Among the blue dragons, the dragon elder stood at the highest rank.

The other two dragons, who had not yet revealed themselves, were outstanding dragons as well.

One was the strongest among the red dragons, and the other was the strongest among the white dragons.

Under a single king called Dragon Monarch, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} they could be called the strongest knights.

They had lived for a thousand years without a master.

And like the grandeur of Dragon Speech passed down through the ages, they had been hoping for magnificent names.

To that dragon elder, Resil bestowed a new name.

[Dragon Monarch grants a new epithet to the dragon elder.]

[His name is Dragonie.]

The dragon elder—in other words, Dragonie—was bewildered, but reality was reality.

Having named the dragon elder Dragonie, Resil did not stop there and proceeded to name the white dragon as well.

“Dragonie Two.”

[Dragon Monarch grants a new epithet to the white dragon.]

[His name is Dragonie Two.]

“Krah!?”

The red dragon shuddered violently when it heard the white dragon’s new name.

A dragon tear even rolled down from one eye.

He looked exactly like a condemned prisoner waiting for the sentence to be read.

“Krk, I see... O new master, can you see it? This single burning tear flowing from my eye. Yes, I am one who weeps dragon tears. Therefore, the name I desire is Weeping Dragon—”

“Dragonie Three.”

“...?”

[Dragon Monarch grants a new epithet to the red dragon.]

[His name is Dragonie Three.]

The three dragons could not understand it.

How could one who understood Dragon Speech possibly bestow names like these?

“O new master, explain your reason to us. There must surely be a reason you gave such names to us, who have waited a thousand years.”

“...They’re cute, and easy to call.”

“...?”

“...?”

“...?”

Resil was honest.

And though the dragons did not know it, Resil had heard notifications like these:

[The dragon elder desires the name Blood Destiny.]

[The white dragon desires the name Dragon of Sin.]

[The red dragon desires the name Weeping Dragon.]

Even for Resil, who was now starting to awaken to his own edgelord instincts, those names were just too awful.

And Resil had a formula he believed in.

After explaining that formula to the three dragons, he returned to Atlas.

Then he said to them:

“Dragonie, Dragonie Two, Dragonie Three. Don’t fight. Go play nice~.”

And then he logged out.

“...”

“...”

“...”

Atlas, the capital of the nation of Hyun.

The three dragons floated there awkwardly in the air near the Pet Storage.

A couple passing by said:

“They’re really doing everything now. Atlas is even raising dragons. At this point, isn’t Hyunsoo basically a tamer? He feels like some kind of legendary tamer.”

“Wow, their names are cute. Dragonie, Dragonie Two, Dragonie Three.”

“Oh... then if he gets more, will they be Dragonie Four, Dragonie Five, Dragonie Six?”

“...?”

“...?”

“...?”

From the passing couple’s words, the dragons came to realize one thing.

Soon, together with the great Dragon Monarch, they would have to set out across the world in search of the dragons sleeping in hidden places everywhere.

Those dragons were weaker than they were, but they had waited even longer.

Roughly one thousand to two thousand years.

And that meant those dragons—who had waited for grand, noble names—would be named in order as well.

Moreover, Dragonie still could not believe the formula Dragon Monarch had told them.

He had said only this:

The cuter the name, the stronger it is. Trust me.

The three dragons denied it.

“Our Dragon Monarch has gone mad, ahhhhh...!”

“Krahaha, he was a monarch born with the fate of a tyrant. And honestly, I do not dislike that the monarch with a dragon dwelling in his left hand has gone mad. When I imagine us being led by a mad monarch, my heart runs wild.”

And the dragons wanted to prove it themselves.

“The cuter the name, the stronger it is? Then all we need to do is crush those with cute names, prove that isn’t true, and be granted new names, is it not?”

“It has been a while since battle. It feels as though the blood inside me is burning at 200 degrees.”

They moved toward the Pet Storage.

And there, they realized Resil had been telling the truth.

The beings in the Pet Storage—

KyooKyoo, Kkoko, Golemmy, Pretty.

And Hope.

“ROOOOAAAAAR!”

“GRRRRRRRR!”

“GRR, GRRRR, GRRRR—!”

“...?”

“...?”

“...?”

These dragons had lived for a thousand years.

In the end, even they were no more than Legendary beings, or at best creatures close to that.

But the one called Hope—

it was something close to a Transcendent species.

Of course, it had been weakened, so it could not display the true power of an actual Transcendent species, but its essence had not changed.

The three dragons, who had wanted to seize the initiative and establish themselves as the leaders, quietly drifted toward the farthest corner of the fence surrounding the Pet Storage.

And then—

“MEEP!?”

The being with the cutest name of them all appeared.

The three dragons’ eyes widened.

Dragonie in particular, as the dragon elder, possessed knowledge greater than that of humans.

Lucky Lump.

Its name was the most trivial and unimpressive of all, and yet it was a great being.

“MEEP!”

The youngest ones!

Dragonie wore a puzzled look.

Were they really the youngest among this lot?

But then—

“ROOOOAAAAAR!”

“GRRRRRAAAAH!”

“GRRRR, RRRRAAAAH, RRRRRR!”

The dragons had no choice but to accept that they were.

Because Hope let out a massive roar.

“...”

“...”

“...”

For reference, the average age of the dragons was 1,403.

*****

Kumar.

India’s number-one-ranked user, the Sun Knight.

When Continental War: World Championship was announced, Kumar had also declared his intention to participate, drawing attention all over the world.

That was because Kumar was a high-ranker above level 500, and a second-advancement user.

Second-advancement user.

Ares experts had said that once a user passed level 500, they would enter an entirely new path, and the moment Kumar crossed that threshold, he heard astonishing notifications.

[Congratulations.]

[You have reached level 500.]

[You have become a High Class user.]

[You gain 30 in all stats.]

[All Attack Power and Defense increase by 15% respectively.]

[All skill levels increase by +2.]

[Two additional artifact slots are unlocked.]

[A special quest for High Class users is generated.]

Second advancement was the path to reaching High Class, and the privileges granted the moment one became a High Class user were considerable.

The difference between level 499 and level 500 was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.

And because all Attack Power and Defense rose by 15%, it was possible that a High Class user might be able to face three level-499 users alone.

At a time when the whole world was deeply focused on Continental War: World Championship,

the Indian government had also told Kumar to use any means necessary to increase India’s chances of winning.

A suite at a five-star hotel in India.

Centered around Kumar, India’s top rankers had gathered.

In 2040,

India’s population had finally surpassed China’s, rising above 1.4 billion.

Of course, having a large population did not mean it had many users.

India was still overflowing with poor people.

But at the very least, it was true that the users gathered here were the powerful figures representing India.

There were over thirty of them.

“You said there’s a way to increase our odds of winning. What is it, Kumar?”

At the question from Rail, India’s Divine Archer, Kumar smiled.

“You all know that until ten years ago, I was a pickpocket.”

One of the rankers answered him.

“Know it? Of course we do. Kumar, weren’t you the leader who beat and starved the children in the slums if they didn’t steal enough for you?”

“...There was a time like that.”

Even hearing something that could have soured the mood, Kumar smiled.

Ares changes the world.

That was true.

After all, Kumar—who once lived by forcing children into pickpocketing and feeding off their misery—had somehow become India’s strongest ranker.

“There’s one among them called Kkumar. A man who makes his living as a thief in Ares.”

“Kkumar? What about him?”

“Is he someone important?”

“...We have confirmed that he is one of the executives under the Grand Thief who shook the world not long ago.”

“What!?”

“An executive under the Grand Thief!?”

Everyone there was shocked.

Not long ago, a single world message had thrown the entire world into chaos.

Grand Thief Dakuan.

That message had announced that the king of all thieves in Ares had named a new successor.

On that day, that anonymous user had risen into a figure with influence second only to Valhalla, Asura Kabel, and Hyunsoo.

“...You all heard about it too, right? The moment the Grand Thief appeared, all of Ares got plundered. The ones called the Followers of the Martial God.”

“...And you’re saying this Kkumar is one of the Grand Thief’s executives?”

“So that fellow Kkumar is one of the seventeen thieves?”

The seventeen thieves.

Dakuan’s direct disciples.

“I heard all of them are legendary beings.”

In fact, it was said that most of them were composed of NPCs, and their power was overwhelming.

Kumar smiled faintly.

“I educated Kkumar well from the time he was little, so he listens obediently. I already told him to get approval from the Grand Thief.”

Everyone focused on Kumar.

“To plunder the nation of Hyun.”

“...!”

A thrill settled over the faces of the Indian rankers.

If they plundered the nation of Hyun, there was no question that India’s chances of winning would rise.

At that, Kumar smiled slowly.

“The Sword for the One Who Follows the King is mine.”

“...Th-then I want the Twin Dragon Sword.”

“...I want to take Lucky Lump. Hah!”

But there was also an Indian user here who saw the essence of the matter.

“...But the Grand Thief doesn’t plunder unless it’s for a great cause, right? Why would this Kkumar guy go out of his way to help us?”

Kumar rubbed his fingers together.

“Money. That boy’s dream was to build an orphanage, after all. I told him that once this was over, I’d donate enough for him to build one. And besides, he must still be full of trauma where I’m concerned.”

One of the rankers burst out laughing.

“...An orphanage? That’s a lie.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Kumar smiled pleasantly.

“We’ll be going to plunder the nation of Hyun tomorrow, so gather the rankers.”

*****

The next day.

Kumar and India’s strongest rankers assembled at the meeting place.

They were India’s mightiest force, more than two hundred strong.

Even after gathering them himself, Kumar could hardly believe it.

“And on top of this, the Grand Thief is joining us...”

At this level, Kumar thought they might even be able to plunder the United States, currently the strongest nation in Ares.

But no matter how much time passed, the Grand Thief did not appear.

And when someone finally did show up after a long wait, it was Kkumar—

in other words, Raon.

The moment Raon appeared, Kumar did not hold back.

BAM!

Raon took a blow to the face and rolled across the ground, and then Kumar ground his face into the dirt under his boot.

“What happened, Kkumar? Where is the Grand Thief?”

“Don’t tell me this bastard tricked us?”

“How dare some worthless thief like this—!”

The gathering of India’s strongest rankers looked down on Kkumar with open contempt.

With his face still being crushed beneath Kumar’s boot, Raon spoke.

“...Kumar, there’s something I’ve always wondered. Why did you use me when I was a kid? And were you ever really going to build that orphanage for me?”

“...This fucking idiot!”

Kumar and everyone gathered there snickered.

“You are a beggar, Kkumar. A gutter beggar wandering the slums of India. Yes, that’s what you are. The kind of thing that should never have been born in the first place. Did you really think I would build an orphanage for trash like you?”

“That’s some ambition.”

“From a pickpocket?”

“Isn’t that ridiculous? You and us—our breeding is fundamentally different, isn’t it?”

At that moment,

Raon, still being trampled beneath Kumar’s boot, suddenly said something strange.

“So that’s how it is, huh? By the way, did you all watch the teaser for Continental War: World Championship?”

Everyone present was a ranker. Of course they had watched it.

Raon said:

“Even when the earth freezes solid, when the time comes, the shoots still rise.”

“...”

“...”

“He told me that when he looked at me, that line came to mind.”

“...”

“Unlike you people, he acknowledged me. He told me that even from frozen ground, I should rise and grow as a new shoot.”

Even with a boot crushing his face, Raon smiled.

Kumar and the Indian rankers stared at him, unable to understand him.

“You said you’d plunder the nation of Hyun? An orphanage? I never believed you in the first place. And I think you’ve got something backwards. The ones who got fooled weren’t me. It was you.”

“Fooled?”

“What kind of bullshit are you talking about?”

Kumar drew his sword and pointed it at Raon’s throat.

“Speak. What do you mean we were fooled—!”

Raon’s mouth moved faster than that sword.

“Summon Kalaon.”

A shadow crashed down around the Indian rankers.

[One of the seventeen disciples, Kalaon, is summoned.]

“Summon Bakara.”

“Summon Andallo.”

“Summon Delao.”

“Summon Buruo.”

“Summon Paya.”

“Summon Andeo.”

“Summon Arkaya.”

“Summon Boloano.”

WHOOOOOSH—!

WHOOOOOSH—!

WHOOOOOSH—!

WHOOOOOSH—!

Endless shadows descended, and the seventeen thieves appeared.

Before anyone knew it—

SHAAAA—

Raon, having become a handful of shadow, stood before them.

Pulling up the Grand Thief’s Mask, he said:

“I am the Grand Thief.”