As the saying goes, a lon forced from its vine is never sweet; a result manipulated by Arrogance is also not an eternal truth.
Unless it was already heading in the right direction and rely needed a final push.
Just like the vigorous validation Pafila underwent during her ascension to godhood.
David, gradually calming down from Wrath, saw that Dragon Father Attilicia indeed seed at the end of his tether. He tossed the Mithril Dragon Lock back into the Portable Cave, then, cursing under his breath, ended the ’Dragon Frenzy Protection Barrier’ experint. He prepared to retrieve his ’delicate and frail’ Dragon Father and return to the Tokamak Fortress.
Yet, just as Attilicia, who remained silent and felt sowhat unjustly aggrieved, had finished recording the data from this first Dragon Frenzy Barrier trial using the Dragon Heritage for the future developnt of ’downgraded protective arcane spells,’ an unexpected ’guest’ took the initiative to approach them. The guest nodded and slightly spread his wings in a sowhat awkward pose, offering a rather misshapen Mage’s salutation.
"Respected His Holiness Attilicia," he began, "may I inquire if... you could perhaps teach that legendary arcane spell you’ve just perford?"
Noticing the unfriendly glares from David and his father, Attilicia, due to the earlier unpleasantness, Olivalyres, the chieftain of the Blue Dragon Clan, quickly lowered his stance further. He was eager to explain, "I am well aware that my request is presumptuous, but for the Dragon Race, especially for our Blue Dragon Clan, it is of utmost importance. Your Holiness, you may na any terms... we..."
Before Olivalyres could finish, Attilicia pulled out an arcane manual he always carried and casually tossed it to the old dragon, Patrice, saying, "Most of it is in there. If you want to learn, just take an imprint and bring it back with you. We are in a hurry right now."
"Ah? How can this be?"
Patrice clumsily caught the arcane manual. Each page was carved from slate. As he looked at the title inscribed in Dragon runes, ’Design of Stable Models Based on Electromagnetic Turbulence and Their Arcane Extension Applications—Thunder Guard,’ the old dragon was stunned.
This was a legendary arcane spell that could render an area immune—no, at least significantly reduce the effects of Dragon Frenzy!
Even without this function, it was a powerful legendary spell that could elevate the Blue Dragons to the next level!
And it was just given to like that?
He had already prepared to be thoroughly fleeced by this father-son duo.
Patrice knew David was a Red Dragon and that the powerful god they worshipped was also a Red Dragon. He also knew Attilicia wasn’t overly concerned with the feud between Chromatic Dragons and tal Dragons. If not for these factors, he would have felt uncomfortable pressing the matter now.
But now... what did this an?
Just as a hint of joy from getting sothing for nothing began to surface on the old dragon’s face, he heard David say indifferently, "There’s nothing that can or can’t be about it. The Dragon Frenzy is approaching, and we were planning to open-source this arcane manual’s data to all great dragons anyway."
"Open... open-source?" Patrice was sowhat confused.
Attilicia, also sowhat proud of the decision he and his son had made, added, "Yes, I’m going to fully disclose the copies of this arcane manual. When the ti cos, any dragon who wants to learn can co and take it. I was just wondering where to put it, but now it seems better to leave it at your territory’s Montero in Ore Town under one condition: do not set any barriers. If I discover that your Clan is trying to profit from it, I will have no choice but to revoke this decision."
Of course, only the arcane knowledge for constructing stable electromagnetic turbulent fields to create Thunder Guard would be open-sourced. It was rely the tip of the iceberg among the countless technologies of Tokamak Fortress’s ’Dragon-Made Sun Project.’ They certainly didn’t want people ’planting suns’ all over the world in a few years.
Patrice finally understood but was completely stupefied. He hastily tried to dissuade them, "But if you do that, wouldn’t the High Elves also get a chance to acquire this arcane technology?"
After all, every world and every race inevitably had scoundrels who would betray their people’s interests for profit. Even without such traitors, a massive public release of arcane models would significantly lower the difficulty for spies from other races to obtain it. It could be said that, over ti, High Elves and even humans would almost certainly acquire this technology.
David flicked his tail dismissively. "We can’t be concerned about that anymore. Besides, I really don’t believe those long-eared folks could crack this technology and adapt the Dragon Mad Lock accordingly within three years."
Arrogance
David himself had heard it from Tiamat back then. According to the dragons’ post-incident research report, those elves had spent four full millennia researching and creating the ’Starlight Dragon Frenzy Shackles Project’ to target the entire Dragon Race.
But now, they didn’t even have four years. Their current worry was whether their own draconic intellects were capable of learning it in such a short ti, let alone worrying about technological counterasures from those elves.
According to David’s deduction, if the elves discovered this technology and confird there were no effective counterasures, it would likely lead to another outco:
That would be to hasten the arrival of The Slaying King Star!
And with it, the full outbreak of the war that would determine dominance over the Elariya plane.
So, the ti left for them was truly short. For this reason, squandering precious ti for trivial benefits was indeed unwise.
"Thank you, both of you, for your selfless gift!"
Even Patrice, who had yet to think about such profound issues, sincerely admired the resolve and generosity of this father and son’s decision. However, he couldn’t quite agree with the father-son duo’s perceived arrogance.
After all, what gambler loses every day? What apprentice cries every ti?
How could there be a spell in this world that couldn’t be learned?
However, as soon as the old dragon, nursing this thought, opened the introductory pages of the research on electromagnetism and its arcane extensions, his gaze began to grow vacant and unfocused:
’Coulomb’s Law Discourse,’ ’Electric Fields and Magnetic Fields,’ ’Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction,’ ’Ohm’s Law,’ ’Maxwell’s Equations’...
He recognized each individual term, but when they were put together, he couldn’t understand what any of it ant! Especially when he saw the equations filled with complex, unfamiliar symbols, this old Blue Dragon, who prided himself on his cleverness, felt a wave of dizziness.
After a long mont, Patrice, having made a show of flipping through it, closed the manual with an expressionless face. He then respectfully returned it to Attilicia’s claws, bowing to the young tal Dragon who was more than three draconic life cycles his junior, saying, "My apologies for the disturbance..."
And so, this old Blue Dragon—who in his early years had learned quite a few spells due to Arcane Craving before switching careers mid-stream to beco a pirate and make his fortune—slowly flew back to his Dragon Nest under the astonished and puzzled gazes of the assembled dragons.
He seed to have even forgotten about making an imprint from the stone tablets.
His hunched, weary back was a picture of desolation.
David and his Dragon Father couldn’t help but exchange glances. In David’s eyes was an ’I-told-you-so’ look, while his Dragon Father’s face was etched with the dread of impending disaster, his legs trembling as if he wanted to bolt.
The simplification and deconstruction of this legendary arcane art, Thunder Guard, is absolutely imperative!
Otherwise, all this effort will have been for nothing.
This stuff... aside from the true powerhouses, who the hell could understand it in three years?!
The direction was also clear: discard the theory, keep the frawork.
It’s like not needing to know how the formula ∮F·dS=∫(▽·F)dV was derived. Being able to plug it into problems and get the answers on a test is enough.
But compiling an arcane textbook from scratch based on this frawork, one that dragons could understand and use to successfully cast spells—that was a purely technical task of enormous undertaking.
At this thought, Attilicia, who hadn’t had a real break in who knew how many years, felt his vision go dark.
Back then... I never should have acknowledged this son!
What a wretched fate!
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