Reincarnated as the Strongest Dragon

After returning to Baruda, we had dinner at the inn before going back to our room for the evening. We decided to take a relaxing bath before going to bed.

“I’m quite satisfied with what we learned today,” I said as Liz sat down in front of me.

“It was nice of him to explain everything,” Liz replied as she leaned back against my chest. “Though it appeared that he was more than happy to give a lecture.”

“I’m sure he would have kept going if we didn’t leave,” I chuckled. “He might be more passionate about taming than I am about magic.”

“He might be,” Liz smirked, reaching back and putting her arms around my neck. “There is one thing I’m wondering about.”

“And what might that be?” I wondered. “You could have just asked him if you were curious about something.”

“It’s not something I could have asked of him,” she giggled, leaning into my chest.

“Oh? Now I’m curious,” I replied, kissing Liz’s neck.

“Why do I have dragon taming?”

“Because you tamed a dragon?” I grinned, sliding my hand down between Liz’s thighs and touching her mark. “Or is this just for show?”

“But how is it different from monster taming?” She wondered.

“Eh?”

“What?” Liz asked.

“Liz…”

“What is it?”

“Do you think I’m a monster?”

“Uhm, no? Not exactly, but…” Liz hesitantly replied. “Aren’t dragons technically the same as monsters?”

We had such a good mood going and everything…

I pulled back my hand and leaned backward, looking up at the ceiling. “Dragons aren’t monsters. At least, not in the sense that you think.”

“Did I say something wrong?” Liz asked, turning around and resting her chin on my chest. “Are you mad at me?”

“I’m not mad,” I replied, looking back at Liz with a soft smile. “It’s not something humans have the luxury of spending a lot of time thinking about.”

“But you could tell me?” Liz asked, a hint of worry in her expression.

“You don’t have to worry,” I said, putting my arms around her. “I told you. I’m not mad.”

“Good,” she smirked, reaching up and kissing my neck. “So, can you tell me what you meant?”

“You mean you want to have another lesson?” I asked, pulling her further up to kiss her. “It might take a while.”

“We have time,” Liz said with a playful glint in her eyes. “Besides, I could listen to you for days.”

“Now you’re just trying to act cute,” I smirked, pulling her in for another kiss. “Are you sure? I won’t stop in the middle.”

“I’m sure,” Liz grinned. “Enlighten me with your infinite wisdom.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” I muttered. “Basically, all living creatures fit into one of a few categories. First, we have all the normal wildlife. Let’s call that category animals. They are born and possess no magic stone nor any magic circuits in their body. Second are monsters. Now, can you tell me how monsters differ from animals?”

“Why are you asking me?” Liz frowned.

“It’s more fun when the class is engaged in the lesson,” I smirked.

“Bleh, I prefer to listen,” Liz groaned. “I guess the difference is that monsters have a magic stone?”

“That’s one of them. They also have magic circuits and are spawned from the mana around us rather than being born.”

“How does that work?” Liz asked. “Spawning, I mean. I know monsters appear out of nowhere, but I have never seen it happen.”

“To put it simply, When a sufficient amount of mana accumulates in one location, it condenses into a magic stone. Then poof, a monster spawns.”

“I have never heard of anyone that has seen that happen,” Liz pondered. “Shouldn’t adventurers see something like that sooner or later?”

“It’s not something you can see unless you put in some effort. Monsters can’t spawn without meeting certain criteria," I replied, gazing into Liz’s emerald eyes. “Can you guess what that is?”

“Of course not,” Liz muttered. “Just tell me.”

“I’m sure you can figure it out,” I giggled. “Think about it. Monsters can spawn everywhere, but you don’t see it happen. Why is that?”

“Just so you know, if you say that the monsters are shy, I will bite your nipples,” Liz said, squinting at me.

“They are shy,” I smirked, sticking out my tongue. “No, but you know about monster territories, right?”

“Where certain monsters spawn?” Liz replied, grinning as she playfully chomped her teeth. “Yes, I know about them.”

“Basically, territories aren’t anything more than a monster saying, ‘I was here first’. Only monsters with the same or almost the same magic signature can spawn close to each other, like different ranks of orcs or goblins.

That is where the territory comes from. If you kill all the monsters, some other monster might spawn instead. That is also why monsters sometimes fight each other. They try to push other monsters away to increase their own numbers.”

“That doesn’t answer why we don’t see it happen, though,” Liz remarked.

“Sure it does. Human’s magic signature also blocks monsters from spawning,” I smirked. “Haven’t you ever wondered why no monsters spawn where humans live?”

“Oh…” Liz mumbled, seemingly deep in thought. “How did you figure that out?”

“I spent some time trying out different things in the past.”

“Like what?” Liz wondered, her eyes becoming more curious.

“Like killing all the monsters of a certain type and then watching the area with [Farsight] for a few days from the top of a nearby mountain,” I smirked. “Also tried keeping one alive to see if more would appear.”

“I figured you would say something like that,” Liz grinned. “I would have been disappointed if you said something normal.”

“Rude,” I laughed. “But that is why I didn’t understand why the guild put such a big importance on those orcs we were sent to kill. All monsters can technically do the same. But… Now that I think about it, orcs might actually be more proficient in expanding.”

“You mean us lowly humans knew something not even the dragon queen knew?” Liz teased, faking a gasp.

“Oh hush, you,” I smirked. “Then could you be so kind as to enlighten this lowly dragon why orcs are more proficient in expanding their territory?”

“Hanna already told you,” Liz giggled. “Because they can work together.”

“No.”

“Huh? Yes she did.”

“I meant that’s the wrong answer,” I smirked. “Most monsters can work together to some extent. Orcs are just better at it. The real reason why they are more proficient is because normal orcs are weak.”

“How would being weak help?” Liz wondered.

“Because weaker monsters can spawn further away from the mana veins. If those weak orcs, by force or luck, can claim a territory closer to the mana veins, stronger types of orcs can spawn. If that happens, it wouldn’t be surprising if it snowballed from there. The more they expand, the faster they multiply.”

“Couldn’t stronger monsters do the same?” Liz pondered. “It’s not uncommon for stronger monsters to appear and push out weaker ones.”

“They absolutely could, but they rarely want to do that,” I continued. “The stronger the monster, the more mana it wants. That’s why they rarely expand their territory by killing weaker monsters since they don’t want to be there. The most common reason for a stronger monster to invade a territory with less mana is because someone took their territory. Monster behaviour is basically bullying weaker monsters all the way down the chain.”

“But, hmm…” Liz pondered. “Why would the strongest monster push out someone weaker then? He already had the best spot.”

“Sometimes the mana veins fluctuate or change direction. That may cause his territory to lose its value.”

“Ugh, this is too much information all at once,” Liz groaned. “One more question.”

“And what is that?” I replied.

“What’s a mana vein?” Liz asked.

“Humans don’t know about those nowadays?” I pondered. “You can think of it as streams of mana that flow underground. The earth’s lifeblood, perhaps?”

“You should write a book,” Liz teased. “The Dragon Queen’s Knowledge.”

“I’m fairly certain I have this written down somewhere. Might have a book about it in my study in my house.”

“I forgot all about that!” Liz blurted. “Can I have a look sometime?”

“Of course,” I smiled. “You might have to learn a new language, though.”

“Ehm, pass.”

“I’m sure it would be fun,” I replied, sticking my tongue out. “Now, shall we continue?”

“There’s more?” Liz groaned.

“Of course,” I grinned. “We only talked about animals and monsters so far. We just got a bit sidetracked on the monster part.”

“Right,” Liz muttered. “I forgot we were talking about that.”

“I’m getting into this whole teacher role,” I chuckled. “Maybe that lecture I’m supposed to give will be interesting.”

Liz reached up and whispered into my ear. “Please continue, teacher.”

I felt a slight shudder ripple through my entire body.

“Don’t you even try,” I giggled, pulling her back. “I told you, I’m not stopping in the middle.”

“Try what?” Liz asked, batting her eyelashes.

“You know what you did,” I smirked. “Let’s continue. Humans are the third category, but I’m sure you already know how they work compared to animals and monsters, right?”

“Ugh,” Liz grumbled. “Born with magic circuits but no magic stone?”

“Correct,” I replied with a smile. “Then we have dragons. We’re hatched from eggs and have both magic circuits and a magic stone. We’re something in between humans and monsters, I suppose.”

“But, hmm…” Liz pondered. “How can you have a magic stone?”

“That’s a good question!” I giggled, clapping my hands behind Liz’s back. “Dragons continuously absorb mana while we mature inside our eggs. All that mana will form a magic stone. It is, however, not exactly your typical magic stone. The magic stone of a dragon is only about the size of my fist. You can think of it as a highly concentrated magic stone.”

“I thought you would have a massive magic stone, considering how strong you are.”

“And where would I put that?” I asked, glancing down at my chest. “When a dragon hatches, we are smaller than a human.”

“Really?” Liz mused. “That sounds adorable.”

“Yes, yes, my mother said I was the cutest whelp in the whole world,” I grinned.

“I’m sure you were,” Liz giggled, gazing at me affectionately. “Still is.”

“You’re such a troublesome student,” I said, meeting her gaze. “It’s only a small part left.”

“Go on then,” Liz replied, gently tracing her fingers along my collarbones.

“You will regret this when we get out of the bath,” I whispered, grabbing her hand with a playful squeeze.

“I doubt that,” she said with a cheeky smile.

“Moving on,” I said, trying to gather my thoughts. “Our magic stone doesn’t grow when we do. That’s why it’s small. Don’t mistake it for a weak magic stone, though. I think the average time for a dragon to hatch is between five and twenty years, depending on the type of dragon. You can imagine how much mana has been absorbed over such a long time.”

“Silly me for thinking dragons hatched in the same time it takes for a human baby to be born,” Liz smirked. “I should know better by now.”

“It’s quite fast if you think about our lifespan,” I said, thinking back on the past. “I took a little bit longer than your average dragon, though. My mother said somewhere around forty to forty-five years.”

“That long? But then again, you do have a tendency to sleep in,” Liz teased.

“That’s what my mother said,” I chuckled. “She always called me a sleepyhead and joked that she thought I had built a home in my egg.”

“Your mother sounds nice.”

“She sure was. She doted on me all the time,” I said, my voice tinged with nostalgia as I tilted my head back and closed my eyes.

Liz suddenly moved up and hugged me tightly.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, surprised by Liz’s sudden motion.

“I just felt like you needed a hug.”

“I don’t deserve you,” I said, kissing her neck. “I’m alright. I rarely think about my mother, so I was just reminiscing a bit.”

“Are you sure?” Liz asked.

“I’m more worried about you,” I said, pulling Liz back to look into her eyes. “My mother died millennia ago. Your…”

“I’m okay,” she assured me. “I have already accepted it.”

“You don’t want revenge?” I asked reluctantly. “I can-”

“No,” Liz interrupted me. “You already killed those who attacked my village. I don’t want you to go to Kaydossa.”

“But…”

“It’s enough that you are here,” she said, gazing into my eyes. “I don’t want you to get more blood on your hands for my sake.”

“Liz,” I whispered.

“What is it?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered back before kissing my neck.

“Shall we head to bed?” I asked, sliding my hands down toward her waist. “We haven’t caught up with the days I was gone yet.”

“But what about your lecture?” Liz asked with a grin. “You said you wouldn’t stop in the middle.”

“I don’t even remember what we were talking about,” I smirked as I picked up the giggling Liz and stepped out of the bath.