Chapter 63: Just Destroy It (5)

Cale immediately asked the Black Dragon. “How can you feel the scent of dead mana?” Mana. That symbolized a power that existed in nature. In some senses, it was similar to an ancient power that was created in a specific location. However, the two were very different. The difference was between whether or not it could be left behind. Mana disappeared as soon as the person who controlled that mana died, while ancient powers could be left behind. The Black Dragon easily answered. “I think it is because of the swamp. The swamp is dominating the mana and preventing it from dissipating.” ‘Dominating?’ Cale’s expression turned odd but the Black Dragon kept silent. The Whale siblings, as well as On and Hong, approached Cale and the Black Dragon. The Black Dragon started to speak into Cale’s mind. - I am very perceptive. Cale made eye contact with the Black Dragon. - I feel a power similar to your shield and wind inside the swamp. “Ha!” Cale inadvertently let out a gasp-like laughter. The mask-less Black Dragon started to smile. Cale also started to lightly smile as well. Ancient power. There was an ancient power inside the swamp and it had a good chance of being related to the keyword, ‘dominate.’ ‘This is a first.’ This was Cale’s first time finding an ancient power that was not discussed in the novel. Of course, he had no idea whether this was an ancient power left behind by someone or one that was naturally developed in this location. “You are very smart.” “Correct. I am smart.” The rest of the group became even more curious after seeing the Black Dragon and Cale smirking mischievously. “Young master Cale, can you tell me what is going on? What do you mean by the scent of a dragon’s mana?” Cale turned around to look at Witira. She was asking Cale, but seemed to have at least a decent idea of what was going on. “I’m sure you already have an idea, but there is a good chance that there is a dragon corpse inside the swamp.” “...A corpse?” “Yes. But it is most likely very old and probably mummified.” Cale only knew about the Forest of Darkness based on Choi Han’s experience as described in the novel. However, there was a number of very important information told by the novel. No ruler. It was probably correct to say that there were no dragons in the Forest of Darkness while Choi Han was there. Furthermore, people in the novel never mentioned a Dragon’s Lair or a dragon in the Forest of Darkness. ‘It must mean that it is a very old corpse.’ Tap. Tap. Cale lowered his head to see Hong point to the swamp with a bitter expression. “I guess I can’t eat the swamp water?” Hong seemed to have lost his appetite after hearing dragon corpse. Cale could see that Hong was heading over to the Black Dragon to apologize without waiting to hear his answer. “Sorry. I thought it would be delicious.” “I do not care.” The Black Dragon responded back with a curious expression. “The thing inside the swamp and I are different. We are not related.” Dragons really didn’t seem to care about their, ‘tribe.’ They all just considered themselves to be individuals unique from anything and everything else in the world. Cale looked at the completely unperturbed Black Dragon before he started to speak. “I thought that the mermaids would have gotten stronger from the poison in the swamp. Their specialties are poison after all.” The Whale siblings Paseton and Witira looked toward him. “However, now I am thinking that it is probably the dead mana in the swamp and not the poison increasing their power. Either that, or it is from both the poison and the dead mana.” Cale looked at the siblings. ‘If it is poison, they would just need to take a sample to find an antidote. However, this is a whole different ball game if it is from the dragon’s dead mana.’ Cale could see Witira frowning while Paseton was looking at the black swamp and the nearby area. A depressed comment came out of his mouth. “...It’s too wide.” Witira spoke up as well. “I am not sure about what we should do.” They were able to narrow down the cause of the mermaids’ source of strength, but they could not figure out a way to deal with it. It would be one thing if it was poison, but the other issue was too complicated to solve quickly. “It’s not like we could prevent anyone from coming into the Forest of Darkness or stay here protecting this black swamp at all times.” Witira looked out toward the swamp once more. A dragon’s corpse? That was an unexpected problem. The fact that this swamp was large enough to completely submerge an adult dragon made things even more difficult. A normal dragon grows in size a total of three times. An adult dragon that completed all three stages of growth was humongous. They were at least 5 meters larger than a Humpback Whale like herself. At that moment, he could hear Cale’s voice once again. “It’s simple.” His voice was peaceful. Witira turned her head. Cale had walked up to the edge of the swamp while smiling. “First, take as much of the swamp water as you need.” Cale turned away from the swamp and looked toward Witira. “And then we make another deal.” “...Deal?” Cale’s smile became bigger after watching the confusion spread on Witira’s face. ‘I didn’t plan on doing this, but...’ Originally, he was just going to figure out what caused the mermaids to get stronger before getting out of here. However, the situation was different now. ‘A pool of dead mana is dangerous.’ The mermaids were probably able to absorb the dead mana because they were dark creatures. However, it was just a dangerous poison to natural creatures like the Whales or humans. There was no reason to keep something around that was helpful to the enemy while dangerous to himself. There was also a new benefit in front of his eyes. Even if it was a mummified corpse, the dragon’s bones were still present. Furthermore, there was also the ancient power. “Yes. We will make another deal.” “What does that have to do with dealing with this situation?” Witira subconsciously caressed her whip again. An unexpected sense of anticipation filled her heart, and Cale fulfilled that anticipation completely. “I will take care of it for you.” Witira could see the excitement in Cale’s eyes. She had never seen such a look in Cale’s eyes before. Cale pointed to the swamp and gave a short answer. “I’ll just destroy it.” “...What?”