Chương 110: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 110 - Bond

Su Nian gazed at the obedient elf girl before him, and his heart ached. He really wanted to say something stupid to break the tension. Something flirtatious, something crude. Like, even if he ate Anna, they still wouldn't be together, she'd just get digested and come out the other end... But he couldn't say it. He didn't have the heart. Anna knew her own body better than anyone. No matter what he said, he couldn't fool her. Then again. Whether she could be fooled or not was Anna's problem.

Whether he said it or not was his. That was a matter of attitude.

"In that case."

"Let's make a promise." Su Nian looked at her. Completely serious. Not a trace of a joke anywhere on his face.

"If one day I die."

"You heat the oil, and you eat my dragon heart."

"You don't leave until you've finished every last bite." Anna stared at the Black Dragon before her. The small hand clutching her skirt trembled. Even her breathing stopped. She didn't know what she felt. She couldn't name it. But the world around her went suddenly quiet, as if everything had fallen away, until all that was left was the sound of her own heartbeat. [Anna Hathaway Favorability +1. Current Favorability: 100 (Till Death Do Us Part)] [Based on the special SSS-rank female NPC and the host's current state, generating Bond Ability...] Anna gently wrapped her arms around Su Nian's dragon head. Her cool, lovely cheek pressed against the bridge of his snout, her voice soft and unhurried, like a breeze drifting off a river on a summer night.

"Big brother... Anna..."

"Really likes you..." Sometimes, meeting someone is a wondrous thing. It is fate, and yet it doesn't quite feel like fate. Just like Anna, right now. Like a whale returning to the sea. Like a bird finding the forest. Inevitable. Nowhere left to retreat. Su Nian didn't speak. He simply felt the warmth of the girl's cheek against him. Felt her weight, her trust, the quiet heat of her affection.

If he really did die one day — and Anna happened to be beside him, and somehow managed to reach his dragon heart — eating it would send her strength surging. She might even become half-dragon. She might be able to live a little longer. Of course, that was all purely theoretical. The probability was extremely low. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Because if he died, Anna would almost certainly be dead too.

Their enemies weren't going to spare her just because she was cute. And even if someone tried to take her alive, Anna would follow him regardless. Su Nian was absolutely certain of this. However. The system promptly gave him a Big Slap. [Bond Ability Activated (Unique)] [Heart of the Beloved], Even so humble an existence desires the power to protect what it loves most. Effect 1: If Anna dies, Anna's heart will completely fuse with the host's heart under the power of rules, generating a shield lasting three days.

This shield is powered by rules and cannot be broken. Note: Anna's soul will be entirely extinguished. Effect 2: If the host dies, Anna's heart will completely fuse with the host's heart under the power of rules, inheriting certain of the host's abilities, inheriting this system, and gaining an invincible three-day shield. Note: The host's soul will be preserved within the heart. Well. That confirmed everything Su Nian had been thinking, and then made sure there was absolutely no escape from it. But honestly?

This was good news. The ability didn't make him any stronger. It didn't do anything for him directly. But it resolved the one thing he'd been quietly worrying about. This was a brutal world. Death was never far away. He'd thought more than once about what would happen to Anna if some player managed to kill him one day. Now, at least, she had a way to survive. At least she had a fighting chance. And besides, wasn't the system still there? Actually, wait. Was this system secretly designed for Anna all along?

Su Nian suddenly had the feeling it might have bound itself to the wrong person.... Random drop: Anna x2 Two hours later. A half-asleep Su Nian was roused by a cool, damp kiss pressed against his scales. The dragon's lair had been cleaned up. The kobolds had done their work. He didn't have to bake under the sun anymore. Finally. Did they not notice he'd gotten a TAN?! His barbs had gone black!! As for Anna, she'd spent the whole time sheltered under his wing, not a single ray of scorching sunlight touching her.

By now, the top of the lair had been torn open on most sides, with dozens of kobolds scrambling across the exposed stone. They were racing to finish the expansion and build a proper, comfortable nest for their master and mistress.

"Big brother, hug hug~ snuggle snuggle~" The soft, sticky voice floated over for the nth time. Su Nian looked at Anna clinging to him, doing her best impression of a barnacle, and sighed quietly to himself. This was what happened when Favorability hit one hundred. In just two hours. Anna had washed his face seventy-three times. It wasn't really a problem, he enjoyed it, honestly, but the issue was that he was currently ten meters long, wingspan sixteen or seventeen meters, roughly the size of a city bus.

Take a guess at how big his dragon head was. There was exactly zero sensation. None whatsoever. Still. It was his precious girl asking. So Su Nian dutifully lowered his head and gave her a single, careful lick. He made sure his tongue was completely dry, no dragon saliva. Hygiene mattered.

"Alright, my dearest Lady Anna." He set her down on the ground and put on a deliberately stiff, formal tone, the kind that sounded like it had been translated through three languages.

"Please allow your Mr. Dragon a moment of quiet. He must now contemplate the profound mysteries of evolution."

"Okay, big brother." Anna nodded agreeably. Then, the instant Su Nian's guard was down, she darted forward and planted a loud, smacking kiss right on the bridge of his lowered snout. She was already jumping back before he could react, laughing, her snow-white fox tail swishing back and forth with delight, her ears giving a happy little twitch. She was in an extremely good mood.

"Big brother, I'm going to go watch the kobolds work! I'll come back and find you later~""Don't go wandering off~ Anna will miss you~" Su Nian watched her skip away like a startled deer and shook his head, smiling despite himself. Right. Time to get down to business.

"System, hook me up — the advanced sleep reduction thing, and the Molten Heart. Get it all sorted!" [On it!] [Host's Molten Heart: 7, 500 system points] [Massive sleep time reduction, improving inheritance absorption efficiency: system points] [Total system points required, conditions met. Begin transformation?]"Start it. I'm ready!" Su Nian swept a dragon claw through the air. Not even a little bit scared.

When Heaven intends to place great responsibility upon this dragon, it must first torment his mind and weary his bones. [Note: This transformation will cause intense pain to both soul and body. To prevent damage to the host's vocal cords, the system has automatically sealed them.] [Please prepare. Transformation begins in 0. 5s.]"???" Su Nian couldn't speak. If he could, it would have been:"Prepare WHAT, exactly?! What the hell am I supposed to do in half a second?!"

On a rock face some distance from the lair, Anna was making her rounds inspecting the kobolds' construction progress, Grey Wolf and Bolikri at her sides. Then a low, thunderous rumbling rolled out from the direction of the lair. Followed immediately by the ground shaking. As though something enormous was rolling around in agony.

"What is big brother doing?" Anna tilted her head, her big eyes wide with curiosity.

"He seems so happy?"

"No roaring, either..."

"Could he be... so excited about evolving that he can't help himself?". The penguin is absolutely exhausted... Old book still has two chapters to go. Elec... ugh... x_x ➤ Next: Water Cooling System