159. Upheaval
159. Upheaval
Leona, who had been blinking blankly, reached out.
Fumbling, fumbling.
Then, starting from my wrist, she swept rapidly over my forearm, armpit, waist, and thighs.
"You... what the hell are you?"
"Your disciple, Master."
"Are you even human? You're a dragon, aren't you."
"Do I look like a dragon in your eyes, Master?"
"I don't feel any scales or horns."
"Then I must be human."
"Don't lie to me! You're a dragon! How could you be human?! You overcame a dragon's Mana Suppression, and on top of that, you adapted and used it in just ten minutes! You're a dragon! Don't go around calling yourself human anymore, you!"
Leona's shock was only natural.
Most humans couldn't overcome the Authority of Mana Suppression. Even just adapting to it, for a being experiencing Mana Suppression for the first time, took at least two months.
But I—we—were different.
Paulo had the blessing of the Sacred Sword, so he could defy the Authority of Mana Suppression. Luna was unaffected from the start because she used Holy Power, not Mana.
Kaloso, who strutted around claiming Mana was his lover and they were madly in love, took three days. Arisa, who had the best Mana control among us, took two.
And as for me—
It took less than half a day from the start.
Why? I don't know.
My Mana control was good, but not as good as Arisa's. My understanding of Mana was good, but not as good as Kaloso's. I had no Holy Power like Luna, and no Sacred Sword like Paulo.
And yet, it took half a day.
So back then, I thought dragon's blood flowed through my body...
Anyway, since it was like that in the past... in my Past Life, it could only be faster now.
The period I spent fighting while crushed under the fear, pressure, and Authority of Mana Suppression that dragons emitted alone was three years.
They say the neighbor's dog can talk after three years, but I'm human. Even if my head couldn't understand it, my instincts had no choice but to respond.
Of course, my head understood it too.
"Seriously, how did you do it? Are you a dragon half-blood?"
"That seems extremely rude to my parents."
"Hmm... then is it in your ancestry? No matter how I look at it, it can't be explained unless you're a dragon..."
"You've caught on well. Insignificant little creature. I am the pinnacle of all things, the sovereign of magic—a dragon. So remove your hands from my body at once, plant your head on the ground, and prostrate yourself. Then I shall generously forgive you for touching my sacred body without permission—"
"Cut the nonsense."
Thwack!
"Hngak?!"
A spicy flick to the forehead slammed into my brow, hard enough to make tears leak out.
It hurt. It hurt so, so, so much!
Normally it wouldn't hurt this much, but because I'm in this bizarre space, it hurts... no, it feels twice as painful.
"Ugh... you're the one who made a fuss and said I was a dragon first..."
"I? I? You say 'I' to your heaven-like master??"
"Then is Master planning to smash her one and only disciple's skull in?"
"Shut up."
Ignoring my grumbling, Leona sent Mana flowing into my body.
"Can I say something shameless?"
"Be quiet. I'm concentrating."
"Why did you only bring me to a place like this now? If you were going to bring me, couldn't you have brought me a little earlier?"
"I told you not to talk, so why are you talking? Then why did you even ask?"
"Out of courtesy."
Leona, wearing an expression that said she was wondering what to do with this brat, clicked her tongue and opened her mouth.
"I brought you here after confirming that you'd mastered all six volumes and opened acupoints you hadn't been using. Before that..."
"Wouldn't it have been the same even before that? I'm a genius, after all."
Of course, as Leona said, I had mastered all six volumes of the book Arisa left behind and opened new acupoints.
It was also true that things had become a bit easier because of that.
Mana acupoints I hadn't been using. At first, I wondered why I needed to open them.
The acupoints I had were opened for the most efficient operation. I thought adding Arisa's on top of that would just tangle things up for no reason.
But I tried it anyway. With the thought that if it felt wrong, I could just close them again. And so the acupoints were opened. I understood in my head where they were used, but maybe because it was only the sixth volume, I hadn't felt much of a difference.
But I never expected I'd end up using them here like this.
"That's... yeah. That's true, and I can't argue with it, but... hearing you say it yourself makes it really obnoxious."
"If your disciple improves by leaps and bounds, shouldn't Master be clapping for a disciple who'll soon surpass her? What do you mean, obnoxious?"
"Look at this cheeky little brat. Even cold water has a top and bottom. There's a limit to surpassing your master, too. And I don't like the idea of my disciple surpassing me and getting stronger than me."
"Wow, your mind is so narrow there's no room for your precious disciple to even stand."
"So what? That's how I am, what are you going to do about it? Anyway, no. Don't get stronger than me until I die. Surpassing your master is forbidden."
"Well, well. Master. Where did you learn such nasty speech... ahem, such eloquence?"
"I have one. A disciple who's always slacking off and making me want to smack her."
Leona narrowed her eyes and glared at me. I narrowed my eyes and glared back at her, too.
"Is that what you learn when there's nothing to learn..."
"Say one more word and I'll hit you."
How childish can a four-hundred-year-old be?
And she raises her fist at the slightest thing.
This is why people call her a chimpanzee.
Let's converse like intelligent humans.
I didn't say it out loud. I just looked at her with that in my eyes. Leona raised her fist. I immediately averted my gaze and began controlling my Mana.
"Anyway, the first stage is over, so please tell me the second stage."
"The second stage is sparring with me. Come at me."
"Oh, come on."
"What's with that look? You don't believe me? I'm serious about sparring. Because from now on, you have to drain all the Mana from your body."
Drain my Mana? Why?
I had questions, but the answer came quickly.
An empty Dantian without Mana, and this space's Mana.
She was telling me to take in the Mana of the Dragon Heart.
But that raised another question.
Was that even possible?
A human taking in a dragon's Mana?
Even if I could take it in and use it, wouldn't I just become ordinary again once I used up all the Mana in my body and took in natural Mana again?
"I can tell what you're wondering, but I'm not telling you to take it in so you can use the dragon's Mana. The process of taking it in alone is hard enough to make you weep blood, and using it would be even harder than that."
"Have you tried it?"
"Yeah. You have me by your side now, but back then I was alone... I succeeded, but... I really almost died. It's a pain I never want to experience again."
Leona shuddered.
"Anyway, I'm not telling you to use it. Just holding this Mana in your body will change your acupoints and Dantian unlike before. Incomparably more than making an Elixir out of a Dragon Heart and eating it."
Even making an Elixir from the traces of Mana flowing from a Dragon Heart produces insane effects.
If you don't make it into an Elixir, and take it in as pure Mana without it passing through any process, then of course the effects should be insane.
But...
"Tch... Master, you're a Beastkin and I'm human. This isn't going to go wrong somewhere and turn me into a half-cripple, is it?"
At my question, Leona let out a snort.
"Scared?"
"Ha."
I have never been scared in my life.
I straightened my posture. I crossed my legs into a lotus position and clenched both hands into fists. Whoosh—! Cherry-blossom-colored Mana coiled around both fists. It spread over my whole body and into the surroundings, scattering cherry blossom petals through the distorted space.
"No need to spar. Wait five minutes."
Ten minutes later.
All the Mana in my body had drained out. Not that I'd scraped the bottom to the point of Mana exhaustion. I left enough to move around reasonably.
I thought five minutes would be enough—I'd even given myself a generous five minutes—but maybe because this space was so bizarre, even expelling Mana wasn't easy.
"Hoo..."
I'd sweated as much Mana as I'd expelled. My body was completely soaked, as if I'd been in water. If I'd known, I would have worn workout clothes. Wearing my uniform for no reason was uncomfortable.
"Can I take in Mana again now?"
"That's right, but if you need to go to the bathroom, you should go now."
"What kind of flow-breaking nonsense is that? I don't need to go. Even if I did, I wouldn't."
"You'll regret it."
"Regret what."
"If it's a hassle, go take care of it in the corner over there."
"No need. And if I piss myself a little during hard training, so what? Of course, that'll never happen to me."
"Oh, really?"
Hehehe, Leona grinned and nodded.
"Then go ahead and start. It'll be a little different from taking in natural Mana, but since your acupoints are newly opened, it won't be too hard."
I closed my eyes. The Mana in the air. I felt Mana that was foreign and unpleasant. If natural Mana was like clear, warm water, then this space's Mana was murky and hot... not water, but lava.
It was exactly the same as the Mana of other dragons I'd felt four hundred years ago. That feeling that uprooted the common sense that dragon Mana would be pure.
"...I'll start."
"Okay. If it looks like things are going badly, I'll do something about it, so don't worry too much."
"I'm not worried."
Worried? If anything, I'm looking forward to it.
What's contained in my left finger.
Purgatory.
If dragon Mana mixes into it.
And if I release it, then at that moment—
What will happen?
Can I use it? Leona said she used it.
She said it was horrifically painful, but she used it nonetheless.
Then I can use it too.
There's no reason I can't do what Leona accomplished.
So getting stronger is certain.
The recoil?
The one who'll bear that isn't the current me.
I began breathing with my whole body.
The dragon's Mana burrowed into my acupoints.