Black Dragons were notorious for their savage and untamed nature. Their physical strength was among the highest of all dragons, making them a close second only to the Overlord as the most feared by the residents of the Deep Realm. The showdown between Ryzagal and Imfelheim during the Great War, where neither could gain the upper hand, remained a legendary tale often recounted among the Deep Realm’s residents. Ryzagal was one such Black Dragon, and now, that very dragon had come to Earth. Anne had decided to let the now-stranded Ryzagal stay in her nest. Rumor had it that Ryzagal had provoked their Master and had his nest utterly destroyed as a result. Out of pity, Anne agreed to offer shelter until Ryzagal could rebuild his nest, providing refuge from one dragon to another. “This is your room,” Anne said to Ryzagal. “How long do you think it’ll take to get your nest situation sorted?” “Hmm, then I guess you’ll be staying on Earth for a month.” Anne’s nest was in a serene forest. In the artificial pond at the center, koi fish swam leisurely. Ryzagal sat absentmindedly on a bench nearby. “I’m going to go see Kiriel,” he said and got up. “Kiriel...? The Transcendent Kiriel?” Anne asked, bewildered. “He offered to teach me Earth’s way of life,” Ryzagal explained. Anne stared at him intently. “Do you have something to say?” he asked. “No, it’s just...” Anne trailed off. His temperament seemed to have softened considerably. Ryzagal’s sword sheath softly clinked at his waist as he stood up. It was his weapon, the Demon Sword Levatein, a relic of the Deep Realm. Ryzagal found Kiriel to be a genuinely pleasant person. Although Kiriel was a Transcendent of the Deep Realm, Ryzagal had lost much of his memory, and his recollections of Transcendents were limited to Imfelheim. This made Kiriel seem like little more than a stranger to him. When his nest was destroyed and he followed Izaas to Earth, Kiriel welcomed him warmly. Ryzagal sat in the pavilion of Changshin Villa. Kiriel had gone to a place called the “supermarket” to buy snacks and told him to wait. Before long, Kiriel emerged from the store, carrying a black plastic bag. He approached a group of children gathered around an arcade machine outside the store, muttering, “Damn. This is why I don’t gamble.” He had challenged one of the kids playing the Tekken arcade game to a match, with the loser having to buy ice cream for everyone there. He had lost by a narrow margin. “Wow! Mister, are you really giving us all one each?” asked one of the children. “Of course. The great Kiriel never lies.” Sitting down next to Ryzagal, Kiriel opened the bag to reveal the ice creams inside. “Here, take one,” he offered Ryzagal an ice cream. “Ice cream. It’s food. Take one quickly before it melts.” Ryzagal chose a melon-flavored ice cream, and Kiriel unwrapped it for him. After handing it over, he unwrapped his own and took a big bite. With a zing, the brain freeze hit, causing his head to throb. “Whew, brain freeze. You try it,” Kiriel said. “Alright...” Ryzagal took a bite, but he didn’t feel anything other than the sweet melon flavor spreading in his mouth. “Here.” Kiriel handed him a book titled “Living on Earth 101.” The letters were so scrawled they looked like crawling worms. The title was in Korean, but with his decoding ring, Ryzagal could read it without difficulty. He shoved the entire ice cream into his mouth and opened the book. This book was created to help one survive on Earth. 1. People to Be Wary Of 2.2. Punishments for Violating Absolute Don’ts 2.3. How to Handle Being Punished 3. Useful Common Knowledge About Earth” Ryzagal scratched his head and turned the page. It was titled 1. People to Be Wary Of: Lee Do-Jun (King of Earth). Below the text was a photo of Do-Jun, a young man with neat dark brown hair and striking features. In the photo, he was exiting a supermarket holding something, though the image was slightly blurry, as if out of focus. “The King of Earth...” Ryzagal muttered. “Something wrong?” Kiriel asked him. “No, you’re not wrong. But it feels... lacking.” Calling him the “King of Earth” felt inadequate. To the mighty beings of the Deep Realm, Earth was just one of countless insignificant planets inhabited by trivial creatures. Still, having directly experienced Do-Jun’s power, Ryzagal shuddered. It was an inviolable domain. A realm he could never reach, no matter how much he honed his strength. He flipped to the next page to see a short list. 1) Provoking Lee Do-Jun (threats, attacks, mockery, etc.) 2) Damaging objects or facilities near Lee Do-Jun’s home 3) Causing harm to Lee Do-Jun’s family or acquaintances “All of this concerns the King of Earth,” Ryzagal commented. “Exactly. By the way, I wrote this based on my own experiences,” Kiriel explained. “Oh, I see.” Ryzagal let out a dry chuckle, incredulous that Kiriel was still alive after going through all this. Suddenly, Ryzagal’s gaze fell upon a child who toddled out of Building 1 of Changshin Villa. She spotted them and ran over with a wide smile. “Kirieh! What are you doing here?” She seemed to know Kiriel. Kiriel lifted her high into the air, spinning her like an airplane before gently patting her head. She giggled joyfully as Kiriel finally set her down. “I’m teaching this rookie how to survive on Earth,” Kiriel replied. “Hmm. It’s someone who just arrived on Earth. This one here is the rookie.” Ryzagal looked at the child with curiosity. Outwardly, the child appeared no different from a human child on Earth. Yet, the immense magical power emanating from within her was on par with the strongest beings of the Deep Realm. “Kiriel, who is this?” he asked. “Oh, this is Byeol. She’s being raised by the King of Earth.” “I should be careful around her, then?” “Exactly. Anyway, Byeol, what are you doing out here alone?” “What? What about Iza—no, Yong-Yong and Karsiel?” “Dunno. When I woke up, I was all alone.” Just then, Byeol’s stomach rumbled. Kiriel picked her up, pressing her belly to his ear. Growl, grumble, grrr. “Hungry?” he asked her. Kiriel looked at Ryzagal and said, “Follow me.” Changshin Villa, Unit 301. Kiriel was in the kitchen, making ramen. Byeol was circling around him, tiptoeing to peek at the bubbling pot while smiling brightly. Sniffing the air, she caught the savory scent of the ramen cooking. “What’s this?” Ryzagal asked. “Ramen. Nothing beats it when you're hungry,” Kiriel responded. “Got it. But... is it okay to enter the King’s house?” “It’s fine. We’re doing this for Byeol.” Soon, the ramen was ready. Kiriel divided the perfectly cooked noodles into three bowls and carried them to the table in front of the TV in the living room. “This is a TV. You can see how humans entertain themselves. It’s good for you to observe and learn their way of life,” Kiriel said. A reality show was airing when the TV switched on. Kiriel grabbed a bite of ramen, blew on it briefly, and slurped it down as if he had done this many times. Byeol, still unfamiliar with using chopsticks, held a fork in one hand, lifted the noodles, brought her face to the bowl, and slurped loudly. “So yummy!” she exclaimed. “Yeah? Tell the King that I made it for you.” Ryzagal also picked up some ramen and copied the two. Then, his eyes widened. The salty yet spicy flavor swirled around his mouth. He couldn’t stop himself and kept slurping up the noodles as if bewitched. “T-this is dangerously good,” he commented. “If you live on Earth, you can enjoy food every day,” Kiriel said. “S-seriously?” Ryzagal briefly thought about his nest, which was still under repair. Then he shook his head violently and slapped his cheeks, thinking, Snap out of it. This is not where I belong. “Burp. That was great,” Kiriel said, pushing the table with his foot as Byeol gulped down water. “Shall I read you a book?” he offered. Soon, Byeol returned with a picture book titled “Heungbu and Nolbu.”[1] “Read this too!” she said, bringing another book. And so, one book turned into two, then three. “Kiriel, what’s this?” Ryzagal asked, pointing at a strange bag. “Oh, those are called chips. It’s a crunchy snack.” After finishing the storybooks, Kiriel went to the store to buy some snacks and gave them to Byeol. “So yummy!” she exclaimed. “Give me a bite, too,” Kiriel said to Byeol. “Heh. You’re adorable.” Kiriel got up from his seat. Byeol, exhausted from playing and eating, had gone to the bedroom and was sound asleep. “It’s time for me to go help Hakase,” he said. “I made the ramen, read the books, and bought the snacks. You know that, right?” “Then who should clean up?” “Clean up?” Ryzagal asked. The house was, in a word... chaos. “I guess... me?” Ryzagal said, looking around. “Good. I’m off.” Kiriel opened the front door and left. Left alone, Ryzagal looked at the messy house and stroked his chin. Thoughtfully, he opened “Living on Earth 101.” He soon came to a realization. “There’s nothing about... cleaning...” He let out a low groan. Do-Jun got off work earlier than usual. Yong-Yong and Karsiel went to the academy to visit Yoon-Hee, who was in the middle of her exam period. Because of that, Do-Jun had taken a half-day to look after Byeol and prepare dinner. Do-Jun felt an overwhelming presence inside the house. When he opened the door, he saw Ryzagal. Their eyes met, then Do-Jun stepped inside. The kitchen was littered with ramen packets and soup base powder. The living room table was piled with bowls, chopsticks, and cups. And most damningly, the floor was scattered with open storybooks, snack wrappers, and crumbs. Ryzagal instinctively realized that this was a very dangerous situation. “P-please give me a chance to explain myself...” he pleaded. Do-Jun’s gaze turned icy cold. Anne was watering the garden when the entrance to the nest opened, and a figure walked through. “Ryzagal, you’re back. How was learning Earth’s way of life?” she asked. Ryzagal’s head hung low. Finding this odd, Anne tilted her head. Moreover, Ryzagal was carrying a stack of blank paper, and the Demon Sword Levatein, which should have been at his hip, was nowhere to be seen. “It was good. I learned very, very thoroughly,” he muttered. “Then why do you look like that? And where’s Levatein?” Ryzagal sat on a bench inside the nest. He placed the stack of papers down and opened “Living on Earth 101,” reading through the first page again. This book was created to help one survive on Earth. 1. People to Be Wary Of 2.2. Punishments for Violating Absolute Don’ts 2.3. How to Handle Being Punished 3. Useful Common Knowledge About Earth “Daaaammit!” Ryzagal wailed. 1. Heungbu and Nolbu is a classic Korean tale of two brothers; one terrible, and the other very nice. Its message is that if you are kind to others without expecting anything in return, blessings will come your way. ☜