Chapter 58 - When a Tiger Dies (5)

Magic was a power with boundless potential. It could kindle fire in empty air or make water flow out of nothing. Beyond such basic feats, it had influenced human civilization in ways both great and small.

["Even with mana, we could never have advanced this far without magic."]

["Magic is humanity's true power."]

["Along with mana, magic is the greatest gift the gods bestowed upon humanity."]

So said scholars with one voice.

But magic was as difficult as it was powerful. More than difficult—only geniuses could learn it. Even genius was merely the price of admission. Wherever one went in the world, there was always someone greater.

The Mage Tower was an institution that admitted only the finest of those geniuses. Called the birthplace and paradise of magic, it honored Aragon, the god of magic.

Its head was renowned as the greatest mage in history. Indeed, people reverently called him the Mage King. Considering the immense significance of the word “king” in this world, the Mage Tower was practically a kingdom in its own right.

Even the Iris Kingdom, where the Mage Tower stood, had no choice but to tread carefully around it. The Tower's presence was also why the Messiah Empire could not treat the kingdom lightly.

And at present, the head of the Mage Tower, that revered Mage King, was...

“Hmm-hmm~ Hmm~”

Leisurely humming to himself over a cup of coffee.

Age had turned his hair snow-white, and his equally white beard was as luxuriant as a dwarf's. Surprisingly, however, his face bore few wrinkles, making him look more middle-aged than elderly.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

A heart far larger than a human head beat violently before him. The sight was rather gruesome, but he paid that no mind.

“Hehehe. You lovely thing. Beating away so diligently.”

Instead, he gazed at it with something approaching a pervert's leer.

Even the heart seemed to instinctively sense something sinister, stopping for a moment. But then it resumed its regular rhythm, as though that had been an illusion.

‘The same structure as a dragon heart. Is such a thing truly possible?’

A dragon heart was exactly what the name implied: the heart of a dragon, a creature considered the mightiest of all. It contained nearly infinite mana. Anyone who managed to consume one would never suffer a shortage of mana for the rest of their life.

But the heart possessed a will of its own, making it extremely difficult to process. One wrong move could easily cause a massive explosion that devastated the surroundings.

Even this knowledge had been uncharted territory until recently—until this Mage King slew a dragon. Single-handedly, at that.

‘How can a tiger possess a dragon heart?’

He stared at the throbbing heart. Even calling upon every bit of knowledge he had accumulated over decades did not solve the mystery.

Only dragons could possess dragon hearts. Today, however, that accepted fact had been shattered. The amount of mana it contained might fall far short, but a dragon heart was still a dragon heart.

After staring intently at it, he slowly reached out.

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

“Whoops.”

The instant he touched it, the heart began pounding as though it were about to explode. At the sight, he lightly snapped his fingers.

HUMMM...

A cube-shaped barrier formed around the heart. Moments later, it emitted a blue flash and exploded.

BOOM!

The heart had exploded inside the cubic barrier. Yet not a single part of that barrier remained intact. With a casual shake of his hand, the mage dismissed the cube that had contained the blast.

“Sensitive to external mana. Another characteristic of a dragon heart. In that case...”

He began performing all sorts of experiments on the tiger's heart: triggering explosions by sending mana into it without touching it, using a particular method to calm it just before it exploded, temporarily stopping its beat, and more.

The further the experiments progressed, the more his eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge.

“Just what sort of place is the Forest of Four Seasons?”

After his experiments, he stroked his beard and murmured to himself.

Even he, revered as the Mage King, feared the Forest of Four Seasons. No matter how powerful humanity became, it was helpless before the grandeur of nature. He was no exception. He had set foot there once long ago, but had never gone near it since.

‘And Grylls can even use the forum there. His very existence is an anomaly.’

At first, it had merely been curiosity. He had taken up browsing the forum to ease his loneliness. But the more he explored it, the more he realized something: the world was vast, and teeming with people who were worse than beasts.

For him, the forum was the ideal place to conduct a sort of “social experiment.” Then he had begun trading with Grylls, gaining opportunities to encounter all manner of rare flora and fauna. To the Mage King, who coveted all the knowledge in the world, Grylls had now become all but indispensable.

‘Dragons mostly inhabit deep mountain ranges rich in mana. The Forest of Four Seasons surpasses even those places. If a tiger can possess a dragon heart, one could reasonably say the entire species has changed.’

One thought led to another. Drawing upon all his knowledge, the Mage King formulated plausible hypotheses.

‘Did it evolve as spiritual beasts do, or adapt over successive generations? If so, did dragons also evolve from other creatures to better contain abundant mana? Or did a particular species change its form as it adapted? Were dragon hearts never exclusive to dragons at all?’

The questions began tangling together like threads. Even the Mage King found these hypotheses dizzying. It felt as though the very concept of common knowledge had shattered and was raining down over his head.

Just what was the Forest of Four Seasons? He was more curious than ever.

‘I have far too few specimens. The tiger could be a mutant. To investigate further, I must give Grylls my full support.’

There was already the example of the golden poison frogs. Normally, golden frogs were the size of a small fist. But the first frog Grylls had caught was as large as a small-to-medium-sized dog. Even the ones he had caught and sent over recently were far larger than a fist.

‘Even an ordinary crab was larger than a building. Does the Forest of Four Seasons accelerate evolution?’

The curiosity of the scholar within the mage burned all the brighter.

‘I am not certain yet. If this truly is a dragon heart, I should see whether it reacts to blood as well.’

Researchers did not merely like exceptions to established knowledge—they loved them. Naturally so, since they had found material for a paper. Indeed, a smile had spread across the Mage King's face.

He then set off across the room, arriving at a large freezer. It held various experimental supplies and specimens.

CLUNK.

Apparently there was no separate lock; he simply swung the door wide open. Cold air crept out the moment he did.

“The dragon's blood... Here it is.”

“...”

Inside the cold freezer were animal hearts, blood, and...

A human skull. Not an ordinary skull, of course. A green light shone in its empty sockets. Like eyes, those green lights stared at the Mage King.

Normally, skulls could not speak, but there were always exceptions. In a voice that sounded on the verge of death, the skull spoke.

["Kill me."]

“Later.”

With that nonchalant reply, the mage shut the freezer door again. He returned with a container of dragon's blood, completely ignoring the screams coming from the freezer.

The Mage King swirled his index finger around in the dragon's blood. The blood, frozen solid, gradually melted. Before long, it had returned to its original state.

SLURP.

He sucked the blood off his finger with relish, looking for all the world like someone licking crumbs off his fingers after eating a snack.

“Now, if I pour this on...”

The Mage King was full of anticipation. If his prediction was correct, the heart would consume the blood and...

POP!

... Grow stronger. But it did not. It simply burst.

It had not unleashed an explosion. It had burst apart. Completely.

“...”

The Mage King did not even think to remove the bits of heart stuck to his face. This was far, far outside his expectations.

Still, it had not been entirely fruitless. He calmly peeled a piece of heart tissue off his face.

‘Even with the same structure, different species produce a violent rejection response.’

With that, he had added another fine stack of “knowledge.” The price, however, had been horrific.

Kadir, the Mage King, regarded the heart with a composed expression. The heart that had been far larger than a human head was now shattered beyond recognition. Only the scattered fragments bore witness to the devastation.

“Ha... Aragon help me.”

A hollow laugh escaped him. Mage King or not, he could not turn back time. The research material Grylls had gone to the trouble of giving him had vanished in an instant.

What was he to do? Kadir hurriedly racked his brain.

‘Lie.’

What lie could he tell? That it had burst as soon as it arrived? He would have had to post about it on the forum immediately. Set that aside.

‘Come clean.’

Given Grylls's personality, he might be forgiving. But it would drastically reduce Kadir's chances of getting first claim on any rare plants or animals Grylls discovered. Set that aside too.

‘Say I want to buy it and give him something else.’

Realistically, that was his best option. Kadir pondered deeply. Something on par with an inferior dragon heart. What did he have that would fit?

The requirements were rather demanding. First and foremost, it had to help Grylls survive. Finding something that met all those conditions was no easy choice, even for Kadir.

‘... I should clean up first.’

With a sigh, Kadir cleaned his filthy laboratory, feeling guilty toward Grylls. Even the man called the Mage King possessed a shred of conscience.

‘If I get through this smoothly, might I obtain an even better specimen?’

The problem was that his conscience had burst apart too.

* * *

After handing the saber-toothed tiger's heart over to Allfather, I headed out to harvest a mature mandrake. I had no shield and my shoes were uncomfortable, but gathering it wasn't difficult. I encountered no dangerous beasts along the way, and harvesting a mature mandrake was easy in itself.

All that remained was to trade with Passing Dwarf. We agreed I'd provide the drinking snack another time.

Passing Dwarf

You'd better give it to me tomorrow, okay? Otherwise I'll be a liar.

What happens if you're a liar?

Passing Dwarf

My infused liquor gets confiscated. Can't let that happen.

Quit drinking, man...

Passing Dwarf

You want me to die? Not happening lol

Right. My mistake for telling a dwarf to quit drinking.

Anyway, I got my shoes through the trade with him. Their overall design resembled the combat boots I'd worn in the military. The main difference was the color, perhaps? He'd said they were made from top-quality leather, and even their sheen was different.

‘These are nice and comfortable.’

They weren't as heavy as I'd expected, either. I was very satisfied. They had been made by a dwarf—a master craftsman, no less—so they were reliable too.

‘I'll judge the other shoes purely on performance before trading for them.’

This pair had already stolen my heart. Now that I finally had new shoes, I logged onto the forum to post a thank-you to the dwarf.

Grylls! Take a Look at These!

“Huh?”

Seeing my name whenever I opened the forum was nothing unusual. But between that distinctive way of speaking and the registered username beside it, I couldn't help taking notice.

Grylls! Take a Look at These!

Slutty Princess

(Chae U uniforms laid out side by side)

I picked these long-sleeved uniforms out extra carefully! Choose whichever one you like!

Personally, I recommend the uniform from three years ago! It's red and looks really cool!

└Whoa... Now that's a true fan.

└Isn't that one from fifty years ago? lmao

└Demons live a long time too, so that probably explains it. But why are there so many lol

└Seriously does nothing but eat and watch soccer...

└Wild Grylls Thank you. I don't really have anything to give you in return. Are you sure this is okay?

└Slutty Princess Losing a fellow Chae U fan would make me much sadder! So don't feel bad about accepting them!

└Wild Grylls Thank you so much. I'll send a trade request.

└Slutty Princess Yep! I'd love to talk about soccer while we trade! That's all I need!

└Wild Grylls I'm not very well-versed, but I'll listen attentively.

└“Well-versed” lmaooo

└Since when do you need to be well-versed in kicking a ball around? lol

└Don't say that to a demon. You'll get punched.

How could I help Slutty Princess? I kept wondering even as we traded. I'd taken an interest in soccer thanks to a friend, but that was as far as it went. I'd never rooted for any particular team. Even my support for Chae U was because Slutty Princess had helped me. Calling it genuine affection for the team would be a stretch.

Slutty Princess

I've added the uniforms!

By the way, you're feeling okay, right?

The uniform kept my injuries from being worse.

It couldn't do anything about the teeth, but it stopped the claws.

Slutty Princess

Wonderful!

Chae U has a match in two days, so cheer them on for me!

Of course I will.

I want to repay your kindness however I can, Slutty Princess.

Slutty Princess

Hehe, then think about how we can help soccer develop further!

Before I'm a Chae U fan, I'm a soccer fan, and before I'm a soccer fan, I'm a sports fan!

What a sports fanatic. Well, in a world with little entertainment, sports must be like a drug. Keeping the trade open, I thought for a while before casually offering an idea.

You said there isn't a World Cup here, right?

Slutty Princess

A World Cup?

Yes. A tournament where countries compete instead of clubs.

It was the biggest tournament where I lived.

Slutty Princess

How interesting.

I've heard of matches between races, but never countries.

There aren't many countries. Would it be popular?

As Slutty Princess said, this world had few countries. The tendency for each race to stick together was far too strong. But it was a different story when it came to territories. There might be few countries, but there were a great many territories—numerous territories gathered within the larger framework of a nation.

Then you could do it by territory.

Not clubs based in each territory, but teams made up of people from there.

Slutty Princess

Where they're from, not where the club is based?

Yes. Where I lived, we held a tournament roughly like that every four years.

They'd compete for the honor of representing their country.

Slutty Princess

Oooh! Every four years instead of every year?

Now that's a fresh idea!

Did winners receive noble titles or something?

I nearly answered that my country had granted exemptions from military service, but stopped myself. That was a peculiarity of South Korea, and I saw no need to explain it.

No.

Social status didn't mean that much in the world I lived in.

Instead of noble titles, they put stars on their uniforms as proof they'd won.

For Chae U, that would be like putting a star above the deer.

Slutty Princess

Inspiration!

I'm feeling inspired!

Thank you so much!

We could apply that to every sport, not just soccer!

The Olympics and the World Cup were different competitions, but did that really matter? I didn't feel any need to explain that much. More importantly, I hadn't thought this would be enough to repay the favor. I was simply mentioning that something like this existed. Besides, I didn't even know who Slutty Princess was.

We're almost out of time.

Thank you for the uniforms.

I'll make sure to repay you.

Slutty Princess

I'm the one who should thank you for the inspiration.

If you don't think that's enough, help me buy Chae U hehe

You can buy Chae U?

Slutty Princess

If you have enough money hehe

A mature mandrake wouldn't come close, would it?

Slutty Princess

You'd need quite a lot of them.

If I find something expensive that I don't need, I'll give it to you.

Use that to buy them.

Slutty Princess

It's the thought that counts, thank you hehe

Well, I was serious. Anything that wasn't food or equipment was barter material. I felt I'd only be at ease if I could at least pay for all the uniforms I'd received. Since Slutty Princess rarely accepted anything and just kept giving things away, this was the best I could do.

“Wait. You gave me all of these?”

But Slutty Princess's gift exceeded my expectations. It wasn't just one of the uniforms in the photo. It was every last one. The sudden pile of clothes left me bewildered, but something else puzzled me even more.

‘Who'd wear something this small?’

There were uniforms sized for little children among them. The only little ones here were Roundfur and...

“Oh.”

It clicked immediately.