Nihility [ Isekai • Dragon Evolution ]

I got up from the ground and spit the dirt that got on my mouth during the fall. One thing I noticed was that it didn't actually hurt. Usually it at least hurt a little, but this time it was like I didn't feel anything, almost as if it was healing before it was actually hurt but the only thing that I thought would be capable of doing this was that pendant of that drunk priest of an elf.

I looked down and was surprised to find the image of the pendant on my chest, more like a ghost image than an actual physical thing. What was it, anyway?

[Information not available]

Oh, so that's how it is. Back to the usual, huh? Doesn't matter. It seems like this thing was still healing me, I just didn't know if it was across all the loops or just this one. I just hoped my soul would heal first rather than this thing running out of energy. I might've not felt the pain any more, but if I focused on that sensation of when I was inside my own soul, which is rather weird if I think about it, I could feel the energy the pendant was providing me, filling a lot of scars inside my soul and soothing them. I was pretty sure if it wasn't the pendant I would be in agonizing pain just like I was before waking up in that medical tent.

Unfortunately, even if this energy provides me with a reprieve from the actual pain, it didn't change the fact that my soul was actually wounded at the moment and I couldn't overuse my magicules above a very low margin, so I needed to forget about the cage training, and going to the cave trying to solve the loops for a while.

I groaned in annoyance.

What did the God of Time mean when he said I had almost all of the pieces? Couldn't he say "look, you need to do xyz to end the loops". What a bother, really. I needed to go find my friends, you know?

Doesn't matter, not in a loop anyway. I would eventually leave this place, and even if I didn't stop the loops from within, I could just get stronger inside them and leave this damn forest that kills you if you try to leave. Yes, I remember the something that went for my neck when I managed to get my weasel transformation. I guess I can thank the knights for killing everything too dangerous for me in this part of the forest

I sighed and then looked at my paws, at my wolf paws. The only reason why I was not turning back to my true form when being transformed is uncomfortable and this specific form was actually giving me a small part of pain because I was constantly recharging my magicules and straining my soul is because I was anxious that triggering the transformation would be worse. I mean, the last time wasn't that bad, but I still didn't want to feel pain for no reason, even if the reason is to stop the pain from continuing. It's a stupid way of reasoning, but I can't help myself here. I know I needed to, and I would, I was just buying time to build my courage first.

Staying put like this I could hear the butler and the knight talking, almost out of my hearing range. I barely managed to hear that the knight heard something falling in this direction and suggested for them to check it out before returning. Seemed it was now or never, and with a grimace I triggered [Genetic Dysphoria].

I felt as if thousands upon thousands of red hot needles were piercing every single cell on my body as it melted into that goo like substance before reforming into white scales and becoming solid once more.

The pain lessened a little after the skill level up, which helped a lot. I was almost wheezing because of the pain, and the notification really drove home how damaged my soul was if triggering my skill made it level up. It probably is because it changed the way my soul is connected to my body as it changes the entirety of my body. But I couldn't know at the time, I was more preoccupied by the pain and the sounds of footsteps coming from my right.

I heard the knight saying something, but I didn't manage to catch it. The sound of my heavy breathing got in the way of me making it out, but he probably wasn't talking to me. If I were to guess, he was saying something along the lines of "holy shit, it is a majestic dragon in front of me!"... Nah, it probably wasn't, but a man, or dragon in this case, can dream.

I took a deep breath and raised my head straight up, closing my eyes as my lungs filled with the fresh air of the night. I held my breath for a few moments before releasing it, the pain having lessened enough for me to at least look around, and when I did, I looked straight at the knight with his bow drawn and an arrow in the middle of it, but it wasn't aimed at me, it was pointing to the ground with the string only half pulled, probably in a position where he could aim and take a shot at me if I were to attack him.

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"Can you understand me?" The knight asked me, which was a valid question in my eyes. I nodded, and the knight looked somewhat relieved?

"It's a dragon" the knight said. Now it was my time to be confused. What else would I be? I have four legs and two wings, so I couldn't be mistaken with a wyvern that only has two legs and two wings.

"Oh great. What would a dragon be doing in this place at this time of the year? It's not even new year for a month yet" The butler said as he approached us and looked at me. "Oh. that is new. a white dragon? and you said it is a dragon?" Now I was even more confused. He said I was a white dragon and was confused that I was a dragon?

"He nodded when I asked" The knight said, which the butler just looked at with an exasperated expression.

"And couldn't he just nod regardless of what you asked him?" The butler said, then turned to me. "Are you a dragon?"

I frowned. What else am I supposed to be? I looked at myself, white scales, reptile looking, a pair of wings, a tail. Pretty dragon looking to me, if you asked. I turned back at the butler and looked with a face of "are you serious?" and nodded.

"Seems like an obvious yes to me" The knight said, and the butler only sighed.

"One more thing on my plate, lucky me" He said before looking like something just clicked on his mind and then asked me. "Tell me, mister dragon. By any chance, was it you who killed a lunaspectra wolf around thirty meters that way?" He asked me and pointed in the direction of the fight I had with the lunaspectra wolf. I know for the local timeline it was a few moments ago, but to me it's been a few days by now and I still remember the fight. I was really lucky it was so wounded before it found me, else I wouldn't be here.

I nodded and the butler looked up to the sky and let out a defeated sigh. I noticed the change in his demeanor when I answered him that I was indeed a dragon and he seemed like he was debating something in his mind. While he did so, I would take the chance and use [Appraisal] on them. They will notice it, but I didn't really care at the moment.

[Human. Lv. 12]

[Human. Lv. 43]

Oh, nice. Now I knew the butler was level 12 and the knight was level 43, a whooping 40 levels above me. That would explain how he had managed to notice me back when I was following them as a weasel and almost killed me with an arrow. Though, I think he missed it on purpose… No, scratch that. He definitely missed it on purpose. There's no way he's that high level and can miss an easy target such as myself simply because I was inside of a bush.

"Hum. Mister dragon, I don't know if you had the time or the curiosity to learn of our culture yet, but using [Appraisal] on others is highly frowned upon" The butler said after a grunt when I used [Appraisal] on him. Maybe on higher levels it stops being detectable to people? Or maybe it just gets stronger. I don't really know.

"By the way, mister dragon. Would you mind telling us your name? I would rather not be disrespectful by simply calling you mister dragon every time" He said. I looked at him for a few seconds, thinking about what to do with this situation. If I tried to speak they wouldn't understand me… or would they? I don't think I ever tried to speak with someone, besides the kobolds, but they don't count as they couldn't talk with me back, in my true form….

In the end I just shook my head. I didn't want to try to speak only to make weird noises, at least not yet. The butler looked a little disappointed, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Then, allow me to invite you to our little camp. I don't know if you are resting or just hunting around this area, but I can invite you to at least stay the night and provide some food for you, if you so desire," He said. That was perfect for me. I would need to go there someway and being invited meant that I wouldn't need to invade the place like I had done so, and I probably wouldn't be able to do so this time, and hunting would be worse.

I nodded and he smiled at my confirmation. He then looked at the knight and asked him to provide a medallion, which the knight gave a golden medallion with a cyan crystal in the middle. Then the butler approached me and kneeled down in front of me and presented it to me.

"Mister dragon, our camp is surrounded by a low psychic field that disrupts the senses of those who are approaching without the proper key. This is the key to bypass the field without being affected by it" He said. I picked it up from his hand and looked it over. It had various magic circles etched on the surface. I really couldn't make head or tails about it, so, ignoring the rules human society had about [Appraisal], I used the skill on the medallion, and parsed the answer I got through [Knowledge Library]

[Field Key]

[A medallion made out of gold and cyraphite. Inscribed within is as complex sequence of magical arrays that allows the wearer to bypass a specific barrier that is linked to]

So he was telling the truth then. Okay. I looked at him and then nodded once more. He looked happy that I accepted and then got up and took a few steps towards the camp before turning back at me.

"Please, allow me to guide you to our camp, then" He said as he started walking and turning back to make sure I would follow.

Well, this is an incredible opportunity to study the camp without having to do it sneakily and having the possibility of being found out and thrown into one of those cages again. Maybe I will be able to get a hold on those magic books my skill told me was on the camp, if that entitled noble doesn't get in the way, that is. I think this will be a fun loop.