Wasted Dragon?

Xiao Rang's final choice left the five giant dragons stunned. He chose neither the kind and amiable Hadessta nor the gentle and beautiful Wattster, but the taciturn Rock Dragon Radel. Gilkunis, who considered himself exceptionally charming, was deeply disappointed. As for Woodman, he could hardly believe that Radel, who had never shown any particularly outstanding qualities, had actually won Xiao Rang's affection. What the others found even harder to bear was that, as Radel held Xiao Rang in his arms and cheered, Xiao Rang actually called him "Father" in halting bursts. Radel was overjoyed and, holding Xiao Rang, shouted "Good!" three times in a row, making the other dragons green with envy.

Xiao Rang did not know what the dragons were thinking, but he had his own reasons for choosing Radel. In the coming war that would endanger all dragonkind, if he possessed the Rock Dragon's defensive power, his odds of surviving would be much higher. Still, Xiao Rang felt that this was not enough. He needed to make more thorough preparations. With that in mind, Xiao Rang decided he needed to seek out Zeref and Irene, the two big shots, and discuss some countermeasures to ensure that he, Gilkunis, and the others could survive.

"Little one, from now on, you have a name. You will be called Sordil Orn. All right, now let's go home!" Radel's voice interrupted Xiao Rang's thoughts. Upon hearing his new name, Xiao Rang felt that he had probably been set up by that woman again. Otherwise, how could Radel and the others possibly know his name from the game?

Xiao Rang... uh, he should be called Sordil now. Sordil suddenly remembered that his adoptive mother, the Water Dragon Wattster, had said that his name had come from the writing on his eggshell. Now, he was certain that woman was behind it. The thought made Sordil so angry his lungs nearly burst. Could she really screw him over this shamelessly? He had finally almost forgotten how he died, but she just had to use this name to remind him that he had been mistakenly killed as a wild monster while playing a game—and that it had even gotten his real-world self killed too. How was he supposed to enjoy playing now?

However, as Radel carried him into the sky and he looked down upon the scenery below, the displeasure in Sordil's heart gradually faded. After all, she had sent him to the real Asland, allowing him to witness such breathtaking sights. Besides, in a few hundred years, he would be able to watch Fairy Tail being established with his own eyes. Of course, that was assuming he was still alive by then—that he had not died in the war or been harvested by Acunologiya.

Time flowed quietly like water, soundless and unseen, yet subtly changing certain things.

Before he knew it, time had reached X371. Sordil had been in Asland for a year, and the little one from back then had grown into a young dragon over ten meters long. During that year, Sordil had not remained at Radel's side the entire time. Aside from the first two months, he had basically been cared for by a different giant dragon every two months. It was said to be the latest plan devised by the five dragons, but judging from Radel's unwilling gaze and the large bump on his head, Sordil had already guessed how the five dragons had reached their agreement.

With the arrival of the new year, Sordil's guardian became Hadessta, the Ice Dragon who embodied both wisdom and reason. At that moment, Sordil followed behind Hadessta as they flew out of the hidden realm. Hadessta was taking Sordil to visit his human friend, Hissell. He hoped this wise human could help him solve the problem of Sordil's inability to awaken his magic.

Speaking of magic, it was another source of pain in Sordil's heart. In an age where magic flourished, and as a member of the dragons, an advanced magical race standing at the pinnacle of the magical world, he was actually unable to awaken his own magic. Whenever he thought of it, Sordil felt like a useless dragon. If there were no war, that might not have been so bad. But the key was that in at most six years, the war between humans and dragons that would sweep across Asland would arrive. And because of the butterfly effect caused by his arrival, the war might even come earlier.

The five dragons serving as his adoptive fathers and mothers had worried greatly over this matter. After searching through the dragons' stored ancient texts and still finding no solution, his adoptive father Hadessta began taking him out to seek human masters of magic, hoping they could help solve this difficult problem. Hadessta told Sordil that this friend of his held a very special position: he was the headmaster of a human Magic Academy. The man and dragon had met ten years ago. At the time, Hadessta had been traveling when he was accidentally drawn into a human war. He had been struck by a massive ballista bolt and fallen into a deep mountain range. Hissell had happened to pass through those mountains, helped Sordil's adoptive father pull out the bolt, stop the bleeding, and treat his wounds. The two had become friends from then on.

As the two dragons continued flying, the outline of the hidden realm grew increasingly blurred before gradually vanishing beyond the horizon.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Vast forests and perilous peaks disappeared from view, and a white speck appeared in Sordil's sight. As the distance steadily closed, the speck grew larger, its shape changing from a perfect circle into an irregular outline. There were even some "little ants" moving within it. Sordil immediately understood. That was no speck of light—it was clearly a human city, and those moving "ants" were likely humans. He also guessed that this was probably their destination. As if to confirm his guess, Hadessta slowly began descending, eventually landing on an earthen slope four or five li from the city.

After landing, Hadessta released his magic power, then sat quietly atop the slope and waited. With no other choice, Sordil sat silently beside Hadessta and waited patiently as well. About fifteen minutes later, a bearded elderly man dressed in a moon-white robe arrived atop the slope and walked straight toward Hadessta.

"My old friend, is this the child you mentioned in your letter a year ago?" the old man asked calmly.

"Yes, my old friend! I'll have to trouble you to examine my son's body and find out why he has been unable to awaken his magic," Hadessta said solemnly.

"Unable to awaken magic?" After hearing Hadessta's words, the old man murmured softly. At the same time, he turned a curious gaze toward Sordil and examined him closely. Suddenly, as though he had thought of something, the old man sent a ray of white light into Sordil's body.

"My old friend, how big was this child when he was first born?" Rather than tell Hadessta the results of his examination, the old man asked a completely unrelated question.

"About the size of your head, my old friend." Hadessta knew that his old friend must have discovered something, or he would not have asked. So, he gave him the answer.

"Hmm? My old friend, I remember that although your dragon race grows faster than humans, you should not be able to grow this much in a single year, should you?" The old man stared at Sordil, who was nearly sixteen meters long. Only then did Hadessta belatedly realize the issue.