Chapter: 27
Leaving the Ice Golem behind, I moved to a quiet park nearby.
Since the other students were in class at this hour, the park was utterly deserted.
What in the world is wrong with my body?
Sitting in a corner of the empty park, I stared intensely at my status window.
[Race: Dragon, Ancient Spirit, ???]
After Dragon and Ancient Spirit, there was still a “???” left in the race section.
Which meant there was at least one race that hadn’t been identified yet.
In other words, at least three different races’ blood flowed through my veins.
Not just two races, but three?
As I’d already learned, dragons are a pure-blooded race that can only reproduce among themselves.
It’s practically impossible for dragon blood to mix with another race.
The same goes for Ancient Spirits—they, too, are a pure-blooded race that can only reproduce with their own kind.
It doesn’t make sense for a child to be born from two pure-blooded races in the first place. And on top of that, there’s another race mixed in?
How was that even possible?
Then that would mean my parents were half-breeds. But if they were half-breeds, they wouldn’t be pure-blood anymore… so would that allow them to have children with other races?
Perhaps one of my parents was a miraculous being born between a dragon and an ancient spirit.
That miracle became a half-breed, lost the restriction of purity, and gained the ability to have children.
If I assumed that…
No. That’s not a hypothesis—that’s pure delusion.
I’d gone too far.
There was no logic to it at all.
Shaking my head slightly, I tried to clear away the ridiculous thoughts.
At that moment, system messages appeared before my eyes.
[The factor of the Ancient Spirit has firmly taken root.]
[Multiple racial traits have been confirmed. Locked information is being unlocked.]
Then—
[Jian’s “Background” entry has been unlocked.]
“Oh!”
This was exactly the information I needed right now.
I immediately closed and reopened my status window.
Beneath the race section, a new category—Background—had appeared.
I tapped it without hesitation.
[An artificial lifeform created by Jeiraon, the Boss of the Black Night, as a vessel for his reincarnation.]
[Jeiraon desired a body superior to any existence in this world and ultimately chose to create a lifeform by combining the traits of countless superior races.]
[The sole successful specimen among 1,932 experiments.]
[A successful specimen—yet an unstable one.]
[Because it was created by mixing the traits of many races, the body is extremely unstable.]
An artificial lifeform… created by Jeiraon? No—more importantly…
The Background section clearly explained the reason why so many different races’ blood flowed through my body.
Not just a hybrid of three races, but a hybrid of countless races?
So inside my body were the traits of every race Jeiraon judged to be “excellent,” all mixed together indiscriminately.
* * *
One of Black Night’s bases.
A hideout beneath the Canaryan Kingdom.
Reaper was speaking with Professor, the organization’s 18th-rank executive.
“So the rare Ice Golem was destroyed?”
—That’s correct.
Professor was a researcher and technical advisor who worked far behind the scenes.
Nearly all of Black Night’s special equipment and artifacts originated from his hands.
“Then we should assume Henetta realized our plan and destroyed it.”
The control-seizure spell carved into the Ice Golem’s core—stored in Henetta’s lair—had also been created by Professor.
—No. The Last Dragon did not notice and act.
That was why he could say it with certainty.
—The Ice Golem was transferred to the Academy right before it was destroyed. And it was destroyed inside the Academy. If Henetta had noticed my spell and intended to destroy it, there would’ve been no reason to move it there.
“The Ice Golem was moved to the Academy?”
—Yes. The last confirmed location before destruction was the Academy’s Monster Prison.
Reaper narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
“So… it was destroyed after being moved to Garam Academy.”
Resting his chin on his hand, Reaper pondered.
Why would Henetta bother moving the Ice Golem to Garam Academy before destroying it?
“I think I understand.”
The answer came surprisingly fast.
“Professor. When the Ice Golem was destroyed, did you check the control-seizure spell?”
—Is there any reason to?
If the Ice Golem was destroyed, the spell should’ve been destroyed along with it.
“If you didn’t check, could you do so now?”
—Hmph. I doubt it’s anything but a waste of time… but fine. I’ll check.
Mechanical beeping sounds echoed through the communication channel.
About a minute later—
—Interesting.
Professor spoke in an unusually excited voice.
—The spell carved into the Ice Golem’s core wasn’t destroyed. It naturally dissipated.
“Just as I thought.”
Reaper smiled brightly, like a detective who’d solved a case.
“The one who destroyed the Ice Golem wasn’t Henetta—it was our Master.”
—Oh?
Professor’s tone rose slightly in surprise.
—Then you’re saying the Master successfully absorbed the Pure Mana of Frost from the Ice Golem’s core?
“Yes. The control-seizure spell activated successfully, then dissipated naturally.”
The spell had fulfilled its purpose—transferring control of the Ice Golem to Jeiraon—before disappearing.
—I see. Then the Ice Golem being moved to the Academy was also the Master’s doing?
“Correct.”
He didn’t know how the Ice Golem had been brought out, but one thing was certain—
the Master had orchestrated it.
—Remarkable.
Professor’s voice grew even more animated.
—Didn’t you say the plan was severely disrupted due to your mistake?
“…Yes.”
Reaper let out a bitter smile.
—Despite the mess you made, he managed to obtain the Ice Golem at such an early stage?
“No matter the situation, he produces the optimal outcome. That is who our master, Lord Jeiraon, is.”
—Your devotion is as strong as ever.
“Of course.”
Reaper’s eyes gleamed like those of a zealot.
“Ah, Master. I shall follow you for eternity.”
This went far beyond merely covering for Reaper’s mistake—it produced an even greater result.
How could one not worship such a being?
—Hmm. But is this truly safe?
Professor asked, half worried, half expectant.
—If the Master absorbed the Pure Mana of Frost, that means the Ancient Spirit factor has activated. With his current physical state, enduring that factor should be difficult…
Professor, the one who personally finalized Jian’s body, knew better than anyone how unstable it was.
Awakening the Ancient Spirit factor this early could cause the body itself to collapse.
“Professor. Do you truly believe the Master would act without considering that?”
Reaper frowned in displeasure.
“The Master would never proceed without fully understanding his own condition. If he activated the Ancient Spirit factor, it means there’s no issue.”
—I suppose so. He wouldn’t act recklessly.
If it were truly dangerous, he wouldn’t have absorbed it in the first place.
—Then… does that mean the body’s stabilization speed far exceeds my estimates?
“Yes. That would be the correct assumption.”
Reaper recalled the sight of Jeiraon using magic through Jian’s body—
magic so stable it showed no signs of strain from the factors.
—In that case, shouldn’t we move the plan forward?
“Yes. Especially that plan. It can be executed immediately.”
Since Jeiraon’s body stabilized faster than expected, there was no reason to wait six months—or a year—for certain plans.
“Professor. Move Plan 21 forward. Contact him and have him head to the Academy immediately.”
* * *
Later—
I hurried back to the classroom in time for the next lesson.
I wanted nothing more than to skip the rest of the day and sort out my thoughts, but unauthorized absence meant demerit points.
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
“Jian Bellomata. You’re the first student to be this blatantly late so early in your first year.”
As soon as I entered, the trash instructor, Collo, greeted me with mockery.
“One point for tardiness. Plus, two additional points at my discretion. Three demerit points total.”
Tardiness was only worth one point.
He’d arbitrarily added two more.
Petty bastard. He’s really holding a grudge over last time.
I looked at Collo’s sneering face and clicked my tongue inwardly.
“It seems you weren’t informed by the principal.”
“The principal?”
At the word principal, his expression stiffened instantly.
“I was summoned by the principal this morning and remained in the principal’s office until now.”
“…The principal’s office?”
His face darkened immediately.
True to his trashy nature, he turned meek before authority.
Defying the principal was out of the question.
“That’s true, is it?”
“Of course. If you doubt it, feel free to confirm with the principal later.”
“…I see.”
Collo stared at me with clear displeasure, then bit his lip.
“If that’s the case, you should’ve said so earlier. Go to your seat.”
“Yes.”
As I headed to my seat, a chill suddenly ran down my spine.
I turned back toward Collo.
“Ah, just to be clear. The demerit points are nullified, correct?”
“…Yes. Of course. The points I mentioned earlier are void.”
His face twitched slightly before returning to neutral.
That bastard.
If I hadn’t said anything, he’d have kept those three points.
“Thank you.”
While cursing him internally, I bowed politely on the outside and took my seat.
“…Hmmm.”
Princess Aris, seated beside me, stared at me intensely.
She clearly had a lot she wanted to ask but was holding back because class had started.
I’m definitely getting interrogated after class.
I gave her a small nod.
Then Collo’s utterly useless lecture on magical history began.
“As everyone knows, the origin of magic is the dragon. Though now lost to legend, dragons certainly existed as recently as five hundred years ago.”
I half-listened while replaying what I’d learned about my origin.
An artificial lifeform created by Black Night…
My body—a chimera made by combining dragon traits, ancient spirit traits, and countless other superior races.
A reveal I never could’ve imagined.
A super-mixed chimera made from every possible race.
How did Jeiraon even succeed in combining all those traits?
Dragons, ancient spirits, and most superior races in this world are pure-bloods incapable of crossbreeding.
And yet he mixed all of them into a complete lifeform.
It was like combining every atom in existence to create an entirely new one.
Seriously… how?
I couldn’t help but applaud Jeiraon’s technical prowess.
Ah. Is that why he’s after the soul of the First King stored in this academy?
There was a legend that the First King was the origin of all life.
If he truly encompassed all races…
Then absorbing the First King’s soul might stabilize my body, which was currently unstable due to the mixed racial factors.
If that’s the case…
As I continued thinking—
Bang!
The classroom door slammed open.
The dorm supervisor of Garam Hall, Seria, stepped inside.
“Instructor Seria?”
“Excuse the interruption.”
After bowing to Collo, Seria scanned the students, then fixed her gaze on me.
“Student Jian Bellomata. I apologize for interrupting your studies, but you’ll need to come with me immediately.”
“Immediately…?”
“Yes. A guest has arrived for you.”
…A guest?
Who would come looking for me at a time like this?
And even if someone did—was it reasonable to pull me out during class?
“Instructor Seria. I don’t know who this guest is, but interrupting class like this is beyond rude.”
Collo glared at her.
“If it were a king of a great nation, that might be different, but surely that’s not—”
“Not a king, but someone with comparable power… and influence.”
“…What?”
Collo stared at her in disbelief.
“I’ll explain later. Student Jian, he’s waiting. Please come at once—”
“That won’t be necessary.”
An elderly man entered the classroom at that moment.
“…!”
“Th-That’s—!”
With his appearance, more than a dozen students—including those beyond Collo and Princess Aris—widened their eyes.
“The Sword of the People… Kylo Maxinert?”
“Why is he here…?”
Kylo Maxinert.
Also known as the Sword of the People—named so because his blade exists for the people.
Level 86.
Stronger even than Lionel.
“It’s been a while, Jian.”
When he called my name, every gaze in the room locked onto me.
“You never contacted me, so I came in person.”
The shock only grew.
Everyone looked at me as if asking, What’s your relationship with him?
I recalled something I’d learned during my conversation with the doppelgänger.
I had a heavyweight master.
“So. Are you satisfied now that your master came all this way?”
“M-Master?!”
“Jian’s swordsmanship master is Lord Kylo?!”
“My god…”
As expected.
The powerful master the doppelgänger mentioned was Kylo Maxinert himself.
