I Raised A Black Dragon

‘Oh, I’m tired…’

Noah flopped down on the sofa and reminisced why her life had come to this point.

Today was the fourth class with Adrian. Every Tuesday and Thursday, Noah was dragged to the Capital like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse and had to face that useless, pretentious man to take intense magic lessons.

“It’s still too much to release the restraints, let’s do it again.” Adrian tapped the keyboard and said. 

The main point of the class Adrian and Noah had been doing for three weeks was ‘building sensitivity to the magic in nature.’

Here’s a brief explanation of the basics. What is mana?

Mana was an intangible force of high strength that encompasses this entire dimension.

There were many theories regarding the source of mana and the most convincing theory in existence was that mana is the power that encompasses not only this world but also in all dimensions. It was a natural force that exists in all living organisms as well as in inanimate objects such as water, soil, and air.

Why did Noah use the expression “all dimensions”? It was simple. It was because the power of the dragon, which was a foreign being, also came from mana. Only the degree and density of mana differ, but the dragon’s mana is essentially the same force that flows through the world. 

So, to conclude, there is only a degree of difference in each dimension but there is magic everywhere. 

However, this world was not a land where mana flowed in high density. The surreal power of mana and magic began to sprout here when the dragon moved to Muite about 5,000 years ago.

It is said that pure magic prevailed in ancient times when dragons were active in Muite. This was because nearly infinite mana was constantly supplied.

However, as the dragons, who enjoyed their fleeting fun, lost interest and left Muite one by one, only a small amount of mana remained, compared to the amount the continent originally possessed.

Thus, as a natural consequence, the magic of the continent gradually began to decline for 500 years, after the last dragon of the continent, Liza Bergenius, left.

And it was then that human intelligence instead began to shine now that such surreal power had faded.

As a result of their remarkable growth, several times faster than when they relied on magic, they succeeded in achieving a boom no less than when magic flourished in just 500 years.

Rail tracks crossed the continent instead of teleportation magic. Medicine and anatomy developed instead of healing magic and potions, which increased the understanding of the human body, and guns rapidly developed instead of attack spells that required complicated formulas.

Of course, it wasn’t comparable to the 21st century South Korea where Noah had lived, but it seems to be at least like a Western country that has undergone industrialization. It was just the political elements were still similar to the outdated ways. 

Anyway, it was Laurent the Great that led the revival of the continent. You’d think there was no use of magic during the process, but of course not.

Wizards still exist to this day and age. There is also an Imperial Department called the Ministry of Magic. 

However, if there was a difference from ancient times, it was that the kind of magic differed. 

The magic that was prevalent in ancient times was collectively called pure magic and the magic used in the present era is called manufactured magic. Manufactured magic refers to magic that amplifies, refines, or transforms mana to boost high efficiency with less power, and as a matter of fact, requires a physical device to support it, not a magic formula or magic circle.

Then, can anyone become a wizard if they are good with magic devices? ‘If that was possible, I wouldn’t even be taking basic classes like now.’

To qualify as a wizard, you either have to be extremely sensitive to mana flowing in nature or you have to have more mana compared to ordinary citizens the moment you are born. The former is more suited for manufactured magic while the latter is more suited for pure magic.

In this day and age, there were overwhelmingly more of the former than the latter. 99% of the wizards in this era are people who study and design devices needed for manufactured magic, namely magic inventions. The other 1% are individuals gifted with pure magic. 

The former represented Eleonora. A rare genius inventor and master of manufactured magic, who feels the ghostlike faint magic flowing in the sky, land, and sea and applies it to the right place.

And this man is the representative figure for the latter, pure magic users. Adrian Rosinel, the current Minister of Magic.

In other words, he was the only one who could teach Noah how to control the dragon’s mana that was leaking all around her.

“Let’s do it one more time, Eli.”

Adrian beckoned her. Noah sighed and approached the cylindrical device in front of him.

This narrow fence-shaped device that reached her waist was used to measure Noah’s sensitivity to mana. Training that extremely raises sensitivity while wearing restraints, was a class Noah was taking recently.

Adrian calmly operated the button as she entered the machine.

“Now, on three, it starts. One, two….”

Creak. A transparent curtain rose from the machine and surrounded Noah before she could even prepare herself. Her face filled with anger immediately. That bastard, he pressed it on two!

Noah decided that when she got out of there, she would grab him by the collar and shake him. In the meantime, Noah continued pressing the button on the device every time she felt the magic touch her skin.

After about 10 minutes, the curtain was lifted. Adrian read the results that emerged from the device.

“About 675 times out of 1,000. You’re a lot more sensitive than before. Maybe because you were born to be sensitive.”

“… please be careful about what you say. When you say it, even decent words sound lewd.”

“What do you mean lewd? Change it to a more formal word, Eli.”

Adrian smirked and approached her. When the delicate finger felt around Noah’s neck for injuries, the restraint creaked and became a little loose. Muel’s mana, which was blocked by the restraint and could not flow into her, then quickly flowed in.

“Now feel it again. Delicately, at what speed and direction the mana circulated in your body… Eleonora, focus.”

“Oh, yeah.”

As Noah stared at Adrian’s hands blankly, Noah thought about the fact that there was a long scar on Kyle’s index finger, and before she knew it, Noah was startled when Adrian put his face close to hers. 

The distance was too close. As Noah took a step back with a frown, Adrian closed the distance again and raised the corners of his mouth dangerously.

After one examination, her mana-sensitive body instinctively detected the mana flowing in Adrian’s body. It was flowing surprisingly irregular in speed and radiated heat. 

A man with an unusual mana circuit called her affectionately.

“Eleonora.”

“….what?”

“One more time…”

This psycho, whose attitude had changed 180 degrees from before, stroked Noah’s cheek and whispered sweetly. 

“If you think about someone else in front of me one more time and break things around you, I will put you in chains next time.”