Zorka Slavy : Rise of the Supreme Sorcerer

Chapter 6. Azurks

Zorka was shocked witnessing the death of the level two beastmaster snake. Its body dried up and turned into ashes. Then, a rumbling sound echoed in the cave, startling Zorka.

His body trembled uncontrollably, and his teeth chattered loudly. Meanwhile, from the stone shaped like a dragon's head, a bluish light emanated.

"Groar, not enough! Low-level monster energy can't break this curse!"

A heavy, furious voice resonated, making Zorka's heart race. Sweat covered his body, even though the air in the cave was icy. 

"Wh-who is it?" Zorka suddenly retorted, strengthening his resolve to inquire of the figure speaking.

Hearing the voice of a child responding, the voice chuckled.

"Ah, I seem to have forgotten about this little creature.”

Zorka was startled to hear the voice calling him. Something emerged from the dragon head statue. A transparent dragon spirit revealed itself.

Seeing this, Zorka crawled backward and curled up, crossing his arms in front of his face.

"Dra-dragon! Please don't kill me!" Zorka cried out with a restrained voice.

"Tsk, you're not a potential prey for me to drain your energy," the dragon spirit said gruffly.

Zorka's eyes widened. It turned out that the dragon spirit was the one who finished off Venomcoil.

"What do you mean? You're the one using those tendrils, dragging us into this cave?" Zorka asked.

The dragon snorted, finding the human's question absurd.

"Of course. It's easy for me, even though my physical form is cursed, turning me into stone. That won't hinder my magical abilities. Well, only a bit I can use.”

The dragon spirit emitted a blue light, just like the dragon head stone shining in the same color.

Zorka lowered his hands, then approached the dragon head-shaped stone.

"So, you mean, this stone is you cursed?" Zorka stared at the large stone touching the cave's ceiling. Despite the cave being about 100 meters high, the dragon head-shaped stone filled it.

"How big would you be if you weren't cursed, dragon? Your head alone already fills this cave; I can't imagine how colossal you'd be."

"Hey, don't call me dragon! I have a name. I'm Azurks, the blue crystal dragon. A legendary dragon that has lived for thousands of years and has an unlimited level," said Azurks, the dragon, arrogantly.

"Did you often drag beastmasters here accidentally?" Zorka asked. "Earlier, I heard you say only level two beastmasters couldn't break the curse. So, have you been sucking energy from these dragged-in beastmasters just for that?"

Zorka got more curious, asking more questions. His fear of Azurks slowly faded. Azurks replied, "Yeah, the magic energy I get from these beastmasters can't break the curse made by some ancient wizard thousands of years ago. Beastmasters coming to this savannah valley are rare, and mostly they're low-level. So, their energy can only wake up part of my magic."

Zorka fell silent, taking in the information with amazement. His eyes sparkled, still a bit scared and tense.

Azurks was intrigued by Zorka's presence. He felt a huge energy emanating from the thin boy, as if it didn't come from his body.

Azurks noticed this energy surge when Zorka was still outside the cave. It blended with various energies, including Venomcoil's. Zorka's magical energy felt different—boiling, strong, yet gentle, and deadly at the same time.

Azurks gazed at Zorka, scanning his body and probing into his soul.

"So that's how it is. Your soul isn't from this world. You've replaced a soul that met a fateful end. Hahaha, turns out you've got the soul of an adult human," Azurks chuckled, discovering the true nature of Zorka's soul.

Zorka was stunned, realizing that Azurks knew the origin of his soul, not from his current world.

"How do you know?" Zorka asked.

"I'm an ancient being. I recognize souls in this world down to their deepest energy. But your energy signature is different from the humans of this world. Your energy is too powerful, unlike the energy of humans from your current world. So, how did you manage to switch souls, huh?”

This time, Zorka took a step back. His hair stood on end.

"I, I really don't know. It's just that in my previous world, I died in a truck accident on my way home. Then, when I woke up, I was already in this body. I thought I would be in nirvana... Turns out, I ended up in a different world," Zorka said, almost complaining.

Azurks chuckled at Zorka's words. However, after that, he spoke seriously.

"It's destiny. There's a red thread connecting you to the child who owns this body. I think that thread of destiny is even connected to me."

Zorka looked at Azurks with curiosity.

"It seems like the gods brought you into this world to free me," Azurks' spirit grinned, revealing his sharp teeth.

"What do you mean?" Zorka felt uneasy.

"Just let me go, and I'll willingly make a beastmaster contract with you. Won't that benefit you?"

"Hah, me? Hold on, Azurks. Can't you break the curse by absorbing energy from a high-level beastmaster? You just need to invite a powerful beastmaster to lift the curse, not ask me to be the middleman. I don't want to die a second time.

Oh, no, not like that. What I mean is, I still want to live until adulthood and do what this body's owner wants. This kid wants me to free his mom and prove he's not a useless person to his dad.”

"Why would that happen?" Azurks asked.

Zorka then shared the story of waking up, the memories of the body's previous owner, and the reason his father dumped him in the Sorgindua forest. It left Azurks stunned.

"Tsk. Turns out, humans can be crueler than us wild creatures. We don't treat our kin unfairly, even if they're considered useless, like lacking magic flow in their body energy.

Listening to your story makes me more convinced that you can set me free now. So, let's make a deal!"

Zorka grinned with Azurks' determination. However, he hesitated, considering Venomcoil's fate turned to ashes after Azurks drained its energy using its tendrils.

Seeing hesitation in Zorka's eyes, Azurks realized something.

"Aha, I know why you're unsure!" Azurks exclaimed, "Are you afraid your fate will be like that venomous snake earlier? Haha, that won't happen. The abundant magic energy in your body can't be sucked by me. Instead, that energy can release the curse without hurting you, hey kid!"

"Really? You sure I can lift your curse while I can't perform magic myself due to this body's nature?" Zorka still doubted Azurks' words.

"Yeah, absolutely. No need for you to do magic; I'll extract that magic energy of yours. Now, put your palm on the rock shaped like my head and see what happens next."

Despite doubts, Zorka followed Azurks' advice. He placed his hand on the dragon-shaped rock. Then something happened, a bluish light radiated, dazzling, making Zorka squint.

The cave trembled, stalactites fell. Then a deafening roar echoed. An explosion occurred, a giant dragon rose from its slumber.