“In short, this place is completely cut off from the outside world. There’s a barrier between this pocket dimension and the outside, and that barrier is made of nothingness—there isn’t even space or time within it.”

Alina listened to Lamia’s explanation as she ate. After half an hour of listening, she finally understood the predicament she was in.

Simply put, she was trapped in here, just like this unlucky Doragon.

“By the way, how did you end up getting trapped here?”

After talking for a while, the two of them had somehow become much friendlier. Alina could even strike up a conversation with her like it was perfectly normal.

“Heh-heh! Back in the day, I wreaked havoc across the entire continent, destroying countless kingdoms and tribes. In the end, countless powerful warriors from your human, elf, and beastfolk races joined forces to hunt me down and seal me here by force—and they still couldn’t take me out!”

Lamia stood with her hands on her hips, looking awfully pleased with herself. Her little tail flicked up and down, and she grinned so widely that her sharp little fang showed.

“Back then, I was unbeatable! I fought my way through the whole world, and it was just—”

Unfortunately, Lamia didn’t get to finish. Alina stared straight at her and cut in, “Can you give me the real version?”

“Uh…”

Lamia seemed to lose her backbone at those words. Her bravado faded at once, and she sat down and muttered, “I got chased for stealing a gem, then accidentally fell in here.”

Alina stared at the silly dragon in disbelief. Weren’t Doragons supposed to be among the mightiest creatures in the world? Had she just failed to put any points into intelligence?

“Wait, the books say the Doragon Clan is mysterious and powerful. How did you get chased so badly? And what kind of gem was it that made you shameless enough to steal it?”

Alina was curious. This girl should have had few rivals in the world, so how had she been chased into a place like this?

“Tch. We Doragons are born to seek out things that go ‘bling, bling.’ If I see a dazzling gem and I’m not allowed to touch it, I might as well die. Besides…”

Lamia’s expression grew serious.

“You’re underestimating this world. We Doragons may stand at its pinnacle, but there are always monsters among monsters. The one who hunted me back then—I could feel just how powerful she was. That overwhelming pressure… there was no mistaking it.”

After hearing Lamia’s words, Alina fell silent. Had she underestimated the powerful people in the outside world? She’d always thought she was strong enough to do whatever she wanted out there, but now it seemed she’d better keep a low profile.

“There’s one more thing you should keep in mind.”

Lamia stood up and looked at Alina seriously. “If you want to call someone shameless, don’t do it to their face. Say it behind their back, or you might get beat up.”

As she spoke, Lamia punched Alina.

Was Alina scared? Of course not. She caught the punch, and the two of them started fighting again.

In the end, just like before, the two of them fought until they were tired, then lay side by side on the ground.

“I think we might be kind of bored.” Alina gazed up at the starry sky, feeling a little fed up. Why was she even picking a fight with this dumb dragon?

“You’re the one who came looking for trouble,” Lamia shot back without mercy.

“Fine. I think the first thing we need to figure out is how to get out of here.”

For once, Alina didn’t argue with Lamia’s retort. Whether she could get out was the most important thing right now. She didn’t want to end up like this dumb dragon, trapped for countless years.

“Don’t bother. I spent a long time studying this place when I first fell in. That mysterious barrier outside is incredibly strong. Even the power of the Doragon Clan can’t force it open.”

Lamia shook her head, sounding casual, but she couldn’t hide the amusement in her eyes. It was obvious she already had a plan.

Anxious as she was, Alina clearly didn’t notice the change in Lamia’s tone and expression. She pushed herself up and asked, “What was that ‘Door’ you mentioned earlier?”

She remembered Lamia saying that they could get out through the ‘Door.’

“The ‘Door’ is a special passage. It can only be opened from the outside, and only people who came in through the ‘Door’ can use it to leave. But I haven’t seen one in a long time, so I really don’t know if anyone still knows how to use it.”

Lamia waved a hand, telling her not to worry about all that.

“So that means I can’t get out?” Alina panicked. If what Lamia said was true, then she couldn’t count on the village chief and the others outside to come help her, either.

“By and large, yes. But…”

Lamia’s sudden change of direction left Alina on edge. She only continued after Alina shot her an annoyed look.

“Actually, I haven’t been sitting around all these years. I’ve been pounding away at one spot on that barrier. It’s thin enough there now that, even if you hadn’t come, I could’ve broken through the seal within a year at most. Since you’re here, if we combine our strength, we might be able to break through today.”

Lamia grinned proudly again, looking as if she expected Alina to praise her.

“Then why are you lying around so casually? Hurry up and take me to the place you were talking about!”

Unfortunately, Alina had no intention of praising her. She hauled Lamia up from the ground, eager to get out as soon as possible. They’d been gone so long without a word—the village chief and the others must be worried.

“Hey, hey, wait! Don’t rush. There’s a special barrier here. Without a special method, you’ll just keep going around in circles and never reach the edge.”

As she spoke, Lamia somehow produced something that looked like a crystal and tossed it onto the ground. The space around them immediately began to warp.

Then Alina’s vision went black. When she opened her eyes again, she was in a vast, dark space. The only light came from the winding wall of light before her. If Alina had to describe it, she’d say it looked like the aurora on Earth.

“This is the place. See that dim spot on the wall of light? When the time comes, hit it with your strongest attack.”

Following Lamia’s directions, Alina spotted a patch on the wall that was noticeably dimmer than the rest. That must be the place Lamia had been pounding away at.

“Here we go! Transform!”

At that moment, Lamia’s body suddenly grew enormous. She had returned to her Doragon form.

Only now did Alina get a proper look at Lamia’s true form. She looked like a typical Western dragon, except her skin was crystal-clear, as if she’d been carved from crystal, and her face was prettier than those other dragons’.

“Heh-heh, what do you think? Blown away by my beauty? I’m not bragging, but I’m the prettiest one in the whole Doragon Clan.”

Alina had been a little surprised, but after hearing Lamia brag like that, she rolled her eyes so cutely it could’ve made hearts pop. “All right, enough showing off. We need to break through this wall of light and get out of here!”

“Fine. I’ll count down from three, and we’ll attack together.”

“All right. Let’s get ready.”

As she spoke, Alina began stacking buffs on herself. One burst of Radiance after another flashed over her as she brought herself to full strength in the shortest time possible.

At the same time, magic power gathered around her at a furious rate, and a golden six-pointed magic circle appeared before her. This would be the strongest attack she’d ever unleashed in her life!

Magic was building inside Lamia, too. Alina couldn’t sense it, but she knew Lamia’s attack would be no weaker than hers.

“Three.”

Lamia said the number, and Alina’s focus sharpened to its limit. But the very next second…

“One!”

Lamia skipped two and shouted one, then launched her attack first. She opened her jaws and blasted a fierce stream of dragon breath straight ahead.

“Aah! You dumb dragon!”

Realizing she’d been tricked, Alina unleashed a powerful attack of her own at once.

The two beams of light slammed into the wall of light ahead.