124. Capture the Thief by Catching His Lackey First
Ever since realizing that his magical energy was running on empty, Leon had been laser-focused on one question: “How do I get my magic back?”
This meant that throughout his entire research process, he’d been operating under the assumption that he simply could not gather any magical power.
But in reality? Not quite.
His physical strength, mental clarity, and magical circuits were all in tip-top shape, which meant Leon could gather magic just fine. And theoretically, that magic was more than enough for him to cast all sorts of massive lightning spells at will.
Yet every time he tried, it was like trying to play with a toy wand—just some silly little parlour tricks.
Even when he attempted to spell out “Happy Birthday” with lightning in the night sky, he had to rely on a magic circle for help.
So, what was the deal? Perhaps it wasn’t Leon himself who was the problem, but rather… something was sneakily siphoning off his magic!
Now, what had changed since he’d become Roswiser’s captive?
Oh yes.
The Dragon Pattern.
Until now, Leon hadn’t considered the Dragon Pattern as suspect. To him, it was just a cute little trinket that dragon couples used to show loyalty and spice things up.
After waking up, Roswiser cleverly used its meaning and function to bind him, making it impossible for him to escape her clutches.
The magic only activated when they were squabbling over “who’s the better spouse,” but other than that, it just sat silently on their chests, not interfering with their daily lives at all.
But after trying every magical possibility under the sun without a hint of progress, Leon had no choice but to consider a final angle: the Dragon Pattern.
Roswiser probably wasn’t very familiar with it either.
After all, which two-hundred-something-year-old mother dragon who had never been in a relationship would understand the intricacies of a Dragon Pattern?
When dragons seek vengeance, they aren’t exactly known for their rational thinking. She likely threw in everything she could think of to torment Leon without stopping to wonder if she fully understood the Dragon Pattern or if she was using it well.
And if she knew it was stealing Leon’s magic, she would have already taken the opportunity to tease him with lines like, “No wonder you’re so energetic! You’ve been pumping all your magic into the Dragon Pattern!”
Just imagining the look on the mother dragon’s face as she said that made Leon’s skin crawl.
Shaking his head, he pulled his thoughts back together.
With a new research direction set, he quickly came up with a completely different hypothesis: His magic wasn’t depleted, and he wasn’t failing to gather it; instead, the magic he was gathering was being secretly siphoned off by the Dragon Pattern!
Time to put this theory to the test!
Leon glanced over at Moon.
His darling daughter was still diligently buried in her work.
Leon turned his gaze away and decided to take a detour to the restroom. Once inside, he locked the door behind him.
Standing in front of the mirror at the sink, he unbuttoned his shirt collar to reveal the Dragon Pattern on his chest.
When at rest, the Dragon Pattern was shiny silver. When longing for someone, it turned lavender. And when the couple was being intimate? Deep purple.
Right now, it was flashing like a little dragon disco ball.
“If it really is the Dragon Pattern that’s secretly stealing my magic… then—”
Leon focused on gathering magical energy, and a blue arc of light began to pulse in his palm.
He closed his eyes, feeling the flow of magical energy through his circuits.
Palm, arm, shoulder, and finally… chest.
He slowly opened his eyes to see the sparks dancing around the Dragon Pattern on his chest, narrowing his brow in contemplation.
“Of course, a portion of my magic is flowing uncontrollably into the Dragon Pattern… but…”
Leon noticed something puzzling.
Yes, some magic had indeed flowed into the Dragon Pattern, but compared to the total amount he gathered, the proportion was small.
If the magic he just gathered was represented as 10, he could only use 2 for spells, and an equal 2 went to the Dragon Pattern.
But where had the rest of his magic disappeared to?!
Leon raked his fingers through his hair as ideas began whirling around in his head.
This line of thinking couldn’t be wrong; some “thing” in his body was stealing his magic.
But that so-called “thing” wasn’t the Dragon Pattern.
Or rather, the Dragon Pattern was just one minor accomplice in this magical heist.
As for the mastermind behind the magic thievery? A mystery remained.
“What could it be…”
Leon paced back and forth in front of the sink, arms crossed.
He reflected on every detail since waking up.
But aside from the Dragon Pattern, he hadn’t picked up any new adornments.
And that magical energy he gathered had surged uncontrollably into his chest.
What detail was Leon overlooking?
…
After a brief moment of frustration, Leon regained his composure.
He leaned against the sink, observing his reflection, and began to think coolly.
“Sure, the Dragon Pattern does siphon off some magic, but that amount is negligible.”
“And if it truly had a significant impact on magical energy, Roswiser would’ve ditched it ages ago. No way she would’ve kept it around this long.”
“Thus, it’s almost certain that my magic isn’t depleted. It’s being secretly devoured by something in my body that I don’t know about.”
“Yet… if it’s lurking inside me, stealing all that magic, why haven’t I experienced any other adverse reactions besides not being able to use magic?”
“Moreover, what’s its purpose for sucking up magic? Is it good for me or… bad?”
Questions piled up like a mountain before Leon, and the weight of them was draining.
He let out a weary sigh, tugged at his hair, and leaned against the sink’s edge, furrowing his brow in thought.
On one side, he didn’t want his Master to think he had turned into a complete clutz over the last two years, and on the other, his daughter’s winter vacation was coming up, and he had promised to teach her more magic.
Leon had to find a solution, and fast.
He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, allowing a new idea to take shape on how to get past this hurdle.
If he couldn’t directly tackle the issues at hand, why not just… sidestep them?
Suddenly, he jolted upright, turning to face the mirror showcasing the Dragon Pattern.
“That ‘thief’ is fleecing most of my magic flowing through my magical circuits, leading me to believe I’m out of magic entirely.”
Once a magic user was initiated, they could store their refined magic in their circuits through “circulation,” making it far more efficient for spellcasting.
But in Leon’s case, every bit of magic that could’ve been stored in his circuits was being swiped by that ‘thief’ and then split two ways with his ‘little buddy,’ the Dragon Pattern—
Aha!
That’s the crux of the matter!
“Since I can’t find that thief, why not tackle the Dragon Pattern instead?”
He poked at his chest, “You’ve lingered on me for long enough! Aside from helping Roswiser with her homework, it’s time you did something else!”
Dragon Pattern: Meow meow meow?
