Hermit Wizard

Ramumings with identification numbers starting with 29 were gathered in the village square. They threw anxious glances into the sky beyond the horizon.

A few minutes ago, they discovered a great creature, a dragon, flying toward the village. In general, dragons flew at high speed before the residents noticed it covered the sky and announced it. Dragons fly so fast that they would’ve reached them before they even noticed their approach.

But that day, it was different. The dragon, flying away from the sun, looked like a small black dot on a yellow light source. The stain remained visible for a long time. It meant it was flying at a very slow speed. The fact that the flight speed was strangely slow meant that the power to move around was insufficient or the wings’ movement was inconvenient.

The Ramumings gathered in the square whispered to each other in fear and despair.

“How big was that dragon injured?”

“Ah, please.”

Among them, young Ramuming, nicknamed ‘Swift Feather’ among his close friends, prayed silently. He desperately hoped that it would be an injury that could be managed at the sacrifice of the Ramumings, who were currently on the list.

Although it was rare, it said that dragons were hurt so badly that they often had to consume even Ramumings that weren’t on the list during the days of war with the demons. The demons who noticed that Ramumings were means of the dragon’s recovery deliberately targeted Ramuming village and slaughtered them.

It was a time when the list lost its meaning.

It was said that it took quite a long time for their people to grow again as they were currently after the nightmare era.

‘No. It wouldn’t be that kind of injury. It would be enough for the Ramumings on the list to be sacrificed. Please!’

He couldn’t help it even if he were called selfish. That was how the Ramumings lived and died. The Ramuming young man prayed, looking at the sky anxiously.

He was only 21 years old and hadn’t lived half his life expectancy.

Swift Feather wanted to live a little longer.

‘I hate being caught alive and being chewed and torn by a dragon…’

He lived as a dragon’s slave, but like most Ramumings, he didn’t know any other way of life in the first place. Living as a slave didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be obsessed with life. It was one of the natural instincts of a creature.

When his life was tough, he remembered the story his father told him.

‘This life is just one of the many lives we have to go through. We’re living as Ramuming right now, but let’s pray for a better life in our next life.’

Swift Feather’s father, who had said that, died at a young age before even being on the list.

The village was chosen because of Dragon Emperor’s needs, and there was no grain produced for the Ramumings to be self-sufficient. Therefore, trade with other Ramuming villages was essential.

His father went to another village to buy food and was eaten by a beast in the plain. No matter how excellent the regenerative power was, it was impossible to recover after the brain and other essential organs were damaged and eaten.

-Rumbling!

Swift Feather woke up from deep thoughts when he heard the villagers whispering in fear. The dragon in the sky was clearly enlarged. In the meantime, it has approached quite a bit.

“Oh my God, what the hell is that… what’s going on!?”

One of the astonished Ramumings shouted. Swift Feather, staring at the sky, also doubted his eyes.

“No way.”

He tried to deny it for the time being. However, the flying object in the sky, which could be more closely identified, had a shape that no Ramuming in the world had ever imagined.

“73871! You are young, so your eyes are good. Please tell me. Is what I see real?”

The old Ramuming, who was standing next to him, asked Swift Feather in a trembling voice. As far as he remembered, he was an old man that lived long after his name was on the list.

“A dragon… is flying with another dragon in its two feet. It’s like when hunting and carrying the prey.”

It wouldn’t be to try to eat the dragon, who was one of its kind. That was the scene to help the injured dragon.

Currently, his voice was filled with despair, realizing the seriousness of the injury and knowing the self-evident fact that the dragon’s help would come through Ramming’s sacrifice.

“But… the dragon’s condition…”

The Old Ramuming cried.

“Is what I see real? …Is it true that the dragon’s limbs and wings are torn off… is it not a hallucination?”

When the figure was clearly revealed, the Ramumings were all confused and screamed, but none of them dared escape since everyone knew the function of the metal necklace on their neck. The old man who spoke to Swift Feather eventually got his pants wet. No matter how many times he was on the list, it would be difficult to avoid death today.

However, such fate seemed to await the rest of the Ramumings, then someone murmured.

“To heal from such injuries… to regenerate the amputated body… How many of our people?!”

The promised time had been reached. The flying dragon reached the sky above its destination. Something huge, like a lid covering the sky, came down from the sky. Another dragon’s body was put down on the ground.

The method was pretty rough.

-Thug!

“Keaaaaaarrghhhhh!”

The Dragon Emperor that fell on the ground roared because of pain. The village vibrated with a small earthquake as a giant body hit the ground. Ramumings that were standing on the rocking ground lost their balance and shook. Their knees, released by despair, were easily broken.

At that moment, most of the Ramumings couldn’t even stand properly. All the residents were terrified as they saw the dragon’s body with everything cut off except the neck and torso. They quickly recognized the injured dragon. It couldn’t be mistaken. A red-scale old dragon that villagers had seen more often than any other dragon…

It was the Dragon Emperor.

An old Ramuming approached the front and opened his mouth with a trembling voice.

“O-Oh, Dragon Emperor. How come you…”

Even in the process of struggling in pain, the Dragon Emperor sent a sharp gaze to the Ramuming. The old Ramuming, realizing his own mistake, leaned down on the spot instead of attempting further conversation. The patient didn’t need to explain the cause of the injury to the medicines.

The Dragon Emperor put its will in the heads of Ramumings.

=Offer to me!=

The old Ramuming spoke with expressions full of despair. It was a sad attempt to avoid the promised disaster somehow.

“Well, then… we line up in the order of the list!”

=No.=

The Dragon Emperor’s firm will made the old Ramuming’s attempts be in vain.

=There’s no need to line up according to the list right now, at this time.=

While flying, the Dragon Emperor made a decision. It was a group of convenient slaves who behaved like its own limbs, but not more important than the real limbs on its own body. Once it recovered its body, it could negotiate with another dragon and rebuild the ‘stable.’

The old red dragon spat out a sense of dignity.

=All Ramumings in this village, go forward. Whether you are young or old, poorly or well-regenerated, offer all of you!=

***

Swift Feather stared at the slaughter play unfolding in front of him with his eyes out of focus.

Although the dragon declared to offer all Ramumings, the first to line up were the residents who had names on the list. The ones who were old or too seriously injured to have regenerative power dedicated themselves to the dragon, praying that as many unnamed Ramumings would survive as possible so that the situation could end on their line as much as possible.

-Crack! Puck! Cheeek!

-Ouck! Phiiiick! Quaack!

The Dragon Emperor, who had no front feet to catch and tear off Ramumings, chewed the blue-haired beasts with a long neck and applied them to its body. The Ramumings lined up according to the list were quickly consumed.

It was followed by young and healthy Ramumings, who weren’t on the list. The Dragon Emperor, who was seriously wounded, already consumed random Ramumings nearby. Even the Ramumings that were improved, so their detached arms and legs could be quickly recovered, couldn’t withstand the complete crushing of the brain and vital organs.

Cerebral spinal fluid was especially needed to recover the dragon. When Ramuming’s cerebral spinal fluid was mixed with blood, flesh, and juice from other organs, the effect of restoring the dragon’s body was shown. It was the result of elaborate improvements made by the previous generation of the Dragon Emperor.

“Can you help me?”

Dragon Emperor looked at the sky and asked the young dragon for help. Lucette-Eigar, who carried Dragon Emperor’s body to the nearest Ramumings’ stable, felt annoyance.

It grumbled in a dry voice.

“Do I have to help with this?”

However, the priority was to return the Dragon Emperor to normal. Lucette-Eigar, looking down while floating its body, frowned a little in annoyance, then it swept through the village with some Mana.

-Hweeeeeeeiiikk!

“Kyaaaaaaaaah!”

“Uaaaarrrrrrgh!”

The wind of the massacre blew regardless of age or sex. Invisible Mana raged the village and tore Ramumings’ flesh.

The river created by flesh and blood was sprayed on the Dragon Emperor’s body under the guidance of Lucette’s Mana. The dragon’s body, which originally had red scales, was covered with more dark, bloodstained layers.

Swift Feather trembled with a locked voice.

“No… No!”

A whole torn head of the same race rolled around at his feet. A mixture of soil and blood from the ground shimmered in a medium light between dark green and black. Looking at the shape of the knot that tied the long blue hair, Swift Feather realized that it belonged to the identification number 29-99113, the Ramuming maiden he had given his heart.

‘I gave you, my heart? Aren’t we that close?’

The memory became dull in fear. He didn’t try hard, but the memory naturally followed his thoughts. It was slow, but certainly, it came to his mind.

Yes, he had made love with her several times in the woods to avoid the villagers’ eyes. Young Ramumings used to immerse themselves in sex to relieve the frustrations and anger of living like livestock.

‘Ah, that’s right. People called her by the nickname of Dawn Starlight. Yes, my starlight who laughed shyly.’

Her smooth, shiny hair was her pride. Dawn Starlight would whisper and laugh as he touched her hair while they were lying side by side on the humus of the forest. Her hair, which he touched at that time, currently laid on the dirt-covered ground.

“Ah… ah!”

The words of his late father, who was the most respected wizard in town, echoed in his ears like a hallucination.

‘This life is just one of many lives, including the life you have been through and the life to come. Don’t despair too much, Son. This life may not be as important as you think compared to the eternity of your soul.’

Still, those words couldn’t suppress the fear of the young Ramuming. Just because he had the next life, it didn’t mean he dared to give up that life in vain. The young Ramuming was obsessed with his current life.

“I… I… don’t want to die!”

Swift Feather, engulfed by fear, closed his eyes in despair and made a different choice than most of the residents awaiting death. He turned his back and began to run out of the village.

“It’s useless.”

Lucette-Eigar, looking at him from the sky, clicked its tongue. All dragons had the right to stop the livestock from running away when trying to take Ramuming for justifiable reasons.

Anyway, the Dragon Emperor had almost no Mana left. It would be difficult to make simple spells. Considering that, the young dragon chanted the spell instead of the Dragon Emperor. It was a spell that every dragon knew.

Spells flowed out of the young dragon’s mouth.

“Khaaaaarrrgghhhhh!”

The young Ramuming grabbed his neck and rolled on the floor. It’s because of the metal necklace that cannot be avoided by Ramuming, who was born in this world. As soon as Lucette-Eigar triggered the spell, small sharp saw blades sprouted from the inside of the necklace, cutting the flesh around Ramuming’s soft neck.

“Aaaargh, Kuuuuuuugh!”

The saw blade penetrated his neck only enough not to touch the carotid artery. After repeated improvements, Ramuming’s body became remarkably resilient and quickly regenerated the wound.

Even during recovery, the saw blade repeated movements intermittently. As the iron was stuck in the neck, the flesh healed, and the muscles and blood vessels were glued to the saw blade, and when the saw blade moved again, the heel flesh attached to the iron burst, and blood spattered. The young Ramuming’s eyes turned over in unbearable pain and flashed white.

The Dragon Emperor, who was looking at it, said with its will.

=Throw away your dreams of running away. This is the reason for your existence. Today is when all of you will achieve your purpose in life, so you should accept it.=

The Dragon Emperor felt its wings and new flesh sprouted from the root of its four legs, but not yet because much more was needed.

As if it had guessed the Dragon Emperor’s thoughts, Lucette-Eigar’s spell continued. The bodies of numerous Ramumings, including Swift Feather, who tried to escape, floated in the air. Like a swarm of ants flying in the wind, they were mixed up and exploded in the air due to Mana’s subsequent impact.

-Poop! Poof! Puck!

The flesh and body fluids exploding from the sky were mixed with the wind of Mana. The Dragon Emperor was covered with such a prepared recovery drug, and a dragon hit the rain in the same color as its scales.

The Dragon Emperor gritted its teeth.

“I don’t know what kind of demon made me like this, and it even erased my memories…”

Even if it didn’t remember currently, there was a way to find out the culprit. Fortunately, the Dragon Emperor didn’t forget one of the control tools passed to the Dragon Emperors.

It wasn’t just the proverbs, rules, and obligations to defend them that were passed down from generation to generation. Due to the dragon’s nature that didn’t form a society where they lived together, the Dragon Emperor couldn’t monitor all other dragons with simple magic. In particular, it was difficult even to try when each dragon was extremely sensitive to observation or detection magic, and it was easy to notice the surveillance.

Nevertheless, the Dragon Emperor was able to monitor other dragons from generation after generation. The Dragon Emperor could easily notice whether or not they violated the rules of their kind. Other dragons were mistaken for the Dragon Emperor’s superior magical skills, but a far more efficient means than simple magic was passed down to the Dragon Emperor.

The object of observation and surveillance was also the Dragon Emperor itself. When it returned to the nest, it would have a record of what happened to it.

“Kufufufufufu!”

Even in the fiery anger, the Dragon Emperor laughed coldly. The anger vomited by the Dragon’s Guardian hadn’t yet found its target. As soon as the object was identified, its anger would be poured out like a torrent of power.

“As soon as my body recovers, I will find you right away. It would be better not to think of dying nicely.”

It would tear, burn, crumble, freeze, crush, and put its enemy back together, and it would repeat it countless times. The Dragon Emperor quietly pledged in its heart.