my gold belt.

The fire here has never gone out.

At first, there were days when I wondered if there was a caretaker who was guarding this fire, and I kept dying… … .

The conclusion reached that day was that there was no life inside the dragon’s body.

Besides, this fire is also a passage leading to the dragon’s nest.

We can only assume that this spark was lit by the dragon himself before he died.

I briefly examined the fire and took out the dragon scales I had put in my pocket.

The first thing I took out was the Hwa-ryong Hi-ra.

Let’s throw the red scale taken from the bastard’s heart into the fire.

Hurrrrr!

The colorless and odorless fire instantly turned red.

“This, this is… … !”

At this sight, Nowen opened his eyes wide in surprise.

I didn’t care and immediately grabbed the next scale.

That was the scale of the Ice Dragon Alaston.

Let’s throw in the blue scales we took from the bastard’s eyelids.

Hwaaaaak!

In an instant, the red fire turned purple, engulfing the blue scales.

The last thing I grabbed while looking at the ominously flickering flames was… … .

The scales of the dragon and Troman.

Let’s throw in the yellow scale we took from the guy’s forehead.

Hurrrrr!

The purple light that had instantly swallowed up even the yellow scales soon turned black.

Completely black, like the pitch-black night sky here where not a single ray of light could be seen.

The flames soon engulfed the temple and began to flow along the small, intricately carved grooves in the temple.

And the black flames that flowed along the home soon covered the surrounding area.

It was a form that almost looked like letters.

… … Well, I thought there might be a hidden element here too.

I tried to dig into it a few times while playing EndWorld, but it was impossible to even interpret it.

To begin with, it was a form that was literally something I had never seen before, not even human characters.

The text flashed for a moment, and soon the whole place began to ring.

As the temple in the center rose taller, a door covered in black letters appeared.

As soon as the door appeared, the ringing stopped and I walked over to it.

Kkiei, eeei… … .

I opened the door carefully.

I opened the door, but what I saw beyond it was…

There was only pitch-black darkness.

“Ugh, ugh, seriously, what the… … .”

Nowen helped Biella up as she stood up, still holding her head as if she was dizzy.

Instead of looking at that sight, I put my hand through the door.

It wasn’t a very pleasant sight to see the darkness trembling as if it was trying to swallow me up.

At least it wouldn’t be dangerous.

Because this was literally the entrance to the dragon’s nest.

“Okay, let’s catch it.”

Diana took my hand as I extended it to Nowen.

The ending is Nowen holding Diana’s hand while supporting Biella.

“Uh, … … Are you really going there?”

With Biella’s words, which were accompanied by a groan.

I pushed myself completely into it.

As soon as I fell into that darkness.

Clang!

As soon as I started moving, I lost my balance and fell over, making a metallic friction sound.

And all this friction caused by… … .

“Hey, aren’t these all gold coins!”

It was a gold coin.

Nowen was the first to shout out in surprise as he looked at the gold coins and jewels scattered across the ground.

“… … Are these all the treasures that the Demon Dragon had?”

Diana, who usually maintained her composure, was also surprised.

… … But it’s strange.

Why is Biella so quiet after seeing this?

So, let’s take a quick look at where Biella is.

“Ugh, ugh… … Don’t be loud… … , your head’s ringing, ugh… … .”

It seemed like he was having a hard time right now due to the effects of the curse that had grown stronger since he entered the dragon’s nest.

“Ugh, ha… … , is this really a nice place, sir?”

“Yes. I think it’s because the curse is stronger because of the place. It’ll get better with time.”

“Ugh, but why is it only me who has a hard time, really… …”

The struggling Biella was still trying to get the gold coin, moving her arms feebly and trying to somehow hug it.

After that, Nowen stopped Biella and carried her.

We started to explore the surroundings in earnest.

The dragon’s nest was also large, but in reality, it was not as wide as the dragon’s corpse that we had seen before.

Rather, it felt like there were oysters of moderate size scattered here and there.

If there is a singularity, it is that all of those caves… … .

It was said to be full of gold coins.

“D, DeClen. How did you even find out about this place?”

Nowen looked around as if he still couldn’t believe it and asked me.

“Woah, wooheehee, we’re rich now, now! Woo, woosh… … !”

Even though Biella was being carried by Nowen because she was suffering from motion sickness, she was holding a gold coin in her arms and smiling.

… … Well, it’s a shame to say this while thinking like that.

It’s better to know this in advance.

“Just in case, there are rules for taking the treasures here.”

“Eh, huh? Rules, rules… …?”

“Ha, right! It’s the Dragon’s Nest, so there can’t be any rules! Okay, tell me. What is it?”

“You can only take one treasure with you.”

“… … Huh, is that right?”

“Yes, each person can only bring out one. If you try to bring out multiple items, you won’t be able to do so in the first place.”

“Huh, just one? Then all of these gold coins… …?”

“Yes. If you want to take the gold, just take one.”

“Ah, no, what’s that! What are you talking about, ugh… …!”

Well, that’s unfortunate.

What can I do if that’s the rule?

It would be a shame for the country to throw all of these away.

“For now, let’s split up into pairs and explore the surrounding area. If there are any special items besides gold or jewels, let’s take them all.”

“Oh, I see!”

So Diana and I, Nowen and Biella, we each started searching this place.

Move to find the item and get some distance away from the group of Nowen.

“… … Mr. Declen, what kind of thing is the thing you mentioned?”

… … Ah, then that’s it.

“It is a silver dagger inlaid with blue gems.”

“A silver dagger… … , I see.”

And I went with Diana to find the treasures I needed.

In fact, from the moment I thought about coming here, I had already thought about what treasures I should bring.

The first thing that came to mind was… … .

Frost Queen’s Crown.

It was said to be a relic of a queen who lived on a high floor, and the effect of the item was simple.

Complete nullification of mental control skills.

In fact, it is an item that must be obtained in order to deal with Aizel, the sole successor to Negrosi.

While I was searching through the gold coins to find the Frost Queen’s coffin.

I stopped for a moment and looked around.

That makes sense, I felt a presence nearby.

I mean, the presence of someone other than Diana.

… … In the first place, there would be no one in the dragon’s nest, so I thought it was Nowen or Biel.

Their voices were nowhere to be heard.

And above all, the sound of footsteps approaching this place… … .

There was only one.

– Miss Diana.

― … … Yes, I heard that too.

After exchanging brief signals, Diana and I hid ourselves against the wall.

As we hid our bodies, the sound of footsteps stopped at the entrance to the cave.

Then an unfamiliar voice was heard.

“… … This is the first time I’ve smelled this.

Who are you?