Lucky Bastard

Part 3 / Training Arc

"I am not completely sure, but I believe you have an extreme potential for magic. Well, at least in human standards."

"..."

"It is quite interesting that you seem to have no knowledge of it whatsoever. Have you never held a magic stone before? That cloak of yours looks expensive, to the point where I would not be surprised if you were wealthy. Don't rich humans like collecting valuable items? How strange..."

Cale was staring at the dragon like he was crazy. Wasn't he a talentless trash? He had indeed held magic stones before, but what did that have to do with anything? He was also rich before he left the county, but that had nothing to do with mage potential.

"What are you saying? Was my holding a magic stone supposed to reveal enormous talent or something? I've never experienced anything like that. There's no way I could be a mage." Cale was beginning to think this dragon was just messing with him.

"Hmm. Hold out your hand." The dragon's head was slightly tilted. It was obvious he expected Cale to obey without question.

"Eh? Why?"

"..." The dragon's lips twitched downward in annoyance. "Hold out your hand."

Cale shivered as a light version of the pressure from earlier returned, and he hesitantly offered his hand. Not even two seconds after that, a small stone formed in his palm. He recognized it as a magic stone.

"... What am I supposed to do with this?"

The dragon just continued to stare at the stone as if he was waiting for it to jump up and do a jig. After ten seconds he spoke again.

"Do you feel anything? Perhaps the sensation of energy dancing around you?"

"You know you sound like a crazy person, right? There's no feeling of anything besides a rock in my hand. I don't have a knack for magic."

It was true, Cale did not feel anything. This entire situation felt stupid. He had known he had no talent in magic since he was 7, when the head mage working for his family checked his potential. His mother at that time had also been confident that the results would be less than desirable.

"I don't know what you're trying to prove, but It won't work," Cale huffed.

"... Never in all my life have I seen something like this..."

Cale's mouth moved on its own once again as he overheard the dragon's mumbles. "How old are you?" The guy looked maybe 25 at the most, so Cale was curious as to how a dragon physically aged. A short silence made Cale's expectations sink. He hoped that the dragon would tell—

"I think it's 1007 this year."

"..."
"..."

The two stared at each other again, the stone in Cale's hand temporarily forgotten.

"Old man, you're bad at telling jokes."

"..."

Internally, Cale was panicking just a bit. He completely believed this old man since a dragon's life span could naturally reach over 1000 according to his mother, but the fact that he called an ancient dragon a dumbass was really twisting his already nervous gut.

"You say I'm joking, yet you still choose to call me 'old man'."

"Then tell me your name and I might reconsider."

"..."

A hint of a smile tugged at Cale's lips, and he happened to glance at the magic stone at that moment. 'I should find a way to wrap this situation up before I actually piss him off—'