Chapter 349 Human, It’s Death You Seek! (2/2)
But now that the Church of Seven had listed the synthetic means as taboo across all nations, contract mages turned their attention to nurturing and making contracts with magical beasts, sharing power and life. Theodore's mentor had been a famed contract mage himself, having helped the Diamond Royal Family form a contract with a Hellfire Dragon—the very ancestor of Israel Diamond's own dragon mount.
That, in turn, was Theodore's goal in life, to make a contract with a dragon, and become a draconic contract mage.
His dreams notwithstanding—dragons were a proud race, and therefore why would they form a contract with a mere magic user? Adult dragons would never obey human commands either, unless compelled by the champions of men.
That was why it was nigh impossible to bind a mature dragon in the contract. Still, it was only after many attempts and near-death encounters that Theodore gave up on that idea and turned to look for opportunities of nurturing dragon hatchlings.
Nonetheless, this was even more impossible than forming contracts with adult dragons. To groom one meant to start from the egg, which dragon mothers brood over with an almost maniacal obsession.
What was worse, even though dragons were a highly territorial and strongly independent species that loathed sharing domains with their same kind, they would abandon that practice and build a collective nest just for the additional security over their eggs and young. That was how much their eggs mattered—the dragons would suppress their basic instincts for them!
After trying many times over more than a decade, Theodore noticed that he had stopped short of hitting Sureme tier after he abandoned the idea of forcing a full-fledged dragon into a contract. If he had kept at it, he would have been much greater a magician than he was now. However, he had turned to and mastered elemental magic and transfiguration cells in his quest to approach dragon nests, which in turn left his contract magic lacking.
Indeed, it was a sign of him despairing and giving up when he accepted the teaching offer at Winter Fort Academy. Gold-tier powers were practical, and he was a respected lecturer anyway—why risk his neck and face-off against a mad dragon?
But fortune toyed with him once more. One day, he was utterly stunned to find out Joshua van Radcliffe, dragon slayer, Liege of Moldovia and an honorary Dean of the academy held possession over a large number of dragon eggs. He had even sent them to the academy as laboratory samples!
”What cursed luck!”
Years of blood and sweat was simply incomparable to a single moment of dumb fortune. When he saw the eggs he could only ever dream about, he did not know whether he should laugh or cry.
Since he was the only person who possessed deep knowledge about dragons and could also care for the eggs, Nostradamus quickly decided that he was the one to watch over them. Still, Theodore was aware that those eggs did not belong to him and that they would not hatch for certain. All he could do was use his self-taught methods and gingerly care for them with untried procedures.
As if the Truth was watching over an apostle, the eggs showed signs of hatching in less than a month. He breathed a long sigh then, for his craft was finally proven correct and useful. If it did not, there was no need for Nostradamus or Joshua to punish him—he would end his own meaningless life.
The frost was coming from every direction of the icy mountains, but Theodore was therefore even more conscious. Clenching on his robes and adding another layer of elemental protection, he quickly felt the warmth shield his body as he kept heading towards the lake.
In truth, to have a dragon hatch especially by human means was a delicate process. What was more, it takes the fulfillment of many conditions that to bond a young dragon to man and have it view the person as an equal while holding back its pride as a dragon. Therefore, there are not many people who incubate dragon eggs, and even fewer people who know how to bond with the draconic infant.
Coincidentally Theodore was one of who was learned in both, which was why he knew that now was not the time to dally.
The methods are many, but there is definitely not enough time. Whether it was conditioning, brainwash magical formations or contracts, nothing can be done soon enough. To start enchanting the eggs was now simply too late—the only way was through nurture.
Theodore thus had only one choice, and that was to have a dragon that was already familiar with a man to care for them. With the influence of the same species, the young would definitely imitate its affection for the man.
Blessed be the Truth that th Count and owner of the eggs, Joshua van Radcliffe, was also a dragon rider, and Mount Nissia was where that dragon mount rested.
Black was its name, and although it was just a half-breed fire dragon, it would do. After all, would infants care about the race of their guardian? And what Theodore needed was just a leader—he knew how to groom a dragon.
As such, he asked the academy to forward an urgent letter to Joshua. But because he was thrilled when he wrote it, the words were scribbly and the language so confusing that even Theodore himself suspected that the receiver would probably not understand what he wrote.
Still, it meant that he had made prior notice, and without waiting for an agreement the mage made his move. With the eggs being about to hatch and every moment of delay a greater risk, he would brave the punishment of no-notice.
After traversing the winding paths of snow and the lush pine forest, Theodore finally arrived at the lake beneath the mountain.
Frost magic was streaming incessantly from it, a force hard to detect even for Gold-tier mages. But Theodore could—this was his gift and the reason he was picked up by his mentor. He could use this awareness of his to communicate with other species.
Putting down the two cases of eggs, the mage did a little stretching. He had been on the battlefield and journeyed across countless treacherous mountain passes for eggs and dragons, which in turn shaped his body into a rather athletic one. He had even carried the two boxes easily with a hand on each.
After a quick break, he was ready.
”Black!”
He called loudly from the icy lake. With magic manipulating his voice, the tremors were not sent into the air but instead under water. ”It's me, Theodore, who keeps feeding you. I have some business with you!”
And he left it at that. He knew that it heard him, and as it happened so often in the past, it would appear soon enough.
As expected, the surface of the lake started bubbling not far off, and the bubbles were quickly heading towards him. A gigantic shadow too was slowly appearing underwater, showing just how huge it was.
As it approached, Theodore could feel the flickering fiery elementals that were flickering thanks to the cold started razing. The surrounding temperatures rocketed, as if placing the man inside a furnace.
The shadow slowly rises by the lake. In the company of boiling sprays of water and steam was a colossal dragon floating up.
This was a sleek beast filled with the beauty of elegance and danger. Its body was covered with jet-black and thick shells; its back had wings yet to fully develop and filled with threatening spikes. Underneath its scales, a red-gold vein could almost be seen.
However, the most eye-catching thing was its chest. It was decorated with a single golden crystal as brilliant as the sun, unleashing inconceivable levels of heat.
”Roar!”
–What's up, Theodore? More food?
Black had been swimming around below the lake and absorbing mana. It now fixed its dim-gold gaze on the brown-haired mage, a familiar face who always fed it. He was also one of the rare few who understood it, which in turn prompted it to be jovial with the mage.
–Had snow prawns, so give cods. Don't give me cow or goat—sick of those!
”No, Black. You've just had breakfast, and cod isn't in season right now, there aren't enough to feed you. I'm looking for your help.”
Raising the steel cases in his hand, Theodore exclaimed excitedly, ”Dear friend, I need you to sit over these dragon eggs!”
The mage would quickly sense the instant change in the atmosphere right after he said that. Black, who had been quite cheerful, had become quiet.
Wait, what did I just say?
”Wait, my friend! What I meant was…”
Theodore finally noticed that he was so thrilled that he had forgotten his place. Although he tried to offer an explanation in panic, it was too late.
”Roooaaar!!!”
The dragon's eyes had widened fearsomely and unleashed an ear-splitting bellow. Scorching gale whistled out of its mouth, consuming the mage's body in an instant.
–Theodore, so you're such an impudent human!!
Red circuits started to spread across Black's scales as if corresponding to its anger, and the flashes of its core were now so blinding it was almost a second sun. It trampled the ground heavily, quaking the pine forest.
Moving its head to face the mage directly, it opened its huge maw and growled in fury.
–I never had a mate yet, and you would have me to sit on some eggs?! Do you even know what you're talking about? Fool of a mage!