Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Unusual Dracain
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Before departing from the Razga outpost, the sky overhead was overcast. The wind blowing in, unlike usual, felt extremely humid. Dark clouds were gathering in the heavens—it looked like rain was about to pour. It was a rainy season phenomenon I witnessed only after wandering the red desert for over two months.
"Rain's coming."
"How about staying one more day?"
"No need. We've got the Gentle Wind barrier."
"Ah..."
I answered Durel as I stepped onto the airboard. Gentle Wind—the first spell I'd ever devised upon entering the world of magic. Originally meant to create a barrier protecting the body, it had evolved through countless refinements, gaining all sorts of major and minor effects along the way.
Now, neither the rain pouring from the sky nor the scorching desert heat worried me much.
"Gentle Wind... I regret not making it past the stage."
Durel muttered wistfully as he climbed aboard the airboard.
I felt the same regret that he hadn't learned Gentle Wind. The spell was based on Golden Wind School magic. For him to learn it, he'd first need to formally join the Golden Wind School.
Durel was already a mage forging his own inner world. For him to create another inner world just to learn a different school of magic would be tantamount to denying his own path.
Even if Durel abandoned his world to join the Golden Wind School, there'd still be issues. Gentle Wind relied far too heavily on the user's senses. Without skipping the Erkamon incantation, he'd just flail around helplessly and get swept away by the capricious winds.
"Second Circle still out of reach?"
"Yes... It's my failing."
"You're not lacking."
I'm just too exceptional, that's all. I swallowed the rest of my thought and summoned the winds of Gentle Wind. The wings acting as the airboard's sails tautened, swiftly carrying us away from the Razga outpost.
"Where to this time?"
"Who knows."
As I replied to Durel's question, I pulled back on the glider handle in my grip. Stronger winds filled the sharply curved wings, sending the airboard soaring into the sky for a moment.
Whoosh—!
I had no particular destination. I'd come here to see Hayar's mages with my own eyes.
I'd witnessed all sorts of magic and felt their effects firsthand. It had been a rewarding journey with plenty of gains. All I needed now was some time to properly digest everything I'd obtained.
Where to next?
I had no intention of returning to Ber Kingdom until I'd reached a realm comparable to Master Raymond's. Far stronger foes were pursuing him there. Without ample preparation, anything could happen.
"Durel."
"Yes."
"Those academy mages—the high-ranking ones."
"You mean the elders?"
"Yeah. You said they're on par with Hayar's Three Powers, right?"
"At least, that's how it felt to me. In fact, it's common to hear at the academy that you need to be on Hayar's Three Powers' level just to challenge the elders' realm. Though that one elf... the one called Black Seat felt a bit different."
"Ten such elders?"
"Yes. That's how many there are."
I hadn't seen the third of Hayar's Three Powers myself, and the elders' realms were surely varied—their inner worlds and years of experience differed. Even so, I had to assume at least a few were on par with Lenila's father, Ordan.
The thought of ten such figures sent a chill down my spine.
We flew on like that for a while when the rain began pouring from the uninviting sky blanketed in dark clouds. These weren't ordinary raindrops. Each one was thick and heavy, a true deluge.
Shwaaaaa—
"It's really coming down."
"The drops are so thick—the monsoon must have started. They say the desert occasionally gets downpours like this."
The torrent was so intense it drowned out surrounding sounds. Even Durel's voice right beside me barely came through.
That's when something odd caught the edge of my vision. I nearly overlooked it, but the mana traces within its body were peculiar—nothing like any mages I'd encountered so far.
'Mana traces extending throughout the entire body...?'
The mana traces stretched across the whole body. Their configuration was unusual too, fanning out from the heart like thin threads. Like blood vessels.
And it was moving, ever so slightly—alive, somehow.
I immediately veered the airboard toward it.
Whoosh—!
"Planning to help?"
"Seems alive."
"Could be a trap."
"I know."
I brushed off Durel's concern curtly as the airboard came to a halt. Even at this close range, the figure sprawled on the ground showed no sign of rising.
Shwaaaaa—
Through the pounding rain, faint breathing reached my ears. The man's face, peeking from beneath his sodden robe, was deathly pale. As if he'd been exposed to the cold downpour for hours.
'But the rain just started minutes ago...'
"What now?"
I stepped off the airboard and extended a hand to Durel. He hesitated a moment before quickly handing over one of his spare swords, scabbard and all.
Poke.
I prodded the man's body a few times with the long blade. No reaction—he must have completely lost consciousness. A few more pokes yielded the same result.
"Durel. Help me carry him."
"Okay..."
As Durel approached and hoisted the man, he flinched and stepped back.
"Th-this guy's...?"
"What?"
"He's a Dracain..."
"Dracain?"
"The vampire descendants living in Levanpol, like I told you before. Pale skin... sharp nails... striking features... light hair... and these fangs right here... He has every trait of the night nobles called Dracain. No doubt about it."
"The race that uses blood magic. The ones who despise humans, right?"
"Yes... But it's strange. From what I know, Dracain never leave Levanpol..."
"Maybe traveling like us."
"Dracain hate sunlight. Even if traveling, they'd pick anywhere but here..."
That's when it happened. Perhaps stirred by our voices, the fallen Dracain groaned and lifted his head.
"Hnnngh..."
Durel reacted instantly, drawing his sword from his belt and positioning himself between me and the Dracain. The Dracain ignored us entirely. The moment his eyes opened, he rolled onto his back and gaped his mouth wide.
As if trying to catch the rainwater falling from the sky.
For a long while, he gulped down the rain amid ragged breaths. Only then did his gaze finally settle on me and Durel.
"Human children... Please, some help... Could you spare even a handful of food...?"
Unlike what Durel had said, there was no trace of loathing in the Dracain's pleading eyes. When neither of us reacted strongly, he opened his mouth again to drink more rain.
I pulled a pouch of jerky from my pocket.
"I can give you food."
The Dracain, eyes closed as he drank, turned his gaze back to me. He twitched his brow as if to say, out with it.
"Can you show me your magic?"
"My magic...? How did you know I'm a mage...? Wait, now I feel the wind around you..."
Noticing Gentle Wind's breeze late, the Dracain blinked and propped himself up. He couldn't fully rise—his strength must be greatly sapped.
"Magic... I can show you. But not right now. Blood magic's a bit different from what you humans use."
"Need blood?"
"I could use another creature's, but... mine's different. It requires my own blood, and right now my body's low on it... I might collapse from anemia..."
The Dracain trailed off, gauging my reaction. As I started to withdraw the jerky pouch upon hearing he couldn't demonstrate now, he spoke up urgently.
"W-wait! I'll show you! I will, so...!"
"Something simple's fine. Just curious how it manifests."
"You'll see when you watch...? Geez..."
After a moment's hesitation, the Dracain sighed and raised his hand. At once, the mana traces within his body stirred, directing the mana to flow.
'No inner world...?'
He was definitely using magic. Yet there was no inner world—the hallmark of any mage. Arcana, which peered into mysteries, was capturing the mana flow clearly, so he wasn't hiding it with some special spell or tool.
Then, crimson blood welled from his fingertip, softly coiling around his arm.
'Mana dissolved into the blood... Using that as the medium...'
"There... Satisfied? So, as promised..."
The result wasn't entirely to my liking, but a promise was a promise. I handed the jerky pouch to the Dracain.
"Haha...! Meat after so long...!"
He showered me with thanks, pulled out a piece of jerky, and shoved it straight into his mouth.
Durel approached and whispered as he watched.
"Seems like an unusual specimen..."
"Yeah, looks that way."
I nodded in agreement with Durel.