novel
| ← Ch.097 | Ch.099 → |
By now, half of the 6 month long vacation had passed.
Ian had already reached the 88th day of training. The training ground was the same way as it had been on the first day.
Khuoong!
Dragon Sparto's massive spear fell to the earth.
The dirt spread out as if there was an explosion. It has been a while since this has happened, and as far as the destructive power was concerned, there was not much difference when compared with magic.
"Huh!"
Ian quickly stepped away just one beat faster than the spear before it struck. At that very moment, an order was given, which filled the air with cold energy, forming shackles of ice.
'Frozen Shackles. '
The dragon was definitely very strong and it briskly raised the spear.
From the hand holding the spear all the way to the shoulder, the dragon's entire arm was completely frozen. If it was a human, the whole body would've been frozen, however the dragon had an anti-magic innate ability and thus only one side of its body froze.
'Ice Boom. '
I'll have to let go of the goal for this moment. Before that, it was better to consume the mana from the explosion.
Ian's first purpose was to check the extent of his 'Mana consumption'.
Bobong! Bong!
The cluttered ice on the dragon's right hand exploded and scattered innumerable debris everywhere.
If it had been flesh, the explosion that Ian made would've turned them into chunks, yet despite this, the dragon Sparto's bony body was fine without a single scratch.
"Battlefield."
Its durability exceeded the common sense.
To Ian, this was a familiar sight.
He didn't even hesitate and continued to cast his magic.
His magic didn't work well, so it was time for 'weather magic'.
"Winter."
Battlefield, winter. With the recitation, the season began to change, and snow clouds started to appear in the sky, even generating cold winds.
"Ice Zone."
Ian's command didn't end there. From the tip of the cane, a wide range of cold energy was spread. The whole layer of soil on the earth became covered with ice.
"Huu.... . !"
As if to represent the cold weather, Ian's breath was all over the place. Though it was spring on the outside with cherry blossoms blooming everywhere, it wasn't the case in the training ground. Winter had indeed found its way inside.
"The cold is nice."
Each mage had a different taste in martial arts.
Like the detained Helen who had flame magic, Ian had his own flavor.
Ice and cold. A stage that matched the cool taste decorated the training area. The stage of magic with a theme.
Kwah! Kwaaaaah! Kwaah!
Is this how the fish met the water?
Ian did just one hand gesture, yet a curved ice pillar popped up everywhere like a snake.
The environmental factors of winter and ice played a role in the creation of the ice pillar.
(Ice plate...... again. )
At this sight came Sparto's dissatisfied voice.
All of a sudden, the impact was absorbed. He didn't even seem to feel any kind of mental fatigue and its only weakness was that its movement was much slower on this icy road.
(I wasn't able to.......... at first. )
Dragon Sparto smashed all the ice pillars that crept up all over the place. Each time the spear was swirled, the thick ice columns were broken into pieces.
(But a human......... like this. )
The dragon also had emotions. Not like the ups and downs of joy and anger from the Fairy Queen, but sadness and boredom were the basic emotions that it could feel. The feelings that it felt at the moment was 'wow'.
(If I knew...... I would. )
It was enough. 88 long days. Ian's opponent for the 88 days. No, being an opponent was just a word, but actually, it wasn't much different from a scarecrow. By now he knew to move, but sometimes Sparto was just like a scarecrow who wielded one arm at a time.
(I would not have....... found you. )
Without any hesitation, Dragon Sparto wielded his spear. Who would you blame now? He awoke in this situation, it was his own mistake that made such an odd flow.
(This is.......... their......... will. )
Thinking like that made him feel a little better. Perhaps loyalty to the dragon was the top priority of the household.
(Dull man. If it was me I would have already fed me. )
Meanwhile, there was a crowd watching the crash of Ian and Sparta's fight, Vanessa and Ledio and Douglas. Even the Fairy Queen was there in her human form. He saw half an elixir and a full recovery potion in the back.
(You are just disgracing your household!)
"Household? Queen. What was that?"
(Hmm? Ah, there is a thing like that. You humans can not even understand it. Don't be interested. )
"Yeah......."
Until recently, the relationship between the Fairy Queen and Vanessa had been one of an owner and her cat. These people continued their conversation, watching the training from a protected area that was far away behind a barrier made of soil, although it was much closer than they thought.
(To put it simply, in the way that humans belonged to a state, it's the same for the body and the bones. Of course, it's the same as you dividing the ranks, since the body is also different from the bones. If I was a member of the royal family, that guy would be a slave. Slave. )
Ian had confessed the identity of the Fairy Queen to his family. Of course, as the member of the dragon household, he didn't give out such detailed information to them. He only told her that she was the queen of the fairy race and was helping him.
"Is that so. Then the queen and the one over there......."
(The boney dagger guy. )
"No. Like you.... Mr Sparto is not a monster then? Like a goblin.........."
(What? I am majestic!)
"Apologies, apologies! I made a mistake.... . !"
Of course, there was no other way out there yet. Only when she was with family members was she allowed to appear in a human form. This was only a temporary measure, for a well behaved Fairy Queen.
(Ah, No need. Don't be mistaken. We haven't interacted with a human for quite a long time. There is no turning back now. )
Rather, Vanessa's words were slightly stubborn. For the Fairy Queen, only her outspoken words were authoritative, but her behaviour was not authoritative at all. Is it because of the affection that the pet cat was receiving from Vanessa?
'I felt it since I first saw, I cannot feel a spot like that. This is the first time I have come across humans like them. '
The Fairy Queen was always intrigued by Vanessa's soul. Using her 'Eyes of Magi' power, no matter when she looked at Vanessa, the results were consistent. To express it in words, it was the same as 'a clean human with no dirt'.
'Definitely interesting. '
It was the Fairy Queen's first time meeting a human like Vanessa. The male human in front of us, Ledio, had stains. The same is true for the son. Is it only Vanessa? Each and every human being is stained. Its' concentration was very small and will not be eroded.
'In comparison, the son......... '
In reality, Ian was not a clean hearted person. Rather, he was stained dozens of times more than average humans' hearts. But the reason the Fairy Queen was able to trust Ian from the beginning was simple. The probability of getting eroded was zero.
'It is hard to believe, but it looks like it. In my eyes. '
There were quite a few stains that will not be eroded and there was a clean soul without any signs of stain. Both of these were indeed very rare for a human. Are these two really mother and son?
(The mother is a human. )
"Me?"
(There is one thing that I'm curious about. )
"Please speak. Whatever it may be."
(Your son's father, what was he............. . )
As the Queen was continuing her question, a voice interrupted her.
"Miss Queen."
Listening to that sound felt like someone with a seizure was talking. But actually, it was the voice of Ian Page from far away whose mana was burning.
"Come in."
These words from Ian were delivered through mana. At his words, the Fairy Queen's small wings beat hard, appearing like a flower. She firmly believed that the expression she saw today was the most lively expression that she had ever witnessed.
(Okay, do not speculate!)
Like a shooting arrow, she flew to the centre of the training area at once.
From now on, it was the beginning of the second act.
Ian's mana, physical strength, and mental power.
A type of training that consumed all 3 elements.
It was a 1:2 match.
"Ah....... . !"
Vanessa noticed the look and sighed.
Every day for the past 88 days, she was looking forward to seeing her son returning from the training ground, as the training with dragon Sparto was going fine. It wasn't even possible to approach Ian, for these 88 long days have been tiring. The problem only began from now on. The training was to continue until the Fairy Queen gave out the feeling of burning passion.
"Gently, gently."
Her hope did not reach the Fairy Queen. She had already flown to the centre when lightning was called out. Of course, there was a limitation. According to Ian's orders, he could only summon a second class lightning. There weren't many people and it didn't hit the ground.
".......... ."
Vanessa's eyes calmed down slowly.
That lady was not the person that she talked to earlier.
She didn't miss it at all.
She focused only on her son, Ian Page.
'Please concentrate, concentrate. '
That way I can stop what I need.
I can cope with the exhaustion then.
'Great. '
At this appearance of Vanessa, Ledio who was beside her was thrilled. No matter how delicate she might be, a mother was still a mother. While looking at her, Douglas was suddenly reminded of his birth mother.
'The lady also.......... . is a strong mother. '
Ledio was suddenly immersed in a thought. How long has it been from there? Suddenly, Vanessa left the protection zone. Thanks to this, Ledio came out from his line of thought.
"Mrs Page!"
Vanessa rushed forward with a potion because Ian had fallen. Now that she was able to adapt herself, Vanessa ran as if her life was at stake.
"Dear me!" "Shoot!"
Seeing this, both Ledio and Douglas started to run a little behind her. It was as cold as if it was winter, yet the ice that had formed on the soil disappeared instantly. This was evidence that the consciousness of the castor had been cut off.
"Ian! Ian!"
He was not dead for sure.
It was impossible for him to be dead.
But tears started to flow from Vanessa's eyes as she tried to make him drink the recovery potion.
"A little of this."
Ledio who came late was watching the situation. Now it was time to carry Ian and return to their residence by taking the carriage that was outside the barrier. This routine had been repeating for quite a few days, with no surety on when this will end.
"This really is true training....... ."
This was Ledio's very sincere feeling.
Not only Ledio, these were the thoughts of all those who were there.
* * * *
Tok! Tok!
A very familiar bedroom.
Ian's eyes slowly opened.
Today was the 89th day of training.
Tok! Toktok!
Ian checked his mana hear immediately after waking up. Mana, physical health, and mental stability were completely drained and faded. Looking at the movement of his mana heart after waking up was a routine that has been repeating for several days now.
'Still....... . '
Ian shook his head.
Nothing had changed yet.
The feeling that he had at the initiation of 6th class.
That kind of beating of the heart that could not normally be felt.
'Some kind of tingling sensation is there. '
The tingling sensation that started not long ago. This was surely what Ian could feel from his mana heart, which gave him hope. It was a tingle that was present up till the end.
"Hmm."
The training had been repeating for quite a few days. This training that he didn't try in his past life was something Ian was using to find new training methods that have not been discovered yet. Looking at this feeling of tingling there was a difference in it.
"Ugh................ !"
This was the first time that he felt like he was going to die. An intense pain hit Ian's whole body when he tried to get up from the bed. His expression showed that his bones and muscles were stiff, while his organs felt like they were being shredded.
'Mana's protection is useless. '
Ian suddenly remembered the conversation between Oliver and Darion. If one forced their body to the limit, from a certain point onwards protect will no longer have an effect. I'm going to feel the pain of it. I certainly said so.
'It was not real. '
Eventually, Ian lay down.
Without any thoughts, he looked at the ceiling.
It was fine even with the occasional blurring of his sight.
It felt like his brain was being reassembled.
Tok! Toktok!
At that moment, there was a sound.
The sound that was there before.
The sound was coming from the window.
Was there hail falling?
Toktok! Tok! Tok!
Ian turned his gaze towards the window.
Hail wasn't the cause for the sound.
There was a bird with very black feathers.
"Crow?"
There was a small note on the crow's leg, who was hitting the window with its beak. It looked like a professionally trained 'Communication Crow'.
'Ah, look at that. '
The 89th day since he requested an investigation using the thieves' guild.
He was told that there was something to report.
'Order of the Dragon. '
Ian walked through the window, enduring the pain, and unfolded the note that was brought by the crow outside his window.
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