Chapter 186 : Chapter 186
Chapter 186 - Let's Learn Polymorph
Leaving the First Son behind, I returned to Eclipse.
I expanded the Dark Moon Grand Castle to make room for Kairos and had him sit in the basement.
“My apologies. I'll arrange a suitable dwelling around here.”
Even though I expanded it as much as I could, it was a cramped place for Kairos.
He wasn't even a full-grown adult yet and would only get bigger, so I couldn't keep him in the Dark Moon Grand Castle forever.
-It seems it would be faster to learn that polymorph magic than to prepare a dwelling.
Polymorph was a dragon's magic, a transformation magic that allowed them to freely change not only their own bodies but also their racial traits.
Unlike humans, they had a very wide range of choices for polymorph, and it was passed down from dragon to dragon.
I had learned it as a Wisdom blood relative during my player days, but I couldn't teach it.
It was impossible to teach something I had learned by clicking outside the monitor.
While Kairos and I were lost in thought in the basement, the outer wall opened, and the Head Maid entered.
“Young Master. Miss Josephine says she has something to give you.”
She, who had been following behind the Head Maid, bounced forward like a spring.
“Dante! I made something, and I put the Magic Dragon in it…. Wow….”
Josephine's words stretched out like cheese.
She had made something for the Magic Dragon, but the Magic Dragon itself had disappeared. Instead, a red-scaled dragon had taken its place.
-The demon and human who took care of me. You are the human among them. Seeing you again like this, I feel a clear magic without a single speck of dust.
A voice coming directly into her head. And the pressure.
Josephine, flustered by the sensation she hadn't felt in so long, looked back at me.
“Did you succeed in healing the Magic Dragon…?”
“Yes. Though it wasn't easy.”
“Th-that's a relief. That's a real relief.”
Josephine hid what she was holding behind her back and just nodded.
-What is it that you have brought? And I do not yet know your name. I would like to express my gratitude.
Startled at being the center of a dragon's attention for the first time in her life, she quickly bowed her head.
“I-I am Josephine Blue Wisdom. Th-the thing I brought is just a spatial artifact….”
“A spatial artifact?”
“Y-yes. The spatial artifacts big enough to hold a Magic Dragon are too small, so I dismantled the things I received from Dante and made a new one.”
Still, what was made was made, so she returned the finished product to its owner. It was a silver bracelet with magic runes crafted like decorations.
“But since the dragon has regained his senses like this, it's unreasonable to ask him to enter such a spatial artifact. He must know polymorph, too.”
“That's the problem.”
“Huh?”
-Josephine. I do not know how to polymorph. At the time when I should have been learning such things, I was captured by the followers and only tortured.
“Ah, so that's why you're in your true form….”
Josephine nodded as if she understood, looking back and forth between the spatial artifact and Kairos again.
-…Even so, I have no intention of entering that portable space.
“Yes, yes. Of course.”
Did he read her mind? Josephine quickly agreed, and I chuckled softly.
“I'll make good use of the new spatial artifact you made. As it happens, I've had a lot of large undead recently, and I was at a loss as to what to do with them.”
“Th-then that's a real relief. And about polymorph.”
Though she had brought it up, she hesitated to speak, twisting her legs and mumbling.
“Is there a way?”
“Actually, I know the theory.”
“Really?”
“Y-yes. When Paras oppa learned polymorph magic, he would secretly teach me. I still couldn't do it, but oppa taught me sincerely.”
-Then could you teach me?
Kairos lowered his body and brought his head closer.
-If you teach me, I will also give you the greatest reward I can.
“…You might be disappointed. I'm just repeating what Paras oppa said like a parrot.”
“It's fine. I just listened to what the Ice Dragon said, but I ended up learning ice magic.”
“I-Ice Dragon? Dante, you learned ice magic?”
“Yes. Recently, a sorcerer named Sein of the Ice Chain was captured as a prisoner and died at my hands.”
Josephine smiled bitterly for a moment, but as if she had expected it, she quickly returned to her usual self.
“That old man, I thought he would end up like that someday. He was greedy and never knew satisfaction. Anyway, the polymorph that the dragon is learning is─”
-Kairos.
“Yes, yes. The polymorph that Kairos is learning has been modified for human use. I just wanted you to know.”
-I'll keep that in mind.
I clapped my hands a couple of times.
“Then you two take care of your business here. I have something else to do, so I'll be back later.”
-Be safe.
Seen off by the dragon, I moved with the Head Maid.
Having given a considerable amount of space to Kairos, the Dark Moon Grand Castle was more cramped than before.
But it would get better after he learned polymorph magic from Josephine.
Walking with my hands behind my back, I asked the Head Maid.
“Is there anyone you can recommend among the family's Poison Demon Sorcerers?”
“…Poison Demon Sorcery.”
“Yes. I feel like it's a well worth digging into.”
“As for Poison Demon Sorcery, can't you use it through your undead private soldiers?”
“That's true, but then I wouldn't have my own dokdan.”
My index finger poked the Head Maid's upper abdomen.
Right behind there was the dokdan that Poison Demon Sorcerers possessed. The Head Maid, as an agent of the intelligence department, also had a dokdan, and she too was a master.
“How about learning from me?”
“…From you?”
“Yes. If your purpose is a dokdan, it's no problem to finish it at my level. And I know a fair amount of Poison Demon Sorcery.”
The body that had lost its memories was recovering at a speed no less than the speed of its loss.
During her spare time after finishing her work at Eclipse, she always went into personal training.
That time was not short, and the more she did, the more fragments of her memory floated up.
It took more than an ordinary effort to develop those fragments into long-term memories, but the Head Maid did not stop.
“Poison Demon Sorcery starts with creating a dokdan. It's not too late to find another sorcerer after learning from me.”
“You're strangely proactive.”
“Haven't you been leaving Eclipse often recently? The others who reside here are getting anxious.”
The anxiety of war gradually trickled down from the blood relatives.
It was keenly felt even by the lower classes that neither the rulers of the East nor the West had any intention of stopping.
Thus, the ruler of the land they lived on provided a sense of stability just by existing.
“I see what you mean. Then I'll learn from you, Head Maid.”
“Understood. Then shall we go to my room this time?”
“Lead the way.”
I followed her. On the way, the thought occurred to me: had I ever been to the Head Maid's room?
The answer was no. I had never been there, neither before nor after losing my memories. I don't think I had even thought of going.
The Head Maid was literally a good employee, and her room was practically her home. It wasn't a place the boss could just go to as he pleased.
Deureureureuk─
“Here we are.”
The outer wall opened, revealing her room. As expected, it was a modest room without much luggage.
“It's not as big as I thought.”
“The outer walls and ceiling can be adjusted at will, can't they? I didn't think it was necessary to pay much attention to the size.”
Nodding, I looked around the room.
Various kinds of tea leaves were lined up on the outer wall, and a teapot for the tea ceremony was also visible.
In the half-open closet, there were several more Head Maid uniforms. Even if they were different clothes, they were all my gifts.
“Don't you have any personal clothes?”
“I don't particularly need them.”
“I'll buy you some.”
“Use it for the military budget. This is a time when we need to save every single copper coin.
We don't know when or why we'll run short.”
“You're the only one who would say that to me, the blood relative with the most gold.”
The Head Maid didn't even pretend to listen and gestured politely.
“The floor is clean, so would you please sit down for now?”
“It doesn't matter. Without Lubosch, I've gotten used to the dirty Dark Moon Grand Castle.”
The Head Maid sat politely in front of me as I sat on the floor.
“When do you plan to hire a replacement for Lubosch? The Head Butler and I alone have our limits.”
“Haven't you heard from anyone else in the intelligence department?”
“I am no longer privy to such matters. And the family intelligence department must be busy right now.”
With a war of swords and spears on the horizon, the information war had already begun.
“Lubosch must be busy too.”
“With his rapid promotion, he must have been placed on the very front lines, so every day must be a matter of life and death.”
“He's the one who survived all the traps the followers left in the castle. I don't think you need to worry.”
I stroked my chin and pondered for a moment before speaking.
“Contact the butler department. Tell them we need management personnel. And tell them to send people with strong nerves, since there are traps and all in the castle.”
“Understood.”
The urgent fire was put out, and now it was time to get to the main point.
Poison Demon Sorcery. Among players, it was the least mainstream of the four sorcery schools.
But one of the reasons for that was that there were almost no playable characters who used Poison Demon Sorcery.
Unlike other sorceries, it felt like a roundabout way because one had to build up from the basics, the dokdan.
Fortunately (?), I had to start everything from the basics, so I didn't feel that way.
“Let’s begin.”
“How much do you know about Poison Demon Sorcery, Fifth Son?”
“You mix the poison stored in the dokdan with magic and move it to the desired place in the body. Then when you use magic, that poison is mixed in, isn't it?”
“That's right. You are familiar with the basic operating principle. Then do you know how to make a dokdan?”
In the past, the beginning of a dokdan was to kill a monster with a poison sac and carry that sac around.
But as time passed and sorcery developed, humans also became able to create dokdans in their bodies.
I learned the method naturally while playing. To be precise, I realized it while playing Wisdom.
“They call it a dokdan, but to be honest, isn't it the West's core?”
“I cannot say there are similarities. Because I do not know the core precisely.”
“It looks that way to me. The dokdan is almost identical to the way the West makes a core.”
Only what was put in the box was different; the way of making the box and the reason for it were the same.
The difference was the size and thickness of the box.
“A core doesn't need to be thick since it holds magic. So they make it thin and large, but if a dokdan is made thin and melts, it would be a big problem.”
“Yes. So we make it as thick as a finger joint. You seem to know a lot about cores as well.”
“I have to fight a war with Wisdom, so of course I have to know my enemy well.”
“Then you must also know that the dokdan is actually determined by the level of the senior.”
I nodded.
“I took that into consideration when I came to you.”
“You don't need to worry. As long as you stay still, you won't have to worry about dying.”
That was a truly kind explanation.
Seureuk─
The Head Maid's hand touched my solar plexus.
“Considering your temperament, Young Master, I believe you will put a strong poison in from the start.”
“Did you learn a mind-reading sorcery too?”
“Therefore, I will make the dokdan as thick as possible.”
“You have a nice way of saying it's going to hurt a lot.”
“No.”
The Head Maid, who had flatly denied it, corrected his words.
“Pain that makes you think death would be better will follow. Pain that makes it hard to breathe will continue for half a day.”
“Haa.”
Letting out a small sigh, he took out two bottles of 2nd process Dark Elixir from his bosom.
These, which I had been receiving every time they finished aging in the citadel, would soon be released on the market.
“Drink one. If your body is cold, the work speed will increase, but you won't overheat.”
“That is a good idea.”
Gulp, gulp.
The two of them cleanly emptied the two bottles of Dark Elixir.
“Here I go.”
“…!!”
At the same time, the work began.