Dwarven Mountain Compass.
Eluard freely glided in the air as he stared at the large volcanic crater below filled with flowing lava. The volcanic crater was so humungous that even the largest volcano back on earth paled in comparison both in scale and height.
And that was just its crater.
At the center of it lay a red-skinned dragon whose entire wings spanned past six hundred meters.
[ Legend: Arahon Agui ]
[ Affiliation: Flame Dragon Tribe (Leader), Luchador Secular Household, Heavenly Magic Academy (Former) ]
[ Beast Type: Divine Flame Dragon ]
[ Rarity: Divine ]
[ Power: Monarch-Level ]
[ Affinity: Divinity, Fire, Earth, Lava ]
'A divine flame dragon. Here it comes, Eluard. Don't be nervous, now.'
Eluard channeled his mana towards his left hand.
Doing so produced a reaction from the red dragon below.
…
Arahon noticed a robed and masked man above him. A strange sensation suddenly erupted from his head, jolting him awake.
'My mark of allegiance! Is this… the Heavenly Magic Academy?!'
His eyes glinted, realizing the identity of this mysterious person. He exhaled, puffing out steamy smoke out of his nose.
Arahon flapped his wings majestically and went as high as the robed man was.
"Arahon greets the academy master of the Heavenly Magic Academy.", he bowed.
"It seems that you still remember, divine flame dragon.", Eluard responded.
Arahon shook his head, "How could I not? And why would I dare to?", lowering his head so that Eluard could see his forehead.
On his forehead was the symbol of a dragon's head. It glowed in dark red and faced forward, emanating an oppressive aura.
"This mark, bore from my ancestors and passed unto me, will remain as a part of my identity, and the reason why our lineage continues to live on this day.", Arahon proudly narrated.
"Also, that robe and mask. There is no doubt that I will be mistaken about your identity, academy master."
Eluard nodded in affirmation. Just yesterday, he was driven to desperation in saving the people of Norva Assili and Haera.
He planned to use High King Garron's army in fighting the magical beasts meanwhile utilizing his students against the subversive actions of the demonic creatures.
In the case of retaliation from the demonic creatures, his students can back off under the cover of High King Garron's army.
However, Eluard wasn't complacent nor confident to rely on this plan. Karageros were powerful entities.
Together with the demonic essence that could only be countered with divinity, a single karagero can tip off the balance of forces on the battlefield.
There were other factors as well, but to greatly weigh the probability of winning this battle in his favor, Eluard sought other options.
As for Haera, if Harrtugg Naaw could destroy the curse of the winter rose with its affinity to ice, shouldn't Arahon be able to do the same with his fire?
He went to the public library and uncovered more of the history of the Heavenly Magic Academy. With the help of the system, he found an interesting archive.
The Heavenly Magic Academy once reared magical beasts, but not in a way one would generally think of it.
The magical beasts, alongside other beasts, were originally tamed by someone titled the Primal Lord of Beasts.
Unfortunately, the said Primal Lord died in the hands of the Otherworld, forcing the beasts to scatter after their owner died.
Some returned to the wild and procreated, while others sought servitude unto the other Primal Lords.
The latter were unsure of their survival if they returned to their original habitat. Things could have changed, or maybe their original homes were now taken by the Otherworld.
Regardless of their reasons, even if they lost their freedom while serving a Primal Lord, it was better than dying out in the wild.
One of these Primal Lords was no other than the Primal Lord of Magic.
Magic was an important part of the lives of magical beasts. No one but the Primal Lord of Magic has the capability of nurturing them, or rather, nurturing their talents and skills in this field.
The Primal Lord of Magic then set up a mark of allegiance to these magical beasts.
One reason was to monitor their activities and whereabouts.
The Primal Lord of Magic was a cautious person. Magic was just like any other weapon laying around. It could be used to protect life or kill in an immoral manner.
With the Primal Lord having surveillance of the magical beasts serving under him, he could take immediate action should one of them show signs of devious intentions.
Another reason was to establish loyalty and identity to the magical beasts.
The Primal Lord knew that his rule won't last for an eternity.
Someone would succeed in their position and should they need help, the successor can use the mark of allegiance to call upon the magical beasts in the direst situations.
To communicate with the magical beasts, the Primal Lord then made a countersign symbol purposed to resonate with the mark of allegiance he imbued upon them.
Eluard did his best in learning this countersign symbol. The symbol was simply the Heavenly Magic Academy's emblem.
The only difference was the inclusion of logic of magical array formations.
Since the countersign symbol remained the same, each mark of allegiance from the magical beasts will only resonate if he follows a certain flow of mana while activating the countersign.
Because of this, Eluard changed his plans. Since there were too many marks to remember, he first researched the magical beasts, specifically the magical beasts well-versed in the fire element.
Many of them did not exist in Aludia. He could tell based on the knowledge in his mind which he gathered after exhaustingly reading a ton of books.
Then, he came upon the divine flame dragons, one of the supreme existences that were the embodiment of fire itself, alongside the fire phoenixes and the golden crows.
Eluard quickly learned how to activate the countersign symbol for the divine flame dragons' mark of allegiance.
And now, he was going to use it to grab the divine flame dragons to his side. He raised his left hand and showed Arahon his backhand.
Arahon hummed. He recognized the countersign symbol.
'This countersign symbol is still what it is after all the years that have passed.'
All the descendants from their lineage were taught this. Once that symbol glowed and their mark of allegiance resonates, it only implied one thing.
"What does the academy master of the Heavenly Magic Academy request of us?"
Eluard was elated inside his mind. He didn't think it would work so well.
"My students will be conducting an operation in the northern glacial continent a few days from now. Help them in case Harrtugg Naaw interferes."
"And the Otherworld will be there.", Eluard emphasized.
"Do this, and I might consider you bringing back to the academy, just like before."
Eluard didn't play words.
If the academy reared them in the past, then there should have been a place for them to stay over.
The system said that there were other locked system functions. Maybe storing the reared beasts was one of them?
Of course, he wasn't going to become a beast tamer or something. Should the function exist, he'd only use it for re-establishing allegiances that were formed with the magical beasts in the past.
Arahon chuckled with frenzied eyes.
"Arahon will surely assist your students, academy master. You can rest assured of that."
Eluard mentioning their return to the academy was more than enough of a reason for him to accept the offer.
He didn't try to reject it nor negotiate.
Arahon wasn't dumb. The divine flame dragon tribe became what they were due to the Heavenly Magic Academy.
At least that was how it went after recalling his memories.
"Good, I'll expect news in a few days. Talk to my direct disciple Kai. He might have other needs as well."
Eluard turned off the countersign symbol and lowered his hand. Since Arahon agreed, there was no point staying here any longer.
His moving in and out quickly after finishing his business aligned well with his bossy and eccentric behavior as the academy master.
He did not need to persuade anyone for more than a minute, nor would he extravagantly explain his actions or thoughts to whoever he was talking to.
Seeing how the academy master blinked out of his sight, Arahon heaved a sigh of relief.
'The bloodline of the divine flame dragon is dying.'
'This is a chance for me to revive our legacy. Oh, my dear ancestors. Guide me so that I may not fail on what would be the greatest redemption endowed unto us.'
He landed back on his lair and looked below.
"Brat, you need to finish your assimilation quick. I'm going to the Norva Assili and check out with your friends."
Arahon was talking to Solordo who remained underground for his blood assimilation process.
It was taking so long because Solordo was not only assimilating the divine flame dragon's blood into his chivalric cultivation. He was also integrating it with his magical cultivation as well.
Not only will he inherit the divine flame dragon's physical strength, but it will also enhance his magic and maybe even give him an affinity to whatever was the divine flame dragon's magical affinity.
"No rush, dragon lord. You think becoming strong is a fast process?", Solordo responded.
"Huh! As if you could do something with your power right now. Alright, come up quickly after you are finished. I will wait for three days."
"If you don't come out by that time, I'll leave you here alone."
Solordo harrumphed.
'What a stinky dragon lord!'
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