Pov Rafe

So hard to keep my thoughts in order. It was some of the dragon senses in my body that wanted me to bow down to this powerful dragon. There’s no point in staying in my current form; there’s no way I could do anything to him, no matter what form I’m in. So I changed, having to throw off some of my mass, but when I was in human form, those senses were no longer screaming at me to obey.

I watched as the huge dragon shrank in size, and soon, a few meters away, stood a refined man in an elegant suit.

"Tell me about this dungeon you call Father. I would like to learn more," came a voice that matched his appearance perfectly. Then he made two chairs appear and indicated for me to sit. I did so.

"Where are my manners? Before we start, I should introduce myself. You are in the presence of the oldest and strongest dragon still alive. I don’t have any grand names, as I’ve always liked my isolation, but you can call me Ismael the Hidden, as I was once called by my brethren."

"I’m just Rafe." He smiled at that.

"Well, just Rafe, it’s nice to meet someone as unique as you. So tell me, how does this dungeon make something that hasn’t existed before, like you?"

"Because he didn’t make me. He made a place where I would have a chance to come to life."

Ismael didn’t answer back. Instead, he sat back further in the chair, put one leg over the other, and drummed his fingers on his thigh.

"I’m really not understanding how all of this works. There’s no way a dungeon has such freedom. They can’t keep areas hidden; they need to be accessible in some way. Tell me more about your birthplace."

I tried to figure out what he meant by that. Father had so many playrooms, and while some were accessible from the dungeon rooms, most were completely separated from the dungeon rooms. Was that actually true, though? You actually could go to every playroom.

If you were in the dungeon rooms, you would simply need to make it to the real core room, then squeeze past the dungeon core and lower yourself down the opening it was covering, and you would make it to the many tunnels leading to every playroom.

"My birthplace was on the road, with my tribe traveling to a warmer climate during the colder period. When I was young, really young, my mother and I got separated from the tribe. She died protecting me, and the wolves that killed her took me in. I’m still not certain why they did that, but I would have perished otherwise. As for why Father can have secret areas, well, it’s not my secret to tell."

"It seems like you’re not lying to me. I have not heard of a dungeon giving so much freedom; they mostly like to control everything in their grasp. Do you perhaps know why your father, as you keep saying, is so different from other dungeons and has such a unique... let's call it a hobby?"

"I do know. We haven’t spoken much—he's quite busy, as you can imagine—but from what I can tell, from the moment he gained consciousness, he has been able to reason like you and I. As for his hobby, that’s to do with the very beginning of his story." Ismael breathed out slowly and heavily after I said that.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"You are making me more and more curious, and I haven’t felt like that for a really long time. So, am I to understand that you are collecting nesting dragons and perhaps a few male dragons as well to take back to your father, so he could put them in an area where they could live out their lives without having to defend the dungeon against its invaders? And so that he could glimpse my race’s pattern every time one is born, until finally, he could make his own monsters in the image of dragons. Is that the truth of the matter?"

I nodded. Ismael, for the first time since our conversation started, looked away from me and to the horizon. I could only see as far as the darkness has been pushed back because of the ship's device. I could change my eyes into dragon eyes to see further into the darkness, but I didn’t see the need for it.

"My race hangs in the balance, barely keeping up. Every once in a while, hunters come—not to kill those who reach platinum, but on a quest for vengeance. They kill as many nesting dragons as they can, thinning the population even further. Ever since this age began, I have kept myself completely hidden while ensuring that my race doesn't go extinct."

“I am bound to this place, and I am the only reason dragons don’t fly to the four corners of the world. Having such numbers of dragons here is not a good thing; we are territorial creatures, especially in our youth. Because of that, the ratio of males to females is atrocious, but even more concerning is the food supply.”

“They can barely sustain themselves. Dragons shouldn’t be so weak, but they are all malnourished. I like that word—I only recently learned it as a medical condition. There’s so much information out there, but I can barely gather it since I cannot leave this place.”

“But what am I to do with you? While you are still hurting my race’s chances of survival, you are also not simply killing them but instead taking them to another place to live. I was so certain that you were here for vengeance.”

“I should have gathered more information. You know, that’s the problem with getting old—you become so certain of an outcome because you’ve seen a pattern a thousand times before, yet there is always that one time that reminds you to never be certain of your conclusions.”

We simply sat in the chairs. Every so often, he glanced at me, then turned towards the ship, and then looked into the distance once again. An hour must have passed before he spoke again.

"Over one hundred nesting dragons in that ship. It would barely be enough, but it will depend on the size of the area they are released in. They might be able to reproduce enough so that they could continue to keep the legacy of my race alive." Another silence, but this time he spoke sooner.

"You all are already keeping a secret that would get your father killed. But it would be safer for me to just release the dragons back to their nesting areas and kill you all. Yet there is that saying that elf said so long ago—never keep all your eggs in one basket. It took me so long to understand what she meant. But I have protected that one basket for so long. Now perhaps it’s time to take a risk, though I still know so little about this dungeon."

His sharp eyes were now fully focused on me after his last word. I believe his threat that he could end us all without us being able to do anything about it.

"Can’t you come and visit Father to see for yourself? And I believe Father has dedicated a whole playroom just for dragons."

Those sharp eyes focused even more on me. Not just looking at me but looking inside me.

"You said your father wasn’t even platinum rank, what would visiting him accomplish? And I don’t like the sound of a playroom—I don’t want my race to be playthings. I am sorry, Rafe, you are truly unique, but I think it’s simply easier and safer for me to make sure my existence isn’t spread."

"No, wait! Father can handle diamond ranks inside him!" I managed to get out as I watched him about to snap his fingers, and I felt dread just seeing that movement. He stopped and looked at me.

"That should not be possible, yet I do not sense any falsehood." He lowered his hand and breathed out heavily. I used this opportunity to explain more.

I would be telling Father’s secrets, but I was not trying to save my own life—I would gladly give it to protect Father. No, Father needed strong protectors, and I was looking at a diamond-rank dragon who knows how old, whose only goal for a really long time had been to keep his race alive. Please, Father, forgive me, if I am making a mistake, but I must try.

"The playrooms are what he calls entire worlds. There’s one for every floor. Their surface area is bigger than this planet, and entire civilizations rise and fall as he simply watches. He will give the dragon race an entire world that he could make to your specifications. You would just need to go there, and then protect Father when needed as he would protect your race while giving them a home."

Once again, silence was all that greeted me. Eventually, he spoke. “It’s all so fantastic, but to give the future of my entire race to a race of beings as close to gods as we can get? The race that my brethren long ago subjugated. A race that is now merely serving others. I do not believe he would do such a kindness, even if all that happened long before even I was born. Yet, I do not feel any malice or lies from you, and I am damn good at smelling those out.

“But you see, if I were to do what you say, my entire race would end. If I leave, Dragons here would leave, driven by their instincts. The black ocean would also disappear, the best protection that I could give them.”

“I see you’re not surprised by that. Should have expected that. It would still be safer just to kill you all, but I presume you’ll have a way to contact your father. He will most likely seek vengeance afterward if things don’t work out, but so be it. I will get a measure of him before I decide anything.