Chapter 239: The Solution

To resolve dragonization, the Gate of Truth must first comprehend what Dragon Slayer Magic and dragonization truly are.

For this, Nate required the assistance of Igneel, a genuine dragon.

Since even Igneel had no solution for Irene's predicament, Nate was left with no choice but to resort to his final option.

This was primarily because the Gate of Truth was still in its "infant stage."

Had it been a fully matured Gate of Truth, he could have simply asked it directly without all this trouble.

...

At that moment, Nate opened the Gate of Truth and turned to invite Igneel to step inside with him.

"What's inside?"

Igneel, curious, peered through the gate and caught a glimpse of a pure white world.

"The Realm of Truth," Nate explained after a moment of thought. "It's a place that holds all the truths of the universe. It operates on the principle of equivalent exchange—if you can pay the price, it can answer anything."

Igneel was astonished. This was beyond anything he had ever heard of.

No, it couldn't even be called magic—there was no magic capable of such feats.

It felt more like a god, a deity governing truth itself.

And this god was something Nate had created… an 'Artificial God?'

The thought sent shivers down Igneel's scales.

"Can it really do all that? Then let's go take a look!"

Igneel flapped his wings and flew into the pure white world beyond the gate.

Nate followed closely behind.

...

Beyond the gate lay a pristine, flawless realm of truth.

Igneel scanned his surroundings, taking in the boundless expanse.

It was a space without end—or at least, none that he could see.

More notably, it was utterly devoid of anything. There was no trace of magical energy.

Nate spoke: "To resolve dragonization, the Gate of Truth needs to understand what it means to be dragonized. Igneel, I need you to demonstrate genuine dragon power."

"Understood."

Igneel nodded and unleashed golden flames that engulfed his body.

Ten seconds later:

"Is that sufficient?"

"That's enough."

Nate nodded and activated the Fire Dragon Slayer Magic program installed in his Magic App.

With a thought, 'whoosh', flames enveloped Nate's body.

Igneel's eyes widened in shock.

Since when had Nate mastered Fire Dragon Slayer Magic?

No… something felt off.

This wasn't mastery—it felt more like 'borrowing'.

Dragon Slayer Magic was notoriously difficult to cultivate, as it fundamentally transformed a human's constitution into that of a dragon.

It was somewhat similar to the approach of second-generation Dragon Slayers, who gained their abilities by implanting Dragon Lacrima into their bodies.

However, Nate's method went a step further—he was directly borrowing Natsu's 'Fire Dragon Slayer Magic power' to cast the spell!

How was this even possible?

Igneel was baffled.

This was an entirely uncharted path!

However, there appeared to be flaws—specifically, the strength of the magic was diminished.

While Igneel pondered, Nate deactivated the Dragon Slayer Magic.

Then, in a loud and clear voice, he addressed the Realm of Truth:

"That should be enough to understand, right?"

"Using Dragon Slayer Magic extensively leads to dragonization. Humans gradually transform into dragons.

"Even if magic is used to revert to human form, their essence remains that of a dragon, causing the loss of human senses, such as taste."

"I want to know how to resolve this problem. I offer magic power as payment!"

The Realm of Truth quickly responded.

[The first solution is as follows…]

'A first solution?' That meant there were more!

As expected of the Gate of Truth!

Nate immediately asked nervously: "Wait—tell me the solution with the lowest cost first. And specify how much magic power is required."

[Calculating…]

[The solution with the lowest cost requires 10-star magic power, according to the principle of equivalent exchange.]

'Only 10 stars?'

'That's cheap!'

Nate was surprised. Could it really be that simple?

The Deep Web space currently held reserves of over 100,000-star magic power.

Although most of it belonged to user deposits, using a small portion wouldn't even make a dent.

Without hesitation, Nate agreed to pay.

The next moment, the answer was infused into Nate's mind.

The Gate of Truth provided a solution with the lowest cost, and it was surprisingly simple:

A mage could create a surrogate, train it to master Dragon Slayer Magic, and use the surrogate for combat.

At critical moments, the mage could merge with the surrogate, temporarily becoming a Dragon Slayer Mage and unleashing immense power.

This way, they could avoid the fate of dragonization.

However, the method involved a unique connection between the mage and the surrogate.

The solution provided by the Gate of Truth was detailed, except for one crucial part—it didn't explain how to create such a surrogate. Everything else about the method seemed reasonable.

'This solution… Why does it feel like something out of "Stand Users"?'

Nate couldn't help but complain internally. It was a practical solution for people learning Dragon Slayer Magic now, but utterly useless for Irene, who had already dragonized.

So Nate added another question: "What about someone who's already dragonized? How can that be resolved?"

He explained Irene's situation to the Gate of Truth.

The Gate seemed to stall for a moment, as though grappling with the complexity of the problem.

After at least a minute, a response finally arrived:

[The most suitable solution for the master requires 300-star magic power, based on the principle of equivalent exchange.]

The response had changed. Instead of offering the lowest-cost option, it provided the 'most suitable solution for the master.'

The cost was now 300 stars—equivalent to the magic power of 40 Makarovs.

But for Nate, even this was a trivial expense.

He agreed to the payment.

The Gate of Truth drained his magic power over forty consecutive sessions before finally delivering an answer.

[Infusing master with advanced magic knowledge...]

[Time-Space Magic: Flying Thunder God → Truth Magic: Flying Thunder God.]

In an instant, profound magic knowledge flooded Nate's mind.

"What happened?" Igneel asked, frowning.

"Nothing…" Nate replied, clenching his fist as he took a moment to process the new knowledge.

The Flying Thunder God magic had evolved, becoming Truth Magic.

Previously, Flying Thunder God was considered time-space magic, functioning solely within the realm of space. Now, however, it could traverse time as well.

The solution provided by the Gate of Truth was simple:

Take Irene back 400 years, to the time before she dragonized. That would resolve her condition entirely.

At this realization, Nate was momentarily at a loss for words.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, the method was both straightforward and efficient.

It even conveniently enhanced one of his existing spells.

'Truth Magic?'

Was this the name for all magic strengthened by the Gate of Truth?

While pondering, Nate turned to Igneel and said,

"I've found a solution, but it's not very suitable for Natsu and the others."

"…It can really cure a Dragon Slayer Mage who's already dragonized?" Igneel's dragon eyes widened in shock.

Nate nodded. "Thank you for your help, Fire Dragon King. If you ever need anything from me, just ask."

"I didn't do much, but you've certainly surprised me," Igneel replied, shaking his head.

In truth, he wanted to ask if there was a way to kill Acnologia, but seeing the price Nate paid, he decided against it for now.

The Gate of Truth operated on equivalent exchange, after all.

...

Back in the real world.

Nate opened his eyes.

"Thanks, Natsu. I won't disturb your training any longer—I'll be off now."

After bidding farewell to Natsu, Nate turned and left.

While walking, he opened his friend list and saw that Irene was online.

Scarlet Empress [Magic Arena] Matchmaking in Progress...

'She's turned into an online gaming addict now?'

Nate checked her profile and was astonished. In one night, she had climbed to the gold rank, with a total of 33 matches and zero losses.

'Do you not need to sleep?'

Actually, she probably didn't.

Nate couldn't help but joke internally, 'If my Thought Projection didn't need sleep either, I could have them coding 24/7.'

Sigma Male: "I've found a way to resolve your dragonization."

Irene replied instantly.

Scarlet Empress: "God, is that true? 😮"

Sigma Male: "I'm only helping you because of your daughter."

Sigma Male: "Still, even for me, it took a lot of effort. How do you plan to repay me? 🤷"

Scarlet Empress: "Kami-sama, I'm willing to give you everything! 🙇‍♀️"

The bowing animation was hilariously exaggerated, looking like it had a motor attached—she could bow ten times per second.

Nate couldn't help but chuckle.

Sigma Male: "I once had a dream. Although I can fly, I've always wanted to have a dragon as a mount. 😎"

~~~

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