I Quit Being a Court Magician Apprentice to Become a Magical Item Craftsman
We followed Sebirino’s lead to the location where the dragon had been sighted.
Our team consisted of me, Belial, Zasha Owl Voltel, who had become an apprentice court magician, and Ekvar, who rode a wyvern.
Leaving the city, passing through towns, and crossing plains between forests and small mountains, we finally found it. There was nothing around, no sign of people. It was the perfect situation to use offensive magic.
The Second Knight Order was deployed to two nearby towns to regulate traffic and ensure no one approached. Since we were the only ones fighting, only a small number of riders, skilled in fast horseback travel, were sent ahead. The rest remained on standby near the marquis’ mansion.
Still, flying was faster, so we arrived first.
But we couldn’t afford to wait!
The dragon that appeared was Ehecatl, a high-level wind dragon. It had the form of a winged serpent with a pale body. It was incredibly fast and could unleash razor-sharp wind breaths that, if left unguarded, could slice a human clean in half.
This was an enemy that needed to be taken down immediately.
“Sebirino, put up a defense!”
“Understood! Voltel, assist me!”
“Yes, Lord Arens!”
The two nodded to each other and began chanting a defensive spell to block the dragon’s breath.
“From the scorching heat of sandstorms, from the piercing chill of glacial winds, from all disasters, shield us. O atmosphere, grant us a soft veil, an invisible wall—Souffle Defense!”
Before the protective barrier of Souffle Defense could fully form, Belial had already charged straight at the dragon. A transparent membrane of light expanded in his wake.
“Flames, surge forth like a raging torrent! I am the Flame King, Belial! My sword, forged in scorching fire, manifest before me!”
A dark-colored flame sword appeared in his hand. He first bombarded the dragon with fireballs before moving in to strike. Dodging the dragon’s attacking claws, he slashed at its side and then swiftly maneuvered around to its rear.
This dragon was too fast for a wyvern to keep up with, which meant Ekvar would have to remain a spectator.
The dragon took a deep breath, preparing to unleash a devastating breath attack.
Sebirino and Voltel’s defense was flawless, completely blocking the assault. Everything caught in the breath’s range—trees, rocks, the ground itself—was sliced to shreds. A massive tree was severed in half, its upper portion crashing to the ground. The earth was left covered in deep, sharp gashes.
“Ekvar, I’m going to burn this whole area. There’s nothing important here, so it should be fine, right?”
“Uh… I guess so? But what exactly are you planning to cast?”
“Something that’ll make it clear who did this!”
I was going to put on a show for the marquis.
I took a deep breath, calmed my mind, and began chanting.
“Come forth from the domain of seething flames, Black King. O sword, the source of destruction, release the nine locks and reveal thy crimson form. Fire shall overrun the land, smoke shall rise to the heavens, and even the sun shall be scorched black, constructing a magnificent city of fire in this world!”
Belial kept the dragon’s attention by attacking from behind. Ehecatl turned to retaliate, but before it could unleash another breath attack, Belial fired flames from his hand, forcing it to flinch and recoil in pain.
Enraged, Ehecatl roared and set its sights on me—but my magic was already complete.
I finished my incantation, determined the effective range, and unleashed the spell.
“Let the embers never fade, let the waves of fire consume all, reducing even the last blade of grass to ash. O barren wasteland of famine and despair, be scorched to the ground! Oriflamme Les Mondes!“
Flames erupted from the edges of the designated area, swirling and spreading like a tidal wave, engulfing everything within seconds. Roaring flames blazed bright red, thick plumes of smoke rising into the sky.
At the center, the fire intensified, layering upon itself, converging toward the dragon. The waves of heat crashed upon it, and its anguished screams echoed through the air.
“As expected of my master…!”
“T-Teacher’s magic is truly incredible…!”
Zasha had seen my magic before in training, but this was his first time witnessing a large-scale offensive spell. Outside, there were no barriers to worry about breaking, and since this was an isolated area, I could unleash my full power.
This dragon did not possess Dragon Tears but instead had a magical core similar to that of a serpent—of even higher quality than a sea serpent’s. I’d have to remember to collect it later.
Belial had also sliced off its whiskers before the spell hit. That was a nice bonus.
When I asked Sebirino if splitting the materials 50-50 was fair, he declined, saying he had no claim to them but would appreciate just one whisker. He was being modest—his defense was impeccable. Most people couldn’t pull off such a perfect barrier.
As the flames finally subsided, the weakened, charred dragon writhed on the ground.
Belial delivered the final blow.
Even for an advanced dragon, a single magic attack wasn’t enough to finish it off. If it had been left to recover, it would have retaliated fiercely. Its regeneration was fast—if it had escaped, we would’ve had a much bigger problem later.
“Hunting alongside you always leaves me with so little to do…”
Belial sounded dissatisfied. But even distracting and finishing off a high-level dragon was no small feat—most adventurers wouldn’t stand a chance.
Not to mention, the dragon had been sliced completely in half.
Anyone who discovered this scene later would surely be left horrified, wondering what kind of attack could have caused such destruction.
Sebirino and Zasha would return to the castle to report our success. I wondered if Zasha had memorized my incantation. It was probably a spell he hadn’t encountered before.
After regrouping with the Second Knight Order, we returned to Ekvar’s estate to give our report.
Once the marquis’ family arrived to confirm the dragon’s defeat, they would witness the vast scorched landscape. I had deliberately used the widest-range fire magic I knew.
It was large enough to engulf an entire village.
I couldn’t wait to see their reaction.
After the official report was delivered to Marquis Karlsroa and everyone had left the room, Ekvar finally spoke.
“I… had no role in this at all.”
Yeah… that was true. I messed up. I should’ve let Ekvar deliver the finishing blow. But then we would’ve had to wait for the heat to dissipate first.
Belial, on the other hand, was completely fine—he had such high fire resistance that standing in the flames didn’t even faze him.
“Look at yourself! You’re completely useless after all!!!”
Kaleva, the second son, shot Ekvar an exaggeratedly scornful look.
Ekvar, in turn, responded with an equally exaggerated smile.
“Brother.”
In the next instant, he kicked off the ground. Despite the considerable distance between them, he closed the gap before the startled Kaleva could even ready the sword he had drawn. Ekvar’s blade was already pressed precisely against his throat.
“Do you know that words can bring misfortune?”
“…!”
Kaleva was left speechless by his once-docile younger brother’s sudden transformation. It seemed Ekvar had never revealed even a fraction of his true strength in front of him before.
“Ekvar, stop this…! He is your brother!!”
Their father, Marquis Karlsroa , hurriedly stood from his chair, reaching out to intervene.
Ekvar cast a cold glance at his panicked father before smoothly sheathing his sword.
“Shall we go, Lady Iriya ?”
Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked away.
“You… you…!”
Behind them, Kaleva stood trembling, still gripping his unsheathed sword.
“I’ll never accept this! Every woman I like… they all end up falling for you! Damn you, you thieving cat!!!”
…Leaving aside the weird phrasing—wait, what? So the reason he hated Ekvar was… jealousy?
Even Ekvar himself hadn’t realized it. When he turned to face Kaleva, his expression was one of sheer exasperation. He let out a sigh and spoke.
“By the way, Brother, I hear you’ve been spreading rumors that I got into His Highness’s royal guard through connections.”
“W-What about it?! It’s the truth!”
Wow, Kaleva really was small-minded. What a pitiful guy.
Ekvar, on the other hand, wore a mischievous smirk. Yeah, this suited him much better.
“You do realize that by saying that, you’re basically advertising the fact that even with connections, you couldn’t get in? Have you forgotten that you failed the entrance exam?”
“…Shut up! That was some kind of mistake—!!!”
Kaleva’s furious screams echoed behind them as we left the Karlsroa Marquis’ estate.
