Chapter 81: The Dragonian Awakens 2
The baby dragonian just blinked, its gaze unwavering. Its large, intelligent eyes, the color of molten gold, were fixed on me.
"Papa," it said once more, its voice a small, clear sound filled with an innocent, unshakeable certainty. The word was a declaration, a fundamental truth that it seemed to know instinctively.
I sighed, a wave of resignation washing over me. This was a battle I was destined to lose. The little dragon had chosen its word, and nothing I said would change it. "This is going to take some time," I muttered, but the frustration was gone, replaced by an overwhelming sense of affection. The sheer absurdity of the situation a gamer reincarnated into a fantasy world, now arguing with a newborn dragon about parenthood was almost laughable.
"Adorable," I said, a soft, warm smile spreading across my face as I gently hugged the baby dragonian, who tried to resist my embrace with a series of tiny, indignant squirms. Its little claws, no bigger than my fingernails, poked at my palm, but they were more like kitten paws than a monster’s talons.
Its scales were still soft and fluffy to the touch, like new leather, but I knew what they were destined to become a hardened, impenetrable armor capable of stopping any attack once it grew up. My heart swelled with a fierce, protective pride. I had done it. I had risked everything my mana, my blood, my life and I had won. The reward was beyond my wildest dreams. I hadn’t just gotten a familiar. I had gotten a family.
I held the tiny creature in my hands, its fiery scales soft against my skin, a testament to its youth. The moment was surreal. An SS-class familiar, a baby dragonian, was now mine. But a familiar needed a name, a true name that would bind us together.
"What name should I give it?" I pondered aloud, a thousand names racing through my mind Blaze, Ignis, Draco. None of them felt right.
Aang! The baby dragonian chirped, its voice a high-pitched squeal.
The sound, the unique noise it made, was the perfect answer. It was simple, pure, and uniquely its own. "Okay, let’s go with that," I said, a wide grin spreading across my face. "Your name from now on is... Kae Vi-rel." The name was a playful twist on my own, a small private joke between the two of us, a testament to our new bond.
Aang! Kae Vi-rel chirped again, as if in approval. Its tiny wings fluttered excitedly, a faint, golden dust shaking loose from them.
This was the moment of truth. I needed to know what this little creature was truly capable of. I activated one of my most powerful abilities, a skill I’d been saving for a moment just like this.
Ding! [Using True Scan E/EX on Kae Vi-rel]
A small flicker of energy washed over the baby dragonian, a silent, imperceptible pulse of magic.
Ding! [Displaying the information of Kae Vi-rel]
A holographic status window appeared before my eyes, displaying a set of stats that made my jaw drop. The numbers were staggering, a testament to the fact that this was not a mere beast, but a being of immense, untamed power.
Status Window
Name: Kae Vi-rel
Stats:
Strength: 30
Magic: 72
Speed: 30
Mental: 55
Agility: 30
IQ: 6
Stamina: 30
Charm: 50
Potential: 412/1000
Skills
??????
??????
Dragon Heart [A/SS]
Dragon Kin [A/SS]
My gaze lingered on the stats, the sheer, raw power of the numbers overwhelming me. "Wow," I whispered, the word barely a breath. "I can’t believe these stats for just a newborn dragonian. They can’t even be compared to a human’s." A human with a Magic stat of 72 would be a magical prodigy, a top-tier hero-in-training, but a newborn to have that kind of potential was simply unheard of. The IQ of 6 was a bit concerning, but I knew from the game that it was common for familiar monsters to have low intelligence at birth, relying purely on instinct. They would get smarter as they grew. And the Charm stat of 50? That was just pure gold. It meant that even a monster like this could be incredibly appealing to others.
But the stats were just the beginning. The real treasures were the skills. Dragon Heart and Dragon Kin were at an astonishing A/SS rank, meaning they would only grow stronger, but what truly caught my attention were the two skills hidden by question marks. My True Scan was an incredible ability, but even it couldn’t fully decipher them. This meant they were either legendary, or an entirely new kind of skill that the system had no data on. The possibilities were endless. They could be anything from a form of flight to a passive aura of fire.
This was a new path, a new future. I felt a surge of adrenaline, a triumphant laugh bubbling up in my chest. "Hehehe, this is the best opportunity in this game-play," I said, a genuine, joyful sound that came from the depths of my soul. The gamble had paid off beyond my wildest dreams. I had bet everything on a single, legendary egg, and in return, I had received a companion with the potential to become a god-tier familiar.
My vision blurred, the room swaying around me. I had forgotten. The exhaustion. I had pushed my body and mana to their absolute limits, and the reality of my physical state was catching up to me. The triumphant grin on my face faded, replaced by a dazed, weary look. The world started to spin, a slow, nauseating vortex of pain and exhaustion. My legs buckled, and I felt myself falling.
"Kael Vi-rel," Hay’s voice came from a distance, sounding fuzzy and distorted. It was like I was underwater. I could hear him, but the words felt far away. "Kael Vi-rel collapsed just a few minutes ago." My body, having endured the rigors of the hatching ritual, had finally given in. I had poured my essence into the ritual, and now, my body was demanding its rest.
Aang! Kae Vi-rel chirped, a worried sound now, as the tiny creature nudged my face with its snout, its warm breath a gentle comfort in the chaos of my mind. It was trying to wake me, a tiny guardian already fulfilling its purpose.
"Don’t worry," Hay said, his voice now clearer, a firm, reassuring presence. "He just needs some rest." He gently lifted the baby dragonian and placed it in the makeshift nest I had prepared for it, a bundle of soft blankets I had scrounged up earlier. The tiny dragon settled in, its chest rising and falling with quiet contentment.
Zzzz...
I had dozed off just like that, the moment my head hit the pillow, completely and utterly drained. I must have actually strained myself more than I had thought. The pain was gone, replaced by a deep, bone-weary exhaustion that felt like a hundred-pound weight on my chest.
When I woke up, the first thing I did was check the forum for any messages. I had recorded the entire process, and I knew the video would be a hit. The fame, the attention, it was all secondary. What mattered were the game points. I could make anything I wanted to get game points. Fame and popularity meant resources, and resources meant power.
Scrolling through the feed, I saw the early reactions to my video. The comments were a flurry of disbelief and awe.
1 hour ago Kael Vi-rel always posts unique videos. He’s a walking legend.
1 hour ago Hello! This is [Sword Of All] Belester, top 10 guide! Did you guys see that? An SS-class familiar in the first month of the academy! This changes everything!
1 hour ago I knew it! He’ll be scouted very soon! That kind of potential can’t be hidden for long.
55 minutes ago The academy’s students can’t get scouted now. Not with the new rules. But Kael Vi-rel is a different beast entirely. They’ll make an exception for him.
"Hmm," I mused, a small, satisfied smile playing on my lips. "I’ve already gotten scouting offers coming in. The reaction this time is not bad, but what would you expect if you see a dragon egg?" The sheer novelty of the video was sure to break the internet, or at least the school’s online community. And then came the most important notifications.
Ding! [You have received 4000 game points.]
Ding! [Your luck has been applied. You have received 300 game points.] Total: 4300
My eyes lit up, the fatigue momentarily forgotten. "I collected a lot of game points," I said, a greedy, triumphant tone in my voice. "Now I can buy some random boxes." I had a newfound fortune, a digital currency that was the key to my future, and I knew exactly how to spend it. The gacha system was my best friend. The more I gambled, the more likely I was to get something truly powerful.