The Black Dragon Lady Refuses to Be a Mount

"This way, my plans should be finished ahead of schedule."

Vidian thought about it. Given Ailolin's intelligence, three months should be enough for her to master one language per month.

For now, Vidian only taught Ailolin how to read and converse. Writing could wait until later—having Ailolin carve letters with her claws would be far too inefficient.

PS: Little Black Dragon was studying hard today too.

Young Friends: Forest Arsonist

A month had already passed. Coupled with Ailolin's natural talent for learning, she could now speak Human language quite fluently. If she met Likaro again, she would surely be able to converse with her easily in Human language, just as she did in Dragon language.

While teaching Ailolin the languages of other races, Vidian also forced her to fight the magical beasts of the Southern Wilderness.

Every day, Vidian would draw the appearance of a certain magical beast on a stone slab, then have Ailolin find and defeat it before bringing back a trophy that could prove the beast's identity.

This trained both Ailolin's tracking abilities and her combat skills.

Ailolin, however, felt that finding a designated magical beast in a place as vast as the Southern Wilderness was truly difficult.

Sometimes she got lucky and found one quickly. Other times, she searched all day without any results. As punishment for failure, Vidian would knock her on the head.

It looked like a light punishment, but it was actually terrifying. Ailolin could hardly believe Vidian possessed such strength—a single knock could leave her hurting for a long time.

Ailolin had been traumatized by those knocks, so every time she went out to search for magical beasts, she gave it her all while secretly praying for the gods to bless her with better luck.

Today's target was somewhat special: a plant-type monster that grew in the forest. Before Ailolin set out, Vidian specifically warned her to be careful and not let it bind her.

Ailolin had not understood what Vidian meant before, but the moment she found the monster, her heart was no longer calm.

Why did those thick, constantly waving plant tendrils look so much like tentacles?!

The monster looked like an oversized carnivorous flower that had gained sentience. It had a disgusting huge mouth, and its thick roots were deeply embedded in the soil. Though it had no eyes, it seemed able to sense everything around it.

The animal carcasses around it were the best proof.

When Vidian described the monster that morning, she had not mentioned any tentacles. Ailolin suspected she had been set up.

For a moment, she did not know how to attack, because this was her first time fighting a monster that was not beast-like...

To deal with a plant-type monster, the best method should be to pull its roots out of the ground. The soil was equivalent to its source of life. Once separated from the earth, it should be possible to kill it.

Could she pull it out with her strength? Judging by its size alone, the monster was about as large as she was.

What troubled Ailolin most were those flailing tendrils. She could already imagine how this monster would attack.

Still, as a powerful dragon, Ailolin remained rather confident. No matter how strong a plant was, it could not possibly be stronger than a dragon, right?

However, just as Ailolin prepared to act, the monster attacked first. Its tendrils suddenly began to lengthen, shooting straight toward Ailolin in the air.

Ailolin hurriedly tried to evade, but she had not expected the tendrils to move even faster than she could fly. Like sturdy ropes, they wrapped directly around her wings and body.

Ailolin had underestimated it. The plant-type monster was actually stronger than her! The plant tendrils were now tightly wound around her, leaving her unable to break free.

With her wings bound by the tendrils, Ailolin lost the ability to fly and fell from the sky. Fortunately, she had not been very high up, or she might have become the first dragon in history to die from a fall.

After she hit the ground, the monster's tendrils dragged Ailolin toward it. Looking at the monster's disgusting mouth, Ailolin struggled with all her strength, but it was useless.

"Let me go, you disgusting bastard!"

Yet no matter how Ailolin resisted, she could not deny that she was getting closer and closer to the monster.

This was the first time Ailolin had ever been so miserable. She had hunted magical beasts in the Southern Wilderness for a month, but she had never encountered a situation where she could not resist at all.

As she felt the danger, humiliation also rose within Ailolin, swiftly turning into anger.

She was a dragon—the future ruler of the sky and land. How could she be completely unable to resist before some nameless plant-type monster?

Ailolin felt the anger in her heart becoming increasingly difficult to suppress. As she stared at the disgusting monster so close before her, a power she had never felt before suddenly surged from within her.

This power was incredibly strong, and it seemed to have always existed within her body, only now being awakened.

In almost an instant, Ailolin opened her mouth on instinct and sprayed a scorching flame breath at the plant-type monster before her.

This was no ordinary fire. Along with its intense heat came force and explosive power. Ailolin's breath completely engulfed the monster's body. Under the scorching flames, the monster let out a pained scream, and all the tendrils wrapped around Ailolin loosened.

Still somewhat unable to react, Ailolin watched helplessly as the monster burned to nothing before her eyes, leaving behind only a pile of ashes.

"Could this be Dragon Breath...?"

Ailolin could hardly believe that breath had come from her. Although Dragonkind inheritance contained no records of breath attacks, what she had just awakened should have been Dragonkind's breath ability.

Did that mean she had mastered a stronger method of attack?

After awakening her breath ability, Ailolin studied it carefully and discovered that using it was very simple, because it had become an instinctive power.

So she aimed at a tree to test it, spraying another scorching breath from her mouth and instantly setting the tree and a surrounding area ablaze.

Ailolin was overjoyed at the sight. This meant her strength had increased considerably.

However, breath attacks seemed to consume a lot of stamina. Ailolin already felt somewhat tired.

In the past, she would bring something that proved the magical beast's identity back to Vidian as proof of completion. But today's target had been burned to ashes, so Ailolin could only return and explain what had happened.

Just as she was preparing to head back, she suddenly noticed something.

The tree she had used to test her breath, along with the surrounding area, was still burning, and the flames had spread to other areas!

As if on cue, a gust of wind suddenly blew through, strengthening the fire and causing it to spread rapidly on a large scale!

"Oh no, oh no!"

Ailolin panicked. The vegetation here was lush, and if the fire was allowed to spread... it would definitely become a disaster!

The flames spread with terrifying speed. In the blink of an eye, the surroundings had become a sea of fire. Ailolin was completely dumbfounded—she had no way to put it out!

PS: Book recommendation~

About Me Becoming a Girl

Gender-bender school-life story. It is very good.

Here is the synopsis—

==========

In a campus filled with the air of youth, there was a girl longing to be loved. If all she had to offer was a tiny, insignificant amount of affection, would you be willing to accept it?

Normal version: The story of an "ordinary" high school girl who could not eat ordinary food and could only feed on "objects" containing affection, along with the desserts she raised for that purpose.

UC version: Shocking! A high school girl was so hungry that she could only eat confession letters and toy dolls! Was this the distortion of human nature or the decline of morality?

The protagonist is not cute.

The sweet moments begin in the middle. If you have the patience, keep reading.

Also known as A Lovesick Girl Can Only Consume Affection Would You Swallow Even Spoiled Candy?

Young Friends: News from Afar

Vidian found it strange that Ailolin had not returned yet. Although the monster she had recommended Ailolin hunt was powerful, it could not break through Ailolin's dragon-scale defense.

If Ailolin was truly bound by the plants, all she needed to do was keep struggling. Before long, the monster's stamina would run out, and then she could kill it.

Vidian would not choose an extremely dangerous magical beast and send Ailolin to her death. Every monster she recommended had been carefully considered.

She went to the mountaintop, where she could overlook a great distance below. Vidian noticed thick black smoke rising from the distant forest, while countless birds and beasts scattered in all directions.

"The forest is on fire?"

Vidian frowned, and a guess formed in her mind.

She raised her hand, and a longbow and arrow appeared in it.

Vidian softly chanted a word. The arrow in her hand turned deep blue, then she drew the bow, aimed at the sky, and released it with a sharp whoosh.

A blue arc streaked across the sky. The clear, sunny heavens instantly filled with dark clouds, and within seconds, a torrential downpour began.

Meanwhile, Vidian, standing where she was, had already opened an umbrella that had seemingly appeared from nowhere.

At that moment, Ailolin, who was frantically trying to put out the fire, suddenly noticed the change in weather. She had barely raised her head toward the sky when countless raindrops came pouring down.

Splash, splash, splash...

The heavy rain poured over the forest, extinguishing every raging flame. Before long, not even a spark remained.

Ailolin was astonished, because this was already a supernatural phenomenon. How could a cloudless sky suddenly produce such torrential rain? This world was not a game; there could not possibly be some console command for rain.

Though she was full of doubts, the sudden downpour had solved Ailolin's problem and kept her from earning the title of arsonist.

For that, Ailolin was still quite thankful.

The rain washed over her body, making Ailolin feel uncomfortable, but she still took to the air, beat her wings, and flew toward Vidian's home.

By the time Ailolin arrived, Vidian was already waiting outside with an umbrella.

"My guess is that you learned Dragonkind's breath attack?"

Before Ailolin could speak, Vidian said it first.

"How did you know?"

"I saw the thick smoke in the forest."

"Mm... Fortunately, there was that rainstorm. Otherwise, it would have caused a forest fire."

Even now, Ailolin felt immensely relieved.

"So," Vidian looked at Ailolin in confusion, "what exactly were you thinking, breathing fire in the forest?"

"I..."

Ailolin herself did not know what she had been thinking. The breath she used to burn the plant-type monster had not caused the wildfire. What truly made the flames spread was her second breath attack afterward.

Ailolin silently swore that she would never make such a stupid mistake again.

In the brief time Ailolin and Vidian were talking, the torrential rain had already stopped. The dense dark clouds overhead seemed to have evaporated entirely. Within minutes, the sky had returned to its clear, cloudless state.

Upon seeing this miraculous sight, Ailolin could no longer hold back her question. "Is this some special climate of the Southern Wilderness? Why does it suddenly rain and suddenly stop?"

As far as Ailolin knew, neither rain nor its ending should happen so quickly...

"Who knows~" Vidian put away her umbrella and shook her head. "Perhaps the gods in the heavens could not bear to see a foolish dragon become an arsonist, so they sent down rain."

"..."

Ailolin was so ashamed she wished she could disappear into the ground. This would probably become an embarrassing stain on her past, but fortunately, only Vidian knew. As long as Vidian did not tell anyone, she would not have to worry about others learning of it.

"Alright, today's objective should be complete." Vidian knew that kind of plant monster well. It was weak against fire, and once touched by Flame Dragon Breath, it would certainly die.

"So what are we doing today?"

"Since you have already mastered Human language, we will begin learning Elven language today."

Vidian's gaze quietly settled on Ailolin's dragon horn. She saw a Recording Crystal tied to it, and could not help wondering what that human little girl looked like.

Before receiving Vidian's instruction in Human language, Ailolin had already gained a basic understanding of it, so the topic of Likaro inevitably came up.

From Ailolin's simple account, Vidian learned that such a little girl existed. She could not help marveling that the girl was not afraid of Ailolin, a member of Dragonkind. She was truly brave.

However, Ailolin still remained guarded around Vidian. She had not even told Vidian Likaro's name, much less about Witch Shia and the Forest Blessing she had given Likaro.

Vidian was curious about Likaro's appearance, but Ailolin was unwilling to share the Recording Crystal's contents, so she stopped asking.

"Before I teach you Elven language, are you interested in hearing some news?"

"What news?" Ailolin asked curiously.

"The Empire and its neighboring country have had border conflicts. Both sides are mobilizing their armies. There may be a war."

"How did you find out?"

Vidian had always lived here, and Ailolin did not believe she could travel to other parts of the Empire in such a short time.

"A friend sent me the information."

"A friend? By what method?"

"A messenger."

According to Vidian, the sender of the letter was a friend living elsewhere, and the letter had been delivered by a "messenger."

"Messenger" was the nickname for a bird-type magical beast. It looked similar to an eagle and could be tamed to deliver letters.

Vidian usually used letters to keep in touch with her friends outside the Southern Wilderness.