Draco gazed at the screens he had put aside while he had focused on helping Hikari overcome her mental and emotional difficulties. There were three of them, each more shocking than the last.
｢System to Player Announcement
You have performed an ancient ritual of the Dragonkin: Dragobonding! You and White Dragoness Hikari have become bonded for eternity! You have generated the Divine Quest: Restore the Dragon race!｣
｢Dragobond – Passive skill
Rank: Legendary
Effects:
Passive 1 - Ultimate Compatibility: Copulation between the two Dragons tied by this skill has a 30% increased chance to conceive a child.
Passive 2 - Lifelink: Damage is spread between the two Dragons as long as they are within the same area zone.
Passive 3 - Synergy: The two Dragons are able to display 150% of their respective draconic prowess in combat when in the same area zone.｣
｢Restore the Dragon race – Divine Quest
Description: As one of the two remaining Dragonkin in the world, the task falls on your shoulders to rebuild the pure-blooded Dragon race by any means necessary.
Note:
1. There is no penalty for failure
2. This quest has no time limit
Rewards: Max reputation with the Dragon race, Access to the Divine Draconic Treasury and the Ancestral Dragon City.｣
Draco took a deep breath and closed the screens. The Dragobond was slightly weaker than the Soul Bond with Roma, but that much was a given. After all, the bond he had made with Roma was one of the soul, making it a rather unique existence.
The Dragobond however, was basically the typical marriage ceremony for Dragons, even if it had a much deeper implication. Once one became bonded to another, it was for eternity and couldn't be changed.
Both Draco and Hikari had no qualms about bonding with each other.
Draco because he was a player. No matter how 'bonded' he was with Hikari, Roma or whoever came after, once he removed the Virtua Helmet, all of that became irrelevant.
Hikari because she, more than anyone, was aware of the fact that Draco was quite possibly the only Black Dragon left. She would have to live her life behind that mental barrier if she didn't have a Black Dragon to help her become stronger since she had no offensive capabilities.
She hadn't received the Divine Quest, but nevertheless, she had planned on doing something similar for the continuation of the Dragon race in Boundless' World. This was her new purpose and goal after meeting with Draco.
"Do you know how this Aether Mine came about?" Draco asked Hikari curiously.
Hikari looked at Draco strangely. "It's the by-product of my existence here. Why are you surprised?"
Draco froze.
"The byproduct… of your existence…?" Draco asked slowly.
With his extensive knowledge of the future and the deeper nuances of Boundless, coupled with his Pinnacle Intelligence passive, Draco immediately reached a few conclusions in his mind, each of them with their own scary implications.
Hikari seemed to realize that Draco really had no idea. She observed him quietly and instead of answering, she asked a question of her own.
"Why do you continue to wear your human shell? Wouldn't it be more comfortable to assume your Draconic form?"
Draco couldn't answer her. After all, how was he to say that he was a human that was also a Black Dragon, as opposed to a true Dragon that took human form as Hikari believed?
Eventually, he sighed and shared the details of his bloodline, the Lineages and his relationship with Eva.
Hikari listened along with glistening eyes that were burning with amazement and curiosity. This was her first time hearing of the World of the Gods, which was where the Immortal Adventurers originated.
Any player could talk about the real world to NPCs, but the NPCs would react to this differently depending on their personalities. However, one underlying fact was that they would never question it themselves.
To them, the World of the Gods was a magical and ethereal realm that could not be understood, so they listened to details of it like it was a fairytale.
It was like a person from the modern age being sent back in time to the medieval age. If you told the people of that era stories about the future, they would listen with rapt attention and varying levels of curiosity, but they would label it a 'fanciful' or 'bullshit' at the back of their minds.
Hikari reserved her opinions about Eva, Roma and whoever else Draco was with for later. It was too late as they were already bonded, so she would have to assess the situation for herself and see if she could deal with it or not.
After all, not everyone was crazily obsessed like Eva to allow their significant other to frolic with others, digital or otherwise. Roma was also a bit of a special case as she had never expected to see Draco after they copulated, as was her race's custom.
To her, just being around her soţ was enough for her. Anything else was just icing on the cake, especially since the Soul Bond made her eternally loyal to Draco.
Draco's behavior towards Hikari had changed as his human side had managed to suppress his Draconic side. Normally, the relationship between a Black Dragon and a White Dragon was very… rough.
It was like a master and s.e.x slave, and generations of this act had burned it into the very base instincts of the two species. Some may say it was unfortunate, but that was how it was.
They soon reached the Mayor's Hall and Hikari behaved like a country bumpkin as she ooh-ed and aah-ed at everything she saw. Even before she had been hidden away, she had been extremely sheltered and pampered, so she knew very little of the outside world's culture and ambiance.
Draco led Hikari through the startling number of s.e.xy servants as they went to the office of the Mayor's Hall. As they traversed the hallways, Hikari's expression became extremely weird.
So many females and so poorly dressed…
Draco didn't bother to explain, even though he could feel Hikari's silent gaze on his back. He was not the culprit of this, so he would pretend to be unaware of this even if you were to beat him to death with a toothbrush.
They eventually reached the office, where Draco sat down in the main seat while Hikari sat opposite him. They gazed at each other silently, gathering their questions for each other.
Draco decided to take the lead with the most prudent question on his mind.
"What did you mean by the Aether Mine's presence was a byproduct of your existence?"
Hikari had already heard Draco's situation from his own mouth, so she answered it as best as she could. "Well, true Dragons cannot subsist only on food. We also use Worldly Energy to sustain ourselves and refill our immense power at all times."
"When enough of the Worldly Energy is pulled towards our location, the excess or the useless bits converge to form Aether Crystals. If we stay there long enough, it usually forms a mine."
"Some mines are naturally formed, but many are formed due to the presence of a Dragon nearby. The other races began to covet them for some reason, so eventually, we also began to use Aether Crystals as the basic currency of our race in the past, according to my father."
Draco began to hyperventilate as she spoke, since her words affirmed the most beneficial theory he had come up with. Dragons could mass-produce Aether Crystals!
MY GOD!
This was… this was…
Draco needed to fan himself in order to calm down. In the world of Dragons, Aether Crystals were common and used as a basic currency, but in this era, they were so rare and valuable that the price of one was measured in platinum.
Still, even if a person had one, he would die before he sold it. Aether Crystals just had too many uses and their importance was too great to be wasted in trading.
Draco had been pleased with this mine and planned to make it the central focus of his empire in the game. Yet, the mine turned out to be something that Hikari spawned just by existing.
Of course, he wasn't merely interested in whether Hikari could produce Aether Crystals for him. No, Draco was more excited to find out whether he, with the Source Origin of a Supreme-Ranked Black Dragon, could mass-produce Aether Crystals by himself.
Draco didn't care if it would take three weeks to generate one, as long as he could. If it was indeed possible, he should naturally be able to grow more proficient over time to the point where he could make a hundred in a day.
At that point, Umbra… no, his Divine Empire, could rule the world.
"How do I perform this?" Draco asked solemnly.
Hikari began to speak, but Draco couldn't hear anything she was saying. Instead, it came in the form of a pop-up screen before him.
｢System to Player Announcement
Hikari is transferring the unique Draconic passive skill Aether Production to you. Accept?
Y/N ｣
Draco shivered with excitement. Before he pressed the yes button, he made sure his eyes were correct and his finger was aligned well. If he selected no by mistake, he might just off himself immediately.
Draco selected yes and saw the skill appear before him.
｢Aether Production – Passive skill
Effect: You are able to generate Aetheric Energy at a rate of 1 crystal per hour. Crystals vary in quality depending on the location and rank of the Draconic being.｣
Draco was excited and disappointed at the same time. 1 Aether Crystal per hour was an excellent rate to him, but the fact that he couldn't increase the rate was saddening.
Still, half a loaf was better than none. With this, Draco would be a walking money-making machine. Sure, he could mass-produce Epic items and make money from there, but the time consumption was too high.
With this skill, he could fart about for the rest of his life and receive the equivalent of 1,000 platinum as pocket money in the form of a crystal.
Though, Draco would rather die before selling Aether Crystals.
Hikari saw that Draco seemed to come out of his daze and guessed that he had comprehended the skill. As such, she posed her own most pertinent question.
"What is the current situation of the world?"
Draco paused before he began to explain everything to her, from what he knew as a player and as a reincarnator. He spent over three hours doing so, with a few breaks in between.
Hikari listened to it all with rapt attention. When she was caught up on the state of the world, she seemed depressed and hopeful.
"Null Realm, Metal Dragon clone, Great War, Origin Gods, Rila, Immortal Adventurers…" Hikari mumbled under her breath.
Draco allowed her to digest all the information he had shared as he also prepared his next question, which was an extremely heavy one.
Hikari soon nodded her head as she got a grasp on all she heard. The rest she would have to verify for herself as she traveled around with Draco.
"Who killed the Dragon race and why?" Draco asked slowly.
Hikari had expected this question, so she took a deep breath and spoke with a serious tone.
"It was a man called Sigurd, sometimes also referred to as Siegfried. He claimed that our race was a blight to the world. According to my father, he was not the first one to do so. Most often a victim who had suffered because of one random act of our kind after getting strong enough would try to take revenge. He, however, was different and had that accursed lance forged for the sole purpose of killing Dragonkind."
"He was only Rank 7, he wasn't even a deity… but his power, it was… it was too much. His skill, coupled with the power of that accursed weapon, caused many Dragons to die in that useless war that had nothing to do with us in the first place."
Hikari was extremely bitter as she said this and Draco could empathize. There was nothing more painful than suffering losses in a war in which you clearly indicated that you were a neutral party.
"I know only what was reported of the war, but I once got a chance to see him in action when father was taking us away from the Ancestral City of the Dragons to this obscure area. He killed all my siblings in a few hits, and tore my… my mother to shreds… he… I…"
Tears began to form in her eyes as her composure fell apart since the memories came flooding in. While she had been alone down there, she had spent most of her time hibernating so she wouldn't have to remember all this.
Now that she was awake, she knew she would have to deal with this weight on her shoulders. It was inescapable and Draco's question had forced her to confront this all too soon.
Draco wanted to comfort her, but he held back. This wouldn't be as simple as curing her fear of a lance. This was just as heavy as Roma's damage from realizing her family and her world was but a mirage, leaving her alone in the world.
With that, Draco could only use his actions and presence to help alleviate the pain. Even though Roma was still suffering for it, she had mostly returned to normal in the time she had been given.
With Hikari, Draco could only do the same and give her a path to healing through his actions and words.
Hikari powered through her sorrow to finish the recollection in detail. "Sigurd was held back by my family and some other God Rank Dragons as my father brought me here to become the seed of our future. He had suffered serious injuries from fighting with Sigurd, after my mother and his other wives and children had been brutally killed."
"He burned the rest of his life and Source Origin as he created a mental barrier that could not even be pierced by an Origin God."
Draco could attest to that. Even the Divine Eyes of Caelo had been blocked. Without Draco managing to master how to 'see beyond', he would have never been able to look into that barrier no matter what he did.
Hikari went silent as she cried. She tried to keep her sobs low, which made Draco feel even worse.
He sighed and moved over to sit beside her as he embraced her and rubbed her shoulders. With a shoulder to cry on, Hikari lost her inhibition and began to wail as the memories of her idyllic childhood flashed through her mind, contrasted with the horrifying scenes of her family sacrificing themselves just to ensure she lived.
Draco remained silent as she vented her pain and grief out. He could only wonder if the Sigurd person was still alive, but seeing as he himself held the actual Dragonlance, that should be less than likely.
Hikari hiccupped as she calmed herself down and rubbed her eyes which had become red. It was strangely painful to see someone so beautiful so sad, and even Draco was slightly impacted.
There was a spell of silence as Hikari came to terms with her pain. She was also suddenly aware of Draco in a way she hadn't been before.
Previously, she had been compelled by her bloodline and circ.u.mstances, so she had been very mixed about her own feelings for Draco himself, especially after hearing his story.
But after sharing her most vulnerable moment with him, something changed in the way she felt about him and she recognized that.
Most notable was the fact that Hikari realized she wasn't alone anymore. If there was one thing she had suffered from the most in those moments she had been awake, it was the loneliness of being in that hidden super mini small world, as well as the loneliness of thinking she was the last of her kind.
Now, there was Draco. She was bonded with him for eternity and he seemed extremely capable. Hikari couldn't help but peek at Draco's face from where her head rested on his chest.
Draco saw her gaze and smiled at her gently. "Do you feel a bit better now?"
Hikari almost cried again, but she held it down and nodded her head. "I think I am."
Draco asking for her wellbeing reinforced her feeling that she wasn't alone. She had him and he had her, so they two could bring back their race's glory and pride with time.
This thought greatly comforted Hikari and she became very accepting of Draco at this moment as a sapient being, not as a White Dragon following her bloodline urges.
Draco nodded and didn't leave her side just yet. "Do you have any more questions for me?"
Hikari thought for a bit before she asked shyly. "Why are there so many skimpily dressed women in the building? I noticed they all had big buttocks despite their racial differences… is that what you prefer…?"
Hikari didn't know why she suddenly chose to ask this question with her tone changing from slightly accusatory to worried and bashful. She found herself feeling troubled, because she didn't really understand the preferences of males.
She was just really observant, and honestly, even a retard would be able to see the underlying theme in the way the servants were presented in the Mayor's Hall.
Draco coughed with embarrassment. "Yes, that is my main s.e.x.u.a.l preference. It was Eva who had organized all this. As I told you, we are soul mates who are obsessed with each other. In her case, she is willing to allow me to do anything I want as long as I am happy... including actively trying to make me happier."
When Draco had described Eva to Hikari, she had thought that Eva was bizarre and eerie from the way her mind was warped, but now all she felt was pressure.
Now that she began to see Draco in a different light in her heart, she felt Eva's actions were a standard she needed to meet, otherwise, she would always play second fiddle to her.
She didn't speak, but she made it a priority to speak to Eva at the first chance she got, hopefully, to understand how she could possibly be okay with such a thing. Maybe her perspective might make Hikari herself more accepting of the matter.
Draco waited for a bit before he asked his final question. "Hikari. Do you know the gestation period for White Dragons and Black Dragons together?"