The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Natural Enemy of Mages Has Been Reincarnated – Episode 10
As Zeke exchanged pleasantries with his father, he found himself forced to lie when asked if he’d made any progress.
‘There’s no need to mention mastering aura or anything about the dragon. Saying anything would only undermine my position.’
Even a Grand Mage couldn’t detect aura flowing through the dantian.
If I remained silent, I could pass through this without raising any suspicion.
‘But why…’
Something was off about the way my father was looking at me.
A hint of surprise in his expression.
“Is something wrong?”
“Zeke, are you certain you found nothing of value in the Dragon Ruins?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“…Never mind. You’ve worked hard. Go rest.”
As my father turned away with a serious expression, I could only tilt my head in confusion.
‘What’s gotten into him? Is he feeling unwell?’
The answer came unexpectedly from the dragon.
-That man seems to have sensed my draconic essence.
‘What? Draconic essence?’
I asked back with a bewildered expression.
‘What is that? Explain it to me in detail.’
-I possess two types of energy. One is what you commonly call mana, and the other is a special force that flows from my soul. Your kind used to call it draconic essence.
Draconic essence…
I’d never heard of such a thing before.
Not even I, who had read every book in the Magic Library.
‘So I’m simultaneously drawing in mana while also radiating this separate force called draconic essence? And my father sensed it?’
-Precisely. Most humans cannot perceive draconic essence, but that man must have exceptional mana sensitivity to have read my aura.
‘Ah…’
Now I understood.
Why my father had made that strange expression.
Why he’d asked again if I’d truly found nothing.
‘Hey, Golden Dragon! You should have told me about this earlier! Draconic essence! Now my father thinks something’s strange.’
-And what concern is that of mine?
‘You damned lizard! Want to experience mental collapse again?’
The dragon’s voice trembled slightly, as if the memory of mental collapse still lingered.
-W-well, when you think about it, you never asked in the first place. And I have no obligation to disclose personal information to you.
‘What?’
I stared down at the pendant with an incredulous expression.
I wanted to argue back, but he wasn’t entirely wrong.
‘So this is how uncooperative you’re going to be?’
I thought in Korean so he couldn’t hear, suppressing the rising anger within me.
I wanted to use mental collapse, but I was in no position to do so.
I couldn’t threaten him forever.
Intimidation alone had its limits.
‘If I want to secure his cooperation, I don’t necessarily need to resort to coercion.’
-What have you been muttering about this whole time? Human.
‘It’s Zeke, not human.’
-What?
‘I realized I never properly introduced myself.’
I broke the ice, speaking in a softer tone than before.
‘Your name is Carbollearos, right? The Golden Dragon who left his mark on human history three thousand years ago.’
-Hmm, so you do remember.
‘From now on, I’ll call you by your proper name instead of Golden Dragon. And I won’t threaten you with mental collapse anymore.’
-What sudden wind blows through you? Doing things you never did before.
‘Now that I think about it, I wasn’t exactly blameless either. I trespassed on your home without permission. There was even a warning inscribed telling me not to enter, yet I barged in anyway. If I were you, I’d be furious too.’
-Hmm. So you’re not completely thoughtless after all.
Perhaps because I showed understanding for his position, the dragon’s voice became noticeably gentler.
‘But still, jumping straight to mental collapse without me even stealing anything seemed a bit excessive. Though I’m not saying I handled things perfectly either.’
-I was startled at that moment. A human suddenly appeared and violated my territory.
‘I understand, I understand. So how about we let bygones be bygones and make peace? Either way, we’re bound to be together from now on.’
-I have no reason to be with you.
‘What do you mean no reason? Haven’t you been confined here for three thousand years? Aren’t you curious about how the world has changed?’
-What are you getting at?
‘I’ll show you the world. In exchange, I’d like you to help me with something.’
-Help you?
The sudden request carried an irritated tone, but only for a moment.
‘What I want is communication.’
-Communication?
‘Earlier, you didn’t tell me that you could sense the presence of anyone at the Archmage level or above approaching, and because of that, Father found out. I think we need communication to prevent situations like that in the future.’
-Kh. So that’s why you’re being so humble?
It seemed he’d expected some grand demand, and all the wind went out of his sails.
But it wasn’t without effect.
Perhaps because I extended the hand of reconciliation first, a positive response came.
-If that’s all, then fine. If you desire communication, I shall oblige.
‘Great. Let me introduce myself properly then. I’m Zeke McLafflin, the Fourth Son of the McLafflin Family, one of the three Prestigious Magic Families of the Decan Kingdom. Let’s get along from now on.’
-Understood, Zeke. And you shall address me by my proper name as well. Not by that trivial name, Golden Dragon.
‘Got it. But isn’t Carbollearos a bit long?’
-Then call me Carbol. It was the name I took when I walked among humans in my mortal form three thousand years ago.
‘Understood, Carbol.’
I smiled with satisfaction.
Extending the hand of reconciliation first had quickly dissolved the dragon’s anger.
As expected, the carrot proved far more effective than the whip with this type.
‘So, Carbollearos. Will you tell me what happened three thousand years ago? And why you were in a spirit state?’
-Very well. There’s nothing difficult about it.
After returning to his room, Zeke engaged in a lengthy conversation with Carbollearos.

* * *
‘That sensation just now… I’ve definitely felt it before.’
Gerard McLafflin, recalling Zeke, quickened his pace.
He was heading toward his Personal Library—a place only he could enter.
As he infused the crystal orb with a mana pattern, the library’s door swung open.
-Gerard McLafflin. Verified.
With a grinding sound.
The library contained books collected by successive family heads throughout the ages.
Ancient tomes whose colors had faded from sheer antiquity were among them.
‘I’m certain I read this when I was younger… Ah, here it is.’
As Gerard examined the book titled “Concerning Ancient Dragons,” his gaze fixed upon a particular page.
-Ancient dragons not only emit terrifying magical power, but possess a unique aura. People called this dragon force.
‘Dragon force… I’ve heard of it before.’
-The effects of dragon force on the human body remain largely unknown. However, one thing is certain…
‘The circle recoils instinctively in response to fear.’
Gerard recalled the unprecedented power he had felt moments ago.
The aura of an apex predator that made his heart shrivel.
Impossibly, that aura was emanating from his youngest son, Zeke.
‘I felt it clearly. The eight rings embedded in my heart trembling as if alive.’
And that trembling vanished as if it had never been the moment he distanced himself from Zeke.
‘Could it be… dragon force from Zeke?’
He had felt something similar even when he first met the Twelve Pioneers.
Gerard turned the pages further.
-Occasionally, humans appear who awaken dragon force, and such individuals are called Dragonians by the common people.
‘Dragonian. An unparalleled genius bearing the power of dragons.’
Considered descendants of the Dragon, the progenitor of magic itself, they were geniuses among geniuses blessed with magical talent.
That was what a Dragonian was—a being spoken of as possessing power enough to shake the world.
‘My son… possessing Dragonian talent?’
Now the pieces fell into place.
Dragonians were naturally gifted at reading ancient runes, after all.
‘Did his Dragonian talent awaken not through mana affinity, but by being exposed to the Dragon Ruins?’
Is that why I didn’t sense dragon force before, but do now?
‘Zeke… you truly continue to astound me in every way.’
Gerard’s eyes gleamed with anticipation as he thought of his youngest son.

* * *
At that very moment, Gerard McLafflin was in his Personal Library.
Zeke was hearing an intriguing story from Carbollearos.
‘So to summarize, you became a spirit yourself because of a Lich?’
-Indeed. In that ruin you call home, it was not only we dragons who dwelled. There was a Lich—the so-called natural enemy of dragons.
Three thousand years ago.
The dragons waged war against the Lich.
A Lich refers to a mage who has voluntarily transformed into an undead.
Mages clinging to life choose this path to extend their existence, though it comes at the cost of losing their intellect.
But the Lich that Carbollearos spoke of was no human.
‘Dragons can become Liches too?’
-Indeed. Though we dragons live far longer than other beings, we do not abandon our attachment to life.
‘If you had no lingering regrets about this world, you wouldn’t have persisted as a spirit like you are now. You wouldn’t have nearly lost your mind over someone touching your possessions.’
-Ahem, I suppose I am somewhat possessive of my belongings.
‘Somewhat? It seems more than somewhat to me.’
-…In any case, when their lifespan nears its end, there are indeed dragons who become Liches to continue their existence. We call them Lich Dragons.
‘So the ruins I discovered weren’t a battlefield between ordinary dragons, but rather a place where you fought Lich Dragons?’
-Precisely. We dragons despise those Lich Dragons who traded their intellect and lives. Conflict between us was inevitable.
‘Then what was the outcome of the battle? Did you ultimately lose?’
-I do not know how it ended. I sensed danger midway and sealed my own spirit within the Underground Stone Chamber. But judging from the circumstances at that time, we could not have defeated the Liches.
‘Is that why you placed such a warning inscription in the chamber?’
Lich Dragons…
I had never heard of such things before.
All dragons were said to have gone extinct in the present age.
‘To be entangled with dragons here as well… Could this somehow be connected to the Dragon Army from my past life?’
Questions arose, but they were irrelevant for now.
Wasn’t everything related to dragons a concern of mine?
What mattered most at this moment was securing Carbollearos’s cooperation.
Fortunately, it seemed I had achieved that goal.
‘Enough history lessons. I’d like you to help me with something.’
-You wish for me to use magic?
‘Yes. I’ll procure mana stones for you, so cast magic for me like before.’
-Why would you do such a thing? Your body could be harmed.
‘It won’t be, so don’t worry.’
-To master magic after witnessing it once. That is something even dragons, the originators of magic, cannot accomplish.
‘Yet I can.’
-Unbelievable. Are you truly a descendant of the gods?’
‘I don’t know about being a god’s descendant, but what I do know is that I was born into the Prestigious Magic Family.’
-Is this the bearing of a scion from such a family?
‘I doubt anyone else would think so.’
-Why is that?
‘Even though my talent is exceptional, I’m in a position where I cannot form circles in my body.’
-Someone of your caliber doesn’t need to form circles. Haven’t you already demonstrated the raw power to demolish underground stone chambers with your bare hands?
‘Such brute force means nothing in the Prestigious Magic Family. Only the number of circles serves as the measure of talent.’
-Pathetic creatures. Strength cannot be defined by circles alone.
I appreciate the support, but we don’t have time for this.
I wanted to raise my proficiency in magic absorption immediately.
‘I’ll procure mana stones for you, so let’s begin the training right away.’
Thus, Zeke McLafflin and Carbollearos began their training to increase proficiency in magic absorption.
Three years passed, and the First Son McLafflin, who had departed for magical training, returned from the Magic Tower.
And today was the long-awaited day of the successor examination.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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