READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 98
The pinnacle of the species. An unchanging pride through the ages.
Dragons live by pride as a virtue.
They soar through the skies, placing the world beneath their feet, and with each step, the ground trembles.
How could one not be proud?
“The history of the dragon race is said to be older than the heavens themselves. Do you understand what your father means?”
Nod, nod.
The hatchling black dragon affirmed with actions rather than words.
Most of the difficult words went over their head, but one thing was clear.
To proudly embrace being a dragon race.
“My daughter. You are the only child of the Rokzannerk. You are the one who will lead the tribe as the Lord.”
“Lord?”
“That’s right. The Lord. Soon, the pride of the black dragon tribe will come forth from you. Do you understand what I mean?”
Roxanne nodded vigorously, her sparkling eyes wide with understanding.
Even as a hatchling, she grasped the essential point.
A dragon at the peak of the species. A Lord at the peak of the dragon.
Dragons representing the seven tribes are called “Lords.”
Her own father was such a Lord.
To hatchlings, parents always seem taller and grander than the sky, and to Roxanne, her father, the Lord, appeared larger than the world itself.
“I want to be like you, Father.”
Tightly. Roxanne wrapped her small arms around her father’s toe.
Being just the size of a hatchling, even his toe felt overwhelmingly large.
Every time she pouted, her father looked down at her with fondness.
“My daughter. We live for eternity. But that doesn’t mean we don’t age. As we grow older, we tend to forget our past memories. The time spent as a hatchling is the happiest, so record those moments whenever you feel happy.”
“Record?”
“Eternity comes with forgetfulness. You must leave behind memories to cherish later.”
I didn’t quite understand what that meant, but I nodded anyway.
“Just to be safe, don’t remember the times as a hatchling with jewels.”
“Jewels? Sparkles?”
“Yes. Sparkles. Gold and treasures mean greed for dragons. A hatchling may desire gold and treasures, but as a proper adult, you shouldn’t even take an interest.”
“Why not?”
It was a question that arose from dissatisfaction.
The sparkling treasure was something essential to Roxanne.
“If you seek gold and treasures even after becoming an adult, everyone will look down on you. A fully grown dragon, especially the child of a Lord, seeking things like a hatchling? Wouldn’t your reputation crash to the ground?”
Roxanne frowned.
Who would dare look down upon the noble child of a Lord?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she felt, and her expression grew even more distorted.
“Roxanne.”
A claw larger than her body pointed towards her forehead.
With a gentle nudge, Roxanne toppled over onto her back.
Lying there, she blinked her eyes repeatedly.
Roxanne struggled to get up, but it wasn’t easy to rise on her own.
When she finally tried to stand by herself,
Ah. Her father’s sigh sent her tumbling back down.
“Remember this. Dragons must keep their passions and humility at bay. Controlling your emotions is first. Secondly, never forget your pride.”
“I’m already doing the second.”
“The first comes first, Roxanne. In any situation, don’t let your emotions consume you.”
Dragons embrace intelligence, wisdom, and pride as virtues.
Heated emotions harm intelligence and wisdom, while humility opposes pride.
“Pride can turn into arrogance.”
For dragons, arrogance and pride were just a hair’s breadth apart.
“You are a dragon destined to be a Lord. Embrace the pride of your race and make your emotions your own. Don’t be blinded by greed, and keep your wits about you. Do you understand?”
Roxanne understood half of what was said and nodded.
She already held pride within her.
All that remained was to keep governed emotions in check and distance herself from sparkles.
“If I do those two things, will I be like you, Father?”
“You’ll get closer. Until you become a proper adult, make sure to learn the elders’ teachings properly.”
Nod, nod!
Roxanne energetically bobbed her head.
If she could become a proud dragon Lord like her father, she felt she could achieve anything.
Though, being just a child, her enthusiasm sometimes outstripped her understanding.
Roxanne envisioned herself as an adult.
Surely, she would become a grand and magnificent Lord like her father. She had no doubt that she would command numerous dragons and be held in respect.
From that day forward, Roxanne diligently attended her lessons.
The hatchlings of the tribe received early education.
It was at that time that Roxanne disliked most, and the dragon she disliked the most was the elder.
The teacher for the hatchling dragons was the oldest dragon of the group, referred to as the elder or senior among them.
“Senior. Today, I learned a lot from Father.”
Roxanne conveyed what she learned to the elder.
With every clumsy word she spoke, the elder closed his eyes and listened intently.
“The Lord imparted wisdom that is essential to our race, and you lack greatly in that regard.”
Roxanne scrunched her face in annoyance.
“You mean managing expressions.”
As soon as she heard that, her face returned to normal.
“That’s something you can say because you’re still a hatchling. All young ones are like that.”
“Can I be like that?”
“It’s not that you can; it’s that you are forgiven for it.”
“…What do you mean?”
“You’ll understand when you grow up. But for you, even when your body becomes an adult, it will probably only be your physical form.”
Even when one grew into an adult, it didn’t mean they would be recognized by the group.
Only by fulfilling the adult rite prepared by the elder could one be truly acknowledged as an adult.
Until then, the perception would dominate that a dragon could still be a hatchling for hundreds of years.
There were even jokes about dragons who lived for thousands of years and died as hatchlings.
“You won’t become an adult even after a thousand years have passed.”
“….”
Roxanne opened her mouth wide, letting out a tiny puff of breath in response.
In her own way of expressing irritation, the elder chuckled softly.
“Ah, my. You still have a long way to go. You must be able to control your emotions to be a true adult.”
“But why is that?”
Around her, she had endlessly heard that she needed to control her emotions.
They said that’s how one became a true dragon, and it had been said dozens of times.
“Dragons are said to be an arrogant race. Being able to place the world beneath their feet, it’s understandable. With nothing to fear in this world, they are born with arrogance, and the need to control emotions has vanished.”
“…Oh?”
“Those dragons who were engulfed by their emotions have all been buried under the sand. Heated emotions hastened their demise. How could beings incapable of controlling their own emotions, no less dragons, dare be proud?”
It was difficult to grasp, but she understood.
Deep down, she acknowledged it as true.
“So what are you, then? A true elder who has never lost their temper?”
“You just called me an elder. You moron.”
“…But there are also elders and ancient dragons.”
Cough! Cough!
The elder cleared his dry throat.
After clearing his throat, he continued.
“You may say that about the elders, but the title of ancient dragon is beyond what I hold. In actuality, I am just an old dragon.”
“Old dragon? Ancient dragon? What’s the difference?”
“An old dragon is simply a dragon that has aged. If one lives for many seasons like me, one becomes an old dragon. However, unless time reverses, one cannot become an ancient dragon.”
“Another difficult term.”
The elder grinned, revealing a few missing teeth, and laughed heartily.
“Let me simplify it for you. ‘Ancient dragon’ refers to our ancestors. They are our forebears.”
“Forebears. I understand. Dad said they were very different from us.”
“They’re very different in many ways. Especially in appearance.”
“In appearance?”
As Roxanne tilted her head, the elder pointed to his own horn.
“This is what is different. Ancient dragons don’t have horns like this; they have branch-like horns. Ah, do you know of the animal called a deer?”
“Uh huh. I know.”
“Think of it that way regarding appearance. The antlers of a deer resemble the horns of an ancient dragon.”
Hearing this for the first time, Roxanne’s mouth fell slightly open.
The elder was surprised.
This hatchling had only shown interest in gold and treasures, and it was the first time she seemed to focus on what he was saying.
“So you’re interested in ancient dragons. If so, I’m willing to tell you about it.”
Roxanne nodded vigorously in response.
The elder chuckled and continued.
“Ah, do you know what polymorph is?”
Polymorph. It was a remarkably familiar term.
As Roxanne pondered with a moan, her eyes lit up.
“Fun!”
“That’s right. Polymorph is the game of dragons.”
Using magical words to change forms and blending into human society to enjoy fun.
That was polymorph.
“A common misconception is that polymorph originated before human civilization developed.”
“…Originated?”
“It means it first came into being. Polymorph originated as a game stemming from ancient dragons long ago. Before primitive human civilization, what was there to enjoy, after all?”
As she listened, Roxanne’s eyes sparkled.
“Furthermore, the magical language of ancient dragons differs from ours.”
The moment the elder recited the magical language, a magic circle appeared.
After gathering the magical power, the elder scratched the ground with his claw.
ΚαλBzilπα. He wrote down the words he had just spoken.
“Dragon’s inner magical power becomes magic through this language, and magic manifests itself in phenomena. The magical language of ancient dragons is not different, but the language and characters differ.”
“Tell me.”
“I cannot express it in language. But I know some characters. Let me see…”
The elder pondered for a while before moving his claws.
龍
It was a concise yet intricate character compared to the usual magical language.
“What is this?”
“One of the magical words of ancient dragons. This means ‘dragon.'”
“Dragon?”
“Yes. Dragon. It stands for us.”
“…Dragon.”
Roxanne’s gaze became fixated on that character.
She stared blankly for a while before drawing with her fingertips on the ground.
With her clumsy hand movements, an uneven character was etched.
“…What’s that?”
“Dragon!”
“That’s your version of a dragon?”
“Uh huh. Ancient dragon magical word. Roxanne is a dragon. The elder knows everything. It’s amazing. Tell me more.”
“I don’t know anymore. How could I, being not an ancient dragon myself.”
Roxanne’s eyes widened.
“So only the ancient dragons know other things?”
“That seems likely.”
“…Are the ancient dragons wiser than you?”
“How dare you compare the wisdom of an ancestor with mine? Don’t ask such obvious questions, you disrespectful hatchling.”
“So you would prefer to learn from an ancient dragon?”
“Go ahead and look for one. You won’t find a single horn.”
Though the words were harsh, from that day on, Roxanne began to view the elder in a new light.
The wisdom he possessed, knowing so much, became a source of respect.
In the following days, Roxanne spent many hours with the elder.
Did she develop a thirst for knowledge as she grew?
Apart from her lessons, she asked the elder many questions.
Every time she did, the elder would readily offer his advice, and each word guided her in a better direction.
“The elder knows everything.”
Roxanne didn’t realize it when she was younger, but she gradually came to understand.
Having lived through many seasons, the elder knew everything.
Roxanne admired the authority of her father, the Lord, along with the wisdom of the elder.
She waited with the dream of someday becoming like the two of them, hoping to grow into her adulthood while waiting.
*
On the year she turned 100, Roxanne matured into an adult.
Of course, she was still only adult in body, and the surrounding perception regarded her as a hatchling still preparing for the coming adulthood rite.
Roxanne wanted to undergo the rite as soon as possible, but unfortunately, the timing coincided with a significant event.
The great war of the dragon race had broken out.