"Guardian of the inner section?"
Adam narrowed his eyes and stared intently. He couldn't find any beast guarding the mountains. He pivoted his head around with a frown.
"Ah, you are looking for the guardian, right?"
"That..." Adam scratched his head and nodded his head. Since he had seen the guardian of the outer section, he was curious to know what it was.
"The guardian is the mountain range itself." Sage spoke, "Those mountains are sentient beings. In scientific terms, Golems."
As soon as the sage completed his sentence, the entire region briefly trembled and Adam was stunned. The next second, two giant pupils appeared on the mountain facing him and vanished after a second.
"See...that was one of the eight guardians protecting the inner section." Sensing Adam's astonished expression, the elder conveyed.
"But I couldn't see these mountains from afar." A new doubt arose in Adam's heart.
The elder was amused and laughed before speaking. "The region lying close to the inner section is riddled with runes and formations. Thus invaders will only see an illusion of an unending forest while they endlessly roam around the woods until they exhaust their energy and die."
Adam shuddered when the sage's voice fell in his ears.
"You might be thinking that it's a bit too much, right? But to protect my possessions, I will go to any length. My belongings are exceedingly overpowered when compared with the outside world, so, naturally, predators target my pieces of equipment.
The army you saw battling with the lizard was one such party."
Upon hearing the sage's explanation, Adam's dilemma was solved. The puzzle fell into pieces and he now understands the necessity of protecting something dear.
"Since I am the owner of this land, I can activate and deactivate the formations at will. I don't mean to boast, but my works are top-notch."
The elder spoke with pride and Adam nonchalantly nodded before asking, "How do we get to the other side?"
There was a few seconds of silence before the sage's voice replied, "Go forward. I'll find a way."
Find a way? Is this old man for real?
Taking one last glance at the skyscraping constructs, Adam couldn't contain his astonishment.
Golems were the folklore residents of Earth. They appear in different shapes and sizes, but never did he expect one to be as tall as at least a few kilometres.
"These mountains are arranged in a large circular pattern protecting each of the eight directions and there are treacherous valleys in between them. If an invader was to somehow survive the outer section and entire valleys, which is impossible, I can assure you that the person won't be alive to step into the inner section."
Hearing sage's words, a frown crept up on the face of Adam. "Then what about me?"
"This..." Even the elder was silent for a few seconds.
"I shall arrange someone to transport you to the core area of the preserve. Stand fast and don't run away."
A silence followed the sage's words and Adam scratched his head in confusion. Why would I run away?
Seconds later, gusts of wind began to shower upon Adam and he was forced to kneel on the ground. Upon finding that the attempt to stand up was futile, he lied down with his face embedded between his arms.
"I can't believe that master sent me to pick up a puny little insect."
A prideful thunderous voice descended on Adam threatening to obliterate his entire being with a breathe.
Master? Puny? Insect? Wait, who's talking?
This time, Adam heard the voice not in his head but with his ears. The furious winds subsided before the voice shook the surroundings.
"Stand up!"
A roar followed by a powerful stomp on the ground threw Adam up. The sudden turn of events confused and alerted him of an unbeatable opponent.
Gulp!
As soon as he raised his eyes, Adam saw four giant limbs. Decorated with exquisite golden scales, there were three claws on each limb that threatened to tear apart Adam with a single swipe. The menacing curved claws with silver hue was as big as Adam's fist!
"Tadaa...the transportation." The elder's voice rang in his head and the stark naked figure stood up.
'Isn't this...a dragon?!'
As soon as Adam's eyes rose and caught the glimpse of the truly baleful pair of eyes, he stumbled backwards and fell on his rear.
Dragons, the indomitable king of fiction, the beast with impregnable defence, the incarnation of fearlessness, the undefeated unofficial king of all worlds, the very name that even the grim reaper fear!
Innumerable images and information flashed in Adam's mind and he was lost in thoughts. His pale face was staring straight at the majestic beast's face as if he was petrified.
The sun had leaned a bit from its position and cast its rays on the golden formidable body. The very sight of the beast's posture struck an unspeakable sensation in the hearts of many. Even the shadow of the beast had an aura for itself.
And while staring at the ferocious beast like a lifeless puppet, the former opened its mouth and spat something.
"Adam, I hope that my clothes suit you." The sage gave a prologue and directed Adam's derailed consciousness back to the track.
It was then the earthling noticed the pile of clothes lying in front of him.
A quick glimpse of the heap and embarrassment veiled him. With a red face, Adam crawled to the pile and quickly began to find a suitable set.
As a loner for many decades, Adam had lost the sense of nakedness. There wasn't anyone near him to point out the problem. Even if he were to cover his skin with clothes, he would require a whole lot of them as his action regime included wear and tear of fabrics.
About two minutes passed and the dragon keenly observed the human being skimming through its master's pile with no respect. Its stare intensified and Adam almost felt a pressure descending on him. Fortunately, the sage sensed this change and rebuked his 'mildly aggressive' pet.
Within a few seconds, Adam found a suitable pair. His choice was a hooded grey t-shirt and black cotton trousers. Though it was uncomfortable for him to suddenly get accustomed to wearing a second skin, he didn't exhibit it.
"Adam, life goes on. One must adapt to their living conditions. I can tell that it doesn't feel good to wear clothes, but this world's standards require one to be dressed properly." The sage sensed his squirming mind and consoled him. Adam nodded in agreement and moved his limbs around to get familiar with the sensation.
Surprisingly, the clothes provided by the beast was accurate to his measurements. Adam thanked the sage again and again for this assistance.
By the command of its master, the dragon sucked in the remaining clothes and lowered its giant torso. Under the assurance of the sage, Adam climbed on to the back of the beast.
"Hold on tight. Little Bu is shy around strangers." The elder's voice notified Adam about the beast.
Little Bu? That's the dragon's name?
Adam felt faint dizziness as the beast leapt into the sky with all its might. The action was swift and Adam almost fell down.
If this is how it's shy, then I don't want to know how it'll behave when casual!
Screaming in his heart, Adam clung onto the scales of the beast. The speed with which the beast dashed in the air threatened him to rip his head off if was to make a tiny move.
But within a minute, the beast abruptly slowed down and nose dove. The dragon came to a silent halt with a gentle air around it.
"We are here." Elder's voice made Adam open his eyes and witness the sight in front of him.
"That's your mansion?"
Adam's lower jaw was hanging low with astonishment as he beheld the massive, divine, graceful and ravishing mansion in front of him. With the architecture resembling Medieval European times, it had an indescribable serenity to it.
Spanning on an extravagant 17 acres of land, the residence was no lesser decorated than a royal castle. With gardens brimming with flowers and birds, the atmosphere would desire anyone to stay put for all eternity.
Noticing Adam's unwavering gaze of admiration, the dragon raised its arm and pushed his cheek with a claw, directing the former's line of sight towards a gazebo standing beside the manor.
"Uhh?" Upon witnessing the tiny pavilion structure, Adam narrowed his eyes as he saw a figure seated on a chair and waving his hands at him. Adam partially raised his hand and waved in return when the dragon pushed him from behind, urging him to walk towards the gazebo.
With paces of vigilance, Adam walked to the construct. His eyes unintentionally wandered around to savour the beauty of the flowers and his ears was filled with ecstasy from the melody of birds.
"Hello, Adam. Tea or coffee?"