At First, She Was Slow, But...

At first, she was slow, but as time went on, she rapidly improved and began to stand out… and in the blink of an eye, she sprinted up the ranks to become a first-class adventurer.

Of course, luck must have played a role.

But in truth, she had a way to attract luck.

Shannon had a secret she had never told anyone.

—She had never once been wrong when following her intuition.

Should she accept this request?

Which path should she take?

Was it truly safe to embed the magic tool she had obtained into her own body?

From trivial matters to life-changing decisions, she always answered with her intuition.

Even when faced with dilemmas that would make an ordinary person hesitate, Shannon displayed an almost terrifying decisiveness, and even more terrifying—she was always right.

She continued to run forward at full speed, making full use of this power that could only be described as supernatural.

Shannon never wavered.

She simply moved as she wished, following her intuition.

That was why she accepted an emergency request to remove a griffon, even though the risk to her life was high.

That was why she chose to accompany Bruno and the others to the battlefield.

And that was why, without hesitation, she was opening this door right now.

Everything was simply a matter of following her intuition.

Because of this, Shannon felt no pressure.

And now, what trials awaited her—?

“Is this… a mountain?”

After stepping through the door, Shannon regained consciousness and found herself on a mountainside, where the rocky surface was exposed.

Thanks to the high altitude, she quickly understood where she was.

It appeared to be a mountain range with multiple peaks, and in front of her, several smaller mountains stretched out, each with a visible summit.

“This is…”

As Shannon reached out her hand, something white fell onto it.

For a moment, she thought it was snow, but it didn’t feel cold to the touch.

Shannon had never seen it in person, but she had heard about it before.

Volcanoes didn’t just spew large amounts of lava; they could also eject fine, white ash.

If that were the case, then this white substance before her was likely volcanic ash.

“That means nearby…”

Among the mountains visible below, there was one that clearly stood apart from the rest.

It was slowly emitting a fiery red magma, releasing smoke as if it were burning. Without a doubt, it was an active volcano.

As she focused her gaze, she saw two figures standing atop the volcano’s peak.

One was Ivy. And the other—

“What is that dragon? I’ve never seen one that big before—”

It was a dragon of absurd size, as large as a small mountain.

Its entire body was white, but upon closer inspection, each individual scale had a faint, iridescent sheen.

If she had to name it, she would call it a Pearl Dragon.

As she idly made this observation, the two figures seemed to notice her gaze.

Then, Ivy began floating towards her, while the enormous dragon flapped its wings and flew in her direction.

Up until now, Shannon had only ever seen the lowest-tier dragons—wyverns and demi-dragons.

That was why the dragon approaching her now looked overwhelmingly beautiful.

『Lady Ivy, is this the human…?』

『Mii!』

The dragon's piercing gaze locked onto Shannon.

In its sharp eyes was a level of intelligence that not only rivaled humans—but perhaps even surpassed them.

『You are Shannon-dono, correct?』

“Yes, I am Shannon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Normally, Shannon treated everyone with a casual attitude, but her intuition warned her.

She must never treat the dragon before her with disrespect.

『At Lady Ivy’s earnest request, I shall train you. I am Flamme, one of the Seven Ancient Dragons, the Arcane Dragon.』

“A-Ancient Dragon… This isn’t a joke, is it…?”

Dragons were categorized by rank.

At the lowest level were sub-dragons, such as wyverns and demi-dragons.

Next came the general dragons commonly known to the world.

Beyond them were the elemental dragons and, even higher, the ancient dragons.

Dragons from the elemental tier and above were perfect lifeforms, having transcended the concept of lifespan.

They supposedly lived atop the legendary Rising Dragon Mountain, far removed from mortal affairs.

Ancient dragons, in particular, were so rarely seen that their existence itself was considered uncertain.

They were little more than fairy tales—beings spoken of only in bedtime stories.

Even while being overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the dragon before her, Shannon still found it hard to believe.

(But how does Ivy… know an ancient dragon…?)

Many questions arose in her mind, but they all vanished instantly beneath the oppressive aura of the one who called himself Flamme.

“I hear you wish to defeat the Demon King’s subordinates. Rest assured, if you train under me, you won’t just defeat them—you will gain the power to strike at the Demon King himself.”

“P-please go easy on me…”

And so, Shannon became the first human in history to apprentice under an ancient dragon.

What would become of her as a result—?