In the midst of the jungle, Zeke felt the dragonʼs aura and wondered what it could mean when a message appeared before his eyes.
―Hidden Quest―
[Follow the dragonʼs aura and uncover the identity of the mystery hidden in the jungle.]
[Quest Mission Reward: Hidden Random Box]
"A hidden quest?"
All the quests he had received so far were main quests or achievement quests.
This was the first time he had gotten a hidden quest, so Zeke guessed that something important must be concealed in this place.
"The gate is closed, and Iʼve dealt with the high-rank demonkind, so the remaining monsters should be manageable within the Dorta Republic."
After some thought, Zeke decided to investigate what this hidden quest was about before returning to the central continent.
He headed toward the source of the aura beyond the jungle.
Pushing through the dense foliage, he was surprised to find a massive stone covered in moss and vines.
Zeke approached the stone and tore away the moss and vines.
Unlike something long abandoned, the surface of the stone was remarkably smooth.
"I can sense dragon magic here. It seems like some kind of ancient ruins."
The guardian tower in the barbariansʼ village and Agamemnon Castle were both ancient ruins created with dragon magic.
Though Hades had sent him here by mistake, Zeke felt that discovering ancient ruins with a dragonʼs aura in a place he had arrived at through his magic could not be mere coincidence.
He infused mana into the stone.
Woooong!
As he had expected, the surface of the stone that absorbed his mana lit up with unfamiliar characters.
At the same time, a message appeared before Zekeʼs eyes.
[The senior administrator system is attempting to connect to the "Forest of
Lush Stillness."]
[The "Forest of Lush Stillness" recognizes the senior administrator.]
[Confirming the title: One Blessed by the Ancient Dragon.]
[Confirming the title: Successor of the Sword Saint.]
[Confirming the title: Blessing of the Fairies.]
[Assigning access code.]
[Releasing the seal on the "Forest of Lush Stillness."]
Tss tss tss—
Once he received the access code for the domain, the stone pushed aside, revealing an entirely different landscape before him.
"Huh?"
A cleanly maintained path appeared, flanked on both sides by obelisks similar to the stone.
As Zeke surveyed the changed surroundings, he spotted a massive Komodo lizard charging fiercely down the path.
Looking up at the lizard, he was astonished to see someone riding it.
"A naga?"
The warrior of the naga—a serpentfolk race so rare they were called a mysterious species—rode the Komodo lizard straight up to Zeke.
Sss—
When the naga pulled on the reins, the Komodo lizard reared up on its front legs and halted right in front of Zeke.
The naga atop the lizard landed nimbly before Zeke with agile movements.
The naga warrior standing before Zeke wore traditional attire adorned with intricate patterns, overlaid with sturdy wooden armor, and carried a shield.
A machete hung at their waist, and they held a long spear in hand.
The naga warrior looked at Zeke, then bowed at the waist and spoke in a courteous tone.
"I see the great being."
Zeke realized the naga warrior had mistaken him for a dragon.
He looked at the naga warrior and said,
"Iʼm sorry, but Iʼm not a dragon."
The naga jumped in surprise, stared at Zeke, and then nodded.
"O-Of course. You must be in disguise during your sojourn... I apologize. My thinking was shortsighted."
Zeke thought the naga had some misconception, but explaining it would only complicate things, so he decided to let the misunderstanding stand.
He looked at the naga warrior and asked,
"Is this the village of the naga tribe?"
At those words, the naga warrior straightened up, puffed out their chest, and nodded proudly.
"Yes. Great... er, just being."
The naga, unsure how to address Zeke, looked flustered, so Zeke provided his name.
"Call me Zeke."
The naga beamed upon learning Zekeʼs name.
"Yes, Zeke! My name is Kueshi. I am the greatest warrior of the tribe of the silent forest." Kueshi proudly thrust forward their ornate shield.
Zeke nodded at Kueshi and made an impressed expression.
"Pleased to meet you, Kueshi."
Kueshi smiled and offered to guide Zeke to their village, motioning for him to mount the Komodo lizard.
Though Komodo lizards were infamous for their ferocity, in front of Zeke—who possessed the authority of dragon species domination, the title of grace of the spirit beast, and the skill of communion—they were as docile as puppies.
Seeing Zeke handle the Komodo lizard with ease, Kueshi became convinced that he was indeed a great being.
Zeke mounted the Komodo lizard with Kueshi and headed into the naga village.
The path cut through the lush forest was impeccably maintained and stretched quite far.
"If the entrance path is this long, the village must be quite large."
As they rode the Komodo lizard, a massive obelisk soon came into view at the end of the path.
And then, as the village panorama gradually revealed itself, Zekeʼs jaw dropped.
"What is that?"
What unfolded before him was no small village but something on the scale of a mid-sized city in the Midland.
The existence of such a massive city in the heart of the southern jungle was astonishing.
"Is this the mystery hidden in the jungle that the quest mentioned?"
But the message confirming the quest missionʼs success had not yet appeared.
It seemed the systemʼs mentioned mystery lay within the city.
As he calmly surveyed the city again, Kueshi halted the lizard at the entrance to the city.
"Thank you for your service."
Naga warriors dressed similarly to Kueshi emerged and checked the identification tag around the lizardʼs neck.
Zeke noticed that the shields the warriors carried were smaller and less ornate than Kueshiʼs.
'Do stronger warriors get larger, more elaborate shields?ʼ
While Zeke pondered the local culture, the inspection ended, and Kueshi led him deeper into the city.
Once inside, it was a completely different world.
Towering buildings crafted from ancient trees that had lived for tens of thousands of years dotted the area, and Komodo lizards moved orderly along the roads, obeying signals.
Naga, whom one rarely saw in the central continent, were everywhere here.
It was a city entirely of pureblood naga.
Riding the lizard, Zeke gazed at the city and said to Kueshi, "This is truly amazing. I had no idea a city like this existed." Kueshi nodded at his words.
"Our tribe chose complete isolation from the outside world to ensure the survival of the naga race. The sage of the silent forest created this home for us." Kueshi led Zeke to the largest tree at the cityʼs center.
The enormous tree, positioned right behind the obelisk, looked like the world tree from myths, but upon closer inspection, it had been adapted into a building.
It seemed they had fashioned a kind of tower from the massive tree.
"Zeke, this way, please." Kueshi led Zeke inside.
Contrary to Zekeʼs expectations, the interior was furnished in a modern style.
The buildingʼs design was so advanced that one might mistake it for the latest structure in the Midland.
Seeing Zekeʼs surprise, Kueshi smiled and explained,
"We may be isolated, but we do engage in indirect exchanges. We send selected members to the central continent to learn advanced knowledge and apply it for the benefit of the entire village."
The naga race was renowned for their intelligence and wisdom.
'Indeed, something only the naga could achieve. Another race would have struggled to develop this far.ʼ
Zeke nodded and followed Kueshi deeper into the building.
That was when he witnessed something even more astonishing.
"A portal?"
It was an absurd situation: not an elevator, but a portal used to ascend.
Kueshi stepped onto the magic circle with Zeke and stated the floor they wished to reach.
Woooong!
The magic circle activated, transporting them instantly to the top floor.
"Huh."
Swallowing a wry internal laugh at the surprising scene, Zeke looked around the arrival point. It appeared to be the top floor.
From the top floor, one could overlook the city panorama through knotholes in the wood —though calling them knotholes was misleading, as the tree was so vast that they were like large windows several meters wide.
As he admired the view through the window, Kueshi said to Zeke,
"This way, please. The sage wishes to meet you, Zeke." Zeke was startled by Kueshiʼs words.
"The sage? You mean the sage of the silent forest?" Kueshi nodded at Zekeʼs question.
If Kueshi was telling the truth, then aside from Hades, he was about to meet another surviving dragon.
Caught off guard by the unexpected turn, Zeke followed as Kueshi calmly led him to where the sage resided.
Entering a certain room under his guidance, Zekeʼs eyes widened. It was overwhelming— the sheer number of books was beyond counting.
Books filled the walls densely on all sides.
Zeke gaped at the immense collection of tomes.
'Did they read all of these?ʼ
As he had that idle thought, Kueshi bowed toward one side.
"Sage, I have brought the guest."
Turning toward where Kueshi had bowed, Zeke saw a desk in one corner of the bookshelves.
Before the desk sat an elderly man with green hair, wearing glasses and reading a thick book.
'The sage of the silent forest?ʼ
Contrary to Zekeʼs expectations, the sage appeared not as a naga but as an elf.
The sage finished the section he was reading before closing the thick book and setting it aside.
Lifting his head, the sage had a stern, unyielding impression that was sharper than anticipated.
Unlike the somewhat scatterbrained hermit of stories, this sage gave a different vibe.
The sage looked at Kueshi and said,
"Youʼve done well, Kueshi. Return to your duties now."
Kueshi bowed to the sage, offered a polite farewell, and exited.
Zeke felt a slight tension at the sageʼs rigid expression.
The sage adjusted his glasses and looked at Zeke.
"One blessed by the ancient dragon, successor of the sword saint, and bearer of the blessing of the fairies. What exactly are you?"
Surprisingly, the sage knew Zekeʼs administrator access history precisely.
Zeke forced himself to relax and asked the sage,
"You can use the Kabbalah system."
At those words, the sage looked at Zeke and said,
"You even know the name Kabbalah system... Your identity grows more intriguing by the moment."
The sage extended his hand, and a system window appeared before him.
The system window overlapped Zeke, and various pieces of information scrolled rapidly.
The sage read through them, then, after a moment, addressed Zeke.
"Youʼve come seeking the seal of Chronos." Zeke was startled by the sageʼs words.
"Is it here? The seal of Chronos?"
The sage pondered briefly before slowly replying.
"What youʼre saying is that you are indeed seeking the seal of Chronos, but you didnʼt know it was here."
Zeke nodded at the sageʼs words.
"Yes, until a few hours ago, I was dealing with demonkind in the Dorta Republic when an incident occurred, leading me to teleport here by chance." The sage looked puzzled at Zekeʼs explanation and asked,
"Teleported here by chance. Was it truly coincidence?" Zeke thought for a moment before slowly answering.
"Iʼm not sure. It happened because Hades, the hermit of the black river, was blocking the demonkindʼs spatial magic. So I think it might not have been mere chance." The sageʼs eyes widened in surprise at Zekeʼs words.
"Hades! That child of the black clan has broken free of Blancaʼs shackles and emerged outside?"
Zeke nodded and replied to the sage.
"Yes, the seal was released quite some time ago. It wasnʼt self-released; I performed the curse-lifting treatment."
"You broke that seal? How on earth?"
The sage showed interest in an unexpected area.
Zeke explained in detail the process of releasing Hadesʼs seal.
The sage listened, then raised a hand to pause Zeke.
"Wait a moment."
He pulled out paper and a pen and began jotting down Zekeʼs explanation.
Occasionally, he asked for more details on curious points and continued recording.
Once the process was complete, the sage looked impressed.
"I never knew such a method existed. Zeke, was it? Remarkable improvisation." The sageʼs expression had softened considerably from when he first saw Zeke.
As Zeke nodded in relief and gratitude, the sage began moving while still seated.
'The chair is moving?ʼ
The sage was in a wheeled chair that rolled on its own toward Zeke.
Looking up at Zeke, he said,
"Follow me. Thereʼs something I want to show you."