A Dragon's Curiosity

Nisha carefully sized up the knowledge plants, fascinated by the idea that a simple seed thrown out by the goddess Bael held enough information to confer a skill for each of her current and future realms.

More impressively, this still relied only on the available mana and aura from her [Inner World], the growth and creation of these plants had been done with at most fourth level energy.

“This is more than I expected, but why do I have to activate them with additional mana every time? And how is an animated servant going to help me deal with different issues at once? I’m talking about learning swordsmanship or meditation, I don’t think they’re going to help me that much.”

Despite the rather harsh sounding words, the dragon recognized that these skills really had a lot of potential to save some of her time.

Any physical work that only required repetition could be entrusted to golems, all it took for them to function was some mana and a instruction.

Mining resources in her [Inner World], taking care of a herb garden, moving wood around or even something as mundane as stacking bricks, with free work in exchange for some of the never drying up energy flowing in her space it was a worthy trade.

“Since you made a deal with me, I have no intention of shorting you in any way.

The [Golem Creation] manual is only the first step, and you do not have to limit yourself to only a single skill at a time.

Thanks to being created from the mana in your [Inner World], each of these mediums have compressed the information contained within them to the limit.

Instead of needing to reach the King Realm or higher with your mana, you can activate all five of them at any given time.

Conversely, it will be much harder to perceive any hints towards the following skill before you attain a higher realm, and the plants I made will absorb your energy and understanding at the same time to grow.

I derived this method from the inspiration I got after watching you absorb that seed of [Dragon Force].

So, rather than giving you a pile of manuals you cannot operate, the seeds I left behind here will grow from the input they get from you, all based on core information that I remembered.

Whether or not you can fully excavate the full potential of these abilities is unknown, but you have a very high chance to derive your own understanding.

As a consequence, your golems might not be limited to being simple puppets, it depends on your efforts.

And lastly, when the full potential of the plants is explored and nourished by your knowledge, the meaning you perceived will fuse with the information at the core and bloom first, then condense into a tome recording your personal skill. The trunk will wither away and leave behind a recording of your achievements.

You can either keep them to yourselves and see if you missed out on any potential applications by comparing your understanding to the tome or lend it out to other people, who might learn something as well from them.”

Bael’s reply gave the elf a pleasant surprise. When she made her request, it had already been somewhat farfetched, and she had been looking for some comfort and a recommendation where she should focus her attention.

With the guidance of the elder generation, the dragon could avoid travelling down the roads that led to failure more easily.

To her surprise, the green haired goddess aimed for an even greater result and imparted several skills to her, which truly had the potential to solve all the issues of time and effort.

From the overall direction, the later skills from the higher realms were not as simple as golems which follow orders only, and thanks to the special consideration Bael showed, they might even mutate once or twice to suit herself perfectly.

“Don’t just stand there and grin to yourself, go ahead and test out the [Golem Creation]. I can answer some of your doubts right now and oversee your practice, so that you can have an easier time comprehending it.

Make no mistake, this is not a free gift and you need good perception to learn these skills perfectly.

In the future, I won’t come around every time to guide you either, try to make use of this period and learn as much as possible.”

The elegant deity waved her hands and the grass on the ground beneath the dragon experienced rapid growth, delivering the girl right in front of the correct skill.

Of course, Nisha had allowed the action, all the energy in her [Inner World] ultimately belonged to her as the highest sovereign.

“You’re the best, Aunty!”

Eager to dive right in, she summoned mana from her own body and carefully inserted it into the totem like growth, ready to contemplate the mysteries of [Golem Creation].

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At the same time, below layers and layers of rock, soil and enchantments, a figure quite similar to the aunt just mentioned by the little dragon stepped through the security measures and arrived at the great temple holding the highest ruler among dragon kind.

The guardians quietly allowed her through and retired from their positions, they knew that it was not their place to listen in.

Iridescent light scattered as the gigantic beast living in the temple stirred. The rainbow-coloured scales reflected the scarce light coming from the few light sources to the point where it was correct to call it a light storm.

By moving his eye on the same height and towards the entrance of his dwelling, the dragon god created countless motes of light, which gave the temple a sacred and mystical feeling.

“You asked me to come by, is there anything I can do for you, Ser Rasenth?”

With a polite greeting, Gabriel tucked her blond hair behind one of her ears.

And although the form of address she used reflected their respective standing and the power they grasped, it did not really show respect to the living dragon god either.

Thankfully, the eye bigger than herself did not even blink and ignored her barb.

Endless dust twirled through the air as a storm like sigh escaped the mountain like form of muscle, aura and scales.

“I always thought it was the balance between yourself and your sister that allowed both sides of your element to mesh so well.

It seems that your personalities are more similar than I thought.

Did I upset you when I asked that you visit my abode?”

Contrary to expectation, Rasenth rarely lorded his status over others in private, the few individuals who were allowed to pay him a personal visit either reached a realm where none in all of Ator could potentially fight them or their position warranted a modicum of politeness.

Only the guardians and believers experienced the dignity of the spiritual pillar behind the dragon country, the true Dragon Deity and his dignity.

“It seems that I made a trip here not long ago, at most a dozen turns or so.

If you increase your activity ahead of time and prepare to truly make a move before the visitors arrive again, I can only assume that you have a specific aim in mind.

And besides my sister and me, there are next to none other powerhouses around.

Or did you consider negotiating with your wife again? That also concerns us, but much less than a possible plot against our garden.”

Gabriel could have easily conjured a piece of furniture suited for herself despite the arrays and inscriptions placed on this sacred dwelling.

She only abstained because the dragon deity had a rather amicable relationship with the two goddesses and they often cooperated when it came to their interests.

Etiquette mattered, even in a private meeting.

“If it was up to me, our next meeting would have been the next event in a hundred turns too, exchanging messages would have been enough for everything else.

Unfortunately, I had to become involved this time, the [Law of the Land] appeared and was on the verge of declaring an infringement.

It seems that your sister made a deal with the little lost lamb you found for me.

There was no recourse, I managed to influence the decision of the Law in a tiny margin, but this might not be the last time they trade.

If it always has to activate for small matters like these, someday the covenant will activate and summon a law enforcer.

No matter how indulgent I am to your sister and you, an incident on that scale might be beyond my ability to manage.”

Rasenth blinked the titanic eye, sending a small gust of wind along that lifted the hem of Gabriel’s dress.

The old dragon god hardly deigned anything important enough to hold a meeting with others. He had enough personal power and influence to resolve nearly anything as long as it was confined within the limits of Ator.

Currently, the golden haired goddess considered the ramifications behind the veiled information freely given to her.

A single word contained countless possibilities between the highest echelons of the plane.

She considered reverting to her true form, a tree that weathered life and death before ascending to a higher state, but without her other half here, it would be hard to contend with the elder god before her, who already rested in his true form all the time.

Furthermore, the beautiful deity had received an invitation and did not come here to contend with the dragon race, a small fact that Gabriel felt very thankful for.

No matter how powerful her sister and herself might be, it paled in front of the ruler of the entire plan, not to mention that his wife also had to reside somewhere in this world.

“You’re not just inviting me here to tell me about the mischief that Bael does every once in a while? As far as I remember, there have been vastly more damaging and also more annoying events, whether my sister was involved or not, under your sphere of influence.

For a junior from your clan, is that not too much attention and involvement?”

Gradually, Gabriel noticed something strange, the attention of Rasenth to such a matter was strange in the first place, even more if he called her in to personally discuss it.

Even the lowliest guard from the [Buried Temple], as the few individuals that were aware of it like to call it, had a status just below the Dragon King ruling the clan on the surface, responsible for all matters pertaining draconic interests.

At most, a small prince, or more so an assistant under them, should be appointed to keep an eye on the subject and escalate it from there in case further concerns arose.

“There is something you are not telling me. From the chase after missing eggs that happen to get displaced, to the attention you are now paying to one of the dragon’s especially, close to ten turns laster.

You sometimes don’t move at all for centuries, and when a great war is ravaging your little enclosure at most an emissary will be sent out.

Whether it’s the beasts or the humans, they are no longer of interest to you.

Perhaps your follower Raezar pays a tiny amount of attention to the quality and amount of tributes presented to his kingdom, yet I really cannot imagine how that would influence you, in your hidden shrine, closed off from the world.

Furthermore, there should be a reason you called me here today aside from informing me about the mischief my sister caused, it has to be fairly important to you as well.

Tell me then, Dragon God Rasenth, what is important enough to concern you and the entire plane?”

Gabriel gathered the momentum of the world with every passing word, a formless pressure converging and surrounding her human figure.

Nonetheless, the pressure of an ancient and godly tree radiating outwards, which alarmed the guards outside of the shrine, who almost rushed inside to defend their deity.

It was never her intent to face off against a god more powerful than herself or worsen their relations over this.

But it involved her sister, a soul coming from the same source as herself, and the meaning behind the Dragon God’s words would decide whether or not she had to at least break out of this place.

“Cease the posturing, we are both related to this place and have no reason to fight with each other.

You are right, in some manner of speaking, although you also assume a few wrong points.

If it helps to reign in your unruly other half, I do not mind to elaborate.

As you might have guessed, there are other reasons involved to have myself take action in this case.

The meeting in about a hundred turns is also not of that much interest to me either, albeit there is a slight connection to the true reason.

A good point to start … Yes, I think I know a suitable opening.”

Rasenth’s deep voice echoed through the dim temple, reverberating in every corner.

“The dragon girl, you call her Nisha, yes? She is not part of my lineage at all.”