At the exact moment the great doors of the Monarch Hall opened—
Far away from the floating city, far beyond the reach of its invisible laws and silent authority—
The world was… colder.
Much colder.
South of Vija Magical Academy, beyond mapped territories and beyond the interest of most kingdoms, stretched a mountain range feared even by seasoned explorers.
The Safed-Samyam Mountain Range.
A forbidden zone.
A place where snowfall did not decorate the land—
It buried it.
Eighty to two hundred centimeters of snow layered endlessly, storms howling without pause, winds sharp enough to peel skin from bone. Even magic struggled here. Even systems hesitated.
And at the very core of this frozen domain—
Hidden within the towering Garhwal peak—
A cave breathed.
---
Inside, it was warm.
Not naturally.
But carefully.
Dozens of fire lamps lined the stone walls, each one burning with steady, controlled flames. Not wild fire. Not destructive.
Precise fire.
The kind that did not consume—
But preserved.
At the center of the cave lay a bed.
Not made of wood. Not cloth.
But solid soil—compressed, refined, reinforced with embedded cold mana stones at its core. A paradoxical structure—heat above, cold within—stabilizing the delicate balance required for a very specific kind of magic.
From beneath the soil, a faint red glow pulsed rhythmically.
Fire Magic: Healing Agni.
An advanced form of fire magic that did not burn the body—
But forced it to remember how to live.
On that bed lay a boy.
Still.
Breathing—but barely noticeable.
His body bore no visible wounds anymore.
That was the strange part.
Because the one watching him knew exactly what kind of damage had once existed there.
---
A silhouette stood nearby.
Tall.
Still.
Not entirely human in shape—but not revealing anything more.
For over three months, he had not moved much from that spot.
Not out of worry.
But observation.
'He should have died,' the silhouette thought calmly.
Several times over.
Life-threatening damage.
Internal collapse.
Mana circuit destruction.
And—
A suicidal attempt layered on top of it all.
The silhouette's gaze narrowed slightly.
'And yet… he refused.'
Not survival.
Not luck.
Refusal.
---
"…You are late," the silhouette murmured softly.
As if speaking to the boy.
Or to time itself.
---
A finger twitched.
Small.
Almost unnoticeable.
But in a place like this—
It might as well have been thunder.
The silhouette's eyes sharpened.
'There it is.'
Another second passed.
Then—
The boy's eyelids fluttered.
Slowly.
He inhaled sharply, as if remembering how to breathe after forgetting it for too long.
His body jerked slightly as he pushed himself up, the Healing Agni reacting instantly—adjusting, stabilizing, supporting.
"…Where am I?" he asked.
His voice was dry. Confused.
Alive.
He had not noticed the silhouette yet.
The cave remained silent for a few seconds.
Just long enough for the question to echo.
Then—
"You are in the forbidden zone," a voice replied calmly.
"Also known as the Safed-Samyam mountain ranges."
The boy froze slightly.
Not in fear.
In calculation.
Someone's here.
He turned his head slowly.
There, near the edge of the firelight—
The silhouette stood.
Watching.
Waiting.
The boy's eyes narrowed just a little.
Presence… controlled.
No killing intent.
No pressure.
He exhaled quietly.
'If he wanted me dead… I wouldn't have woken up.'
"…Who are you?" the boy asked.
A pause.
Then he added, almost as an afterthought—
"I am Jay Arkwell."
The name settled into the cave.
The silhouette tilted his head slightly.
So that's the name he wakes up with.
"Hm," the silhouette hummed. "How should I introduce myself…"
He tapped his chin lightly.
"Let me think for a minute."
---
The cave returned to silence.
Fire crackled softly.
Snow roared faintly outside.
Jay Arkwell sat there, breathing slowly, trying to piece together fragments that refused to connect.
Chapter Number 128 of The Lazy Genius With 999x System…
A flash.
Fearless Pain.
Pressure to protect loved ones.
A decision that would protect everyone.
Darkness of death.
His brow furrowed.
'I should be dead.'
---
"Okay, I have got it."
The voice broke his thoughts.
Jay looked up.
"I am a dragon," the silhouette said casually.
"Known as Lost Dragon."
A slight pause.
"My name is Patang Razaquay."
Silence.
Heavy.
Meaningful.
The kind of silence where most people would panic.
Or at least react.
But Jay—
Just blinked.
"…Oh."
Patang narrowed his eyes slightly.
'Only Oh? Are you kidding me, I am the Lost Dragon, the strongest of my kind...'
No fear.
No shock.
No disbelief.
Just… acknowledgment.
'Still, Interesting.' Then dragon thought something.
---
The title Lost Dragon was not something that went unnoticed.
It was a name whispered in extinction-level records.
A being capable of reshaping continents.
A creature whose existence sat just below gods.
And yet—
The boy in front of him was more interested in something else.
Jay lowered his gaze slightly, hands tightening over the edge of the soil bed.
That doesn't matter.
"…How did I survive?" he asked.
Direct.
Focused.
Uninterested in legends.
Uninterested in fear.
Patang stared at him for a moment longer.
Then—
He smiled.
A little.
"I found you," he said, voice calm.
"At the edge of the forest near the mountain range."
Jay listened silently.
"You were lying on the feather of a fire dragon," Patang continued.
"And covered from above with the feather of an ice dragon."
Jay's eyes flickered slightly.
Just slightly.
"So I brought you here," Patang finished.
"I was more interested in why the hell two dragons—especially opposite nature ones—would save you."
The fire in the cave flickered.
Jay Arkwell sat still.
Alive.
Confused.
And carrying a question far more dangerous than death—
'Why was I saved?'
Outside, the storm howled louder.