Amidst the thick trees, there was a large number of wyverns. Some were asleep while others were awake. In this particular area, the trees were sparse, allowing sunlight to shine through easily and illuminate the scene. The light revealed the group of wyverns as they ferociously devoured their prey—deer, among other animals.
Then, stepping out from the shade of the trees, a group of people appeared under the sunlight. There were four of them: a blonde-haired girl, a female dark elf, a short girl with gray hair, and a young man with brown hair, wearing a massive green armor and holding a greatsword. It was Ralce and his party, and they seemed ready to clear the area of wyverns.
Soon enough, Lisa, the mage, began unleashing her powerful spells. Several wyverns fell, and Rommy charged in aggressively to finish them off before they could escape. At the same time, Ralce was effortlessly crushing every wyvern that got close. This was the strength of Ralce's party—currently the strongest.
"Lisa, behind you!" Rommy shouted as she stabbed one of the downed wyverns.
Behind Lisa, a wyvern was approaching, but Nowy stepped in swiftly and blocked the attack with her shield. This angered the mage, and she turned around, pointing her staff at the creature as if saying, "How dare you attack me?!" Then she shouted: "Mizuria!!"
A massive water orb formed and crashed into the wyvern, sending it flying as its fiery breath was snuffed out. After that, the party found themselves standing amid a pile of corpses—another easy victory. But this time, they weren't here just to hunt wyverns. They had a different goal.
"Alright, let's leave them. Rommy, go inform the rescue team to collect the corpses," Ralce said as he wiped his sword inside the mouth of one of the wyverns.
"You're checking out the nest without me?!" Rommy protested.
"We can't wait, so yes, we're going without you," Lisa replied.
"And who's going to give you the plans?" Rommy asked, clearly annoyed.
"You idiot, it's just a quick look. We'll inspect it all again later," Nowy said.
At that moment, Ralce had already moved on, leaving the girls to argue. Rommy went off to carry out her task, and the others followed Ralce. It seemed things were about to explode. This party wasn't planning for some simple dungeon crawl—they were facing a massive threat.
"I got a letter from my sister. Seems like the protests at the temple have gotten more intense. People are demanding that the temple deliver their voices to the capital," Nowy said.
"Things keep getting worse… Well, if I see anything really bad, I'll go back to Magica with my parents," Lisa replied with a sly smile.
"You'd leave us that easily?" Ralce muttered.
"You expect me to get myself killed? There's a terrifying dragon asleep, and an invincible killer stalking us… Oh no, if things get worse, I'm running for sure!"
"Invincible killer? I swear I'll crush their head if they come near us," Ralce said, looking serious.
"Crush their head, are you sure?" Nowy asked.
"Of course, and easily too. If they're so strong, why haven't they come after us? I haven't seen them once since we arrived in this town. That can only mean one thing—they're avoiding us. Obviously scared."
They continued on, and in a flash, a wyvern pounced on Ralce with its claws. Ralce managed to dodge without taking any serious damage. The wyvern pulled back and tried to fly, but struggled to move in the thick forest canopy above. Ralce stood up, now covered in dirt from the fall, and looked furious.
"Why would you do that?!" he shouted in frustration.
The wyvern glared at him and let out low growls. Its intimidating stare didn't faze anyone—especially the wrong adventurer. It kept trying to assert dominance. Then, it lunged again, but suddenly, a large rock crashed down on its head, smashing its skull as blood slowly poured out. The trio burst into heavy laughter.
"What the fuck," Ralce muttered, laughing at the wyvern's crushed head.
They continued through the forest, and as they went deeper, a dark aura began to rise, along with a growing mist and the sound of nearby wyvern growls. That could only mean one thing—they were getting close to their destination. The air grew hotter, and there were no humans or other adventurers in sight. This was a dangerous area feared by all: the depths of Yavan.
"Lots of nemesis," Lisa whispered.
"Are they from the dragon?" Ralce asked.
"No, just the wyverns and some of the bosses here. I haven't sensed the dragon's nemesis yet. We're still a bit farther away."
"The depths of Yavan... this place is seriously dangerous," Nowy muttered.
Animal corpses were scattered everywhere—guts, blood, a foul stench, and an overwhelming amount of nemesis energy that made you feel nauseous. This was the depths of Yavan, a place no adventurer ever entered. As Ralce and the others moved forward with weapons ready, a Snadra suddenly leapt out of a pond, cutting through the mist and revealing itself with a terrifying glare.
Ralce raised his greatsword and tried to strike it. The Snadra twisted nimbly, dodging the swing, and lunged at him with its mouth wide open. In that instant, an icy spear shot into its open mouth—another perfect shot from Lisa. The freezing projectile kept flowing until it completely froze the Snadra's right head.
Ralce seized the opportunity and swiftly sliced it off. Now the poor Snadra had only one head left. Ralce charged and stabbed it through the neck, the blade emerging from the other side. The creature collapsed and died. Then, Ralce cut off the left head and kicked the body into the pond.
"We need the fangs," Nowy said.
"I know, I know," Ralce muttered as he began pulling out the Snadra's fangs.
Lisa raised her staff and lit it with a blue glow. The mist cleared, revealing the path ahead for the trio. The sight was horrifying—leafless trees, blood-soaked red earth, burnt grass, and countless filthy ponds. A dark, twisted land more terrifying than they ever imagined—and they hadn't even reached the nest yet.
At that moment, hands began emerging from the ground, revealing dead bodies that were somehow still moving. There were many of them, and they quickly surrounded the party. Yet, none of them attacked. Nowy stepped forward with her eyes closed, her expression showing a hint of sorrow.
"Undead..." whispered Lisa with a cold expression.
"Yes..." Ralce muttered seriously.
"Our beloved goddess, shine your light upon the darkness of these people, and guide them on the path to your wide gates," Nowy said, clasping her hands together.
After that, a bright light spread across all the undead, causing them to vanish smoothly. Only ashes remained. Then Nowy knelt with her eyes closed and said her final prayer. Afterward, the three continued their way through this dark area toward their ultimate goal.
◆ ◆ ◆
There was no fresh air; all that could be felt was a massive flow of nemesis power and air polluted with a foul stench. Scattered corpses, skeletons of various creatures, pools of blood, fallen trees—so many trees—and yet sunlight could not break through. The fog and the spreading black aura were too strong, making visibility difficult.
Amidst this gruesome scene, three people advanced: Lisa, Nowy, and Ralce. Lisa cast her light, pushing away the fog and black aura, but this action revealed something else—something the trio had been expecting but never imagined its form. Behind the fog lay a throne made of skeletons and fresh corpses, and atop this pile slept a terrifying creature.
A dragon with black scales, enormous, its wings covering it as it lay asleep. Its eyes were closed and it did not move; its breaths could be heard clearly. Its claws were dug into the ground, its scales covered with sharp armor plates—one look confirmed that nothing could scratch them no matter what you did. Its size rivaled dozens of wyverns. It slept peacefully, unmoving except for the rising and falling of its belly, and with each slight movement, a skeleton fell from the top of the throne. This was the lair of the sleeping dragon.
"Nest of doom," muttered Ralce.
"This amount of nemesis power is terrifying."
"Well, I think it's time to retreat. We've inspected enough," Nowy replied.
After this, the trio withdrew, staring intently at the place. A terrifying place indeed, one they never expected to see. Their faces showed many emotions: hesitation, fear, worry, and excitement. Among the three, Ralce wore a devilish smile—it seemed this hungry adventurer had found his next prey, the perfect quarry to place him on the ultimate adventurer's throne.
"We'll inspect it tomorrow, then attack after a week," Ralce said, his smile fading little by little.
"I think we can defeat it," Lisa said.
"So do I, but it will be a historic battle unlike any we've seen. I swear, if I win, I'll retire and live with a bunch of beautiful girls, have sex, eat a lot of meat, and sleep for a long time!" Laos said.
"If we defeat it, I'll go work at the temple," Nowy said.
"If we defeat it, I'll return to Magica and become a magic teacher," Lisa said.
Suddenly, while the party was talking about their dreams and future goals, they heard footsteps. Clearly, these were not monster steps, but the party prepared for any danger. It was rare for anyone to reach this place unless they were a seasoned adventurer or a powerful person. Moreover, it was the footsteps of only one person, which was very strange.
Then, from among the trees appeared someone they knew well. She was of medium height, shorter than Ralce, her short black hair swaying around her neck, with fur-covered ears standing eagerly. Her eyes were different colors, blue and yellow. She stared at the party approaching from the opposite direction. It was the number two adventurer, Etomi Selva.
At that moment, a proud smile appeared on Ralce's face, and he stepped toward Etomi. His smile seemed to provoke her, but she showed no expression and kept staring coldly, waiting for this giant to speak. Strangely, she stopped and didn't ignore him—something she had never done before.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here," Ralce said.
"Haven't you given up yet? I've surpassed you. Just admit it... Are you seriously planning to kill this dragon alone with all your mental powers?"
"You said it yourself, 'alone'... Seems you were oblivious all this time, you musclehead. I've always been alone, but you always won titles while hiding behind your party's help. As for me, Etomi, it's impossible to surpass her—the adventurer who achieved everything alone. You didn't surpass me and never will, not until you accomplish something by yourself, oh master of the strongest party," Etomi replied as she walked away, ignoring Ralce.
"Cry!" Ralce shouted after Etomi as she headed toward the lair.
It seemed the strongest adventurers in the kingdom had their eyes set on this sleeping dragon. The competition wouldn't stop here—it would exceed all expectations, a rivalry born by title and perhaps ending in a fierce battle against this dragon. Everyone was striving to outdo the other by any means. Thus, the events in Yavan and the adventurers' world in Yarum continued... the climax was drawing near.