Chapter 277: Hidden Power

[ Hmph... I’m not treating my child carelessly. I simply want it to have greater power so it won’t have to endure the same hardships I did. ]

"That’s exactly what I’m talking about! Putting your own child’s life at risk in pursuit of that power defeats the whole purpose!"

[ Hmm... ]

Long fell silent, at a loss for words. Even so, his lingering obsession with bringing a more powerful dragon into the world remained. He still seemed reluctant to abandon the idea.

"If you’re still willing to put this child in danger after everything I’ve said, then I’ll take care of the egg myself!"

With that, Qiu Nuoya reached for the egg.

"W-Wait! Don’t!"

Long hurriedly tried to stop him, but Qiu Nuoya was just a fraction faster. The moment his hand touched the egg, it began to glow with all the colors of the rainbow.

"Huh...?"

At the same time as the egg began shining in seven brilliant colors, Qiu Nuoya felt something being drained from within him. It was as though something was being forcibly dragged out of his body and violently taken away.

"Take your hand off the egg!"

Long grabbed Qiu Nuoya’s arm and forcibly pulled his hand away from the egg. The instant he was separated from it, all the strength drained from Qiu Nuoya’s body, and he crumpled to the floor as though his legs had given way.

"Nuoya!?"

Viktor hurried over to him in a panic.

Meanwhile, Long took the egg away from Qiu Nuoya and carefully inspected it from every angle. Once he was satisfied, he gently stroked its shell and murmured,

[ Thank goodness. ]

The rainbow colored light gradually faded, as though it were being drawn back into the egg.

"Th-That scared me..."

"Nuoya, are you hurt? Is anything wrong? Do you feel unwell anywhere?"

"I’m fine, I’m fine. I was just startled."

Trying to reassure Viktor, Qiu Nuoya attempted to get back to his feet.

Except he couldn’t stand up.

Huh?

"Nuoya...?"

"For some reason, I suddenly don’t have any strength in my body."

Qiu Nuoya tried again to stand, but his knees felt as though they were about to give way completely. He simply couldn’t get up. Viktor supported him, helping him regain enough composure to avoid making an even bigger scene.

"What in the world happened...?"

"The egg drained a huge amount of your magical energy, didn’t it? The same thing happened to me. I’d never run out of magic before, so I had no idea that losing all your magical energy could leave you unable to move."

While Viktor stood there in confusion, Shangguan Wan’er explained what had happened. Qiu Nuoya had run out of magical energy.

Qiu Nuoya’s magical reserves were probably much greater than those of an average person in this world. The numbers displayed on his status screen seemed to indicate fairly ordinary values, but there were also several unusual things about his status.

Next to the number representing his magical energy was another figure in parentheses, one that was impossibly high by normal standards. Qiu Nuoya suspected that this was his actual magical capacity, the amount that had not been concealed.

Thanks to that ridiculously high amount of magical energy, he had never run out of it before. He was genuinely surprised to discover that this was what happened when his magic was completely depleted.

Shangguan Wan’er had probably never experienced it either. Handing Qiu Nuoya a magical recovery potion, she remarked with a bewildered smile, "Pretty shocking, huh?"

Qiu Nuoya had owned magical recovery potions for a long time, but he had hardly ever used them. The one Shangguan Wan’er handed him tasted like an energy drink.

"That egg is dangerous. Nuoya, you must never touch it again! Magical energy is a lifeline for mages. If too much of it is drained away, you could die in the worst case scenario."

Apparently, Viktor had figured out what happened from Qiu Nuoya and Shangguan Wan’er’s conversation. He gave Qiu Nuoya a stern warning.

Still, who would have thought a dragon egg could absorb magical energy like that? Dragon eggs were surprisingly troublesome.

Qiu Nuoya had heard that very little was known about dragon biology. But if dragon eggs could drain someone’s magical energy like this, potentially taking their life in the process, it was no wonder research into them had made so little progress.

That made perfect sense.

"Speaking of things being stolen, though, the last time I was in this state, I lost my Holy Magic skill along with it. You’re okay, right?"

"Huh...?"

Qiu Nuoya hurriedly checked his status screen. One of his four elemental magic skills had disappeared. Specifically, his Fire Magic skill was gone.

"AAAAAAH! My Fire Magic Skill is gone!"

He had worked so hard to raise all four elemental magic skills to level 10! And Fire Magic had literally packed the greatest firepower, making it one of his most useful skills. This was just too cruel.

"Nuoya, you have the Appraisal skill?"

Qiu Nuoya had been so flustered that he had instinctively checked his status in front of everyone, accidentally revealing that he possessed the Appraisal skill as well. But that was the least of his concerns right now.

"Long, what is the meaning of this!?"

[ How should I know? There are things even I, the great Long, understand, and things I do not. There is only one thing I know for certain: dragons continue accumulating their own power inside their eggs until they are born. ]

"You mean by taking the magic and skills of those around them?"

[ Dragons do not normally lay their eggs in places where others can easily find them. Otherwise, the eggs would be stolen, and the dragons inside would be killed. This is a kind of self defense instinct unique to my clan, and it cannot be helped. Dragon eggs accumulate the magical essence that drifts through the land and grow by drawing on their parents’ magical energy. That is how it is supposed to work. ]