A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

“This shouldn’t hurt!” Uriahn stated as light gathered around his hands, forming it into a spike mace before slamming it down at me. Wanting to see where our strength stood without appraising his Profile, I decided to block the hit with my hand while using [Drakonian Sunlight Edge] to empower my claws with solar energy.

As I caught the blow with my palm, the holy mana keeping the light particles in place exploded upon contact, blasting me with the holy mana. It didn’t manage to pierce my barrier, but it certainly stung a bit, telling me that Uriahn’s intelligence was decently high enough to deal some damage to me.

However, what actually hurt was the force behind that hit. Those light particles coming from the moon were hardened into metal. It felt like I was holding onto a real mace, with its spike biting into my scales. Releasing my grip on it, I shook my hand to dull the pain before seeing my white flames healing the cracked scales.

“I am still a rank A, Princess! Don’t just take the damage; block it with your scales, and you won’t take any damage at all!” Uriahn shouted before his scales started to shine, turning himself into a lightbulb before it all solidified into a suit of white, fairnite-looking armor. His mace then turned into a zweihänder. “This is a great way to hide your identity! A wandering priest in one moment, and a heavily armored knight in the next.”

Uriahn gripped his zweihänder with both hands before swinging it around, creating a zone of safety like a raging tornado. His blade of light quivered, shooting out crescent projectiles at me as he twirled around in front of me.

I raised an eyebrow as I dodged the attacks, feeling like this was more of a show than a spar. Although the crescents stretched wide enough to bisect it, they were too slow. Even a car driving on a highway would be too slow to hit me, so how could these unfocused attacks do anything?

Hmm? I see. He wants me to train on these, since the light is ‘visible’ and gathered into a hardened form. I just have to figure out how to control the light particles, right? Got it.

Instead of avoiding the next hit, I stretched my hand out and activated [Light Horizon] just as it was about to hit me, once again feeling like I had struck a piece of metal. Frankly, this felt exactly like how [Sacred Smite] or [Smite] would materialize a bolt of hardened holy mana. And just like those spells, the crescent blade of light burst into a stream of holy mana when it was destroyed, dissipating into the night like flickering embers.

Hmm… Hikari, have you found anything with [Mana Eyes]? I asked as I continued wacking the flying crescents.

‘Aside from the fact that everything is just white mana, not really. In the first place, you’re being too optimistic. Aside from the flow of mana, have we ever seen the atoms and compounds in the wind? Or even the agitated elements inside a flame? It’s always a stream of mana,’ she answered, leaving me a bit dumbfounded.

For somebody who knew how to use [Pyrokinesis], [Aerokinesis], and [Cryokinesis], it sure was a wound to my pride that I couldn’t figure out [Photokinesis]. I guess this was the price I had to pay for overly relying on the System up until this point. After all, I didn’t learn any of those skills naturally, and that meant I’ve been able to control fire, wind, and ice with the help of the Divine System.

Even my scale-dust and the associated Abilities that came with my mutation into a [Young Spark Fire Dragon] were made easy to control due to the System. Sure, I’ve learned how to create and cast magic without the System at this point, but controlling elemental mana without the System was still beyond me.

Still, where would I be if I weren’t at least a bit tenacious about my training?

“Haha, the feeling isn’t coming so easily!” I stated after breaking the tenth flying light slash. “I can feel the light being hardened, but I still have no idea how to actually control it. [Light Horizon] gathers it all up in my hand, but it feels like I’m just gathering mana similar to how I gather mana in my throat to grow flames or ice. Oh, solar energy probably counts, as well.”

“That’s the issue for us dragons! It’s hard to teach these things when you naturally don’t understand what we’re doing! To be fair, that applies to every ‘genius,’” Uriahn replied without dropping a beat. “It just clicks for some people, right? Some people need longer to understand a concept or technique. That is simply how the world works, and to us dragons, where instincts and bloodline skills determine our talent, it’s just way harder to teach a dragonkin beyond what they are used to.”

“What’s with that lecture? I already had it once today with Tasianna and Mom teaching me how difficult it is to obtain true ice mana. It’s the same here, right, only this time, instead of purifying my elemental alignment, I only need to gain enough understanding of a skill to learn it. Both will require a long process, and I’m sure I’ll beat Mom’s trial before I can actually master [Fimbulvetr Wall], but mastering something requires me to build up my foundation. Everything starts there!” I said as I kept a smile while blocking and destroying the incoming projectiles. “If I get exhausted, we do it again tomorrow. Eventually, I’ll get the hang of it, and that is when I’ll make it mine, Teach.”

Uriahn’s expression froze for a moment, and so did his body. It took him a few seconds to process my answer before he let out a deep sigh. “… Heh. Yeah, I knew it since you had your concert. You really are not even close to being like other dragons, or really whelplings. You are the catalyst for this world’s great change.”

“Hmm? Catalyst?”

Uriahn took a pose, holding his free hand close to his chest as he looked up at the stars, looking eerily like a priest about to give a sermon. “Simple. Where you go, you shine a bright light that attracts people, and with your dazzling fire, you cultivate this world’s potential. After all, your Divine Quest with Goddess Aurena is just that, no? To bring a change to this world.”

“I mean… I guess I have already done this for Aureolis,” I answered, flustered since it all sounded like flattery.

“Not only for the holy city, but for many other countries… though, admittedly, I am getting this type of information second-hand, so I might not be getting the exact truth. Haha, yet that doesn’t matter. I saw you with my own eyes. I saw your magic. Princess Hestia, I saw your hard work through how you wielded your magic, and that is something you can’t develop through instinct or talent alone. Hard work, passion, and love for magic—those traits are needed to create what you did with your concert.”

“Oooh, thank you, that’s really nice to hear.”

“Though, to be frank, I did think some of your dance choreography was quite inappropriate. Please think of the mental health of your parents and siblings, young princess. You should accept some modesty. Otherwise, some young dragonkin might have their hearts broken!”

“… Why the heck are you speaking like my old man, dude?”

His smile widened even further, looking like he was enjoying this a lot. “Modesty also comes with a polite tongue, yes! Furthermore, since my father is planning to bind us together, I should make sure that my future—”

“Okay, okay, the joke doesn’t work that well if you go that far, okay?” I yelled, silencing him. Gesturing for him to continue the training, the dance resumed, although I did take this time to talk to him. “So I get your situation, and that you’re not fully behind your father’s decision to marry us, right?”

“I value our freedom of choice, yes. I enjoy speaking to you, but I am not attracted to you, if that is what you are asking.”

“Good. Same here. Though you really have to tone down those jokes,” I chided him, prompting him to laugh as if he was taking me seriously. “But if this alliance between our nests starts to become more important, what then? Your father is trying to use that fact as leverage, especially since I am asking for Sacred Nest to help my eldest brother.”

“Who cares? At the end of the day, even if she isn’t the Frozen Nest dragon ruler anymore, I do not believe anybody can just ignore Empress Melloxtressa’s wishes. I think she will prioritize your happiness over politics,” Uriahn explained. “What my father is relying on is for our friendship to flourish into something more. That’s all. He’s relying on time, because that is what we dragons have aplenty, and he is sure both of us will reach rank S sooner or later.”

“… He’s really optimistic, huh?”

“That is simply how it is. Unfortunately for the imperial family, none of your siblings has taken a mate. Did you know that?” Uriahn stated, which I actually already guessed. “Even Kahalameet and Phsothophus, who are at the perfect age to seek a partner, are still too focused on the imperial succession to pursue anything. My father believes that once the succession ends, courtship rituals will overwhelm the imperial children’s time. Fortunately for you, by then, you might already be away on your Adulthood Pilgrimage.”

“Your father must know that I won’t immediately return to Kargryx after I become five, right? If the Carmaniate Event Quest isn’t solved by then, that will be my next destination.”

Uriahn shrugged. “If I do not learn true holy mana by then, he will probably ask you to accept me into your party as a favor.”

“… And I have to solve a divine Quest before [Providence’s Will] regains its true holy mana access. Well, that’s annoying.”

“Correct! And it won’t be an easy task for both of us to learn true holy mana, just as it took a year for your retainers to fully master true ice mana. Actually, have the wyverns mastered it, yet?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

I shook my head. “Shay’s evolution helped him a ton, so we’re hoping Beth’s rank A will do the same. They need more time, though. Tasianna’s transformation, after all, was beyond even what Mom anticipated, so we can’t use her as an example.”

“Ha, that’s what my father hoped. The longer we have to stay around each other, the chances—”

[“Hey, what are the two of you talking about this late in the evening?”]

Upon hearing that voice, the training stopped as Uriahn and I noticed two signals approaching us, prompting us to turn around and squint at how far away Rhekk and Kylu were. Training for the day was already long over, and they should be preparing for bed with a nice bath at this time, but it seemed they were walking around as a break.

Hold, what do you mean ‘she already said?’ Did those two eavesdrop on us? I thought, as they were far away enough for my [Detection Sensor], that I wouldn’t think of them as eavesdroppers.

Uriahn let out a small chuckle as he dispelled his armor of light and turned his weapon into a fan. He crossed his arms and smiled, looking like some ancient Chinese minister with his long sleeves, while waving his fan around as if it were hot. It seemed my teacher here liked to show off…

“Greetings, Lord Rhekkraxus. Young lord Kyluvanus. It seems you were taking a stroll after you had dinner,” Uriahn said as the two finally reached us, smirking as he saw both of them frown. “Have you come to watch me train our young princess?”

“Wasn’t the intention, but after hearing the stuff you just said, we just had to come here? As Princess Hestia’s friend and companion, with a bond forged through battle, I just had to see how well you are teaching her, Whitey,” Rhekk rebuked, but unlike the last time he confronted Uriahn, he was holding his composure. “If you consider Princess Hestia the future of Sacred Nest, then you should teach her well, elder scale.”

“Yeah, what Rhekkraxus said!” Kylu jeered.

Goodness, what is with this hostility? I sighed bitterly, knowing Rhekk’s father and Kylu’s mother probably told them to keep Uriahn from getting too close to me. Yet this feels like they were about to cause a fight.

Uriahn chuckled, looking like he was enjoying this. “It is only the first day, but I am already being criticized. From a rank B, no less. Young scale, before we speak about how to teach Princess Hestia, it might be better for you to become stronger than her chief wyvern retainer, Shayatierus. I will do my best to make these lessons enjoyable for Princess Hestia, and I will ensure she is trained well.”

Rhekk squinted, baring his fangs a bit, but kept himself from shouting. “With that dancing? Is that how she will purify her mana to become true holy mana? It seemed more like you wanted to—”

“I am stopping you there, Rhekk,” I interrupted him, drawing everybody’s attention towards me. “This is the first day, as Uriahn said. If you want to fight it out, then do so on the training field or somewhere else. The last time it happened in Coral Beard, I was okay with it since I understood it was a political matter, but this time, I don’t care if it is. Don’t disturb my training with a useless rivalry.”

The ice and fire duo flinched, looking a bit disheartened as if I had betrayed their trust or something. Was I supposed to be on their side on this? Seeing my confusion, Kylu shook his hands, restlessly swinging his tail.

“T-that’s not why we are actually here for!” he excused. “Elder scale, Rhekkraxus, and I wanted to inform you about the mood of everybody who came here, including the dragoons. We had a quick meeting during dinner, a-and, well, that’s when we saw you speaking with the elder scale here.”

“And instead of just greeting us normally, you two snapped at Uriahn? Come on, you two, give it a rest. I know there is a tension between Sacred and Frozen Nest, concerning me, but we leave that to the ancients and the elder scale. Besides, our home is currently under threat of a senile old hag who wants to kill my mother and me, so do we even have the luxury to fight amongst us like this?” I stated, before turning to Uriahn. “And you, don’t act so smug. You’re the oldest amongst us here, so try to diffuse things?”

“I won’t start it, but people need to reflect on their actions, Your Grace,” he replied, feeling defeated that he would even try to act maturely about this situation. To be fair, he wasn’t provoking things.

Seeing how this wouldn’t get solved even if I forced them to speak about it, I decided to drop it and listen to what Rhekk and Kylu had come here for.

“After two weeks of training to learn how to coordinate amongst each other, we are thinking of entering the dungeon,” Rhekk stated.

The only dungeon on Miononbolax was the Dungeon of Infinite Feasts, a permanent dungeon that spawned monsters to ensure that dragonkin wouldn’t have to starve, no matter how much we grew. This was the reward Kramps got from Aurena for becoming her subordinate god. A treasure that would allow Kargryx to never have to worry about food again.

“Right now, what we need are levels, but if we start sending out waves of us into the wilds, we would cull our population of monsters faster than their spawning speed. Even if we try to slow it down, I don’t think it is efficient or appropriate for us to destroy our ecosystem when there is an easier alternative.”

“Aaaand, let me guess, you’re telling me this to expedite the [Hestia’s Retainer] thing, right? The rank As amongst us would benefit from it, I agree,” I replied. “Was this planned before you guys came here?”

Kylu nodded. “The elders told us to inform you about this. Since the leviathans have attacked the nest before, all the clans seem on edge when you informed them about the upcoming battle.”

“Some need to ‘cool down,’ again. Unrust, as the humans would say. Lord Karydrinos and the leviathan-dragons, thankfully, led us to a decisive victory in the first skirmish, but Father said it was just that. A skirmish. It was nowhere close to the type of battle he had once experienced with the leviathans. All the ancients seemed to agree, so they are planning on going to the dungeon to train for some time, while leaving all the dragonewts and weaker dragonkin to build our defenses. We have to prepare for a siege and many wounded.”

“I get that, but if you’re suddenly suggesting that I should give everybody [Hestia’s Retainer], then that is impossible. I need them to actually feel loyalty towards me to even give them the title. That can’t be tricked. I was pretty surprised Uncle Alex thought so highly of me, but I know I haven’t been able to keep up with the other ancients. Uncle Kary and Uncle Guyul would probably agree, but that is about it. Furthermore, I don’t want to involve that many people in the fight. The few rank C amongst you make me nervous that I’m throwing their lives away.”

“I figured,” Rhekk said, looking sympathetic, unlike how he used to view my “unnecessary, naive compassion.” “Still, those who want to fight need your help. My brother and father explained the Skill Point system to me, so I know how it works. Many of us still have low levels of some skills because we have become lazy. We’ve relied too much on our stats and racial skills, so we have a lot to catch up on, Hestia.”

“I can accept you, Rhekk. Kylu is… difficult,” I replied, causing the fire dragon to wince. “My title grants you skill and experience gain increases, but to actually catch up to everything, you need to really train and hunt like crazy to catch up from a rank C.”

Kylu was younger than me if I took my age in both of my lives into consideration. He hasn’t even gone on his Adulthood Pilgrimage yet, so he doesn’t even have proper fighting experience. Uriahn, Rhekk, and Kylu were all considered fledglings, but the former two were more “young adults,” while Kylu could be considered a “teenager” or “middle schooler” in our culture.

All of us would be considered “child soldiers” by other dragonkin, but at least three of us were proven warriors and mages. Kylu wasn’t, and I had no intention of dragging him into the battle.

Disspirited after I explained this to him, it looked like he wanted to protest, but Rhekk pushed him behind his wings. “I get that, but you should be able to agree to those who had gone on their pilgrimage, right? The rank Bs?”

“Can I trust them as my retainers?”

“I’ll make you trust them at the end of this training, Princess Hestia! You have my word on my name, Rhekkraxus Cammatrak Thalaxarus! So, will you agree with my proposal?” Rhekk then took a scale off his chest before kneeling before me with his tail tucked in between his legs. “May I serve you as part of Clan Thalaxarus? This time for real, and not for my pride as a member of one, but as Rhekkraxus Thalaxarus.”

“Pah, you still like making everything so dramatic. Don’t worry about it; I am accepting you because I trust you at this point, Rhekk. Clan Nordor and Clan Thalaxarus shall remain Frozen Nest’s strongest shields!”

<[Ukanvalos Dragon, Rhekkraxus Cammatrak Thalaxarus] have received the title [Hestia’s Retainer]>

After putting Rhekk’s scale in my storage, I then turned to Kylu. “I know you are disappointed, but your role will be as important as the one you had back during the elemental raid. I need you to lead the younger dragons and prove Clan Kleodrastia’s worth to Frozen Nest, okay? So, at the end of these two weeks, show me you can train properly, Kylu. I need you to become strong enough to help Iceskale out once the attack comes.”

“I-I’ll try!”

“Thank you. Send your brother to me when you can,” I ordered. “Considering I accepted Thalaxarus, I should do the same with Ievfuchsdra and Liandsee, right?”

Rhekk nodded, telling me he would inform them about your proposal. He was also considering inviting Clan Kleodrastia, since that would also help the fire dragons find even further legitimacy, although Uriahn did warn him that if I accepted them, I would have to accept a representative of all six major clans to maintain peace.

“That’s fine. The more the better. To be honest, the higher level you are, the less value [Hestia’s Retainer] actually gives you, but it can help the rank As wishing to become rank S. Emphasize that, all right?”

“Then what about me?” Uriahn suddenly suggested, pointing at himself with a wide smile. “I’m technically part of the alliance. You should show some consideration for Sacred Nest, right? Haha.”

“… Good timing. Yeah, I should do that, as well. Let’s… say this is your probation time, okay? You’re not exactly training right now, right?”

“If that is your command, then I shall obey, your highness.” Uriahn bowed like a gentleman. “Then, if the discussion is over, shall we continue with the training?”

Agreeing with his proposal, I said goodbye to Rhekk and Kylu before continuing training with Uriahn until I had to deactivate [Battle Frenzy] when it was starting to stress me out. From then on, until it was my bedtime, I trained with [Providence’s Will] to prepare for when I would gain true holy mana.

After the first day of training, the process was repeated for an entire week. Since I didn’t need to do any work outside of advising the digital media guild, constructing buildings for the ice elemental village, and my daily stream, I could entirely dedicate all my time to training. I didn’t even put any time into dancing or singing, since I knew I wouldn’t have a concert in the near future. Even if I did, it would be a causal one I would perform for my stream.

As such, time flew by with some much-needed improvements and some SP investment. When I saw some progress, I told Hikari to save all these System message for the end of the week to give me a nice dopamine boost for the second week. Although I was enthusiastic about this training, despite the rough schedule, managing my mental state for the future was important.

I had planned to continue with this plan until the second week, when Rhekk would depart for the mainland, but something came up at the end of the first week.

“Hestia, we’ve got an issue concerning Nongramos,” Taim contacted me. “He’s been going around both Storm and Thunder Nest to cajole both dragon rulers to vote to enter a war with the leviathans before a declaration of war. While I would ask you to help me here, Wendriosa had stated that she would speak with him. Instead, what I need from you is to stream to both Iceskale and Coral Beard and inform them what is currently going on. Emphasize that you want the dragonewts to start promoting their thoughts more.”

It seemed I was about to take my step into the political world again.