Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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During my aimless wandering in the mountains, small raindrops began to fall from the sky. The sky looked gloomy, and the surrounding air turned humid, indicating that a downpour was on its way.

Swoosh-!

After running for a while to avoid the refreshing rain, I stumbled upon an abandoned building deep in the mountains. The broken gateway and the collapsed structure seemed quite bizarre.

It looked like it had been crushed all at once by something heavy. However, it appeared to be a suitable place to escape the rain, even if just for a moment.

“Hmm…”

I could form a thin veil of mana over my body to avoid getting wet, but I couldn’t afford to waste mana out of fear of another assailant appearing at any moment.

I headed into the abandoned house with my Nightmare. The damp smell of dust wafted through the air inside. A cursory glance revealed it had once served as a training hall for martial arts. Old wooden swords and broken staffs were strewn about the place.

Fshhh-

My Nightmare found a suitable spot and lay down. Thanks to the non-stop attackers, the Nightmare was quite exhausted as well. I threw a thin blanket over its back and began preparing a campfire.

Crackle- Crackle-!

Lost in thought while staring at the warm flames, I felt the presence of someone approaching.

I glanced at my Nightmare, sound asleep, and quietly placed my hand on my sword.

A man emerged over the broken entrance, wearing a deep hood. He didn’t seem hostile; rather, he appeared to be seeking refuge from the rain.

Of course, that didn’t mean I could let my guard down. As I silently watched with my hand on my sword, the man slowly raised his hands.

“I’m just a wanderer, nothing more. No ill intent here… just needed a place to escape the rain…”

“How am I supposed to believe that?”

“Good point…”

The wanderer nodded at my words and turned around. I blinked in disbelief at his absurd response. I certainly did not expect him to just leave.

Now, it felt like I was the villain here, so I furrowed my brow and called out to him.

“Stop right there.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Take a decent break before you go…”

“Hmm…”

As if waiting for my words, the wanderer turned back, and a small smile crept onto his lips beneath the hood.

He found a spot and removed his hood and outer garments, shaking off the raindrops. I observed the wanderer with keen interest through the crackling fire.

His pointed ears peeked out from between his long black hair; his long tail looked damp from the rain but appeared well-groomed nonetheless.

Confirming his ears and tail were intact, I let out a sigh of relief.

“What’s your name?”

The wanderer asked, gazing at my sleeping Nightmare who was exhaling softly.

“Yes.”

“Good to hear… You don’t see many of your kind around here… have you crossed the broken sky?”

I nodded quietly. The wanderer smiled softly and continued.

“It’s pouring heavily. Could you lend me some fire to dry off my wet clothes?”

Was getting this fire his goal from the start?

I regarded him with a strange look as he smiled awkwardly. It wasn’t a difficult request, but I didn’t want someone sporting a sword strapped to his waist too close.

“Gather something that can burn reasonably well.”

“Hmm…”

The wanderer followed my instructions without a fuss, picking up broken wooden weapons and staffs scattered around like I had done to start the fire.

“Here, I’ve gathered it all.”

Nodding at the wanderer’s words, I snapped my fingers. With a light gesture, a faint mana was released, igniting a small flame.

Whoosh-!

“Ah… so you’re a sorcerer. Thank you.”

With that, our conversation ceased. He seemed to really need that fire as he silently began drying his wet clothes.

How much longer had it been? Suddenly, I felt two more presences approaching this way. They were no ordinary folks. It was a sharp, savage aura, strangely familiar yet disquieting.

Fshhh-

My Nightmare, now awake from its deep slumber, jolted up and stared at the broken entrance. The wanderer, also drying his clothes by the fire, placed his hand on his sword, keeping a watchful eye on the entrance.

After a brief pause, a beautiful pair of men and women revealed themselves. Their long, flowing blue hair swayed gracefully, unscathed by the rain. Upon closer inspection, raindrops seemed to avoid them entirely.

“Oh, there they are. The rumors were true.”

“Looks like a child of the Blood Dragon House.”

The pair’s eyes sparkled as they gazed at me.

From the long horns crowning their heads to their reptiles’ slit eyes, parts of their bodies were covered in blue scales.

My physique had mutated under mana’s influence—this was definitely Dragon’s Blood.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

“Don’t come too close. He’s from the Blood Dragon House; his temper will be fiery.”

The pair stepped forward without hesitation, showing no suspicion towards anything around them. Neither my Nightmare nor the wanderer was of their concern.

“It’s me…?”

“Did you hear that…? It’s me!”

“Hmm…”

Was my response unexpected?

The pair, drawing closer, suddenly paused, looking bewildered.

“Y-you’re of Dragon’s Blood…?”

It was the voice of the wanderer hiding from the rain alongside me. He backed away slowly, his gaze trembling, even with a wall of collapsed debris behind him.

Was my presence bothersome?

The Dragon’s Blood man scowled at me and asked, “Is that your servant?”

“Oh, no…”

“Then are you comrades?”

“Not really.”

Just as my words finished, the Dragon’s Blood man waved his hand at the wanderer. From that simple gesture emerged a chilling aura.

In haste, I swung my sword. As the mana stone embedded in the sword amplified my mana, a fiery blaze erupted from the tip, consuming the cold the man had unleashed.

Whoosh-!

As the scorching heat collided with the icy chill, mist filled the air. The man who shot the cold looked down at me with a peculiar look.

“What are you doing?”

“What are you doing? Attacking out of the blue…”

“You had the audacity to place your hand on your sword in front of a person of Dragon’s Blood. Isn’t that reason enough?”

I stared blankly at the man’s words. I knew being arrogant had its risks, but I didn’t expect it to be this extreme. Facing the Blood Dragon directly, he was surprisingly high-handed.

With my sword still pointed at him, I gestured to the wanderer. He pondered for a moment but then chose to gather his belongings quietly, heading into the raindrops with his head bowed. The Dragon’s Blood man merely gazed at the wanderer’s retreating figure, looking slightly disappointed.

I slyly inched my way closer to my Nightmare, preparing to escape at any given moment.

The pair didn’t seem to pay much attention to me.

“Hey, what’s your name again?”

“Siris.”

“Siris…? That doesn’t sound like a name from around here.”

The Dragon’s Blood woman frowned at my answer, tilting her head. It seemed they mistook me for someone of Dragon’s Blood and sought me out.

“Ch’aeng-a. There’s no time to waste.”

At that moment, the Dragon’s Blood man approached me, striding forward confidently. As he reached for my arm, my Nightmare puffed hot breath in front of me as if to block him.

“Is it for you?”

The man, having his reach obstructed, no longer frowned. He simply regarded my Nightmare with curiosity.

“From the weak mana flow, you’ve likely consumed a Wyvern’s heart… your loyalty to your master is admirable—it’s fitting for a Dragon’s Blood mount.”

As he stretched out his hand in admiration toward my Nightmare, it suddenly snapped at him.

I jumped back in surprise, grabbing the reins of my Nightmare. It pulled away slightly, still gnawing at the man’s hand.

“Hmm…”

The man frowned at his now-nibbled hand.

“How rude…”

I swallowed hard and gathered my mana. There was no telling if he’d retaliate against my Nightmare for his injured pride after being bitten.

As I raised the tension, the woman, Ch’aeng-a, slipped between us with a gentle smile, tapping the man’s shoulder.

“Hurry up; if you don’t want to cross the Blood Dragon House, you should ease that aggressive demeanor.”

“But…”

“Ch’eong-bin.”

“Understood.”

Ch’eong-bin backed down, his aggressive stance diffused. Watching the exchange, Ch’aeng-a smiled lightly and turned to me.

“You said your name was Siris? I’ll get to know your real name when we return to the family; for now, let’s move.”

“But I’m not of Dragon’s Blood…”

At my protest, Ch’aeng-a’s eyebrows twitched sharply. I recoiled further; she, too, probably shared a temperament similar to the Dragon’s Blood man.

Just as a blue chill began to radiate from her, I sensed chaotic movements from all sides. One by one, no—more than ten of them. The chaos was rapidly increasing.

“This is…”

“Looks like we’re surrounded by riffraff.”

Ch’aeng-a and Ch’eong-bin appeared to sense it too. The two frowned, scanning their surroundings while continuing their conversation.

“Too fast?”

“Outside the authority of Dragon’s Blood; it was said the young one roams alone, so we can’t be surprised.”

“Can we guard him?”

“Guard him? He’s a child of the Blood Dragon House; anyone approaching without caution would be burnt by that heat.”

“What flattery…? You’re not possibly developing feelings for him, are you?”

Just as Ch’eong-bin averted his eyes at Ch’aeng-a’s question, a rustling sound came from a distance, and attackers with weapons poured out of the bushes in a rush.

“There he is! Dragon’s Blood!”

“Three…? That wasn’t the rumor!”

“Three is still something! Kill them all!”

Ch’eong-bin observed the rushing assailants with familiarity, letting out a long sigh. The strange chill began to swirl around him as he stepped forward, firmly planting his feet on the ground.

Boom-!

A shockwave erupted, freezing the raindrops falling from above. The frozen droplets shimmered with light as they shot toward the attackers.

Bang-bang-bang-!

“Gah…!”

“Ah, wha…!”

“Graaaah…!”

The attackers fell to the ground with holes scattered across their bodies. Ch’eong-bin turned to me, saying, “Let’s move for now; if we stay here, more riffraff will keep coming.”

I gripped my Nightmare’s reins, contemplating my next move: whether to continue my journey alone or follow these two. While lost in thought, more attackers appeared. I nodded and climbed on my Nightmare.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

I hurriedly followed the two out of the abandoned house.