Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Azel Zestringer (4)
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Magic was one thing, but Spirit Order was a secret art not casually taught to others, so he never trained openly in front of people.
But Azel knew full well that Rick was there, yet he ignored him and triggered mana resonance anyway.
"Hmm."
As he continued the mana resonance, a faint cluster of light appeared in front of Azel.
The moment Rick saw it, he realized what it was.
'A Mana Force condensate? But he doesn't have a single Life Circle—how did he create a Mana Force condensate of that density?'
The Life Circles constructed by someone who had mastered Spirit Order determined the magnitude of power they could wield. The more Life Circles, the greater the power.
But from what Rick could see, Azel's Spirit Veins weren't even properly activated, and he had zero Life Circles. And yet, he had produced a Mana Force condensate dense enough to take physical form as light?
If Rick had voiced his doubts, Azel would have answered like this:
'Because my control over Mana Force is so precise that I can manipulate it freely, even without Life Circles.'
Azel already had experience refining Spirit Order to the brink of its ultimate realm. It was only natural that he possessed unrivaled Mana Force control.
Other sorcerers would absorb only a portion of the power generated through mana resonance via their pores.
But Azel gathered all of that power into one mass and cradled it in his hands.
Then he drank it.
Rick's eyes went wide.
"He... drank the Mana Force condensate?"
Rick had never heard of such a thing. Azel had just gulped down the Mana Force condensate he'd created himself, like it was water!
"Hoo."
A considerable amount of Mana Force flowed into his parched Spirit Veins. Azel circulated the Mana Force through his body's Spirit Veins to nourish them, then gathered the remaining power and drew a circle.
'It won't be enough for today.'
But forming a Life Circle was no easy task. Even this much Mana Force couldn't sustain so much as the small circle that would serve as its prototype.
Azel tried to trigger mana resonance again to create another Mana Force condensate.
But suddenly, the world spun before his eyes.
"Urk..."
Even sitting cross-legged, he nearly toppled over. He barely caught himself by bracing against the ground, and that's when Azel realized the problem.
'Damn. My body's not holding up.'
His physical condition was so poor that even a short mana resonance and absorbing one Mana Force condensate had pushed him to his limit.
Spirit Order was a secret art that strengthened the body through Mana Force. Both body and Mana Force needed to be trained evenly for synergistic effects; a deficiency in one affected the other.
Rick spoke up.
"Don't push yourself. But creating a Mana Force condensate and drinking it—what kind of method is that? I know the basics of Spirit Order, but I've never heard of anything like it."
"...Beats me?"
Azel tilted his head.
It was as if he had no idea himself. Of course, it was all an act, but thanks to the groundwork he'd laid earlier that day, Rick bought it without question.
Azel said,
"Military Doctor Rick, I've got a favor to ask."
"Hm?"
"Tomorrow... could we do normal portions for meals?"
By now, Azel could speak properly. His voice was still horribly hoarse, but the pronunciation was clear.
Rick shook his head.
"No way. You think your body can handle a normal meal right now?"
"I think it can, that's why I'm asking."
"It's just a feeling. You'll end up shitting blood."
"No, really. My memory's fuzzy, but... it seems like I can control my body with Spirit Order. I only peed once today, you know."
"Hm?"
Rick was startled. Now that he thought about it, it was true. Azel had drunk an enormous amount of water today, yet he'd only gone to relieve himself once.
'His body was in such bad shape that he might've absorbed all the water... but that's still not normal, right?'
Azel pressed the skeptical Rick.
"Let me try breakfast tomorrow, and if it feels like too much, I'll stop. You gonna let me at least try?"
"Hm. Fine. But..."
Rick said with a displeased look.
"You're talking awfully casually all of a sudden."
"Am I? But you're doing it too, Military Doctor Rick."
"I'm the kind of guy even centurions respect in the army."
"I think I used to get decent treatment myself. I don't remember well, but probably."
"Sheesh."
Rick clicked his tongue but didn't press further. He wasn't the type to obsess over formal address from others anyway.
'And this guy's got this weirdly approachable vibe.'
At first, he'd been shocked and a bit scared by Azel's inhuman appearance, then felt some pity.
But after talking a little, he felt strangely at ease. Despite the gruesome looks, Azel was incredibly easy to get along with.
Azel smiled inwardly as he observed Rick's reaction.
'Good thing I can still control my aura.'
People typically gave off a unique impression or atmosphere—often called their vibe. Some were relaxing, some intimidating, some so faint you barely noticed their presence.
A Spirit Order practitioner of high attainment could freely adjust the aura they emitted, altering their own impression at will. That was why Zail had exuded a subtle air of intimidation earlier.
Azel could do the same. He'd aimed for a casually friendly vibe, and it was working perfectly on Rick.
Rick grumbled,
"Sir Zail picked up a weird one."
He wasn't calling Zail "Centurion" but using the honorific "Sir" reserved for knights.
Azel found that curious but asked something else.
"Oh, mind if I ask a few things?"
"You know that's not something you should be saying in your position, right?"
"I know I'm the one being interrogated. But what can I do if I can't remember?"
"Whoever you are from wherever... you must've lived pretty shamelessly."
"I think you're right."
Azel gave a wry smile. If he weren't so brazen, he never would have invested massive resources into mimicking a dragon's hibernation just to save his own life.
'Though Kallos was itching to experiment, that guy.'
Kallos had done his utmost as a friend to save Azel. But at the same time, as a mage, he'd clearly felt ecstasy at the chance to execute such a method. Mages were all like that, weren't they?
Azel asked,
"Where are we?"
"The Balan Forest in the western border region of the Lurein Kingdom."
"Lurein Kingdom..."
Come to think of it, Zail had introduced himself as part of the Lurein Kingdom Western Border Guard. Azel had been too out of it to register it then, but now...
'There was no such country.'
As far as Azel knew, no Lurein Kingdom existed.
But the name Lurein rang a bell. It was one of the prestigious noble houses of the Nadik Empire: the Lurein Ducal House.
Azel asked the most important question.
"What year is it on the Atein Calendar?"
The nations of the continent counted years from their own founding, but independently of that, the Atein Calendar—starting from the fall of the Dragon Demon King Atein and humanity's liberation from his threat—was widely used by mages to track years.
Rick answered,
"Year 222."
"222? You said 222?"
"Yeah. And today's April 8th, for reference."
"Whoa... wait a second."
Azel pressed a hand to his forehead, his face stricken. The shock was so great he couldn't continue speaking for a moment.
'220 years...'
Azel had fallen asleep two years after slaying the Dragon Demon King Atein. If Rick was right, 220 years had passed since then.
'No way.'
He'd expected a long time to have gone by.
A dragon's hibernation wasn't like an animal's winter sleep; it lasted at least decades. And from the moment he'd first awakened, Azel had vaguely sensed he'd slumbered for a very long time.
But he hadn't imagined it would be this long.
'That explains it.'
The reason familiar words were mixed with unfamiliar ones, despite the same language, wasn't because this was some remote region he'd never visited. It was simply that so much time had passed that new words had emerged that he didn't know.
'Everyone I knew... they're all dead by now.'
Kallos, his other friends, his comrades-in-arms—all of them...
He'd braced himself for it to some extent. Kallos had warned him it might take decades, even after Kallos himself had died.
But facing it for real hit like a thunderbolt.
"...You okay?"
Azel snapped out of his daze at the cautious voice beside him.
Rick was looking at him with concern. Azel replied,
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"What happened? Did the date jog some memory?"
"A little."
"What do you remember?"
"Looks like... I lost several years of memory."
Azel lied.
Rick asked, surprised,
"Several years?"
"Not exactly sure. But the last date I remember is year 218."
In other words, there was a four-year gap in his memory, or so Azel claimed.
That was certainly shocking enough. Rick asked,
"How old are you, Azel?"
"Not sure. Under thirty, I think..."
"Really?"
Rick was startled. Azel frowned and asked,
"Why the reaction?"
"Well, I figured you might be older. Hard to tell your age from how you look now."
"Yeah, fair enough."
Azel gave a wry smile.
After chatting with Rick like that, Azel lay down on his bed once Rick went to sleep. But despite his body's demand for rest, the confusion and shock kept him staring at the ceiling through the night.
'Kallos...'
He missed his friend he could never see again.
5
The next morning, Azel followed the soldier who came to fetch him and went to see Zail.
Even in the morning, Zail looked utterly composed. His refined features always seemed accompanied by disciplined movements.
Zail asked,
"Have you eaten?"
"Thanks to you."
With Rick's permission, Azel had a normal breakfast. Rick had been amazed to see him polish off the soldier's meal without issue.
Zail said,
"You look much better than yesterday."
"Don't I?"
He was still gaunt and scary-looking, but far more human than the day before.
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