Chapter 113
The Core Problem
Healing the wound and ridding the Blight from my patient were easy. I had done both forms of magic so much by this point that I was basically on autopilot. Even healing the slightly burned scales from the dragon being forced to rest its corrupted neck against the Holy magic infused neck brace was easy to heal.
Actually, the Holy magic induced sunburn was oddly the hardest part of the whole operation thus far. Mainly because I had never healed dragon scales from burn damage before. It was an odd process where I had to heal the top layer of skin to produce more copies of itself, to form scales that would then grow out in the exact shape and pattern that had been burnt away. Of course, I didn’t infuse this new skin or patch of skin with Darkness, instead going with Life and Spirit, meaning that these new scales appeared to be tougher as the dragon king could now rest his head comfortably on the harness that held him in place.
Realizing that the dragon could at least relax slightly was a huge bonus, and not quite what I was going for, but you know there are no true mistakes, only happy accidents.
“Thank you master.” The dark dragon said, as it nearly collapsed onto the makeshift neck brace that would normally burn it from touching.
Sizzle.
Of course, there were a few extra areas that were now being burned, as not all of the beast’s neck was originally exposed to the magical prison. Meaning that I now had to heal more fresh Holy resistant dragon scales to be in existence, but that was fine. The dragon for the moment at least appeared to be subdued and completely docile, meaning I could do this next part without fear of reprisals.
Turning to face the dragon that was panting in relief, I began to speak.
“We are at the point where my only last task is to heal your magical core. There are two main ways I can do this. I can first strip down your core so it is a blank void. This means that all your ambient mana that is surging through your body now will be able to be pulled into the organ, but you will not be able to do anything with the mana once it is there.” I pause letting that option sink in. Honestly, this would be the easiest option. I go take all the pieces and basically sand down the etchings of the mana channels and make it so there is no affinity related to this dragon and its core.
After a pause, I continue.
“The second option is that I heal you. I keep your core as it is, but I force you to walk a new path. What I will do is, I will painstakingly piece together the many shards of your core. Then I will infuse your core with runes that will not activate, until you reach for the darker sides of your magic, until you reach for destruction. The moment you do this, you will shatter your own magical core before you even get your spell off. Do you understand?” I ask.
“Ye-yes master.” The dragon stammers.
I pause for a second, letting the weight of both options weigh in the beast’s mind. “So what is your option. A long full life without fear of ever causing harm, but you will also know that your core will be forever stable and able to maintain the mana that is currently corroding away your body? Or will you walk the line of magic, knowing that so much as taking one step off the path of being good you will destroy yourself and ultimately lead to your own mana poisoned death?”
There was a pause, and the dragon asked. “Isn’t there another way? What if I need to use dark magic to protect my family?” The dragon protested.
At that I shook my head. “No, then you need to find a better way. Do you see me using my magic for destruction? In the state you were in, you were nothing. Even in the state you would have been before you lost your powers you likely would have been no match for me. Yet, did I need violence to subdue you? Did I need violence to protect myself or Mallory?”
At that the dragon, that had been subtly rising its head up, lowered its exhausted head once more and let out a dejected sigh, “no master, you did not.”
With that I nod.
“I am not going to lie, what happened to you was cruel. It would have been far better to kill you, but apparently those dragons out there, they still harbor some sentiment of love and respect for you, that was why they chained you, hoping that you would change. They prayed for a miracle and ended up with me. Probably not what they wanted, but I get by.”
“Than, thank you master.” The dragon said, the words sounding like they were hard to swallow coming from the beast’s mouth, but on the bright side that showed that he truly meant them.
With that, I decided to give him a bit of good news. “That Holy dragon in the other room is your partner, right?” I ask.
“Yes, she was… no, she is my bonded life partner.” The dragon said, a faint note of sadness filling his words.
“Well, she apparently still cares for you greatly, as she is in the other room right now fending off this room from being invaded by your children. And the other members of your clutch that you have wronged.” I state.
With that the dragon’s face dropped, as the creature looked well and truly defeated. Like a dog who just got fixed and realized they couldn’t clean themselves due to the giant cone on their neck, but realized they had something to take care of desperately. Realizing this was getting slightly depressing, I pressed for an answer.
“So, your choice? Option one, go out and be a nothing without magic, but be readily accepted by everyone. Option two, keep magic for the good of your nest, but know that if you act with anger or malice in any spell, you will rupture your own core.”
At that the dragon paused for only a moment, before speaking, “I choose magic.”
At that I nodded, as I had expected nothing less. These dragons seemed to be defined by their very magical nature, to not have that would be the same as losing their entire identity. I honestly don’t know where I would be myself without magic, so I might be biased in assuming that killing the dragon would be less painful than removing their magic. That said, if I just healed this creature and let it loose in the world, that would be the same thing as leaving an armed nuclear weapon here. Okay, maybe not a nuclear weapon, this dragon doesn’t seem that powerful, but the point is still there. More damage that could have been avoided if I didn’t do anything. That is why I am going to make it so this monster will get the core, but only with a few stipulations.
“All right, with your consent, I will perform the operation as you have consented.” I state.
“Tha, thank you master.” The dragon states.
“Don’t thank me yet, this will be a tough surgery.” I state, I leave off the fact that the reason why it will be tough is that I have no real clue on what I am doing, as this will be my first time actually performing this procedure. Yes, I have mentally gone through what I could do during the surgery, but until you are there in the moment you never truly know.
With that great thought in mind, I begin the task of using Telekinesis that is laced with Spirit magic at the exact frequency of the dragon’s core to grab the pieces of broken core fragments and begin piecing them together. In a way it is like one of those fun three-dimensional puzzles that you get, but then realize that since you don’t like the design you have to break certain pieces apart, flip them around and then get them to reassemble perfectly. That is what I have to do here.
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I take the basic layout and see that this dragon has two main primary focuses of Death, and Spirit magics. Honestly looking at this core, I can see that this world really does believe that opposites attract, as Death almost perfectly counters Holy, while Spirit, perfectly counters Life. Holy and Life were the two powers that this dragon’s bonded pair had as her primary affinities.
You know, it is sad that I only realize at this very moment, in possibly the most complex form of surgery I have ever attempted that I realize all my magical affinities also counter each other. My Shadow magic affinity, which is a subset of Darkness is still there, at tier VII admittedly. This means that my recently acquired Holy magic counters that, while Spirit, which I have always been good at was countered by Life, so that just leaves Nature magic that is missing a counter.
Focus.
Right, I am so close and my mind now chooses to have one of its off the rails moments. Fortunately, I am still in the piece gathering and altering phase. I also know that this is part of my mind’s way of coping with stress, by letting some of my tension bleed out through these side thoughts, while I work on getting everything set up. I learned a long time ago, that in these moments when the world is going fast, you need to go slow, to take a breath, to have a calming thought. Only then can you truly take the moment for what it is, only then can you give the moment its full due.
It might seem like a fallacy to think this way, but it is true. “Take a moment and breathe.”
I state, and then I do just that.
Calming breath.
I pause, feeling like I am at the top of a tidal wave that is about to come crashing down. No wait, I am the tidal wave, in this moment I am the calm before force and inertia flow forward, and it will just be my job to keep up with what I can do, when I can do it, nothing more.
Mentally I count, there were originally twenty-two floating core pieces, after I had to break open the core and flip parts around so that only healing and helpful Spirit spells were possible I had thirty-nine pieces. I also had a few open fragments, parts where a single drop of mana could go to set off a runic structure denoting Shatter, followed by another Shattering rune, and then finally an Explosion rune at the end.
Thus I begin my piecing together of the great core. I use the broken away particles as meltable adhesive that keeps the overall structure secure. Internally there is a webbing of corrected spell and magical pathways for magic to run. This is all linked by one tiny thread of enchanting that will never be touched, by magic, unless the flows of magic go backwards, as the latch that starts the entire process is hidden under a long protrusion that will never meet mana, unless magic flows backwards in the core. Unless the dragon breaks its word, the failsafe will never be touched. Then internally I weld the parts of the previously shattered core together, heating up portions and welding them together in more solid states. Then on the outside, along one of the least healed fault lines left in the core is where I place the runes for Shatter, Shattering, and Explosion.
The entire process feels like it took minutes, but as I wake from my process and allow my vision to go from just the condense views of my third eye and allow my mind to expand to my surroundings, I see that Mallory has had no less than two meals since I started.
“Phew.” I say, a bit more enthusiastically than I intended. Wiping my face, I realize that my face and forehead are covered in mana infused sweat. Since I don’t eat normal foods, I of course don’t normally sweat, and apparently when I do sweat, I now sweat mana, gross.
“You are done?” Mallory asks, rising from her seated position. She had apparently set up guard on this side of the prison cell, while the Holy dragon set up guard on the other side of the prison cell. With the two, taking care of my protection detail, I was able to work freely.
“Yeah, I think so.” I state, then to make sure I knew I was done; I was met with a system message.
Hidden Quest Complete: Fully Restoring The Lumina Clan: You have healed the once feared patriarch of the Lumina clan. Not only have you managed to heal the magical core of the great leader, but you have done so in a way that ensures he will never be able to cast evil magic again. Rewards: Experience, Skills (already obtained), special bonus acquired for your Magical Enchantment Surgery doctorate (awaiting you on floor 200), more Class Evolution Markers acquired.
Experience Gained: 50,000 / 50,000
Ding.
Level up.
Your level in Void Healer has increased to level 147*.
Your level in Simulacrum Master has increased to level 144*.
That was odd that both classes now had an asterix by them, I think that had something to do with my class evolution markers that were acquired by this process. I thought about the skill, trying to remember what skill I had gotten, when I remembered the two skills related to Qi, the sight and the lore of this power, which of course got me the QiFF class. No wait, we are not calling it that anymore Cass, remember. But I don’t know what else to call it, Qi Fusion Fighter is a mouthful, and QiFFer is not any better. You know sometimes you just have to say, okay system you win, I will not even think about this class you offered. I pause thinking that was all the skills, but then realize that I also did get the Grand Master Level Taming skill, which I guess is cool, because this dragon no longer looks like they are going to eat me, though they are beginning to channel mana, oh wait.
“STOP!” I shout at the dragon.
Fear.
The dragon trembles in fear at my sudden shout, and then a wave of hot ammonia fills the air, and I instantly pull up my mask, and try to calm myself down. Apparently, I might have gone a little too Jane Wick on the training program, as the dragon is clearly terrified of displeasing me.
Calming breath.
I take a breath to slow myself down, then continue. “What I meant was, you needed to wait, as I haven’t explained how to use your magic.”
With that, I open my third eye and place my glove covered hand on the dragon. Then using my Telepathy power I try to share what I am seeing.
“GAH! Pain master, the pain. I cannot stand it.” The dragon cries out.
“Oh right.” I say, remembering that even Mallory had a hard time keeping up with my thoughts. Realizing I will need to once again go with the mental filters, I drastically limit the senses that I have of the dragon’s entire body and instead focus on the core of the dragon from a wide angled view.
“Is this okay?”
“Ye, yes master.”
Hearing that I nod, and then state, “all right, I am going to try to zoom in a little to show you what I did. To show you the damage that was fixed, and what you can expect.”
“All right…” the dragon says, a slight tremble to its voice.
Hearing the fear, I shake my head, realizing that this will likely be a bit.
Slowly over time, I manage to show the core, what the two different paths mean, what using Death magic will entail if he uses it violently, what using evil Spirit magic will do, if he uses it maliciously. Basically, I show him that yes he has power, he has the same exact capabilities that he had before his betrayal, but he cannot use his mana incorrectly. Not only is his power backwards, but now if he does go against the nature of his core, he will detonate himself. I even show him how I set up the systems of mana within his core, to keep mana flowing in the correct way.
Only, after all of that, do I release my control over his mana. Honestly, I didn’t realize I had taken control over his mana until I actually managed to release it, and thus proved to myself that not only did I control his flow of mana, but I then used my control to help his mana flow the correct way.
“You can control my mana that is inside of me?” The dragon stammered.
“Apparently,” I noted. I didn’t think such a thing was possible to begin with, but now looking at it, I realize a lot of this had to do with my familiarity with his mana system itself, and the ways that mana could enter and exit his core. Kind of like pinching off a vein to keep blood from going to the heart, I did the same here to keep mana from flowing into his core, until he fully felt comfortable with his newly healed organ. Even then, I was there to make sure it cycled cleanly through his body.
“You are truly an odd one.” A draconic voice calls out, only now that I am done with the internal presentation do I realize that somewhere during the lecture on what my patient can and cannot do, did I realize that I had a gaggle of dragons. Is that what they were called? A gaggle? Anyways, the royal family of this nest were all here, even the head guard was in attendance watching the two of us.
“How long have you all been here?” I ask, turning my face towards the dragons that I can now see thanks to no longer focusing on my third eye vision, and the subsequent sharing of that view.
“Ever since you made the matriarch cry out in pain from the headache you gave him.” Mallory noted.
“Oh,” was all I could say to that. Then after a pause, I spoke to those that were gathered. “So family, do you all feel comfortable with my releasing the patient from his restraints?” I asked.
The dragons who had been present for everything, allegedly, should know that my releasing this dragon would not mean they were in any great threat. But abuse is hard to cope with, and so I could see the looks of hesitation on not only those dragons that were gathered, but the dragons in the other rooms that were slightly tremoring with fear at what a released master would do.
Seeing everyone’s hesitation, I state, “wait, let me make it easier.”
Then turning to the freshly healed patriarch. “I am going to release you. You will not lash out at myself or others who you feel put you here. The reason why you are here right now, bound and chained to the ground is because of what you, and you alone did. Do you understand?”
“Ye, yes master.”
At that I nod.
“I need to leave here now. I have spent far too long in this place as is, so I will go away for some time. That said, do not make me hear about your misdeeds again. Do you know what I am capable of?” I ask, trying to make sure I have the true fear of the Gods within him.
“You, who cured the Blight from my tribe. You who started and stopped my heart from beating when you wished. You who controlled not only the way my mana flows, but if it flows at all. Master, I do not dare to say that I am aware of all your powers, but know this, I know I am nothing compared to you, and will do everything within my power to make sure you are not angered next time our paths cross.” The dragon said.
At that I paused, trying to remember the whole heart stopping and starting thing, and then remembered I did have to stop it for a moment so I could cure the Blight, that whole following the Qi thing really is tough in the heart, unless of course you stop the heart for a moment. Looking back, I guess that could have been painful, but I tried to mitigate the sensation of pain, though in retrospect, the thought that he knew his heart had stopped and I was still moving mana about freely within his body could have been concerning. Then the whole starting and stopping the flow of mana thing, that was, well it was new. I didn’t know if it was just my being able to focus on the mana within his body for so long that made such a thing happen, or if it was something I was always capable of doing. Though now that I knew it was possible, I made sure to never do it again, unless of course the patient’s life or health was as stated.
“Great healer, it seems that our clan is even more indebted to you. For not only did you cure us all of the Blight, but you have brought back my life partner.” The Holy magic dragon said, tears filling her eyes. I did not know that dragon’s tears were in fact magical, I always thought it was a myth, but nope, here they were glowing brightly to my Angel’s Sight. The apothecary in me wanted to harvest such tears for study, though I felt such an act might seem rude given the current circumstances. Still, magical ingredients were always at a premium. So, pulling out an empty waterskin that had previously contained mana water from Yggdraspirit, I grabbed the falling particles with Telekinesis and pulled them into my container. I theoretically should have waited until the pouch completely dried, but they were both water based magical components, so the change shouldn’t be too much, hopefully.
“Is there anything we can offer as a sign of thanks?” The Holy dragon asked.
While I was busy grabbing dragon tears of joy, and simultaneously releasing my patient from the wooden prison that bound him, Mallory moved forward.
“Actually, I might have a suggestion on what you could offer as a means of thanks…”