Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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The brilliant sunlight streaming down from the sky fragmented into tiny pieces along the waves. As I swam towards the multi-colored Coral Zone, the fish hiding within scattered in all directions.

In that moment, Su and Shu jumped into the sea, creating a spray of white water. It seemed to be their first time properly facing the underwater scenery, as they stood still, appreciating their surroundings.

Blub-blub-!

Naturally, we couldn’t make any sounds underwater. Realizing this through experience, Shu emitted white bubbles while covering her mouth.

It was quite a comical sight. I turned my body with a small smile.

Although the underwater view was beautiful, we couldn’t just stare at it all day. We weren’t here just for fun.

I moved towards the bottom of the Coral Zone.

*

I swam around, sweeping the bottom. As I pulled out the Ice Dragon Sword and stirred through the cloudy sand, I occasionally discovered items that seemed to be remnants of ruins.

This time, I found a sword that was half-broken and heavily rusted. Barnacles had stuck to the handle. The condition of these discovered items was far from good.

I gathered the rusted sword and headed for the surface.

Whenever I found something underwater, I would swim up and toss the items onto the shore. It was a task I had repeated several times already. Once I emerged from the water, I threw the sword towards the beach.

Su, Shu, and the other three divers also piled the items they found on the coastline. Sitting near the heap of junk was Bluemet, examining our collected treasures with keen interest.

Given the notebook and quill pen, along with a thick dictionary, it seemed she was interpreting the inscriptions on the trash.

Time flew quickly. When the sun that had been floating in the sky disappeared, and the moonlight appeared, the exploration of the ruins finally came to an end.

“Everyone worked hard today! That’s enough for now!”

Bluemet greeted the group returning to the beach warmly.

Su, Shu, and the other three divers let out sighs as they gazed at the mountain of junk. Though they found many things, they were all useless trash.

After dinner, we were free to do whatever. The divers gathered and drank, while Su and Shu went to the beach to practice swordsmanship.

Normally, I would have overseen Su and Shu’s sword training, but not today. I wanted to explore the dark underwater world.

Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to observe the pitch-black underwater realm at night, but I was different. My eyes, closer to a dragon’s than a human’s, could see what lurked in the dark sea even without bright light.

As I scanned the surroundings and confirmed that no one was around, I leaped into the water. The small body plopped in with a splash, sending white water spray tickling my face.

The sea, shadowed in darkness, held a different charm than during the day. The pale moonlight shone gently but could not reach the depths, scattering like ripples.

Just as there are monsters on land, there were also underwater monsters. It seemed the creatures of the sea were nocturnal, as many I had not seen during the day were now prowling around the island.

The first to catch my eye was a massive, snake-like monster. It was easily more than ten meters long; upon making eye contact with me, it swiftly turned and fled.

The same went for the monsters I encountered afterward. They flailed in the dark waters, and upon spotting me, they scrambled away as if they had seen something they shouldn’t have.

It was a bit disappointing that every monster fled like that.

I began to swim further than the areas I had explored during the day, moving along the wide Coral Zone under the island until I unexpectedly arrived at a cliff.

I peeked my head over the edge, looking down into the pitch-black darkness. In the lightless depths, vague shadows swayed.

At that moment, nobody was around. I immediately took off my pants and tied them around my waist, channeling my mana.

As my mana spun rapidly and spread throughout my body, changes began to occur. Sharp claws and fangs emerged, red scales and horns sprouted forth, crowned by a long tail.

All my senses sharpened. I could feel the movements of nearby creatures through the faint vibrations transmitted by the waves. It felt as if I had gained another eye.

The massive tail of the dragon was immensely helpful for swimming. Following the ways of fish, I twitched my tail all around.

I had descended quite deep. After passing strange fish and monsters, I soon spotted signs of a structure half-buried beneath a massive cliff.

Reaching out, I brushed away the fine sand that covered it, revealing hazy inscriptions. Looking around, it seemed what was visible was only a tiny fraction of what lay there.

Once I landed on the bottom, I took hold of the protruding part and yanked it hard.

Rumble-!

There was indeed a response. It felt like a massive object was stuck beneath that protruding mark. I thrashed my tail wildly and pulled harder on the building.

Boom-!

It was then. With a chilling sound, the part of the building I was holding snapped off. The force of the tug sent me spinning around.

I looked at the part that had snapped off. There were sharp claw marks etched into the piece. It was evident they were fresh. I tossed the shattered debris aside, then latched onto the protruding bit once again.

This time, I widened my grip to avoid getting torn off. Making sure my claws sank in, I swam upward once more.

Whoosh-!

The dragon’s tail thrashed violently. As the tail began to create massive waves, a rumbling sound began to emanate from below.

In that moment, with a crash! Dust rose in a cloud as my body was thrown backward. The turbulent water from the tail created a murky cloud that obscured my vision.

No matter how bright my night vision, I couldn’t see anything in murky water. I had to wait for the hazy water to settle down.

How much time passed? As the cloudy dirt calmed and the surroundings brightened, I could spot stairs leading downwards.

It seemed the entrance I tore away was indeed the building’s entrance. I tossed the debris I was holding in my hand backward and swam towards the stairs.

As I followed the stairs inside the building, an inverted corridor came into view. Due to the sea’s dark water filling it, I had to swim through the corridor.

Inside the building, there was nothing truly worthy of being called treasure. Furniture and books had rotted away under the passage of time, and ornamental swords were rusted to the point of breaking upon touch.

The only things worth taking were a few gold coins scattered around and one pristine white plate, which hadn’t been broken.

While collecting various items, I noticed something heavily coated in rust on one wall. When I poked it with my hand, a heavy piece of metal fell away with the rust.

This seemed to be a safe. Behind the fallen metal was a small wooden box. Despite the years that had passed, the wooden box was not rotten. Unlike the other items I had found, it exuded a magical aura.

That was all I could gather here. I cradled the small wooden box in my arms and repeatedly used Blink.

Pop-!

Pop-!

Pop-!

In an instant, the landscape shifted several times. The continuous use of Blink persisted until I reached the surface.

Although I had stirred up the deep sea, the Base Camp was quiet. I withdrew the mana that spread throughout my body and reverted to my original form, then put my pants back on.

I did not present the wooden box to Bluemet, who declared that the ruins exploration for the day was over. Since this was something I had obtained during my personal time, not during work as an adventurer, it was mine to keep.

So, I snuck into the depths of the forest, away from everyone’s gaze, and opened the wooden box. Inside was a silver bracelet.

It wasn’t an ordinary bracelet. Mana flowed in a peculiar pattern along the engravings inside it.

It was a magical item. An artifact.

Typically, it is common knowledge that one cannot discern the magic contained within an item unless they are the original creator of the artifact, but that didn’t apply to me with dragon’s eyes.

Concentrating mana in my eyes, my vision expanded. All surrounding sounds blurred, and my dragon eyes began reading the flow of mana.

A blurry image formed in my mind. A magician wearing the bracelet shrank in size until he was about as tall as a child.

That was the entirety of the magical effect. It meant there were no special attack spells or defensive spells to protect oneself.

I frowned. What on earth was the magician who created this artifact thinking?

As I stared at the bracelet with a puzzled expression, it struck me that it wasn’t a spell for rejuvenation, but a simple spell that made one smaller. Truly, it was utterly useless to me.

Just as I sighed and shook my head, a sudden thought struck me.

Nightmare, my lifelong companion. That giant always faced many misunderstandings due to its size.

If Nightmare could use this bracelet, our future travels would become significantly easier. I jumped to my feet and dashed towards where Nightmare was lying.

Whoosh- Whoosh-

Nightmare was snoring on the blanket I had spread out for it. Upon my approach, it lazily opened one eye and gave its long tail a gentle flick.

I frowned as I looked down at Nightmare. There was no suitable place to put the bracelet on. It seemed like it would fall off if I put it on its tail, and it was too thick to fit on its legs.

That left only one place.

I slipped the bracelet onto Nightmare’s towering horn.

Phew-?

It cocked its head to one side, gazing up at its forehead. I chuckled lightly, with my hands on my hips.

“Can you move your mana? Focus on that horn.”

As if understanding my words, Nightmare nodded. In that moment, the bracelet I had slipped onto its horn glimmered faintly.

“Oh…”

Whirring-

Nightmare shrank down. To the size of a small puppy. It chirped and bounced around me, yipping away.