The dragon's harem

To dragons, fighting was like sports for humans. They loved to fight and test their limits, to see who of them is the strongest, who is the mightiest, and who is the one that shall stand above all.

But even with all of that fighting, dragons were one of the most social races in the world, with the metallic dragons being at the front of it all. The Chromatic weren’t any different.

Many humans think that dragons live in an abusive world, where the strong live and the weak die, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The only thing weaker dragons would lack is a mate, but as long as they don’t go and start a fight, no one would harm them.

Alas, it is also known that a drakaina can eat any dragon that fails to impress her in a mating fight, but that usually only happens to those who didn’t have the manners to post in her domain and wait for her to approach.

Arad had never faced a problem with his wives, as most approached him first. But today, he was about to fight them once more. Even though the result of the fights is predictable, this was a formality that should be followed.

“Fight well,” Lola looked at Balina with a smile, “Don’t take this fight lightly.”

Balina ignored her and focused on her hands, clenching a fist and feeling the magic surging beneath her fingers. They were going to fight in their humanoid form because this wasn’t a fight to the death.

Balina looked down, cracked her neck, and faced the massive door in front of her. Behind it was the arena her mother prepared, the royal colosseum, which was reserved for those fights.

On the other side, Arad was sitting on a chair, waiting for the door to open. Gamond stood beside him, thinking about how the fight might go.

“Don’t be too harsh on her. She is just a great wyrm.”

“Just and great wyrm are two words, three, that shouldn’t be in the same sentence.” Arad knew he was strong, but he still understood the harrowing power dragons possess. Even if he could defeat a great wyrm, that wasn’t the case for anyone else. Even Denki, the weakest drakaina here, was powerful enough to destroy multiple cities and get away with it.

Putting Alcott aside, even the strongest of humanoids can’t face an adult dragon directly; usually, a whole party is needed to hunt such powerful monsters.

He stood, “Never underestimate dragons, remember how Denki tore Claug’s arm? There isn’t a single dragon out there that is weak; all of them are powerful.”

He approached the massive door, and it opened, leading him straight to the open colosseum. “Why do I always end up in places like this?” He sighed.

“Well.” Lola, who sat with his other wives and watched, replied, “This world is built upon strength. Humans face monsters, and the gods face abominations; it is a battle for survival for everyone.” She smiled, “That’s why fighting and power are sacred; many value them more than anything else. Like everyone else, I would’ve loved it if we could value other things like beauty, kindness, or generosity. But sadly, only the strong could afford to act like that.”

She stood and looked at Arad as Balina walked in for the fight. “You can be as beautiful as the world allows, but if you aren’t at the level of a nymph, you’ll be eaten by monsters like everyone else. You can be kind, but the cruel world will weed you out sooner or later; your kindness will become a weakness that leads to a painful and sad death. It is the same; you be as generous as you want, but that is a call to get exploited, abused, and sucked dry.”

She smiled, “If you were a human, Arad Orion, if you were a weak human, unable to protect yourself. Would you look for a beautiful wife, or a strong wife that could banish the harrowing monsters living around each city? Just traveling from one city to another would mean going through the monster-infested wilderness.”

“This world isn’t safe, it’s deadly, and everyone’s first priority is neither food nor reproduction, it’s living until the next morning.” She pointed at Balina.

“She is my daughter, and if she is to marry anyone, I want them to be at least stronger than her. She can starve for days, she can cry for a few nights, but I would never want her to get eaten alive by a monster. No matter how hard life gets, as long as one is alive, they can carry on.”

Arad understood what she meant, but it still didn’t make sense.

It would’ve made sense if Balina was weak, but she isn’t. She is a powerful drakaina that can protect herself far better than most living beings. She doesn’t need to be afraid of monsters; the monsters are the ones afraid of her.

“I get it, but Balina isn’t weak.” Arad approached the center of the arena, and so did Balina. “Look at her, as powerful as Great Wryms get.”

Balina smiled, “Powerful? Compared to everyone else, maybe. To you and those you fight, never.” She looked at him with burning pink eyes, “I’m weak, far too weak when compared to the true monsters of the world.” She looked back at Gamond, “How did you tame that wild animal?”

“Gamond?” Arad smiled, “I smacked her on the ground, and blew a world at her. Her cold magic is powerful, but it can’t consume my fire.”

“Blew a world at her? And she lived?” Balina slowly lifted her arms, “I would’ve died. Now that is getting me excited. How powerful are you really? Where are your limits?”

“I’ve got too many limits to count, but those limits are there to be surpassed. If I can’t beat fire, I’d better learn how to deal with it.” He looked at Balina, “So? Care to show me what you can do?”

Silence fell as Balina’s magic slowly crept up, engulfing her in a radiant pink mist that smelled sweet. The ground beneath her feet stirred, and Arad didn’t even bother moving.

She smacked her palms together, covering them in soap. [Elemental Expansion]

Bubbles exploded from her body, engulfing the whole arena in white foam.

[Bubble Bath]

“Many underestimate soap dragons.” Gamond said as she watched the white sea surging in front of everyone. “Soap dragons are usually born to Acid and water dragons, making it easy to imagine what that soap can do.”

The soap smelled sweet, but at the same time, it was painfully harsh and corrosive like acid. The stone walls and ground of the arena melted clean, and even the air became unbreathable from the horrid stench.

“Soap dragons are what humans started calling them after Balina spent a thousand years making soap and selling it.” Lola stood and waved her hand, forming a barrier to protect everyone from Balina’s soap.

“That isn’t soap.”