*** Lich's POV ***

'The white dragon's disciple died? Just like that?'

I couldn't help but frown at the memories I've read.

'There's no way that's true.'

What kind of existence is a dragon?

They are beings who have been blessed with mana since birth, and their existence has placed them at the top of the food chain.

Suppose those kinds of beings were to take in a disciple, especially if it was the white dragon who was known to be very picky about it. In that case, there's no doubt that these disciples would be special.

'However, the information matched with what I know.'

[Detection Magic.]

Since appearing above ground until now, I have been using detection magic to find traces of this disciple.

However, nothing was found.

‘What about this…’

[Life Search]

A black haze spread out around me.

If there are traces of the living, then I should be able to detect it with this, but…

‘Still nothing.’

Not even a trace was left.

It's almost as if his entire existence had just evaporated from the face of this world.

'Am I being too cautious?'

Maybe the white dragon's disciple this time was just that weak.

'That's true, isn't it? He must have died already.'

There's no way someone from such a backwater village could survive that series of explosions.

For one, there are no dungeons here for the villagers to use to gain experience dealing with monsters.

This is even more true if it's to gain the experience of fighting someone who could use [Corpse Explosions].

If he noticed the sign of the skill too late and was caught off guard, then only death is possible.

'But just in case, I should probably look at the other skeletons' memories too.'

I didn't send all the skeletons to fight.

Some were sent to do other tasks, such as observing the fight from afar, surveying the surroundings before and after the explosions, and more.

That's why the memories they have contain different information.

Some of which might be essential for me to please my Lord.

'Lord Nicht…'

A majestic being.

Unlike everyone else who had turned me away, he was the only one who took me in and even blessed me with the sacred art of necromancy.

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'My benefactor.'

However, unlike other disciples who have become way stronger than me, I have been stuck at my current level for years, unable to break through.

I had been praised as a genius since childhood, but now that I've seen those monsters, I finally realized what a true genius looks like.

'Especially that swordsman…'

Unlike other disciples who accepted Lord Nicht's grace when he offered to teach us the black arts, that swordsman refused the Lord's kindness and only learned the sword.

'Arrogant bitch.'

Who is she to refuse the Lord's helping hand?

To not know grace when she received one, she really is an arrogant bitch.

'She must not have realized what a great blessing it is to be a disciple of Lord Nicht.'

It was definitely better than being a disciple of other dragons.

'Especially the current white dragon.'

The white dragon, Bianca.

Unlike other dragons who were simply strong, white dragons were special beings since birth, to the point that some people even called them holy dragons.

'Because their existence itself were a blessing to the world.'

Their eyes were especially famous among mages. Why? Because their eyes were able to see the essence of all things.

In fact, like all mages who were curious about the inner workings of the world, I had once come to the current white dragon to become her disciple because of those eyes, but--

"(I don't like it.)"

It was an immediate rejection.

Just a glance.

Without even doing a proper test to check out my talent, all it took for her to reject me was just a short glance.

Even when I told her about my talents and achievements as a wizard, she stubbornly refused and only said this--

"(Because your heart was black.)"

I clenched the skeleton's head so hard that it shattered.

'I won't forgive you.'

To dismiss all of my talent with something like that.

'I will definitely make her suffer.'

Instead, didn't I do exactly just that?

Now that I've killed her disciple, she would surely regret her actions and words to me that day.

'I can't wait to see her face when she heard this.'

It was the moment when I was just about to laugh.

'Hm?'

As I put my hand on another skeleton, I widened my eyes at a particular memory.

To be precise, it was a memory that shows the current white dragon's disciple's appearance as he fought the horde of skeletons.

'A child?'

A young boy no older than 12.

No, looking at his toned build, he must have been practicing for years already. So he must be older than that.

Still, looking at his height and baby face, he can only be 14 at most.

'Impressive.'

It was an honest evaluation.

'For a boy of that age to defeat all of the skeletons alone… as expected, even her current disciple is a monster.'

Was it because of her eyes, after all? Did she see the young boy's enormous talent?

'No, there's no way he's more talented than me.'

Looking at his crude use of mana alone, he was nothing but a clown.

However, everything besides that was undeniably the best.

And I'm not just talking about strength.

'Courage. Situational judgment. And even strength of will?'

It was a memory that made me frown in displeasure.

'I don't like it.'

Be it the disciple or the teacher, both of them are detestable.

'But something is weird…'

Will this boy die so easily? Just like that?

'It's not impossible, but…'

What is this ominous feeling?

It felt like that boy was aiming for my life right now.

[Detection Magic].

But even if I used detection magic again, I still couldn't find the boy.

'Is it just my imagination then?'

The instinct of a former high-ranking wizard.

It was not something that I could dismiss.

'Come to think of it, something was weird about his fight.'

Right after the hurricane ended, his figure disappeared before reappearing in a completely different place shortly after.

'It's almost as if he had used the [Blink] spell.'

But is it even possible for a clown who uses mana so crudely to use the space magic series, which even high-rank mages couldn't use?

'It's impossible unless he had a gift related to space.'

But if that's the case, he could teleport himself instead of running from the village to reach the skeletons.

So, there must be another reason.

'Think…'

Who was he? He was the white dragon's disciple.

And if you're talking about skills that the current white dragon have…

'No way…!'

I widened my eyes at the realization.

'Did she teach him [Perfect Stealth]?!'

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