Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Raker Van was troubled.

As the Captain of the Guard Knights in the McLaughlin family’s service, he was supposed to attend to the Fourth Young Master, and yet...

‘To think I can do nothing but stand here and watch.’

All he could do was stare from a distance at the hole in the tree the Fourth Young Master had entered.

Even now, thirty minutes had passed!

‘If I could, I would go in after him. But...’

The closer he drew, the more violently the waves of magical energy surged, making his feet hesitate.

If he went any closer, it could even affect the aura in his dantian.

‘If something goes wrong, the vessel of my dantian may break, and I may have to live as a cripple forever.’

If that happened, his life as a knight would be over.

The other knights knew that fact well too, which was why they could not bring themselves to approach.

‘But the same applies if something happens to the Fourth Young Master.’

What if something happened to Young Master Zeke?

Not only Raker, but everyone present would find it difficult to avoid responsibility.

After all, the reason for a guard knight’s existence was to protect the target even at the cost of one’s life.

‘But if I go any closer, I will become crippled. Even if I want to protect him, I will become unable to do so.’

If he became crippled, he would not be able to save the Fourth Young Master anyway.

All he could do now was watch and hope the Fourth Young Master came out safely.

He was not the only one restless with anxiety.

The servants who had come to attend the Fourth Young Master and the other guard knights were also staring anxiously at the hole in the tree he had entered.

They all prayed that he would come out safely.

‘Please, let nothing happen inside...’

Before departing, they had heard that their destination was a dangerous place, but Raker had not known it would be this bad.

Nor had he known the young master would enter that hole alone.

“Young Master...”

Thirty minutes had passed as everyone waited with both hands clasped, as though in prayer.

Then, from the hole, a shadow suddenly popped out.

It was the Fourth Young Master, Zeke, whom they had been waiting and waiting for.

“Young Master!”

“Did you wait long?”

“What happened to you? We were worried!”

“I am sorry.”

“No, there is no need for you to apologize...”

Flustered, Raker examined Zeke’s body as he approached.

Fortunately, he did not seem to be injured anywhere.

‘Hm?’

However, there was something different from when he had entered.

“What is that, Young Master?”

“Ah, this?”

There was a necklace around his neck that Raker had not seen before.

“I found it inside. What do you think? It looks splendid, does it not?”

“...Yes. It does.”

It looked luxurious, expensive, and fine, but...

‘To think he picked up some unknown object so readily.’

It was something a beggar might do, but Raker did not make the mistake of saying what he thought aloud.

He simply assumed Zeke had some degree of greed for wealth.

“In any case, I am glad. You are safe, Young Master.”

Then unexpected words came out of the young master’s mouth.

“Let us return home now.”

“Pardon?”

Raker had thought they would stay several more days, yet Zeke wanted to return to the ducal house already?

“Has your business here ended?”

“Yes, it has.”

“Could it be!”

Raker shouted in an excited voice.

“Can you feel magical energy now?”

“No.”

At the answer, which differed from his expectation, Raker was more disappointed than the person concerned.

“There were no results at all.”

For some reason, the young master’s face as he said that did not look disappointed in the slightest.

‘Why is he not disappointed? He must have had great expectations for this journey.’

Raker had thought Zeke would be disheartened, but his reaction was unexpectedly calm.

There was even a spark of passion in his eyes, as though he had not yet given up.

Seeing that unyielding attitude, Raker could not help admiring him inwardly.

‘As expected, he may have no talent, but he is still the Fourth Young Master of the McLaughlin family.’

At that spirit, unbecoming of a twelve-year-old, Raker smiled faintly.

At least when it came to his attitude toward effort, this was a young master Raker rather liked.

***

Zeke barely managed to lower the corners of his lips as they kept trying to rise.

If anyone saw him, they might mock him for looking foolish.

‘But how can I help being pleased? I obtained such a high-quality slave.’

Zeke lowered his head and looked at the necklace in satisfaction.

To others, it might merely look like a luxurious necklace, but that was not the case.

No one would imagine that a dragon’s soul was inside it.

-You human wretch. What is so pleasing to you? Your expression is sinister!

‘Because the items in the treasure vault are now mine.’

-What are you talking about? Those items are things I painstakingly gathered...

‘They are mine now. The one who discovers something becomes its owner, does he not? And you, who do not even have a body, have no use for them.’

-That does not mean you may possess them! I do not permit it!

‘I do not need permission from a bodiless soul, you know? Heh heh.’

He heard the dragon fuming, but there was nothing it could do.

After all, Zeke had learned that it could not use magic without a mana stone.

Moreover...

[You have absorbed 107 mana.]

[You have absorbed 102 mana.]

[You have absorbed 108 mana.]

He was periodically absorbing the mana flowing from the necklace.

Since magical energy was coming out even though there was no mana stone, it seemed to be flowing from the soul itself.

With this, he could absorb mana even after leaving the Dragon Ruins.

‘How does this much magical energy come from a soul?’

-Hmph! Does that not mean this body is that great? So even now, place me back where I belong...

‘No, I cannot do that. Did you forget what I said earlier? You agreed to become my magic dispenser.’

-When did I do that? I never agreed!

Judging by how the dragon shouted as though jumping up and down, it seemed to hate the idea very much.

‘You do not like it? Then move your body to another object and run away like earlier.’

-Do you think I am a fool who has not thought of that? If that were possible, I would have done it long ago!

‘Why can you not? Could it be because I am absorbing your magical energy?’

-…….

It seemed he had guessed correctly.

‘Oh, then to keep you trapped, I should continue absorbing your magical energy.’

-What could you possibly gain from me? Release me already.

‘I cannot do that.’

He was not going to let this impudent dragon, who had tried to kill him, go just like that.

‘From now on, you are my magic dispenser.’

-Have you gone mad, human? I do not know what that means, but I have no intention of cooperating with you!

‘Do you want to suffer Mental Collapse again?’

-…….

‘If you need the same stimulation as before, just tell me. I will use it again as much as you want.’

-I-I must decline.

In truth, there was no way to use Mental Collapse again after he had already used it.

However, perhaps because the mental shock had been so great, the dragon believed Zeke’s lie that he could use it at any time.

Amusingly, the dragon seemed to regard him as something like a “Descendant of God.”

It was understandable.

Not only had Zeke blocked the Mental Collapse he had cast, he had returned the same spell formula right back at him.

And he was a human without even a Circle in his chest.

On top of that, since Zeke was absorbing his magical energy and preventing him from escaping, it was not strange for the dragon to think that way.

-For this body, who feared nothing in life, to be toyed with by a Descendant of God. This makes no sense. No sense at all...

‘Stop muttering and finish what we were talking about. You will be my magic dispenser, yes?’

-What exactly is this magic dispenser?

‘It is nothing special. When I want it, you shoot magic at me like you did earlier.’

-For me to use magic, I need a mana stone to serve as a catalyst connecting me to the material world. And I also need my own magical energy. If you continue sucking away my magical energy as you are now, I cannot do anything.

‘Of course, when it is time to use magic, I will stop absorbing it. And I will procure mana stones for you.’

-I-In that case, using magic will not be difficult.

‘All right. I will take that as agreement.’

-…….

Seeing the dragon remain silent, it did not say it refused.

‘No, perhaps it cannot refuse.’

From its perspective, it had no choice but to accept unwillingly.

If it made a mistake, it might suffer the pain of Mental Collapse again.

‘As for me, I am glad to have a magic dispenser.’

-Hm? What did you say?

‘Nothing. It was nothing.’

For some reason, the dragon could read his thoughts.

Of course, only thoughts in the runic language or the common tongue.

If Zeke thought in Korean, as he was doing now, it could not understand him at all.

It also seemed unable to read his thoughts when the necklace was away from his body.

This was slightly inconvenient for Zeke, but even so, there was a need to keep the dragon with him.

That was because he needed a slave capable of using magic in order to raise the proficiency of his 3rd Awakening Skill.

Up through the 1st and 2nd Skills, proficiency had risen simply by absorbing mana, but that was no longer the case from the 3rd Skill onward.

Just as the name Magic Absorption suggested, his proficiency would only rise if he absorbed magic.

Therefore, he desperately needed a mage’s help.

And if that target was a dragon, the originator of magic, nothing could be better.

‘By the way, how does a soul see my face? How fascinating.’

-It is possible because I am a soul.

‘Because you are a soul?’

-I can see every field of vision.

‘Even so, you are still stuck inside an object.’

-Th-That is... There is a reason for that!

‘What reason?’

-There is no reason to tell a Descendant of God!

‘Is that so? Then do you want your mind restructured with Mental Collapse by that Descendant of God?’

-Krrgh...

The self-proclaimed dragon soul inside the necklace could not move a finger against a single human.

It had no way to respond, and since it believed Zeke was a Descendant of God, any threat worked.

‘Do not be so scared. I was only asking. In truth, I am not curious about the reason. What do I care why you are stuck in a spiritual state? The important thing is that I obtained my magic dispenser.’

-You are a human with neither blood nor tears.

‘That aside, what happens to the magical energy in this area if I take you away? Will all of it disappear and return to normal?’

-No. This place was originally damaged by dragon breath. Its own magical energy remains. However, it will no longer emit waves as intense as before.

‘Then is your treasure vault not in danger? What will you do if other people come and covet it?’

-There is no need to worry about that. Even if I leave, the concentration of magical energy will remain difficult enough for most humans to approach. Moreover, there is a stone door that responds to magical energy, which ordinary people can never open... or rather, there was. It is broken now. Because someone ignorantly pushed it open with brute force.

‘You should have made it sturdier, then. If you had, you would not have been caught like this.’

-I never imagined there would be a human who could push it open with pure strength, without even using aura.

Zeke had not known either.

He had not known it would open if he pushed it with force.

In any case, he could not keep calling this thing “dragon.” He had to decide on a name.

‘What did you say your name was?’

-To forget this body’s name! How irreverent...

‘Before I sell the necklace outright, why do you not answer what I ask?’

-K-Karbolearos!

‘Too long. From now on, your name is Goldie.’

-What does that mean?

‘You said you were a Gold Dragon. So you are Goldie.’

-What sort of carelessly made name is that...?

‘Do you have a complaint? Tell me if you do. Mental Collapse is always ready.’

-Krrgh...

‘That aside, are you not going to tell me? Why were you stuck in a spiritual state?’

-Hmph. I have no intention of telling a human about my private affairs.

‘Well, it is none of my business.’

Zeke shrugged as though he did not care either way, then looked at the group and said,

“If you are ready, let us go now. Home.”

***

‘What a fascinating world. Science has not developed, yet it has everything it needs.’

Communication orbs were one thing, and mana-powered vehicles were another. Mana was useful in many different ways.

Was that why?

In this world, because magic had become so widespread, mages were stronger than aura users.

‘Conversely, I read in a book called [The History of Magic and Aura] that the position of aura users is shrinking day by day.’

Unlike mages, who created mana rings in their hearts, aura users were beings who accumulated and processed mana in their dantians, then used it as physical power.

The power they wielded, aura, was another form of magical energy. It was not as flashy as magic, but it displayed great strength.

However, because magic had developed so much, the reality was that even those at the pinnacle known as Aura Masters could not stand against 9th-Circle mages.

‘Since the current situation is that the greatest among the 9th-Circle mages are called the Twelve Pioneers, that says everything.’

That was why Zeke being born into a prestigious magical family was truly fortunate.

He had been born with magical talent in an era that valued mages above all.

‘The problem is that I have no opportunity to display that talent.’

Because of the skill called Mana Absorption, he was forced to maintain the concept of having no talent, but Zeke did have talent.

The only issue was that because Mana Absorption absorbed even the user’s own mana, he could not form a Circle.

But what about aura?

‘Does aura count as magical energy too? What happens if I accumulate aura in my dantian and use it? Could I not use the system while also producing power like an aura user?’

He could not create a Circle, but the story was different if he became an aura user.

Perhaps he could use aura while also making use of the system’s power.

‘The problem is how to learn it...’

Zeke’s gaze turned toward the knight captain, who was guarding the mana-powered vehicle while riding on horseback.

“Sir Raker?”

When Zeke lowered the window and spoke, the captain approached.

“Yes, Young Master. What is the matter?”

“Would you be willing to talk with me? It is boring to ride alone in the mana-powered vehicle.”

“Ah, of course.”

He answered, but perhaps because the request was unexpected, he looked slightly flustered.

“It will take three or four more days to arrive home, will it not?”

“Yes. That is correct. You remember the road we took here.”

“When I came with Father, I was not worried, but will we be safe?”

“Of course. Monsters do not inhabit this area, and since trade along this road has been cut off, there will be no bandits either. Please be at ease.”

“Then we can travel comfortably. By the way, Sir Raker, you are an aura user, are you not?”

“I am.”

“What level of aura user are you?”

“Me? I am at the upper level of Aura Expert.”

The realms of aura users were divided into Aura Beginner, Aura Expert, and Aura Master.

Each of those realms was further divided into lower, middle, and upper levels.

‘If he is at upper-level Aura Expert, then he is roughly at the level of a 6th Circle.’

Zeke had read in a book that this was enough to make him quite a skilled knight.

“What about the other knights?”

“The others are lower-level Experts. We formed this escort only with the finest elites of the knight order, so you do not have to worry too much.”

“I am not worried. I was only asking because I am interested in aura users.”

“Haha, is that so?”

Raker smiled faintly.

It seemed the interest of a young master from a prestigious magical family did not feel unpleasant to him.

‘Now that I have opened the way, shall I make my request?’

Riding the flow of the conversation, Zeke brought up the main point.

“Sir Raker. May I ask you for a favor?”

“Please say anything.”

“When you have time, would you teach me how to accumulate aura?”