Volume 6 Chapter 39 Echoes of the Bone Dragon
Abyssal Tree Vande, Unarmed Two-Hander Tokohime, and Joyful Water Alchemist Sid stood before the resting place of the skeletal titan—Giga Bonequ, the dragon of legends.
"...It's huge," Vande murmured, lifting his gaze toward the monster's massive body. His Worldtree Axe rested over his shoulder.
True to its title, the creature was a behemoth of bone, stretching over ten meters in length. Its pristine white bones glinted under the dim light—untouched, unscarred, freshly summoned.
"For something like this to appear and be defeated four hundred years ago... yeah, that's definitely a legend," Tokohime said, drawing both of her blades—Legendary Sword: Muso Kojin—with a sharp hiss.
"The founding tale of Diamante Kingdom, right?" she continued. "I heard the Permanent Council Members formed right after. If they were strong enough to bring this thing down, it all adds up."
Sid, summoning a small group of slimes around him, nodded as he studied the towering dragon.
"...Still, I don't really get how these magic tools work."
"Same here," Tokohime replied. "In Sword Nation Shirogane, we don't use stuff this complex. It's all simple enchantments back there."
The device Abel had sent for the live broadcast lay on the ground nearby. Most likely built by Horace, the engineer who had become a legend in his own right.
Abel's words had been insistent: "Please use it. You must."
Sid let out a deep sigh.
It wasn't that operating the magic tool was hard. Not for Sid.
He was, after all, the Leader of Key of Pharos—a group once under the legendary Golem Master, the "Great Adventurer" Eudynes. They'd been at the core of Forever, the Adventurers' network that dominated a century ago.
Horace had once admired Eudynes, even becoming a Golem Master himself. Because of that shared lineage, many of their tools were built on similar frameworks.
Even without understanding the structure, the device was easy to use by following the engraved numbers.
"...Not being able to handle new tech just means you've stopped learning," Sid muttered.
"Guess that's what getting older means, huh?" Tokohime smiled faintly.
"I feel that," Vande grunted.
She looked like she was about seventy, but Tokohime—who had recently become a mother—seemed to be in her late twenties. In truth, her age was more tied to her culture than years passed.
Sid, though... Sid was 145.
An Apostle of God, Sid had stopped aging at forty-five when he became a disciple. Rivela sometimes teased him, calling him "the intimidating face," but physically, he hadn't aged a day since.
A whole century had passed. And oddly enough, it was Sid who understood the latest magic tools best.
What that said about everyone else... well, he didn't want to think too hard about it.
"Whatever. Let's just get it running," Sid said.
He moved his fingers over the device, and it hummed softly to life.
"Oh, the broadcast started."
"Looks like the video feed's already up."
"Such a handy thing," Tokohime said, a little impressed.
"In terms of magic tool design," Sid explained, "no one today surpasses Horace. And if we're talking actual usability? He might be in a league of his own."
"But I heard Horace ran the royal capital solo for ten years. 'Almost no one surpasses' sounds like an understatement."
"He used a golem for that. A fully autonomous one that could manage an entire city. That's something a magic tool can't do on its own. But there are traces—evidence that someone long ago made a magic tool capable of it. That's all."
Tokohime narrowed her eyes. "Didn't your subordinate say something about the Ancient Three Great Development Books?"
"One of them's in my possession," Sid replied. "It's about magic tools. Whoever wrote it likely had more advanced knowledge than even Horace... but that's ancient history now."
He smiled faintly, eyes resting on the dragon once more.
"A tool made by Horace isn't something you find just anywhere. But if it's showing up on the same kind of screen used in the Blood Duel Cup... then the base system might be the same."
"You mean—"
"Yeah. Those screens have been used since ancient times. If the creator of that screen also wrote one of the Three Great Development Books... or learned from it... it makes sense."
Sid rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Horace read that same book. The tech inside is likely built on those principles."
"I've heard that even if two people follow the same book, their tools usually aren't compatible," Tokohime said. "But this one... it just works."
"That's because it's all about the fundamentals. If your core design aligns, even different makers can build things that connect. But without deep understanding, you wouldn't even know what to align with. That's the key."
He smiled again, faint pride hiding behind tired eyes.
Sid had seen it countless times. Even when brilliant minds gathered to build massive, stationary magic tools, if their foundations were off, the systems wouldn't link. No coordination. No sync.
You could throw all the people you wanted at a project—but if they couldn't create harmony, the whole thing fell apart.
A single person could only do so much.
So, the real research challenge lay in how far you could push a small, high-performance tool—something one person could build.
That was the smartest use of resources.
"...Seeing tools like this really takes me back," Sid said quietly. Then he straightened, his tone shifting.
"Well, enough of that. Let's fight."
Tools were made to be used.
And if someone delivered you a magic device, it meant one thing: Make the most of it. Fight well.
Notes:
• Tokohime - From 'the Sword Nation Shirogane', known as 'Unarmed Two-Hander'. Her appearance is not described. She asks about Horace's baby, suggesting a friendly or familiar relationship.
• Vande - Known as the Abyssal Tree. Leader of the Underworld Tree, known as 'Abyssal Tree'. Their appearance is not described. They seem surprised that Horace is still alive, implying a history between them.
• Abel - Cain's twin brother. Works in the castle and serves as the dungeon management supervisor. His role allows Cain to focus on his duties without worry.
• Eudynes - Weird adventurers from a hundred years ago who were the first to understand the 'Golem Master' concept. Horace respects them but uses their story as a cautionary tale.
• Rivela - Leader of 'Muspelheim' and wielder of the 'Great Flame Sword Surt.' She is 18 years old, energetic, and a participant in the Blood Duel Cup. She earned the nickname 'Unscalable' for creating a huge wall of flames during a monster rampage.
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