Precedence System: I Take My Rewards In Advance

There was no reason to waste a guaranteed tame on the first Wyvern that happened to fly past the window when there were dozens of them outside to choose from.

Another notification appeared.

[Skill Acquired: Silent Venom]

[Tier: Grandform]

Zishan raised his index finger. Poison Mana gathered at its tip.

The concentration became so thin that he could barely see it himself. There was no green mist floating around his hand and no dramatic sign announcing that something dangerous had formed.

It was simply there.

He then brought his thumb near the fingertip before stopping himself. ’Don’t test it on yourself, dumbass.’

Zishan lowered his hand. The Skill was terrifying in a very different way from Wildfire Requiem.

Wildfire Requiem was like an announcement of something grand. Every living being would know if he used it right then and there.

Silent Venom was the exact opposite. Even if he just shook hands with somebody, he could poison the person. Just tapping a finger against someone’s arm might already do it. He even wondered whether enough mastery could eventually let him use it from a distance.

If the other person was not far stronger than him and lacked the proper resistance, they might not even realize Poison Mana had entered their body.

Zishan’s mouth curved slightly. ’That’s dangerous as fuck... but I like it a lot...’

He would need to be careful with it; that was a given, but he could not help but create scenarios in his head where he could possibly use it.

Then, the last reward appeared.

Zishan stopped the moment the final notification appeared.

[Dragon Egg Hatching Requirement Bypassed!]

His smile disappeared, though not from disappointment. For a second, he had simply forgotten how to move after realizing that the egg could actually hatch now.

Then, his hands went toward the Tamed Beast Space.

Elinox had started spreading her Mana through Skyforge when she sensed a spatial disturbance beside her and turned toward him. Zishan reached into the distortion and pulled out the Dragon Egg.

Elinox’s attention shifted toward it.

She knew he possessed an unusual egg, though this was the first time she had been close enough to study it without a battlefield distracting everyone.

”What are you doing?” she asked.

Zishan held the egg against his chest. ”Important fatherly duties.”

Elinox paused. ”What?”

Ollie leaned forward from the sofa.

Zishan lowered his face toward the egg. ”Don’t distract me. My child might be born.”

Elinox stared at the egg. Then, she remembered what he had shouted earlier.

’Let’s go, baby!’

Her eyes slowly moved back toward Zishan.

’He was talking to the egg?’

For several seconds, Elinox said nothing. She had actually thought he was calling her baby.

Her expression remained composed, although she found herself very glad that nobody around them could read minds. Otherwise, it would have been a nightmare for someone as dignified as herself to assume something at the drop of a hat just because the person was acting strangely.

Ollie’s eyes widened. ”Big Brother has a child?”

”No!” Zishan turned toward him.

Then, he hesitated and looked down at the egg. ”Well...”

Elinox stared at him.

Zishan raised one hand and sighed. ”It’s complicated.”

”You had a child with a dragon? That’s why it’s complicated? What kind of dragon have you impregnated?” Elinox asked, curious about everything. ”I know what pregnancy means, but nobody ever explained how it actually happens.”

Zishan looked at her, shocked by what she had just said. ”What are you? A hermit? You’re already 18! And you don’t know about sex at all?!”

”Oh, I’ve heard of sex, but I don’t know how to do it. But this isn’t exactly the right moment for us to talk about it... after all... we’re still surrounded by Wyverns.”

Zishan looked at her with his jaw dropped. ”Unbelievable! With how beautiful you are, I thought you already had sex with somebody! From my place, girls your age already had sex with guys.”

Elinox forgot about the Wyverns for a moment as she narrowed her eyes. ”So you already did it with a dragon back at your place?”

”What the hell!” Zishan reacted as the Skyforge shook once more, albeit lightly.

Then, a sound came from the shell. A thin crack had appeared near the top of the Dragon Egg.

His eyes widened.

Ollie left the sofa and moved closer. ”Big Brother...”

”I see it.”

Another crack spread across the surface.

Zishan tightened his hold enough to keep the egg steady without squeezing it. ”OH. MY. GOD!”

Elinox forgot whatever she had been about to say.

The shell moved. A small piece broke away and fell against Zishan’s arm. Something pushed from inside as another part of the shell cracked outward.

Then, a tiny head appeared.

Zishan’s mouth fell open.

The little dragon struggled for another second before finally pushing its head through the cracked shell, taking its first small breaths as though the effort had exhausted it. Its scales were pitch-black with a faint gray sheen, like dark stone hidden beneath moonlight, and the dark color made its little head look even smaller.

Two little horns curved backward from its head, still short and rounded enough to look more adorable than imposing, while a line of delicate scales ran between them and down toward its neck.

Then its eyes opened.

They were soft gray, almost silvery, wide and clear in a way that made it look less like some ancient, terrifying creature and more like the cutest baby in the world.

Zishan stared. ’It’s actually so fucking cute!!!’

The creature blinked at him.

Zishan was mesmerized by its appearance. He had the urge to grab its head and pinch it hard. ’Am I experiencing cuteness aggression right now?!’

The baby dragon tilted its head.

He leaned closer. ”Hey...”

Its eyes remained fixed on his face.

Zishan smiled. ”Come on. Get out of there.”

The dragon pushed again.

Part of one small wing emerged from the cracked shell.

Zishan used one hand to remove a loose piece before it could fall against the hatchling’s head. ”There you go.”

The little dragon watched him.

Its mouth opened. ”Pa...pa?”

Zishan stopped breathing.

Ollie froze beside him.

Elinox’s Mana stopped spreading through the barrier for a second.

The dragon blinked. ”Papa?”

Zishan stared at it. ’It talks, and it’s calling me Papa! Is this what it feels like to be a dad?!’

His eyes became wide enough that Ollie leaned closer to make sure he had heard correctly.

”Big Brother... it called you Papa.”

Zishan merely nodded, absentmindedly looking at the beautiful little dragon.

The baby dragon made a small sound and stretched its neck toward Zishan. ”Papa!”

Zishan’s face lit up. ”YES!”

Elinox flinched at the volume of his voice.

Zishan pulled the egg closer against himself, careful not to squeeze it. ”Yes! Papa! That’s me!”

Ollie smiled as the little dragon seemed satisfied with his answer and started struggling the rest of the way out of its shell. Zishan helped by removing another loose piece, freeing the rest of the tiny black wing before the other one followed.

Its body was even smaller than he had expected, while its long tail was still partly curled inside the broken shell. Once its front claws found Zishan’s arm, the little dragon started pulling the rest of itself free.

”Careful,” Zishan muttered, adjusting his arm to give it somewhere easier to step.

The warning meant absolutely nothing to the hatchling, which continued climbing toward his chest while Zishan simply let it have its way.

A Wyvern slammed into Skyforge outside.

The vessel shook.

Zishan adjusted his stance and supported the hatchling against his chest. The little dragon did not seem concerned.

Its attention had moved toward Ollie.

Ollie smiled at it. ”Hello...”

The hatchling stared at him.

Ollie extended one finger, and the dragon sniffed it. After a while, it turned its head away as though it was sulking.

Ollie’s smile faded.

Zishan bit his lower lip.

”Don’t laugh, Big Brother...”

”I wasn’t laughing,” Zishan argued.

”You were going to...”

”I was supporting you emotionally.”

Ollie narrowed his eyes.

And before Zishan could continue, the baby dragon looked somewhere else.

Toward Elinox.

She had resumed forming the barrier and was standing several steps away, one hand raised as Gravity, Water, and Light Mana moved through different sections of the defensive layer surrounding Skyforge.

The dragon became very quiet as it watched Elinox, following her with its eyes until she finally noticed the stare and turned her head.

Their gazes met.

The baby dragon blinked, and something about its little face changed the moment it saw her properly. ”Mama?”

Elinox’s fingers stopped in the middle of controlling the barrier.

Zishan’s smile disappeared.

Ollie looked toward the High General while the dragon stretched its neck in her direction, almost slipping from Zishan’s arms in its attempt to get closer.

”Mama!”

Both Zishan and Elinox went still.

Another Wyvern struck the barrier outside, and the defensive field rippled across one side of Skyforge when Elinox’s Mana slipped for a moment. She corrected it before the creature could strike again, though her attention had already returned to the little dragon calling her from Zishan’s arms.

”Mama! Mama!”

Zishan looked at Elinox.

She looked back at him.

He opened his mouth, but for once, absolutely nothing useful came to mind.

The hatchling climbed higher against his chest and reached both tiny claws toward Elinox again. ”Mama!”

Elinox’s eyes narrowed at Zishan as if he somehow had something to do with this.

Before he could defend himself, the baby dragon turned toward him and happily called, ”Papa!”

Zishan stared at it.

The dragon pressed itself against his chest, then looked toward Elinox again and lifted one tiny claw in her direction. ”Mama!”

The barrier around Skyforge flickered again.