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Fine ice particles floated from the magic professor’s hand.

The particles shifted for a long while, forming various geometric shapes before disappearing.

“Magic, or rather, magical engineering, is inextricably linked to the lives of modern humans.”

“However, as students of magic, you will know from your own experiences that magic is not an innate talent for humanity.”

“It is a discipline that was established and created by someone.”

The professor approached the students, scanning their faces as he slowly walked around the room.

“So, when did humanity begin to use magic? There are various theories about this.”

The professor raised one index finger.

“The first theory is that humans awakened to it themselves and have been using it for about 4,000 years.”

“Primitive ritual tools and charms, primarily associated with women, have been discovered in the Takla Desert region. However, these artifacts show almost no traces of proper Mana. Primitive religion is quite common in the Western Continent, where human hands have long reached, so this is not a strong hypothesis.”

A middle finger was raised.

“The second theory is that El-Araya was the first to teach humans how to handle Mana.”

The professor balled his other hand into a fist in front of the students.

A blue aura enveloped his hand.

It was Kanggi, a power said to be usable only in the Battle Master realm.

Gasps of admiration followed, and the aura around the professor’s fist disappeared.

“The usage may be different, but fundamentally, martial arts and magic are not two separate things. It’s just a slight difference in how Mana is used. Today, there are over 1,000 martial lineages stemming from El-Araya. There was a question of whether she, the embodiment of martial arts and a genius, would not have been able to use magic. This is quite a plausible hypothesis.”

Next, the ring finger was extended.

“The third theory is that the High Elf Saraswati, a magic practitioner who propagated all the theories and methods that form the basis of modern magic, is responsible. Unlike the El-Araya theory, there are numerous records to prove this. Due to the incident 2,000 years ago, many records about the High Elves have been lost, so we cannot know the exact details. However, most scholars believe that even if El-Araya used magic first, the origins of magic lie with El Saraswati, who recorded and disseminated the basic theories of magic used from ancient times to the present, and led the Elves to set foot in the human realm. In fact, this is considered the orthodox theory.”

Finally, the little finger was extended.

“Fourth. Unlike the other theories, this one is only written in records. However, because the recorder was the magic practitioner El Saraswati, it has scholars scratching their heads. It only appears here and there in exaggerated and inaccurate records like epics, and there is no material evidence of its existence.”

The magic professor continued, his face flushed.

“Long before even El-Araya was born, in the location of what is now the Kingdom of Froike Sachsen, there existed the Elder Loa. Gal Biznana Dragon. The race name of the dragons, now mythical beings, is derived from this Elder Loa. It is literally a myth within a myth. However, this theory is also not a strong one, like the first. There are very few records, and the first recorded appearance is sudden. The first record is… El-Araya and… So—”

◈     ◈     ◈

It was an unfamiliar ceiling.

That was the first thought that came to mind as she regained consciousness and saw the ceiling.

At the same time, she quickly recalled the last situation before she lost consciousness.

‘I lost consciousness after being hit by the dragon’s breath.’

When she collided with the power contained in the dragon’s breath, she thought she had died.

‘No, maybe I really did die.’

In her previous life, she had a terminal illness and died before she even reached twenty, but this time she died two years earlier than that?

Still, wasn’t she an experienced person when it came to death?

She assessed her current situation.

‘I was naked back then too.’

When she opened her eyes, she was born from a flower bud in front of her siblings and the giant World Tree.

…It wasn’t a memory she particularly wanted to think about.

She didn’t feel cold, but a faint breeze tickled her entire body as she moved.

Even if it wasn’t because of the wind touching her skin, she could tell that she was naked simply by lifting herself up slightly and looking down.

Her chest was slightly more developed than before.

The small limbs she could see were a familiar shape.

‘I don’t think I’m dead… This is something.’

She looked around and thought.

‘I wondered why it was so dazzling around me.’

Gold, gold, gold, gold.

Wherever she looked, it was a mountain of gold.

She was at the top of that mountain of gold.

‘Am I really dead?’

It was as surreal a sight as being born from a giant flower bud.

The ceiling was full of glowing jewels, and the surroundings illuminated by the jewels were filled with gold reflecting the light.

The gold wasn’t neatly arranged like gold bars or ingots.

Gold of various shapes was scattered haphazardly.

However, the size of the gold ranged from pieces the size of her upper body to gold chunks larger than her torso.

‘…There’s even a gold statue.’

Among the randomly shaped gold pieces, there was also a large gold statue made in the shape of a dragon.

The dragon’s shape was very familiar to her.

That was because it resembled the shape of the Gal Dragon she had been fighting until she lost consciousness.

She wasn’t particularly materialistic, but she couldn’t help but be amazed by the mountain of gold, the sea of gold, that filled this vast space.

‘…The color looks very clear, is it real pure gold?’

In fact, she didn’t have a proper memory of seeing pure gold in either her previous or current life.

In her previous life, she didn’t need money, and in her current life, neither the Elves nor the humans had much gold to begin with, not to mention problems with refining technology.

The most valuable gold circulating among humans was probably amber gold mixed with silver.

Most of it was low-purity gold mixed with various minor metals.

She remembered hearing that one way to distinguish gold was to bite it with your teeth, but she thought it would be too vulgar, so she applied a moderate amount of force and pressed down on the gold.

Then she felt that it was very soft compared to other metals.

She withdrew her hand, which had dug into the gold without much resistance.

She let out a hollow laugh.

‘If I took even a portion of this gold outside, the value of gold and silver in Pohrellnia would be completely reversed.’

Is this all pure gold?

If the economy was based on gold, simply releasing this gold into the market would bankrupt it.

With this much gold, even if she only took a little at a time whenever she needed it, it seemed like she could live a life of luxury for three generations, even based on an Elf’s lifespan, not a human’s.

‘…But where is this?’

She regained her senses and began to look around.

And she stopped as she passed a gold chunk larger than her body.

A naked young Elf was reflected in the clear gold surface, like a bronze mirror.

‘…My talisman and the bracelet made from Mother’s branch are gone.’

It was a familiar appearance, but it wasn’t a familiar appearance.

Her body was unharmed and looked the same as before.

But the talisman and bracelet, which she had never taken off since leaving the forest.

And the clothes that Atira had carefully made for her with precious Telenia silk were gone.

She almost burst into tears at the loss of her cherished possessions, but she held back and thought.

‘But maybe I survived thanks to them.’

They fulfilled their original role, and thanks to that, she was alive now.

She forcibly convinced herself of that.

As she walked through the cold gold, she found jewels as well.

‘…The gems are really big.’

Gems larger than her fist were piled up like small mountains.

She picked up a transparent one from among the various colored gems and examined it.

‘Is this a diamond? I can’t properly assess the value of gems, but… even the finest jade can’t compare to this.’

In the Central Plains, jade was considered the best of the gems, but that didn’t mean that the value of other gems was low.

She had never seen one, but she had heard that a diamond with excellent transparency was traded for a higher price than jade.

The gems stored here were generally well-colored, although some were scratched from being tossed around carelessly.

If only the damaged ones were recut, they wouldn’t have the same consistent convertibility as gold, but they would fetch an enormous price if they met the right owner.

‘…I don’t know if humans have the wealth to buy gems of this size right now.’

She carefully put down the fist-sized diamond with good color and continued to explore this vast mountain of treasure.

After passing through the treasure that filled her vision, she came to a large passage.

As she moved into the passage, a huge cavern appeared, with a ceiling so high that it was difficult to estimate its height.

And the familiar energy permeating the cavern.

It was the energy of the Gal Dragon.

Despite the energy filling this vast cavern, the Gal Dragon, the owner of the energy, was nowhere to be seen.

‘…Did he go outside?’

If the Gal Dragon was away, wouldn’t she be able to escape?

Just as she was thinking that and trying to find an exit, a golden dragon suddenly appeared in the air above the blocked ceiling.

「You’ve woken up.」

The dragon landed in front of her, one of its outstretched front paws stained with blood, and the other holding a large piece of gold.