Hermit Wizard

Chapter 152

1. 1. 1. 1. Savior or Destroyer (21)

I recalled what the Silver Forest’s Truth-Seeker said.

Yes, it was said that its kind had ‘released’ dragons, which had already been domesticated, to several dimensions. They were sent back to the wild.

It said that they chose another dimension because the parent dimension’s environment had changed severely for the dragon to survived in its natural state.

[The time when the wild dragon is judged to be completely extinct from the parent dimension is around the ## period. It’s known that the domestication of dragons began in ancient times. Since coming into the life of our pioneers, the dragon has long been a family member and a faithful friend.]

[As civilization developed, the value and importance of dragons in hunting, vigilance, food, and magic experiments, which were the first domestication objectives, decreased because there are far better alternatives to dragons.]

Hunting and vigilance… Wasn’t that the same as a man raising a dog?

[Hunting is believed to have been the main reason for the start of domestication in ancient times. The high heat of the dragon’s flame was very effective in catching pests and stunning wild animals. The flame that modern dragons emit when they act cute is traces of those days, although it has been weakened much through intentional improvements compared to ancient times.]

[However, as civilization developed, the reason for mobilizing dragons disappeared.]

A story similar to the way modern humans dealt with animals continued.

[Hunting is performed much more effectively by the artificial life possessed by the demons. The vigilance can’t follow a spirit body that isn’t bound by the laws of physics. In the 7th Middle Ages, often referred to as the era of revisionism, the need to eat less delicious dragons has been eliminated since the food supply problem was completely solved. In the case of magic experiments, as the ethical consciousness has increased in the modern era, it has been impossible to use a creature with a soul as a test object.]

[As a result, modern dragons are often bred as pets rather than livestock with economic purpose.]

[With a long history of livestock, dragon breed improvement took place over a long time. If it were only economical livestock, it might have ceased to be improved from the moment the necessity was no longer needed. Still, ironically, the dragon was a pet loved by pioneers, so it continued to be improved.]

[For example, these animals, which were inevitable due to the extreme planetary environment if left to nature, have strengthened their bodies enough to be able to go outside at the level of walking. As a result, physical modifications were made to a level beyond the race’s limits, which could not have evolved naturally. To the point where Mana is essential to maintain such a body.]

I remembered the young dragon, who couldn’t even hold its poop and pee when its Mana disappeared.

It seemed that it was so dependent on Mana that even normal bodily functions couldn’t be controlled without it.

[Even though progress was made to a considerable level, the dragon’s physical abilities were only strengthened to the extent that it could take a walk outside in a friendly environment under the protection of its owner. Survival in the wild is a very difficult situation. In other words, it was close to impossible to release the dragons in their parent dimension wildly.]

Well, it was weird.

The dragon’s physical ability, which I knew from common sense and that I had experienced, was so terrifying that it could cause a mountain to collapse with a single swing of its tail and burn out a few villages in the blink of an eye.

Even if it was strengthened to such a level of ‘taking a walk outside in a friendly environment under the protection of its owner,’ how terrible was the parent-dimension environment to judge that ‘survival in the wild was a very difficult situation?’

If the environment was so bad, why didn’t the pioneer species migrate to another dimension earlier?

There had to be a level of skill that transcended dimensions. It was necessary to search for a place where a dragon could live and to transfer it.

Thinking so, the message of the storage medium continued.

[But we didn’t give up…]

[If only dragons, as domestic pets, remain extinct in the wild, they will lose their chance of natural evolution. Even if it evolves, it will only be possible to evolve as a pet. We believe that any species should be guaranteed the opportunity to evolve. It is natural to judge it as universal ethics.]

[So, we decided that even some of the dragon race should be sent back to the wild, giving them a chance to evolve on their own. It gave them the option to shape the future of the species.]

[There was a social consensus that it was very unethical to neglect the dragon this way. Even more, we were obligated to restore the wild dragon, considering that the parent planet’s environment has changed to such an extent that it is difficult for dragons to survive.]

[As a means to fulfill that duty, we have long been working on a project to find the outer dimensions environment in which dragons can survive and to wild-release selected dragons.]

[The storage medium you’re listening to now is a record if our descendants in the distant future visit that dimension. The user is requested to listen to this storage medium’s record to the end to protect the surviving dragon at that dimension.]

I understood.

The conclusion was that the species described as dimensions as part of the wild species restoration project. Dragons of that dimension must’ve come across a long time ago.

So, the pioneers left instructions for their own people on the dimension where dragons were released. That was the identity of the ‘Root Stone’ in front of us.

[Recommended to users. If the dragon survives without extinction on the dimension you are visiting now, please leave it as it is without intervention. Dragons of that dimension aren’t cute creatures raised as pioneers’ pets. They are independent races who create their future for their species.]

[If we intervene hastily, there is a risk of undermining the independence of civilization and violating the freedom and right to develop their own culture and technology. It’s important to note that this is a very unethical practice. It is forbidden to capture dragons of this dimension, relocate them to a third dimension, or bring them back to the parent dimension by judging them as lost or ownerless pets.]

Relocating them to the third dimension?

[Don’t worry. I won’t ever take the dragon to Earth.[

… I was just going to take out the soul.

[Dragons living in that dimension are recognized as an external-dimensional race and are subject to several ‘external-dimensional race rights’ related laws, including the ‘7th Amendment to the Act on the Protection of the Rights of External-Dimensional Race’. Under the applicable laws and regulations, it is illegal to bring a race from another dimension to the parent dimension through the Channel or dimension leap magic, and violations may result in punishment.]

[The world where the dragon was released was selected as the dimension that wasn’t connected to the parent dimension and the Channel. However, over time, newly created and connected Channels may exist. While the method of controlling and using the Truth-Seeker of parent dimension continues to evolve, it’s possible that we haven’t yet found a way to block areas of power, such as the creation of Channels. If you try to bring a wild dragon to the parent dimension through a Channel, you may receive a restraint by a Photon Golem placed to prevent the entry of an alien race into the Channel, so please pay special attention.]

[In consideration of users who are away from the parent dimension, additional explanations and recommendations are given to the law related to ‘external-dimensional race rights.’ It is illegal to bring an external-dimensional race into the parent dimension or leave it unattended. Most external-dimensional races have a zero probability of survival in the parental environment, even if the pioneers protect them. We have an ethical responsibility to prevent unfortunate accidents by preventing them from entering the parent dimension by mistake.]

It was followed by an explanation of the characteristics of the dragon race.

[The domestication and improvement of dragons have been going on for so long that there is no original genetic information before the dragon’s improvement in modern times. Of course, you can’t read it on Akashic Records because no one knows about it.]

[After much consideration, we chose to release the dragon with its already improved body instead of trying to restore the dragon’s body to its pre-improved form. It is believed that natural evolutionary phenomena existed for a long time, except for the artificial breed improvement effect, and it was judged that the act of excluding and restoring it was another breed improvement.]

[As a result, dragons were released with the powers equivalent to the highest predators in the world’s ecosystems, whatever dimension they were. Of course, there are also disadvantages. It has a good Mana level for a wild animal, but basic body functions stop without it. Due to this characteristic, their biggest enemy will probably be the demons, and they will cross the gates of the world to watch vigilantly for the dragons’ Mana.]

[The dragon’s habit is also a penalty. There’s a possibility of change in the evolution process, but most dragons tend to have a weak social attachment to their kind. This is because the improvement process led to stronger loyalty and attachment to the owner. Since socialization and cooperation within the race is essential to survive the long-term battle with the demons, excessively independent tendencies may be applied against survival from a distance.]

I knew well about the characteristics of dragons. It was exactly what the storage medium said.

[So, we, inevitably, inserted information tools into the dragon’s genetic information. It should be viewed with a small amount of good-intentioned help that compensates for the weaknesses caused by pioneers but does not prevent their active evolution. This minimal interference was needed. It’s because evolution is possible when extinction is avoided.]

[We chose the dragon with the best physical condition among the dragons released to each dimension and made it the dragon Emperor. And we planted some discipline in every dragon’s genes. It’s the leader’s job to monitor and manage this discipline well.]

Genes?

I thought…

Yes, creatures knew how to reproduced instinctively without being taught by their parents, knew where to return later, and knew how to create complex traps. A form of behavior that you knew from birth, even without education.

But what if some higher beings figured out how to maximize the information that could be engraved in a species’ DNA? Wouldn’t it be possible to store much more complex and more data in genes? For example, wasn’t it possible to be born with the knowledge of the language or the use of specific tools as part of the instinctive domain from the moment of birth?

Perhaps the species of pioneers seemed to have developed technology to that stage.

[A typical example of the regulations entered in the gene is to resist and revenge desperately in solidarity with the death of their kind. We also added some additional information to the leader and gave it a helpful tool to check whether the dragons who crossed the world were alive or dead and whether they were in danger.]

A helpful tool?

[It’s a magical tool that locally substitutes the Akashic Records concept, and since the principle can’t be easily understood, it will not have a big impact on the development of civilization.]

[The tool is linked to the consciousness of all dragons currently alive in the world, including the Dragon Emperor, and stores excerpts of what they have seen and heard.]

… Hey, wait. What?

[The dragon leader will be able to know how many dragons have survived in the world through the tool and know what happened to them or what is happening now. Unknown to other dragons, it’s a secret known only to the world’s dragon leader.]

Ah… I felt dizzy for a moment.

So, it could access other dragons’ memories?

It was ridiculous. When those self-respecting dragons knew that the Dragon Emperor could read their memories, it was worth it for all the dragons to strike both the Dragon Emperor and rules, causing a fuss.

No, wait a minute.

I noted another possibility. How about the memories when I encountered dragons? Clearly, the memory of the main body was cleared through Yodmo’s ears, but what if the memory stored in the tool remained intact?

Things got a little complicated.

***

The Dragon Emperor that consumed the whole village of Ramuming succeeded in restoring its body to some extent. Although it wasn’t completely regenerated, its body was restored enough to fly in the sky.

In a quiet village full of Ramuming’s blood and flesh, the Dragon Emperor told the young dragon.

“Lucette-Eigar, thank you for your help. I’ll pay you later.”

“Can you fly alone now? Heal everything quickly and help me out. What happened is…”

Lucette began to explain what had happened to it, but the Dragon Emperor stopped its mouth in the middle.

“After all, you and I are in a similar situation. You suddenly woke up outdoors, and your memories disappeared neatly, and although the degree is different, you got hurt on your whole body.”

“Yes! That’s right. The demons must’ve done it, but now that our memories are gone, how do we track them down? There is no clue.”

“… I have a way.”

“How?”

Instead of answering the questions, Dragon Emperor turned the subject.

“Let’s break up here. I can fly alone so that I will stop by my nest.”

“Don’t you need to recover? You need more Ramumings.”

“There’s something more urgent.”

The Dragon Emperor said that it had something necessary to do more than Lucette-Eigar’s request and broke up with Lucette for a while on the spot.

The Dragon Emperor raised its barely recovered body and flew into the sky. It returned to its own nest.

‘… I never thought I’d lose my memory. I don’t know what kind of demons it is, but it’s a new kind. Once I catch it, I have to do research. Very enough, after a long time.’

Also, in the process of that research, the demons would never be fine.

After entering the nest, the Dragon Emperor approached a wall.

The wall shook like an illusion, and its body penetrated inside.

From generation to generation, it was an entrance where only the Dragon Emperor could enter and exit.

The Dragon Emperor entered the isolated space and walked in one direction without hesitation. It then stopped in front of the metal storage box.

‘… No other Dragon Emperor in the past has been able to find out the material composition of the box that stores it, let alone the principle of this artifact. A secret tool that has only been handed down to the Dragon Emperor. What is the reason for this handed-down artifact, and who is the creator?’

The Dragon Emperor opened the box and lifted the lens out of it.

The Dragon Emperor’s only way to manage and monitor the dragons with strong independent tendencies was in its hands. It focused its mind and sharpened its teeth.

‘I’ll have to check what kind of guy made me like this.’