One thousand years before the passing of the Hero Himmel (1 B.H.).
The Sword of the Hero—prophesied to end this era of chaos and slay the Demon King—was stolen by an unknown force.
Since that day, no one had been able to retrieve it.
Until, that was, a client approached a golden-haired elf who practically exuded an air of invincibility.
“It’s not just the Sword of the Hero,” the client reported.
“My whole mountain—a mountain that big—vanished right along with it.”
“Oh? How interesting.”
Seated upon a throne in a distinctly villainous posture, the golden-haired elf accepted the commission with a smirk.
Far to the south, deep within a castle in the Schwer Mountains, the long-stolen Sword of the Hero stood fixed in place, enduring a rather dehumanizing ordeal.
A giant dragon, covered entirely in pitch-black scales, was frantically rubbing its back against the blade’s edge.
Once.
Twice.
Dragon scales scraped across the honed steel, producing a harsh, screeching friction.
The dragon pressed down with increasing force until a wave of numbing pleasure surged up its spine and into the back of its head.
Cold.
Trembling.
Following a loud, triumphant roar, Link collapsed onto his throne, his tail lazily swishing back and forth.
[Ping!]
[Adaptive Defense (Silver) activated.]
[Sword Damage Resistance +1]
[Physical Damage Resistance +1]
Having completed his daily dose of self-rewarding exercise, Link opened his status panel.
[Host: Link]
[Active Hexes: Adaptive Defense (Silver), Superhuman Strength (Silver), Dragon Class Change (Gold)]
[Hex Details:]
Superhuman Strength: Sacrifices the vast majority of intelligence in exchange for immense physical power—With great strength, miracles happen.
Adaptive Defense (Not Like the Above): Permanently grants resistance based on damage type received—Bolu, Yurayura.
Dragon Class Change: Units with this class are recognized as Dragons.
Dragon Synergy +1.
Aside from size and lifespan, you possess none of the pride, arrogance, or greed inherent to dragonkind—you have become a far-from-stereotypical dragon.
Fortunately for Link, maintaining a traditional dragon image was hardly a priority.
He lowered his head and clenched his massive talons, feeling the raw power flowing through his body.
He couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.
“Humans really do have their limits.”
“Thank goodness I abandoned my humanity years ago.”
Of course, becoming a dragon wasn’t entirely smooth sailing.
A dragon might be a symbol of imperial majesty, but whether it was a case of bad luck or simple incompatibility with the world, ever since Link transmigrated into the world of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, it wasn’t just adventurers coming to hunt him down—even the demons wouldn’t leave him alone.
“I only did a few insignificant little things!”
Link couldn’t understand it.
He wasn’t even human anymore, so why was everyone still holding him to such high standards?
Fortunately, he had a growth-type talent on his side.
Just wait until I lay low for a few more centuries.
Once I’m strong enough, nobody will dare raise their voice at me.
But for now…
Link the dragon only wanted a quiet life.
He looked up at the sky.
“Ah! Damn it, it’s time to go to sleep! I have to get my full eighteen hours every day—I can’t let stress and fatigue carry over to tomorrow.”
“Chris! Chris, get over here!”
Link called out for his human maid.
Besides rewarding himself once a day, having his maid step on his back before bed was an essential routine.
Scraping against the sword was to build up resistance, while having his back stepped on was to forge a willpower of steel.
“I’m coming in, Lord Link,” came a crisp, clear voice from outside.
A young girl with brilliant red hair pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Seeing Link contorted into an utterly bizarre posture while crushing the Sword of the Hero beneath his body, her expression barely flickered.
“I still can’t wrap my head around it. How on earth did you bring the Sword of the Hero all the way here from the Northern Kingdoms?”
“Just used a bit of clever leverage, that’s all.”
Though Link brushed it off casually, his heart was practically bursting with pride.
Sure, only a true hero could pull the Sword of the Hero from its stone.
But the sword was inside a cave, so why not just pull the entire mountain out along with it?
Link couldn’t use magic in this magical world, but thankfully, he possessed plenty of muscle.
The Superhuman Strength Hex was like the final missing puzzle piece of his dragon life.
Even if it had cost him a tiny bit of intelligence…
With his current level of intellect, Link couldn’t notice the difference anyway.
He didn’t lack a single thing now.
Who would dare claim he wasn’t a true hero now?
“Heh heh.”
In the end, Link couldn’t hold it in and broke into a chuckle.
“You don’t actually think you’re a hero, do you?”
Hearing her question, Link uncharacteristically displayed a hint of bashfulness, answering with a trace of embarrassment.
“Well… why wouldn’t I be?”
Chris stared at him, her eyes practically screaming, Are you sure about that?
Noticing her look, Link cleared his throat.
“I really was a hero once, until later—”
He shot Chris a meaningful glance.
She was clearly well-versed in this routine.
Walking silently to a corner, she picked up a small stool, set it down quietly in front of Link, and sat down with her hands resting neatly on her knees.
“Oh my, I’m all seated now.”
“Would someone mind telling me that story again?”
Chris tilted her head slightly.
“It’s been a whole day since I last heard one of your heroic adventure tales, Lord Link.”
“Ha, I really can’t do anything with you. Fine, listen up.”
Link stood up and stepped away from the Sword of the Hero.
The blade remained unmoved, still standing firmly where it was.
“It was thirty years ago. As the strongest dragon of this era, I formed the world’s Second-Generation Hero’s Party.”
“We had just accepted our starting funds from the king and were preparing to set off on our journey to slay the Demon King…”
“…when we encountered the single greatest crisis our party had ever faced!”
Chris chimed in right on cue.
“Are you referring to the time you single-handedly lowered the starting funds every king gives to adventuring parties from then on?”
Link’s face darkened.
His already fearsome dragon visage grew even more menacing.
Yet the young girl showed not the slightest hint of fear.
She knew deep down that aside from telling little white lies, her master wasn’t a bad person at all.
So, Chris continued to list his deeds like reciting family treasures:
“Under your leadership, the number of hero parties kept multiplying until there weren’t even enough Demon Kings to go around.”
“If future hero parties set out on a journey, the king will probably only give them a few copper coins. If they speak disrespectfully, they might even get beheaded.”
“And as for you becoming the strongest dragon of this era… are you sure it isn’t just because all the other dragons died off?”
“Huh?! Who’s been running their mouth?!”
“You have, Lord Link. Whenever you get happy, you start telling me stories about your past.”
“And as it turns out, you’re happy every single day.”
Link promptly shut his mouth, turning his back on the little maid and choosing to ignore her.
“Then how about I tell you something that won’t make you quite so happy?”
Chris leaned in mysteriously.
“Someone accepted the quest from the Sword’s Village to retrieve the sword, and they’ve already tracked us down.”
Hearing the news, Link didn’t even bother to raise an eyelid.
“Aren’t you worried at all?”
Link slowly opened his eyes.
Those giant, slit-pupiled eyes glowing like molten gold flickered with a playful, mocking light.
He looked down at the sixteen-year-old maid with the patronizing gaze of an adult looking at a child.
“Chris, my girl… do you know how long a human lifespan is?”
Chris blinked, taken aback.
“Around seventy or eighty years?”
Link turned around and said in all seriousness, “The group of people who wanted to hunt me down before are already in their fifties or sixties now. In another twenty years, they’ll either be old or dead. In fifty years, their sons will be old too. In a hundred years, their great-great-grandsons will treat the Sword of the Hero as nothing more than a fairytale.”
“So all I have to do is wait.”
“After all, human passion is such a short-lived thing.”
“Wait until they’re all dead?”
“Don’t make it sound so morbid.” Link let out a yawn.
“It’s called letting time solve the problem. In the face of a long lifespan, every trouble will eventually resolve itself. That’s the greatest advantage of being a long-lived species.”
“Oh, unless that person happens to be an elf… but well…”
He lowered his head, pondering for a moment.
“There shouldn’t be many elves bored enough for that. There’s probably only that one.”
That elf with nothing better to do—Mirialde.
For some reason, Link suddenly recalled that trashy elf he used to get along with surprisingly well.
If bad news truly traveled fast and lived long, that fellow and he could probably live for ten thousand years without a problem.
“Forget it. It’s normal for humans not to understand the concept of relative lifespans,” Link muttered under his breath.
“You really are wise, Lord Link,” Chris replied with a smile, a trace of slyness hidden within her expression.
Facing the sudden praise, Link looked over at her.
“I didn’t expect you to guess it right on the mark. The person coming to find you this time really is a lady elf,” Chris said slowly.
“Lord Link, with your short-sighted eyes, just how far into the future can you actually see?”
As part of the unknown force that stole the Sword of the Hero, having questionable foresight was only natural.
Link ignored the comment about his eyesight and simply gave Chris a look, urging her to continue.
The maid stood up, folded her hands in front of her waist in a classic maid posture, took a step back, raised her head slightly, and began to recite loudly.
Link was beginning to realize that things were far from simple.
“The person coming is ‘The One Who Stands Above All,’ ‘The Being Closest to the Omniscient and Omnipotent Goddess,’ ‘The Living Grimoire,’ and ‘The Elf Who Has Lived Through Multiple Human Dynasties’—the Great Mage from the Mythical Era, Serie.”
“What? Me, fighting Serie? Are you for real?!”
The strongest dragon of the current era suffered a sudden change of expression, decisively pulling the maid in front of him to shield himself.
“Chris, close the door! Quick!”
“We don’t have enough room to host that many people here!”