Chapter 14

I woke up the next morning curled around my hoard, which was mostly silver coins with a few trinkets scattered in. Hey, I’m still just a youngling—I have plenty of time to gather more, right?

The spell I was working on was still within reach here. It’s a helpful one, allowing me to see a person or creature’s level. You can’t just see it outright; you have to sense how strong they are through their mana. Even so, it has its limitations if they hide their mana or aren’t particularly mana-intensive beings. So, I’ve been working on a spell through natural magic, which is a type of magic that doesn’t fall into any other category. It’s usually used for day-to-day spells like *Mage Hand*, but the one I’m focused on is *Inspect*.

*Inspect* works by sending neutral magic into the target, identifying them, though it won’t work on anything significantly stronger than you. Dragons usually don’t bother learning it since we’re used to being at the top of the food chain, but I find it to be quite useful. It’s also a challenging spell to perfect. A weak version of *Inspect* might only give vague information about a target’s level, which makes it seem like a waste of time to most dragons. But I see its value, especially when I need to assess something carefully during a fight. And it should be easier for me—I am, after all, blessed by mana.

I focused on the mana in the area, not the elements, just pure mana in its raw form. I pushed it into myself, filling every part of me, trying to uncover more about my own being. Generally, this spell is easy to use on oneself since we know ourselves well. I continued practicing until finally: *Name: Azuron. Race: Blue Dragon. Sex: Male.* The spell activated, though at this stage, it only revealed basic information. But eventually, as I develop the spell further, I’ll be able to see things like creature levels, affinities for mana, known spells, and more. With enough mastery, one could learn everything about their opponent—but that level of mastery is rare. Only the most gifted beings in mana ever reach it. I, however, am one of those gifted beings, and reaching that level is one of my goals.

I practiced for weeks until I could see my name, race, gender, affinity, and spells. I discovered that I was already Tier 7, almost Tier 8, which is stronger than most gold dragons my age. The average young blue dragon is only Tier 5. During this time, I also thought of another useful spell I could learn: shapeshifting. Most dragons wait until adulthood for this because it’s incredibly difficult to change your race. The easiest forms for me would be either a human or a high kobold, both of which would allow me to interact with other races. Humans, because of my past life, and high kobolds, since they resemble mini-dragons but are bipedal. Though considered a monster race, kobolds are generally accepted in cities built by more civilized races.

So, I began practicing by shrinking myself a little at a time until I reached the size of a typical blue dragon. One day, while practicing in my lair, I sensed Vaelrath’s dragon might approaching. A dragon’s might is like flexing your aura, something that can terrify other races into fleeing or even kill them if the power gap is large enough. But for dragons, it’s a way of communicating—either a warning or a way of announcing your presence. Each dragon has their own unique aura, and I recognized Vaelrath’s instantly. I responded with my own might, signaling that he could come in. I returned to my original size and glanced at him as he entered.

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Vaelrath and my siblings, along with other dragons from the clan, still come to me for magical advice from time to time.

“Hey, Azuron! How’re you doing?” Vaelrath greeted me, dragging out the word “doing” with a casual grin.

“I’m doing well, just practicing my transformation magic,” I replied.

“Blah, still working on that so you can visit other races? What’s so interesting about them, anyway?” he said, unimpressed.

I knew he’d eventually want to go exploring like most blue dragons do once they reach adolescence. It’s natural for us to want independence, and Vaelrath might not stay with the clan much longer. Our mother told me as much when I was younger.

“It’s not just about visiting other races. It’s also about enlarging my size for combat. Plus, the other races have knowledge—magic books and insights on all the types of magic,” I said, my voice picking up with excitement at the thought. The reason I’ve been doing so well is that blue dragons typically use water, lightning, ground, and air magic, and I have the clan’s memories to build on, even if they’re a bit sparse. With my abnormal magical abilities, I’ve been able to expand on those memories into my own spells. A normal dragon would take much longer to learn water magic, for instance. But when it comes to other elements, the memories are almost nonexistent, so I have to work much harder to form a foundation. I’m sticking to the easier elements for now.

“Blah, you and your freakish magic abilities. Oh, by the way, could you help me with this spell? I just can’t seem to get it down,” he said, and I agreed, helping him with a ground spell.

This kind of thing went on for a while. The younger dragons came to me for help, though the adults didn’t since they had greater magic and their pride wouldn’t allow them to seek aid from someone so much younger. Nimbra still came by often, flirting with me at nearly every opportunity. Dragons don’t really care about age like other species do. A wyrm could mate with an adolescent if it wanted, though there might be some compatibility issues. Xytherion would also visit, though only for air magic. He was the serious type—always gruff and silent.

One day, I was lounging on a rock by the beach, sunbathing with Nimbra by my side, our tails intertwined. Vaelrath approached from behind, trying to startle us, but we sensed him beforehand.

“What do you want, Vaelrath?” Nimbra asked, clearly irritated that he had ruined our peaceful moment.

“Oh, nothing. Just noticed how cozy you two are getting. Let me know when you finally, you know... do it,” he teased with a mischievous grin.

I blushed, stammering, “W-what?”

Nimbra just glared at him, her patience wearing thin. “Tell us what you really came here for, or I’ll tear you apart,” she threatened.

“Alright, alright, no need to get feisty,” he said, raising his Paws in mock surrender. “I was flying over the ocean, enjoying the breeze, when I stumbled across a pirate base.”

“A pirate base?” Nimbra asked, her interest piqued.

“Yes! I told our siblings and Xytherion, and we’re planning to raid it. Just imagine the treasure!” he said, his eyes practically glowing with excitement.

I thought for a moment, imagining the piles of gold. I could see the greed in Vaelrath’s eyes as well.

“A pirate base? Oh, I like that idea,” Nimbra said, unfurling her tail from mine and strutting off. I stared after her in disbelief. She had just made the decision for me.

But honestly, I would’ve agreed anyway. Just imagining the treasure they had—surely gold!—made my mouth water. While I’m nicer than most chromatic dragons, I’m still a dragon, and the thought of adding to my hoard was too tempting to resist. So, I followed her and Vaelrath to where Zalyndre, Zarothan, and Xytherion were waiting.

“Alright, here’s the plan. We wait until nightfall, then we take off,” Zarothan explained. We waited until darkness settled in, and then Vaelrath led the way.

I was ready. Ready to raid the base, claim my treasure, and maybe even see some of my former race—humans—once again.