DRAGON CHAPTER 8

Name: Muzafir Varkun
Species: Dragon
Attributes: Water, Gravity
Age: 363
Mana: 223.20
Aura: 205.80
Prana: 102.96

A year had passed since my fight with the three red dragons and it had done wonders for my reserves.

It had also revealed why my Aura Heart had refused to form all this time.

To think… all it required was complete exhaustion of my aura.

Something so simple—

that it had never even crossed my mind.

The formation of my Aura Heart had changed everything.

Aura no longer leaked or scattered within my body. It moved with purpose—denser, sharper, far more responsive to my will. I could even exert it beyond my body.

“This sure is addictive,” I murmured, as I played with the dark red energy coiling around my claw.

Control had improved. Efficiency had increased. What once demanded strain now required only intent.

Even my aura-sensing perception had sharpened—I could now discern the flow of aura within myself and others with far greater clarity.

A qualitative change.

Not just more power… but better power.

Life truly was full of surprises.

Unfortunately, not all of them were pleasant.

Ever since I realized Dareth had been interfering in my affairs, I had continued reinforcing the spells woven across the Oasis.

Judging by the potential benefit anyone could gain from hunting me—including the Gravity Catalyst—he could at most persuade a few Dominion-ranked beings. Anything above that wouldn’t even entertain a lesser being speaking to them, unless he wanted to risk being blown to oblivion.

Hiding was no longer an option—not when he could track me using my own blood.

The only consolation was that, judging by what it took to create that tracking device for Cindra, he likely had enough of my blood for only two more.

A small mercy—but not one I could rely on.

Which meant one thing.

I needed to grow stronger.

Now that my Aura Heart had finally formed, the only path left to any meaningful increase in power was—

Prana.

The problem was… the prana art I awakened was purely defensive.

A passive one —〈Soul Aegis〉—a barrier that shielded my very soul from other arts.

Useful.

But limited.

Its passive nature meant I couldn’t actively train with it. Without a way to exhaust my prana reserves, their growth remained painfully slow.

Learning new arts, however, was not simple.

Unlike spells—which could be learned through runes, catalysts, and structured study—arts were different.

They could neither be stored nor taught through conventional means, nor could they be learned by those who lacked prana.

Instead, they were passed directly—from one prana user to another.

And even then, not through knowledge… but through something far more obscure.

Soul Tongue.

A method of expression where sound was not formed by the body, but by the soul itself—as if the soul were speaking.

And as if that weren’t enough—

Every prana user, upon awakening, possessed only a single art.

Just one.

To learn more, I would have to seek out other prana users—and somehow convince them to part with a copy of their greatest asset.

For most, even reaching that point was nearly impossible.

Because prana did not awaken easily.

It required extreme conditions—a brush with death, a moment where existence itself teetered on the edge of oblivion.

Only then… does it awaken in you.

In my case, reincarnation had fulfilled that condition.

Dying once had been enough. The experience carried over.

But the desert lacked people—let alone prana users.

Which meant that if I wanted more, I would have to travel the mainland, seek out the few prana users scattered across it—and hope they are willing to teach me.

An impossible task.

If they are stronger or equal to me in strength , teaching me wouldn’t even cross their minds. They would tear my art from me and kill me—just to ensure it was theirs alone.

And recently, the mainland had only grown worse.

Everywhere I looked, dragons were at each other’s throats—bodies piling up without end.

I had no intention of going there, not even in search of other prana users.

By the end of this civil war, there might not be enough living beings—let alone dragons—for the new Queen to rule.

I let out a long sigh.

“I really miss the internet…”

Looking back, I had never realized how much of a blessing it had been. Compared to that life of ease, this world was nothing but savage—and I doubt it would ever change, even if millennia passed.

I would remain trapped in this stagnant, brutal world—until I died, worn down by the endless struggle to survive.

The thought dragged at my mood, a quiet weight threatening to pull me under.

Shaking it off, I left the cavern, letting the cold air brush against my scales. I looked up at the moon, allowing the silence of the night to wash over me.

After a moment of silence, I activated <Clairvoyance>, linking it to an anchor I had recently established.

My vision blurred—then settled.

A crude town came into view, nestled beside a quiet lake at the western edge of the desert. Its inhabitants were a mix of races—horned, bull-like figures moving alongside lizardfolk and orcs, all gradually returning to their homes under the dim light of the moon.

The buildings were simple—mud structures, rough but functional.

Of course, it was a settlement created by Tranx.

After hearing me speak—more than once—about the savagery of all races on this continent, and the need for someone to unify them, he had developed an… ambition. One he later brought to me, asking for my approval.

Curious to see how far he could go, I allowed it.

More than that—I helped.

I shared knowledge he would need to build a functioning settlement: structured housing, roads, systems of order, even the concept of a standing force to maintain control.

The settlement was placed at the far western edge of the continent, deep within the desert—isolated enough to avoid the attention of dragons and other dominant forces.

And within a single year, he had done the impossible.

Through force, he had subjugated multiple tribes and races, forging them into a single settlement.

This… was the result.

Primitive—but stable.

Of course, building it through force had led to conflict. Tensions still simmered beneath the surface.

But with enoough force from Tranx and Strata—it had held together for now.

I had even carved runes of water and gravity into stone tablets and entrusted them to Tranx, instructing him to use them as bargaining tools—trading for other runes and steadily expanding our repository. Each exchange would not only broaden our knowledge but also draw in those desperate enough to seek power.

At the same time, I tasked him with teaching aura to any who were willing to remain in the settlement. Awakening aura was a long, arduous process—by the time they succeeded, years would have passed, making them far less inclined to leave.

More importantly, I had him spread word that even the legendary Prana Arts could be exchanged—if one was a prana user.

Naturally, I would be both the recipient… and the provider.

A faint smile tugged at my lips.

Fufu… if things went well, I might just acquire a few new arts. And if fortune favored me, I might even become the one who possessed the greatest number of them.

And with the settlement so far from my cave, I didn’t have to worry about intruders like Cindra dragging it into the chaos when they came for me.

Thinking of what lay ahead, the weight of looming threats and restless thoughts gradually slipped from my mind.

I took to the sky, turning my course toward the settlement.