RD | Chapter 12

Sema asked. “Lord Ian. Did you hear that?”

“Yeah.”

“How are we going to survive?!” He grabbed Ian’s arm.

Anyway, thanks to the dragon, people seemed to have forgotten about protesting against the tyrant.

“Before the dragon awakens… should we capture it?”

Louise asked, an arrow clenched between his teeth.

Ian wondered how he could come up with such a brave idea.

“Stop talking nonsense. Where did you come in from?”

“Huh?”

“I can’t tell because of the dust. Where’s the entrance we came through?”

“……”

Louise pointed to a corner. That part of the ceiling had collapsed due to the battle between the two monsters. Ian nodded.

“We can’t kill that. Let’s run.”

“What if it follows us?! Are we just going to die?!”

Sema asked a question that was not at all helpful for morale.

Ian wanted to ignore it, but everyone was looking at him with the same expression. He had no choice but to speak out.

“You passed out after the last battle.”

“I didn’t pass out, I just fell asleep!”

“Exactly. It would want to sleep too, after fighting a tough opponent.”

“I think so too.”

“So what would happen if some bugs were wandering around in front of it?”

“It would squash them?”

“Right. But if those bugs just left the house on their own?”

“It would let them go! Ah! I get it! We need to run!”

Everyone understood and picked up their tools. Even Louise, half in doubt, rolled up his sleeves and cleared away the rubble.

Ian covered his nose and mouth with his hand and sat down anywhere. He felt dizzyBut he had something he needed to do.

While everyone understood, Ian certainly wasn’t planning something as pathetic as ‘let’s run away like bugs in front of the dragon.’

‘Put the dragon to sleep.’

Ian had a way to do that.

He noticed the magic was leaking from somewhere, his HP was slowly draining. It was from the corpse of the dead Demon Archduke. The dragon was reacting to this with a hostile growl.

Normally, the body of a high-ranking demon should be purified and then disintegrated to prevent the area from being contaminated by the magic. Without characters like Ian, an entire territory would have to be designated as a non-burning landfill to bury the demon.

However, now, he couldn’t crawl in front of the dragon to purify the Demon Archduke. For the time being, the non-burning landfill would have to be the dragon’s nest.

Inhaling magic with the dragon would kill them before they could escape, so Ian used his skill.

‘<Purification>.’

“Ugh.”

Blood flowed from Ian’s nose and mouth. It overflowed from his fingers covering his face and dripped down his chin.

His nose stung, and his vision blurred.

‘I’m going to die…’

Does it make sense to vomit blood because your HP is dropping? Anyway, this dream, this possession, whatever this was, it was damn awful…

Ian glanced at his status window. Half his HP remained.

‘I’m still okay.’

He used <Purification> again. And spat out a clump of blood.

“Cough!”

‘Just kill me.’

His mouth was full of blood, the taste of iron making his head spin.

The air around them cleared as the magic dispersed. Low-level <Purification> didn’t have grand effects; it just blew a light breeze like an air purifier.

People working, unaware of whose effort was keeping them alive, threw stones, saying things like, “Where’s this wind from?” or “Must be my imagination.”

The entrance they came through widened enough for one person to pass at a time.

“Lord Ian ! Please come!”

Sema whispered loudly. Due to the darkness, he seemed not to see Ian’s face properly.

Ian wiped his face with his sleeve and headed towards him. He stumbled, and Sema caught him.

“What’s this wet… Lord Ian?! Lord Ian! What’s this?!”

“Be quiet.”

“This isn’t something to just brush off!”

“Then carry me.” Ian felt dizzy.

Without hesitation, he grabbed Sema by the neck and climbed onto his back.

Caught off guard, Sema let out a startled “Huh?” but still hoisted Ian up and started walking.

Ian ignored the way Sema’s body trembled violently beneath him. Instead, he activated his skill once again.

‘<Purification>.’

Whoosh!

A fresh breeze blew through their hair.

At the same time, the blood from his nose and mouth stained Sema’s shoulders and back. Sema’s terrified breathing was heard in front of him, and ringing screamed through his mind.

Fortunately, before Ian’s HP hit rock bottom, a loud thud came from behind.

Thud!

‘It’s asleep.’

Ian was sure.

That dragon would sleep in an environment not purified of magic. He confirmed this fact by dying countless times.

Later, when expanding the dungeon down here, it would be a problem again…

‘Let’s think about that later.’

No matter how confident Ian was, he had to check.

“Sema. You… cough, learn… cough, one new magic.”

“Lord Ian! I’ll learn anything! I’ll do anything you tell me! I won’t even call you a tyrant in my head. Please don’t die!”

Sema burst into tears.

“Lord Ian is dying?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

The front got noisy.

Ian didn’t even have the energy to hit Sema. With just his fingers, he flipped through the system window. He invested all of Sema’s experience points into ‘Learning Skills.’

Suddenly, a skill book appeared in Ian’s outstretched hand.

‘Is this really not a dream…?’

If this wasn’t a dream, it was truly horrifying.

Ian handed the book to Sema.

Every character can learn skills according to their growth tree. Since Sema was ‘Mage – Water Attribute,’ he could learn all skills related to that.

In the game, there were two ways to gain skills: spending experience points or finding skill books.

With the game strangely patched into reality, it seemed like ‘spending experience points resulted in a skill book appearing,’ but Ian didn’t want to think too deeply about it. He didn’t have the strength for that.

“Learn it now.”

“Huh? What is this… a skill book? Did Lord Ian take an interest in magic? Why this book… No, this isn’t the time! Lord Ian, close your eyes! No, don’t close them! You can’t die! Ack!”

In the end, Ian hit Sema on the back of the head. They both fell forward from the loss of balance.

‘Damn…’

Then cheers came from the front.

“We escaped! We’re out!”

“Lord Ian! Look, Lord Ian! It’s light!”

“Are you okay, Lord Ian? Are you still shocked from earlier?”

“Bring Lord Ian! Priest, please look at Lord Ian!” Ian saw the light too.

They had escaped the long passage and returned to the entrance of the dungeon.

‘We’re alive…’

Ian’s mind went hazy with relief. But there was a hand shaking him.

“Lord Ian! Lord Ian! No!”

Sema clung to Ian, crying.

“I’m fine, so… learn the skill…”

“Are these your last words? No, I won’t learn it!”

Ian hit Sema with the skill book. Only then did Sema stop shaking him.

“Lord Ian. You’re okay.”

Sema was relieved. Ian wanted to curse but knew that opening his mouth would make blood pour out.

“Lord Ian, I’ll heal you.”

The depressed priest started to cast a not-so-effective heal on Ian. While people quietly hoped for Ian’s recovery, Sema checked the skill book Ian had given him. He wiped his tears and read the cover.

“<Water Mirror>?”

[Skill]
Water Mirror

Reflects the image of the one desired to see in the water.
The success rate of the skill decreases with the opponent’s strong magic power and vigilance.

‘Why would he want me to learn this magic?’

Mage Sema questioned why Ian had this grimoire. Of course, he wasn’t doubting Ian, but could it be that he wanted to spy on the kingdom’s beauties…

‘No, no way! He’s not that kind of person!’

Sema shook his head. Despite the rumors about Ian seeking beauty and spreading scandals, the Ian he knew was only violent, not that type of person.

‘Right. He’s broad-minded enough to accept a child of the traitor race…’

Sema unintentionally looked at Louise and his eyes widened. Under the light, Louise looked like a dangerously handsome young boy. In a few years, he might even be listed in the <Kingdom’s Beauty Catalog>.

‘No way, right? …Right?’

Sema learned the skill anyway. His intention was to prevent this skill from falling into Ian’s hands.

He didn’t care if his master spread scandals, but a scandal with a boy could be problematic in many ways…

Ian was unaware of Sema’s unnecessary thoughts. He only checked that a new skill had been added to Sema’s status window.

Ding!

[Character]
‘Mage’ Sema (★★★☆☆)

[Reputation]
Incompetent, Mage, Clumsy, Weak-hearted

[Skills]
Water Ball: LV.2
Liquid Property Manipulation: LV.4
Water Mirror: LV.1(+NEW)

‘When did his title change?’

Anyway, Ian beckoned Sema with a finger.

“Try the skill. The target is the dragon underground.”

“Ah!”

Sema’s face brightened, and he used the skill.

“<Water Mirror>!”

After twenty-seven attempts, the dragon’s image appeared in the water pooled on the cave floor.

The dragon was curled up in sleep.

“Lord Ian was right!”

“Long live Lord Ian! Long live!”

“Wow!”

People cheered and hugged each other.

Sema reflected on his doubts. He hadn’t expected the skill to be used this way.

He hadn’t disbelieved Ian’s words, but Ian had let them see the dragon’s state with their own eyes to reassure them. Could there be another master like him?

He’s an amazing person, even if he’s a tyrant with some mental issues and extremely frail! Sema reaffirmed his resolve to follow Ian diligently.

Of course, Ian had Sema learn the new skill for reasons quite different from what Sema assumed.

Ding!

[Han is impressed by your actions. Loyalty increases.]
[Loyalty: 50%]

Ding!

[Peter admires your strategy. Loyalty increases.]
[Loyalty: 47%]

Ding!

[James is touched by your consideration. Loyalty increases.]
[Loyalty: 56%]

Motions of increasing loyalty appeared above each person’s head.

‘The immediate crisis is over.’

The tyrant title debuff wouldn’t occur for a while. Then, it would be good to secure the traitor clan now.

‘Let’s grow the dungeon.’

Ian confirmed that his HP bar was half full and stood up.