Chương 187: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 187 - The Whole Crew Relocates

Setting aside the whole Legend Level business, Su Nian let out a slow breath after the system finished its explanation. Relief, yes. But also a creeping sense of wrongness. What was this, exactly? Reborn: I Open a Dungeon in Another World? Was the entire point of his existence as a majestic Black Dragon to be farmed over and over by players and locals alike? That was a depressing thought. But the dungeon was already built, so tearing it down wasn't exactly an option.

Besides, the player Starter Villages around Silvermoon Forest were rubble now. Without a teleportation array on their end, these players would have a hard time reaching him anytime soon.

"Hide the dungeon," Su Nian said, with a resigned sigh.

"Every day we can keep it hidden is a day I don't have people showing up to ruin my life." [Dungeon has been hidden. Five arrow towers detected outside dungeon boundaries. Transfer towers now?] The notification jogged his memory. Right. Five Flame Arrow Towers still sitting on the surface. And the player captives. And an entire Experimental Field full of potatoes.

"Forget the towers for a second. System, how do I even get out of here? You promised me a teleportation array." [Establishing a one-way teleportation array requires system points. Current dungeon level permits one one-way teleportation array. Establish now?]"Yes, establish it! Greedy piece of junk..." He grumbled, but his system point balance had six digits. A teleportation array was pocket change. And it wasn't optional.

Without one, every monster coming or going had to wade through the full length of the labyrinth. Getting in was one thing. But if leaving required working through that entire maze every single time, they'd all be dead on their feet before the week was out. The array went up fast. Su Nian placed it dead center in the dungeon, keyed to himself and his monsters only. No other creature could touch it. Purple light flared. The array hummed. Su Nian closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was on the surface. Fresh air.

Birdsong. Sunlight.

"Wooah! Brother, that was amazing!" Anna's bright cheer came from right behind him, soft and delighted. Today had been a lot for her. An inexplicable earthquake out of nowhere. Then a sudden teleport into what could only be called an underground palace. Before she'd had time to properly look around at the glittering underground city, her vision blurred again and she was back on the surface. Back and forth, just like that. It had left her a little dizzy.

None of which stopped her from looking at the Black Dragon like he'd personally hung the stars.

"Hmph. Obviously." Su Nian lifted his chin.

"I am a miraculous Black Dragon. There's nothing I can't do." With the monsters and Anna all watching him with that same reverent glow, Su Nian felt deeply, profoundly smug about everything.

"Bolikeli. Greytooth. Get over here." He crooked a claw. Both of them, still half-dazed from everything they'd witnessed, scrambled over immediately. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Great master, you tower above the gods of the highest heavens, you are more mysterious than the stars and moon in the night sky, you are—" Goblin Chieftain Bolikeli launched into full flattery mode without a breath. In its eyes, the Black Dragon standing before it was no longer just a dragon. These impossible, inexplicable feats? This was a Dragon God walking the earth.

"Right, yes, enough." Su Nian waved it off.

"Go blindfold the human captives. Send another group to dig up the potatoes from the Experimental Field, soil and all, bag them. Starting today, we're moving." He swept his gaze across the assembled horde.

"That underground city is your new home. That's where we live from now on." The monsters stared at each other. Then the noise started. The goblins grabbed their swords and shields, upgraded gear, though they'd still deliberately soaked them in water to get a good rust going, and broke into the most unhinged victory dance Su Nian had ever seen. The Blaze Rabbits thrust radishes overhead with both hands, Whirlwind Rabbits dangling at their waists, bouncing up and down so frantically they blurred into afterimages.

The gnolls, for their part, were more dignified about it: they dropped to one knee around the Black Dragon, pressed their claws to the earth, threw their heads back, and let out long, mournful, deeply sincere howls at the sky. The area around the Silvermoon Forest dragon's lair dissolved into absolute pandemonium. They'd assumed the massive underground palace was for the Black Dragon alone. The idea that they got to live inside it too had simply never crossed their minds. But who wouldn't want a lair like that?

Safe. Solid. Theirs. Loyalty meters were spiking across the board. A new class of fanatical devotees had just been born.

Dragon's Lair. Near the Experimental Field. Several days had passed since Haruta Motono received the blessing of the God of Freedom. He had no idea anything had changed outside. The earthquake hadn't even fazed him. Back on Earth, tremors happened every few weeks. One random earthquake in a fantasy world was hardly worth noting. Right now, he was throwing a freedom party in his room. Twenty-something players were in attendance. Under the liberating force of Haruta Motono's Freedom Dance, they were feeling it.

The power of freedom. The breath of the God of Freedom. It moved through them, and they loved it. They wanted what he had. They wanted to be free. As the party's host, Haruta Motono was absorbing that energy and converting it directly into personal power gains. There was also some good news on the personal front. Orikihime-chan, unable to tolerate his aura of freedom any longer, had formally broken up with him. They had parted ways.

Word was, Inoue Orihime had since thrown herself into the arms of his sworn enemy, that bleached-hair delinquent, Yamamoto Nanjirou. Haruta Motono hadn't liked Inoue Orihime. That was simply a fact. But she had, at one point, been his woman. That was also a fact. And now she had defected. Directly to the enemy. For a man of his stature, this was an insult that could not be borne. He was a man. He had a man's dignity." ROAR." The thought struck somewhere tender, and Haruta Motono threw back his head and bellowed.

He planted his feet and struck a bodybuilding pose in front of his assembled disciples. The flesh on his torso rippled like the surface of a disturbed lake. The Freedom Dance intensified. His red headband whipped back and forth hard enough to blur. The aura rolling off him was intense. With each passing minute, his HP and Strength ticked higher. His ambition swelled to match." Just you wait." He bared his teeth.

"Once I've farmed my Strength and HP high enough, every last one of you — and every monster in this place — is going to die. Keheheheh, " The door exploded inward. A squad of monsters stormed the room like heavily-armed officials breaking down a door over an unpaid bill, their expressions absolutely murderous. Each of them was carrying a large, vibrantly-colored pair of underpants. They didn't say a word. They just started shoving the underpants over players' heads.

Anyone who tried to resist or open their mouth got a hard smack for the effort. With the world's realism settings cranked up, player pain sensitivity had risen by ten percent across the board. Getting suddenly slapped hit differently now. The room went very quiet, very fast. Twenty-odd players stood with fabric over their faces, meek and still. Haruta Motono was the only one who didn't flinch. Cloth dropped over his head. Strange smell hit him immediately.

His expression went cold and flat, every trace of his earlier roaring theatrics locked down behind his eyes. The hatred was still there. The killing intent was still there. He just buried it. He could kill monsters now. That was true. But his real target was the Black Dragon. Which meant enduring this. Stockpiling his strength. Absorbing more philosophical power. There was an ancient saying from the Heavenly Dynasty: He who cannot endure small provocations will ruin great plans.

He, Haruta Motono, would be a true ninja.

Monsters in good spirits work fast. Su Nian barely had to wait. The players were blindfolded, the potatoes were dug up, root clumps, soil and all, bagged and ready. Under Su Nian's lead, the entire procession marched into the underground labyrinth with their heads held high. Right this way. ➤ Next: Undetectable