Chương 70: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 70 - Can I Live Longer?

"Whoa!" Anna flinched at the sudden crash. She was an adult, not some sheltered child who didn't know anything. The elders in the Elven Forest made a point of teaching the girls certain things once they were old enough. And on the road after she was sold, she'd met plenty of other slave girls in the same situation. Everyone had their own story. Those stories were cruel at their core, but they drifted into other topics, whether you wanted them to or not.

She'd also spent time reading through the storybooks Su Nian kept. Love stories about princesses and black dragons, illustrated in vivid detail. Those had a habit of making her face turn very red. Anna dropped her gaze and stared at the floor, too flustered to look at Su Nian. Her soft hands twisted together in her lap. The blush spread fast, up her fair neck, across her cheeks, all the way to the tips of her fox ears.

"U-um, Dragon Brother... should Anna wait outside?" She peeked up at him, her eyes glassy and wide, then immediately looked back down at her toes.

"Ahem — no need!"

"I was just testing whether the nest those Kobolds built could hold up. Turns out it's nothing special."

"Must've been cutting corners. Yeah. That's definitely what happened." Su Nian coiled himself on the bedrock platform, his broad wings folding down against his sides. He propped his chin on one claw and changed the subject with great seriousness:"Anna, you look really beautiful in that. Very charming."

"Really?" Anna's mood lifted instantly. She gathered her little skirt, spun around once on light feet, and struck a curtsy exactly like the maids she'd seen, bowing her head with both hands lifting the hem, soft and earnest.

"Master, shall Anna help you polish your scales?" Su Nian's claw scraped hard against the bedrock. CRACK! A chunk of stone broke clean off. The feelings he'd just wrestled back under control were stirring again. He inhaled deeply and ran the Heart-Cleansing Mantra, the Ksitigarbha Sutra, and the Diamond Sutra through his head in rapid succession. That helped. Somewhat.

"Anna..."

"Mhm~ What's wrong?" She looked up, skirt still bunched in her hands, head tilted to one side. Her pink lips curved up. Two little dimples appeared. Her eyes, bright and questioning, settled on him. Damn it. How is she allowed to be that cute. Su Nian's eyelid twitched. He swallowed — with some difficulty, and carefully gathered Anna into his arms.

"Nothing," he said, voice low.

"I just realized it's been six hours since we last kissed. We should fix that. More kisses are important. For the relationship." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"But..." Anna still wanted to put up at least a token resistance. She bit her lower lip, peach-blossom eyes cast downward, shrinking slightly against his chest. Her small hands found his neck and rested there, neither pulling him closer nor pushing him away. [Anna Hathaway Favorability +1, Current Favorability: 78 (Like)]"No buts. Hehehe..."... After a while, Su Nian pulled out the Magic Primer and held it out to her.

"Try this. Tear it open. You might become a mage."

"Just by tearing it?" Anna took it, turning it over with a small frown. She didn't quite understand why ripping a scroll could make her one of those high and noble professionals, but Dragon Brother said so, and Dragon Brother wouldn't hurt her. She tore it open without hesitating. A wash of brilliant color burst from the scroll and sank straight into her skin. Then two lights bloomed across her body, one milky white, one deep blue, and faded just as quickly, absorbed into her without a trace.

In Su Nian's vision, her information panel shifted.

[Name: Anna Hathaway (Dragonization, Stage 1)] [Rating: SSS] [Personality: Lively, Gentle, Kind] [Race: Dragonized Elf] [Power: Level 1 (Tier 1) Mage Apprentice] [Health: 150 (−450)] [Mana: 440 (Spirit ×40) (Affinity Bonus)] [Strength: 1 (+1)] [Constitution: 5 (+1) | Armor: 60] [Spirit: 1 (+10) | Attack: 220 (Spirit ×20) (Affinity Bonus)] [Status: Malignant Disease (Lifespan Remaining: 62 Days)] [Talents: Supreme Water Affinity, Supreme Light Affinity, Nation-Toppling Beauty (Active), Delicate Frame (Passive), Alluring Scent (Passive)] [Skills: Water Ball (Auto-Learned), Light Spell (Auto-Learned)] [Current Favorability: 78 (Like)] [Evaluation: An unfortunate yet fortunate girl] Su Nian wasn't thrilled about seeing Anna reduced to a data panel.

But he had to admit, the numbers made her talent impossible to ignore. Spirit at level one, plus ten points per level. Mage players got two. Per level. That alone was obscene. But the conversion rates were worse. Anna's spirit converted to mana at forty times over. To magic attack at twenty times. Player mages ran twenty and fifteen, respectively. The gap wasn't close. This wasn't a game, though. Numbers only told part of the story.

Plenty of things never showed up in any panel. Like what was currently floating in Anna's hands. A water ball the size of a truck tire.

"Brother, look! Anna can use magic~" She ran circles around him, hauling the enormous sphere along behind her, then thrust it up toward his face with both arms, beaming.

"Brother, are you thirsty? We never have to worry about water again~" Su Nian obligingly sucked the whole thing into his mouth. Honestly, the taste was mediocre, pure water-element construct, nothing like the spring water from Silvermoon Forest. But Anna's eyes were absolutely sparkling. He pulled her in and kissed her anyway.

"Anna is incredible," he said.

"If we ever have to cross the desert, you're keeping us alive with that spell."

"Ah — Brother, you're doing it again!" Anna buried her face against his neck, dodging him. Her small hands drifted up and traced the black scales along his throat, slow and gentle. Her eyes were warm. Full of something that looked a lot like hope. She hesitated. Then, quietly:"Brother... can Anna live a little longer now?" She didn't care about being a mage. That wasn't the point. She was just happy, happy that maybe, finally, she had more time.

She didn't know that becoming a mage hadn't added a single day to her lifespan.

"... Yes." Su Nian nuzzled her cheek, voice soft.

"Anna can live longer now. Much, much longer." His dragon claw, hidden below her, quietly closed around a chunk of bedrock and squeezed. He had actually believed it. When the light affinity mana activated inside her, he'd thought it might do something against the curse, chip away at it, add a few months, anything. It hadn't. Not even a little. Was it because she was too weak right now?

If she kept growing, if she learned healing magic, advanced spells, even Greater Purification someday, could she break the curse herself? And if she couldn't... Then finding a priest in the Winter Empire to cast it for her would end the same way. The power of faith and the power of light-attribute mana worked identically at the skill level. One was called divine magic, the other was called sorcery. The effect was the same. The result would be the same. He held her a little tighter and said nothing.

[Author's Note (not counted in chapter word count): Only about five days have passed in the story's timeline, not even seven yet. The Dragon-Subjugation Army arc is coming up next. This one moves at a slower pace.] ➤ Next: Pastoral Scenery