Legacy of the Dark Sage

Another thing to note is that when a dragon dies, its body becomes a treasure grove. Everything from their blood, scales, flesh, internal organs, and bones could be used for several magic-related creations and research. Be it for alchemy, array, armor weapon crafting, spell creation, rune manufacturing, and so on, dragon parts were valuable ingredients.

Frankly, if it had not been for Aillos's existence, the other clans would have already hunted their species to extinction.

Recognizing their vulnerabilities, Ickle saw the boundless potential in Anahita's new concept. If they could master it, they wouldn't have to risk their lives in their original form. With Anahita's idea, they could become formidable in human form. All that was left was to gain experience in this form, and they would be unstoppable.

While Ickle was lost in thought, Anahita and Kyran finished covering their bodies with armor. Soon after that, the two met in the middle and clashed, with the former sending out a kick using her left leg while the latter successfully blocked it with his left forearm.

"Good, your eyes can follow well," Anahita complimented Kyran for blocking her kick. "Let's see how long you can follow."

Before Anahita could finish her sentence, her body became a golden blur as she rushed Kyran with combo attacks using her legs, knees, and even the bridges and heels of her feet. She moved pretty nimbly in a body that appeared to be made of gold.

Nevertheless, Kyran saw her movements and blocked her attacks before they could hit his vital points. Honestly, her combo attack would not inflict any damage, even if he decided not to block them. After fighting so many talents of the dragon tribes and understanding their magic concepts, his armor received a tremendous enhancement. Moreover, he was no longer that affected by Coelus's magic energy.

Now that he knew how to control it, albeit to a certain extent, he did not have to worry about his Draconic magic going out of control.

"Hm... impressive," Anahita muttered before moving a few steps back to look at Kyran. "Now, I understand why Ambros got slightly serious during your spar."

Looking at Kyran's body with fascination, she said, "Your body is already comparable to a young dragon."

Ickle, Crei, and the rest of the Golden Dragon Tribe representatives were surprised at Anahita's words. There had been many speculations on how Kyran could endure a dragon's attack with his tiny body.

One speculation was that he inherited a stronger dragon blood than the rest of the Regis. Another was that his status as the new Dragon Lord gave him an innate ability that involved his body to utilize Draconic magic properly. These two were among the most possible reasons. However, after he displayed the magic of Chaos, the former sounded like the most suitable reason.

Inheriting a stronger dragon blood would naturally strengthen Kyran's body somewhat. If he used Draconic magic to further enhance his body, at most, his defenses would be comparable to a baby dragon.

But apparently, Anahita judged that Kyran's body was comparable to a young dragon— an existence similar to Anahita and the current young talents of their generation.

How was that possible?

"An Elixir?" Ickle wondered aloud after remembering a potion that was very famous in the older generation.

Because of the internal war among the dragons at the time, the younger generation was forced to drink Elixirs to enhance their bodies. Since fighting in human form was not a thing then, dragons fought one another without restrictions, leaving destruction in their wake.

In any case, the Elixir was no longer being practiced because one of its main ingredients was dragon bones. There was no shortage of that back then because dragons died almost daily.

"Impossible," Crei replied while shaking his head in disbelief. "I heard that even then, the chances of a young dragon successfully overcoming the Elixir's effect was only 30%. There is no way a human could have endured it."

"Does it matter?" Kyran replied.

It was unknown whether he heard Ickle or Crei and responded to them or was simply responding to Anahita's comment. What was certain was that he found the latter's attempt at idle chatter pointless.

"Stop talking and come," he told her while gesturing for her to come at him with his hand.

Anahita's brow twitched slightly as she growled, "Is that right? Then don't blame me for this."

As soon as she said that, her body disappeared. Earlier, no matter how fast she moved, she would still leave a faint trail of golden blur in her wake. However, this time, there was nothing.

Bam!

Kyran raised an arm to block Anahita's kick at the back of his head.

"You bastard— you can still follow that?" she asked through gritted teeth. But her words were not said in annoyance. It was the opposite. Anahita's face beamed excitedly at the thought that she could go all out against Kyran.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Following that, Anahita barraged Kyran with another flurry of combo attacks.

Bam! Whoosh! Bam!

She mostly used her lower body to attack him earlier, but now, she also used her upper. No magic was involved in her attacks. They were all filled with her raw strength. Nevertheless, the aftershocks produced every time her attack hit were so strong that the ground around them cracked and crumbled.

Kyran could not count how many times Anahita attacked. He only focused on two things: blocking and observing her. To be more precise, he was observing the density of her armor.

While the request was said to be a spar between them, their match could be considered a training or an assessment rather than a spar. At least, that was what Ickle asked Kyran when they were discussing the reward.

Ickle asked Kyran to observe Anahita while she used her exterior morphication idea and, if possible, find out why she could only maintain it for a short time, then train her so she could improve it.

"I get it now," Kyran suddenly said, distracting Anahita while she was about to punch him.

"Huh—?"

That split-second pause allowed Kyran to step in and finally launch his first attack. Using the most minimal movement, he twisted his upper body, transferred all the weight he gathered to his fist, and hit Anahita's exposed torso.

BAM!

"—Ack!"

The armor on Anahita's torso crumbled as she was flung sideward from the force of Kyran's punch. She was caught off guard by his attack, and she failed to react on time. She skidded on a few times before managing to set one foot on the ground to break her momentum. Her foot left a trail of rubble for a few meters before she finally managed to stop.

"Ptu!"

Anahita spat out some blood because she bit her tongue while skidding on the floor. She then looked at Kyran, who did not pursue her. She felt somewhat insulted at his carefree attitude and was about to criticize him when he suddenly spoke.

"You're not properly using the Draconic magic's enhancement."

Anahita paused and frowned, "What?"

"Don't put the cart before the horse."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"What the hell are you—?"

"When you cover your body with your armor, you must first enhance your form using the Draconic magic. If not, you cannot maintain your armor for long."

Anahita's expression changed as soon as she realized what Kyran was talking about. She gaped at him in surprise while she straightened her back. "You— you know the concept I'm using with this armor?"

Kyran retracted the head area of his armor and approached Anahita.

"It is a little different," he admitted. "But I noticed how the concentration of your Draconic magic reduces each time you attack."

"Wait," Anahita blinked at him in disbelief and pointed, "How the hell can you see something like that?"

Kyran raised an arm and pointed at his fist before saying, "When you punch, the Draconic magic on your armor is more concentrated around your fist. However, when that happens, the energy on this part—" he lowered his pointing finger on the forearm of his raised arm, "—was reduced in the process."

Anahita frowned, "That should not be the case. I have full control over my magic energy."

"Your innate magic energy, maybe, but not the Draconic."

"How..."

"Don't ask. I can't explain it at this moment. You just have to know that I am very sensitive to the type of magic energy my opponent uses."

"That's a load of..." Anahita wanted to rebuke Kyran's words again. But seeing how serious he looked, she swallowed the words she was about to say.

Kyran finally stopped walking when he was about three meters away from Anahita and released his silver armor.

Anahita was stunned at his sudden action. She would have taken that chance to attack again, but for some reason, she found no gaps she could exploit, even when he released his armor.

"If you want to stabilize your armor, you must enhance your form," Kyran continued, explaining while demonstrating. He roused the Draconic magic energy and covered his whole body with it before slowly converting the other layer of the energy into silver-scale armor. "I don't have much problem with it because I'm human. However, your original form is a dragon.

If your armor resembled a human, you must ensure your human form is stable enough to contain it with a similar form armor."

"...But I am maintaining my form using my magic."

"Don't use your innate magic," Kyran told her. "Use Draconic magic first, then cover its outer layer with your innate magic. If you do, your armor will be more stable."