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Chapter 79: Let’s Master the Magic of the Ancient Dragon

Autumn had quietly ripened into its peak.

After a long time, the atmosphere at Zerion Academy was bustling and lively.

It was the Founding Festival of the Hysirion Empire—

a national holiday and day of celebration that the imperial family themselves oversaw, inviting all citizens to rest and partake in festivities.

On this day, taking a break was practically a duty for all imperial citizens.

This applied to the students of Zerion Academy as well.

Even the professors took a rare opportunity to relax on this day.

However, the same couldn’t be said for those responsible for the Founding Festival held at Zerion Academy.

Teaching assistants and members of the student council were a different story altogether.

To organize a party for the students, the assistants were running around tirelessly.

Even the maids who usually worked in the dormitories lent a hand to help them.

Zerion Academy was an institution dedicated to training heroes to defend against the Demon Dungeon.

Although it couldn’t match the grandeur of the festivities held in the capital,

Zerion Academy couldn’t neglect preparations for its aspiring young heroes.

“Ugh, I’m dying here.”

A student council member, exhausted from all the running around, plopped down on the ground.

Adding the Founding Festival to the already chaotic tasks brought on by Nikita’s earlier projects,

the student council had found themselves in a nightmare of endless work.

“Hang in there a little longer.”

“How does Senior Hannon even endure this?!”

“Stamina is national strength.”

I—a first-year student and runner-up in the Martial Arts class, Midra Fenin—replied to the whining and kept moving briskly.

Thanks to the daily hellish training with Aisha,

carrying festival supplies felt like nothing.

“Hannon, you look like you’re having fun!”

While I was jogging with several items in hand, I heard a voice ahead of me.

Shifting my gaze through the supplies, I saw Sharin standing there.

“Why don’t you join me then?”

“I have something much more fun to do.”

As sharp-tongued as ever.

“Well, go ahead then. Don’t get in my way.”

“Aw, treating me like a nuisance? That’s mean. I actually came to check on your Ancient Dragon magic.”

That was an important matter.

I set the supplies down in a corner.

“Sit down for a moment.”

Following Sharin’s suggestion, I leaned against the wall and sat down.

She crouched down and used her thumb and forefinger to pull my right eye open.

As she peered into my eye,

a galaxy-like glow began to swirl in Sharin’s irises.

Her gaze bore deep into my eye.

I, too, had to keep my eye wide open.

Every time I saw Sharin’s galaxy-filled eyes, I couldn’t help but marvel at their beauty.

It was breathtaking to see what looked like a flowing Milky Way within her pupils.

After examining my eye for a while, she rubbed her chin.

“Hm, it looks like your right eye might go blind.”

“…Don’t joke about things like that.”

“I thought it was a funny joke, though.”

The problem was that when Sharin joked, it never sounded like one, which made it scarier.

“You said you used the Flames of Fury, right?”

“Yeah.”

“At that time, the steel-infused skin that absorbed the Flames of Fury completely enveloped the Ancient Dragon’s remnant like an egg. It seems the remnant doesn’t mind and has settled in quite nicely.”

Somehow, I had ended up containing the Ancient Dragon’s remnant within me.

“Is there any risk of it going berserk?”

“We took additional precautions last time, so it’s unlikely for now. It was actually nearing the point of going berserk before.”

So she’d come specifically to check on me.

I owed her another debt of gratitude.

“Well, that’s good news then.”

“Is it really good news, though?”

“Why? Is there another problem?”

At my question, Sharin pulled out a staff with a swift motion.

She waved it once, and a light breeze began to stir.

“Roll up your sleeve.”

I followed her instructions, exposing my arm.

“This might sting a little.”

Sharin cast a blade-like spell that grazed my skin.

My body, now infused with steel, had become like an iron fortress.

Even her magic couldn’t cut through easily.

Realizing this, she adjusted the strength of her spell.

Swish!

Finally, my skin was cut, and blood began to seep out.

And then—

Whoosh!

From the wound, a white frost burst forth, freezing even Sharin’s wind in an instant.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

I widened my eyes in shock.

“This is…”

“Your entire body is now thoroughly infused with the Ancient Dragon’s remnant. So, whenever your exterior is damaged, this happens.”

Sharin squinted as she inspected my frozen skin.

“In essence, you’re now a walking ice bomb.”

“…If I sustain a serious injury…”

Sharin raised one corner of her mouth into a smirk.

“Everything around you will be frozen by the Ancient Dragon’s remnant.”

What a troublesome revelation.

I had become a literal ice bomb.

“Though, when you think about it, isn’t it not entirely a bad thing?”

It wasn’t something I couldn’t use to my advantage.

“Just to let you know,”

Sharin tapped my frozen skin with her staff.

“If you explode like that, you’ll also be trapped in the Ancient Dragon’s magic.”

That would be a disaster.

Having witnessed Nikita’s experience, I understood better than anyone the overwhelming power of Ancient Dragon magic.

If that happened, I’d certainly be saying goodbye to this world.

“I’ll need to find a solution somehow.”

“Yup, and I’ve thought of one.”

“Sharin, are you a goddess or something?”

Puffing out her chest, she snorted in mock pride.

When I pressed her for details, she began grinning mischievously.

“Let’s master the Ancient Dragon’s Fire Dragon magic.”

And then she made the most ridiculous suggestion.

“Are you serious? The Ancient Dragon’s magic is—”

“Forbidden by the Empire, yes.”

She was right; the Empire had banned the dangerous Ancient Dragon magic.

This, of course, meant no research could be done on it.

“But not as a magic inscription.”

Magic inscriptions—

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a form of magic Sharin and I had been studying.

“Your body contains the remnant of an Ice Dragon.”

Ancient Dragon magic wasn’t limited to one kind.

Fire Dragons, Ice Dragons, Earth Dragons, Sky Dragons—

These were the four primary categories.

The remnant within Nikita’s body belonged to the Ice Dragon.

“If you inscribe the Fire Dragon’s magic onto yourself, it could neutralize and regulate the Ice Dragon’s remnant.”

Magic inscriptions, being inferior to traditional magic,

could actually be used to our advantage in this case.

While the power weakens when using magical engravings,

the likelihood of rejection also decreases significantly.

By engraving ancient dragon magic through magical engravings and offsetting it with the remnants of the ancient dragon within my body,

it becomes possible to wield a controlled version of the dragon's magic.

“Is that even possible?”

“Who do you think I am? I'm Sharin.”

The suggestion came from none other than Sharin, a one-of-a-kind genius and the top scholar in magic arts.

Doubting her words seemed like a pointless endeavor.

“More than anything, the remnants of the dragon are a ticking time bomb I've merely suppressed for now.

Who knows when it'll explode?”

In the end, it’s uncertain when it might erupt.

That’s how Sharin had put it.

“I think it's best to add at least one more safety mechanism.”

As she said, living with a self-destruct bomb attached to my body wasn’t an option.

Sharin remarked as much, flashing a suspicious smile.

“Besides, dragon magic is the magic handled by Zerion, the Transcendent Sage.

Of course, I'm interested in that, too.”

Zerion, the founder of Zerion Academy and the Transcendent Sage.

Indeed, as she mentioned, Zerion was the only one who managed to handle dragon magic without any mishaps.

Sharin had a voracious appetite for magical knowledge.

It seemed that someday, she even wished to surpass Zerion.

“All right. If that's the case, I should rely on you.”

Sharin had personally taken the initiative, considering my situation.

Although her gaze revealed a tinge of curiosity—like she wanted to test this out—

I couldn’t just leave the remnants of the dragon unattended.

“Besides, if something happens to Hannon, it’d be troublesome for me, too.”

That was slightly touching.

“Right now, Isabel can’t do without Hannon.”

So, it was because of Isabel, after all.

I wished she would give the gratitude back to me instead.

“It’s largely thanks to Hannon that Isabel has brightened up.”

From my perspective, even the current Isabel seemed precarious.

Before, it was enough for her to simply be my rival and the object of my fury.

But now, our relationship had evolved into a mix of love and hate, leaving me unsure how to manage her emotions toward me.

“And I also want Hannon to stay safe, of course.”

Sharin’s sly smile accompanied the answer I had been hoping to hear.

Like a fox, indeed.

I picked up the supplies I had set aside earlier.

“Thanks. I’ll make sure to be careful for the time being.”

With those words, Sharin waved her hand lazily and disappeared.

As always, her unpredictable nature was baffling.

* * *

On the day of the Hysirion Founding Festival,

Iris quietly gazed out the window.

The Founding Festival, being one of the empire's regular celebratory days, filled everyone with excitement.

However, amidst the joyous crowd,

there was one person who couldn’t bring herself to celebrate.

Someone who always grew particularly somber on the day of the Founding Festival.

The 3rd Princess, Iris Hysirion.

The reason for her gloom was simple.

The Founding Festival was the day her mother had passed away.

Her cause of death was Nightmare Sickness,

a peculiar illness even modern healers couldn’t cure.

Iris’s mother remained trapped in her dreams and never returned.

It was also from that time that Iris began having nightmares of her own.

Children brimming with excitement talked and laughed with bright faces all around.

Watching them, Iris hugged herself quietly.

For some reason, today felt especially cold.

“Iris, Your Highness.”

At that moment, a voice calling her name made Iris turn her head.

There stood Hania.

“The preparations are complete.”

Today marked the day the student council boycott group would take action.

It was also the day to carry out the orders of Duke Robliage.

Their objective: to tarnish the reputation of the Drapen Duchy by bringing down Sylvester,

the student council president and the youngest son of the Drapen family.

On the glorious Founding Festival day,

an incompetent student council president unable to control the chaos caused by students—

this was the image they planned to imprint on him.

Iris exhaled, her expression one of dissatisfaction.

Sylvester wasn’t exactly an incompetent person.

While his character wasn’t flawless, he wasn’t an arrogant person either.

A shade of gray between black and white.

He was someone who existed in that middle ground.

If he had a flaw, it was his lack of motivation for life.

But he wasn’t someone who deserved to be sacrificed in this way.

Iris knew what consequences Sylvester would face in the Drapen Duchy because of today’s events.

It would already be a stroke of luck if he wasn't disowned.

Yet Iris raised her head, showing the dignity of a princess.

She had already sacrificed countless people to get this far.

Even if it was under the orders of Duke Robliage,

the deeds she had committed would not disappear.

She was destined to be the ultimate villainess,

the 3rd Princess who would one day ascend the throne.

“Begin.”

“Yes.”

As soon as she gave the word to Hania, the latter swiftly disappeared.

Watching Hania vanish, Iris turned her gaze back to the window.

For some reason, she felt unbearably lonely today.

Since her mother’s death, Iris hadn’t experienced familial affection.

Around her were only those who sought to use her or be used by her.

Aside from Hania, there was no one else.

That fact stung with piercing loneliness.

‘Family.’

At that moment, a face flashed through Iris’s mind.

A boy with the same black hair and red eyes as hers.

Though their features differed, he shared many similarities with her.

The boy who, despite his displeasure, always helped whenever she asked.

Iris couldn’t help but recall the warmth of that boy.

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