Story Reader / Festival Event Story / Dumplings and Dragons / Story
You find yourself in a bizarre land, where desolation and prosperity blend together without any transition.
Withered branches stand alongside lush treetops. One moment, you are walking on hard, barren land, but the next instant you are on soft grass. It is impossible to determine where you are with no clear reference points.
No wonder the map here is all a mess...
Commandant, we can't just keep walking like this. Shall we change our strategy?
Hmm... "If your luck isn't sufficient to get you out, try inverting it. Remember, the Realm of Dragons welcomes all friendly adventurers."
Inversing it... What would that mean?
Liv looks at the way you came from, trying to figure it out from there. Lucia takes the journal from her and starts to look at it from different angles, while Lee is inspecting the difference between different plantations...
I'll do my best.
(Do your "best" indeed...)
(It seems they have not figured it out yet. Each time they walk past a different-looking region, they need to run a check until the checks return the same results.)
(Shall I give them a hint?)
But when the automatically calculated data is presented to Ayla, she also begins to look at the results displayed on the terminal from different angles like Lucia.
...Just like that, you finally got out from the alternating chaos.
In front of you is a city that you have never seen before. Although the buildings look very strange, you can still figure out their functions and confirm this is the Realm of Dragons.
Did we make it? Wait a sec, I'd like to double-check my pathfinding results.
...It was some sort of miracle, I would say.
No, it's actually the complete opposite. All failures... Critical failures, to be exact.
"If your luck isn't sufficient to get you out, try inversing it..." So that's what it means!
...Did you see this coming, Commandant?
...Okay, I can accept that as a tactic.
After searching for a while, you found a door.
Ayla... I mean, DM. Does this city have walls?
Yes, but after searching for a while, you found a door.
It is blocking your way forward. Above the door are a pair of eyes that don't belong to ordinary creatures. They are slowly opening.
I want to check the items in my inventory, as well as the number of spells available.
??
What kind of door is this? Does it open inward or outward? I want to check its texture and inspect the door hinge.
It's a circle-shaped door that is large enough to be socketed into the door frame. To open it, you'll need to roll it into the frame, but the door is currently closed and there is no point of action left for you.
The door is made from stone, with many spells cast on it to protect against lightning, wind, explosion, and so on and so forth. There is no door hinge either, so you can't break it that way.
Are there any protruding rocks nearby?
Maybe, it's an ancient building after all.
I'll climb all the way up using the protrusions then.
...When you climb above the door, the door opens its mouth; you only feel a strong gale before falling backward.
Can't you just knock on the door normally?
(I just realize they hardly open a door using the normal way...)
Mr. Door... You can talk?
Mr. Door? Thanks for giving me a name. That's probably my favorite one so far.
Um, Mr. Door, can you please let us in? We'd like to enter the Dragon Realm.
Well, I don't mean to disappoint you, but I was given a duty by the guy who built me, which is to stop adventurers like you from entering.
One Ancient Triangle replica can only let one person in. That's the rule we agreed on.
But we only have one replica here...
How about letting the other three down?
No.
C'mon, don't give me that serious face. You young people can't even take a joke nowadays.
As long as you have the materials, I can close one eye. It's not like I never did this before. Just take it as a token of appreciation for the new name you gave me.
No need. Just put the box with "Twin Souls" inside into this... mouth-like opening on me.
Like this?
Yeah, just like that. Watch your hand now, for I'm about to extract what's inside the box.
You hear the blunt noises of metal clinking, followed by the abrasive screeching made from sharp items scratching against the surface.
Mr. Door's stone-carved face rapidly changes from relaxed to twisted in no time.
Gosh, what did you put in this thing?! Adamantine, obsidian, oblivion steel... Where did you get this container? It's way too chewy.
Seeing Mr. Door spit out decomposed metal blocks, Liv cannot help but recall Karenina's proud expression when she introduced the box.
I thought the old box wasn't secure enough, so I built a new one. Made from composite materials, it can even be used as a shield when needed. I think it can withstand the direct hit of small-caliber gun shells.
Whatever, I was too confident. It's terribly rude of me, but let's just leave those things there. I don't want to dispose of them ever again.
As he speaks, a loud humming sound comes from underneath as the round rock door slides to the right.
I'm glad to see so many people coming to the Realm of Dragons after so long. He didn't wait so many years for nothing.
Please, if you may, take care of him for me.
Mr. Door did not leave you time to ask. He has returned to the door frame and become silent again just like any other ordinary door.
Gray Raven crosses the stone door. They see a white crane gliding past them as they enter the wide, open world from the narrow border.
The city in front is nothing like the bustling jungle of steel you are used to. Although not as majestic and glamorous, its ancient bricks and wood are carved with the marks of time.
Lamps light up the city like reflections of stars. Once crafted by countless people, it is having a peaceful sleep in the evening breeze.
