2 months since Momonga arrived in this new world
"Wait!" In the heart of the Re-Estize Kingdom, a blonde-haired boy with striking blue eyes sprinted through the crowded street, his voice calling out as he chased after a tall, elderly man dressed in a refined black suit, entering the alleys.
The man, clearly a butler of high standing, turned slowly at the sound of the boy's voice. As their eyes met, he froze. Those eyes—vivid, piercing blue—felt hauntingly familiar.
A flicker of realization passed through the old man's mind. Demiurge's report had mentioned it… the Supreme One, Rex. His eyes had been the same shade of impossible blue. And now, before him, stood another—young, but unmistakably carrying that same divine spark. The same gaze he had heard that the child named Michael held.
'…No, he's too weak to possibly be Lord Rex Tempus' son,' Sebas thought, his sharp eyes easily reading through the boy's aura. He had no potential—none at all, nothing that even hinted at a future beyond mediocrity. This child was fated to remain a weakling, forever forgotten by the world.
With his hands neatly folded behind his back, Sebas turned fully to face the boy. "Is there something you need, boy? Why did you follow me?"
He remembered spotting this child just moments earlier. After Sebas had helped a civilian in passing, the boy had quietly stepped forward and offered that person a potion. Sebas hadn't stayed to observe what came after—he didn't need to. His instincts told him the boy had a good heart. That alone was enough to leave him be.
Sadly, Sebas wasn't in the best of moods. The weight of recent trouble still lingered on his mind, and he had gone out for a walk in hopes of clearing his thoughts. Yet even the quiet streets offered little comfort.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude," the boy said, his tone polite and genuine. "My name is Climb. I'm a soldier. I saw how you stepped forward to protect that kid… I should've been there to protect him from those thugs. You did my job for me, and for that, I thank you."
Climb lowered his head in respect, his voice steady despite the shame he clearly carried.
"It was no bother. Now, I must be going," Sebas said calmly as he turned to leave.
But Climb quickly called out, stopping him. "Wait a minute! If it wouldn't be a bother, I'd like for you to teach me that move you used back there!"
His voice carried urgency, not just admiration, but determination. He wanted strength, not for glory, but to protect the princess he served. With the Slane Theocracy destroyed just last month, and a new force calling itself the Sorcerer Kingdom rising in its place, the world had begun shifting down a dark and uncertain path.
Adding to that, Momon and Michael had started traveling together, forming a party that many already hailed as the next legendary group of heroes. In a world teetering on the edge of chaos, Climb couldn't afford to stay weak.
Climb didn't want to rely on the strength of others—he wanted to earn it himself. Deep down, he longed to prove his worth… not just as a soldier, but as a man worthy of standing beside the princess. It was a desire he tried to bury, a feeling he constantly pushed away. But no matter how hard he fought it, the truth remained—he loved her.
He saw himself as useless, a commoner with no great power or lineage. And yet… she never saw him that way. She was too pure, too kind, too blind to his inadequacies.
So, when Sebas asked what purpose would that hold, Climb chose to be honest. He admitted that he wanted strength, not only to protect the one dearest to him, but to one day stand beside her as an equal.
He spoke more… but it was his eyes that said the most. Eyes full of unwavering determination and innocent resolve. And in that moment, Sebas saw something that earned his respect.
Unlike the other NPCs of Nazarick, Sebas was different. He was, in every sense, a good man—one who extended his hand to those in need without expecting anything in return. It was this very nature that had landed him in trouble… and also the same reason he had chosen to help Climb.
But that kindness, that unwavering morality, would ripple outwards and awaken a sleeping dragon.
Without warning, Sebas pulled back his fist, glaring down at Climb with a deadly look in his eyes. There was no warmth, no hesitation—only killing intent. In that instant, a crushing pressure descended upon Climb. It wasn't something he could describe—just a suffocating weight that froze his limbs and made each breath feel like dragging air through stone.
He couldn't move. He couldn't speak.
But let us turn our gaze away from this moment, from Climb and Sebas… and instead focus on where Rex was now—resting within the dimension which held the dragon Emperor, who remained fast asleep, unaware of what was inside its stomach..
"This aura…" the Dragon Emperor muttered, eyes snapping open as a strange pressure made its way into its sharpened senses from primordial magic. It wasn't just any dragon's presence—it was something different from those found in this world. The aura was distinctly draconic, yet warped by something else entirely… something foreign.
His breath caught. This dragon… it was wearing gear? His eyes widened in disbelief. "A player? Players can be dragons!?"
Panic surged through him as the realization crashed down. It was already bad enough that players were terrifying in their own right, wielding unfathomable strength, bizarre skills, and world-class items that could outright nullify wild magic
But this? A player who was also a dragon… that was a nightmare beyond anything he'd ever prepared for. The Dragon Emperor shot to his feet, body tense, heart pounding with ease.
"So be it… I shall devour you and use your power to accelerate my evolution," the Dragon Emperor growled, stepping forward into the swirling gate that had formed before him. "Hopefully, more players have entered this world… all of you can't be like Rex."
He vanished through the gate, and as he did, his senses expanded. The flow of primordial magic allowed him to attune to the world more clearly than before. Through it, he could feel the players—every last one.
For now, he ignored the faint presence of Sebas. His attention was locked on a stronger signature, a player radiating and surrounded by people who carried faint traces of Rex's aura.
He moved without hesitation, drawn toward that impossible convergence.
***
"Why is it that all of our names start with an M?" a beautiful white-haired girl asked, her voice curious as she sat beside a campfire. She looked across the flames at Momon, who was calmly cleaning his sword beneath the flickering light.
"I don't know," Momon replied blankly, his tone flat as he continued cleaning his sword.
The girl sitting across from him was Mia—a rising talent from a neighboring land. Her past was a harsh one, shaped by cruelty and betrayal. Her mother had abused her for years, unable to bear how much Mia resembled the man who had abandoned them. That hatred only grew worse over time, until one day, her mother tried to sell her into slavery.
Mia escaped, but that act branded her a criminal. With nowhere left to go, she vanished into the wilderness, forced to survive alone in the forest. There, she trained herself relentlessly, pushing past pain and fear, sharpening her skills with every passing day.
But when she returned, She hadn't returned for vengeance, not exactly. She came back to face her past—and it was then that her strength was recognized by the emperor himself. Rather than punishment, he offered her purpose, taking her under his wing and turning her into a warrior who stood by his side.
No surprise to anyone… she hated Rex.
To Mia, everything went wrong the moment that bastard entered her mother's life. He had shown up with pretty promises, only to vanish without a trace, leaving behind nothing but resentment. Her mother's hatred had been born from that betrayal, and Mia had grown up drowning in it. So, when the opportunity came to join a party that aimed to find Rex, she accepted without hesitation. She didn't just want to find him—she wanted to kick that bastard in the balls.
"We're not too far from the Re-Estize Kingdom… It's been almost sixty years since I saw my mom… oh, sorry."
The voice came from the only blonde in the group. His name was Mikoto. He glanced awkwardly at Michael, realizing his words might have been offensive.
Mikoto's mother had been part of the legendary adventurer party, Blue Rose. He was a vampire, the result of a fleeting union—and like Mia, he harbored nothing but hatred for his father. In fact, he'd been tracking Rex down for years before he heard rumors that some of his siblings were doing the same..
"It's alright. Enjoy what you have," Michael said, his voice hollow and emotionless.
Ever since his mother's death, it was as if something inside him had broken beyond repair. Whatever warmth or joy he once held had vanished, leaving behind only a shell that moved and spoke, but no longer lived…
The air grew heavy in the silence that followed. No one dared to speak. His words had carved through the quiet like a blade, leaving only stillness and unspoken sorrow in their wake. They all felt the weight of his grief, but no one knew how to lift it. What words could reach a heart so deeply wounded?
But the silence didn't last. All at once, their eyes turned to the sky as a thunderous sound tore through the air. High above, the sky warped and cracked open like fragile glass. From the gaping rift emerged a massive dragon head, its presence alone darkening the world beneath it.
Bit by bit, the rest of its enormous body emerged. A dragon—colossal, the size of an island—descended from the sky and landed with a force that shook the earth. Its head alone crashed down before them, vast enough to blot out the horizon, swallowing their entire field of view in scaled, obsidian black.
"You all hold Rex's blood…" The dragon's voice echoed like rolling thunder, deep and ancient, as its singular, unblinking eye swept over the group.
That eye—massive beyond belief—seemed to swallow the world. Even standing together, they couldn't see the full expanse of its pupil. It was as if the eye alone was a realm unto itself, staring through them, into their very souls.
As it spoke, the Dragon couldn't help but recall the battle between Rex and its father—a clash that defied logic, one unlike anything it had witnessed in all its years of existence.
Short Flashback
"Oh, you pervert. You not only sealed away my job class, but you even stripped me of all my clothing," Rex said with a relaxed smile, standing completely naked and unable to equip any gear.
Despite the humiliating position he was in—stripped of weapons, defenses, and dignity—Rex remained unfazed, his tone light and playful, as though he were making small talk rather than facing down a primordial being. There was a strange power in his calm, a confidence that didn't rely on armor or status—only himself.
"Player! My deepest apology—for I brought you into this world, and now I must consume you to reclaim my lost strength!" the Primordial Dragon roared, its massive claw stretching toward Rex.
"That's what she said!" Rex shot back with a laugh before launching himself forward, his body blurring as he dashed up the dragon's colossal limb, racing straight toward its face.
The dragon's eyes widened, stunned. In that split second, Rex had cast an impossible number of buff spells—some tiered, some wild magic—and layered them over one another without pause. Martial arts techniques had been used, and amidst it all, many skills had been activated as well, sharpening his reflexes even further.
It was a dizzying, overwhelming display of mastery—one that shattered any notion that this battle would be simple.
"Shocked? Yeah, I don't need the three job classes you just sealed to kick your ass!" Rex shouted, a wild grin on his face as he activated a skill from his [Champion of the 9 Realms] job class, [Strength of the 9 Realms].
For five seconds, every aspect of Rex's physical and magical capability surged to an overwhelming peak.
Boom!
A single fist—small and insignificant compared to the mountain-sized face of the Primordial Dragon—slammed forward.
The impact was instant and catastrophic. Despite its titanic scale, the dragon's entire body was hurled backward, crashing to the ground with an earth-shaking explosion that tore apart the landscape beneath it. Dust and debris filled the air, as the force of the blow echoed for miles, a testament to the raw power Rex wielded even without his full arsenal.
"Come on now, I know I caught you off guard with that strike. So, I'll let you have a turn. Take your best shot. Take advantage of the fact that I'm arrogant and cocky. Convince yourself this is your chance, that a lesser being like you ever stood a chance against someone like me."
Rex chuckled darkly, his voice laced with mockery. "Tell yourself you were smart to seal away my job classes—like you were ever worthy of facing me at full strength."
His words struck harder than his fists, each syllable twisting the Dragon Emperor's pride. It was maddening. Rex wasn't just confident—he was untouchable. He had declared his best skills were locked, his gear stripped away… and said it was pointless since he was worthy of facing him at his best.
Flashback End