The dragon's harem

After eating, Arad stood up and cracked his back. “I’m going out to look for something big to eat.” The small snack they had wasn’t enough to fill him, he needed more to fuel him for the coming day.

“I’ll lay down a bit.” Isdis dropped back on the bed, all her body was still hurting. She had woken up sore this morning and followed it with that grueling fight with Isbert, she was wasted.

As Arad walked past the backyard, he saw Mira working alone in the workshop, making glass. He sat there watching her for a few minutes before leaving. She was working hard to learn how to make glass and had already amassed more than twenty failed prototypes.

ZON! Arad teleported far away to hunt for food. With several casts of [Void Step], He had moved more than 200km away {125 miles}.

The large trees filled the jungle as the faint red light of dusk seeped through the cracks of their great branches. The small animals stopped moving and looked toward the figure that suddenly appeared, feeling the power pulsing around him. Arad stood there, in the middle of the thick greenery of the jungle, drowning in three-meter-tall shrubs and bushes.

With a single pulse of the void, Arad sucked all the bushes surrounding him into his stomach as he looked around. At first, he was searching for food, but something else quickly clouded his mind. The strange peaceful aura surrounding this portion of the forest.

He reached down to the ground and scooped a handful of dirt, looking at it with his glowing eyes. It was faint, but there was a clear trace of holy magic. Life was thriving, and the plants looked healthy and large. Even the animals seemed to have grown large and meaty.

Arad’s magic range was 40km, this strange divine blessing that filled the area had far surpassed that distance. Whenever he could sense it, it was blessed. If a zombie were to be dropped here, he’d burn to ash in seconds. As a vampire, Arad felt a bit uncomfortable in here, but that feeling wasn’t anywhere near the divine barrier that kept Vorvadoss sealed.

Arad’s mind instantly raced as his muscles tightened, ^Is there another abomination sealed close to here?^ His eyes darted around but couldn’t trace the source of the holy magic. He had come here to hunt for food, only for him to find himself facing such a mystery.

Arad shifted into his draconic form and glared around with glowing eyes. His wives are merely 200km away, it’s dangerous to let any abomination so close by. He could remember the fake reality that the dream walkers showed him in the past, he doesn’t want such a nightmare to become a reality. What Vorvadoss could do was still itched into his brain, at this moment the mere mention of an abomination was enough to get him agitated.

As Arad looked around, he froze in place upon noticing something strange. It wasn’t visible to the naked human eye; he could only notice the difference thanks to his draconic vision. Two massive mountains in the distance were going up and down in unison. The movement wasn’t big, just around two feet, but that was two feet longer than how much a mountain naturally moves, which was zero.

Arad stuck close to the ground as he prowled his way toward the mountains. He had seen how Matilda hunted and wanted to try catching his prey by surprise. His draconic body’s large muscles and joints acted as suspensions, allowing Arad to be quieter than a cat. If only he was an adult so he could blend into the environment.

After a slow, ten minutes at which he made his way to the mountains, he stopped by their side and looked in the crack between them. He was stunned, baffled, and surprised at what he had seen. A short, burly dwarf lay on a stone, benching the two mountains like it’s nothing.

The dwarf slowly laid the mountains down and opened his palms, letting the large adamantine pole rest as he sat up, brushing his thick red beard. “Come here kid, how are ya feeling now?” The dwarf waved his arm to Arad, calling him to come closer. He was Mora. “What are you?” Arad growled as he slowly approached with caution. No matter how he looked, what this dwarf was doing would easily put him at a titan’s raw strength.

“The name Mora. Hati called me here to show your wife Mira how to craft and forge weapons.” Mora replied with a smile as he stood, slowly flexing his muscles, “Yeah, that was a lightweight. I need something heavier.”

“Hati called you?” Arad shifted back into his humanoid form and stood facing Mora, he was almost twice as tall as him. But Mora was just as wide as Arad. “I’m a blacksmith. My weapons are the best in the world, but not anyone could wield them.” He smiled.

Arad sat down so he could look Mora in the eyes, but Mora sat as well, pulling two large barrels of beer out of nowhere. “Want a drink?”

“No thanks.” Arad shook his head, for some reason, he couldn’t feel any animosity from this dwarf. “I came here to look for food, and just happened to see you move those mountains like that.” Arad looked at the mountains and the adamantine bar linking them.

“Want to give it a try? You’re quite large, you might be able to do it.” Mora stood with a large grin on his hairy face and smacked Arad on the back, “Go for it boy! Show me what you got.” Arad glanced at the mountains again, he didn’t think he could do it. How much do those things even weigh? He had seen Gug, Gojo’s companion training like this before with two adventurers sitting on the bar, but to use mountains… it sounded too stupid to be real.

With Mora’s contentious cheering, Arad got on the bench, grabbed the adamantine bar, took a deep breath, and went for it. Putting all of his strength into it, he felt as if he was going to be crushed. The bar bent and creaked as if it was about to snap as the mountains tilted a bit. Arad immediately dropped the bar and Mora caught it, gently putting it down. “Hmmm…” Mora looked at Arad with a curious gaze, combing his long beard. “Kid, you’re malnourished, aren’t you.”

Arad sat up, “I was looking out for a meal.”

“No…no…” waved his hand, “I didn’t mean that. It’s something else.” He cleared his throat. “I’m a dwarven demi-god.” He lied as naturally as he breathed. “I can tell you’re a void dragon, and I can tell that you’re malnourished with a single look at your face.”

He approached Arad and looked into his eyes, “When was the last time you ate what the humans call the cursed metal?”

“That? I’ve got a massive pillar of it in my stomach.” Arad replied with a puzzled face, “Do I need more than that?”

“You’re a bit stupid, aren’t you?” Mora sat on the bench beside Arad and sighed, “If it’s in your stomach, you haven’t absorbed it yet. It’s the same as if you never had it.” He shook his head, “What are you keeping it for? Evolution? That’s a rare occurrence.”

“I must have it at that time.” Arad replied, “I can’t just waste it.”

“Hmmmm….” Mora stood up and scratched his head, “You’re one troublesome kid, aren’t you? Eat it and go look for more. It’s a crucial part of a void dragon’s died, that’s your main source of energy. Normal food can’t sustain something as massive and power-hungry as a

void dragon.”

“I survive by hunting large monsters. As long as I change my hunting ground, I won’t over- hunt any place.” Arad replied.

“Listen.” Mora smacked Arad on the head with a chop, “Void dragons shouldn’t live in this mortal world, to your kind, it’s nothing more than a cradle, an incubation zone where you grow and spend your infancy.” Mora explained, “There are multiple planes of existence like hell, the abyss, and the wasted lands of Hades… Void dragons live in the empty space between those massive demi-planes and only stop once every few decades to stock up on food and

resources.”

For two whole hours, Mora explained as much as he could about void dragons to Arad. About how the cursed metal is their best food and most efficient power source.

The reason they grow so big is that they are native to the void, where gravity and pressure don’t exist so nothing hinders their growth.

Arad did ask Mora the most important question, and it was about where to find void drakainas. As expected, Mora had a clear answer. He explained that void dragons are active hunters that scout the void for abominations and kill them while the drakainas are passive defenders who pick a single spot and defend. And that if Arad wanted to find a void drakaina, he most likely would need to leave the mortal world and prowl the ethereal void in search of

one.

“But…” Mora said with a large grin on his face, “You’d still repel each other so no action for you even if you found one…” He giggled and Arad almost punched him in the face. “Come on.” Mora smacked Arad’s back, “But I’ll give you a tip. I’ve heard of a young drakaina that just stationed at the Twin Heaven of duality. She’s only been there for half a century, and I doubt any void dragon has approached her yet. They all repel each other after all.” He smiled, “If you can find a way to approach other void dragons like your brother did, you might have a chance. But let me warn you, she’s a vicious fighter.”

Mora stood, pointing to the base of one of the mountains, “You’ll find a cave there, dig around five kilometers underground and you’ll find some cursed metal to eat.” He looked at Arad with a smile, “Eat well, train, and rest. Grow stronger so one day you might make it there to the twin heaven of duality. That place is quite far away.”