Chapter 7

Chapter 7

‘What kind of door is this?’

There was a door in a cave he had already thought was artificial?

An iron door, at that?

Someone had clearly made it.

‘Is this some kind of treasure vault?’

Whatever it was, the Translation skill read the runic script for him on its own.

[This is the sanctuary of the Gold Dragon. Outsiders are forbidden to approach. Turn back.]

‘What is this supposed to mean? Gold Dragon? Sanctuary?’

In any case, he understood that it was a warning.

It was openly ordering visitors to leave.

‘That only makes me want to go inside even more.’

Instead of retreating, Zeke reached out to open the door.

‘This thing will not budge.’

There was no handle, so he thought he might be able to push it open, but it did not move.

It was a thick iron door, so he could not break it with his bare hands either.

‘What should I do?’

As he was pondering, a message entered Zeke’s eyes.

[The achievement level of the skill ‘Master of Mana’ has reached 8-Star.]

[The mana detection and absorption range has been increased from 45m▶50m.]

[The amount of stats that can be increased per day through Mana Absorption has been increased from 8▶9.]

[Proficiency until 9-Star Achievement : 0/300,000]

‘Wait, I already reached 8-Star?’

At this rate, he might soon reach 9-Star.

Then he would be able to unlock the 3rd Awakening Skill as well.

‘For now, let us unlock the 3rd Skill here. A skill that can help me open the door might come out, right?’

He sat down cross-legged and began absorbing the surrounding magical energy in earnest.

Then, after he waited patiently, a welcome notification appeared.

[The achievement level of the skill ‘Master of Mana’ has reached 9-Star.]

[The mana detection and absorption range has been increased from 50m▶60m.]

[The amount of stats that can be increased per day through Mana Absorption has been increased from 9▶10.]

[You have awakened the 3rd Skill.]

[3rd Awakening Skill : Magic Absorption]

-Achievement Level : ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (1-Star)

-Type : Active

-Proficiency : 0/100

-Effect : Absorbs 1 spell currently active within a 15m radius and [Stores] it in the Dimensional Gap. Afterward, the stored spell can be [Released] within 10 minutes. If it is not released, the spell will naturally dissipate.

-Cooldown : 10 minutes after storing magic

-Special Notes : You can raise proficiency by absorbing magic. The skill can be turned On/Off, and there is no restriction on the magic that can be absorbed. Upon reaching 9-Star Achievement Level, the 4th Awakening Skill will be unlocked.

‘What is this? Not Mana Absorption, but Magic Absorption?’

A skill beyond his expectations had appeared.

To think he could absorb magic and use it as though it were his own.

‘Then I can use magic even without a Circle, can I not?’

With this, there was no need to become a mage.

It was only a one-time-use method of storing and releasing, but even that was more than enough.

It meant he could use magic without a Circle.

Moreover, he could also absorb an enemy’s magic and use it defensively.

‘This is incredible, is it not? There could be no better skill for fighting mages.’

Since there was nothing to lose immediately, he turned the skill On.

If he wanted to raise its proficiency even a little, it would be better to keep it on at all times.

It was a skill that would be extremely useful in a fantasy world filled with mages, but unfortunately, it did not seem likely to help him open the door right away.

‘Hm. Should I just push it with force?’

He pushed again with all his strength.

“Hnnngh!”

CREEEAK-

“Hm?”

He felt the door move slightly.

‘It works!’

Seeing the possibility, Zeke exerted every last bit of his strength.

“Hrraaaah!”

RUMBLE!

The door was pushed open.

At last, he had the chance to look inside, and he stepped in with eyes full of curiosity.

‘Ohh. What are all these?’

Unlike the darkness until now, the inside was bright.

Glittering gold coins and dazzling gemstones.

Crowns and golden armor, expensive-looking arms, and even mana stones that glowed on their own.

The treasure vault he had only dreamed of was right here.

‘As expected, this place was a treasure vault!’

Of course, if something was not as important as treasure, why would anyone put up a warning and lock the door?

‘Come to think of it, if there is treasure, that means there is an owner. Who put all this here?’

The fact that it had been stored in a place even mages found difficult to approach meant that the owner was no ordinary being.

Suddenly, the wording of the warning came to mind.

‘It said this was the sanctuary of the Gold Dragon. Could it be...?’

This might be a place prepared by an ancient dragon that had gone extinct three thousand years ago.

‘Items belonging to a dragon. That feels unsettling.’

But that thought lasted only a moment.

Did the person who discovered something not become its owner?

‘They are items the owner cannot even come to retrieve anyway. I can just take them.’

He did not have enough hands to take everything, so he would take some good-looking mana stones and a few gemstones.

Just as he reached out with that thought...

[The basic passive skill ‘Interpretation’ has activated.]

-Stop, you wretch! Whose belongings do you think you are daring to touch?

‘Hm?’

-Thief! If you touch anything else, I will tear you apart, human!

He heard a voice from somewhere.

It was a mysterious voice, transmitted directly into his mind.

‘What is this? Where is it coming from?’

-What? I thought it unlikely, but can you understand my words, human?

‘What are you talking about? Were you not speaking so I could hear you?’

-This makes no sense. A lowly human knows the runic language...

‘Runic language?’

The voice ringing directly in his mind seemed to be the runic language.

Whoever it was, they seemed to be mistaken that he knew how to speak it.

Even though it was merely the Interpretation skill at work.

-If you know the runic language, then you must have read the warning written in runic script as well.

‘I read it.’

-You read it and still opened the door with magical energy and came inside! How shameless... Hm? Why is the door broken?

The voice, which had been muttering to itself, suddenly shouted.

-Th-This! I wondered how you got inside, but you pushed your way in by force!

‘Was I not supposed to?’

-That door was originally meant to open only when magical energy was infused into it! You broke it by forcing it open? You ignorant human!

‘Ignorant or not, who are you? Are you the owner of the treasures here?’

-I have no name to tell a lowly human! If you do not want to die, leave at once, thief!

The voice was threatening in its own way, but Zeke only snorted.

The more frightened someone was, the louder their voice tended to be.

And empty carts were always the loudest.

‘You can threaten me all you want, but I am not very scared.’

-What?

‘Why would I be scared of someone who is only a voice? It is not as though you can directly harm me. If you could do something, you would have killed me long ago instead of shouting at me to leave.’

-You foolish human! Do you know who I am?

‘That is why I asked who you are.’

-Listen and be astonished! I am none other than the great Gold Dragon Karbolearos, who left a mark on human history three thousand years ago!

‘What? A dragon?’

He had vaguely expected it, but hearing it directly still startled him.

To think he was speaking with a fantastical being called a dragon.

Suddenly, unpleasant memories rose in his mind.

The people trampled to death by the Dragon Legion.

The people engulfed in flames and burned alive.

The collapsing city.

The endless screams.

Even the enormous boss dragon as large as a house.

To Zeke, that was what dragons meant.

It would not be an exaggeration to call them the mortal enemies that had stolen his entire previous life from him.

-Hehehe, seeing that gloomy expression, it seems you finally understand. Now that you know who I am, lower your head at once and show respect!

‘You can see my expression?’

Zeke opened his eyes wide and looked around.

‘Where is this damned lizard bastard watching me from...?’

He reached out toward the place where he felt the strongest reaction of magical energy.

Grab!

‘So you were hiding here?’

-Hurk!

What Zeke grabbed was a crown embedded with a mana stone.

‘Are you inside this? Gold Dragon Kar-something?’

Zeke shook the crown.

-D-Do not shake me! I said let go!

‘Because of you damned dragons, I remembered something horrible. What are you going to do about it? Why do I have to reincarnate in some place I have never seen and suffer like this? Why did I have to become the Savior of Humanity?’

-Y-You insane human! You are spouting nothing but nonsense!

‘Why? Can you not do anything when I shake you like this? Why do you not threaten to kill me again like you did earlier? Hm?’

-I was going to do so without you telling me!

At that moment, light flashed from the mana stone embedded in the crown.

Zeke frowned as he shook it.

[Magic has been detected.]

[The ‘Magic Absorption’ skill is currently activated.]

[Absorbing the cast spell ‘Mental Collapse’.]

[The skill’s proficiency has increased by 90.]

[Proficiency until 2-Star Achievement : 90/100]

It seemed the one calling himself a dragon had indeed tried something.

The fact that the 3rd Awakening Skill he had left on had activated proved it.

[The spell ‘Mental Collapse’ has been stored in the Dimensional Gap.]

[You can release the spell within the time limit.]

[Remaining Time : 00:09:59]

‘What is this? Mental Collapse?’

He did not know what kind of spell it was, but judging by the sound of it, it did not seem pleasant.

‘Hey, lizard. What were you trying to do to me?’

-H-How could this be? I clearly cast it using the mana stone, so why did it not work?

‘Can you not hear me?’

Seeing as the dragon muttered without answering, it seemed rather flustered.

‘I am asking you. What kind of spell is Mental Collapse?’

-Th-That is...

‘Instead of doing this, I can just test it right away.’

Zeke thought of the name of the magic he had just absorbed and decided to release it.

He stared at the crown that he presumed contained the dragon.

Then, along with the sensation of something leaving his fingertips, he felt it strike the crown.

‘Did it work?’

Just as he tilted his head...

A scream rang out, as if there was no need to doubt it.

-Grrrrraaaagh! Ugh, aaargh!

‘What is wrong? Did something happen?’

-Grrk, kegh, kkaagh!

Judging by how the dragon seemed to be suffering too much to answer, Mental Collapse must have worked.

‘This insane dragon bastard tried to hit me with such a painful spell?’

The more Zeke thought about it, the angrier he became.

If not for his 3rd Awakening Skill, would he not have been the one suffering like that?

Zeke shook the crown wildly.

‘Die! Die!’

-Graaaaaah! I-I must flee, flee...

Perhaps because the dragon’s mind briefly returned, his voice came through, and light burst from the crown.

‘This bastard is trying something again?’

Zeke wanted to use Magic Absorption again, but it was impossible because it was on cooldown.

Before he could be struck by the magic, he hurled the crown away.

CLANG-

However, the dragon had not been trying to counterattack him.

He had been trying to flee.

SHATTER-

The mana stone broke, and the light coming from the crown lost its strength and went out.

Zeke could no longer feel any magical energy from it, so he knew at once.

It had fallen into nothing more than an ordinary crown.

‘What happened? Did he move bodies?’

Since he had been dwelling in the crown, perhaps he had now moved into another object.

As expected, that thought was correct.

[Mana has been detected 2m ahead.]

‘I feel strong magical energy from over there.’

Zeke stared at a necklace.

It was a necklace embedded only with gemstones, without any mana stones.

‘Where do you think you are running, you lizard bastard?’

-Hiiiik!

When he picked up the necklace, the dragon shrieked in fright.

It was the voice of someone who had realized the difference in power.

‘You dared try to use Mental Collapse on me, a human? You useless lizard soul.’

-S-Sorry! Hiiik! I am sorry, human! Hiiik!

Seeing the dragon convulse, it seemed the aftereffects of Mental Collapse still remained.

That did not mean Zeke had any intention of letting him off.

‘What should I do to this damned dragon bastard to make myself feel better?’

He knew that this dragon and the Dragon Legion from his previous life were not dragons from the same dimension.

But it was true that he had hostile feelings toward dragons.

It was also true that he had nearly died after being struck by Mental Collapse just now.

‘If I did not have the 3rd Awakening Skill, I would have been the one hit.’

Zeke thought only about how he should torment the dragon.

As though it were the greatest task in the world.

‘Should I just break the necklace? Would he die then?’

Zeke soon shook his head.

This was a being that moved its body into objects like a soul. There was no way he would die easily just because the item was broken.

‘Come to think of it, this fellow used magic on me, did he not?’

If he truly was a dragon, as he claimed, he should be well versed in all kinds of magic.

The corners of Zeke’s mouth rose cruelly.

It seemed the dragon would be more useful alive than dead.

‘Hey.’

-……?

‘You are going to become my magic dispenser.’