Primer

"Magic doesn't have to be learned according to your natural aptitude?"

"I don't know what you mean. If someone has an affinity for a particular element, they can focus on that school of magic. Otherwise, as long as they meet the requirements to learn magic, it makes no difference which school they choose," Lolise said flatly.

"Really? No difference at all?"

"Only a difference in focus."

"Oh, so it's like choosing a major in college." Zheng Yichen nodded. That wasn't bad news. He sat on the ground, the wings on his back fluttering slightly. "How do I find out what I can learn?"

"..." Lolise gave Zheng Yichen a look of surprise, one that seemed full of special concern.

The kind reserved for an ignorant little child.

"Uh, don't tell me I just have to try learning and see?" Zheng Yichen wrestled with it for a moment before asking. That seemed to be the only possibility.

"You're a dragon, not a human. The Dragon Race can generally cast spells." And they didn't just have spellcasting. They also possessed physical strength that human warriors could train their entire lives and still struggle to match, along with long lifespans. With advantages like those, it was no wonder some people coveted the bodies of dragons.

Cursed Dragons... in the end, they could not escape death, like dragons under a curse.

That name had appeared after the Dragon Race exterminated every Cursed Dragon. Come to think of it, it wasn't exactly wrong.

"So dragons can learn it on the first try?"

"They don't need to learn. The Dragon Race's inherited memories contain the knowledge."

Zheng Yichen promptly spread both claws. "Unfortunately, I don't have those."

All he had was the knowledge of another world he had accumulated before crossing over. Perhaps a dragon's brain was big enough, or perhaps his soul had undergone some fundamental change after the crossing. Either way, his memories from before were quite clear. As long as he had once committed something to memory, a little effort was usually enough to recall it.

Lolise pulled a book from empty space. It was sized for an ordinary person, but through some unknown means, she enlarged it tenfold. "A Primer for children. Even children from common families can get their hands on one if their circumstances are decent."

"...I don't think you needed to add that last part," Zheng Yichen said, embarrassed. A Primer for children was bad enough, but even commoners' children could get one... Tsk. The conditions in this world sounded pretty good!

"It doesn't matter. Even with access to one, more than ninety percent of people are still ruled out. Besides, you're only a hatchling. You're no different from a child."

Zheng Yichen looked down at the little girl, then at his own body, already around three meters tall. "No way. Half a year ago, I wasn't even as tall as you. At this size, I should be... fully grown, right?"

"Even if your size is close to that of an adolescent dragon, it doesn't change the fact that you're a hatchling." Lolise touched the scales on Zheng Yichen's body. "You're even sturdier than the black dragons of the Dragon Race... but you shouldn't be a black dragon."

Zheng Yichen examined his coloring. His scales were dark as rock, not quite true black. "I sprang out of a stone."

"Oh? What are you disappointed about?"

"Disappointed? That I'm not a monkey, of course." Zheng Yichen shook his wings.

"..." Lolise shook her head slightly. She didn't understand the reference, but now that she knew his soul came from another world, she could make a guess. He probably didn't mean a monkey from this world, but some... powerful being from his own!

Otherwise, why would he compare it to the dragons of this world as though he were tossing away a watermelon to pick up sesame seeds? But what sort of monkey—one that sprang out of a stone, no less—could be stronger than a dragon?

Knowledge from another world... it really did invite curiosity.

"If you sprang out of a stone, the egg was probably dead."

"...Dead!?"

"You're unusual to begin with. It wouldn't be strange for you to hatch a dragon egg that had no life left in it, one that might even have petrified with age." Lolise stared at Zheng Yichen. "It takes a hatchling more than five years to grow into an adolescent dragon, including a dormant period of several months. Before that period arrives, its size changes, but not by much. Its body grows rapidly only during dormancy. That's another way you're different."

"Although your body belongs to the Dragon Race—and is that of a pureblood dragon—it doesn't follow their normal pattern of growth. You're an anomaly. Perhaps the name Cursed Dragon suits you better than it suited those who were called that by later generations."

"Mm. It sounds a little strange, though. 'Cursed' isn't exactly a pleasant word."

"Not necessarily," Lolise said calmly. "Your identity means the world will never accept you. And..."

"And what?"

"I don't want to say yet." Lolise glanced at Zheng Yichen. Entering his dreams was exceptionally difficult, something she rarely encountered. Even with a normal member of the Dragon Race... if she ever met one, invading its dreams wouldn't be too hard. Zheng Yichen's soul was far weaker than that of the Dragon Race.

Yet entering his dreams was strangely difficult. It had something to do with certain "factors" carried in the very essence of his soul, factors that did not belong to this world. In several ways, they conflicted with this world. For now, it didn't seem to be a problem. Zheng Yichen was lively as ever, without a thing wrong with him. But it remained a hidden danger.

She kept quiet because there were things that caused no trouble if left unknown, but could bring trouble the moment they were understood...

"Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand with what you know. You'd forget it after a night's sleep."

"..." Lolise's words reminded Zheng Yichen of the time he had tried reading about algebraic geometry before crossing over, just because he had nothing better to do. The more he studied it, the more he wanted to give up. After a glance at it and a night's sleep, he couldn't remember a single symbol he had seen!

Zheng Yichen set the Primer on the ground, propped up his chin, and began leafing through it while muttering in Chinese. Every now and then, one claw traced symbols on the floor beside him. Once he had filled the space, he scraped his claw across it, and just like that, he had a fresh sheet of "scratch paper."

Magic in this world was much like the subjects he had studied before crossing over, except that it depended more heavily on "talent." Some people picked up English with ease, while others struggled. Here, only those who could grasp the basics easily qualified to study magic further. Anyone who struggled would only find it harder and harder, caught in a vicious cycle that kept them from ever getting started!

Throwing resources at the problem could work, but ordinary people didn't have that option. Becoming a warrior had less demanding requirements, but it was easy to learn and hard to master. Becoming one was simple; becoming a formidable warrior who could wield power on par with a Mage was another matter. Few managed it.