Chapter 14: Time For Truths

[Altreah's POV]

It has already been a while after all the known continents summit happened...

All of the continents' rulers participated except for the Sky Utopia, as even if the other rulers wanted to also invite them, they have no way of getting into contact with them, and their exact location is even a mystery until now, except for a few.

My grandfather said that the Sky Utopia is literally an entire continent floating above the sky! So it have became my dream and my goal to see it one day with my own eyes.

Oh, sorry... We are getting side tracked...

The council of the Central Continent have agreed to receive people, or rather, representatives from other continents to their capital and to join their institute, but it was only limited to five people per continent, two guardians and three of the younger generations. I was a little disappointed, if I am to be honest. I was hoping to go there and join the institute along with my friends, but I do not think it will be possible now.

The reason why the institute of the Central Continent became some kind of a goal for us from the younger generation is, because a lot of powerhouses came from that said institute.

This knowledge was acquired from one of the elder dragon that visited the Dragon Island, my father's cousin, which also made him my uncle.

From his words, not only was the institute complete with all the necessary facilities to learn and improve oneself, it is even equipped with all the advanced technologies that the Central Continent have developed!

And the most important of all, they don't have to use those accursed carriages to travel!

Instead, they have invented this levitating carriages and the mana ships!

After all, one must know that a dragon's only common weakness is... as shameful as it sounds, motion sickness.

The elders theorized the reason behind this weakness if us dragonkind. They said that it is because of our flight reliability that we are not used to travel atop anything that have direct contact with the ground.

The weakest effect it will give us dragons is heavy nausea, and the worst is making you bedridden for a while because of your swirling vision.

So discovering about the existence of the said invention made even my father as well as the other elders from different Lines overjoyed.

This happened even before the Summit, so father was able to negotiate with the council of the Central Continent and acquired the manufacturing process of the levitating carriages.

Father said that the council was even willing to share the theories behind the mana ships too, but father politely declined.

Well, it is obvious that he will. After all, we have no need of such transportation as we van already fly ourselves.

Time passed and the representatives have been chosen, and I am one of them!

Well, actually it was already approved that we three, me and my two older brothers will become the representatives but was delayed at announcing it because of father greatly opposes the idea of me from going to another unfamiliar continent, but fortunately he was reprimanded by my mother, and I'm really grateful for that!

Months passed and we've finally set foot in the Central Continent!

It was a long journey and was even a little dangerous because of all the magic beasts we have encountered on the way, but all of them were subjugated by our two guardians.

We have rested for a day as we don't have to register ourselves as it was already taken care of, and tomorrow is our first day already!

I wanted to go sightseeing but don't have the time to, it was disappointing, especially for my second brother, Clarret, as he was really eager to the idea.

The next day, we three, along with our two guardians travelled to the institute using the levitating carriages, it was nice.

We are already used to it as the levitating carriages are already getting popular in Dragonariah, so it was a smooth ride with know sense of discomfort at all.

But then, the moment we have reached the gymnasium, all of us dragons sensed a strong and unique presence.

It was as if something in me is calling out for the said presence, it's like the sense of attraction. And it became stronger as we entered the gymnasium.

"Hm~. This presence... is that of a dragon's... right?"

My brother, Aultrec, ask as his voice became serious, but we can hear uncertainty in his voice.

"Yes, my prince. It is most likely of the ancestral bloodline. Its presence have a unique quality to it, and it even felt purer than the current royals'."

One of our guardian, Lua, said with the same amount seriousness in her voice.

"Eh~! Then he's strong, right?! I want to fight him!"

My second brother said with his eyes burning with passion as he clenched his fists, a smirk slowly forming on his face.

Seriously.... Men and their lust for a good fight... Fortunately, female dragons don't have this battle maniac quality, and I'm grateful with that.

"*Sigh* Brother... First, we still have to get in contact with this person before anything else..."

"Mhm... And then we fight..."

Second brother said as copied first brother's serious expression.

We are already used to this... But still, we could only look at him with a deadpan look.

"Anyway... What do you think, Reah?"

First brother turned to me and asked.

"Oh... Well, it's a little different for me... I feel a strong sense of attraction with this presence..."

"... I see. At least we know that he's a male, then."

"Eh? How did you come up with that, brother?"

"Heh, simple. You felt the the sense of attraction but we only felt the uniqueness in his presence~."

He said with a smile, almost looking like he's teasing me.

"Th-then... Why didn't Lua feel it too?"

"Most likely because of your bloodline... After all, aside from third mother and her sister, only you have the Scarlet Dragon's bloodline currently known."

All of them nodded to what my brother said.

True, if he put it that way... After all, Scarlet Dragon's are only females, and there can never be any male Scarlet Dragon as only females will inherit this bloodline, this is also the reason why Scarlet Dragon's are already so rare.

But then again... If my bloodline is the one that's reacting to this presence, then doesn't that mean...?!

My mind snapped and looked at my brother, now with a wide smile on his face.

"Hahaha! You guessed it, little sis! This presence, or rather, this aura we are sensing is from a Crimson Dragon!"

All our mouths widened.

It was said that all existing Crimson Dragons have already died even before the start our grandparents' generation, but now there's actually one here!

" Ho~! Then that means he's really powerful! I'll be sure to ask him for a fight!"

" Haha! Of course brother. But, that also means~"

First brother agreed and turned to me as he continued... Which made me a little nervous, but also a expectant!

"You'll have a husband candidate soon, little sis~."

""Ooh~!""

"Tr-true..."

Well, I can't deny it.

It was already mentioned in some of the books we have in our library that Scarlet Dragons will feel attracted to Crimson Dragons immediately at first sight, not unless a Scarlet Dragon already gave her mark.

'I guess I will finally find my own partner, and a Crimson Dragon one at that~!'

I felt my cheeks turned hot as a smile bloomed on my at the corner of my lips, but this didn't go unnoticed with the rest.

"Well. Someone's excited~"

First brother said with a teasing grin which the others followed.

"I-it's not like that!"

I exclaimed as my face became even hotter.

This only earned me another round of teases from them.

""If you say so~.""

"Gee~ When are you guys going to stop~?"

""Hehehehe...""

°.°.°.

[POV changed: Kross]

"What do you think of my sister?"

"... Huh?"

My mind went blank.

Seriously, what is wrong with this guy?!

Looking o' so serious then this is just his question?! What's the use of being so serious in the first place?!

"Hm? What's with that reaction? That's not what I was expecting... Alright let me ask you again. What do you think of my sister?"

He said as he maintained his serious expression but now lighter, he asked again.

"We-well... She's beautiful, honestly..."

'And also clingy. Too clingy, in fact.'

Heh. What do you expect? She's like... No, wait. I think she's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen... That's excluding the goddess Minerva, of course.

But to be honest, that question did really caught me offguard.

Asking what I think of his sister?

What is this, an interrogation from the bride's brother right off the bat even though I still didn't agree myself?

Well, it's not that I'm really against it anyway... After all, who wouldn't want a beauty of this caliber to be his lifelong partner? But it still felt wrong for me... Especially with my memories about my cultures and customs from my past life. It just doesn't sit well in my opinion...

"I see... Welp! Good for you, little sis!"

He said as his expression took a quick turn as he beemed and gave his sister a thumbs up.

I felt the princess' grip around my arm tightened as she held it closer... I'm guessing that she's happy right now...

But got to admit~... The two mounds pressing agai-

'NO NO NO! Bad thoughts! Bad thoughts! Man! Since when did my mind became this aggressive~? And since when did I became a pervert anyway?'

Shaking my head to rid of the thoughts, I turned my gaze towards the princess.

As if seemingly sensing my me looking at her, she raised her head and looked at me straight in the eyes while smiling... Though her face is still red, she still look cute... Wait, that blush actually made her look more cuter~.

I returned her smile, though awkwardly. I don't really have any idea on what to do in this kind of situations... I'm completely a noob in areas like this. Even looking through my memories, I didn't find anything of sort that could help... Which proved one thing...

I didn't have a girlfriend in my past life...

I shifted my gaze towards the prince who's looking at the two of us smilingly, but it really does look irritating 'cause it's as if he's teasing us at the same time, just hidden behind his smile.

"So... Can I get a full explanation now on how we came to this situation?"

I spoke up, breaking the silence that lingered around us that's making me feel more awkward.

"Oh, of course. Then let's start with a little bit of history, the dragons' history."

The prince said as he fixed his posture.

Hearing these, grandpa Sylv as well as Marcus who have been silent the entire time also perked up their ears.

'Heh, guess they're pretty interested about the history of dragons too, huh? But... I think, it's just the norm for them to be, right?'

I thought, silently in my mind before asking no one in particular.

"But first, before that. I just want to confirm something."

"Yes?"

"What kind of dragon may you be, brother-in-law?"

"Oh, that huh. Well, I'm a Crimson Dragon, as far as I know."

They seemed to be surprised, but the ones' from the dragon group were less, grandpa Sylv and Marcus on the other hand...

"Ohoho~? Now that, is unexpected! I already know that you're a dragon type [Root] bearer, but never in my imagination that you're Crimson Dragon one, no less!"

Grandpa Sylve exclaimed in delight.

"Yes. It is rather unexpected. But just to be sure... If I may ask a question of you, prince Aultrec?"

Marcus, who was standing by the side said as he turned towards the prince.

"Yes you may. And no need to be so stiff when talking with me. You can talk to me more casually. After all, we're not even in a formal setting, nor are we even in Draginariah."

He said with a light chuckle.

"Yes, thank you for the honor. But for my question. Why did you deliberately ask what kind of dragon Kross is, is there a reason for that?"

Heh, he's really observant, huh? He even noticed that?

"Oh! Why yes, actually. Well you see... We dragons have the ability to sense fellow dragons and can even differentiate it between a [Root] or his or her exact race through our cloodlines. And what we have sensed from brother-in-law so far, it's the pure aura of a dragon. But still made me curious though..."

The prince said as he answered smoothly as Marcus along with grandpa Sylv nodded in understanding. But then, he's expression changed once again as he held his chin and sent me a curious gaze.

"Brother-in-law. We do certainly sense the pure aura of a dragon in you, but that's not all, we also sense the aura of a human, that too in it's purest form... Do you know why is that? And, the Dean also mentioned that you have a [Root]?"

He asked as he eyed me carefully, not letting anything get past his sight, not even the slightest twitches.

The others all wore incredulous expressions as their faces shirlfted of that of curiosity to the point that the prince revealed which they have only realized.

'Well, guess no more hiding... Hm~. Am I even hiding it in the first place? Nah! Dragon's are proud creatures, and I'm a proud dragon! And a Human at the same time!'

"Well, how do I put this... I already have this ability of mine since two years ago... I can turn either into a full Dragon or into full human respectively. But not just that. I can also easily manipulate my transformations and partially transform certain parts of my body smoothly."

I answered truthfully.

There's nothing wrong about it after all, 'cause even I don't understand it myself as I even discovered something new just yesterday while I went out to- uhmmm... To~ play! Yes! While I was out playing fetch with that lava hound!

I checked my status at that time and discovered some abnormalities, if I can even call it that.

My race seems to change constantly as I change my forms.

It will be set as Crimson Dragon in my dragon form and surprisingly, it was set as Human in my human form. At first, I thought it was just some failsafe or a cover-up to trick the crystal slates, which I have discovered are actually called status plates, but then I remembered an event when I was still on my cave, before I transformed into a full human...

It made me choose whether I would like to be a Dragonewt or a Full Human... So I'm guessing that it started from there.

"Hm~...!"

The prince hummed but his expression immediately changes as he clapped his hands, gathering all of our attentions.

"That's it!"

He exclaimed with a wide smile on his face.

"What do you mean? Have you discovered something, brother?"

The princess asked as she tensed up.

Hm, this also got me curious. Even I do not know anything myself. But then again, these guys are royalties from the kingdom full of dragons, so they probably have something like a written text that talks about my situation.

"Yup! You know it, little sis! Brother-in-law!"

He exclaimed and turned to mm, which startled me a little.

"Y-yes?"

"Hehe. If my assumptions are correct, then there's only one probable answer! You! My brother-in-law, is a Dragonborn!"

He declared as he pointed his finger at me.

This earned a gasp from all the dragons in the room as well as the two humans who have their mouths wide open.

"U-uhm. What exactly is this dragonborn thing?"

'Wait... I think I actually already heard of this... Right! From that game! Skyrim, was it?'

"Dragonborns are basically dragons in a mortal's body, in your case, in a human's body! You are a dragon through and through with your soul and blood, but in a human vessel! Which also leads us to another question. Because as far as the books says, Dragonborns don't have the capabilities to turn into a full dragon form, but only into their Dragoon form."

"Wait, by Dragoon, do you mean the one's called Dragon Knights?"

"Yes, brother-in-law. That's why your case is special. Because aside from that, Dragoons are basically dragons in nature and physiology, which means..."

He paused.

I knew what he is pointing out, so I completed his sentence.

"Dragonborns shouldn't have a [Root]."

"Exactly."

He confirmed with a nod.

The entire group became silent until grandpa Sylv spoke up.

"Hm~. This really is a complicated matter, and a troubling situation you got there, my boy."

He said as he stroked his beard.

'Wait, did he just call me my boy? He did, right?'

"Mhm~. And I suggest that without further informations and proofs about brother-in-law's situation, this cannot go out on public just yet."

"Yes, certainly. We don't want to cause unnecessary commotion after all."

Grandpa Sylv agreed.

"But we still have a problem. What would you do, Kross? You basically have all the characteristics of all the three races, what will you choose as your front?"

Marcus asked with clear heaviness in his tone.

"Hm, hm~. It will really be an issue. While it is possible for humans to turn into our [Root] forms as we reach the highest level of unsealing, we still retain some human semblance even after that. And we couldn't even use that as a cover for you and your full dragon transformation capability because at your age, no matter how talented you are, it is an impossibility."

"I see."

I said as I began to ponder myself.

"So what will it be, brother-in-law? Human, Dragonborn, or Full Dragon. Your choice."

"Hm~."

I hummed.

I really need to consider this carefully, if not... Then the consequences that will follow will certainly be dire.

I considered all the options, I have to weigh each of them carefully.

If I choose Human, then I can just continue on how I act already.

If I choose the Dragonborn as my front, then I just need to clarify some things with the people that already knew about my [Root], which were only Agon and Olivia, the couple from the gate, and grandpa Sylv as well as vice-dean Marcus, but there won't be a problem with these two anymore as they already knew about this matter.

As for the full Dragon front, this one will really raise a lot of questions for so many reason. My features more precisely, but it is also be a great choice in my opinion...

I raised my head.

The first prince, Grandpa Sylv, Marcus, Lua, Shaya, and finally, the princess, Altreah, had all their eyes trained on me.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth,

"I choose-"

-fin.

[Author's rant: BURNNN~!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Told you guys that I'm getting good at this~! 😆😆😆 Now cliffhangers already became my best and favorite part in writing!!!

But tell me honestly, it does make you anticipate even more right? Right~? 😆😆😆 I know I'm right! And I also know that some are even pissed at me right now~!

Anyways. This is my second longest chapter... Again, yet. There will always be a 'yet' in these parts as I myself don't have full control over my fingers more so over my imagination as I just keep on typing until I ran out of ideas~. 😜

HOPE YOU GUYS HAVE ENJOYED THE CHAPTER~!

AND FOR THE SECOND TIME AND DEFINITELY NOT THE LAST~. I LOVE DOING CLIFF HANGERS!!!

Though I really hate it when others do, so the feelings are mutual, I believe~. 😆😆😆😆😆

Oh! And another chapter is already in progress~! I don't know what caused this, but I feel like my imagination right now is really active!

*Ding!*

Hm? What's that?

*Unique Skill: Imagine Series-Limit Breaker, acquired.*

*Description:

Passively enhances the Author's imagination by 5x for a set amount of time.

Note:

This unique skill activates and deactivates on its own and cannot be forced.*

Oh. So that's how...🤔 ]