Asland Four Hundred Years Ago?

Xiao Rang had no idea how much time had passed. When he woke from his unconsciousness and opened his eyes, he found himself still inside the white orb, without any discomfort. He finally let out a sigh of relief. That violent shaking earlier had scared him half to death. He had thought something had happened to his future mother, or that he had been aborted. His poor little heart had been thumping wildly. Thankfully, things had stabilized, and he had landed safely. He just did not know when he would finally be born. With that thought, Xiao Rang habitually stretched. As his body extended unconsciously, his foot happened to kick the edge of the orb.

"Crack!"

A faint crisp sound came from the edge of the orb. Cracks rapidly spread from where Xiao Rang had struck it, crawling across the entire orb. This frightened Xiao Rang badly. He hurriedly reached out, trying to stop the cracks from spreading, while muttering nonstop.

"Mom, I'm sorry! I didn't know you were this fragile! If I'd known, I definitely wouldn't have been so naughty! Please hang in there!"

Xiao Rang was floundering about inside the orb, while the five giant dragons surrounding it were no less anxious. As they stared at the cracking eggshell, every dragon's heart rose to their throat. Hatching from the shell was the most important and sacred event for dragonkind. Outsiders were absolutely forbidden from helping. Thus, the one human and six dragons, both inside and outside the shell, all fell into unprecedented tension.

"Crack!"

"Crash!"

The eggshell finally shattered and scattered across the ground, revealing the creature within. The five giant dragons stared fixedly at the newly hatched Xiao Rang. Feeling their gazes, Xiao Rang wanted nothing more than to crawl into a crack in the ground. But he still had to face them, so he gathered his courage and looked around. There were no corpses, and no people nearby either—only five enormous heads. One of them was green, and it nearly scared Xiao Rang into fainting.

As Xiao Rang observed his surroundings, the five dragons were observing him as well. However, Xiao Rang no longer looked human. He had become a small, slender hatchling. His entire body was covered in crystal-clear scales, his eyes were dark gold, and a pair of pink horns grew from his head. Combined with his wobbly steps, caused by his inability to fully control his body, he instantly melted the hearts of all five dragons. One dark green dragon even reached out, wanting to hold Xiao Rang close and dote on him, only to receive death glares from the other four. Frightened, he quickly withdrew his hand and gave an embarrassed laugh.

Recovering from the fright the green dragon had given him, Xiao Rang grew curious about the expressions on the dragons' faces and wanted to move closer to hear their conversation more clearly. Yet he lost his footing and fell straight onto the shattered eggshell. The crystal-like shell reflected his appearance perfectly. Staring at himself in the eggshell, Xiao Rang froze. While he was spacing out, the five dragons launched into a heated discussion. Their main topics were Xiao Rang's name and who would raise him.

"Since he came from the sky, he should naturally be called Flaire. And since I was the first to find him, I should be the one to raise him!" Gilkunis said smugly as he stroked his two whiskers. However, the surrounding dragons did not buy it at all. They all gave him a dismissive "Tch!" before continuing to offer their own opinions.

"The little one's scales are like crystal. How about calling him Krischt? As for who will raise him, we can discuss that later," the dark green dragon said calmly.

"No good. Woodman, can't you come up with a name with a little more taste? Besides, what difference is there between discussing custody later and discussing it now?" a deep voice sounded from Woodman's right as a gray dragon retorted.

"You think you're so great? Then you come up with one!" Woodman shot back.

"Keep your voices down. Don't scare him! And Woodman, stop bullying Radel all the time. We're good brothers!" A light blue dragon with long white whiskers moved closer and stopped the two dragons before their argument could escalate.

"Enough, stop arguing! How about we use the words on the eggshell as the baby's name and call him Sordil Orn? As for who will raise him, let him choose for himself!" A sweet female voice rang out as the last blue dragon voiced an opinion.

"I agree with Wattster. Now let's see which of us has enough charm to make the little one follow us!" Gilkunis, always confident in his own charm, immediately supported Wattster's suggestion. The other dragons nodded in agreement as well.

Coming back to his senses, Xiao Rang heard the five dragons' discussion and instantly understood his situation. At the same time, he understood what compensation that mysterious woman had given him. As a result, more than half of his resentment toward her vanished. As for why half remained, it was because the time period she had chosen for him was far too delicate. The moment he saw Gilkunis, Xiao Rang guessed that he had arrived in the world of Asland, and that it was Asland before the main storyline began—at least four hundred years early.

Thinking of the great war that would soon arrive, ten thousand alpacas stampeded through Xiao Rang's heart. Since she had already sent him here, could she not have picked a better time? With this tiny body of his, could he survive the tide of the era? Even if he did not die in the war, the Black Dragon Acunologiya would soon be born. Acunologiya could slice him into live dragon sashimi in minutes. Without the companions from Fairy Tail to help him, Acunologiya was invincible, okay? Big sister, we have no grudge between us. You even accidentally killed me twice, and I never said anything. Couldn't you at least leave me a way to live?

With that thought, Xiao Rang sat down dejectedly. Then he felt something beneath his butt that was digging painfully into him. He pulled it out and found that it was a piece of the eggshell he had just broken free from. Seeing the eggshell reminded Xiao Rang of the woman who had caused his mysterious death. Unable to vent his anger, he stuffed the shell into his mouth and chewed hard. To his surprise, the incomparably hard eggshell turned into a warm current the moment it entered his mouth, flowing down his throat and into every part of his body. Xiao Rang felt thoroughly refreshed and comfortable. He realized that the eggshell was probably some kind of treasure left behind by that woman. So, with unfamiliar steps, he picked up the pieces scattered across the ground one by one and swallowed them.

After Xiao Rang swallowed the final piece of eggshell, he felt that his body was much stronger than it had been at birth. At the very least, he no longer stumbled around whenever he walked. As Xiao Rang adapted to his new body, the five giant dragons approached him again. Each wore a faint smile, and every one of them hugged him and doted on him for a while. Finally, the light blue dragon stepped forward, placed Xiao Rang atop a huge rock from which he could clearly see every dragon, then turned around and spoke to him kindly.

"Child, I am the Ice Dragon Hadessta. These four are the Water Dragon Wattster, the Wood Dragon Woodman, the Rock Dragon Radel, and Gilkunis. You must choose one of us to stay by your side, protect you, and care for you. But do not worry. We are all your parents. Even if we are not beside you, we will still protect and love you. So it makes no difference whom you choose. There is no need to hesitate."

After saying that, the Ice Dragon Hadessta stood beside the other four dragons. All five turned their gazes toward Xiao Rang and quietly waited for him to make his choice.