Chapter 13 (2/2)

“……”

This ogre.

How much did he know?

“Where did you get that? Also, how are you connected to Draka?”

I couldn’t give any answers.

Because…

I really didn’t know anything.

Anyhow, I told him a shortened version of my life story.

“Before that… I’ll tell you a bit about me.”

How I showed talent in magic from a young age

But a curse that had overshadowed this talent, Magic Evocation Disorder.

The lowest scoring student of the academy.

And how an accident had nearly cost me my life.

And how I obtained that artifact, ‘Player’.

Even how it was connected to Draka.

While silently listening to my story, Kingram talked while nodding his head.

“Draka couldn’t evoke his magic either. It looks like he had chosen you from a long time ago.”

I asked Kingram in response,

“Draka, who is he, really?”

“Hmm! You ask who he is?”

“Yes.”

His next words were a shocking masterpiece.

“A being that desired the form of a god.”

* * *

Destroyer of Worlds, Draka.

Before archmage Folian Ignit was even conceived.

An even older story.

One day, a human had found the ‘Sky Phoenix clan’ that the ancient ogre Kingram was a part of.

They say he was short and weak in stature.

But he had an overwhelming level of power that was hard to believe came from a human.

His strength was comparable with the ogres and became even stronger day by day, and at some point, even if multiple ogres charged at him, he would defeat them all single-handedly.

“He was extremely strong. Enough for us to stop thinking of him as human. I could talk about his strength forever. I’ve never seen a human stronger than him since then.”

This was Draka.

As a species that revered strength, the ogres naturally started to respect him.

Even though he was a human, he remained in the ogre tribe as a part of the family.

He had also taught Kingram, the next chieftain, language and magic.

For over 100 years.

I could only be shocked at this revelation.

“100 years? How could a human teach for 100 years…?”

“It’s possible. Since he wasn’t a human.”

“……”

Not a human?

I squinted my eyes a bit and asked him,

“If he wasn’t a human… what was he?”

“Black dragon Drakagonia. That was his true form.”

“……”

I held my breath.

What?

Dragon?

Weren’t dragons only creatures of myth?

If another person had said this, I would’ve asked if they were joking.

But he was the Ancient Ogre Kingram.

He wasn’t someone to make trivial jokes or babble nonsense.

“Is that… the truth?”

“Since you’re a magician, you should know that the origin of magic is from the dragons.”

“Ah… yes. But the existence of dragons isn’t something that has been confirmed…”

The origin of magic.

It was a topic popular amongst gossipers.

If the origin of magic was dragons.

Or if magic was something humans had sought after and developed.

These two opinions had clashed for a long time.

But there was no resolution, as proving either side was deemed impossible.

However, this ogre here who had lived with and learnt from a dragon for over 100 years had finally put the nail in.

“It’s all true. Dragons do exist. Even if they currently look extinct.”

“……”

Look extinct?

Did he mean they could exist or could not?

It was an ambiguous statement.

In any case, I had finally found more about this Draka.

But before even the shock of finding he was a dragon and not a human faded, Kingram told me another thing.

“As I said before, the origin of magic is dragons, but Draka himself couldn’t evoke magic, like you. Do you understand what this meant?”

“……”

A dragon that couldn’t use magic…

I wasn’t completely sure, but it would be like a human missing something that fundamentally made them human.

There were humans in the world that couldn’t use magic.

But humans without feelings didn’t exist.

Humans without thought or contemplations didn’t exist either.

Maybe, a dragon that couldn’t use magic would’ve been treated like that as well.

Since even I, until recently, was treated like that in the academy.

“I think… I understand a little.”

As I nodded my head, Kingram continued to talk.

“That’s why Draka created a power that only he could wield. To use magic and strength in tandem. That’s the ability that you’re using.”

Through this, Draka became stronger.

Stronger than any being in the world,

Stronger than any dragon in the world.

He cultivated enough power to challenge the gods.

And did so at the end.

However,

A little more.

A little bit stronger.

A little bit more.

After becoming stronger by his endless greed, Draka’s final moments were miserable.

“After endlessly bloating his strength, Draka was driven to his downfall. He destroyed all the other dragons who treated him like trash and self-destructed.”

“……”

A suicide bomb.

A being that perished along with his world.

Destroyer of Worlds, Draka.

This was the reason why the ‘dragon’ species could only exist as legends and stories.

I gulped while listening to this story.

A turbulent whirlpool was stirring within me.

Not because of the unbelievable story.

But because I couldn’t understand the scope of this ‘Endless Power’.

It was then.

A new window popped up in front of my eyes.

——