Yu Deng's voice was soft, barely audible over the howling wind.
His gentle voice still carried a hint of a sob, and the drawn-out ending trembled slightly. It was obvious that Yu Deng was trying his best to sound fierce, but he was still unbearably adorable.
Although the skeletal dragon was nothing more than a pile of bones, its keen dragon hearing remained. When it heard that soft little "rao," its entire body froze in place. Yu Deng's cuteness made it almost want to crawl around on the ground in excitement, but it barely managed to restrain itself for the sake of maintaining its dignity as an elder.
So cute! He's a million times cuter than those little brats in the dragon race!!
A faint, eerie flame appeared within its hollow eye sockets—literally making its eyes glow.
The viewers in Yu Deng's livestream were similarly screaming over how cute he was.
［Baby… how are you so cute!!］
［Aaaaaah, my adorable baby! I could eat you up in one bite!\］
［We were just in the middle of a tense, thrilling chase, and then one little "rao" from Baby made my soul float away.］
［Even if we take ten thousand steps back, why can't I have a wife this cute?!］
Yu Deng himself had no idea that the skeletal dragon had nearly been overwhelmed by his cuteness. Looking at the motionless skeleton, he asked nervously, "D-Did I not imitate it well…?"
He drooped his head. "But I really tried my best. Could you still protect me?"
That dejected little expression made him even more endearing. The skeletal dragon coughed and barely managed to maintain the dignity of an ancient ancestor of the dragon race.
"Don't worry. You imitated it extremely well. I'll protect you. Good child, imitate it one more time so I can hear it again."
Yu Deng looked up at the skeletal dragon and hesitantly let out another roar.
"Rao."
The skeletal dragon was completely satisfied.
What should have been a gloomy and terrifying gigantic skeleton now looked full of benevolent warmth. It introduced itself to the adorable little human princess.
"My name is Sadrich, the third leader of the dragon race."
The skeletal dragon had completely accepted Yu Deng as a hatchling, and its tone became several times gentler.
"Are you happy living among the dragons? Does any dragon bully you?"
The way it said this made it seem as though, if Yu Deng said yes, the skeletal dragon would immediately charge out of the Dragon Mound and pick a fight with whichever dragon had dared to mistreat him.
Yu Deng shook his head. "Not really. Everyone's been very friendly. It's just that Oriel can be a little mean sometimes…"
"Hmm? What did that brat do to you? Just wait until I go beat him up later!"
Talking about those things with an elder would be way too embarrassing…
Thinking about the bad things Oriel had done over the past two days, the tips of Yu Deng's ears turned slightly red. He didn't answer the skeletal dragon and simply shook his head again.
Fortunately, the skeletal dragon didn't press him for details and instead moved on to other questions. Yu Deng could barely keep up with Grandpa Sadrich's rapid-fire questioning.
Is being talkative also part of dragon nature…? Why is a dragon that has already turned into bones still so noisy?
Yu Deng tried to change the subject.
"Grandpa Sadrich, do you know what those black shadows from earlier were? They kept chasing me, but I couldn't touch or attack them at all."
As he spoke, Yu Deng grabbed the tip of the skeletal dragon's bony wing and stood up. He looked around, but he couldn't see any of the black shadows from earlier.
"Eh? They seem to have disappeared…"
The skeletal dragon's heart practically bloomed with joy when Yu Deng called him "Grandpa." Only afterward did he turn his attention to the question Yu Deng had raised.
The skeletal dragon became somewhat melancholy as he considered how to explain it.
"Let me think about how to explain this to you… The Dragon Mound is the graveyard where deceased dragons are buried, but it's not merely a graveyard. This is one of the supporting points of the dragon race's cloud realm, and it's closely connected to the living dragons."
Yu Deng listened with a slightly dizzy expression, trying his best to understand.
"And then?"
"So, to a certain extent, those black shadows reflect the condition of the dragon race. They represent their emotions or illnesses."
The skeletal dragon dragged its heavy skeleton forward and arrived at the center of the Dragon Mound.
Sitting atop the skeletal dragon's head, Yu Deng saw various black shadows lurking in the corners of the Dragon Mound.
However, it seemed that Sadrich was the only skeletal dragon here that still possessed consciousness. The other dragon remains lay quietly buried beneath the earth.
Yu Deng heard the skeletal dragon continue, "From what I can sense, the black shadows are currently the fear and darkness of the dragon race, as well as their violent anger."
"So that's how it is…"
If that was the case, then the things represented by these black shadows were actually the complete opposite of the beautiful and fantastical continent of Eralzea, weren't they?
"These black shadows don't have much effect on dead dragons. In fact, they're even afraid of us. However, they do affect living creatures somewhat. Any living creature that enters the Dragon Mound will be chased by them."
Yu Deng had been chased by those things the entire way, so he still felt a little uneasy hearing this. But why would the black shadows be afraid of dragons that were already dead?
Just then, a crack appeared in the clouds above the Dragon Mound. A pitch-black giant dragon flew through it, accurately locating where Yu Deng was.
"Deng Deng!"
Yu Deng looked up. Seeing the familiar figure, he waved at him.
"Oriel, why did you take so long to get here…? I was almost eaten by those strange black shadows just now."
"I'm sorry. For some reason, I couldn't enter the Dragon Mound earlier. I only managed to find you just now." The giant dragon lowered his head, with faint traces of blood along the edges of his wings. It seemed he had forcibly entered this special scene.
Yu Deng pursed his lips. "Th-Then it's not your fault."
The giant dragon approached and finally noticed the other presence besides the little princess.
His beloved little princess was standing right on top of that notoriously bad-tempered ancestor's skull.
Oriel: "…?"
Wasn't this ancestor the one who hated having little hatchlings climb onto his head the most?
The giant dragon was puzzled, but he still very naturally scooped Yu Deng into his arms.
The skeletal dragon glared at Oriel unhappily. "What's wrong with letting me hold him for a while? He's cuter than every other dragon you lot put together!"
Oriel replied matter-of-factly, "Of course. The little princess is the cutest. But how did you know?"
The skeletal dragon briefly summarized what had happened after Yu Deng entered the Dragon Mound.
"Imitating a little dragonling?" The giant dragon's attention was immediately caught by this detail. His tail perked up as he pleaded with Yu Deng, "Little princess, I want to hear it, too."
"Eh? All right."
Under Oriel's suddenly brightened gaze, Yu Deng, now much more practiced, performed his little evil-dragon roar.
"Raoo!"
Oriel: "…!!"
Although the thick-skinned giant dragon possessed extremely high magical and physical resistance, when faced with such an adorable treasure, his HP bar was instantly emptied.
Oriel was so overwhelmed by cuteness that his tail started wagging wildly. He transformed into human form, wrapped his arms around Yu Deng, and couldn't resist planting a big kiss on Yu Deng's cheek…
Of course, if he hadn't been mindful of the elder being present, he probably wouldn't have stopped at just a kiss on the cheek.
Skeletal Dragon: "??"
The skeletal dragon suddenly experienced the melancholy of watching a perfectly good cabbage get taken by a pig…
Oh, wait. Oriel was one of their own dragons.
Never mind. The little princess was willing to become the dragon race leader's partner, so that brat was the one who had gotten lucky.
"Speaking of the black shadows, what has been happening recently?" The skeletal dragon interrupted their affectionate display and asked.
Oriel was still fairly respectful toward his ancestor and explained what had happened recently.
"Lately, everyone has been having even more trouble controlling themselves. We keep experiencing bouts of losing control. But the little princess can treat everyone."
As he said this, the giant dragon naturally began praising Yu Deng again.
"Her Highness is the kindest person in the world. She's the treasure of the entire continent of Eralzea!"
The skeletal dragon nodded in agreement before saying, "No wonder I've been feeling rather uncomfortable lately, and those things have been appearing so frequently."
The skeletal dragon seriously questioned the current dragon race leader, "So that thing really has disappeared, right?"
Oriel nodded. "I believe so. The leaders of the other races have reached the same conclusion."
Yu Deng was getting increasingly confused by their conversation. Unable to hold himself back, he raised his hand.
"Wait, I don't understand… What exactly are you talking about?"
The skeletal dragon immediately became gentle and affectionate, patiently explaining, "Oh, that's the most important existence in Eralzea—the Heart of Eralzea. But everyone prefers to call it the Dreamheart."
Yu Deng immediately caught the key phrase and perked up his ears.
This seemed to be the first time he had heard an NPC mention the Dreamheart!
"So, what exactly is the Dreamheart?"
That was a good question.
After a moment of silence, Oriel spoke.
"We can't define exactly what it is. In fact, no one on the continent of Eralzea has ever seen the Dreamheart."
Yu Deng tilted his head in confusion.
"Huh?"
No one has ever seen it… But isn't this thing supposed to be very important?
Yu Deng looked at the two dragons in confusion before finally turning to the skeletal dragon, seeking confirmation from the more experienced elder. "Really?"
"Yes. No one has ever seen it, including me," the skeletal dragon said. "But the inheritance of every race tells us of its existence, letting us know that the Dreamheart exists and that it is an extremely important existence."
Yu Deng struggled to follow the train of thought. "But the Dreamheart has disappeared now?"
"At present, it appears to have disappeared. Everyone is searching for it."
Oriel explained in a low voice, "We suspect that the problems that have recently appeared among the dragon race are related to the disappearance of the Dreamheart."
"Oh…"
The vanished Dreamheart was the core of both the instance and this entire continent, while these NPCs had developed all sorts of strange conditions. If there were a specific word to describe their situation, it would probably be… mutation?
Yu Deng had obtained a crucial new clue, but he felt even more confused than before.
Waaah, this instance is seriously so abstract.
...
After talking with the skeletal dragon for a little while longer, Oriel carried Yu Deng on his back and left the Dragon Mound under the skeletal dragon's reluctant gaze.
After leaving the Dragon Mound, Yu Deng raised his head and saw the slightly dim sky. Unlike the deep-blue, jewel-like sky of the past few days, the sky now hung low overhead, giving off an oppressive feeling as though it were about to collapse, making it somewhat difficult to breathe.
"By the way, Tongtong, how long have I been in the instance? I've kind of lost track."
System 01: [.]
System 01 looked at its host, whose sense of time had been blurred by being thoroughly ravished by a giant dragon, and sighed inwardly before answering:
[Host, it is now the fifth day of this instance.]
It's already the fifth day… Yu Deng recalled his experiences from previous instances.
Usually, after five or seven days, a high-difficulty instance would increase in difficulty, right? He wondered what this instance would turn into this time.
Yu Deng followed the giant dragon back to the center of the territory. Just before nightfall, another dragon became agitated. Although Yu Deng still hadn't figured out exactly how the scepter worked, he was gradually becoming more proficient at treating them and successfully cured the dragon.
The healed dragon thanked him profusely and offered a heartfelt blessing.
"May Her Highness the Princess and the leader have little dragon hatchlings soon!"
Yu Deng: "???" What?
While Yu Deng was still confused, he heard the system announcement.
[Ding. Congratulations to Player Yu Deng. Your favorability and trust level with the dragon race have increased.]
[Notice: Player Yu Deng's current quest progress with the dragon race has already surpassed your quest progress with the human race.]
Eh? He had actually completed more of the dragon race's quests?
But that did make sense. After all, in the human kingdom, he had only completed the city-patrol quest. He hadn't gotten involved in anything on such a large scale as treating the dragons.
Then how was he supposed to complete his quests in the human kingdom…? Could his knight help him?
Yu Deng lay on the dragon's back as they returned to the nest. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't hear the dragon calling him.
"Little Princess." Oriel gently turned Yu Deng's face toward him. "What are you thinking about?"
Yu Deng instinctively voiced what had been on his mind. "I was thinking about my knight…"
Oriel: "?"
The giant dragon immediately became jealous. He lowered his head and captured Yu Deng's lips, making sure the little princess no longer had the energy to think about other males.
His dragon tail unconsciously wound itself around Yu Deng's legs again. Oriel leaned over Yu Deng, his tone somewhat vague. He sounded a little expectant, along with a hint of guilt.
"Deng Deng, I asked the elders of the clan. Even males can become pregnant with dragon hatchlings, as long as we do it enough times."
What times? Obviously, the number of times they had sex.
Yu Deng stared blankly at the leader of the dragon race, then lowered his head and looked at his own lower abdomen.
Is this what a fantasy species is like?? They even let boys carry babies?? No wonder dragons had been asking him these past few days when he would have little dragon hatchlings, or giving him their blessings…
Yu Deng's beautiful little face turned bright red, and it was hard to tell whether he was embarrassed or annoyed. He pushed the bastard giant dragon away.
"Then you—you're not allowed to do that kind of thing during this period!"
Even if he could carry a dragon hatchling… he still wasn't ready!
The giant dragon looked a little disappointed, but he respected his partner's wishes.
"Okay. I won't force you. You're the most important."
Yu Deng gave a soft huff. Now that was more like it.
Oriel pulled Yu Deng into his arms and kissed him. After a long while, he said, "Little Princess, I need to go deal with those dragons' affairs. Do you want to come with me?"
Yu Deng shook his head. "No, I want to lie down for a while."
After leaving the Dragon Mound, his thoughts were a complete mess, and he needed some time to sort them out.
"Then rest in the nest. If anything happens, call me or Silverpeak… Actually, you can call any dragon."
"Okay."
Before leaving, the giant dragon reinforced the magic around his nest once more before temporarily leaving Yu Deng's side to deal with matters concerning the dragon race.
Inside the nest, Yu Deng lay on the soft, down-covered bed the dragon had prepared for him, struggling to make sense of his thoughts.
Waaah, if only his knight were here. Then he'd have a useful external brain to rely on.
Just as Yu Deng was thinking this, he suddenly caught sight of a pale-blue ring of light appearing beside his bed out of the corner of his eye. The ring of light surrounded him, and there was even a faint scent of seawater in the air.
Yu Deng: "?!"
The light suddenly brightened and enveloped Yu Deng, lifting him into the air. The magic array inside the giant dragon's nest was instantly triggered, emitting a scorching red glow, but Yu Deng had already been completely surrounded by that unfamiliar light. His vision went black.
After falling into darkness, Yu Deng seemed to hear a deep, pleasant murmur.
"Don't be afraid. My teleportation magic is quite refined. It won't hurt you."
The voice sounded cold, but when speaking to Yu Deng, it carried an almost imperceptible gentleness, along with a certain hidden excitement and impatience.
Yu Deng: "Eh?"
He seemed to be falling.
Yu Deng didn't have time to react to what was happening. All he could feel was himself plummeting rapidly, the sound of wind rushing into his ears until he could hear nothing else. He didn't even dare open his eyes.
His vampire wings were still cooling down. What other items could save him? Oh right, he had the Interdimensional Box that he could hide inside…
However, before he could even use an item, an invisible force caught him.
The light flashed again. The invisible force had already carried Yu Deng across the distance between spaces, supporting him as he fell from the void onto… a rock?
Yu Deng opened his eyes in bewilderment and looked around.
What greeted his eyes was an endless expanse of deep-blue ocean. There was no trace of land anywhere, and the only place he could stand was the rock beneath his feet. The sky had already begun to darken.
He stood on the relatively small rock like a lone boat in the middle of the ocean.
How had he ended up in this place…?
Yu Deng hugged his arms around himself and trembled slightly, a faint sheen of tears appearing in his eyes.
At that moment, a warm, soothing spell landed on his forehead, calming his emotions.
Waves suddenly rippled across the tranquil surface of the sea. With a splash, a certain aquatic creature emerged from the water.
It was a handsome and bewitchingly beautiful man. His eyes were a deep ocean blue, his dark-blue hair somewhat long, and his ears were pointed like fish fins. Several scales adorned the side of his face.
Yu Deng stared at him for a few seconds before recognizing him as the merfolk who had contacted the leader of the dragon race a few days ago.
"Good evening, Your Highness the Princess. It is a pleasure to meet you."
This strange and vicious merfolk behaved extraordinarily gentle in front of the pampered little princess.
Yu Deng watched him warily and said softly, "Hello."
The vast ocean stretched endlessly into the distance. Suddenly, the sea became turbulent.
A wave crashed over, submerging Yu Deng's lower legs. He lost his footing and staggered forward.
"Mm!"
Yu Deng didn't fall completely into the sea. The merfolk caught the little princess just as he was about to fall into the water.
Half of Yu Deng's body slipped into the seawater. His thin white clothes were instantly soaked through, and the wet fabric became transparent, leaving nothing concealed.
He leaned dazedly against the merfolk's chest, his palm pressed against the man's muscular pectorals.
The merfolk narrowed his eyes. His powerful arms held Yu Deng securely, keeping him from falling completely into the seawater.
The merfolk reminded him, "Your Highness the Princess, please be careful."
Though it sounded like a warning, it was more like he was describing the thoughts in his heart.
"The ocean is very dangerous, Your Highness the Princess. Once you fall into the water, you might be dragged to the bottom of the sea by fierce and terrifying sea creatures, locked inside a shell, with your legs forever entangled with a fish tail."