Chapter 419: Beyond the Gate of Scales
The wilderness changed again.
Not slowly.
Not naturally.
Abruptly.
The deeper the Exploration Unit traveled beyond the drake territory, the stranger the world became around them. The ancient jungle gradually thinned while the mountains grew darker and sharper beneath a sky permanently covered by heavy silver-gray clouds.
Even the air itself felt wrong now.
Denser.
Hotter.
Mana fluctuated unnaturally through the environment like invisible tides.
The explorers moved cautiously across broken volcanic terrain while distant roars occasionally echoed from beyond the endless black mountain ranges surrounding them.
No ordinary monsters appeared anymore.
No lesser beasts.
Only silence.
And pressure.
The remaining expedition members had unconsciously stopped speaking loudly hours ago.
Because instinctively—
Everyone felt it.
Something enormous existed ahead.
Meanwhile—
Kel walked calmly at the front of the formation beneath the dim sky. His black coat fluttered softly beneath the heated wilderness winds while his dark eyes continuously observed the changing terrain around them.
Sairen's voice echoed quietly through the soul-link.
"…The mana density keeps increasing."
Kel nodded slightly while stepping across a cracked obsidian ridge.
"This area borders dimensional instability."
Unlike before—
Kel answered her immediately now.
Carefully.
Because here—
Her insight mattered.
The Guardian of Scarder Lake had existed far longer than modern humanity. Her understanding of ancient mana environments and dimensional spaces far surpassed most living scholars.
Sairen sounded thoughtful.
"…This no longer feels connected entirely to the human world."
Kel quietly replied.
"Because it isn't."
Several explorers behind him looked visibly exhausted from the oppressive atmosphere surrounding the region. Even breathing had gradually become heavier as mana pressure thickened around the environment.
Then finally—
One scout suddenly froze.
"…Ahead."
The entire formation stopped instantly.
Beyond the black volcanic cliffs—
Something massive appeared.
A portal.
No.
Calling it merely a portal felt insufficient.
The thing resembled a gigantic tear within reality itself.
Dark crimson energy spiraled endlessly through the enormous dimensional fracture while silver lightning occasionally surged across its edges. Ancient runes floated around the unstable gateway like drifting stars while the surrounding terrain remained completely lifeless beneath overwhelming mana pressure.
Even the sky above the portal looked distorted.
Bent unnaturally inward.
Several explorers visibly paled.
"…Gods…"
One scholar unconsciously whispered.
The dimensional gate towered nearly fifty meters high.
Ancient.
Violent.
Alive.
And from beyond it—
Roars echoed faintly.
Not ordinary roars.
Draconic.
The air itself smelled different near the portal.
Ash.
Sulfur.
Ancient fire.
Meanwhile—
Kel quietly stared toward the dimensional fracture without surprise.
Sairen immediately noticed.
"…You expected this."
Kel answered calmly.
"I suspected it."
The guardian sounded sharper now.
"…Kel."
A brief pause followed.
"Where exactly does that portal lead?"
Kel's dark eyes reflected the crimson portal light softly.
Then—
He answered.
"The Dragon Realm."
Silence.
Even Sairen stopped speaking momentarily.
Meanwhile—
The explorers behind Kel exchanged horrified glances instantly.
Several scholars visibly lost color in their faces hearing the name alone.
Dragon Realm.
An ancient mythical dimension mentioned only within forbidden texts and fragmented civilization records.
A world where draconic species ruled naturally.
One younger mage swallowed hard.
"…That place actually exists?"
Kel calmly stepped closer toward the portal.
"Yes."
The air around the dimensional fracture distorted violently as ancient mana surged continuously outward.
Sairen finally spoke again.
"…You're seriously planning to enter that thing?"
Kel answered immediately.
"Yes."
The guardian sounded almost offended now.
"…You say yes too easily."
Kel ignored the comment.
Instead—
He turned toward the expedition calmly.
"We move carefully after entering."
The atmosphere became tense instantly.
"No unnecessary combat."
"No loud mana releases."
"No wandering away from formation."
His dark eyes slowly moved across every explorer present.
"Inside…"
A faint pause followed.
"…everything becomes dangerous."
Several explorers tightened their grips around weapons instinctively.
Then—
Kel stepped through first.
The dimensional portal swallowed him instantly.
The remaining expedition members hesitated only briefly before following behind their leader one after another into the ancient gateway.
And the world changed.
The moment they crossed—
The air itself became heavier.
Several explorers nearly lost balance instantly.
The sky above them burned crimson.
Not metaphorically.
Actually burned.
Massive red clouds drifted endlessly across a dark sky illuminated occasionally by distant volcanic eruptions far beyond the horizon. Gigantic mountain ranges towered across the landscape while rivers of glowing magma flowed through black valleys like veins across the world itself.
And everywhere—
Draconic life existed.
Flying wyverns circled through the sky.
Massive scaled predators crawled across volcanic cliffs.
Winged serpent-like creatures moved between mountain peaks.
Even the trees looked monstrous here.
Dark crimson bark.
Black leaves.
Mana flowing visibly through gigantic roots beneath the ground.
The explorers stood frozen.
Because this world did not resemble ordinary reality.
It resembled the homeland of monsters.
One scholar whispered shakily.
"…We really entered another world…"
The oppressive mana density here surpassed anything they had experienced previously.
Every breath carried heat.
Power.
Ancient pressure.
Meanwhile—
Kel calmly observed the landscape ahead while Sairen continuously spoke through the soul-link now.
"…This world is enormous…"
"Yes."
"…The mana circulation itself differs from the human realm."
Kel nodded slightly.
"Dragon realms evolved around high-density primal mana."
Sairen sounded fascinated despite herself.
"…No wonder draconic species become absurdly powerful."
Unlike before—
Kel answered almost every question now.
Patiently.
Because unlike the human world—
This place truly carried dangers beyond normal understanding.
And Sairen's observations genuinely helped him analyze the environment faster.
The expedition moved forward carefully afterward.
Every step through the Dragon Realm felt dangerous.
Massive shadows occasionally crossed above the sky.
Distant roars echoed through volcanic valleys.
And several times—
The explorers hid entirely beneath stone cliffs while gigantic draconic creatures flew across the heavens overhead.
Not drakes.
Not wyverns.
True dragons.
Even from kilometers away—
Their presence alone felt overwhelming.
The expedition discovered unbelievable things quickly.
Ancient draconic herbs growing beside magma rivers.
Crystals naturally condensed through primal mana pressure.
Gigantic skeletal remains larger than castles.
Everywhere—
Resources beyond human imagination existed.
And inevitably—
Combat followed.
The first encounter came near a volcanic canyon.
A group of lesser draconic predators ambushed the expedition suddenly from beneath obsidian cliffs.
Scaled quadrupedal creatures with burning red eyes and blade-like tails.
The battle erupted instantly.
Unlike ordinary monsters—
Even lesser draconic species possessed terrifying physical strength and mana resistance.
Yet the expedition had changed greatly by now.
Formations stabilized quickly.
Mages coordinated efficiently.
Mercenaries targeted joints and wings instinctively.
And Kel—
Moved like death itself across the battlefield.
SLASH!!
Aura blades severed scales.
Telekinetic pressure crushed charging predators midair.
The battle ended quickly.
Violently.
Afterward—
Kel immediately ordered harvesting operations.
"Collect everything."
Scales.
Blood.
Bones.
Mana cores.
Nothing wasted.
Sairen quietly watched through the soul-link while Kel carved through one creature's armored chest carefully.
"…You really treat monsters as resources naturally now."
Kel calmly extracted the glowing draconic mana core.
"Everything has value."
The guardian softly sighed afterward.
"…You sound terrifyingly practical sometimes."
Kel actually smiled faintly this time.
A very small smile.
"That's why we survive."
And beneath the burning crimson skies of the Dragon Realm—
Humanity continued marching deeper into lands never meant for them.