NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7
Episode 7
Pow!
Rousseau tapped the tip of his hilt against the liquid encased in a transparent membrane inside the vial.
“What is this?”
The liquid in the first vial, the size of a child’s head, was a strange object that Rousseau had never heard of or seen before.
It looked like it was protected by a transparent membrane, which made him want to open it, but he also felt uneasy about doing so.
“I’ve never heard of…….”
No matter how much I dredged up my memories of Count Lanslan, I couldn’t recall any mention of this mysterious liquid.
No, it was not there.
“Should I have brought an appraisal spell?”
Rousseau hadn’t bothered to buy an ’emotion’ spellbook, as she could recognize what she wanted at a glance.
“It doesn’t look dangerous…….”
Still, it couldn’t hurt to be cautious, Rousseau thought and closed the door to the chest again.
Then he opened the second one.
There it was.
“Sure enough!!!”
Inside the chest was a golden stone about the size of an adult’s fist, lying on top of a leather spellbook with a small magic circle on it.
“Shattered Dragon Heart…….”
What looks like a golden stone lump.
It was the heart of a dragon, a powerful creature that no longer existed on the continent.
However, it was in a ‘broken’ form rather than an intact one, as it was unknown how long ago it was extracted from the dragon’s body.
Still, there was no need to be disappointed.
Even in its shattered form, the heart contained the dragon’s most powerful power, making it a treasure of immense value, even in small quantities.
“You were foolish to give this treasure away, you fool.”
Rousseau sneered at Count Lanslan, who had coldly given the Dragon Heart to Emperor Krasler.
Count Lanslan may have earned the Emperor a lot of points, but Rousseau knew better than anyone that such intangible credibility could be taken away at the flip of a finger.
Rousseau believed that even the greatest dragon heart is a stone when handed over to another, but that even the most insignificant treasure becomes a true treasure when it is used.
The emperor had heard that Count Lanslan had used the dragon heart to create a mana training center in the basement of the imperial palace.
It was said that practicing mana there would yield at least twice as much, and possibly four times as much, as practicing elsewhere for the same amount of time……..
“It’s only for the imperial family or those who have earned the emperor’s trust, and only for a short period, so it’s just a painting for everyone else.”
Rousseau laughed at Count Lanslan’s foolishness for doing so much good for others and then began carefully sprinkling pure white magic powder on the floor of the secret chamber.
Magic powder was a typical magical item used to make magic circles, and it was expensive, costing as much as one gold per 100 grams.
Moreover, it was a one-time use item that could never be used again, so Rousseau was more cautious than ever as he drew the magic circle.
It was a special mana-cultivation magic circle that was unique to Count Slater, and Rousseau had used it dozens of times in his youth.
He had drawn it many times before coming to the Kwelan Mines, so he knew he couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.
Rousseau then stripped down on the cot and carefully pulled out the shattered dragon heart.
“……Awww!!!”
As he held the Dragon Heart in his hand, a searing pain rushed through his palm.
At the same time, a tremendous heat instantly enveloped his entire body, as if it were on fire.
“Is this the Dragon Heart?”
The power was too much for him to handle, and despite the pain, Rousseau’s mouth watered like a man in front of a feast.
“I’ll eat them all!”
Rousseau carefully walked into the mana cultivation circle and sat down on his butt on the ground.
Then, he began to devour the broken dragon hearts with great voraciousness.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
The dragon heart, unlike its stone-like appearance, had a slightly squishy texture and a bitter, fishy flavor.
“Yuck!!!”
Not only was the texture and taste terrible, but the moment he chewed it, it melted in his mouth, causing Rousseau’s face to contort in pain from the immense heat that traveled down his esophagus.
Nevertheless, Rousseau bit his lower lip so tightly that it bled, fearing that if he opened his mouth, the heat would escape along with the Dragon Heart’s power.
“Let’s experience the power of the Dragon Heart!
After eating the dragon’s heart cleanly, Luo Xiao closed his eyes and began practicing Count Slater’s mana cultivation technique, which produced two sword stars.
It had been seven years since he had practiced it.
* * *
“You’ve endured all those years for such a paltry price?”
I wanted to laugh at him, but for some reason, the voice that came out of my mouth was tinged with anger and resentment.
Most of all, I was angry.
The fact that the middle-aged man at the desk had no answer, no excuse, no defense.
I cringed, anger rising from the depths of my chest.
“So…… you’re just going to stand there and take it like a fool, doing the bidding of people who don’t even know what grace is?”
“…….”
“Say something, why don’t you say anything, is this all you’ve gotten in return for your loyalty over the past hundreds of years!”
I was so angry that I burst into tears, and my eyes welled up with blood.
No matter how tightly I clenched my hands, my nails digging into my palms and scarring them, the pain was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.
“……Leave.”
“Aberniim!”
“Russo, you must survive. Your brothers must fight for family honor with me to the end, but you are different. You alone…… will be able to survive long enough.”
“You want me to cowardly survive on my own because I’ve always been a blemish on the family’s honor because I’ve lived a life where I don’t care if I’m pointed at, is that what you mean, you want me to survive like that!”
I force myself to swallow the hot blood rising in my throat and glare at my father with wide eyes.
My father looks at me.
It wasn’t the usual glare of disapproval, but rather a mixture of regret and sadness behind it.
It was regret, and worry.
My father looked so vulnerable and weak, unable to hide the fact that he could no longer be a strong fence.
Even now, when he stepped onto the battlefield, he was strong enough to cut down dozens of knights single-handedly, but at this moment, he was the weakest and most helpless man in the world.
It was a sight he thought he would never see, and it made his heart ache even more.
“Survive somehow and carry on the family name. This is not an…… order, but my last plea to you as a father. My son.”
He was crying.
He was looking at me with tears in his eyes, asking me so desperately.
But I…… refused even his last request.
* * *
“Ho!”
It was a few days later when Rousseau, who had absorbed the power of the shattered dragon heart with his mana cultivation technique, opened his eyes.
His appearance hadn’t changed much from before, but Rousseau himself knew better than anyone.
“I feel like I’ve been reborn in a completely new body.”
Rousseau clenched his fists at the revitalization he felt throughout his body.
He’d never really thought of himself as heavy or out of shape before, but compared to his current state, the difference was so clear that he could almost call it heaven and earth.
If I were to measure my physical abilities right now, I would be able to go much faster, stronger, and more intensely for longer periods than I ever have before.
I was quickly catching up to and overtaking the long, sweaty efforts of others.
“That’s cheating.”
If those who had been practicing for years knew, they would be foaming at the mouth and craning their necks at the unfairness of the situation.
“You can eat dragon hearts if you want to be unfair.”
Life is a battle that is never fair.
Starting with the circumstances of birth, the talents and qualities of each individual are also far from fair, and Rousseau was ready to laugh lightly at those who would call him cowardly.
“Time will take care of the rest.”
Rousseau’s body had improved beyond recognition, but surprisingly, there was still much more Dragon Heart power spread throughout his body that he hadn’t fully absorbed.
No matter how great Count Slater’s mana cultivation techniques were, it was impossible for him to fully absorb the power of the Dragon Heart, the strongest living creature, in a single effort.
Rousseau, who had recognized this fact from the beginning, was not the least bit disappointed or impatient.
On the contrary.
“It’s better to be perfect the first time, but there’s no harm in taking it safe and slow.”
As if that were enough, Rousseau turned his attention to the chest containing the shattered Dragon Heart.
“I don’t know how long it’s been preserving its power.”
Rousseau reached down and picked up the leather spellbook.
While ordinary magic scrolls were all made of special paper that could be easily torn, the leather scroll that preserved the dragon heart was a rare item that no amount of money could buy.
“This alone is worth the price of a magic scroll.”