Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Guide's Gift (2)
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Chapter 23
Guide's Gift (2)
3
Azel had not sparred with Kairen even once since leaving the Karzark Marquisate. The reason was simple. He had to constantly monitor Laura through the mana force wedge embedded in her, and there was the Cup of Lament, a Dragon Spirit Weapon.
'As expected, items sealed with magic are a real pain.'
The Cup of Lament wasn't just capable of spatial distortion; it was a Dragon Spirit Weapon inscribed with all sorts of spells. That was typical of mages' Dragon Spirit Weapons. Like the Tome of Dark Souls that Niberis had inherited, when a mage inherited another mage's Dragon Spirit Weapon, they could use spells inscribed in it that they couldn't otherwise cast with their own abilities.
But Azel wasn't a mage. If it simply activated its embedded spells automatically by supplying mana force, that would be one thing. However, the spells inscribed in the Cup of Lament were structured for high-level linkages, allowing easy access to a wide variety of magic.
"Really, it's an item made for mages. Doesn't suit me at all."
Azel grumbled. Laura, watching him from across the way, looked incredulous.
"You mastered the Labyrinth of Lament in just a few days."
"The non-magical parts are fine."
Azel was mastering the functions of the Cup of Lament at an astonishing speed. He had already perfected the Labyrinth of Lament and even partially manifested the Cup that Holds Heaven's Tears.
But he couldn't utilize the inscribed spells at all. At this rate, he wasn't even drawing out half of the Cup of Lament's potential.
"Have you handled a lot of different Dragon Spirit Weapons?"
"Is this an interrogation?"
"If you're really Azel Karzark, then yeah."
Laura didn't deny having that intent. Azel replied,
"Enjoy the pleasure of speculating."
"......"
Laura pursed her lips with a pout. Azel smirked as he looked at her.
'That said... does this girl really have no malice at all?'
Inheriting a Dragon Spirit Weapon from someone with malicious intent was like planting a bomb in your own body. That was why Azel was always vigilant, checking if the Cup of Lament would act up. If he let his guard down and got stabbed in the back, it would be over.
But over a week had passed with no such signs. The Cup of Lament seemed dissatisfied with being owned by Azel, but it showed no signs of rebellion or harm.
'Hmm......'
Dragon Spirit Weapons had egos. Thus, the Cup of Lament was aware of Azel's existence and harbored reluctance from past events. He could sense those emotions every time he attuned to it.
Yet at the same time, Dragon Spirit Weapons were tools. Once properly subjugated to a new master, they prioritized their current owner above past sentiments.
Suddenly, Azel spoke up.
"It's funny how seamless it looks now that I think about it."
Laura was in the form of a human girl. Instead of a noble lady's dress, she wore simple traveler's clothes and had concealed her Dragon Demon Hybrid traits. Her appearance was still striking, but she passed for human. Azel's eyes could pierce the illusion to see her true form, but even he couldn't discern everything from that alone.
"How do you hide your Dragon Demon power so perfectly?"
Right now, Laura had concealed even her Dragon Demon power flawlessly, so even someone with keen senses would think she was just a human mage. Laura answered,
"With magic."
"Magic developed in the Dark Wastes?"
"Yeah."
"Makes sense. To infiltrate human society, it had to be thorough. But creating magic that easy to learn is impressive."
"What do you mean?"
"The Dragon Demon Worshippers all used it—you and me included. Well, they only need it for elite personnel, so it's not that simple, I guess."
"It's very difficult."
"Huh?"
"It's a very difficult spell for the grunts to use on their own."
Azel tilted his head in disbelief and asked,
"By 'grunts'... what's the cutoff? For example, are Dragon Shadow organization members considered grunts?"
"Dragon Shadow? Which one?"
Laura cocked her head. Azel frowned.
"There are multiple Dragon Shadows?"
"There's at least one per country. Maybe more. The grunt combatant organizations all have similar names."
"So... even elites who could rival a Dragon Princess if two of them teamed up are just grunts?"
"They're grunts. Didn't Yuren Lister say?"
"Say what?"
"That there's an institution that trains combatants. Anyone certified there is at that level."
"You're saying they mass-produce elites like that so easily?"
Azel was surprised. Laura explained,
"Not easy enough to produce in large numbers. They cherry-pick. And specialize them for specific roles."
"Specialize meaning, for example... if that combatant has battle prowess equal to another mage, their situational response or magical knowledge outside direct combat is lacking?"
"Yeah."
"That approach... hmm. I can see it."
In an army, each branch specializes in certain skills. Say there's a knight who's great at riding, archery, and close combat. An archer would match or exceed that knight in archery alone. But in other skills, they wouldn't even compare.
The combatants raised by the Dragon Demon Worshippers were like that. The 'grunts' Laura mentioned were mages specialized in combat spells, boosted by inhuman drugs and rituals to mimic high mages at a glance. But overall, they were unbelievably fragile to a true high mage.
Laura said,
"The grunts use tools."
"Tools to disguise Dragon Demon power?"
"Yeah."
"Do you have one?"
At the question, Laura shook her head. According to her, the spell was just hard to learn, but once mastered, it used minimal mana force and was easy to maintain.
But why bother learning a spell when a tool could substitute? Magic tools had limits on how many effects one person could receive at once. Conflicting spells or capacity issues meant you couldn't just cover yourself head to toe in magic tools.
Azel asked,
"With the mana force wedge embedded, magic operation must be restricted... Can you really keep up like this?"
"You sound just like a mage."
Laura answered oddly. As Azel looked puzzled, she continued,
"Implanting and maintaining the mana force wedge, the techniques you use... it makes me suspect you're actually a mage."
"Spirit Order is just another face of magic."
Indeed, the Spirit Order techniques Azel used far exceeded common sense. Especially transforming mana force attributes variably or automating and remotely controlling specific techniques—it went beyond the general view of Spirit Order practitioners as 'warriors who wield magic-like power.'
Azel said,
"It's impossible with human mana force alone. But if you can wield dragon power, it's possible."
To reach the ultimate realm in Spirit Order, one ultimately had to undergo the Dragon Slaying Ritual. There were too many things only possible with Dragon Demon power.
"Magic has fewer such restrictions."
Magic delved into the fundamental principles of phenomena and built detailed methods to induce and control them. Having Dragon Demon power allowed skipping some steps for efficiency, but it wasn't an exaggeration to say nothing required it except creating Dragon Spirit Weapons.
In contrast, Spirit Order prioritized intuition. Thus, the presence or absence of Dragon Demon power's trait of enforcing phenomena through imagery made a far bigger difference than in magic.
Laura said,
"...I didn't know that."
"As Yuren said, they don't make humans undergo the Dragon Slaying Ritual in the Dark Wastes, right? So there are no Spirit Order practitioners with Dragon Demon power, which explains it."
It was quite useful info for Azel. At least it meant the Dragon Demon Worshippers faced major constraints with Spirit Order.
Azel said,
"Anyway... you didn't answer my actual question."
"It's fine."
Laura looked up at the sky and said,
"I'm used to it."
"You said you've never traveled like this before."
"Not that."
Laura was referring to moving with a mana force wedge in her spirit veins restricting mana force operation. Recalling the past, she said,
"I experienced it a lot while learning magic. Sometimes I had to deliberately curse myself and cope with threats while barely able to do anything."
Through such training, her siblings died off one by one. Laura had faced death countless times too.
"......"
Azel, who had only imagined it as restricting mana force for magic training, was at a loss for words. But Laura spoke of that past without reluctance.
Suddenly, Laura's eyes took on a strange glint. Her expression barely changed, but he could tell she felt complex emotions.
"It's unfamiliar."
"What is?"
"Talking about my past to someone... so this is what it feels like."
"You've never done it before?"
"No one to tell."
"......"
"It feels embarrassing somehow. But... not bad."
Laura closed her eyes as she said that.
4
The next day, the group decided to change their planned route. At Yuren's request.
"The Guide told me where the gift for you is."
"...You think I'll go along just because you say that out of nowhere?"
"But I don't know how else to put it. There's other useful info too......"
Yuren revealed that the Dark Wastes planned to unleash full chaos on the human world. Azel and Kairen frowned.
"They're the type, but the source makes it hard to......"
"Sadly, I have nothing to rebut that."
Yuren gave a wry smile. Every time the Guide came up, he felt terribly pathetic. If only he had deep faith and could chalk it up to divine guidance—but even that wasn't the case.
Yuren said,
"But all the high-level info I know came from the Guide. As an apprentice at the training institution, I didn't know much myself."
"Hmm. Laura?"
"...I find this dynamic really bizarre."
They were verifying the truth of Yuren—who betrayed the Dragon Demon Worshippers to actively help Azel—from Laura, a former Dark Wastes executive. How absurd was that?
Laura said,