"There's... an intruder..."
"Is it the Dragon Lord... or a Player...?"
Deep within an underground cavern, a beautiful maiden lay upon a crystal-clear bed.
Her skin was as white as snow, and her long golden hair flowed like silk. Her eyes were tightly shut, as though she were lost in a beautiful dream.
Suddenly, her eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.
A trace of bewilderment and confusion passed through her gaze. It seemed she had yet to fully awaken from her long slumber.
The maiden sat up, her body light and supple, almost as though it weighed nothing at all.
She reached out and touched the crystal bed beside her, feeling its cold, smooth surface.
Her pale fingers gently brushed across it, leaving behind a faint trace.
The distinctive contours of her ears, unlike those of a human, marked her as an Elf.
Her clothing was predominantly blue, with gold and white accents cleverly worked into the finer details.
Though simple, it carried an air of quiet elegance and a touch of classical charm.
On her feet was a pair of open-toed high-heeled sandals.
Around her left ankle was a thorned ring symbolizing sacrifice, suffering, and the blood shed for humanity's sins.
A matching crown of thorns rested upon her head, while a conspicuous black mark stood out at the center of her brow.
The maiden stepped down from the crystal bed.
Her footsteps were light and graceful, as though she were walking among the clouds, yet they also carried the faint loneliness of autumn rain.
She pushed open the door and entered the hall.
Dazzling.
The entire floor was paved with mosaic stained glass in four colors: red, green, black, and white, with pieces of varying sizes fitted together.
The walls on either side and the domed ceiling were also decorated with large amounts of mosaic glass, forming one colorful image after another.
The entire place was spotless.
Thanks to the [Clean] spell, which activated automatically every day, there was no need to worry about dust or anything of the sort.
Magic in the New World really was convenient.
The maiden quietly marveled to herself.
She walked to the center of the hall. The first thing that came into view was an enormous full-length mirror, its surface shimmering with a hazy glow as countless images flowed across it.
A World-Class Item.
If a Player were here, they would probably recognize the Item for what it was at a glance.
Back in the game, it had been the only World-Class Item owned by the maiden's Guild, the sort of treasure kept around as a symbol of prestige.
The maiden had paid to send a message to the Guildmaster, one of the three people shown as online on her friend list, but received no reply.
Normally, that Guildmaster of hers would have come storming back while cursing up a storm, yet for some reason, there had been no response this time.
Taking his silence as consent, and figuring that with the Server Shutdown so close, indulging herself just once probably wouldn't hurt, the maiden took the Guild's only World-Class Item without any hesitation.
Yet it was precisely that decision that sent her on a fantastical journey into the New World.
"I wonder who it could be?"
With that question in mind, the maiden waved her hand. Ripples spread across the mirror before her, and the scene she wished to see appeared on its surface.
As a precaution, she had placed numerous magical traps throughout the cavern and prepared several escape routes for herself.
Although she had reached an agreement with the Platinum Dragon Lord, the terms were simple. As long as she did not leave this island and provided him with assistance once when necessary, the two sides would leave each other alone.
But the maiden was not naive enough to trust him completely.
A so-called agreement like that was every bit as binding as a non-aggression treaty in the real world~
There were two reasons she had agreed to it.
For one, she had no desire to clash with those troublesome True Dragon Lords.
For another, she wanted to wait in peace...
To wait for the person whose arrival she had long been hoping for.
The maiden gradually pulled her thoughts back to the present and let out a quiet sigh.
Four hundred years.
Just how much longer would she have to wait?
With that thought in mind, she turned her eyes toward the mirror. The next moment, her pupils contracted, and stunned disbelief flashed across her face.
...
Meanwhile, Naohara was holding Keno's hand.
The two leaped into the pool, passed through the violent currents, and eventually arrived before the entrance to the underground cavern.
"An independent space created with Cash Shop Items?"
No wonder the Brightness Dragon Lord had contacted him of his own accord.
With only a little force, Naohara ripped away the entire gate, one capable of temporarily holding back Level 100 Players.
He stepped through. After a brief sensation of weightlessness, he found himself inside a cavern fitted with magical lamps.
Before Naohara could properly examine his surroundings, countless dazzling lights suddenly flared to life.
Their forced entry had triggered the magical traps, which immediately activated to repel the intruders.
A succession of sharp, piercing whistles rang through the cavern.
A vast wave of attacks came surging toward him from every direction.
For a moment, the entire space was flooded with brilliant light, dazzling enough to overwhelm the senses.
Naohara, however, remained completely unmoved.
Whether magical or physical, every attack either vanished or shattered automatically the moment it came within half a meter of him.
This was not magic. It was Magic Nullification derived from his own resistance.
For Naohara, the relentless stacking effects of [Dragon Blood Priest] meant that his stats were increasing with every passing moment.
As those stats climbed higher, the rate of improvement continued to decrease.
But even an increase of 0.0000000001 was still an increase. It could approach zero infinitely closely, but it would never actually become zero.
By now, his resistance was high enough to make him immune to the vast majority of known magical effects and damage.
Hmm... it was probably something close to being impervious to all magic.
"Is this really okay? Aren't we being a little too reckless?"
Keno looked at the multicolored attacks filling the area around them and couldn't help asking.
Destroying someone's property and barging into their home would obviously make them dislike you. That certainly wouldn't help with the negotiations that followed.
"Whether something is reckless depends on the situation. If someone saw this, what do you think they'd feel? Disgust, or fear?"
They were definitely going to negotiate, but that did not stop him from showing off his strength first.
There were roughly two ways of dealing with Players.
The first was something like the Six Great Gods, forming a strange alliance that was neither especially close nor truly distant, with both sides maintaining an unspoken understanding.
The second was like the Minotaur Sage, with groups of Players living to some extent under the protection of others.
There were also unusual cases, of course, such as his godfather-like relationship with Samirth~
The only question was which category this female Player would fall into.
After walking for roughly ten minutes, the relentless magical bombardment finally ceased. Once they rounded a corner, the space before them suddenly opened up.
It was a remarkably spacious area. A dazzling crystal chandelier hung directly in the center, its light illuminating the entire place brilliantly.
On the wall directly opposite the entrance was the image of a crown of thorns.
"The living quarters?"
Naohara swept his senses across the area and confirmed that there were no traps nearby. He then released Keno's hand and began exploring the surroundings.
To the left was an enormous bathhouse, from which drifted the faint fragrance of flowers and herbs.
Beside the bathhouse was a small library containing a large collection of books from the New World. It seemed to be a place meant for passing the time during quiet moments.
There was also a kitchen, a wine cellar, and various other rooms.
Judging by the dazzling assortment of alcohol lining the shelves, the historical accounts of the maiden drunkenly dancing were clearly not fictional.
At the very front of the hall stood a tightly closed door.
"Wait here for me for a moment," Naohara said to Keno.
"Mm-hmm."
Keno obediently nodded.
Naohara swept his senses over the area once more to make absolutely certain that nothing had been overlooked. Only then did he push open the closed door and step inside.
The crisp sound of the door shutting came from behind him.
The room was brightly lit. A hall paved with mosaic stained glass spread out before him.
Naohara's gaze shifted slightly before locking firmly onto the full-length mirror at the center.
This Item...
He stepped closer, a hint of surprise flashing through his eyes.
As practically an essential accessory for any transmigrator, Naohara had long expected World-Class Items to appear.
But the World-Class Item before him was somewhat special.
He recognized it.
In fact, he was quite familiar with it.
"Naohara-nii, it's been a long time."
A gentle breeze swept past. A figure emerged from behind the mirror and quickly threw herself into Naohara's arms.
***
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