37 Dragon-chan gets and makes an offer, and a summon

About two weeks after the Dragon Spire had its first challengers, I decided to stretch my wings, so I flew over areas I hadn't been before. Along the way, I came across two groups of people fighting in an orderly manner, almost like soldiers, with about two dozen on each side. As there were already a few corpses, I decided to intervene and break up the fight, so I landed a ways down the road and walked up to the clashing people. One side was wearing black, the other wore red, and both sides seemed to be decently skilled.

"Alright, I don't know what's going on here, but I'd recommend that you stop fighting. I can't sit back when a fight has turned into murder, after all" (Nene)

"Sounds like you're picking a fight with both of us... Oi, Silent Wyverns! What do you say, deal with her and then resume where we left off?" (Man in red)

"Blazing Dragons... She's just a girl! Sure, she has a big sword, but she probably can't use it very well. Even so, she'll be an annoyance... sure, why not?" (Man in black)

"So, does that mean that you'll all attack me? I guess that's one way to eliminate the chances of more deaths, but I was hoping to do this peacefully" (Nene)

At that, the speaker in black jumped at me, his greatsword coming down towards my head, and I caught his strike between my palms. His eyes, as with everyone else's, bulged a bit when they saw that.

"You underestimate me..." (Nene)

I bent backwards, kicked the sword out of his grip, tossed it aside, and grabbed his now empty hands, before spinning around and tossing him at his comrades. The man in red who'd spoken launched a fireball at me, which I dodged.

"Is that it? I was hoping for more" (Nene)

"You... {Pyro Crash}! {Pyro Crash}! Pyro Cr-" (Man in red)

I dodged his first wave of fire, broke through the second, and landed a punch into his solar plexus before he could create a third. At that moment, I got hit by an arrow from the black side, but it just bounced off of my shoulder.

"Uggh... summon it... if not... we'll be... wiped out..." (Man in red)

"Summon it? Summon what?" (Nene)

"We give our thanks and prayers to the gods of fire and destruction. We offer our mana to ask for your miracle, for you to send down an apostle of..." (Most or all of the mages in red)

I didn't listen to the rest, as I had to deal with those in black who were bombarding me with spells and arrows. They weren't hurting me, but if they missed, they might kill those in red. Therefore, I ran at them, knocked them all out quickly, and returned to the red side.

"... give our thanks, as our mana is used to bring down the heathens who would challenge those following the teachings of the gods of this world, the Blazing Dragons!" (Mages in red)

"Tch. I was too late. Well, looks like this will be interesting" (Nene)

I saw mana stream from the dozen or so mages, gather in the air, and then a Red Dragon appeared from the mana.

"Behold, heathen! You are witnessing the descent of a god!" (Mage in red... Mage leader?)

"Wait... That's your trump card? I'm... not sure what to say..." (Nene)

"Regretting your decision to attack us? It's too late now, girl!" (Mage leader)

"No, I'm just surprised by how weak that thing is. That much mana should have been able to summon a Gold-bordered Green Dragon, after all. Well, Dragon, will you attack me? Or do you know your place?" (Nene)

"Humans, you summoned me to fight this foe for you... however, even a thousand of me wouldn't be enough to defeat a Dragon two steps from being a Dragon God. As such, I am unable to obey that request" (Dragon)

"What does being unable to defeat a Dragon have to do with this? She's-" (Mage leader)

"An S rank adventurer, and a Dragon who's probably going to be a Dragon God in about sixty years" (Nene)

Those in red, at least, the ones who were still aware of what was being said, dropped to their knees and pressed their heads against the dirt, while those in black ran, if they could.

"Soon to be a God amongst Gods... Please forgive our disrespect... And, as you are an adventurer... could this humble one ask that your great self take this one's place as the leader of the clan known as Blazing Dragons? It isn't much, but all in it know the truth of this world, that the great Dragons are the true gods" (Mage leader)

"Two things... first, I shall have to decline that offer, as I am based in a different country, and don't wish to move from there. Second, Dragons are not the true gods above all others... at least, there's one god with far more power than any Dragon God. I should know, I've gotten some gifts and messages from him" (Nene)

"Eh? So... were we wrong to worship Dragons?" (Mage leader -> Leader)

"Well, yeah. Would the mana of a dozen people really be enough to summon a god? If that was all it took, wars in this world would be decided by who could summon more gods. You were only able to summon this Dragon because of a hereditary contract, I think" (Nene)

"Indeed. Six hundred years ago, I entered into a contract with a human. In it, I could disobey his orders if I wished, but the contract would pass on to whoever he chose when he died. You didn't need all of that mana, by the way. Just the amount from one of you would have been more than enough. However... The terms of the original contract have been fulfilled now, as I've found someone stronger than myself to follow" (Dragon)

"Eh? But... that means... we've lost everything... Oh, the Nine Shadows will be mad" (Leader)

"What was that last bit?" (Nene)

"I said the Nine Shadows will be mad. They're a group made up of the nine strongest shadow cla-" (Leader)

As he spoke, his head suddenly separated from his body, as though it had only been balanced upon his neck. I couldn't tell how it happened, which is saying something.

"A silencing curse? Sounds like this Nine Shadows or whatever really like their privacy..." (Nene)

After that, I flew onwards, still pretty much aimlessly. I dealt with a few groups of monsters and bandits, before I returned to Crimonia for some food and a bath. The Red Dragon, now under a contract with me, came with, though not into the bath. When I got out of the bath and began drying myself, one of the Dragons often lying around near the Roost flew into the room through the open window.

"I assume that your being here means there's something for me to deal with at the Roost?" (Nene)

"Astra showed up, and since you'd asked us to keep an eye out for her..." (Dragon)

"Well, I'll be right there, I guess. Thank you" (Nene)

I finished drying my hair, changed my skin back to scales, and walked over to the Roost. When I got there, the first thing I noticed was that it was more crowded than usual, followed by a group of adventurers forming a wall between most of the building and a table in the corner, which Astra was sitting at with a bowl of... something. I made my way through the crowd, reached the wall of adventurers, and spoke.

"Mind if I s-" (Nene)

"Sorry, but you can't. I know you would love to be with an undefeated S rank like Astra, maybe even wanting to ask if she could tutor you or something, but she-" (Adventurer)

"But she isn't undefeated. She did lose to me in the tournament, after all" (Nene)

That got her to look at me, as the adventurer began to laugh.

"Oh, that's rich. You think that a bra-" (Adventurer)

"Oz. Be careful how you speak to an S rank. Nene, if you want to sit with me, be my guest. I'd love to hear about what's happened since I last saw you... and, I have to wonder about the odds of us meeting here of all places. Do you eat here often? What would you recommend?" (Astra)

"Technically, you are my guest, as I am the owner of the Dragon's Roost, so the odds of us meeting here are pretty high. I do, in fact, eat here often. I'm not sure what to recommend for the main course, but I do have a recommendation for a dessert. In any case, I'd been wanting to talk to you for a little while, actually" (Nene)

"Oh? And why would that be?" (Astra)

"Did you notice the tower south of the city? It's one that limitlessly spawns monsters, though said monsters can't leave it, and as such, it's a pretty good place to train in actual combat. When I built it, I also added in some safety mechanisms, so you'd really, REALLY have to work hard at dying to have any shot at doing so. What I'd like for you to do is test some of the harder floors, as the highest anyone has gotten is floor 30, where Solomon got stuck on the Mithril Lizard. You can go solo or with a group, and any monsters you kill, you can get the materials from, because I don't really need them" (Nene)

"And what's in it for me, besides the materials?" (Astra)

"Well, there are some items you could obtain that are better than anything I've seen on this continent, and you'll also be able to safely practice fighting things like Wyrms, Wyverns, Metal Lizards of all kinds, and Hydras, among other things. If you get high enough, you could even learn how to fight Dragons" (Nene)

"Well, what are the odds that a Dragon would be in this country? I've never seen one besides the ones in various picture books, paintings, and so on" (Adventurer)

"Well, for starters, much of the food here is cooked by a few Dragons, there are several others napping around this building, and one is speaking to you right now. In addition, there are many more wild ones than you'd think hidden in caves, forests, and so on. Most of the time, they don't bother to chase people out of their territory, but... I count as something for them to bother with. That's much of the reason why I've managed to encounter about a dozen in the year or so that I've been here, in addition to my traveling all over the continent" (Nene)

"Uhh... so, you're a Dragon? Okay... and... uhh... what's with that magic circle under your feet?" (Adventurer)

"Huh? What's this?" (Nene)

Everyone stepped away from me, as I looked down. I stepped to the side, and the circle moved with me. It began to glow brighter, and I shut my eyes, only for the world to go pitch black. Wait... this pattern of brightness, then darkness, seems familiar... Am I being sent to yet another world?

[Request for information received. Creature ID 314159265358979, rank S+, personal name Nene, has indeed been summoned as a hero from another world, in fact, from another universe, along with two others from the same home planet known as 'Earth'. Slavery magic has been cast upon Nene, to no effect. Nene has become a dungeon creator, due to influence of prior life experiences. Scanning attributes. Attributes found, numbering ten: Fire; Water; Wind; Earth; Lightning; Ice; Healing; Death; Holy; Dark. Dungeon creation based on attributes failed. Diagnosing reason. Reason found: Dungeon already created. Nene's primary dungeon, named 'Dragon Spire', has been copied and placed in inventory, as have Nene's summons and other major buildings, named 'Dragon's Roost' and 'Home']

What a robotic voice. Is this some poorly-dubbed game's system announcer?

[Request for information received. Nene is hearing the World's Voice. The World's Voice explains your status, as well as giving information about level-ups, skills, items, and more, if the needed requirements are fulfilled]

Is it normal for people to be summoned to other worlds like this?

[Not particularly. However, the one known as "The Great Master" to you was transported from one world in the universe you are being summoned to, and is being summoned with you to a different portion of the world at a different time in history, along with most of those he had a major influence on. That is to balance out the mistake by the heavenly laws that cursed your previous world with his presence]

Balance out my tail! Just kill him or something, he's killed enough people!

[Request denied. Nene should regain consciousness in five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One]

I didn't need a countdown... and that wasn't a request... *yawn* What's this?