A Dragon's Curiosity

Bael’s straightforwardness did not dismay the elf.

Speaking about her desire and turning that into a request fell in line with her character too, most likely the gentle Gabriel would not be quite as blunt and lead the conversation in a direction where Nisha made an additional request instead.

Both ways had their merits and the elf certainly did not feel offended or upset like this.

Furthermore, testing each other’s baseline and keeping things vague meant that both sides did not trust each other. Thinking about it made the elf realize that it could also be taken as a sign of trust and close relations with each other.

The dragon freed the majority of her attention from that train of thought and considered the second request she should make.

Chances like this were especially rare, the requesting party always had a distinct disadvantage during negotiations.

Of course, she did not intend to take advantage of the goddess either, right after being shown a distinct sign of trust.

At most, the elf would ask for a direct benefit to improve her own situation.

“I can think of something I could use, it’s just that I don’t know if it’s actually a feasible idea.

You see, recently my cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds without me putting in that much work.

On its own, that’s a good thing and I’m looking forward to being able to do more with my [Inner Space] and exercising my body.

The problem is that my speed might bring unneeded attention to me while trying to lie low, hence my second request should be a technique that can disguise my true cultivation level.

Does that count?”

This matter already weighed on the dragon’s mind for quite some time.

When she applied for the [Royal Academy], the guild master took note towards her because she reached the second rank, not to mention that Nisha doubled that in less than a turn.

Different explanations for such rapid progress existed. Maybe she had vast access to cultivation boosting medicine, practiced an evil technique that engulfed the power of others to boost her own, or had a fortunate encounter from the remnants of a senior.

No matter what, each reason had vast demerits that could instigate a detailed investigation from different organizations.

If Nisha wanted to progress further after breaking through the great barrier between the third and fourth rank in mana and aura, she needed a method to fool others from discerning her actual prowess.

Bael pondered the matter and gave a curt nod after barely any time at all.

“This is doable. I had to think for a bit, it’s been a long time since either my sister or me used the spells around the first realm.

If you are fine with the two requests as they are, let me show you my second request as well and see if you can solve my quarry, then I’ll explain you the efficient or the other method suited for you and teach you a masking ability for your cultivation.

Be aware though, the glamour will only hold up as long as you do not exceed the limit of force allowed for you disguise.

There’s always a demerit for such spells.”

Breaking free from being tucked behind her ear, Baels green hair fell over her face as she began to remove one of her gloves.

The purple accessoire had caught the elf’s eye before. Normally, neither of the two goddesses wore such clothes, hence they stuck out, but not to the point of being a part of the conversation.

Now that the beautiful deity removed the item, Nisha also understood why.

Instead of a ring finger and little finger, the space keeping the glove filled was composed of thin vines. Each of the green ligaments mimicked the function of a tendon, blood vessel or joint.

The reason for the empty space sat next to the palm of the hand.

A red orb gradually pulsed with purple light, eating away at more of the plants around it and dissolving them in a steady manner.

Even without an explanation, Nisha understood what this orb was.

After the glove no longer covered it up, a sense of familiarity allowed the dragon to recognize her own blood.

Although it no longer flew through her veins and it had been some time since she gave it to the goddess, the red orb undeniably came into existence from her blood.

“As you can see, there has been a slight accident.”

With a mock dry tone and a slight dash of true embarrassment, Bael offered her hand to the elf for an inspection.

Nisha carefully took the extended hand into her own palms and carefully traced the vines, wondering how the soft and tempting skin turned into dried bark, sprouting plants and how the crimson orb caused so much damage.

“What exactly happened here? I know there’s some of my blood mixed into this thing, but that should not be able to inflict any injury in the slightest.

Compared to your cultivation, my aura is only in the first realm, same for my mana if that matters.

No matter what you mixed it with, the blood should not affect the outcome.”

The elf was truly astounded. She had heard a bit about the realms beyond the nine levels of cultivation she currently heard of from the two goddesses, as well as hints how the twins attained much greater heights than those realms long ago.

To see such a serious injury, at least in comparison to the invulnerable status otherwise, filled the dragon with wonder how alchemy or a similar crafting method employed by Gabriel managed to incorporate her blood into a dangerous compound.

“It’s a bit of an embarrassing coincidence, really. I can tell you, but … you can never tell my sister, alright?”

This time, the blush on her face was her true emotion, the green haired woman did not like losing to her sister Gabriel, even when they were so closely connected.

After a nod from the elf, the gorgeous deity began to narrate.

“When I got a sample of your blood, there were several ideas what to do with it. As a side note, one of the results tested for the purity of dragon lineage in your blood. Though I’m not a member of the draconic clans and have a limited samples to compare them with, the conclusion indicates that your descent should come from two royal dragons at least.

It puts you above a [King-Class Dragon], with a margin of energy above that.

Rejoice, even among dragons you count as nobility, a true princess of the clan. If you meet others of your species in the future, the innate aura and character you give off ensure that they would treat you with sincerity and grace if they’re not nobles themselves.

But I digress. Back to my hand.”

Bael let the elf keep her hand and looked on as she inspected it.

She had a rather amusing image in mind when she recalled the old goat in his damp cave, and how he must fume that a princess of his clan who wandered around the outside world got informed about her status by an outsider first.

The small ways to get back at him must pile up someday.

“Another batch of experiments dealt with figuring out the properties of your blood itself.

Based on the stories you shared with my sister and me, part of it should be a toxic or corrosive element contained within.

It might also be an entirely different quality that manifested that way, hence the tests.

One test series involved mixing many heavily toxic materials from different realms as well as venomous bugs, venoms extracted from snake beasts and alchemic potions that display such effects.

Depending on how well the sample fuses with the materials, I can make a rough assumption how toxic and reactive the elements in your blood are.

That was the intent anyway.”

Nisha forgot to fiddle with the crimson orb and temporarily forgot herself while she listened, the methodology captured an aspect of her curious mind.

Just by the account offered by Bael, the dragon set her mind to engaging in either the alchemy class offered by the [Royal Academy] or to find herself a teacher soon.

“The results have been more or less inconclusive, some of the reagents worked extremely well and resulted in poisons more potent than their own realm, while other venoms became close to a healing elixir afterwards.

Aside from a tendency to stay unpredictable even when repeating the experiments with the same ingredients again, little else made sense and I prepared to throw everything out and start over again to make sense of your blood.

When the different results all mixed in the process of being disposed, another reaction intrigued me and I stopped the process of getting rid of it.

That’s when misfortune struck.”

Bael took her hand back and pointed at the crimson orb, while the vines withered and opened to give a good view on the mysterious thing.

“None of the materials involved had the same tier as my cultivation, and generally I could even drink the other reagents as a cocktail and only have to complain about the bitter taste most of them have.

When the blood and the different reactions merged, however, the whole thing boiled and shrank in volume.

In any craft, that’s generally the sign of a failed production or a reduction in efficiency, if the goal is to produce something and not get rid of impurities.

With such an unique occurence, my vigilance lowered by quite a bit and I accidently touched a drop of the poison, that’s what it is.

The remains of the boiling soup condensed in an instant and resulted in this crimson sphere, though it was even smaller at that point.

It was near the tip of my little finger and I was more amused by the ability to breach through the absolute confines of a realm and reach my tier as a culmination of all the toxins, venoms and potions involved.

I was prepared to cut away a bit of skin and study how it worked, when I learned just how special your blood really is.

Instead of falling down with the skin at the tip of my little finger, the globe dispersed into thin air and reattached itself to the leftover cut on my hand.”

In a strange way, the fantastic power narrated by the goddess flattered Nisha. While it harmed a person dear to her, it also attested to the strong legacy in her body.

“That wasn’t the end of it either, the sand grain sized orb boiled again and started to consume my entire finger at a fast speed.

Somehow it got activated by separating from myself.

Therefore, I recognized what it really became, a strong poison with a spiritual nature.

Before you ask, I can give you a brief introduction on that as well.

Whenever an item is especially well crafted, made out of divine tier materials or handled by a godly crafter, the product is culminating powerful sentiments from the world, the environment or the crafter.

Bestowing innate mana on a weapon, for example, is a harshly weakened version of that and only symbolizes that it has reached a sufficient standard and is marked in the same way by the feedback from the world.

Think of a steel sword that is created in a mystical fire. The Terus Empire near you should have one of those, an earth-fire flame harvested from the depths of a volcano.

When the production finishes, the blade might have soaked up the bare minimum to advance to a magic blade and have either some earth related boost or a fire related ability.

There’s better versions of a magic sword as well, but that’s the rough process.”

A casual recount by Bael opened a new field of knowledge for the elf, several possible advancements in her classes just a step away.

The current topic was the goddesses injury, however, and she kept inspecting the crimson sphere while quietly listening.

“A spiritual nature is the absolute peak for a crafted items, although some of them also appear from nature and the Wilderness.

They nearly always have strong innate abilities that are independent of the wielder, and can also take some independent actions.

Right after being born, the spiritual poison made of your blood had not quite understood itself clearly yet, but when I cut it away from my body it flared up.

Using a crude method like cutting away the afflicted spot won’t cure it anyway and I’m not sure what other unreasonable abilities it has after assimilating so many high realm ingredients and my mana.

It took my ring finger and little finger to prevent it from growing at a fast pace and I’m supplying a low but steady amount of life force through the veins while looking for a cure.

As the originator, you might also have some influence on the poison, so please take a look at it for my request.”