Hiro stopped. The two figures approached slightly and halted as well.

  The man looked like a warrior—white hair reaching his shoulders, clad in a white mantle with multiple straps and a silver cape billowing behind him. Two glowing white stripes adorned his face. The girl wore a black cloak with a fur-lined collar, her face hidden behind a mask with black cutouts for eyes.

  - "Who are you?" —H

  The man glanced at the girl, then back at Hiro.

  - "I am one of the great S-rank adventurers, also known as the Dragon God, Thorgrim. And you are?" —T

  - "Hiro." —H

  - "Your surname." —T

  - "I don’t know it." —H

  - "Your father’s name." —T

  - "I don’t have one." —H

  {What’s his deal?}

  - "What caused that explosion earlier?" —T

  - "What explosion?" —H

  Thorgrim muttered something to the girl. She shouted words Hiro couldn’t understand.

  - "What?" —H

  {Her language sounds like Japanese, but I don’t know it.}

  The girl turned to Thorgrim and shook her head in frustration. The man frowned.

  - "So, you’re not a Herald of the Great Ten. Have you heard of the World Forger?" —T

  - "The what?" —H

  {Dragon Gods, World Forgers… What kind of people live in this world?}

  - "Unclear." —T

  - "What’s wrong?" —H

  Thorgrim lunged at Hiro in an instant. An unfamiliar spell flashed in Hiro’s mind—**"Dragon’s Scale."** He cast it reflexively, conjuring a golden barrier resembling draconic armor. Thorgrim’s palm strike slammed into it—and was blocked.

  [What? That’s *my* spell! How did he use it? If I had wounded him, I’d assume he was a Revenant—but now I’m certain he’s no ordinary being.] —Thorgrim’s thoughts.

  Hiro pulled his elbow back and thrust his palm forward. A surge of mana blasted Thorgrim backward through the snow. (Mana Control.) The Dragon God recovered instantly, darting back in with another flurry of strikes.

  {He’s so *slow*.}

  Hiro dodged effortlessly, stepping back with each attack. Thorgrim noticed burns forming on his arms. His final strike was a sweeping leg kick—Hiro leaped, suspended midair, then swung his hand downward. An invisible force crushed Thorgrim into the ground.

  [He even commands gravity magic?!] —Thorgrim.

  Hiro landed calmly—until Thorgrim’s right arm blurred forward at inhuman speed. Then, a voice echoed in Hiro’s skull:

  - **"Block it with your palm."** —???

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Hiro raised his hand. Thorgrim’s fingers struck his palm—

  [I can’t pierce through? It’s like hitting a mountain!] —Thorgrim’s shock.

  Then—*crack*. Thorgrim’s right arm shattered into fragments, hurling him backward.

  {What was *that*?}

  The Dragon God stared at his missing limb, grabbed the girl, and vanished into the blizzard.

  {They’re gone. Okay. What’s up with my hand? And whose voice was that?}

  {Questions later. Find a city first.}

  Hiro trudged onward.

  ---

  **A week later.**

  After the prison’s destruction, Hiro found a tattered journal. He stitched it back together with mana threads and began recording his journey using a makeshift "pencil"—a mana-formed stick charred at the tip for writing.

  **Journal Entry (Age 7):**

  *"Still walking in one direction. No monsters yet. I don’t feel the cold—in fact, snow melts under my feet. When I touched a tree, it caught fire. I’ve heard about curses in this world—negative, neutral, and positive. Maybe this is mine? I tried cooling my aura, and it worked. No more accidental arson. Haven’t met anyone so far. The scenery’s beautiful—endless snowy plains, occasional trees, and visibility limited to 10 meters by the blizzard. No hunger or thirst thanks to mana absorption. There’s way more mana here than in that prison. I’ve kept my radius at 1 km to navigate. Oh, and I’ve learned to ‘scan’ the area—since I control mana flow within the radius, I can visualize a top-down map in my head."*

  ---

  **Another week later.**

  **Journal Entry:**

  *"Finally encountered creatures. Some were monsters—horrifying beasts. A giant bear, a pack of oversized wolves, and a *red dragon*. The dragon and bear were easy—impaled them with ice spikes. Tried keeping their teeth as trophies, but they crumbled on touch. Fixed that by patching a torn bag with mana—now I carry stuff in it. Wolves? Fireball. The ones that didn’t burn or explode just ran. Started launching fireballs farther away—explosions don’t kill me (tested), but the blast sends me flying. Maybe I need a secondary barrier around myself to nullify my own spells? Worth trying.*

  *Other travelers? Orcs. Seriously. One was trekking solo like me. Not chatty, but confirmed there’s a city ahead."*

  ---

  **Journal Entry:**

  *"Met a unique guy today. A demon—no, the **Demon King** himself. Purple hair, brick-red skin, and—get this—*four* jacked arms. Reminded me I should start working out. Surprisingly talkative. Conversation went like this:*

  *He approaches me.*

  - *"Kid, aren’t you cold in just shorts and a shirt?"* —???

  - *"Nah, I’m warm. Feels hotter than usual, actually."* —H

  - *"True. It’s only -40°C now, not -50°C! Ahahaha!"* —???

  - *"Name?"* —???

  - *"Hiro."* —H

  - *"I’m Zodric, the Demon King!"* —Z

  - *"Nice to meet you."* —H

  - *"Likewise. Where you headed?"* —Z

  - *"Nearest city."* —H

  - *"Got it. I’ll escort you."* —Z

  - *"Sure."* —H

  - *"Drop the formalities."* —Z

  - *"Okay."* —H

  - *"Better."* —Z

  *We turned right and kept walking.*

  - *"So, who are you? Whose king?"* —Z

  - *"Huh?"* —H

  - *"Your allegiance?"* —Z

  - *"Just a guy."* —H

  - *"Just a guy?"* —Z

  - *"Yep."* —H

  - *"Hmm. Your aura says otherwise."* —Z

  - *"What aura?"* —H

  - *"What? You don’t know? Bwahaha!"* —Z

  - *"I’m seven. Of course I don’t."* —H

  - *"Seven?! Damn."* —Z

  - *"Ahem. Some demons can see auras. Yours is massive—bigger than mine—and unlike any mage’s or swordsman’s. Purple with black particles rising upward. Never seen anything like it."* —Z

  - *"Cool."* —H

  *{Holy hell, that’s awesome.}*

  - *"And your hair."* —Z

  - *"What about it?"* —H

  - *"It’s… odd."* —Z

  - *"How?"* —H

  - *"Most beings have single-colored hair (except beastfolk fur). Yours starts black, shifts to purple, then bright violet."* —Z

  - *"Is that bad?"* —H

  - *"No clue! Hahaha!"* —Z

  *{Guy’s great. We talked about the world—continents, geography. Eventually, he led me to the Kingdom of Valgram (where that orc was from).}*

  - *"Time to part ways. If we meet again, we’ll celebrate properly! Ahahaha!"* —Z

  - *"Sure."* —H

  *Zodric extended a hand. Hiro shook it—*

  *Crack.*

  *One of Zodric’s six arms shattered.*

  - *"Sorry! Forgot!"* —H

  *A new arm regenerated instantly. Hiro stared blankly.*

  - *"Bwahaha! Ahahaha!"* —Z

  - *"What?"* —H

  - *"Worry not, my friend! I am the **Eternal Demon King!**"* —Z

  - *"All demons immortal?"* —H

  - *"Only special ones. What *is* that magic of yours?"* —Z

  - *"Dunno. Maybe a curse."* —H

  - *"Hmm."* —Z

  *Zodric lightly tapped Hiro’s shoulder—where his shirt covered him. Nothing happened.*

  - *"See? Your shirt didn’t crumble. Touching through fabric is safe. What’d you do to it?"* —Z

  *{Oh right—my clothes, bag, journal, pencil… How?}*

  - *"When it tore, I wrapped it in mana, then colored the layer."* —H

  - *"Genius! Try making gloves—wear them always."* —Z

  *{Why didn’t I think of that sooner?!}*

  - *"Will do."* —H

  - *"Good. Farewell!"* —Z

  *Zodric vanished into the snow, laughing. Hiro immediately coated his hands in mana, forming black, leather-like gloves.*

  *{Moment of truth.}*

  *He picked up a dragon’s tooth—no disintegration.*

  *{It worked! Now I can hold things properly!}*

  *Hiro faced the city gates and stepped forward.*