Chapter 201: Land of Dragons

"Young one, may you inherit our glory as you open this book—Moore Zaltarion!" On the title page, the words of the first Emperor of Zaltarion, Moore Zaltarion, stood prominently.

With deep reverence in his heart, Rynar eagerly flipped to the next page.

"Welcome, Rynar Zaltarion! My descendant!" The blank second page suddenly sprang to life with this line of text, startling Rynar so much that he nearly threw the book out of his hands.

"Fear not, this is the Spirit of the Draconic Tongue! This book is inscribed with a legendary Holy Spirit magic array, within which resides the soul of a Golden Holy Dragon." The system, rarely making an appearance, emerged to provide an explanation.

"From now on, I shall guide you, young one~ Everything you seek to know is within these pages! May you gain great wisdom." More words materialized from the spirit of the book.

"What exactly is this book?" Rynar cautiously inquired, his eyes filled with curiosity. This so-called Draconic Tongue was something entirely outside his knowledge.

"This is the Book of Wisdom left by the first Emperor of Zaltarion! It shall guide you in uncovering the true mysteries of the empire!" The dragon spirit continued to inscribe its messages.

"By the gods! This is insane…" Rynar exclaimed in awe. This was beyond anything he had expected from the game world.

"Gods? Hahaha! At its peak, the Zaltarion Empire even slaughtered gods! Do you think there's no divine presence in Middle-earth for no reason? 

Middle-earth—the land where gods are forbidden!" The words shimmered with a sense of nostalgia and grandeur.

"Good heavens…" Rynar instantly realized that this must have been a hidden lore from the game. The only question was whether it still held true in this iteration of Middle-earth.

"So, what should I start with?" Rynar eagerly awaited the book's answer.

"Draconic Tongue." Two simple words appeared before him.

"Draconic Tongue? What's the use of that? Chatting with dragons? Even if I wanted to, I could just use the Common Tongue…" Rynar chuckled.

After all, in the cold northern lands, the only dragon truly fluent in the Draconic Tongue was Smaug.

Was he supposed to teach lesser drakes how to speak dragon? If they could fully master the Draconic Tongue, what would even be the difference between them and true dragons? 

After all, Draconic magic was rooted in their language—those who mastered it could take on humanoid forms.

"Shortsighted… Learning the Draconic Tongue is the first step to becoming a Dragon Knight, foolish child." The book's words appeared once more, making Rynar's face heat up with embarrassment.

"This is ridiculous… What does learning Draconic have to do with becoming a Dragon Knight? Isn't forming a Dragon Rider Contract with a dragon enough?" Rynar asked, exasperated.

"And… how do you think the Dragon Rider Contract is written? It's inscribed using the Draconic Tongue!" The dragon spirit's exasperation was palpable.

"…"

"Alright, alright, I'll learn it…" Rynar relented. After all, becoming a Dragon Knight was every knight's dream. Who wouldn't want to ride a dragon?

The pages of the book began turning on their own, guided by the dragon spirit, until it stopped about two-thirds of the way through.

"Draconic Tongue!" Three golden words glowed on the page before him.

"So flashy…" Rynar muttered, rolling his eyes at the elaborate, intricate designs bordering the pages.

"What the hell is this!?" Rynar nearly jumped out of his seat. The script on the pages looked like nothing more than chaotic scribbles.

"No offense, but my grandmother's handwriting is better than this!" Rynar groaned.

The book trembled slightly, as if the Draconic Spirit had been thoroughly offended. Each page quivered in protest.

"I can't understand a thing…" Left with no choice, Rynar turned to the book's dragon spirit for guidance.

"Apologies, child. Learning the Draconic Tongue requires talent and intuition. No one can help you with this. 

However, if you have a Dragon Knight or a true dragon you are familiar with, they might be able to assist you." Though the spirit could not directly aid Rynar, it at least pointed him in the right direction.

"A Dragon Knight? A dragon? That sounds like Caslow and Kaldor…" Rynar immediately thought of his most loyal "lackeys" and hurriedly grabbed the book, setting off to find Caslow.

…

"Your Highness?" Caslow, after saluting, looked at Rynar in surprise. Rynar rarely visited his subordinates' homes unless there was a special reason. Normally, he wouldn't disturb them while they were resting.

"Take a look at this!" Rynar eagerly shoved the book into Caslow's hands.

"Draconic Tongue? Where did you get this? This thing is not to be trifled with! If misused, it could bring disaster!" Caslow said sternly. 

As a Dragon Knight, he understood the terrifying power of the Draconic Tongue. If some fool happened to correctly chant a spell without control, it would be akin to pressing a nuclear launch button just for fun.

"It was given to me by Dylan! He said it's an imperial heirloom, a legendary artifact!" Rynar explained, hoping to clear Caslow's doubts.

"If Lord Dylan gave it to you, then it should be fine." Caslow nodded, trusting the eccentric yet wise scholar.

"So, can you read it?" Rynar impatiently asked, his desire to become a Dragon Knight growing stronger. After all, what man could resist the thrill of raining destruction from the skies?

"Of course! Now that Kaldor has successfully evolved into a Storm Dragon, the bloodline memories within him have awakened. 

Because of that, I can now understand much of the Draconic Tongue—at least, the Common Draconic and Wind Draconic languages. Other dialects, however, are beyond me." 

Caslow explained.

"Then help me translate the ones you recognize!" Rynar handed him the book, eager to uncover its secrets.

"This one! And this! And this! These are all Wind Draconic spells! If chanted correctly, they will unleash Draconic magic! But you'd need magical energy to cast them." Caslow pointed out several lines of text.

"Then read one for me!" Rynar pointed at a passage in Wind Draconic, curious to hear it spoken.

"…Your Highness, do you want to destroy Gale City? This is a forbidden spell—Storm Decay!" Caslow's eyes widened in alarm. 

Reciting Draconic phrases was no joke. 

Apart from conversational words, every sentence in the Draconic Tongue was a spell. If he read out all the ones he just pointed to, Gale City might be obliterated on the spot.

"It's that serious?" Rynar was startled.

"You don't even have magic, what are you afraid of?" Rynar shrugged. Without mana, he couldn't cast spells anyway. Battle energy only allowed for martial techniques.

"Dragon Knights convert their battle energy into Dragon Power, which contains both martial and magical properties… In other words, Dragon Knights are both warriors and mages." Caslow explained.

"So… does that mean I really can't learn it?" Rynar sighed. If every phrase he learned was essentially a doomsday spell, how was he supposed to practice?

"Here's a compromise, Your Highness—start with Common Draconic. 

That way, you can at least communicate with wild dragons. As for the rest, well, that depends on your luck." Caslow suggested.

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