Awakening

Inside the dragon's lair.

“Mmh...”

Having slept for seven whole years, Irene let out a groggy yawn.

The moment she opened her eyes, she was nearly blinded.

For a split second, she almost thought a mage had shoved a Flash spell right in her face, and a glob of acid breath immediately surged up her throat.

Fortunately, a dragon's vision quickly adapted to high-light environments.

Only then did Irene see clearly that what had nearly blinded her was a carpet of gold coins and gems covering the entire lair.

Along with several train locomotives piled in the corner.

Judging by the prominent smokestacks, they seemed to be the kind of steam trains that boiled water.

At that moment, Irene's little brain short-circuited for a second, forcing her to swallow the acid breath back down.

Her empty dragon stomach probably couldn't have guessed it, even if it used its appendix to think.

After seven years of rest, its very first breakfast was finally ready for digestion.

To its absolute shock, it was a damn mouthful of acid.

Ignoring her rumbling, protesting stomach, Irene's short-circuited brain had only just finished rebooting.

“Did those vassals treat my place like a junkyard? Throwing just about anything in here...”

Though she grumbled, a wave of relief and gratification washed over her heart.

Before her deep sleep, she hadn't held high hopes for these vassals.

She only hoped they could survive without getting wiped out before she woke up.

Now, it seemed she had underestimated them.

Stretching her neck, her bones let out a series of sharp pops.

Her body, unmoved for seven years, felt incredibly stiff.

Like a piece of machinery that hadn't been started in years and had rusted slightly, it felt as though it needed some lubricating oil.

Naturally, a dragon's body didn't need lubricating oil.

But Irene felt she should loosen up a bit.

For example, by doing a set of morning radio calisthenics.

So she pushed herself up and stood on her hind legs.

With a loud thud, her head inevitably collided with the rocky ceiling above, letting out a dull, heavy sound.

The entire cavern shook slightly.

“Damn it!”

Shrinking her neck and rubbing her head, which didn't actually hurt much, Irene looked down to inspect her body.

Compared to before her slumber, she was at least a size larger, her length growing from five meters to eight.

But compared to her size, the changes within were even greater.

She was now a genuine Silver Rank adolescent dragon, as well as a Silver Rank mage.

However, with this size, her once spacious lair now felt rather cramped.

After all, when she had first built it, she hadn't made it very large.

This stemmed from an ancestral custom passed down through the dragon race.

According to the explanation in the Draconic Inheritance, a smaller lair not only required fewer treasures to fill,

but also made the hoard look much more impressive.

Of course, certain wealthy dragons were the exception.

Rubbing her head in annoyance, Irene shifted her thoughts, and her body rapidly shrank, transforming into her human form.

A black magic robe flew out from the pile of treasure and draped itself over her.

“Phew...”

Stretching satisfyingly, Irene finally felt much better.

At least she didn't feel as cramped as before.

Countless wisps of water vapor spontaneously condensed before her, forming an ice mirror.

Gazing at the girl in the ice mirror who possessed a well-proportioned figure, Irene tilted her head slightly.

“I'm finally not a little loli anymore...”

A flurry of dense footsteps echoed from the pitch-black passage.

Locking her gaze onto the entrance of the passage, she saw a grand troop of several hundred black-armored figures rushing in.

Each of them held a black-painted sword and shield, exuding a murderous aura.

Within a few seconds, the formidable black-armored force rushed right in front of Irene.

With a collective metallic clank, they dropped to one knee in perfect unison.

“We welcome Your Grace back from your long slumber!!!”

The synchronized shout echoed throughout the entire dragon's lair.

The golden gleams shining through the slits of their black helmets proved their identity as dragonborn beyond a doubt.

Irene nodded slightly at them.

“You've all worked hard during this time.”

“It is no trouble at all! To guard Your Grace is the greatest honor of our Imperial Guard!”

Just then, the late-arriving Fido burst out of the passage at incredible speed.

Leaping high while still ten meters away from Irene, he soared over the heads of the Imperial Guard before landing firmly on one knee.

With a face full of fanatical devotion, he offered his most sincere greeting:

“Your Grace, you have finally awakened!”

“You've worked hard during this time.”

Irene didn't beat around the bush either. After greeting him, she got straight to the point.

“Did anything major happen while I was asleep?”

Hearing this, Fido's face turned serious. He chose his words carefully before speaking:

“There are indeed a few major events. First, about half a year ago, Lord Daviel woke up.”

“Oh?”

Irene knit her brows slightly, looking around the empty lair.

There was no sign of Daviel.

Noticing Irene's gaze, Fido quickly explained:

“Not long after Lord Daviel woke up, he disguised himself with Polymorph and led fifty members of the Imperial Guard to expand our territory.”

At this point, Fido seemed a bit worried that Irene might get angry, so he hastily added:

“Actually, I wanted to send more troops to accompany him, but Lord Daviel refused.”

“His exact words were:”

“‘I, Daviel, do things my own way throughout my life. Why should I ever rely on the hands of others?”

“Just wait until I conquer a piece of the world to show my older sister. I am no freeloading dragon!’”

Irene was quite speechless, thinking that this foolish dragon had likely let his ego inflate again.

But Daviel was now an adolescent dragon as well.

A Silver Rank adolescent dragon could at least rival Gold Rank individuals of ordinary races.

With that silly dragon's strength, he probably wouldn't run into much danger in this wild God-Forsaken Land.

She pursed her lips and continued,

“What else?”

Seeing no signs of anger from Irene, Fido breathed a sigh of relief and continued:

“Over the years, just as Your Grace predicted, many have come here drawn by our reputation.”

“Some wished to cooperate with you, while others harbored hostile intentions.”

“However, those with hostile intentions have already disappeared forever into this desert.”

Saying this, Fido glanced at the steam trains sitting amidst the pile of treasure and continued:

“Our liquor business has expanded rapidly over the years. Currently, our main export regions are the Eastern Kingdoms and the Dwarven Empire.”

“Furthermore, we signed a long-term supply agreement with those bearded dwarves of the Dwarven Empire at a price slightly lower than the market rate.”

“These steam trains were gifts from the Dwarven Empire.”

“They are currently planning to excavate an underground tunnel crossing the Ersencielo River.”

“And lay down tracks underground to transport the wine rapidly.”