Let’s go.
When Yujin heard those words, he unconsciously felt his heart thumping.
Escape.
All the tribulations he endured for the past two months were partly for his own sake too.
“Finally getting out, huh…”
He looked around.
The massive ashen Joint Space (or Tomb) that appeared completely different from when he was human.
As he recalled all the tribulations he experienced here over the past two months, he couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.
“If we have the power of dragons, we can get out of this Maze, right?”
『That’s right. If you were one of the beings trapped here, it would’ve been tough, but you’re not, are you?』
There are two types of beings trapped in the Maze.
One consists of Transcendents who became prisoners after losing in the Great War. The other includes monsters born from the power of Transcendents residing within the Maze.
Excess power flowing through the Maze gets reborn as monsters according to its rules.
However, Yujin didn’t fit into either category.
Clearly, thanks to his contract with Tiamat, he had transcended both physically and mentally beyond the realm of mortals. And because his soul was bound with hers, it could no longer be considered mortal either.
Still young, but since he carried the Heart and bones of Tiamat, once the leader of dragons, his potential wasn’t far behind… making him essentially a Transcendent.
Nevertheless, the Maze was originally created as a prison to confine Transcendents who lost in the Great War—not newly born ones.
Isn’t the child of a criminal not necessarily a criminal? Though assuming a child could be born in a prison is strange in itself.
Moreover, Tiamat was already deceased during the Great War, so she wasn’t subject to the rule preventing escape. Of course, who would assume a dead being could escape?
Besides, it’s absurd that the Maze wouldn’t allow Tiamat to leave when it occasionally sends out seeds imbued with the spirits of dead demons as rewards. Naturally, neither Tiamat nor Yujin were aware of such a rule existing.
Anyway, Yujin, carrying Tiamat’s Heart, was also someone who could leave the outside world alongside her.
Still, someone might ask:
‘If you enter the Maze conventionally, don’t you receive protection allowing you to exit normally? Is there another way out without it?’
Yes.
The protection allowing you to leave the Maze is usually reserved for emergency escapes. There’s an ordinary way to leave without it.
Most importantly, if you use the protection to leave, you’ll only take what you had when you first entered, bouncing back outside with nothing gained inside the Maze.
Thus, unless it’s a truly dangerous or hopeless situation, people generally don’t use the emergency escape. Otherwise, their entire day of exploring the Maze would be wasted.
In any case, there’s a way to leave the Maze. Though, the original Yujin probably wouldn’t have been able to reach such an exit even if it existed…
“How do I use the power of dragons?”
『Wait. I’ll transfer my knowledge to you now.』
It’s different now.
Though Tiamat’s Tomb is usually a closed-off place with no conventional exit, things change with the power of dragons.
Dragons are among the most omnipotent of Transcendents. With just a word, they can overturn laws and realize their desires.
Although their numbers were small compared to other Transcendents, and they suffered defeat during the Great War due to the combined forces of demons and giants, the power dragons possessed was unmatched even among Transcendents.
In fact, with the power of dragons alone, Yujin and Tiamat could leave the Maze even without a conventional exit. And indeed, that’s what they intended to do.
Tiamat transferred all her knowledge about dragon powers to Yujin. There was no need for tedious explanations. Since their souls were connected, she simply implanted the knowledge directly into his mind.
Thus, Yujin spent a moment digesting the vast amount of information Tiamat had imparted. It dwarfed the alchemical knowledge she taught him before he became a dragon.
The previous Yujin wouldn’t have been able to handle such an overwhelming amount of information. But now, things were different.
“…Ah, I understand.”
He quickly processed all the information she had given him. As a Transcendent, and now a master of magic—the rational and calculated science of dragons—Yujin’s ability to process information, think, and calculate was far beyond anything a mortal could achieve. He was practically a supercomputer.
Having obtained the knowledge of dragon power, Yujin was about to speak.
『Hold on a sec.』
He would’ve spoken if Tiamat hadn’t beaten him to it. Yujin turned to look at her.
“What’s wrong?”
『Do you remember this is my tomb?』
“Of course.”
『Then do you know what’s inside those sarcophagi?』
“Sarcophagi…”
At her words, Yujin glanced at the rows of sarcophagi. They seemed to emanate powerful mystical energies.
…Could it be?
“Are there burial goods inside them?”
Burial goods.
Items buried alongside the deceased during a funeral ceremony.
While it’s unclear if dragons had such customs, if they did… considering this was the tomb of the former leader of dragons, it wouldn’t contain ordinary items.
『That’s right. They may not be as good as the treasures from my lair, but they’re gifts offered by my children, so they should be quite useful.』
“But is it alright to just take them?”
『I’m the owner of this tomb. Why wouldn’t it be?』
“…That makes sense.”
Since the deceased herself suggested taking them while leaving, it’d be best to just grab them.
『I’ve already given you the knowledge of magic, so creating a pocket space shouldn’t be difficult. So, gather these items first before we leave.』
“Alright.”
Saying so, Yujin began searching each sarcophagus, pulling out various items…
*
After some time…
Yujin rummaged through the sarcophagi and collected numerous items.
Mostly gold, silver, and precious jewels, along with many ancient artifacts. Though their purposes were unclear, none of them were ordinary. Following Tiamat’s knowledge, he stuffed them all into the pocket space he created.
Additionally, there were sarcophagi filled with elixirs and something Tiamat referred to as the Philosopher’s Stone.
“The Philosopher’s Stone… Isn’t it similar to a dragon’s core?”
『Mortals imagined it based on the dragon’s core. Seems like one of my children made it out of curiosity.』
“Imitation… Indeed, it does generate infinite mana.”
A dragon’s core is a unique bodily organ that generates limitless mana. This Philosopher’s Stone was similarly producing and releasing endless mana.
『But compared to a real dragon’s core, it falls short. The quality of the generated mana differs.』
“Indeed, compared to your core, Tiamat, the mana feels crude.”
To put it bluntly, it was comparable to Yujin before becoming a dragon—or perhaps slightly better. In reality, it was utterly useless to Yujin now.
『My child likely made it to show me, not for me to use. Still, by mortal standards, it’s an incredible treasure. Though…』
“In this era?”
『Maybe not. In my time, the Philosopher’s Stone was merely a mythical concept for mortals. They didn’t even know how to make it or what materials were required. But perhaps in this era, mortals’ potential has blossomed enough to casually create something like the Philosopher’s Stone?』
Yujin was certain that wasn’t the case. He had never seen anything in the Maze Academy that could generate infinite mana like this.
Moreover, he remembered that even organizations like the Alchemy Guild still regarded the Philosopher’s Stone as the ultimate dream of alchemists. Yujin spoke up.
“Haha… Doesn’t seem like it. The Philosopher’s Stone remains a mythical material.”
『Oh, right? Clearly, you are a child of this era. I momentarily forgot.』
Though technically, Yujin came from Earth, but he swallowed that comment and simply smiled.
Still, it was astonishing. While the Philosopher’s Stone remained a mythical concept for mortals, it was apparently something dragons casually created out of curiosity thousands of years ago.
‘Transcendents truly belong to a different class.’
And now, he himself was called a Transcendent. The world sure was unpredictable.
“I guess I should take this too.”
『Yeah, gather everything. Oh, that corner seems to have weapons and accessories left by one of my children.』
Once all the burial goods were gathered, the tomb felt empty. The surrounding energies, which once filled the space, had noticeably faded.
Apparently, these energies stemmed from the burial goods, Tiamat’s Heart, and her bones. Now that Yujin had taken everything, even the energies had vanished.
“Shall we go then?”
『Yes, finally leaving this tiresome place.』
Smiling faintly at her words, Yujin said the next line.
“Then, let’s 『depart from here.』”
The power to twist laws and realize the speaker’s desires: Dragon Language.
As it was realized…
Flash!
Yujin and Tiamat disappeared from the tomb.
Thus, the two beings finally escaped the tomb.
And with the complete disappearance of bones, Heart, and burial goods, the tomb…
Gurgle…!
Slowly began collapsing and fading away.
