Chương 52: Reborn as the Dragon: — Chapter 52 - Master, Let's Discuss Magic

Anna tilted her face up, pink and fair, her cheeks touched with a faint blush. She was grown, technically, but in the dim light, the soft fuzz on her skin was still visible. Her peach-blossom eyes brimmed with anticipation and happiness, wet and glistening with the last trace of tears. Sweet dimples. Fluffy little ears twitching with every breath. She stretched her small hands out as far as they would reach. Su Nian's heart took a direct hit from Cupid's arrow. Numb. Itchy. Who cared about potato fries?

He wanted to eat Anna right now. Hehehe... In for a penny, in for a pound. Su Nian scooped her up and started licking her face in his own unique way. He had no other choice. He was a massive dragon. Transformation wasn't an option yet. Even healing Anna's illness had pushed him to his limits, a proper kiss was completely out of the question. Washing her face would have to do. Anna hadn't objected before, anyway. Her cheeks were so soft. Full of collagen, tender and elastic, smooth against his tongue. Sweet. Joyful.

Entirely worth it. Under Su Nian's enthusiastic attention, Anna's grip on the fried potato strip gave out. It launched from her hand and landed somewhere in the Dragon's Nest, immediately triggering a full brawl among the Gnolls. They scrambled. They fought. They bit each other over a single potato strip. But the Gnolls weren't the only ones going for it. There was also a dog biding its time. Bolikri.

It snatched the strip from the chaos and came "huffing and puffing" out from the pile of brawling Gnolls with a deeply cunning look on its face. Three bites. Gone. A moved, mournful whimper followed. Great master make great food. Great delicious. Kobold Chieftain Bolikri wasn't much for words, this was the best its reverence and admiration could manage. [Bolikri Favorability +2] Su Nian didn't notice. His first follower's favorability had quietly reached 99, and he was busy giving Anna a thorough face-washing.

"Eek~ Brother, Anna's face is itchy, ticklish — stop it~ You're terrible!" Anna's pretty face was crimson, her voice soft and sweet. It didn't sound like a complaint. It sounded like exactly the opposite. She pushed weakly at his big dragon face, but her resistance achieved nothing. Raising her hands to cover herself did nothing either. He just licked her soft little hands along with her face.

"Hehe... You said no more than five face-washes in different time periods. Slurp."

"I wash five times per second. What's the problem?"" Slurp." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Five minutes later. Su Nian finally stopped. It was only because Anna pressed her face against his neck with the most pitiful expression imaginable and murmured softly, "Anna's hungry... Brother's fried potato strips... Anna didn't even get to eat them..." For his precious girl, he reined himself in. The original strip was gone, Bolikri had seen to that.

Anna pulled out a fresh one, dipped it in jam, and extended it toward him with one hand. The other hand stayed firmly over her face, leaving only two enormous, adorable eyes peeking out above her fingers.

"Be good, Brother~ Ah—"" Hehehe..." Anna ate her potato strips happily. In every sense, being held and fussed over, tasting something delicious, it all made something clear. She knew exactly where she stood in Su Nian's heart. That knowledge settled something warm and steady inside her. She'd cried all afternoon. Now her eyelashes fluttered, her head nodded, and she drifted. Even so, Su Nian made sure she swallowed her medicinal herbs before he coaxed her the rest of the way under.

He'd promised he would always keep her with him. So he wrapped the sleeping Anna in a leather pad and a bear-skin blanket, tucked her securely against his chest, and quietly crawled out of the Dragon's Nest. The season was turning, late summer bleeding into autumn. The night breeze was cool. A few strands of Anna's hair lifted in the wind and brushed lightly against his chest. He pulled the blanket a little tighter around her. He'd heard that sleeping in the wind was a reliable way to catch a cold.

He had no idea whether that applied in this world. He decided not to find out. He climbed the rock face outside the Dragon's Nest. Inside the Flame Arrow Tower, a cluster of Kobolds were still hard at work, filling the night with steady metallic clanging. The tower had taken shape, it looked remarkably like the human arrow towers from Warcraft, only taller, broader, more imposing. Whether it would fire on its own or needed a monster operator, he wasn't sure yet. He studied it from a distance and didn't approach.

A few more hours and it would be done. He'd check properly in the morning. From there, he made his way around to the stream where the Rock-Armored Crocodiles had settled. The moment Rekton spotted the black dragon, it charged over exactly like a Husky greeting its owner, tail swinging, whole body swaying, and bellowed:"Great master! I, ow—" Su Nian's dragon claw came down on Rekton's skull with a solid thwack. Rekton let out a pained howl, face crumpling, eyes practically welling with tiny stone tears.

"Mm... hoo..." Anna stirred. Her pink lips pursed into a little pout. She shifted, both small hands finding Su Nian's neck and latching on again. She didn't wake up.

"Shh!" Su Nian shot Rekton a sharp silencing gesture. The two massive creatures put their heads together, hindquarters raised, crouching low by the stream, and began whispering.

"My apologies, great master. I didn't realize your... female beast was resting..."

"... (? _?)" Su Nian was briefly speechless. He couldn't be bothered explaining it. The terminology was barbaric, but the meaning was close enough.

"Forget it," he said quietly.

"I came tonight to check that you're settling in, and to give you some instructions." Rekton perked up immediately, eyes bright with eagerness.

"Great master, we are very comfortable here! The stream has plenty of prey, far better than that swamp. We can lay many more crocodile eggs in the future."

"Good." Su Nian nodded and lowered his voice.

"Starting tomorrow morning, you run with the other monsters. Five kilometers around the Dragon's Nest."

"What? Run... slowly?"

"Slowly or not, you finish it. Non-negotiable." He thumped Rekton's head again, unapologetically. Among all his followers, only the Rock-Armored Crocodiles could take a hit like that. Any other follower would already be a stain on the ground.

"After the run, push-ups. Sit-ups."

"A dog will show you how. Follow its lead."

"My goal is simple: I want you running faster on land than Spear Boars. That's a low bar. Get to work."

"Great master, this..." Rekton glanced at its own short, thick legs, looking genuinely troubled. It opened its mouth to negotiate. It didn't finish the sentence. Su Nian's claw came down with a crack that rattled its skull and cut off the words entirely. The black dragon loomed above it. Wings spread wide. Dark gold eyes burning with imperial authority, heavy with pressure. The moonlight threw his powerful silhouette across the ground in a massive, crushing shadow. Rekton looked once.

Then it lay flat, completely still, not a sound. The black dragon's voice came low and demonic from somewhere above:"You follow orders. That's all." At the same time, Sakura Island No. 6 Beginner Village. Under the same moonlight. A bewitching figure slipped into Archmage Menthor's room. Mei Magogoko bit her red lip. The look she gave Menthor was mostly shy, with just a flicker of anticipation underneath. Her voice came out sweet and soft:"Master...

Gogoko came to discuss magic with you~" ➤ Next: The Death of Meisente