The Dragon's Relic
The fallen successor of the Rodonos House and his loyal vassals were resting in a shelter they had prepared deep in the mountains near Bellangs.
They had stumbled upon the village by chance before the auction house incident and built enough rapport with the locals to be allowed to stay. The place also served as an emergency teleportation escape point, but the real reason they remained was to treat their young master, Vex.
The aftereffects of Lim Dojun’s ice magic had been severe. They had planned to move only after he made a full recovery.
I underestimated that Blue Magic Tower monster far too much. Who would have thought he’d chase us all the way into these remote mountains?
When Lim Dojun pushed open the wooden gate and stepped inside, Olivia’s eyes widened in shock. As a mage herself, she knew full well how much wizards hated exploring treacherous terrain. That was precisely why they had chosen such a secluded hideout.
Yet here he was. Just how stubborn was this man?
And of all times… the other vassals are out scouting the city. Only Vex and I are left.
With Vex still recovering from his injuries, only Olivia remained to guard him. Even during their brief two-on-one clash back then, she had sensed how dangerous he was. Now he had brought another mage with him.
“It’s those criminals from the auction house.”
Lim Dojun, for his part, had also raised his guard the moment he saw Olivia. The thieves who had tried to steal the hand mirror.
“What are you doing here? Planning to raid the auction house again?”
“…What are you talking about? Weren’t you the one pursuing us?”
“Hardly. I came here by coincidence for another matter.”
Lim Dojun had no particular desire to fight them. The only reason he had intervened at the auction was the faint trace of dragon bone he had sensed from the mirror. There was no such connection now.
Besides, causing a scene right next to the ruins would be troublesome.
He had gone through the effort of building goodwill with the villagers. Getting driven out now would be annoying, but more importantly, any damage to the ruins themselves would be unacceptable.
“…We are simply resting in this village for a short while. If you do not treat us as enemies, we have no intention of opposing you either.”
“Then let’s agree not to interfere with each other.”
“If that is your stance, we will do the same.”
Olivia spoke cautiously, and Lim Dojun gave a small nod. Their interests had aligned.
After their agreement, Olivia moved to the opposite side of the village. The ruins lay in the western corner. Since Lim Dojun had declared he would be using that area, she had no choice but to withdraw.
Soon afterward, Lim Dojun entered the ruins together with Casian.
“Ruins hidden deep in the mountains! If we report this, it’ll count as a massive achievement!”
Casian’s eyes sparkled as she looked around. She believed they had discovered the site while searching for a lightning wood branch, and the excitement was clearly showing on her face. For someone majoring in exploration and ruin investigation, the current situation was practically the same as finding buried treasure.
Every ruin was unique. Simply observing them and testing the appropriate spells would rapidly increase her magical knowledge.
Still, something seemed to be bothering her. Casian asked carefully, “You don’t seem to be on good terms with that mage from earlier?”
She had immediately recognized Olivia as a mage and noticed both the suspicious location and the tension between her and Lim Dojun.
“We have a bit of a bad history, but it’s nothing major.”
“Then we should stay alert. We can’t exactly trust her completely.”
With those words, Casian began walking around the entrance of the ruins, tossing materials onto the ground and drawing symbols and characters with the tip of her staff.
This is… a barrier designed to block approach and intercept intruders?
Lim Dojun immediately understood what she was doing. Unfortunately, the basic magic knowledge he had studied didn’t cover magic circle installation, but he could still recognize the purpose.
-Vuuuung!
Soon the magic circle activated.
“All done. This should prevent any surprise attacks. Those of us who specialize in exploration need to know how to prepare for the unexpected.”
“Thank you, senior. I’m really glad I came with you.”
“What are you saying? Thanks to you, I got to discover ruins. I’m happy I could at least help with something like this.”
Casian smiled brightly.
From that point on, the two of them began a proper exploration of the ruins. Casian proved to be an enormous help inside as well.
The ruins stretched from the western edge of the village deep into the mountain range. Examining every inch would have been overwhelmingly time-consuming. Even though Lim Dojun could read the ancient language, it would have been an exhausting task that could take far too long.
“Hmm. Usually the core sections of ruins like this begin around here. There might be important information elsewhere, but the probability is low.”
Once again, Casian’s experience shone. Having explored many different ruins, she possessed the intuition and insight to identify key areas even without being able to read every word. She could decipher fragments of the ancient language and recognize importance simply from the structure and form.
Having even that level of guidance made the process vastly more efficient. While Casian practiced the exploration magic she was training in, Lim Dojun focused on deciphering the critical sections she had pointed out.
And then—
He found it.
The wall recorded dragon-style magic. He nearly shouted in triumph. It contained the same information he had discovered before, along with the continuation that had been cut off last time.
“Senior! I’ll examine this section carefully.”
He told Casian so he could concentrate without interruption. She was already completely absorbed in her own research in another corner.
With the barrier properly established and no immediate worries, Lim Dojun focused entirely on the wall and began reading its contents. The knowledge poured into his mind the moment his eyes passed over the text, flooding him with related information.
Learning Skill: Dragon-Style Magic Theory 2
“Ruins exploration? So he really wasn’t chasing us?”
Olivia gazed toward the distant ruins, deep in thought. She had been genuinely shocked to see the Blue Magic Tower monster again in this place. Although he claimed he hadn’t been pursuing them, she couldn’t completely lower her guard. It might be a lie.
Still… a major force like one of the Ten Great Magic Towers probably wouldn’t stoop to such petty deception.
The pride of a continental superpower was immense. If they wanted something, they would simply take it openly rather than scheme or lie.
In that case, had they truly come for the ruins?
Olivia herself was a mage and had been curious about the ancient site they had discovered in the village. She had examined it whenever she had spare time, but hadn’t uncovered anything significant.
That Blue Tower monster probably hasn’t found anything either.
She knew Lim Dojun possessed tremendous combat ability, but fighting prowess and academic research were two entirely different fields. What could two young-looking mages possibly understand?
She had briefly gone to see what they were doing, but after spotting the barrier, she returned without causing trouble. She decided to pretend they weren’t there.
That evening, however—
“Th-this is impossible!”
She had gone to the village center to speak with the chief when she saw Lim Dojun and froze in shock.
Outwardly he didn’t appear much different from when they had first met, but Olivia instinctively sensed that his “level” had risen. It was a phenomenon that usually appeared when a mage achieved some form of enlightenment. He must have obtained something significant from the ruins.
Moreover, the aura radiating from him felt strangely familiar.
It’s similar to the energy I feel from it…
Olivia touched the old necklace hanging around her neck. It was a family heirloom passed down through generations. While it had no special effects, legend claimed it was an extraordinary treasure.
After wearing it for many years, she had come to sense a unique energy that belonged only to this necklace. Until now that had been the extent of it, but during the recent auction she had coincidentally discovered a hand mirror that emitted a similar aura. Naturally she had been shocked and bid on it out of curiosity.
Although she had failed to obtain it…
Now that I think about it, that guy competed with me for the hand mirror at the auction.
After some internal debate, Olivia decided to approach him.
“Hey.”
“?”
Lim Dojun tensed when Olivia suddenly spoke to him.
“What is it?”
“Did you… obtain something from the ruins?”
“I don’t see why I should tell you that.”
Lim Dojun shrugged. In truth, he had gained a great deal from the ruins. He had to work hard to hide the smile that kept trying to creep onto his lips.
Incomplete Dragon-Style Magic Theory has evolved into Incomplete Dragon-Style Magic Theory 2.
Continuing to learn dragon magic with a human body.
He had perfectly accomplished the purpose of his visit. Though mentally exhausted, a deep sense of satisfaction filled his entire being.
Olivia was not blind to it. Just from the aura he gave off and the expression he couldn’t quite hide, she could tell something had happened.
After a long moment of hesitation, she reached into her clothes and pulled out the necklace.
“Then… could you perhaps take a look at this?”
The hand mirror, the aura she now sensed from him, and this necklace. Perhaps this man could uncover the truth hidden within it.
It was a question that had plagued her for decades. Even though he was technically an enemy, she showed him the necklace.
-Thump!
The moment Lim Dojun saw the necklace, his heart began to race. It was exactly like what had happened with the hand mirror at the auction house.
His heart pounded violently, resonating with the necklace before his eyes. Blood seemed to rush toward it, creating the sensation that his heart was beating in sync with the artifact. It didn’t feel like a mere illusion. He truly felt connected to the necklace.
The vastly expanded knowledge and dragon consciousness within him shouted simultaneously: by obtaining that necklace, he could move closer to “perfection.”
Lim Dojun stared at the necklace with such intense focus that the blood vessels in his eyes looked ready to burst. The look in his eyes was almost frightening.
“?”
Olivia sensed something was wrong and tried to pull the necklace back, but—
-Ssssss
“???”
Just like the hand mirror, the necklace began disintegrating into powder. It turned into smoke and was absorbed into Lim Dojun’s body.
Dragon's Body skill has been added.
Current Dragon's Body ratio: 1.5%