The imagery of a broken house, a burning village, and a mountain of bodies filled his vision.

Zack screamed as he awoke from his nightmare. He sat up as he tried to save them all.

After realizing that he is now awake, Zack started to touch his body.

Wounds, wounds, wounds?

Zack touched his back and was surprised to see he had no wounds. His back was as smooth as the day he was born.

"Wha-... Prince! Where's Prince!"

Zack tried to leave the bed but he felt an enormous amount of fatigue. It was a result of emptying his internal energy.

Zack still tried to leave the bed. He felt weak but he needed to find Prince. Despite his efforts, Zack falls off the bed. He groans in pain.

Zack starts to panic. If he survived, Prince should have surely survived, right?

"Can you stop moaning and just rest?"

Zack turns his head to the voice he just heard. Despite being in pain, Zack almost forgets the suffering when he sees Sanria leaning on the wall.

"Sanria! Ow!"

Zack feels pain in his body each time he exerts too much effort.

Sanria rolls her eyes.

Why did I have to watch this man? I want to be with my master.

Once the group returned to the village, Magnus ordered Gregory and Humilem to carry the bear's corpse to the shed for processing later while Sanria was to bring the three unconscious adventurers to the cabin to rest. Melinoe asked what he was supposed to do but Magnus told him he had free time to study what he saw. Melinoe disappeared after that.

Sanria frowned. Why did she have to stay with the random mooks whose face didn't even stay in her mind?

Grrr...

Despite her anger, Sanria had no choice but to stay. She had to follow her master's words.

"Sa-Sanria!"

Sanria slowly looks at Zack with distasteful eyes.

"Whe-where is Prince?"

"Tsk."

"Tsk?"

Zack was surprised but Sanria speaks and he quickly forgets that she seems to absolutely despise him. Before Zack could say anything, Sanria speaks with a grating tone.

"He's fine."

Zack releases a sigh of relief.

"That's good."

Now that his immediate stress was gone, Zack falls to the bed and he quickly falls asleep.

Now that the pest is asleep, Sanria tries to turn her thoughts into good ones, specifically learning how to use magic so she could shapeshift into the form of a dragon.

Yes... if I do that, will my master praise me? But... where will I learn magic?

Sanria thought of Melinoe but she knew that he was incompetent so where would she learn magic. Looking at the unconscious Zack, Sanria remembered Elisha, the rather adorable wizard girl who was infatuated with her master's appearance.

Sanria shaked her head. She wanted to learn magic from her master but she knew absolutely nothing about it. If she asked him, she would only bother Magnus.

Unless!

Sanria suddenly had an inspiration.

If I learn the basics of magic, my master won't be bothered too much! He can just show me the polymorph spell and I can learn it on my own!

Sanria chuckles to herself.

Sometimes my own genius frightens me.

"Kukuku..."

In truth, Elisha was asleep in a nearby bed. Well, she was asleep. Now, she's awake but hasn't moved ever since Sanria started chuckling to herself. Her magic barrier managed to catch the majority of the bear's strike which saved her life but the impact of being thrown towards a tough object knocked her out.

Do I move? Do I stay still? What do I do?

Before Elisha could contemplate what to do, she felt Sanria come close to her bed. Elisha didn't move and she even stopped her breathing. But the next words chilled her.

Sanria leaned forward and lightly whispered in her ears.

"~You're awake~"

Elisha screamed like hell.

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Jordan was the first to wake up from the three adventurers. When he first woke up, Sanria was sitting on a chair watching them. Zack and Elisha were peacefully sleeping. After asking Sanria what happened and receiving nothing but vague answers, Jordan left the house in search of Gregory. Both of his arms were in make-shift casts so he had some difficulty moving around but he couldn't just stay in one place. He had to find out what happened.

It's impossible... that thing wasn't an enemy amethyst rank adventurers could defeat... How did we survive?

Jordan didn't even consider that the bear was dead due to how strong it was for him. Despite infusing his body with internal energy, the bear's single strike, one that wasn't focused on them, shattered his arms. When he woke up, he was empty of internal energy. It was focused on repairing his broken arms. Despite using all his internal energy to repair his arms, it would take an extremely long time. Internal energy was a strong source of power, but it wasn't a good source of utility at the weaker levels. Jordan wasn't a strong enough individual that he can repair his body instantly with internal energy.

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It would take me a week or more to heal these arms of mine.

Jordan was looking for Gregory.

Where is he?

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Gregory was in his shed with Magnus.

Magnus was standing in the center of the shed. He was observing the war gear that Gregory and Sanria hauled from the battlefield.

Taking a sword from one of the full barrels, Magnus raises it.

"Hmmm..."

"Is there a problem master?"

"This is a sword."

Gregory nods.

"This sword is proof of how humanity closed the gap between them and powerful monsters."

Gregory nods as well.

"Interesting isn't it? If you think about it, humanity managed to create these weapons by emulating claws, teeth, or natural weapons. And look how far humanity has gone."

Magnus looks at the dull sheen of the iron sword.

"But..."

"Yes, master?"

"This sword isn't particularly strong huh?"

"Yes, it's only a weapon used by soldiers."

Magnus swung the blade. Despite being amateurish, the strike generated a powerful blow. This powerful strike wasn't due to Magnus having skills related to swords but his physical abilities were extremely high.

Gregory swallows a lump of saliva. He knew his master was strong but even in his humanoid form, he's absurdly strong.

"Its sharpness is not enough to pierce my scales."

Something that Magnus hides with his long hair is patches of golden scales dotted randomly on different parts of his body. This is due to his young age which results in a weaker and incomplete natural polymorphing ability. Even though the scales are a flaw, it retains some of his true form's defensive capabilities.

To prove that point, Magnus raises the iron sword and brings it down to a scaley part of his body.

A clanging sound reverberates around the shed. Gregory winces a bit but he doesn't move.

"Hmmm... disappointing."

Magnus raises the sword and notices the small crack on the part he used to strike his scales with. If Gregory saw this before his awakening, he would be surprised but he was sure he could also shatter the sword if he used his internal energy.

Holding the sword, Magnus seems to think.

"Gregory, I don't have internal energy yet. I want you to try and mend the blade."

"Ho-how will I do that my lord?"

"Internal energy has many uses, Gregory. Many consider it to be lesser than mana which can be used to power complicated spells but internal energy can also be used for complicated tasks, not just empowering oneself."

Gregory nods at Magnus's words.

"If that's the case, why can't you use it, my lord?"

"Oh... It's because I never bothered to learn it."

Gregory's face turns into a thin line. He didn't mean to show his displeasure but he couldn't help it.

"I didn't mean to show disrespect!"

Magnus waves his hand.

Gregory lightly bows his head.

"Do not apologize. I am not angry. I'm just stating the fact that my strength before made me ignore the potential powers of internal energy."

"May I ask a question?"

Magnus nods.

"Well... If you never used internal energy before, how come you are so knowledgeable about it?"

Magnus looks at the ceiling.

"I just remembered an old friend telling me about these."

Magnus then hands the sword to Gregory to stop the conversation.

Gregory takes it.

"What do I do again?"

"Slowly infuse it with energy."

Gregory does as he is told and he slowly fills up the sword's capacity with internal energy.

The blade seems to glow as the internal energy quickly fills it with heat.

"Gregory, that is-"

The blade shatters and a veritable amount of shards fly everywhere. Magnus blocks the incoming shards with his fingers. Gregory manages to infuse his body with internal energy and he resists the super-heated shards.

"That isn't the correct way."

"Sorry master. I am not yet... familiar with the power you gifted me."

Gregory felt a bit sheepish. Despite not having shown the ability to do so, Gregory was sure that his daughter would have succeeded with a single try.

Not everyone is blessed with talent, I guess.

"It's fine, you ca-"

Magnus turns his head towards the door.

"Jordan is coming. Will you handle him, Gregory?"

Gregory nods and goes to leave the shed. Once Magnus was alone, he picks up a shield.

It was a simple wooden shield meant to block superficial attacks from not too strong individuals. Holding the shield aloft, Magnus stabs his hand through it. The shield's center shatters into pieces as Magnus's hand enters the shield.

Hmm...

Magnus knew that despite the weakness of the weapons in front of him, humanity still managed to defeat his race with these weapons, albeit more powerful versions.

So a more powerful shield?

Magnus discards the wooden shield and picks up one of the few metal shields in the shed.

Raising it in front of him, Magnus opens his mouth. Whispering the words of creation, invisible energy seems to envelop the shield.

Not too much.

Magnus controls the primordial power that envelops the shield.

The simple metal shield with the empire's insignia transforms into a completely different appearance. Its once dull iron color turns to a black sheen. Its insignia has been removed and instead it was replaced with an intricate ruby design in the center. Its edges were gilded with gold but anyone who saw the shield knew that these gold-like colors were very tough.

After observing the item in his hand, Magnus knew that this shield was tough enough to survive at least one blow from his true form's current strength.

Magnus sighs heavily. The act of using the words of creation seemed to inflict fatigue on Magnus. Sweat poured from his head and back. Magnus takes a seat.

I guess... my current strength isn't enough...

After resting for a few seconds, Magnus hides the enchanted shield under a thick sheet of cloth.

Magnus leaves the shed after locking it. It would be rude to Gregory if he left it open.

Once Magnus locked the shed, he went to the forest. He wanted to rest for a bit and explore the forest.

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Gregory met Jordan halfway.

His master sensed Jordan first but after extending his own senses, Gregory found where Jordan was as well.

Despite having broken arms, the adventurer looked energetic.

That's an adventurer for you, I guess.

Gregory prepares to meet Jordan and he does his best elderly chief smile.

"Gregory!"

Jordan's face lights up when he sees Gregory.

Gregory nods towards the injured adventurer.

"Jordan, how are you feeling? Your arms are broken."

"That's fine, my body will heal as long as I'm ali- wait! That's not what I'm here for. I wanted to ask you about the bear."

Gregory internally thinks of the bear carcass.

Master removed its scent... but... I'm still worried.

"Well, what did you want to know?"

"What?! I want to know how we survived!"

"Hmmm... Well, we were..."

Gregory stops when he sees Jordan's serious look.

He's determined huh... This must be what master said when I should handle him... Tsk... why can't I be like my daughter.

Gregory laments the fact that he isn't as decisive as his daughter.

I must not be a burden.

"Let's walk Jordan. I'll tell you about it."

Without waiting for Jordan to reply, Gregory, walks away.

Jordan follows.

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Once in the forest, Magnus looks around.

"Humilem, come."

Magnus's ears perk a bit as he hears the sound of leaves rustling.

A small child runs out of the thick forest foliage.

Despite its peasant clothes, Humilem looked bright and energetic.

Magnus can't help but smile to himself.

Humilem jumps up and down. Magnus calms him by patting his disheveled hair.

"Slow down Humilem."

Humilem stops jumping but he still bobs up and down in place.

"Come, join me for a walk."

Magnus doesn't say anything else and he walks deeper into the forest with Humilem behind him.

Despite Humilem's happy mood, it knows its job. It's supposed to guard Magnus.

So... what now?

Magnus's thoughts were currently on the present. Magnus intended to resurrect the dragon race but what else?

Humans aren't bad or evil. They have done nothing that is worth destroying... at least as far as I know.

The short time Magnus has spent with humanity told him that it was not worth destroying but it might change later.

Will reviving the dragon race be impossible if the human race was around?

No. Magnus didn't believe that resurrecting the dragon race needed eradicating or enslaving the human race.

But it might be different in the future.

Magnus's eyes showed an unbelievablely sharp sheen as he thought of the possibility of having to fight humanity.

Magnus smiled. Humilem felt shivers down its spine as it saw its master's battle-hungry smile.

Not that I would mind.