My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon - Chapter 68

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon ◈

Chapter 68: A Strange World

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How long had I been unconscious?

The moment I came to, I quickly got up and looked around.

The Gate that had sucked me in was a rare Extra Gate, and it was even EX-rank.

So it would not have been strange if something unexpected happened.

It was a combination of factors practically guaranteed to produce countless unknowns.

But what if, just what if.

What if this place was a dragon's lair, like those Hunters had casually suggested?

Or it could be a maze filled with deadly traps. Maybe even some horrible high-crime area...

But when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realized my predictions had been completely wrong.

‘What kind of Gate is this?’

The place where I woke up was, unexpectedly, inside a log cabin.

People said that anything could happen in an Extra Gate, but even so, as far as I knew, no Hunter had ever experienced anything like this.

That was why I was so flustered.

‘This isn't the time for this.’

I'd briefly lost my composure, but finding a way out of here came first.

To check this Gate's clearing conditions, I brought up the notification window.

[Rank: EX

Clearing Condition: ?]

But strangely, the notification window did not specify the clearing condition.

It did not even show part of the requirement, like before. There was literally nothing written there.

What?

Could I...

Be trapped in this Gate?

I shook my head hard.

“That can't be...”

The idea of a Hunter becoming trapped in a Gate forever made no sense.

Even if a Hunter could not clear a Gate for some reason, they were not supposed to be trapped inside an ordinary Gate as long as they did not die.

If a Gate remained uncleared for a long time, a Gate Break would occur, opening an exit to the outside.

But.

This was an Extra Gate, one that no Hunter had even been able to enter. It was an unheard-of Gate that should not have been possible in theory.

The thought that it might be a Gate beyond all theory made goosebumps rise across my body.

“No. That can't be... possible.”

I couldn't stay trapped here forever.

Somehow, I had to uncover this Gate's nature and find a clue to escaping it.

To find that clue, I decided to leave the room.

Before that, though, I had no idea what might be waiting beyond that door, or whether it would be hostile or friendly. I should arm myself just in case.

I opened my subspace and took out the Dragon Bone Sword along with several defensive artifacts.

“At least that's a small mercy.”

My subspace had failed to open several times before, so I had been worried. Fortunately, it opened normally this time.

Once I was armed, I heightened all my senses, swallowed, and slowly opened the door.

Creeeak.

When I opened the door, I did not sense anyone nearby.

No people, no monsters, no one.

Holding my breath, I began looking around to figure out where I was.

There were clothes and food like bread, which meant someone had been staying here until recently.

Then finding the owner, whoever they were, was the urgent thing.

I had to find someone and learn where exactly this place was, and why I had woken up in that room.

Just as I wondered whether I should go outside and wait for the owner, the door opened with a creeeak.

Then I met the eyes of a woman who appeared to be the owner of the house.

“გეფრცხდებით?”

The moment our eyes met, the woman looked relieved and began speaking to me.

But I had never heard the language she was speaking in my life, so I could not understand a word.

Since she was from another dimension, perhaps that was only natural.

But something else caught my eye.

Her long ears looked just like...

‘...An elf?’

If elves existed, wouldn't they look exactly like her?

Long ears, greenish hair, and beautiful features.

Everything about her looked elven.

“გესმით რა ვამბობ?”

The woman kept speaking to me, but I could not understand a single word. So I took a translation artifact from my subspace and put it on.

Then.

“Adventurer, can you understand me properly now?”

At last, I could understand what the elf before me was saying.

The woman seemed to have realized from the circumstances that what I had taken out was a translation artifact.

“Yes. I can understand you now.”

“That’s a relief. But Adventurer, could you perhaps put that sword down...? I feel like I might get stabbed if something goes wrong...”

She did not seem to intend to hurt me, so I hurriedly put the Dragon Bone Sword back into my subspace.

“I apologize. I woke up in an unfamiliar place and prepared for the worst. It seems I was rude.”

“Not at all. I understand completely.”

The elf smiled kindly and waved a hand.

“Come to think of it, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Estelle. As you can see, I'm an elf. And what is your name, Adventurer?”

“My name is Minjun.”

“Minjun... I see.”

Estelle pronounced my name awkwardly.

“From your name, are you perhaps from another continent?”

“Not another continent. Another dimension. Elves do not exist in the world where I lived.”

At the mention of another world, surprise flashed through Estelle's eyes.

“You're an otherworlder? Goodness.”

Her voice grew far louder than before.

“By the way, Estelle, where is this place?”

“This is Elysium, the City of Exiles.”

Naturally, I had never heard of it.

“Ah. If you weren't asking about this city, but about this world, we call this world Pangaea. I don't know what people called it where you lived, Minjun.”

Pangaea.

Pangaea...

‘Wait.’

Thinking back, when I had spoken with Sia before, I was almost certain she had said that the dimension where she had lived after reincarnating was... Pangaea.

Then was this perhaps...

The home dimension where Sia had lived as a dragon?

‘What kind of coincidence is this?’

The moment I remembered that, goosebumps rose all over my body.

“Um, Minjun. Is something wrong...?”

“No, it's nothing.”

I hurriedly waved away Estelle's question.

“You said you came from another dimension, so you must still be confused. I imagine you have many questions too.”

“...Yes, I do.”

Why had I fallen into the dimension where Sia had reincarnated, and how could I return to my original dimension?

My head was already starting to ache.

“You should rest and sort out your thoughts. If there's anything you're curious about, please ask me.”

There were so many things I wanted to ask that I had no idea where to start, but I decided to ask what came to mind first.

“Could you tell me what happened when I was first found?”

“A guard standing watch at the city gate found you unconscious in front of it, Minjun, and hurriedly brought you here.”

I had lost consciousness the moment I passed through the Gate and collapsed in front of a city gate.

That alone showed how strange this Gate was.

What kind of Gate did something like that?

“By the way, Minjun.”

Estelle suddenly studied the ring on my finger.

“This ring you're wearing, is it made from dragon bone?”

“Yes.”

“If it's not too rude, may I ask who gave it to you?”

“It was a gift from my girlfriend. I also have a necklace made from dragon bone. But how did you know this ring was made from dragon bone?”

I could understand the rest, but how had she recognized that it was made from dragon bone?

“We are more sensitive to a dragon's aura than most people. The person who first founded our town was a dragon. That's why it naturally caught my attention.”

“A dragon founded this town?”

My voice rose before I could stop it.

I was the only human on Earth who could wield a dragon's power, and I had fallen into a city founded by a dragon.

There was no way this was a coincidence.

“Yes. There is a statue of them in the center of our city to honor them. Would you like to see it? I can show you the town as well.”

It was an offer too interesting to refuse.

I followed Estelle outside.

The moment I stepped out, a landscape unlike anything on Earth spread out before me.

Houses built in architectural styles rarely seen in Korea, and roads paved with stone rather than asphalt.

When I looked back, I could see a massive wall surrounding the city. Perhaps it was only my imagination, but even the air felt distinctly different from Earth's.

And then there were the residents.

Their hair and eye colors varied greatly, and nonhuman races stood out among them.

Humans were the most common, but there were elves like Estelle and even residents who appeared to be dwarves.

There were also beastkin and a few residents from races I could not identify.

I was so absorbed in the unfamiliar sights that I barely noticed the walk, while the residents stole glances at me, perhaps because my clothing differed from theirs.

After we had walked for some time.

“We're almost there. That is their statue over there.”

Estelle pointed to the statue in the middle of town.

It was still some distance away, but the statue was so enormous that I could make out its shape even from afar.

As we drew closer, its outline became clearer.

According to Estelle, it had been built so long ago that even the residents did not know exactly when. Yet perhaps because it had been well maintained, it did not look old at all.

The closer I got, the more overwhelmed I felt by its grandeur.

And at the same time.

The closer I got to the statue, the harder my heart began to beat.

Thump. Thump.

This feeling was unmistakable.

It perfectly matched the sensation I had felt just before I was sucked into the Gate.

“What is wrong?”

When I stared silently at the statue, Estelle tilted her head, apparently finding it strange.

If I was feeling the same sensation as before, then perhaps.

It was too unreal to believe, but...

Had that dragon statue been trying to lead me into this world from the very beginning?

And that was not the only thing bothering me.