Chapter 80: The Dragonian Awakens 1
My hand fell from the Status Window, and I turned to face the reality of the situation. The air in the room, once light and filled with ambition, now felt heavy with my own resolve. I walked to the small table and gestured toward the bed. Several vials glimmered faintly in the light potions I had both purchased and painstakingly brewed with my own hands. I had poured my time, my game points, and a fair amount of blood, sweat, and tears into acquiring them.
"I used a lot of game points I got today to buy these," I explained to Hay, my faithful retainer, picking up one of the potions and tilting it in my hand. It was a mana restoration potion, far more potent than the ones sold to regular students. "Plus, the ones I managed to make myself in the alchemy room."
Hay frowned, his gaze flickering from the vials to my face. His loyalty was unwavering, but so was his concern. He knew the risks. He knew what a reckless endeavor this was, but his fear couldn’t overpower his sworn duty to me. He simply watched, his gaze fixed on my every move, a silent guardian in the stillness of the room.
I saw the question in his eyes was this worth it? I didn’t hesitate to answer it.
"This much isn’t a waste at all," I added firmly. This wasn’t just a simple experiment. This was the key to my survival, to my future. It was the moment I would change the course of my destiny.
With that, I moved toward my desk and tapped the codex storage, a function of my system that allowed me to store and retrieve items from a personal, digital space. As I did, a single object appeared on the surface, its presence so profound it seemed to radiate a silent, contained storm of power.
A dragon egg.
Its shell was a deep crimson, veins of golden light running across it like cracks in molten stone. Even sealed within its ancient form, its presence was overwhelming, a contained storm of raw power that thrummed in the air. This wasn’t just an item; it was a promise, a future wrapped in a fragile shell.
"Then, shall we get started?" I whispered, almost reverently, a thrill of anticipation shooting through me.
Hay gasped softly, staring at the egg. He knew what I was about to do. The legendary ritual. "You’re really doing this now?" he asked, his voice a mix of awe and terror.
"Yes." I nodded, my heartbeat quickening with anticipation. My life had been leading up to this moment. All the grinding, all the sacrifices, all the small victories had led me to this room, to this desk, and to this egg.
I carefully placed the egg on the desk, the wood beneath it creaking under its weight, a small protest against the sheer mass and energy it held. I had to document this. I had to record the moment I seized control of my fate.
"The number of people who are going to watch this video... is going to be crazy," I said, a small grin tugging at the corner of my lips. My system had a function to record events, and this one would be the first I used it on. The old me, the one from my previous life, would never have done something like this. But this was a new life, a new beginning.
Because this wasn’t just about hatching a dragon. This was about staking my claim on a future that was mine alone. The world had a script for me, a hero’s journey laid out by others. But I would write my own.
And this time, I wasn’t going to let anyone misunderstand me.
2 hours later, the world was a dizzying blur.
My bones were tingling non-stop, and my head felt like it was spinning on an axis, my stomach lurching with every passing second. I had to hold myself up with both hands on the desk, my knuckles white with strain. "I am dizzy," I managed to say to no one in particular, my voice a hoarse whisper. My companion, Kael Vi-rel, a fellow cadet who had agreed to assist me, was in an even worse state. He was on his hands and knees, looking as if he was about to vomit at any moment.
He had lent his immense mana reserves to the process, a feat that would have drained even a seasoned A-class hero. The pain I was feeling, the raw, agonizing burn of mana exhaustion, was a hundred times worse for him.
"This is insane," Kael groaned, his face a pale mask of suffering. "I feel like I’m going to pass out."
But even in my pain, the system notifications were a beacon of hope.
Ding!
[The Dragon Egg has turned into the egg of a baby dragonian due to the influence of the golden dust]
Ding!
[The dragonian egg(SS) has absorbed the Mana]
Ding!
[The dragonian egg(SS) has absorbed the blood]
Ding!
[The dragonian egg(SS) has absorbed the mana]
Each ding was a testament to the fact that it was working. I had given it everything, my blood, my mana, and now, my entire body was paying the price.
Ding!
[You are under [Mana exhaustion state] due to the excessive Mana consumption]
Ding!
[You have lost a huge amount of blood]
I bit down on my lip, the metallic taste of blood barely registering on my tongue. My vision swam, but the next few dings brought a surge of relief.
Ding!
[Your stamina has been recovered with a vitality potion]
Ding!
[Your stamina has been recovered with a vitality potion]
Ding!
[Your Mana has been restored with a vitality potion]
Ding!
[Your Mana has been restored with a vitality potion]
The potions I had so carefully purchased and brewed were doing their job, fighting against the physical toll of the ritual. The familiar burning sensation of my restored mana and the cool rush of the vitality potion were a welcome relief, a sign that I was not done yet.
"But... but this kind of pain is nothing compared to the huge reward I will receive after hatching it," I said, a faint smile touching my lips. My voice was trembling, but the conviction in my words was absolute. "Although I have used up all the vitality potions and the rest of the potions I bought."
The stakes were high, and I had gambled everything.
A new notification rang out, and my heart hammered against my ribs.
Ding!
[The egg of a baby dragonian (SS) is about to hatch]
Ding!
[The egg of a baby dragonian (SS) is hatching]
A small crack appeared on the crimson surface of the egg, followed by a faint sound.
Crack... crack.
"Phew... finally," I breathed out, the words a silent prayer of relief.
It might have looked easy, hatching a dragonian egg, but dozens of my blood drops had been used for it. It was a legendary feat, something that required A-class heroes to pour their mana to the point of exhaustion.
Crack... crack.
The sound grew louder, more insistent.
"Yes... finally... you can do it," I said, a surge of adrenaline coursing through me. "Fighting!" I yelled out, the last word a battle cry to the small, unhatched creature. "You are doing well!"
The hatching process, as the ancient texts had warned, had to be done by the baby itself. All I could do was provide the fuel for its birth. And as if in response to my encouragement, it started absorbing the mana in the surrounding area, slowly but surely, even though it had not fully hatched yet.
Crack... crack.
The sound of the shell breaking was a symphony to my ears. I knew this was a high-stakes gamble, but with every crack, I knew it was paying off. "As expected of a dragon egg with an (SS) rank," I whispered, awe-struck.
The baby dragonian finally burst out of its shell, a small, perfect creature with scales of a brilliant crimson. It was tiny, no bigger than my palm, with a set of budding wings and a tiny, fierce roar.
Aang!
It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.
Ding!
[The egg of a baby dragonian (SS) has hatched]
I gently lifted the tiny creature into my hands, my heart swelling with a mix of exhaustion and absolute wonder. "Ha... it’s so cute," I said, a genuine, joyful smile spreading across my face.
Aang! the baby dragonian said, its large, intelligent eyes blinking slowly as it looked up at me.
Aang!
And then, it happened. The impossible, the moment I had only dreamed of.
"Papa," the baby dragonian said, its voice a small, clear sound in the silent room.
I froze, the word echoing in my head. "Oh... it’s already talking? But I can’t be a father..." I had to set the record straight. I was its master, not its parent. "Call me Kael," I insisted.