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However, the mana still didn't move as he willed them to.

The dark sorcerer looked at Ian with cold indifference as he spoke.

Ian scrunched up his face and observed the convulsing magi.

"I can't believe the likes of you possess the dragon’s blood."

Ian's pupils shook intensely, his confusion showing.

“How did you…?”

He recalled the notification he had received back on Earth. It said that the blood of the sleeping dragon would awaken.

He had almost forgotten about it as he had received so many notifications since, but the dark sorcerer’s words jogged his memory.

What the hell… Who is he?

Even a dark sorcerer shouldn’t be able to know how another used mana or what blood was mixed in their bodies.

Ian’s bewilderment was to be expected.

"How absurd, truly."

The dark sorcerer stared at Ian and shook his head.

"To think a runt like him… possesses what I have been searching for my entire life… Ugh."

Ian grimaced when the man suddenly shot him a murderous look, his bitterness evident. 

Ian began to understand that the dark sorcerer’s hatred of him was more personal than he’d thought.

Researching his entire life…

He furrowed his brows as he contemplated the implications, before smiling.

The dark sorcerer’s words convinced Ian that it was something very special.

While he knew that the dragon’s blood must have been something great, Ian had not felt special.

Ian suddenly shook his head.

No, now that I think about it....

He had at least two qualities that distinguished him. He could both see the mana and easily sense them. He could even hear them speak.

Until now, he believed it was only because he had come to this new world, but it seemed that this wasn’t the case.

Was it because of the dragon's blood?

It must have been.

Ian looked down at his hand and smiled.

It didn't matter. What was important right now was that the dark sorcerer viewed the dragon’s blood as important.

"Look here, Dark Sorcerer."

“...”

"Why did you study the dragon’s blood?"

"Why should I tell you?" The man replied with a snort.

Ian simply shrugged.

“If you cooperate, we might not have to fight each other. If I know what you're researching and what materials you need, I can procure it for you.”

"What does that mean?"

"Think about it, back to when we first met. I only attacked you to save the little girl, and she is alive and well."

"So? Isn’t that why I should kill you?"

The dark sorcerer was gathering mana in his hands while he listened.

Ian noted this and watched him carefully as he spoke.

"We were both badly hurt, but we can put that behind us, and think differently about our situation. You want the dragon’s blood inside me, and I want to know what it does."

"Our interests align, you mean?”

“That’s right.”

Ian bobbed his head.

He wasn’t actually that interested in knowing the role the dragon's blood played, but he kept speaking to buy time.

He slowly raised his senses and checked that the surrounding mana was moving as he willed.

I can also find out how you knew about the dragon's blood at the same time.

He continued.

"Let's make a deal. I can't give you that much, but I'll keep supplying you with my blood, so…”

However, the dark sorcerer let out a laugh and smirked.

"Why should I when I can just kill you and take all the blood I need?"

"Hmm..."

Ian glanced at his sword and parted his lips when the dark sorcerer cut him off.

"Well, whatever. I didn't want to make the deal anyway."

He inhaled and breathed in the surrounding mana, which allowed itself to be sucked inside him and absorb into his body. 

Just as water runs in a valley, the mana rode the pathways in Ian’s body and came out onto his sword.

That was not all.

He heard a sweet voice entering his ears as if to announce that the mana had officially granted him power.

[The mana is furious at the evil dark sorcerer’s attempt to sully you!]

[They have decided to leave themselves to your command.]

[Albeit brief, you’ve brought about the mana’s full compliance. The spirits of nature are in awe after watching you perform a marvelous miracle!]

Ian smiled as he faced the dark sorcerer.

"Just die."

He swiftly swung his sword.

The man simultaneously cast the magic spell he had been preparing.

"Fireball!"

A sphere coiled in dark red flames flew towards Ian.

Rather than shrink away, Ian confronted the attack head-on.

His sword sliced through the center of the fireball, dispersing it into nothing. 

Ian swung again to stab the man.

“Shield!”

An invisible barrier formed between Ian and the dark sorcerer.

Bang!

It blocked Ian's sword with a thud.

A grin formed across Ian’s face.

The shield couldn’t block the entirety of his attack, and a crack was forming around the area where he had struck it.

He remembered the first time he’d the dark sorcerer and saved Gionelle from being sold to the Orcs. 

I’m glad they said he was here.

Ian gritted his teeth.

Ian had known then that he did not deserve forgiveness, and he knew now that the only way for his boiling anger to be quieted was to kill the sorcerer.

“You should’ve at least pretended to make a deal with me. Then, you could've lived a little longer.”

Thump. Thump.

Was it because of the mana which was flowing in and spreading throughout his body?

His heart raced.

Ian felt the words he uttered reverberating through him.

He heard dozens of voices repeating his own words back to him in his ears.

deal with me....

deal with me....

then you could’ve…

…a little longer…

His head wasn’t aching like it had before.

Instead, his entire body was brimming with energy. The words were giving him strength. His words were filled with mana, and they’d become magic.

“Huh?”

The cracked shield slowly began to disappear, the mana dispelling it.

"What the hell... No way! How dare you...!”

The sorcerer was appalled, denying the reality before him.

The shield completely disappeared, and Ian manipulated the mana to his will.

It was simpler than he thought.

I am mana, and mana is me.

It was the only way to accurately describe what was happening.

The mana and Ian moved with the same mind, their will the same.

Ian smiled delightedly, feeling the mana move with him as though it were an extension of his body.

He suddenly stared at the sorcerer, his smile fading.

“Farewell.” Ian said as he brought down his sword.

Mana began to extend from his sword. It continued to accumulate and condense and exploded with a blast.

The ground quaked as the mana surged and created a powerful storm that shook the entire dungeon.

“S-Shield! Barrier!”

The dark sorcerer hastily called out a series of defense spells, to no avail. Ian's mana storm shattered his magic, dispersing it into thin air as the mana storm absorbed it.

The mana storm surge stronger and engulfed the dark sorcerer.

Such was his end.

The mana stilled, and all traces of the sorcerer had vanished. It was as though he had never existed.

***

The dark sorcerer shut his eyes as the mana storm stretched toward him.

His life began to flash before his eyes.

Elixir.

The dark sorcerer had been working on it, an elixir called The Drink of the Gods.

He had become a Class 3 magician at the tower, but after five years of futility, he’d been rejected as talentless and kicked out.

Immediately, he’d begun to delve into the dark arts, seeking answers in the Demonic Forest. It was teeming with monsters, and when he would venture deeper into the woods, he would occasionally see black monsters being consumed by a dark energy.

He captured them and studied the dark magic, eventually becoming enlightened with magi to some extent.

As he got older, he continued his research, extending his lifespan through the magi’s effects that he’d discovered in his studies..

He had forced his lifespan to extend, but there was a limit to his longevity, and when his magic reached its limit, he knew he needed the dragon’s blood to create the perfect elixir. However, he did not believe it could be captured.

That was when he appeared.

Just as he was about to give into despair, a being appeared in front of him, emanating dark magi.

When I first saw him, I just felt disgusted...

However, he soon realized that this existence could be his salvation.

His life, which he had forcibly clung onto, was extended to another 100 years, in which time, he continued his research.

The existence, who had possessed immense magi, gave the dying man life.

Still, his magic remained unremarkable, his skills not improving. But his research steadily progressed.

When he failed to procure the dragon’s blood, he began searching for an alternative.

Several decades had passed.

He had finally found something that could create the perfect elixir, and when he’d reached the final stage… Then, some punk named Ian appeared.

Ian brought him despair once again.

He had clung to life beyond what was natural, prolonging his lifespan at any cost. But finally, he was able to let go.

In the end...it’s impossible. Even if I could create the perfect elixir, there’s no way to overcome my limit.

He thanked Ian for presenting him with the perfect despair, and then he vanished from the world.

***

The moment the dark sorcerer died…

In a space dominated by magi, not mana…

“He” opened his eyes.

With a suspicious smile, he put his hand on his sword, before raising it and striking the ground.

Boom!

The entire earth quaked, and shortly after, a shadow appeared behind him.

“You called, Milord?"

"The eighth one is dead. Send Bellakinis." 

"As you wish."

The shadow disappeared in an instant.

"Things are going to become interesting.” He murmured to himself.

The magi buzzed and echoed.