“Huff. Huff.”

Lock, who was breathing heavily, froze in the spot. He felt as if the ground underneath him was falling apart and even forgot about breathing.

“Y, young master-nim-”

Rosalyn had told him on his way here that Cale was unconscious. He expected Cale to be pale and covered in blood, as he had been in previous battles.

Lock didn’t even want to think about it, let alone see it, but ran here as quickly as possible at Choi Han’s request.

And the reality he saw was…

“…S, something like this-”

He never even imagined it would be something like this.

Lock’s hands that were holding the orb were shaking.

On the bed within the office…

Cale was lying on that furniture that didn’t seem to belong in here.

He was pale.

His clothes were covered in dark red patches from blood.

Dry blood and dust were all over his face and body.

“W, why is your body, w, what is going on?”

He saw the cracks all over Cale’s body.

Cale had cracks all over as if he was a cracked marble. There were also large and small injuries all over his body.

Cracks and injuries…

Just seeing these things made it hard to breathe.

“I want to know as well. What is going on?”

Cale looked toward Mila with a stoic expression.

“Teacher, I am currently connecting together the pieces of your plate. Please don’t move.”

She pointed to the left side of Cale’s body. Something was happening on half of his body.

“See, look over here. The cracks and injuries on the left side are almost completely connected with a beige thread, right?”

Those spots were indeed connected by the beige thread, Mila’s mana, and slowly fusing together.

“I started with the left side because the side with the heart is more important. Teacher, please wait about thirty more minutes. I should be done by then. Getting it started is the hard part, and then it goes quickly.”

She smiled and Cale nodded his head before turning toward Lock.

“I’m currently being healed.”

“No, young master-nim- Y, you can’t c, call this healing-”

“Are you okay?”

Lock frowned as Cale ignored his stuttering words and asked something to him.

“Whether I am okay or not is not the problem right now!’

He had had so many things he wanted to say and was about to say them when he looked toward Raon.

Raon’s eyes were still teary, but Raon was smiling and fluttering his wings without knowing what to do.

Cale looked toward Raon as well.

“Are you okay?”

Raon was sniffling before he shouted toward Cale who was asking him if he was okay and observing him from head to toe.

“H, human, you’re a poopy dumbo!”

“…What dumbo?”

Cale looked stupefied.

Raon shouted once more toward Cale who looked stupefied but still thoroughly observed his eyes and expression.

“Human, you are a! Poopy! Dumbo!”

“…Mm.”

Cale debated for a moment before looking at Mila’s doleful smile and nodded his head.

“I guess I did act a bit like a poopy dumbo this time.”

“Human! I’m relieved that you know! You are a poopy dumbo! So!”

Raon stuffed his face on the bed right next to Cale since he did not dare to get any close while Cale was being connected together and shouted again.

“So, just trust me and leave everything to me from now on! I took very good care of things right now too!”

Raon’s wings fluttered.

Raon shouted once more with his voice muffled because his face was buried on the bed.

“I, if you do something like this ever again!”

Raon’s two front paws that were clutching onto the sheets were shaking.

If Cale used that power ever again…

“Human, I’m going to imprison you inside my castle! Of course, I will feed you! I will give you meat every meal! But I will make it so that you can’t ever leave your bed!”

“Oh.”

Raon flinched after hearing Cale’s response. He sounded…happy.

Raon jerked his head up in shock and there was a giant puddle of tears where Raon’s face had been.

“H, human! Y, you like the thought of being imprisoned in the castle so that you can’t do anything other than eat three times a day?!”

‘…Uhh…mm. Yes, I do?’

Cale thought about a slacker life.

But Cale could not respond, ‘yes,’ because Raon’s eyes seemed to be on fire as he rapidly shouted more things.

“Human! What about farming? I agreed to plant apple trees with the gentle Beacrox! I’ll make you apple pies! And what about our plan to travel the world? I want to travel the world!”

Cale’s pupils started to shake.

‘Traveling the world.’

Those words gave him the chills for some reason, but he decided to play along with Raon.

“We need to do whatever you guys want to do.”

“Human, that’s right! It’ll be fun to do everything together!”

As Cale was quietly taking in Raon’s bright smile…

– Cale, you’re up?

– Oh, holy **! He’s finally awake!

– The Dragon is restoring his plate too! He should be okay now!

– This Dragon is really amazing! It’s a total jackpot! I’d even be willing to buy an expensive meal for a Dragon like this!

Cale chuckled while listening to the wowed voices of the ancient powers.

“Umm, young master-nim.”

Lock slowly walked over to Cale’s side. Lock was looking at how the cracks on Cale’s body were slowly being fused together by the beige mana.

“Umm, Choi Han hyung told me to deliver this to you.”

Lock still did not forget what he came to do.

Lock removed the cloth from the orb.

“Choi Han hyung called this a cintamani. It came out from the monster. This is that-”

“A cintamani?”

Cale’s expression brightened a bit. He didn’t know how long he was out for, but it seemed that they killed at least one of the unranked monsters without Choi Han, Raon, or Mila getting injured.

Shhh.

The cloth was completely removed and he could see the orb.

– Can we talk now?

“Huh?”

It was a chaotic situation right now.

Now that the cloth covering the screen was gone, the person who was silent finally started to speak.

“What the…?”

Cale started to frown.

“…Am I still out of it?”

“No! Human, this is the real world! Don’t faint again!”

He seemed to be back to reality based on what Raon just said.

Cale turned back toward the orb Lock was holding.

“By the way, human! What is that?”

– Is…that really you?

Lee Soo Hyuk was sitting on a chair looking at him through the orb. Behind him were Kim Rok Soo and Choi Jung Soo, with Park Jin Tae who was pushed to the back doing his best to peek this way.

“…Ha!”

Cale was flabbergasted.

“…The cintamani had this kind of ability?”

He recalled what the God of Death had said to him.

‘Human, do not think that this is the end.’

‘You never know when you might be reconnected with people you know.’

‘Fate is something even the laws of the world cannot fathom.’

Cale started to speak.

“This damn God bastard……”

He sounded upset but a corner of his mouth curled up.

The three people on the other side of the orb changed expressions after hearing him.

– …It really is you.

They were smiling or crying… Actually, it was hard to tell what kind of emotions they were feeling.

Choi Jung Soo had been covering his mouth from the moment he saw Cale, but now he was wiping his eyes with his hand.

Lee Soo Hyuk was smiling gently, but his eyes were focused on observing Cale through the orb.

As for Kim Rok Soo…

– …Ha.

He was sighing in disbelief with a somewhat similar yet different expression from Cale.

Choi Jung Soo mumbled in a quiet voice.

– How you were fighting here… I guess that’s how your daily life is over there. Or maybe it is even worse?

He wasn’t really talking to anybody and just looking up into the air as he said that.

Lee Soo Hyuk looked at Cale, who looked completely different unlike Choi Han, but started to speak while looking into those same eyes he had seen before.

– Rok… It must be quite hard over there.

He didn’t dare to call him Rok Soo.

He had not been able to see anything at first because he was busy looking at Cale, but he could see a young Dragon and two other people who looked like things he would only see in his imagination.

He couldn’t call Cale that name in front of them when he looked completely different.

Lee Soo Hyuk, Choi Jung Soo, and Kim Rok Soo.

The three of them didn’t know what to say.

Mila, Raon, and Lock were all curious as well but just did their parts as they didn’t dare say anything either.

Mila just focused on finishing her connecting together and looked toward the orb with an odd expression on her face.

Cale started to speak at that moment.

“These are the people who were in the world I went to during the sealed god’s test.”

“Human, what do you mean?”

Cale had never told the others any details about the sealed god’s test.

Cale’s shocked allies on this side turned to look at his other allies inside the orb.

“How many days has it been over there?”

– Not that long.

“As I expected.”

Cale remembered that the time here was about three times faster than the time there and nodded his head.

“I guess the cintamani is serving as a medium for us to be able to contact each other.”

Lee Soo Hyuk, who was looking at Cale speaking calmly as if he was not in any pain at all despite having cracks and injuries all over his body that seemed to be healing, slowly started to speak.

– I see. It seems-

It was at that moment.

Baaaaaaaaaaaa– baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang–

They heard a loud noise outside the terrace.

Cale turned his gaze.

“Open the curtains.”

He couldn’t look out through the terrace window because the curtains were closed.

Mila had closed the curtains almost all the way with just a small gap for Raon to go in and out in order to focus on using Connect Together instead of what was going on outside.

“Hurry.”

Raon flinched after hearing Cale telling him to open the curtains again.

Cale continued to speak to Raon.

“I won’t push myself past the limit like that ever again. I promise.”

Raon channeled his mana after hearing the word, ‘promise.’

Chhhhh-

The curtains opened and they could see what was going on outside.

Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-

The sky was filled with a golden light.

A large Gold Dragon and a white monster with a lion’s mane were fighting.

Golden dust and the Gold Dragon relentlessly attacked the white monster’s shield, causing these loud explosions.

“Human-”

“Young master-nim, you see-”

“Teacher, I shall explain things for you.”

Cale continued to look out the window despite all of the voices talking to him. His eyes were taking in every inch of the Lion Dragon.

Cale started to speak.

“It looks like we need to save our chat for later.”

He looked up toward the orb.

“See you later.”

– …I wish that we could help.

Lee Soo Hyuk nodded his head with a bitter smile on his face.

There were a lot of things he wanted to say and a lot of things he wanted to hear, but the situation on Cale’s side was too terrible for a long chat.

– We won’t bother you.

“Instead, please watch.”

– What?

“…This is a monster you may end up having to face in the future.”

Cale then asked Raon for a favor.

“Raon. Can you hold onto this orb for a while? Make sure to show them the battle.”

“I got it, human!”

Raon was someone who knew Cale’s secret. He was someone Cale could trust with anything and everything.

Cale looked at the others and continued speaking. His eyes had turned cold once again.

“Could you please explain what happened?”

It was at that moment.

Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii– piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii–

A video communication device located in the corner was giving off the emergency signal.

Raon jumped in shock and picked up that video communication device. This was the video communication device connected to their allies who were at the Eastern continent’s Sez Kingdom right now.

“Human, I’ll connect it!”

The video communication device was connected immediately and Ron’s frowning face appeared on the screen. He was covered in sweat as if he had been running as fast as he could.

– Raon-nim-

He called out for Raon before stopping for a moment after seeing Cale’s condition and then blinked once.

He then started to speak with a calmer expression on his face.

– Young master-nim, I have something to tell you.

He didn’t have time to ask how Cale was doing.

Ron was feeling anger and sorrow at Cale’s terrible appearance, but relieved and happy that he was awake.

– I heard a piece of information from the Cat tribe leader.

“What is it?”

Cale looked at Ron, who seemed to be having trouble looking calm, unlike his usual self.

– He said that we will all die when the temple door opens.

The temple door.

Cale’s face stiffened the same way Ron’s stiffened as he said that. He looked at the others in the room. They all realized that it was their turn and quickly started to share information they knew.

Cale heard about everything that happened while he was unconscious and closed his eyes for a moment.

“…Young master-nim.”

Lock flinched after looking at Cale, who seemed to be distressed, and took one step forward.

“Mm.”

Mila forced herself to stop scowling and focused more on her Connect Together. She was almost done with the right side as well now.

“Human…….”

The moment he heard Raon’s shaking voice…

“Heh.”

Cale let out a quiet chuckle.

“Raon.”

“Human, what is it?”

“What did you say Eruhaben-nim told you about the monster?”

Eruhaben had been telling Raon some information about the monster every so often as he fought.

Cale asked about the information Raon had just told him about.

“He said that the shield is extremely sturdy and that it seems stronger than most Dragons. He also said that he hasn’t discovered any special abilities yet either.”

“Not that.”

“…Not that?”

Raon tilted his head before clapping his paws together and shouting.

“Guardian……!”

This unranked monster, the Lion Dragon, kept talking to Eruhaben.

‘…Kill… Kill the strong intruder……’

It was as if it was a guardian that was protecting something.

Lock chimed in with a gasp.

“…The temple door.”

There was nobody in this office who didn’t know that monster’s true identity now.

Lock continued to speak as if he had organized his thoughts.

“Young master-nim, does that mean that this monster is the guardian protecting the temple of the sealed god? The temple doors will open if this bastard dies?”

“It is highly likely.”

He turned toward Ron who was still visible on the screen.

“Take care of things and slowly come back.”

– …Excuse me?

Ron seemed shocked after hearing Cale telling him to come slowly, but Cale just looked away from him.

“Raon.”

“Hmm, hmm?”

Raon, who was debating whether it was okay to kill this Lion Dragon monster and what they would do if they killed it and the temple doors opened, was shocked at Cale’s calm voice and looked toward him.

Cale had to lay still because Mila was using Connect Together on him and could only motion toward his jacket that Raon had taken off with his chin.

“Take out the cracked jar from my spatial pocket bag. Be careful.”

He then turned toward Mila.

“Mila-nim, you can also connect together a crack on a jar, right?”

“…Teacher, I’m already working very hard.”

Mila suddenly got chills on her back as Cale stared at her.

‘…What is this feeling? Why do I feel like I’m going to have to work until I can’t even stand up anymore?’

Mila was ready to give everything she had, but she had the chills for some reason. She just decided there was no need for that and responded.

“I don’t know what kind of jar it is, but do you think I won’t be able to connect together a jar when I can even connect together a person’s plate?”

This was a time where everybody needed to do everything they could.

“I will do it after I finish connecting together your plate, teacher.”

Cale nodded his head with gratitude at Mila’s response and looked back toward Raon.

It was at that moment.

Tang!

Cale heard the sound of a gun, which was unfamiliar to the people of this world but very familiar to him.

He looked out the window again.

He could see the large black Bone Dragon and the three people on top of it.

There was a person who was channeling fire that was as bright as the sun…

A person swirled in a violent black aura…

And a person who was pointing a gun at the monster.

Cale started to smile. Raon was about to shout that it was Cale’s scammer smile before he smiled brightly after hearing what Cale said.

“Raon. Let everybody know that I’m awake.”

“I got it human!”

Raon nodded his head so vigorously that his chubby cheeks were shaking before channeling his mana.

* * *

In the middle of the fierce battle…

– The human is awake! He told me to let you know that he was awake!

Eruhaben, Alberu, Choi Han, Rosalyn, and the others… Everybody Raon contacted looked shocked but happy.

“…That little punk.”

Alberu lowered his gun for a moment. He exchanged glances with Rosalyn, Choi Han, and the Bone Dragon.

They were all doing their best to suppress their emotions.

They heard Raon’s voice again.

– The human said to tell you.

Raon’s voice was happy and bright. Raon really enjoyed these moments of delivering Cale’s messages. His excited voice reached everyone’s minds.

– We are starting a plan right now.

Raon repeated Cale’s words, word for word.

– There is only one goal for this plan.

Alberu turned toward the office.

Rosalyn had her fiery mana surrounding her as she closed her eyes to focus on Cale’s words that Raon was sending to her.

– Our goal is to get rid of the White Star and the sealed god at once.

Choi Han’s face no longer looked calm as the corners of his lips started to curl up slowly, as if he couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry.

– But first, we must drag the White Star in.

Craaaaaaack.

The Gold Dragon ignored the cracks on its skin and focused on Raon’s words.

His gaze was still directed at the Lion Dragon.

– The first step to do that…

Ancient Dragon Eruhaben thought it was funny that he was feeling relieved at hearing the voice of a human who was significantly younger than him as he waited for what Cale had to say next.

He heard Raon’s voice at that moment.

– Goldie gramps! Pretend to be dead!

“What?”

‘…What did I just hear?’

Eruhaben’s eyes opened wide.

“Ho.”

“Hmm?”

“Mm.”

As Alberu, Rosalyn, and Choi Han all responded to what they had heard… They heard Raon’s bright voice again.

– Goldie gramps, at least pretend to faint!

Raon was being serious.

– The human told me. He said that the White Star must be nearby watching everything! Goldie gramps! Hurry! Hurry up and play dead! Hurry up and pretend to be dead! Make it look like you were hit by the Lion Dragon’s shield and fainted or something!

Eruhaben could not quietly listen anymore and made a single comment.

“…What the hell?”

Eruhaben, who was frowning as much as possible, started to laugh as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Ha, haha-”

‘They suddenly want me to pretend like I fainted or like I died?’

Such an unbelievable thing…

“…I guess that little punk really did wake up.”

Eruhaben could truly feel that Cale Henituse was awake.

—