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“What do you mean ‘I did not know hobgoblins could do that.’, aren't you a super old and wise dragon?”

Professor Sageira huffed in annoyance while mumbling, “I go through the trouble of listening to him and he calls me old” Then she growled at me with venom, “I may be a dragon, but I am also a lady, and I do not appreciate being called old!”, she then transformed into a smoking hot 30 year old version of herself.

I put my hands up in surrender, “Fine, I apologize to the fine-looking young woman, but my question still stands.”

She folded her arms and huffed, “How should I know, the last time I picked up a book on goblinoids or the last time I purposely killed a goblin was close to a millennia ago, and none of the reading material back then said anything of hobgoblins being capable of what you described. And besides, they do not taste very good, so I do not have any interest in them.

As for what you described, the hobgoblin should have died a few times over from what you said it did… but I have a few ideas of how it may have pulled it off.”

“Yeah? What are they? And why would the hobgoblin have died? It looked pretty fine to me… well, except the part where it was frothing mad.”

After pondering for a moment, she said, “Well… the way you described the hobgoblin killing one of the goblins and eating its heart… it sounds like a crude sacrificial blood magic ritual that reinforced its body enough to withstand the rapid mana flow you described, there are few creatures that can naturally withstand forceful rapid mana flow. Chances are, if that hobgoblin did not perform the sacrificial blood ritual, the hobgoblin would have torn up its own mana pathways and died a horrible death shortly after.”

Hearing that, cold sweat ran down my back as I remembered I was extremely tempted to experiment and try to emulate what the hobgoblin did. Fortunately, school and night classes kept me busy until now.

“As for the elemental mana within the hobgoblin’s body, it is not that special. There are quite a few magic creatures that are capable of this. I only find it surprising that a hobgoblin was capable of it… It seems like a goblinoid kind has learned a few tricks since I last checked in on them.”

She then stroked her chin as she mumbled, “Maybe I should abduct a tribe to study their current sociality evolution.”

“Ahem!” I cleared my throat to snap Professor Sageira out of her ponderings. “So… is there any way we can safely replicate what the hobgoblin shaman did?”

Professor Sageira shook her head, “There is no ‘we’ here, me being a dragon, and being as experienced as I am, I have no issue replicating what the hobgoblin shaman did. Dragons are one of the species that can naturally withstand forceful rapid mana flow, and I already know how to temporarily change my internal mana to a different element.”

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She reached out her hand and I took it while sensing the mana in her body. I observed her mana switch between flowing rapidly and going back to normal after a few seconds, then she started cycling her internal mana through the different elements.

“What do the different elements do? I kind of guess earth element makes my body sturdier, but what of the other elements?” I asked.

“You are right about the earth element, but there is another effect, it makes you heavier. As for the other elements, Fire is a pure boost in strength but increases your body heat, good for keeping warm in cold weather, bad for prolonged fights for warm-blooded creatures like you.

Water makes your body more malleable, and your joints more flexible,” she then changed her internal mana to water and waved her arm, her forearm which was supposed to have a ridged bone in it wiggled around like it was almost boneless. “It also does the opposite of fire and brings down your body temperature.”

“Air makes your body more agile and does the opposite of earth, it makes you lighter.”

“Light mainly passively heals the body, and Dark erases your presence.”

While I was observing her internal mana activity, she continued, “The problem is with you, or more specifically, you being a human, your body and mana pathways just never evolved to handle such stress.”

At her saying so, I could not help but sulk.

“B-But the hobgoblin was able to do it, and the way we use magic is similar, I don’t see why I can’t do it.” I said, and after a second, I realized I sounded like a petulant child who was denied candy. So I sulked some more.

Professor Sageira just chuckled at my outburst, “Now now, Luke, you are acting your body’s age. I just said it was a problem, I did not say it was impossible… theoretically.”

My eyes beamed at the now pretty lady with hope. If it is still a theory, it has a chance to be proven right.

“What do I need to do? Do I need to sacrifice a goblin like the hobgoblin did?” I asked in excitement.

Faster than my eyes could react, she chopped me on the head with her hand, “Ouch! What was that for?!”

“That was for even thinking of that idea. Stay away from blood magic! While blood magic is a fast way to get stronger, there is a price to pay for that strength, namely, your sanity. Do you know why that hobgoblin shaman stopped casting spells at you and acted like a mad berserker like you described? That is most likely because when the hobgoblin shaman sacrificed the goblin for strength, it most likely inherited a part of the goblin’s soul, and if there is one rule I observed in all my years and study, it is that one body can only have one soul. That hobgoblin was most likely fighting a battle for dominance in its own body while fighting you at the same time.”

“Oh…” I said, downcast.

“But…” Hearing her say the ‘B’ word made me look up at her, “If the fact that the hobgoblin shaman managed to do it, means it is possible, despite using such an improper and dangerous method, that just means we need to find a safe way to replicate its success. And I am nothing if not excited about this new experiment. Aren't we, my lab rat?” the last part of her sentence focused on me, and I suddenly had the urge to run.