Reincarnation Of A Swordsman: The Omni Mage

Chapter 158: Meeting Orion

The tools Orion made for Kyle have proven valuable after his mission expedition. The silent whistle was vital in defeating the beasts, as Kyle had used it to call the beasts over to his position, segregating their number and power level based on the intensity he blew at it.

The same applied to the pocket mirror, which had not only helped Kyle to stop an attack that could have injured him severely, but had also redirected that attack to its sender, managing to deal a fatal blow that left Kyle an opening to finish the beast off.

Kyle had obtained a mana core from killing the wolf, a Tier-4 one as of that, and he had stopped by Orion's because he was confident that his friend would cook up something special for him with it.

'He had managed to make all those good stuff for me with a Tier-1 mana core at most,' Kyle thought. 'I wonder what he'll be able to do with a Tier-4.'

>BANG!<

The sound of the door being shut hard interrupted Kyle from his thoughts. He looked at the door to confirm that Orion had gone in, slamming the door before him.

'What the hell was that about?' Kyle thought with annoyance.

"Orion! Open up!" Kyle began knocking, but he got no response.

He waited a moment, then knocked again, louder this time. "Come on, Orion! I don't have all day!"

Still no response. 'What's his problem?'

Kyle didn't give up though, he kept knocking, increasing the intensity with each hit that made the sound of his knocks impossible to ignore.

It took a few more minutes it knocking for Kyle before the door finally opened. Orion stood there, this time, his face looked fresher, like he had splashed water on his face.

"Are you ready to talk now?" Orion asked with irritation. "Or are we just going to stand here while your thoughts wander like the last time?"

"Oh, so that's what this is about," Kyle said before he stepped forward and pushed the door open wider, going towards the couch to have a sit.

"Hey! I didn't say you could come in!" Orion protested, turning around to follow him.

Kyle sat comfortably on the couch and a smug grin came on his face as he open his hand wide, summoning a mana core from his inventory onto it.

The mana core seemed to thrum and pulsate with energy. There were tendrils of energy escaping it every second due to its corrupted nature. It had a blue color and was surrounded by golden light, replicating the ice and light energies of the monster it was gotten from.

"Don't worry," Kyle said with a smirk, rolling the core lazily in his hand. "I brought you something special."

The mana core looked mesmerizing to Orion. Unlike the usual pristine spheres of pure mana cores, this one was jagged, irregular, and seemed almost alive. Black veins crisscrossed its surface, writhing as if trying to escape. A faint mist 9f mana could be seen seeping continuously from it and vanishing into the air. The energy it radiated was oppressive, and yet, it held an undeniable allure.

Orion's eyes widening to the size of saucers. For a moment, he simply stared with disbelief written all over his face.

"Wh-where did you get this?" Orion stammered. His usual cocky demeanor was gone, replaced by unhidden fascination. His hands trembled slightly as he reached out, though he stopped short of touching it.

Kyle leaned back and the smirk on his face grew wider. "From the mission I just got back from," he replied nonchalantly, spinning the core between his fingers. "My team and I managed to take down a Tier-4 corrupted mana beast. Nothing much."

Orion snapped out of his trance just enough to glance at Kyle. "Nothing much?" he repeated with frustration.

"You don't need to act cocky just because you managed to survive your mission," Orion crossed his arms and said. "From your recklessness and dimwittedness, it's a miracle that you're here."

Kyle frowned and the smirk on his face left. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you must have been ridiculously lucky to make it back in one piece!" Orion shot back. "Do you even think before you charge into danger? No."

"Hey! I didn't just survive—I thrived! We took it down as a team, and I handled myself just fine, thank you very much!"

From the side, Void's voice cut in with a chuckle. "He's got a point, though, doesn't he? Reckless fits you perfectly, Kyle."

Orion froze and his gaze snapped to the source of the voice. He hadn't even noticed the dragon until now as his focus have been entirely consumed by the mana core. He adjusted his glasses once again to make sure he was seeing things right.

"Wait… what the—" Orion's voice trailed off as he processed what he was seeing. "Is that… a dragon?"

Kyle smirked, leaning back with a relaxed expression. "Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention. Void's been hanging out with me for a while now. I got him from my mission."

Kyle's smirk widened as he leaned back on the couch, watching Orion's face cycle through shock, disbelief, and finally something close to obsession.

Orion finally found his voice. "You're telling me that there's a rare, supposedly extinct, overpowered, ancient dragon—right here, in this room!"

His voice rose in pitch as he gestured wildly at Void, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of excitement. "Do you have any idea what this means?!"

Kyle smiled wryly, scratching the back of his head. "Relax, Orion. Void isn't a real dragon. He's, uh… more like a reptilian descendant of dragons. You know, not the full deal, just some dragon lineage in there." Kyle wasn't confident in his words and has just said what he managed to pick from the man that he reported his mission to.

"Lies!" Orion shouted. "My brain, my intuition—everything is screaming at me that Void is a real dragon! You can't fool me, Kyle!"

Kyle opened his mouth to protest, but Orion cut him off, his hands shaking slightly from excitement. "I don't believe a word you're saying until I run some tests on him. If I can—"

"Wait. You can use your tests to determine if he's a true dragon?" Kyle couldn't resist asking with surprise. If Orion could really do that then doesn't that mean that others could find out Void was a true dragon.

"Well... Not exactly," Orion chuckled nervously. "But it's worth a try. There isn't any harm in an expermint, uh... there shouldn't be any."

Void couldn't remain silent anymore and had to interrupt. "Hold it right there, genius. You're discussing experiments on me while I'm sitting right here. How is that acceptable behavior?"

Kyle shot Void an apologetic look before standing up to confront Orion. "He's got a point. Void's not some lab rat for you to poke and prod. No one is using him for tests, experiments, or anything like that."

Orion clicked his tongue in frustration. "Fine, no tests. But can I at least study him a little? I promise it'll be purely observational—"

"No!" Kyle interrupted immediately. "Void isn't up for grabs for any kind of study."

Orion folded his arms and adjusted his glasses with a huff. "Then how do you explain the fact that he can talk, huh?"

"Uh… he's just special, okay? Let's leave it at that."

Void chuckled softly, clearly enjoying the exchange. "Special indeed," he said with amusement.

Kyle cleared his throat, eager to change the subject. He played with the mana core in his hand once more before throwing it towards Orion in a casual toss. "Catch!"

"Wait, what—" Orion barely managed to catch the core, fumbling for a moment before clutching it tightly with both hands like it was the most precious thing in existence.

His earlier frustration had vanished, replaced by pure awe. He turned the core over in his hands, inspecting its black veins that seemed to pulse with life.

"This… this is incredible," Orion muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "A Tier-4 corrupted mana core. Do you have any idea how rare this is?"

"Yeah, yeah," Kyle said, waving dismissively. "I need something special made from it. Think you can handle that?"

Orion's eyes sparkled with excitement as he nodded, despite having never touched or seen such mana core in his life.