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Awakening deep in the Perum Mountains of the western continent.
Passing the western mining district and Manesi.
Going through the central inland Campus Plains.
Until Elton City, one of the major cities in the east down below, came into view.
It didn't even take half a day.
At first, it was a mad dragon with no rationality.
But while flying in the sky for half a day, some sanity returned.
'Thank goodness. Really, thank goodness. I didn't fall into eternal sleep in the state of a mad dragon.'
I would have already died hundreds of years ago and turned to dust, but.
I wanted to hold the hands of Archmage Fabian Hendrix and thank him.
'This is the territory of the Gold Dragon Aurum Drago. Continuing to fly in this form can lead to great misunderstandings. I need to polymorph quickly...'
The mind was back, but.
The body wouldn't move as I wanted.
It felt like wearing the shell of another dragon.
'Am I not fully awake, but in a vegetative state? No. If so, I shouldn't be able to move at all. Surely, my body is flying with its own will right now. What phenomenon is this, exactly?'
Flap. Flap.
Insanis's huge wings cut through the wind.
'Got it!'
It was subtle, but.
I succeeded in slowing down the movement of the wings.
Soon, I could move my legs little by little.
'I'm regaining control over my body.'
After some time.
When the guards of Elton City's outer walls saw my true form and ran away in a panic.
'Polymorph.'
I was finally able to polymorph.
Insanis, who polymorphed into a human form, fell straight down from the high sky.
Thud.
Insanis, in the form of a sturdy young man with long black hair, looked around.
The sun was setting.
The forest was as silent as a graveyard.
But Insanis was a dragon, the strongest and noblest being in the human world.
He could easily sense the auras of the creatures surrounding him.
"Cute guys have come looking for me."
A dragon's polymorph isn't just magically changing the appearance.
It also captures all the characteristics and auras of the creature.
Grrr.
So.
A mere pack of wolves could dare to surround Black Dragon Insanis, the ruler of the western Pax Continent.
If I had landed here in my true form.
The wolves would have scattered and fled, abandoning the territory that had been passed down through generations.
"I'm in a good mood since I've regained my sanity after a long time, so just go away."
Grrr.
The gleaming eyes of the wolves began to appear one by one.
The total number was thirty-four.
"Hey, I said just go."
This was the territory of Gold Dragon Aurum Drago.
Insanis was thinking of driving the wolves away by releasing his dragon power without overdoing it.
Now that he had regained his sanity after becoming a mad dragon.
He felt better than the day he left the world alone for the first time, after leaving his hatchling days behind.
Although he was in a berserk state for a short time.
He didn't have to end his noble life as a violent beast without any dignity.
He was now planning to return to his territory in the west of the continent and spend the rest of his life quietly.
'Ah, I should also stop by Aurum Drago on the way. To say hello, and to let him know that I, Insanis, have returned to normal.'
Grrr.
The pack of wolves was closing in more and more.
Insanis was deliberately waiting for the encirclement to get tighter.
That way, he could drive the wolves away with just a minimal release of power.
Hadn't he returned to being a noble dragon who valued honor and etiquette?
This was clearly another dragon's territory.
There was no need to unnecessarily unleash his power excessively.
Insanis put his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky.
'Looking at the position of the constellations, I've flown almost to the eastern end of the continent. Then, the human city I saw a little while ago must have been Elton City.'
Then.
Krrrraaagh!
A wolf that seemed the bravest opened its mouth wide and lunged at Insanis.
"Hey, you... I'll tell you my identity now, so run away far. Today is a very happy day, so I'll generously forgive you...!"
Clang!
It happened in an instant.
Insanis's right arm, which had already lunged forward.
Pierced through the body of the attacking wolf.
"Why is my body...?"
His surprise was short-lived.
The thought that he had regained control over his body was meaningless.
Insanis's body began to move on its own.
It didn't even take 5 seconds to brutally slaughter all thirty-four wolves.
Drip. Drip.
Insanis lowered his head and looked at his right hand, from which blood was dripping.
His left hand was behind his back, and he had slaughtered all the wolves with only his right hand.
Of course, it wasn't just his right hand that had escaped Insanis's control.
His whole body moved on its own, without giving him any chance to do anything about it.
The reason he didn't use his left hand was simply because he didn't need both arms to slaughter thirty-four wolves.
His left hand remained in the same position as when he was looking up at the sky with his hands behind his back.
Insanis walked slowly and moved his right arm.
'It's normal now...'
Just like before meeting the pack of wolves, Insanis's body moved entirely as his mind dictated.
'Something is seriously wrong. I need to consult with Aurum Drago.'
Insanis's knowledge and wisdom were also incomparably rich and outstanding among the creatures of the human world.
But he had no idea what was going on in this situation.
'Thanks to the long time I was sealed, my mind has returned, but the mad dragon state hasn't completely resolved?'
Looking at himself calmly.
Insanis was definitely not normal right now.
He wasn't that mad dragon from 600 years ago, but.
He wasn't completely free from the mad dragon state yet.
'If I consult with Aurum Drago, who has lived even a little longer, I might find an answer.'
Of course, the "little" that Insanis was thinking of was enough time for humans to have children and grandchildren for dozens of generations.
The gorge between the Alzas Forest north of Elton City and the Campus Plains in the center of the continent.
That's where the lair of the Gold Dragon Aurum Drago, who has the mid-eastern part of the Pax Continent as his territory, is located.
'It's been a really long time. Going to that greedy guy's lair too... Huh?'
Insanis imagined the entrance to the gorge and cast a warp spell.
Unlike human warp magic, coordinates or magic circles are meaningless.
If you've been there once, you can warp just by thinking of the place.
However.
The corpses of wolves were still lined up at Insanis's feet, who should have already been standing at the entrance to the gorge.
'Warping... doesn't work?'
Even if he apologizes for passing through another dragon's territory while unconscious, and flew here, that was when he wasn't in his right mind.
But he couldn't fly to the entrance of the lair in his true form.
It was close to a taboo beyond the etiquette between dragons.
Moreover, the opponent was Gold Dragon Aurum Drago.
The strongest of the existing dragons.
"This is troublesome..."
The joy of not having to end his life as a mad dragon was short-lived.
Insanis fell into deep thought.
A dragon who can't control his own body.
What should he do?
What would have happened if there weren't just thirty-four wolves around when he went berserk just now?
'The forest is dangerous. Wild beasts that have smelled blood might attack again at any time.'
If he carried out a massacre every time that happened.
All the carnivores in this forest would die.
He had barely come to his senses and polymorphed into a human form.
'I can't reveal my true form again right in front of Aurum Drago's lair.'
Of course, the "right in front" that Insanis was thinking of was a distance that would take humans two days and nights of non-stop travel by carriage.
After pondering for a while, Insanis looked at the lights of the human city in the distance.
'I think I know why I flew all the way here before regaining my sanity.'
He could feel a part of his body somewhere in the city down the mountain.
'I flew all the way here drawn by just that? A lost claw doesn't matter anymore.'
Insanis, who had regained his consciousness, had no interest in the claw he had lost 600 years ago.
It had already regenerated as he awakened.
It was absurd that he had flown all the way here without consciousness because of just that.
'Still, it's better to be among humans who can at least communicate than the beasts of the forest that smell blood and attack all night.'
Insanis started walking towards Elton City.
His steps, which were gradually getting faster.
Were soon so fast that none of the forest's beasts could follow with their eyes.
Unlike other ordinary cities, Elton City is surrounded by a high fortress wall around the entire city.
This is because it was the capital in the early days of the founding of Alcancia.
The Elton Academy building in Elton City is also the former royal palace.
It was neither a capital nor a militarily important city, so the fortress could have been torn down to increase the traffic of people.
Elton City chose to maintain and repair the existing fortress walls instead, using them as a means to strengthen the city's security.
There are a total of three gates through which you can enter Elton City.
The North Gate, the South Gate, and the West Gate.
Black Dragon Insanis is now standing in front of the West Gate.
And in front of him stands gatekeeper Cladis, whose hard-won date was broken because his shift suddenly changed today.
"Ah, so, I said you can't pass here without identification. I said it."
"I'm just staying for a few days and using the human libraries. Isn't this the city with Elton Academy? There was a very large library there, I believe."
"Whether there's Elton Academy or not, whether there's a library or not, you can't pass without identification. How many times do I have to say it before you understand? Okay, next."
Cladis gestured with a very annoyed face for the person behind Insanis to come forward.
"I haven't finished speaking..."
"Ah, come on! Get out of the way!"
Dragons are instinctively a species that likes beautiful and pretty things.
The human that Black Dragon Insanis polymorphed into was a sculptural beauty with perfect proportions of 8 heads tall.
On the other hand, gatekeeper Cladis was a figure who could be said to be second to none in the guard in terms of burly size.
"...Huh?"
He was trying to push the annoying guy without identification aside with all his might.
But Insanis's slender body didn't budge.
'Did I eat too little dinner and lose strength?'
"Ahem, ahem."
Cladis, who coughed unnecessarily, scolded again.
"Get out of the way. Can't you hear? The people behind you need to pass through the gate too, right? Can't you see the line behind you?"
"Then bring someone who can talk some sense. A high-ranking noble or the mayor. Or the president of the academy or the deans of the departments would be able to talk some sense."
"Ah, seriously. These days, if you just wear fancy clothes, you all think you're nobles. No identification, no family, not even a last name. Get lost! If you don't get out of here right now, I'll arrest you and interrogate you to find out how you bought those expensive clothes!"
Family.
There's no way a dragon would have something like that.
The same goes for the surname that is only allowed to human nobles.
Aurum, the greedy Gold Dragon, said he wanted to have a surname like a dignified noble and gave himself the surname Drago.
But other than that eccentric old man, there are almost no dragons with surnames.
"I will forgive you for not knowing my name because I am an unfamiliar existence to humans. But I can't tolerate you blocking my path any longer."
Cladis's eyebrows shot up.
Today was the day he had his first date with Lady Amelia, whom he had dreamed of.
But the private who was supposed to relieve Cladis was suddenly suffering from a stomach ache and was taken to the hospital.
The blockheaded private supervisor ordered Cladis to just work one more shift and take one shift off next week.
He said that reorganizing the duty roster would require too many things to consider...
Nonsense.
He's just too lazy to even find someone to fill the empty spot.
He's probably going to go to the gambling den as soon as work hours are over and drink beer.
Cladis finally lost his reason.
"What? You can't tolerate it? Hey, you sissy-looking bastard. What are you going to do if you can't tolerate it? Huh? What are you going to do!"
Swish.
The moment Cladis drew his sword from its scabbard.
Insanis's pupils turned red.
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