Giant's Tomb

Giant's Tomb

Having finished his advancement, Keosius leaped down the shadow-shrouded cliff, hoping to harvest some spoils from the Azure Foot Dragon Snake.

But when he reached the bottom and looked around, he abruptly realized things were far more complicated than that.

For the ground held not only the Azure Foot Dragon Snake's corpse, but also many more enormous, ancient skeletons scattered about.

Each skeleton was over ten meters long. From their savage serpentine skulls and narrow spines, it was clear that these bones—were all Azure Foot Dragon Snakes.

And there were hundreds of them!

The massive skeletons nearly covered the entire floor at the base of the cliff, forming a spectacular road of white bones. The Azure Foot Dragon Snake's corpse was utterly inconspicuous among them.

Hundreds of Azure Foot Dragon Snakes.

What did that mean? Even a single Azure Foot Dragon Snake required the Red Dragon to exhaust every means at his disposal before he could win with difficulty.

If ten Azure Foot Dragon Snakes swarmed him at once, their violent lightning would be enough to scorch a Red Dragon into charcoal.

And hundreds of Azure Foot Dragon Snakes? It was no exaggeration to say they could easily destroy a human kingdom.

"These bones... the oldest must be thousands of years old. They're practically about to turn to ash."

"What kind of place is this?"

Keosius felt his scalp go numb and could not help exhaling a breath of sulfur-scented heat.

At that moment, he no longer cared about the dead Azure Foot Dragon Snake. He only wanted to uncover the secret of this terrifying road.

Creak.

His claws stepped onto the ancient skeletons, producing crisp cracking sounds.

The Red Dragon carefully walked along the road of white bones, advancing step by step into the darkness ahead.

Towering cliff walls rose on both sides of the road, nearly vertical.

He walked for a long time.

At the end of the road stood a massive stone door.

Thick stone pillars stood on either side, inscribed with writing.

The stone door bore no excessive decoration, only ancient patterns. They were not exquisitely carved, yet they conveyed a sense of primal strength and wild savagery. He could barely make out that the pattern was an eye within a storm.

"Storm Giants?"

Keosius murmured to himself.

The Ancient Giant Empire had once prospered for ages, and Storm Giants held the highest rank among giantkind.

Few in number, these Storm Giants lived in corners of the world far removed from mortals, reminiscing over vanished glory. They were reclusive seers given to deep contemplation.

He carefully examined the writing on the pillars to either side.

"Ancient Giant Language."

The Red Dragon did not recognize this ancient language. It might have vanished long ago along with the Giant Empire.

Yet a translucent blue panel quietly unfolded.

[Sorcerer's wisdom allows you to trace things back to a far more distant past.]
[The words before you awaken the deepest memories within your bloodline.]
[Memories of the long, protracted war between dragons and giants, spanning countless generations, have been deeply etched into your bloodline and flow through every vein in your body.]

Keosius fell into a daze, his mind becoming hazy.

He saw a terrifyingly vast army of dragons, their densely packed Wings enough to blot out the sky.

The giants stood ready in formation, their enormous bodies filling the horizon.

The two sides grappled together in an Earth-Shattering clash.

They engaged in the most primitive of collisions.

Storm Giants hurled lightning of boundless power, Cloud Giants created roiling banks of cloud, and Stone Giants lifted boulders as large as hills.

[You have gained precious knowledge from ancient times.]
[Skill proficiency gained: Ancient Draconic +4, Ancient Giant Language +2.]

When the Red Dragon came to, much inherited knowledge had already appeared in his mind.

Keosius looked at the words on the stone pillars and read them softly. "I pursued great ruins, recovering the lost legacies scattered when the Empire fell.

"In the end, I discovered only that the gods had abandoned us.

"I witnessed the rise and fall of royal houses, the victories and defeats of war, and I grew weary of the endless struggle between good and evil.

"So I descended from the heights and sank into the abyss beneath the earth. The weapons of old shall guard my gate.

"Mortals who have come from afar, remain humble.

"Do not disturb my slumber.

"Otherwise, the enraged Storm Giant shall bring more thorough destruction.

"This is my final prophecy as a seer.

"—Storm Giant Elder Randta, sleeps here."

After reading those words—or rather, the epitaph—Keosius's breathing quickened.

He took a deep breath, then exhaled another cloud of sulfur-scented White Smoke.

"This is a Storm Giant's tomb, and those Azure Foot Dragon Snakes were merely its gatekeepers."

"What... extravagance."

"In other words, this tomb may contain incomparably precious treasure."

The greed deep in the Red Dragon's blood, inherited from Tiamat, urged him again and again to open the stone door.

"But the epitaph prophesied that he would bring more thorough destruction."

"I'd better be careful."

Keosius was not some purebred Red Dragon from an adventure tale with muscles for brains. Reason ultimately prevailed.

But that did not mean he would give up exploring the tomb. It only meant he planned to lie low until his body had fully recovered and his preparations were complete before considering further exploration.

So the Red Dragon temporarily settled down here.

Yes, he settled down.

Keosius first returned to where he had fought the Azure Foot Dragon Snake, intending to devour its badly mangled body.

The Azure Foot Dragon Snake was immensely strong, so its meat was especially chewy, with a faint numbing tingle of lightning. As a magical monster, it contained special energy within its body.

"Tastes like the spicy hot pot from my previous life."

Keosius spoke as he wolfed down the meat.

This was the highest praise the Red Dragon had given any food in this world so far.

A dragon could easily digest meat equal to half its own body weight each day. It could convert food into elemental energy and store it for later use.

Much of that stored energy was used for breath weapons and the many periods of rapid growth it would undergo throughout its life.

Thus, the Red Dragon sometimes ate Azure Foot Dragon Snake meat, sometimes studied the writing on the stone pillars, and sometimes lay atop piles of bones, sleeping soundly.

Several days passed.

A Cave Grabber curled up in a crack in the cavern ceiling.

The giant worm-like monster was bluish-black, Become One with the background.

It waited silently within the cavern.

Whenever prey drew close, the Cave Grabber would raise its body, spread its four hooked tentacles, and reveal the hungry, clacking beak at its center.

Yet just as it waited motionlessly for prey like a dead thing, a bloody maw suddenly appeared and violently tore it bodily from the cavern.

Its soft, resilient body struggled for a moment before being shoved into that mouth by thick, powerful claws.

"Tastes like chicken. Crunchy."

Keosius gave his assessment while chewing the rather tough flesh.

To ordinary adventurers, this monster was like the god of death. To the Red Dragon, it was merely a decent snack.

The Red Dragon's scales were now bright and smooth, all his wounds had healed, and he was brimming with energy. Every one of his spells had also recovered.

"Time to see this so-called 'destruction.'"

Keosius continued chewing the Cave Grabber as he thought to himself.

In the memories of his previous life, someone had once obtained legendary equipment from a cave somewhere in the North. This was likely the place described in those rumors.

After killing the Azure Foot Dragon Snake, he had felt as though he had triggered some mechanism. Some force seemed to be gathering, one that would likely destroy this place completely. When that happened, he would lose this precious opportunity for good.

And for someone like himself, still growing and surrounded by powerful enemies, such a tremendous boost was an opportunity that might never come again.

Go for it. A bicycle might turn into a motorcycle.

Feeling his body brimming with energy and magical power, Keosius gritted his teeth and made up his mind.