Chapter 123 - Specters from the Past (3)
“They are quite interesting figures. Could you perhaps tell me about what the Dragon Demon named Reshoo looked like?”
“His hair color was very unique. It was a metallic blue color.”
“It isn’t a color that appears normally amongst humans. No, it is hard to find such coloring even amongst the Dragon Demons…..”
“What about your teacher?”
“He has black hair.”
“He definitely isn’t the one from my memories. Still, the more I see of your Dragon Arts it reminds me of Reshoo. This also applies to your training method..”
“Mmm?”
“I’m talking about the training method where one receives the drops of water. I taught Reshoo that drill. Of course, I told Reshoo to do it with his kicks.”
“What an interesting coincidence.”
“Well, it is a training method easily devised by anyone. I guess it can happen.”
Moreover, Reshoo could have taught the drill to someone else, while Azell was asleep. Maybe Leticia’s teacher learned it from Reshoo.
Still, Azell couldn"t stop thinking about it. Leticia’s martial arts, the way she used her Dragon arts and the basic philosophy she followed was almost identical to the last time he saw Reshoo. If she was completely unrelated to him, she wouldn’t make him have such a visceral reaction.
‘Of course, it could just be a coincidence….’
Azell let out a bitter laugh. He was obsessing over this problem, because he wanted to meet Reshoo if he was still alive. Reshoo was a Dragon Demon, who hadn’t paid attention to the Dragon Demon war. If one factored in the fact that he was a first generation Dragon Demon, he could still be alive. Azell wanted to meet him.
Azell had been thrown into the future by himself. It was a span of 220 years. Of course, he would obsess over someone, who had lived in the same era as him.
3
Azell’s party was moving at high speed.
It had been 10 days since he acquired the White Dragon armor. The party followed the guide’s instruction, and they travelled in a straight line for 400 kilometers. They were able to find another ruin left behind by Carlos. At this point, Azell’s emotions was so complicated it was beyond expression as he looked Yuren.
“After the White Dragon armor, I expected to find some kind of amazing magical instrument…. It’s a skill manual.”
The item preserved in this ruin was a form of training method. Carlos’ thought manifestation gave an explanation.
‘The old man Nidel gave this to me for safekeeping instead of leaving behind a will. He said you didn’t wake up before his death, so he said he had won. He wants you to come to his grave later, and he wants you to declare yourself the loser.’
…at that moment, it felt as if Azell’s blood was flowing backwards. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a place to vent his anger.
‘That old man is really….!’
The relationship of Azell and Croix Nidel could be described as them being each other’s teacher. Their first meeting occurred when they were at a drinking party. As soon as they met, they started speaking words in an attempt to annoy the other. It escalated into them exchanging blows with their swords. After the end of the fight, they acknowledged each other. They had given recognition to each other for their skills, but they hadn’t developed a close relationship. They didn’t become comrade in arms.
Croix was the one, who started it. On the next day, he came looking for Azell, and he showed off a technique in front of Azell. Croix sneered as he spoke to Azell.
‘You are gifted for someone so young, but I bet you can’t do this. You are a valuable talent of the alliance force, so if you bow down to me, I might teach you this technique.’
Azell had become angry. He had lived through all sorts of hardship, and he had learned all kinds of techniques from his four teachers. These were skills that couldn’t be replicated by others. He immediately showed off a technique as a counterattack.
‘I acknowledge that your techniques are incredible. However, the times are changing, old man. If we are talking about the latest techniques of Spirit Order, it should be of this caliber. If I learn such an old technique, it’ll be a net loss for me. However, I have respect for someone that still fights by dragging along his old body. I’ll accept the unequal exchange as a sign of respect for you. Shall I teach you what I just did?’
…at that point, the two of them had become angry again. Another fight was inevitable.
Afterwards, the two of them tried to outdo each other using all of their might. Everyday they kept showing off techniques that would have have made the eyes of normal Spirit Order pract.i.tioners spin. They also argued about martial arts and tactics in battle. It was a petty battle for one’s pride, but everyone was flabbergasted when the two of them rapidly increased their skill through these fights.
When the Dragon Demon war ended, Azell had won. At the time, they had pretty much bottomed out on what they could show each other, yet Azell had been able to get the final word by teaching Croix for the last time. His nose had been in the air, since he had won.
However, he never expected such a counterattack after 220 years.
‘s.h.i.t! That old man didn’t grow up even at his death bed! Moreover, this is cheating! He didn"t make this by himself!’
He couldn’t pay back the old man back for sucker punching him like this!
Unlike what he was feeling…. The skill manual possessed a very surprising content.
“I never expected such a method could be used to produce Dragon Demon qi.”
Azell had explained how to produce Dragon Demon qi to Kairen before.
It was something that arose from oneself through Spirit Order, Dragon Arts or magic rituals. Humans and Dragon Majins could accelerate this process through the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual.
There were two ways to shorten this process.
First, one could receive help from other Dragon Demons or Dragon Majin, who already possessed Dragon Demon qi. This helper had to sacrifice one’s own power by pushing it into a person to create Dragon Demon qi.
The second way was to use the corpse of a Dragon. There was a lot of power stored within the corpse of a Dragon. One could bring out this power to accelerate the production of Dragon Demon qi.
The manual was talking about a variation of the first method.
“This training method is a win-win proposition.”
Originally, the high ranking Spirit Order pract.i.tioner or magician, who possessed Dragon Demon magic, had to sacrifice their power by pouring it into a person. However, if he followed the training method in the manual, both sides would benefit.
Carlos had constructed a magical circle, and this device would provide the magical energy. This process was used alongside Dragon Demon qi, and it strengthened the Dragon Demon magic. The partic.i.p.ants continuously went through a cycle of acceleration, circulation and amplification.
The partic.i.p.ants would receive more output of magical energy compared to the amount they put in. Moreover, the person without the Dragon Demon magic could gradually acquire it.
“Anyone could come up with this idea, but I would have never expected it to be such a complete product. Moreover, this method increases the Dragon Demon magic by such a large quant.i.ty.”
This training method was a fusion of Spirit Order and magic. Croix Nidel probably came up with the idea, and Carlos took steps to flesh it out. The sensitive part of of the process would have needed to have gone through countless experiments to iron out the kinks.
Azell immediately gathered his party members, and he tried out the training method. He brought out the Sword that Splits the Heavens and the Vitan’s Chalice. He recruited Laura to partic.i.p.ate alongside the two Dragon Weapons and the result was….
Everyone became surprised at the efficacy of the method.
“…this is incredible.”
Azell was astonished. The efficacy of the training method increased depending on the partic.i.p.ants. Aside from Yuren, everyone either possessed Dragon Demon qi or they were born with natural Dragon Demon magic.
‘At this pace, I might be able to summon the Sword that Splits the Sky without an aid. I won’t have to summon it through the Dragon sword.’
It even accelerated his digestion of the Dragon’s power he took using the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual.
Laura spoke.
“It seems I have the least to gain here.”
She barely gained anything from this training method. In truth, the vessel that holds her power within her body was almost complete. She would continue to grow in terms of becoming more proficient in technical aspects of being a magician, but she shouldn’t expect her Dragon Demon magic to grow much.
This was the same for Kairen. This training method could only accelerate the process of him making his own Dragon weapon..
Azell spoke.
“I don’t think so.”
“Why?”
“You’ll be able to make your own Dragon weapon.”
“…….”
Laura’s expression turned a bit peculiar. Azell asked in puzzlement.
“What’s wrong?”
“…it is nothing. I just never thought about it.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve always only thought about becoming the inheritor of the Vitain’s Chalice…….”
If one became the heir of Aunsaurus, one had to inherit the Vitan’s Chalice. This was why she hadn’t even had the choice of making a Dragon weapon through putting in her own effort and time.
Laura mumbled to herself in a dumbfounded manner.
“I see. I can make my own Dragon weapon...”
It was an obvious truth, so he found it amusing that she had just realized it.
Laura burst into laughter.
Azell grinned as he asked her a question.
“I can’t believe you hadn"t thought about that. Did you never get to make decisions for yourself?”
“Yes.”
“…not at all?”
“If I look hard enough, I could find minor decisions I had made before on my own. However, all the big decisions were made by my family.”
Laura hadn’t been ordered to look for it, yet she had looked through the old records during her own free time. She also chose to look up and speak to the nameless elder. She had made her own decisions in those instances.
Still, even as she had those thoughts, she knew her freedom of choice had been within the restrictions placed on her by her family. She wasn’t told what she could do during her free time, but she was told which activities were forbidden to her.
“If I think about it, the only real choice I made in my life was to follow you, Azell Zestringer.”
“…….”
“You are making a strange expression.”
“What?”
Laura had spoken those words as she tilted her head. Azell furrowed his brows.
Laura started to speak again.
“I know I’m putting you in a tough spot. I’m not sure why you are feeling that way. Did something within my story make you uncomfortable?”
“…is that how I looked to you?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Azell let out a bitter laugh. If anyone else other than Laura had seen his expression, they would have been able to identify the expression on his face. Azell had been feeling pity towards her.
‘She can’t even identify…. I guess she really did only live her life as a tool.’
As time pa.s.sed, he didn’t know how he should treat her. It made him confused.
Moreover, Laura wasn’t the only one where he didn’t know how he should act.
4
“Wouldn’t it be better if you just followed us out in the open? I can rent you a room.”
Azell had approached a man camping 100 meters away from the inn where Azell’s party was staying. The man wasn’t asleep. He was sitting in front of the campfire as he ate the soup he had made. He was the Guardian Shadow’s Keeper of Prophecy.
After their first meeting, Balseru kept a fixed distance away from Azell’s party as he followed them. Unlike the other Guardian Shadows, he didn’t mask his presence. However, when he didn"t move, his presence disappeared like a ghost. So there were times when Azell almost lost track of him.
Balseru spoke.
“Thank you for the suggestion, but I’ll have to decline.”
“Why? Are you afraid I’ll stab you in the back?”
“No. I don’t want to stab you in the back.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“If I’m close, I’ll be able to see the members of your party. It’ll be hard for me to suppress my killing intent. I know myself too well”
“…….”
He spoke those words, but Balseru’s expression and voice didn’t show any signs of emotion. His lack of emotions was almost at the level of Laura, and it felt as if there was a big gulf between them.
Suddenly, Balseru spoke.
“Hmm. I have to thank you for giving us the information. We are putting it to good use.”
“Have you destroyed some of the way-points for the Road of Emptiness?”
“Currently, we destroyed two locations. My comrades will probably attack the rest in between their travels.”
Azell and Kairen told Balseru about the Road of Emptiness. The Guardian Shadows were unreliable as messengers, but this wasn’t true for the Keepers of the Prophecy. Balseru contacted the Keepers of the Prophecy scattered all over the continent, and they confirmed if Laura’s information was true. Then they started their attack.
Azell wondered out loud.
“You guys were only able to take down two? I thought you guys are able to swiftly exchange information….”
“Still, there is a limit on how fast we can move. You have already seen this, but there are some Keepers of Prophecy, who aren’t that good in a fight.”
“Don’t you guys have the members of the Guardian Shadows? Why don’t you ask them for cooperation? Are you perhaps trying to prevent them from finding out about the Keepers of the Prophecy….”
“That isn’t it. We live different lives from them. They are in a delicate situation.”
“What do you mean by that?”