As Expected
Rune took a deep breath and glanced sideways at Christina and Perdikion.
Perdikion suggested they could head out right away while Christina worried that they should take more time to get ready.
The two of them were deep in conversation about their schedule to the Red Dragon Lair.
“I knew the Seal of Fire would require a period of stability. That’s why we haven’t prepared for the journey yet…”
“It’s proof that Rune is that skilled. We can go right away, can’t we?”
‘Good thing. Everyone’s too busy talking to notice.’
Right now, time was what he needed.
Raising his face like this would have been far too calculating.
No matter how forgiving they were, the expression was unmistakably that of an overly young hatchling.
‘If only I could fuse all these powers the way I am right now.’
His fists tightened on their own.
‘It means I can control the mana from every other element too.’
All that was missing was time to build a proper vessel—namely, a decent body.
Using the information he’d inherited would make it easy to identify the sources of various powers.
‘This is getting interesting.’
Rune did his best to suppress the greedy smile that kept forming and ended up lifting just the corner of his mouth in a grin.
“Rune!”
“Hmm?”
Perdikion’s call pulled him out of his thoughts at just the right moment, and Rune turned back with a gentle face once more.
“Your opinion matters a lot to me, so I called you over. Shall we leave right now, or should I stay here and check my condition just in case?”
“I’m fine going right now.”
At those words, Perdikion flashed a proud grin and nodded vigorously.
“Sure, big brother. No reason to delay.”
Christina, watching from the side, shrugged helplessly.
“If that’s truly your wish, I can’t stop you. Just… give me a moment of your time.”
“What is it?”
Christina’s gentle smile answered Rune’s question.
“It’s your first outing, and as your protector I should prepare you before we go.”
“Heungmi too! Heungmi wants to come!”
A small white fluffy bird fluttered its wings in response.
Christina shook her head softly at Heungmi and Baekya.
“If Rune is okay with it, you can all go to the Lair together. But please wait here for a short while.”
“Here?”
“Yes. Right, Perdikion? You’ll keep an eye on the place for me, won’t you?”
With a wink, the bright spirit took its place between Baekya and Heungmi.
‘O_O’
“That’s right, Rai. I leave the little ones in your care.”
Rai blinked in answer to Christina’s request.
Heungmi pouted, clearly disappointed.
“Heungmi wanted to go with Rune-sama…”
‘Pii.’
At that moment, Baekya fluttered up from beside Heungmi’s black ears and perched on her head with a soft ‘Pong.’
‘Pii—! Ppi ppi. Ppyak.’
“Hing. Is that so?”
‘Pii i. Pii i.’
Baekya gently stroked Heungmi’s head with the tip of its wing.
The phoenix and the beastkin girl seemed to understand each other perfectly, perhaps because of the fox-like nature of her kind.
Rune watched their lively exchange and nodded once.
‘They get along surprisingly well.’
Baekya was doing a surprisingly good job of guiding Heungmi.
It looked a little like a chick teaching a fox, but…
‘Still, an elder looking after a junior after all.’
Either way, the sight of the two getting along so harmoniously was heartwarming.
Rune stroked each of them once in turn and warned them gently.
“Stay put quietly. I’ll be back in no time.”
Heungmi made a pouty face, but she soon nodded bravely, determined.
“Yes! Heungmi will wait here!”
‘Ppyak!’
Perdikion added one more remark.
“I’ll be watching too. Don’t worry and come back safe.”
“Thank you, brother.”
In the cheerful atmosphere, Rune stood beside Christina.
Before casting the teleportation spell, Christina gave him a gentle warning.
“Your eyes might sting a little.”
Before the words were even finished, golden light swirled in front of his eyes.
Pop!
Without even reciting a chant, the two of them vanished in an instant.
***
Cha rurruk!
“Eh!”
As soon as they arrived, gold and mithril coins began rolling out across the ground with every step.
It was like swimming rather than standing.
Rune barely managed to steady himself and looked around.
“Where is this?”
A golden mountain made of flowing gold waves and beautiful gemstones!
The glittering golden field spread richly before his eyes.
When Rune asked, Christina placed one hand on her hip and answered.
“Well… it’s my treasure vault.”
The treasure vault of the Gold Dragon Lair!
Rune forgot what to say in the face of the golden splendor and finally opened his mouth.
“So… this is all Christina’s?”
A beautiful space stained golden from ceiling to floor.
Gold coins and bars, ancient rare metals like mithril, every kind of gem and jewelry, enchanted swords and magical tools imbued with blessings…
It was impossible to list them all.
‘Christina must have been managing this for thousands of years, so the treasures were probably collected by the Gold Dragons over the ages.’
It was a space that seemed to scatter gold dust with every breath.
Christina brushed her long golden hair back in a slightly embarrassed smile.
“I never cleaned it up and just left everything gathered for thousands of years. It’s a bit messy. Please understand.”
‘That’s not the problem.’
The items and coins piled everywhere, regardless of type.
Among them, the only “cheap” ones were the gold coins.
Their sheer quantity was so great that walking made the ground sink in.
At that moment, Christina pulled a small leather pouch from her waist and held it out.
“Here. This is my gift to you.”
“?”
The pouch looked far too plain for the dazzling surroundings.
Until her next words.
“It’s a first-outing gift. This is a lightweight magic item that reduces volume and weight.”
“!”
Rune instantly reached out and took the pouch.
“It’s exactly what I needed. Thank you.”
Christina answered with a smile and continued.
“In Perdikion’s Lair, the residents live actively and form their own communities. Especially in the area specialized in weapon crafting. If you find anything good, you can buy it. Go explore the market too.”
“Okay, I’ll do that.”
“I’ve already put a decent amount inside the pouch. If it’s not enough, bring more.”
Rune peeked inside the pouch and shook his head.
It couldn’t compare to Christina’s vault, but if he emptied the pouch, it would fill an entire five-story inn building with gold and gems.
“This is plenty.”
In truth, it was overflowing.
‘When I get back, I must remember to thank Christina properly.’
The pouch, filled with coins and cast with a sound-dampening magic, made no noise at all.
This pouch was truly more valuable than gold.
At that moment, Christina cast the flight spell.
“Walking will be uncomfortable. Flying will be much better.”
“Thank you.”
Rune flew along with Christina.
‘It never seems to end.’
At this point, it felt like touring a treasure island.
Golden seas, colorful gemstones, artifact corals, magical tools blessed with light.
Ancient gold coins and mithril that were no longer easy to find on the market, gifts from other races, items with historical significance recorded in deep archives…
It was too many to list one by one.
‘Even if I closed my eyes and just took one item, I could casually buy a small kingdom.’
Rune estimated that under his feet lay the most valuable treasures of the entire continent—enough to bet fifty dragon scales.
How long had it been?
Christina finally descended as they reached the spot she wanted.
Far from the golden ground, a cluster of multi-colored stones had piled up in one area.
The smaller ones were the size of a fist, the larger ones the size of a face—magic stones.
The fragrance of riches was dizzying, yet this place felt strangely out of place.
Christina landed beneath the small hill made of various types of magic stones.
“Now, let’s see your mana sensitivity.”
Mana sensitivity.
The method of distinguishing mana by the reactions seen when mana is poured into the stones.
‘My natural attribute should be darkness, but thanks to the Seal of Fire, I’ve gained fire attribute as well.’
Only then did Rune realize Christina’s intention.
‘…So confirming mana attributes is the goal.’
Attributes have compatibility.
For example, a person with darkness might easily learn cold, ice, or water.
A person with fire might easily learn light.
Depending on their innate attribute, certain ones are naturally easier to master.
The reason they were checking it so abruptly was obvious.
‘It’s because I fused the fire mana without any resistance.’
Rune looked up at Christina and asked casually as if he didn’t know.
“How do I do it?”
“I’ll pour mana into these piled-up magic stones.”
Rune laughed inwardly.
‘She wants me to inject mana into every single one of these stacked stones.’
It was an absurdly bold method, the kind only a dragon would think of.
Since Rune was also a dragon, he didn’t hesitate and immediately began.
Uwoong!
Christina watched Rune’s mana flow and sighed in pure admiration.
‘Pure and stable mana.’
The basics of mana manipulation.
Just watching the flow was enough to show talent.
The quality and quantity of mana, the harmony and richness of the circulating flow…
Even more detail revealed that each person’s ability differed.
‘Just talent?’ No.
Yet the manipulation skill was so perfect.
Christina watched in silence, stunned.
‘It feels as if she’s been training for a very long time.’
Finally, the multicolored magic stones began to glow with resonant sounds.
First, the darkness stones.
Next, water attribute stones compatible with darkness, affected by the Seal’s fire influence.
And finally, light attribute stones shone too. The fire Seal’s effect and Christina’s strong transmission magic had worked their influence.
‘Just as I expected.’
While Rune thought this and tried to retract his mana, the other stones suddenly began to glow as if fire had spread.
“All attributes? How can this be…!”
Surprise filled Christina’s voice.
Rune felt oddly strange at Christina’s reaction.
“You’re that surprised?”
Christina stayed silent, clearly troubled.
After thinking for a moment, she finally spoke cautiously.
“Should I be happy about this… I’ve never seen such a phenomenon in my life. So I suppose it’s cause for great surprise.”
‘After seeing the power of Dragon Lord Isha, this is the first time I’ve been this shocked.’
If it was just a few low-grade stones reacting, it would be nothing strange.
But all the stones in this place were top-grade and legendary.
That was why Christina could not hide her admiration.
‘Those arrogant magic stones are responding as if they’ve met their owner…’
A short while later, Christina waved her hand and the stones that had reacted to Rune’s mana floated into the air.
“Here, put them in the pouch.”
“You’re sure it’s okay?”
“Of course. I planned to give every single one that reacted to your mana to you from the beginning.”
‘It means… all these magic stones belong to me.’
Rune stared at the multicolored hill of magic stones.