-Past Midday. Nefiru's POV-

"Probably because Dragons almost went extinct around nine hundred years ago when a crazy Demigod killed from unborns to Demigod Dragons, exterminating entire Clans, and the species had to repopulate without many individuals, on top of the survivors being scattered throughout the world. Even now, your species doesn't have many individuals despite the efforts of that surviving Dragon Demigod organizing a match-making for hundreds of years, and there is no news of any Divine Dragons emerging after all this time." Lester gives his opinion on the origin of the dragon mating season.

I wonder how Dragons Clans were...if I had to guess, it would be to facilitate finding the right Mate if they didn't force mating seasons, then pass on knowledge, but there must have been strict rules since they can be grumpy and unsociable. There is a logic behind forcing Dragons if their own pace of doing things is not enough when a certain number of individuals is required just for the species to survive, but it should have been sufficient by now unless there is a different reason or the survival rate for the young is very low. It should be around 180 mating seasons if the Dragon Demigod have been doing this every five years for 900, then taking into account the longevity of dragons, the fast growth rate, and their resilience, there should be as many dragons as cockroaches even with natural enemies, but why does it feel like my species is barely holding on? Moreover, if that guy can force dragons across the world for nine hundred years without getting bored, then why not speed things up and do it every single year? Though, I'm glad that is not the case...

"Do you know why does it have to be every five years? And when will my siblings leave the volcano top?" I inquired gazing at the volcano almost covered by the main house on the left.

"Hmm..." Lester ponders at my question that probably only the Demigod would know.

I doubt dragons had this system a thousand years ago and if the species was safe from danger, then that Demigod matchmaker would have already stopped changing genders or getting dragons fucked to death every five years. Not to mention, someone who hates dragons enough to kill newborns shouldn't just stop unless something was accomplished, satisfied with all the killing or left some alive to go on dragon-hunting when bored. A being capable of going against the entire Dragon Race and any other ally that fought alongside while also being a Demigod should be in possession of some 'Cheat item' from a higher dimension like on stories or at least something out of the norm because Magic takes an effort to gather, and its Game Over once it runs out. How nice....I was born four months ago, and there's already a Last Boss around...sighs, I guess something like this is inevitable in a world where individual's power is everything, but I'll deal with it when the time comes since the priority right now is surviving the mating season, then contact high-ranking dragons. Though most dragons shouldn't be friendly, there must be reasonable ones to ask information about our enemies and avoid high-level bosses in low lev areas since dying like that annoyed me in games.

"Well, the call lasts all summer and part of autumn in some areas of the world, then some parents raise their until the next season while others kick them out of the nest by winter since they fulfilled their purpose as progenitors. I guess it's the right period of time not to bother unwilling dragons too soon and the limit for parents who want to raise their children until they can fend for themselves, or maybe the Demigod needs that much time to recover sleeping or hide from pursuers?" Lester explains his conjecture looking at the volcano in the distance. {As for your siblings up there...they might die once the green dragon leave because he's not from around here and I doubt Big Red would take care of them but are you going to take care of them?} He chuckles while gazing over my body again to insinuate the ridiculous idea.

Sleeping for five years...that's an excellent idea! I recalled the time back in jail when they sedated and put a collar on my neck to tame me. With a batch of those drugs and some ice, I could induce some kind of hibernation state that interferes with the chemical process that makes a dragon into heat, but after, I will get the worse hangover ever.

"I will not be a puppet in five years even if I have to find the strongest drugs to sleep through the season underground or degrade myself to a lesser species like wyverns. But will a Tamed Dragon really not help?" I seek confirmation after announcing my last resorts for the events that will inescapably involve me, but Lester's face froze.

"Sigh... There is no need to go that far.." Lester sighed with a troubled face then faced me. "I just lost it because of your uncaring attitude after hearing Shaila's story, but you guys have a weird relationship, and earlier you did sound sad, though you recovered fast, asking her instead would've been truly insensitive. Anyway, I'll help you improve your chances aside from having an unfavorable wild dragon come after your scent...you deal with that on your own. However, drugs powerful enough to sedate you for the entire season cost more than renting a Tamed Dragon, but that pre-arranged Mate could still die in the war that's brewing or fight you before approving." He inferred how any solution will still have a chance of ending bad.

"I thought you said 'Tamed Dragon,' but that doesn't sound very tamed, though this is perfect to test myself against an older Dragon...in more ways than one if you know what I mean..." I affirmed while picturing our difference in age that could be decades, if not hundreds of years.

"...Some beasts do start out tamed while others are raised from eggs, but there's no point in having a mindless doll or an uncontrollable Dragon since it could cause more damage than good at war." Lester shook his head denying. "The Beasts of the Royal Sky cavalry don't wear collars since they have a bond with their partner and both strive for higher Ranks with the rewards they receive, but they usually die together if something goes wrong or even the rider could get tortured after falling over enemy troops. However, many boys still aspire for that job while others just enjoy the fights at the Dragon Arena to the southeast, but I'm not allowed to visit anymore... You are going to love it there with different beasts residing besides dragons, a clean river nearby and plenty food in the plains or the mountains that belong to our Divine who also build that arena. It's a round structure of solid stone as high as our house there while the ring of dirt has a diameter of the length of our estate, but the spectator seats are fortified with passages underground because wild dragons do come to fight sometimes and try to snack on people." He narrates while looking at the sky in nostalgia.

I see...those dragons risk their lives fighting human wars because the resources and human knowledge help them Rank up much faster than just being in one place for who knows how long, just like Big Red who seem to be staying at the volcano for the fire elementals, but mana should be the priority once you know what to command them. No, maybe it requires particular image or knowledge to order elementals around correctly then produce Magic phenomena...for me, it seemed natural since I know what electrons and water molecules are more or less, but Big Red shouldn't know what atoms are, so he's just wasting the fire elementals experimenting how combustion work huh? I understand what Shaila meant about insights...it's about learning through experimentation with elementals, but if you run out of magic after finding something out, then how do you record it when it's all feelings and sensations? I realize the need for science to organize knowledge on a particular subject and break down difficult concepts into basic understanding.

"Hey Lester, do you know what makes up matter deep down or how does it work?" I asked to confirm my hypothesis.

"Ah! Divines call those 'Ballers,' but only they can sense them, and learn how it works probably is what they do to reach Demigod. Becoming a disciple of Divine grants you access to information, resources, armors, weapons and even other creatures since they get lonely in isolation, but requires high talent in the same affinity as the teacher, and in the case of our Divine, it's Earth." Lester affirmed then explained seeking shelter from the sun inside the Stables.

So, it's out of the question becoming the Divine's disciple since I'm not Earth huh? Shame, I wanted to leech off resources since dragons can't be sociable like that because the silly mating season would disturb most teacher-disciple relationship or make them crankier for being forced to become parents, but other beasts most likely won't accept me. Though I'm not interested in fighting human wars for resources or getting anyone else on top of me besides Shaila, and I could still get some of those resources with this Noble family. However, visiting that Arena will be beneficial like a Tutorial of sorts from a newbie map since I could learn useful things observing how different beasts fight for training purposes. I hold back the desire to go there now since they must be busy with war and I'm not familiarized enough with magic yet.

How do beasts practice without killing each other though? Magic phenomena seem dangerous enough to fry brains with lightning or freeze their bodies, but there should be some Resistance at play from the effect of having Magic in the body since even my own magic could have caused greater damage during the rampage. I guess it's not wrong to call it magic resistance, and it might increase with Magic density then decrease when the body is drained of it just like how muscles are strengthened by it.The Mix of Spirit and Mana permeating the tissue is responsible for the increased strength of the muscles because when willing an arm to move, the Magic also follows with a dragging force that gets stronger with density, but contrary can also slip through smaller gaps should it be willed. I guess, the Magic threads while unconscious gets tangled up dragging things around, and this effect is minuscule outside, not enough to move a paper, but much stronger inside of the body.

In any case fighting another magician while drained is very dangerous, but at least dragons are tough. Oh...wait...it's possible to use my water elementals to get 100% freezing resistance from attacks and heat resistance by controlling water molecules in a coat of ice. It cost much less Magic energy to feed elementals while controlling matter that's already made than to produce a new particle into the world, except when you make it defy gravity and the only concern would be the Magic reserves when experimenting with Thunderstorms since losing the elementals after relinquish control would not matter inside a high source of them. I'll need to experiment resistances with Shaila later...I always loved electrocuting people! So many experiments to try in the future, but ambient mana here is too sparse and the hours of painstakingly gathering are gone in a blink of an eye after producing Magic phenomena, but since my string method doesn't work anymore, then I need large quantities of the energy to rank up.

"How far can I rank up in four years with enough Mana potions from you and hunting beasts for theirs?" I inquire on a rough estimate considering the mana sources.

"Well, as a cheating dragon that got to Rank 3 in one night, you should know how hard it will be after and might need to seek a teacher to get far, but it's a shame that the only friendly Water dragon around was killed by your father, though our grandmother could teach you water, but finding a lightning teacher is next to impossible." Lester implies that a teacher is the principal reason for slow ranking.

"You already confirmed I might not need a teacher, but instead lots of Mana since it's a lot of labor gathering in this place and what was that about my father?" I put more emphasis on my need of mana over anything else then inquired of my father's wicked deeds.

"So, you don't want Grandma as a teacher...you two would get along since she had a friendly relationship with a high-rank water dragon living at her family's lake for around two hundred years, though he was killed and eaten by your father in front of the Bidlakes during a mating season..." Lester shows surprise by my rejection of his old family member then recounts the events of the past and ponders for a while to gather his thoughts.

Well, I already knew Father is an asshole, and if he ate that dragon in front of the humans, then it was to torment their inability to help since it would take many people of the same Rank to take down a dragon. With the vessel being the domain of the soul, then bigger bodies mean higher Magic capacity, greater passive Magic and Elemental recovery on top of having sturdy frames that can be a weapon itself or the flight advantage. I guess the Divine of this kingdom is responsible for Big Red not going on human killing sprees, but people are probably not allowed to interfere with the mating season directly either...non-interference pact huh?

"There are high-ranking creatures and even Divine beasts with Clans of their own in places with higher mana concentration like Ancient Forests or Mana veins. In any case, it's a little tricky hunting Magic Beasts for their Mana since they could spend it fighting you or let their elementals rampage if they are near a source turning into mindless monsters if they survive, so I recommend tricking stronger ones and ambush the weaker. Another method would be buying a hundred slaves then force them to separate the Mana they gather for you to absorb, but that takes time, effort and talented slaves are expensive. However, considering the war that's coming, there will be an abundance of Mana crystals given by the Divine, and it could allow you to reach Rank 5 or 6 with a lot of effort, but they are expensive, so we need to save money now since a certain dragon cost a lot and also killed our horses." He described all mana sources he knows while pointing out the benefits the war will have for me.

So, Ancient Forests would be like high-level maps while Mana veins are probably end-game content since there might even be demigods guarding something like that...a vein near a highly magnetic spot near a water source would be heaven for me. I guess, I'm doing exploration at divine rank, though for now, the power leveling option is Mana crystals and I wonder much is contained in one...or rather how do you hold a mana in a crystal!? Maybe it's concentrated like mana essences from stories, or something holds it together...wait a minute, the collars! Whatever can affect ambient mana might also be able to contain it, but Lester said mana crystals, so it's not metal like I previously imagined...as I thought, I need to gather collars in the future. However, I don't have small hands to hold tiny things, and I'm not abandoning my Dragon body...perhaps buying slaves that come already with collars might be a good idea since they can help disarm them, though we don't have the money to start that research. Contacting the collar makers is an option but they feel a little too mysterious and judging by their prestige, they should be loaded with money...I rather not work with people who will look down on me and I didn't hear about these 'Tinkers' having other race members. I decided not to explore the option of trading information for the technology of a race whose real intentions are not known and wouldn't care about contaminating a river that people depend on.

A creaking sound coming from the left indicated the wooden door of the house opened and the scent of Shaila intensified, then I extended my neck around the corner. She appears in what look like brown shoes covering her toes, thick long blue pants and pink shirt with long sleeves running on the central path with a pitter patter. Even her running is cute, but at this speed, she's gonna crash, isn't she? Perhaps not used to running in pants, once she was about to leave the flat pathway to run on the dirt, she trips over and falls face-down towards our direction with a 'Thud' sound.

"Owie..." Shaila remained face-down for a few seconds then gets up and whimpers before making her way to us slowly.

""..."" Lester and I stare at Shaila's blackened face as she approached.

Lester takes out a piece of cloth and stops Shaila from rushing to my bloody head, then started cleaning her face. Ah! I forgot I'm still all bloody...the tank that stores water for the horses, they won't need so much now... I get up and walk outside then around the two people with care not to hit them with my swinging tail then approached the water tank closer to the iron gates.

"That was a cute fall, but now we both need a bath." I informed Shaila as she is struggling out from being cleaned.

I've known for a while there are parasites and bugs under my scales because of the smell, but I couldn't get to them before learning magic arts and even the acidic river only killed some, though outside of the body is hard to kill them with magic manipulation alone. At the water tank with a width of a car, tall as a person, I bring out my Magic while noticing the need for channels since going through the muscle, and tissue slows down the torrent from the Core, then take some time to connect with the elementals in the water. Well, Lester is right, and it should have been obvious that water would contain the respective Elementals in greater quantities than the air or my own body, but it didn't cross my mind. Lester said it was better for me to keep my Elemental ratio balanced, but that's difficult when water's less abundant and even this tank contains enough to control just a couple bucket's worth because it cost several times less magic than making it. Magic consumption will increase significantly making a water bubble just the size of a football float up, and it seems I can't heat it up or turn it into vapor at this rank, but I can use lightning for that.

I soaked my entire body while spreading lightning elementals under my scales then made a continuous torrent of electrons course through the dirty water and used the elementals as the poles of small electrolysis cells until the water decomposed or evaporated. I'm using this stagnant water because it conducts electricity better compared to the pure water elementals create which requires a massive torrent of electrons to bypass the poor conductivity, though it looks more efficient just to drag out the elementals from the tank and I can do that every time they reappear, but this much will be insufficient at higher ranks. After all the water vaporized, the stinky fumes are carried by the wind and a gray smear is left on the ground below me, but there was no more Magic to wash, so I plunged my head into the tank and finished bathing with my mouth. The thing about direct current is that hurts less than AC, especially with low voltage, it was just tingly, and just the hot water was bothersome, but now I'm clean of any parasite.

"You guys were staring at a dragon bathe naked..." I stated after turning around and gazing at the two by the stables.