'Thoughts'

"Journal"

"Talking"

[Skills/Spells]

{Special moves/arts}

Words of the World

'Greatsage/Raphael'

The caravan stopped for the night along the edge of the Great Forest of Jura, over the past few days we had made excellent progress. Thanks to my new Arch-dragon companions being able to watch from the sky and using the soul corridor to communicate with me, we were able to spot most dangers before it got close. Ely and Val would usually be the ones to intercept or provide recon when a threat was first spotted.

The twins excelled in agility, and stealth, their job was to scope out their enemy and provide a distraction with hit-and-run tactics. Together I saw them take out a blade tiger with relative ease, one keeping its attention focused on them so the other could land a critical and often lethal blow.

If they weren't able to quickly take down their opponent then the others would arrive and step in, Saria took the role of the main attacker and she played that role perfectly. When a Knightspider had been spotted she had been the one to face it head-on, the twins did their thing of providing distractions striking at the monster's joints and its eyes to injure it.

Ivy and Elasha or, as I had learned she preferred her nickname Enri, were not passive either. The two seemed to be able to read each other's minds. Enri provided support magic, enhancing the abilities of her companions and allowing them to avoid any direct hits from the enraged monster. Ivy provided offensive magic, though she couldn't directly attack the monster given its high magic resistance, so she made up for it by using her spells to manipulate the terrain.

Slamming her staff into the ground she caused spikes of stone to shoot out of the ground slowing down the Knight spider and limiting its movements. What made the group's teamwork shine was how the change to the terrain only helped them. The three main attackers use them as cover or platforms to attack the monster from above.

It was such a maneuver that ended the fight, the twins led the monster over a [explosive mine] spell that Ivy had set earlier. The explosion didn't do much damage but the force of the explosion did knock it off balance and with Elasha enhancing the power of the twin's weapons they were able to knock it over onto its back.

That was when Saria launched herself off one of the spikes and swung her longsword downward using the force of her fall to cut through the gap in its shell and head. After the fight the elves allowed me to use my skill [Converter] to change most of it to magicules and store away most of the valuable parts with the promise of letting them have most of the profits selling the parts.

Even now looking back at their teamwork was awe-inspiring and had me eager to learn from them. Each one had a specialty that allowed them to cover for the other's weakness and despite my level of power, I felt self-conscious when comparing our experience and combat ability.

I could even feel the Arch-dragons observing the fight through my eyes with our bond and felt their admiration for the group's abilities. This was something else I had noticed, the dragons seemed to be better at communicating their thoughts through emotions and feelings. I had also been learning to communicate with them more clearly, so there were no problems with communication and only a few misunderstandings.

The elves were getting along famously with my companions. Ivy in particular adored spending time with the pair, often wanting to join them in keeping an eye on the area around us on their back. Which every member of her team and myself knew was just an excuse to spend the day flying on the back of one of the dragons.

But given we had very few attacks and since the Arch-dragon didn't seem to mind we didn't say anything. The other members of the caravan seemed to also be taking a liking to the pair, or at least the one who didn't seem to mind allowing Ivy to ride on his back.

That was another thing I learned, the one who had flown low enough to touch the waves of a storming sea was male and was also the calmest of the two. Very rarely did he show any signs of annoyance, the feelings he gave off could be compared to a still lake. Peaceful with the slightest ripples quickly clearing before they could have any real effect.

The other half of the pair was more complicated, this one was a female and didn't seem to like others getting too close to her. She wasn't openly hostile to the others but if any of the men got too close her aura would flare up for a moment.

As for the elves she didn't seem to mind them much, she allowed them to get close and touch her but she never allowed any of them to ride her unless I was with them. She gave off a more indifferent feeling, her mind felt more like a group of storm clouds ominous and threatening to burst and release a devastating mix of raging winds and roaring thunder.

Though that storm would settle down when the elves complimented her on her glittering scales or whenever I gave her attention. So I often found myself resting at night leaning against her side while I continued to analyze myself and work on fusing more of my stored magicules.

She didn't seem to like my process much given that draining my magicules using [energy drain] was a very painful process. Every time I felt both her and her kin give me feelings of concern but I was quick to assure them I was fine, but even when I did my best to impress on them that the pain was manageable and necessary they were still uncomfortable.

I was touched by their concern and I did my best to keep the pain I felt when I used the skill from them, which is how I learned I could control how strong the connection formed by our soul corridor. I could narrow the connection so fewer emotions came through, I couldn't completely shut it off but it was enough so they weren't bothered by my discomfort.

I was doing so when Enri who was currently on watch walked over to me, as expected the Arch-dragon raised her head slightly watching Enri's approach. Enri showed no fear and simply stopped a foot away from the dragon and with her usual warm smile raised her hand palm forward.

She stayed still waiting patiently until the Arch-dragon stretched her neck to gently press her snout against the elve's hand. Enri gently rubbed the spot causing the dragon to let out a soft hum, Enri whispered to the dragon complimenting how the light reflected on her scales.

I could feel the pleasure and satisfaction coming from the female dragon, with the compliment she relaxed and lowered her head back onto her pawns, and closed her eyes to sleep. Enri then joined me sitting with her back against the warm side of the dragon.

"You know I think you might be her favorite of the group, she hasn't taken to anyone else as she has to you." I grinned at the motherly elf woman who smiled back and waved her hand as it brushed away my comment.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, we all know you are by far her favorite and I just happen to recognize her beauty and am honest about it." She had an odd look on her face as she spoke, " Do remember that it's always best, to be honest with a lady but do try to be tactful. There is a time and place for everything."

I wasn't sure what the look was about but I wondered if it had something to do with Saria or Ivy, I had been getting closer to them over the past few days but I didn't think it was anything more than a growing friendship. I hadn't considered anything more than a platonic relationship and despite Saria doing a lot of hugging and calling me cutie I didn't get the impression it was anything more than teasing or just how she was.

I had seen her embracing her other teammates including Enri several times, so I felt my opinion that being physical was simply a part of Saria's behavior. As for Ivy…that was a little more complicated, I couldn't deny her energetic attitude was endearing, and she was rather cute.

But again I didn't get the feeling she had any romantic interest in me, when she got too close it was simply a result of her energetic nature. She did seem to get embarrassed when she realized she was invading my personal space but she would just apologize and move on like nothing was happening.

Having no idea what her words were about I decided to just take it as friendly advice and nodded in agreement. "So Enri, was there something you needed?"

She continued to smile, seeming to accept the change in subject, "Well I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow and your new companions."

I could guess what she was talking about, we should be arriving at the entrance to Dwargon the next day. With Dwargon being rather accepting of all races it would still be a bad idea to bring in two Arch-dragons even if they were allowed to enter. So I needed to decide what to do about them. The simplest thing would be to find a spot nearby where they could hide like the Forest of Jura.

But I didn't like the idea of leaving them alone for any significant length of time, they could take care of themselves of course. Working together the pair were stronger than most monsters that appeared in the area, but there was the concern of more dragons appearing to hunt them down.

I shared my worries with Enri, her furrowed brow spoke volumes as to how concerned she was given her normally soft expression. "Yes that could be an issue, but we could simply take turns staying with them while you and Saria meet with the guild master. Once you've registered them as your companions it won't be long before all the local adventurers are aware that they shouldn't try to fight them though that's not a guarantee."

That didn't help ease my worries but before I said so Enri placed a hand on my shoulder and continued, "I wouldn't worry too much about that though, aside from our team there aren't any adventurer groups strong enough to defeat an Arch-dragon let alone two of them. And once they've been registered it's possible they would be allowed inside but most likely they'll be allowed to stay near the entrance to the city. This means they'll also be under the watch of the local guard which should help keep others from trying to antagonize them."

Enri seemed certain of herself as she spoke which was reassuring, and tapped into the bond I shared with the dragons I shared the plan with them. I emphasized the need for them to not attack anyone at the entrance to the dwarven kingdom and that if anyone tried to attack to simply fly away or stay on the defense until I or a member of the guard arrived to help.

From the male, I felt calm acceptance for the most part, but looking deeper I found a sense of indignation and injured pride. The thought of fleeing from other races didn't agree with him and chances were he would stand his ground.

His kin gave me a similar feeling just without the calm, her mind instantly flared up with unpleasant emotions at the thought of fleeing before humans and dwarves. The storm that was in her mind broke out in howling indignation and flashes of rage. I had to calm her down with soft touches of calm and peace from my own mind.

It wasn't easy but I soon felt her emotions settle down and relax at my mental touch. I spent a few minutes easing her feelings until I felt her mind go dark as she drifted off to sleep. When I snapped back to reality I noticed Enri watching me with a curious expression on her face. I explained what had happened which interested her greatly.

"I suppose that's to be expected, most people agree that dragons are rather prideful creatures." She looked rather calm given how my companions were likely to react if they were accosted, as if reading my mind she smiled and continued. "Well, like I said there aren't any teams of adventurers that could harm them and the Dwarves are fair so I don't think you'll have any problems with them."

We chatted for a little longer before she rejoined Saria. I spent some of the night filling out my journal with all that had happened since my fight with the Earth Dragon. Following that I went over my skills examining the changes in them again, then I went over my current knowledge of spells and possible new spells.

I did the same thing daily, with my new evolution I no longer needed much if any sleep, I could still sleep if I wanted to but seeing as I had no need I preferred to use my time more wisely. I grinned at my own thinking, it seemed I was still a bit of a work addict, or rather a research addict. In my past life, I had lost quite a bit of sleep due to my curiosity. If I found a subject interesting I would research it, and sometimes I would go a whole night barely sleeping.

Tora was upset with me whenever I did, mostly because of how it would affect my health, but also because she found it easier to sleep cuddling. She could be rather needy and clingy at times but I loved her all the more for it, and the ache that I had been feeling whenever I thought back to my late wife barely made itself known now.

I knew why. my new body was affecting my mind and emotions, my new desire to fight, the thrill and pride I felt in a fight followed by winning. Even a slight apathy toward members of what could be called a weaker race was now a part of me.

And while I could still feel grief, it was lessened now, my worries were also faster to fade, if I had to put a phrase to what it felt to be a dragon, it would be living in the moment. I was starting to get used to this new way of thinking at least a little, and after a few more hours I decided to get some rest before the sun rose.

In the morning we packed up camp and continued on our way, I had my dragon companions flying high above us and reminded them to stay up there until I let them know it was safe.

We didn't stop that day for lunch, everyone was excited to finally arrive and the Dwarven nation so we all nibbled on some leftover bread and dried fruit. Hardly an appetizing meal but from the talk it seemed most wanted a good tankard of beer rather than a hot meal.

I wasn't much of a drinker in my later years aside from the occasional bit of sake but now with my young body, I couldn't deny the prospect of having a good drink was rather tempting. I suppose I would consider joining them for a drink or two after I met with the guild master.

Not long after midday we arrived at the entrance, I stared up at the massive mountain, the peak reached far into the sky much like the other mountains I had seen. And carved into the base of this mountain were a massive set of doors that would easily allow me in my dragon form to pass through.

There was a rather long line of people waiting to enter but the line went by rather quickly and when it was our turn to enter the merchants were able to get us all through with almost no questions. The guards seemed to recognize most of the group welcoming the teams of adventurers.

As we walked through the gates I could feel the dragons sending me feelings of sadness, I sent them reassurances that it wouldn't be for long. I allowed the bond between us to widen so we could feel each other's presence even as I entered the mountain.

When the city came into view I was struck dumb in awe, I had expected simple stone buildings with maybe flame or some kind of simple lanterns along the street. But what I saw was so much more, well-made roads, and bright lights in every building.

The use of so much metal with pipes running all over the place gave me a very industrial feel, the term Steampunk came to mind. I nearly bumped into Val with how distracted I was, the group had stopped making final arrangements for payment before the merchants left to attend to their business.

The rest of us continued to the adventurer's guild, a large stone building like most of the buildings I had seen so far. I took in every detail I could on the way, all types of people walked the streets not just humans and dwarves who to my surprise weren't all as small as most media painted them to be.

A good number of them did seem quite short compared to an average human but there was still plenty that were the same height as humans. Something else I wasn't expecting was how they all had a similar skin tone to mine though a bit lighter than Saria's.

It was odd considering that darker skin tone usually resulted from long exposure to the sun and considering they lived underground I would imagine they would be rather pale. But then again a different world wouldn't necessarily play by the same rules as my old world.

My thoughts were pulled away from wondering about the rules of this world when we entered the guild. Groups of adventurers were talking with each other and laughing. Some were maintaining their weapons, others were leaving just as we entered, and the whole place was thrumming to the point it was a little overwhelming after having been away from large crowds for so long even in the last years of my previous life.

Without realizing it I stepped behind Saria, to try to use her as a buffer while I tried to use my skill [Sound Manipulation] to block out some of the unnecessary noise. To my relief, the noise became more manageable and I was able to get a hold of myself.

I felt someone take my hand, I looked up to see Ivy smiling at me, noticing my discomfort no doubt. With the extra noise muffled I heard her voice clearly as she said, "Come on Ryuu, let's get you officially registered."

I noticed the rest of the Silver Azaleas were looking at me as well, all of them giving me small encouragement. I felt my cheeks growing warm, any discomfort I felt faded away and I followed the group eager to become an adventurer.

Looking at my new adventurer's license I was surprised once again by how familiar it looked. The way all the information was laid out reminded me a lot of a driver's license from my precious world. Just another similarity that had to be affected by someone from my world, and another question I had to look into soon enough.

I tapped into the soul corridor to check on the Arch-dragons, they were both now safely situated on a ledge that led into a shallow cave high up in the mountain. I had been given permission to keep them there for the time being while the guild master wrote up an official request to the government for permission to have them be allowed to remain outside the gates and not have them harassed by the guards.

The registration process had started off easily enough, I had filled out some paperwork which made me grateful for my skill [All of Creation]. Thanks to that I had full knowledge of the language of this world and some practice in a second notebook I created to let me get a good handle on writing in the new language as well.

Things got complicated however when I registered my dragon companions, the lady at the counter had looked amused at first before admonishing me about lying on my application. In the end, it was Saria who forced the woman to take us to the guild master, with her whole team being B+ ranked members they seemed to have some influence.

When the guild master met with us a few minutes after he was shocked, to say the least when he heard my request and the story of my fight with the Earth dragon and my victory over a King Sea Serpent. But after everyone in Saria's team as well as a word with the other team of adventurers and me providing a long strand of hair, some scales, and one of the horns of the serpent he was forced to take my claim seriously.

He did say he would need to send for some researchers to verify the monster materials were from the monster I claimed they were from. Then he insisted on seeing the dragons for themselves, we had to wait for nearly an hour for him to gather some trusted soldiers before we headed out of the city. The large group of adventurers and soldiers drew the attention of the people waiting in line to enter the city.

Needless to say when the dragons landed in front of everyone many people shouted and some began to run in fear of deadly monsters they had only ever heard of in stories. Luckily the leader of the gate guards possessed a powerful voice and was able to make himself heard over all the noise and managed to calm the people.

From there I demonstrated my control over the dragons which was much like showing them a trained dog. I didn't care much for the way I was asked to command my kin and I could feel their distaste, especially from the female Arch-dragon. But thanks to our bond I was able to keep them calm and to help settle them down I produced two of the Spear Toros I had saved in [Converter].

Using the same skill I removed the scales and horn before they began to devour their meal, to my relief they both seemed to enjoy the fish greatly. Setting aside the sudden craving to enjoy a nice fish steak and the stares I was receiving from everyone who witnessed two Arch-dragons faithfully obeying someone who looked like they could be in their early teens, I continued with the process of registering the dragons as my tamed beasts.

I would have stayed with the dragons until all the details were settled but I needed to go back to the guild with the guild master. Enri volunteered to stay with the dragons as well as the twins and most of the soldiers. I was thankful to the elves for being willing to remain outside to keep an eye on my companions and make sure nobody would try to hurt them.

The next few hours were busy with me giving them part of my story, I changed the story slightly with me simply telling them I spent most of my life traveling from place to place after my home was destroyed and by studying the dragons I managed to earn my skill [Bond] and along the way I earned my skill [Converter]. They were definitely curious but they didn't press me for more details than I offered.

Normally an exam to be promoted in rank in the monster fighting division took some time to set up since monsters would need to be captured to test the different ranks available. But given Saria was present they agreed to send a representative with me to go into the mines and see if I could find a monster to fight.

I was surprised when the guild master himself was the one to officiate my exam, a previous A-rank adventurer himself he claimed he would decide if I had what it took to be a B-rank adventurer, the highest rank he could give me, any higher would require me traveling to the headquarters of the free guilds.

He was concerned when he realized my only weapons were my knives and staff but I waved his worries away and Saria backed me up. Luck must have been on my side that day because I ended up running into an armorsaurus. I had sensed and heard its approach long before it had arrived and as a testament to my skills increase in power and my improved abilities with my skills I was able to run an [Analyze and Assess] without the need for [Parallel Process] and still process all the data available.

So when it arrived I already had a plan, the armorsaurus with its [Body Armor] skill possessed a high physical defense but had little in the way of magical defenses. So when it arrived I used a barrier to cover my knives before covering them in the humming energy of my [Control Plasma] skill. Controlling the plasma I made the blades extended to the size of short swords and rushing the monster I was easily able to get past its guard and with a cross slash of my blades I lopped off its head.

The heat from my blades cauterized the wound before even a drop of blood spilled. I followed that up by using [Converter] to convert most of it into magicules and storing most of it while I fused some of them into myself but this time out of curiosity I applied my [Energy Drain] and [Optimize] skills. I felt a significant boost in efficiency, even though my magicule sickness wasn't as prevalent, barely affecting me more than a brief second of dizziness.

The skill Body armor has been successfully acquired. The skill Energy Drain has successfully evolved into the extra skill Reap.

I was rather pleased with myself and looking back at the guild master with Saria I was happy to see they both looked impressed. Not shocked but still impressed with my abilities, I suppose given they both must be skilled and experienced fighters they were more focused on analyzing my skills and abilities. I gathered up the remains, those being the scales, horns, and claws of the monster. With those, I know a good collection of scales and armored body parts from several monsters.

I was looking forward to seeing if they could be worked into some useful armor, not that I needed much protection with my defensive barriers and natural scales in my hybrid form, and now with my new skill, my defenses would be all the stronger.

Once we had gotten back I was given my B rank and a letter of recommendation to be raised to a B plus rank. Even if the armorsaurus was a B minus rank monster the fact I had taken such a powerful monster so easily was enough to add more credit to my claims and in the eyes of the guild master, verify I was worthy of such a high rank.

He also included a letter of recommendation to the magic guild that was also located near the headquarter of the Free Guilds. There were smaller guilds but the one in the capital city of Ingrassia was considered one of the best.

After all that, I now found myself sitting near the back of the guild waiting for the rest of the Silver Azaleas to join me. I could feel the eyes of everyone in the guild on me, word had already spread of my fight with the Fire dragon from the other adventurers and my immediate promotion to a B rank. I had barely arrived but already I was building quite the reputation for myself and while that had been the plan I was unprepared for how quickly I was becoming the center of attention.

I could already hear rumors beginning to spread about me and several teams were discussing trying to recruit me into their teams. I also heard a comment or two from those who I assumed were men and…well I found another reason to be a bit uncomfortable with the attention I was receiving.

So it was to my relief that just as one of the male adventurers was making his way over to my table, Saria and the rest of her team arrived, all of them smiling and congratulating me. They insisted we would be celebrating with drinks the next evening at a special venue.

"Trust me cutie you'll love the place, they have a great selection of booze and you can't beat the service." There was something in Saria's voice when she mentioned the service that had me thinking this wouldn't be a normal bar.

I glanced at the others but they all seemed to be looking forward to the night of drinking as well, Ivy did flush a little and I wondered if she should be drinking. I shook off the thought, despite her seeming to be in her mid to late teens she was a grown woman by her people's standards and she had mentioned being well over half a century old.

In this world, appearances could be deceiving and the term don't judge a book by its cover was appropriate. So I responded with a smile, "Well I'm looking forward to it, so what's next? Will we be taking a job soon or going to Ingrassia?" Given the letters of recommendation I had received, I was eager to see what doors they could open for me.

"Easy there newbie, you might have the raw power but you sure as hell don't have the experience you need to be aiming for higher goals just yet." It was Ely who spoke up and I could see how serious she was, the others had similar expressions making the air feel thick with her words hanging over me.

I felt the dragon in me flare up, reacting to the damage to my pride but it quickly settled when I thought about what she said and I had to agree. So far I had only been able to win using my skills and raw power, though I did have a few clever tactics if I do say so myself. But compared to others I could easily be the least experienced adventurer in the guild, my lack of any decent gear was a good example.

I didn't know if the clothes and weapons I had made using my skill actually were any good aside from the magic I had used to enhance them. And while I did know a thing or two about throwing a few punches and kicks, as well as a few grappling techniques, I had never gotten to mastering or being more than proficient in any form of martial arts.

That knowledge was enough to calm my inner dragon as I was now calling the impulses my new body was giving me. "That's fair, so what will we be doing then?"

Saria seemed pleased that I had accepted their point so quickly, "We're going to go meet some of the best craftsmen in Dwargon and see about getting some new gear."

The craftsman she was talking about was a group of dwarves named Kaijin, Garm, Dord, and Myrd. And seeing all the armor and weapons around the shop I could see why they were considered such skilled craftsmen. The level of detail in each piece made the knives I made look like pieces of hastily shaped scrap metal.

I had to hold back my excitement and keep myself from picking up each weapon I saw. This was a dream come true but to my surprise, Saria didn't mention any of the weapons. She asked me to show the dwarfs some of the monster materials I had collected.

When I mentioned what monsters they came from the quartet of dwarves nearly fell over in shock.

"A-A King Serpent horn!"

"Knight Spider!"

"Look at the quality of all these scales!"

" I never thought I would see these!"

They had several questions about the material so I gave them a short summary, after the story Saria began to bargain with the Kaijin for the materials from the Knight spider. While she was talking Ivy whispered the plan the group had come up with on the way to the guild earlier.

While Kijin and the other dwarves were amazing craftsmen there was another smith who could rival if not surpass them when it came to weapons. This other blacksmith was also well known for creating more uncommon types of weapons so the group of elves preferred the other smith's work when it came to weapons.

So they wanted to offer the materials to Kaijin and the dwarf brothers for two reasons, first so they could make a decent bit of coin. They could get a good amount of coin from the guild but they planned to use the sale as a bargaining chip for commissioning new custom gear.

The other reason was just that they liked Kaijin and his crew, she explained that the group had been having some hard times due to some betrayals in business and some minister named Vesta harassing the group whenever he could.

I didn't mind the plan so I agreed, and I asked Kaijin if he had an empty space for me to deposit the rest of the materials.

"You got more?! Uh, sure I got a storage area in the back that has a bit of room." Kaijin glanced at the large exoskeleton of the Knight Spider and I could tell he was wondering how much more I could possibly have.

He was in for quite the shock when I proceeded to deposit most of the scales, all the hair, and the remaining horn from the King Sea serpent I had killed. Even the storage room was not enough to hold all of the scales I had harvested. Each one was a varying shade of silvery grey that glimmered in the low light like gems.

I couldn't hide my grin when I saw the expression of everyone including my elven friends, after some bargaining which I did participate in we agreed that the dwarf brothers would get to keep all the materials in exchange for creating customs sets of gear for each one of us and a hefty 150 gold coins.

That didn't include the horns which were the most valuable monster parts of all and the remaining scales I had stored, not to mention what would have been the commission was waved in exchange for a large portion of the scales.

The Kainin insisted they couldn't afford to purchase them at the moment, as he explained the horns were the most valuable items, each one could be worth at least 200 gold coins depending on the state they were in, this was due to them being the area the monster would focus its magic and so was exposed to the most magicules.

Because of that, the horns could be made into top-quality staffs and even in their natural form, they could be used as powerful magic staffs. There were even a few kingdoms that used the last horn found to make royal scepters or other symbols of their authority that were now national treasures.

A half-decent craftsman could make a rare class magic staff or magic accessory. And in the hands of a master it could reach the Unique level, that was my introduction to the gear ranking system.

I had been walking around with items that were worth a small fortune. If I did things right I could easily auction off the horns for enough money to live in luxury for centuries. Just the thought of so much wealth was overwhelming, in my past life I did quite well for myself with my work writing light novels and manga, but that was nothing compared to this.

'What would have happened if I had saved all of the scales from that monster? I'm not sure I even want that much money.' I thought to myself as I put away the horns on the storage part of [Converter].

After a few more friendly words we gave our goodbyes and moved on to our next stop, a few minute's walk to another shop. The outside wasn't that different from Kaijin's shop, amazing suits of armor and weapons sat on display. It was inside that I understood the difference, there was a greater variety of weapons.

I saw curved scimitars and different types of poleaxes, and in one corner I even saw a katana. In the back of the shop was a figure hunched over an anvil pounding away at a piece of glowing steel. The figure wasn't like anything I had seen so far in the dwarven city, his skin was a dark grey and even his hair was a lighter shade of grey. His skin had a strange look to it that reminded me of stone, smooth and solid looking with a dull glimmer from the light of the forge.

He turned to look at us and his face was a bit of a shock, he had vague human features, two eyes, a mouth, and a nose, but it all lacked definition. Yet there was something artistic to his features, perfectly symmetric as if he was a statue that had yet to be finished beside the barest details, sharp teeth stuck out the corners of his lower lip.

A set of long curved horns separated his short hair, and at his hands were inch-long talons. Aside from a brown apron and trousers, he was bare-chested and even his muscles seemed both defined but still lacking in details.

One word came to mind when I saw him, 'Gargoyle', I had seen images of them on the internet and this guy looked like a mix of a human and a monster that it felt intentional.

"Hey G, it's been a while, how are you doing?" Saria walked forward waving a hand in greeting and giving the guy a bright smile.

The stone-looking man rolled his eyes which were the most human-looking part of him, white with black irises. He looked back to his work and continued to hammer away, when he spoke his voice was deep and gravely like two stones being rubbed together. "You know I ain't got a name elf so I would prefer you don't give me a nickname. I've refused anyone who's tried to give me a name and I don't intend to change that any time soon."

Saria just grinned and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "I know but it's nice to be able to call you something aside from blacksmith."

The blacksmith snorted and remained silent for a few seconds before shrugging, "Fair enough but don't you spread that around. You lot are my better customers but I won't hesitate to ban ya from my shop if you break my rule. So what do you lot want today? Something wrong with your weapons or you looking for something new for your friend over there?"

He waved his hammer in my direction, he only gave me a side glance as he continued his work.

"Right on the money with the second one G, this is Ryuu our newest, he just joined us and he needs a good weapon." Saria pulled me forward and wrapped an arm around my neck pressing the side of my head against her ample chest. I just did my best to ignore my position and just gave a pleasant smile.

He stopped his work for a second and raised an eyebrow as he examined me again, "A lad then? Didn't think you would ever let a lad into your team, must be something special if all of you have accepted him. Any preference in your weapon of choice?"

I was going to respond when Saria squeezed my head closer to her chest and spoke up over me, "He doesn't have any experience with a sword, more of a magic user to be honest but from what I've seen so far I think he would benefit from one of your heavier blades. You know, get some distance between him and his opponent, I'm gonna be training him so I'll make sure he can handle it."

I hadn't considered that, I did rely more on my magic and skills, or my fists if it came down to it. And considering my human and hybrid form had access to my full strength as a dragon I was no weakling. I had yet to see just how strong I was physically but something inside me told me I could handle any large weapon with ease.

I glanced up at Saria and I could see the confidence in her eyes, there was something reassuring in the lack of doubt or uncertainty. So I chose to trust her, if it didn't work out I'm sure I could switch to a different weapon.

The blacksmith tilted his head before pointing to one wall of the room where several large swords, "If you say so, I've learned to trust your judgment Saria. You and that skill of yours usually ain't wrong. Have a look yourself, just don't break anything."

Saria let me go and with her, I walked to the swords while the others looked at different weapons. Looking at the weapons I noticed most of them seemed like two-handed weapons, all of them had blades near my own height. I felt like I might look a bit ridiculous carrying one of those things around, but then again I could just keep it inside of the pocket dimension of [Converter].

Saria picked up what looked like a longsword about the size of hers, which now looking at it up close was about 160cm making it taller than I was. She handed it to me showing me how to hold it, despite knowing I was quite strong I still braced myself. But it was for nothing I felt the weight of the blade but quite frankly I didn't feel any strain in holding it up.

Saria stood behind me and placed her hands on mine helping me to slowly move the sword around to get a feel for it. I had no trouble moving with the blade and when she asked me to hold it with one hand closer to the hilt I found I could easily move the massive blade around and still have full control. What surprised me next was when she had me use my left hand to wield the blade and I found no difference compared to my right hand.

It seemed either from one of my skills or my new body, I was now perfectly ambidextrous. I set the sword back and asked how Saria knew I could handle the weapon with either of my hands. She had realized it when I had fought the armorsaurus, the way I had used both knives with equal amounts of familiarity and skill.

I hadn't noticed it at the time but now it seemed rather obvious. I would have to practice writing with my left hand from now on, being ambidextrous could only be an advantage. Now knowing I had the physical strength to wield even the biggest sword available I looked around to find one that I liked.

There were many options but one, in particular, caught my attention, I walked up to a massive sword that looked to be about 165cm with a slightly wider blade than the average longsword. There were a few inches of leather on the blade part next to the crossguard. I recognized the style as a Claymore sword, I had done research on swords many times and I had always had a fascination with the brutal-looking weapon.

Carefully I removed the blade from the wall, I noticed a slight shine to the metal, I could feel the extra weight from the size and thickness of the blade. Yet it was still well balanced and my strength made it feel as light as the knives I had made. Holding it I loved the way the grip felt in my hands, I did also notice that the crossguard had a different design than the usual claymore had in my old world.

No four-leaf clover design, instead having a slight inward curve at the very end with almost a point to it. The pommel of the sword had a design that reminded me of a gem despite the metal material. As I focused on the blade I ran an analysis on it and noticed that at the core of the blade was something called magisteel.

When I asked out loud about it G walked over having set aside his forging, he seemed to show no surprise to see me easily holding a sword bigger than I was.

"That be magisteel lad, very rare metal it is. Expose it to enough battles and magicules and it'll evolve over time. Grow stronger and change according to your needs and desires, you could almost call it bonding with your blade." He seemed proud as he described the blade and how magisteel came to be.

It certainly gave me an idea, if I could purchase some ore could I store it in [Converter] and allow it to absorb the magicules inside the pocket dimension? Or I could just fuse the ore or metal with magicules to see if that could create magisteel faster?

Now knowing the potential of this sword I simply had to have it, I didn't even care if I was looking like an anime character with an oversized sword. I knew enough to know the extra weight would only add to the power of my swings and quite frankly I was worried a thinner blade wouldn't be able to handle how strong I was.

When I asked how much, G looked a little uncertain, it was one of his best weapons and he was a little hesitant to part with it. Looking to buy some more time no doubt he asked to see my knives, curious about what weapons I had been using so far.

I put the sword back in its place and handed over both knives, he stared at the blades with a furrowed brow and to my surprise lifted one to his mouth and bit it. Slight sparks appeared as his teeth clashed with the enchanted metal.

"What the hell? I ain't ever seen metal like this…and is this some kind of enchantment? I can't even see the runes. Where the hell did you get this lad?" He looked at me genuinely confused and interested.

I was careful as I described what Tungsten was and I was vague about a skill being used to place the enchantment.

"Incredible, the blade looks like a piece of shit but I ain't seen something so sharp and durable." Without asking he swung the blade down on one of his steel tools and there were a few sparks as the keen edge cut through the metal with little resistance.

He set the knives down and looked me in the eyes, there was a glint in his eyes that reminded me of the fire in the forge. "Alright lad, I think we can make a deal."

I had not been expecting what he offered, he wanted me to tell him everything I knew about the Tungsten and if possible provide him with a sample. That wasn't a problem but then he said he wanted to see me use my skill to place an enchantment, the certainty in his voice made it clear he knew it was me who made the enchantment.

In exchange for this information and my help in working with the metal, he would only charge 62 gold coins for the blade and if this endeavor proved to be fruitful he would give me my gold back. I countered by asking for some raw iron ore upfront and I would pay an extra gold coin. I didn't mention why, he agreed but asked that instead of an extra gold coin he would prefer one of my knives.

With a handshake to cement our deal, he got me several pounds of iron ore and the scabbard for the sword. I would need to get a belt to attach the sword to or maybe one of those or some straps to put it on my back. For now, though I stored it away in [Converter] along with the ore, I handed over the knife and the gold with the promise to return the next day.

"I'll be waiting lad, and be sure to take good care of that sword, She's one of my best works." I could see the conflict in his eyes and hear it in his tone as he spoke. I don't know why he was so interested in the metal I used to make my knives but it must have been important for him to sell a weapon that upon analysis was an upper rare-grade weapon.

The others also looked at me curiously but congratulated me all the same, we left the shop and they led me to a housing district of Dwargon. I was feeling rather eager for the next day, I checked on the Arch-dragons through our connection and reassured them all was well and encouraged them to rest. I wouldn't be doing much resting that night, more things were changing and I was feeling pumped to see what else would happen in the near future.

Hey everyone sorry for the delay, like I said last time the holidays have delayed things. Thanks again to Singular Ash for editing this chapter and for editing the previous chapters.

Next, in response to LezarioFanFico I loved your idea and below I made a bio to keep everyone up to date on Ryuu's skills. Also, I'm glad you enjoy the elves, they'll be playing a pretty consistent role so you'll be seeing plenty of them. As for Rimuru, well I thought I already gave a hint about that but you'll see eventually.

Well, that's everything, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and if you don't celebrate it, then I hope you had a happy holiday and I wish you all a Happy New Year!

(P.S. If you pay attention the bio has hints about the changes to his skills after the evolution.)

Bio Sheet

Name: (Previously) Miyamoto Sadao/(Current) unnamed

Nicknames: Ryuu/cutie/newbie

Species: Elemental Arch-dragon: A true monster among the dragon race, it possesses mastery over the elements rendering most types of magic useless. This dragon is closer to a spiritual being than a physical being and as such defeating such a monster is impossible for any mundane army, or individuals who cannot harm its spiritual essence.

Crest: None

Blessing: None

Equipment: Enchanted (Unbreaking) Tungsten knife, Enchanted (Unbreaking) Oak Staff, Enchanted (Unbreaking) clothes, 165cm magisteel-core claymore.

Resistances

Cancel Elemental Attack (Fire, water, earth, ice, air, lightning)

Cancel Melee Attack

Cancel Negative effects (Confusion, blindness, poison, paralysis, decay)

Cancel Magic attack (Any damage done by offensive magic or magically enchanted weapon is canceled out)

Spatial effect resistance (Effects of gravity and spatial magic can now be resisted)

Skills and Extra Skills

Multi-layer barrier

Dragon Aura

Multi-elemental breath

Plasma control: Creation, manipulation, and control of Plasma

Ultraspeed Regeneration

Magic sense

Coercion

Reap

Sound Manipulation

Vibration Detection

Ground shockwave

Spatial Manipulation (Manipulation of gravity and spatial magic)

Body Armor

Unique Skills

Voice of Change

This skill allows the user to manipulate and alter the world around them changing the properties of both the magical and physical world.

All of Creation-Provides full coverage of all unsuppressed matter and phenomena in this world

Law Manipulation- enables the manipulation of the laws of the world from either a magical or scientific perspective

Analyze and assess- Analyze and assess the target

Inscription- inscribe or enchant the effects of magic spells or skills into an object's very being.

Create Material - Creation of any material or completed item

Parallel Process- replicates the mental capabilities of the user to create a separate mind that can perform any tasks designated by the user.

Draconic Knight

This skill grants the user combative power compared to a member of the draconic race.

Form Change-grants the ability to change one's form

Dragon strength - an improved version of steel strength and strengthen body, also can convert magicules into even greater physical enhancements

Bond- allows the creation of a sub-soul corridor

Dragon senses- enhances all senses far beyond their base capabilities

Magic aura- allows magical effects to be applied to one's body or items equipped

Converter

Altering the state of the target to the user's preference.

Defusion- Separate the target into base components.

Fusion- Unifying or fusing together the targets

Gather- collects or gathers the target

Storage- a pocket dimension that can be used to store anything.

Dragon Warrior Fury

Grants the user greater combat potential and can aid in guiding the user to victory.

Muscle Memory: All previous combat experience is engraved into the user's body and new combat styles and arts are easier to learn.

Optimize: All mental faculties and skills are optimized including the use of magic.

Sage: Increase the user's ability to process information at a far greater rate.

Greater Instinct: Natural instincts are greatly increased allowing the user to react to combat situations with more speed and efficiency.

Enemy analysis: Analysis of an opponent will now have a greater chance to reveal skill, attributes, magicule count, and potential weaknesses.

Mystic Hydra

Provides mastery over the user's elemental and magical powers.

Elemental Master: Control over all attributes the user posses

Multicast: Multiple spells can be activated simultaneously without the need for an incantation.

Magic manipulation: Ability to manipulate and interfere with all magic within range.

Magic avatar: Creates spiritual avatars similar to elemental spirits to assist in directing or casting magic. One is assigned to each attribute the user possesses.