The Founding Monarch Became the Mastermind

Chapter 4

I couldn’t remember my exact age, but I had been in my late twenties in my original world and had lived for over 80 years in this one.

I was well over a hundred years old now.

A hundred years.

During that long time, I, Si-on, who was ageless and immortal, witnessed a true enigma—something genuinely mysterious, for the first time today.

Even though it had folded its wings and bent its long neck down, its height was still as dizzying as a fifteen-story apartment building.

Roughly 40 meters tall? If it raised its neck, it could easily reach 50 meters.

And what about its massive body, which proudly displayed its overwhelming mass?

However, it wasn’t just the appearance of the dragon in front of me that I defined as an enigma.

“I have waited for you, User.”

A voice like thunder descended and resonated in my ears.

That was right. The dragon was an intelligent being capable of speech.

But what it said was even more shocking.

“User…?”

Despite having experienced countless ups and downs over 80 years and reaching the level of an old monster, I was bewildered.

No, my mind went beyond confusion and tangled up in an instant.

A user?

What was I supposed to be using?

And waiting? For me? Why?

“Should I call you a User? Or maybe an Adventurer? An Outsider? Which title do you prefer?”

“……!!!”

The voice that continued to pierce my tangled mind hit me like a bolt of lightning.

‘I’ve finally found it.’

The answer to the question I had sought for so long—I found it today.

“Ha… haha…”

Joy, emptiness, and a sense of accomplishment.

A whirlwind of emotions surged, and I found myself laughing involuntarily.

The dragon knew.

It knew I was not a native of this world.

Moreover, it knew I was a User—an Outsider who had come to this world through the medium of a ‘game.’

“We have much to discuss, you and I. But first, I have a question.”

The dragon spoke again, with a look of curiosity in its round pupils that were unlike the slit pupils of typical reptiles.

“Why have you arrived so early?”

* * *

I went to the residence of the dragon who introduced himself as Derkios.

Riding on a creature almost 70 meters long, including the tail, and as large as a jumbo jet, was a uniquely novel experience.

Though the fierce winds were hardly an issue, the sheer speed was indescribable.

After about ten minutes of riding on Derkios’s neck, we arrived at a gently sloped mountain.

The mountain, made up of rocks, sand, and dirt, had an open peak that served as the entrance to Derkios’s residence.

Inside was a sheer rock face that seemed to cut straight down, with a depth of hundreds of meters that would prevent not just humans but also beasts and monsters from entering.

Or rather, it would be impossible for anyone to cross the vast wilderness to even get here.

However, I felt certain.

‘This is a place only people like me can reach.’

And those people were what Derkios called ‘Users.’

‘Does this mean I’ve really entered a game?’

It was hard to believe.

Could this world, which I believed to be real, really be a collection of data made up of zeros and ones? The long years I’d lived? All the relationships I’d formed?

‘No, that can’t be true.’

I shook my head vigorously.

The dragon, Derkios, would resolve my doubts and confusion.

Swoosh!

At that moment, Derkios, who had just let me down, suddenly spread his wings, and a fierce gust of wind roared.

Fwoosh…

As the turbulent air calmed and the dust that had been swirling around settled slowly to the ground, the sight of the dragon, partially obscured by his enormous wings that blocked the sunlight from the mountain peak, looked even more mystical and imposing.

Even I instinctively stepped back from the sheer majesty of the scene.

Soon, the dragon’s voice echoed again.

“Welcome to my lair, User. According to the memory imprinted upon me, you are the first Adventurer.”

“The first Adventurer?”

“Yes. As it is a feat, an appropriate reward must be granted, but…”

Speaking with the same grand and dignified manner as his appearance, Derkios suddenly stretched his neck forward and tilted his head.

“As I asked earlier, why have you arrived so early?”

“…I have no idea what you’re talking about. Before that, just what exactly are you?”

I had some guesses, but I decided to ask anyway.

“Me? Based on the imprinted memory, I serve as a guide and advisor to Users like you in this world.”

“……!”

I clenched my fists involuntarily.

It was just as I suspected. Derkios was clearly connected to the being that threw me into this world.

“Then… can you guide me back to my original world? Do you know how?”

I licked my lips, which had dried from anticipation and tension, as I asked.

Depending on this answer, I would finally…

“No. That’s not in my imprinted memory.”

“What?”

The moment I felt a deep sense of powerlessness creeping through my entire body—

“That’s something you must figure out on your own. Didn’t I ask you why you’ve arrived so early? Ah, perhaps you don’t know because you’ve come too soon? I thought something was off, and that was it.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Something has gone wrong. Since it’s unlikely that the imprinted memory is wrong, something must have gone awry from the start.”

Derkios, who was examining me with his enormous eyes, sighed deeply.

“We truly do have a lot to discuss, you and I.”

“……”

The same words I’d heard when we first met.

But I instinctively felt that it carried a different meaning this time.

* * *

Derkios’s story was long.

I occasionally asked questions or answered him, but mostly, I just listened.

By the time his lengthy story was nearing its end, I was surprisingly calm, contrary to the initial confusion.

If I had heard this when I first arrived in this world, it would have been shocking. But having spent over 80 years here, I had already anticipated some of what Derkios would say.

To sum it up, I had arrived in this world too early.

“So, it was a prologue…?”

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”

The opening line of that famous sci-fi movie popped into my head.

The time I had fallen into this world was precisely that “long time ago” of ‘Another World Saga.’

Of course, it wasn’t hundreds or thousands of years ago.

“A hundred years after the Dark Dragon Vyuslek was defeated…”

The starting point of ‘Another World Saga’ was precisely then.

Which meant it would be about 20 years from now. Perhaps even less than 20 years.

In the end, as Derkios said, I had come to this world too early.

Whether this world was actually inside a game or whatever it was, I had arrived almost a hundred years before the other ‘Users’ were supposed to come.

“I have relayed everything I was meant to share with Adventurers like you from my imprinted memory. Is there anything else you wish to know?”

Derkios’s majestic voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I raised my head again.

“Roughly. So, you’re like a GM, then.”

“GM?”

“A Game Master, or you could think of it as a guide.”

“Hmm. While not completely accurate, it does somewhat align with my role. As you said, one of my given missions, according to the imprinted memory, is to guide Users like you.”

I furrowed my brow slightly and asked again.

“I’ve been curious since earlier. What exactly is this imprinted memory? Who engraved these memories in you?”

I had some guesses.

If this world was indeed a game, then memories were merely data, and the one who engraved them onto Derkios was likely the creator.

Of course, I still couldn’t agree that this world was merely a simple game.

“I have had these memories since the moment I awakened as a ‘being.’ And the one who engraved them? Naturally, that would be a god.”

“A god…?”

Right. It’s a typical cliché, but only a god, or a being close to one, could have such transcendental influence that crosses worlds—or rather, dimensions. You could even call it a divine power.

“Then, can I meet that god? At least communicate with it?”

“That’s both possible and impossible, perhaps. No, actually, why are you asking me that?”

“What? What does that even mean?”

Derkios clicked his tongue at my furrowed brow.

“Communication with a god is something only Users like you can do. And the method? Users should know that themselves.”

“Damn it.”

I scowled.

I had come full circle.

The reason I didn’t know the method was because I’d arrived too early.

‘In the end, everything went wrong because I came to this world under abnormal circumstances.’

And while the responsibility and the solution might lie with some god or another transcendent being, I currently had no way to meet or speak with them.

Ultimately, I had only one option left.

“To wait?”

Maybe because he mistook my muttering as a question, Derkios nodded his massive head.

“That is correct. You must wait until mana returns to the world and the Adventurers arrive. And to find the answers to your questions, you must become the ‘victor.’”

“The victor? What do you mean… oh!”

I only frowned for a moment before letting out a

gasp.

I had forgotten, given how long ago it was.

‘Another World Saga’ was an RPG, but it was also a grand strategy game that incorporated RTS (real-time strategy) elements.

Adventure, hunting, defeating monsters, earning rewards, leveling up—that wasn’t the end.

You had to recruit allies, whether they were other Users or NPCs, and engage in ‘faction wars’ that ranged from clans and guilds to territories and nations.

And those faction wars would undoubtedly lead to war.

The victor Derkios spoke of was likely the one who achieved ultimate victory in those conflicts.

“Ha! This is insane…”

A sigh escaped my lips.

Enduring countless hardships over those long years wasn’t the end.

To meet this so-called god, I would have to endure even more grueling trials?

“No. That’s not it.”

I shook my head.

Didn’t Derkios say that ‘Users’ would arrive in just about 20 years?

Then I could ask them.

Unlike me, they would come to this world with proper information through the correct route, so they would surely have the answers.

‘Alright. I’ve survived over 80 years. What’s another 20?’

I steeled my resolve once more.

I had estimated that it would take about 10 years to search the Dragon’s Wasteland, Eltis Island, and the Northern Snow Mountains to find a lead. Though it had taken twice as long, I had already grasped the clue, so it was no issue.

Besides, even if the ‘Users’ who arrived 20 years later didn’t have the answers, it wouldn’t be a huge problem.

Unlike the Users who would start from scratch, I already had an advantage in the form of the ‘Si-on Duchy.’

This meant I was several steps—no, dozens of steps—ahead of other Users.

‘Leaving that request with Burgos was truly a brilliant decision.’

When I arrived in Burgos, the gateway city closest to the Dragon’s Wasteland, I not only prepared supplies to cross the wasteland but also left a request with the local information guild.

Since I didn’t know how long I would wander the wasteland, I instructed the guild to continually gather information about the Si-on Duchy until my return.

Although to my children and grandchildren, I was a person who had died long ago and had no plans to return, the bond of blood and affection could not be easily severed.

There were ways to help without stepping into the spotlight, so I left that request in case my blood relatives faced any trouble.

The request period was set to last until I visited the guild again.

The request content was to track any major changes in the Si-on Duchy and the Ducal Family on an annual basis.

As a retainer, I paid an upfront fee of a one-kilogram gold bar from my original world, and the contract stipulated one gold bar per year as an automatic extension of the request.

‘I only made the request because I was worried about my remaining children. It turned out to be a stroke of genius.’

It seemed unlikely I could completely cut ties with the Duchy and the family.

‘But this isn’t breaking your last wish, so it’s fine, right?’

Thinking of my deceased wife, I allowed myself a slight smile.

Though she told me to live my life for myself, she would be pleased if I watched over the children.

“Oh, you can still smile.”

“Ahem.”

At Derkios’s words, I cleared my throat and quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, you mentioned earlier, right? That I was the first User to come here. And that there’s a reward.”

“Indeed. I am duty-bound to reward all Users who find me.”

“All Users? Does that mean the rewards are the same?”

“Of course not. The first, second, and third visitors are special, so their rewards are different.”

“As expected…”

It was a tiered reward system.

Naturally, those who achieved something first should receive more special rewards than those who came later.

“So… what’s the reward?”

I couldn’t hide my anticipation as I asked.

“According to the imprinted memory, the reward that is yours will be given…”

A dragon who’s practically a GM giving a reward?

It had to be something beyond imagination.

I swallowed nervously, waiting for Derkios’s answer.

“…on the day the other Users arrive.”

“……”

– The final winner will be revealed… in 60 seconds! Stay tuned!

The voice of a TV show host from ages past echoed in my mind like an auditory hallucination.

Of course, it wasn’t 60 seconds but a minor difference of 20 years.