Chapter 73 - Hero's Training (4)

Dragon Maken War

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He trained to the extreme for 30 days, and he rested for 10 days. This was his optimal training cycle, but he didn't have to keep to the schedule. The important part was the ratio. If he wanted to reduce the training time, he could train to the extreme for four days, then he would need only a single day of rest.

The training he performed up until now had stimulated every single inch of his body. This was true for his bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels... Every single one of his cells were stimulated as he drove them to move. As he became more aware of his own body, the job of consolidating his body occurred.

At the same time, the stimulation would cause the creation of extra magic, and he sent it into his Energy Pulse. He worked on expanding his Energy Pulse. This resulted in his magic being able to flow to every inch of his body, and his body was strengthened.

The act of recovering from injury was also part of this process.

An injured body worked differently from one's normal body, and Azell even put this phenomena to use.

This was the true worth of the Body Strengthening technique that had been passed down to Azell by Liglan. When one trains the mind, one has to find out the basic anatomy of the mind. Usually, one used one's body without doubt. This process allowed him to understand his body, and it brought his body under control.

‘Half a year's time should be enough.’

He felt endlessly thankful toward Kairen.

Azell suddenly asked a question.

“I'm have some questions I want to ask you, Mr. Havanz.”

“What is it?”

“I would like to ask you about you grandfather. It is about the Dragon Demon Duke Rogan Aludin, who fought with Azell Karzark.”

He had lied to Kairen about seeing Rogan's portrait. The books Azell had read had only brief passages describing Rogan as one of the heroes.

This was why he wanted to hear about Rogan from his descendent. He wanted to hear what kind of life Rogan had lead after the Dragon Demon War ended...

“I'm guessing Mr. Havanz never met him personally?”

“Yes. He passed away long ago. He passed away long before Sir Azell was born....”

“Ha ha ha.”

Of course, that wasn't possible. Azell let out a bitter laugh inside.

Havanz asked him a question.

“How old do you think I am?”

“Mmm. Let's see. I'm guessing you are in your mid-60s. ”

Havanz had a surprised expression at his words.

“You are amazing. I've never met someone, who guessed my age so accurately on the first try. People get confused whether I am a Dragon Demon or a Dragon Majin.”

“A Dragon Majin's age is hard to estimate just based on their outer appearance. However, I formulated my guess based on your occupation. No matter how talented you are, you would need more than 10 years to be trained as a steward. This was why I guessed that age. I thought you couldn't be older than mid-60s.”

“Sometimes, Sir Azell doesn't act like a young person. Your insight is amazing.”

Havanz continued speaking as he burst out into laughter.

“These are words I heard from my father. Grandfather was someone, who lived for over 300 years, so he was like a living history book. He loved telling stories. My father and the elders of my household relayed many of his stories to me.”

“Like what?”

“After the Dragon Demon war ended, he had started a business. He lost all his fortunes in that venture, and he had gone into bankruptcy.”

“…huh?”

Azell's eyes turned round. Rogan was quick and facile in calculating profit and loss. He had been very efficient in managing the army's supply. A person like that drove his business into bankruptcy?

Havanz spoke.

“Grandfather had started his first business after the Dragon Demon war had ended. At the time, he had thought the world was his oyster... Or that was what he had said. However, the aftermath of the Dragon Demon war resulted in humans holding animosity towards the Dragon Demons. Even though my grandfather had fought for the humans, he wasn't free from receiving their scorn.”

“Ah…….”

“Unlike his management of the army in the Dragon Demon war, he had to act ruthless against his trading partners. At times, he would have to act like a demon, but that was easier said than done.... There were also some high profile figures, who held ill feelings towards the Dragon Demon race. In the end, he lost all the money he had saved up, and he had gone into debt. At the time, he said his future had looked very bleak. He hated the humans enough where he had thought about killing them all. He had put his life at great risk to save the humans in the Dragon Demon War. If another Dragon Demon war broke out, he thought about siding with the other side...”

“…….”

Azell was speechless as he felt an ache inside his heart. Azell had thought Rogan would have lived well as a hero of the Dragon Demon war. However, reality wasn't that kind. It was common to see many wartime heroes fall into being useless humans when time of peace arrived. It seemed Rogan held similar risk factors that lead to the downfall of the former heroes.

Havanz continued to speak.

“However, humans were also the ones, who had saved him. Even during those tough times, my grandmother never left his side, and she supported him... Then there were the humans he had befriended during the Dragon Demon war. He was able to get back up on his feet with the help of the people, who received his help during the Dragon Demon war. Then he came to an understanding.”

“What was it?”

“He shouldn't dream about becoming a great merchant unless he was prepared to become a demon.”

“Basically… He couldn't bring himself to become a demon.”

“Yes. I feel the same way as him. I wanted to be in a position where I'll be allowed to run an organization. I can invest my feelings into each member of the organization. In business, one have to see the people making up one's organization as interchangeable parts or a number. If one can't do this, it would be best to stay clear from being a merchant. One would have to find a different path. Grandfather found that different path. He passed on the family's business to his children after making sure it would run adequately. When my grandmother died, he lived a very busy life.”

“Busy?”

“Yes. He was our Duke's teacher, and he also played the game of being a hero as he traveled to various regions.”

“He played a game of being a hero?”

“This was how grandfather described it with his word. He didn't like putting humans in difficulty through his business dealings. It would cause the humans to hate him. Instead, he preferred saving people in trouble. He'd rather hear gratitude from humans after saving them, so he took up saving people as a hobby. He traveled far and wide, so you'll be able to hear stories about my grandfather from various parts of the continent.”

“Ha ha ha.”

Azell couldn't help, but laugh.

It was really a story befitting Rogan. This was really like the Rogan Azell had known. Rogan had been very talented at running an organization, but he was very compassionate. He had a bleeding heart. Even as the army was running short on supplies, he gave food to the children of the refugee groups the army ran across. He would say he could do without food for awhile as he gave the children his portion of the food. How could someone like him become a great merchant, who were like cold-hearted devils?

‘It seems you lived a merry life, Rogan.’

It was unfortunate that he'll never meet Rogan again. However, he felt consoled by the fact that Rogan had lived a rich life. He was someone Azell had trusted to protect his back in a fight. He was also a friend, who shared nonsensical stories with him as they shared drinks... He was also Azell's savior. Rogan had been at the site of his teacher's death, and he allowed Azell to put his life on the line for the future.

‘Don't act like a child, young human. A great man like him just entrusted you with the future. Even if it feels dirty, live on to become a hero. If you don't, you will despise yourself for the rest of your life.’

Azell remembered wrapping himself in those words as he charged into the hailstorm of arrows and magic.

After that day, Azell took time at odd intervals to hear about Rogan from Havanz. Azell buried his memory of Rogan in his mind until he would be able to look back and see his smile.

Beorein spoke in a tired manner.

“The shape has somewhat taken form.”

They were in their third month of dedicating themselves to manufacturing the Dragon Sword.

The process of making the Dragon Weapon was strictly a magical process. Even the act of carving the Dragon Bones into the shape of the desired weapon wasn't done by hand. It had to be done by magic.

Kairen spoke.

“Still, I'm more comfortable at doing this compared to the first time we tried this out.”

“It had been a long time since we made the first one. Of course, the production process has been much improved. Moreover, if the maker has a Dragon Weapon at one's disposal, the process become that much easier.”

“Jeez. We have to pour in Dragon Demon magic as if we are pouring in water.”

The Dragon Weapon was seeped with Dragon Demon magic. Even a human would be able to use Dragon Demon magic with this weapon. This was why a Dragon Demon or a Dragon Majin had to pour in an incredible amount of Dragon Demon magic from the start of the manufacturing process.

Currently, the production of Azell's Dragon Sword had gone smoothly, so they were at the halfway point. However, the unfinished Dragon Weapon floating atop the magic circle didn't look anything like a sword. It looked like a stone had been half-halfheartedly chipped away. It had the rough shape of a sword.

Kairen spoke.

“Is it ok for you to vacate your seat for too long? I thought you would travel back couple times during the process.”

“My friend. Isn't it a bit too late to ask that question now?”

“Well, I'll admit I am a bit late in asking the question.”

“Anyways, it isn't a problem.”

Beorein had already appointed his successor to the title of Count Michael. He had created a great system where everything would run smoothly even if he was absent.

“It isn't a problem as a lord or a member of the Guardian Shadow.”

“Hmm. Were your disciples entered into the Guardian Shadow?”

“Yes. The number of Guardian Shadow members have increased drastically with our country.”

Archmage Beorein had seven disciples excluding his descendants. He had entered four of his most trusted and talented disciples into the Guardian Shadow. For the near future, it would alleviate the shortage of manpower.

Beorein spoke.

“It took a long time. It really....”

It was quite odd for him to be so active in the affairs of his land. He should have seceded his title of count to his descendant already. Dragon Majin lived longer than humans, but their lives were short-lived compared to the Dragon Demon. At Beorein's age, he should have been retired from the society of nobles. Even those of the Dragon Demon race retired after an adequate amount of time passed. They married a little bit later than humans, but the title of nobility was passed on unless there was a special circumstance that prevented it like Kairen.

There was also an unusual circumstance behind Beorein's long reign as the Count. Around 30 years ago, Beorein had lost all his heirs to this title. He had lost all his children and grandchildren to the Dragon Demon Worshippers. Everyone's sympathy towards Beorein lasted for a brief moment. Every one of his relatives came at him for his title of Count, so his household and lands was put in a very bad spot.

At the time, Beorein didn't even know who he should blame for the deaths. Even as he fell into despair, the Dragon Demon worshippers continued their work to destroy him.

It was at that point when the Guardian Shadow appeared in front of Beorein. The Guardian Shadow repelled a trap set by the Dragon Demon worshippers, and Beorein had willingly became a member of the Guardian Shadow.

It took a long time to stabilize his domain, and he had groomed another successor.

For a brief moment, Beorein had fallen into his old memories.

Beorein spoke.

“Let's put the issue of marriage aside. You should try a little bit harder to grow the membership of the Guardian Shadows.”

“I'm actually eyeing some of my more competent subordinates. I'm also thinking about entering Arrieta and Seigar into the organization.”

“I'm sure the Dragon Demon Queen will oppose it. Moreover, those two have too much burden on their shoulders. We need members, who can travel around freely. Princess Arrieta and Prince Seigar are tied to the throne, so they aren't suitable candidates.”

“That is true, but...”

The Dragon Demon Queen was a member of the Guardian Shadow. Her children and the King didn't know about this fact. However, she had basically retired when she entered the throne as the Dragon Demon Queen.

Beorein spoke.

“Do you really believe the words spoken by our friend, Azell?”

“My friend. Isn't it a bit too late to ask that question now?”

“You turned my exact words against me.”

“I believe him. I'll admit there are a lot of dubious parts to his story, but in spite of those facts, I still believe him.”

“You are completely taken with him. Tsk tsk. This is why you are still a bachelor.”

“How are those two things related?”

“I've never seen you completely taken with anyone. Your tastes are so eccentric that it is too hard to find a woman that you'll be able to live your life with. It would have been great if Azell had an older sister or a younger sister.”

“…….”

Beorein smirked as he changed the subject.

“Well, okay. You are blind to love, but I'll agree that you have a discerning eye for humans. Anyways, he is endlessly fascinating when seen through the eyes of a magician.”

Beorein was in awe of the various techniques displayed by Azell. He spoke to Azell deep into the night, and he was gaining so much from those conversations.

“If that friend really the descendent of Azell Karzark... I'm really curious about that fact.”

“What are you curious about?”

“I wonder why Azell Karzark hid himself in the latter years of his life. Moreover, what is the his descendant, who inherited all the techniques forgotten in this era, trying to accomplish? I can't help, but wonder.”

“Maybe, he foresaw a danger in the future.”

“He prepared a descendant for the trouble that'll come in the future?”

“Isn't that likely?”

“I sincerely hope not. However, if that does happen, do you think our friend will be the vessel to stop the threat?”

“I believe in him. Somehow, I feel as if he'll pave a path into the future no matter what happens in the future... He generates such belief in me.”

Azell had never tried to dazzle Kairen with his words. It didn't matter if Azell's words were believed or not. Azell proved his worth through his actions. He liked that attitude, and it had moved Kairen's heart.

Beorein smirked.

“As a Dragon Majin, you are considered young, but you have gotten older. You are talking about entrusting the future to the young.”

“I really do sound like an old man. Shit.”

Kairen frowned.

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