The Awakening of the Dragon's Body

In an instant, Lim Dojun leaped forward and attacked Vex.

Crack!

Lim Dojun’s arm was sheathed in frigid air and ice, which he swung like a weapon.

Vex met the blow with his sword. Even behind his mask, he couldn’t hide his astonishment.

“What in the world…?”

Blue sword energy flared along his blade. A swordsman who had reached a certain level could slice through ordinary magic with ease. Yet the ice before him remained completely intact after clashing with his aura. Worse, the creeping cold flowing from it was slowly freezing his sword.

Vex quickly withdrew his blade and landed on the floor. Lim Dojun descended opposite him. The two men closed the distance in a flash and exchanged a flurry of blows.

Sword energy and freezing air exploded against each other, each strike aiming for the opponent’s life. The violent currents of power carved through the surrounding space and froze it solid.

Swish!

Lim Dojun twisted his head by a hair’s breadth to dodge the sword energy that grazed his ear, then thrust his ice-forged blade forward. He was combining the Jiren-style combat techniques he had trained for years with Dragon-style magic. The weakness of Jiren-style combat—its dependence on artifact weapons—was perfectly supplemented by the dragon magic.

Not bad at all.

The longer the fight continued, the more the corners of Lim Dojun’s mouth curved upward. The battle against Eggnock last time had been too easy. This swordsman before him, however, was dangerous enough to take his head if he slipped up even once. It reminded him of his days leading the Special Counter-Abnormal Team.

Back then, nearly every mission had been life-or-death. The memory sent a pleasant chill down his spine. His rusted combat instincts were sharpening once more.

This is where I belong—real combat.

He had practiced the fusion of combat techniques and magic in the training room, but the results were far better when lives were actually on the line. As time passed, Lim Dojun’s movements grew increasingly fluid. Slowly but surely, he began to press Vex back.

“You’re growing stronger in real time?”

Vex finally muttered, unable to hold back. Because he was facing the man directly, he could feel the difference clearly. In the beginning Vex had overwhelmed him with his family’s secret sword art, yet now they were almost evenly matched.

And then, at some point—

The notification rang in Lim Dojun’s ears, and every movement he made suddenly became far more natural than before. The techniques were concise yet carried overwhelming power, as if they had always been one.

His left hand transformed into something like a dragon’s claw while his right hand swung a sword made of ice.

“Gahk!”

Vex blocked the claw but was slashed across the forearm by the ice blade. He barely managed to twist away from a fatal wound, but in doing so he dropped the book and other items he had been carrying.

Clatter.

Lim Dojun’s gaze instantly locked onto the hand mirror Vex had just dropped. He could finish the man off if he pressed the attack now, but victory wasn’t the priority. Securing that mirror came first—above all else.

He reached out and snatched the mirror. While he was at it, he grabbed the book beside it as well. Only then did a faint smile appear on Lim Dojun’s lips. He had obtained his primary objective.

And because of that choice, Vex’s life was spared.

“Young Master! Are you all right?”

“Lady Olivia… I have no excuse.”

“No, it’s all right. As long as you are safe.”

The masked noblewoman who had approached was Olivia. She supported Vex with worried eyes. For the Rodonos House to rise again, the young master’s safety was absolutely essential. Her heart had nearly stopped when she saw him injured.

The wound will need treatment, but at least his life isn’t in danger.

Freezing energy continued to burrow into the injury. If left alone, it would freeze the bone and they would have to amputate the arm. Olivia quickly poured her mana into the wound, struggling to drive out Lim Dojun’s cold power.

It was not easy. The mana was strong, tenacious, and almost alive. Even in such small amounts, suppressing it proved extremely difficult.

“…How can mana that only spread through a wound be this stubborn?”

Olivia had to expend far more mana than expected before she could finally expel it. Only then did her gaze turn toward Lim Dojun. His mask had come off during the fight, revealing a young face.

The Blue Magic Tower has been raising a monster!

The blue robe and the emblem on the sleeve, combined with his mastery of cold magic, could only mean he belonged to the Blue Magic Tower. Yet the seamless coexistence of such advanced magic and the combat ability that had driven Vex into a corner defied understanding. He was neither knight nor pure mage… just what kind of living weapon was he?

And to think someone with such tremendous skill was still so young.

“Hah!”

But there was no time to stand in awe. The longer they lingered, the more likely the guards would swarm them, and the young master’s injury would worsen. Olivia swung her staff, determined to escape as quickly as possible.

A dozen fireballs formed without incantation and hurtled toward Lim Dojun in staggered waves.

First drive him back, then use spatial movement while he’s off balance…

Lim Dojun responded by creating dozens of ice arrows that intercepted the flames.

“He cast more spells than me—without incantation?”

Olivia’s cry bordered on a scream. Silent casting was something that required years of rigorous training, yet she had been completely outdone.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Hiss!

Flame and ice collided and annihilated each other, sending a thick cloud of steam billowing outward.

Damn it.

With his vision blocked, Lim Dojun quickly cast a simple wind spell to blow the steam aside. The cold-based magic took longer to cast than usual, but once the vapor cleared, the area was empty. Vex and Olivia had already fled.

Inside a forest not far from the city of Bellangs.

“Cough… urk.”

“Lady Olivia! Are you all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right?”

“I’m… fine… It’s just mana backlash from forcing the spell.”

Olivia spat out dark, clotted blood. The price of accelerating a spatial movement spell that normally required time. Still, she had no other choice. If she had hesitated, that monstrous mage would have kept them trapped.

“I should recover after a short rest… It won’t cause any major problems.”

“Haa. That’s truly a relief…”

Vex let out a sigh of relief. Once he had calmed down a little, he lowered his head.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to reclaim my family’s legacy.”

Seeing the sword Vex still gripped tightly, Olivia smiled despite the pain.

“I’ve repaid at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠least a small part of the debt I owe the Rodonos House.”

“There is still much work to be done. In truth, we’ve only just begun.”

“Then I suppose I’ll have to keep running around diligently.”

Their faces carried smiles—perhaps because of the successful outcome despite the hardship.

Soon, however, another worry surfaced.

“By the way, will the other vassals be all right?”

They had originally planned to escape together using spatial movement, but because of the Blue Magic Tower mage, only the two of them had made it out.

“They are knights. They would have noticed the situation and evacuated properly. They’re probably heading this way right now.”

“I hope they arrive safely.”

“Let’s trust them a little more.”

Escaping the black market shouldn’t be too difficult.

“…As long as they don’t run into that mage.”

“…That part we may have to leave to the heavens.”

The two silently prayed that their vassals would not encounter the nameless monster from the Blue Magic Tower.

The auction house raid was quickly brought under control. All the attackers had fled. Lim Dojun considered pursuing them, but his mana was nearly depleted, so he let them go.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“How can we ever repay this kindness…?”

The auction house staff rushed over and poured out their gratitude.

Although the attackers had escaped, the most important thing was the auction items. Most of the goods remained intact, which was an enormous relief for the auction house. If the items had all been stolen, it would have been catastrophic. At this level of damage, they could still recover.

“The Rodonos family head’s keepsake was stolen, but the fact that we only suffered that much loss is entirely thanks to you, mage.”

“They may have taken the sword, but they didn’t get the sword technique.”

Lim Dojun pulled the book from his robe and handed it over. It was one of the items he had picked up along with the mirror. However, Jericho—the auctioneer and owner—shook his head.

“That is spoils of war you rightfully obtained. Please keep it.”

“But isn’t it quite valuable?”

“It would have been lost anyway if you hadn’t taken it. While a sword technique manual won’t be of much use to a mage, you should be able to sell it for a good price later.”

Then the auctioneer carefully made a request.

“However… may I ask one favor?”

“What is it?”

“We would like to spread the rumor that we were able to protect most of the auction items because we had hired Sir Jun from the Blue Magic Tower in advance.”

An auction house serious enough about security to hire a mage from the Blue Magic Tower. Even though an attack occurred, they had minimized the damage. The calculation was that such a story would minimize reputational harm.

“Of course, we intend to pay you a proper hiring fee. We’ll offer an amount you’ll find satisfactory, plus a bonus for successfully defending against the raid. What do you think?”

In exchange, they would pay a hiring fee, compensation for stopping the raid, and hand over the sword technique book. From Lim Dojun’s perspective, it wasn’t a bad deal. Accumulating fame was connected to achievement points, and he had come to realize that when living as a mage, more money was always better.

The tower will probably like this too.

The Blue Magic Tower was a group obsessed with missions. They would hardly dislike a mage who proactively brought in work like this. It was a transaction where the auction house, Lim Dojun, and the Blue Magic Tower all benefited.

“All right. I’ll leave it to you.”

“Oh my, thank you for accepting!”

It was a very satisfying deal.

After returning to the Blue Magic Tower, Lim Dojun met with the public service officer and reported everything that had happened that day.

The officer was a high-ranking mage within the branch. He was overjoyed by the report.

The amount Lim Dojun had earned was enormous. For someone who constantly worried about the branch’s finances, having a first-year mage bring in far more profit than expected was incredibly pleasing.

“Wait a moment. I need to calculate how to convert your contribution points. Don’t worry—I’ll make sure you’re properly compensated.”

Since Lim Dojun belonged to the Blue Magic Tower, a portion of the contract fee from the auction house would go to the tower as commission. In return, he received contribution points, so it was not a loss.

Once back in the training room, Lim Dojun finally took out the hand mirror he had carefully wrapped and stored in his pocket.

He had wanted to examine it immediately, but had held back so he could inspect it completely alone. The wait had been agonizing.

“Haa…”

Its beautiful appearance was almost intoxicating. The moment he looked into the mirror, his heart ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠began to race and the will of the Crystal Dragon deep within his soul resonated.

Since it was not a bad sensation, Lim Dojun surrendered himself to the vibration. The hand mirror began to tremble slightly. It was resonating with the Crystal Dragon’s will.

And then, moments later—

Whoosh.

Part of the hand mirror crumbled into dust and transformed into smoke that began to be absorbed into Lim Dojun.