Chapter 113: The Bastard of the Red Dragon Family

Nightmare was also treated with great care.

Unlike ordinary stable horses, he was assigned a personal servant to attend to him, and he was given a room with layers of soft silk blankets piled on the floor.

[Ranah]

I frowned at the voice coming from outside.

It was around lunchtime, after I had finished breakfast, that Jeokrin came to find me.

Getting up from my seat, I slightly opened the door and saw Jeokrin standing there, holding two wooden swords and an old book in his hands.

“What’s going on?”

“If you are of the Jeokryong family bloodline, there are things you must learn. I heard that you haven’t yet…”

I ignored Jeokrin’s words and looked at the book he was holding.

Unlike its worn appearance, the book emanated a strange warmth.

[Gwanghwaryong Seomshik Muguong]

“What’s that…?”

“It’s a mental cultivation technique that you will have to learn for the rest of your life.”

“Mental cultivation?”

“It’s a way to control the dragon’s power dwelling within your body by mastering your mind.”

Since there was no one here I could communicate with, I was planning to leave this place when the dye in my hair faded, but now I had an opportunity to learn something new.

Actually, I had vaguely hoped for something like this while watching the dragonbloods like Cheongbin and Cheonga, and the swordsmen of this land, fight.

I wondered if following the dragonbloods would allow me to learn how to manipulate the mana dwelling within my body in a unique way.

I told Jeokrin, just in case.

“I told you, I’m not a dragonblood. Is it okay to show something like that to me?”

“Ranah…”

“If you’re going to teach me, I’ll learn…”

Jeokrin, who had been looking at me with pity, smiled and approached me at my reply.

The book he handed me, called Gwanghwaryong Seomshik Muguong, was filled with difficult characters.

I could hear and speak without much difficulty, but there were still many characters in this land’s writing system that I had not yet learned.

In other words, I couldn’t read a significant portion of what was written in this book.

“How is it, Ranah? Do you feel the greatness of the dragonblood…”

“I can’t read it.”

“What…?”

“They’re characters I haven’t learned yet.”

Jeokrin made a gloomy expression at my answer, and nodded as if he understood.

“I see… you didn’t have the opportunity to learn…”

I did have the opportunity to learn.

I learned to read under a teacher named Sobaek, but I ran away because I wanted to get out into the world quickly.

Jeokrin misunderstood and nodded to himself.

“It’s alright. I will teach you.”

Jeokrin opened the book and began to recite the contents written inside.

[Remember that everything under the heavens is beneath the feet of the dragonblood.

When black ash covers the sky, and everything melts in the hot flames…]

“You must remember this incantation and spread the energy within your body thinly.

It’s about creating a path so that fire can ignite at any time.”

“Is it like that from now on too?”

“Like what?”

“Reciting that strange incantation and moving the mana… the energy within my body.”

“You understand quickly. You’re right.”

“Hmm… okay. Please continue explaining.”

Jeokrin continued to explain.

Most of what came out of his mouth was closer to self-praise to remind me of the greatness of the dragonblood.

Listening to Jeokrin, I could understand why the dragonbloods’ personalities had become like this.

It was a natural result of memorizing these strange writings since childhood.

After a while, I realized that what Jeokrin was reciting was similar to a spell incantation.

A magic incantation was a promise to oneself. It was an act of evoking images by reciting fixed phrases to increase the power of magic.

That was a magic incantation.

The moment I understood, it was over.

The incantation of Gwanghwaryong Seomshik Muguong, which had entered my head, began to unravel and recombine.

Unnecessary things were discarded, and only necessary things were taken.

The circle in my heart began to rotate.

The heat that had been surging within my body was carried on a specific flow, forming a thin line.

It was about opening a path for instantaneous strengthening, not constant strengthening.

A path for mana to pass through began to be created. There was no room for impurities to interfere.

The heat dwelling in the mana burned everything away.

Humans cannot become dragons.

Even though they call themselves descendants of dragons under the name of dragonblood, they are only mixed with a little dragon blood and are not complete dragons.

Gwanghwaryong Seomshik Muguong was a delusion filled with the dragonbloods’ desire to become dragons.

They assumed they were dragons and took on arrogance and violence.

Mana has a significant impact on the surrounding environment.

The same goes for people. They cannot help but be affected by mana.

If you suggest to the mana in your body and change its nature, your body will also be affected accordingly.

The incantation of Gwanghwaryong Seomshik Muguong is exactly that.

The fire mana created by strong self-suggestion will one day reach the brain and make the user’s personality resemble the dragon they have created.

I remove the arrogant incantations about the flames that burn everything in the world and the greatness of the dragonblood.

What I take is the framework contained within. The image of a firm flame is distorted, leaving only a vague afterimage.

“Ranah…?”

“Ah, yes…”

“Have you memorized it all?”

“To some extent.”

I had only established the basic framework, and there was still a lot of direction to go.

“Would you mind if I checked your body for a moment? I want to check if the path of fire has properly settled in your body.”

I hid my hands behind my back at Jeokrin’s words.

Even though the people of the Jeokryong family had accepted me as family, they were still unfamiliar strangers to me.

I couldn’t let them flow mana into my body.

“Hmm. It seems you’re still unfamiliar.”

“A little.”

“I see… then.”

Jeokrin, looking disappointed at my answer, got up from his seat and handed me a small wooden sword.

“Are we learning swordsmanship too?”

“Swordsmanship… there’s no set framework. If you’ve properly mastered Gwanghwaryong Seomshik Muguong, your body will move on its own.”

“Move on its own?”

“The dragon’s energy will tell you the answer. Just let it flow as if you’re watching the fire spread.”

“Hmm…”

“Of course, it will be difficult to understand at first. But if you continue to train, you will understand my words.”

Jeokrin went out to the wide yard and pointed the wooden sword at me.

“Are you suggesting we spar?”

“I won’t move from this spot, so feel free to swing as you please.”

Is it really okay to do that?

But this was a good opportunity to test what I had newly learned.

It would be much better to have someone to exchange swords with than to swing a sword at the air alone.

I lightly shook the hand holding the wooden sword and got up from my seat.

Whoosh-!

Even though it was a light gesture, heat haze seemed to rise from the tip of the wooden sword.

The movement of mana was faster than usual.

I wasn’t conscious of it, but the path of mana connected to the circle in my heart naturally shot a small amount of mana towards the sword.

“Already that much heat in the sword…!”

“No, I told you, I’m a mage…”

“As expected of the Jeokryong family bloodline…! To have achieved that much even though you learned Gwanghwaryong Seomshik Muguong for the first time, it must mean that it suits your body well…!”

He’s not listening again. The mana of Gwanghwaryong Seomshik Muguong that he usually trains with must have invaded his head and cooked his brain.

Surely everyone in this Jeokryong family is similar.

I thought that the members of the Cheongryong family were better.

“Come!”

Hot heat began to flow out from Jeokrin’s body holding the sword as if it were surging. Heat haze rose above his body.

Start lightly.

I moved forward and swung my sword.

At that moment, a small amount of mana raced along the path opened in my body, and instantaneous strengthening was achieved.

Clang-!

The wooden sword collided with the wooden sword.

At that moment, Jeokrin smiled brightly and shouted.

“Ranah! I don’t feel the momentum of fire!”

Of course. Because I had removed the incantation of Gwanghwaryong Seomshik Muguong as I pleased.

What was strengthening this body now was the pure starlight mana I possessed.

“Remember the great dragon! Remind yourself that its blood dwells within you!”

I didn’t want to do that. The entity that moved my body had to be entirely me.

I frowned and changed the nature of the mana.

Fire began to ignite in the starlight circle rotating in my heart, and heat spread throughout my body.

“Good!”

A bright smile spread across Jeokrin’s face as the scorching heat rose above my body.

Whoosh-!

Flames rose from the long wooden sword.

The wooden sword couldn’t withstand the scorching heat and began to burn and scatter ashes.

Not good. I have to keep the flames completely under my control.

Clash-!

Jeokrin’s wooden sword and my wooden sword collided once again.

Hot flames ignited in Jeokrin’s wooden sword, where a subtle heat haze had been rising.

Two types of flames mixed together. Mana of similar properties did not repel each other.

I didn’t like it. Was I similar to these lunatics?

My mana had to follow my control completely. Even the flames that bloomed on the sword.

Therefore, they must not be mixed. It was right that I existed alone.

The moment I thought so, the fiercely burning flames began to subside.

It wasn’t that the intensity of the fire had weakened. Rather, the temperature was getting higher.

Red.

The moment the flames that had been burning with an orange light achieved a complete red color, the red mana covered the wooden sword.

Instantaneous compression of mana. The scorching heat was concentrated in one place, forming a blade.

At that moment, I felt that the sword in my hand could cut through everything that existed in this world.

It was an intuition.

Shick-!

The moment Jeokrin’s wooden sword and my wooden sword collided again, Jeokrin’s wooden sword was cut off.

Even the flames of mana covering the sword at once.

The sensation I had felt until just now began to disappear.

The wooden sword, which had been covered in an opaque red color, was emitting orange flames again as if nothing had happened.

“This is…”

Jeokrin’s voice calling me faded away.

In order to regain the feeling I had just felt, I cut off all my senses to everything around me.

But what had disappeared did not come back again.

The feeling that had come to me without any warning faded away as if it had simply been my delusion.