Sorcerer‘s Dairy

Chapter 1, Section 2: A Lovely Dragon

The sun was now shining fully overhead. Strangely, the small flames under my feet neither grew nor went out. Despite the sun making me sweat, I felt my body gradually recovering.

The old man had been gone for at least four hours, so why was there still no word? I kept staring in the direction of the village, trying to catch any signs of activity. By now, they should’ve made the trip there and back, but there was still no sign of anyone.

Just when I was about to grow bored, Steel appeared out of nowhere. “Hey, old man, I came to see you again.”

I looked at him helplessly without saying anything, then turned back to gaze at the village, wondering what had happened. Why hadn’t anyone come to untie me yet?

Steel seemed to know what I was thinking and said, “Everyone in the village has gone to the cave to dig for treasure. No one’s coming to rescue you.”

“Could you untie me then?” With no one else to turn to, I had no choice but to ask Steel.

“No need to rush, you’ll soon have the strength to break free on your own,” Steel replied, in a way that didn’t sound like a child at all.

I suddenly realized this and, though my memory was gone, my thoughts were intact. I asked, “What do you mean by that?”

The boy looked at me oddly. “You don’t know that your magic comes from fire?” Then, as if realizing something, he said, “Have you forgotten all your magic?”

I was even more puzzled. “Didn’t you say I treated you when you were young? Am I not a doctor? How could I also be a magician?”

The boy said, “You’re not a magician, you’re a sorcerer.”

I was even more confused. “A sorcerer? What’s that? How’s it different from a magician?”

The boy stared into my eyes, as if trying to see if I was genuinely clueless. After a moment, he said, “Never mind, even if I don’t tell you, you’ll soon find out. I’m off now.”

“Hey! Wait, don’t go!” I shouted.

Steel hopped away without looking back, heading in the direction of the village this time. I vaguely remembered that last time he had gone toward the mountains.

The sunlight was gradually shifting away from directly overhead. I suddenly felt an itch on my face and instinctively reached up with my right hand to scratch, completely forgetting that my arms were tied to the branch.

*Snap!* The branch broke with a c***k. I was stunned. What just happened? I didn’t feel like I had used any force, and I had struggled with all my strength earlier this morning to no avail.

I tested my left hand, applied a little pressure, and the branch began creaking. With just a bit more strength, the branch snapped like it was made of paper.

Strange… Why had my strength suddenly increased?

Suddenly, I remembered what Steel had said.

As I pondered this, a roar came from the distant village. It sounded like… a dragon?

I strained my ears, forgetting to free myself completely. Faintly, I could hear people screaming in the village. It really did sound like a dragon.

*Boom!* Along with the dragon’s roars and people’s cries, flames erupted in the village, followed by the sound of a massive explosion. Instinctively, I focused my gaze on the scene, and suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. I muttered an incantation, and the distant view began to zoom in. I could now clearly see a black dragon, its entire body covered in armor-like scales, spewing fireballs at the village. The fireballs struck the rooftops and the ground, causing huge explosions.

Looking closer, I saw the villagers running in all directions, screaming for their lives. Several burning carts stood near the village gate, and scattered around them were heaps of gold and gems.

I also spotted the old brown horse, lying lifeless on the ground. Beside it was the old man from this morning, crushed under a fallen beam.

The village had become a scene of hell. I closed my eyes to withdraw my focus, and in that brief moment before shutting them completely, I could’ve sworn the black dragon glanced at me. My heart skipped a beat. I had to get out of here.

I quickly tore off the remaining ropes binding my legs and leaped to the ground. Looking around, I searched for the safest route to escape the chaos.

“Foolish humans! You dare steal my treasure? All of you will die!” Even from this distance, the dragon’s voice sent chills down my spine. It could speak the human language, which meant it was clearly an adult long-tailed black dragon.

On this continent, there were many kinds of dragons, and although long-tailed black dragons weren’t the most common, they weren’t exactly rare either. However, as far as I could recall, long-tailed black dragons hadn’t been seen in this land for a very long time.

Wait, my memory? How could I remember that? Just as I was about to dig deeper into my thoughts, I suddenly felt a gust of wind coming at me.

Damn. I knew it. The dragon must have spotted me. How could I have been so stupid as to make eye contact?

Sure enough, the long-tailed black dragon was flying straight toward me. It was getting closer, and I could even see the dimples on its face.

Dimples? Why did it have dimples?

The black dragon flapped its wings twice more before it began to shrink, its form growing smaller and smaller, until it finally transformed into… a little boy, who landed right in front of me.

“Steel!” I exclaimed in surprise. “Is that you? Are you a dragon?”

“Yeah, old man, I already told you, you treated me when I was little.” The boy grinned, his dimples deepening.

I scratched my head. The lump was gone, though there was still some pain. “I really am suffering from amnesia. It seems the villagers hit my head last night, and that’s what caused it.”

“That’s impossible!” Steel nearly shouted in surprise. “You’re the most powerful sorcerer on the Oran Continent! Your body is as tough as Zeta ore—far harder than mine. There’s no way a weak human could’ve harmed you.”

I spread my hands. “Whether or not a weak human hurt me doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’ve lost my memory. Maybe I’ll remember over time. I already feel like I’ve started recalling bits and pieces.”

Steel shrugged. “Well, the village is gone. What are you going to do next?”

I sighed. “I don’t know. I can’t even remember what I’m supposed to be doing. Even my name was something that old man told me. And he only told me part of it—just a first name, not the whole thing.”

“Hahaha, I can’t wait to tell my parents this story. The greatest sorcerer on the Oran Continent got a head injury from weak humans and lost his memory. It’s hilarious!” Steel’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“By the way, the old man mentioned I was headed to the Cloud Kingdom. Do you know where that is?”

“The Cloud Kingdom? It’s about 12,000 kilometers east of here,” Steel said as he looked me over. “How do you plan to get there? You’re not going to walk, are you? Don’t you remember how to fly? Or teleport? Or—”

“Stop, stop, stop!” I interrupted him. “I don’t remember any of that. Right now, I just want to know if going to the Cloud Kingdom will help me recover some of my memories.”

“What do you want to know? I know you pretty well,” Steel said with a shrug. “After all, you cured my speechlessness when I was a kid. We’ve known each other for years.”

“How old are you?” I asked, curious.

“I’ll be 400 next year.”

“What?!” I exclaimed. “You’re 400 years old, and you still call me ‘old man’? When did I treat you?”

“I can’t remember exactly, but it was about 270 years ago.” Steel pouted. “You’re the most powerful sorcerer, so you must be at least 1,200 years old. You never told me your exact age, but my mom said she saw you when she was a child, and she’s already 1,200.”

“I’m the same age as your mom?” I nearly shouted. “No wonder you call me old man.”

“Wrong, you’re definitely older than my mom. My dad says he’s never met you, but he heard stories about you when he was a child,” Steel replied with a smug look. “Oh, and my dad’s 1,540.”

...I was speechless. So I was a “sorcerer” over 1,500 years old, but I still didn’t know what being a sorcerer meant. So I asked again, “You keep saying I’m a sorcerer. What is that, exactly? And how is it different from a magician?”

“The difference... Honestly, I’m not really sure,” Steel admitted. “But I remember that when I first called you a magician, you got really mad. You said you weren’t a magician, you were a sorcerer. But you do know magic and other things beyond magic. As for the exact difference, I guess only you would know.”

“Then why do you call me the most powerful sorcerer?” I asked, remembering another question.

“That’s because you’ve forgotten all the things you’ve done,” Steel said with a mischievous grin. “I think your memory loss is temporary. Once you remember, you’ll know everything.”

He clearly didn’t want to tell me. I thought to myself.

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you; I really don’t know the difference between a magician and a sorcerer. But your name is famous across this continent,” Steel said, as if reading my thoughts. “By the way, I’m using mind-reading, and you’re the one who taught me how to do it.”

The boy paused, then added, “Strange. You’ve definitely gotten weaker, because mind-reading doesn’t work on creatures stronger than oneself. I’ve never been able to read your thoughts before.”

I sighed. “Alright, since you don’t know, I won’t ask anymore. So, what are you planning to do next?”

Over the course of our conversation, I’d come to see Steel as a friend. Despite the age difference, I hoped we could be friends.

“I just woke up from the ‘Dragon’s Slumber.’ I’ve been asleep for about 15 years this time, so I want to go find my parents,” Steel said happily. “Why don’t you come with me? Maybe my parents can help you find some of the answers you’re looking for. Or maybe you’ll gradually remember everything along the way.”

Thinking about it, his suggestion made sense. So I said, “Alright, where are you going to look for them?”

"Uh... To be honest, I don't know." The little boy was a little helpless.

You are such a lovely dragon! I thought you were a stupid dragon, but then I remembered that it can read minds, so I had to think so.

(To be continued))