Dragon Ruins and the Mountain Village
Casian couldn't understand Lim Dojun no matter how long she stared at him.
A wizard who took on a ruin mission yet wore such a nonchalant expression?
"Um... Could I ask you just one question?"
"Yes. Go ahead."
Even though it was the first time someone had spoken to him, Lim Dojun nodded, assuming that anyone standing beside Jo Difel had to be a senior.
"Does that mission give a lot of contribution points?"
"No. I was simply interested in it."
He had chosen the mission because its route aligned with the ruins, not for the contribution points.
"!!"
"!"
At his answer, both Casian and Jo Difel covered their mouths.
'This can't be...! Is she hoping to major in our field?'
'How can someone's interests be like that...?'
Jo Difel decided once again that he would never understand the minds of geniuses.
"By the way, were you looking for me?"
"Ah, yes. We almost missed each other. I'm glad we met before the mission. Here, take this."
"...Surely not?"
"That's right! Thanks to you, the research succeeded!"
"!"
Lim Dojun smiled brightly at the unexpected gift.
Mana shortage had always held him back, but results had finally appeared.
The fact that it had been created from materials that were normally unusable made it even more meaningful.
At that moment, Casian jabbed Jo Difel in the side.
It was a clear gesture urging him to introduce her, so Jo Difel groaned and spoke.
"This is Casian, my classmate. She's very interested in you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. I've told her a lot about your personality."
"?"
Lim Dojun tilted his head.
His personality wasn't bad, but he was far from being some kind of saint who was endlessly kind and good.
Besides, he hadn't even treated Jo Difel particularly well.
"Hello."
"Yes, senior. My name is Dojun."
"Um... Dojun. Could I join you on this mission?"
Casian asked cautiously.
"My major is exploration and investigation. I often have to go on ruin exploration missions, but it's impossible to do alone, so I need help. I'm not very talented with offensive magic..."
Casian spoke honestly.
Combat demanded talent and mental strength more than expected.
Maintaining focus and casting without wavering in urgent situations was no easy feat.
Casian had no talent in that area, and she knew that lying to join could lead to accidents later, so she laid everything out from the start.
"Of course, I'm not just trying to tag along. It's not much, but could you accept this?"
Casian held out a single 4th-grade elixir potion.
Lim Dojun was dumbfounded.
He had only planned to go on a mission, yet two elixirs had suddenly appeared?
"Of course! I'll be in your care, senior!"
Lim Dojun naturally accepted her joining.
'An exploration and investigation major. I didn't know such a field existed, but this will be very helpful.'
He had learned the location of the ruins from Lee Sehan, but reaching it was another matter.
With little experience outside in this world, the addition of an exploration specialist was exactly what he had hoped for.
Moreover, her lack of talent in offensive magic was also appealing.
Since Dojun needed to use magic frequently to raise his proficiency, he could simply handle everything himself.
"Wow... Dojun. You're really accepting this burden?"
Jo Difel looked astonished.
"Just so you know, if you don't like her, you can tell her to get lost regardless of seniority."
"Hey! You...!"
"Why? Am I wrong?"
"...No, you're right."
Casian herself knew the words were too accurate to argue against.
"Don't try to take advantage of Dojun just because he's a new junior. You might have forgotten because he's kind, but he's the branch manager's disciple. He'll rise quickly, and if he finds out you used him with just one 4th-grade elixir, he'll be furious."
"B-but I don't have much... I scraped that together with contribution points too."
"That?"
Jo Difel pointed at the staff Casian was holding.
"T-this is the staff my master bought me for the first time...?"
"Ha! Is that important right now? Don't you know what actually matters?"
"......"
Casian looked ready to cry, clearly reluctant to part with something so precious.
After a moment of hesitation, she carefully offered the staff to Lim Dojun.
"No... You don't have to go that far, senior."
However, Lim Dojun refused.
In his combat style, a large staff would only get in the way, and the elixir alone was more than enough.
Seeing Casian's expression, forcibly taking it felt wrong.
The two of them were once again impressed by such a Lim Dojun.
How could his personality be this excellent...!?
* * *
The dragon ruins Lee Sehan had mentioned weren't far from Bellangs.
They lay in the mountains right beside the city.
It was the place where Lim Dojun had first arrived in this world, and where he had recently gone on his first mission with Jo Difel and obtained dragon knowledge.
Deeper inside, Lee Sehan had said, were ruins connected to dragons.
-The reason I settled in Bellangs in the first place was because I knew there were ruins somewhere around here. I spent years searching for traces and even found them. Unfortunately, I was driven out before I could properly explore.
Lee Sehan had described the exact location with clear regret, since he could never return anyway.
'So the ancient ruin I visited with senior Jo Difel was near the dragon ruins.'
Since they were similar in nature, the presence of more ruins wasn't strange.
On the way, Lim Dojun also accepted a mission from the Magic Tower.
"Finding a branch from a thunderstruck tree will be quite difficult."
"It's fine."
A branch from a tree struck by lightning.
Imbued with miraculous properties, it was used across many magical fields, yet supply never met demand because it had to be harvested from deep within the mountains.
Naturally, it was a material every wizard desperately wanted, but few were willing to search for it themselves.
Lim Dojun intended to obtain one during this mission as well.
And so the climb began.
Casian watched Lim Dojun's back as he walked ahead and couldn't help but admire him.
"Huff... Hah... Wow. I heard from Jo Difel, but you really do have incredible stamina. Aren't you tired?"
"I'm fine."
Lim Dojun shrugged.
This level of hiking wasn't difficult at all.
After five years confined to a wheelchair, he welcomed physical exertion, and compared to the missions from his military days, this felt like rest.
-Swish!
At that moment, Lim Dojun stopped, chanted a spell, and sent a blade of wind into the grass.
"Gurgle..."
A goblin collapsed, its neck severed.
It had hidden to ambush them, but it couldn't deceive Lim Dojun's senses.
'My mana capacity has increased significantly.'
Lim Dojun smiled faintly.
The two bottles of 4th-grade elixir potions he had drunk just before departing had greatly boosted his mana.
Thanks to that, the burden of using ordinary magic instead of dragon-style magic had lessened considerably.
Naturally, he found himself treating Casian, who had provided such gifts, with greater kindness.
"Senior, are you all right?"
"Huff... Yeah. I'm... fine."
Casian wiped the sweat pouring down her face.
As a wizard, she disliked physical activity, yet she had to admit the truth.
This mission was by far the most comfortable one she had ever undertaken.
Stamina far superior to any exploration specialist, and the ability to freely expend mana and magic without complaint.
Even a high-ranking wizard accompanying them probably wouldn't make things this easy.
"Do you want this even now? I can give it to you if you want."
"...It's fine."
Lim Dojun smiled awkwardly and waved his hand.
Casian was using her precious staff as a walking stick, and accepting it would have felt wrong.
Thanks to their pace, they reached the dragon ruins in only half a day.
'It should be around here.'
They had arrived quickly because they followed the precise direction rather than searching the entire mountain range.
However, Lim Dojun unexpectedly discovered a village near the ruins.
It appeared to be a slash-and-burn settlement, surrounded by a wooden palisade with vigilantes watching the surroundings from above.
"Stop!"
"Outsiders! Turn back immediately! If you approach, we'll respond at once!"
When Lim Dojun and Casian arrived, the vigilantes shouted warnings toward the inside with wary expressions and raised their spears.
They clearly did not welcome outsiders.
"Hmm... What should we do?"
"Can't we go somewhere else? The mountain is vast, and we don't know where the thunderstruck tree branch might be."
"Still, I want to enter the village. The villagers might know something about the thunderstruck tree branch."
In truth, it was because of the ruins, but he offered an excuse.
Though the possibility was low, it wasn't entirely false, so Casian nodded.
"Then I'll handle it."
"Please don't attack them."
Lim Dojun spoke worriedly.
In his eyes they were kind seniors, but after wandering the city he understood the image Magic Tower wizards held among ordinary people.
They were seen as eccentric and arrogant.
If they attacked just because spears were pointed at them, his plan to search the ruins inside would fall apart.
"Don't worry. I'll use another method."
Casian shook her head and pulled out a small pouch.
She then tossed it over the palisade.
"Eek!"
The wary villagers cried out in alarm, dropped their spears, and ducked their heads.
The vigilantes had only been doing their job by raising weapons, but two robed figures were still terrifying.
"Hey. Judging by the brown spots spreading like rotten leaves under your eyes, you've been infected with the Earth Death Plague. Lately you can't eat properly and vomit every day, right? Eat that and you'll recover."
As an exploration and investigation major, Casian possessed extensive knowledge of diseases common in the mountains and fields.
The Earth Death Plague was easily contracted, so she carried the cure and could provide it immediately.
Naturally, the vigilantes were still flustered...
"If you don't eat it right now, we'll attack."
"...M-mage! U-understood!"
Casian conjured a small flame at her fingertip.
With time to concentrate, even this much was possible, and the sight of magic made the vigilantes' eyes widen.
Against a mage, resistance was impossible.
Left with no choice, they poured the powder from the pouch into their mouths.
The vigilante who had squeezed his eyes shut suddenly gasped.
"Huh? I... I'm better...!"
The weakness that had nearly brought him down vanished instantly.
The vigilantes erupted into commotion and rushed inside to report.
A short while later, the gate opened and an elderly man who appeared to be the village chief emerged.
"Please come in. We don't usually accept outsiders, but since you saved one of our own, we welcome you."
Having witnessed magic and seen a villager healed, refusal was impossible.
Lim Dojun and Casian safely entered the village.
Afterward.
"!!"
The moment Lim Dojun stepped inside, he was startled.
Several stone walls that looked like ancient ruins stood within, and the faintly inscribed letters on their surfaces were ones he had seen before.
'Dragon-related hieroglyphs!'
Though ordinary people and even mages couldn't decipher them, Lim Dojun could read them.
As he approached in admiration, a shocked cry rang out from beside him.
"...! The monster of the Blue Magic Tower!"
"?"
"So you've finally tracked us all the way here to capture us!"
Olivia, whom he had seen at the auction house last time, stood with her staff raised.