An Uncommon Situation?
With a low groan, the words left Christina's lips. Her heart skipped a beat, but she quickly hid the emotion and smiled brightly.
"I'm glad. You really held on."
"Grh..."
'Actually, I almost died. If I had hair, it might all have turned snow-white.'
I'd pushed myself to the limit, drenched in sweat, but the longer time passed, the lighter I felt.
Only then did a sense of accomplishment fill my chest—the knowledge and power of this world finally within my grasp.
I guided my weary body back to the room with Christina.
And there, I gazed at the meal spread out before me with a gloomy expression.
"Special dish. It's a herbal decoction with healing properties."
"...?"
"Once you finish eating, I'll give you sweet apple candy."
The imugi glanced briefly at Christina.
But she simply smiled brightly and offered the meal again.
She even begged for proper food to be eaten with it, but the answer came that other dishes would interfere with the herb's effect.
'Yeah. I'm not a kid anymore. I ate that bitter mandragora, didn't I? What's the big deal.'
I chewed the medicinal herb that was said to aid recovery and swallowed it down.
"Khuek."
[Glug.]
"Still have to eat it."
"Grh..."
'Could this... be revenge for eating the mandragora?'
It wasn't a joke. The taste was so revolting that it felt like I was dying.
Only after swallowing even the root did my body begin to tremble uncontrollably.
'Ugh. Really... it's the worst taste.'
Shaking from the bitterness, my face twisted in displeasure, but Christina only smiled as if she found it adorable.
Beside me, a white chick pecked away at the crackers specially prepared for it.
Here I was, forced to eat a bowlful of bitter herbs, while the chick enjoyed sweet, delicious snacks. I couldn't help but feel annoyed.
'Tsk.'
"Come on, this is an appetizer."
To calm me, Christina offered a colorful array of sweet candies.
Since my tongue was already numb from the bitterness, I gladly accepted and placed them in my mouth.
'How ironic. It's tasty.'
The sweet flavor eased the pain of the bitter taste.
I chewed one side of my cheek puffed out, savoring the candy for a long while.
Watching this, Christina breathed a sigh of relief.
'I guess I misjudged the kid... I was on edge, but... thank goodness.'
Even someone well-versed in magic felt tension; facing the world's only precious dark-blooded child as a test subject, she hadn't been able to relax.
Seeing the child now at ease thanks to the candy, relief finally washed over me.
"You really held up. I have no idea how amazing you are."
"Grh."
"Just over a month old as a hatchling, and you already accepted the transmission perfectly. Even though you're not fully matured yet, you used telepathy."
"Kyue."
The 'telepathy' I used directly in the other's mind.
It was a fairly high-level magic, but after receiving Christina's knowledge, I could use it as if I had always known it.
Ironically, a plain 'word' that anyone could say was something I couldn't do at all, but there was no helping it.
Before my oral structure was complete, even with knowledge of language, speaking fluid sentences had been impossible.
Still, communication became so much easier.
'Other knowledge, I can try slowly.'
For now, I needed to eat well, absorb the power, and digest what the transmission had passed down.
'But this transmission... I doubt I could do it twice if I died. I almost went to the next world.'
The mana I absorbed to take in the power was immense; without anything to eat, I couldn't endure.
"By the way, a guest should arrive soon. Do not reveal the power you possess to that child too much."
"Grh?"
'That child... could it be a hatchling like me?'
At Christina's questioning gaze, I wondered who the child might be and shared the information needed.
"His name is Ferdikion. He is the successor to the elder of the Red Dragon clan. Although still a hatchling, he has used powerful fire magic since he was young."
'Ah.'
The information from the transmission magic appeared in a semi-transparent window before my eyes.
In short, it was like this.
Name: Ferdikion Race: Red Dragon Hatchling Attribute: Fire Age: 745 years Special Notes: Only successor to the Red Dragon elder. After one of the two behind him was killed, he has refined himself into a perfect elder. He has mastered the innate emotion of a cold flame.
'Are other transmissions like this too?'
Immediately, the answer came that they were not.
Along with the explanation that, due to the nature of conceptual magic, the method was implemented in a way suited to imugi.
'It makes sense. It's intuitive and easy to understand.'
I read the information and greedily swallowed the phoenix egg, milk, Christina's herbs, the rare elixirs, and all the food she provided.
'I suffered, but thanks to it, I gained knowledge and can now freely control mana.'
Enjoying the reward I had earned through pain, I smiled to myself.
"Grh."
The imugi, cheeks puffed out after finishing the elf herb honey bread, patted his stomach with his hand.
Christina said to him as he lightly waved a hand and created water droplets in the air to drink.
"Well then... though it sounds sudden, it's time to think about your name."
'Name.'
A name. A word that designates a subject.
It could be inherited from parents, but in the dragon world, it was different.
Notably, dragons could name themselves.
'Just like activating word magic, I have to name myself. Even divine beings do, but it's strict here too.'
Promises made 'with a name' to a dragon carry the force of 'word magic.'
'My original name is Imuk.'
Naturally, using the name as is felt strangely out of place.
'It has a certain ring to it.'
Though old, the person who gave me the name came to mind.
- It looks like the color of soot or charred. Let's call your name Imuk. My surname is Yi, so Imuk! How does that sound?
The imugi recalled someone who had said that, as a dragon of a thousand years would ascend to the world, and that person had spoken of realizing their dreams and ambitions. But it was too long ago to remember.
At the time, he had only been a little black lizard.
Later, as time passed, he grew into a divine being and was called imugi.
'At the time, I just listened. Now I think the one who named a divine being after a little lizard was a funny guy.'
The name given to a small being meant to rule the world, though it was funny, had a certain appeal.
The imugi nodded as if thinking.
[I'll decide on it. Christina.]
"Do as you like. By the way, telepathy is transmitted so cleanly. How interesting. Isn't it difficult?"
[Yeah, it's doable. It almost couldn't be said because of the oral structure limit.]
It was natural, since I was still a hatchling with an incomplete oral structure.
"Even though it's a high-level magic, the adaptation is surprisingly fast."
"Kyuk."
Nodding in gratitude, the imugi looked at the white baby bird.
'I should give this guy a name soon too.'
At that moment, Christina raised her head and said as if sensing something.
"The timing is perfect."
Christina, owner of Rai, sensed movement magic.
She knew who was coming and moved with a light smile.
"I must go to welcome Ferdikion. It's faster than I thought."
"Grh."
As the imugi stood, the white baby bird quickly flew to his head.
"You want to come too?"
"Grh. Grh."
"Peep!"
Nodding, he took a few wobbly steps, then flapped his small wings and rose into the air.
I was curious. What about other hatchlings?
'If I figure out the level of a 745-year-old hatchling, I'll know the average one too.'
Christina had casually dismissed me as a genius, but long tails get stepped on.
I needed a benchmark to move around this world comfortably.
"Then shall we go?"
"Grh."
"Pee-ah-ah-ah!"
Spreading his small wings, the white chick chirped cheerfully.
Christina's movement magic was cast, and their forms vanished.
***
While heading to meet Ferdikion, the imugi observed the power granted through Christina's transmission.
Knowledge and magic of this world. As his understanding of the dragon race grew, he realized there was power he alone could wield.
The world was filled with magic. Humans, monsters, demons, celestials, beastkin—every race.
In the place I had been, many things existed that should not.
'Conversely, even if they didn't need to exist, they do.'
Rejection, conflict, war. Discrimination.
Concepts that exist wherever living beings do.
'Actually, the strangest part was Christina herself.'
The imugi looked at Christina.
Name: Christina Race: Gold Dragon Attribute: Light (blessing, protection) Age: 3345 years Special Notes: Elder of the Gold Dragons. Dragon Lord candidate. Owner of Dungeon ??? During the Heavenly Demon War, she intervened in the human world as the balancer, suffering the most. Contributed to recovery.
(omitted)
'I expected her to be strong, but an elder of Gold Dragons over three thousand years old who owns a dungeon...'
Just how she ended up with me was the only question.
After the movement magic ended, a stranger stood in the room.
"Long journey, much trouble. Long time no see, Ferdikion."
"Long time. Gold Dragon elder Christina."
Though young in appearance, he carried a mature demeanor.
A red-haired boy with neatly combed bangs, as if he had applied oil, stood there.
His simple uniform-like clothes complemented his red eyes, with black and red harmonizing perfectly.
The black resembling darkness and the red eyes of the imugi were surely not coincidence.
An emotionless, indifferent red gaze with a ritual-like expression.
It was easy to understand why he was called a cold flame.
"Is this the black dragon hatchling born this time?"
"Yes. Though still young, he is very clever."
Receiving Christina's signal, the imugi held out his right hand.
"Grh!"
'Please take care.'
Then.
In an instant, a spark of hostility flashed within Ferdikion's red eyes.