—
Chapter 54
—
Lizzy paused her hectic leveling in Maple Leaf Story and logged out.
“I shouldn’t be doing this right now…”
The “game” was truly terrifying.
It completely overtook her brain, to the point where she even momentarily forgot about the fact that she was supposed to be looking for the egg.
It was a game so immersive it felt just like reality.
A game that lets you escape reality and dive fully into an illusion—it was the epitome of illusion magic.
Lizzy set Maple Leaf Story aside and stood up.
Even if everything Riot said was truthful…
Sitting around and doing nothing was making her anxiety bubble up.
Honestly, dragon eggs were impervious to harm unless a goddess descended.
There was still some time left before the egg would hatch.
Other than the fact that it was missing, the egg wasn’t actually in much danger.
Moreover, dragons didn’t possess the maternal instinct to the same extent humans did.
Their attachment was only at a level that any living creature would naturally have.
They were a species born to dominate, with no need to rely on others.
The reason Lizzy felt heightened anxiety was because she had human blood mixed within her.
“Wh-where are you going…”
Just as Lizzy opened the window and prepared to fly away, a timid voice came from behind her, halting her movements.
A mage, seemingly smaller than her oversized robe, timidly stood there.
Despite her frail demeanour, the mana emanating from her was on par with Lizzy’s, if not greater.
“You’re the master of this tower, right?”
“Y-y-yes…yes…!”
Hina flapped her sleeves as she answered.
Afraid Lizzy hadn’t heard her, she raised her voice and repeated herself.
“R-Rai said he’d find the egg, so… j-just play your game…!”
“No matter how trustworthy that man is, isn’t it strange to just sit idly like this? That’s why I’m going to look for it too.”
“N-no, you can’t…”
Hina flapped her sleeves even more vigorously.
But her fear of Lizzy kept her from coming closer.
‘Understood? Absolutely do not let that dragon leave. If that dragon flies around again, more villages will burn to the ground.’
‘W-why me… Dragons are scary…’
‘How can the Tower Master be afraid? You’re the strongest person in this tower! Anyway, I’ll find the egg, so you just keep the dragon here. It’s only a half-dragon, so it’s not even that strong. We can’t let more damage occur.’
Before leaving, Rai had firmly instructed her.
She was to keep the dragon confined in the tower no matter what.
Dragons, much like humans disregard ants, didn’t value human lives.
If Lizzy roamed the continent in search of her egg again, more destruction would surely follow.
To prevent that, Rai had left to personally find the egg.
“T-this…!”
In her desperation, Hina pulled out another artifact.
It was the developer version of Maple Leaf Story that Rai used.
With this, she could do anything in Maple Leaf Story.
“W-with this, you can become the strongest in the game…!”
“Huh?”
“You can play as every class… You could solo bosses like Zatum or Horntail…”
Mid-sentence, Hina stopped talking.
Horntail was a boss in the game, but it was also a dragon like Lizzy.
Surely, Lizzy wouldn’t be pleased about raiding her own kind.
“Horntail, you mean… that dragon?”
“Y-y-yes…”
“Let me see that.”
Surprisingly, Lizzy took the developer artifact from Hina without much resistance.
“O-oh, o-okay.”
Hina hurriedly logged into Maple Leaf Story with her own artifact.
“F-feel the power coursing through meee!”
After maxing out her level with Evan, Lizzy charged straight for Horntail.
Hina stammered in panic, chasing after her in a fluster.
“With this power… I can surpass them…!”
Lizzy mumbled incomprehensibly to herself.
Together, Lizzy and Hina clumsily arrived at Horntail’s lair.
“W-wait…! Form a party…”
As Lizzy was about to challenge Horntail, Hina quickly formed a party with her.
Thus began their Horntail raid.
With a roar, the battle commenced.
“That bloated belly looks just like an Ash Dragon! Disgusting lizards…!”
Boom, boom, boom—
Muttering insults, Lizzy fiercely attacked Horntail.
Despite being the same species, she oddly seemed to enjoy it.
Horntail was a formidable boss monster, one Hina couldn’t hope to defeat alone.
But Lizzy, in developer mode, was able to take it down single-handedly.
“Huh…?”
Hina stood there, dumbfounded, as she witnessed the massacre of her kin.
“Whew!”
About twenty minutes later, Lizzy wiped the sweat from her forehead with a refreshed expression as Horntail’s corpse lay in ruins.
“Wow, wow…”
“Let’s do it again!”
Lizzy ended up defeating Horntail about five more times before finally logging out.
“Whew… That was refreshing.”
The exhilaration Lizzy felt in Maple Leaf Story was something even her half-dragon self had never experienced.
The power was so immense that it rivaled even dragons themselves.
It was incredible how mere human imagination could produce such strength.
“S-still, is this really okay…”
“Hmm?”
“You’re… a dragon…”
Despite Lizzy’s satisfied expression, Hina asked cautiously.
The sight of Lizzy, a dragon, killing her own kind, had been shocking.
“Oh—”
Noticing Hina’s expression, Lizzy scratched her horn awkwardly.
Seeing no need to hide it, Lizzy casually explained.
“As you can see, I’m a half-dragon. Because of that, I’m often looked down on by dragons…”
With a slightly dejected look, Lizzy shared her experiences of being mistreated by dragons.
Most of it involved trivial tasks like killing pests or cleaning lairs.
It was akin to bullies picking on a weaker kid.
Though not severe, it was unbecoming of the esteemed dragon race.
“Honestly, I resented my mother for it. But well, now I just live with it.”
“I-I see…”
An awkward silence followed.
Hina, struggling to find words of comfort, left the air stagnant for a moment.
“…I shouldn’t be doing this. No matter what, the egg is missing right now.”
Suddenly snapping back to reality, Lizzy set Maple Leaf Story aside and prepared to fly out the window again.
Talking about real-world issues had brought her focus back.
“N-no, you can’t…!”
Once again, Hina clung to Lizzy, grabbing onto her wings timidly.
“T-this, t-this, t-this…!”
Hina frantically pulled something out of her pocket.
It was COL.
“Just try this…!”
“…What’s this?”
“It’s COL, and there’s a character called Shyvana…”
Hina managed to hold Lizzy back once more by introducing a half-dragon champion similar to Lizzy.
“H-hurry back, Rai…!”
***
Between the two massive cliffs, waves occasionally crashed into the gravel shore below.
The air was filled with a fishy smell, and peculiar bugs native to the sea cliffs crawled everywhere.
Our party, including myself, arrived at the suspected location of Hetz’s hideout.
According to Lea, there was a dragon’s lair somewhere nearby.
“Where is it exactly? The Tower Masters are never wrong…”
The spatial mage commented while looking at the otherwise unremarkable landscape.
Although the Tower Masters had pinpointed the general location, the precise details of the hideout were unknown.
The Tower Masters had mentioned that they couldn’t be entirely sure without seeing it for themselves.
They had noted some inexplicable presence in this area.
Perhaps it was due to the proximity to the dragon’s lair.
Since we couldn’t ask the Tower Masters to personally investigate, we had to be content with the help they provided.
“Let’s search around. There’s bound to be something here.”
Rikal took the lead, sword in hand, and began scanning the area.
Following his lead, the rest of us also started searching.
“There is some faint mana here, but…”
Lea and the spatial mage, wearing expressions of mild uncertainty, seemed unable to grasp the situation.
Unlike the two who were struggling to pinpoint it, I quickly understood what was happening in this space.
“…It’s an illusion.”
In a small, inconspicuous corner, there was a faint trace of illusion magic.
It was so subtle that only someone like Hina or me could detect it.
The fact that it was small didn’t mean the magic itself was weak.
Rather, it was an extraordinarily intricate illusion, so well-crafted that it was nearly impossible to discern.
Even the mana emanating from it was kept to an absolute minimum.
More importantly, it was a form of illusion magic I had never encountered before.
“…Illusion magic? Here?”
Rikal asked, watching as I analyzed the magic.
His surprise was justified.
Even I had trouble detecting it.
This might be a significant discovery—though, in the end, it was still just an illusion.
How had that Hetz character managed to create such an unbelievable illusion to hide his lair?
Setting aside my rising curiosity, I focused on deciphering the magic.
“Hah…”
It took about five minutes.
Once I finally unraveled the magic, a concealed entrance appeared.
It was a tiny hole, just barely large enough for an adult man to squeeze through.
“It seems this artifact was responsible.”
I picked up the artifact that had created the illusion.
Judging by its design and condition, it appeared to be an ancient relic.
“…That Hetz guy really has some strange things.”
“But the Illusion Magic Tower doesn’t make artifacts like this… Let’s go in for now.”
Putting our questions aside, we squeezed into the hole.
The space inside was larger than expected.
The walls and ceiling were made of bricks, resembling a tunnel.
“There doesn’t seem to be much here.”
The spatial mage, casting a detection spell, took the lead.
Since visibility was poor, Lea used sparks of electricity to illuminate the path.
“Ouch, it stings!”
But since the light was made of electricity rather than fire, it kept sparking everywhere.
We should have brought a fire mage instead.
“Then you do it! Useless illusionist.”
“That’s a bit harsh…”
Having no other choice, I kept my mouth shut.
After walking just a few steps, I sensed another faint trace of mana.
It was another illusion.
“Everyone, stop…!”
If this tunnel was laced with illusion magic, recklessly advancing could be dangerous.
What appeared to be a path might actually lead to an endless abyss.
Or it could be a path of thorns.
Typically, someone of my skill level could see through such illusions immediately.
But this one required immense focus, even for me, to notice.
“Hehe… If only this magic were mine, the fourth seat in the Tower would be guaranteed…”
It seemed my companions had already fallen under the illusion.
The spatial mage, who was at the front, stared blankly into the void, mumbling to himself.
“Ugh…”
Quickly, I blocked the mana flow converging on me.
Upon inspection, I noticed several illusion artifacts hidden throughout the area.
Some distorted the perception of the space itself, while others projected illusions into people’s minds.
“Thank you, everyone… I dedicate this glory to the Illusion Magic Tower and to all who have loved me…”
From what I could gather, the illusions seemed to show whatever was in their victims’ minds.
Rikal appeared to be living out some scenario where he was JeBbit.
“Heh, heh… If you insist, I might consider meeting you…”
Lea also seemed deeply entranced by her illusion, but I didn’t bother trying to guess what it was.
Illusions alone didn’t pose physical danger.
For now, I decided to deactivate all the illusion artifacts and wake up my companions.
If I woke them prematurely and they fell under the illusion again, it would only complicate things.
I carefully moved my entranced companions back toward the entrance, ensuring they were out of harm’s way.
Using the faint light from the small entrance hole as a guide, I began dismantling the illusions.
Some artifacts were designed to completely disorient the perception of space.
If we had taken just a few more steps, we would have walked straight into traps.
The creator of this place had clearly intended to lure intruders into illusions and then kill them using the traps.
If I had also fallen under the illusion, we likely would have all died flailing helplessly.
“I can’t see much further from here.”
It took nearly two hours just to clear the illusions within a five-meter radius.
Deciphering the artifacts was exhausting, as they were a type of illusion magic I had never seen before.
“Who could have made something like this…”
Even now, I couldn’t think of an illusion mage capable of such feats.
I decided it was time to wake my companions.
I needed Lea’s light to proceed further.
My companions were still floundering in their illusions.
Yet, their faces were oddly content.
“W-what…? Where am I?”
Rikal was the first to wake.
Still caught halfway in his illusion, Rikal was speaking in JeBbit’s voice.
Hearing his gruff voice imitate JeBbit’s speech was revolting.
“…It was all an illusion. Pull yourself together. If you keep acting like that after the others wake up, you’re on your own.”
“What are you talking about?”
Leaving the dazed Rikal, I woke up the other two.
The spatial mage seemed unusually arrogant.
And Lea…
“What… Where is this?”
“What do you mean? Wake up. It was all just magic.”
“Magic? Are you pulling pranks again, honey? I told you to stop! I’m scared! Wahhh!”
“…Honey?”
She clung to me, acting coquettishly.
“Is this because I didn’t do it earlier? I told you I’d take care of it tonight. Hmph, you’re impossible…”
Muttering nonsense, she reached her hand between my legs.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment