Adaptive Power

Fafna nodded at her, then repeated, "That's right. Taking a beating—or rather, any action that brings you close to death.

"If you eat poisonous grass and survive, you'll become resistant to that poison. If you're bitten by a snake and survive, you'll gain resistance to snake venom. If you go without food or water for a long time, your body will adjust itself to suit that way of life. That's why dragons can live in deserts, the deep sea, glaciers, swamps, and volcanoes.

"That's why I said this is how our dragon race educates its children. As long as you're healed after being injured, your body will become a little stronger than before. Humans and elves, on the other hand, need arduous 'training' to accomplish the same thing.

"The reason I'm so strong is that I fell into near-death situations several times when I was young. My bones were broken more than a dozen times, my eyes were stabbed blind, my liver was shredded three times, and every scale on my body was replaced more than once. The worst time was when I fought that sea monster with a hundred heads to cover Hellerchein's retreat. It ate my heart and liver alive, and tore off my wings. After I was lucky enough to survive, I became more than twice as strong as before.

"Compared to those days, this world is far too peaceful now. Almost none of this generation's dragons have any experience fighting magical beasts. If they suddenly encounter danger, it's practically fatal. This has led majestic dragons to fall so far that humans can hunt them to near-extinction with ease—oh, sorry. I'm sorry, Iver. I didn't mean to say anything bad about humans. I just meant... this would have been nearly impossible in the past."

Fafna realized that