Hermit Wizard

1. 1. 1. 1. Savior or Destroyer (17)

Inside a container soaring high in the sky…

Tobogai, who could barely get inside, made a faint cry. It was a voice that didn’t match the size of an elephant.

-Khiiiing!

That Tobogai, named Flower Bud, had already recovered considerably. The crying sound seemed to be not because of physical pain but due to anxiety about the unfamiliar surroundings.

“… #@$.”

Ramuming stuck close to Flower Bud. He spread his hands wide and covered the Tobogai’s body as if it were a hug. He then spoke in a calm, low voice. The giant creature seemed to gradually regain stability due to the owner’s patting, who was much smaller than itself.

The Tobogai, who suppressed its anxiety, slowly stuck out its long antennae resembling a snail and looked around. It then made eye contact with Hwang Soo-rim.

-Khiiing!

Quickly, it constricted its antennae and hid its eyes at the tip. It seemed to be frightened just because their eyes met.

Hwang Soo-rim said, “That snail head, it’s really a completely timid pet.”

Although he didn’t understand what she said, Ramuming noticed that her eyes were on him. The blue-haired alien looked at her face with a frightened expression, and Parvache interpreted his small murmur.

=He said that Flower Bud has a sensitive and timid personality.=

She huffed and snorted.

“It’s a zonk, huh? It’s not worth it.”

She looked inside the container as if to agree with that, but no one else could answer her words except Parvache.

As soon as Eraser called a Summon and lifted the container in the air, he immediately reached out to the mattress and fell asleep. Hwang Soo-rim found out that he often slept when he had nothing special to do while they moved together. It was like an office worker suffering from chronic fatigue.

As soon as the owner had fallen asleep, Maru put its body out of the hoodie and then kept silent with one eye open. It was a completely different aspect from what it normally preferred to be involved in the conversation. When Eraser took Maru off his body for battle, it would always try to stick to Hwang Soo-rim, but currently, it only saw Hwang Soo-rim even though he wasn’t playing with it. When the owner was sleeping, Maru always had the attitude of a hound that protected the owner when he was asleep.

The Maek that suffered from malnutrition was also half-asleep, and Mrs. Pearl, who had been kind to her, also shut her mouth with a rotten expression as soon as she entered the container.

In the end, Hwang Soo-rim’s only conversation partner was Parvache.

She asked herself inwardly.

‘Is it really okay anyway? I said it was soon. How can it be so calm in the midst of all this? Above all, is it okay for Eraser to sleep in this situation?’

Still, it wasn’t easy to put the heavy subject back in her mouth. She decided to go along with Parvache’s seemingly casual will.

“What’s the next plan after getting the metal in Ramuming’s village to feed Garam?”

[You weren’t there, but we contacted the Dragon Emperor and found some pretty useful information. We’re planning to look at the remains of dragons called Root Stone.]

Hwang Soo-rim heard a brief explanation. The important ruins, perhaps influencing the dragon species’ existence, were the subject of the dragon species’ patronage.

She frowned.

“The existence of the dragon race? Does Eraser ever try to wipe out the dragons of this world?”

Eraser, whom she saw, was an activist… no, in a more honest way, was a really crazy guy who didn’t choose any means to achieve his goal. He was a calm madman who took the madness into action carefully under the principle of thorough planning and risk aversion.

Currently, let’s looked at the Hun-neung base without going far. Wasn’t it said that the entire vast space was torn apart and given to God just because it was necessary?

It was impossible to conceive or execute it for a normal human being.

Hwang Soo-rim thought he was a human being who would do such a thing if he judged that the extinction of the dragon species was necessary to find that soul. He didn’t tell herself why he was looking for that soul or how he was trying to find it.

[We need to hold a weapon in our hand in case of an emergency. Among the memories classified in the keyword of dragon’s weakness, it said that the most repeated memory was Root Stone. Anyway, it takes some time for Yodmo to digest the memory of the unusual dragon entity. In the meantime, it’s worth checking out. Now is the best time when the Dragon Emperor that manages the ruins is incapacitated.]

It was said that it was a process to find an alternative since it was dangerous to maintain the way of hitting and falling dragons one by one.

At that time, Ramuming, who listened to their conversation, and then asked like he had found courage. Of course, only Parvache could understand it.

“… Well, Great people… I dare to guess… aren’t you dragons?”

If they were a dragon, they wouldn’t move that way. Moreover, their aura and appearance would greatly differ from the dragon’s appearance in that world. Parvache thought that even if he panicked and didn’t notice it at first, it was time to recognize it.

So Parvache didn’t have to lie and answered Ramuming.

[Yes, none of these are dragons.]

“… Oh my gosh!”

Ramuming’s mouth widened.

“Are you saying that even if you are not a dragon, you can use such powerful magic? Then, as I can see, the man sleeping right now and the woman in front of me are both humans?”

[That’s right.]

The Ramuming boy muttered to himself, saying he couldn’t believe it with a shocked expression. Parvache explained to him that they were from another dimension. Only then, the alien nodded as if he understood.

At that time, Hwang Soo-rim, who briefly heard about the conversation between the two, asked.

“This isn’t the level of the magic of humans in this world, is it?”

Ramuming, who received the meaning through an interpreter, shook his hand and said.

“It can’t be compared! I’ve never heard of any human wizard using such powerful magic! Their magic is similar to Ramuming’s, after all.”

The spell that Hwang Soo-rim used when fighting with male and female Red Hiel seemed to have left a deep impression on this young alien.

Moreover, what about Yoon Min-joon’s spell? While Ramuming lost his consciousness, the giant monster disappeared, and a thick swamp, presumed to be the flesh and body fluid, spread over the ground.

That magical level seemed to be only allowed for dragons by Ramuming’s knowledge.

“I heard that the average level of a human wizard is similar to that of a Ramuming wizard. It would be enough to heal a snag in the nose, light up an ungreasy light in the dark, or find a nearby spring. So, of course, I only thought of you as a great dragon.”

After saying so, the eyes of the Ramuming boy lit up. His cheeks, half-covered with long-grown blue hair, were flushed. It was evidence of excitement.

“The old Ramumings were wrong. Strong magic wasn’t allowed only to the dragon race by destiny! If humans could reach this level, so would Ramuming!”

Hwang Soo-rim, who couldn’t know the answer, looked at Parvache. The robot toy nodded and spat out its will.

[Both Ramuming and humans belong to the chosen race, and the conditions for the activation of Mana are similar. There’s no reason that the magic of either side must be superior. Rather than the natural physical condition, the influence of civilization will be much greater.]

When he heard the words, Ramuming trembled slightly.

“Oh, then, our own kind will someday… I see. Their words were wrong. Even a nation that didn’t have a Root Stone could achieve a high level of magic.”

When Parvache heard that, he forgot to interpret for Hwang Soo-rim and asked Ramuming.

[Root Stone? Do you know it, too?]

The Ramuming boy nodded.

“Of course! A mysterious stone is considered sacred by the dragon races. It’s a mysterious relic that has existed in this world from the time the dragons first set foot.”

The boy followed the explanation. Among their species, there was a story that the source of the dragon’s great power was the ruins.

Ramuming and other tribes called ‘Mimul’ had long questioned. Why do many species in the world have a ridiculously overwhelming power compared to other species?

Some of them tried to find answers to their questions from unusual ruins that only the dragons served.

“Somehow, I thought it was a lie! Ramuming, who live in the village near Root Stone, sometimes come to our village to trade, but they said they couldn’t feel any Mana in the huge stone itself. There’s no way an object without Mana can give dragons so powerful magic.”

[The Root Stone itself has no Mana?]

“Yeah. An older brother using the identification number 29-73871 confirmed it. He’s one of the wizards who often come to our village. He is called ‘Swift Feathers’ among acquaintances.”

When he was convinced that they weren’t dragons, Ramuming’s speech became softer, and his expression brightened. Parvache tilted its head while listening to him.

[That’s weird. The Root Stone is said to be very important to dragons, and yet, they allowed Ramuming access? That close?]

A self-help smile spread over the boy’s face.

“For dragons, Ramuming is not an object of vigilance. We are nothing but slaves and livestock to them.”

The boy said, sweeping the thick metal necklace around his neck with his hand.

“For example, the village where Brother Swift Feather lives, the village of the Ramumings whose identification number starts with 29, is close to the Dragon’s Guardian… that is, close to the Dragon Emperor’s nest.”

Listening to the explanation, it seemed that it was a village where they had to go back to the Dragon Emperor’s nest from where they met the Ramuming boy and go further and pass the nest. It was the opposite of the direction they were moving.

Ramuming continued.

“Most of them are slaves of the Dragon Emperor. They do the chores that the Dragon Emperor finds annoying.”

[… Slave?]

“Brother was doing a job which was on the better side. It was a task to clean up, so those unclean things didn’t accumulate around the Root Stone. That’s why he was able to look closely at the Root Stone.”

As a result, he seemed convinced that the ruins had no Mana.

“Compared to him… the older sister who sometimes stopped by our village with a greeting, but I can’t remember what the identification number was, the ordinary Ramuming, called ‘Warm Sunset,’ did a much more terrible job. She had to go into the ear hole of a giant monster raised by the Dragon Emperor and scrape the sticky earwax with her hand.”

Hwang Soo-rim’s face was distorted after hearing the interpreter.

“Then, she got tucked into the claws of a monster that didn’t feel particularly good that day, thrown to the ground, and torn alive. She lost almost all of her brain, so she couldn’t even regenerate it.”

Ramuming’s expression darkened.

“I heard that the monster was beaten by the Dragon Emperor three days and nights. It’s a habit-breaker. It’s because… it was strictly prohibited among dragons to harm Ramuming, who was not on the ‘list.’ It is said that despite its status as a Dragon’s Guardian, it had to be punished according to the rules. It is not known to us what the punishment is.”

[… List?]

Ramuming’s voice rang low.

“When Ramumings, who live their lives as slaves to the dragon race, get old or hurt, from then on, they become livestock rather than slaves to the dragon race, and they get on the list of each village.”

[… It can’t be.]

“Yeah.”

Words mixed with self-pity flowed from the boy’s mouth.

“When the noble bodies of the great dragons are injured, they go to the nearby village of Ramuming. They then line up their people in order according to the list.”

[… So you’re used as a healing for dragons.]

“Yeah. Ramuming’s brain, organs, and blood heal the dragon’s wounds. Our people have better resilience than any other race, but we have to sacrifice our lives to heal dragons. When we’re young, we live our entire life as slaves, and when we’re old or injured, we always have to endure day by day, ready to sacrifice our lives as dragon’s medicine. As we pray that there will be no fights between the dragons and that the demons of other worlds will not fight the dragons.”