"Goodnight, Lord Gorth..."
"Good night."
The Black Forest, a magical little wooden house.
After sending the two sleepy little ones back to their room, Gorth returned to the window and began to wait.
Looking outside, the lights were already out.
With no entertainment available, everyone was already asleep at this hour. Looking at the cluster of houses standing silently in the darkness, Gorth was somewhat lost in thought.
"There are already so many..."
The original refugee gathering place has increasingly resembled a real village.
The candlelight flickered gently among the branches, and a subtle feeling quietly rose from the depths of my heart.
Is it a sense of accomplishment?
Recalling the community he had once built in the game, Gorth shook his head.
"I don't understand."
Gorth raised his head.
Thanks to the absence of leaves in the Black Forest, he could clearly see the entire starry sky.
Is the starry sky over this Daichi any different from that of my former hometown?
He looked at it intently for a long time, but found that he couldn't answer it.
It wasn't a visual problem, but rather... he had never properly looked at the starry sky of his hometown.
This realization left him stunned for a moment.
He tried hard to recall, but only a blurry image remained.
The most beautiful starry sky he had ever seen was in someone else's social media posts.
Not just the starry sky, but I don't seem to have any deep memories of my past life.
An ordinary birth, an ordinary upbringing, and ordinary days.
But before he could even graduate normally, he was transported to another world.
Thinking of this, Gorth's lips twitched.
He thought of Vane again.
No, if we're talking about memorable ones, Vane is one of them.
They went to the same middle school, were classmates in high school, and shared a dormitory in college; they even ended up together in time travel.
I didn't really notice it before, but now that I think about it—it's a karmic entanglement.
Yes, Gorth's relationship must be described as a "twisted fate".
Back in junior high, Vane brought his cell phone to school and was caught playing with it during class by the head teacher.
Originally, this matter had nothing to do with Gorth; the problem was that he was tall and stood at the front of the line.
At the school-wide review meeting, Vane stood on the podium, while Gorth stood at the front of the class line.
The two people looked at each other across a microphone, with only the running track between them.
In front of the entire school, that bastard smiled at him while reading his self-criticism.
He couldn't hold it in.
Then I was rewarded with a written self-criticism.
The two met again when they were assigned to different classes in high school.
Vane resolved their feud with a bottle of iced tea, and the two officially became friends.
Thanks to his excellent modeling skills, Vane quickly made friends with many more people.
It seemed that this talent gave him confidence, and he extended an invitation to Gorth.
"What do you think about us asking the teacher to let us switch to a better seat?"
Are you very familiar with him?
"Give it a try, back seat by the window, the king's hometown!"
Because he was deeply immersed in anime and manga back then, the window seat in the back row was indeed very appealing to Gorth, so he agreed to the decision he would regret most.
"Okay, I'll find you two a good spot, and you can take the iced tea."
The negotiations went smoothly, and they secured a very good position without losing a single soldier.
[The Twin Demon-Sealing Towers Next to the Podium]
"Alright, from today onwards, you two will be the left and right protectors of our class."
Gorth: "..."
Vane: "It's okay, things will be different once we're assigned to classes."
After class assignment --
"Oh, I've heard of you two, the ones who bribed the homeroom teacher, right?"
"Alright, I understand the rules. You can have the left and right protectors."
Vane: "Um..."
Gorth: "Shut up."
As a result, Gorth was forced to ingest chalk dust for three years.
Fortunately, their grades improved, and both of them were admitted to their ideal universities.
We met in college, in the same dorm room.
Looking at that familiar face, Gorth suddenly realized a cruel truth:
He'll probably never get rid of this person in his lifetime.
Fortunately, after three years of university life, Vane didn't come up with anything new.
Just when he thought things would finally end peacefully, a joking vow to draw cards sent him on a journey through time.
"..."
Gorth rose from his chair and paced back and forth.
"The more I think about it, the angrier I get..."
After a moment's hesitation, he opened the Group Chat.
[Gorth:@Wei Vane]
[Vane: What's wrong?]
[Gorth: You wretched child.]
[Vane:???]
[Vane: No, wait a minute...]
Ignoring Vane's reply, Gorth closed the Group Chat with satisfaction.
Upon re-observing Talulah and the other person's coordinates, they realized they were very close to the forest.
But...
"Buldrokkas'tee? What's he doing here?"
Aside from Talulah and the other two, Patriot's coordinates are also very close to the forest, and they are still getting closer.
"Is there not enough medicine?"
Remembering the potion given to him before he left, Gorth had his answer.
"Hey... I told you not to fight so often."
As Gorth retrieved the potion from the shadows and was estimating its consumption, reminders kept coming from the group chat.
"So persistent..."
Gorth decided to simply block Vane out and was about to leave.
[Gregor: Gorth, come back.]
"Um?"
The door closed, Gorth placed the potion on the table.
[Gorth: You're here. What happened?]
[Vera: The dragon egg is about to hatch.]
[Gorth:!!!]
... a moment later...
"Is it really impossible to help them hatch?"
Ifrit gripped Gregor's horns, shaking nervously.
[It's better for them to hatch naturally in this situation. Dragons have strong vitality and will be fine.]
"It's okay, don't pry it open."
"When did that start?"
"I don't know, it was like this when I came back to see Lao San and happened to check on it."
As he watched the eggshell bulge, Vane's voice was unusually tense.
"Is it possible that it's a double-yolk egg?"
Do you think this is an egg?
Gorth nudged him to the side a little, rubbing his hands together excitedly.
"Do you think... when the baby dragon is born, what's its first impression? Will it think of us as its parents?"
"Who is the mother? Is she the second child?"
Vera, suddenly tagged, throbbed with a jolt of energy and smiled:
"If you keep making gender jokes, I'll stuff this Ancestral Bug into your mouth."
Vane shrank back, Gregor made way for him, then suddenly noticed the cracks in the shell.
[Don't speak! It's coming out!]
In the tense atmosphere, the Pure Gold horn pierced the eggshell.
"They're out! They're out!"
[Quiet! I'm observing!]
As the cracks widened, a childish scream echoed through the Nursery.
"Aww~"
"It cried out! It cried out!"
[Quiet down! I'm having a barbecue!]
The group was thrown into disarray, like a group of helpless new fathers.
Amidst the commotion, the pinkish-white dragon cub finally broke through its eggshell, its wet head peeking out.
It was much larger than everyone had expected; including the tail, the young dragon was nearly 2 meters long.
Its entire body was covered in pinkish-white scales, and on its forehead, two thick dragon horns curved forward.
A single, short, blunt horn stands atop its nose, looking more like an ornament.
The young dragon opened its eyes, its golden pupils still coated with lingering mucus, and looked bewildered at the faces that were so close to it.
"Aww~"
"Hmm!"
Gorth suddenly clutched his chest and leaned back.
My heart is melting...
Vane tilted his head and examined the little dragon, his brows slowly furrowing.
"Um, I think it looks a little ugly... huh?"
Before he could finish speaking, the baby dragon lowered its head and began to eat the eggshell.
Click, click...
As it rapidly ate, the mucus on its body quickly shed, and its pinkish-white scales visibly turned grayish-white.
Between the scales, a touch of crimson quietly emerged, like blood flowing.
The wings that had been pressed tightly against his back began to unfold, slowly spreading and drying in the air.
[The other one is about to hatch!]
Gregor's voice rang out just in time, drawing everyone's attention back to the other egg.
The process was the same, but a completely different baby dragon emerged.
It is entirely black, with no single horn in front of its nose, and the dragon horns on its forehead do not curve forward, but extend gracefully backward.
"Aww~"
After greeting the "parents" in front of him, his gaze fell on his older brother, who had almost finished eating the eggshells.
It lowered its head and joined in the eating.
The white baby dragon had finished its portion and was staring intently at the eggshell in front of the black baby dragon before crawling towards it.
"Aww!"
The black baby dragon alertly raised its head and used its body to protect the remaining eggshell.
The white dragon ignored it, and just as it was about to extend its wicked little claws, a pair of hands scooped it up in time.
"You can't take your brother's things."
Vera cradled the white dragon in her arms. The SilverAsh- gray dragon blinked, and then—
"Aww~"
It turned back and licked the heart of someone.
Vera jolted, and instinctively loosened her grip.
The baby dragon slid off her arms and continued crawling toward the black baby dragon's eggshell.
The black baby dragon increased its feeding speed.
But the SilverAsh dragon's target doesn't seem to be the eggshell in front of it—
It crawled straight into the pit and began to suck the remaining blood at the bottom.
After the black baby dragon finished eating the last piece of eggshell, it turned its head and saw its brother's action, immediately imitating him.
The two little dragons lay side by side, their heads buried in the nutrient solution, their tails occasionally flicking and splashing a few drops of liquid.
How did they drink it?
Vane stared at the blood at the bottom of the pit, which was now disappearing at an incredible speed.
The baby dragons' bodies became round, but their bellies were like bottomless pits.
"It's probably Dragonkind's physique..." Gorth wasn't quite sure either.
The blood quickly ran out, and the two dragons looked around, their gazes sweeping over the faces of the four "parents".
"Aww~" x2
Vera hesitated for a moment, then reached out and picked up the black baby dragon.
It felt warm, and the scales were smooth and hard to the touch.
"Ouch."
The black baby dragon let out a soft cry, but instead of biting like the white baby dragon, it snuggled closer to Vera.
Vera stood frozen in place, suddenly unsure of what to do.
Vane leaned closer and gently touched its horn.
"It has horns."
"Nonsense, of course dragons have horns."
Vera rolled her eyes at Vane turned to look at the other baby dragon, only to find it had taken flight.
"It can fly!"
"Nonsense, of course dragons can fly."
"No! This doesn't make sense!"
Vane pointed at the white dragon, whose wings flapped only once every few seconds, yet it remained suspended in mid-air.
[After all, it's a magical creature.]
Gregor stretched out his arm, and the white dragon hatchling stopped on it with satisfaction.
"Hello!"
Ifrit greeted him, and the young dragon tilted its head and breathed a small ball of flame upwards.
"Yes! I can do that too!"
Activating Originium Arts, Ifrit also extended a ball of flame from her hand.
The young dragon's Pure Gold pupils lit up, and it suddenly raised its head, exhaling a cloud of black smoke.
"Haha, do you want me to teach you?"
"Huh?"
Should we name them?
They were both wielding black baby dragons, only to be met with unsatisfied bites from the other. Vane turned and suggested:
"How are Little Black and Little White?"
"Can't you be a little more creative?"
Gorth suggested, expressing his disdain for Vane's aesthetic expression:
"How about Reshiram and Zekrom? They're the white dragon brother and the black dragon brother, respectively."
How do you know their sex?
Vera rolled her eyes at Gorth and hesitated:
"How are Dora and Dogon?"
"Not very good." Vane squinted.
"Your name is even worse than Little Black or Xiao Bai."
[I think the Daikū and the Daichi are also good.]
Looking at the two baby dragons, Gregor nodded in satisfaction.
[And they all happen to be Fire Dragon.]
"Then let's vote."
Vera's proposal was approved by several people, and a brief vote was held.
Gorth three votes, Gregor got two.
[Does nobody really understand Monster Hunter...?]
Seeing Gregor so dejected that even his spirits seemed to have dimmed, the group compromised.
"Let's use Reshiram and Zekrom as their names, and Daikū and Daichi as their nicknames."
[This is great!]
While the others were naming their children, Ifrit continued teaching.
"In short... just use all your strength! Put all your effort into it!"
Reshiram seemed to understand Ifrit's teachings; a dazzling light condensed in his mouth, and the terrifying heat distorted the air.
Sensing something was wrong, Gregor grabbed him.
Shut up!
With a muffled thud, black smoke billowed from Reshiram's mouth.
To the astonishment of the others, the young dragon merely shook its head in confusion, showing no signs of injury.
[Such strong physical abilities...]
Gregor could sense that terrifying energy.
Even as a cub, its energy level is far higher than that of the Fire Grand Knight.
But this obstruction caused the young dragon's condition to become strange.
Reshiram's body swelled up as if breathing, and soon after, Zekrom showed the same signs.
"Roar!"
The two young dragons roared simultaneously, flames spilling from their snouts.
"What happened?"
Vera stroked Zekrom in an attempt to soothe him, but to little avail.
[No... they're absorbing too much energy!]
Feeling this reaction was all too familiar, Gregor expanded his vision and immediately noticed the baby dragons' excessively abundant energy.
"Then what should we do? Use a skill to absorb it?"
Gorth subconsciously summoned vines, Vera said worriedly:
"But they're not invincible, what if they get hurt?"
[Then take them out to vent.]
Gregor placed the baby dragons on either side of Gorth's shoulders.
[Third brother, that's a snowy plain over there, I'm counting on you.]
"Okay, I'll go now."
Gorth immediately set off, Gregor added:
[Remember to take them to a secluded place! One breath attack should be enough to fill their energy reserves, but the area of effect might be limited...]
A flash of light, Gorth's figure had vanished.
[... a bit big.]
"Phew, wait a minute, you two little devils."
Back in the forest, seeing two baby dragons preparing to erupt in the camp, Gorth was so frightened that he quickly manually shut down the game.
But with the return of Gorth, a familiar feeling instantly returned.
Their hands froze, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
The two young dragons stopped struggling, their Pure Gold pupils gazing at their now "fiery" father, before turning back to the distance.
"Shadow Wolf... has it been summoned?"
Realizing this fact, Gorth immediately sank into the shadows and frantically marched toward the coordinates.
The sleeping Infected were suddenly awakened and looked around in panic.
The Daichi trembled continuously, and the forest began to twist.
Black shadows blanketed the entire forest, along with all the buildings; the Black Forest—
The advance begins.