Petals? Fragrance?

Lance furrowed his brows. He had simply cleaned off the blood scent from his meal in a hot spring on one of the tower’s floors.

The spring water was just ordinary hot water with a faint sulfur smell. There were no petals or anything else that would produce a fragrance.

Lance raised his hand and sniffed his arm, but he couldn’t detect any strange odor.

Mira watched his actions and couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Alright, alright, maybe I just misheard," Mira said, redirecting her attention back to her study notes.

Though she could still clearly sense the faint scent emanating from Lance, she didn’t bring it up again.

The blue dragon frowned.

He hadn’t noticed any unusual smell.

The lesson only went until ten o'clock, after which Mira needed to sleep.

Lance, however, stayed in the library to sort through the scrolls they had used.

He called the origami spirit over. "Do I have a strange smell?"

The origami spirit’s body stiffened for a moment. "Master, I can’t detect any smell." It was just an ordinary paper figure. Even though its body had been infused with magic a few times, it definitely couldn’t identify something as complicated as a scent.

Lance waved his hand.

"Go play."

The origami spirit awkwardly flew away, carrying with it the books that Lance had asked it to dispose of.

"Wait." Lance called out, stopping the origami spirit. "Bring me the book on top."

The origami spirit returned and handed him the book related to dragons.

Mira’s curiosities were truly strange. Lance lowered his eyes.

Though he was a giant dragon, he understood very little about his own body. The brass dragons, as the scholars of dragonkind, knew everything about these matters.

Blue dragons were known for their love of learning. Lance told himself this as he opened the book that Mira had read.

He had only learned a little from the black dragons about certain special periods experienced by dragons.

Lance had several enchanting and beautiful female attendants, most of whom came from non-human species. In other words, humans could not bear the presence of a giant dragon, and even powerful spellcasters could not form connections with them.

The brass dragons hadn’t made it very clear in their writings, only vaguely mentioning that humans were more fragile than they had imagined. Humans’ strength lay in their intelligence, not other abilities.

As for the transformations that occurred within dragonkind, the observations mentioned that the most obvious changes were the rise in body temperature, the decline in memory, and the change in body odor. During this period of temperature increase, dragons could unknowingly roast small creatures that came too close.

Editor’s Note: During the experiments, no small animals were willing to approach the dragon during its special period. The researchers had to forcibly place the animals near the dragon.

Lance turned the page.

The brass dragons were still the same, always conducting strange experiments to prove bizarre conclusions. Fortunately, they lived in remote pockets of space-time, away from other species. Otherwise, they would cause a lot of trouble.

The next section of the book discussed the hatching of dragon eggs. Dragon eggs were incredibly fragile in their first two hundred years, and they couldn’t be far from their mothers. This period was also crucial for the development of the young dragons.

Typically, female dragons raised their offspring alone, as the male dragons didn’t care for their unborn children. If a female dragon was too playful, the young dragon could die within its protective shell.

Once the egg survived this period, it was up to the dragon hatchling to decide when to break free. At this stage, the young dragons had completed their development and gained the ability to think independently. Although still inside the egg, they could sense changes in their surroundings. However, some dragon hatchlings were reluctant to leave their eggs. This period could last anywhere from two years to eight hundred years.

The brass dragons suggested that new mother dragons could intimidate their hatchlings to encourage them to break out of their shells sooner, or else they’d be treated as food.

Lance knew this process well. When he was still in his egg, he didn’t want to come out because he didn’t like his mother’s new lover. He felt that the man’s intentions weren’t pure and might harm both him and his mother. So, he stayed hidden in his egg, hoping his mother would focus more on taking care of him instead of being involved with that manipulative human man.

But eventually, his mother scared him by saying she would throw his egg off the tower if he didn’t come out. Lance had no choice but to give in, and that night, he crawled out of his egg.

So this was what that damn book taught.

Lance closed the book with a blank expression.

Ever since he crawled out of his egg and became an independent young dragon, his mother had gone off to romance that detestable new lover.

Thankfully, humans were weak and didn’t leave him with a half-blood sibling. Otherwise, things would have become very troublesome.

Lance’s mother had been tricked by a human into giving up her heart-scaled armor. That man used her dragon scales to create a natural barrier between the human world and the polluted demon lands, earning the title of humanity’s greatest hero.

He might have been the hero who saved humanity, but to a blue dragon, he was an unforgivable enemy.

Ironically, that man didn’t even live long enough to face Lance’s revenge—he died from the inevitable aging of humans.

Fire flickered at Lance’s fingertips, and he set the book alight.

The blue dragon stood up and left the library.

By nature, blue dragons were peaceful, and Lance didn’t hate all humans because of this. However, he couldn’t understand their inherent greed, nor could he forgive the sacrifices caused by their misunderstanding of magic.

His mother shouldn’t have been a victim, and neither should Mira.

He would definitely uncover the secret of the artificial medium to prove that the so-called artificial medium was just a misjudgment driven by ambition.

Mira reviewed the content she had learned yesterday before the meditation class in the morning.

She sat on a small bench, watching the firewood she had stacked in the stove burn.

The flickering flames sparked inspiration in Mira. Lance had said that these feelings, arising from daily life, were a sign that she was deepening her connection with nature.

She stared at the flames, watching the sparks fly, observing the wood curling and charring as it burned, turning from black to complete ash, falling to the bottom of the stove.

Once one piece of firewood turned to ash, her attention shifted to the next piece, repeating the process.

The process of the flames burning the wood, turning it into ash—these were common changes that most people wouldn’t notice. Yet Mira gradually began to sense something extraordinary within them.

Perhaps this was the insight Lance had spoken of, the kind of feeling that couldn’t be described with words, yet brought a sense of peace and genuine joy.

Mira’s reflection abruptly stopped when she smelled the scent of burning.

She straightened up, and everything in front of her seemed to glow red and hot. Her eyes felt uncomfortable from staring at the flames for too long. She had been so focused earlier that she didn’t realize the time passing until her attention shifted elsewhere.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Mira stood up. Using magic, she extinguished the fire, then opened the stew pot. Just as she had imagined, she had forgotten the time, and the contents of the pot were completely dried out.

Sighing, Mira recalled the details from the cooking magic book. She extended her hand, and magic poured from her fingertips. The burnt smell gradually faded, and the food in the pot quickly returned to its normal, edible state.

The spellcaster who had created cooking magic seemed to have frequently encountered the problem of burning food due to forgetting the time, so he specifically invented this more practical spell to restore burnt food back to its edible form.

Mira tasted the food. Although there had been a small mishap, the flavor was still acceptable.

She cleaned everything up and got ready to call Lance for breakfast.

However, after calling his name several times, there was no sound from behind the curtain.

Mira furrowed her brows, staring at the curtain. She raised her voice deliberately. “Lance, I’m coming in.”

Still, there was no response from his room.

Mira cautiously lifted the curtain. Since she had tidied up the bottom of the tower and separated their sleeping areas, Mira hadn’t entered Lance’s half of the space since. Today, however, was a special case.

As she stepped into Lance’s space, her first reaction was the dimness. The light from the gemstone outside seemed to have barely penetrated into Lance’s space. Her second reaction was the strange fragrance filling the room.

It was the same smell she had noticed the previous night, only stronger now. Since the room was airtight, the scent couldn’t disperse, and instead, it clung to the small space.

Mira felt an itch in her nose and reached up to rub it. After a moment, her eyes adjusted to the surrounding darkness, and she quickly locked onto Lance, who was lying on the bed.

He was sunk into the pillow, eyes closed, with his curled eyelashes hanging down, resembling a Sleeping Beauty from a fairy tale.

Mira moved closer to him.

“Lance?” She whispered his name, but received no response.

Why didn’t he light a candle? Mira glanced at the candlestick by the bed and extended her hand. Magic followed her will, igniting the flame, and brightening the small space in front of her.

Perhaps sensing the light, Lance slightly furrowed his brow, but still didn’t seem inclined to open his eyes.

His expression seemed somewhat pained.

Mira looked down at the area around him, noticing that it was filled with scrolls—some completed, others blank and waiting to store magic.

Had Lance been working on these last night? Mira bent down to pick up a scroll and set it aside. She moved closer to the bed and became more certain that the strange fragrance was emanating from him.

Or perhaps it was because Lance had been in this scent for so long that he had grown numb to it. She only noticed how overwhelming it was because she had just entered from outside.

“Lance?” Mira gently called his name. She wasn’t sure if he hadn’t woken up because he had stayed up late working on scrolls. If that were the case, it would be very inconsiderate of him.

He had been the one who told her that spellcasters couldn’t stay up late, that they needed to wake up early to feel the natural changes that occurred with the sunrise. But here he was, sleeping in late...

Mira’s thoughts stopped abruptly when she observed Lance’s condition.

No, something was wrong. He didn’t look well. He seemed to be sick.

Mira quickly extended her hand and placed it on Lance’s forehead. After a moment, she withdrew her hand.

There was nothing unusual. His temperature was about the same as hers.

Mira pouted.

He was just sleeping in and making her worry for nothing.

Once she confirmed that he wasn’t seriously ill, Mira extinguished the candle and quietly left the room.

Lance hadn’t noticed she had been there.

Before the morning meditation class started, Mira arrived early under the Dreaming Tree. Lance arrived right on time. He had changed into a white mage robe and looked to be in good condition.

Mira stared at his face, wondering if he had realized what had happened that morning. If he had, he should have said something on his own, right?

“Lance, you didn’t eat breakfast this morning.” Mira had already seated herself in her usual meditation spot, watching as Lance approached. He spoke up first.

Lance also felt something was odd. In response to Mira’s question, he answered truthfully: “I was working on scrolls last night, so I stayed up late.”

Mira knew that he had been up late working on scrolls.

“It was you who said that spellcasters shouldn’t stay up late.” Mira reminded him, “At sunrise, natural changes occur, and that moment is very important for spellcasters.”

Lance could hear the dissatisfaction in Mira’s voice.

He moved closer. “Will you forgive me?”

Lance didn’t understand why he felt so off. Perhaps it was indeed the strain from carving magic into the scrolls last night that had taken a toll on him.

“It’s time to meditate,” Mira said, looking at him. He looked very different from earlier when she had seen him this morning, and Mira couldn’t put her finger on what exactly felt different.

As he got closer, the faint fragrance wafted over again, surrounding her.

Perhaps because the environment was now more open, the smell wasn’t as overpowering as it had been earlier in the morning. Now, she could still breathe easily, while before, it had almost overwhelmed her.

“Yes,” Lance agreed with her, “It’s time to start meditating.”

The rest of the day was no different from any other.

Mira closed her eyes and, following Lance's guidance, began to explore her inner power.

At first, she floated in the clouds, then descended, slowly drifting down from the high sky to the sea level, where she once again saw the energy sea that belonged to her.

She sank from the sea level, entering the shallow sea, then the deep sea. Everything was as usual—comfortable and natural. She felt the surge of energy and tried to control the part of it that she could.

As time passed with Lance guiding her meditation, Mira could feel her control over spells growing stronger.

In a daze, deep in the sea, she saw the flames from the morning, saw the process of wood turning to ash. Ordinary images that appeared in her mind at other times, but in this world, she clearly saw the flow and change of energy within them.

Mira reached out, attempting to touch that energy in this world, but the flames burned her.

The inner world was supposed to be a place where no sensation was felt.

Yet the burn felt like a signal. With its release, Mira felt the temperature of the surrounding water rising.

At first, the water felt comfortable, but gradually, this comfort faded, replaced by a scalding heat.

She felt everything around her growing painful. This place no longer felt like the controlled energy sea but had turned into a slow-flowing, scalding-hot magma.

This had never happened before.

Mira was surprised, even feeling sweat trickling down her forehead.

No, during meditation, her perception of the outside world should be dulled.

It wasn’t that her energy sea was malfunctioning, but the environment they were in had changed.

Mira suddenly opened her eyes, as though breaking free from a terrifying nightmare.

She turned her head and immediately saw the cause of everything that was happening.

Lance had his eyes closed, still in a meditative state, but a constant stream of scalding heat was radiating from him. With each breath, this heat reverberated across every inch of the ground beneath the Dreaming Tree.

Even the soft grass blades curled up from the intense energy fluctuations.

Mira was now certain—her feeling this morning had been correct. Lance was indeed sick. Although she didn’t know why this had happened, his condition was definitely not right.

"Lance, Lance."

Mira tried to step forward, calling his name again and again, hoping to wake him from his meditative state.

He kept his eyes closed, still looking calm and peaceful. However, the energy waves around him caused the leaves of the Dreaming Tree to rustle.

Mira cast a protective spell around her body. She tried to approach Lance, but as the high temperature met her frost magic, she watched as the frost around her melted.

She knew Lance had many secrets. Although Mira had an extraordinary curiosity, she knew these secrets were his privacy, and she wouldn’t pry into them. But she never expected that some of these secrets would harm him at times.

He had helped her countless times. Mira didn’t want Lance to get hurt, even though she didn’t know why this high temperature had appeared or why he had suddenly become like this.

She tried to approach Lance. He was so knowledgeable. If she could wake him up, surely they could find a solution, right?

Following Lance's teachings, Mira focused on the fluctuation of her inner energy and used the energy from the sea within her to create one cooling spell after another.

She applied these spells around herself and sent the energy to Lance’s side as well.

Mira didn’t know if this would work, but as the intense heat met the pure ice magic, the surrounding temperature did indeed begin to moderate.

Seizing this opportunity, she came up to Lance, trying to wake him from his meditative state. She shook his arm, and under the external force, his eyes slowly opened.

Mira was startled. She instinctively wanted to pull back, but Lance’s hand gripped her wrist.

So hot.

She tried to struggle, but her strength was no match for his.

His eyes had changed.

From the sky-blue they usually were, they had turned amber, and his pupils had taken on an eerie shape—vertical black slits.

Lance blinked, and the vertical pupils disappeared in an instant, the surrounding heat gradually dissipating as his consciousness returned.

Mira quickly pulled her wrist free from his grasp, but she couldn’t avoid the burn left on her skin.

She smelled the intense fragrance, a scent that nearly overwhelmed her, and felt a heavy dizziness clouding her mind. Even her energy sea seemed to be filled with this indescribable smell.

The moment Lance regained consciousness, he saw Mira stumbling backward.

He had no idea what had happened. He had naturally exited his meditation and was met with this scene.

Lance quickly moved to catch Mira, who was about to fall.

The fragrance made Mira feel lightheaded. After a brief moment, her consciousness started to return, and she saw Lance’s face, filled with regret.

She sat on the ground, and Lance was not far from her. He wore a look of confusion, clearly unable to understand what had just happened.

Mira stared at him.

After a long pause, she asked Lance, "Do you know what happened?"

Lance looked up at her.

His eyes were still sky-blue, as if the strange phenomenon she had seen earlier had been nothing more than a hallucination caused by the overwhelming scent.

Mira couldn’t tell if it was real or just in her mind anymore.

But it was clear that Lance’s hidden secrets had brought about some serious issues.

"You need to give me an explanation," Mira said seriously, staring at Lance. "And tell me how to handle something like this if it happens again."

Lance remained silent.

He hadn’t come up with a reasonable explanation yet.

The blue dragon reluctantly leaned closer to Mira, carefully rolling up her sleeve and looking at the burn on her wrist.

Cool water flowed from his fingertips, gently washing over the burn.

Mira lifted her gaze to observe him.

She saw his forehead, his eyes, then his nose, lips, and finally his jaw.

It was the face she knew well, unchanged.

But the secrets he harbored were so many that Mira had to deceive herself just to ignore them.

Lance treated her burn. Although he didn’t know what Mira had experienced before he woke up, he could imagine the scene.

The words from the book he had read yesterday flashed through his mind, but he had burned that book.

In truth, he didn’t need the book to confirm anything. Lance knew that his first heat period since reaching adulthood had arrived.

He had never encountered anything like this before and didn’t know how to handle it.

He shouldn’t have impulsively burned the book. Now the only thing that could have helped him answer his questions was reduced to ash.

Lance sighed quietly and, with a careful hand, applied ointment to Mira’s wrist.

His actions were gentle, full of a pleading tone, hoping that Mira would overlook this small mistake.

Because this might be the beginning of a long and painful ordeal.

Lance sighed silently, but all of his changes were keenly observed by the sharp-eyed girl.

Mira snorted, "Here’s the deal. I’ll give you one day."

"Have a good excuse ready by tomorrow."