Wild Magic is also known as Primordial Magic or Soul Magic.
Of course, since it was a power comparable to World-Class Items, Momonga felt that [World-Class Magic] would be a more fitting name.
Ever since completing the Dragon Transformation Secret Art, Momonga had maintained a relatively stable daily routine while his body adapted to its new changes.
Every morning, he woke up on time, enjoyed a hearty breakfast, then headed to the Library of Nazarick to begin a day of reading and study.
Immersed in the vast sea of knowledge surrounding Tier Magic, he worked toward his goal of becoming a true Elder Lich.
So far, the results of his studies had been remarkable.
Thanks to his formidable strength and the aid of his Talent, he had progressed through Tier Magic at an astonishing pace.
He had now entered the realm of the Ninth Tier.
In the afternoons, he sought out the True Dragon Lords and consulted them about the mysteries of Wild Magic.
Each True Dragon Lord had their own distinctive traits.
The Brightness Dragon Lord might have rather unconventional tastes, but he still held the title of Great Sage of the Dragon Race.
The Heavenly Dragon Lord might spend all day eating and sleeping, but he was still a True Dragon Lord. He could offer unique insights that broadened Momonga's perspective.
The Vampiric Dragon Lord, as a True Dragon Lord who had become Undead, was practically a living textbook.
As someone who had perfectly inherited everything from the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord, Momonga had received not only the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord's power, but also the legacy of his memories.
Those memories included the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord's understanding of and insights into Wild Magic.
This valuable knowledge and experience was undoubtedly an immense asset to Momonga.
Drawing upon it, he could exchange ideas with the True Dragon Lords, allowing him to better understand and wield Wild Magic. He could even use those insights to deepen his understanding of Tier Magic.
During this process, Momonga had also made several new discoveries, or rather, confirmed some of his previous ideas and theories.
The first concerned the unique nature of Wild Magic itself.
Unlike the system in the game, Wild Magic had no class restrictions. As long as someone possessed the [Wild Magic Caster] class, they could freely learn all kinds of Wild Magic.
This unrestricted method of learning felt refreshingly novel to Momonga.
After all, in [Yggdrasil], Players could only learn the corresponding Tier Magic by selecting specific classes and meeting certain requirements.
Wild Magic, however, had no such restrictions. It was extraordinarily inclusive, and its barrier to entry was almost frighteningly low.
Elements, teleportation, barriers, healing, Resurrection...
Wild Magic of every attribute and category could be learned through the so-called Legacy Memories.
Its only real restriction was probably race.
For beings other than dragons, mastering Wild Magic was nearly impossible.
For the Dragon Race, however, the path was completely unobstructed.
This unique system seemed to confirm one fact. Wild Magic was a gift bestowed by the world specifically upon the Dragon Race.
It was undoubtedly unfair, but that very unfairness supported the idea that the Dragon Race was the world's favored race.
Undead were greedy beings, and nearly all of them possessed some kind of obsession. Momonga had simply taken advantage of that trait.
Exploring, excavating, and discovering new things was like digging up unknown treasure. It was a process filled with surprises.
Even so, the sample size was still too small. Perhaps there were simply too few True Dragon Lords left.
Momonga could not help feeling frustrated. If only the Platinum Dragon Lord were still here.
As the son of the Dragon Emperor, he surely knew far more than anyone imagined.
Unfortunately, because of their agreement, although the Platinum Dragon Lord would probably be one of them by the time they next met, there would still be a transitional period of at least several years.
For someone with an infinite lifespan, it was not that Momonga could not afford to wait. The unbearable part was having his curiosity left unsatisfied.
But setting aside the Platinum Dragon Lord, among the remaining True Dragon Lords, excluding the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord and the Eternal Night Dragon Lord, that left only...
...
Near the outer edge of the Sixth Floor of Nazarick.
This was a lush and vibrant region where all manner of exotic plants flourished, forming a distinctive garden.
It had once been the Platinum Dragon Lord's exclusive VIP residence. Now that he no longer lived there, however, it had welcomed three new VIP guests.
With their arrival, the area had been expanded even further, taking on its present appearance.
After exchanging a few words with the Dryad, Naohara also gave the Evil Tree, which was diligently guarding the entrance, another helping of Demon fertilizer.
Watching his nominal benefactor begin eating, Naohara nodded in satisfaction.
Afterward, Naohara and Herohero headed toward VIP Cave No. 1.
The cave lay deep within the forest in a quiet, secluded area, with only a narrow tunnel leading inside.
When they emerged from the tunnel, the view suddenly opened up before them, revealing a spacious and luxurious cavern.
At the center stood a massive stone table covered with all kinds of food and drinks.
Momonga and the Swordmaster Dragon Lord sat beside it, apparently discussing something.
"Momonga, I was wondering why I couldn't get in touch with you. So this is where you ran off to."
Naohara stepped forward and greeted him.
He then took out an item containing footage of the battle between Pandora's Actor and Sephis. Naohara had prepared it specifically for Momonga.
"What brings you two here? Actually, your timing is perfect. Come help me analyze this information."
After accepting the item and briefly showing his surprise, Momonga excitedly pulled the two of them over to sit down.
"What happened?"
Herohero asked.
It was rare to see Momonga this excited, which naturally piqued his curiosity.
"I was just discussing Wild Magic with Swordmaster, and we managed to draw some important conclusions."
Momonga answered without hesitation, then told them about what he had experienced recently.
The Swordmaster Dragon Lord, a True Dragon Lord who focused on developing his physical body, had given Momonga several unprecedented ideas. Those ideas also happened to connect with what the God of Wind had once said in the Sorcerer Kingdom.
Naohara and Herohero exchanged glances, both looking somewhat puzzled.
"I didn't expect you to cooperate so readily. As a True Dragon Lord, I thought you would be as proud and defiant as the Platinum Dragon Lord used to be."
Naohara looked at the Swordmaster Dragon Lord in mild surprise.
"A wise man knows when to yield. Just as the Brightness Dragon Lord said, there is no reason for me to confront an opponent I could never defeat. Under such circumstances, compromise is the sensible choice."
The Swordmaster Dragon Lord raised his head, a complicated light flickering in his eyes.
As he recalled their earlier confrontation, lingering fear colored his voice.
"You shattered my pride in an instant. The terror of facing death directly still makes me tremble even now."
"The strong rule the weak. That has been the law of survival since ancient times, and it is the principle I have always followed."
Since he had already lost, further resistance would only bring him more suffering.
The Swordmaster Dragon Lord did not want to die. He longed to continue growing and become even stronger.
That was why he declared his position without hesitation.
There was no shame in bowing to someone stronger. Only by surviving could he continue pursuing greater power.
With the Brightness Dragon Lord and the others around, along with the Platinum Dragon Lord as a clear example of what resistance would bring, the Swordmaster Dragon Lord felt no hesitation whatsoever.
[He certainly understands his situation.]
As expected, no one capable of becoming a True Dragon Lord was a fool. Sometimes, they simply could not be bothered to think too deeply about things.
Most of them had flexible moral boundaries. Stubborn individuals like the Platinum Dragon Lord were ultimately a minority.
Naohara thought to himself as he turned his attention toward Momonga.
Seeing this, Momonga began sharing his latest discovery.
As everyone knew, different forms of Wild Magic varied in power and effect, but every use of that power required souls as payment.
Furthermore, the weaker the caster, the more souls they needed to consume.
This had been true during the height of the Dragon Race five hundred years ago, and it remained true five hundred years later.
(PS: Wild Magic also required souls as its foundation in the past. See Chapter 168 for details.)
The concept of the soul seemed to lie at the very heart of Wild Magic.
"In the New World, the [Soul] is part of one vast [Whole]. When living beings die, their [Souls] return to that [Whole], and new lives are continuously separated from it."
"However, any [Soul] consumed by Wild Magic is completely destroyed and can no longer return to the cycle of reincarnation."
"That is why I believe Wild Magic consumes more than just the [Soul]. It may involve something even deeper."
Momonga explained.
The Great River of Souls was an intangible, elusive river. It was not merely the destination of every soul after death, but also an enormous cyclical system centered on the entire New World.
Following that logic, the True Dragon Lords' current practice of drawing souls from the Great River of Souls was undoubtedly damaging the world's own cycle.
"That is certainly an interesting idea, but it still doesn't seem sufficient to explain everything."
Naohara spoke after a moment of thought.
When he considered it carefully, there really was something wrong with using souls themselves as fuel for Wild Magic. The conversion efficiency made no sense.
Take the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord's Wild Magic, [Soulbreaker Breath], for example. A single activation consumed only a little over a million souls, yet produced an effect comparable to Longinus.
Logically speaking, no matter how many fragile souls were gathered together, they should not have been able to affect a powerful being. The difference in quality between them was simply too vast.
It was like countless low-level Players trying to attack a level-one-hundred Player with magic. Every spell would simply be nullified.
Yet [Soulbreaker Breath] could easily overcome that limitation. The more one thought about it, the more baffling it became.
Perhaps that was not truly the power of Wild Magic. Perhaps it was the power of the souls themselves, while Wild Magic merely served as a means of directing it.
"When a True Dragon Lord becomes Undead, their [World Connector] class becomes unusable, preventing them from connecting to the Great River of Souls. Could that be related?"
"An Undead's data becomes fixed and can no longer develop. That applies not only to the body, but perhaps to the soul as well. Maybe the soul becoming fixed is what causes the class to become unusable."
Herohero offered his own theory.
Hearing this, something stirred in Naohara's mind.
He thought of the Vampiric Dragon Lord. That fellow was also an Undead Dragon Lord, but unlike the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord, his [World Connector] class had not become unusable.
According to the Vampiric Dragon Lord, only his physical body had become Undead. His Dragon Soul had remained pure.
That seemed to explain it.
Resurrection magic was also based on the soul, while the Power of Faith promoted by the Six Great Gods was deeply intertwined with it as well.
In that case, could the Dragon Emperor's use of a World-Class Item to become a god also have been related to the soul?
Or, more precisely, was it connected to some specific element or power contained within the soul?
Naohara carefully recalled the description of World-Class Items.
Every World-Class Item represented a leaf, and every leaf was a world. When those leaves fell, they became different World-Class Items.
According to the game's lore, World-Class Items were incredibly powerful, and many possessed abilities so abnormal that they bordered on absurd.
Many Players had even questioned whether such items damaged the game's balance too severely.
The developers, however, had responded firmly, "The possibilities of the world are not so limited," and had never once considered patching those balance-breaking items.
...
Then where was the connection...?
What connected souls to World-Class Items...?
Naohara felt as though he had finally grasped the edge of an answer. Just as he was about to think more deeply, however, a Message interrupted his thoughts.
***
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