Since Yuric started working at the alchemy workshop, the store gradually began attracting more customers and eventually reached an unprecedented level of prosperity.
The store owner, Lynnet, had been cold and fussy, leading to very poor sales despite the quality of her goods. However, things changed once Yuric began interacting with customers. With his good looks, kindness, and flexible business approach, it was only natural that many people would come.
Moreover, he transformed the shop’s formerly gloomy appearance into something elegant and classical, tidied up the interior, and kept it clean. Yuric even used his weekly salary to buy and install new display cases for the store, showing great dedication. Lynnet had never seen an employee who spent their own money to improve their employer’s shop. When asked why, his response was remarkable.
“Doesn’t it look better this way?”
With a pure smile, Yuric replied like that, leaving even the stubborn Lynnet no choice but to throw up her hands in surrender.
Thanks to the reputation of high-quality work at reasonable prices, Lynnet’s shop also received orders from nobles. Most of these were for vitality-boosting potions, though occasionally there were requests for medicinal remedies.
Lynnet couldn’t help but be genuinely amazed by Yuric’s ability to handle any order with ease. Truly, he was a worthy mage who had developed the cure for Mana Blockage Disease.
As they earned more money, many things about the store changed inside and out, but the laboratory remained as it always was. Lynnet didn’t want to replace the tools she’d grown accustomed to over decades. Instead, she purchased a new grinder, freeing her from the primitive method of breaking rocks with a hammer.
With Lynnet’s permission, Yuric cleaned up the warehouse attached to the store’s living quarters and moved in. The sleeping bag and blankets gifted to him by Golden Hand Niruin were satisfactory, and having a wooden box to use as a desk was enough for him to study.
Seeing how Lynnet ate food carelessly prepared, Yuric decided to take charge of breakfast during his stay. Fortunately, she loved his herb-infused bread.
Yuric often visited the paper shop across the street to buy quality paper. The shopkeeper’s daughter seemed smitten with him, frequently bringing fruit and food to Lynnet’s store under the pretense of offering it to “Grandma Lynnet.” It was obvious that Yuric was her real target.
Of course, the paper shop girl wasn’t the only one paying visits. The bookshop owner’s daughter next door did the same, as well as the prosperous grocery store owner’s daughter. Lynnet felt like a parent whose talented child was constantly being eyed by others.
In his free time, Yuric often visited the orphanage at the cathedral to teach the children letters. They greeted him warmly every time he came.
Not only that, but he also visited lonely elderly customers who frequented the store, sharing meals or conversations with them. Watching this, Lynnet slowly felt her long-frozen heart begin to thaw.
It was because of this mindset and generosity that, despite developing the cure for Mana Blockage Disease, Yuric chose not to profit privately but instead released it openly.
In the evenings, Yuric usually drew pictures. He had already painted several portraits of Lynnet and gifted them to her.
“Do you have any self-portraits?”
“…Me?”
“Yes, I’d like one of you too.”
Upon hearing this, Yuric realized he had never drawn a self-portrait before.
Thus, back in his room, he placed a mirror in front of him and began sketching his own likeness.
One picture, two pictures, three, four… As he drew himself from different angles and sizes, Yuric suddenly stopped and fell deep into thought.
While drawing his self-portrait, he began reflecting on himself.
Who am I?
Why do I live?
The scope of his questions widened until they reached the realm of his magic.
Deep contemplation required a lot of time, and he remained still, lost in thought as night deepened.
Yuric looked at his fingers. Finger magic, and the mage of the finger.
Titon must have lived with some purpose, and that purpose was passed on through Yuric’s finger.
He also thought about Earth Dragon Alaldur and dragon-speech magic.
The clear intent of the earth dragon lingered in his spirit.
So, what is magic? And what is will?
Yuric alternated his gaze between the mirror and his self-portrait.
For the first time, he felt the need for life goals and the importance of willpower while contemplating ambiguities he hadn’t clarified before.
Yuric reflected on himself.
And he saw the path he had walked.
What does magic mean to me?
Why did I try to learn magic?
Why did I set out on this journey to study further?
Yuric recalled countless events and people he had met along the way, carefully considering the impact of his actions.
…After much deliberation, he finally understood the reason for his journey.
Yuric desired peace for humanity. He wanted to spread benefits widely among humans.
He wished to show that human compassion still existed.
This will burned fiercely in his chest.
It was both his driving force and his magic.
Will is magic, and magic is will.
Yuric gained enlightenment.
…Or rather, strictly speaking, this realization had been ripening within him for a long time. He simply needed the right moment to bring it forth.
Titon sought the liberation of humanity.
Alaldur desired peace and harmony for the earth dragons.
Both resided in his finger, in his spirit.
Yes, they were now his.
All of it was inherently one.
Yuric’s enlightenment and will built a solid spiritual foundation.
Breathing heavily, Yuric stepped outside.
Above the sleeping city lay an abyssal darkness.
Yuric stretched his arms toward the sky and the universe above.
‘May my will to benefit the world remain unshaken.’
Yuric’s mana was newly gathered by his will.
…And the earth dragon Alaldur, who had long slept within his spirit, awakened upon sensing Yuric’s awakening.
– At last, you are ready, Mage of the Finger.
The earth dragon Alaldur had waited.
Until Yuric’s true and steadfast will was firmly established.
A dragon-word without will is merely meaningless shouting. It cannot move the world.
Similarly, not all dragons can use dragon-words. Dragons with weak wills cannot wield them either.
– I shall teach you the dragon-words.
To become a true Dragon Knight, one must be able to use dragon-words.
Indeed, Yuric had failed to find Ronadium, the presumed headquarters of the Dragon Knights, because he could not use dragon-words.
– Of course, learning does not mean immediate mastery. Dragon-words require constant refinement.
“I understand.”
Thus, Yuric resolved to learn characters and dragon-words from Alaldur every night in his dreams.
Starting that very night, Yuric began receiving lessons from Alaldur.
From then on, he meticulously recorded and organized everything he learned each morning. After a month, he had compiled a fairly thick notebook. This was nothing less than groundbreaking research on the dragon language, unseen for hundreds of years.
While there were certainly existing papers and summaries about dragon-words, none were as thorough or close to perfection as this.
However, Yuric had no plans to send it to the Mage Tower yet.
‘This can wait until after I find the Dragon Knights’ base. That’s the only way to prove its validity.’
Most importantly, mastering dragon-words took precedence.
But he was still clumsy; when Yuric tried to use dragon-word magic, he consumed a lot of mana without any visible effect. At best, he could barely move small objects—a feat easily achieved by human magic with just a flick of the finger.
– Mage of the Finger, take your time. Everything has its time.
Alaldur was patient. Thanks to this, Yuric didn’t feel overly pressured. He simply advanced steadily without stopping. Eventually, he would surely achieve his goal.
Thus, the soft spring days passed, and summer arrived with the potato harvest season.
As usual, while tending to the store, Yuric’s eyes met those of a woman entering the building.
—!
Surprisingly, her body was adorned with several butterfly spirits. Without hesitation, these spirits flew straight toward Yuric as soon as they saw him.
When Yuric affectionately stroked them with his finger, the woman’s expression changed dramatically.
“…I couldn’t believe it, but it’s true.”
The woman who entered the store was Lisi, a spirit mage named Daphne.
She knew immediately upon seeing him.
Honestly, there was no way she couldn’t recognize him. She, too, like the spirits, felt an impulse to give him unconditional love and approval.
One who receives love and recognition from spirits, one blessed by spirits.
She had finally found what she had sought all her life.
