CH298 Bored Dragon

***

"Master, thanks to the Kellermans, the Voidheart Core became flush with energy, allowing it to produce enough Spatial Energy for me to create a working prototype of my Interspatial Storage Project," Alex said.

"The Kellermans didn't help you—you stole from them," Merlin replied dryly, almost rolling his eyes at Alex's phrasing.

"Details, Master. That's just details. The important part is that I got the energy from them. Whether willingly or not, it's still thanks to them," Alex said cheekily.

He handed the Coinage Moonstone Ring to Merlin.

"Let's see…" Merlin murmured as he examined it. "Adamantium, Mithril, Refined Gold, Orichalcum… I can see why you called it the Coinage Moonstone. Your naming sense remains as direct as ever."

Alex only shrugged.

There wasn't much he could say about that. He was an engineer—of course his naming sense was straightforward.

Merlin continued his assessment. "The craftsmanship could be better. But the alloy's retention of its constituent metals' essential properties salvages some value. You might convince others that it was made by a master craftsman who prioritises function over ostentatious display."

"I do care more about utility," Alex remarked.

"It's not a wrong mindset," Merlin conceded, "but it isn't the right one either. Across all races—dragons, elves, humans—people judge by appearance before assessing practicality. Case in point, even I first assessed its materials and form before testing its function. That alone should tell you something."

Alex nodded.

It irked him, but he understood the principle all too well.

"Unless the practical value is well known and overwhelmingly superior, appearance will almost always dictate price," Merlin continued. "So then, let's see if your creation can fleece some royal pockets with its worth."

With that, he channelled his Spiritual Force into the ring.

'Fascinating,' he mused. 'The opening process is exceptionally smooth. Even the faint Spiritual Force of a strong-willed ordinary civilian could activate it. Likewise, the structure is so stable that unless I intend to destroy it, not even the Spiritual Force of an excited Legend could break it.'

Then, Merlin's attention turned to the pocket space itself.

'Ah, this boy…' he thought, his gaze piercing beyond the visible, delving into the underlying laws of the space. 'Although he didn't forge this dimension using his own power but rather leveraged pre-existing rules, it's still astonishing that he managed to create a stable space where the balance of Space-Time is intentionally broken. The temporal flow here… it's been reduced by half.'

Merlin's Spiritual Force and mental vision continued to probe into the secrets buried within the dimension—truths likely unknown even to its own creator.

'While the result is impressive, it isn't particularly practical for anyone walking the path of Space-Time to study. The building blocks of this space are bare—stripped of almost everything except the fundamentals of space and time. This allows him to overload the base formation with Spatial Energy, overwhelming temporal factors and skewing the dimension's nature heavily towards space rather than time.

'It only works because the dimension itself is minute. Scaling this up to a larger, independent realm would be exponentially more difficult. In essence, it achieves its purpose as an interspatial storage, but offers little for those seeking to study or emulate the natural principles of Space-Time, unlike naturally occurring materials such as the Nullcore Crystal.'

Merlin smiled faintly.

'Well, that much is to be expected. Nature is the true teacher of all—comprehensive and balanced. A craftsman, however, works with focus, refining a singular concept to fulfil a specific purpose.'

He withdrew his Spiritual Force from the ring and gave his verdict.

"It's a good artefact. The opening price at auction should be set at ten times the current value of the high-grade Nullcore Orb I gave you. Ask Pinchcoin for the market rate of the Orb," Merlin advised.

Truth be told, Alex had been uncertain about how to price the Coinage Moonstone Ring. Set it too low, and the royals might dismiss it as a novelty trinket. Too high, and they'd lose interest altogether.

He had already instructed Haggleworth to conduct a market survey to estimate what the bigwigs might be willing to pay. But Alex wasn't holding his breath. This was a novel product—its value extended far beyond its visible utility, and that was something no ordinary market survey could truly quantify… especially not the kind Haggleworth or anyone from this world was likely to be knowledgeable enough to do.

Knowing how to fleece your customer's pockets is an art Alex believed his previous world would likely always remain superior to his current world in.

Merlin's pricing suggestion was more than welcome.

Not only was the dragon avatar an influential figure himself, but he also had vast experience auctioning off artefacts to other major powers—one of the Enclave's primary sources of revenue. Few understood the depth of those nobles' pockets better than him.

Alex looked to Merlin, waiting for his master's final evaluation of his big reveal.

Merlin nodded appreciatively, stroking his beard.

"You don't disappoint," he began. "Each of your breakthroughs is groundbreaking in its own right. Used correctly, they can transition into entirely new forms of strength that will aid you on your path to power. I only have a few things to say."

Alex immediately straightened, ears metaphorically perked.

"I'm listening, Master."

Merlin's tone grew solemn. "Just because you can cast your spells directly through formations doesn't mean you should abandon chanting completely. For every spell you learn or use, memorise both the formation for your unique casting method and the chant for orthodox casting."

He continued, "There are countless methods of spellcasting across the myriad worlds—seal formations, hand gestures, ritual dances, even blood inscriptions. Some are shared across planes, others unique to specific realms. But chanting… chanting remains universal. Across all known planes, realms, and worlds, it has never faded. There's a reason for that."

Merlin's eyes glimmered with distant recollection. "In fact, even though I encourage instant casting, not even I have completely given up chanting. There are many—by your plane's classification—Grade 16 and above spells that even I chant to cast."

[A.N: We can't forget to let Merlin humble-brag a little, can we? 😏]

Alex's lips twitched. A Grade 16 spell? Above that? He could barely cast a Grade 6 spell even with assistance. Considering how spells grew exponentially more complex and potent with each grade, it was nearly impossible to imagine just how powerful Merlin—no, Uthvaazgol—truly was.

'That's the wrong point to focus on, Alex,' he scolded himself inwardly and forced his thoughts back on track.

"What makes chanting so important, Master? I thought true strength meant doing away with such things."

"Hmm…" Merlin's tone softened. "That's a difficult question to answer. Each person must discover for themselves why chanting holds meaning to them."

Alex frowned at his master's typically cryptic response.

"Don't overthink it for now," Merlin said, smiling faintly. "You'll soon embark on planar conquests. As with many things you'll have to comprehend along the way, the answer will reveal itself in time."

Alex was left confused, yet he could only nod in reluctant acceptance.

Merlin continued, his tone turning firm.

"I know this goes without saying, but don't reveal your ability to interconvert formations just yet. Always present them as their original form—spell formations as spells, arrays as arrays, tattoos as tattoos. If you must experiment on any large-scale constructs involving interconversions, do so only within your outer planes.

"Announcing your ability to merge or convert formations will cause as much trouble as revealing that you are my True Disciple. That kind of attention is something you don't need right now. Focus instead on your growth."

He paused, then added, "The same goes for the Coinage Moonstone. Do not reveal yourself as its creator."

Alex nodded. "I had no intention of doing so. I plan to have Haggleworth present it under the pseudonym 'Hattori Hanzo.'"

Merlin raised a brow. "Hattori Hanzo? That's quite the unique name."

"Indeed," Alex replied with a small grin. "It's meant to make the mysterious craftsman seem like someone from a distant, exotic land. Or perhaps," he mused, "I should go with something simpler—'Demon (Oni) Head'."

"I'd advise the latter," Merlin said with a faint chuckle. "The former might trigger the xenophobic tendencies of some of your world's aristocrats."

"Understood." Alex inclined his head.

Merlin's expression sobered once more. "Lastly, I'm aware that you, Pinchcoin, and that gnome CEO of yours are planning to fleece coin from the pockets of those attending the auction."

Alex's lips twitched guiltily.

Merlin ignored it and continued, "That's fine—profit where you can. But be subtle. It's acceptable to stage the event and push rival factions into competing against each other, but do not fan the flames directly. The people you'll be dealing with are far more dangerous and cunning than you realise. Even your father treads carefully around their factions."

"Understood," Alex said gravely.

"Good. Now then," Merlin smiled, his mood lightening again, "show me the other tricks you've come up with."

Alex obliged. He demonstrated everything he'd been working on—the Rune Camera, his new rune tattoo and array designs, and finally, his intended signature Craftsman Brand, which existed both as an array formation and as a spell.

The discussion stretched long into the night. It was obvious the old dragon was bored, and Alex's return served as a welcome distraction.

By the time he finally left and returned to his Enclave residence, his jaw ached from so much talking.

Unfortunately for him, his night of conversations wasn't over yet.

Waiting within his dorm mansion was someone else—someone he needed to have another long discussion with.

***

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