Chapter Seventy-Eight: Who Will Outplay Whom?

“…I need to return to the Sacred Tomb!”

This answer made the voice in his mind grow solemn.

“Dragons are higher beings; our life forms are entirely different from you lower creatures. After death, what we seek is a soul burial—only when our spirits return to the Sacred Tomb can we find true rest. As for the body, it is of little importance.”

Shaya pondered, then probed, “So, you’re saying that if someone were to skin you or tear you apart, you dragons wouldn’t care?”

The dragon’s voice instantly turned furious. “You insolent brat! If you dare to defile my noble body like that, I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” Shaya curled his lip with disdain. “Will you leap out of the stone and bite me?”

“…”

Evidently, the dragon was so exasperated by Shaya’s unreasonable attitude that it fell silent for a long while before speaking again, slowly, “To escape Darwin’s malice, I cast a minor spell upon myself just before death. If it were before, this spell would never have fooled Darwin, but since he became human, he lost his magical senses. I forced most of my soul’s power outward, deceiving Darwin’s perception, and condensed my primary consciousness into a cluster, fleeing into your magical crystal. Yet now, my strength is feeble; only within this crystal can I persist. Should I leave, I would soon dissipate, becoming a wandering, mindless spirit, forever denied rest. By my own power, I cannot escape and return to the Sacred Tomb. If I tried, I’d last but a moment before fading into oblivion…”

The Sacred Tomb…

Shaya stroked his chin, unable to quell a surge of interest.

A burial ground for dragons? Wouldn’t that mean it’s filled with countless dragon… corpses?

Having already tasted the benefits, Shaya knew well the value of a dragon; every part was a treasure. If he could find the dragon’s tomb, even acquiring a pile of dragon bones would be…

But then Shaya reminded himself: since dragons hold the Sacred Tomb in such regard, how could it possibly be unguarded? At the very least, there must be a few dragons watching over it. With his current abilities, if he dared venture there, his fate would be to become a midnight snack for the dragons.

“That tomb you mentioned must be extraordinary. If I were to go there, I might die without even knowing how,” Shaya shook his head repeatedly. “I’m not falling for that.”

The voice in his mind continued to tempt him, “If it were anyone else who dared approach our dragon Sacred Tomb, death would be certain. The tomb is guarded by powerful sentinels—three mighty ancient dragons from our age who, after death, were blessed by the Dragon God. Their bodies are preserved eternally, their power immense and undiminished, yet bound by the Dragon God’s magic so they cannot leave the tomb. Not even your human saint-level warriors could hope to match them. However, in your case, if I lead you to the Sacred Tomb, my soul bears the mark of a dragon. The guardians will not attack you, so…”

Hmm? This was sounding like a very profitable proposition…

“But how do I know you’re not trying to trick me?” Shaya laughed dryly. “If it’s as you say, all you need is to bring a dragon along and you could do whatever you wanted in the tomb?”

“Of course not!” The voice replied, “The Sacred Tomb is a holy place for dragons. No living dragon, not even the chieftain, is permitted to enter! Only those on the brink of death are granted entry. Once inside, they receive their own grave and await their end. If a dragon dies outside, their soul, being powerful, can still return to the tomb. Our souls are strong enough to support the journey home…”

“So, it seems you’re actually telling the truth,” Shaya mused, then laughed. “Well, I might consider helping you, once this war is over—if I have the time. But those benefits you mentioned, you’ll have to provide them first.”

“Naturally.” The dragon in his mind sounded satisfied. “I can teach you some dragon combat techniques. Your body isn’t as strong as ours, but it’s sturdier than most humans, and with my dragon blood strengthening you, you might manage to perform some dragon battle skills. I can teach you a few dragon spells, allowing you to use some basic dragon magic. You can channel this power into the dragon scales, increasing their defensive strength…”

(Hmph, despicable human. Though I speak the truth, once I return to the tomb and my soul leaves your magic crystal, without my protection, the tomb guardians will tear you to pieces!)

(Hmph, this foolish dragon thinks I’m that easy to trick. Fine, let’s see who outsmarts whom in the end…)

Man and dragon, each harboring their own schemes…

※※※

To allay Shaya’s suspicions, the dragon immediately taught him two dragon spells.

These incantations were naturally spoken in the dragon tongue, which human throats were incapable of producing. Dragons, due to their unique physiology, spoke in notes that were complex and bizarre; a single note might resonate through the nasal passages and throat, twisting several times, and even required the nasal cavity to produce vibrational resonance—a language utterly impossible for humans to master. Not even the most gifted linguists among humans could learn the dragon tongue.

Thus, human magicians had never been able to wield dragon magic.

But there was another, more crucial reason.

“If magic depended strictly on spoken incantations, that explanation might barely suffice. Yet even among humans, some powerful wizards can cast spells silently, merely uttering the incantation in their mind—what you call ‘silent casting.’ But even so, humans still cannot use dragon spells. So, the problem lies not only in the language. The most important reason is that dragon magic is exclusive to dragons—a law set by the gods at creation. The soul mark of dragons is different from that of humans, and casting magic requires resonance with the soul. Therefore, humans are naturally incapable of using dragon magic.

I can give you a tiny fragment of my soul mark—very small, as my soul is already weak. This sliver of dragon soul is enough for you to wield a trace of dragon power. You still won’t be able to use most dragon spells, but when you wear my dragon scales, you’ll gain a defense roughly comparable to my original form. It won’t match my full power, but you’ll have resistance to ordinary magic.”

That was a fine proposal.

Shaya recalled what Dodoro had explained: the reason the dragon scale armor had been penetrated so easily last time was that, having lost the dragon’s original body, the scales lost their magical resistance.

However, there was one condition: the fragment of dragon soul he was to receive required a magical gem as a vessel.

But where would Shaya find such a gem? After a moment’s thought, he slapped his forehead, dashed back to his ruined tent, rummaged through his bundle, and found among the spoils taken from that dragon-slaying mage a few shining stones.

Following the dragon’s instructions, Shaya selected a clear magic crystal.

Soon, the pendant emitted a bluish-green glow, and a small wisp of it gently entered the transparent magic crystal. The crystal quickly turned a deep blue, almost black in its intensity.

Shaya was dissatisfied. “That’s it? You only gave me a tiny bit. Can’t you give more?”

The dragon’s voice sounded weary and irritable. “Foolish human! Do you know what a dragon soul’s mark is? For you humans, even this small amount is tremendous. Your magic crystal is practically full! Any more and it would burst!”

Shaya reluctantly squeezed the now-blue crystal. “Fine, I’ll trust you this once.”

“Now, I can teach you a special set of battle techniques…”

Shaya was somewhat unimpressed. “Battle techniques for dragons? Am I supposed to claw at people, bite them, or maybe use a tail swipe? I don’t have a tail, you know.”

The dragon’s voice quivered with rage. “Idiot! Utterly ignorant! Any other human would beg on their knees for the chance to learn the secret arts of dragons, but you, you wretch…”

“Alright, alright.” Shaya instantly became more polite, chuckling. “So, does that mean there are other techniques? The way you dragons fight must be very different from humans, right?”

“…Yes, very different. However, there is one powerful technique that suits you humans… In fact, it originally belonged to humans—a powerful martial art long lost in your world, but preserved among the dragons.”

“Oh?” Shaya’s curiosity was piqued.

The dragons had actually preserved a human martial art?

“…Have you ever heard of ‘Dragon Knight’?”