Mushoku Tensei: The Fool Magician

Roy reluctantly got out of bed. Though he was annoyed and exhausted, he reminded himself to be more patient. He kept repeating these words of encouragement as he opened the door, revealing Elena.

In the past year, Elena had changed significantly, the most obvious being her height. As a noblewoman, her appearance was naturally remarkable, though her temper remained as fiery as ever.

This was a girl who was simply impossible to change.

Roy adjusted his clothes and walked out of his room. He stepped back slightly, noticing Elena's hand frozen mid-knock.

Roy leaned down to her eye level, raising an eyebrow. "What are you up to this time?"

Elena placed her hands on her hips, her face brimming with pride. "My tenth birthday is coming up!"

Ah, her tenth birthday.

That's right—Roy suddenly realized he himself was now thirteen, nearly fourteen.

At his age, in this era, he was close to being old enough to marry and have children. Time really did pass so quickly.

Roy paused in thought before smiling. "I see. I'll prepare a gift for you. Anything else, Elena?"

Among nobles, it was customary to hold grand celebrations for milestone birthdays, particularly the fifth, tenth, and fifteenth. Of course, these were essentially extravagant parties, and Roy had little interest in them.

Elena's face turned slightly red as she glanced out the window. Her voice, for once, softened. "I… I wanted to ask if you could teach me how to dance."

Roy nodded absentmindedly. "You want to learn how to dance? Wait, dance?"

His expression darkened as he turned to Elena. "Don't you have a tutor for things like etiquette and dancing? Why ask me?"

Internally, Roy was groaning—how was he supposed to teach noble dances when he barely knew them himself?

Despite his reluctance, Roy eventually agreed to help her practice the so-called dance techniques. But that was a matter for tomorrow.

After dismissing Elena, Roy turned his attention to Rudeus, who had been standing awkwardly behind her. His expression grew complicated. "You too? What do you want now?"

Rudeus scratched his head sheepishly. "I… I was thinking of going home for a bit."

Roy stared directly into Rudeus's eyes, their gazes locking. Rudeus instinctively swallowed hard before hastily changing his tune. "Actually… it's not that important. I just miss Sylphy, that's all."

Roy interpreted Rudeus's words and distilled them to their core: he missed his girl.

In the end, Roy decided to offer some advice. He sighed and said, "Stop overthinking. Focus on earning enough money first, and then you can be with Sylphy."

Rudeus fidgeted nervously. "But…"

Roy patted his shoulder, adopting a mature tone. "Listen, you're still young. Don't get too far ahead of yourself. Even if you wanted to do something, could you really pull it off?"

Rudeus instantly understood the subtext, flashing a knowing grin. Annoyed, Roy kicked him away and scolded, "Stop acting like such a fool. No one will marry you if you keep this up!"

Rudeus said nothing, lying on the floor like a deflated fish.

Ignoring him, Roy mulled things over before saying casually, "I might be heading out for a while soon. You get what I mean?"

"Heading… out?" Rudeus looked up at the dazzling man before him.

Unknowingly, Roy's once androgynous features had completely transformed. Now, he looked like a hero straight out of a storybook.

His golden hair shimmered in the light, cascading down his back in soft waves tied loosely. His once delicate features had grown sharp and striking, giving him the look of a bona fide heartthrob. Coupled with his sword training, he exuded an almost overwhelming aura of strength.

Golden hair, golden eyes, and extraordinary power to match.

How infuriating.

Rudeus cursed silently. The golden-haired girl had not aged into a blonde-haired goddess but rather into a golden-haired prince. And now, Rudeus had another rival competing for potential wives.

Unacceptable.

Whatever Roy was planning during this trip, it surely couldn't be anything good. Rudeus resolved to find a way to stop him.

Roy had no idea how Rudeus managed to jump to so many wild conclusions from a simple statement about leaving. With a calm tone, he said, "It's nothing dramatic, Rudeus. Just something troublesome I need to deal with."

Rudeus squinted at him suspiciously, a sly smirk tugging at his lips. "I bet Master Roxy would be heartbroken if she knew."

Roy froze mid-motion, his hand hovering over the door he was about to close. His expression turned icy as he stared at Rudeus.

Was this kid asking for a lesson? Roy realized it had been a while since he'd last disciplined him. Maybe it was time to remind Rudeus what "older brother authority" really meant.

With that thought, Roy grabbed Rudeus by the collar, dragged him into the room, and shut the door behind them.

Feeling a chill down his spine, Rudeus instinctively tried to break free and bolt for the exit.

Despite his current lack of energy, Roy had more than enough strength to handle Rudeus. Effortlessly, he hoisted the boy and tossed him onto the bed. Then, with an unsettlingly calm expression, he leaned closer and smiled.

"You're quite bold today, aren't you, little one?" Roy said in a low voice.

Rudeus immediately regretted his life choices. He mentally kicked himself for stirring the pot. Some things were better left unspoken—why had he decided to poke the bear?

After thoroughly teaching Rudeus a lesson, Roy collapsed back onto his bed, muttering under his breath about the poor timing of everyone's interruptions.

Roy fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, one that lasted almost the entire day. By the time he awoke, it was already late at night.

He felt much better—his mental fatigue had eased significantly, though he knew full recovery would still take some time.

Sitting up, Roy glanced at his system interface. There were still two rewards left unclaimed.

He opened the system's item menu, revealing two items: Perfect Dragon's Blood and Word of Power Awakening.

After a moment of contemplation, Roy decided there shouldn't be any harm in using one.

He retrieved the Perfect Dragon's Blood. Encased in a transparent container made of some unknown material, the liquid inside shimmered like molten gold, thick and radiant as it pooled at the bottom.

When Roy gently shook the vial, the mesmerizing liquid swirled, reflecting a fiery brilliance.

[Perfect Dragon's Blood]

[Category: Item/Bloodline/Consumable]

[Quality: Perfect]

[Note 1: This is a spark—nothing is more precious than this seed of power.]

[Note 2: Can be consumed orally, where it will flow through your body and be absorbed. Alternatively, it can be injected.]

[Note 3: The bloodline of an ancient king. Absorption might be painful, but it poses no life-threatening risks. Probably.]

Even through the bottle, the molten gold exuded a faint sweetness, tempting him with the promise of strength. Roy's instincts told him consuming it would unlock new heights of power.

Without hesitation, Roy uncorked the vial and downed its contents in one go.

The moment the liquid hit his stomach, his expression contorted. It felt as though he had swallowed an entire bowl of molten lava. His throat and stomach burned with a fiery intensity that quickly spread throughout his body.

The scorching sensation didn't stop there—it traveled with his blood, invading every fiber of his being.

[You have consumed Perfect Dragon's Blood.]

[Your body and bloodline are undergoing transformation.]

The searing heat only intensified. What initially felt like eating a spicy dish now escalated into the sensation of ingesting pure magma.

Roy's body writhed as the molten pain surged through him, seeping into his bones, muscles, and organs. He was trapped in an almost surreal state, teetering between agony and transformation.

His mind spiraled as he fought to stay conscious. He could feel every inch of his body being reshaped, his very essence rewritten by the power coursing through his veins.

Sensing the changes within himself, Roy left the manor. His figure flickered with the aid of magic, and within a minute, he reached a tranquil forest.

This place wasn't far from the manor—close enough to reach, but distant enough to ensure solitude.

As soon as Roy landed, the forest, once alive with the hum of insects, fell into complete silence. Every creature seemed to hold its breath, leaving only the sound of Roy's heartbeat echoing in the stillness.

His eyes no longer shimmered with their usual golden radiance. Instead, they gleamed like molten gold, flowing with an intense, otherworldly light.

[Bloodline Integration: Progress 20%]

The system's detached voice resonated in his mind. The pale moonlight filtered through the dark canopy, casting its glow on Roy's distorted yet commanding visage.

A suffocating pressure began to emanate from him, spreading outward like a tidal wave. It was an aura of dominance, the unmistakable mark of a superior being asserting its presence. It spoke of an insurmountable chasm between his ancient, awakened bloodline and everything else beneath him.

Roy's transformation continued. Scales began to emerge along his temples, spreading down his arms and across his torso. These obsidian scales glistened menacingly under the moonlight, shielding his vital areas with an impenetrable armor.

His body elongated unnaturally. Hardened hands turned into razor-sharp claws. His spine twisted and extended, producing grotesque cracking noises as his bones reshaped themselves. Soon, his back arched unnaturally, and a long tail sprouted from its base.

When the transformation stabilized, Roy resembled a black-scaled beast standing in the heart of the forest, an unholy fusion of man and monster.

[Bloodline Integration: Progress 70%]

Roy's internal organs—his lungs, heart, and liver—felt like they were being forged in a relentless furnace. Each beat of his heart resonated like a war drum. Every breath released plumes of thick mist, the air around him steaming with raw power.

His body surged with primal strength, untamed and wild. Roy evaluated himself in this state with one word: strong.

Yet, alongside the strength came a feral and insatiable hunger. A madness grew deep within his mind, spreading like a wildfire. As the dragon's essence took root, it awakened a violent, destructive instinct buried in his blood.

The golden glow in his eyes blazed brighter, and his aura grew increasingly savage. Finally, Roy, the black-scaled monster, let out a deafening roar, the sound waves splitting the air with explosive force.

The impact pulverized nearby trees, their shattered remains scattering across the forest floor.

[Bloodline Integration: Progress 90%]

The black beast's back erupted with jets of blood, as rows of sharp iron scales gave way to bony protrusions. These skeletal wings grew rapidly, their sinews stretching and thickening with each passing second. Within moments, they were fully formed—a pair of powerful wings clad in glistening black scales.

This was the mark of a true dragon. A creature of perfection required wings to complete its form.

Clinging to the last remnants of his sanity, Roy leapt into the sky, his wings slicing through the air as he fled deeper into the wilderness.

A faint instinct guided him toward a specific destination: the Crimson Dragon Range.

The Crimson Dragon Range split the central continent into three regions: west, north, and south. It was a volcanic landscape known for its searing heat and home to fearsome S-class red dragons, remnants of the Demon God Laplace's dominion.

Roy, now a five-meter-long black-scaled monstrosity, soared through the night. His enhanced speed turned him into a blur against the heavens as he made his way toward the mountain range.

Eventually, his keen senses locked onto a massive presence resting atop the mountain—a fully grown red dragon.

The environment grew increasingly hostile as Roy ascended. The ground beneath him turned crimson with volcanic heat, the air thick with ash. Towering above was the red dragon, its ten-meter-long body and immense wings dwarfing Roy in size.

The red dragon opened its blazing red eyes, unleashing a warning roar.

To the red dragon, Roy was an aberration—a malformed, stunted hatchling barely worth its attention.

But Roy didn't hesitate. In an instant, he dove toward the red dragon, claws outstretched. His speed was blinding, and before the red dragon could react, its neck scales were torn open by Roy's razor-sharp claws.

The beast roared in pain, striking back with its own talons. Its sheer strength was overwhelming, and Roy's scaled armor cracked under the pressure. A chunk of flesh was ripped from his body, blood spilling onto the scorched earth below.

The agony ignited Roy's ferocity, stripping away the last threads of rationality. With a guttural growl, he lunged again, his claws sinking deep into the red dragon's torso. Mustering all his strength, Roy hurled the massive creature toward the ground, sending both of them crashing into the molten terrain below.

***

Bonus Chapter:

100 Power Stones = 1 BC

300 Power Stones = 2 BC

500 Power Stones = 3 BC

700 Power Stones = 4 BC

1000 Power Stones = 5 BC

***

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