After leaving Vulture Dragon Mountain, Ganis and his party hurried back to the royal capital, traveling day and night.
When the King of the Cervantes Kingdom saw them and learned what had happened, he was stunned.
"What? A living, genuine Legendary Archmage?"
"That lord really was alive." As Ganis spoke, the High-level Ranger beside him nodded. "The power he displayed was undoubtedly that of a Legendary Archmage. Of course, I can't rule out other possibilities, but they're extremely unlikely. It's far more likely that his strength is infinitely close to that of a demigod."
Ganis showed him not only a piece of White Dragon hide scorched by lightning, but also an extremely rare Memory Orb.
It was essentially a magical version of a video recorder. It could store no more than a minute of footage, but that was enough to show the crucial moment.
The image was projected onto a wall, and His Majesty the King "saw with his own eyes" the furious power of lightning gathering atop Lone Peak, then crossing a thousand meters to strike the white dragon with pinpoint accuracy. The dragon had plummeted to its death before the Embassy.
After watching, the King of the Cervantes Kingdom remained unable to calm the shock and astonishment in his heart. His heart pounded wildly.
This was divine power, beyond the mortal realm. Before such might, his army and the powerful people under his command—all of it seemed so helpless and insignificant.
Looking at the trusted aides kneeling before him, he felt a little regretful. "You didn't earn the friendship of that Legendary Archmage?"
"We failed. We are guilty," Ganis and the others replied in unison.
The King waved a hand, somewhat dejectedly. "It's all right. Rise, my ministers. It's only natural that a Demigod Mage would look down on our kingdom. This isn't your fault."
Only then did Ganis and the others secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
"Ganis, I'd like to hear your opinion." The King trusted Ganis completely.
Half-elves were already unwelcome among the elves. The elves would allow half-elves into their lands, but they wouldn't treat them kindly. If humans accepted them, half-elves were more willing to see themselves as part of humanity.
Ganis was such a loyal old retainer, having served seven generations of kings.
Ganis pondered briefly. "Since that lord intends to take on a student, we should secretly pass on to the various nations exactly what we saw and understood. At the same time, we must order the people of Raman's Territory to keep silent."
"Oh?"
Ganis spoke with utmost seriousness. "A Legendary Archmage who has comprehended the World's Fundamental Law, can teach a Formal Mage, and is most likely neutral, is looking for a student. If he's willing to serve other races, then every race and organization in the world will go mad over him—including, but not limited to, devils and demons."
The King trembled. At last, he realized how serious the situation was. "Then we must immediately join forces with the other kings and emperors to protect that lord..."
"No! It doesn't have to go that far," Ganis suddenly said. "Be glad, Your Majesty. To avoid trouble, that lord deliberately secluded himself in Vulture Dragon Mountain. There are already five confirmed Old Dragon lairs there. Without that secret passage, even other Legendary powerhouses could easily perish if they entered the mountain. Knowing the way through that passage is the greatest gift that lord has given us."
The King of the Cervantes Kingdom let out a long breath. "I understand."
If some transmigrator knew about this, he would surely rant like mad: Is it possible that I, a newbie transmigrator, just can't get out of the starting village?
Lein had no idea the higher-ups of the Cervantes Kingdom had let their imaginations run so wild.
Only when the [Tesla Tower] disintegrated did he snap out of the mysterious, dazed state in which his [Comprehension] had been pushed to infinity.
The feeling had been too profound.
Anything could be imagined!
And those imaginings seemed to align with the world's laws, turning into peerless power capable of astonishing the world...
It felt as though, in that state, he could even have worked backward to reconstruct every piece of lost technology he already knew about.
"Is this what it's like to be a peerless genius with an IQ close to three hundred? Damn, that's terrifying."
After all, Nikola Tesla was widely recognized on Earth as one of the smartest scientists. His IQ ranking had never fallen outside the top ten, and he was a regular in the top three. Even nearly a hundred years after his death, the Old US government still refused to release the research notes he left behind.
What bothered Lein was that, in that state, he had clearly remembered every component of the [Tesla Tower], down to the tiniest detail of its construction.
But once he left that state of enlightenment, it was like waking from a dream. He couldn't remember a thing.
That near "one-use-only" state was the most absurd part.
Regardless, by using Downs's [Comprehension] talent, Lein had finally understood just how monstrously gifted his disciple was.
Lein's feelings were strange now.
How should he put it?
It was like an ordinary person playing an FPS game, always shouting, "Turn it off. This isn't fun." Then he somehow wandered into a "Battle of the Gods" server full of cheaters and couldn't leave. Just when the "Liches," "Dragons," "Evil Gods," and other ridiculous cheaters on the opposing team had killed him so many times that he was going berserk, he got matched with a teammate whose KD ratio was even higher.
What would you do then?
Lein didn't know what other people would think.
In that situation, he certainly wouldn't mind getting carried.
That was more or less how he felt right now.
"This cheat is great. Leave it on. This is fun!"
As he muttered to himself, a smile appeared on Lein's lips.
Just as he'd gone fishing for his daily quest to fill his stomach, what happened next came completely out of the blue.
When Downs popped out of the pool again, master and disciple found themselves staring into each other's eyes.
Lein was utterly dumbfounded. "You're back?"
Downs was thrilled. "I'm back."
"..."
"Master, you really do care about me. You killed that White Dragon for me while I was away, then waited here especially for me to come back."
My dear disciple! Is it possible that your master's here because he can't catch fish and will otherwise starve?
I heard the dragons in this world hold grudges!
Hey! What dragon-killing? The Tesla Tower did it. What does that have to do with me, Lein?
Oh? My surname in this world is Tesla, too!
Well, then...
Ahem!
I, Lei, have never killed any White Dragon.
It's like the mess caused by tomatoes has absolutely nothing to do with me, Mr. Tomato!
Just as Lein was using Hypnotism to soothe his startled heart, his good disciple raised a pair of White Dragon Fangs high out of the water. "Master! The Embassy took care of the dragon corpse to apologize. They even hung the dragon's head on the cliff by the waterfall outside the waterway. Ordinary monsters definitely won't dare come near and disturb your cultivation now."
With those words, Downs cured Lein's chronic low blood pressure in an instant.
His blood pressure shot past two hundred!
You unfilial disciple! You really are an unfilial disciple!
Are you afraid the Ancient White Dragons and Primordial White Dragons won't find out that I accidentally killed their descendant?
For a moment, Lein even wanted to destroy this unworthy disciple in the name of his father.
"Master, White Dragon meat is actually pretty tasty. Would you like a bite?"
Lein took a piece of frozen meat that looked like a white popsicle, eyeing it suspiciously. One bite revealed a slight fishiness and a texture that was a little too chewy.
But it had its merits!
That refreshing chill brought a curious delight amid the scorching summer heat.
It was like how, after going too long without a woman, even a sow could look like a beauty.
He'd eaten too many bitter vegetables and fish lately. A sudden change in flavor made his whole palate feel transformed.
"De-li-cious!" In the fantasy of a certain transmigrator, a strange blush spread across his face.
Especially when the system notification appeared: [Host consumes Ice Dragon Meat... checking Willpower and Resilience... check passed. Host gains 1 point of Frost Element Affinity and 1 point of Frost Resistance...]
At that, the highly principled master's attitude took a sharp 180-degree turn.
Ice Dragon?
What Ice Dragon?
This is a flying Ice Skin Mooncake from another world!
That's what Tesla said!
Any dissatisfied dragons can turn left outside and go to Earth to find the great Nikola Tesla!
P.S. Don't ask when I update. The answer is: whenever.
Of course, since the area around my home is a mess, with all kinds of construction sites running pile drivers and the like, Author-kun has been forced to become a deadline warrior. The safest bet is to expect updates before midnight every night, especially after the book goes on sale.
That's all...
Before you continue