Chapter 54: Dragon Dad 24

Qian flew through the clouds, often spotting temporary settlements below. Most of them were suffering from drought.

Having instinctively learned how to bring rain, the little green dragon flew past these places with rain following in her wake. Before long, she was utterly exhausted.

Just as she was feeling extremely tired, she caught a familiar scent.

Below, there was a very small settlement, consisting of only a dozen tents. It was located not far from a rift, separated by a magical barrier.

At that moment, several young mages were arguing, pulling at each other as their dispute escalated.

A young man dressed as an adventurer was dragging his robed companion back, shouting, “No! You can’t go any closer! Do you have a death wish getting near the Abyss?!”

The man being held back had grayish-black hands—a clear sign of being tainted by demonic energy.

For ordinary people, exposure to the corrupting demonic aura would immediately cause sickness and lead to rapid deterioration and death.

Mages, on the other hand, could temporarily suppress the invasion of this corruption if they were high-level enough or had expensive potions. But even then, it only delayed the inevitable.

Once the corruption took hold, the damage to the body was irreversible.

The young, slender mage already looked like he didn’t have long to live. Yet, unlike his frantic companion, he remained calm and explained seriously, “I have a theory, Ed. If I can just collect a little more corrupted energy from the Abyss, I might find a way to neutralize it and turn it into something consumable.”

Ed cursed. “Do you think you’re some kind of genius? Hoga, you just graduated! Even archmages like the headmaster couldn’t figure it out. Do you really think you can? You’re just throwing your life away! Look at yourself—how much more of this corruption can your body take?!”

He then turned to a silent female knight beside them.

“Noah, talk some sense into him! Can you really stand by and watch him walk to his death?!”

But instead of stopping him, Noah stepped forward and hugged Hoga. She even gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

“It’s okay. If this is what you insist on doing, then go ahead. But as your knight, I will stand by your side.”

Ed shouted in frustration, “You’re both insane!”

Nearby, three other people—three men and one woman—either agreed with Ed or tried to reason with Noah and Hoga.

All of them were so absorbed in their argument that none of them noticed the small green dragon descending from the sky, landing on a tent nearby to listen.

“Are you guys fighting? Why are you fighting?”

The childish voice from above abruptly silenced them. All heads turned toward the source.

A familiar little green dragon lay sprawled on the largest tent, her big eyes filled with curiosity as she gazed at them. The two whiskers by her mouth twitched.

“Qian?!” Several people exclaimed in shock.

Clearly, most of them were graduates of the Central Magic Academy.

Among them, Noah from Ferres Magic Academy and Hoga from the Central Magic Academy had even been caught by Qian dating during an inter-academy exchange event.

“Why are you fighting?” Qian asked again.

At the sight of the adorable Qian, everyone’s tempers involuntarily cooled. However, remembering how stubborn their companion was, Ed couldn’t help but grumble.

“It’s all because of Hoga! He has this crazy idea that he can somehow turn this filthy, corrupted energy into a usable power source. He wants to go into the rift to gather more samples, but what’s the point?! He’s been researching for so long, but he hasn’t found anything! And now he’s about to die because of it!”

Someone tried to stop him. “Ed, enough. Why are you telling Qian all this? She’s just a kid.”

A young woman in mage robes forced a smile, trying to sound like they were back at the academy. “Qian, why did you come here alone? It’s dangerous outside. You should hurry back.”

“I didn’t run off recklessly. I’m looking for my dad,” Qian explained.

Then she added, “It’s not dangerous. I’m stronger than you all.”

Everyone: “…” That was a fact.

“I also understood what you guys were saying. Hoga wants the corrupted energy in the rift for research, but it’s dangerous, so you don’t want him to go.”

“Wow, Qian is so smart!” The young woman praised her with a smile, then turned her head to glare furiously at the loose-lipped Ed.

Ed scratched his head, but then they all heard Qian say, “I can get it for Hoga.”

Everyone was horrified. “No!”

“No way, Qian!”

“Don’t! Lacia will kill us!”

“It’s too dangerous! Absolutely not!”

Qian ignored their protests. Instead, she found their panicked reactions amusing and giggled.

“I’ll be right back.” She wagged her tail and bolted toward the nearby rift.

The tent she had been lying on partially collapsed under her weight, but no one had time to care about that. They all shouted and rushed after her.

Back at the academy, Qian often played games with the students.

The students would compete using magic to send various objects to the tops of nearby towers, seeing who could place them the highest, and then use magic to summon them back.

However, many students were not proficient in their spells, so once they sent the objects up, they couldn’t bring them down. That was when Qian would make an appearance.

She would coil around the top of the tower, and when the students called out to her, she would flick her tail to knock down the objects they couldn’t retrieve.

Qian also remembered these students. That Ed had once transformed into a cat, but the cat he turned into was very ugly. When Qian saw it, she didn’t dare touch it and always kept her distance.

The smiling female mage had given her a dress she had made herself. Though the dress wasn’t particularly pretty, and Qian didn’t like wearing it.

Then there was Hoja, whose hands had turned black like his father’s. Unlike his classmates, he didn’t enjoy crowding around Qian to tease her, but sometimes, when there were fewer people around, he would hesitantly approach and take out strange-tasting candies from his pocket to give her.

They were weird-flavored candies he had made using magical experiment equipment, and Qian had even shared them with her father.

The key was that after giving her the candies, he would lower his head and walk away, so Qian never had the chance to dig into her pocket to give a gift in return.

Qian thought simply—since they were arguing because Hoja wanted something, she would just help him get it.

As a powerful young dragon, Qian didn’t like the smell of the cracks and the black mist, but she wasn’t afraid of them.

Seeing that she was already flying above the rift, the mages chasing behind her started shouting in alarm.

“Help! How is this child flying so fast? We can’t stop her!”

Qian landed at the edge of the rift and peered inside, unsure how to move the black mist.

Just as she was about to dive in, a silver-white—half silver-white, half painted in colors—dragon appeared in the distance, moving at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of her.

Hearing the dragon’s cry, Qian quickly lifted her head and, overjoyed, let out the soft chirp she used when she had just hatched: “qi!”

The dragon headbutted her, sending her tumbling onto the ground, far from the rift, and for the first time, opened its mouth wide to roar at her.

If he had taken human form, it would have been the classic scene of a parent standing with hands on hips, scolding a mischievous child.

Qian wasn’t scared of his terrifying roar. Instead, she moved closer and rubbed her head against his neck, pressing against him.

She had flown alone for a long time this time and had caused several rainfalls. She was utterly exhausted and sleepy. Seeing a parent made her feel at ease.

Lacia, who was being nuzzled by the young dragon, had his furious roar gradually die down until it became a low growl in his throat. In the end, he simply lowered his head and licked her all over, carefully checking if she was injured.

The people who had seen the dragon’s arrival from afar finally relaxed, wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads.

“Thank goodness… but now that Teacher Lacia is here, do you think he’ll assume we sent Qian on a dangerous adventure and punish us?”

Someone voiced the concern, and the relieved expressions on everyone’s faces froze instantly.

“So… should we run now?”

“Run where? Do you think you can outrun Teacher Lacia? It’s too late. Just accept your fate.”

Before long, Lacia reached them, holding the child in his arms. Qian leaned against his shoulder, her eyes barely open. It wasn’t surprising—she had used up all her magic to make it rain and still managed to fly all the way here.

“So, what exactly happened?” Lacia asked.

He had heard a little from Qian, but she hadn’t explained things clearly.

There were very few students from the Central Magic Academy who weren’t afraid of Teacher Lacia. But looking at his companions, Ed bravely took a deep breath, preparing to speak.

However, Hoja stepped forward first. “Teacher Lacia, this was because of me.”

“I wanted to research this corrupted magic. If it could be consumed as energy, maybe we could reduce its impact. At the very least, we wouldn’t have to deal with endless monster attacks or people falling sick. In my hometown, there’s a type of black oil that seeps from the ground, and people use it as fuel. I wondered if magic pollution could be utilized in the same way.”

He wasn’t very confident in his words. His companions had told him the idea was unrealistic. But he still wanted to try—what if it worked?

Although he was firm in his resolve, at this moment, explaining his idea to a dragon made him more nervous than ever.

What if Teacher Lacia scolded him? What if he got angry…?

“Tell Ude about your idea. He would probably be interested as well. If you research this alone, it will take too long,” Lacia said, looking at the student’s blackened hands.

Hoja looked up in surprise and met Teacher Lacia’s translucent purple eyes. In that instant, warmth surged in his eyes.

“Yes, thank you, Teacher Lacia!”

Qian didn’t know what happened next—she had fallen asleep. When she woke up, she was in her familiar nest, and the first thing she did upon waking was to find her father.

Luckily, this time he was there, sitting at the outdoor table reading a book, looking uncharacteristically relaxed.

Qian rubbed her eyes and walked up to him, just as Headmaster Ude strode in from outside, his face full of excitement and satisfaction.

“Teacher Lacia! We conducted experiments with Hoja, and his idea might actually work!”

Lacia stroked the child resting on his lap and replied, “It’s not time to celebrate yet. By the time your research succeeds and is put to use, the situation may already be dire.”

Headmaster Ude sighed. “I know it’s an idealistic pursuit, but at least now we have a direction to work toward. As long as we don’t lose hope, there’s still a future.”

“Well said,” Lacia remarked.

“So, why are you here instead of working with them? You know I have no particular interest in this.”

Headmaster Ude’s expression turned serious. “Teacher Lacia, the Central Magic Academy is going to be temporarily closed. The children have all left.”

“Please, take Qian and leave as well. Return to Dragon Island.”

“This isn’t just my decision. It has been approved by the Magic Council. This is what we all want.”

To prevent the corrupted magic from spreading further, Lacia had been diving into the abyss repeatedly, suppressing the monstrous power to buy them time.

He was like a dam standing against a flood, but he was already on the verge of collapse.

The magic pollution had infiltrated his body too deeply. If this continued, he would inevitably become a corrupted dragon, losing his sanity and soon dying in madness.

As a great mage, as a dragon, and as a teacher, none of them wanted to see such a figure succumb to such a fate.

Headmaster Ude had sent away all the students and teachers before sending the dragon away.

He stood atop the tower, watching the two dragons—one large, one small—disappear into the sky.

The aging headmaster took one last look around, then slowly descended the staircase.

The magical lamps dimmed one by one at his command.

The crystal windows and doors, which had never been shut before, now closed and locked tightly.

The entire academy was left with only him. The once lively classrooms were now silent.

Headmaster Ude could almost hear the children’s laughter, but when he listened closely, there was nothing.

He stepped into a classroom and waved his magic wand.

The curtains fell, blocking out the sunlight.

One by one, the classrooms darkened as their doors closed.

The magical statues perched atop the building, which used to ring automatically to signal class times, fell into slumber.

Only the flowers in the garden continued to bloom quietly in the silence.