The sun had already set by the time they arrived at the great gate. Niel took out a scythe emblem as a guard approached. After checking the identity, the guard raised his hand as a sign. The wooden door marked 'Dawn Grimmer' opened.

Ace followed Niel down a large road made of stone. The buildings in this place were two-story and made of wood, forming neat longitudinal rows. From a distance, Ace saw the shadow of a large palace surrounded by solid walls. Ace's admiration seemed to cover his fear a while ago. Even though the sky was getting dark, the place was still active.

Ace smelled the food that reminded him of his mother's favorite instant soup. Right now, Ace hopes to get a chance to taste good food. Niel grabbed Ace's arm as a group of girls in ruffled dresses approached. Ace guessed that the girls were Niel's fans. It can be seen from their smiling demeanor even though Niel doesn't pay attention.

A rotting wooden sign reading “Hazelett Inn, District 14” hung in front of the inn's entrance, a wooden structure that was taller than the others and framed by marble on the sides. The yard is spacious, enough to park three or four horse-drawn carriages. Although it looks beautiful, the inn is too much brown to look old-fashioned.

"Come in."

There were cheers from inside the inn when Niel opened the door. To Ace, this place was more like a bar than an inn. There were several pairs of tables filled with people dressed like Niel. Ace felt the gazes of the people on him. Maybe it's because the clothes themselves are different—wearing a hoodie blue and black jeans.

"Oh, there's another newcomer?" A woman with red hair in a long robe approached Ace but was immediately restrained by Niel.

"Oops. No need to be so fierce. I just wanted to say hello to this sweet newcomer.”

"Disgusting." One word that came out of Niel made the girl laugh. Quickly, Niel pulled Ace towards the crowd in the corner of the bar near the window.

"Are they the same as me?" asked Ace, looking around.

"Yes."

Ace was silent for a long time before the short man spoke. Although his hair was white like an old man's, his face was like that of a child's. Maybe he's younger than Ace. About sixteen or seventeen. “So, what are you dying for? Accident? stabbed? Or what?"

"What?" Ace frowned. He was taken aback not by her question, but by his curt tone.

“Yeah, everyone who was sent to this place is dying in the real world. How about you?"

Ace fell silent again. Come to think of it, the phenomenon that happened to him was a little different. He's not dying. Suddenly Ace was annoyed to remember the reason he was thrown into this world.

"My case is a bit different."

"Different?" The white-haired man urged again. Then he huffed in annoyance and leaned his back against the seat. "Oh, boring. Though I always look forward to terrible stories from newcomers. The Red Hedgehog was thrown into this world after being stabbed by an unknown person.”

"Shut up, Lucas. You're so noisy. He seemed still in shock. Ah, so where did you find it, Niel?” A red-haired man spoke, ignoring the white-haired man who glared at him.

"In the forest."

“Wow, it's rare for them to drop off newcomers in the forest. So, what's your name?"

"Ace. Ace Clauser."

"Nice name. Ah, looks like you're still confused, huh? It is okay. Live with it. I'm Demian Hadid. I've been in this place since last week and only got magic a few days ago."

"Magic?" Ace was stunned. He heard it. Magic. Something he had never believed since birth, now he heard it himself from people who got magic.

"Ah, you must be still feeling weird, huh?" The man took a breath, then sat closer to Ace, embracing him as if they were close friends. “To be more precise, Dragon Slayer magic.”

Demian looked at Hilla who looked at Ace gently. "Her name is Hilla. He has great arrow magic. And, yes, just so you know, Hilla can create a shower of arrows at high speed even without a foothold.”

Ace was amazed when he heard Demian's explanation. He didn't expect the soft-faced girl to have such great magic. Hilla's braided brown hair swayed slowly as she brought her face closer to Ace.

"Well, nice to meet you, Ace. I hope you don't bother making trouble like them."

Ace laughed awkwardly. It was rare for a woman to approach him like Hilla. Especially in Erfheim, he was known as a troubled loner.

"He's Edgar." Demian pointed to the man sitting in front of him. “According to his size, Edgar has the magic to manipulate large swords. By the way, don't be afraid of Edgar just because of his scary face. He's kind and gentle, you know."

Annoyed, Edgar put the glass down roughly. "Don't talk nonsense, Demian."

“Woah-Woah, you learned a sharp mouth from Lucas, didn't you? Ah, that man's name is Lucas the Little Boy. Although short and small, he can move very fast with his electric magic. Well, even though he's not very cool, he's perfect for bait."

“That's because you guys move slowly and have small brains. Only I can think of a plan while distracting the enemy. You Stupid Red Hedgehog.”

Ace looked at Lucas intently. "In my place, Lucas' magic is very useful."

"The modern world, huh?" asked Edgar.

"Yes. All of his activities use electricity, so it looks like Lucas could be the richest person there."

"Huh. Don't be careless. I don't use my powers for that kind of thing. Not cool."

Ace chuckled seeing Lucas who folded his arms arrogantly. However, despite hearing their amazing magic, his curiosity about Niel has not faded. The man with long black hair had been looking so calm. They had just survived the deadly Bluriz.

"What is Niel's magic?" asked Ace before Demian continued. Ace's question made the other four people look at him seriously.

"You've seen it for yourself," Niel answered curtly without any explanation. “There is nothing special about my power.”

"Hey, you're getting low again, man!" Demian nudged Niel and made the man snort in annoyance. "Don't mind Neil. He was, even though his magic was quite strong. Well, even though he's not as strong as my magic, though. Do you know? Fire! Fire is always the strongest in any game, right? Well, my power is fire.”

Demian raised his right hand and soon a small flame appeared. “See, right? Well, you can also have magic like this. However, you must obtain the Obsidian obtained after slaying the dragon.”

Ace stiffened. "Killing a dragon?"

So, these people before him had killed the dragon? But how? It was impossible to kill a dragon without magic and relying solely on physical weapons.

"There's no need to think so hard." A small hand wrapped in black gloves patted Ace's shoulder. “There is basic magic that can help you kill dragons. You must have got the magic book, right? Just learn some pretty useful basic spells.”

"And the people who were stranded here didn't all get Dragon Slayer magic." Lucas continued. “Out of thousands of humans, only ten percent are entitled to Dragon Slayer magic. Usually, those who don't get magic just stay in the city and trade, while those who get Dragon Slayer magic will form a group to defeat Apostologia.”

"So, didn't everyone get Dragon Slayer magic?"

Damian nodded. “The ones who get that magic are called Dragon Slayers.”

When Ace was a kid, his parents read a story about the wizards and dragons war from millions of years ago. Initially, he never believed the crazy scenes presented in the story. A story that seemed to make the milk he drank spouted and he coughed for a while. However, in this world, he knew it himself.

Dragon. Magic. And now Dragon Slayer. It's all real. Heard directly by his ears, said a red-haired man with a disgusting face. If his logic still had a reason to argue, Ace might have punched Demian.

But in fact, he could not argue.

"Why are you so surprised? Could it be that you have never heard of the story of dragons and witches?” Demian brought his face closer as he offered his white water.

Ace shook his head. He gulped water until the tightness in his throat subsided.

"So you never heard of dragons?"

"I never believed that."

Shut up. Then Demian laughed so hard that Lucas [YES2] was strong enough.

“Shut up, Stupid Red Hedgehog! You are a nuisance, aren't you!”

"Sorry Sorry." Demian tried to hold back his laughter.

This makes Ace wonder, is it that funny? Could it be that these people believe in magic?

"If you can kill a dragon using basic magic, then that magic can be used in combat?" Ace asked seriously.

"Right." The big man sitting opposite Niel spoke up.

Ace looked at the man's grim face. There is a long wound above the nose and a sharp jawline that makes Ace believe the man is like a criminal in the real world. He could have been thrown into this world for his crimes.

“But, not all magic is useful against Apostologia. Even Dragon Slayer's magic is useless against Apostologia," he said again as he put his water glass on the table, then supported his chin with both hands. “The level of magic in this world is divided into six parts. The first highest level is owned by only one percent of all entrants. I don't know who the owner of the first tier magic is, but the owner of the second tier magic is here.”

The man paused for a moment, making Ace even more curious. Second level. It meant the strongest, and he was right here, at the table with her. And maybe, Ace could count on him to get out of this place.

"Who?" Ace urged.

"Niel," Lucas answered first, causing the big man to slam the table and throw an annoyed look at Lucas.

"You always steal my talk!"

"You're taking too long! What's the point of making this little kid flutter like someone in love? Oh, ridiculous."

“Well, now you made him almost drooling. Let me see!" Demian held Ace's frozen shoulder.

Ace's blood seemed to freeze, not believing all this. After learning of Niel's magic, she did feel that the man was strong and reliable. However, he didn't expect Niel to be so strong.

Second level magic. Although he was not familiar with the wizarding world, he had heard from them. They are certainly more experienced and are unlikely to lie. Moreover, the red-haired and cold-faced man didn't dodge at all. So, that's reality, right? And they are a group? Ah, Ace feels relieved now, like he has hope of going home. Hope to finish his days in this place as soon as possible.

"Noisy." Neil stood up. "Dream of something that will never happen."

What?

“You remember Bluriz earlier? He's a lot weaker than a dragon but looks you can't even hurt him one bit."

Could it be that Niel could read Ace's mind to say those words? For some reason, Ace felt the man rejected him. It would be more correct to say refusing to cooperate out of this place. Wait, what exactly are they here for? Surely they wish to be free, right? Ace believed that in his heart, but when he looked at them, he didn't get the answer.

The white-haired man and the red-haired man were silent, even though they were very noisy before Niel walked out. The big man was also silent. Why did Ace feel they didn't have the same goals as him?

A soft tap on Ace's shoulder made him turn around. He found Hilla smiling. Ah, maybe this girl has the same goal as him. Back to reality. It must be so. However, as he waited for a while, the words he spoke were different.

"No one can return to the real world, even if they have first-rate magic."

***