Chapter 1150: Return and Arrival

Faded. Desolate. Vast and boundless. Everywhere, a distorted, unsettling sense of visual dissonance.

Modir sat alone in the empty sailors’ mess hall, feeling as if he were trapped within a bizarre, warped dimension of time and space. Everything he saw and heard here seemed veiled behind a thick curtain, and the reinforced, thickened window before him was the physical embodiment of that veil. Beyond it stretched a wide, barren “desert”—the other side of the curtain—where the truth he had long sought lay hidden.

Yet, he had a strange feeling… that for him now, that place was absolutely forbidden.

The two voices had long since faded away, and the world fell into silence. He gazed out at the desert, where the massive figure leaning against a throne or altar seemed frozen in absolute stillness. The gray-white cracks running across its body suddenly appeared to come alive, slowly spreading outward. Far behind that colossal black silhouette, deep within the desert, he caught a faint, mirage-like vision—a shadowy black city emerging briefly before vanishing again, swallowed by the pale wind and sand.

Suddenly, Modir felt the surroundings sway violently. In the next moment, chaotic light and shadow flooded his vision. The vanished voices all rushed back at once—the chatter of adventurers, the hum of machinery deep within the ship, the crashing waves and howling wind, and Miss Hunter Lora’s slightly anxious call: “Mr. Modir? Mr. Modir, are you alright?!”

The old mage finally broke free from that soul-detaching haze. The flickering, disordered images before him quickly reassembled into a coherent scene. He found himself back in the crowded sailors’ mess hall—brightly lit, vivid in color. Many faces still bore the tension left by the turbulent chaos, but outside the porthole, the sea had calmed. The terrifying storm was over, and the magical turbulence that had roiled the skies had settled, leaving only a few shimmering curtains of light high above, fading away—a reminder that the storm he had just endured was no mere fragment of his fractured memory.

He shook his head hard, finally focusing on the hunter standing before him. “I… I think I just had some kind of hallucination.”

“Just a hallucination?” Lora visibly relaxed when she saw him come to, but then her eyes widened. “You really don’t remember what just happened?”

“Just now?” Modir rubbed his forehead hard. “I only remember the storm hitting, the magical turbulence… Ah, I recall discussing the principles behind the chaotic currents with you, and how to verify the environmental changes up high… After that, everything’s a blur. It felt like I was dreaming some bizarre, surreal dream.”

Lora glanced quickly around to make sure no one was paying attention, then leaned in and whispered urgently, “Half your body suddenly turned transparent! The side closest to the window—I could even see the pillar behind you through your body! You really don’t remember?”

“My body… transparent?” Modir pointed at himself in shock, but the hunter clearly wasn’t joking about something like this. “Sorry, I have no memory of that… Did anyone else see it?”

“Only me,” Lora said confidently after a moment’s thought. As a monster hunter with keen perception, she trusted her observations. “Everyone else was focused on the storm outside, and the transparent part of your body was right in a visual blind spot.”

“That’s a relief.” Modir exhaled, then fell into deep thought, carefully piecing together the strange phenomena he’d just experienced. Whatever secrets lay behind it, it had all happened after he neared Talrond. This seemed to confirm the inexplicable pull he’d long felt toward this far northern continent, giving him a faint sense that he was on the right path.

“Sir, have you ever experienced anything like this before?” Lora couldn’t help but ask, her tone tinged with newfound respect. “What could this phenomenon mean…?”

“Sorry, young lady, I’m afraid I can’t answer that—I’m just as confused as you are,” Modir said, waving her off before she could finish. With a casual gesture, the leather-bound tome he carried floated up from his pocket, its pages fluttering until it settled on a blank sheet. “I need more information to help unravel this mystery. Try to recall—when did my behavior start to seem abnormal? How long did it last? Besides the transparency, was there anything else unusual about me? What was the environment like outside? How far was the magical turbulence from our ship?”

Lora was momentarily overwhelmed by the rapid-fire questions, hesitating. But seeing the old mage’s serious expression, she sighed and smiled resignedly.

Well… no wonder he calls himself a great adventurer. That relentless curiosity, even in the strangest situations, is something few can match.

…

Byron stood atop the captain’s platform, eyes fixed on the holographic projection cast by the ship’s magical crystal. The external surveillance feed displayed the real-time sea conditions, while another projection, filtered to detect distortions, showed the magical currents gradually calming across the region.

Only then did he let out a soft breath. “The chaotic currents have vanished. The sea is settling—we just grazed the edge of its limits. That was a close call.”

“I told you, we wouldn’t crash into it,” Cassandra slithered over to the captain’s platform, wrapping her tail around a pillar as her upper body swayed in the air. “You have to trust a professional navigator’s judgment…”

“Honestly, sometimes I’m not sure I can trust your sense of direction,” Byron shot the sea witch a glance, muttering, “Don’t forget how you got us to Talrond in the first place…”

Cassandra’s eyes narrowed. “At least I didn’t get lost back then. If you’d taken the helm, we’d probably be in the North Harbor by now.”

Byron’s expression stiffened. Thinking back on his recent dealings with these salty deep-sea folk made his whole body ache. He quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Just then, a naval officer’s shout rang up from below, cutting off their banter: “Talrond! We’ve spotted the coastline!”

The great sun hung high, brilliant rays piercing through thin clouds. The storm caused by the chaotic currents had vanished as if it had never been, leaving only the endless open sea and, in the distance, a coastline bathed in golden light. Ice floes and majestic icebergs drifted slowly along the edges of their route. The fleet led by the Winter’s Chill sailed forward, nine mechanical ships proudly pointing their bows toward the legendary dragon kingdom that had been the stuff of myth for centuries.

Those who had sheltered below deck during the storm now emerged, crowding the open decks to gaze at the distant land. In this moment, whether free-spirited adventurers or disciplined imperial sailors, all were stirred by the sight of this completely unknown land. Many couldn’t help but voice their emotions—

A new continent. After so many long years trapped on the old world’s shores, humanity—and the other intelligent beings of Loren—had finally reached a new land… right before their eyes!

Byron stepped onto the deck. The polar wind was no challenge for someone like him, a seasoned mercenary turned imperial officer, or for the well-equipped sailors and adventurers around him. The biting breeze only stirred the hearts of these ocean pioneers. He gazed at the rolling coastline ahead and took a deep breath. “Talrond…”

Half a minute later, a sharply dressed adjutant with short brown hair cleared his throat beside him. “Sir, if you can’t come up with a poem, maybe don’t try to recite one…”

“Who said I was reciting poetry?” Byron’s face twitched as he turned to glare at the adjutant. “I’m just expressing my feelings—after all the days we’ve drifted at sea, can’t I have a moment to reflect?”

“Of course, sir. Whatever you say,” the adjutant said, struggling to keep a straight face.

At that moment, several dark shapes appeared on the horizon, drawing both their gazes. “Wait, sir, something’s flying toward us from the land…”

Byron squinted toward the distant coast, then smiled. “Looks like they’re coming to greet us. Sending a welcoming party from that far away—those dragons sure know how to make an impression.”

Dragons flew with incredible speed. Before Byron’s words had even finished, the black shapes had closed to a distance visible to the naked eye. Crew and passengers alike excitedly waved at the massive creatures. On the Ice Mary, some adventurers even climbed the nearby platforms and masts, shouting toward the land and sky, calling out “New continent!” and “New witness!”—phrases they saw as the heralds of a grand new adventure, a release of the tension built up from days adrift at sea and battling storms.

Of course, the crew soon came around to usher them down one by one.

Beams of light rose from two escort ships trailing the Winter’s Chill. The accompanying dragons transformed into their full draconic forms, soaring into the sky to join their kin and exchange news. The deep, commanding roars of the dragons echoed through the high clouds, calming the restless sea below.

Listening to those mighty roars, Byron glanced to his side. Not all the escort dragons had taken to the sky—Mokorul, the black dragon he had grown somewhat familiar with over the past days, remained aboard the Winter’s Chill. Byron turned to him and asked, “What are they discussing? Sounds serious.”

Mokorur looked up at the sky, casually translating as he listened. “Why are you coming so slowly? Did something hold you up on the way?”
“Is there enough food over in Loren? Are you getting used to human meals?”
“The dragon egg you adopted cracked a little this morning. When you get back, check on it quickly—you might still catch it hatching…”

Byron blinked in surprise, then couldn’t help but interrupt Mokorur’s translation. “That’s it?”

“Yeah, that’s it. What else did you expect?” The black dragon glanced at Byron. “Isn’t this just a normal way to say hello?”

“I thought it would be more serious… more… you know,” Byron spread his hands, as if trying to gesture what “more serious” meant, but clearly failed. “I didn’t expect…”

“This isn’t some formal diplomatic occasion,” Mokorur said, looking puzzled by Byron’s reaction. “Everyone’s just exchanging greetings—actually, we weren’t used to doing this before, but after the war, every surviving comrade formed closer bonds than ever. We’re all dragons from the Coastal County, and we know each other… Come to think of it, don’t humans greet each other like this too?”

Byron was momentarily speechless.

Just then, a strange flapping sound came from high above, catching everyone’s attention.

The noise seemed to be heading straight for the Winter’s Chill, and mixed with the rush of air was the unmistakable hum of some mechanical device. Byron instinctively looked up—a red dragon, noticeably smaller than a typical great dragon, appeared in his sight, flying toward the deck.

This red dragon was clad in gleaming steel armor. Mechanical structures on either side of its wings unfolded cooling vents, and a distinctive iron jaw gleamed in the sunlight. Anyone with experience could immediately tell this wasn’t a dragon from Talrond, but a “Dragonborn” from the Holy Dragon Principality.

Why was there a Dragonborn here?

Before Byron could dwell on the question, the shining iron jaw closed in to just a few hundred meters above the deck. The nearby sailors tensed up, and Byron himself began to wonder if that iron jaw was about to impale him.

But then, a radiant light suddenly enveloped the red dragon’s entire body. The armored form quickly shrank within the glow, and a tall figure gracefully leapt from the sky, landing directly on the Winter’s Chill’s deck.

With a solid thud, the red-haired figure dropped to one knee right in front of Byron—an impact that would have seriously injured an ordinary human, yet she rose slowly and unscathed, her gaze locking onto Byron.

Byron stared in astonishment at the woman who had descended from the sky. After a long moment, he finally spoke, “A… Asuna?”

Asalina, who had just taken a step forward, suddenly stumbled. Her lips twitched slightly as she stood there, staring into Byron’s eyes. “Maybe… you should think again.”

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(End of chapter)