Chapter 6: The Solution (3)

The word “grandfather” resonated deeply within him, filling his heart with indescribable joy. He felt more elated than when he first held Genelocer as a newborn.

Oh my goodness, such an adorable little life exists in this world!

Pamus’s wings trembled at how cute Louis looked, cocking its tiny white head curiously.

“Y-yes indeed. I’m your grandfather. Oh-ho, what a handsome lad you are! Ha-ha-ha!”

The other elder dragons shook their heads at the sight of Pamus grinning from ear to ear like a proud parent.

“He can’t contain himself because it’s his first grandchild.”

“No wonder, considering he kept singing that ‘my grandson, oh my grandson’ song all this time. Let him bask in it for now.”

As soon as Pamus calmed down from his first meeting with Louis, another silver elder dragon spoke up.

—You want to know about Louis’s attribute already? Isn’t it too early for that?

“Yes, I thought so initially, but Louis himself requested it.”

—Ha-ha-ha! Just like whose grandson he is, bursting with curiosity already!

—Shut your mouth, Pamus!

—Heh-heh-heh!

The silver elder dragon sighed at Pamus’s irreverent laughter and gave up on reasoning with him. He pointed toward the center of the clearing instead.

—Leave him here and go.

“Yes, sir.” Genelocer complied and set Louis down in the middle of the circle.

Louis looked up at his father alone in the open space.

“…Father?”

“He says you’re fine now. You just need to sit quietly right there.”

With that, Genelocer patted Louis on the head and stepped back, leaving him surrounded by thirteen elder dragons. Trusting his father, Louis calmly stood still, trying to suppress his nerves but unable to fully quell them.

Gulp.

Thirteen hands reached out toward the nervous Louis.

“Ah…” The silver elder dragon marveled at Genelocer’s hatchling.

Most hatchlings would be paralyzed with fear when encircled by thirteen elder dragons due to their overwhelming presence. However, despite being anxious, this particular hatchling wasn’t trembling in fear.

What a clever one.

The silver elder dragon smiled slightly and gestured to the others.

“Let us begin.”

As if on cue, thirteen immense hands emanated various energies—the thirteen elemental attributes of mana embodied by each elder dragon’s hand.

“Oh…!” Louis was mesmerized by the sight before him.

The thirteen elders of the dragon race had honed their respective elements to the highest level, known as Zero. The manifestation of these elements looked like beautiful jewels.

“Incredible…” Louis’s eyes widened at the stunning display surrounding him.

At that moment, he heard one of the elder dragons speaking telepathically.

Close your eyes, child, and summon forth your companion for life. Whoever among us wishes to be your friend will come to you.

Louis closed his eyes at the softly spoken words. Despite shutting them, he could still see thirteen lights flickering before him. Louis basked in their warmth as he called out to them.

Come.

Woooom…

A small resonance echoed within Louis’s heart. At the same time, the hatchlings’ tiny hearts began beating according to their master’s will.

Ba-dump, ba-dump.

The pleasant resonance gently spread throughout the area. Soon after, the first change occurred.

Hwoosh…

White elemental energy, held by one of the elder dragons, slowly moved towards Louis. Genelocer observed this with keen interest from behind.

A non-natural attribute: Time!

The approaching elemental energy belonged to one of the four non-natural attributes, specifically Time.

Not only were beings with unnatural attributes rare among other races, but they were also uncommon even among dragons. It was common knowledge across dimensions that those born with unnatural elements tended to be at least one and a half times stronger than those with natural ones. Louis possessed such an attribute.

Ha-ha-ha!

As his father, Genelocer couldn’t have been prouder of him. But there was more good news for the elder dragon.

Hwoosh…

Just as the time attribute reached Louis, the blue energy hovering above Pamus’s hand moved toward their son as well. Genelocer’s eyes widened at this sight.

A dual element!

Sometimes, individuals manifested not just one but two innate elements.

It was extremely rare for someone to be born with two attributes, and those who were tended to achieve more quickly than others. Moreover, their power at each level far surpassed that of single-attribute beings. Most of the great champions who dominated eras possessed dual attributes.

There was one other thing that stunned Genelocer.

And both are unnatural attributes!

Pamus’s innate attribute was Strength, which encompassed all the immense energy in existence. It had chosen Louis as its vessel.

A smile spread across Genelocer’s face, reflecting his father’s joy.

“Ha-ha! He truly is my grandson! To have the Strength attribute—and on top of that, dual attributes!”

Pamus was ecstatic that Louis possessed two unnatural attributes. Among dragons, only a handful had ever been born with dual attributes. No grandfather could be anything but thrilled at their grandson’s talent. The other elder dragons hadn’t seen this happen within their clan in ages and shared his joy.

However, it might have been too soon to celebrate.

“Huh?”

One of the elder dragons blinked as he felt something wriggling from his grasp. He loosened his grip on the black energy, allowing it to slowly drift toward Louis.

This unexpected development caught Genelocer off guard.

“Oh! Another one?!”

“A third attribute?”

“Triple attribute?!”

The appearance of a third attribute stunned everyone present.

In all of Evan’s Dimension’s long history, only two beings had ever been born with triple attributes: Kaiders, the first Dragon King, and Rothbeyer, the most demonic dragon. Both dragons left indelible marks on their era, and now another such being was emerging to make its mark on this new chapter of history—or so everyone thought until yet another elder dragon exclaimed:

“No, not possible!”

The red elder dragon loosened his grip as he marveled at the energy writhing in his hand. As he did, crimson energy shot toward Louis just like the others before it—white, black, blue, and now red.

The four distinct energies circled Louis like puppies greeting their master. He found them utterly adorable and opened his arms wide. The four energies immediately flew toward him.

“Aww… So sweet.” Louis gently stroked the attributes wriggling within his embrace.

Vmmm.

As if enjoying his touch, the elements trembled slightly. Louis continued petting them multiple times.

“…?”

Feeling suffocated by the heavy silence and prying eyes, Louis looked up. He cocked his head at everyone staring intently at him, genuinely puzzled as to why they were acting this way.

“What’s wrong with you all?”

The innocent tone of Louis’s voice rendered everyone speechless as they realized he had no idea what was going on around him.

Having returned from Silver Flower Castle after verifying Louis’s attributes, Genelocer was bursting with pride and affection for his son.

“I’ll make some delicious snacks while you play, okay?”

“…Sure.”

Louis nodded as he felt even more love radiating from his father upon their return home.

“Heh-heh-heh!” Genelocer hummed cheerfully, striding off with a spring in his step.

There could be only one reason behind his elation:

Our child is a prodigy!

Discovering that your child possessed extraordinary talent would bring joy to any parent.

“Our son is a genius! Our soooooon, our prrride!” Singing his improvised song, Genelocer disappeared around the corner.

Watching him go, Louis lay on his back like a puppy.

This was the most comfortable position Louis had discovered over the past few days.

“Hmm… Four attributes…”

Louis possessed four innate attributes: Time, Space, Strength, and Mental / Mind. With these unnatural abilities, his potential was so immense that even elder dragons were rendered speechless.

However, Louis didn’t seem particularly pleased about it.

“Is this why?”

While one could describe his talents as extraordinary potential, another interpretation would be that they threatened the balance of the narrative. In other words, Louis’ capabilities were disruptive enough to upset the equilibrium established in the original work.

This realization dawned on him:

“So, is that why they’re so desperate to kill me?”

Louis’s talent was capable of resolving all problems within the story by himself. If he lived, every crisis in the narrative would be resolved without any tension or suspense.

‘Maybe this is why the original work wanted me dead.’

Of course, it was just speculation. Nonetheless, even if it were conjecture, Louis needed to consider various possibilities. This way, he could prepare multiple strategies to handle different scenarios.

“Sigh…”

Louis bit his lip hard. What should one do with the talent to become the strongest when there might not be enough time to develop before dying?

However, Louis refused to succumb to despair repeatedly.

“Still, there is hope.”

His talent represented both a crisis and an opportunity.

If he honed his extraordinary talent, which even elder dragons admired, his chances of survival would greatly increase. Moreover, Louis was not the original character from the novel. Although it wasn’t much, he had the advantage of 29 years’ worth of knowledge and awareness of upcoming crises from his previous life.

Louis decided to make the most of what he’d been given.

“Okay. Where should I start?” The corners of the baby dragon’s mouth curved upward, revealing two adorable teeth.

Having exceptional talent was indeed advantageous as it broadened the range of choices available to him.

“Divine magic or martial arts?”

Divine magic involved utilizing elemental attributes akin to sorcery, while martial arts combined both elemental control and physical prowess. Those who specialized in divine magic were known as mages, and those skilled in martial arts were called warriors.

“No need to choose; I’ll learn both.”

Dragons were blessed with mana and possessed four unnatural attributes simultaneously. With just a little effort, Louis could excel at either discipline due to his inherent abilities.

“Great! Let’s get started!” Resolute, Louis walked toward the books on divine and martial magic he had acquired from Genelocer.

Just then…

“Louis, let’s have some snacks first!”

Genelocer brought over a large tray filled with treats. Louis’s eyes widened as if hypnotized by the sight of the spread. The sweet aroma wafting from the tray made his mouth water uncontrollably.

His determination faltered momentarily.

“How about having a snack before we begin…?”

After all, it’s said that even Mount Geumgang should be viewed after a good meal. A well-fed mind works best. With wings flapping eagerly, Louis swiftly approached the tray—moving remarkably fast…