Chapter 155
The place Leo arrived at, following Lieven, was the top of the clock tower at the center of Lumeria City.
‘I never knew there was something like this inside the clock tower.’
With a look of surprise, he climbed the stairs.
‘Is this like a kind of watchtower?’
The countless spells covering the clock tower dazzled Leo’s eyes.
‘They’re all formed with [Dragon Speech Magic]. If a mage saw this, they’d lose their mind.’
With curiosity, Leo examined the magical formulas that made up the tower.
Though Leo was now familiar with many magic systems from the current era, there was still one he hadn’t experienced.
That was [Dragon Speech Magic].
Only dragons could use [Dragon Speech Magic].
It was similar to [Star Magic] in that other races couldn’t use it.
But there was a fundamental difference between the two.
[Star Magic] is a system optimized for elves.
As long as you had the sense to adapt those formulas for human use, any race could cast it. But [Dragon Speech Magic] was different.
‘It’s extremely difficult to even decipher a formula composed in dragon speech. And even if you do, there’s a bigger problem.’
That problem was [Mana].
To cast [Dragon Speech Magic], you needed the [Mana] produced by a dragon heart.
Only with the unique mana property possessed by dragons could you activate a formula written in dragon speech.
That’s why [Dragon Speech Magic] was considered the exclusive domain of dragons.
Most mages never even encountered it, but all of them longed to study it.
Step—step—
Lieven, who had been leading the way up the stairs, stopped.
Ahead was a small door.
Creak—
Lieven opened the door and entered.
“Come in.”
At Lieven’s words, Leo stepped inside.
A different space unfolded within the room.
‘Spatial transfer magic?’
Leo looked around the room.
What greeted him was a stark, empty chamber.
He noticed the crystal-clear floor and walls, spotless and gleaming.
There were no furnishings or decorations of any kind.
When Leo looked up at the ceiling, his eyes widened.
The ceiling was covered in a mural of a dragon.
“Lysinas.”
“The true form of the [Wise King] isn’t widely known among the other races, but you recognized it right away?”
Leo turned his head.
There was a throne.
A vast throne, the only one in the great room.
And sitting upon it was a girl who looked about ten years old.
The girl’s appearance was unusual.
Her hair, long enough to reach the floor, was carelessly tousled, with black strands scattered amid the silver.
She had a beautiful face, but the closed left eye and the veins bulging around it gave her an odd aura.
It wasn’t hard for Leo to realize that the girl in front of him was a dragon.
‘Not just any dragon. A truly high-ranking one.’
As he sensed the mana radiating from her, Leo was taken aback.
Lieven, having greeted her with proper etiquette, spoke to Leo.
“Bow to the Lord.”
Leo looked surprised at those words.
He knew Lieven was a dragon, but hadn’t expected to be brought before a Dragon Lord.
But only for a moment.
Leo placed his right hand over his chest and tapped it three times, then bowed deeply, kneeling.
It was a dragon’s formal greeting.
The reason Leo knew the etiquette of dragons so well was simple.
He’d been drilled endlessly by someone.
– ‘Why do you have to hit your right chest three times?’
– ‘Because the dragon heart is on the right. It means letting them hear the beat of your dragon heart.’
– ‘Really? But why do I have to learn dragon etiquette in the first place?’
– ‘You’re going to be meeting a lot of dragons after you subdue Erebos.’
– ‘I don’t think so? And even if I do, why do I have to follow dragon etiquette? And in that case, shouldn’t I also learn how those slackers who nap over there do it?’
Kyle had complained as he was forced to learn the etiquette from Lysinas late at night, unable to sleep.
Lysinas had scolded him with a sulky expression.
– ‘You’re next in command after me in the subjugation squad, right? Of course you have to know etiquette. You’ll be meeting a lot of dragons with me!’
– ‘Why are you so grumpy?’
– ‘Shut up and just learn! Bow deeper! The angle’s off!’
– ‘Please! Just let me sleep!’
Leo remembered being tormented by Lysinas, who insisted on teaching him dragon etiquette.
Of course, he never had to use it his whole life.
‘And now I’m using it in my next life.’
Thanks to Lysinas’s drilling, Leo’s form was perfect.
Seeing this, both the Lord and Lieven stared in wide-eyed surprise.
Leo felt awkward at their reaction.
‘What? Did the etiquette change in 5000 years?’
If so, what was the point of all those sleepless nights getting scolded by Lysinas?
“Pffft!”
Just then, the Lord covered her mouth and started laughing.
“Pffft! Pffft! Heehee—!”
“Leo Plov, where did you learn that greeting?”
“I read about it in a book. Did I get it wrong?”
“No, it was perfect. But…”
“Pffft! You looked like an old grandpa! Ahahaha!”
Unable to hold it in, the Lord hugged her stomach and burst into laughter.
“That’s ancient etiquette. It was often used by elders who have all passed away. No one really uses it these days, so seeing you do it is a novelty.”
As Lieven watched with an amused look, Leo straightened up.
‘So what was all my effort for?’
Letting out a deep sigh, Leo watched as the Lord cleared her throat.
“Nice to meet you, Leo Plov. My name is Melina.”
“Why did the Dragon Lord want to see me?”
“I wanted to meet you.”
The playful tone from a moment ago was gone.
Despite her young appearance, the one before him was the pinnacle of dragons, the Lord.
Melina looked at Leo.
“Just as Sir Lieven said.”
Nodding, Melina glanced at Lieven.
“You’re different from other heroes.”
With those words, Melina signaled for Lieven to leave.
Creak—! Thud—!
Now only Leo and Melina remained in the room.
“Leo Plov.”
“Yes.”
“Who are you?”
“I am Leo Plov, a hero candidate of Lumene.”
“Heh— That’s not what I meant.”
Melina covered her mouth, laughing.
“I was quite surprised when I first heard about you.”
“Because I’m an [All-Class]?”
“Yes. Unprecedented. The only one in legend with the same ability was the [Hero of the Beginning], Kyle.”
Melina gazed steadily at Leo.
“You have a lot of interest in the Hero of the Beginning.”
“I can’t help it.”
Until now, Kyle had been treated as a fictional character.
So, while other great heroes were respected, few ever spoke of Kyle with honorifics.
Melina stood up from her throne.
Step—step—
Barefoot, she walked up to Leo and looked up at the ceiling.
“I am the Dragon Lord. The one who inherited the will of the [Wise King], Lysinas. That is why I seek knowledge and wisdom above all.”
Lysinas had once searched for all knowledge and wisdom in the world.
Leo understood why Lysinas had been so desperate in that search.
‘It was desperation.’
Desperately searching for a way to subdue Erebos.
Ancient knowledge.
Divine knowledge.
He searched for everything, without limit.
But the answer he found was despair.
Still, he didn’t give up.
‘And what he found, in the end, was all of you.’
As Leo remembered Lysinas, Melina spoke.
“As a result of seeking knowledge and wisdom, I became convinced the Hero of the Beginning really existed. But I could never find physical evidence. The stories remained, but all proof of Kyle’s existence vanished from the world.”
Staring up at the ceiling, Melina slowly lowered her gaze.
Her wise silver eyes met Leo’s red ones.
Her lips curved into a smile.
“Then you appeared, Leo Plov. And you gave the world proof that Kyle was not a fictional figure.”
“It was just a coincidence.”
“That’s true. Everything could be explained as coincidence. Being born with the abilities of an [All-Class]. Accomplishing feats worthy of praise. Being endlessly connected to the worlds of the great heroes. Even finding evidence of the Hero of the Beginning’s existence. You could say it’s all just coincidence.”
Melina spread her arms wide and smiled brightly.
She spoke as if such coincidences were perfectly natural.
“But how do you explain this?”
She lowered her hands and took a step back.
Then she cautiously opened her closed left eye.
The moment Leo met that eye, his expression changed.
As if the power couldn’t be contained, her left eye—unlike her ordinary right eye—had the vertically-slit pupil unique to dragons.
But that wasn’t what startled Leo.
As soon as her eye opened, Melina’s mana shifted.
As if opening her eye had been a signal, her mana changed.
‘Lysinas’s mana?’
“I conquered Lysinas’s world long ago and succeeded in retrieving her page. As a reward, I was able to inherit a portion of Lysinas’s mana.”
At some point, Melina’s tone had become formal.
“It has been my great honor to wield Lysinas’s mana for so long. But now, that power won’t listen to me. As if it has met its true master.”
Kyle, as the last survivor of the subjugation squad, carried all his comrades’ burdens.
Among them was the dragon heart Lysinas left behind.
To dragons, inheriting a dragon heart means becoming the ‘successor.’
Melina smiled and pulled something from subspace.
It was a very old picture book.
“This is a storybook from thousands of years ago called ‘The Heroes of the Beginning.’ It’s probably the last one from that era left in the world.”
Flutter—
Melina flipped through the book and showed Leo a page from the latter half.
Its content was different from modern storybooks.
Modern ones ended with the five great heroes joining forces to defeat Erebos.
The storybook from thousands of years ago matched actual history.
Naturally so, since it was written when the [Hero Record] was still intact.
What Melina showed was the moment right before Lysinas closed his eyes for the last time.
“According to this book, Kyle inherited Lysinas’s dragon heart.”
Carefully closing the book, Melina looked up at Leo.
“Let me ask you again.”
Her eyes, solemn with anticipation, admiration, and respect, fixed on Leo.
“Who are you?”
Leo looked down at the Dragon Lord who had inherited Lysinas’s power.
Her wise, shining eyes reminded him of an old friend.
Silently watching her, Leo scratched his head.
“You really are a sharp little brat.”
Melina’s eyes grew wide at Leo’s words.
“It’s just as you guessed.”
Leo smiled wryly.