Chapter 131
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 131
“…I haven't the faintest idea what you’re talking about. Did I ever say I needed you?”
Marius blinked blankly.
He even tilted his head as if he truly didn't understand, acting so convincingly that one might have thought it was all a misunderstanding.
However, no matter how well he controlled his expression, he couldn't hide the slight tremor at the edge of his eyebrow.
“Still, don’t push me away so harshly. Is this old man really that suspicious? Despite how I may seem, I am someone who wants you to succeed.”
“You probably saw me as a greenhorn who knew nothing of the world outside the Empire. You likely thought that no matter how talented I am, I haven't even lived twenty years, so my experience in unexpected situations would be shallow.”
Lucian didn't answer Marius directly, instead muttering as if talking to himself.
“You figured if you left me isolated and helpless in a foreign land, I would eventually follow your will, whether I liked it or not. Because regardless of the army or anything else, one has to stay alive first.”
“Now, see here!”
“But you know it now, don't you? From the moment I arrived here, I had no need to rely on you.”
Marius’s face contorted as if he had been struck where it hurt most.
Only then did Lucian look Marius straight in the eye and speak.
“You’ve already made a prophecy about me. If you take back your words now, your authority will crumble. No matter how I act, you have no choice but to keep supporting me.”
“…!”
“In contrast, I have no reason to ask you for favors. I can handle the trials on my own, and keeping myself alive isn't difficult. No, if anything, you are the one who has to look out for my life.”
Because if I disappear, there will be no one left to fulfill your obsession.
At those words, Marius clenched his fists, unable to offer a single rebuttal.
Not a single word was wrong.
‘I was a fool.’
He thought that even if Lucian was the 'Star of a Hero,' he was still a brat not yet twenty. He believed that if he stood by the side of this growing sprout and acted the part of a sage, it would be enough to influence him.
Especially in a foreign land rather than the Empire, where he would have to rely on Marius for survival, whether he liked it or not.
But when he actually peeled back the layers, this wasn't a hero's sprout—it was a tree that had already fully matured.
Far from finding a gap to wedge himself into, Marius was in a position where he had to beg to be allowed to rest under those branches.
‘But there was no other way from the start.’
Unlike Marius, who didn't know when he might die of old age, Lucian had a bright future ahead of him.
Even if Marius struggled alone to rebuild the Magic Tower, Lucian wouldn't help him in the slightest.
For Lucian, it was better to take the long way and firmly establish a foundation of people loyal to him. There was no reason for him to rush the rebuilding of the Magic Tower just to fulfill the final wish of an old mage he had no real connection with.
‘So this is the last chance.’
Even if it meant making an enemy of Lucian, he had to get his hands on a card that could move him.
If he failed, he would never live to see the day the Magic Tower was rebuilt.
He knew he was being a nuisance to his junior, but obsession was not something that could be controlled by reason.
Marius steeled his resolve and looked at Lucian.
“Yes, you are right. I am of no use to you in conquering the snowfields anymore. However, just once—in the next trial—you will need me.”
“The next trial? Are you saying you know what the trial entails?”
“Of course I do. Now that things have come to this, there is only one trial Ivar can give.”
Marius gave a cold smile as he met Lucian’s curious gaze.
“He intends to use the Dragon’s Heart to tear you to pieces.”
The Chieftain’s eldest son, Einar, respected his father, Ivar.
To be sure, his father was a man with many flaws to be considered a perfect warrior.
He was obsessed with power, did not tolerate challenges, and was so stubborn that he never went back on his word.
But despite all those flaws, Ivar was the strongest warrior in the snowfields and the most trusted Chieftain.
‘Back then, I thought Father was the strongest person in the world.’
Einar smiled bitterly as he recalled the duel that took place earlier today.
It was a fight that completely overturned the concept of the 'strongest warrior' he had held in his head until now.
From the fact that the warrior was a woman, to the fact that a human could reach such a height.
Everything was a fresh shock, and naturally, his father fell below her in his estimation.
Even so, Einar’s respect for his father did not diminish.
Einar had watched his father reign from the mountain peak since he was a child.
Even if there was someone new above the clouds, it was only a reason to offer more respect to them; it wasn't a reason to lose the respect he already held for his father.
However, even for someone like Einar, his respect for his father was wavering now.
“What did you just say?”
“Did you not hear me? I said I would give you a fragment of the Dragon’s Heart.”
“A fragment…?”
Einar couldn't continue and stared blankly at his father.
Only the Chieftain was allowed to approach the Dragon’s Heart.
No one else was ever permitted to enter the Holy Land.
Yet Ivar was trying to break the tribe's rules so easily.
“I intend to bring you all into the Holy Land tomorrow. Under the pretext of seeing whether or not the Dragon’s Heart accepts your existence. You will enter the Holy Land and absorb the power within the Dragon fragment.”
“Wait, please wait a moment. What do you mean by that? Absorb?”
“The Dragon’s Heart still contains the Dragon’s power. It is too immense to absorb completely, but one can take a very small fragment.”
“How do you know such a thing, Father?”
“Because I, too, have taken power from the Dragon’s Heart.”
“…!”
Einar felt as if he had been struck in the head with a hammer.
Did this mean the Dragon’s Heart wasn't just a sacred relic kept to honor their ancestors?
“Do not misunderstand. It was only in my generation that we became able to use the Dragon’s Heart. The ancestors before me didn't even know how to utilize it.”
“Utilize it… what happens if one takes a Dragon fragment?”
“You gain peerless power. You become sturdier, faster, and stronger than anyone else. Of course, that is only if you take the proper amount. If you get too greedy, your body won't be able to handle it and will be torn to pieces.”
Having said that much, Ivar paused for a moment with a complex expression and muttered.
“Come to think of it, I misspoke. I should say 'stronger than anyone else, except for a tiny handful of monsters.'”
Einar could tell that Ivar was thinking of Felicia, just as he was.
He must have felt bitter, having prided himself on becoming the strongest warrior after obtaining the Dragon fragment, only to be surpassed by a woman younger than his own child.
However, Einar felt no sympathy for his father.
If it were a realm he had built himself, that would be one thing, but what room was there for bitterness over power stolen from the Dragon’s remains?
“Father.”
“Say no more.”
Ivar cut Einar off with a firm voice.
“You have always been a stiff-necked fellow. You were particularly obsessed with the rules. Naturally, you won't like the proposal I'm making now.”
“And yet you came to me anyway, knowing that.”
“I am the Chieftain. It is my job to use every means at my disposal for the peace of these snowfields. I cannot hand this land over to foreigners just to uphold your pride.”
“That’s…!”
“I have already spoken to Brunda.”
Einar, who was about to argue, faltered.
Brunda was better than Gormsen, who didn't care about honor or anything else, but Brunda also tended to weigh practicality more heavily.
If he had heard the method to take a Dragon fragment from Ivar, he would surely carry it out.
It would be useless for Einar to try to uphold his honor alone.
“If you won't listen to me, do as you wish. However, in that case, do not even lay a finger on the Dragon’s Heart. The moment you touch it incorrectly, the immense power will tear your body to shreds.”
“Sigh.”
A short sigh escaped Einar’s lips.
It wasn't hard to indulge in the petty satisfaction of having maintained his honor alone.
But in that case, the position of Chieftain would undoubtedly go to Brunda.
If Brunda, who would willingly accept such a proposal, were to rule the tribe, what would become of their future?
That was his only concern.
‘Must I endure this disgrace for the sake of the tribe’s future?’
Einar smiled bitterly as he reflected on the thought.
It was hard even for him to tell if the thought was sincere or just an excuse.
Having made his decision, Einar looked into Ivar’s eyes.
“Tell me the method.”
At his eldest son’s satisfactory answer, Ivar gave a wide grin.
“First…”
“Manipulate the artifact in a specific way to regulate the flowing mana, then take it, huh?”
Having returned to Gunstein’s house, Lucian repeated the method Marius had explained.
According to Marius, if one regulated the mana in this way, they would only absorb the proper amount and gain only the benefits.
He had added an emphasis that if the artifact wasn't manipulated, the body would explode from the rampaging mana, so regulation was essential.
—Ivar only took the mana remaining on the surface of the Dragon’s Heart at best. But if you use this method, you can store a massive amount of mana in your body and draw it out whenever you need it.
To put it simply, it was like storing a massive lump of an elixir inside the body.
If things went as Marius said, Lucian would become several times stronger than he was now.
The problem was how much he could trust Marius.
“Hugo, Felicia. What do you two think of that old man’s words?”
“He’s an untrustworthy man.”
“He’s suspicious.”
The two gave the same answer almost simultaneously.
Then, one by one, they explained the reasoning behind their answers.
“I would have believed him if he told you to use the same method as the Chieftain. But to suggest a different method, claiming it’s better… isn't that strange?”
“If side effects occur after following a mage’s words, Your Highness would have to rely on that mage just to fix your body. He might be aiming for that.”
Helen and Colin’s faces flushed at the insults toward their master, but they couldn't offer any particular rebuttal.
Even the disciples no longer knew what their master was thinking.
Lucian gave a short laugh and acknowledged the two's guesses.
“You’re right. It seems he tried to stimulate my greed in his own way, but he made too many slips of the tongue. It only makes me more uneasy.”
Storing an energy powerful enough to make a person explode inside the body?
There was no guarantee that such a massive lump of mana would remain stable forever.
If it were released all at once, his body would explode, and even if it were released bit by bit, he would writhe in the pain of his Path of Magic being torn apart.
An ordinary person’s path wouldn't be wide or sturdy enough to withstand that much power.
However, Lucian had a constitution that was quite far from ordinary.
“Raymond, what do you think?”
At Lucian’s question, Raymond, who had been quiet until now, burst into laughter and spoke.
“Congratulations, Your Highness. It seems we’ve finally found something to refill the space left by the Nectar you spilled back then.”