The dragon's harem

Chapter 728 The Meaning of Names

”This would require a trade.” Arad smiled, extending his hand to the teacher.

”A trade…” She stared at him, then down at her naked body. She quickly remembered Alcott, ”My body!”

”No, I want a lab for alchemy. I heard youʼll need a teacher to supervise if youʼre to have one.” Arad extended his hand to her, ”I also want access to libraries,”

”You donʼt want my body?”

”Hell no, Iʼm married,” Arad pointed at Mira, and she swung her hammer down, almost shattering the teacherʼs leg. ”Iʼll kill you before that.”

”Heh?” She looked at Mira with a terrified face, ”Okay! A lab wonʼt be hard. But I only have access to level 2.”

”Whatʼs access to level 2?” Arad asked.

”Access to the universityʼs facilities is limited from level 7 to 0, a total of eight clearances.” She reached into her robe and pulled a silver card, ”This is just a card. The access is blocked by my magic trace of the person. Only the director has access to level 0. Students can get up to access level 3 if they reach the fifth year.”

”So each year of study level you once.”

”If you didnʼt fail, as new students youʼll have access to level 7,” She replied.

”I see,” Arad nodded, ”Iʼll check those later,”

”Can I see your magic now?” The teacher looked at Aradʼs eyes.

”Can you trust her?” Mira asked.

”We should be able to,” Arad smiled, ”Sheʼs as twisted up here as…” He was about to say Merlin but quickly remembered that it could be traced back to him. ”Look at her,”

Mira stared at the teacher for a few seconds, ”All care washes off her head when magic is involved,” She giggled. She was indeed like Merlin.

”I wonder if all mages are this crazy,”

”You know another mage?” The teacher looked at them.

”Forget about it. It doesnʼt matter,” Arad shook his head. Heʼs only trusting the teacher as he couldnʼt sense any deception or ill will from reading her thoughts.

Arad extended his hand for her, and she took it, closing her eyes to focus on his magic.

”I canʼt sense anything…” She mumbled, opening her eyes only to find herself sitting in pure darkness, unable to breathe or move. Her skin boiled as she started falling, with countless dots of magic floating around her body, burning into nothing and resurging out of the void.

”Where I am!” She screamed without breathing. The voice of her mind reverberated across the darkness.

A bright light flashed into the distance, and she turned toward it. She flew like a moth guided by the light. ”Did he trick me? Is this some kind of spell? I need to get out,”

The moment she reached the light, it changed color. The teacher flew away from the light, watching in horror as the violent magic that emerged collided ahead of her, exploding into a tiny cell. Those cells rapidly expanded, multiplying unto they became a flood of blood and eyes, covering the skyʼs endless darkness with glowing red eyes.

”Whatʼs going on here?!” She cried, looking for an escape route, but couldnʼt find anything. The eyes merged together until a massive shadow flew out of nothing, dragging countless stars alongside its body.

She gasped, [Barrier] She tried to cast a spell, but it never activated. The creature instead turned toward her, flying at a blinding speed.

She closed her eyes and covered her head, awaiting the impact that never arrived. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes to look forward, only to see Arad standing in front of her with endless darkness covering his body, his burning purple eyes glaring at her with not a single drop of emotion in them. ”Wake up,”

He said, and she opened her eyes, sitting in front of him and Mira while shaking.

”Are you okay?” Mira asked.

”The Origin of Creation, the primal void that everything was born from. You can use mana recycling, canʼt you?” She stared at him, ”Your body naturally absorbed the mana of my lock spell and spat it out, destroying it. And itʼs not something that you learned from nothing, you can use it intuitively without thinking. Itʼs already ingrained into your magic. The will of the void to consume and birth new forms of magic.”

”What are you babbling about,” Mira sighed. ^Hold up, how did she figure out the void part? Is she that perceptive to magic, and how did she even know about the void in the first place?^

”Heʼs a fighter, but his blood must hold great magic. Itʼs probably like wild magic sorcerers, but something stronger. Heʼll make a great wizard if he dedicates his magic to discovering the mysteries of mana and the ethereal realm.” She stared at Arad with sparkling eyes, ”Youʼre power would only grow larger the deeper you dive into your void. That endless and limitless nothingness could consume everything!”

Arad and Mira stared at each other. ^She doesnʼt know Iʼm a dragon.^ He felt relieved. ^Donʼt let anyone touch your magic,^ Mira glared at him.

”I have an interest in magic, but alchemy comes first,” Arad replied. ^Since I can create matter with my void, I should know how those new elements interact with each other. I feel like a great power awaits, a limitless potential.^

”Alchemy? Thatʼll take a lot of time and resources. You better seek magic. Itʼs a stronger power and has more potential.” The teacher gasped.

”Wear that robe first,” Arad sighed, ”Iʼll learn alchemy first. And Iʼll check magic if I have time. Iʼll study at my own pace,” He stood, cracking his neck.

”Arad, give me the large towel,” Mira called, and he pulled the tower out of his stomach, pretending it was pulled from a bag.

Mira caught the towel and headed behind some large barrels, ”Iʼll change here. You watch the door,”

”Donʼt worry,” Arad walked to the door and sat with his back on it, blocking it.

The teacher blinked, ”The mana coming from the outside dropped significantly,” She stood and started wearing her robe while looking around, ”This is, a bit strange.”

”Probably a mage if fighting in the arena and sucking mana,” Arad replied, pointing toward the teacherʼs half-washed underwear. ”What were you doing here anyway.”

^Better change the subject. I didnʼt spend the last two weeks idling. I did unlock some elements and I did manage to fine-

tune my expansion control. Using the empty space between the wooden wall layers, I laid my expansion there as a bubble by mimicking barrier magic techniques.^

”That!” The teacher gasped with a red face, ”Itʼs nothing!” She rushed to hide them.

^You pissed yourself in the arena when I confronted you. You canʼt hide that from a dragonʼs nose,^ Arad stared at her.

”AH! The mana levels returned to normal. The fight mustʼve ended,” The teacher smiled, trying to change the subject to something besides her undies.

^Of course. Iʼm the one increasing it to mimic the outside. Is this the best a wizard teacher can get?^ He looked at her, a bit disappointed. ^Merling wouldʼve guessed immediately that something is up, this one here is strong enough to sense that something is wrong but unable to analyze and detect its nature.^

”Whatʼs your name? Iʼve never asked.” Arad stared at her.

”Lucia Brightwing, a wizard that specializes in summoning magic.” She said with a proud smile, puffing her chest.

”Lucia, a name that means light. I thought youʼd be able to use light magic with such a name, Brightwing as well,” He added.

”Names are given to children when they are born. That doesnʼt relate to what I can do.” She sighed, ”Why do people do this?”

”Itʼs usually hits the truth.”

”Like you? Aron? A mountain of strength, it suits your huge body.” She smiled, ”Kyomu…I remember reading about it in a book about the eastern countries. Void, crack, untruth, unpreparedness.”

”Inaccurate, it seems. You are right; Names donʼt mean anything,” Arad lifted his head, looking at the teacher with a sharp glare.

”What are you saying? Itʼs not accurate to be, but accurate in your case. You even remind me of a certain bastard, that fools Alcott,” She sighed, ”You two not only look alike but move in the same way as well. Are you his son or something?”

Arad blinked, his face never shifting but his mind started panicking, ^Iʼve only trained with Alcott, why do people keep linking me to him?! I mean, I cut the flame the way he taught me, but was it that obvious?^

”Iʼve met him once in the past and we trained a bit on an adventurer, but I donʼt know much about him,” Arad replied with a stern face.

”Met the s-rank dragon slayer by coincidence? I donʼt buy it.” She shook her head, ”With how many women that man sleeps with, you might be his son even if you donʼt know it.”

”Thatʼs far-fetched,” Arad shook his head, standing as Mira finished changing and walked out from behind the barrels.

”Weʼre going, take care and get my lab ready,” Arad looked at the teacher as he canceled the expansion engulfing the room.

The teacher blinked, ”A shift in mana… Whatʼs going on?” She looked around.

”You probably need to rest a bit,” Arad said as Mira stood beside him. Mira looked around and quickly realized that Arad mustʼve used his domain. ^That was a risky move,^ She hit Aradʼs side with her elbow, ”Letʼs go, we need to talk,”

****

Arad and Mira walked out of the room and headed back toward the seats. ”Why did you do that, locking the door shouldʼve been enough.”

”Donʼt worry, that Lucia canʼt comprehend my expansion nor my magic.” Arad looked at the Colosseum.

”I donʼt know about Tempoʼs power, so Iʼll consider him stronger than me just to be careful.” Arad glared at the students fighting in the arena. ”Brother is stronger than me, but I might be able to hold my own with Domaʼs curses and the spawns. But Iʼll consider him stronger. That means Iʼm the third strongest in this university,”

”Weʼre here to study, not fight.” She mumbled.

”What I mean is that as long as youʼre in my 40km range of magic control. Only those two have hope of harming you or the girls. Lucia isnʼt nowhere near as powerful to sense my magic or run away if she learned something, her thoughts would rat her out.” Aradʼs eyes flashed purple.

”Gojo wonʼt harm us and Tempo is a man of honor, right? If they wonʼt hurt us, they who could.” She looked at him.

”What I mean is, try to always be in contact with my magic or in my range. Donʼt step into barriers if Iʼm not watching, and call me if you feel anything, Iʼll teleport to your side in the blink of an eye.”

”What if Iʼm in the girlʼs dorm? The girlʼs bath? Thatʼs where bullying happens a lot,” She smiled, ”Or so I heard,”

”The others are with you, I doubt anyone could bully Aella, Eris, or Merida,” He smiled, ”But if it happens, Iʼll teleport using Virgo. If not, Iʼll send Doma with a clone.” He smiled, ”Itʼll be funny seeing a curse witch terrorizing some bullies and turning them into frogs,”