The Elder Trial
While Lim Dojun spent his days busily traveling back and forth between reality and the magic tower’s training room, Dreck-i lived a leisurely life outside the city.
A drake was an incredibly easy pet to raise.
There was no need to prepare separate meals or take it for walks.
If it wanted to go for a walk, it would simply head out on its own. As for food, it would wander through forests and mountains, hunting whatever it pleased.
From the city’s perspective, it wasn’t a bad arrangement either.
A wild drake living near a city would be nothing short of terrifying, but a mage-tamed pet drake served as both a city trademark and a valuable addition to its defenses.
Though drakes had no natural predators in the wild, today Dreck-i was breaking into a cold sweat.
“Kyaaa…”
“Easy, easy. I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt, so just stay still. If you move, it’ll hurt more, okay?”
“Kyaaaa…”
Lim Dojun approached, holding a massive pair of pliers made of ice.
Just the sight of them was so frightening that Dreck-i instinctively took a step back.
Its master looked like a dragon given human form, so it couldn’t refuse him.
All it could do was let out a pitiful roar.
“Um… Jun. You really don’t have to rip the scales out like that.”
Jo Difel, who had been watching with growing discomfort, finally scolded him from the side.
“If you brush them gently, like combing fur, the weak scales will fall out on their own.”
“Is that how it works?”
It wasn’t dog fur—what kind of scales came off with brushing?
“Kyak!”
But Dreck-i nodded vigorously as if to confirm it was true, then turned to show its back.
“Would it be alright if I tried?”
“Kyaaak!”
“Got it. Thanks.”
Dreck-i normally hated being touched by anyone else, but it willingly allowed Jo Difel to approach.
It even wagged its tail eagerly, as if urging him to start before the ice pliers came any closer.
Swish. Swish.
Jo Difel gently ran a large comb-like tool across the drake’s back.
“Ever since you asked me for help, I looked into every possible way to obtain scales. Usually people hunt for them, but after studying the hide structure of dead drakes, I found references saying they could also be gathered by brushing.”
“It’s not coming out, though?”
“They’re scales. You can’t expect them to fall out after just one or two strokes. It’ll take a while.”
Jo Difel continued brushing with great effort for a long time.
Dreck-i was so massive that it was no easy task for a single person.
“Huff… Haa…”
Jo Difel already had poor stamina from sleepless nights spent on research, so he quickly grew exhausted.
“Should I help?”
“No, it’s fine… Haa… I’m the one who asked for this… so I should do it myself.”
“Kyaaak!”
Both Jo Difel and Dreck-i waved their hands and tail in protest, insisting they were okay.
Even after that, Jo Difel kept brushing for quite some time. Nearly an hour passed before he finally collected a few scales.
‘It feels like I could just pluck one off…’
The thought crossed Lim Dojun’s mind unbidden as he watched.
With a body that huge, losing a single scale probably wouldn’t even hurt.
But if he said that out loud, Dreck-i would likely feel hurt, so he kept quiet.
Drake Scale
After obtaining the scales, Jo Difel quickly succeeded in his experiment and completed the potion.
‘The theory was already finished from the start. All I needed were the materials. Here, take it.’
Draconian Body Stabilization Potion.
‘I hope this actually works on me.’
With that thought, Lim Dojun drank the potion.
“!”
And surprisingly, it worked quite well.
The problem with his body right now was an imbalance.
The ratio between his dragon spirit, physical body, and dragon heart was off. The potion temporarily compensated for the body’s deficiency.
Of course, the effect was only temporary and would need constant management, but any help was welcome.
In future emergencies, he would have to rely on this potion.
After that, Lim Dojun spent his time quietly practicing magic in the training room.
No matter how outstanding his talent was, he had only recently joined the Blue Magic Tower.
He could cast high-class magic and even dragon soul magic, but using them at the right time and applying them properly was an entirely different matter.
Several weeks passed as he focused solely on stabilizing his body and training.
—Jun! The branch leader is looking for you. If you’re not busy, he wants you to come right away.
A summons had arrived from Delcrein.
He hadn’t stated the reason, but Lim Dojun could guess it immediately.
When he arrived at the branch leader’s office, Delcrein looked at him and smiled faintly.
“Judging by your expression, it seems you already know why I called you. Am I right?”
“Yes. It’s about the elder position, isn’t it?”
“Correct.”
When Delcrein nodded, Lim Dojun smiled slightly in return.
“I’m ready.”
Mana has gathered smoothly in both hands.
High-class magic proficiency has increased significantly.
The opponents would all be at branch leader level, so they were likely high-class mages as well. Still, he didn’t think he would lose in terms of raw output.
‘And if I feel like I’m falling behind, I can just use dragon soul magic.’
His body had stabilized again.
Even if he used dragon soul magic during battle, the potion would help him manage the aftermath.
Besides, he was confident in close-quarters combat.
He might struggle against a knight, but against a mage? There was no way he would lose if he charged in with a blade.
“…Put that thought away. The magic tower mages don’t settle disputes by fighting each other.”
“Pardon?”
“What do you think this place is, the Extreme Martial God Sect? Do you believe everything should be decided by strength?”
Delcrein looked genuinely dumbfounded.
He hadn’t even used the rod of love yet, but had his disciple grown up far too violently?
“If two branch leader-level mages fought and one of them died, the loss would be enormous. Do you think the tower would allow that?”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
Lim Dojun nodded.
‘Hmm. Have I been solving everything with force lately?’
Or perhaps it was the influence of spending time with Go Wonjin and Lee Chaerin, both from the Extreme Martial God Sect.
“Of course, an elder-level mage must be skilled in combat, but they also need to demonstrate excellence in every other field. They cannot fall short compared to ordinary mages.”
“……”
Hearing that, Lim Dojun felt a slight loss of confidence.
In terms of diverse magic knowledge and experience, he was bound to be lacking compared to the older branch leaders.
“The decision for the elder position is similar to earning merit points. You will be given a mission, and the evaluation will be based on how well you complete it.”
“What is the mission?”
“Capturing members of the Extreme Martial God Sect!”
“!”
“You’ve been cooped up in the training room, so you may not know, but recently the number of Extreme Martial God Sect members crossing over from Monster Land into the continent has increased sharply. On top of that, those who were already operating in secret have begun to run wild, causing chaos across the region.”
Ah…
‘Isn’t that because of me?’
Lim Dojun flinched the moment he heard the explanation.
The members stationed at the main headquarters wouldn’t come out for no reason.
They were probably trying to kidnap someone to gain favor with the Pope.
“Have any been spotted near Bellangs?”
“How did you know? Strangely enough, quite a few have been seen around our city. It’s a bit odd, even considering how close we are to Monster Land.”
“……”
“Anyway. For this elder position trial, the mission is to capture members of the Extreme Martial God Sect. The stronger and higher-ranked the member, the closer you will be to earning the elder position.”
Of course, a single mission wouldn’t decide the elder position outright, but there was no denying it would carry significant weight.
“So prepare yourself and set out when you’re ready.”
“Understood.”
Lim Dojun began thinking about how to approach the task.
It was certainly a difficult problem, but it seemed more manageable than he had expected.
After all, he had the perfect card to play.
* * *
Lee Chaerin, a member of the Extreme Martial God Sect’s Divine Martial Unit.
As an Earth-born returnee, she had made a contract with Lim Dojun and was currently staying in the city of Bellangs.
She had been faithfully carrying out her role.
—I’m going after him first, so back off. If I fail, then you can try.
When a Divine Martial Unit member openly claimed first rights, no ordinary sect member would dare ignore it.
Unless it was someone with higher seniority than her, or a unit commander from an entirely different combat division.
Although several Extreme Martial God Sect members had been spotted near Bellangs, none had approached Lim Dojun. They had all withdrawn for exactly that reason.
Naturally, she had received ample compensation for her efforts.
“Here. Today’s cola.”
“Thanks!”
Gulp!
Now, the moment she saw that red can, she started salivating.
After fourteen long years without it, drinking cola again had turned into a full-blown addiction.
—Psshhht!
Lee Chaerin cracked open the can the instant she received it and downed it in one go.
“Drinking that much will make you gain weight.”
“Weight? Once you reach a certain level of power, aging reverses itself. Why worry about something so trivial?”
Lee Chaerin chuckled.
Her actual age was in the mid-thirties, yet she looked so youthful that people would believe her if she claimed to be twenty.
As one’s realm advanced, the body’s aging process reversed.
Other returnees were the same—their real ages were far older than they appeared.
Lim Dojun spoke up.
“Listen while you drink. I’ve been given a mission while challenging for the elder position at the Blue Magic Tower.”
“It finally came out? What is it?”
Lee Chaerin already knew Lim Dojun’s circumstances, so she listened with genuine curiosity.
If he became an elder, he wouldn’t have to stay hidden outside the city. He could officially hire her and bring her along. She secretly hoped for that outcome.
“Capturing members of the Extreme Martial God Sect.”
Lim Dojun explained the mission in detail.
The stronger and higher-ranked the sect member he captured, the closer he would be to obtaining the elder position.
After hearing everything, Lee Chaerin flinched.
‘Don’t tell me this crazy bastard is planning to sell me out?’
There was no need to wander far and wide.
A strong, knowledgeable, high-ranking, and even beautiful member of the Extreme Martial God Sect was standing right in front of him!
If he captured and handed her over, the elder position would be all but guaranteed.
Lee Chaerin seriously considered whether she should break the contract and run.
She knew from their previous fight that she couldn’t win in a direct confrontation, but a surprise attack might work. She could strike first and flee.
‘But then the cola would be over…’
She would lose access to all the other Earth goods as well.
Her internal conflict was intense, but then Lim Dojun pulled even more cola cans from his backpack.
“This time it’s five cans of cola.”
“……!!?”
Lee Chaerin’s eyes wavered.
Honestly, at this point she had no choice but to give in.
She closed her eyes.
“Ha… Fine. I get it. I’ll come quietly.”
She held out both hands as if asking to be tied up.
“Since they need prisoners, they probably won’t kill me, right? I’m a little worried about how harshly the Blue Magic Tower’s main headquarters treats captives. If their security isn’t too tight, I’m confident I could endure it for a while and then escape.”
Once Lim Dojun became an elder, she could just run away.
With her stealth abilities, she thought it was entirely doable.
‘Yeah. If I think of it as getting paid to do time in prison, it doesn’t feel like that bad of a deal.’
She had seen similar situations in old noir films.
It wasn’t like she would be locked up for decades.
A few months at most before she escaped. It didn’t seem so bad.
However, Lim Dojun looked at her in disbelief.
“What are you talking about? Why would I capture you?”
“What? It wasn’t that?”
“I’m amazed you were ready to get captured for a few cans of cola. Did the sudden sugar rush fry your brain? Obviously, I’m giving you this in exchange for help capturing other Extreme Martial God Sect members. You should have plenty of inside information, right?”
“Ah……”
Only then did Lee Chaerin realize she had completely misunderstood the situation.