Wielding the Ancient Dragon's Magic
Autumn was in full bloom. For the first time in a while, Jerion Academy was bustling with a bright, lively atmosphere. It was the Founding Festival of the Highsirion Empire—a regular national holiday and a day of grand celebration.
The imperial family hosted the festival directly, decreeing that every citizen of the empire should rest and celebrate together on this day. As such, taking the day off was practically a civic duty for every imperial citizen. The students of Jerion Academy were no exception, and even the professors enjoyed a rare, leisurely break.
However, those responsible for organizing the academy's festival—the assistant instructors and the Student Council—were a completely different story. The assistant instructors were running themselves ragged to prepare a party for the students, and even the maids who usually worked in the dormitories had been mobilized to help them.
Jerion Academy was an institution dedicated to raising heroes to hold back the Demon Palace. While they couldn't host a celebration as lavish as the one in the capital, the academy still spared no effort for the sake of its young heroes.
"Aha... ha... I'm going to die," groaned a member of the Student Council, collapsing to the ground, unable to run another step. Having been hit with the double whammy of Nikita's recent incident and now the Founding Festival, the Student Council was currently enduring an unprecedented hell of paperwork and physical labor.
"Hang in there a bit longer," I said.
"Hanon, senior! How are you even surviving this?!"
"Physical stamina is the strength of the nation."
I strode forward, replying casually to the groans of Midra Penin, the first-year runner-up of the Martial Arts department. I was a man who endured hellish training sessions with Aisha on a daily basis. Carrying a few festival supplies was child's play compared to that.
"Hanon, you look like you're having fun~"
A voice drifted over as I jogged along, carrying a stack of supplies. Peering through the gaps in the boxes, I saw Sharin standing ahead of me.
"Then do you want to help?" I asked.
"I'd rather do something more fun~"
Cold as always.
"Then go do it. Don't stand there getting in my way."
"Treating me like a nuisance hurts my feelings~ I actually came to check on the state of your Ancient Dragon's Magic."
Now, that was indeed important. I set the supplies down in a corner.
"Sit down for a second."
Following Sharin's instructions, I leaned against the wall and sat. She gently pried my right eye open with her thumb and index finger. Instantly, the starlight of Mirinae began to swirl within her eyes. Sharin stared intently into my pupil, and I kept my eye open, meeting her gaze.
No matter how many times I saw Sharin's Mirinae, it was always breathtaking. The sight of a galaxy flowing within her eyes never failed to make me marvel. After studying my eye for a long moment, she finally pulled back and stroked her chin.
"Hmm, it looks like you're going to go blind in your right eye."
"...Don't even joke about that."
"And here I thought it was a pretty funny joke~"
When Sharin said things like that, they never sounded like jokes, which made them twice as terrifying.
"You said you used Fire's Flame, right?"
"Yeah."
"The Steel Skin infused with that Fire's Flame has formed a shell, completely wrapping around the Dragon's Vestige like an egg. It seems the vestige doesn't mind it too much, since it's settled in quite nicely."
Somehow, I had ended up trapping the Dragon's Vestige inside me.
"Is there any chance of it running wild?"
"I took some measures last time, so not anytime soon. Honestly, it was about time for it to go berserk anyway."
So that was why she had gone out of her way to check on me. I really owed Sharin a lot.
"Well, that's a relief then."
"Is it really a relief, though~?"
"Is there some other problem?"
At my question, Sharin smoothly drew her staff. With a single wave, a gentle breeze began to stir around us.
"Roll up your sleeve."
I rolled up my sleeve as she asked, exposing my forearm.
"This might sting a little."
The magic Sharin cast shaped itself into a sharp blade of wind and pressed against my skin. My body had already integrated Steel Skin, evolving into a Steel Body. Perhaps because of that, even Sharin's wind blade couldn't easily cut me. Anticipating this, Sharin dialed up the intensity.
Slash!
The blade finally sliced through, and a drop of blood welled up. But in that exact instant—
Whoosh!
A pure white frost erupted from the cut on my skin. The freezing cold instantly froze Sharin's wind blade solid. It happened in the blink of an eye, and my eyes widened in shock.
"This is..."
"Your entire body is currently saturated with the Dragon's Vestige. So, whenever you get an external wound, this happens."
Sharin narrowed her eyes as she stared at my arm.
"To put it simply, Hanon... you're basically a walking ice bomb."
"...What if I get seriously injured?"
The corners of Sharin's mouth curled upward.
"The entire surrounding area will be frozen solid by the Dragon's Vestige~"
This was incredibly troublesome. I had literally become a ticking ice bomb.
Wait, is this necessarily a bad thing?
If I played my cards right, I could probably find a way to weaponize this.
"Just so you know," Sharin said, tapping my frozen skin. "If it detonates like that, you'll be trapped inside the Ancient Dragon's Magic as well."
Well, that was a problem. Having witnessed the sheer power of the ancient dragon's magic through Nikita, I knew its devastating force better than anyone. If that happened, I would definitely be saying goodbye to this world.
"I need to find a solution."
"Yep, that's why I already thought of one."
"Sharin... are you a goddess?"
Sharin puffed out her chest and let out a smug snort, looking incredibly proud of herself. When I urged her to tell me what it was, a mischievous smile spread across her face.
"Let's learn the ancient Fire Dragon's Magic."
She had just uttered something completely absurd.
"Are you out of your mind? The Ancient Dragon's Magic is..."
"A forbidden magic banned by the empire, I know~"
Just as she said, the empire had classified the highly volatile and dangerous ancient dragon magic as forbidden. Naturally, this meant researching it was strictly outlawed.
"But it's a different story if we use Magic Engraving."
Magic Engraving—the specialized magic system that Sharin and I had been researching together.
"Hanon, what's residing in your body is the remnant of an ice dragon."
The ancient dragon's magic wasn't limited to just one type. Fire dragon, ice dragon, earth dragon, and sky dragon—there were four main categories. The vestige inside my body belonged to the ice dragon.
"If we engrave the Fire Dragon's Magic onto your body, we can offset and control the ice dragon's remnants inside you."
Magic Engraving produced a weaker, simplified version of standard magic formulas. Sharin wanted to exploit this exact limitation. Because it was engraved, the output would be weaker, which meant the risk of turning into a dragonman would also plummet.
By using the engraved fire dragon magic to counteract the ice dragon's remnants, I would be able to safely wield a manageable level of the ancient dragon's power.
"Is something like that even possible?"
"Who do you think I am? I'm Sharin."
This was a proposal from the top student of the Magic Engineering department, a once-in-a-generation genius. Doubting her words was indeed a waste of time.
"Besides, we've only temporarily suppressed the dragon's remnants. It's still a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment~"
There was no telling when it might explode.
"I think it's only right to put at least one more safety lock on it."
She was right; I couldn't go around living with a self-destruct button wired to my chest.
Sharin offered a sly grin as she continued, "Beside, the ancient dragon's magic was once wielded by Jerion, the Sage of Transcendence. I've always been curious about it~"
Jerion, the Sage of Transcendence and the founder of Jerion Academy. Just as Sharin said, Jerion was the only person in history to have successfully wielded the ancient dragon's magic without any side effects. Sharin possessed an insatiable thirst for magical knowledge. It seemed she harbored an ambition to eventually surpass even Jerion.
"Alright. If that's the case, then I'll gladly accept your help."
Sharin had gone out of her way to research this for my sake. Although I could see a burning desire to use me as a guinea pig behind those eyes of hers—making me want to flick her forehead—I couldn't afford to ignore the ticking bomb inside me either.
"Yep. If something happens to you, Hanon, it'll be troublesome for me too."
Well, that was actually a bit touching.
"The current Isabel can't survive without you."
Ah, so it was because of Isabel, not me. I'd like my touching moment back, please.
"Hanon, you're the main reason Isabel has become so much brighter."
Personally, the current Isabel still made me quite uneasy. In the past, it was simple enough to just be the target of her rivalry and anger, but now it had evolved into a complex web of love and hate. I had no idea how to handle her emotions anymore.
"And... I also want you to be safe, Hanon~"
Sharin offered the answer I had actually wanted to hear, smiling slyly. What a sly fox.
I picked up the festival supplies I had set aside.
"Thanks. I'll make sure not to get hurt for the time being."
With a wave of her hand, Sharin turned and walked away. She really was an unpredictable, whimsical girl.
On the day the Founding Festival began, I would be playing the role of a saboteur against the Student Council. Until then, I decided to focus on working hard.
On the day of the Highsirion Founding Festival, Iris stood quietly, gazing out the window. Since the Founding Festival was a major national holiday, everyone was swept up in the excitement. However, among them, there was one person who could not share in the joy.
She was someone whose mood grew exceptionally dark whenever this day arrived. Iris Haishirion, the Third Princess of the Empire. The reason for her melancholy was simple: the Founding Festival was the anniversary of her mother's death.
Her mother's cause of death had been the Nightmare Disease—a bizarre, incurable affliction that even the most skilled modern healers could not cure. Trapped within her own dreams, Iris's mother had never been able to wake up. It was from that very moment that Iris herself began to suffer from severe nightmares.
Outside, children swept up in the festive mood chatted with bright, smiling faces. Watching them, Iris wrapped her arms tightly around herself. For some reason, she felt exceptionally cold today.
"Lady Iris."
At the sound of her name, Iris turned her head. Hania was standing there.
"The preparations are complete."
Today was the day the student boycott faction would make their move. It was also the day they would carry out the orders of Duke Robliaju. To tarnish the reputation of the Drapen Ducal family, they were going to ruin Sylvester, the Student Council President and the youngest son of the Drapen family.
On the glorious day of the Founding Festival, a useless Student Council President who couldn't even handle a minor student disturbance—that was the reputation they intended to brand him with.
Iris let out a heavy, reluctant sigh. Sylvester was indeed incompetent. While he wasn't exactly a saint, he wasn't a malicious person either. He was simply a gray existence, hovering somewhere between black and white. His only real flaw was his lack of ambition in life, but he didn't deserve to be sacrificed in such a manner.
Iris knew all too well how the Drapen family would treat him after this incident. He would be lucky if he wasn't cast out of the family entirely. Yet, Iris lifted her chin, reclaiming her regal poise as a princess. She had already sacrificed countless lives to reach this point. Even if it was all orchestrated by Duke Robliaju, the sins she had committed would never wash away. She was the Ultimate Villainess, the Third Princess destined to one day ascend the throne.
"Begin."
"Yes, my lady."
The moment Iris gave the word, Hania swiftly vanished. Staring at the empty space where Hania had just been, Iris turned her gaze back to the window. For some reason, she felt incredibly lonely today. Ever since her mother's death, Iris had never known the warmth of family.
Around her, there were only those she used, or those who sought to use her. Aside from Hania, she had no one. That stark reality filled her with a biting loneliness.
Family.
In that moment, a certain face flashed through Iris's mind. A boy with the same pitch-black hair and ruby-red eyes as her. Though their faces were different, they shared many striking similarities as cousins. A boy who would grumble and act annoyed, yet always end up doing whatever she asked of him.
Today, Iris found herself yearning for his warmth more than ever.