Legacy of the Dark Sage

Ickle and the rest of the Golden Dragon Tribe representatives' reactions were a sight to behold as the match between Anahita and Kyran unfolded. They were not amazed by their confrontation—no, actually, they were pretty amazed, but for an entirely unexpected reason.

Crei, in particular, had a peculiar expression as he observed the two onstage. Unable to contain his thoughts any longer, he voiced his doubts to Ickle.

"Patriarch," he began, his unease palpable, "I understand your request for him to observe Anahita's technique and possibly train her, but this..."

He gestured toward the stage where the two supposed opponents were now absorbed in discussing Anahita's exterior morphication.

At that moment, Anahita was trying out something that Kyran said after pointing out some of the flaws in her application.

Crei continued, "...Can we still call this a spar?"

Thorn and the other representatives also looked at them with similar thoughts. They were not really against it because the things Kyran and Anahita discussed were pretty helpful to them, too. Still, the purpose of the spar was utterly removed from their actions.

If this was any other time, one of them would have already objected to the strange development of the spar. However, they knew why Ickle wanted an off-the-record match, and Kyran was doing precisely what was asked of him.

"Leave them," Ickle replied, even though he understood their sentiments. "More importantly, Thorn..."

"Yes, Patriarch."

"Listen well to what Null is saying. You still have trouble combining your innate magic with Draconic, and his advice to Anahita can also be helpful to you."

"I know," Thorn replied. He hated to admit it, but Kyran's advice was insightful.

"Also," Ickle looked at him meaningfully. "The treasure you and Ladon brought, both of you managed to break through its first trial, right?"

"Yes."

"The others are still having some problems getting past the first trial, but somehow, I have an inkling that Null's advice can help you pass the next one."

The treasure Ladon and Thorn got in the Tower of the Ancients was named Aegis's Trial. It was shaped like an egg, but when activated, it created an isolated space covered with a powerful barrier. The only way to escape that space was to destroy the barrier.

Ladon and Thorn succeeded in destroying the barrier back in the Tower of the Ancients. After that, the treasure exhausted its energy and deactivated. That was how they managed to take the treasure. After returning to the Dragon plane, they surrendered the treasure to the Research Department.

Since then, the Array Saints discovered that the treasure was a training item of some sort and had several difficulty levels. Thus far, only a few managed to break through the first level. Fortunately, those who failed did not have to worry about getting stuck inside the barrier because the Array Saints figured out how to use the treasure to a certain degree.

In any case, if the first trial tests the strength of their magic, the second trial focuses on their magic control.

Ladon and Thorn did not know the real purpose of the treasure. If it was only to test their stamina and raw strength, their clan already had an adequate training regiment for that. However, when Ladon and Thorn sparred again with the other tribe's talents, they noticed a drastic improvement in their magic output.

They soon realized this improvement was due to overcoming the treasure's first trial. From then on, they decided to continue challenging the treasure and see what other improvements they could receive.

Thorn turned his attention back to the stage before responding to Ickle's words, "I understand."

"Tell Ladon this, too," Ickle added, looking back at the stage as well. "He has been such a great help in training the younger ones."

"I will."

Meanwhile, Aella, who was with Aillos and Ducal, frowned at the unexpected development of the match. She looked at Aillos and asked, "Is this really okay?"

Apparently, like Crei, she found the situation strange.

Aillos chuckled, sensing Aella's disappointment, "Are you expecting a full-blown confrontation between them?"

"...Not really. But for a spar to turn into a coaching session..."

"I think this is fine," Ducal voiced his thought. "We have wanted to know the depth of Null's potential, and this development pretty much shows it."

"Are you sure you are not saying that because you found his insights about using Draconic magic intriguing?"

"I admit that influences it, and honestly, his insights have got me thinking," Ducal paused before looking at Aella. "Do you know why his Draconic magic is more powerful than most of the current generation?"

"Is it not because he can use Chaos magic?"

"He did not know how to use Chaos magic yesterday," Aillos interjected with a faint smile. He was sure of it because he had been observing Kyran all this time. Moreover, he was sensitive to Chaos magic energy, and Kyran did not even have an ounce of that energy around him. Then again, he probably missed it because of Shaiha's concealment ability.

"What?" Aella looked at him in surprise. "But..."

"If he did," Aillos cut her off before she could continue. "He would not have been in trouble when Coelus's magic energy entered his body."

"...Right... I forgot about that because he used Chaos magic earlier as if it was second nature to him."

"In yesterday's match, Null's use of Draconic magic was limited because of the remnant energy of Coelus still lingering in his core," Aillos continued. "Today, he seemed to have overcome it."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Yes," Ducal agreed with a nod. "In any case, his Draconic magic is stronger than most current generation of dragons because he did not take it for granted."

"!"

Aella was struck with a sudden realization at Ducal's words. Indeed, what he said was true. As dragons, they were born to be able to use Draconic magic with ease. Because of that, most dragons used it in a willy-nilly manner.

After peace was established in the Higher Realm, the older generation rarely went out and hunted or trained new generations of dragons. This resulted in them no longer being hands-on when it came to teaching the concept of Draconic magic. In the end, most believed it was better for the current and new generations to learn it independently and only explain its nature. Read latest stories on empire

"One of the Draconic magic's nature was amplification, and most dragons relied on it more than its other nature," Ducal continued with his explanation. "Null is different. I initially believed his knowledge of Draconic magic was superficial, like his family members. But after watching his matches yesterday, I realized I was wrong.

As Lord Aillos said, his use of Draconic magic yesterday was limited, yet he fought on par with the other talents.

"Moreover, he did not show any mental fatigue, not even until the end of the matches. You should know that even if Sisi healed him after each match, she could not restore his mental fatigue. That is also the case with his physical fatigue. But he managed to endure because his control and understanding of the Draconic magic's nature was better than most dragons."

Aella looked at Ducal with mixed emotions. Among the aides, he showed strong opposition against Ames's other family, but surprisingly, he seemed to have gotten a good impression on them now.

Aillos smiled while looking at Ducal out of the corner of his eyes. He wanted to tease the latter but decided against it, fearing he would suddenly pick on Kyran to hide his embarrassment.

"Now that you say that..." Aella looked back on the stage and watched Anahita and Kyran again. At that moment, Kyran showed Anahita something while covering and removing the silver gauntlet covering one of his forearms. "I think I'm understanding what you want to say."

"In any case, Anahita's exterior morphication technique can become one of our clan's trump cards if we develop it properly."

"True," Aella agreed. "To be honest, the surprise joint attack of the Solis and the other clans should have ended early and with fewer casualties if not for our side's inexperience in fighting while in human form."

They could have fought in their original form if not for the fear of the Solis Clan taking the corpses of those fallen dragons to use for their own sake. After all, one dragon body was enough to create a year's worth of potions, pills, armor, or weapons.

Then again, the Solis Clan might decide to leave their fallen members alone, even if they were in their original form, to give them some leverage when they choose to feign ignorance about the reason they attacked.

"If we develop Anahita's technique and gain more combat experience while in human form, then..."

"That is part of the plan."

"Lord Aillos?" Aella suddenly looked at Aillos in confusion. She voiced her thoughts about the matter and was surprised he already had that idea.

Aillos only smiled without looking at her.

On the other hand, Ducal looked at Aillos in understanding and told Aella, "There is only one day left before the closed-door meeting. We can continue this discussion then."

Aella looked at Ducal and fell silent. She was also an aide and was familiar with Aillos, so she more or less had an idea of what he had in mind. But it was because of that that she realized the closed-door meeting this time would signal the start of something big.

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