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Despite my continuous provoking, Karin remained firm in her stance. That was too bad, but I’d thought that provoking Karin would’ve been an effective method.

If Karin kept trying to refuse me so stubbornly, I’d have no choice but to use force.

“Alright, alright. I won’t ask you to fight, so come out.”

[No.]

I wondered if I should, once again, try to taunt Karin with an “Are you scared?”, but I refrained from doing so in fear of pissing off the dragon. It’d be disadvantageous if I did something stupid in this circumstance. I was already told that my actions here would determine my next stage, so I’d have to watch my mouth.

“But we have to talk face-to-face. Come out. I promise I won’t come at you.”

[You’re a terrible liar.]

Damn it. It must have been obvious again. I’d never thought that my lying skills were this horrendous, but I guess my excitement about meeting a dragon was hard to mask.

For now, I’d have to give up on my dream of fighting a dragon; after all, you can’t fight someone who refuses to meet you.

Gripping the crystal ball in my hand, I maneuver my way out of the cave.

[Where are you going?] Karin asked through the crystal ball.

Was it possible that the crystal ball could transmit not only voices but also visibility of the surrounding environment?

“It’s better to talk in front of a waterfall than a smelly, dreary cave full of year-old bat shit.”

Karin remained silent as I plopped down in front of the waterfall. I rummaged through my inventory to pull out a simple chair and tent as space for me to think.

Currently, Karin seemed upset. One of my friends used to sulk in silence, and it seemed as though Karin was doing the same.

By the time I finished propping up the cave, Karin hadn’t said a single word to me.

Settling myself down into a comfortable position on the chair, I picked up the crystal ball and asked, “Is the cave your home?”

From rumors, dragons were supposed to live in obscure places, and this waterfall cave fit that very definition. It was massive and had a high ceiling with no stalactites that could interfere with movement. In addition, it had a familiar stank, a dragon’s unique, subtle smell.

It was similar to Idy’s smell that I’ve become able to recognize after living with her for a long time. The smell emanating from the cave was slightly different, though. It had a much stronger fishy smell that Idy’s body odor, and at first, I’d thought it was merely the cave’s natural odor, but now that I think about it, it might’ve been the smell of a dragon.

[....] Karin mumbled something incomprehensible, and then, once more, reverted to being dead silent.

Shortly after the question left my mouth, I realized I’d made a mistake. The question could’ve been taken in two possible ways. Was the cave her home? Or could the cave be even considered a house?

I thought of ways to relieve the dragon’s bad mood, but gave up and just decided to have a meal. I made a bonfire and took out a package of food from my inventory.

* * * * * *

After eating my fill, I went inside the tent to lie down and peacefully watch the hypnotizing waterfall.

It was a bad habit to lie down right after eating, but I was too tired to care that much.

Suddenly, Ahbooboo whispered into my ear, [Warrior.]

Come to think of it, I’d completely forgotten that Ahbooboo existed. Once the stage was cleared, Ahbooboo and Seregia were automatically moved into my inventory. Perhaps that was why Ahbooboo had remained quiet.

[Warrior, is it really a dragon beyond that crystal ball?] Ahbooboo asked.

[That’s what it says, yes.] replied Seregia.

Ahbooboo’s whispering made me feel anxious, and I hummed in response to his question.

[Couldn’t it be a lie?]

[No, I don’t think so.]

I didn’t think it was a lie either. Ahbooboo hesitated for a moment before saying to me, [If it’s really a dragon, then it’s best to make him feel better.]

[Why?] Seregia questioned.

[Dragons are very stingy creatures.] Ahbooboo complained and elaborated on various stories about stingy dragons.

One of the slanderous stories that Ahbooboo mentioned was about a founding emperor who called himself a dragon. When a dragon came to visit the emperor’s funeral, it had endlessly spouted sarcastic and unflattering comments on the emperor. The stories portrayed dragons as cheap and shameful.

I decided to take Ahbooboo’s advice to lighten up Karin’s mood that had been damaged in the cave incident. But it was slightly too late to apologize for my slip of the tongue.

“Hey,” I spoke to the crystal ball.

[What?] Karin answered, and a wave of relief washed over me.

“You’re not upset, are you?”

[...No.]

“Right? You didn’t get offended when I asked if that cave was your home, did you?”

Somehow, the things I said to the dragon ended up being pretty similar to the things I’d said to my silently sulking friend back in middle school.

“I knew it. Is there any person who would get upset about that?”

Oh wait, Karin’s not a person. Damn, I ended up talking too much again. Fortunately for me, Karin didn’t point out my mistake.

[Of course not! That cave is not my home!] Karin exclaimed indignantly.

This was unexpected. I hadn’t thought Karin would deny the assumption that the cave was her home since it harbored the scent of a dragon. Even a couple hundred cave salamanders wouldn’t have been able to make the cave smell that bad.

“Yes, I see. I thought you were offended since you didn’t talk all of a sudden.”

[There was just a lot of work to do!]

Karin had previously mentioned I was a lousy liar, but it seemed that she, too, was also pretty awful at lying. Unlike her usual meek manner of speaking, she had angrily shouted when she lied.

“You must have a lot of responsibilities to work for the Vaccine as someone who has a higher position than a regular apostle. That’s amazing”

Although my praise for Karin was insincere, the dragon seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. Through my nonsensical talking and not-so-subtle compliments, I was able to change the atmosphere into a more friendly one.

However, I was curious about one thing. In comparison to other apostles, Karin was rather kind. Other apostles didn’t even attempt to hide their feelings of contempt when they saw me. They treated me, fought me, and saw me as a mere stepping stool. I would’ve thought that Karin, being a prideful dragon, would’ve also been more inclined to have this attitude. Maybe the preconceived notion that dragons were all arrogant wasn’t all that accurate.

I decided to ask Karin about it.

[The world is changing. You can’t be obsessed with that outdated idea forever. There are dragons that are sticking with the attitude you mentioned, but I am not one of them.]

The world was changing?

[The world is beginning to judge people by their abilities rather than their species. Take a lower-class tribe, for example. Can you say with 100 percent certainty that every member has descended from that ethnic group? The time has come for us to evaluate individuals based on their skills.] Karin said, and I listened to her quietly.

[Of course, your species does have an impact on your behavior and abilities, which makes it difficult to avoid the resulting stigma. Typically, the rumors aren’t too far off from the truth, so it’s easier to judge people based on species. I also have prejudices, and you’ve reminded me of the preconceptions I’ve had about the human race. But the world is evolving rapidly, and I’ll try my best to keep up with it, too.]

Karin’s voice took on a serious edge, and listening to the story, Karin finally began to seem more like a dragon.

Looking back at it, it seemed that I also had strong prejudices based on race. It was something Idy had pointed out several times, but I paid her opinion no attention.

Most of the people I met while clearing stages had strong tribal characteristics. But, there was very little difference in the behaviors of various species. For me, who’d have to face various types of people in the future, it was an opportunity to rethink my preconceptions.

There was still one more thing that Karin mentioned that had bothered me. ‘The world is changing.’

“What do you mean by the world is changing?”

Of course, the Earth was facing a cataclysmic upheaval, but it wasn’t likely that the dragon, who belonged to the influential vaccine war, would say the world was changing because of it.

[I’ve heard you’re one of the first challengers to enter the planet’s source and generate tutorials.]

“No, I’m not asking about the change of the Earth, I’m asking about the change of the world you’re talking about.”

[It’s not that different. I’m changing, just like your hometown is changing. The wind of change is beginning to blow. Think about it like that.]

Karin’s words made it seem like the monster of the source, the vaccine war, and the tutorial system had just appeared. Was it only that monsters were spawning and tutorials were being carried out, or were the gods and systems changing, too?

I asked for more details, but Karin drew the line there. The dragon told me that changes were taking place, but didn’t care to elaborate on them.

[You should take into consideration that the concept of change I mentioned is slightly different from how humans understand it.]

I supposed that was inevitable; our lives and experiences were different. It was natural to view things in a slightly different manner.

I thought for a moment about what Karin said, and how the information would affect me.

In some ways, a change was beneficial. For my goal, it’d be better to have a chaotic situation where the conditions were continuously changing than to have everything already solidified.

* * * * * *

After a good night’s rest, it was time to start working again! Following breakfast, the sleeping bags were put back into my inventory.

[Want to go to the next stage?] Karin asked.

I folded up my tent and nodded my head in response to her question.

[Then, I’lldecide which stage is right for you. Is there a kind of stage that you want to avoid? If there is, I ‘ll make sure you won’t encounter it.]

I was amazed; what a nice thing to say. Maybe it’s because we’d gotten closer after spending a night together.

“Remove a stage where I need to lead and motivate a lot of people or where I need to maintain good relationships. Oh, and religious ones, too.”

Hearing my answer, Karin asked why.

“Why? It’s just awkward and uncomfortable.”

I wasn’t confident in those situations. Leading people had never been my strong suit. It was a stage theme that had appeared several times on the 40th floor, but I cleared it by using brute force at every critical moment.

[Okay, I’ll consider it.]

I thanked Karin and climbed into the portal that had appeared on the floor.

“Move.”

* * * * * *

The 56th floor was a place with stunning scenery. Under the brightly coloured sky was a vast field that stretched far into the horizon. And, there was a crowd? People had gathered beneath the tower I stood on.

“Apostle!”

“Apostle! Please take us away!”

“God’s apostle!”

Below, the crowd had been shouting at me. When I saw a mass of over a thousand people screaming at me, I felt motion sick,

[The 56th floor stage has begun]

[Stage Mission: Understanding the sect]

“You... That smelly, oversized, lizard bastard actually dared to trick me?!”

[I told you to be careful.]