The First Legendary Dragon Tamer

The cavern thrummed with tension.

The Plant Dragon's vines writhed restlessly, thorns twitching as though eager to tear through flesh. Its emerald eyes glowed with cold suspicion, never leaving Draco.

"You speak boldly, human. Too boldly. You claim to offer strength, yet your body reeks of mortality. You are fragile. Weak. Worthless."

Draco smirked, tilting his head. "If that were true, you'd have ignored me instead of wasting breath on a worm."

The Dragon growled low, a deep rumble that shook the cavern walls.

Then—

WHOOSH!

Its vines shot forward like spears, sharp enough to pierce stone. Their numbers were in a multitude, more than enough to turn him to skewers if he wasn't careful.

Draco leapt back, invoking Preto's Breath.

Darkness wrapped around him, his body melting into shadow. The first volley of vines missed, slamming into the ground where he had stood, pulverizing it into rubble.

He reappeared ten steps to the side, exhaling slowly.

'Fast. Even wounded, it's strong enough to crush me if I'm careless.'

The Plant Dragon didn't relent. Dozens of vines surged outward, filling the cavern with a forest of death. Draco darted between them, his body flickering in and out of shadow as he relied on sheer evasion.

The air whistled as a vine narrowly sliced past his cheek, leaving a shallow cut. Another slammed against his chest, but the shadows absorbed the blow before he reemerged, rolling against the cavern floor.

"You dodge well," the Dragon snarled. "But shadows alone cannot kill me."

Draco chuckled despite his burning lungs. "Who said I came here to kill you?"

Still, he felt the truth pressing on him.

Against Rank 3 Dragons, even wounded ones, his margin for error was razor-thin. Preto's Breath let him escape perception, but it wasn't enough to break through.

He needed more.

'I also can't call on my Dragons to help. I already need Essence to maintain my [Breaths], so calling them will only be a waste. Preto isn't very strong in head-on confrontations, especially when compared to other Dragons of the same Rank. And… Nyx is too weak.'

When he also considered how he would have to coordinate thier attacks, he figured it would be too much of a hassle—especially given the circumstances.

'Plus, I'd prefer to keep my full cards hidden for now. Besides, I can't always rely on my Dragons for everything!'

In essence, he wanted to handle this himself.

Another wave of vines surged forward, thicker this time, barbed with spikes. They lashed like whips, aiming to box him in.

'Tch. If I let them cage me, I'm done.'

He crossed his arms over his face, summoning the second Breath.

"[Let There Be Light]."

A radiant flash exploded outward from his body. The cavern filled with blinding brilliance, brighter than sunlight piercing a storm. The vines halted mid-strike, their motion faltering as if stunned by the sheer intensity.

Then came the sound.

BOOOOM!

The light didn't merely blind—it detonated.

The air itself cracked with force as arcs of radiant energy erupted across the vines, burning and shredding them. The explosion ripped apart the cavern floor, leaving scorched marks seared into the stone.

The Plant Dragon roared, staggering back as several of its appendages were torn clean through. Shredded vines writhed on the ground before shriveling into ash.

Smoke and sparks lingered in the air as Draco lowered his arm, his eyes glowing faintly with residual light.

He exhaled slowly.

His chest burned, his body trembling slightly from the strain, but his grin never faltered.

"Well?" Draco asked, voice calm, almost mocking. "Seen enough of my strength?"

The cavern was silent, save for the faint crackle of burning vines.

The Plant Dragon's emerald eyes locked onto him, wide with something Draco hadn't expected—confusion.

"…Impossible," it muttered, its deep voice rumbling with disbelief. "What are you?"

Draco raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

The Dragon's breathing quickened, not from exhaustion but from shock.

"That power. Those Breaths. They… they come from within you. I sense it. They are not drawn from a Dragonheart. They are not stolen from the corpses of my kin. They are not borrowed." Its head lowered, nostrils flaring as if trying to catch his scent, as though his very existence was an anomaly.

"You are human. Yet you wield what belongs to Dragons. From your core. From your blood. This… this is not possible."

Draco tilted his head, pretending to mull it over, though his smirk returned a heartbeat later.

"Trust me… I've been wondering the same thing."

The Dragon hissed softly, vines twitching around it.

"Do not mock me. No human carries Breaths in their soul. Not like this. Not naturally."

Draco shrugged, his tone casual, but his eyes sharp. "I'm not mocking you. I'm telling the truth. I don't understand it either. I just… woke up with them. And every day since, I've been figuring out what I can do. But one thing I know for certain—"

He took a step forward, shadows clinging to his frame, faint sparks of light still flickering at his fingertips.

"—whether it makes sense or not, I am strong. And right now, I'm offering you that strength."

The Dragon studied him for a long, tense silence.

Its emerald eyes narrowed, but the hostility had lessened.

"You are reckless. Arrogant. Dangerous." Its rumble was low, almost contemplative. "Yet… I cannot deny what I saw. Your Breaths… they carry destruction enough to wound me. You are no ordinary human."

Draco's smirk widened. "Glad we're on the same page, then."

The vines lowered slightly, not in surrender, but in acknowledgment. The cavern seemed to relax with them.

"For now," the Plant Dragon growled, "I will listen."

"Good," Draco replied. "Then we can talk about how to bring down the Water Dragon Champion together."

But even as he spoke, his gaze lingered on the Dragon itself. He had been watching carefully since the moment the battle with the Champion had ended. Every vine, every breath, every subtle motion had been seared into his mind.

And there was something… off.

The way its body strained. The way its vines trembled, not merely from injury, but from carrying weight. The faint, protective way it moved, almost instinctively shielding its underbelly at every strike.

It wasn't weakness. It was something else.

Draco's smirk faded into a thoughtful expression. He tilted his head, his eyes narrowing.

"Before we go further…" His voice was calm, but sharper now, like a knife sliding from its sheath. "Tell me something."

The Plant Dragon tensed, sensing the sudden shift. "What?"

Draco's gaze lingered deliberately on its chest, then its stomach, then back to its glowing emerald eyes.

"…Are you pregnant?"

The question hit like a blade.

The Dragon froze, its eyes widening in shock. The cavern filled with the sound of its quickened breath, vines trembling violently.

Its head lowered toward him, eyes flaring with raw intensity.

"H-how did you know?!"