novelAlta Chapter 304: You said it was fun?
Chapter 304: You said it was fun?
“…”“…”
Arendt and Laius’ gazes simultaneously turned towards Lexion.
Lexion smiled proudly as he received a gaze full of the meaning of, “What was that?”
“If you’ve made a promise with a dragon, this is what I should do. If you die somewhere, it’ll be my loss.”
“No, why are you smiling so proudly? What did you do to my body? Weren’t you just treating it?”
Arendt put his sword away and asked in disbelief.
The sight of not in season blooming snow flowers might be considered spectacular, but now was not the time to be discussing such things.
Even the fatigue he felt every time he used to use the Frosty Touch was reduced.
“Because there were signs that the vessel was getting bigger, I just brought the timing forward a bit.”
Lexion answered leisurely.
Standing there blankly, Laius muttered in a distant voice.
“What the…”
“You’ve skipped a few years of training. Be thankful for that, otherwise, you might have died before you could even complete those few years.”
“Somehow my body felt too light…”
Arendt, who had been mumbling nonsense, suddenly frowned.
“I was going to die?”
“Yeah, you kept overusing the artifact. Haven’t you been in trouble a few times so far?”
That was an accurate point.
The times his life had been in danger so far were largely due to excessive magic consumption.
“The ancient magicians deliberately trained to expand their vessels in this way. By repeatedly using magical power until they were about to suffer internal injuries and then filling it again, magical power accumulated faster than through normal training.”
Lexion pointed his index finger at Arendt.
“But you did something similar while using your Frosty Touch. And you even used magic stones, using an excessive amount of magic power.”
Arendt looked at Lexion with trembling eyes.
He couldn’t deny it.
“Instead of slowly expanding the vessel that holds your magical power, you were beating it so hard that you were about to shatter it.”
“…”
“It’s fortunate that you were born strong. Do you know why that training method disappeared? Because then, many people would die. I couldn’t even laugh when I watched.”
Lexion continued speaking after adding a few complaints.
“The two guys that were hanging out with you are also starting to show signs of growth. I thought you would die before that, so I took care of you while I was treating you. Since you were just about to be destroyed, it was a good opportunity to expand your magical power.”
Lexion granted Arendt’s mangled body a large amount of magical power along with healing magic.
That was also why he slept like he was dead for several days.
Because he was pouring all his strength into circulating and accumulating the magical power that had been forcibly injected into his body, it was impossible for him to maintain consciousness.
“Anyway, now there won’t be any problems caused by a lack of magic power. It’s been a while since I’ve done it myself, so I was a bit hesitant, but it looks like it’s settled in well.”
Arendt muttered uneasily.
“This is crazy… why are you doing experiments on people’s bodies?”
“I don’t know why you’re swearing instead of thanking me. I didn’t really expect that.”
Laius, who had been standing still, asked a question to Lexion, who was responding angrily.
“So there are no side effects? If what you said is true, it seems that Arendt has acquired magical powers that he can’t handle physically.”
“Honestly, I can’t say that there won’t be any, but it’s better than dying. As long as you don’t use your magic power to an extent that you can’t handle, you’ll be fine.”
Lexion answered refreshingly and added.
“Still, it’s better to avoid doing anything stupid. You may be walking around like nothing happened, but coming back to life from the dead is definitely not a trivial matter.”
It was a warning to Arendt.
Red, reptilian-like eyes stared straight at him.
“You already know very well, kid, that it is not a completely merciful grace.”
Laius, who had been standing there blankly, suddenly came to his senses.
“…Wait a minute, what do you mean by that?”
“Well, what does that mean?”
Although he asked, Lexion did not give a straight answer.
“Everything has a price, and don’t ignore your instincts, Captain. Be constantly on guard.”
There was a sharp edge hidden beneath the offhand, casual tone.
Just as Laius’ expression was hardening, Lexion changed the subject.
“I don’t think that’s what’s important right now.”
“What else is there?”
As Arendt frowned, Lexion answered leisurely.
“I don’t think you realize it yet, but I’m having a lot of fun right now.”
Arendt felt slightly offended by the teasing tone.
“What does that mean?”
“Don’t you know? With the grace of Luce, the divine power of the High Priest, and even the magic of the dragon, you can’t be the same as before. And…”
After a brief pause, Lexion looked closely at Arendt.
Arendt, who felt uncomfortable with the gaze that seemed to be examining him, asked in a sarcastic tone.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Well, you’ll find out sooner or later even if I don’t say anything.”
But instead of answering properly, Lexion changed the subject.
“Is there a problem?”
Laius, who was growing anxious, asked, but Lexion only gave a faint, mischievous smile.
“No, don’t worry, it’s not something you need to worry about. I just told you. It’s something fun.”
“So what’s the fun…”
Just as Arendt was about to respond with annoyance, .
Someone knocked on the door of the training grounds.
The conversation naturally ceased.
After a moment, the door opened carefully and the intruder appeared.
“I apologize for interrupting your training, Captain Laius. Can you spare a moment?”
It was Zakar.
Salem was also peeking out next to him.
Laius and Arendt exchanged glances and then put their swords away.
“It’s alright. What brings you here all of a sudden?”
“I apologize for interrupting you as I have something urgent to discuss. As it happens, Sir Arendt and Lord Lexion are here as well.”
Zakar answered Laius’ question with a stiff face.
Salem also quickly bowed towards Lexion.
“Oh, it’s been a while, Lord Lexion and Sir Arendt.”
It seemed that the two elves were not used to having a dragon around.
Laius’s expression hardened slightly at Zakar’s visit, which was rare.
“Is there a problem?”
“It’s a bit subtle to call it a problem, but…”
Zakar approached briskly with Salem, giving an ambiguous answer.
“There is an issue that I absolutely must report to you.”
“…”
As the two elves walked closer, Arendt’s expression changed subtly.
Lexion, who noticed this, smiled with amusement on his lips.
Zakar, who had not yet noticed it, stood in front of Arendt first.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, Arendt.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
Arendt nodded with a displeased expression.
Then Salem raised his eyebrows in concern.
“Sir Arendt, is there anything that bothers you? Your complexion is not very good.”
“You’re worried even after being teased like that?”
Arendt pointed that out first.
Then Salem’s face turned red.
“That’s one thing, and this is another! Who wouldn’t worry if someone came back from the dead?”
“How can you survive in this harsh world if you keep being so stubborn?”
“Your sense of humor is strange, Sir Arendt! Do you think I am as heartless and mean as you are?”
Salem raised his voice, but Arendt covered one ear.
“I don’t know why children are so noisy.”
“Sir Arendt!”
Zakar, who couldn’t stand to see Salem screaming, intervened.
“Stop teasing him, Sir Arendt. And you too, Salem. The more you react, the more he will want tease you.”
“That bad guy…!”
Salem glared at Arendt with a look of venom in his eyes.
But Arendt just looked at Salem with a cold look on his face, as if to say, “What should I do?”
After a brief pause, Salem suddenly frowned.
“Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, it seems like your presence has changed a bit… and the flow of your magic has also changed.”
Salem had unusually keen senses even among elves.
Thanks to that, it seems that he had been able to immediately detect something that eve Laius had not noticed until now.
Zakar, who had been quietly watching Arendt for a while, also nodded.
“That’s true. It seems a bit ambiguous to say that you have the presence of an ordinary human being.”
“Even if you look at me like that, the fact that I’m handsome won’t change.”
“…”
The two elves quietly turned their gaze away at that shameless remark.
Taking advantage of a pause in the exhausting conversation, Arendt changed the subject.
“By the way, what is it that you need to report? No, before that…”
Arendt stared slightly above Zakar’s shoulder, his gaze filled with discomfort.
“That bird… or something that looks similar to one? What are you both carrying?”
“Yes?”
“What?”
At that moment, Salem and Zakar both let out a dumbfounded noise at the same time.
Laius also blinked his wide-open eyes in wonder.
Arendt asked bewilderedly as the air suddenly became cold.
“…What is it? Why are you all reacting like that?”
Lexion, who had been observing the situation with his arms crossed, was now smiling broadly.
His face looked like he was dying from joy at this situation.
Zakar and Salem exchanged bewildered glances.
After a while, Zakar asked again.
“Sir Arendt, what do you see now? Tell me in detail where it is and what it looks like.”
“Huh? Suddenly?”
Arendt answered obediently, frowning slightly.
“There’s one near Lord Zakar’s shoulder and one above Lord Salem’s head. Are they birds? Or maybe butterflies? They look like balls of light. About the size of a fist, maybe a bit bigger?”
“…”
The elves’ expressions became even more strange.
The same was true of Laius.
After hesitating for a while, Laius spoke briefly.
“I don’t know what you’re seeing. I can’t see anything at all.”
“Yes?”
This time it was Arendt’s turn to ask back in disbelief.
Arendt looked back and forth at the birds flying leisurely around Salem and Zakar.
“…You can’t see them?”
“Nothing. I don’t see anything.”
Following Laius’ assertion, Zakar struggled to get his words out.
“It’s only natural that you can’t see them. However, Sir Arendt is right as well.”
“Oh my god…”
Salem also exclaimed in disbelief.
The one who was most bewildered in this situation was Arendt.
“No, so what are they? Does it have anything to do with what Lord Zakar said he had to report?”
“Yes, but I never dreamed that something like this would happen.”
Zakar looked quite perplexed as he said that.
“Has your constitution changed as you recovered from your serious injury? As Salem said, your presence has become somewhat strange.”
“Don’t keep it to yourself. Explain it to me. What are they?”
Eventually, Arendt exploded with irritation.
Even at this very moment, two small birds were fluttering their wings lightly and circling around Zakar and Salem.
Still, Salem and Zakar were unable to open their mouths easily.
After a while, Zakar opened his mouth as if he had no other choice.
“They… are spirits.”
“…Huh?”
Arendt, who was dazed for a moment, asked again, doubting his ears.
“What are they?”
“They’re spirits. Something strange happened with the spirit stones that Lord Zakar was keeping, so I came to find you urgently… How could this happen…”
Salem trailed off.
“…”
A long silence flowed through Cantares’ private training ground.
Everyone was at a loss for words.