In truth, when the last Black Dragon entrusted this egg to her, Christina had not known that both the Black Dragon and this egg would leave her hands forever.
Whenever she came to see the dead egg, deep regret hung over her.
After the Black Dragon who had left for the battlefield died, she had tried to care for the egg at least, but even that egg had grown cold, and those had been days when even the faintest hope disappeared.
But that was no longer the case.
The warmth of the child in her embrace. The sound of small breaths.
Christina felt gratitude deep in her heart. *No matter what happens, I will help you become a strong and respectable dragon.*
“I th■ought you woul■dn’t be b■rn... Thank you for al■iving, for be■ing born. Baby.”
Her earnest words, spoken softly, came haltingly and intermittently, yet they gave Imugi a strange lump in the throat and a stirring of compassion.
*So she’s thanking me just for being born.*
Imugi squirmed, trying to break free, then went limp.
*Well, that’s... embarrassing.*
Never in his life had he heard anyone thank him for being born.
And yet, it wasn’t as unpleasant a feeling as he had expected.
If forced to describe it, it was ticklish, and on the pleasant side.
Imugi, too, felt an endlessly deep and gentle heart from Christina.
*It’s hard to keep being suspicious after hearing such things. There’s no reason she’d bother lying to a baby who can’t even understand words.*
He also felt somewhat indebted, in the sense that he wasn’t the true owner of this body’s soul.
*The original owner of this body is most likely dead.*
After agonizing over it, he eventually nestled quietly into her soft embrace.
*Accumulating virtue is a necessary quality for a divine beast, after all.*
He let out a huff through his tiny nostrils. With a sigh, he raised his upper body, gently wrapped his short arms around Christina’s neck, and patted the nape of her neck.
“Gu. Guu kyuk.”
*Ahem. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not your fault, so cheer up.*
Seeing the child’s actions, Christina’s eyes widened slightly.
“Could it be you’re try■ng to comfort me?”
“Kyuut.”
He had answered flatly to lessen his embarrassment, yet she burst into clear, bright laughter.
“How ■ould such a cute ba■by come ou■?”
“Kyuu? Kyu!”
*I wasn’t trying to be cute. I just wanted to tell her there was no need to hurt so much inside.*
It was a calculated thought: the one who needed to be of help to him was better off in good condition; there was no need for her to be haggard or in a bad state.
However, Christina smiled faintly, hugging the hatchling that was shaking its head.
“Thanks to you, I fee■l bette■r. I’ll be counting on you from now on. My baby.”
“Kyuu!”
*Yes, I’ll be counting on you too.*
Perhaps finding the newborn hatchling’s spirited reply adorable, Christina stroked his head.
Imugi found the situation of someone looking at him with pride and patting his head quite embarrassing.
*D-damn it. My face is burning up.*
A wave of bashfulness surged from within, and a squeaking sound came from his nose when he breathed.
Though he had lived long, both humans and fellow divine beasts had shunned him, so he was weak at acts of sharing warmth with others.
At this point, the neighbor’s dog could do better.
His body was small and young, but he was a fully grown divine beast; being held and patted with a clear mind pricked even his conscience.
*Stay calm. I merely helped her. This one doesn’t seem like a bad sort. And she’s strong, too.*
It was an effort to rationalize.
Of course, most of it was true as well.
Hidden within the gentle warmth he could clearly feel in her embrace was strength.
A carefully honed and restrained aura of intimidation.
He could sense an inner power greater than what he had possessed in his original world.
*If someone like this is on my side, she’ll be incredibly useful for survival.*
Moreover, she seemed to owe the original owner a debt, so there was no harm in showing favor to such a person.
Glancing in the direction of the inscribed epitaph, he made a pledge of honor to the dead child in his own way.
*I am grateful to you for giving me this life. May you rest in peace.*
Having thought of the child again in his heart, he turned his mind to practical concerns.
Though he didn’t know how he had been reborn with memories of his previous life, the memory of dying powerlessly was as vivid as ever.
*I mustn’t die from the same mistake.*
Throb. Even though this was now a heart that had never been pierced by a spear, he felt it ache.
Imugi unconsciously clenched his two front paws tight.
That pain of one’s soul being torn apart.
It was a shock he never wanted to experience again.
*In this life.*
Power entered his clenched fist, tightening his grip.
*At least, I won’t die as helplessly as I did then.*
Even thinking of it again sent resentment surging from the tip of his tail to the crown of his head.
It had been a mere one year until the thousand-year mark.
When he, who could have ascended to become a Divine Dragon, was murdered.
The rage and grievance from when he lost everything, having lived with his one and only desire, tingled through his entire body.
Chapter 4: The Best Among Hatchlings I Have Seen
A resoluteness unbecoming of a child lurked in his eyes.
*I will become strong so that no one can harm me.*
A gaze that flickered with coldness lowered, rather than one of pure, sparkling eyes.
Clenching his fist tight, he swore not to repeat the same mistake.
*I must become strong enough that no one can touch me. I will use anything and everything I can.*
Christina, who had not seen his cold expression, cast movement magic.
Leaving behind the place where he had remained alone, it was the first step toward the world the child would face.
***
A month had passed since he began living in Christina’s lair.
During that time, Imugi had adapted to the fact that he had become the infancy of a Black Dragon—a hatchling.
At first, he crawled around on all fours, then got so sleepy he collapsed right then and there and fell asleep, only to wake up inside the cradle.
Truthfully, this was an astounding event to him.
*You’re telling me I can’t even notice someone moving my body because I’m asleep?*
He shuddered at his own defenselessness.
For one who had manipulated qi and trained in the martial way, it was preposterous.
He spent days kicking his blankets in the air in regret.
Eventually, he came to accept that instinct to some degree.
*When I think about how young this body is, it’s only natural. It’s not that I’m like that. It’s this body that’s like that.*
...
To be exact, it was closer to denial of reality.
Still, Imugi, believing that the mind should dominate the flesh, concentrated every day on absorbing the pure energy around him and building his inner strength.
In that process, he discovered something peculiar: whereas energy used to gather in his dantian, now mana gathered in his heart with every breath.
*At first, I thought something was wrong with my body.*
After watching Christina use magic a few times, he realized it was natural.
He secretly practiced some of them when Christina wasn’t around.
Things like magic that cleansed the surroundings, moved objects, created cool water, and so on.
They were trivial yet useful powers.
After that, Imugi allowed mana to gather in his heart while deliberately collecting qi in his lower dantian.
*It’s a shame the Yeouiju I painstakingly made is gone, but this isn’t bad either.*
Training the middle dantian, which was the heart, and the lower dantian, he naturally accumulated power.
It was only a matter of time before he started creating a new Yeouiju.
Moreover, this place was one where the most refined mana existed, incomparable to anywhere Imugi had known.
Taking in power through his mind technique, he exclaimed in admiration once more.
*To think I could accumulate this energy in a body just born, without a single impurity.*
A natural smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Normally, it would take several days just to selectively gather the purest energy into the dantian.
But there was no need for that here.
Thanks to this, unlike a typical one-year-old hatchling, he had grown stronger by learning both magic and stamina faster than the others.
Though everything was satisfactory like this, there was something else that dissatisfied him most recently.
*A strange surveillant-like thing has shown up.*
Lying still pretending to sleep, Imugi sneakily opened one eye and looked toward where a white light was bobbing in the air.
On the outside, it was an ordinary sphere of light.
[ㅇㅅㅇ]
A thing that often used light as a brush to display strange symbols—or rather, expressions—in the air.
*Doesn’t that thing ever sleep?*
It was something called a “spirit” that Christina had summoned, saying she was worried about leaving him alone.
It seemed harmless, but he could definitely feel its gaze.
*This is annoying.*
It was a bit frustrating that he couldn’t go outside yet, but that was fine.
He had ample time, and if he considered it part of training, there were benefits.
The limitation in language expression due to the underdeveloped structure of his mouth?
It was a bit embarrassing, but he was slowly growing accustomed to it.
The effect of that unwelcome guest, born of Christina’s worry, was this:
*Because of that thing, I can’t do any conspicuous stamina training.*
Even to himself, his body was that of a chubby baby with soft scales and pudgy flesh.
He needed to keep walking and swinging his limbs for his muscles to develop, but that will-o’-the-wisp-like thing would promptly fly over and circle around him anxiously like a puppy wanting something if he kept crawling on the floor, as if worried he might scrape his skin.
Regardless, when he was sweating buckets training his muscles, it would vanish and then come back with Christina.
Then Christina would pick him up, worrying he might get hurt, and place him in the cradle.
*Tch. Getting scraped while training is no big deal.*
Yet if he showed signs of independent training in front of Christina, she would find it suspicious.
*To think I’m forced to idle away my time for such a trivial reason, despite having a body that grows by the day.*
He should be in the prime of growth, yet his idle time kept increasing, so he couldn’t help but sigh in regret.
In the end, as his actual training dwindled, dissatisfaction accumulated steadily.
*I must find a countermeasure. I can’t keep living while minding that will-o’-the-wisp-like thing’s whims.*
To think that a divine beast who once dominated all under heaven was now secretly pretending to sleep while watching the mood of a mere floating firefly.
An opponent he could face in a single satisfying bout would be far better. This was nothing but frustrating because he couldn’t communicate.
*At this rate, fighting an armed enemy would be easier.*
Sigh.
He sighed, lying in the spacious cradle.
*Still, my inner power is steadily growing.*
Smiling with one corner of his mouth raised, he patted his chubby belly with his stubby hand.
Despite his words, he never neglected the training of steadily building internal energy and making mana his own.
*A proper seed of the neidan has formed—what more could you ask?*
The seed in the dantian that forms the neidan.
Pure mana enveloping the heart.
It was equivalent to creating a control key that allowed him to freely manipulate qi and the mana of the world.
*At this level, I think I can attempt it soon.*
Over the past month, every time Christina cast movement magic with him, he had concentrated on understanding its operation.
Having grown calloused as a divine beast controlling the phenomena of all things, he had an exceptional ability to perceive and feel the flow of mana.
*I must make this power—stronger and richer than in my original world—my own.*
The ambition to surpass the limits of what an Imugi could be made his heart race for the first time in ages.
“Kyuuuk!”
*...Damn it.*
Excited, he had unconsciously shouted a fighting cry, and an immature cry popped out.
*I thought it was a problem with my oral structure... but wouldn’t it resolve faster if I practice?*
Since he had nothing to do anyway, he tried pronunciation practice.
“Kyu! Kka! Kkiyuk—!”
He somehow felt that ball of light was snickering at him, but he made noises diligently.
“Kyuuk. Pyapyaa. Pyupyappyappupu.”
He felt his face reddening, but he did his best to cry out.
“Kyuaaa—!”
Flop.
Not because it took effort, but from mental exhaustion caused by humiliation, he flopped onto his back right there.
*Uwaaa! Why do I have to be doing something like this—!*