Chapter 5: The Solution (2)

Louis thought of a solution close at hand and confidently called out his best idea:

“Daaaad!”

His cry was immediately answered.

“Aaahhh—coming!” Genelocer rushed to Louis’s room as soon as he heard “dad.” He quickly picked up his son.

“What’s wrong? What happened, my boy?” Seeing his previously gloomy child suddenly full of energy brought a smile back to Genelocer’s face.

Louis looked up quietly at his father’s beaming expression.

Right, why should I worry alone when I have the best helper right here?

With a subtle grin, Louis asked him,

“Dad, do we have any talismans to protect our home?”

“A talisman?”

Talismans were objects with special abilities in the original story. Genelocer blinked at his son’s unexpected question.

“What brought this up all of a sudden?”

“I want to use one.”

“We do have some, but…” Under Louis’s pleading gaze, he hesitated before continuing. “It’s too early for you to handle them.”

“But why?”

“To wield a talisman, you need elemental power… You’re not ready yet to learn how to control such forces. It can wait until later…when you’ve grown a bit more.”

Although Genelocer patiently explained, Louis refused to accept it.

If they remained idle, it would mean certain death for them both, so there was no time to waste on such concerns. Louis clung to Genelocer desperately.

“Then please teach me how to control my power!”

“What?” The unexpected request caught Genelocer off guard.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s holy or dark magic—I’ll learn whatever you can teach me!”

“But why all of a sudden…?”

“I want to learn!”

“You’re too young yet—”

“No way? Can’t I learn just because I’m young?”

“Well, more like…”

Genelocer struggled with his barely one-month-old son’s demand. Even he could see that Louis looked more serious than ever before.

Do other children act like this?

As a first-time father, Genelocer had heard that most kids at this age were too busy playing to be concerned with anything else.

I was told they usually don’t show interest in learning until after their second hibernation period…

His lack of prior knowledge left him flustered by his son’s unexpected request.

“Well… Uh… You’re still so young… Hmm… Maybe?” Genelocer pondered back on his own childhood.

I remember spending my days treasure hunting in my father’s inventory…

Recalling his youth wasn’t particularly helpful, and he continued agonizing over what to do.

Hmm… What should I do?

Despite being revered by humans as dragons, Genelocer had to be cautious when raising his child. After much deliberation, he finally made up his mind.

“It’s a bit early, but since you’re so eager…”

“You’ll tell me?”

“Yes, but first, there is somewhere we need to go together.”

“Where?” Louis cocked his round head adorably.

“In order to learn either holy or forbidden magic, I must determine your innate attribute.”

“Oh!” Understanding dawned on Louis’s face at his father’s explanation.

In the webtoon world created by the original author, this realm was called Evan. Like any fantasy setting, its fundamental energy source was mana.

While it followed a common format, what set this world apart was that its creator had classified mana into thirteen distinct attributes: nine natural elements (fire, water, wood, metal, earth, lightning, darkness, light, and wind) and four non-natural elements (time, space, power, and mental).

Every living creature in Evan possessed at least one of these thirteen attributes, with dragons being uniquely capable of reaching their ultimate potential.

Recalling this information, Louis eagerly asked:

“When will we find out my attribute?”

Genelocer smiled gently at Louis’s excited urgency. He tenderly stroked Louis’s head as he replied.

“If it were any other species, casting a few spells would be enough to determine their elemental affinity, but our dragon race has its traditions.”

“Traditions?”

“When a young dragon discovers their first element, it is customary for the elders of our kind to verify this. It’s been our longstanding tradition.”

“Oh!”

Considering how hatchlings with unique abilities appeared only once every several hundred or even thousand years, such treatment was inevitable.

“Well then, let us meet again tomorrow.”

“Yes, dad! Thank you!”

Seeing Louis respond firmly brought a contented smile to Genelocer’s face. He had no idea why Louis wanted to learn about controlling magic, but he simply saw his son as a handsome and exceptionally passionate learner.

Maybe our son…is a prodigy?

Even dragons couldn’t escape the common parental delusion of thinking their child was exceptionally gifted.

As he watched his father leave with a spring in his step, Louis became lost in thought.

Come to think of it, what elemental attribute did my character have in the original story?

Louis had been written out early on, so it was crucial to determine how the author had characterized him.

Since I was just a disposable character anyway…did they bother giving me an element? If not, then what am I?

Despite pondering these questions, no clear answer emerged.

I’ll find out everything tomorrow. No need to rush.

With anticipation bubbling inside him, Louis drifted off to sleep.

The next morning…

“Daaaad! Dad!”

“Ha-ha-ha.”

Louis clung to Genelocer’s leg and repeatedly called him “dad,” something he rarely did. Although Genelocer pretended not to notice, Louis’s eyes betrayed his eagerness, and with a big grin, the dragon picked up his son.

“All right, all right. Let’s go.” Holding Louis securely, Genelocer strode out of their lair.

Once outside, he gently set Louis down on the ground. The boy looked puzzled at the sudden stop.

“We’re not going?”

“Ha-ha, it’s not somewhere we can just waltz into.”

“So then…?”

“We have to fly there.”

With a smile, black energy began swirling around Genelocer’s body.

“Oh!” Startled by this transformation, Louis hastily took a step back.

Taken aback by Genelocer’s sudden transformation, Louis hastily retreated.

“This is…?” Although he voiced his confusion, Louis knew exactly what was happening to Genelocer.

Dragonification!

This phenomenon occurred when dragons revealed their true form after living disguised as another species. Witnessing Dragonification for the first time, Louis felt anxious.

…?!

The black aura surrounding Genelocer continued to grow larger with each passing moment: three meters, ten meters, fifteen meters. It surpassed twenty meters and eventually stopped expanding at thirty. Soon, the black energy dissipated, revealing its new shape.

Black scales reminiscent of metal and razor-sharp teeth like blades. Long, slender legs and enormous wings capable of enveloping his entire body. A robust torso with a neck and tail as thick as sturdy pillars.

Wow…

The imposing monster right before Louis’s eyes was overwhelming just by its presence alone.

Is this…a real dragon?

Louis couldn’t help but marvel at Genelocer’s impressive physique, which dwarfed his own scrawny frame.

Seeing how delighted his son looked brought joy to Genelocer.

“Come here, my boy.”

Louis stared blankly at the massive hand extended toward him before scrambling onto it.

Louis wiggled his hind legs and bottom until he finally settled on Genelocer’s palm.

—Hold tight now.

With Louis securely wrapped up in one hand, Genelocer began flapping his wings.

Whoosh, whoosh!

The dragon stirred up a dusty wind with each beat of his wings. Soon, his massive body defied gravity and shot toward the sky.

“W-wow!” Louis couldn’t help but exclaim as the ground rapidly receded from view.

But even that wonder didn’t last long.

“How…how high will we go?”

“Ha-ha. We have much farther to ascend.”

Despite having climbed for quite some time already, Genelocer continued soaring upward.

At this rate, won’t we break through the atmosphere and reach space?

It was almost a joke, yet it actually happened.

“Oh…”

The greenery surrounding them had disappeared, replaced by endless darkness.

“How much farther do we have to go?”

“We’re almost there,” Genelocer assured him, but Louis couldn’t help his skepticism.

But I can breathe easily here.

Louis sniffed repeatedly at this marvel of being able to breathe in space as they leisurely flew past clusters of stars.

“Oh…” Louis gasped as he felt like he could reach out and touch the stardust around them.

One wonder after another left him breathless.

Soon enough…

“My goodness…!” His jaw dropped at what lay before him.

The sight of Louis’s jaw dropping brought a faint smile to Genelocer’s face.

“Surprised? This is Silver Flower Castle, the sacred land of dragons.”

The buildings resembled flowers crafted from silver. Despite being thirty meters tall himself, Genelocer perceived them as tiny specks akin to his own fingernails due to their colossal size. Pleased with Louis’s reaction, he entered Silver Flower Castle while Louis craned his neck at everything around him.

Inside, everything was covered in silver, including all the decorations scattered throughout. By this time, Genelocer had transformed back into human form and swiftly carried Louis somewhere.

They arrived at a massive cavern where thirteen other dragons were gathered.

H-huge!

The interior of the cave was even bigger than Louis could have imagined.

Despite its size, it felt cramped due to the dragons present, each twice as large as Genelocer himself.

—Ah, you’re here?

—Oh-ho? So that’s your child?

—To think the wastrel Pamus fathered such offspring… How time flies.

The cavern echoed with the voices of the elder dragons chiming in one after another.

Genelocer respectfully bowed toward them. “Pamus’s son, Genelocer, greets our esteemed elders.”

“Helloooo.” Feeling the weight of their presence, Louis followed suit and politely greeted the dragons.

Thirteen pairs of eyes looked upon the small white baby dragon with approval. It seemed his mature behavior impressed them despite his young age.

—What a fine lad he appears to be.

—Ha-ha-ha! Of course, who do you expect him to take after?!

“He seems quite exceptional for being your grandson, Pamus.”

“That rascal!”

Among them, the blue-scaled elder dragon bared his sharp teeth and laughed heartily.

Genelocer bowed to him once more. “It’s been a while, Father.”

“Yes, it has been 623 years since you last visited me to introduce Valentina. And yet, I had to see my own grandchild for the first time here among these old fogeys instead of from you directly?!”

“It’s only been a month since Louis was born, and we’ve already pushed ourselves to come to Silver Flower Castle today.”

“Hmph!” Although he clicked his tongue in disapproval, it seemed that Pamus agreed with Genelocer’s point. He tried to hide his disappointment as he gazed down at his grandson.

Feeling his grandfather’s gaze on him, Louis looked up and met eyes with Pamus for just a moment.

“…” Louis tilted his head slightly to one side and said, “Grandso—son?”

“…?!” The moment their eyes met, Palbus felt as if his ancient dragon heart had dropped from the strange shock he received at seeing those purple irises.