The scattered pieces were falling into place, and as the big picture that the Dragon God began to surface, Fi could only sigh with admiration.
“So you were thinking that far ahead.”
‘Who do you think I am? Don’t you know that I’ve played RTS games for over a million hours?’
“I think you should focus more on working.”
“Why didn’t you explain that from the beginning?”
Keita asked as he paused what he was doing. It wasn’t so much annoyance but curiosity.
“Yeah, I’ve been wondering that too.”
‘This is war. People will die for sure. I offered that plan while understanding that.’
The words of the Dragon God were severe. And they seemed to be directed at him.
‘A military strategist is someone who kills with words alone. They don’t see the horrors of the battlefield, and so they regard soldiers’ lives merely as game pieces. That’s why words such as ‘don’t worry, the losses will be minimal’ should never be spoken lightly.’
“Really, old man. Sometimes I don’t know if you’re too serious or too unserious.”
‘Seriously unserious,’ such is the dragon’s way of life.’
The dragon said with a laugh. Keita returned to his work with a relieved expression. He was carving something with one of Sheto’s arrowheads which had been fashioned into a chisel.
“What are you carving?”
“Invisibility magic. The runes are really complicated and it’s quite tiresome.”
‘Keita, the fourth one on the third row is wrong. It needs another line on the bottom.’
The tiny runes were carved into a mithril plate. As he used magic energy while carving, the burden on him was quite great.
“There’s a lot that I want to say, but why is it so long? Surely no one is chanting all of that?”
“Yes. In this world, the original spell is carved into your magic staff. And so what they chant is just the command word to activate it.”
‘In fact, if you chant those words written there with the correct pronunciation, you will be able to activate the invisibility.’
“Really!?”
While he had seen people use magic a lot, he had never seen anything like this before.
The idea of a divine power being imbued into something with some patterns on it… It was fantastic.
“Still, surely you can’t carve all that on a staff?”
“Staves are much more versatile. For example, Frozen Moon Arrow works by shaping light energy into an arrow and firing it, right? But this staff has those kinds of command words broken down, like ‘light,’ ‘gather,’ and ‘release.’”
‘A spell is essentially the loading time needed to identify and call up those broad command words. There are, however, a few ways to skip that process.’
Fi looked at Keita’s staff and the plate and asked hopefully.
“Hey, if I held that staff, could I use magic?”
“You’re a dragon, Fi. Can’t you use magic already?”
‘But he is still a young dragon. He cannot use the cry chant yet. Incidentally, unless a dragon can use cry chant, it can’t use light-tonal magic, the kind Keita uses.’
He had been expecting it for the most part, but things were not looking promising. While his shoulders drooped with disappointment, Keita looked interested.
“Cry chant? Is that dragon magic?”
‘It is the voice that is not a voice, the call that reaches out to the fundamental elements of all things. Spirits, high-ranking dragons, and divine beasts are adept at using it. Naturally, I can use it as well.’
“And…could I use it too?”
‘It should be possible. However, you would not become a high-ranking user. Because the human throat is not able to produce the proper tones.’
It was Keita’s turn to look disappointed. Fi quietly touched his own throat.
He had been given the body of a dragon. So that meant he might be able to use the cry chant one day.
“Old man, what do I need to do to be able to use it?”
‘It is not something that can be taught. Your body will realize it naturally. When the time comes, you will be able to use it.’
“Right. Somehow, I knew you would say something like that. Damn it!”
Keita chuckled at his grumbling. Fi couldn’t help but slush as well.
‘I have returned… You seem to be having fun.’
Canila’s voice rang. Keita raised the mithril plate.
“I finished with preparations. Please turn it into a divine vessel.”
‘Yes. Very well.’
A moment later, the plate turned from silver to a glowing gold. He put a chain through the hole in one end, turning it into a large necklace.