Vol 8. Chapter 1: Erosion

*With My Broken Body I Become Fire*

When Luka finally arrived with the teachers, Muse and the other two, aside from being exhausted and bearing some minor wounds, were largely unharmed. But looking at the ground littered with the corpses of the steel-shelled scorpions, even the teachers couldn’t help but be shocked.

“B-rank dangerous species they may be, but every single one of them was taken down cleanly... you three little ones did pretty well,” one of the teachers praised.

Zorn froze, glanced left at Hefei and right at Muse, then quickly said:

“No, teacher, it wasn’t us. Muse took down all of these scorpions by herself. Our attacks didn’t affect them at all.”

At that, the teacher’s brow furrowed.

“Didn’t affect them?”

As he spoke, he crouched down and picked up one of the scorpion corpses, inspecting it carefully. Then he muttered:

“These scorpions are indeed a little different from what we recorded before... but what could have caused them ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ to change so drastically in such a short time?”

The teachers conducted a quick investigation of the scene and then decided:

“Call off this exam. We don’t yet know whether other dangerous species in the forest have undergone similar changes. Recall all students immediately.”

“Yes, understood.”

And so, the outdoor combat assessment had to be cut short due to the sudden anomaly.

Back at the academy, Muse’s feat spread quickly through the hatchling division, and even into the young-dragon division, thanks to Zorn and Luka’s embellishment.

“They say Muse K. Melkvey charged into the scorpion nest all by herself, used some secret technique she learned from some immortal island, and bam bam bam—took down a bunch of massive steel-shelled scorpions.”

“I saw it with my own eyes with Zorn. Don’t doubt it—once Muse comes out of the principal’s office, you can ask her yourself!”

“Right, Hefei?”

The little red dragon girl narrowed her eyes and turned away, not wanting to get dragged into the nonsense with these two idiots.

Instead, she looked worriedly toward the classroom door.

Muse had been summoned to the principal’s office by Principal Wilson and Vice Principal Claudia, and she hadn’t returned even after half a day...

Meanwhile, in the principal’s office, Muse had just finished recounting the events inside the scorpion nest to the two of them.

“That’s everything that happened,” Muse said.

Principal Wilson raised his brows slightly, resting one hand against his greying beard. After a moment’s thought, he said first:

“Very well. Go and get some rest, Muse. I’ve already sent word to your parents—they’ll arrive by evening.”

“Yes, Principal.”

Muse obediently hopped down from her chair and left the office.

Once she closed the door, Principal Wilson murmured under his breath:

“Steel-shelled scorpions evolving intelligence they shouldn’t have had... and their basic abilities also greatly enhanced...”

He turned to Claudia beside him.

“Vice Principal, doesn’t this remind you of something... of that thing used years ago by the ambitious one they called ‘Shadow’?”

Claudia folded her arms, her blue eyes flickering. Of course she knew what Wilson meant.

“The Black Dragon Scale?”

Wilson nodded.

“Exactly. Remember when that year’s advancement exam for Noah’s class was held in the Demon Pellet Forest, and there she encountered the False Dragon King, Adam? At the time, Adam’s strength had been boosted by the Black Dragon Scale.”

Claudia did not answer right away. She thought for a moment, then shook her head and said:

“The Black Dragon Scale could only bestow greater strength and uncontrollable chaotic magic. It wouldn’t have given them higher intelligence. And besides, the Black Dragon Scale vanished completely with the Dissipation of the Ultimate Fear. There’s no way anyone could have recreated it. So in my view, the cause of these scorpions’ mutation wasn’t the Black Dragon Scale. It’s something else.”

As they spoke, the office door knocked.

“Come in.”

A teacher entered quickly, carrying two sealed transparent containers, each inscribed with a small magic circle at the bottom. He set them on the desk.

“What’s this?” Wilson asked.

The teacher pushed one container forward. Inside was a black substance. He explained:

“This was found inside the scorpion nest. Its internal structure is the same as ordinary stone, but its surface is composed of an extremely rare substance. We believe some external material invaded the nest, eroding the magma, the cave walls, even the scorpions’ bodies and corpses.”

Claudia lowered her gaze to the other container. Inside was a black fragment, faintly metallic, very small in size, and impossible to identify what it had broken off from.

She tilted her chin toward it and asked:

“And this?”

“Preliminary tests suggest this black metallic shard is the foreign material itself,” the teacher explained. “It doesn’t belong to the scorpion nest, or the Redstone Forest, or even...”

He adjusted his glasses, pursed his lips, then continued:

“Even to the continent of Samael itself. There’s no record of this substance in any existing texts.”

“Something like this exists?” Wilson was stunned.

Claudia, however, remained calm. She picked up the container with the shard and studied it carefully.

While thinking, she asked:

“You say this fragment can corrode other substances. Then why is it so inert now?”

“We inscribed a suppressing magic circle on the container to inhibit its power.”

“Can you lift it, just briefly?”

The teacher hesitated, then nodded.

“Yes, but avoid direct contact. We don’t yet know what this thing truly is.”

“Alright. Please do it.”

Claudia handed the container over. The teacher dispelled the suppressing magic.

The instant the circle vanished, a chilling aura seeped out of the shard.

Even without touching it, Claudia could tell—it was nothing good.

“Quickly, restore the seal,” Wilson ordered.

“Yes, Principal.”

The teacher reapplied the suppressing magic, and the unpleasant aura faded.

Wilson turned to Claudia.

“Well, Vice Principal? What do you make of it?”

Claudia nodded slowly, speaking softly.

“I feel as though I’ve seen this before... but I can’t be certain.”

At that, Wilson sighed.

“If even you don’t know... how can we ever trace the truth?”

Claudia’s eyes flickered, then the corner of her mouth lifted.

“Don’t lose heart, Principal. I may not know exactly what it is, but I do know of someone who just might.”

Wilson’s eyes lit up.

“Who?”

“The Silver Dragon Prince, Leon Casmod.”