The Multi-Element Dragon Awakens
The legendary dragon, Blue. Elena's eyes widened dramatically. She simply couldn't believe Ed's claim that he had uncovered the secret of the Blue Dragon. After all, he hadn't really done anything special. He had simply observed what happened inside the creature's organs while it fired its breath. Yet from that alone, he had apparently figured something out.
"Look, do you see the mana stones?" Ed pointed one out while she was still reeling in shock. It was the mana stone located at the base of the Blue Dragon's tail.
"When this guy tried to fire its breath earlier, the mana stone activated and began drawing in the surrounding mana. It was supplying the energy needed for the breath."
Ed gestured toward another mana stone—the one closest to the one on the tail.
"That mana stone exhibited the exact same phenomenon. It gathered ambient mana and sent it upward."
Ed continued pointing out the mana stones scattered throughout the Blue Dragon's body one by one, explaining that the same process had occurred in every single one. Then he added,
"All the mana in its body converges on the largest mana stone near the heart. That's where the mana undergoes attribute conversion, transforming into an enormous surge of fire-element energy that gets expelled through the creature's mouth."
Elena nodded along as she listened. This much she already knew. It was strange that Ed—who lacked even the ability to track mana—had discovered these facts, but since his conclusions matched her own, she readily accepted his explanation.
"Yes. You're right. I suspect each mana stone has a formula engraved on it."
"Exactly. Formulas that allow them to exchange mana with one another."
"Right. And formulas capable of reinforcing the body as well. Blue Dragons excel at close-quarters combat. They likely use the mana stones distributed throughout their bodies to strengthen themselves."
"Yes, Master, just as you said—there must be reinforcement formulas. When swinging its arm, it probably draws mana from the nearby stones to unleash explosive power."
"......"
Elena stared at Ed, who was exchanging ideas with her as naturally as breathing. How could this boy converse so effortlessly with a grand mage like herself? He had never even studied magic.
"But the most important mystery still remains."
At that moment, Ed spoke with a meaningful look in his eyes. Elena felt a chill run down her spine as she met his gaze, which was filled with absolute certainty. This boy had apparently already unraveled the Blue Dragon's greatest secret.
"Why can a Blue Dragon remain perfectly healthy despite housing mana stones inside its body? That was truly the biggest question."
Mana stones. Mysterious ores capable of perfectly storing and releasing mana. Yet they carried a fatal flaw: the more they were used, the more they emitted toxins lethal to living beings. The poison was potent enough to corrode even steel.
So how could the Blue Dragon remain unaffected?
Ed's lips curved into a smile.
"But today, I believe I've solved that mystery. First, look over here."
Elena followed the direction of his finger. One particular organ caught her eye.
"See that organ with the purple hue? After the breath was fired, its activity increased by roughly forty-five percent. Its pulse rate changes noticeably."
Elena narrowed her eyes, studying the organ Ed had indicated. To her, it didn't appear particularly different. How on earth had he managed to notice something like this?
"That organ is likely responsible for purifying the toxins. Notice how it's positioned at the exact center of the body? It's optimized to absorb the poison efficiently."
In short, this organ had become the focal point of their entire research. Uncovering its secret would reveal how to safely utilize mana stones.
"Hmm. We'll need to study this organ in depth. So, how do you plan to conduct the research?"
"...Well. We'll probably have to remove it, right?"
"That would mean killing the creature."
"No. We'll restore it with healing magic. That way we can remove it again if the first attempt fails."
"......"
Elena looked at Ed in silence. Just how ruthless could this boy become in pursuit of his goals?
At that moment, Ed snapped his fingers.
"Ah! Should we remove a mana stone as well? We need to study the formulas engraved on them too, don't we?"
It had gone exactly as planned. The lukewarm look in Elena's eyes as she stared at me proved it. She seemed to be questioning my humanity.
'Well, even if her favorability drops a little, it can't be helped.'
This was an unavoidable choice for me. If her favorability toward me reached a certain threshold, the hidden event Elena's Courtship would trigger.
'I absolutely must avoid that at this stage.'
The hidden event, Elena's Courtship. The pros and cons were crystal clear. Once activated, Elena would constantly pursue me, letting me freely admire her adult illustrations. But it would sever my relationships with every other NPC. Her jealousy and obsession over monopolizing the player were simply too overwhelming. No NPC at this point in the story could withstand the jealousy of a grand mage.
'To prepare for the destruction arc, I need to raise every NPC's abilities.'
The destruction arc boasted the worst difficulty level. Successfully clearing it required raising all the NPCs evenly. Of course Elena, the grand mage, was an outstanding character, and any child of hers would become an absolute monster. But this academy overflowed with talented NPCs. I couldn't throw away the chance to develop them just to indulge in some adult romance with the head professor.
'Above all, failing to stop the destruction arc means total annihilation.'
And if I couldn't prevent it, it would be game over. The entire empire would be completely destroyed. Therefore, I needed to maintain an appropriate distance from Elena and keep our relationship strictly at the 'master and disciple' favorability level. Having her show such strong affection toward me right now was problematic.
'Well, this should have lowered her favorability a bit.'
That was why I had chosen my words so harshly—implying I would heal the dragon just to secure an endless supply of its organs. In truth, the healing was meant to prepare it for release back into the wild. Once the research was complete and all the glass had been removed, I planned to fully restore its scales using healing magic and potions.
My goal was to understand its mana stone mechanism, not to keep it as a lifelong test subject.
"Then shall we remove the organ? A scalpel cut right here should do it."
I put the Blue Dragon back to sleep, then gave Elena instructions with a bright smile. She looked at me with a slightly uncomfortable expression before carrying out the order. From her face, it was clear her favorability toward me had dropped.
-Thud!
With this, I had successfully secured the purification organ. The secret to neutralizing mana stone toxicity lay within it. Now it was time to uncover that secret.
Four more days passed. During that time I studied the toxin-purifying organ and finally uncovered its secret.
'So the mana stone had transformed over a long period of time.'
Surprisingly, the Blue Dragon's purification organ had originally been a mana stone. Component analysis showed a high degree of overlap with mana stone composition. It must have gradually evolved from a mana stone into this organ over countless years.
'The interior was even more astonishing. To think it was made of toxic material.'
The inside of the organ was even more remarkable. It consisted of the toxic substances emitted by mana stones, but in solid form. This explained how the organ could absorb toxins without being damaged. Since it was composed of the same toxic components, it had no reason to decay—just as hydrochloric acid cannot dissolve identical hydrochloric acid.
'The purification method itself exceeded all expectations.'
So how did it purify the liquid toxins it absorbed? Elena and I had assumed a 'purification' formula was engraved inside the organ. Once I discovered that the organ tissue closely resembled mana stone material, Elena had suggested it must contain a purification formula.
'I thought so too at first.'
If the organ possessed mana stone properties, the formula would activate. And the most effective formula for removing toxicity would naturally be a purification one.
"Perhaps it contains an incredibly advanced purification formula?"
"I'm honestly excited. No matter how much I've researched, I've never been able to purify the toxins mana stones emit. This study might finally reveal the answer."
Both Elena and I had been quietly anticipating the discovery of a top-tier purification formula.
"Huh?"
But when we finally examined it, there was no purification formula to be found. Instead, the organ was covered in strange destruction formulas of a type I'd never seen before.
"This... this is..."
Elena froze the instant she saw the formulas. It was an unknown domain even to her.
"I need to investigate this immediately."
Unable to hide her excitement, Elena began copying the formulas. Three days after she started her research, she came to me and revealed what they were.
She called the formula 'Mutual Annihilation.'
"Mutual annihilation. It's an incredible formula. It causes all organic matter within range to prey upon one another."
Mutual annihilation was literally a formula that made things kill each other. In other words, it forced contaminants to devour one another until nothing remained. That was the Blue Dragon's purification method.
'This is exactly like that meme.'
I couldn't help thinking of the meme I'd seen countless times on Earth—the one famous for the line 'Now kill each other.'
"How can a formula like this exist? It's too... too beautiful..."
Here, however, such an idea was revolutionary. It was an unknown territory even a grand mage like Elena had never considered.
...As expected, the humans of this world still had a long way to go before they could match the sheer madness of Earth's people.
"I will conclude the research. Now let's restore the creature's scale tissue."
Having fully understood the Blue Dragon's mechanisms, I suggested to Elena that we heal it and release it back into nature. But Elena's eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait, weren't you going to keep using it as a test subject?"
"I've achieved my objective. There's no reason to keep it anymore."
"...I thought you'd just kill it."
"That would be too pitiful."
I looked at the Blue Dragon as I spoke. The creature trembled violently and whimpered the moment it met my eyes. Dragons apparently possessed some degree of intelligence, so it seemed to understand that all the insane things that had happened to it were the work of this human boy.
The Blue Dragon stared at me with tears streaming down its face. It would never forget the sight of this insane human boy smiling brightly while cutting out its organs.
"Still, it's a shame to send it away like this. I've grown somewhat attached over these past days."
"...Haha. Attached? We must seem like absolute horrors to that dragon."
"That's why I'm giving it a farewell gift even as I release it. I plan to implant a mana stone."
"A mana stone?"
"Yes. One engraved with a tracking formula. That way I can easily recapture it if I need to experiment again. Since we've tamed it this thoroughly, it shouldn't resist much."
"......"
"Of course, there's a real gift as well—the element conversion formula. If we implant a mana stone engraved with an element conversion formula into its body, I wonder if it could actually use it... Doesn't that intrigue you? If it works, this creature could become the strongest Blue Dragon in existence."
"...You're right. It would gain an overwhelming advantage in breath compatibility battles."
Heat rose in Elena's cheeks. How could this boy come up with ideas that were both horrifying and fascinating? For someone as curious as Elena, it was impossible not to get excited.
"Then, Master, I'll leave the formula work to you. I'll prepare the mana stone myself."
"Huh? Uh! R-right away!"
Five days later, 'Blue' was finally released. The initials 'BLUE' were clearly engraved on its back.
Blue reveled in its newly regained freedom. It had escaped the human male and female who had peered inside its body while engaged in heated debate. It had escaped the crazy human boy who had sliced open its organs while shouting 'Hahaha! Eureka!' Now that it was free from those lunatics, it was time to soar through the open sky and live as a dragon once more.
In that spirit, Blue let out a joyful roar. It unleashed a breath—the trademark of dragons, the strongest creatures on the planet.
Kwaaaaaaaaaa—!
But something was wrong with the breath. Instead of fire, ice had poured out.
Blue tried again. This time, an enormous lightning breath erupted.
Goosebumps prickled across its fins. A sudden realization struck.
The legendary dragon that appeared once every few thousand years. The dragon said to command every possible breath. Blue had evolved into that very legend—and while still in the middle of its growth phase, no less!
"Kroooooooooo!!!"
Blue roared with pure joy as it flew toward its nest.