Ultimate Level 1

Chapter 384: The Power Inside a Dragon

Having secured a room at the tavern run by the local “humans,” as Fowl and all the dwarves called them, Max left Tanila in the room to find a local rancher. He needed to find some cows and keep a promise he had made.

***

I was wondering when you would return.

Max scratched Rakonath’s head, grinning like a fool, needing both hands to accomplish the desired job.

“You’ve grown… so much.”

It is the—

“Speak out loud. Use your voice,” Aerthen commanded, not using her humanoid form, as only Max had come. “You must practice it to get the right inflections and tones.”

Clearing his throat, the silver dragon who had grown stood almost ten feet tall now, his body having doubled in size in the weeks Max had been away.

“I… have grown because of the power of the one you fed me. Do not get me wrong, those two cows you just brought were delicious, but I am still trying to digest the elf woman and all that she had on her.”

Grinning, Max stood back and watched how the dragon he was bound to moved.

The gait that had been off balance and sometimes uncoordinated was gone, each step in the perfect position.

“I can’t lie. The dwarf was a bit hesitant to sell me four with nothing but a rope to lead them by. Thankfully, my storage space fit them all, even if it wasn’t a comfortable moment for them.

“Worse than the moment I ate them?”

Chuckling, Max bobbed his head.

“I guess they might have preferred that. Still, how much bigger are you going to get?”

Rakonath glanced up at Aerthen, who snorted and sent out a little gust of smoke and snot.

“Even I do not know that, so he has no idea. I guess he may double in size again in a month or so. Hopefully, he will be able to digest all that power soon.”

Raising an eyebrow, Max cocked his head and looked up at the red dragon.

“Because…”

“You do not want to see this… trust me.”

“I doubt there is much you could show me that would gross me out. My dwarven friend… he wouldn’t make it, but I’ve had the very flesh melted from my body, and most of it turned to stone. Trust me, I don’t cringe easily.”

A low thrum came as her golden eyes blinked twice, and then she began to retch.

Small streams of fire would occasionally come from her mouth, bouncing off the stone floor until it formed a puddle.

Max felt he might have overestimated his opinion of himself. He watched the dragon gag on something for a solid minute before a large glowing orb, easily his size, appeared between her teeth.

She lowered it to the floor slowly, letting it rest in the puddle of flickering flames.

“What in the gods is that?”

“My treasure. Unlike some who hoard things in chests or hide them, I choose to form what we call a power orb.”

Aerthen lifted her front paw and tapped a single claw against the shimmering pearl-like object, causing it to radiate with an orange glow that almost felt warm, even though he was a good fifty yards from it.

“In here are all the magical items I have eaten, and for me, something of this size is still difficult to bring up. Right now Rakonath is having one form inside him. Perhaps in time he can learn to break it down and turn it into power, helping him grow stronger, but that is a lesson many years down the road.”

“She means decades,” the silver dragon added.

“But what can that do? I mean… I sense magical energy coming from it, but how would someone like myself or a different race hope to use that?”

A loud thrum came, and the red dragon shook her head,

“You people… always wanting to know how to use something so precious to us dragons. Still, your question is a valid one. There are many ways to drain this of the power that resides inside. Whoever has that knowledge would trade greatly for this, and if word got out that I had one like this, they might risk coming to try and take it.”

Max’s eyes felt as if they were being led by a string to stare at the orb.

She is correct. I can detect waves of power coming off it. Everett or any other Faction would gladly take this and use the magic that resides within. You can even use this if you look at the real potential.

As Bob spoke, Max began to see it, suddenly realizing what his skill had led him to.

“A magical power core…”

“What did you call it?” Aerthen asked, her talons wrapping around it completely and pulling it closer to her. “How do you know its name?!”

“I… I have a skill that lets me use them for weapons.”

The dragon’s jaw fell open, and Max could sense a smug smile on Rakonath’s snout. The silver dragon almost appeared to puff out its chest slightly.

“Our Father was wise to grant me a human with such strength.”

“Quiet, eggling!” the red dragon snapped. She lowered her head, bringing it close to Max until her snout was just a few feet away. “How do you have such a skill?! To my knowledge that one no longer exists on this world.”

“We’ve talked before, and you know I’m not like others,” Max replied. “Do not worry, I don’t want it, but I now understand the potential of such a thing. I will not go around my world and tell everyone about what you have. One last question, though, if you don’t mind.”

A grunt came, and Aerthen slowly pulled her head back from him.

“Part of me wants to say no, but the other part of me is curious. Go ahead.”

Scratching his ear for a moment, Max nodded.

“If, and I’m not asking for it or telling you I’m going to take it, but if, a dragon loses that, what happens to them?”

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A guttural growl reverberated off the ground, and her neck vibrated as she stared at him.

“For me to lose one of this size would be… painful. I am able to draw nourishment and power from it. Not having it inside me means I could not defend myself to my full potential. It is like… an extra helping of mana in a way. The dragon you defeated. The gold one, how long did it take to wear them out, exhaust their mana supply?”

Max huffed and looked off in the distance, staring at a stone wall and remembering the fight with Igarra.

“Too long. For a moment, I wasn’t certain I could ever make her run out of mana.”

She had one of these inside her. I was just like that. Using the power that is stored within you.

“Then it would appear that she used up hers,” Aerthen replied. “She was trying to draw upon the power and outlast you. If you were able to make one of her size run dry…”

A shudder ran through her, and the red dragon flinched slightly.

“Perhaps our Father was right in choosing to mark you.”

“I told you,” Rakonath stated.

Aerthen moved her head near the silver dragon and huffed, sending snot all over him.

“That is not fair!”

“And you must learn to be silent when one does not need to provoke someone bigger than you.”

“I… you are right. Sorry. When he is near, I sometimes feel… weird. Like I should say things that are supposed to be funny.”

“A joke,” Max said.

Rakonath glanced at Max, and his silver eyes sparkled.

“Yes! A joke!”

Twisting his neck, the silver dragon looked up at Aerthen.

“Was what I said a good joke?”

“Not to one who can do what I did,” replied the older dragon.

Max couldn’t help himself, having held back the laughter that begged to come out.

As he started to laugh, Rakonath began to trill and then thrum. Soon, Aerthen joined in, and for a moment, all three found themselves enjoying a quick respite.

Clearing her throat, the older dragon widened her jaw and put the orb back in her mouth, then lifting her head wide, she slowly started to swallow the giant object.

Max stood there, amazed at how easily she appeared to swallow the orb, thankful that Fowl wasn’t here to say anything.

She only choked twice before the bulge in her throat vanished and she coughed.

“Now, back to your question. If Rakonath was to lose the one that he is forming, it might slow his growth, but it wouldn’t be as costly because the power it contains will be less impactful at his age.

“He will have more opportunities if I am correct, to eat people and magical items. If you really want to help him grow, find items he can consume.”

Grinning at her choice of words, Max nodded.

“And the more powerful they are, the better.”

“Correct.”

Drool began to drip from the silver dragon’s lips, and his tongue flicked out for a moment.

“I would enjoy trying some new items. She has instructed me on how each of them tastes slightly different.”

Activating his dimensional storage, Max began to peruse the things he had stored inside.

He found a chest he had taken from Igarra’s stash and done nothing with yet, knowing that the items inside would be useful for some new Faction members who were starting off.

Setting the wooden chest on the ground caused Rakonath to sniff the air, bringing his snout close to the chest.

“He can smell it… is that… normal?”

A thrum came from Aerthen, who nodded her head.

“Dragons are quite adept at sensing magic. Again, you and your party are a tasty treat if I was so inclined to want to feed. You especially ripple with power, and if it wasn’t for my ability to sense the danger you present, our meeting might have gone differently, even with that mark from our Father.”

“Good to know,” Max replied as he bent down and opened the chest.

Inside were a pair of swords with +10 to Strength and Constitution, both good for many different warriors. He wanted to see how his dragon would respond to them.

Holding one in each hand, their black blades with the red hilts looked menacing, but beyond the two stat bonuses, he almost considered them worthless.

“Interested in sampling one?”

Rakonath was almost vibrating, moving from side to side and trilling.

“I would be delighted to see how they taste!”

Shaking his head, Max pulled one back.

“We’re going to share. It’s the least I can do for Aerthen since she is helping you so much.”

The trill stopped for a moment and then resumed, just slightly quieter than before.

“You are correct. She should get one. Forgive me for being selfish.”

Chuckling, Max tossed the sword in his left hand onto the stone floor near the red dragon. Then he moved to where Rakonath was and set the sword on the ground before him.

“Enjoy!”

Both dragons quickly used their tongues to pick up the weapons, and Max watched, waiting to see how this would work.

The crunching sound came as the silver dragon started chewing on the metal, almost making a face as if he were working at breaking the object between his teeth.

Aerthen had already swallowed her sword like a champ, her golden eyes fixated on the younger dragon struggling with his.

“Bite near the hilt. It will snap off the blade and make it easier to swallow. In time you will be able to do what I did.”

Rakonath adjusted the blade. The larger section of the sword stuck out from his teeth, and a bite caused the blade to fall to the ground, clattering against the stone.

Thrumming, the silver dragon quickly swallowed the hilt and bent his neck, once more picking the blade up off the stone.

“That is a sight to behold,” Max said as he picked up the chest and stored it. “As much as I want to stay and spend more time with you two, I need to return to my friends. I’ll see if I can’t bring you both a treat the next time I come in a week or two.”

Choking on the blade, Rakonath spat it out, leaving it on the ground as he moved to where Max stood.

“Thank you again. It is easier to sense you now, even though you are farther away than before. Being able to do that provides me a little comfort. Tell me, can you do the same?”

Shaking his head, Max reached out and scratched the scales under his wet jaw.

“No… I wish I could, but perhaps in time, it will happen. Right now when I’m close I can, but the moment I leave, it’s like something blocks you from me.”

“Give it time, you two,” Aerthen said. “As you both grow, the bond should become stronger as well. Perhaps the more time spent together, the quicker it will grow.”

“Then I’ll have to make a point to come as often as I can and spend a little more time with you.”

Rakonath pushed his head past Max’s shoulder and drew close, wrapping his body against him.

“Hurry back and be safe.”

The silver dragon stepped back, and Max could have sworn he saw what looked like water forming at the edges of its eyes.

“I shall. Grow strong, my friend.”

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