Chapter 223 – Draconic Language – 1
“…….”
“…….”
Even Minerva and I couldn’t hide our embarrassment. If I was surprised, it was understandable, but for someone like Minerva who had gone through just about every situation, her reaction indicated this was anything but ordinary.
And indeed, it was far from ordinary.
The corpse of the dragon, which had flown at least several meters and crashed into one side of the crater wall, slowly slid down, leaving chunks of flesh and blood on the wall. Thud! echoed the sound of the corpse hitting the ground throughout the crater.
The exact weight was unclear, but estimating roughly, it had to weigh dozens to hundreds of tons. Moving it at all was no easy feat, let alone throwing it around.
Simplistically pushing or lifting it wouldn’t explain the kind of strength needed to slam it against the wall and crumple it. That was solely from a shockwave.
“Kid, what was that just now….”
“I have no idea—”
I opened my mouth to respond but paused. I was worried there might be another shockwave, considering the totally unexpected nature of the previous one.
I pointed between my mouth and the dragon corpse, and Minerva, who was looking at me with a puzzled expression, seemed to catch on and nodded before surrounding herself with a blue protective barrier.
“It’s okay to talk now.”
Minerva smiled warmly and grasped my hand tightly.
Honestly, I didn’t want to imagine what would have happened if that shockwave had been directed at Minerva instead of the dragon. Thank goodness she had turned away.
No matter how powerful Minerva was, if she had taken a shockwave strong enough to send the dragon’s corpse flying at such a close range unprepared, she would have faced significant injury.
In the worst case, it could have been much worse.
“Do you have any idea what just happened…? Based on your expression, it seems you don’t.”
“It’s not like I have no clue at all, but it wouldn’t be much help in the current situation.”
The fact that the creature that devours the world had a boss battle revolving around the Draconic language meant that players could use a few other draconic phrases aside from that condition. Just a few, literally.
Moreover, it wasn’t nearly as powerful as the kind of force that could launch a dozens-ton corpse dozens of meters right after absorbing a soul.
According to the lore, this language was packed with concepts that dragons used and was supposed to be incredibly powerful! Yet the in-game performance made it awkward for anyone trying to use it.
‘It’s not that it’s impossible.’
Much like how the flashlight-turned-easter egg weapon was reborn into a sacred relic in the Pope’s hands, who’s to say the Draconic language hasn’t been altered in this world?
To find that out, I would first need to visit a particular NPC. Only after clearing several quests from that NPC could I finally utilize something worthy of being called “Draconic language.”
Alternatively, I could learn it from Minerva, provided specific conditions were met.
“For now, as the child was about to say, we must deal with the corpse first.”
Minerva infused her staff with mana. The corpse, lodged into the far wall of the crater, began to levitate and vanished in a teleportation magic circle.
“Where did you send it?”
“To the Mage Tower. Don’t worry, they’ll sort it out.”
“Is it really okay to just send it like that?”
“Of course it’s fine. They’ll be thrilled to have new experimental materials. You can’t just acquire a dragon’s corpse on a whim, can you?”
Hearing that made me feel there was no need to worry.
If I thought back to what the mages were doing when we found the crystal scroll, they would more likely rejoice over new experimental materials than fret over having to dissect it.
Minerva waved her staff with a flick.
“Now, let’s go handle our tasks, kid.”
To get straight to the point, the force that had embedded the human-scaled dragon into the wall did not activate again.
To be prepared for anything, I had even surrounded myself with a thick protective barrier and went through thousands of words, but the Draconic language never activated once.
I had a rough idea of why this happened. At the time, my mind was spinning with thoughts, but now that things had calmed down, the differences were quite clear.
Immediately after absorbing the dragon’s soul, I felt like my entire body was boiling, but now it felt like usual. Explaining that difference made Minerva nod in agreement.
“It might’ve only been usable once.”
While the absorbed soul would remain permanently, the Draconic language might only have been a one-time use. Since this was outside the realm of game knowledge, I had no choice but to rely entirely on speculation.
“What will you do now? If you can’t think of anything immediately, taking a break to clear your head isn’t a bad idea.”
“It’s not like there’s absolutely nothing. Minerva, do you happen to know anything about the Draconic language, or have you ever wanted to research it?”
“The Draconic language… I’ve heard of it. But that’s not magic, is it? Back when I was confined by boredom in my former kingdom, I might have found it interesting, but not now. I have six scrolls left to study; I don’t think I can afford to divert my attention elsewhere, dear.”
‘That’s a relief.’
Getting Minerva to teach me the Draconic language would trigger the condition of defeating the NPC who originally taught it to you.
After absorbing the dragon’s soul, if I went to Arcana, she would take an interest in that power. Then she would ask to study that power if I helped her.
If I accepted that proposal, she would give me a magic scroll, and bringing that scroll to the specific NPC after killing them would be the way to clear that task.
The quest felt fishy even with no particular reward, especially since that NPC was generally quite friendly towards players, making it a quest that would hardly come up unless you actively sought it out.
‘Minerva probably won’t be like Arcana.’
In the game, Arcana had no other interests outside of magic; she didn’t even care about the Mage Tower or the Empire’s existence. She was just the type to focus on her own magic research.
Because of that personality, she could casually say she would do the dirty work of collecting souls if you brought her one.
“I need to stop by one more place, Minerva.”
“Very well.”
The decision was swift. It was better to resolve things quickly rather than remaining uncertain.
The dragon I was about to meet, or rather, that NPC was somewhat questionable to call a dragon. Once a dragon, now more akin to an ordinary human.
It was certain that they were of the dragon race, but they had never revealed their true form.
Even when dying after being betrayed by a player, they would ask helplessly why, never reverting back to their dragon form. Moreover, their corpse remained in human form.
Some players suspected it was a delusional scammer, but it was real enough that they could teach the Draconic language.
According to them, they had become tired after living for too long and transformed into human form just once, finding it surprisingly suitable and not wanting to go back.
“From the snowy mountains to the poison swamps; it’s a collection of eccentricities.”
Minerva waved her staff slightly at the horrible stench rising from the poison swamp below. Everywhere in sight was immediately frozen.
The distinctive, pungent odor of the poison swamp gradually subsided. The minor collateral damage of hundreds of monsters freezing was easily ignored.
“Perhaps it’s a unique personality that makes them a dragon while existing in a human form?”
Minerva chuckled upon hearing my response.
“I understand. In that case, should we be cautious about anything?”
“Not particularly. Just treat them like a regular person—”
At that moment, an earth-shattering bang echoed. I’m not exaggerating; it was literally that loud.
Minerva clamped her mouth shut and, with a serious expression, used teleportation. Upon arriving at the source of the sound, a lightning-based breath came roaring in.
However, the lightning breath couldn’t penetrate the protective barrier surrounding Minerva and me. Bouncing off the barrier, the breath twisted and slammed into the ground, creating a massive pit.
The surrounding scenery looked like a natural disaster had occurred.
Far off, the mountainside broke apart, causing a landslide, while the clouds in the sky vanished without a trace. A moment late, Kwah-ruung! thunder reverberated.
The peak that should have been sitting high collapsed from the midpoint, burying everything below it, leaving massive pits the size of small castles scattered throughout.
The lightning that struck down created a rupture sound instantly as it pounded into the ground, sending nearby old trees flying in chunks.
At the center of the destruction were one human and one dragon.
As the dragon flapped its wings, the gust from the winds uprooted all nearby trees, churning the ground beneath. The few surviving trees swayed like reeds.
With the landscape nearly bare, it was easy to recognize faces.
The woman below, judging by the horns sprouting from her head, was likely the NPC I had been searching for, and the one soaring in the sky was…
‘…Why is that guy here? And why does he look like that?’
The dragon, exhaling a breath of lightning that caused mayhem around, was surrounded by torrents of thunder.
But the appearance was somewhat odd. My memory of him was of a dark gray-scaled dragon with gray eyes, and now he had black scales with red eyes.
If his scales were just a hint more navy and he were a size larger, not using lightning, I might have mistaken him for the one who devours the world.
“Minerva, do you think you can fight that thing?”
A human and a dragon were locked in combat.
Despite dying when attacked by a player before, he was currently fiercely engaging in battle, even breathing flames from his dainty mouth.
—Kwah-kaaing!
But it was evident who had the upper hand. Unless he reverted to his original form, he wouldn’t win given their size difference.
The flames were swiftly pushed back by the lightning and the lightning breath swept the frail body against the mountainside.
“Though it looks like the one that appeared in the Imperial Palace, it seems he’s not as strong. Is it okay to kill him?”
I momentarily hesitated. Seeing the situation, it felt like I had to kill him, but there could be unseen circumstances.
Such as them having just a mere argument.
“…If possible, please subdue him. Only if you can, though. If it seems like it’ll harm you, feel free to kill him.”
“Got it. You can relax and worry about that dragon.”
Minerva pointed her staff. Suddenly, a massive orb of mana appeared in the sky, twice the size of the dragon.
The dragon froze for a moment and exhaled a lightning breath toward the orb. The yellow lightning ripped through the air heading for the target.
But it was useless. The lightning pierced through the mana orb effortlessly, and the orb struck down on the dragon. The dragon fell to the ground without uttering a sound.
I took the opportunity to approach the woman lying against the mountainside. She was scorched all over, her clothes reduced to tatters, blood-soaked but still alive.
The woman slowly opened her eyes. Her draconic slit pupils regarded me.
“Human…?”
“Things are urgent, so I’ll ask first. Should that one be killed, or should he be spared?”
I pointed at the black dragon soaring high, crushing the mana orb. Next to Minerva, a new magic appeared. A blue magic circle began to ominously glow.
“…You can kill him… but, human, first, help me.”
The woman who spoke tore off her remaining ragged clothing, revealing her body covered in blood and soot.
