"Huff…."
Eden let out a deep exhale as he lay down on the soft mattress.
The event of the Lerofey Kingdom and the encounter with the dragon echoed in his mind.
Now that he was alone, he could understand how stupid he was to do that.
Risking his life like that wasn't something he would do.
'Was I always like this?'
Eden wondered, staring blankly at the ceiling.
'…Well, I got what I needed.'
He thought as he brought his Subspace and pulled out an echo.
The whitish orb glowed gently in his hand as he placed it over his head.
'This is really good-looking, huh?'
Eden let out a sigh as he put it back in his subspace.
Sighing, he lay flat on the bed as he stared at the ceiling.
'Well, it was fun.'
Eden thought, smiling to himself.
For him, it's been a long time since he had this much excitement for something.
'Urgh, I will get addicted to this feeling.'
He let out a sigh as he got back up.
"Seraph."
≤Yes?≥
"Who was that Dragon that attacked the humans?"
≤Vathrix.≥
The voice echoed softly in Eden's mind, calm and distant.
He blinked slowly. "And who might that be?"
≤One of the Five Flame Lords.≥
Seraph's tone carried a strange weight this time.
≤He was once a guardian of the Fire Realm.≥
"Fire realm?"
≤One of the places where dragons live.≥
"…I see."
Eden noticed the hesitation in her voice, so he stopped probing for more information.
He glanced towards the window, finding the sun still high in the sky.
'…It's still afternoon, huh?'
≤Eden.≥
Seraph's hesitant voice echoed in his head.
"Yeah?"
≤Can you show me the map you got from that duke?≥
Eden frowned but did as told as he took out the map from his pocket.
He opened it, bringing it close to the pendant.
'Wait, can she see from inside of it?'
≤….I knew it.≥
Seraph's quiet murmur echoed in his head as he sat down.
"What do you mean?"
≤The place he was sending you, it's a hellish training camp with a high death rate.≥
'....'
Eden quietly looked at the markings placed on the map.
'Is the training really that hard there?'
≤Yes, and those who don't pass never come back.≥ Her voice turned grim. ≤They are fed to the kingdom's pet dragons.≥
"...Fed to dragons?" he repeated quietly, his voice barely a whisper.
≤Yes.≥ Seraph's tone was cold, matter-of-fact.
≤The Lerofey Kingdom keeps several low-rank dragons as war beasts. They use the camp to train soldiers — and to feed the failures.≥
'….That's fucked up.'
Eden thought as he folded the map slowly.
≤Humans always find a reason to justify cruelty.≥
'I bet dragons are as cruel as humans, right?'
≤…..≥
She didn't respond, but her silence was all the answer he needed.
Eden stood up as he stretched his body to alleviate the lingering feelings.
"Sana." He spoke.
[Yes!]
"How do I learn about the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique?"
[The book detailing its method is already placed inside your Subspace.]
Eden froze in his place as he slowly asked. "…Do I have to read a book?"
[What do you expect?] Sana asked. [I will feed it directly to you?]
'....'
Eden let out a sigh as he sat back on the bed and opened his subspace.
He took out a golden-colored book and opened the front page.
'…Oh, it has pictures?'
Eden suddenly found reading the book a lot easier.
———
It was already nighttime when Eden finished the entire book.
Now, he sat in the middle of the training ground with his eyes closed.
'From what I understand, the technique is like body cultivation that I read in manuhas.'
He drew in a deep breath before he opened his eyes once again.
'But this is much more complicated and advanced.'
Eden looked down at his hands. They were trembling slightly from excitement.
'Damn, I really wanted to try something like this all my life.'
The moonlight poured down on the empty training ground, painting his shadow in silver.
'Alright… let's see how this works.'
He placed both hands over his abdomen and took a slow breath.
The first step was to find balance — between strength and spirit.
The book described the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique as a method that refined both the body and the soul.
It taught how to channel energy through bones and veins, making one's body roar like a dragon and stand firm like an elephant.
And to start it all, Eden had to learn to manually control the flow of blood in his body.
Eden closed his eyes.
'Feel the heart. Guide it through the veins.'
He tried to remember the diagrams from the book.
Blue lines crossing the body — energy paths that connected everything together.
He began to move the mana in his body just as described.
At first, nothing happened, but it wasn't long before he felt a faint vibration spread through his chest.
'Oh? That's new.'
The ground beneath him shook slightly.
He could hear his own heartbeat echoing in his ears.
His blood felt hot, his muscles tense.
But then—
"Urgh—!"
Pain shot through his arms.
The mana flow suddenly twisted, like a current running wild.
He gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to lose focus.
≤Calm down.≥ Seraph's voice came, firm but calm.
≤You're pushing it too fast. Your body isn't ready yet.≥
Eden exhaled sharply and let go of the energy.
The warmth faded slowly, leaving him covered in sweat.
"Damn it…" he muttered.
[You did better than expected.] Sana chimed in cheerfully.
[Usually, people explode their veins on the first try.]
"…Thanks, I guess?"
Eden didn't take her words to heart as he leaned back slightly.
'Well, looks like I would need a lot of work.'
There are a total of eleven layers to the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique.
Five belong to elephant stages and five to dragon stages.
The final rank belongs to a combination of all stages.
'…A long way to go.'
Eden let out a sigh as he got back to continue.
'Hmm?'
He quickly noticed a figure hiding behind the pillar.
But the man trying to hide was too big to hide.
"….What are you doing?" Eden said, looking at the man.
The head of the family coughed when caught as he slowly walked out.
Osmund walked towards him like nothing happened.
"It's rare to see you in the training ground," he grunted. "And even rarer to see you learn the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique."
Eden scratched his chin as he responded. "…I was just trying to figure things out."
Osmund stared at him, and Eden found it incredibly uncomfortable.
'…What's up with his gaze?'
He thought, slowly standing up to not feel vulnerable.
"I should go—."
"Wait."
Osmund interrupted as Eden halted his step.
The man brought his hand forward, showing a ball in his hand.
"It's been a while," he spoke, looking at Eden. "Play with your old man for a while."