TNG Vol. 22 Chapter 3 Part 4

When Shin and the others returned to land, a group on horseback—with their robes fluttering in the wind—was already approaching, likely having been informed by the workers who arrived earlier.

Among them was Yura, the head of the Production Department.

“I heard a massive skeleton was discovered in the mine. Is that true?”

Yura asked for confirmation, and Shima nodded.

“No mistake. Sir Shin collected the actual specimen for us. Now, which warehouse was vacant again? Preferably, an isolation warehouse.”

“If it’s an isolation warehouse, Warehouse No. 3 should be available. I’ll handle the check and notify the other departments. You should head there immediately.”

“Thanks, that’s a huge help.”

As fellow department heads, they wasted no time with pleasantries.

Shin and the others boarded a carriage with Shima, and they departed right away. Yura and her group followed a little later.

The isolation warehouse, according to Shima, was a special facility used when conducting experiments that could cause adverse effects to the surrounding area. The Weapons Department also used it for things like explosions or testing new furnaces, but this one was meant for even more hazardous materials; those whose dangers couldn’t be contained by structural integrity alone. Shima explained it was used in cases where the material released gases during processing or involved highly volatile poisons.

“I see. Indeed, items with unusual crafting methods can pose a threat to others,” Shin commented.

The forge in Shin’s Moon Shrine had features that prevented such harmful effects from leaking outside and even had air filtration for internal safety. However, that forge was not an option this time; the skeleton was far too large to fit inside.

For oversized materials, crafting was typically done at Shin’s guild house known as “1st Mysterious Studio Demi Eden.”

After about twenty minutes of travel, they arrived at the destination.

The isolation warehouse had a simple, rounded structure, like a semi-cylindrical shaped building.

“It’s not as spacious as it looks from the outside, but there’s more than enough room for the skull,” said Shima.

Following her lead, Shin and the others entered. Yura caught up and entered as well.

The facility, built with a generous amount of magic steel and other special metals, had greater durability than any structure Shin had seen in the Black Faction’s base. The door resembled a submarine hatch, requiring a handle to turn it open.

Once everyone was inside, the door closed automatically, accompanied by the clunk of a locking mechanism. Without Shima’s special key, they couldn’t exit. It was a fail-safe to prevent human error.

Shin and his group had been informed beforehand, so no one was surprised.

“After preparations, please place it in the center of the warehouse.”

“Understood.”

Shin nodded and waited.

Although no abnormalities had occurred underwater, some materials emitted harmful substances once exposed to a different environment. The Black Faction members changed into their custom protective gear as a precaution.

Since Shin’s group had equipment with status ailment immunity, they didn’t need to change. Still, for added safety, everyone but Shin kept their distance.

Once everything was ready, Shin stepped into the center and pulled the card containing the skull from his Item Box to materialize it. The other item would wait for now.

The manifested skull settled silently in the center of the warehouse. Although it didn’t seem to emit anything harmful, the sheer size and quality of the material gave it a palpable pressure, even knowing it was harmless.

“No toxins, no curse reaction, no undead signals. We do detect divine-type mana. It’s definitely a Divine Beast’s bone. Do you feel anything unusual, Sir Shin?”

Yura held a rod-like item about 40 cemel long toward the skull, monitoring its response. Shin didn’t recognize it, but based on her actions, it likely detected toxins or similar properties.

“I don’t sense anything harmful. By the way, what exactly do you mean by ‘divine-type mana’?”

He had a general idea, but better to be sure.

“Monsters like Divine Beasts—or materials derived from them—sometimes possess mana that differs from regular magic. We refer to that as divine-type mana. Many materials carry mana, but Divine Beast materials contain something… else. We don’t fully understand it, so the term is mostly a placeholder for something we can’t yet analyze.”

“I see. That sounds like what we called ‘Divine Mana.’ It’s a power possessed by special individuals among Divine Beasts. Even normal Divine Beasts can sometimes have materials imbued with it if the magic is condensed enough. That’s what my mentor told me, anyway.”

Realizing he might’ve said too much, Shin hurried to brush it off.

In the game era, Divine Mana was a rare ability found in event monsters or ultra-rare bosses. Only a small number of Divine Beasts used it, and Shin hadn’t encountered it since arriving in this world.

Still, rare drops from Divine Beasts could occasionally carry Divine Mana. It was rare enough that Shin hadn’t handled many himself.

“It’s odd that the mana is so faint, considering where it was found. Shima, can you give me the full rundown? I’ve heard the report from the team, but I’d like to hear it from the beginning.”

“Of course.”

At Yura’s request, Shima began recounting what happened in the mine, including the light that emitted when Shin touched the skull.

After hearing it all, Yura furrowed her brow in contemplation.

“We assumed the mine’s properties were due to the leyline, but was it the Divine Beast’s influence instead? Then again, the materials we harvested never showed unusual readings. That suggests…”

Her gaze drifted toward Shin.

She wasn’t wrong to suspect his involvement—the timing was just too convenient, and even Shin couldn’t completely deny it.

“I’ll just say this much: I didn’t do anything… intentionally.”

“Sounds like there’s a ‘but’ coming.”

Shin decided to share the truth about the item he received from Baomultan and Durgin, thinking that early transparency would reduce suspicion.

“I had some items that seemed to react. Here, let me show you…”

He asked everyone to step back, then pulled out the gemstones he’d received—from Baomultan and Durgin—in card form.

However, the moment he did, the cards overlapped on their own, merging into a single card.

The others looked on in confusion.

“…What just happened?”

“I just took it out of my Item Box and it merged on its own…”

Even Shin was thrown off, and when Milt asked through【Mind Chat】if he had done anything, Shin promptly replied:

“(I didn’t! I literally just pulled it out—it merged by itself…)”

He couldn’t help but grumble that if it was going to merge, it could’ve at least done it inside the Item Box.

“For now, can we try manifesting it?”

“Yes. That was the plan anyway.”

With a nod exchanged between Yura and Shima, Shin went ahead.

The item appeared atop the pedestal as any other card would.

It was an oval-shaped object resembling a bird’s egg, about 60 cemel long, gently floating in midair. The surface was mottled with blue and yellow, and had a glossy sheen.

“Looks like an egg.”

“That’s what it seems like.”

Shin thought so, and Yura and Shima agreed.

“There’s no poison, but the ‘Divine Mana’ you mentioned is off the charts. Our divine mana sensor maxed out.”

“May I take a look? …Wow, that’s intense.”

Yura showed Shin the meter. It measured divine mana, and the needle leapt instantly to the far edge as the sensor neared the egg, even without contact.

“So… what now?”

“Actually, I’m curious. Can you tell us what the original items were?”

“No problem. Though we don’t know their purpose either.”

Shin explained how he’d acquired the items from the Divine Beasts.

“To receive items from Divine Beasts… that alone is amazing. But for them to merge…”

“And it happened right after I touched the skull, so I think it’s connected. Like, the presence or spirit of the skull moved into it.”

He mentioned Yuzuha’s intuition as context.

“Presence, huh… Some of our records claim Divine Beasts can resurrect after death. Could this be an example?”

“We can’t rule it out.”

Shin recalled events from the game where Divine Beasts hatched from eggs and even grew into powerful allies.

Given the situation, the possibility that the object was a Divine Beast’s egg was very real.

“It doesn’t seem dangerous. Is there any way to examine its contents?”

He asked just in case. Even with Shin’s visual skills like【Analyze】and【Appraisal】, the data was garbled.

“We have some equipment that could scan it, but it involves magic pulses and vibrations. If it really is an egg, we can’t risk harming it. It’s too valuable.”

Yura frowned, clearly unwilling to jeopardize a possible new life.

“So I guess we just… wait for it to hatch?”

“That’s assuming it’s even an egg. And even if it is, who knows how long it’ll—”

Before she could finish, a deep thump echoed through the room, clearly a heartbeat.

“…Well, that answers that. Yura, Shima, please stay behind Shibaid.”

With each beat, Divine Mana pulsed outward. It wasn’t harmful, but the pressure was intense.

Shin and Shibaid moved forward, summoning shields from their Item Boxes.

The heartbeat from the “egg” was getting louder.

And with it, the Divine Mana it emitted grew steadily stronger.

𑁋

“Now then, let’s see what comes out.”

Soon, the pulsing ceased, and the egg began to glow.

The Divine Mana it emitted in rhythmic flashes sent a tingling sensation across Shin’s skin.

About five minutes had passed since they raised their shields.

Then, Shin clearly heard the sound of something cracking.

Everyone’s gaze focused on the egg. A fracture had formed on its surface.

The sharp crack of splitting continued intermittently as the fractures spread. Rather than breaking from a single spot, the cracks spread across the entire shell until, with a soft pop, the egg shattered.

Pieces of the shell scattered and fell onto the platform below.

And at the same time, what was inside the egg revealed itself.

Whether it was the influence of the presence transferred from the bones, or simply because the beings that gave the original items were of draconic lineage, what emerged from the egg… was a dragon.

“Is it a Dragon Baby?”

“No, 【Analyze】 isn’t working properly. It’s probably not a normal monster.”

The “Dragon Baby” Shibaid mentioned referred to a newly hatched dragon hatchling that appeared during certain events.

Its evolution depended on the event conditions, and in most cases, it would leave behind an item before disappearing.

But right now, the 【Analyze】 skill only displayed a string of garbled, nonsensical characters in place of a name or level.

If it were a Dragon Baby, it would have been labeled as such; meaning this was clearly something different.

Its body had a long neck and limbs extending from its torso, with a pair of wings on its back.
Its appearance resembled that of a Western dragon.

Even features that should be soft at birth, like its claws and scales, already seemed to have hardened, at least from Shin’s perspective.

Rather than an infant, it looked more like a fully grown dragon that had simply been miniaturized.

Its most striking features were its blue scales and a single translucent, pale-blue horn jutting from its forehead.

Its overall body was rounded, with only the horn and claws appearing remotely offensive.
Its tail tapered toward the tip, where a semi-transparent fin-like appendage extended, suggesting it might be built for swimming.

Just as Shin and the others were observing the dragon, the creature calmly turned its golden eyes toward them.

There was no aggression or unrest: only a quiet, steady gaze.

Its demeanor reminded Shin of other intelligent monsters he had met since arriving in this world.

“(Doesn’t seem like it’s going to attack out of nowhere. The vibe it gives off feels similar to Yuzuha—like one of those monsters you can actually talk to.)”

“(Yuzuha, do you recognize anything?)”

“(I think it’s fine. I’ll go check it out.)”

Replying via 【Mind Chat】 to Shin and Schnee, Yuzuha stepped forward toward the dragon.

Given the situation, she was in her adult mode.

Shin stayed ready to deploy a barrier between her and the dragon just in case.

A glance to the side showed that Shibaid, sharing the same mindset, gave a subtle nod of readiness.

“Do you remember me?”

Yuzuha stopped just below the platform, tilting her head as she asked.

Behind Shibaid, Shin could hear Yura and the others mutter, “Huh?”

While Shin and his group were used to it, it was no surprise others were shocked, after all, monsters speaking human language was far from common.

Even though speaking monsters did exist and that knowledge might have persisted in records, few had actually witnessed it with their own eyes.

“Hmm, we’ve both gotten quite small, haven’t we?”

Just as Shin was wondering if they knew each other, the dragon responded in a low, weighty male voice.

It confirmed Shin’s suspicion that this creature possessed intelligence, but evidently, its mind hadn’t regressed with its form.

Its speech was fluent, and from the content, it clearly remembered Yuzuha.

“The ones behind you aren’t your retainers, I presume?”The dragon’s gaze shifted back from Yuzuha to Shin’s group.
As a monster of the Element Tail lineage, Yuzuha had once commanded lesser monsters as retainers; this was likely what the dragon was referring to.