Legacy of the Dark Sage

"And why are you only getting a ten-minute break? Are you looking for a beating that much?" Cyneah continued to voice her displeasure while tending to Kyran's wounds.

Kyran did not respond and only watched her with a faint smile. He did not ask her to heal him. As a matter of fact, he did not want her to come because he knew she would get upset once she knew he needed to participate in all the matches and that he only had a short rest time in between. Still, he was grateful for her insistence on coming and her feeling upset for his sake.

It might sound a bit condescending, but having someone fuss over him sometimes felt nice. His mother never once fussed over his well-being, although he knew she did when he was not around.

"Don't feel happy!" Cyneah scolded after sensing his amusement. "Though I can't see, I can feel how terrible your wounds are!"

"..."

Kyran almost responded with an off-handed remark, 'I know.' Luckily, he managed to stop himself or Cyneah would worry even more. Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire

Due to all the enhancements his body experienced, he rarely received deep wounds to his flesh. This would be the first time in a while that he suffered external and internal injuries.

Kyran realized that Ambros's Earth magic attack, imbued with the nature of Draconic magic, was very effective against dragons. Obviously, Kyran was not a dragon, but with the Elixir's help, his body's defenses could already be considered as one. For it to still be damaged by such a simple magic attack meant how destructive Draconic magic was.

Compared to Void magic, Kyran's knowledge of Draconic magic was lacking. For this reason, he was very grateful that Aillos allowed all the spar requests directed at him. If not, it would have taken him some time to learn how to use it.

Moreover, Aillos mentioned that Kyran's Draconic magic was different because it possessed the complete nature of Chaos. At first, Kyran did not understand what he meant. But after just one match against Ambros, he now understood that unlike the latter, who could only apply the nature of Draconic magic to his innate magic, which was Earth, he could use it to any element if he wanted.

That was not to say that Kyran had an affinity to all elements. Like other mages, as long as he knew the magic array or runes to summon different types of magic, he could use them and apply the nature of Draconic magic.

'I suppose it is best to call it Chaos magic, now that I know there is a difference between the one being used by dragons and the one I can manifest,' Kyran thought, recalling that he was the only one who could truly manifest the true nature of Draconic magic, which was Chaos magic.

It was still a bit confusing and overwhelming for Kyran to differentiate the two, but he was beginning to understand the difference slowly. If he could observe more of how dragons fought, he would eventually learn everything.

Aillos offered to teach Kyran, but he knew it would take a lot more time if he learned from scratch. Aillos probably also thought of it, which was why he agreed to let Kyran observe how dragons use Draconic magic through the spar matches.

"I know you accepted all those spar requests for a reason," Cyneah started after a moment's pause. "And it is connected to learning how to use Draconic magic properly. But I hope you don't overdo it. I told you before that I can heal you with no problem, but not the mental exhaustion you receive when you are in pain."

"..."

"If you learned something new, test it once, then stop... Please."

"...Sorry."

"..."

Cyneah furrowed her brows after hearing Kyran's response. If he had agreed to her request, he would have responded with a simple 'alright' or 'okay.' But since he apologized, it meant he could not grant her request.

"...Then at least try not to get this injured."

"Okay."

Kyran felt terrible for worrying Cyneah at times like this, but he was also grateful she never demanded anything from or pushed her ideals on him. He knew it was selfish of him, but he appreciated her for it. The least he could do was keep his word when promised something.

"All done," Cyneah said, pulling her hand away. She looked at him with a faint smile and said, "There are still a few minutes left; why don't you lie down for now?"

Kyran shook his head, "No. If I lie down, my body will relax and lose the tension I received from the first match. I need to keep that mood up until the last match."

Cyneah pursed her lips. Clearly, she disliked the idea. But she also understood why he had to keep his body in such a state.

"Tell me the truth," she started, giving Kyran a hard look. "How many matches do you have today?"

"..."

"Kyran."

"...Not that many..."

"..."

"...After this match, Lord Aillos will likely ask Aide Eissen to enforce a time limit."

"A time limit, huh."

"The spar matches don't require a time limit because it is arranged to decide the outcome of a dispute between two tribes. That doesn't apply to the matches today. If all the tribes wanted to test me, they would demand that each match have a time limit. Otherwise, they will not have their turn. They have to consider the break in between the matches as well."

Time in the Higher Realm was the same as in the Human plane. In fact, all of its planes had the same time flow. If all dragon tribes requested to spar with Kyran, then the only way for all their talents to have a chance to fight him was if they could squeeze around thirty to thirty-four matches in a day.

Add the ten-minute break between those, and the matches should not take more than five or ten minutes.

Cyneah muttered something intelligible as she glared at Kyran.

"W-What?"

"You, seriously..."

In the end, she could not complete what she wanted to say and could only sigh in resignation. "Nevermind. Fight to your heart's content, but don't get injured."

"...hahaha..." Kyran let out a faint laugh at her absurd request. Then again, since he agreed not to get injured as much as he did against Ambros, he would have to keep his word.

"Don't laugh!"

"Okay."

It only took three minutes to restore the destroyed arena. As for the remaining seven minutes until the next match, the audience simply waited patiently. There was not even a hushed discussion happening among them. Or maybe they were discussing the first match telepathically.

The side where the humans were watching the match was also silent. However, unlike the calm air around the dragons, there was a slightly heavy atmosphere around them.

"The young master has to fight more matches like that?"

"Why is there such a huge difference in performance when they sparred against us?"

"Yes. I get that they have looked down on us back then, but why are they going all out against the young master?"

"Was that going all out? I mean, it is just a spar. And well... we are already part of the clan, so they will not go all out against the young master, right?"

The members could not help but share after witnessing the first match.

On the other hand, Aron, Cade, and Jared remained silent. They trusted Kyran's judgment when he agreed to accept all the spar requests. They also had an idea why Aillos similarly allowed it to happen. However, that did not mean they were not worried. They would not show it, of course. Because if they did, the other members would worry.

In any case, the three were also enlightened during the first match. They were able to grasp some of the concepts that Ambros used against Kyran. Although they could not apply them immediately with their knowledge, it gave them a better understanding of how to utilize the Regis Techniques.

Right. They should stop calling those techniques as such since Lady Ames explained that those techniques were derived from Draconic magic.

The Regis could only utilize a weaker version of it— thus, they dubbed it Dragon magic. However, once they absorbed Coelus's magic energy, the magic runes flowing in their blood from the dragon blood they took would awaken further, and they would then be able to use Draconic magic.

"I can't help but feel that all these tribes are taking out a lot of their unspoken frustration against my nephew," Jared grumbled as he looked at the platforms where all patriarchs and their seconds-in-command were.

"It's fine," Cade replied. However, unlike his usual relaxed demeanor, there was a slight hardness in his expression and coldness that was rarely seen reflected in his gray eyes.

Cold sweat trickled down Jared's face as he gave his brother a wry smile. "You say that, but your countenance seems to say otherwise."

Cade closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It has been a while since I've seen my son, and I'm very happy to see his growth. However, I am also hit with the painful realization that I have let him face many things alone."

He opened his eyes and looked toward the ceiling where the waiting rooms were.

"It just occurred to me that I never really asked how he felt after we forced him out of the clan."

"O-Oi... don't you think feeling like that suddenly is a bit...?"

"...."

"It's never too late to ask," Aron interjected with a faint smile.