Chương 155: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 155 - Learning Dragon Speech

Dragon's Might, one of the core powers of the Dragon Heritage, clicked for Anna almost instantly. A snap, and it was done. She could already call it up and pull it back at will. The rest of the Dragon Speech inheritance was a different story entirely. By the time it finished pouring into her, Anna's eyes were glazed with confusion.

"B-brother... why does Anna understand all the individual notes..."

"But when they're strung together, she can't pronounce them at all. And she doesn't know what any of it means?"

"Anna really is a silly girl." She looked up at Su Nian with the most pitiful expression, her peach-blossom eyes brimming with crystalline tears, teetering right on the edge.

"Hey, hey, no crying~" Su Nian lifted the edge of his wing and patted her little head, keeping his voice soft.

"Dragon Speech Magic is genuinely the most difficult thing to learn. Even dragons, when they receive the heritage, have it forced directly into their minds, not just the words, but the methods and the experience of using them, all crammed in at once."

"Because otherwise? Even dragons would struggle."

"So it's completely normal that you don't understand it yet, Anna."

"R-really? Brother isn't just saying that to make Anna feel better?" She rubbed her reddened eyes, clearly not sure whether to believe him. She'd asked her sister once, long ago. Her sister had said something similar. But what happened after that, she couldn't remember. Her mind went blank whenever she reached for it. Anna didn't know that for memories soaked in enough pain, the intelligent mind will seal them away on its own. A quiet act of self-preservation. A mercy she hadn't asked for.

"Of course it's true~ Now, when have I ever lied to Anna? Except for that one time by the stream with the lollipop."

"Mmm! Don't bring that up, brother! That's so embarrassing!" Anna slapped her hands over her flushed face. And just like that, Su Nian's little detour had scattered every trace of her unease and sadness without her even noticing. Su Nian watched her bounce back and felt deeply, privately smug. When your girlfriend is unhappy or doubting herself, a little well-timed teasing goes a long way. Results may vary, but the success rate is higher than you'd think.

"Ahem. Anyway, back to business!" His expression shifted into something properly serious. Two heavy BOOM s rang out as he punched a pair of large holes into the bedrock beneath him. Then one sharp front claw raked across the stone, and he dragged out a long, flat rectangular slab. Anna's blackboard. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Now I'm going to teach you how to actually understand Dragon Speech Magic. Listen carefully, okay~""Okay, brother!" Su Nian settled himself at the edge of the Bedrock Platform. One claw held the stone slab upright. The other extended a single finger, and he began scratching across its surface in long, sweeping strokes. Anna perched on his leg with her legs folded under her like a little duck, wide eyes fixed on him with total, earnest attention.

"Today we're starting with the most commonly used Dragon Speech. It's called Disarm." He tapped the blackboard with one claw.

"Full name: [ZunHaalViik]." It really was a shame there were no proper glasses around. No teaching pointer either. With those, he might have actually looked like an authority on the subject.

"The meaning of this Dragon Speech is: Dragon Speech defies steel, stripping the weapon from an enemy's hand."

"To learn it, we break it apart first. Three syllables: Zun. Haal. Viik."

"Each syllable of Dragon Speech carries its own story and holds real power inside it. That's why they look simple but feel almost impossible to say. The words aren't empty, they're full."

"Ohh~" Anna nodded, half-following. The explanation hadn't unlocked anything yet, not practically. But it had given her something: knowing she couldn't pronounce them didn't mean she was stupid. That was enough to settle the worst of her worry.

"Brother, can you tell me the stories behind each syllable?"

"Of course~ I love a curious little darling~" He adjusted his leg to keep it level, so she'd be more comfortable sitting on it, and tucked his wing gently around her.

"The syllable Zun means weapon."

"It carries this inscription: Proud humans, heed the counsel of Groin, the Greyfrost Father: 'The finest weapon on the continent is the mind of a warrior with a soul forged from steel.'""Brother, who is Groin?" Anna tilted her head, her peach-blossom eyes wide with curiosity.

"Groin. Full name: Groin Sanderson Warhammer."

"He was the greatest dwarf blacksmith in Emperor Xiwei's service. During the ancient wars, it's said he forged seven or eight divine artifacts on his own."" Wow! That's incredible!" Anna's eyes lit up like lanterns. She might not have fully understood what it meant to forge seven or eight divine artifacts. But she understood that forging even one was extraordinary, there hadn't been a single confirmed artifact in nearly a hundred years.

"So what the master blacksmith meant was that the greatest weapon is the mind itself." Anna nodded slowly, something settling in her expression.

"No wonder this Dragon Speech is about taking weapons away."

"Exactly. Now, the next two~""Don't rush, I'll tell you right now." Su Nian looked at her with quiet amusement. She had the expression of a child waiting for the next part of a bedtime story.

"The second syllable — Haal — means palm. Its inscription reads: Broshi erected this stone in memory of his son, Odraf Anvil-Hand, who brought great glory to the Red Mountain family."

"The third syllable — Viik, means failure. It commemorates the devastating end of the White Rose Sisterhood, who were devoured by the trolls of Kulveig Cliff. To the last woman."

"Mm! Anna has seen trolls! They're enormous, and they're mean, just the fangs in their mouths are almost as thick as Anna's thighs!"

"Being eaten by something like that must have been awful." She gestured emphatically as she spoke, spreading both small hands as wide as they'd go to demonstrate the size of a troll's fangs, then scrunched her face into a horrible grimace, her best impression of a troll mid-attack. That was it. Su Nian couldn't hold himself back. He leaned down and stole a quick kiss.

"Mm! Brother, that's mean~ You're supposed to be teaching, you can't just suddenly kiss Anna out of nowhere..." She held her hands up to shield her pink face, already suspecting the black dragon was about to push for more. She softened her voice into her most persuasive pout:"Brother~ Finish teaching Anna Dragon Speech first~""After the lesson, Anna will let brother kiss her however he wants. Deal?" Su Nian's eyes went sharp with interest.

Anna offering first was a completely different proposition from the usual arrangement. There was a flavor to it that the passive version simply lacked. He felt motivation flood through him like a second wind. He made himself a silent, solemn vow: Anna would have a solid working grasp of this Dragon Speech before the sun touched the horizon.

"Alright then, my dear Anna~""You now understand what each syllable means. You know the stories behind them."

"So we move on to the most important part. And the hardest." Su Nian's expression went crafty, something conspiratorial and a little too pleased with itself creeping across his dragon face, punctuated by a low, scheming chuckle.

"Imitating a dragon's tongue to produce the sounds." ➤ Next: Achieving Dragon Speech with an Elf's Body