Chapter 158

Chapter 158

Whoa!

“It’s somewhere in the northern snow mountains, like the old man said.”

Herteias said proudly.

It was definitely somewhere on a mountain covered in white snow.

“Heltheus. But this place is a bit…”

The problem was that a fierce blizzard raged so fiercely they could barely see ahead, and their feet sank deep into the snow.

Dojai, who had some resistance to the cold, and Herteias, whose roots were dragon, were fine, but Harques was shivering violently.

Even for a Titan, the cold was unbearable in just a thin leather garment.

“Why?”

“Harkes is struggling.”

“It’s… fine…”

Harkes wrapped himself tightly in the large robe he was holding.

Still, his teeth chattered relentlessly, seemingly beyond his control.

“Even if I take him…”

Herteias trudged over to Harques with an annoyed look, muttering something under his breath.

At that, Harques’ face brightened considerably.

“Oh… thank you… so much!”

Harques, who had been standing stiffly with his arms crossed, gradually relaxed his posture.

Herteias had cast a warming spell on him.

“What kind of magic is that?”

Dojae pressed close to Herteias and asked.

“Why are you doing this?”

Herteias recoiled in disgust.

But Dojae grabbed hold of his sleeve, preventing him from moving away.

“That magic you just used… I’ve never seen it before. What kind of magic is it?”

“It’s just a slightly difficult high-level magic.”

“Can’t you tell me?”

Among the spells Dojae knew, there was none that only made one feel warmth like that.

Most of what he’d learned focused on offensive magic, and since he only read books on that sort, he was weak in magic closely tied to daily life.

“If you tell me, can I use it?”

“You’ll know once you hear it, right?”

“For free?”

“What do you want in return?”

“Anything. It’s just too much trouble to tell you for free.”

Dojae shot Herteias a dirty look.

Isn’t this a plot hole?

Fine, let’s just go with the setting that he somehow managed to survive deep in the mountains for 200 years, passing down his lineage.

But this guy is trying to bargain?

This felt like a bit of a character breakdown.

“Hmm… something worth paying as compensation…”

But what can you do?

That man is a dragon, a race stubborn and living entirely by their own rules.

Dojae pondered what might appeal to Herteias within the pocket dimension.

He pretends to be simple-minded, but he’s a picky bastard. Nothing ordinary would stand a chance.

“How about taking a look at this first? The data won’t explode, though.”

Unable to think of anything else, Dojae pulled out his smartphone.

Herteias, who had already shown interest in the camera once, stared at it with a look of wonder.

“What is this?”

“It’s one of Briasilius’s favorite things.”

“Oh?”

Herteias reacted strongly to Dojae’s words.

Since Herteias seemed to harbor a rivalry with Briasilius, Dojae had casually mentioned it, and it turned out exactly as he’d thought.

“Teach me the magic on the way. Harques seems to be getting restless.”

Since arriving at the Northern Snow Mountains, Harques had been restless, seemingly longing for Eurabia.

Since Dojae also needed to move quickly, they decided to depart for now.

“And this thing is called a smartphone…”

“Got it! This is pretty amazing, huh?”

Herteias snatched the smartphone from Dojae’s hand.

Dojae thought to himself, this behavior is exactly like Briasius’.

“Then how about we head up first? Judging by the low clouds, the view should be clear up top.”

Harkes led the way.

With him clearing the path ahead with his large feet, Dojae and Herteias found it much easier to follow.

***

Near the summit.

Emerging from the snow clouds and climbing above them, the surrounding mountain peaks came into view at a glance.

“Didn’t I tell you? You wouldn’t understand even if I explained?”

“…I sort of understood.”

During the climb, I listened to Herteias talk about magic.

At first, he seemed annoyed, but he grew more enthusiastic as we went, until it finally turned into a full-fledged lecture.

“Really? Then try using a heating spell.”

“Ahem. Just a moment…”

Heating magic, which warmed Harques’ body.

Dojae gathered mana, recalling the formula and flow Herteias had taught him.

It didn’t require much mana, so he gathered it quickly.

Boom!

“Pfft!”

A small explosion occurred, and Herteias sneered.

Dojae waved his hand vigorously, quickly dispersing the billowing smoke.

“My mistake. I used too much mana on the fire magic.”

“If magic were something you could master just by hearing it once, why would dragons exist, and why would there be Archmages?”

“I said it was a mistake. Wait. I’ll try again slowly.”

Dojae refocused his mind.

With less mana available, he had to be even more careful in how he distributed it.

Psssst-.

Tiny droplets formed like mist.

He added fire mana to the water mana to prevent the droplets from freezing.

However, if the fire mana was too strong, the water mana would evaporate, so it was crucial to continuously draw in water mana while maintaining just enough firepower to prevent it from blowing away.

Whoosh-.

Then I added wind mana.

The wind mana swirled within a defined space, circulating the warmed water mana throughout the entire area.

The wind mana transformed into warm air, creating a hot, steamy warmth.

“How’s that?”

“Huh? Not bad? But what’s next?”

Next.

How to contain the warmth.

That was the most problematic part.

Of course, that didn’t mean mixing the mana of each energy was easy.

Only a mage who has trained for over a decade or a naturally gifted mage can handle three energies simultaneously.

Moreover, to bind the mana that maintained its warmth without constant infusion, he had to blend in several additional spells.

In short, it meant that Daejae’s skill level wasn’t yet sufficient to complete ‘Heating’—a multi-magic spell that combined several spells under one name.

Bang!

The sound of the spell shattering and air bursting out echoed.

Dojae ultimately failed to properly complete the spell.

“It’s no good.”

“Phew-huh. For a young guy, just getting that far is impressive. Don’t be too disappointed.”

Herteias pats Dojae on the back.

But that wasn’t what Dojae meant.

“Magol.”

At Dojae’s call, Magol leaps out from the sub-space.

Herteias watches the scene with puzzlement.

“A golem? What are we supposed to do?”

“Wait a moment. Magol, listen carefully to what I say and do as I tell you.”

Dojae explained everything Herteias had told him to Magol without omitting a single detail.

He included his own insights and realizations, carefully adding explanations on how to make it easier to understand.

Then Magol, seemingly deep in thought and completely still, suddenly raised his hand.

“Heating.”

The Hitting spell was cast toward Dojae.

The surrounding air heated up intensely, warming his body.

“Well done, Magoli!”

“This is easy, Master!”

Nod nod.

Dojae wore a satisfied expression at Magol’s reply.

Compared to the other golems, Magol was the most loyal one—he knew how to use honorifics and never refused orders. Dojae cherished him the most.

“Ooh… This golem’s pretty impressive, huh?”

“It’s specialized in magic. So, about that…”

Dojae wore a sly look.

Then, taking advantage of Herteias’s momentary lapse in attention, he retrieved his smartphone.

“What are you doing?! I haven’t even had a chance to look at it properly yet, explaining it all to you!”

“I never said I’d give it to you.”

“What…?”

“I was just gonna play with it for a bit and ask for it back, but you snatched it without listening.”

He hadn’t really planned on making a big deal about the smartphone, but since Herteias had created the situation himself, Dojae saw his chance and had been waiting.

“Briasilius had a lot of fun playing with this… four generations worth, no less.”

Dojae fiddled with the smartphone while gauging Herteias’s reaction.

Sure enough, the moment the ‘B’ of Briasilius appeared, his eyes lit up.

“Four generations? What on earth is it that he played with not just one, but four of them?”

“Want to know? Curious?”

“Ugh! How dare a human toy with a dragon?”

Herteias stared at him with a stern expression.

He might end the game and return to being a dragon any moment now.

But for Dojae, now was the perfect moment.

“I’ll give you one more than Briasilius.”

“One more? You mean one more than that guy?”

Herteias’s fluttering hair settles calmly.

Dojae smiled lightly and nodded.

“But I can’t get it right away. I have to deal with Havik first so I can go back to the original world and retrieve it… You’ll help me, right?”

“I promise. I’ll give you one more than that guy, no matter what. Then I’ll help you, not as a game, but as the dragon, Herteias.”

“I promise.”

“Then give me your blood.”

Herteias demanded blood.

Dojae understood what that meant.

The contract he had made with Theus, son of Harces.

Recalling that pact, Dojae cut his fingertip and let a single drop of blood fall onto Herteias’s palm.

“Only my blood? Doesn’t your blood also need to be present for the contract magic to take effect?”

“I hope you don’t think a dragon’s blood is some lowly liquid like yours. The greater we are, the more our blood becomes mana itself.”

It felt like he was getting the short end of the stick, but since the contract itself was entirely to Dojae’s advantage, he decided not to dwell on it.

Then Dojae handed over his smartphone, whose data connection had been cut off, and said.

“Heltain, teach Magol your magic.”

***

The southernmost tip of the continent.

A region bordering the coastline.

Balran sits atop a mountain of corpses piled high, a mix of monsters and other races.

“Mr. Balaan? Those monsters weren’t sent for that purpose, were they?”

Lidiran appeared from somewhere and asked Balran, who was covered in blood.

Balaan, who had been staring blankly into space, leapt instantly and landed lightly before Ridiran.

“I clearly told you I didn’t need them.”

“Mr. Balan. I’d appreciate it if you refrained from such presumptuous remarks?”

Balran flinched as Ridiran smiled brightly.

But Balran was not one to bend his will.

“Gelahan made me this way. Ridiran, your actions are nothing short of disrespecting Gelahan.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Mr. Balan, now that Lord Gelahan is gone, I am his proxy. Everything is done according to my will.”

Rage surged within Balan at Ridiran, who disregarded his very existence.

But the sheer disparity in their stature made it impossible for him to even properly counter.

“So why did Lord Ridiran personally journey all the way to the edge of the continent?”

Balan tried a small, sarcastic retort.

Lidiran merely gave him a dismissive look and did not even bother to respond.

“Harvik’s stamina is almost fully restored.”

“That means…”

“Yes, the war is imminent. You should quickly regain your original stamina too.”

Balan clenched his massive fist.

Gelahan’s power, which was also nearly fully restored.

He felt it keenly—the long-awaited time for vengeance was finally upon him.

“Understood. I look forward to it…”