The Blue Mage Raised by Dragons Page 5

  “He’s surprisingly resilient for a fleshly being,” Juliana said and rubbed her new finger which was a different color from the others. “He should be fine. I’ll take responsibility if he isn’t. You can also teach him the basics of spellcasting while he’s immobilized. That’s what the dragons requested of your people, right?”

  Celia nodded and lowered her head. “I guess I can convince the elders to hold the village lessons in this room,” she said and rubbed her chin. “What do you think?” She raised her head and looked around. Juliana was gone.

  ***

  A week had passed since Juliana left. The elves had held their public lessons in the room Vur was trapped in, but he didn’t listen at all. The first day, he randomly yelled every time the elders tried to speak. When they talked over him anyway, he lay there mutely with his eyes closed. The days passed by, but Vur hadn’t moved an inch or made any noise after the first day. Snuffles occasionally mewled, and a few elven children fed him snacks and water.

  When the last lesson of the day ended, Juliana and Celia walked into the room. Although there was no more Tree of Knowledge to guard, Celia was busy helping clear out the destruction caused by the tree’s collapse. There were dangerous beasts that didn’t cooperate with the elves, and Celia had to defend the cleaners from them. The elf’s lips pursed when she saw Vur lying on the ground, completely unresponsive. She hadn’t checked up on him the whole time.

  “Is he dead?” Celia asked, furrowing her brow.

  Juliana snorted. She walked over and placed her hand on the crown of his head. “There’s no flow of mana or blood in his body,” she said. “That’s odd. He should’ve been able to survive for a week without food with that body of his. Did I miscalculate?”

  “You killed him? You killed the son of a dragon?! O Aeris, please have mercy on our poor souls,” Celia said as she fell to her knees and prayed. Her heart pounded as her stomach lurched. A lump formed in her throat, and she swallowed nothing.

  “Why is it my fault?” Juliana asked and rolled her eyes. “Your elders stayed with him the whole time. They should’ve informed me if he died.” She flicked Celia’s forehead. “Quit crying. I can fix this. Most likely. Probably. I hope.” She rolled the boulder off of Vur’s body and flipped him over. “He doesn’t look emaciated at all—that’s good. It should work better if his body is preserved.” Juliana nodded. “I should remove these seals too.”

  “Are you going to resurrect him? What if he becomes a zombie?” Celia asked, staring wide-eyed at Juliana.

  “If I was informed at his time of death, there would be no chance of him being a zombie,” Juliana said and glared at Celia. “If he becomes a zombie, you’ll just have to bind him, send him back to the matriarch, and pray for the best.” Celia gulped as Juliana waved her hand and said, “Dispel.”

  The black runes decorating Vur’s body disappeared, evaporating into black wisps of smoke.

  “I’m going to start now,” Juliana said. She placed both hands on Vur’s chest and willed mana to them.

  Celia waited with her back to the door as Juliana’s hands glowed green. The intensity of the glow increased until the whole room was filled with a green hue. When Celia was about to shield her eyes from the light, it flashed and dispersed. She bit her lower lip and asked, “Did it work?”

  Juliana gasped for breath and shook her head. “His soul must’ve dissipated already or something is preventing it from coming back.”

  Celia’s heart sunk. “Now what?”

  “There’s one more thing I can try,” Juliana said and narrowed her eyes. “Reanimate dead. He’s definitely coming back as a zombie though.”

  Celia bit her lip and nodded. “We’ll have to flee with the whole village after we reanimate him,” she said. “We’ll be gone by the time the dragons notice the decay. The Tree of Knowledge that our village grew around is already gone. Do it.”

  Juliana once again placed her hands on Vur’s chest. This time, her hands glowed black instead of green, and a jagged pattern like the roots of a plant spread out on Vur’s body. After the roots fully cocooned his body, a bright light flashed, dispelling the roots. Juliana coughed up bloodlike sap and covered her mouth with her hand. “It failed.”

  “That’s … what do we do?” Celia asked with a pale face. Her chest compressed, and her breaths shortened.

  “Let’s consult with your grandmother,” Juliana replied. The two left the room and closed the door behind themselves. Juliana waved her hand and said, “Seal.”

  A green circle with a rune inscribed in the center appeared on the closed door. Moments after the green light finished forming, Vur’s eyes flashed open. Fools. I knew they were stupid, Vur thought. He canceled the play-dead spell he learned from a seven-foot long mongoose and stood up to stretch. He kicked the black boulder off of Snuffles and smiled as he waved his arm and said, “Dispel.” How angry would Juliana be if she knew he learned her spells?

  The black runes on Snuffles’ body disappeared, and the boar rolled over onto his legs. He shook out his limbs and wrinkled his nose before letting out a few low oinks. Snuffles yawned and mewled at Vur while standing on his hind-legs, indicating for Vur to carry him.

  Vur laughed before picking Snuffles up. He pointed at the door and said, “Dispel.” The green seal disappeared, and he opened it. A log slammed into him, launching him through the air until his back hit the wall behind him.

  “Silence. Bind. Curse: weaken. Curse: fatigue. Curse: silence. Curse: immobility,” Juliana said as she walked back into the room with a smile. Black runes spread along Vur’s and Snuffles’ bodies. “You’re a thousand years too young to fool me, little one.”

  “Mommy, did Miss Celia just throw a log at that little boy?” a girl whispered.

  “Hush, honey. Let’s go,” her mother replied as she dragged her child away.

  “You little brat! I’ll kill you!” Celia said as she stomped back into the room. “Do you know how worried I was?!” She picked Vur up by the back of his neck and placed him across her lap. She raised her arm and spanked him until his butt was swollen and red. “You’re not even going to apologize?” Celia snorted as she continued to spank him. After a few dozen spanks, Juliana stopped her.

  “Um, Celia? I silenced him. He can’t apologize,” Juliana said while scratching her cheek.

  Celia froze and looked down at Vur. He stared at her with wide eyes and tears streaming down his cheeks. Celia’s heart dropped as her anger was extinguished, and she rubbed his head. “I’m so sorry; don’t cry,” she said in a high-pitched voice. She hugged the crying boy to her chest and rubbed her hand on his back. “Do you want to eat meat? Let’s go to that bear, okay?”

  Vur nodded his head and sniffled as Celia picked him up.

  Vur used puppy eyes on Celia—it was super effective, Juliana thought as she watched Celia comfort the child. “Stop,” Juliana said to the duo who were about to leave. “You’ll put some clothes on, right?” Vur made a face, but he still couldn’t speak. “You don’t want anyone to see handprints on your butt, right? Dragons don’t get spanked. You can hide that if you wear this.” Juliana smiled as she held up her hands. A robe made of green leaves cascaded out of her fingers.

  Vur hesitated before he reached out and grabbed the robe. He looked at it and then looked at Celia. “You need help putting it on?” Celia asked as she took it from him and placed him on the ground. Vur nodded.

  Juliana smiled as Celia dressed Vur. Step one accomplished.

  ***

  Mary frowned. “Aren’t you being too harsh on Vur?” she asked Celia.

  Celia turned her head towards her patrol companion. The patrol, the elders, and Juliana were gathered in a hollowed-out tree trunk. The injuries the patrol suffered from Vur had recovered long ago thanks to the elves’ recovery spells. “I don’t think so,” Celia replied while shaking her head. Her chest still burned every time she recalled Vur’s play-dead spell.

  “He could’ve died,” Mary said. “How is tha
t not being too harsh?”

  “He wouldn’t have—not from that,” Juliana said before Celia could reply. “I was keeping watch over him the whole time.” She snorted. “He thought he could trick us with a simple spell. Play-dead lets him cease all metabolic movement. Essentially, it was a week-long time-out for him.”

  “But the curses—”

  “Are there to keep his strength in check. If you haven’t noticed he can carry a behemoth bear for who knows how many miles without getting tired,” Juliana interrupted. “His diet’s been the blood and meat of behemoth bears ever since he was born. Not only that, but he has the imprint of a dragon which practically makes him a dragon in a human shell.”

  “The spanking?” Mary asked, her brow furrowing.

  Juliana coughed. “That was Celia’s doing.”

  Celia looked down as her stomach churned. Vur had been healed, but he still avoided her like a scared animal. “W-well,” she said and bit her lower lip, “I think it was a good thing. I was just showing him there are consequences to his actions.”

  “Couldn’t there have been a better way to show him?” Mary asked. “Maybe sit down and explain. I still think—”

  “Have you forgotten how he tried to rip your head off when you put a sock on him? We’re not trying to be his friends, Mary,” an elder said. “If it weren’t for the matriarch, we would have executed him. A human living in the village of elves is unheard of, much less the human who destroyed our sacred tree. We’re here to teach him how to control his magic—a favor for the matriarch. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  Another elder snorted. “I don’t even understand why the matriarch would imprint a human. Humans forced her father to the brink of death and killed our clan leader”—he turned towards Celia—“your father. There’s no need to feel bad for beating him. In fact, you should’ve done more. The dragons have never imprinted an elf before, but the matriarch decides to imprint a human? That is just unforgivable.”

  Celia bit her lip. “Wasn’t it the demons who did that?”

  “They’re the same,” the elder replied with a wave of his hand. “The demons only started sprouting horns after the fairy incident.”

  “But—”

  A sentry burst into the room. “Vur escaped!”

  The patrol looked at each other and stood up.

  “How? Wasn’t he cursed?” an elder asked as he narrowed his eyes at Juliana.

  Juliana stroked her chin. “It’s possible to escape a curse if it’s dispelled, but I cursed him with silence too. Did someone dispel him? Could he have learned mana manipulation? Now that I think about it, he did cast play-dead under silence.” Her brow furrowed. “I seem to have seriously overlooked something.”

  “Didn’t you say you were watching over him?” Mary asked with narrowed eyes.

  “I was for the punishment, but I thought a guard would be enough this time since he was harmless,” Juliana said while looking at the sentry.

  The sentry rubbed his head and avoided the dryad’s gaze. “One moment I was standing by the door, and the next moment I collapsed. I couldn’t speak or move, and he just left.”

  “Aren’t you glad you gave him more spells to play with?” Mary asked as she smiled at Juliana. The dryad’s gaze darkened.

  ***

  Tafel furrowed her brow as she stared at a boulder in the distance. She was standing in a courtyard with massive walls, purple patterns decorating their sides. Her tongue darted across her lips as she narrowed her eyes and focused her mana into her hands which were held up in front of her chest. “Firebolt!” she shouted as she mimed a pushing motion. An orange ball of fire flew out of her hands and hit the boulder. Tafel sighed as she lowered her hands and inhaled deeply through her nose. She turned around and tilted her head, asking, “How did I do?” with her eyes.

  “Well done,” Dustin said as he nodded. “Want to learn something new? It might be difficult though if you don’t have talent.” He smiled. “But you clearly have that.”

  Tafel squinted at her mentor. “What is it?”

  “Silent casting,” Dustin said with a smile. “Another term is mana manipulation.” He raised his hand and made a flicking motion. A fireball, similar to the one Tafel had conjured, formed in the air and hit the same boulder.

  “How did you do that?” Tafel asked with wide eyes. She turned her head towards Dustin’s hands before turning her head back to the boulder.

  “When you cast a firebolt, the mana moves around your body in a special way unique to that spell,” Dustin said. “I just copied the mana flow for firebolt. It’s very useful for sneak attacks or when you’re vocally silenced.”

  “Vocally silenced? Does that mean there’s another type of silence?”

  “Very astute. There’s such thing as mana-flow silence. It’s an interrupt that disrupts your mana making you unable to cast for a few seconds,” Dustin said. “It’s not something you can do. I’ve only seen dryads and fairies capable of casting it. You need a warrior and white mage combination to take care of dryads. Magic doesn’t work too well on them.”

  Tafel nodded and closed her eyes as she raised her hands in front of her chest. She inhaled and felt her mana flow and build up in her hands. She opened her eyes and made a pushing motion, but nothing happened. Her hands tingled as the mana dissipated from her palms. “It didn’t work,” she said while pouting at Dustin.

  Dustin laughed. “It takes practice and you have to be familiar with the spell. It takes me months to cast a new spell silently. You might be faster than me since your control over mana is better than mine,” he said with a smile. “Keep practicing hard and you’ll be strong enough to ignore your parents and become an adventurer. But don’t tell them I said that.”

  ***

  “Daaad,” Rudolph said. “I don’t want Johann anymore. All he does is eat, poop, and sleep. And I don’t think he likes me very much.”

  “You asked for him, and you said you would take care of him if I got him for you,” the king said. “That was part of our conditions.”

  “But, Dad, the stories never say anything about how much they poop. I have to use a shovel to get it out of the backyard,” Rudolph said. “And I have no allowance from all the meat I have to buy to feed him.”

  “Raising a pet builds character,” the king said and shrugged as he cut a steak. “You’ll thank me when you’re older.”

  “Your dad is right, honey,” the queen said. “I heard that Michelle, the pope’s daughter”—she winked at Rudolph—“likes men with character and dragons.”

  Rudolph’s face burned, and he lowered his gaze, staring at his plate. “Alright, I’ll raise Johann. Then can I at least explore a dungeon with him?”

  “No. Absolutely not. You’re too young,” his mother said. The playfulness on her face was gone, replaced by pursed lips and narrowed eyes.

  Rudolph made a face. “But demons get to become adventurers when they’re my age, sometimes even younger,” he said. “Besides, I can make lots of money to feed Johann if we go.”

  “You’re not a demon,” his mother said. She turned towards her husband. “Talk some sense into him, Randel.”

  “Hmm, I don’t see why not,” the king replied.

  “Randel!”

  “What? He has Johann. We can send some royal guards to escort him too. Experience is a very good thing to have,” the king said. “It’ll be perfectly safe.”

  “Yeah, Mom. Johann’s been getting fat recently. I think he needs some exercise too,” Rudolph said, sending a glance and a smile at his dad.

  His mother sighed. “An easy dungeon, okay?”

  “Yes!”

  5

  “C’mon, Snuffles, let’s go find someplace to sleep,” Vur said. He was naked and dragging a behemoth bear’s corpse with him. Faint, red handprints could be seen on his butt. Behind him, Snuffles was yawning while wobbling as he walked.

  “We haven’t really explored these parts of the mountains, have we?” Vur asked. Snuffles looked
around before he shaking his head and letting out an oink. Vur laughed and headed towards the base of a cliff in the distance. He pointed. “Let’s dig out a shelter over there.” When they arrived at the base and were about to start digging, they found a cave with an entrance lit up by green ores embedded in the walls.

  “Doesn’t this kinda look like home?” Vur asked as he tilted his head. Snuffles oinked and headed inside after sniffing the entrance. Vur shrugged and followed after the boar, squeezing the corpse through the entrance.

  ***

  A young-looking boy wearing armor too big for his frame sat on top of a sky-blue dragon. Beside the dragon, there was a carriage which was pulled by two horses. Inside the carriage, there were a total of four people, including the driver. The boy sitting atop the dragon furrowed his brow and turned his head to the side.

  “Aren’t we going to wrong way?” Rudolph asked his entourage. Beneath him, the dragon inhaled and let out an audible sigh, causing the horses to jump. The young prince rolled his eyes and said, “The wilderness is to the south.”

  “Her Highness has asked us to escort you through an easy dungeon. The forest of bats in the northeast has a dungeon suitable for a beginner,” the driver of the carriage said. He patted the rumps of the horses and whispered to them. A pair of runes on his arms lit up as the horses calmed down. The carriage driver was a beast tamer while his passengers consisted of two warriors and a white mage. That was simply the best conformation to carry a novice like Rudolph through a dungeon.

  “But I was expecting adventure and excitement: magical beasts and demon adventurers competing against us,” Rudolph said and frowned.

  One of the warriors sighed. “We don’t have a proper team composition and you want to go to the most dangerous region in the continent. All the dungeons there are purple and higher. The one we’re going to is barely yellow. It’s the perfect place for a greenhorn,” he said. “As long as you’re in my party, you have to follow my rules. Understood?” The warrior’s gaze darkened. He was the leader of one of the most elite troops in the kingdom, yet he was relegated to babysitting duty.