The Adventurer's Guild was losing its vibrancy, with fewer requests and fewer adventurers coming in. Daniel, the guild master, was buried in paperwork, his head in his hands.

A man entered his office, Johnny, a C-rank adventurer. He possessed the "Magic Eye" skill, a unique ability that provided far more detailed information than Daniel's own "Appraisal" skill.

Daniel had commissioned Johnny to use his Magic Eye to secretly assess Ryu-jin.

After the assessment, Johnny was torn. He understood from the Magic Eye's insights that antagonizing Ryu was not a wise choice. But he couldn't keep the information completely hidden.

He decided to report the results, but with some key details omitted.

The appraisal report presented to Daniel read:

Ryu-jin  Lv: 1
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Race: Dragon-kin
Magic: 0

Johnny stated, "Master, Ryu is a Dragon-kin."

Daniel looked puzzled, "Huh? ... Ah, yes, Ryu's name is Ryu-jin. What about it?"

Johnny clarified, "No, Master, Dragon-kin, 'Dragon-kin.'"

Daniel was speechless, "Are you saying... ?"

Johnny continued, "Dragon-kin... It's a legendary, mythical race. I've only heard of them in tales. To think they actually exist..."

Daniel responded, "But it doesn't make sense. I heard his parents were human."

Johnny offered a possibility, "Could he have been a foundling?"

He was right. When Ryu reincarnated, the goddess had to alter his race to Dragon-kin because his human form could not accommodate the abilities he requested. However, respecting Ryu's wish to be human, his outward appearance remained unchanged.

Despite his human appearance, Ryu was a Dragon-kin, a different species entirely. His abilities were extraordinary. He possessed muscles of the same thickness as a human's, yet generated thirty times the strength. His bones, joints, and tendons were designed to withstand the immense power, and his neural transmission speed was far beyond that of humans.

However, Ryu wished to understand the world and grow up as a normal human, so his memories were temporarily sealed. He was left as a foundling in the care of a merchant's wife.

Daniel finally understood, "I see... Ryu did mention something about 'remembering.' Perhaps he remembered being a Dragon-kin. And now he's awakened to his Dragon-kin abilities? That would explain his sudden change..."

Johnny explained, "I always imagined Dragon-kin as having scales and horns. But he looks completely human... And his level being '1', considering it's a Dragon-kin level, means it can't be compared to human levels. What does 'unmeasurable' mean?"

Daniel contemplated, "Does it mean we shouldn't assume his lack of classes, skills, or magic is the same as humans... ? Unmeasurable means..."

Johnny answered, "It means his level is so high that I can't assess it with my current level."

Johnny had previously used his Magic Eye to assess an A-rank adventurer. The adventurer's level was above 50, but the assessment still worked. Johnny's level was 25, indicating that a certain level difference allowed for assessments. (Typically, appraisal skills couldn't see information about those with higher levels, but the Magic Eye allowed for this. It could see information that regular appraisals couldn't, even concealed details. The Dragon-kin race was hidden from normal appraisals, but Johnny's Magic Eye could see it.) However, the Magic Eye's inability to assess Ryu meant a significant level disparity existed.

Although Johnny did not reveal all the information he learned, this report alone was enough for even Daniel to understand the folly of antagonizing Ryu.

Ryu  Lv: 1
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Race: Dragon-kin
Magic: Unmeasurable
Combat Strength: Unmeasurable
Blessings: Blessing of the Creator God
Blessing of the Time God
Title: "One Who Stands Outside Human Law"

Those who oppose this being will oppose the gods.

This was Johnny's first encounter with an appraisal that displayed "Blessings." Rarely did humans possess divine blessings, except for high-ranking priests in the church.

It was even stranger that there was a warning attached. Opposing the gods?

Whatever the case, Johnny understood that it was best not to antagonize him.

―　―　―　―　―　―　―　―

Dragon-kin were also rulers of dragons. All dragons served the Dragon-kin as their kin.

Even less intelligent dragons, unable to comprehend the concept of Dragon-kin, instinctively understood their absolute dominance and obeyed.

The Earth Dragon from the dungeon's depths, though possessing a higher intelligence that allowed for communication, recognized Ryu as an absolute power and followed his commands to a minimal degree.

Ryu, having dealt with the "Red Meteor" group, piled the corpses and incinerated them with the Dragon's breath. It was an effortless and quick solution.

Normally, he would teleport back to town, but this time... he decided to clear the dungeon.

He had hunted within dungeons before, but never delved into deeper layers.

To proceed to the next level, he had to defeat the boss monster. Without defeating it, the stairway to the next level wouldn't appear.

The boss of this level was the King Earth Dragon, a superior species to the Earth Dragons. Of course, it possessed higher intelligence than ordinary Earth Dragons and wouldn't disobey Ryu, so a fight wasn't necessary... but it would prevent him from advancing.

He tried asking the Dragon for passage, but it wouldn't allow it. It seemed that he had to kill the Dragon to proceed.

It pained him to kill something that served him, but as the Dragon was born within the dungeon, it seemed to understand the situation. It readily offered its neck.

Even if he killed it, the dungeon's strange power would revive the monster after a time. It wasn't a major issue, but there was no need to make it suffer.

Ryu used spatial manipulation magic to stop the Dragon's carotid blood flow, rendering it unconscious. After confirming its complete unconsciousness, he teleported the Dragon's magic stone out of its body.

He wasn't sure if extracting the magic stone caused pain. The monsters he had slain before hadn't shown any signs of suffering and died instantly, so he assumed it was painless. Nonetheless, he decided to knock the Dragon out first as a precaution.

Perhaps it would be better to destroy the brain to prevent any pain. From his past life (on Earth), he remembered that the brain itself couldn't feel pain.

As the brain was the source of pain perception, destroying it would mean no pain could be felt. But...

Without experiencing it himself, he couldn't know if there was truly no pain or suffering. And he couldn't verify it after the being was dead. So he stopped thinking about it.