A Dragon Idol’s Reincarnation Tale - Chapter 206

“Hmm, these are certainly the wings of a dragonewt. They are incredibly wide but you still can’t use them to fly, Lady Hestia?”

“Unfortunately, no. I can glide with them without issue, but my problem is maintaining a continuous flight. I can’t stop myself from descending,” I explained, demonstrating my wing flaps to Thyra. “The muscles in my wings haven’t fully developed yet, and, like a dragon, I need stronger muscles to produce enough lift to stay afloat. By using mana, I can obviously strengthen my muscles to increase my wing beat. I tried it before I injured my mana paths. Sadly, this limitation also applies in both of my forms.”

After the ball ended, Duchess Morgiana had invited Saori, Tasianna, Ellaine, and me to come to her mansion in Griffonpeak. My surgery was to be done underneath the mansion, in its basement. After changing out of my dress into a custom-made hospital gown to accommodate my wings, Thyra began looking at them with the curiosity of a scientist.

After asking me for permission, she began touching the webbing, spikes, scales, and even felt my wing’s musculature. When she touched my back, she began commenting as if she could see my mana paths. When I questioned her about it, she pointed at her elven heritage.

“My family’s ears and extended lifespan aren’t the only things we’ve inherited from our elven ancestors. It isn’t as effective as an actual elf’s, but our eyes are more attuned to the mana of the world than humans.”

Thyra then went silent before posing a question to me. “Do you remember how my mother told you that she, my siblings, and I were humans?”

I nodded to her question.

“Well, that was a lie. According to the Divine System, we are still half-elves but, due to my ancestors’ mistake during the War for the Faefolk where they decided to stay neutral during the whole war, the Saelari sealed our racial skills. We are, in a way, only humans now.”

I slowly turned my head around after hearing that, baffled that this was House Morgiana’s punishment for not supporting the elves in the past. Before I could ask her about it, Tasianna spoke up. “Your eyes, I noticed this during the ball, but the lines on your eyes mark the seal, correct? I know the elves’ ‘old sorceries’ also involved using seals as well as working with elementals.”

Tasianna reminded me of how most mages had to use elementals to cast spells before the introduction of the Divine System. This “old sorcery,” as the elves liked to call it, was the most common method to cast magic. Another method Tasianna knew of were seals, or magic scrolls in game lingo, a precursor of today’s catalysts and enchantments.

While elementals helped the magician mold their mana into the former’s respective element and morph it into a spell, a seal was like a “save data” of a spell. After inscribing the seal on something, magicians of old would carry them around as a quick backup spell, from which they could shoot spells out by simply pouring their mana into it.

Nowadays, it was looked down upon if a mage relied on scrolls alone, but it was different for normal adventurers. In fact, there was a pretty nice market for mages to sell seals to non-magicians, similar to how alchemists could sell potions despite there being clerics around. Items were more convenient.

Although we had heard all of this from Tasianna, Ellaine, and Grimnir before, Saori and I had never seen one before. They were usually sold at the mages guild, but, well, obviously we never went to one up until we reached Griffonpeak. Not like we ever needed one since our entire party had either access to spells or runes.

Prompted by this, Thyra went out of the room and came back a moment later with a book and parchment in hand. “None-mage adventurers are usually advised to carry one or two magical options on them. It wouldn’t hurt, especially against slimes or high vitality opponents.”

The first thing she showed Saori and me was a scroll, unfurling it to reveal a blue magic circle. Tasianna instantly recognized it. “It’s [Aqua Prison],” she said, to which Thyra nodded. She then poured her mana into the scroll and demonstrated the seal being activated and casting the water spell. After using it, the seal on the scroll disappeared.

Ha! I knew it, they are magic scrolls!

“One time used only, that is why these ‘magic scrolls’ are a good side income source for less talented mages. You can cast spells faster without needing to be trained, so non-mages love buying them, and us mages can set the price high,” Thrya explained before opening a grimoire full of these seals. “If a mage brought a grimoire with them, it most likely isn’t a textbook of spells but a book full of seals. Casting faster and more often through your own abilities is the mark of a powerful mage, though, rather than having the dedication to inscribe seals on hundreds of pages.”

“Then what does Tasianna mean with the seal in your eyes? Is that really a seal? Unlike the scrolls and the grimoire, yours are just two thick blue lines on each eye,” I commented, looking deeper into the girl’s green eyes.

“The scrolls work by sealing a spell in stasis, and adding mana to this particular kind of seal actually causes the seal to break and release the spell,” Tasianna mentioned, reminding me what Thyra said in the beginning.

Thyra nodded. “A skill-restriction seal based on your blood, aimed at the racial skills given to us by our elven ancestry. Elves are probably the humanoid race with the best magical potential, something their racial abilities and higher magic growth support. Instead of making my House go extinct, our punishment for not siding with the elves during the war was this seal. We still have our extended lifespan and higher magical potential as half-elves but, honestly, it’s as if we used [Elvenize].” She giggled before sighing.

[Humanize], [Elvenize], and other similar skills did not grant the user any of the racial skills associated with the race they transform into. Your stats and abilities adapted to your new form, that was why my stats had to be halved in my dragonewt form and I was unable to use my draconic abilities while in human form. Tasianna, for example, didn’t have any elven racial skills but her physical stats were increased as an elven body was physically stronger than her original fairy form.

When I looked at Thyra with sympathy, she waved her hand as if it didn’t bother her. “It’s not that terrible, Lady Hestia. Better than never being born, right? It’s a bit unfair that I have to apply this seal on my children’s eyes one day, but, well, the idiocy of my ancestors, right?” She showed a strained smile before telling me it was time.

Inside the room, Thyra opened up another door and asked me to go in while the others went to the waiting room. Walking through this sparsely decorated fairnite hallway, I ended up at another door and opened it.

What was behind it was a room with a single operating table in it. There wasn’t any machinery in there like in a modern-day surgery room, but instead, it gave off that fantasy physician feel with all the books and the alchemy table filled with potions. A set of tools was placed neatly on a clean table and the room was dark except for a single large, adjustable lamp.

“Lady Hestia, come in, please.” Standing next to the alchemic table was a woman in scrubs, pouring some liquid into a potion bottle before closing it. It was the Duchess. “Here you go. Please, drink it.”

“What is this?” I asked, looking at the bottle of broccoli-colored liquid she gave me.

“A potion of herculean pain tolerance,” Duchess Morgiana answered. “During the surgery, measures have to be made to prevent a patient’s natural regeneration from healing the cuts we make. In addition, the patient’s pain resistance has to be increased to ensure they won’t spasm and complicate the surgery. We use potions for that, especially for healing in case something goes wrong, but because of your skills, I had to make a special tonic just for you.”

The Duchess mentioned my [Abnormal Status Nullification] being an issue for the surgery and made a potion to counter its effect. Essentially, it would “buff” me by providing me immunity to pain like laughing gas to mask the weakened health regeneration. It was a loophole in the System.

“Mana surgery is primarily an elven craft. My House still has the books needed to continuously train more surgeons, so any mana surgeon you meet in Artorias will most likely have been trained by us.”

At my questioning, Duchess Morgiana confirmed that healing spells and health potions could override the regeneration reduction and that Saori, Tasianna, and Ellaine were watching my surgery through a large glass window. This was her way to show she didn’t have any malicious intent and wasn’t gonna dissect me after the potion turned me numb.

After Thyra entered the room in her scrubs, the mother and daughter duo told me to lay on the table after drinking the potions they’d laid out on the alchemy table. As they disinfected their hands, I shrugged and drank the potion. The disgusting medicinal taste was incredibly prominent and I felt the need to puke. After sticking my tongue out and showing a thumbs up to my friends staring from outside the room, I went to the operating table and laid down on my stomach.

While the Duchess gave Thyra a last-minute pep talk and instructions on how to lead the surgery, I started to feel the potion’s effects in full force.

Gosh, I could go to sleep.

“Okay, Lady Hestia, are you ready? Has the potion settled in, yet?” Thyra asked, to which I attempted to say “yes,” but the numbness had already spread to my mouth. I said, “desch” and Thyra nodded, satisfied.

The Duchess continued, “If you wish to stay awake during the whole operation then please nod, Lady Hestia.”

I did as she said.

“All right. Usually, a surgery would require more pairs of hands than two. I had revealed your information to my husband and sons, but I assumed that you might have gained some new abilities in the time since we received your Profile almost four months ago. The feats you have done have not gone unnoticed.”

“Sank suu—” I paused, annoyed at my inability to speak and turned on my [Telapathy]. [“Okay, this is annoying, I’ll communicate with you two through a telepathic link. Anyway, I wanted to say—thank you for being considerate, but I don’t think I’ve changed that much since WinterSun aside from a bunch of levels and spells. Speaking of change, could you look at this core before we start?”]

My inability to speak didn’t mean I couldn’t move at all. I felt lethargic and my muscles were definitely weaker than usual, but pushing myself up to flip myself over wasn’t too hard. The hard part was moving my wings.

Note to self, use [Tailwind] after getting laughing gassed.

Pulling the neckline of my gown down to reveal my solar core, both Duchess Morgiana and Thyra both look as if their eyes were about to pop out of their heads.

… Please, don’t dissect me.

“So, this is what your Profile meant with [Solar Core]? A large amount of mana is concentrated in this single area of your chest,” the Duchess said. Considering how much my sun core was responsible for my resource regeneration, it would have been weird if it wasn’t in the top two locations for my mana to congregate in.

I explained to them how I had little idea how my body worked from an anatomical level. I knew how to use my physical abilities, but I had no idea how my scale-dust was produced, for example. What was it made of? Even if I used [Mana Eyes] on my body parts, the answer was vague and didn’t give me much information.

I told the mother and daughter duo that I trusted them to keep this information to themselves, and that I wanted them to analyze it for me. I still remembered how Astalerios was able to literally paralyze me for an extended time after he sent a thundershock around my chest. Me being unable to continue fighting nearly cost Ellaine her life.

I knew it wasn’t 100% my fault, but being in that helpless state was embarrassing. Reflecting on fights was how I managed to survive up until now, and looking back on it, how much did I know about my body? I couldn’t exactly dissect myself in case I accidentally did something irreversible, so I wanted to ask professionals about it.

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be getting this information today.

“Uhm, we should probably not do that, Lady Hestia,” Thyra said. “Our training books do have information on dragonewt biology, courtesy of the Saelari dissecting dragonewt corpses, but I have never seen anything like your sun core in any of those books. How about you, Mother?”

Duchess Morgiana shook her head. “Sadly, I haven’t. It would be best to not risk this. We are confident in solving your problem because we know how the musculature and mana paths work around your wings. I do not know if I can solve your problem until I see it for myself, as such, I would rather not ruin your evening with a successful and botched operation.”

Tsk, damnit. Guess I just have to make do with just having my wings healed …

The surgery by itself went by smoothly. Although I knew they did it for themselves, I found it nice that they were commenting on everything they were doing. It was nice to know what they were doing with my body but it only made me painfully aware how unnerved I was with gory details. Obviously.

“Mother, there are more crystals here. They are restricting her muscles here and here,” Thyra said before a loud metal clanking sound echoed. She dropped something into the metal bowl. “Could they be used for catalysts?”

“Hardly. They are impure at this point, not to mention the red crystallized blood. You’ll only attract annoyed dragonewts to our gates, so dispose of them once we’re done.”

I turned my head around, seeing Thyra wearing blue-shimmering glasses. She explained before that these glasses were there to help her and her mother identify the mana paths in my body. There was a monocle version, something Theodore should possesses.

[“What are those crystals?”] I asked.

“Crystallization of mana, to put it simply. Mana apparently spilled out of the mana paths into your muscles and flesh, turning solid as they somehow have been trapped inside your body without a way out. Over time, the mana crystallized bits of your flesh, turning them into these small blue-red stones.” Thyra then picked another one from my back and showed it to me. It was minuscule, almost as big as a grain of sand. Blood or flesh was inside the blue outer layer of this object.

“They were blocking your mana paths from connecting properly. Lady Hestia, have you maybe visited a mana surgeon before coming to us?” I shook my head to the Duchess’s question. “Peculiar. This is one of the risks of a failed surgery, usually. I can’t see this to have been done by a toxin, there are no traces. Could you recall any possible memory?”

I explained to them my battle with the garm matriarch, about how I healed myself after she slashed my back with some poison attack. She mentioned I shouldn’t have healed myself after she attacked me, but listening to an opponent, especially while I was pumped up with adrenaline, just wasn’t an option.

“It’s hard to imagine the white grace being responsible for the damage,” Duchess Morgiana admitted.

[“I healed my wounds based on my knowledge of the human body, not my dragon body. Healing spells vastly increase the regeneration speed of your body through mana, it doesn’t turn your body back to zero. When I healed my body back then, I probably forgot to account for my wings.”]

“True. The church of the Goddess calls it a miracle, but the appraised description explains it better. Mother, I told you it was a good idea for me to learn holy magic, even if I had to spend two years of my life as a shrine maiden.”

Speaking of anatomy, I suddenly had a realization. [“I have a question. Why are there only ‘mana surgeons’ and not just normal surgeons? You know, people who heal your organ problems? Help you alleviate diseases. You mentioned that the elves have anatomy knowledge, so shouldn’t it be possible?”]

However, my innocent question caused both Thyra and the Duchess to pause for a moment and look over at me, confused and baffled. Did I say something wrong?

“Lady Hestia, you are the Goddess’s blessed, right? An ‘idol’ as you call it?” The Duchess questioned me with a frown. “The answer should be obvious—use healing spells or potions. The white grace is enough to heal most wounds and physical maladies.”

“The accelerated regeneration of a spell like [Major Heal] is incredible, something I have to admit when I saw the high bishops in Aureolis cast it. Mana paths are something you cannot heal with the white grace, making a mana surgeon a valuable profession for mages. The church of the Goddess and alchemists heal your bodily ailments while a surgeon makes sure you can perform as a mage.”

My mindset was completely out of tune with theirs. While I understood the good a doctor or surgeon could do for a magic-less world like Earth, I forgot how ingrained the idea of magical healing was on Peolynca.

Peolyncians had potions that could bring them back from the brink of death and healing magic able to regrow damaged organs. They didn’t need to rest for months to heal a broken limb since you could pay a priest to do it in minutes. They didn’t need an organ transplant if a ruptured organ could be healed back to normal. Not to mention the Divine System, a game-like feature able to significantly increase a person’s endurance.

If I looked at it from that perspective, Peolynca didn’t need any “normal” surgeons. Considering how difficult organ transplants were, just using healing magic seemed so much easier. From the sound of it, only those willing to become a better healer would study anatomy, like I was trying to do. At that point, you could just be a priest or study mana surgery, which probably paid more.

Well, at least I asked.

As time passed and the clanking of metal became less frequent, my back felt lighter and lighter, as if something heavy stopped weighing me down. When Thyra told me they were finished and that I could use spells to heal myself, I activated [White Flames] and allowed the fire to heal my back.

The moment I closed the cut, a surge of power exploded around my body.

Woah! Arrrgh! My wings!

The mana inside my body was rushing around my body at an exhilarating rate. The numbness was slowly disappearing, replaced by an euphoria of power. My groaning caused Thyra and Duchess Morgiana to worry about me, but I simply told them, “I’m fine.” Still in my gown, I struggled to get off the operating table from the numbness before I began empowering my muscles with mana, enabling me to move at a normal, although clumsy, pace.

I charged out of the room, causing Saori and the others to call out to me, but I ignored them and rushed up the stairs. Once I was outside the mansion, my body instinctively filled my wings and legs with the rampaging mana. I stretch my wings wide …

… and jumped.

“Wooooooah!”

Once in the air, the energy concentrated into my wings caused them to flap at a speed I never was able to achieve before. The wind was buffeting my face and streaming past me with every wing flap. The drunkenness caused by the potion was finally gone!

“Yeaaaaah! Woooohooooo!” Under the light of the moon, I felt as if I was set free once again. Once I activated [Tailwind] and my scale-dust thrusters, I was doing barrel rolls and zigzags mid-air nonstop. The fresh air above the city further increased this incredible experience.

“Thsis isch amazching!” My tongue was still numb but my excitement was real. Even my body knew how much I longed to be up here, flying like a normal dragon instead of being stranded on the ground like a drake. My rocket boosters were a great substitute, but nothing could beat the feeling of flapping my wings.

Then again, it’s not like the thrusters have lost all their functions. To reach mach speed, I need my boosters.

“A beautiful night, right, Lady Hestia?” In my excitement, I forwent the use of my [Detection Sensor], not noticing that a signal was right behind me. Snapping around with my guard up, my eyes widened when I saw who it was.

“King Drangleic?” It was Artorias’s king, flapping his feathery wings.

“For a night flight, I presume?” he smiled before turning around again. “This sight never tries me out. Peaceful. All under a radiant moonlight.”

I turned around, following his sight, and it was none other than the view of Griffonpeak from up in the sky. The moonlight shining down on Wintertalon and the royal family’s citadel. It was mesmerizing. I had already seen it when I first arrived but I didn’t have time to focus on it as I was more worried about Ellaine’s safety. How glad I was to witness this sight once again.

King Drangleic and I stayed afloat in silence, taking in the city’s beauty. Eventually, the silence was broken by the King himself. “Would you be so kind and erect an [Air Shield] around us, Lady Hestia? Chanting would take a bit longer if I did it, haha.”

Does he want to speak with me? I thought before preparing to cast the wind spell, but stopped and decided on something else. I cast [Unheilige Engel], deciding it would be better to use my newest space-time spell.

“Room.”

A grey magic circle appeared on one of the wings of [Unheilige Engel] before a bubble materialized on it. In only a few seconds, my vision was enveloped by this bubble and replaced with a white cube world. As King Drangleic looked bewildered at this new scenery, I took out two chairs and a table from my storage and placed them in front of us.

“This is a [Space-Time Magic] spell called [Room]. It creates a separate room outside of the normal world. I can change the size of the room however I want without affecting the real world. Nobody can enter this place without my permission, King Drangelic.” I smiled at him politely and sat down, prompting him to do the same.

“I applaud you for understanding what I meant.” He gestured his thanks with his hand before taking off his crown and putting it on the table. A king taking off his crown wasn’t something I expected, so I couldn’t help myself and look at him weirdly. “‘The weight of a crown is more than what a metal circlet suggests,’ is something my father used to tell me in preparation for my coronation. In my opinion, he should have probably told me how tight it is to wear it for a whole day, haha!”

I gave him a giggle, imagining how red his head must be from wearing his feather crown all day. However, I then looked at him seriously; it would be stupid to think he wasn’t here as “King Drangleic” despite not wearing his crown.

Seeing me get serious, he nodded. “We have confirmed the information you gave us, Lady Hestia. While not every location yielded any substantial result, we were still able to find evidence of subterfuge. Plans to cause chaos within those duchies.”

He closed his eyes to pause before continuing, “Most of the perpetrators were foreigners, however, they were all commoners. These people attracted a following which resulted in various plans for rebellion or sabotage of local guilds and workshops. I can’t say what exactly they were intending, but Lord Ulquint believed they were trying to attract the attention of nobles, specifically, the fief lords.”

“How did he come to that conclusion?”

King Drangelic explained the issues ranged from terrible to irritating. In the Morgiana and Groushia duchies, if those problems had exploded before any intervention, they would have most likely affected the relationship of Artorias to their neighbors, the elves and dwarves respectively. With the nobles absent at the royal ball, the plans would have likely been successfully executed  if it weren’t for the information I gave to him.

Greenveil had no issues but that was mostly ’cause I had to stop them myself. The Davison incident was comparable to what was happening in the Morgiana and Groushia dukedoms. The King managed to keep the issues a secret for now, but he was still contemplating if he should at least share this information with the respective factions.

In the other duchies, luckily, the problems weren’t as serious. In the Myrrdin duchy, the everyday workers were protesting against the mage’s guild, causing some serious animosity between the two sides. In Lecartiglio, beastmen were being kidnapped at a higher rate than usual, being sent to Atadoro to be sold as slaves. While criminal activities weren't uncommon, the amount of kidnapping had made the beastmen in Lecartiglio even more paranoid of any human they met.

In comparison, lesser problems occurred in the Equevanna and Olivus duchies. The information I gave of these areas was less reliable and provided only small issues. King Drangleic and his advisors showed their relief, but I was less impressed.

Aurena wouldn’t lie about this, would she? Still, why wasn’t more found there?

My thoughts were then interrupted by the King. “If this information came from the Goddess, then I cannot thank you enough for what you did for us. There is still more we need to do to exterminate the rats, but that is simply my duty to keep my kingdom safe and flourishing … Which brings me to the main reason why I wanted to speak with you, Lady Hestia.”

Here it is.

“Lady Hestia … I would like to ask for your help in repairing our relationship with our northern and western neighbours.”

I tilted my head, not expecting this request.

“As you already learned from your stay in Greenveil, Artorias as a kingdom seeks to rekindle our diplomatic relationship with the elves of Saelariel and the dwarves of the Ankor-Nazta. The scars of wars have pervaded this kingdom for too long, and it has always been the mission of House Artorias to fix the mistakes of the Leosfalt Kingdom,” King Drangleic explained. “There is something I wish to divulge with you—it is time for our kingdom to finally separate itself from the Empire.”

I narrowed my eyes, grimacing at the information I just heard. “… Why?” was all I could say as my head was still trying to make sense of what was happening.

“House Artorias’s views do not coincide with the Empire’s any longer. Of my seven dukes, I have the full support of four who wish to break our vassalage with the Empire and reignite our alliance with our neighbouring races. From our diplomatic attempts, the dwarves will only accept our alliance if we distance ourselves from the Folschreck Empire, and, indirectly, abandon the Holy Capital.”

“Because the Folschreck Empire is the seat of the Holy Emperor, correct? If you break your vassalage, then it would mean rebellion, which will force the empire to act … correct? And if you go against the Holy Emperor, then you will also go against Aureolis.”

“Correct, I am surprised you were able to understand it this far. Count Helvas’s report assumed you were ‘politically inept.’”

Wow, thank you very much for calling me that, Count Helvas. I mean, ahem, Arcanuess Helvas.

“Pestrodus of the Lycerepth made me aware of what the Empire would do to rebels. Also, it now makes me understand what he meant by a ‘kingdom’s waning loyalty.’ He knows, King Drangleic.” If this statement was correct, then Pestrodus’s other points might have some truth behind them.

“I was aware the Empire would interfere with their watchdogs. Without an ally, it would be suicide to fight against the Empire at this state; that is why I have come here to ask for your help, Lady Hestia. I need your title of [Princess] to help me in my gambit!”

“… Diplomacy? Me? You want me to speak on your behalf to create this alliance you so dearly wish for?” Considering the news, he should know I was not a politician. “King Drangleic, I can’t go around and speak on your behalf if I don’t know what exactly that entails. I have no in-depth knowledge on the socio-economical situation of your kingdom, nor the others. I briefly know your history, but, if you had forgotten it, I am an otherworlder! I haven’t even fully assimilated yet, and you’re requesting me for something this large-scale?”

Yes, I knew King Drangelic’s plan coincided with Aurena’s, but I couldn’t just accept his proposal out of principle. I was working for Aurena ’cause I owed her for giving me a second chance and since she had the ability to send me back to Earth for me to meet my parents one last time. However, considering King Drangleic was asking me to do something this momentous for him, what was he offering me for my effort?

I was an idol and an adventurer, not one of his nobles here.

“I understand you might be more averse to my plan, but that is why I have come here in person to tell you about it. Artorias cannot develop any further without breaking off from the Empire, that is something I believe in. I only require your guarantee to begin the talks to have elvenkind and humankind to once again work together.”

King Drangleic then pushed himself up. He had come and said what he wanted to me. After dispelling [Room] and saying “good night” to him, I heaved a deep sigh, annoyed at everything that was happening around me. I then looked in the direction Ellaine called “the red-light district.”

If there is a place to understand this ‘cesspool,’ then it has to be there. Maybe it’s time for Aurora to do some investigations again. And the best place for that would be the hunter’s guild.

But that was an issue for later. For now, I should be more concerned about myself.

My wings are fixed but I still have no idea about my core. I need to find a better way to protect it. Still, heads up, Hestia, we have a concert to perform at. And I still need to help Ellaine and Tasianna with their training too.

I headed back to the Morgianas’ mansion, saying my thanks to them for all I did. Once that was done, Saori, Tasianna, Ellaine, and I went back to House Helvas’s home. There, we checked in on Grimnir who still had the lights on in the RV. Knocking on the door, we were greeted by a big smile.

“Lass, get your tailed ass in here already! We have a wagon to expand!”

Grimnir came out and closed the door before opening it up again. When we went inside, all we could see was an empty wooden room. Smiling, I poured mana into the wall, and it expanded with my control.

“I guess we need to decorate the inside again.”

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Hmm, these are certainly the wings of a dragonewt. They are incredibly wide but you still can't use them to fly, Lady Hestia? Unfortunately, no. I can glide with them without issue, but my problem is maintaining a continuous flight. I can't stop myself from descending, I explained, demonstrating my wing flaps to Thyra. The muscles in my wings haven't fully developed yet, and, like a dragon, I need stronger muscles to produce enough lift to stay afloat. By using mana, I can obviously strengthen my muscles to increase my wing beat. I tried it before I injured my mana paths. Sadly, this limitation also applies in both of my forms. After the ball ended, Duchess Morgiana had invited Saori, Tasianna, Ellaine, and me to come to her mansion in Griffonpeak. My surgery was to be done underneath the mansion, in its basement. After changing out of my dress into a custom-made hospital gown to accommodate my wings, Thyra began looking at them with the curiosity of a scientist. After asking me for permission, she began touching the webbing, spikes, scales, and even felt my wing's musculature. When she touched my back, she began commenting as if she could see my mana paths. When I questioned her about it, she pointed at her elven heritage. My family's ears and extended lifespan aren't the only things we've inherited from our elven ancestors. It isn't as effective as an actual elf's, but our eyes are more attuned to the mana of the world than humans. Thyra then went silent before posing a question to me. Do you remember how my mother told you that she, my siblings, and I were humans? I nodded to her question. Well, that was a lie. According to the Divine System, we are still half-elves but, due to my ancestors' mistake during the War for the Faefolk where they decided to stay neutral during the whole war, the Saelari sealed our racial skills. We are, in a way, only humans now. I slowly turned my head around after hearing that, baffled that this was House Morgiana's punishment for not supporting the elves in the past. Before I could ask her about it, Tasianna spoke up. Your eyes, I noticed this during the ball, but the lines on your eyes mark the seal, correct? I know the elves' old sorceries' also involved using seals as well as working with elementals. Tasianna reminded me of how most mages had to use elementals to cast spells before the introduction of the Divine System. This old sorcery, as the elves liked to call it, was the most common method to cast magic. Another method Tasianna knew of were seals, or magic scrolls in game lingo, a precursor of today's catalysts and enchantments. While elementals helped the magician mold their mana into the former's respective element and morph it into a spell, a seal was like a save data of a spell. After inscribing the seal on something, magicians of old would carry them around as a quick backup spell, from which they could shoot spells out by simply pouring their mana into it. Nowadays, it was looked down upon if a mage relied on scrolls alone, but it was different for normal adventurers. In fact, there was a pretty nice market for mages to sell seals to non-magicians, similar to how alchemists could sell potions despite there being clerics around. Items were more convenient. Although we had heard all of this from Tasianna, Ellaine, and Grimnir before, Saori and I had never seen one before. They were usually sold at the mages guild, but, well, obviously we never went to one up until we reached Griffonpeak. Not like we ever needed one since our entire party had either access to spells or runes. Prompted by this, Thyra went out of the room and came back a moment later with a book and parchment in hand. None-mage adventurers are usually advised to carry one or two magical options on them. It wouldn't hurt, especially against slimes or high vitality opponents. The first thing she showed Saori and me was a scroll, unfurling it to reveal a blue magic circle. Tasianna instantly recognized it. It's Aqua Prison, she said, to which Thyra nodded. She then poured her mana into the scroll and demonstrated the seal being activated and casting the water spell. After using it, the seal on the scroll disappeared. Ha! I knew it, they are magic scrolls! One time used only, that is why these magic scrolls' are a good side income source for less talented mages. You can cast spells faster without needing to be trained, so non-mages love buying them, and us mages can set the price high, Thrya explained before opening a grimoire full of these seals. If a mage brought a grimoire with them, it most likely isn't a textbook of spells but a book full of seals. Casting faster and more often through your own abilities is the mark of a powerful mage, though, rather than having the dedication to inscribe seals on hundreds of pages. Then what does Tasianna mean with the seal in your eyes? Is that really a seal? Unlike the scrolls and the grimoire, yours are just two thick blue lines on each eye, I commented, looking deeper into the girl's green eyes. The scrolls work by sealing a spell in stasis, and adding mana to this particular kind of seal actually causes the seal to break and release the spell, Tasianna mentioned, reminding me what Thyra said in the beginning. Thyra nodded. A skill-restriction seal based on your blood, aimed at the racial skills given to us by our elven ancestry. Elves are probably the humanoid race with the best magical potential, something their racial abilities and higher magic growth support. Instead of making my House go extinct, our punishment for not siding with the elves during the war was this seal. We still have our extended lifespan and higher magical potential as half-elves but, honestly, it's as if we used Elvenize. She giggled before sighing. Humanize, Elvenize, and other similar skills did not grant the user any of the racial skills associated with the race they transform into. Your stats and abilities adapted to your new form, that was why my stats had to be halved in my dragonewt form and I was unable to use my draconic abilities while in human form. Tasianna, for example, didn't have any elven racial skills but her physical stats were increased as an elven body was physically stronger than her original fairy form. When I looked at Thyra with sympathy, she waved her hand as if it didn't bother her. It's not that terrible, Lady Hestia. Better than never being born, right? It's a bit unfair that I have to apply this seal on my children's eyes one day, but, well, the idiocy of my ancestors, right? She showed a strained smile before telling me it was time. Inside the room, Thyra opened up another door and asked me to go in while the others went to the waiting room. Walking through this sparsely decorated fairnite hallway, I ended up at another door and opened it. What was behind it was a room with a single operating table in it. There wasn't any machinery in there like in a modern-day surgery room, but instead, it gave off that fantasy physician feel with all the books and the alchemy table filled with potions. A set of tools was placed neatly on a clean table and the room was dark except for a single large, adjustable lamp. Lady Hestia, come in, please. Standing next to the alchemic table was a woman in scrubs, pouring some liquid into a potion bottle before closing it. It was the Duchess. Here you go. Please, drink it. What is this? I asked, looking at the bottle of broccoli-colored liquid she gave me. A potion of herculean pain tolerance, Duchess Morgiana answered. During the surgery, measures have to be made to prevent a patient's natural regeneration from healing the cuts we make. In addition, the patient's pain resistance has to be increased to ensure they won't spasm and complicate the surgery. We use potions for that, especially for healing in case something goes wrong, but because of your skills, I had to make a special tonic just for you. The Duchess mentioned my Abnormal Status Nullification being an issue for the surgery and made a potion to counter its effect. Essentially, it would buff me by providing me immunity to pain like laughing gas to mask the weakened health regeneration. It was a loophole in the System. Mana surgery is primarily an elven craft. My House still has the books needed to continuously train more surgeons, so any mana surgeon you meet in Artorias will most likely have been trained by us. At my questioning, Duchess Morgiana confirmed that healing spells and health potions could override the regeneration reduction and that Saori, Tasianna, and Ellaine were watching my surgery through a large glass window. This was her way to show she didn't have any malicious intent and wasn't gonna dissect me after the potion turned me numb. After Thyra entered the room in her scrubs, the mother and daughter duo told me to lay on the table after drinking the potions they'd laid out on the alchemy table. As they disinfected their hands, I shrugged and drank the potion. The disgusting medicinal taste was incredibly prominent and I felt the need to puke. After sticking my tongue out and showing a thumbs up to my friends staring from outside the room, I went to the operating table and laid down on my stomach. While the Duchess gave Thyra a last-minute pep talk and instructions on how to lead the surgery, I started to feel the potion's effects in full force. Gosh, I could go to sleep. Okay, Lady Hestia, are you ready? Has the potion settled in, yet? Thyra asked, to which I attempted to say yes, but the numbness had already spread to my mouth. I said, desch and Thyra nodded, satisfied. The Duchess continued, If you wish to stay awake during the whole operation then please nod, Lady Hestia. I did as she said. All right. Usually, a surgery would require more pairs of hands than two. I had revealed your information to my husband and sons, but I assumed that you might have gained some new abilities in the time since we received your Profile almost four months ago. The feats you have done have not gone unnoticed. Sank suu I paused, annoyed at my inability to speak and turned on my Telapathy. Okay, this is annoying, I'll communicate with you two through a telepathic link. Anyway, I wanted to saythank you for being considerate, but I don't think I've changed that much since WinterSun aside from a bunch of levels and spells. Speaking of change, could you look at this core before we start? My inability to speak didn't mean I couldn't move at all. I felt lethargic and my muscles were definitely weaker than usual, but pushing myself up to flip myself over wasn't too hard. The hard part was moving my wings. Note to self, use Tailwind after getting laughing gassed. Pulling the neckline of my gown down to reveal my solar core, both Duchess Morgiana and Thyra both look as if their eyes were about to pop out of their heads. Please, don't dissect me. So, this is what your Profile meant with Solar Core? A large amount of mana is concentrated in this single area of your chest, the Duchess said. Considering how much my sun core was responsible for my resource regeneration, it would have been weird if it wasn't in the top two locations for my mana to congregate in. I explained to them how I had little idea how my body worked from an anatomical level. I knew how to use my physical abilities, but I had no idea how my scale-dust was produced, for example. What was it made of? Even if I used Mana Eyes on my body parts, the answer was vague and didn't give me much information. I told the mother and daughter duo that I trusted them to keep this information to themselves, and that I wanted them to analyze it for me. I still remembered how Astalerios was able to literally paralyze me for an extended time after he sent a thundershock around my chest. Me being unable to continue fighting nearly cost Ellaine her life. I knew it wasn't 100% my fault, but being in that helpless state was embarrassing. Reflecting on fights was how I managed to survive up until now, and looking back on it, how much did I know about my body? I couldn't exactly dissect myself in case I accidentally did something irreversible, so I wanted to ask professionals about it. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be getting this information today. Uhm, we should probably not do that, Lady Hestia, Thyra said. Our training books do have information on dragonewt biology, courtesy of the Saelari dissecting dragonewt corpses, but I have never seen anything like your sun core in any of those books. How about you, Mother? Duchess Morgiana shook her head. Sadly, I haven't. It would be best to not risk this. We are confident in solving your problem because we know how the musculature and mana paths work around your wings. I do not know if I can solve your problem until I see it for myself, as such, I would rather not ruin your evening with a successful and botched operation. Tsk, damnit. Guess I just have to make do with just having my wings healed The surgery by itself went by smoothly. Although I knew they did it for themselves, I found it nice that they were commenting on everything they were doing. It was nice to know what they were doing with my body but it only made me painfully aware how unnerved I was with gory details. Obviously. Mother, there are more crystals here. They are restricting her muscles here and here, Thyra said before a loud metal clanking sound echoed. She dropped something into the metal bowl. Could they be used for catalysts? Hardly. They are impure at this point, not to mention the red crystallized blood. You'll only attract annoyed dragonewts to our gates, so dispose of them once we're done. I turned my head around, seeing Thyra wearing blue-shimmering glasses. She explained before that these glasses were there to help her and her mother identify the mana paths in my body. There was a monocle version, something Theodore should possesses. What are those crystals? I asked. Crystallization of mana, to put it simply. Mana apparently spilled out of the mana paths into your muscles and flesh, turning solid as they somehow have been trapped inside your body without a way out. Over time, the mana crystallized bits of your flesh, turning them into these small blue-red stones. Thyra then picked another one from my back and showed it to me. It was minuscule, almost as big as a grain of sand. Blood or flesh was inside the blue outer layer of this object. They were blocking your mana paths from connecting properly. Lady Hestia, have you maybe visited a mana surgeon before coming to us? I shook my head to the Duchess's question. Peculiar. This is one of the risks of a failed surgery, usually. I can't see this to have been done by a toxin, there are no traces. Could you recall any possible memory? I explained to them my battle with the garm matriarch, about how I healed myself after she slashed my back with some poison attack. She mentioned I shouldn't have healed myself after she attacked me, but listening to an opponent, especially while I was pumped up with adrenaline, just wasn't an option. It's hard to imagine the white grace being responsible for the damage, Duchess Morgiana admitted. I healed my wounds based on my knowledge of the human body, not my dragon body. Healing spells vastly increase the regeneration speed of your body through mana, it doesn't turn your body back to zero. When I healed my body back then, I probably forgot to account for my wings. True. The church of the Goddess calls it a miracle, but the appraised description explains it better. Mother, I told you it was a good idea for me to learn holy magic, even if I had to spend two years of my life as a shrine maiden. Speaking of anatomy, I suddenly had a realization. I have a question. Why are there only mana surgeons' and not just normal surgeons? You know, people who heal your organ problems? Help you alleviate diseases. You mentioned that the elves have anatomy knowledge, so shouldn't it be possible? However, my innocent question caused both Thyra and the Duchess to pause for a moment and look over at me, confused and baffled. Did I say something wrong? Lady Hestia, you are the Goddess's blessed, right? An idol' as you call it? The Duchess questioned me with a frown. The answer should be obvioususe healing spells or potions. The white grace is enough to heal most wounds and physical maladies. The accelerated regeneration of a spell like Major Heal is incredible, something I have to admit when I saw the high bishops in Aureolis cast it. Mana paths are something you cannot heal with the white grace, making a mana surgeon a valuable profession for mages. The church of the Goddess and alchemists heal your bodily ailments while a surgeon makes sure you can perform as a mage. My mindset was completely out of tune with theirs. While I understood the good a doctor or surgeon could do for a magic-less world like Earth, I forgot how ingrained the idea of magical healing was on Peolynca. Peolyncians had potions that could bring them back from the brink of death and healing magic able to regrow damaged organs. They didn't need to rest for months to heal a broken limb since you could pay a priest to do it in minutes. They didn't need an organ transplant if a ruptured organ could be healed back to normal. Not to mention the Divine System, a game-like feature able to significantly increase a person's endurance. If I looked at it from that perspective, Peolynca didn't need any normal surgeons. Considering how difficult organ transplants were, just using healing magic seemed so much easier. From the sound of it, only those willing to become a better healer would study anatomy, like I was trying to do. At that point, you could just be a priest or study mana surgery, which probably paid more. Well, at least I asked. As time passed and the clanking of metal became less frequent, my back felt lighter and lighter, as if something heavy stopped weighing me down. When Thyra told me they were finished and that I could use spells to heal myself, I activated White Flames and allowed the fire to heal my back. The moment I closed the cut, a surge of power exploded around my body. Woah! Arrrgh! My wings! The mana inside my body was rushing around my body at an exhilarating rate. The numbness was slowly disappearing, replaced by an euphoria of power. My groaning caused Thyra and Duchess Morgiana to worry about me, but I simply told them, I'm fine. Still in my gown, I struggled to get off the operating table from the numbness before I began empowering my muscles with mana, enabling me to move at a normal, although clumsy, pace. I charged out of the room, causing Saori and the others to call out to me, but I ignored them and rushed up the stairs. Once I was outside the mansion, my body instinctively filled my wings and legs with the rampaging mana. I stretch my wings wide and jumped. Wooooooah! Once in the air, the energy concentrated into my wings caused them to flap at a speed I never was able to achieve before. The wind was buffeting my face and streaming past me with every wing flap. The drunkenness caused by the potion was finally gone! Yeaaaaah! Woooohooooo! Under the light of the moon, I felt as if I was set free once again. Once I activated Tailwind and my scale-dust thrusters, I was doing barrel rolls and zigzags mid-air nonstop. The fresh air above the city further increased this incredible experience. Thsis isch amazching! My tongue was still numb but my excitement was real. Even my body knew how much I longed to be up here, flying like a normal dragon instead of being stranded on the ground like a drake. My rocket boosters were a great substitute, but nothing could beat the feeling of flapping my wings. Then again, it's not like the thrusters have lost all their functions. To reach mach speed, I need my boosters. A beautiful night, right, Lady Hestia? In my excitement, I forwent the use of my Detection Sensor, not noticing that a signal was right behind me. Snapping around with my guard up, my eyes widened when I saw who it was. King Drangleic? It was Artorias's king, flapping his feathery wings. For a night flight, I presume? he smiled before turning around again. This sight never tries me out. Peaceful. All under a radiant moonlight. I turned around, following his sight, and it was none other than the view of Griffonpeak from up in the sky. The moonlight shining down on Wintertalon and the royal family's citadel. It was mesmerizing. I had already seen it when I first arrived but I didn't have time to focus on it as I was more worried about Ellaine's safety. How glad I was to witness this sight once again. King Drangleic and I stayed afloat in silence, taking in the city's beauty. Eventually, the silence was broken by the King himself. Would you be so kind and erect an Air Shield around us, Lady Hestia? Chanting would take a bit longer if I did it, haha. Does he want to speak with me? I thought before preparing to cast the wind spell, but stopped and decided on something else. I cast Unheilige Engel, deciding it would be better to use my newest space-time spell. Room. A grey magic circle appeared on one of the wings of Unheilige Engel before a bubble materialized on it. In only a few seconds, my vision was enveloped by this bubble and replaced with a white cube world. As King Drangleic looked bewildered at this new scenery, I took out two chairs and a table from my storage and placed them in front of us. This is a Space-Time Magic spell called Room. It creates a separate room outside of the normal world. I can change the size of the room however I want without affecting the real world. Nobody can enter this place without my permission, King Drangelic. I smiled at him politely and sat down, prompting him to do the same. I applaud you for understanding what I meant. He gestured his thanks with his hand before taking off his crown and putting it on the table. A king taking off his crown wasn't something I expected, so I couldn't help myself and look at him weirdly. The weight of a crown is more than what a metal circlet suggests,' is something my father used to tell me in preparation for my coronation. In my opinion, he should have probably told me how tight it is to wear it for a whole day, haha! I gave him a giggle, imagining how red his head must be from wearing his feather crown all day. However, I then looked at him seriously; it would be stupid to think he wasn't here as King Drangleic despite not wearing his crown. Seeing me get serious, he nodded. We have confirmed the information you gave us, Lady Hestia. While not every location yielded any substantial result, we were still able to find evidence of subterfuge. Plans to cause chaos within those duchies. He closed his eyes to pause before continuing, Most of the perpetrators were foreigners, however, they were all commoners. These people attracted a following which resulted in various plans for rebellion or sabotage of local guilds and workshops. I can't say what exactly they were intending, but Lord Ulquint believed they were trying to attract the attention of nobles, specifically, the fief lords. How did he come to that conclusion? King Drangelic explained the issues ranged from terrible to irritating. In the Morgiana and Groushia duchies, if those problems had exploded before any intervention, they would have most likely affected the relationship of Artorias to their neighbors, the elves and dwarves respectively. With the nobles absent at the royal ball, the plans would have likely been successfully executed if it weren't for the information I gave to him. Greenveil had no issues but that was mostly 'cause I had to stop them myself. The Davison incident was comparable to what was happening in the Morgiana and Groushia dukedoms. The King managed to keep the issues a secret for now, but he was still contemplating if he should at least share this information with the respective factions. In the other duchies, luckily, the problems weren't as serious. In the Myrrdin duchy, the everyday workers were protesting against the mage's guild, causing some serious animosity between the two sides. In Lecartiglio, beastmen were being kidnapped at a higher rate than usual, being sent to Atadoro to be sold as slaves. While criminal activities weren't uncommon, the amount of kidnapping had made the beastmen in Lecartiglio even more paranoid of any human they met. In comparison, lesser problems occurred in the Equevanna and Olivus duchies. The information I gave of these areas was less reliable and provided only small issues. King Drangleic and his advisors showed their relief, but I was less impressed. Aurena wouldn't lie about this, would she? Still, why wasn't more found there? My thoughts were then interrupted by the King. If this information came from the Goddess, then I cannot thank you enough for what you did for us. There is still more we need to do to exterminate the rats, but that is simply my duty to keep my kingdom safe and flourishing Which brings me to the main reason why I wanted to speak with you, Lady Hestia. Here it is. Lady Hestia I would like to ask for your help in repairing our relationship with our northern and western neighbours. I tilted my head, not expecting this request. As you already learned from your stay in Greenveil, Artorias as a kingdom seeks to rekindle our diplomatic relationship with the elves of Saelariel and the dwarves of the Ankor-Nazta. The scars of wars have pervaded this kingdom for too long, and it has always been the mission of House Artorias to fix the mistakes of the Leosfalt Kingdom, King Drangleic explained. There is something I wish to divulge with youit is time for our kingdom to finally separate itself from the Empire. I narrowed my eyes, grimacing at the information I just heard. Why? was all I could say as my head was still trying to make sense of what was happening. House Artorias's views do not coincide with the Empire's any longer. Of my seven dukes, I have the full support of four who wish to break our vassalage with the Empire and reignite our alliance with our neighbouring races. From our diplomatic attempts, the dwarves will only accept our alliance if we distance ourselves from the Folschreck Empire, and, indirectly, abandon the Holy Capital. Because the Folschreck Empire is the seat of the Holy Emperor, correct? If you break your vassalage, then it would mean rebellion, which will force the empire to act correct? And if you go against the Holy Emperor, then you will also go against Aureolis. Correct, I am surprised you were able to understand it this far. Count Helvas's report assumed you were politically inept.' Wow, thank you very much for calling me that, Count Helvas. I mean, ahem, Arcanuess Helvas. Pestrodus of the Lycerepth made me aware of what the Empire would do to rebels. Also, it now makes me understand what he meant by a kingdom's waning loyalty.' He knows, King Drangleic. If this statement was correct, then Pestrodus's other points might have some truth behind them. I was aware the Empire would interfere with their watchdogs. Without an ally, it would be suicide to fight against the Empire at this state; that is why I have come here to ask for your help, Lady Hestia. I need your title of Princess to help me in my gambit! Diplomacy? Me? You want me to speak on your behalf to create this alliance you so dearly wish for? Considering the news, he should know I was not a politician. King Drangleic, I can't go around and speak on your behalf if I don't know what exactly that entails. I have no in-depth knowledge on the socio-economical situation of your kingdom, nor the others. I briefly know your history, but, if you had forgotten it, I am an otherworlder! I haven't even fully assimilated yet, and you're requesting me for something this large-scale? Yes, I knew King Drangelic's plan coincided with Aurena's, but I couldn't just accept his proposal out of principle. I was working for Aurena 'cause I owed her for giving me a second chance and since she had the ability to send me back to Earth for me to meet my parents one last time. However, considering King Drangleic was asking me to do something this momentous for him, what was he offering me for my effort? I was an idol and an adventurer, not one of his nobles here. I understand you might be more averse to my plan, but that is why I have come here in person to tell you about it. Artorias cannot develop any further without breaking off from the Empire, that is something I believe in. I only require your guarantee to begin the talks to have elvenkind and humankind to once again work together. King Drangleic then pushed himself up. He had come and said what he wanted to me. After dispelling Room and saying good night to him, I heaved a deep sigh, annoyed at everything that was happening around me. I then looked in the direction Ellaine called the red-light district. If there is a place to understand this cesspool,' then it has to be there. Maybe it's time for Aurora to do some investigations again. And the best place for that would be the hunter's guild. But that was an issue for later. For now, I should be more concerned about myself. My wings are fixed but I still have no idea about my core. I need to find a better way to protect it. Still, heads up, Hestia, we have a concert to perform at. And I still need to help Ellaine and Tasianna with their training too. I headed back to the Morgianas' mansion, saying my thanks to them for all I did. Once that was done, Saori, Tasianna, Ellaine, and I went back to House Helvas's home. There, we checked in on Grimnir who still had the lights on in the RV. Knocking on the door, we were greeted by a big smile. Lass, get your tailed ass in here already! We have a wagon to expand! Grimnir came out and closed the door before opening it up again. When we went inside, all we could see was an empty wooden room. Smiling, I poured mana into the wall, and it expanded with my control. I guess we need to decorate the inside again. AbyssRaven Wings received! If you guys want to support me, Hestia and "A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale" or just read up to 20 advance chapters + any Patreon-only chapters please check out my Patreon: Rawr For two dollars, for the cost of a coffee, you can read up to four chapters for the whole month! You will have my eternal gratitude for any support you can give me! Please. Thank you for reading this chapter.