Chương 189: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 189 - Good Intentions, Bad Results

"System-chan, what exactly is this Devour Optimization?" Su Nian had spotted something unusual in the list of recommended modifications. [Devour Optimization: Optimizes the host's devouring ability and reduces negative side effects, allowing the host to devour happily and with ease.]"Emmm..." He had a feeling the System was up to something. Wasn't this just pressuring him to eat dirt every day? Last time, eating dirt had left his body stiff as a board.

With the Devour ability optimized, he'd probably be able to casually gnaw on boulders now. Great.

"Anna, I'm starting my evolution." Su Nian dipped his head and rested his dragon chin lightly on the little cutie's head, rubbing gently as he let her know.

"Huh? Big brother's evolving again?"

"Will you fall asleep like last time?"

"It's okay! Big brother can sleep as long as he needs. Anna will protect you~" Little Anna clenched her tiny pink fists and shook them, puffing up her face with exaggerated fierceness, her big round eyes shining with determination, and more than a little reluctance. Su Nian stared down at the soft little treasure nestled against him. He lasted about two seconds before he gave up entirely and stuck out his massive tongue for a thorough licking.

He genuinely could not understand what other dragons saw in licking gold coins. Hard, cold, tasted like metal. Awful. Nothing compared to a warm, sweet, fox-eared elf.

"Aiya~ big brother~" Anna squished her reddened cheeks into a pout, her little hands pushing weakly against the Black Dragon's enormous face. Every last trace of the fierce, queenly aura she'd been building up to protect him dissolved on the spot.

"Heh heh heh~ No sleeping this time. But the process might get a little... ugly. Maybe go play somewhere else first? I don't want to scare you." Su Nian licked the taste from his lips, savoring it, then finally composed himself into something resembling seriousness. The little cutie, however, had no intention of leaving.

"Anna is staying right here. Not going anywhere." Her tone was firm. She wrapped her arms around the Black Dragon's claw and held on.

"Everyone says a dragon's advancement is dangerous. Accidents can happen at any time. Anna will be here to protect big brother." She looked up at him, a little pitiful, clearly hoping he wouldn't force her out.

"Fine~ Stay close, then. Prprpr~" Su Nian felt something warm settle in his chest. He couldn't help but steal one more lick. Then he looked at her seriously.

"When things start happening — and they will — I need you to back away from me. Far away. I'm afraid I might accidentally hurt you."

"Okay! Anna understands!" Anna straightened her face and nodded, tense as a bowstring, as though she was the one about to evolve.

"Big brother, please be careful... If it's too dangerous, we don't have to advance at all. Anna... Anna will work hard and get stronger. Strong enough to protect you. For the rest of our lives." This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Su Nian smiled at that. He didn't take the words seriously, he wasn't so feeble that he needed his beloved to be his shield. But it was sweet.

"System. Begin." [Host, please note: this is a comprehensive enhancement involving multiple organs throughout the host's body. It will be accompanied by intense pain. To prevent accidents, this modification will seal the host's vocal cords and detach the host's limbs.] [Modification commencing immediately. Please prepare, host!]"Detach my limbs?! What the—" The next moment, his joints let out a series of sickening CRACK CRACK CRACK sounds, and then all four limbs simply... came apart. He tried to protest.

Nothing came out. The modification had begun. Su Nian's entire body began to expand like a balloon being inflated, his frame swelling outward while portions of his torso dented inward and bulged in wrong places, as if enormous invisible hands were rearranging him from the inside. BOOM. Blood erupted into a dense crimson mist that swallowed his dragon body whole. Vessels and muscle tissue churned and writhed within that fog. A piercing, oscillating hum filled the entire lair from floor to ceiling. Anna froze.

"Big brother!" she cried out, voice shaking, and took a step forward. Then she stopped, Su Nian's serious warning flashed through her mind, and she didn't go closer. But she wasn't going to do nothing. Anna raised her hand. She bit her lip. And she cast the only healing spell she knew. She had a top-tier affinity for light element. The highest tier. In her hands, even a basic Heal came down like sacred light pouring from the sky itself, and it poured down onto the Black Dragon.

The blood mist kept churning, but visibly, measurably, less violently than before. The moment she saw it was working, Anna threw everything she had into it. Heal after Heal, no gaps, no pauses, cascading down onto the Black Dragon without end. This, as it turned out, was a disaster for Su Nian. The pain had been bad enough that he could have simply blacked out and slept through the whole thing, waking up on the other side when it was done. But with Anna's healing raining down on him? He couldn't stay unconscious.

Every time he slipped under, it dragged him back. The pain from the modification was somewhat reduced, yes, but so was the speed of the modification. He would have vastly preferred the short, sharp version. Rip it off fast. Get it over with. He couldn't say a word. He couldn't stop her. And so it went. Anna poured out healing spell after healing spell. Su Nian swam in and out of consciousness, caught in a loop of agony, for three straight hours. At the end of it, Anna's magic gave out completely.

She crumpled to the ground. Her face had gone white, temples slick with sweat, a cold wind cutting through the lair and setting her whole body shivering. It felt like thousands of needles were being driven through her skull simultaneously. She had never pushed her magic this far before. Never overdrawn it past empty. The backlash had hit her. She could feel it. But she lifted her eyes to the Black Dragon, and the blood mist was thinning. Slowly. Steadily. The advancement was almost done. It had all been worth it.

A tired smile crossed her pale lips as she looked at the Black Dragon's body, bigger now, more powerful, more magnificent even through the haze. Then the dizziness won. Her small body sagged sideways until it found the base of a monster statue, and she slipped quietly into unconsciousness. A short while later, Su Nian came back to himself. His limbs snapped back into place. His vocal cords unsealed.

He drew breath, and the first thing he felt was strength, a deep, inexhaustible reservoir of it humming through every inch of him. He looked himself over. Body length: close to twenty meters. Wingspan: roughly thirty. When he spread his wings out fully, they blotted out the ceiling of the lair like a rising storm. Between this round of modifications and the two newbie villages he'd already wiped out, his level sat at 38.

Three more and he'd cross into the Young Dragon stage, and one step closer to taking human form. His build already outclassed most Young Dragons. He could hold his own against a Young Red Dragon now. He'd look even more imposing, honestly. He flexed his claws. The joints cracked satisfyingly. His scales alone had nearly doubled in defensive strength. His total body weight, scales thicker and denser than before, had crossed into the ten-thousand-ton range. Each step sent a faint tremor through the stone beneath him.

Without the corresponding jump in muscle strength, a body like this would have been impossible to move. In his previous life, a thirty-meter blue whale weighed around two hundred tons. The density of what he was carrying now was something else entirely.

"A minor little heart weakness," Su Nian murmured to himself, showing his teeth.

"Heh heh heh..." Even without the first-stage heart enhancement, he could tear a level-40 Young Dragon apart with his bare claws right now. Against a somewhat weaker Adult Dragon, he wouldn't exactly be helpless either. Adult Dragons had the edge in Draconic Magic, an enormous edge, but in a straight melee? They'd have a real problem. He turned his head. Anna was slumped against a statue, small and pale and completely spent, her breath soft and even in unconsciousness. Love beam!!! ➤ Next: Hive Mind (1)