Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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The mountain of gold was melting away from the heat of the Fire Dragon Sword. Standing atop it, I looked down at my surroundings. The shining gold reflected the moonlight, bathing everything in brightness. All the gazes of those who survived the sand waves were fixed on me.

Greed, horror, and a faint hostility. Most of the stares were filled with those emotions.

“W-who are you…?”

The first to step forward was a man with a fierce-looking appearance. The strong scent of dried blood wafted from him, hinting at a close relationship with murder.

The ship lying in the direction he came from seemed oddly familiar. As I stared blankly beyond the man, I realized that ship was the ‘Quiet Twilight.’

I was tired. I wanted to lie down and rest. My entire body was hot, and irritability bubbled up naturally. In such a situation, refined words would not spill forth.

“Your gaze. I don’t like it.”

“W-what…?”

From above, I looked down at everyone as they looked up at me. I wasn’t pleased with the emotions in their gazes, but I was entirely satisfied with this composition.

“Surely you don’t plan to hog all that gold for yourself, right? That gigantic monster was definitely…”

Voices drifting from below faded. I shifted my gaze down to the dragon’s hand. There it was—the golden sword he had not let go of, even as his body was being torn apart.

What kind of amazing item must it be that he wouldn’t let go? The moment came when I would finally unravel that curiosity. Though the chatter of humans below got on my nerves, I didn’t stop moving.

I walked slowly toward the brilliant mountain of gold and approached the sword. My long tail wriggled restlessly, as if anticipating what was to come.

The golden sword remained unaffected despite being engulfed by Kalbain’s intense heat. I lightly reached out and began to pull the sword from the melted gold.

Crack-!

Unlike earlier when it didn’t come out easily, it slipped out effortlessly this time. The moment the elegant blade revealed itself to the world, I realized what was contained within this golden sword.

The emotions of an absolute being transcending mere creatures began to intertwine with mana over long years.

The arrogance that considered all the gold beneath it as a given. The endless greed that felt insufficient even when all the gold in the world was gathered. The mana that summoned mysteries non-existent in the world began to be consumed by these two emotions.

Thus, a peculiar power was born. The ability to control gold itself.

[Golden Fragrance of Greed]

The dragon’s emotions did not vanish in the end. Like the curse of the dead, it clung to this sword and endlessly evoked greed for gold. The fact that the already deceased dragon’s corpse could move was all due to this sword.

In that moment, a transformation occurred in the hand gripping the sword. The scales covering the back of my hand began to turn golden.

“What is this…”

I was simply observing the change in my body when many below, who had been watching me, suddenly dashed toward the mountain of gold.

However, they could not take it. This shining mountain of gold was not ordinary gold.

Suddenly, I realized that rage was bubbling up within me. I felt an overwhelming disgust at the audacity of these humans to reveal their greed for my property.

I frowned. I knew this emotion was not mine. The golden sword, infused with the emotions of the Golden Dragon, was surely the source of such feelings.

A sword that slowly eats away at the user’s ego, much like the cursed swords one reads about in novels. I stared blankly at the sword, letting time drift by. Suddenly, a massive cannon fire erupted from below.

Boom-!

The shock from the explosion shook the great mountain of gold. Turning my head towards the direction of the fire, I saw the Quiet Twilight returning to send out artillery fire.

Having poked at the gold with swords and spears, they had apparently decided it was no use. He was rather clever for a human, but he made the wrong choice.

I lightly lifted the sword. As the elegant golden blade stretched out to greet the moonlight, a portion of the mountain of gold began to writhe and then expelled a gigantic mass.

[Golden Fragrance of Greed]

The moment the power contained in the sword was unleashed. The squirming golden mass started to break apart and took on the forms of numerous swords.

Thus, forty golden swords were created. For now, this was my best.

It was time to punish those who dared to show greed towards my gold. As my long tail stood rigidly, reflecting my displeasure, the forty swords shot forth rapidly, covering the deck of the Quiet Twilight.

Ka-gakak-!

Golden projectiles fell from the sky. The golden flashes, brilliantly sparkling under the moonlight, began to hold the humans accountable.

The mountain of gold oscillated and formed into a massive golden throne. Sitting down naturally, I looked down to witness the end of the humans.

The moment the golden trajectory passed by, all their boats were shattered, and arms and legs flew about. The forty golden swords did not grant an easy demise to the humans.

As I watched the humans collapse on the ground, screaming in agony, emotions of delight and disgust surged simultaneously. In that moment, I held my forehead and plunged the golden sword into the ground.

Crack-!

The moment the sword left my hand, its power naturally dissipated. The forty swords flying in the sky buried themselves in the sand.

I glanced sideways and noticed Renilla staring blankly at this scene. Thankfully, the golden sword had not flown towards Renilla or the Sunny Ship.

I had almost been consumed by the dragon’s emotions. Normally, it would have been easy to suppress, but it seemed the fierce mana of Kalbain within me combined with the emotions of the Golden Dragon to create a volatile effect.

I took a blanket from my bag and wrapped the golden sword within it. With the sword secured, I descended the mountain of gold alongside Nightmare.

Among those who were screaming and groaning, only the Sunny Ship and its crew, along with Renilla, were unharmed. I approached Renilla and smiled lightly.

I had no intention of hiding my long tail or the horns sprouting from my head. She seemed surprised by my appearance, gazing with her mouth agape as her eyes blinked in disbelief.

How much time passed like that? Renilla spoke with difficulty.

“You… what are you…”

“Looks a bit strange, huh?”

It seemed there wasn’t much information on Beastmen in this lower realm. Although Renilla was surprised at my appearance, she didn’t ask whether I was a Beastman.

“By the way… what on earth is that…?”

“Oh, that’s…”

I began to explain to Renilla everything that had transpired, from my relentless investigation into the golden city, dismissing the claims that it was a fake, to my final discovery of the golden city after relentless searching.

Though I told her that this gigantic mountain of gold was the dragon’s corpse, Renilla didn’t seem easily convinced.

“W-what? That’s a dragon’s corpse…? I may not have seen a dragon directly, but I know what they look like.”

Well, I understood her reaction. When we first encountered it, half of it was already melting away, and now it resembled a completely melted cheese-like form, so believing this mountain was a dragon would be difficult.

However, it was undoubtedly the truth.

“Indeed. Seris, where you said you found the golden city? Surely, that moving mountain of gold cannot be the city.”

“The real golden city is below us…”

As I was about to explain the location of the golden city, I fell silent. The landscape had become a wreck due to the rampaging Golden Dragon, making it hard to pinpoint its exact location.

But that was no problem for me. I had this golden sword in my hand.

As long as I used it briefly, there shouldn’t be an issue, even if prolonged use would lead to being consumed by the emotions of the Golden Dragon like before.

I unraveled the blanket wrapping the golden sword and held it in my hand. The moment the shining golden blade was revealed, the scales on my hand turned golden.

The power of the golden sword, [Golden Fragrance of Greed], transcended mere control over gold and possessed the ability to detect gold hidden beyond the reach of sight.

“Phew…”

I frowned as I raised the sword, pointing it in the direction of the buried golden city.

Kugugugu-!

The desert trembled, and a golden glow erupted from the sword I held. When controlling the body of the Golden Dragon, I had managed to control around forty swords, but dealing with regular gold was a different story.

“W-what are you doing right now…?”

“Just watch.”

As I licked my dry lips and focused my mental energy to elevate my control over gold, the desert turned over, and a massive gold surge shot up from beneath.

Due to the forced extraction, a significant portion of the city was damaged, but that didn’t matter. I instilled the golden sword into the sandy ground as I checked the exposed golden city.

“Hah… hah…”

“The golden city… is it for real…?”

At that moment, a refreshing breeze began to blow, swirling away the cloudy sands that had covered the golden city. The city shimmered in brilliant light, reflecting the moonlight.

“What do you think? With this much gold, you could live a life of leisure, right?”

“Are you serious…? Seris, you’re going to become the richest person in this world…! Though handling all this gold at once will be tough…”

I watched Renilla as she shouted excitedly, her excitement infectious, and a small smile crept onto my face. I didn’t need all this gold.