Chapter 124

So this is true Dragon Language Magic.

With a single word, thousands of Demons vanished like fireworks in midsummer.

To say Ian’s Mana control was marvelous would be an understatement.

Only after reaching my current state could I see it.

Just how much of a genius Ian was.

Jayden, the Eastern Mage Tower Lord, Saint Ajadun.

I finally understood why they were so shocked.

The word “genius” wasn’t enough to describe this.

He’s a monster. A monster.

That’s why.

My mind was a jumbled mess.

My worries about Supreme Magic, which I thought would somehow be resolved just by entering the Past Life Lucid Dream, had only deepened.

That just now, how did he do it?

So this is what it feels like to be unable to imitate something even after seeing it, I thought.

One of the functions of the Past Life Lucid Dream that had become EX-Rank.

I paused the replaying dream.

Then, I turned back time.

To the very moment I first entered the dream.

As if pressing the rewind button on a videotape, the scene reversed.

Azadun, who had been making a bizarre face, was now watching with his arms crossed, and right in front of us, Demons were swarming.

“It won’t be easy. It took me 300 years to master it completely.”

Come to think of it, where is this place that has so many Demons?

It doesn’t seem like the Elsland Mainland.

“I’ll give it a try. The activation word is…”

Ah. This isn’t the time to get sidetracked.

“Annihilate.”

The moment the word left his lips. This moment was the most important.

I focused with all my might to observe the changes happening in Ian’s body.

Now, as the Dragon Heart pumped and spewed out Mana!

Fwoooosh!

The charging Demons were wiped out in an instant.

Ian shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, it’s tricky, but that doesn’t mean it’s difficult.”

…What.

How did he do that?

Ian is a genius.

A once-in-a-lifetime genius, the likes of which you’d never find again even if you searched all dimensions.

And me?

At best, my talent is that of a mere 3rd-Circle Mage.

I know that better than anyone.

The only reason I was able to come this far was because my past life was Ian.

And I just realized that once again.

How on earth is such stable Mana control possible?

Even being inside Ian’s body, sharing Ian’s thoughts, I couldn’t understand it at all.

Perhaps if I had been standing next to Ian, I would have had the exact same expression as Saint Ajadun right now.

A monster. A madman.

What kind of guy is this?

“You truly are incredible. I’ve never seen anyone like you. I thought you were amazing, but I never imagined you’d be on this level.”

Azadun continued, excited. In contrast, Ian still looked unimpressed.

“Compared to you, Azadun, I still have a long way to go.”

“Hah. Look at this kid. Are you comparing yourself to me, who’s thousands of years old? That hurts my pride, too.”

Azadun gripped Ian’s shoulder tightly.

“I’ve lived for 7,000 years, but I’ve never seen anyone like you. Good heavens. Do you know? It hasn’t even been two days since I taught you the activation word.”

“I should have done better. That’s the only way to get rid of all of them.”

Azadun snorted.

“This one’s too greedy. If another Dragon heard that, they would have cried.”

Ian nonchalantly replied, “I see,” and moved on.

All the while, my mind was a complicated mess.

“At this rate, you could be deployed into a real battle right away.”

“A real battle, you say.”

“The Demon King. Entesto. We have to go catch him. Originally, we were supposed to practice a bit more here.”

“Ah, right. The Demon King.”

After a moment of thought, Ian nodded.

“Shall we go now?”

No.

Not now.

If I could have sighed, I would have.

Let’s organize my thoughts for a moment.

It’s like knowing the principle but being unable to replicate it when asked.

Controlling the Mana floating in the air requires more than just knowing.

If I return to reality in this state, I won’t be able to use it.

Someone like me can’t possibly imitate a genius’s methods.

I had a feeling this would take longer than I thought.

To mindlessly, endlessly watch Ian’s magic and drill into my head just how he does it.

There seemed to be no other way.

I wasn’t disappointed that I fell short of Ian’s genius.

It wasn’t anything new or special.

I have my own weapon, too.

I may not be good at other things, but when it comes to grit, I don’t fall behind Ian.

If tens of thousands of times isn’t enough, I’ll watch it hundreds of thousands, millions of times.

It was just as I steeled my resolve once more.

Suddenly, the background caught my eye.

Come to think of it, this space was unfamiliar.

The sky was entirely red, and everything visible to the horizon was a desolate wasteland.

The feeling of grit just from standing still. A sticky body.

I knew instinctively. This is another dimension.

Not just any other dimension, but their mainland, the Demon Realm.

My head turned.

To the side, I saw a vertically torn Gate. Saint Ajadun and I must have come out of there.

A Gate leading to Elsland.

So. These guys can just hop across dimensions, just like that.

Meaning if I perfectly master Supreme Magic, I can do this too.

I’ve confirmed everything I needed to, so now I’ll just rewind to the previous situation… huh?

I paused mid-thought.

What was that. Just now.

“…Uh.”

The word didn’t just form in my thoughts, it came out of my mouth.

Right. A word.

Am I speaking right now?

Me? Not Ian, but me?

This had never happened before. When using Past Life Lucid Dream, I was always just an observer.

Not a single speck of my will was ever reflected.

But now?

I clenched and unclenched my fist.

I moved my gaze around again.

It works. It feels perfectly like my own body.

“What’s wrong?”

Saint Ajadun tilted his head.

I want to ask the same thing.

What’s going on?

It was then.

A System Message appeared before me.

-A sub-function of Past Life Lucid Dream will be cast!

-Sub-function: Past Life Body Control

Description: You can control the past life body according to your will. The better you handle the past life body, the higher the Synchronization Rate becomes.

You can activate the function manually.

I read the message several times.

I think I get what it means.

So, if I want to, I can control Ian’s body?

I could also guess why this sub-function had appeared.

It must be an aftereffect of Past Life Lucid Dream becoming EX-Rank.

“Are you hurt somewhere? Are you really okay?”

“…Yes. I’m fine.”

I quickly nodded.

I knew it was a dream, but for some reason, I felt like I had to pretend to be Ian.

Meanwhile, I observed my interior in detail.

It was a different feeling from when I was trapped inside Ian’s body, just watching.

I mean, it feels much better.

Azadun patted my shoulder.

“Shall we get going then?”

Where?

Ah. To catch the Demon King.

No. Not yet.

This is Ian’s body, which I’ve only just gotten a hold of. First, I need to practice Dragon Language Magic for sure.

To do that…

Drrrrrrrrr-

Time rewinds.

To the moment Azadun and Ian first entered the Demon Realm.

A normal boy who swapped bodies with a genius soccer player.

I remember seeing an ad like that.

It was about a normal boy who acquired incredible hardware and had to adapt to it.

That was me right now.

Ian’s body was that of a natural-born Mage.

The feeling of magic flowing freely without even trying.

Even with the same cramming method, if the hardware is different, the comprehension is bound to be higher.

The feeling of becoming a genius myself. It really wasn’t bad.

No, it’s great.

It feels like gravity is so weak that I float up with just a small jump.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes. I’m ready.”

I looked straight ahead.

As soon as they detected the Dimensional Travel, the things in the Demon Realm were rushing toward us.

Azadun watched them and crossed his arms.

“It won’t be easy. It took me 300 years to master it completely.”

Azadun looks at me with concern.

And in a moment, Ian would change Saint Ajadun’s expression to one of shock.

So what about me?

The conditions are the same as Ian’s.

The magic is the same.

The activation word came out of my mouth.

“Annihilate.”

The Dragon Heart squirms.

Mana is being pumped. It already doesn’t feel right.

Fwoooosh-!

The thousands of charging Demons and Monsters were swept away.

And yet, there were still plenty left.

Ian had definitely annihilated them all in one go.

It was proof that I hadn’t perfectly controlled the Mana in the vicinity.

The remaining ones charged at me.

“Kill him!”

“Don’t be afraid!”

The Demons closed in from all sides, holding their respective weapons.

Naturally, they couldn’t wound me.

Even if they were S-Rank, to the current me, they were nothing but small fry.

After a few swings of Durandal, they disappeared.

However, neither I nor Azadun smiled.

Damn it. This isn’t the feeling I was going for.

Azadun patted my shoulder.

“See? It’s not easy, is it?”

Look at this.

The line he says to Ian and the line he says to me are completely different.

His expression looks a little disappointed, too.

I had high hopes because you’re a once-in-a-lifetime genius, but I guess you’re only human after all.

That was exactly the look on his face.

“You’ll need a little more practice.”

Even though this isn’t reality, I want to make that face the same as when he looked at Ian.

Right.

Even if my magical talent is inferior to Ian’s, when it comes to grit, I don’t fall behind.

“Again.”

The world turns.

Upon entering the dimension, the Demons catch the scent and rush over.

Me, in the body of a genius, utters the activation word.

“Annihilate.”

Fwoooosh!

This time, all the charging creatures disappeared.

But that was the problem.

I had overdone it.

In cooking terms, I had burned the meat.

If an ordinary human had been next to me instead of Azadun, he would have been swept away by my magic and died.

When I turned my gaze, Azadun was giving a bitter smile.

“You were nervous.”

It’s not nervousness, it’s a lack of skill.

I swallowed my words and rewound time.

It goes back again.

The Demons appear.

“Annihilate.”

I utter the activation word.

“See? It’s not easy, is it?”

Azadun smiles. He pats my shoulder as if to cheer me on.

Again.

“Annihilate.”

“I guess you’re only human after all.”

“Annihilate.”

“…Hmm. Shall we practice one more time?”

“Annihilate.”

“You must be hurt somewhere. You’re not your usual self.”

Again!

How many times did I rewind time?

It must have been over 3,000 times.

“It won’t be easy. It took me 300 years to master it completely.”

It’s the same line, to the point of being tedious.

Suddenly, I thought of the Demon King Modres.

I wonder if he felt this way when he was wandering through my Dungeon.

It feels like being trapped in an endless, answerless loop, wandering for eternity.

No, he and I are different.

I was definitely improving.

Just like now.

Fwoooosh-!

The charging Demons were wiped out in an instant.

Compared to Ian, it’s naturally lacking. But at this level.

Sure enough, a sound of admiration burst out from beside me.

“Hoh. For a first time, this is pretty good.”

For the first time, Azadun’s line changed.

I almost shouted. I was almost satisfied.

No. I can’t be.

Look at that expression.

That’s not shock, it’s closer to satisfaction.

No. This is far from enough.

“This isn’t enough.”

Drrrrrrrrr-

Time rewinds.

“Annihilate.”

“Your Mana control is quite like that of a master.”

Little by little, Azadun’s expression began to change.

From contentment to joy.

“Annihilate.”

“I can see why that Mage Tower Lord was so shocked.”

“Annihilate.”

“At this rate, you’ll master it in no time.”

Every time the line changed, I gained strength.

Using that as my driving force, I continued to explore the seemingly endless maze.

“Annihilate.”

And finally.

I didn’t count the number. I wasn’t thinking about the flow of time either.

There was only instinctive movement.

The word came out of my mouth.

“Annihilate.”

The Demons vanished in an instant.

My head naturally turned to the side.

Azadun was staring at me with a look of disgust.

Ah!

That’s the face.

I finally saw that face.

What did Ian say here?

Did he say it wasn’t that difficult?

I was different from Ian. I collapsed to the ground and spoke hollowly to Azadun, who was staring at me as if I were a monster.

“This is ridiculously hard.”