Pushing the timeline back about sixty years, there was a small adventurer town on the western border of the Misty Canyon.

Next to adventurers' paradises like Frost Forest, Misty Canyon, or Dark Swamp, there were countless small towns scattered about. Adventurers from all over the world would treat these places as the final stop before embarking on their adventures, and merchants would always arrive promptly to purchase precious materials and treasures from the adventurers.

Likewise, these places were also ideal for spreading rumors and gossip. For example, there may be rumors about a mercenary group that was completely wiped out by a high-level magical creature a few days ago, or a lone wanderer who struck gold in a ruin and everyone rushed to loot it.

For instance...

"Did you hear that roar last night?"

In a lively tavern, adventurers raised their crude wooden cups and drank cheap ale as they discussed the most talked-about topic.

"How could you miss such a loud noise! It was definitely something big, maybe even siege-level."

"Hey, you guys from the Iron Feather Brigade, were you in the depths of the canyon last night? Any news?"

"If there were, we would have sold it to the information brokers already. What makes you think we would tell you here?" A member of the Iron Feather Brigade complained while chewing on a piece of jerky. "Damn, it was such bad luck. Just as we finished off a lone bear, we suddenly heard that roar. You didn't feel much on the outskirts, but at that time, a third of our entire brigade was knocked out. Luckily, we retreated quickly, otherwise a few more waves of roars would have wiped out our entire brigade."

"But judging from the situation at the time, the source of the sound seemed to be from underground, not the heart of the canyon..."

...

Listening to the lively discussions through the window, a white-haired young boy slumped against the grey brick wall outside the tavern. A faint smile crept on the corner of his mouth, but his expression clearly showed discomfort, as if he had swallowed... well, something unpleasant.

However, the term "young boy" might not be entirely appropriate, as he appeared to be no more than nine or ten years old. Standing less than 1.5 meters tall, he was petite and delicate, with a slightly chubby baby face. It was easy to mistake his gender due to his delicate, upturned nose and beautiful, wine-red eyes.

His current appearance was quite disheveled. The once smooth and silky white hair was now a mess, tangled by the winds in the canyon. His fair skin looked as if it had been through a coal stove, and there was a shallow bloodstain on the left side of his face—not from a direct attack by a terrifying creature, but from a weakened scale recovering from its period of vulnerability scratching against a mountain rock.

He wore a tattered black coat—a far cry from any exquisite garment. It was something he had taken from an unfortunate soul who perished during a disaster caused by his own hands while fleeing. There were already two completely dried bloodstains on the front and back of the coat, but luckily, the color was relatively dark, making it hard to notice in the darkness.

This clothing, torn from an adult, gave a somewhat "boyfriend's shirt" feel when worn by young Aya. Well, apart from the coat and strategically placed scraps, Aya had no fabric left on his body.

"Tsk, I can't believe the esteemed Golden Dragon has fallen to such a state..." Aya tilted his head and glanced at the sky, his face filled with dissatisfaction. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating, and he couldn't see the stars and moon to inspire him to recite a few verses.

Truly a sorry sight, even using a little magic to transform the scales into clothing seemed luxurious for him at the moment. After all, in order to escape from that dreadful opponent, he had squeezed out every bit of his magical power.

—No, it's not even worth calling them opponents. That guy completely crushed me! The so-called "Golden Dragon, the number one in the world"? Mom and Dad, you lied to me!

Originally, I just came to Misty Canyon to broaden my horizons. I thought as long as I avoided that city-level Misty Treant in the heartland, I could walk freely. But unexpectedly, I somehow found a rift leading to the deep underground of the canyon.

As a gathering place for monsters, it is also a dangerous zone with city-level threats. Human activities in Misty Canyon are limited to adventure teams. However, the number of people is insignificant compared to the vastness of the canyon, which is still largely undeveloped, including various precious mineral deposits.

And for Dragon, shiny treasures have always been irresistible.

Then Aya happily hopped down the rift, acting like a mining Steve. From ordinary rubies, sapphires, fire diamonds, and gold thread diamonds to rare magic attribute mithril and rare metals like copper and alloy steel... In short, almost everything that could be seen was dug out and taken away, almost filling the magitech storage device Aya obtained in the human world before...

And then... tragedy struck.

After digging up a seemingly dark and ugly boulder, Aya was stunned.

Embedded in the center was a nearly transparent irregular stone, about the size of a fist, but with a faint golden color at the center. Thin golden threads extended from that point, covering the entire stone.

Although Aya couldn't recognize what it was, as a Dragon with an innate instinct for treasure, she almost immediately judged that this thing was a rare treasure, perhaps more valuable than the pile she had collected before.

So, without hesitation, Aya reached in and pulled it out, causing major trouble.

Without exaggeration, the entire underground began to tremble.

Later, Aya learned that this thing was a super treasure called the Heart of the Mountain, and it was often accompanied by an ancient-level monster known as the "King of the Underground World."

Moreover, it was the highest level among the ancient-level monsters. Although Aya was only a young Golden Dragon, the power of Magic was still something most creatures wouldn't dare to confront head-on. However, that thing's pure earth element scales even invalidated Aya's counterattacks without deliberate defense.

Throughout the escape, Aya never saw the full appearance of that monster, only the ground behind her constantly fracturing and forming new rifts. The most frustrating thing was that while it burrowed underground, she, flying in the sky, was still slower than it. If it weren't for the various extraordinary talents of the Golden Dragon she possessed, she would have been swallowed whole long ago.

Damn it, if I had known I would encounter this kind of monster, I wouldn't have gone near it!

During the escape, she even lost the magitech storage device on her body, rendering all her previous efforts futile. However...

"Well, at least there was some gain."

Aya raised her right hand, tightly gripping the Heart of the Mountain gem. Although she didn't know its specific value yet, based on the reactions it elicited from digging up so many precious mineral deposits, but only this thing made that monster chase and attack her relentlessly for so long, it must be a good thing.

She just didn't know if the monster would continue to pursue her.

These top-level guys often have a strong sense of territory and generally won't leave their territory too far unless their lives are threatened. It's just not clear if the importance of the Heart of the Mountain to it will make it abandon this common sense...

It shouldn't... right?

Aya nervously put away the Heart of the Mountain and let her body relax again. She had exerted all her energy to escape, and now her body felt as limp as a cooked noodle, on the verge of falling apart after being boiled for an hour.

Ah, it would be nice to soak in a hot bath and sleep on a soft bed. Aya had some universal currency from the human world with her before entering the Misty Gorge, but she had lost it along with the storage magitech device. Now, all she had was the Heart of the Mountain.

Sell it? No, no, that would be too much of a loss. Besides, even if anyone here recognized its value, selling the precious treasure she had risked her life for didn't fit Aya's character at all.

Hmm... her consciousness was becoming fuzzy. Well, she decided to rest here for a while...

Before she could finish her thoughts, Aya couldn't keep her eyelids open any longer and fell into a deep sleep.

Her dreams were restless, probably because the memory of being chased by monsters was still fresh. She felt as if she was reliving the moment when she was being hunted down, but this time her body was completely powerless. Before she could even evade, she was swallowed whole by a gaping, bottomless maw.

As the jaws closed shut, the last bit of daylight disappeared, and Aya was completely engulfed in darkness, feeling her body continuously descending... descending...

The thick darkness seemed tangible, its tendrils brushed against her body, slipping into her clothes, splayed out on her tender flesh...

No, this didn't feel like a dream at all!

Suddenly, Aya opened her eyes and found herself staring into the leering face of a skinny man with an obscene grin. He was uncomfortably close, his breath reeking of alcohol and tobacco, almost suffocating her.

"Who are you! Get away from me!"

The feeling of waking up to a face so close was terrifying, and Aya experienced it firsthand. She instinctively struggled to move back, only to realize that she was tightly bound with a rope.

"Boss, the girl woke up!"

The sleazy man in front of Aya seemed surprised to see her awake, but he quickly reacted and held her down.

"So the merchandise that swindler sold us was no good, huh? Humph, next time we'll settle the score with him. But even a little girl like you couldn't stay on your feet for long... he really cheaped out on this one."

The burly man leaning against the wall, still puffing on his pipe, observed Aya while blowing smoke.

Was she... kidnapped?

Aya hadn't fully grasped the situation yet. Meow, meow? The Golden Dragon had been kidnapped by just two humans?

"Who are you...?"

"Well, we..." the burly man stroked his dirty beard and grinned maliciously. "We're mercenaries, but we don't mind playing the role of bandits sometimes. Little girl, judging by your appearance and rare hair color, you must be some noble's runaway daughter, right? If you have anything valuable, hand it over now, and I might spare you. How about that?"

In the burly man's eyes, although the child in front of him was dressed in tattered clothes, her features and unique hair color clearly marked her as someone of importance. Plus, lying defenseless on the road like that without any guards meant she was practically offering herself as an easy prey.

"..." Aya instinctively moved her fingers and realized that these guys hadn't discovered the Heart of the Mountain... or perhaps they had, but they simply considered it a worthless piece of glass.

This was getting troublesome. It hadn't been long since she had fallen into a deep sleep, and her strength, both physical and magical, was still depleted - she couldn't even break free from this rather flimsy rope.

So... revert back to my original form? That would indeed get me out of this predicament. However, this is an adventurer town, and there are plenty of powerful adventurers here. It would be even more dangerous to reveal myself recklessly.

Should I call for help? Aya struggled to turn her head and looked around. It seemed like she was in an empty and dilapidated warehouse. Would anyone hear her if she shouted for help?

"Well, uh, I'm really not some noble's daughter..." Aya hesitated for a moment, then said softly.

"Oh... is that so?" The big man raised an eyebrow and suddenly reached out, grabbing Aya's chin. The smoke from his mouth made Aya cough uncontrollably.

"Well, in that case, little miss, do you... like slave traders?"

"Huh?"

"Although you're a bit dirty, your face is quite nice. After a good wash, you could still fetch a good price. I've heard that some noble gentlemen have a special preference for young girls... I don't like doing these kinds of things, so it's your responsibility."

With a wave of his hand, the big man turned around and prepared to leave, while the thin man revealed a sinister expression, rubbing his hands together as he approached.

Aya instantly had a bad feeling about this.

"Heh heh, although big brother said he would sell you to the slave traders, he didn't say you had to be in good condition... After all, you'll eventually be ruined by those noble gentlemen. It's better if I, your brother, get a taste first..."

What the fuck!

Initially, when Aya heard that they planned to sell her to slave traders, she had relaxed a bit. As long as she had time to recover, it would be easy for her to escape. But she didn't expect this guy to be so despicable!

Wait a minute! Although my actual age is over a hundred, my human appearance is less than ten years old. Are you a devil or something?!

Aya desperately tried to struggle, but the thin man held her down with one hand and tore at her already worn-out clothes with the other.

"Hold on! I'm a boy!"

"Huh?" The thin man was taken aback by the statement and then chuckled weirdly. "Isn't that even better?"

Are you out of your mind?!

As the delicate face was exposed, followed by the slender and beautiful neck and the charming collarbone, Aya couldn't take it anymore. She didn't care anymore; even if it meant revealing her dragon form, she had to crush this guy!

Just then, the warehouse door was kicked open with a loud bang. Two iron gate panels flew in, crashing into two piles of wooden crates. The attention of the big man and the thin man, who was touching Aya inappropriately, was immediately diverted.

Outside the door, the silhouette of a tall figure was cast by the light, creating a slanted shadow.

"Hey! You two scumbags over there, let go of that girl!"