The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 105

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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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Surviving in the Martial Realm as a Mage: Episode 105
The Seven Continents.
A Dragon Lord, born from the remnants of a fallen star—or so the legends claimed.
Dragon Lord Esterion.
He lowered his gaze slowly, observing the diminutive creature that had sought him out.
[Unless your liver has swollen or you’ve lost your mind, there must be a reason you’ve come to my Lair alone, yes?]
“Is it forbidden to come here without a reason?”
[How do you treat uninvited guests who arrive at your home?]
“I’d offer them warm tea and cookies. And if I’m feeling generous, a thick, delicious cheesecake as well.”
[…So Zenos was right. There truly is a human who has completely gone mad in the human realm. It must be you.]
“Yep, that’s me.”
With a brilliant flash of light, Dragon Lord Esterion cast Polymorph, transforming into a handsome man with an icy expression.
He immediately summoned an ebony table and a premium teapot, placing them before him as he spoke.
“What brings you here, human mage?”
“I wanted to ask the Dragon, known as the origin of magic, a few questions.”
Splash—
As the Dragon Lord poured black tea into a teacup, he let out a soft chuckle.
“Our magical system and yours must be quite different, wouldn’t you say?”
“Even so, I’d like to ask. I hope you’ll answer?”
“How presumptuous of you.”
Crunch—
The human mage brought a prepared delicious cookie to his mouth.
The great Trevallion posed his question to the Dragon Lord with a smiling face.
“I’ve heard that dragons have interconnected consciousness systems?”
“To some degree. We can sever the connection whenever we wish. We respect individual privacy.”
“But if a Dragon Lord wants it, you can’t sever it, can you?”
“…So Zenos was running his mouth. How unnecessary.”
“That bastard. His final scream was beautiful, you know. The entire Jerman Mountain Range trembled from it. He begged on his knees, pleading for me to spare him just once.”
Despite Trevallion’s sudden crude provocation, the Dragon Lord’s expression remained largely unchanged.
He regarded Trevallion with an impassive face and spoke.
“So, how does it feel to have become a Dragon Slayer? You must be the only one among humans right now.”
“It’s not much different. No one comes seeking revenge. I’ve waited, but there’s been no response. It’s rather boring.”
“Everyone must fend for themselves in the end.”
The Dragon Lord brought his teacup to his lips as he spoke.
His leisurely and unhurried demeanor irritated Trevallion’s nerves.
“That’s why I’ve come to find the Dragon Lord. I’m curious—would the dragons truly remain idle if you were to die?”
“They would.”
“Really? I’d like to test that theory. I’ve been needing a Dragon Heart lately, after all.”
A murderous aura began to seep forth, thick and viscous.
Yet even as Dragon Lord Esterion faced that dense and suffocating killing intent, his expression remained unmoved.
“State your true purpose, human mage. No amount of provocation will compel me to strike first.”
“…Tch.”
Trevallion gazed at Dragon Lord Esterion with an expression of feigned disappointment.
“Can you communicate with dragons from other dimensions?”
“….”
“No answer to my question?”
Trevallion leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with intensity.
“So you can communicate across dimensions? Of course you can. A mere human and a magnificent dragon operate on entirely different scales—it would be impossible otherwise. You’ve always been able to perceive the hidden face of the world, haven’t you?”
“….”
“Fine then. Let me ask something more constructive. Are other worlds the same as this one? Do they have Demon Kings and dragons too? Perhaps even a Goddess?”
Esterion answered Trevallion’s question with silence.
Yet from the subtle shifts in his expression and demeanor alone, Trevallion gleaned his answer, and he leisurely cut into his cake with a fork as he spoke.
“This place makes excellent cake. It’s a hidden gem.”
“You seem to enjoy it. I’ll have it wrapped for you.”
Dragon Lord Esterion snapped his fingers lightly, and a gift box of crimson velvet materialized in the empty air.
Trevallion stared at it intently before asking.
“Chloe’s Pastry Shop? I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before.”
“One of my modest hobbies.”
By now, even five-year-old children passing by knew that dragons polymorphed into human form to indulge in entertainment.
But revealing the specific nature of that entertainment was an entirely different matter.
“But is it really alright to show me this?”
“For you, it is. You have been granted permission.”
“Permission from whom? You’re the Dragon Lord.”
“….”
Esterion maintained his silence once more, and Trevallion asked no further questions.
He simply gazed at the cake box and laughed with a hollow sound.
“Truth be told, I came here half-prepared to die. I’ve already settled all my affairs. I genuinely thought this might be the end.”
Trevallion paused for a moment, then fixed Esterion with a gaze burning with fervent madness.
“But I had too many questions to resist. You’re the only being left in this world who can answer them.”
“….”
“It’s difficult to comprehend, I know. But that’s simply the nature of mages—we rush toward the flame like moths, even knowing we’ll burn.”
Trevallion fingered the cake box nestled in his arms, grinning to himself.
“Yet holding such a grand and beautiful cake box like this… my feelings right now are quite peculiar, you see?”
“By human standards, that would make sense.”
“Even elves or dwarves would find it strange.”
Trevallion had accomplished his purpose in coming here.
I felt satisfied.
I had fulfilled all the curiosities that had driven me, and I’d even obtained an unexpected gift and hints in the bargain.
“I thought only the Goddess could exist above the rank of Dragon Lord. But the feeling I get… it’s not the Goddess. Then who could it be?”
“….”
“This is maddening. Even if I could kill you, I couldn’t find the answer to this riddle, could I?”
“….”
“Fine then. From now on, I’ll research how to cross over into other worlds.”
Trevallion’s expression, which had seemed carefree moments before, was now a lie—his gaze burned with madness as he stared at Dragon Lord Esterion.
“You’d do well to remember me clearly. And tell your friends in that other world to wait for me. I will find my way to them.”
“….”
“Ha… Lately everything has been so tedious and dull. Now I feel the urge to try something again. Thank you. I’ll enjoy the cake.”
After that, Trevallion left Dragon Lord Esterion in silence and slipped out of his lair.
Esterion watched his departing figure until the very end.
And Dragon Lord Esterion did not forget Trevallion’s parting words.
* * *
[I would prefer if we spoke inside.]
“Why? Is there something you don’t want the others to hear?”
[It is for your sake, not mine. But if you prefer, we can speak here.]
Ilhyang’s lips twitched.
Everything he said was true.
But I hated being drawn along by that creature’s intentions.
However.
“Sect Master.”
Bing Baek Ma-gun Gu Sang-hak approached quietly and spoke.
“There are too many ears listening.”
“Hmm….”
Now that I thought about it, it wasn’t just Cheonho and the Celestial Great Sage.
This place was filled with Celestial Watchers gathered under the Black Dragon Gang’s name, and Demon Cultivators that Jigang Apryong had dragged together one way or another.
“Let’s go inside.”
[A wise choice.]
“Don’t praise me.”
Ilhyang shot back once more.
Then I entered Bidong with Jigang Apryong.
The moment we stepped inside.
All the surrounding noise vanished, and only the empty expanse of Bidong filled my vision.
[… Truly a peculiar technique. Even with my sight, I cannot see inside here at all. I suspect the others are the same.]
“Compliments won’t get you anywhere. Do you know how to drink tea?”
[I would enjoy it, but with this form it would be difficult.]
“It seems my technique doesn’t extend that far.”
[There are limits. We are a different form from the Observers of the world you came from.]
“Observers….”
Ilhyang felt a part of my mind suddenly clear.
It was such a fitting word.
A question that had always nagged me about the dragon was resolved all at once.
“So that’s how it was…”
The Dragons of the Seven Continents certainly possessed the capability to halt the Demon King’s advance.
Having personally clashed with several of them, I knew this better than anyone.
Then why had such formidable beings maintained silence in the face of the Demon King’s onslaught?
“They did it because they had to report to someone watching from above.”
Dragons were essentially surveillance towers.
With this understanding, all of Esterion’s subtly misaligned attitudes and actions suddenly fell into place.
[It appears your curiosity has been largely satisfied.]
“Ah! To some extent, yes.”
The answer to my long-held question had resolved itself so easily.
With a slightly relaxed expression, I gazed at Jigang Apryong—or rather, the Dragon Race dwelling within it—and asked.
“Then are you the Dragon King of this world?”
[I occupy a position similar to that.]
“That’s strange. Your presence is far too weak for such a role. You’re even inferior to that fox.”
[You speak painful truths without hesitation. It matches the reputation I’ve heard—your rudeness is hardly surprising.]
“Ha! Did you hear that, or did you witness it yourself?”
At my sudden counter-question, the Dragon Race smiled faintly and replied.
[You’re perceptive. I was careless.]
“So you both witnessed and heard?”
Realizing that the network among the Dragon Race was far more intricately woven than I had assumed, I pursed my lips and let out a low whistle.
This was extraordinarily important information.
A significant clue, one could say.
“Good. Then how much do you know? I want to hear everything you’re aware of.”
[You lack the qualifications for that at present.]
“Why? Has my strength declined from what it once was?”
When I crossed into this world, I had shed my physical body in the process, inevitably causing my cultivation realm to diminish.
If this arrogant lizard seized upon that, I had nothing to say in return.
[That is true, but the timing is not yet right.]
“If it’s a matter of timing, then it can be resolved.”
Once Dragons decided not to speak, they would clam up entirely—it was troublesome.
Zenos had been like that, the Dragon King had been like that, and this creature before me was no different.
Of course, that didn’t mean I couldn’t uncover the truth entirely.
There existed certain workarounds.
Changes in eye light and momentum.
Shifts in demeanor allowed me to gauge the approximate situation.
“So what did you come here to discuss? It’s not merely a friendly greeting, I presume.”
[Manmulsang came looking for you, didn’t it?]
At the weighty opening strike from the very beginning, I nodded readily.
“They did.”
[Was there a deal?]
Manmulsang demanded a trade, as always.
So there was something he wanted in return.
“Not yet, but I do have a request.”
[You remain foolish.]
“…Still?”
Jigang Apryong fell silent.
As if caught in something that should have remained hidden.
Ilhyang observed him for a moment, then stroked his own chin while fixing an piercing gaze upon Jigang Apryong and spoke.
“So it’s not merely a connection? You share memories as well? Is that why you’ve developed bodies capable of withstanding such a thing? Ah! You’ve been cultivating in that direction all along, haven’t you?”
[….]
“I can tell without even meeting you that your true form must be quite massive. Still, I’m curious. Will it be larger than the Dragon King?”
There was a reason why dragons possessed such enormous bodies.
To store complete memories, one needed a vessel of sufficient capacity.
But how much did they preserve, and how much did they discard?
Could it be that all memories were shared?
While Ilhyang pondered such questions in his mind.
The Dragon Race wearing Jigang Apryong’s guise suddenly opened its mouth.
[Humans call me the Trembling Heavenly Dragon. You may address me simply as Odohyeon.]
“Now that I think about it, I didn’t even know your name.”
[Time is scarce. There are those capable of breaching this place, so it is far from perfect.]
“There are beings who can breach this location? And time is running out?”
[Even the Celestial Great Sage you know can see through this place sufficiently. Do not doubt his eyes.]
“Sigh, whether it’s the Fiery Eyes or whatever. That’s quite bothersome.”
Eyes that pierce through the truth of all things.
The Fiery Eyes of Truth.
One of the Celestial Great Sage Sun Wukong’s formidable supernatural abilities.
[Even now, I merely conceal it temporarily with my power. Soon it will be pierced. He is also the master of the earth itself. Wherever his feet touch, there is nowhere to escape his gaze.]
“The Spirit King of the earth. Or rather, something of even higher rank, so it’s inevitable.”
[Therefore, I shall speak urgently of my purpose.]
“Go ahead. I’m listening.”
[Meet the General Merchant.]
“The General Merchant? What is that?”
A friend of Manmulsang?
By the time I had thought that far.
The ruler of the Dragon Race.
Odohyeon opened his mouth with some urgency.
[A great war that none can escape approaches imminently. You must hasten to meet the General Merchant and conduct a transaction.]
“So what do I gain from this?”
[Whatever question you ask, whatever you demand—I shall grant one thing unconditionally.]
Ilhyang smiled.
Finally, the words I had been waiting for came out.

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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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