NOVEL NEXT Chapter 84: Dragon awakening.
In a matter of minutes, the domain had been constructed, covering a large expanse of space with the dragon egg safely inside.
From an outside view, the domain looked like a colossal, obsidian eggshell, oozing with a dark, swirling energy and mist.
Dorian stood at the entrance, where he could see the dragon egg inside the domain, positioned in the middle, right on top of the wooden platform.
The workers had surrounded the area, ready to give their maximum security to make sure nothing happened until their lord stepped out.
On the other side stood Ishtar and Seraphina, watching as Dorian, Lili, and Maria made their way into the domain.
As they walked through, the entrance closed shut, keeping them separate from the world outside.
"Wow, this place is rather impressive," Lili uttered, walking to the side with her eyes scanning the entire place.
From what she could see, the place looked like a war land. The ground was covered in sand, and the sky had upside-down towers facing the ground, held aloft by an unseen force. All of this was Ishtar's imagination.
However, in that moment, Dorian's focus was somewhere else entirely.
"Come, Lili, we don't have time to waste," he uttered as he walked towards the blue, glowing egg.
"R-right, sorry master," Lili ran after him.
Next to the egg was the crawler, kneeling on the ground and waiting for Dorian to approach.
Upon reaching them, Maria was shocked to see the egg up close. Her instincts flared towards one thing: danger.
Before she knew it, her hand was on the hilt of her broken blade, ready in case the unexpected were to occur.
"Dragon king, it is an honor to see you once again," the crawler bowed its head.
'It's already calling me this?' Dorian chuckled anxiously.
Then he noticed that the monster had begun to look more healthy; its once-dried and dirty skin was now clean, green, and fresh.
In addition, it seemed to be growing, almost covering its entire lower body, leaving the upper part still made of bones.
"Thank you for looking after the dragon egg as much as you did. You may not know this, but you saved hundreds of humans by feeding this egg with your mana for so long. Allow me to take it from here," Dorian smiled at the crawler.
Since the monster's face was made of just bones, Dorian couldn't tell what type of expression it was making.
What he did know, however, was that it bowed its head in respect and, without uttering a single word, stood up and gave Dorian enough distance to do what he needed to do.
With that done, Dorian focused on the pulsing egg, ready to start what he had been preparing for.
"My lord…" Maria uttered from the back. "If things go south, please do not hesitate to run. I'll buy enough time for that to happen."
Dorian kept his gaze in front, not uttering a single word.
"Should I fail to defeat the dragon, please do not look back either."
Her words lingered in the air for a while. For some reason, she could directly feel how anxious Dorian was.
Even though from an outside point of view he was extremely calm, she wasn't sure herself, but she could definitely feel every emotion he had going on right then and there.
The ones that stood out the most were his fear and anxiety.
With a side glance, she watched as Dorian responded, "I knew you would say something along those lines. You worry too much; this is going to be easy."
Dorian then stepped forward, reaching closer to the egg while Maria remained at the back, clearly unsettled. He placed his hand on the egg.
[Mana transfer is ready to proceed.]
[Running analysis.]
[Target has been identified.]
Lili coated her arm with mana, standing at the side with her face etched with total concentration.
At the same time, Maria drew out her half-broken blade, unsheathing it and standing by in case anything were to go wrong.
[Analysis is currently in process.]
[Calculating total amount of mana needed for dragon's total awakening.]
Even before he had begun, Dorian could feel a huge amount of his mental fortitude getting drained. This was because in order for him to get this level of assistance from his system, it had to make up for his own mana by using his mental strength.
'Hurry it up…' Dorian uttered with clenched jaws.
[Calculation complete.]
[Dragon egg awakening is currently at 67%.]
[43% of your mana is needed for full penetration of all three layers.]
'I see. That is doable. Say, can you find out how strong the baby dragon might be upon birth?'
[Negative.]
'I expected as much. Anyway, let's settle this.'
Dorian pressed his hand on the shell and slowly began to pour his golden mana into the egg.
[Awakening has increased to 68%.]
[Awakening has increased to 72%]
[First layer has been broken.]
Seeing that, Dorian increased the flow of his mana, sending ripples of shockwaves erupting from his position.
Maria and Lili, who were behind him, felt his energy run through their bones, leaving them shocked at how dense and thick his mana was. Being a Lord-Rank warrior and having her own unique mana still made Maria stare in awe at what Dorian was able to release.
Is this man even human? The thought grazed her mind.
Soon, after a while…
[The second layer has been broken.]
Dorian's eyes had begun to glow from the mana he was releasing, and from where he stood, he could see the multiple cracks already appearing on the dragon egg.
'There it is, just as I thought.'
Dark, poisonous mist leaked from these cracks and quickly began spreading around the domain, covering a large distance in a couple of seconds.
Both Lili and Maria were unaffected by it due to their resistance, but even then, they could only last so long when the mist was this thick and numerous.
Dorian, still pouring mana relentlessly into the egg, glanced to the side where he could see the mist slapping against the walls of the domain.
'Just as I predicted. Ishtar's domain is made of mist. If the dragon egg were to emit the same mist as the one in the mining hole, her domain walls wouldn't be able to keep it from escaping.'
He sighed.
Thankfully, he had accounted for this. Everyone outside would be safe as long as Seraphina was there, and in case the mist were to spread past the forest and towards the Aurelian barony, James had already relocated everyone in the barony to a safe place.
'I have nothing to worry about. I just need to focus on either killing this dragon or taming it. I can't hesitate. The moment the egg cracks, I'll attack.'
[You have broken the third layer. Power surge has increased.]
[The dragon egg has hatched.]
Quickly, as Dorian saw the eggshells shatter like glass, he stretched his other hand to the side—
[Elemental Weapon has been activated.]
[Choice of weapon chosen.]
[Fire Spear has been selected.]
...
[A/N]
Unfortunately, i know i have not really shown Maria showcasing her fighting ability; it will be done, majorly, during the battle with the viscounty.
That said, this book will be on a promo today, if we hit 100 gt, and 200 ps before this week ends, I'll drop a mass release and also a special scene with all three women.