“In the very past, before the gods were born, there was only a huge tree in this world... and countless wisps of mist. Back then, only we lived in this world.”

"Colored dragons, and metal dragons."

"..."

At the sound of a woman's voice, Satan Ye slowly opened her eyes. She yawned softly and looked around at her surroundings... For some reason, she felt uncomfortable and a little uneasy.

Unlike the bed and the cat...

Then, Satan saw countless gold coins—in this enormous, hall-like room, there were many, many dragons that had taken human form but retained their dragon bodies.

What covered the hall was a dense array of gold coins...

"Wow……"

Satan Ye gasped softly. She looked up at the sky and saw the distant castle dome. Sunlight streamed through the open windows, reflecting off the gold coins and making the place shine with unparalleled splendor.

First came the joy that flowed from his very blood, and then, Satan Ye thought... if he could bring it all back to the Demon King's territory, how much food, how many spices, how many weapons, equipment, and research materials could he buy?

Unfortunately, I'm probably in a dream right now, so I can't take it back.

it is a pity.

Satan Ye, who immediately realized his predicament, looked at the blue dragon lying not far away, and then at a silver dragon giving a lecture at the highest point of the gold coin pile... The silver dragon, who had transformed into human form, was wearing diamond lenses in front of its eyes.

Maybe he's nearsighted?

"But the age of dragons lasted only a short time. After that... calamity struck. A world-ending cold wave swept over the giant tree, engulfing the dragons and the creatures born beneath it, stripping them of their life."

The silver dragon recounted this, while Satan Ye looked around, pinched her own face, and slightly increased the pressure... and then, she pinched herself until it hurt.

"Mmm~"

groaning softly in pain, Satan Ye temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​quickly waking himself up. Instead, he looked at the dragons listening to the lecture around him, thought for a moment, and transformed into a giant dragon. He became a black and red dragon that looked cute and beautiful, and lay down on the pile of gold coins.

I'll listen to the lecture anyway; it seems to be about ancient times...

"Then, the ancient tree belonging to the dragon withered and decayed in the extreme cold... The era of extreme cold caused the world's life to almost cease. After a very long time, the new shoots of Ingodrasil broke through the withered giant tree."

"That is the World Tree now... The gods and Mana were born along with the World Tree. The World Tree separated the Nine Realms, and the gods sealed the world-destroying cold in a faraway place."

"The other ten calamities were also sealed away in the demiplane or outside the Nine Realms—the calamity of overbreeding, the calamity of extreme cold, the calamity of gods falling into evil gods, the calamity of the dead rising from the dead... and so on."

As Teacher Yinlong spoke, she looked at the little dragons who were either sleeping or daydreaming, shook her head helplessly, and continued her lesson, saying, "The gods have clearly established the authority belonging to the gods: life and death, hot and cold, light and darkness..."

"In the time of Ingodrashir—after the Age of Gods arrived—the dragons and gods made a pact on the tree: [Though the Age of Gods comes, the Age of Dragons will endure; the sons of gods and the sons of dragons, if only the gods continue to exist, will live together peacefully until the past is gone.]"

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"Then the gods created their agents—angels and demons—and placed them in the highest and lowest places to guard the two most dangerous calamities that were sealed away. Then they took the sap of Ingodrasil and created the tree spirits."

"Then, the original source of everything—the living [flesh] seed—gradually evolved, split, gestated, remained stagnant, or ventured onto land in the sea, gradually transforming into something resembling their older brothers and sisters."

"Humans, dwarves, orcs... have become the second batch of children of the gods. They need a long time to continue growing. The gods will watch over them, and their older brothers and sisters will protect them until they grow up to be qualified to guard against the [Calamity]."

"..."

Satanye blinked, trying to understand the words. She suddenly realized that... the teacher was talking about things between the ages of gods and before the ages of gods. She couldn't tell whether it was true or false.

However, Satan Ye did have some recollection of the towering "giant tree." The last time he had a similar dream, in which he saw his ancestors, there was a giant tree there.

Was that dream set before the Age of Gods?

What's it called... The Age of Dragons?

Moreover, what the silver dragon said also intrigued Satan Ye... Was this just a fantasy existing only in his dreams? Or were these things the truth that actually happened in the world?

As Satanye was thinking this, Teacher Silver Dragon adjusted his glasses and continued his lesson: "What happened next, you all surely understand... The gods disappeared one day, and the Mana that Ingodrahill scattered became even more biased."

"From now on, only children with the [Mana aptitude] among intelligent beings will be able to master magic. The [Calamity], which is powerful enough to destroy the world, will gradually break its seal... We can only hide here, in the small world that belongs to the dragons."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!