The first light of dawn revealed itself, shining down on the mountainous Void Nest, casting a soft, golden hue over the otherworldly landscape. Aella stirred, her consciousness drifting back to the realm of wakefulness, guided by the gentle caress of the early sun on her skin. However, it wasn’t just the sunlight that roused her. There was a peculiar sensation tugging at her ears, disrupting her peace.
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With a sudden start, Aella’s eyes shot open, her gaze landing on the system notification before falling upon the source of the disturbance, a tiny, energetic dragon nestled against her, its inquisitive eyes fixated on her ears. She couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at the sight. As she reached out to pick up the dragon, intending to inspect it more closely, its small jaws latched onto her fingers, nibbling playfully.
“Ouch! Oi, Shit. Watch the teeth. That’s a declaration of war where I’m from!” Aella shouted as she shook the tiny reptile off of her hand. The dragon fell a short distance but cared little as it immediately changed its target.
Aella’s eyes widened in realization as the dragon’s sharp teeth began to nibble on her tail. She tried to squirm away, but the persistent creature clung on, determined to… Eat its partner?
That being said, Aella would be lying if she said this wasn’t amusing. It took a certain kind of stupidity or ballsiness to try and eat her, two things she respected greatly.
Jumping into the air with the help of the wind and running around at a high speed, she tried to shake the little freak off of her but to no avail. While he was incapable of doing any serious damage to her fur thanks to Mana reinforcement, he had a really good grip.
“Seraphina! Help me! He won’t let goo!” Aella called out; her voice laced with a mix of panic and amusement as she ran the young black-winged Angel.
Seraphina, along with Aetherion and her newly awakened parents, who regained their wits a few hours ago, watched the scene unfold, a blend of curiosity and amusement in their eyes. They observed as Aella attempted to escape her tiny dragon’s enthusiastic “Exploration”. The little guy, completely oblivious to Aella’s attempts to evade his playful bites, continued to chase after her tail with unwavering determination.
“A-are you sure she’s the one who saved us?” Seraphina’s mother questioned Seraphina herself, quickly nodding.
“Yes! I saw it with my own eyes! Is Mama doubting me?” Seraphina glared at her mother.
“No, no. Not at all, dear.” She responded with a defeated sigh.
With a mischievous glint in its eyes, Storm suddenly changed targets for the third time, this time setting its sights on Aetherion, the much larger dragon that stood nearby, exuding a regal aura. The little guy charged forward with all the bravery a tiny dragon could muster, attempting to take on the significantly larger and more powerful Aetherion.
The recipient of this attack, however, Aetherion, simply observed the tiny assailant with a bemused expression. When Aella’s dragon lunged, attempting to deliver a heroic attack, Aetherion just ignored it like he didn’t even notice the attack happen. The Auilanthros Stormweaver, undeterred by its failure, tried again, only to meet the same result.
The sight was both endearing and comical, a stark contrast between the tiny, enthusiastic gremlin and the serene, larger Aetherion. Despite his lack of success in his endeavors, its spirit remained unbroken, and it continued its attempts, fueled by determination and curiosity.
“Little guy’s got gusto, I’ll give him that.” Aella sighed, checking to see if she was missing any fur from her tail or ears.
Seraphina couldn’t help but laugh at the scene, finding the interaction between the two dragons utterly charming. “Be careful not to hurt yourself, little… Err… Aella! What’s its name?” she paused, realizing that
“You have the [Apprasial] skill, don’t you?” Aella questioned. Every human who was partnered with a Dragon had access to the System but a worse version than what she and Seraphina had.
On top of gaining intrinsic skills from your biological changes like Aella’s [Foxfire] and [Transformation], all Naturalis got to put in points however they saw fit and also gained the [Apprasial] skill.
“Ah,” Seraphina sounded surprised, hitting her hands together as she remembered her own abilities. “I forgot…”
Aella decided not to question it as she walked toward the group, opening her status and furthering into her dragon’s panel.
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Aella Rossi | Foxin | Baby Dragon
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EXP: 10,100 | Level 10 (4%) | Stat Points: 25 | Skill Points 9
Dragon Slots: 1 used, 0 remaining
Dragon Core: Auilanthros Stormweaver | Rank: 1
Health: 1500/1500 | Mana: 14500/14500 | Stamina 798/800
Traits: 1 Tail | Whirlwind Maestra
Dragon Skills: [Dragon’s Breath] | [Electricity Manipulation] | [Water Manipulation]
Personal Skills: [Foxfire LV 1] | [Transformation LV 1] | [Appraisal LV 1] | [Whirlwind Maestra LV 1]
STR: 5 | DEX: 5 | SPI: 25 | AGI: 15 | MND: 5 | CHA: 5
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Auilanthros Stormweaver | Rank 1
Element: Storm(Water/Lightning)
Primary stat(s): SPI, STR, AGI
Likes: Fighting, Eating, Exploring
Favorite food: Unknown
General Rating: E+
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“Yeah, you’re name is way too long. Stormy it is~” Aella hummed. “I’ll deal with the stat points later, and it’d be nice if it told me what leveling skills did.” She then complained.
She knew it made them better. That much was obvious, but she would adore knowing the specifics. Until she’s required to spend her skill points, she’s saving up to level her [Whirlwind Maestra] skill as she can’t possibly imagine what would improve about it.
That aside, she glanced at Stormy one more time before shaking her head and turning her attention to the human adults.
The Auilanthros Stormweaver Was dark blue with black armored scales around its limbs and a lighter blue glow protruding from its abdomen and head, of which the scales looked like a crown of sorts and winged armor. He had 3 front legs, 2 back legs, and 2 tails, along with his two draconic wings.
As she approached, a kind, warm smile graced her lips. The couple looked at her with gratitude, their eyes reflecting the relief of their daughter being safe.
“Thank you for saving us and Sera. I’m Blair, and this is my husband, Indigo,” Seraphina’s mother said, her voice filled with genuine appreciation but also a small hint of skepticism. “We owe you our lives.”
“No,” Aella stated immediately. “Don’t go saying this like that unless you’re ready to actually die for me… That was an entire ordeal in the past…” Aella mumbled to herself.
Clearing her throat and waving her hand dismissively, she continued. “It was nothing. I can’t just see people getting hurt right in front of me and not do anything, especially when I’m fully capable of stopping it. Plus, now that I know that theirs a cult hunting my kind down, that simply doubles the reason why I had to step in.”
With thanks out of the way, the atmosphere turned slightly more serious as Seraphina’s father, his expression thoughtful, spoke up. “You’re a Naturalis like Sera? Shouldn’t the chance of multiple being in the same city be next to none?”
Aella nodded, acknowledging the rarity of their situation. “Statistically speaking, yes. I have to imagine the real number there is far higher than anyone is willing to say for… Well, obvious reasons, I’d assume. Further, I think some of us can just do this.”
Without saying another word, Aella shrugged and activated her [Transformation] skill, her inhuman features vanishing from the site.
As the family looked in awe at Aella’s ability to hide her true self, she thought back to the prophecy that those cultists mentioned.
‘It very well might function the same way in this world as my own. In which case, if I stay near Seraphina, life should seldom be boring.’
Back home, prophecies were not only often self-fulfilling but also intrinsically linked to the world, and this was especially present in prophecies related to people like now.
In other words, if Seraphina was truly meant to become a demon lord, she’d need to find the demons to rule over. In this case, Aella assumed the demons to be other Naturalis.
“You’re implying there are more Naturalis in the city?” Blair questioned.
“I’m guessing they’re more Naturalis in the city. That’d explain why me and my family weren’t the only people who got dragged into this… Mess?” Aella corrected. “Speaking of, despite this being an Abyss Nest, I haven’t seen any Abyss Kin around. How odd…”
Aella’s words implied that this Abyss Nest was artificially created, but she wasn’t even sure if that was possible. The more likely and realistic answer was that those Cultists had a way to predict where Abyss Nests were going to appear and use that to execute their plans, but that was less interesting to her, so it couldn’t be the case.
‘That being said… I should have kept a few of those bugs alive to examine… Even now, that situation doesn’t add up properly no matter what angle I look at it from.’ She lamented inwardly.
At the mention of Aella’s parents, Seraphina’s eyes lit up. “Eh? Your Mama and Papa are here too? Where? Where?”
Aella shrugged once again. “North? Maybe? That was last night, though, and it’ll take some time before the wind can find them again.”
“You got split up from them? Such a young child was left alone… Honey, we should go with her to find her parents. It’s the least we can do for her.” Indigo worried.
Blair thought about it for a few moments, only for Seraphina to start cheering in agreement with her father, the prior thereafter agreeing. Much to the bewilderment of Aella.
‘Have they just been ignoring me, talking like a fully grown-ass adult? I haven’t been trying to hide my mental age because I couldn’t care less about people who aren’t my parents, but are they just selectively ignoring me, or are they that dense?’
Whatever the answer to her question was didn’t matter all that much to her. This made her job easier, at the very least, making her not look for Seraphina after they got out of here