The Worst Dragon of the Snowy Mountains
The fiercest dragon to nest in the Snowy Mountains, the Ice Dragon.
There was a reason she was called the worst of dragons.
Every time she flapped her wings, a blizzard that wouldn't stop for a hundred years would rage down.
And everywhere she passed, only frozen earth remained.
So people called her the fiercest and strongest dragon, and no one dared disagree.
Yet before this tyrant...
"Argh, why won't you just teach me? Come on, teach me!"
[....]
...an even crazier human was sprawled on the floor, throwing a full-on tantrum.
It had already been a week since I entered the Snowy Mountains.
Luckily, I was still alive and kicking.
Drinking water was no problem—there was a crystal-clear lake deep inside the cave.
Food was the issue, though.
"Ooh, this one's pretty!"
[Get rid of that right now.]
Thwack—the Ice Dragon snatched the colorful mushroom from my hand.
She froze it solid with Ice Breath, then stomped it into powder with her foot. In its place, she picked another mushroom and handed it to me.
"But it looked so tasty because it was all bright and colorful..."
[Even barbarians can tell poisonous mushrooms apart. What the hell are you?]
"The world's strongest snow mage."
[Can you even use magic?]
"I'm planning to."
When I was little, my dream was to build an igloo and live in a place where it snowed all year round.
But what if there's magic that can make snow?
I couldn't pass that up. No way in hell.
I had to get it, somehow.
"So teach me magic, please."
[You've been saying that for a whole week.]
"You're the only one I can beg."
I'd love to find an even better mage than the Ice Dragon and plead with them, but I couldn't even leave because of the barrier.
[Do you think there's even a mage better at magic than a dragon to begin with?]
"Probably tons."
[What? What did you say!?]
"Losers are always the ones trash-talking others."
The pinnacle of ignorance.
People who aren't that great are the ones who get super arrogant.
Claiming they're the strongest or future S-rank hunters and crap like that.
The real masters hide away in the mountains, cut off from the world.
Huh. Come to think of it, that's the Ice Dragon.
"Hmm, actually, you might be the strongest after all, Dragon."
[You're one strange human.]
"So you won't teach me magic?"
[Sigh. You'll keep at it until I do anyway. Come here.]
Yes! Leech tactic success.
The Ice Dragon had me sit in front of her.
[First, I'll teach you the theory. The theory of magic dates back to ancient times...]
Skip the theory.
Long story short, what she told me boiled down to this:
Unlike dragons, who awaken to magic from birth, human bodies aren't suited for it.
So the first step for humans is to sense mana.
That's where it all starts.
"So how do I sense mana?"
[I wouldn't know.]
"What was that? You little shit..."
[It's not like that. Dragons sense mana from birth and handle it naturally. Humans are different.]
What? So she only uses magic well because she's a dragon?
[Training comes after that, of course. Anyway, try sensing mana if you want to use magic. And don't come back until you do.]
Whoosh!
Once again, she summoned a gust of wind and kicked me out.
I stared blankly at the cave entrance for a moment, then flopped down into the snow.
I could feel the snow against my back melting, soaking through my clothes, but even that felt good.
"Sense mana, huh..."
How the hell do you do that?
The Ice Dragon said mana is always around us.
In empty air, the deepest oceans, even here in the Snowy Mountains.
There are no places without mana, she added.
So it must be around here somewhere.
Maybe if I call it, it'll come out?
"Mana, come out, won't you?"
Of course, mana didn't politely answer.
Sob, I thought I was good with people.
Mana, mana...
Sense mana.
How?
"...Ah!"
A great idea hit me.
[Finally, some peace and quiet.]
Alone in the cave once more, the dragon let out a sigh.
She thought of the bizarre human she'd just sent flying and groaned.
To dragons, humans fell into two categories.
Those who saw them and fled in terror.
And those blinded by the grand title of Dragon Slayer.
But that girl fit neither.
The one human who neither ran from her nor attacked.
That intrigued the dragon. But...
[She's too much trouble.]
Her persistence was insane.
For a whole week, she wouldn't die and kept begging to learn magic.
No matter how many times the dragon threw her out, there she was again when she woke up.
[If only she were the same species...]
Dragons live for thousands of years, usually.
So everything feels like a hassle, and they never get obsessed with anything.
But if that girl with her mad obsession for magic were a dragon...
[She'd be even greater than me.]
Grateful she was human, the dragon gently closed her eyes.
She wouldn't teach anything until the girl sensed mana.
A blank-slate human sensing mana on her own?
The dragon chuckled in disbelief at her own challenge.
Yeah, she'll be quiet for at least five years. With that, she shut her eyes.
And the next day.
"Achoo! Hey, I can feel it now—this is mana, right? Time to teach me magic?"
[...You're insane.]
She couldn't help but be shocked at the sight of the girl returning with a flushed face and snot dripping from her nose.
Sensing mana. Thinking back, it was simple.
To sense something is to get close to it.
So just stick to it constantly!
"And since I want snow magic, this place is perfect."
I roughly cleared a spot with my hands and flopped down flat.
I opened my eyes to a gray sky and falling snow.
To take it all in with my whole body, I spread my arms wide.
Lying naked in the snow for the first time.
It was colder than I thought, but whatever.
I don't care as long as I can use snow magic.
I fell asleep like that.
My naked body taking in the frigid Snowy Mountains air and snow with every inch of me.
And I finally succeeded.
When I woke and brushed off the thick snow piled on me, what I saw was...
"Whoa."
Not the usual drab sky, but one studded with countless stars.
But looking closer, they weren't stars.
Tiny specks floating lazily in the air.
I knew instinctively—that's mana.
I could finally see it, feel it!
"A-achoo!"
...Of course, I caught a bit of a cold as a side effect, but who cares.
Right now, I needed to tell the Ice Dragon.
I dashed into the cave, woke her up, and showed off my achievement.
[You're completely mad. Not right in the head, human.]
"That's a compliment, right?"
[I always wondered what kind of lunatic would sleep naked in this insane cold. Turns out the lunatic was right in front of me. Mad.]
The Ice Dragon stared at me, firing off "mad" four times in a row.
That's definitely praise, right? It has to be.
Otherwise, I'd turn the Ice Dragon into the Ice Ice Dragon with my mastered snow magic.
[Surviving and coming back is impressive enough. This place is cold enough to freeze all creation solid.]
"A-achoo! A-anyway, you'll teach me now, right? Magic..."
[Sigh, a promise is a promise. First, do something about that snot. Disgusting.]
"Beautiful girls' snot is in demand, you know."
[Keep talking nonsense and I won't teach you.]
I hurriedly washed my face in the lake and came back.
My body still had some fever, but I could tough it out.
[Now, sit in front of me again.]
"Eek, so interested in my back, huh?"
[Forget teaching you.]
"Sorry! And was that speech pattern on purpose?"
No more chit-chat. The Ice Dragon lightly touched her claw to my back. It was sharp, but didn't draw blood.
[I'm going to inject a bit of mana now. This will reveal your aptitude.]
"Does it hurt a lot?"
[Endure it.]
It was more bearable than I thought.
Like getting blood drawn with a massive needle.
I could handle this.
But the sensation was wild.
My whole body filled up with something, my temperature rising higher and higher.
Am I gonna die from hyperthermia?
Just as I thought that, she stopped, and the heat dropped in an instant.
"How'd it go?"
Can I be an awesome snow mage now?
[Sorry, but you can't learn snow magic. You've got insane fire affinity instead. Even top dwarves couldn't handle fire like you.]
"Th-then..."
[Too bad.]
Hearing that, I blacked out.
[D-don't be too heartbroken. Fire affinity is great too. With your talent, you might even become a top fire mage someday.]
"...Snow magic or nothing. Waaah."
That was the first day I cried since coming to the Snowy Mountains.
My snow magic. Sob sob.