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“A pre-historic civilization existed that rivaled our current one, or perhaps even surpassed it!”

The dwarf professor in charge of magical engineering, an individual of a race half the size of humans, yet claiming to be descendants of giants, was red in the face as he passionately exclaimed.

“If that weren’t the case, how could an item enchanted 3600 years ago still function perfectly, and we still can’t figure out the principles behind that enchantment? Unless you’re all just empty-headed fools, which humans clearly are, how could anyone have created such a thing 3600 years ago!”

Dwarves possessed a unique pride in their skills and knowledge, a dedication to craftsmanship.

This gave rise to a sense of superiority and an inherently explosive temper, traits that even human supremacists avoided.

This particular professor was usually reasonable when teaching his subject, thanks to his theoretical achievements and practical results in magical engineering. However, when certain historical topics or triggering subjects arose, he would abandon his lecture and erupt, revealing why dwarves were considered eccentric and not suitable for social interaction.

Even though more than half of his students were human, and the rest were mostly of mixed human heritage, he casually made insulting remarks about humans.

New students were shocked, but those who had taken the class before simply ignored him, accustomed to his outbursts.

Despite repeated warnings from the academy committee, this behavior had persisted for so long that students had learned to accept it.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to employ a dwarf professor at all.

“Those arrogant, unskilled pointy-ears prattle on about ancient history, claiming to be the originators of magic and culture, but it’s nonsense! Those cowardly elves must have simply stumbled upon the remnants of a glorious pre-historic civilization.”

The dwarf professor pointed to a holographic image of a 3600-year-old artifact.

It was a familiar relic to students majoring in magical engineering, and especially to followers of the Immigration Church.

A relic, or rather, a sacred object.

The Golden Robes worn by El-Araya.

A masterpiece of magical engineering that El-Araya left behind in the human world before returning to the Elven Road, its principles still a mystery, and a sacred object of the Immigration Church.

“The artifacts and knowledge used by the so-called gods of the elves and humans couldn’t possibly be from that era. They’re completely out of place! Those with empty heads fantasize about geniuses and believe that intelligence makes anything possible, but that’s absurd. You can’t transcend an era without knowledge, ideas, and infrastructure! The robes, whose principles we still don’t understand, are incredible, but they supposedly forged a sword from mithril, a metal that even dwarves struggle to work with today without specialized equipment, back when they barely knew how to work iron? Get real!”

The students inwardly thought, “Isn’t that just mythology?” or “Why is he getting so worked up about old stories?” or “Here he goes again.” They simply listened.

However, everyone knew that the prideful dwarf, unable to replicate the ancient enchanted artifacts used by the Elf god, and the fact that the hated elves were the first to handle mithril, a magical metal still considered the best today, filled him with unspoken inferiority.

“Those treacherous elves must have monopolized the legacy of that pre-historic civilization and acted like divine messengers! You can see their level just by looking at the ridiculous circuits they draw. And you’re telling me those elves created masterpieces close to sacred objects? Don’t make me laugh. That’s probably why Elven Road, the sanctuary of those arrogant and incompetent elves, burned down overnight. They must have misused the legacy of that pre-historic civilization with their meager knowledge and abilities!”

Several Elf students flinched and glared at the dwarf professor’s outburst, as he presented one of the many theories about the event 2000 years ago as if it were established fact.

Those students all had long ears.

It had been 2000 years since Elven Road, the sanctuary of elves and humans, had disappeared.

There were no pure-blood elves left, but even mixed-race elves still existed as a privileged class in human society due to their longevity.

They were especially proud of the idea that elves were the originators of human history, and their pride made them unable to tolerate the professor’s insults.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, the Elf students stormed out of the classroom.

“The god might have actually been a dwarf. There’s no way someone that great could be an elf! The god recorded in history was of a moderate size like us, unlike those lanky elves…! Hey! What do you think you’re doing! You pointy-eared bastards! Let go! Let go of my beard!”

“You crazy professor! You can’t just say whatever comes to mind!”

“Kill him! That short-legged runt dares to—!”

A brawl erupted between the dwarf professor and the Elf students, and the classroom instantly descended into chaos as other dwarves joined in to help the professor.

“Another fight! Call security!”

The graduate student who was the dwarf professor’s assistant, seemingly accustomed to this situation, instructed the stunned students to call security, then hardened his gaunt face, marked with dark circles, and rushed into the fray.

◈ ◈ ◈

Standing atop a massive hill that seemed to be the navel of this planet, Ara sighed as she looked down.

It had been three months since she had been abducted by Gal Dragon.

The cool autumn had passed, and winter, which all living things struggled to endure, had returned.

Looking out over the vast, snow-covered landscape from the top of a hill so high that even ten giants couldn’t reach its peak, any man would have felt his heart swell with ambition, but Ara’s mind was filled with confusion.

She sighed, looking at the cause of her distress.

About three Elte away, a beautiful elf was wandering around, wearing ornate golden robes like those of a royal guard.

Ara chuckled wryly as she watched her move with Agility Skill, even though she had never been taught.

Gal Dragon. Now called Gal by Ara, she was an Elder Loa like Terato in the north.

However, unlike her mother, who considered the planet’s prosperity her mission, or Terato, who was creating giants called Titans for some unknown purpose, Gal was an Elder Loa who rarely left her nest, lazily wasting her power.

Before abducting Ara, Gal’s activities consisted of collecting or creating gold and jewels, as if gathering pretty, shiny stones.

And, being the only dragon in the world, though it couldn’t be confirmed as a species trait, her strong possessiveness extended to her territory, so she would eliminate any threatening enemies who dared to approach.

Perhaps because of this, there were no other Roa to be seen in this vast territory.

The only time she left her nest was when a mysterious giant species, said to have been born from Terato’s blood, entered her territory.

But recently, she had become fascinated with the concept of clothing and had begun to focus on making it.

At first, Gal only made clothes from her favorite pure gold, but soon she realized that there was a lack of variety in shape, texture, and color, and began to look at other materials.

The main material was still pure gold, but she began to use materials from plants, animals, and other metals that she had previously considered inferior.

‘She’s like Saras, focusing all her curiosity on clothing.’

The sight reminded Ara of her sister, who would act without hesitation if she found something that piqued her curiosity.

Even the fact that they both rarely left their territories was similar.

The problem, however, was that Gal’s hobby was excessive.

While living with Gal, Ara felt like a doll being played with by little girls.

She had to try on Gal’s creations several times a day.

“…Well, it’s not all bad now.”

Though wearing this in the Central Plains would be a disaster.

Ara looked at the clothes she was currently wearing.

Golden robes with embroidery of Gal’s own image as a pattern, as Gal was very narcissistic.

It was like the clothes only allowed for the supreme emperor.

If the clothes Ati had made for her before were close to military uniforms, these clothes were closer to royal court attire.

Rather than comfortable clothes, they were meant to show nobility and dignity.

Moreover, it was a splendid piece decorated with jewels that Gal had made herself.

It was a dress made with the understanding that clothing also shows social relationships for humans.

But it didn’t matter much to Ara, as she wasn’t restricted by the layers of royal court attire.

‘…Rather, there are some advantages to having so many layers. To think she would draw magic circles on the clothes.’

Magic circles were created inside the golden dragon robe she was wearing.

To be exact, it was hard to call them magic circles.

‘『Your attacks will never reach me.』’

The dragon’s incantation that came to mind from her past memories.

The power of Gal’s language, which Ara had named Dragon Speech, which had momentarily given her a taste of despair.

The power of Dragon Speech, which even Ara couldn’t interpret because it was beyond reason, was imbued in this dress in three layers.

It was a dress that would not even be conceptually scratched unless the principles were somehow interpreted and unraveled, or forcibly broken with another power of similar caliber, like Araya’s Yeon-gi.

It was truly a rare and precious treasure.

Considering that she had spent two weeks naked after waking up, it was an extravagant item.

Her Upper Dantian was still far from recovering due to the damage to her spiritual energy, but the other damaged meridians throughout her body had already recovered and were in perfect condition.

Moreover, she was allowed to go outside whenever Gal collected materials, under the guise of taking a walk.

“…I can’t escape.”

There was no opportunity.

Even with the foresight of her unrecovered Upper Dantian, she was certain that she would be tracked down and caught if she strayed beyond a certain area.

More importantly, even if she succeeded in escaping right now, would Gal give up on her?

Considering the dragon’s obsession that she had seen so far, she would definitely chase her to the ends of the earth.

Gal, in perfect condition, was a being that even her mother and the entire Elf race would struggle to defeat.

Even if they managed to defeat her, the expected damage would mean that it wouldn’t be a true victory.

‘If that’s the case, I have to either become stronger than Gal, even if it takes a long time… or wait until Gal gets tired of me.’

Either way, it was an indefinite task.

In the latter case, it was hard to guarantee that Gal would let her go willingly, given her habit of taking even unused items to her treasure hoard.

“It’s going to be hard… to be rescued.”

In the end, she would have to break free on her own.

How much time would it take to defeat Gal, who had easily subdued Ara, who had pushed herself to the limit, even overusing her Upper Dantian?

Even if she imagined 10 or 20 years, she couldn’t be sure, even though she prided herself on being a genius.

Ara raised her left arm and looked at her wrist.

The place where the bracelet made from her mother’s branch had been.

‘She must already suspect that something has happened to me. If there’s no news about me for a long time, it would be troublesome if she came looking for me without thinking.’

Though I had told the giant brothers that I would definitely return, I was worried.

Gal, who had torn apart and killed hundreds of Titans for defiling his garden, was undoubtedly showing me an unusual amount of favor.

If the hot-tempered Pallas were to lead the Elves here, a terrible situation could arise.

In the current situation, where there was no clear answer, it was perhaps best if nothing happened at all.

I might be detained for a long time, but I was no longer human, but an Elf.

A few decades was not a significant length of life compared to the time I had left to live.

“I wish I could send a message to tell them not to worry.”

As I thought that, I made eye contact with Gal, who was far away.

It was absurd by any normal standard, but it was a common occurrence for us whenever we finished collecting materials and returned.

I sighed countless times, stood up, and flew towards Gal.

‘Well… somehow it will work out.’

I returned to Gal, prepared for decades of exile, but unexpectedly, the opportunity to escape from Gal’s grasp came quickly.

Winter passed, and spring arrived.

The event came suddenly.

In truth, there had already been signs.

The Dragon and Giant God were already settling the cause and effect of what had happened hundreds of years ago.

That day, instead of going outside as usual, I focused on training and waited for Gal’s return in the nest.

And when Gal returned to the nest, I couldn’t help but gape.

For the past six months, Gal had not returned to his original form from his Elf appearance.

The brief glimpse I had of Gal’s true form, the massive and beautiful golden Winged Dragon.

Regardless of his personality, he was undoubtedly one of the absolute beings in this world, but his golden dragon body was riddled with huge swords like a hedgehog, his proud scales were terribly torn off, exposing the torn flesh inside and spewing blood, and one wing was completely broken.

I could only stare blankly at the miserable figure of the absolute being who had made even imagining victory impossible for me.