What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 155. The Dragon's True Name, Before Departure (5K)

"A giant dragon actually appeared inside the merfolk's things!"

This was the first time Kroa had ever seen a dragon in person. No, in terms of size alone, this dragon couldn't really be called "giant".

It's even a little bit small.

Inside the bottle, it was probably smaller than his fingernail.

But it's really beautiful.

Its body was covered with scales that resembled flowing silver light and the hazy moonlight, semi-transparent, and dragon wings that looked more like a soft moon veil than wings.

The head connected to the long, serpentine neck lacked the ferocity of a dragon; instead, it was rather small.

The translucent dragon horns, like glass, are crystal clear, just like the finest jade.

Its tail is that of a fish.

"This creature is truly beautiful." Kroa stared at it with pure admiration for a while, then began to observe its astral form.

Unexpectedly, its astral body was completely independent and not an illusion formed by the Void Moon Tree.

It even has a name—

"The Illusory Moon and the Illusory Fish-Dragon".

"Wait, what's behind this...?"

Kroya frowned and read out the name composed of strange characters.

"Lutsia Selhalon".

As he uttered the name, the surrounding magic fluctuated noticeably, as if it were being drawn by an unknown, powerful force.

They surged from the castle toward the sea.

However, as they approached the seawater, they were blocked by a huge figure.

The figure had a crown made of horns, and its body was like a white-gold stream of light in the endless sky. After blocking the fluctuations, the clouds and mist swayed.

Having done all that, it truly disappeared silently under the dazzling sunlight, just like a morning dewdrop, and vanished completely.

……

Kroa glanced in the direction of the sea, puzzled.

"Strange, I felt like some enormous consciousness flashed by..."

He squinted and sensed for a while, but still found nothing, so he could only turn his gaze back to the small giant dragon.

At this moment, the little dragon had already opened its eyes.

Its silvery-white eyes contained deep blue, snake-like pupils that seemed to pierce through the astral crystal bottle, allowing it to see Kroa directly.

The man and the dragon stared at each other, and he suddenly had a very strange feeling, as if... they had become connected.

"The dragon's real name?" Kroa frowned slightly.

The Celestial Spirit Imprint Technique can actually see the true name of a dragon? Is that true? It's said that once you have the true name, you can control their magic and life at will.

If he could actually see the real name, he wouldn't believe how powerful this ability would be.

The silver dragon propped itself up in the seawater, raised its head toward him, and let out a very childish roar.

"Roar~~~"

The surging waves around it were instantly suppressed by the roar, turning into a calm, mirror-like surface of water.

"Such exquisite control over magic."

"It's water manipulation magic."

After thinking for a moment, Kroya projected his consciousness into the bottle and appeared directly in front of the dragon.

Upon entering, Kroya immediately realized that this guy wasn't actually that huge; he estimated it to be only three or four meters tall. While that was quite large, it couldn't really be called gigantic.

"Ruthia?" Kroa asked tentatively.

Xiao Long immediately lowered his head in dissatisfaction, nudged him with his head, and let out a childish roar.

That roughly means... don't call it that.

"Alright, alright, so how were you born? Was it from this tree?" Kroya comforted it and then pointed to the Void Moon Divine Tree in the distance.

Little Dragon nodded, "Awoo!"

It proudly raised its head, easily stirring up the surrounding seawater and controlling it to create a series of spectacular scenes—

There is one that stands on the waves and is worshipped by mermaids.

It was also nestled next to a woman whose face was obscured.

There was even... it pinned down a mermaid, its expression one of extreme glee.

With its constant "howling" sounds, Kroya was able to barely understand what it meant.

It is a dragon capable of restraining the mermaids' ability to control water, and can easily seize control of the seawater from the mermaids, even in the ocean.

This immediately caught Chloe's eye.

It can counter the mermaids' ability to control water and suppress their magic in the sea...

If he has a conflict with the merfolk in the future, wouldn't that be a trump card?

With such powerful neighbors as the merfolk, he was actually a little worried that they might do something. Although this little dragon was still small, what if it was raised?

"Not bad," he immediately praised. "So what do you need to grow?"

The little dragon pointed to the sky with its huge claws, or more accurately, to the hazy moonlight.

"You want to eat moonlight?"

"Awoo!" Little Dragon nodded vigorously.

"..."

Kroa needs sunlight, while this guy needs moonlight; it's a fairly even distribution.

"Okay, I'll get it for you tonight."

Moonlight isn't hard to get; just draw some over at night.

However, this is only something he can get right now. Once the dark clouds and snow cover the sky in a few days, he'll only be able to think about whether he can get it from above the clouds.

He then asked some more questions, including who the woman in the picture was, whether it knew what the Void Moon Divine Tree was, and why a giant dragon like it would appear among the merfolk.

As a result, it knew nothing about it.

When asked these questions, she gets confused and makes "ooh ooh ooh" noises, meaning that she is too young and the dragon race's heritage has not yet been opened.

Kroa had no choice but to temporarily abandon her inquiry.

……

After playing with the little dragon for a while, the little dragon yawned, and the surrounding seawater immediately surged in, forming a nest. It waved its paws at Kroya.

Then he crawled inside and fell fast asleep.

"I've heard that baby dragons need plenty of sleep... Hmm, should I ask Lord Flame Mountain about it? Maybe he knows something about raising dragons."

Kroya pondered for a moment, then examined the Void Moon Divine Tree before leaving the bottle.

While he had the chance, he decided to go and teach the knights the Thorn Training Method, since all the knights needed to be replaced.

If there are any meditation methods taught by monks in the future, he wants to exchange them for them.

……

He first took out the mother plant of the Thorn of Justice and tentatively infused it with magic, and sure enough, new thorns grew from it.

Kroya cut all the thorns off, then processed them piece by piece, imprinting them with her own spiritual mark.

During this process, he also made sure to send the jellyfish back into the sea so that the dolphins could find them.

He also used his spare time to make ten suits of armor from the water that oozed out of the lotus leaves.

They also summoned the Astral Crystal Turtle, using the Astral Crystal ore it created to enchant the surface of these armors.

The transparent water armor had a coating that looked like clear starlight, making it look like the kind of magical armor from legends.

"Great, let's use it as a reward later."

He nodded in satisfaction and looked at the Astral Crystal Turtle.

The latter immediately stared at him expectantly.

"Master~~~"

The turtle drawled out its words; if Kroya weren't sitting cross-legged right now, it would definitely have run up and hugged his leg.

Seeing its expression, Kroya found it truly amusing and shook her head helplessly: "Come here."

"Why!"

The crystal turtle immediately ran over and sat down obediently.

Kroya then began to carve the mark onto it, and it was completed very quickly.

[Imprint complete, Astral Crystal Turtle (Earth and Stone Shaping Technique)]

This magical beast can mold earth and stone into any shape it desires.

Its intense desire for the opposite sex causes it to continuously optimize this magic.

"Thank you for your generosity, Master!!!"

The crystal turtle leaped three feet high, thanked Kroa, and then eagerly left, its movements so agile they were unlike any other turtle.

Kroya watched its departing figure, feeling that the guy might be up to something, but he didn't pay much attention.

There's nothing wrong with liking figurines.

He continued to focus on his transformation of the thorns.

In the end, about five hundred copies were made.

The poor mother thorn plant simply pretended to be dead; even with Kroya's infusion of magic, it refused to grow any more thorns.

This has clearly reached its limit.

However, Kroya was already satisfied with this amount.

There are only a little over two hundred knight apprentices in total. Being a knight apprentice is easier than being a mage apprentice, since all you need to do is train your body and learn a cultivation method.

Unfortunately, the cultivation method from the Mage Association is the most convenient and quickest, so basically anyone who has this cultivation method can learn it.

"Take good care of yourself."

After calming the mother thorn plant, he took two hundred thorns to the training grounds of the knight apprentices—where the apprentices were already lined up, waiting for his arrival.

Although Kroya didn't know the special forces training methods, he had at least read some novels and taught them all the methods.

With enough food provided by him, these knight apprentices persevered despite the hardships and exhaustion. In fact, they did quite well.

The most important thing in this is, of course, strict adherence to orders.

Knights are considered extraordinary beings and enjoy privileges in this world, which leads to many knights being arrogant and conceited.

He had heard too many stories like this from Robert, including instances of disobeying orders and risking one's life on the battlefield.

This was certainly unacceptable to Kroya. Individual heroism was absolutely unacceptable, and even the most powerful army would be useless without discipline.

He was too weak to influence the rules before, but now that he has power, the rules must be followed.

Rules are always made by the powerful.

With such a powerful mage like him in charge, how dare you lowly knights call yourselves extraordinary beings?

He went up to the high platform so that all the knight apprentices could see him.

Sunlight shone on him, making him shine like a god, and the magic around him changed according to his will.

The apprentices looked at him with admiration and respect.

Many of them were ordinary farm boys, and it was Kroya who gave them the channels and opportunities for advancement, coupled with continuous brainwashing and indoctrination.

It's safe to say that their loyalty to Kroya is now at its absolute maximum.

Kroya glanced around and could sense that the auras of these people were indeed merging into one, but they were still lacking the most important thing: real, bloody experience.

Perhaps some will die, perhaps some will never come back.

But... this is the beginning of achieving great things.

He waved his hand, scattering two hundred bundles of thorns evenly in front of everyone, and then said:

"Cut your arm and put it inside your arm."

As soon as he finished speaking, the two hundred men, in perfect unison, all cut their arms with daggers and stuffed the thorns inside.

The uniformity and order of the scene were truly pleasing to the eye for Cloa.

Then he played the gopher harp.

The music, mixed with his consciousness, infused the Thorn Cultivation Method into their minds, as if someone were demonstrating how to learn it.

He also channeled the magical power of the sunlight emanating from the surroundings into their bodies, using it as nourishment for the thorns to grow.

Everyone started moving to his music.

Guide the magic, control the thorns...

About half an hour later, the four knights who had initially followed Kroya to the island and Samir, who were standing at the front, suddenly stepped forward, and thorny blades sprouted from their hands.

These thorns, white with an undeniable golden gleam, are a sight to behold.

"Semir was created by my Rock Notes, so it's normal that he learned it. But these four people learned it so quickly too." He nodded to himself.

"good."

Kroya praised them, "This is a gift for you!" With a wave of his hand, he bestowed upon them five newly made suits of armor.

They were quite sensible and put them on right there and then.

The sunlight shone on them, and the starlight remained bright, complementing their tall stature and imposing presence.

This is practically the perfect hero template!

The apprentices' eyes lit up at the sight, but what excited them even more was—

"There are five more. I've only made ten of these Mercury Magic Armors this time. I'll give the rest to the first person to learn the Thorn Cultivation Technique."

Spurred on by this saying, they studied with almost desperate effort, and the thorns seemed to sense something and were helping them.

Before long, Knight Apprentice Ryan excitedly raised the Thorn Sword, his face beaming with undisguised pride and honor, along with beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.

Moving thorns is bound to be painful, but he persevered.

"good!"

Chloe exclaimed, "It's yours!"

Another piece of armor was lost, and the remaining people worked even harder. Soon, the seventh, the eighth... and so on, all appeared.

To Kroya's delight, there were actually two female knight apprentices among them.

He never made any deliberate distinction based on gender; when he initially selected mage apprentices and knight apprentices, it was open to everyone.

He will treat everyone equally and welcome anyone who wants to and is willing to work hard.

Ultimately, more than thirty girls successfully entered the Knight Training Camp to study, and their training programs and treatment were basically the same as those of the men.

He felt that only in this way could he show that he didn't look down on them; any other preferential treatment or reduction in training would be seen as a sign of distrust.

As women, they have far fewer opportunities and channels for advancement than men, and such opportunities are rarely provided to them.

They seized these opportunities and trained extremely hard.

This is a global environmental issue; even Kroya can only barely manage to treat everyone equally within the territories he governs.

The result did not disappoint him.

They did a very good job, and even Rob and several knight instructors privately praised the female apprentices to Chloe.

"Well done, here you go."

Kroa tossed over two pieces of Mercury armor.

"Thank you, my lord!"

The two female apprentices followed suit and put the outer garments on, standing alongside them at the front, basking in the envious and admiring gazes of the crowd.

He waited patiently for a while, and an hour later, the last person finally conjured the Thorn Magic Sword.

His leisurely manner immediately made many apprentices grit their teeth in frustration.

Since Kroya kept emphasizing that they were a team and no one could be left behind, they decided that they had to teach this guy a lesson that night.

To be honest, their speed is actually not slow.

Of course, this was done by Kroya using a gopher harp to help them organize their magic, which accelerated their learning process.

Whether they can acquire resources and continue cultivating to a higher level depends on themselves.

After confirming that everyone had learned it, Kroya nodded in satisfaction and said loudly, "You have three days to master it. After three days... I will let you go out of the island for training."

Training alongside the apprentice monks.

Over these three days, you need to work together and get to know each other.

I hope that when you return, no one will be missing, and no one will be buried outside.

The apprentices showed no surprise, no cheers, only a unified, deafening shout—

"yes!"

It's very simple, but it's perfectly sufficient.

Kroya waved and left.

After he left, the four instructors went down from the platform and gave the guys a lecture and some earnest advice.

Perhaps at first they were just following Kroya's orders, but as time went on, they did develop feelings for the children.

Of course, we don't want them to die outside.

Having come from the capital and followed Kroya all the way here, their experience is definitely sufficient.

The apprentices listened attentively to the instructors' experience and lessons, and the flame in their hearts burned brighter and brighter, like a small sun.

……

Time flies by.

Three days later arrived quickly.

Bathed in the morning sunlight, the mage apprentices, the knight apprentices, and Baron Kmoyer all departed from Han Reef.

They will cross the ocean directly to reach the outside world by using the paths created on the sea surface by the sea dolphins.

Although there were only a few hundred people, it was still quite a large group.

After they left, Han Reef Island became noticeably quieter.

Inside the castle.

Kroya sat in his seat, looking at the huge monitoring array in front of him.

He did not see the apprentices off because he had already planted mushroom people as cameras on each captain and had prepared contingency plans.

Everything they see is broadcast back to them by another fungus, so Kroya can just sit at home and watch TV.

There was nothing they could do about it; their mental strength wasn't enough, so they had to use the mushroom people as a transit point.

The monk watched them leave, still feeling a little hopeful.

I arrived in a rush and had no time or energy to see more of the world, but now I can finally see more of it.

What kind of scenery will we see?

Thank you to Xianxian Ayu for the generous donation.

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(End of this chapter)