Dragon Heart

My head was fuzzy, as if I had just been punched by Alexandria. I could barely think properly. It was dark around me, so I couldn't see anything. Where was I?

Starting Reincarnation Procedure.

Working Previous Life Karma…done.

What…?

Locating Data Log of Past Deeds…done.

Achievement: [Overcoming the Dragon], Loaded.

Achievement: [Swarm Mistress], Loaded.

Achievement: [Min-Maxer], Loaded.

Achievement: [Beheading the Snake], Loaded.

Achievement: [Defying the Sea God], Loaded.

Achievement: [Defying the Energy God], Loaded.

Achievement: [Hero-Slayer], Loaded.

Achievement: [Warlord], Loaded.

Achievement: [Benevolent Tyrant], Loaded.

Achievement: [Mentor], Loaded.

Achievement: [Martyr], Loaded.

Achievement: [Standing Against the Golden One], Loaded.

Achievement: [Literally Disarmed], Loaded.

Achievement: [Unleashing the Queen], Loaded.

Achievement: [Slayer of a Physical God], Loaded.

Achievement: [Queen of Escalation], Loaded.

What was this…?

Selecting Appropriate World for Reincarnation…done.

Subject Taylor Hebert shall be reincarnated in Registered World #749474872365-B6, {Amaryllis}.

Race preselected and locked due to weight of past karma and number of achievements accrued. Subject will retain memories and personality after rebirth.

Subject may select which title to have active upon rebirth:

- [Munchkin]

- [Minion Master]

- [Defiant]

As soon as the script in front of me stopped appearing, my mind was finally free of the torpor that had bound it. I…shit, that bitch Contessa had actually killed me, hadn't she? Not that I disagreed; it would have only been a matter of…what? Minutes at most? Before my mind would have been eaten by the rampaging [Queen Administrator] Agent. Death was preferable to that fate.

Still, getting a bullet to the back of the head was one thing, whatever the hell this situation was about was quite another. So I was dead and about to be reincarnated, if what I was seeing here was correct. The fact I was dead didn't seem to really sink in; it could be because the last thing I remembered was reaching up to the star-filled sky and thinking to myself how small and insignificant humans were in the grand scale of things before everything went black.

Refocusing on the screen before me, I really wished someone had sat down and explained all this to me rather than having an impersonal system do it, but I had to work with what I had. Now, let's see…I was going to be reincarnated on this world with a ridiculously long number code, but presumably the word afterward was what the planet was called. Amaryllis…wasn't that a kind of flower?

Shaking that off, I continued browsing the information. Apparently, whatever I was going to be reincarnated as wasn't something I could change or even know about, which was irritating. Knowing what I was going to be reincarnated as would've helped choose the correct title…for whatever good it would do me.

I jerked as an additional paragraph faded into existence above the three floating options.

[Titles]

A being can possess one or more titles as a result of deeds done, achievements earned and positions attained. A title can alternate from providing negative effects, to simply being a mark of achievement, to adding powers, bonuses and conditional usages to the bearer. If one attains multiple titles, they can be switched out as and when the user wishes.

- [Munchkin]: You have a history of getting the most out of very little. As long as you have this title equipped, you gain extra experience to any skill that can improve your chances of fulfilling a specific quest you have been issued.

- [Minion Master]: You have a great deal of experience at commanding those beneath you. Simply possessing this title grants you the [Commander] Skill and having this title equipped improves its effects by 25%.

- [Defiant]: You have stood your ground in the face of overwhelming odds, facing an enemy of immense power with determination and an unbending will. Having this title equipped will reduce the effects of [Fear], [Terror], [Intimidation], [Suppression] and [Quelling] on you.

A game. This was almost entirely like the character creation portion of a game, like an MMORPG.

What. The. Hell?!

As I was some kind of insubstantial being at the moment, I couldn't facepalm, but I gave it a good try regardless. Seriously, what the heck kind of weird reincarnation system did I get caught up in?!

'Roll with it, Taylor.' I told myself firmly. 'Just roll with it. It's what you have to work with, so don't look a gift horse in the mouth.'

Refocusing on what I had in front of me, I analyzed the three titles. [Munchkin] was interesting, but I was leery of it because it didn't really seem to fit me; I was good at on-the-spot improvisation, not long term planning. [Minion Master] was something that suited me quite well, but I didn't know that I'd be in a position to command others in whatever form I'd be taking. For all I knew, I'd be a squirrel or a bird.

So, with a great deal of trepidation, I turned my attention to the last option. [Defiant] was a very basic effect that reduced the effects of what seemed to be psychological effects which I guessed would probably reduce my ability to fight, move or both. As I had little to no ability to know what I might face in Amaryllis, taking this skill would be a good idea.

[Defiant] Title selected.

Reading Core Eidos Logs for {Amaryllis} at present time…

…tracking appropriate species…done.

…locating appropriate parentage…error!

All appropriate species members of breeding age out of season.

Reading Core Eidos Logs for appropriate timeframe for rebirth…done.

Effecting Causality Shift Effect to effect escape of Mother…done.

Location of rebirth finalized.

World: Amaryllis

Continent: Radial

Country: Divine Empire of Trusk

Province: Panadol

Exact Location: Cave, Cole Mountain Range

Beginning Reincarnation Process…

Everything went black.

Large Cave, High in the Cole Mountains, Panadol Provence, Empire of Trusk, Year of the Divine Empire 0651.

The cave was large, but not massively so. At least it hadn't been before the current occupant had enlarged it somewhat to accommodate its bulk. Not that it would matter soon, as that selfsame occupant was on the cusp of death.

A reptilian eye gazed at the large white egg speckled with all the colours of the rainbow that sat in the indent in the center of the cave. It was maybe a foot wide and a foot and a half tall and it was the reason the mother had used the slim chance offered to her by coincidence to flee, even as the weapons of her erstwhile captors had bitten into her and fatally wounded her.

A tapping sound reverberated throughout the cave, causing the mother's eye to widen and made her bring her head closer to her egg as the tapping continued, now shaking the egg as its occupant struggled to break free.

Seconds ticked by and, with an explosion of shell and fluid, the pure white form of a baby dragon was released into the world, wings opening and flapping instinctively to clean them of the fluid from inside the egg. Its forest-green eyes blinked in confusion and it squeaked in discomfort as it beheld its new world for the first time.

With a sigh loud enough to draw the attention of the newborn, the mother, a proud dragon who had been captured and enslaved for centuries before escaping once the new life within her had become evident, laid her head down and closed her eyes, allowing death to take her at last. Her child was born, free. That was all she could do for it.

The rest was up to the will of her child.

With Taylor

Blinking at the enormous bloody dragon that had just died in front of me, I blinked my new eyes and looked around for a moment. I was in a cave that was mostly filled by a dead dragon the size of an eighteen-wheeler from tail tip to nose tip, I was probably a dragon of some description myself and despite the face I could feel the ice-cold air drifting into the cave from the entryway, I wasn't feeling cold whatsoever.

'OK, well this isn't something you wake up to every day.' I thought wryly. I then jerked in surprise and let out a squeak of shock as another window appeared in front of me.

[Welcome to Amaryllis!]

You have just been reborn on this planet! Welcome!

This is a very quick one-off tutorial on how to use the interface, only available to reincarnators.

In order to open any screen, you merely have to think it. There are four screens you can access initially: Status, Skills, Spells and Titles.

The Status screen shows you your physical status.

The Skills screen shows you what skills you have available, as well as what their level are and how long you have to achieve a level in them.

The Spells screen shows you what magical spells you have available, which are counted as being separate from Skills.

The Titles screen allows you to view what titles you possess, as well as switch between which one you have equipped.

Be warned that you cannot open any screens in combat. More screens will become unlocked as you progress through the story of your life.

This concludes the tutorial. The system wishes you the best of luck in your new life. Fight for the right to survive!

I deadpanned at the screen as it closed. That was very much a bare bones explanation. I suspected that humans and the like knew that much once they were adults at the very least, though the fact I could access it as a freshly hatched dragon was something of a good thing.

'Status!' I thought hard.

Draconic Name: None

Common Name: Taylor Hebert

Species: Greater Dragon

Subspecies: Proto-Dragon

Growth Level (1/5): Hatchling

Level: 1

To Next Level: 0%

STR: 8

DUR: 10

AGI: 7

INT: 27

WIS: 30

LUK: ?

Current Status Effects: [Newborn]

Blinking at the surprisingly low stats I had, my eyes strayed to the status I had at the bottom and thought hard about pushing it like a button, which caused another window to pop up.

Status Effect: Newborn: You are newly born and do not have access to your full strength. Your physical stats are severely reduced and your natural weaponry as a dragon are ineffective. This status effect will disappear two hours after you are born.

Well that explained it.

Turning my attention to the rest of the status page, I decided to try seeing what this place had on 'Greater' Dragons in general before I stuck my head into the confusing mess that was whatever a 'Proto-Dragon' was.

Species: Greater Dragon: Greater Dragons, also known as Draco Nobilis, the Noble Dragons, are a sentient species native to the world of Amaryllis. Widely feared and revered in equal measures for their physical power and magical might, there are at least two-hundred different subspecies of Greater Dragon in existence across the planet, although they are mostly known to prefer mountain ranges as territory. Not to be confused with their lesser cousins, the Common Dragons, Wyverns and Lesser Dragons.

Ok…so I was one of a powerful species. That didn't seem too bad…but I did remember the mention of 'karma' back before I had been reborn, so I wasn't convinced I was out of the woods completely. I decided to have a look at this 'Proto-Dragon' thing.

Subspecies: Proto-Dragon: A Proto-Dragon is the rarest of the subspecies available to the Greater Dragon species. Although lacking the usual breath-attack of their peers, a Proto-Dragon is capable of eating literally any metal or stone in existence from the time they are hatched. Once they have devoured enough of a substance, they transform into it, leading to Slate Dragons, Diamond Dragons, Steel Dragons, Ruby Dragons and other rare and powerful variations. Due to the fact those dragons who turn into precious metals have the ability to breath molten versions of their metal as a breath attack, Proto-Dragons are known to possess a bounty on their heads exceeding ten times their weight in gold to members of the Nobility and Clergy when captured alive.

Aaaannnnndddd…there it is, the other shoe dropping. Eying the corpse of my 'mother', I could see that she was silver, so…a Silver Dragon? That would explain why she was imprisoned. Presumably she would have lost the chance to give birth had the Reincarnation System not intervened and freed her.

So I was a sought-after cash cow for nobles and members of whatever church exists in this place, eh? I'll give that a hard pass, thank you very much. This was my second chance at life and I wasn't about to just sit back and let myself be imprisoned by greedy nobles-slash-priests.

Dismissing the screen for the moment, I folded my wings (how odd was that?) neatly on my back and decided to look around the cave. This was my new home after all.

I paused as the corpse of my second 'mother' started to glow with effervescent silver light before dissolving into motes of light, vanishing from my sight…no, not quite. Almost the entire surface of the cave had been transmuted into solid silver. Wow…was that what happened when a dragon died? Their surroundings became the substance that they were made up of?

Bowing my head for a moment in thanks to the brave dragon who had given her life that I might have a chance to live, I then proceeded to patter somewhat unsteadily across the floor. Walking on all fours was hard, especially not five minutes after being born!

The cave was huge, mostly because it had been hollowed out by my mother. I could see places that were ragged and showed the signs of something large and sharp scraping at them. I padded along to the back of the cave, and blinked at the fact that it went even further back than I had thought. My mother had scraped out a large part of the cave to give birth in, but there was a tunnel after the dug-out area leading further back.

Not having any reason to linger in my mother's death site, I trotted further in and started exploring. What I found after just a short two minutes was astonishing. The walls were studded with precious stones; rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, amethysts, alexandrites, opals, topazes, spinels and others.

I was fairly certain that you didn't find all of those naturally occurring in the same locations in nature, at least back home on Earth Bet. What the heck was this place?

It took me a while to extricate a gemstone from the wall, as I was still puny and weak from by [Newborn] Special status, but I managed to pry a ruby the size of my old body's fist out of the wall after about ten minutes of effort. It seemed to glow with an inner light, illuminating the cave brightly.

After resting for a moment, I decided to put to the test the part in the Proto-Dragon's description about being able to eat any metal or stone from birth…by eating it.

Biting into the ruby, I found that my teeth had about as much trouble going through it as my human jaws had once had going through the flesh of an apple. It also had some kind of slightly spicy heat to it that made it tasty. Once I was finished, I raised one scaly eyebrow at what it said.

You have devoured one [Fire-Stirring Ruby]!

'Fire-Stirring Ruby'? Really? So not only was it a ruby, it was presumably some kind of magical ruby as well. As it hadn't filled me up, I decided to try some of the others…

You have devoured one [Rock-Solid Topaz]!

You have devoured one [Sky-Blue Sapphire]!

You have devoured one [Deep-sea Emerald]!

You have devoured one [Pure-White Diamond]!

You have devoured one [Black-Smoke Chrysoberyl]!

You have devoured one [Starlight Aquamarine]!

You have devoured one [Rainbow Cloud Rhodonite]!

You have devoured one [Cursed Obsidian]!

You have devoured one [Lofty Crimson Jade]!

You have devoured one [Dazzling Lapis Lazuli]!

After eating all of those, I was full! I don't think I'd ever been this full even in my last life! A moment of resting later and I blinked as another screen replaced the first.

You have unlocked [Fire] Magic at LV1!

You have unlocked [Earth] Magic at LV1!

You have unlocked [Heavenly] Magic at LV1!

You have unlocked [Water] Magic at LV1!

You have unlocked [Holy] Magic at LV1!

You have unlocked [Shadow] Magic at LV1!

You have unlocked [Weather] Magic at LV1!

You have unlocked [Curse] Magic at LV1!

You have unlocked [Energy] Magic at LV1!

You have unlocked [Light] Magic at LV1!

I blinked again before hurriedly checking my Spells screen…to find that I had no spells there. It then occurred to me that while I had unlocked the magic, I had yet to actually learn any spells. So I basically had the aptitude for the magics, but not the ability to use any of the spells within them.

At a guess, this was why a Proto-Dragon could transform themselves into other types of dragons. Let's say that each magic capped out at Level 100; by eating nothing but Fire-Stirring Rubies to get to that level, I could become a Fire-Stirring Ruby Dragon or whatever the hell it would be called.

With the wealth of gemstones to eat here, I had a feeling that reaching that level wouldn't take all that long if I focused exclusively on one stone in particular. But…I had to wonder if there were any types of Greater Dragons that possessed multiple aspects…

Putting the errant thought to one side for the moment, I made my way back to the main part of the cave to examine it more closely. It was large, silver and shiny…and that was about it. For some reason all of the space left me feeling…unsatisfied.

DING!

What the…?!

[Quest Alert!]

A Dragon's Hoard is a Dragon's Life: You are a newborn dragon, with powerful abilities…but that doesn't matter because, while your mother's last gift transformed your cave into a very nice silver cave, your natural instinct for gathering precious metals, jewels, relics and other precious items has arisen within you!

Gather items of worth to add to your hoard.

(Ongoing Quest)

A couple of minutes of me staring in disbelief at the screen didn't make it go away. A goddamned quest?! This really was like a real-life videogame, wasn't it?!

Shaking my head, I mentally dismissed the screen and checked the time left before the [Newborn] status went away, seeing that I still have over an hour to go. Until that happened, there was no possible way I was setting a foot (or was it claw?) outside of my cave.

That being the case, I settled down on the floor and decided to see what skills I had available, opening the Skills screen.

Skills:

[Scaly Skin] LV1 – 0%

[Draconic Hoard Assessment] LVMAX– N/A%

[Night Vision] LV1 – 12%

[Bite] LV1 – 42%

[Draconic Power] LV1 – Locked until {Juvenile} State.

[Claw] LV1 – 24%

[Tail Smack] LV1 – 0%

So I had seven skills…even if one of them was locked until I reached a certain growth state. Most of them seemed to be straightforward…[Bite], [Claw] and [Tail Smack] were simple ways to attack, [Night Vision] was why seeing in the darkness at the back of the cave wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The one that made my eyebrows rise up was [Draconic Hoard Assessment].

[Draconic Hoard Assessment] (LVMAX) [Passive]

One skill universal to Greater Dragons, Lesser Dragons and Common Dragons is the ability to accurately and unfailingly know exactly how much their hoard in its entirety weighs to the closest milligram and exactly how much it is worth in total. Additionally, Dragons are always aware of the weight and value of any given individual piece in their hoard. Steal from a dragon at your own peril!

…dragons were a bunch of Ebenezer Scrooges, weren't they?!

I couldn't even pull up the description of [Draconic Power], so I gave it up for the moment. So I had to build a hoard, eh? Might as well call me Smaug. Ok, so…I had a cave full of gemstones, probably magical in nature…that I was gonna eat. Can't really call that a start of a hoard, can I?

Grrr…that means I'll have to go out and about once I get over being newborn. Well, I was planning on going out at some point to explore anyway, so this was just the kick in the rear I needed.

I suddenly yawned and felt really, really tired. Damn. Guess that being a dragonling meant I got tired really easily. I'd barely been reborn for an hour and I wanted to sleep!

Padding to the rear of the cave next to the tunnel leading further in, I curled up into a ball and promptly fell asleep.

Elsewhere

"Your Grace, a reaction has been detected."

"Another damned Reincarnator…where?"

"The Panadol Province, Your Grace. The mages were unable to be any more precise."

"Tch. Accursed mages. Panadol…that's Lord Caine's demesne, correct? Have a group of knights dispatched at once. We cannot have more of these Reincarnators causing trouble."

"At once, Your Grace."

OK, so…this is one that's been gnawing at me for a while. Say hello to Dragon!Taylor. I decided to do this one after completing Tales of Berseria. If you've played it, or seen the Tales of Zestria the X anime, you'll know why it pushed me to write a Dragon!Taylor. I won't spoil it for you if you haven't, but I will say this.

Fuck you, Artorious Collbrande…fuck you around the world and back. Velvet was too damned kind to you.