The dragon lay still by the pond, his golden eyes narrowing as his long scale covered tail curled slightly, brushing through the moss. A breath slipped from his nostrils, stirring ripples across the mirrored surface once more.
"Shall we see who they are?"
He focused.
Not just with sight or hearing, but with one of the two things he had learned in these ten boring days—perception.
It wasn't something he had been taught, nor something he'd been born knowing. He had simply done it.
When a bird once flew overhead and he had wished to know what it carried, he had reached out with all his senses.
In that moment, his mana surged like a pulse and in response, the world bloomed open before him. Since then, he had been using this skill to find animals to hunt.
Now, he was using it again—for the first time, not to hunt for food.
Like a tide moving outward from his massive body, his mana spread, perceiving the very essence of the world around him.
Every tree, stone, and insect within a kilometer was now laid bare to his awareness. The rustle of branches. The breath of a squirrel. The minute tremble of a leaf being crushed beneath hurried footsteps.
And then—he felt her.
A figure, light and fast, bouncing toward him.
She had long ears, slender limbs, and a soft cotton-like tail.
'A bunny girl?'
Her feet hardly touched the ground, yet her pulse roared in his perception—racing with terror. She wasn't just running toward him... she was also running away from something.
Well, not something, but a group of someones.
There were five of them.
From their bodies, he could tell they were humans with armors and swords.
'Oh? Humans? Is there a human settlement close to me?' The dragon wondered as he focused on them.
He somehow knew what humans were.
And he knew that they could talk.
The problem was that he didn't know that there was a settlement nearby. If he did, he wouldn't have stayed lying here all these days.
He would've abandoned his laziness and moved to them.
As he focused on the approaching humans, he could feel their heavy and fast steps.
From their pace, it was clear they were stronger than the bunny girl—likely seasoned warriors. And yet, she was keeping ahead, weaving through the woods like water slipping through fingers.
It was as if she was used to this type of terrain, giving her a territorial advantage.
'It wouldn't last for long, though,' he concluded.
Yes, she was somehow outrunning them, but the humans were now getting used to the forest, their speed increasing.
Of course, that was if all of them ignored him and ran past him. If all of them stopped her, then who knows what would happen.
But as the dragon watched all this unfold from the comfort of his mossy perch, he merely blinked.
He wasn't interested in who was right or wrong. He didn't care if the humans caught her. Morality was a language no one had taught him.
What did interest him was this: she was coming straight toward him.
And so were the humans.
'Wait. Is she leading them here?' He tilted his massive head to the side, puzzled.
Could it be a coincidence? Or... had she known he was here all along?
In the end, he shook his head, waving those thoughts away, and waiting patiently.
He didn't move, snarl, or prepare for battle, he simply waited.
All he wanted was to talk. Even if for just a moment.
'Just don't run away like others...'
Soon, ten seconds passed.
The bushes at the edge of the clearing rustled violently.
And then, like a sudden burst of wind, she emerged.
A blur of white hair, pale skin, and deep red eyes. Her ears flopped slightly as she skidded into the clearing, stumbling, but the moment her eyes met his, she... froze.
Her knees buckled as she collapsed onto the soft grass, her mouth agape.
"T-There really was a dragon here…" Her voice was hoarse, her body trembling but the dragon noticed something in her expression. It had more than fear; it also had disbelief.
It was as if she had come here looking for him but wasn't expecting to actually see him.
But now that she had found him... she couldn't even move. After all, seeing a dragon, one as dangerous looking as him, wasn't something one would appreciate.
The dragon, however, just stared at her.
His obsidian horns covered in gold, glinted in the spotted light coming through the tree above him.
He didn't move an inch, afraid the slightest motion might send her fleeing.
She looked so fragile—like the birds he'd scared off with a glance, just more human.
He squinted, struggling to see more—wanting to know who she was. What she was and why had she come here.
He wanted to know more about her, but was afraid he might scare her away if he spoke, so he just sighed.
But before he gave up on that thought, as if responding to his will to know more about the girl, his mana swirled within him and something blinked into existence before his eyes.
A glowing panel of light.
[Inspecting Target...]
Name: Lyra Dawnwhisk
Race: Leporin (Beastkin – Rabbit)
Stats:
- Strength: F
- Defense: F
- Agility: E+
- Mana: E
Skills:
- Forestrunner (Passive – Enhances speed and maneuverability in forests.)
- Soundless Step (Passive – Footsteps are near silent.)
- Nature's Mark (Unawakened – Need to reach C rank to unlock.)
He blinked slowly. His expression remained neutral and unmoving—he kept it neutral—but on the inside, he was startled.
'What... was that?'
A status panel?
Like the kind he'd seen in his dreams.
And then, his gaze dropped to her name.
'Lyra…'
The sound echoed softly in his mind. 'So that's her name.'
But as he thought of the name something tightened in his chest, a strange feeling he couldn't describe. After all, he didn't have a name.
Or at least he couldn't remember if he had any.
'Who am I...?'
He had never really thought deeply about it, but seeing someone with a name, made him curious about his own name if he had any.
He stared at Lyra for a moment longer, then slowly turned his head and looked down at the pond's reflection—his massive form still and powerful. His golden eyes shimmered, narrowing.
'If I can see her name... what about mine?'
Without knowing why or how, he focused inward.
And again, a glowing panel appeared—this time not for Lyra... but for himself.
[Inspecting Target...]
Name: –
Race: Primordial Dragon
Bloodline: Primordial Dragon
Stats:
- Strength: SS
- Defense: SS
- Agility: SS
- Mana: SS
Skills:
- ??? (No information available)
- Mana Concealment
- Ultimate Draconic Instincts
- Ultimate Perception
- Inspection
He stared at it—his stats.
SS.
Every stat. Every category.
'How high is it?'
He couldn't tell. What he could tell was that he was strong—really strong.
Because he could feel the difference in his and Lyra's strength.
But that wasn't what caught his eye. His eyes remained fixed on his name, which he didn't have.
Just: "–"
His gaze lingered on that single, blank mark. Somehow, that emptiness was louder than all the power written below it.
He felt like without a name, he wouldn't be anything. He wouldn't know what to introduce himself as.
'I need a name…' he thought inwardly. 'Something... to call myself.'
He hadn't noticed that Lyra, who saw him turning toward the lake, had started panicking, feeling as if he wasn't interested in her.
She had never really hoped that he would help her and thought that he would kill her along with the humans following her.
She had thought about sacrificing herself to save her sibling who she came to the human empire to rescue, but after looking into his eyes, she saw something—something she couldn't quite put a finger on—that told her that he might help her.
She wasn't sure. She didn't even know how to ask for help and if he would understand her words, but something inside her told the only way she could survive was by sticking close to this dangerous-looking dragon.
But just then, breaking her and the dragon out of their thoughts, the humans dashed into the area.
They stormed in like a pack of wolves, thrashing the bushes covering the clearing, their swords drawn. From their expression alone, one could tell they were annoyed, having to run so much to catch the bunny girl.
Their breathing was rough, clearly tired from all the running, but as soon as their eyes fell on the bunny girl, kneeling on the ground, trembling, they tried to flank her, cutting off her escape.
But then, they saw him, pausing in their spots.
One of them, unable to stop in time, collided with another, falling on his ass; his eyes, however, remained fixed on the dragon.
All six pairs of eyes—including the Lyra's—were now staring at the massive black dragon.
Color drained of the humans face as they stared at the dragon coiled next to the crooked tree beside the pond. He was lying under the tree, but one could tell that the moment he raised his head, the tree would look small in front of him.
His obsidian scales gave him a dangerous look as his scaly tail—thicker than a tree's truck—flicked lazily, making the ground tremble.
Staring into his golden serpentine eyes, looking at them with focus made them feel like they were being looked through.
"What in the name of gods..." One of them muttered, almost dropping his sword.
"Is that a fucking dragon?" Another gawked, his body trembling continuously, thinking of running.
But just then, a yell was heard. "Stand your fucking ground!"
It was a gruff man with a furry coat, a scar running down his eyebrow, glaring at his subordinates, he growled. "The dragons are dead, you bastards. It's probably a chimera."
His words, however, sounded like false bravado as his legs were trembling non-stop. After all, no matter what it was, it was huge and intimidating.
In fact, the leader was thinking of running away by using the other as meat shields.
The dragon could tell that.
He could somehow tell what that scarred man was thinking as he looked into the guy's eyes. That expression was similar to one of the people he had seen in his visions, and that person was the type to run away by sacrificing others.
But he didn't care about that.
He didn't care what kind of person that man was, if he could talk, then that was all he wanted, but...
'They're afraid,' he thought. 'They run away at this rate.'
He could feel the tension in all of their bodies, their mana stirring in disjointed waves—one moment preparing to defend, the next ready to flee.
He didn't want them to run away.
He sighed—a deep, rumbling exhale echoed through the clearing.
Then, for the first time today, he opened his mouth to speak to someone.
"I mean you no harm."
The words came out slow and deliberate. He didn't sound angry, nor did he sound excited. He sounded relaxed, probably bored.
The humans froze.
"It... talked," one of them breathed, nearly dropping his sword.
"Talking beasts—those are at least... at least A-rank monsters," another hissed, taking a step back. "We can't fight that. We're not ready. We're not even close."
The dragon's expression didn't change, but inwardly, he frowned. Was his voice frightening?
He had tried to sound calm; even gentle.
"I will not stop you," he continued. "If you wish to kill the girl... that is your choice. I only ask that you do not involve me."
The humans, however, weren't listening to his words anymore. The fact that he was an A-rank or higher monster, was enough for them to lose their cool, even the leader was now unable to hide his fear.
His hand trembled around the hilt of his sword.
"What... What are you?" He asked, his voice barely a growl. "Who the hell are you?"
That question hit the dragon harder than any sword could.
He stilled completely, the golden in his eyes dimming slightly.
Who... was he?
The blank line on the glowing panel in his mind flickered again.
He had no name.
How should he introduce himself? Should he say he doesn't have a name?
But as he turned his gaze back toward his reflection in the lake, something stirred within him—a whisper, like a breeze brushing his mind.
Something within him clicked, and a word—a name—appeared in his head.
Kael.
He didn't know where it came from as it just came to his head. He didn't even know if it was his name or not, but it felt right.
Like something lost that had finally been found.
He stood taller, wings rustling softly as he lifted his chin and looked the human in the eyes.
"I am Kael," he said.
The dragon finally had a name.
He didn't know many things about himself, but he knew his name now, and no matter how many names people gave him later, this would be the name he would introduce himself with.