The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 369

“Before I start my explanation, let me ask you something first. The reason you all are arguing for Marco’s release is because you believe there’s no way to stop the rampaging dragons, is that correct?”

I asked, making eye contact with several of those who were advocating for Marco’s release.

“…Yes.”

After a long silence, one representative answered on behalf of the others.

From the perspective of the representatives of each country, not having a way to confront the dragons is a very shameful thing.

It’s understandable that the answer was delayed.

“There are a whopping 47 of them that single-handedly destroyed France. Moreover, they’re in a state of rampage. There’s no means to counter such monstrous power.”

That’s why they want to release Marco, even temporarily, to at least stop the rampage.

Even considering the risks of releasing Marco, they want to prevent the impending catastrophe in the near future.

That must be their opinion.

“Hmm. I see. So that’s why things got so twisted.”

“…Twisted?”

“Yes. Seriously twisted.”

But. That’s a wrong way of thinking.

The very approach to thinking is wrong from the start.

“First, we need to correct the misunderstanding that started from that twist.”

I paused briefly and then spoke.

“To put it bluntly. The 47 dragons that will newly appear this time can be sufficiently stopped with the current military forces of each country.”

“…Can be stopped?”

“Yes.”

“…”

This time, not only those who were suggesting that Marco should be released, but also those who were saying that Marco should not be released, had a change in their expressions.

They had expressions that they couldn’t believe my words that the dragons could be sufficiently stopped.

“I think I said it before, but words alone can’t accomplish anything…”

“I think I also said it before. I have no intention of solving things with just words.”

I clearly stated that I had no intention of doing anything with just words.

I signaled to Mimir with a hand gesture.

“Here. Would you please look at this PPT [PowerPoint presentation]?”

Data began to appear one by one on the hologram screen.

“As you all know, the dragons that Marco has succeeded in manifesting this time require one condition to be activated.”

“Condition?”

“Don’t you know? It should be written in the data book that was given to you in advance.”

I turned my gaze to my father.

“Hasn’t it been fully shared yet?”

“No. The document has already been distributed to everyone. It seems like everyone was too busy fighting to read it.”

“…Indeed.”

The answer I expected came from my father’s mouth.

“In other words, you’ve been fighting each other for almost 3 hours without even considering the information you’ve already obtained.”

“…”

“…”

The representatives closed their mouths.

Some lowered their heads, and some coughed awkwardly as if they were embarrassed.

“…I just thought that wasn’t important.”

At that moment, one representative spoke with a flustered expression.

“If information isn’t important in this situation, then what is important?”

“What’s important isn’t information about the dragons, but stopping the dragons’ rampage. We prioritized that…”

“That’s a fallacy. What’s needed for that response is information, isn’t it?”

The man closed his mouth.

He wanted to object somehow, but he couldn’t think of anything to refute my correct argument.

He had an expression that seemed to say that.

“…Haa.”

I let out a short sigh.

“Let’s get back to the point. The dragons that Marco has succeeded in reproducing this time require a huge amount of mana to operate. That’s the essential condition for activating the dragons that I just mentioned.”

“Mana…”

About 80% of the representatives frowned, looking like they were hearing it for the first time.

The remaining 20% had an ‘Ah!’ expression.

It seems that they at least read the report written by Mimir.

“If you feed the dragons enough mana, they become stronger. If you feed them less mana, they become weaker.”

“Is it a kind of charging system?”

“Yes. You can think of it as a rechargeable magical weapon whose performance varies depending on the amount charged.”

“I see. So that’s how the dragons are structured.”

Everyone seemed to be deep in thought, narrowing their eyes and pondering.

“What was the charging level of the one that annihilated France?”

“Of course, MAX. It was at its maximum.”

The Red Dragon that was activated in Italy and moved to France at that time likely had the maximum amount of mana.

They wouldn’t have sent a dragon with less charge from the first terror.

“And the mana charge level of the dragon I faced in Florence was about…”

A new graph appeared on the PPT.

“30%.”

“Are you saying it only had 1/3 of the power compared to the one that destroyed France?”

The value on the graph was replaced with a new value.

“No. Its power was 45.6% of its maximum condition.”

“Are you saying that the amount of mana and the total amount of power are not in a completely proportional relationship?”

“Yes. Here. The charge amount and the discharge amount are not proportional. There is a separate calculation formula.”

This is a calculation formula created by Mimir.

It’s almost certain since it’s a formula created using the results of analyzing the magic output of the Red Dragon compared to the amount of mana consumed in its body.

“I can explain the calculation formula in detail, but there’s no need to explain it in such detail. Anyway, when the mana of the dragon is charged to about 30%, it has about 45% of its maximum power. Just keep that in mind.”

Everyone was silent.

It was a silence filled with affirmation.

“Then, you’re all probably wondering this. I understand that this dragon is activated by feeding it mana. And I understand that this dragon can show about 45% of its power with about 30% of mana. But what exactly is that 30% of mana?”

Anyone who has heard my previous explanation would have this question in their mind.

“The answer to that question is here, in this data.”

Mimir switched the PPT data again.

The silhouette of a dragon is colored in only about 30%.

The colored part means the charged mana of the dragon.

“First, if we quantify the amount of mana, it’s like this.”

The colored part of the dragon’s silhouette was enlarged, and a number appeared on it.

“13,433,193,442.”

Roughly 13.4 billion.

“13.4…billion?”

“Is that 13.4 billion in international standards?”

“Yes. It’s 13.4 billion in international standards.”

With Mimir’s gesture, the number was soon replaced with other letters.

“For those who don’t know the amount of mana well, I’ve converted the values into an easy-to-understand format.”

An emblem in the shape of a power plant appeared, and a small number appeared next to it.

“The amount of mana produced annually by the largest mana power plant in Korea, the Shinsan Power Plant, is 13 times that.”

Below that, an emblem in the shape of a research institute appeared, and again, a number was engraved next to it.

“It’s about twice the amount of mana consumed monthly by the U.S. International Research Institute, one of only three of the largest research institutes in the world.”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

“And it’s also three times the amount of mana consumed in a year by some developing countries.”

The mana required to fill 30% of a dragon’s mana is astronomical.

“In other words, to fully charge all 47 dragons, you would need about 300 times more mana than the U.S. International Research Institute uses monthly.”

“That’s…”

“Yes. It’s an impossible amount in common sense. Honestly, it’s an impossible amount even if you gather all the mana stones in the world.”

Converted into numerical values, it’s 4.2 trillion.

It’s a level of mana that even the United States, with all its power, couldn’t gather even half of it.

No matter how great Marco is, it’s impossible for him to prepare that much mana.

“The situation you’re all worried about… There’s no chance that we’ll have to face a group of Red Dragons like the ones that attacked France.”

Even if we look at the dragons they possess in the best light, they’ll only have about 10% to 20% of their original power.

Even considering the increase in output due to the rampage, it won’t exceed 25%.

At that level, we can sufficiently stop them with the current military forces.

“But… if they somehow manage to get a large supply of mana stones from somewhere and charge only a few of the dragons to their maximum…”

“Then that’s good.”

I made eye contact with the man who had made the suggestion and slowly raised the corners of my mouth.

“Because that means we can find out their location just by tracking the movement of the mana stones.”

Then, we can reverse-engineer the movements of those who want to obtain mana stones.

“Using mana stones as a trap to find their base?”

“Hoo. There was such a way.”

The atmosphere changed.

The atmosphere that seemed like they were about to fight disappeared, and an atmosphere of wanting to cooperate was created.

“Certainly, according to this information, it would be much more dangerous to release Marco.”

“…That was a blind spot.”

Looking at the expressions of the representatives who seemed to have lost their will to fight each other, I let out a sigh of relief inside.

The immediate fire was put out.

* * *

After that, I continued the briefing for about 30 more minutes.

The result was, needless to say, a great success.

Everyone acknowledged that my plan was the best option and the only salvation.

“Good job.”

My father approached me, who was sprawled on the sofa, and offered words of encouragement.

“It was an excellent calculation, an excellent presentation, and excellent leadership.”

He had a very satisfied expression.

He was proud of me. My father’s eyes were saying that.

“Thanks to you, things were easily resolved.”

“…You’re welcome.”

I gave a formal greeting as it was, then tried to get up from my seat.

“There’s no need to get up. Just lie down and rest. You don’t look well.”

My father stopped me from doing so. He’s not usually the type to say such things.

It seems my complexion is quite bad.

“Yes. Then, I’ll be rude and stay like this.”

I closed my eyes while lying sprawled on the bed again.

I’m dizzy, and even keeping my eyes open is a burden.

“Is it because of the power you received from the dragon?”

“Yes. I thought I was okay, but it suddenly hit me.”

The reason I’m in this state isn’t exactly because of the briefing.

Giving a briefing in front of the representatives of each country is quite a burden, but.

It’s just a briefing after all.

My mental state isn’t so weak that I would collapse from just that.

The reason I’m currently experiencing poor condition is because of the dragon’s mana.

“I saw earlier that your complexion deteriorated rapidly after using magic. Is there a problem with your mana usage?”

“Yes. You saw it correctly.”

I thought it was too quiet, so there wouldn’t be any problems.

But it wasn’t.

The dragon’s mana was quiet just because I wasn’t using mana.

As soon as I used mana, it started to rampage like crazy.

Thanks to that, I’m in this state now.

Like I’m suffering from mana exhaustion, all the strength is drained from my body, and my head is throbbing.

“I heard it was a gift.”

My father’s eyes shone sharply.

“How is that a gift?”

He frowned as if he was angry at the dragon who gave me this useless thing.

“…Well, objectively speaking, it’s more of a burden than a gift right now.”

“Right now?”

My father’s eyes shone slightly.

“That sounds like it might be a little different later.”

“Yes. That’s what I meant.”

I repeatedly closed and opened my still stiff eyes.

When I felt a little better, I made eye contact with my father.

“This vast mana… It doesn’t listen properly, and it’s a burden right now.”

The dragon’s mana is currently dormant because I’m not moving it.

This mana is immeasurably huge and also unruly.

I can’t control it right now.

“If I can completely make this mana my own, then things will be a little different.”

But this lack of control is not permanent.

If this mana completely adapts to my body, if it reaches a level where it responds to my words to some extent, then things will be very different.

“I don’t know how long it will take to fully acquire it, but if I succeed in making the mana that the dragon gave me completely my own…”

“…Then?”

My father’s expression seemed to be anticipating my next words.

I made eye contact with my father and slowly opened my mouth.

“…Hmm. What will happen?”

“…”

My father glared at me as if telling me not to joke around and speak properly.

“No. I’m not exactly joking… I really don’t know.”

I completely make the dragon’s mana my own. If that happens, what will happen?

Neither I nor Mimir know about that yet.

There’s no way to know because there’s no information about it.

“Really… what will happen?”

The dragon’s mana becomes completely mine.

Then, what kind of power will I gain?

“Will I be able to breathe fire from my mouth?”

I said such a joke, and secretly inflated my expectations.