ushernet Chapter 255 : Chapter 255
Chapter 255 : Chapter 255
The Great Chieftain narrowed his eyes.A desert night sky where the stars looked as though they might spill down.
Beneath this sky, he had grown up listening to the stories of warriors.
The crimson desert.
Dragons.
Ancient tales from before the Lizardmen were even born.
As a child, Ilin Rau loved such stories.
At times, he would also listen to the tales of the tribe’s oldest shaman.
A shaman whose eyesight had nearly faded.
The shaman did not have long left to live.
As his memories gradually dimmed, Ilin Rau would visit him whenever he had the chance to listen to his words.
Other Lizardmen said the shaman was no longer in his right mind, but perhaps because of that, Ilin Rau found him even more fascinating.
‘The water of the desert will all dry up.’
The shaman sometimes spoke ominous words.
‘When all the tribes become one, we will prosper as never before.’
He would also speak of things that seemed impossible.
And then, one day, an unexpected statement flowed from the shaman’s lips.
‘You will become the Great Chieftain.’
Great Chieftain.
Even a young Lizardman knew what that meant.
Perhaps a being even more fantastical than a dragon.
But the shaman was an old man whose memories were fading, and his words were not always coherent.
Placing his hand on the head of the young Ilin Rau, the shaman said,
‘When much more time has passed, one who rides a winged magical beast will come and save our people.’
One who rides a winged magical beast.
Now a Great Chieftain himself, Ilin Rau looked at Radel, who had arrived riding a griffin.
Every word the shaman had spoken had come true.
Ilin Rau became the Great Chieftain and united all the tribes.
At the northern oasis, the Lizardmen achieved prosperity unlike anything before.
And then, one day,
the water of the desert began to dry up.
Recalling the shaman who had long since passed from this world, Ilin Rau lifted his gaze to the night sky.
And to the old shaman’s star, wherever it might be, he murmured,
‘You were right.’
The Lizardmen believed that when they died, they were guided by God Nava and became stars in the sky.
Surely one of those stars belonged to the shaman.
Standing in the heart of the desert under the watchful stars, Ilin Rau spoke to Radel.
“Since you came all this way, you intend to receive proper compensation. You chose well.”
Proper compensation?
A question surfaced in Radel’s mind.
‘I just came out to secretly hunt a manticore.’
But this was not an atmosphere where he could say that.
“You are one who came to save our tribe. I will gladly pay the price.”
The Great Chieftain removed the necklace hanging around his neck and handed it to Radel.
What he offered with almost reverent care was a small flute.
“How you use this is now up to you.”
Leaving only those words behind, the Great Chieftain vanished without a trace.
The desert grew silent.
Having somehow received compensation first, Radel stared down at the flute with a dazed expression.
The situation had ended without him ever mentioning that he had come to hunt a manticore.
“…So what exactly is this?”
A faint magical power flowed from the white flute.
It was different from natural mana, clearly an object shaped by someone’s hand.
An artifact?
Without much thought, Radel raised the flute to his lips.
He breathed into it.
Screee!
A shrill sound rang out from the flute.
At the same time, magic power burst forth from it.
In that instant, a familiar notification sound echoed.
Ding.
[An unknown magic interferes with the user’s perception.]
[Status Effect Nullification is activated.]
[Conditions have been met.]
[Condition: Dragon’s Flute]
Radel’s eyes widened at the sudden system window.
“Dragon’s Flute?”
[Hidden space is being revealed.]
[A hidden desert ruin reveals itself!]
RUMBLE!
The desert shook.
A massive vortex formed in the ground, and sand spiraled violently as it was sucked inward.
WHOOOOOSH!
A powerful wind of magic power swept outward from the phenomenon.
Radel hurriedly pulled out his staff and shouted a spell.
“Block it!”
It was a defensive magic he had practiced repeatedly.
It was not as perfect as the one Professor Bronson had cast, but a translucent sphere formed around him.
Maintaining his concentration, Radel withstood the storm of magic.
CRASH!
However, he could not stop the ground from collapsing.
Radel’s feet were quickly dragged down into the sand.
It felt as though something had grabbed his ankles and was pulling him under.
“Damn it…!”
Just before he was swallowed by the sand, a window appeared before his eyes.
Ding.
[Do you wish to enter the hidden desert ruin? Y/N]
“At this point, anyone would have to enter, would they not?”
He selected the option without hesitation.
But the sand did not wait, swallowing Radel completely.
WHOOOOSH.
Only a dry wind blew across the crimson desert.
It was a quiet scene, as though no one had ever been there.
***
“Ugh… my head.”
When Radel opened his eyes, he was inside the desert ruin.
“Cough, hack!”
As he brushed away the sand that had filled his nose and mouth during the fall, Radel coughed violently for a while.
“I thought I was going to die.”
After finally catching his breath, Radel looked around.
FLARE!
Torches hung along the corridor, and the familiar flow of mana filled the air.
It was said to be a hidden desert ruin, yet it felt strangely familiar.
Like the secret passage in the Prince’s Palace.
Or a hidden corridor someone had secretly built in the Academy…
‘This place smells like my ancestor.’
It was obvious who had built it.
Radel brushed the sand from his knees and rose, staff in hand.
It would be a waste to keep a place like this to himself.
“Spirit Summoning!”
POP!
Summoned at such a late hour, the Spirit of the Library shouted angrily.
“What is the meaning of this? Do you never sleep? Do you know what time it is? You summon me at this hour, during this precious rest time when the library is closed!”
“Well, I suppose it is around one in the morning?”
“Sleep! At that hour, you should be sleeping! Go lie down immediately!”
Fuming, the Spirit of the Library flapped its pages and yelled.
This clumsy contractor was still a minor, yet he was committing the outrage of summoning a spirit in the dead of night.
“Wait. Are you not in the middle of major practical training?”
On top of that, the boy was in the desert.
Realizing that Radel was not at the Academy but in the Carmine Desert, the Spirit of the Library hurriedly looked around.
And in an instant, it recognized where they were.
“This place is…?!”
The Spirit of the Library flapped its pages urgently as it flew through the ruins.
“Here, and there too! There is no doubt about it… that mana.”
It was no illusion.
The human mage it had first contracted with.
A man whose genius far surpassed even an Archmage, so extraordinary that he crossed dimensions.
And a fraud who bound the spirit to the Academy library before disappearing.
Hayden Reinhard Cretian.
There was no mistaking his traces.
“I thought so. I knew you would recognize it.”
Radel smiled broadly at the Spirit of the Library.
It was an insolent smile, but the spirit could not deny it.
To think this boy kept uncovering his ancestor’s legacy, which had vanished without a trace from the human world.
Even the Spirit of the Library had to admit its admiration.
“Hmph. So you really are that man’s descendant.”
The Spirit of the Library grumbled petulantly.
Then it flapped its cover violently and shouted,
“What are you standing around for? Hurry and go deeper inside!”
Together, Radel and the Spirit of the Library stepped further into the ruins.
When they exited the corridor, a vast chamber opened before them, lined on both sides with sand pillars twice a person’s height.
As they approached, they saw that sand continuously poured upward through the pillars from bottom to top.
Radel gazed at the mysterious sight in awe.
“It is like an hourglass flowing in reverse.”
“Magic that defies space and time. To think such profound magic is used for nothing more than reversing sand…!”
“Still, it is impressive.”
“You call using magic of this level just to make decorations impressive?”
The Spirit of the Library shook its pages in disbelief.
The ruins were filled with things it could not comprehend.
“And what is this vulgar taste?”
In one chamber, specimens of magical beasts were on display.
Radel’s eyes lit up at the sight.
A manticore was among the preserved specimens.
“A manticore?”
Radel dashed forward and searched the room.
He found a box filled with manticore teeth and could not hide his excitement.
“How fortunate. I needed these.”
But the Spirit of the Library felt a chill run through it.
Did this boy not understand what it meant to have this many manticore teeth?
Imagining Hayden’s conman-like grin as he plucked manticore teeth one by one made the spirit feel nauseated.
Meanwhile, Radel happily opened his space expansion pouch and swept the manticore teeth inside.
‘An unexpected haul. With this, I can make Hayden-style Intermediate Potions whenever I want.’
After neatly collecting the byproducts, Radel turned his attention deeper into the ruins.
There stood a wall that looked suspicious to anyone.
‘From experience, walls like that always hide an entrance.’
Radel approached the wall and placed his hand on it.
Ding.
[An unknown magic interferes with the user’s perception.]
[Status Effect Nullification is activated.]
[Conditions have been met.]
[Condition: Successor of Hayden’s Normal Mana Training Method]
[Hidden space is being revealed.]
[A hidden secret space reveals itself!]
Just as Radel had expected.
He did not know what his ancestor Hayden had hidden here, but he always left something behind in spaces he created, often along with a journal.
As if he knew that his descendant would one day find it.
“What is that?!”
The Spirit of the Library turned at the violently surging flow of mana.
Seeing a door appear in a wall where nothing had existed before, its mouth fell open.
“What did you do? I felt absolutely nothing!”
“Did I? I simply discovered a hidden space.”
“Unbelievable…”
Seeing even a Great Spirit fail to notice Hayden’s magic, it seemed that discerning his ancestor’s spells was no easy matter.
Admiring Hayden’s skill once more, Radel entered the secret space with the Spirit of the Library.
***
Desert Research Journal
– H.L.K.
Imperial Year XXX, December 22
I came to the desert to find materials to seal demons.
To bind their souls, a special sealing tool is required.
Imperial Year XXX, November 23
It must be here somewhere.
My intuition says so.
However, other magical beasts are running rampant, so I will deal with them first.
Imperial Year XXX, December 24
I finally found it.
The remains of the last dragon.
Imperial Year XXX, December 25
The sealing tool to imprison those demon bastards is complete.
Tomorrow, I depart to seal the demons.
Despicable creatures.
Imperial Year XXX, December 26
Before leaving the desert, I made these ruins to loosen up a bit.
I also displayed the magical beasts I caught out of boredom while searching for the dragon remains.
It looks rather impressive, does it not?
Ah, and to the descendants who may discover this later, my apologies, but there are no remains left now.
I used them all.
Instead, I leave behind a small gift.
‘A small gift?’
Radel’s eyes stopped at the final line as he read through the Desert Research Journal.
He then looked at the item placed beside it.
A single, hard scale, smaller than the palm of his hand.
That was the gift his ancestor had left behind.