Sean steadied himself and looked at Adam.
"What does any of this have to do with the Wizard's Heart?"
"Originally? Nothing," Adam said. "But over the past few years, the sealing array has started to weaken. I need the Wizard's Heart to reinforce it."
Sean frowned.
"It lasted nearly 6,900 years, and only now it starts having problems?"
Adam puffed up indignantly.
"Do you think I'd lie to a brat like you?"
That explanation made a lot of things click into place.
Over the last two months, Sean had often slept poorly. Some nights he felt an unnatural chill; on others, a vague pressure seemed to weigh down on him.
It was likely the aura of the imprisoned dragon leaking through the deteriorating seal.
Sean, because of his Magic vision, was especially sensitive to magical fluctuations.
As for Albus Dumbledore, his concern came from pure instinct. A wizard as perceptive as Dumbledore had probably sensed the same unease night after night, which explained why he had tightened nighttime patrols.
Sean crossed his arms.
"You still stole my Wizard's Heart."
Adam fell silent for a moment before replying.
"You don't understand. The seal is sustained by absorbing ambient magic from the surrounding environment."
He gestured around them.
"The Earth's magical density was already thin in ancient times. This area merely had slightly higher concentrations. Now, it's almost completely depleted."
"So you need the Wizard's Heart as an energy source?"
"Exactly."
Adam sighed.
"But even then, it would only keep the seal functioning for fifty years at most. If things go badly, much less."
"And after that?"
Adam answered matter-of-factly.
"Then the dragon wakes up and conquers the Earth."
Sean stared at him.
The words sounded absurd.
But then he remembered what kind of creature they were discussing.
A primordial dragon from the age of the Golden Adventurers.
Even Ougadith had been powerful enough to overwhelm Dumbledore.
A progenitor of dragonkind would be incomparably more terrifying.
"There's no other solution?"
Adam nodded.
"There are two."
"First, kill it."
"Second, use an extremely powerful magical artifact to reinforce the seal and imprison it for another several thousand years."
Sean latched onto the second option immediately.
"And the first?"
Adam snorted.
"No wizard alive can kill it. Even Lord Gelsang could only seal it."
Sean hesitated.
"How strong are we talking?"
Adam thought for a moment.
"About ten Dumbledores."
Sean nearly choked.
One Dumbledore was enough to dominate the British magical world.
Ten Dumbledores?
That was a monster beyond comprehension.
Sean coughed awkwardly.
"Right. Let's focus on the artifact option."
He glanced at the Wizard's Heart.
"If even this only buys fifty years, would we need something from the ancient era?"
"Most ancient artifacts are lost," Adam said. "And even among those, only creations on my master's level would be effective."
Sean muttered to himself.
"Someone on Gelsang's level…"
Then his eyes widened.
"Wait."
He looked at Adam.
"You know Stafford, the leader of the Golden Adventurers?"
"Of course. He was their captain."
Sean pointed downward.
"If it were his sword—the Golden Sword—it should be able to keep this dragon sealed for at least another thousand years."
Adam blinked.
"It probably could."
Then he added dryly, "Assuming you can find it."
Sean smiled.
"I actually can."
He explained that the sword was currently guarded by the descendants of Selwyn.
The problem was obtaining it.
For now, half of the elves still refused to acknowledge him as their rightful leader.
He had only managed to leave the elven village by reaching an agreement with Chief Kevin.
Until Sean could defeat Kevin, the elves would not truly follow him.
"Give me a few years," Sean said.
Adam stared at him in astonishment.
"How much do you know about the Golden Adventurers?"
"Not much," Sean admitted. "Just enough."
He looked Adam in the eye.
"But I'll bring the Golden Sword back."
Then he asked, "What about you? What do you know about the Golden Adventurers—and that other world?"
Adam shook his tiny head.
"I'm just a formation spirit. My master only told me stories when he was in the mood."
"As for this 'other world' you keep mentioning, I've never heard him speak of it."
Sean wasn't surprised.
It seemed members of the Golden Adventurers were bound by some restriction preventing them from revealing the truth directly.
The Wizard's Heart was clearly staying here.
That realization hit Sean hard.
For ordinary students, a day of classes was enough to drain most of their magic.
Evenings were spent resting or studying.
Sean had been different.
With the Wizard's Heart, he could fully restore his magic each night.
His progress had been at least four or five times faster than that of his peers.
Without it, his training efficiency would plummet.
Sean raised Adam to eye level.
"I think I got the short end of this deal."
Adam folded his tiny paws behind his back like an old sage.
"Take gains and losses lightly, young man."
Sean narrowed his eyes.
"I wonder whether roasted squirrel tastes good."
Adam panicked immediately.
"Wait, wait! Don't do anything rash!"
He blurted out, "I just remembered—I can teach you a spell!"
Sean's eyes lit up.
"From Gelsang?"
"Sort of."
Adam nodded.
"I mentioned that the sealing formation absorbs ambient magic."
"This grand formation is an incredibly complex composite array with a total of one hundred and fifty-four magical frameworks."
Sean repeated the number blankly.
"One hundred and fifty-four?"
Then the significance hit him.
"What?!"
For comparison, the most advanced spell Sean currently knew was Merlin's Purification Spell.
The next most complex was the Flight Spell, with twenty-eight frameworks.
Both had taken him nearly ten months to master.
A spell with 154 frameworks might require over four years of study.
Adam rolled his eyes.
"Why are you shouting?"
"How else do you think a spell can imprison a primordial dragon?"
Sean looked at him suspiciously.
"The spell you're offering me… it's not the whole formation, is it?"
"Of course not."
Adam grinned.
"What I'm teaching you is just one component of the composite array."
"The Magic Recovery Array."
Sean's breathing quickened.
"How many frameworks?"
"Forty-three."
Adam continued.
"Once you master it, you can inscribe the array onto your own body."
"It will allow your body to continuously absorb ambient magic."
Sean's heart pounded.
This was incredible.
Unlike the Wizard's Heart, it would be permanently attached to him.
No need to carry an artifact.
No need to worry about theft.
The only downside was the time required to master it.
Still, the value was immeasurable.
"Release me," Adam said. "I'll transfer the frameworks and inscription method directly into your mind."
Sean immediately grew cautious.
"What if you're lying?"
Adam huffed.
"What do you want me to do?"
Sean considered for a moment, then came up with a plan.
He carried Adam back up the staircase.
At the hidden door beneath the pillar, Sean asked, "How do you open it?"
"Knock three times on the left, then three times on the right."
Sean followed the instructions.
A one-meter-high door slid open in the pillar.
He stepped out onto the grass outside.
Activating his Magic vision, a phoenix flashed in his left eye and a three-headed serpent in his right.
Moments later, a half-sized Phoenix and a half-sized Runespoor materialized before him.
Because of Sean's limited magical reserves, each was only half its normal size.
"Watch this squirrel," Sean instructed.
"If he tries to run, eat him."
Adam stared in shock.
"Materialization magic?"
He looked at Sean as though seeing him for the first time.
"Where did you learn that? That's ancient magic!"
Sean ignored the question.
"You'd better not be lying."
"If anything goes wrong here, Dumbledore will notice."
Adam sniffed.
"As if I'd lower myself to deceiving a child."
Sean finally released the Rose Thorn spell.
Adam stretched his limbs but remained perched obediently on Sean's palm.
"Bring me closer to your head."
Sean carefully lifted him.
Adam reached out a tiny paw and touched Sean's forehead.
In that instant, Sean felt a torrent of information flow into his mind.
The transfer lasted barely a second.
Adam withdrew his paw.
"Done."
Sean immediately examined his thoughts.
Sure enough, detailed knowledge of the Magic Recovery Array had been implanted in his memory.
Whether it was accurate or not, he had no way to verify without spending months studying it.
Sean fixed Adam with a hard stare.
"If I find out you tricked me, I won't care about your dragon."
"I'll take the Wizard's Heart back."
Adam merely flicked his tail.
Clearly, he had no intention of backing down.
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