Chapter 31: Dragon Dad 1

[Host, what a pity. If you had chosen to inherit the protagonist’s luck, not only could you have lived a smooth and prosperous life in that world, but you could also have carried some of that luck to the next world, making it easier to complete your tasks.]

System 65 emitted a regretful sound.

[The child’s body has altered the host’s mindset. Now that you’ve returned to normal, are you regretting your previous choice?]

Yu Qian stood in the system’s space and, upon hearing this, said, “Encouraging someone to steal another’s luck? You’re not a proper system, are you?”

[How could that be? I do have a system number…]

Yu Qian ignored it and continued speaking to herself: “Of course, a system that forces others to work after they die can’t be a proper system.”

[Wuwu, host, I’m thinking about you! If you only complete the basic tasks, when will you ever gather enough points to break free from the system?]

Yu Qian thought to herself, “As a seasoned worker, do you really think I’ll fall for your empty promises?”

To make an analogy, would it be easy for an ordinary worker to save enough money to buy a house with their meager salary? It’s even harder to accumulate enough points to break free from the system. A system like this can’t be trusted.

Yu Qian grumbled inwardly, manipulating her interface. The system tried to persuade her, but suddenly exclaimed: [Host, what are you doing now?!]

Yu Qian found the system shop, used all of her basic points to buy a bloodline relationship potion, and began expertly molding a new body for herself.

[Host, are you really going to continue being a child for the male protagonist? This is a Conquest system… Also, why are you so familiar with this?]

Yu Qian felt that after one world as a solo player, this system was becoming more and more talkative. She wearily lowered her eyelids. “You brought me here to work, don’t you know my job before I died was game modeling?”

Remembering the several bed-wetting incidents from her last time as a child, Yu Qian made a decision.

She finished molding her body and added the bloodline relationship potion.

Before entering the next world, Yu Qian looked at the sobbing system.

“By the way, you asked me if I regret it. The choices made by the child Yu back then are still fiercely protected by the adult Yu.”

If they were a loving couple, they would naturally seek to grow old together, but for parents and children, the eternal theme is parting.

She was grateful to this tyrant dad for making her feel the love of an elder for the first time, and she regretted having to leave him so hastily, but neither of them could resist fate.

She only hoped that the lies she told to comfort him would give him a little solace.

As for her… she still had to work.

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The Canglong Empire, Central Magic Academy, the start of a new academic year.

Children with magical abilities could enter school at the age of twelve. The academy was divided into nine grades, with the first eight years spent learning in school, and the final year spent completing graduation tasks.

Among the ten magic academies in the empire, only the Central Magic Academy had an annual enrollment that reached full capacity.

The empire’s princes and princesses, as well as many noble children, chose to study at the Central Magic Academy, simply because it was the most unique academy.

Here resided the last dragon in the world.

The Ice Dragon, Lacia.

“Will there really be a dragon teaching us?”

“Of course! My brother also graduated from here. He said that Teacher Lacia teaches many courses, and once we enroll, we’ll get to see him often!”

“Wow! I really want to see the dragon in its original form! Will Teacher Lacia fulfill that wish for us?”

“Me too! I want to touch the dragon!”

Two older students passed by the front yard and heard the naive conversation of the new students. They exchanged a glance and quickened their pace to distance themselves.

Of course, for every blindly optimistic new student, there were also those well-informed ones.

A red-haired girl quietly inserted herself into her friends’ conversation.

“My aunt told me that the Ice Dragon, Teacher Lacia, is very scary.”

“Hmm… Actually, my father said Teacher Lacia is extremely strict.”

“Actually, I also asked my grandfather how to get close to Teacher Lacia. My grandfather waved me off, telling me to stay far away.”

The senior student responsible for guiding them approached with their dormitory cards. He was a fourth-year student, and he smiled warmly.

He handed out the dormitory cards to each child and gave them some reminders.

“If you have any problems, you can seek help from the teachers. Our teachers, such as Teacher Cui Si, Teacher Jue Ge, and Teacher Di Si Pu Lan, are all very willing to help students. Especially Teacher Fizke, he’s the potion teacher and also handles healing, with a very good temperament. He lives in the third tower to the south.”

At the end, his expression suddenly turned serious.

The group of little kids also put on serious faces.

The senior student said solemnly, “And there’s one very important thing.”

The kids looked at each other.

The senior student said with a deep voice, “If you encounter the Ice Dragon, Teacher Lacia, outside of class, run!”

The children didn’t understand, “Why?”

Some even asked, “shouldn’t we run during class too?”

The senior student bitterly smiled, “Because, in class, you can’t run. If you skip Teacher Lacia’s class, it’ll be a disaster.”

The Ice Dragon, Teacher Lacia, existed long before the establishment of the Central Magic Academy, or even before the founding of the Canglong Empire.

He had lived for many years. Not only was he the last dragon, but he was also the most knowledgeable magician in the world, a walking piece of history.

Because of this, his position in the academy was special. He lived alone in the tower on the western side, surrounded by thorns and frost.

That shining tower was considered a forbidden place by the senior students who had witnessed Teacher Lacia’s power, but every year, curious new students tried to get close, risking their lives to sneak a peek at the dragon’s true form.

This year, there was also a little group of adventurers who came from an adventurer family in the northern part of the continent, with bravery as their life motto.

The five of them set off confidently but ended up breaking their hands and feet, with bruises all over, without even reaching the dragon’s tower. They ended up failing miserably in the outer icy valley.

“Wuwu, Borif, please be alright!”

“Rick, are you okay?”

“I can’t feel my hand… Wuwu, I can’t move my foot either!”

“Don’t be afraid. We’ll go find a teacher. Didn’t the senior student say there’s a Teacher Fizke who’s good at healing? We’ll go find him right now!”

The five of them supported each other, their faces covered in dirt, as they found the third tower.

Outside this tower were many plants used for potion making, as well as magical plants. There was an indescribable herbal fragrance in the air, soothing their spirits.

The five disheveled freshmen saw a tall figure in the circular corridor outside the tower.

The person had their back to them, with silver-white long hair loosely braided and hanging down their back, almost reaching the ankles.

Wearing a pure white robe with intricate and beautiful lace, two ribbon-like sashes with mysterious embroidery hung from the shoulders.

When he heard the sound and turned around, he revealed a stunningly beautiful face. His purple eyes were even clearer and more radiant than the purple gemstone on the silver chain hanging from his chest.

The five children, who had been wailing in pain just moments before, were stunned by this otherworldly beauty and stood frozen in place, unable to utter a word.

It was no exaggeration to say that this was the most beautiful person they had ever seen in their lives.

“F-Fizke, Teacher?” one of the freshmen stammered.

This “Fizke” teacher took a step toward them.

His movements were graceful, and his robes remained still as he walked, with only the earrings on his ears slightly swaying, adding to his noble appearance.

“Are you injured?” he asked with a smile, his voice as gentle as the senior had described. One glance from him felt like it could heal the soul.

His voice was so soothing that the children, still recovering from their ordeal, couldn’t help but feel their eyes welling up, crying out, “Teacher, please save Rick and the others, sob!”

As he approached, the freshmen looked up at him, only then realizing how tall he was. Standing in front of them, his shadow seemed to envelop them.

He looked down at them, still smiling gently, but his gaze was somewhat… terrifying.

The most perceptive of the freshmen began to feel uneasy. Their bodies sensed danger before their minds did, and cold sweat broke out.

“I see, you fell in the Ice Crystal Valley… Were you trying to see the dragon?” the teacher asked in a calm and gentle tone.

The five freshmen swallowed in unison, huddling together, their voices trembling.

“T-Teacher, we… we won’t dare again.”

The teacher extended his hand, placing his cold, white fingers on the head of the boy who was injured the most.

With a gentle smile, he said, “Today, I’m going to teach you something.”

“Children who don’t follow the school rules will be punished.”

The boy’s companions watched helplessly as he froze into a stiff, hard ice sculpture, his terrified expression and comical pose preserved.

One of the less injured boys saw this and noticed the purple dragon-shaped magical tattoos on the teacher’s hand. His eyes went wide as he squeezed out a word, “Y-You… You’re… a dragon!”

Before he could finish, he, along with the others, was turned into a funny, lively ice sculpture.

It was then that the true master of the tower, Teacher Fizke, slowly descended the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom, he saw the five ice sculptures and was greeted by the chilling smile of his colleague, Teacher Lacia, who looked at the frozen figures.

“Lacia,” Fizke said, walking forward and handing him the medicines he needed.

Lacia nodded indifferently, taking the medicine and telling him, “Like every year, place them at the Central Magic Academy’s main entrance square.”

“Understood,” Fizke responded.

After watching Lacia’s figure disappear, Fizke sighed, “Ah, poor children.”

They were unlucky to come at this time.

If they had come a little earlier or later, they would have missed the teacher.

Lately, the teacher had not been in the best spirits. If they hadn’t run into him by chance, he might have ignored them this time.

But, it’s fine. It’s just a small test for them.

Their injuries would have taken him ten days to two weeks to heal, but being frozen in his magical ice, and with his magical power stimulating them, they would recover in just three days.

It was just a bit cold, and a bit embarrassing.

At the main entrance square of the Central Magic Academy, this year there were over ten lifelike ice sculptures displayed.

The senior students, who were in charge of arranging these sculptures, thoughtfully placed them symmetrically on either side, on display pedestals with small name tags indicating each frozen student’s name.

As a result, many of the freshmen who entered the school for the first time thought these were some kind of artwork.

“Sis, look, this sculpture is so unique. It looks like Brother Borif!”

“Huh, this name tag says Borif too.”

The older sister, who knew about the academy’s tradition, sighed and facepalmed. “This is Borif.”

“This brat… I’ve told him not to go near the forbidden place, but he insisted. He must have gotten frozen, how embarrassing.”

Every year, students who try to sneak a peek at Teacher Lacia’s dragon form are frozen into ice sculptures and displayed here.

The display lasts only for three days, but the embarrassment lasts for nine years.

Lacia returned to his tower, which was equipped with a magical array, creating a spacious interior.

In the blink of an eye, the tall and handsome man transformed into a giant white dragon.

Every inch of his body was perfectly proportioned.

His scales were translucent and crystal-clear, a silver-white color like ice. His neck and back were covered in soft silver fur, and behind him were two massive wings folded in. When not spread out, only the crystalline wingbones and membranes were visible.

He had two pairs of beautifully curved horns on his head, and his eyes were the same purple crystals as when in human form, but larger and narrower, like a mysterious abyss.

This was an exceptionally beautiful dragon.

When he coiled up in his nest, which was decorated with colorful gemstones, his entire body seemed to glow.

But this beautiful dragon appeared somewhat listless.

He had drunk the potion the students had made for him, yet still didn’t want to move, resting his head on his front claws.

The dragon’s life was too long.

Over this long period, his kin had all turned to dragon bones in the sea, returning to the embrace of the Dragon God.

Perhaps he was nearing the end, feeling his body starting to decay and his spiritual fire gradually extinguishing.

This was a dragon who had lost all interest in life, a lonely old dragon.

The window of the tower was wide open, and a breeze from afar blew in.

Lacia, who had been resting his eyes, suddenly opened them, sensing something. He lifted his head.

He focused, perceiving the distant wind that carried a message.

His purple eyes grew brighter.

He sensed the presence of his kin.

A new dragon had appeared!

Suddenly, the Ice Dragon threw his head back and let out a long roar. He flared his wings and shot up into the air, bursting through the flower window above the tower.

That day, all the students and teachers of the Central Magic Academy witnessed the silver giant dragon.

Its massive body passed over the academy, casting a shadow shaped like a dragon on the ground.

In the blink of an eye, it had soared into the sky, and in the blue sky, the silver dragon’s figure grew smaller and smaller.