Dragon in the Forest

Edited by: Chip

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The next day, Atlas woke up and realized that he was using the slime as a pillow. It didn’t mind at all and seemed to be happy that Atlas was awake.

As his tamed monster, since Lapis was not as intelligent as Sir Walter, it could not talk. But he could make out its emotions.

“Good morning, Lapis. Thank you for letting me use you as a pillow.” To have a pillow in the wilderness and one that would never get hot… Yeah, Lapis was a nice little pillow.

Atlas stretched and then got ready to complete his tasks. He had two more days and he could only find two horned rabbits that dropped some meat.

It was strange. Teacher Devina said this forest was teeming with monsters and beasts but why was he only able to find one slime and two horned rabbits even though he looked all over the place? He didn’t feel anything strong in the forest either, so it shouldn’t be some high-level monsters eating or chasing the weaker-level creatures away…

What could it be?

Atlas put Lapis on top of his head and ate his breakfast. The chefs working at the Alnhart estate packed him the meals he would need so he didn’t go hungry.

As for Lapis, he tried to feed it some of his food, but it didn’t want to eat it. In class, what did the book say about slimes? Slimes were monsters that were made up of magical energy. If he remembered correctly, they also ate magical energy from the environment, but it’s a very slow process.

He could feel the slime twitching a little bit on his head. Was it trying to eat the mana that was radiating off of him?

Regardless, at least the slime was easy to feed.

After breakfast, Atlas headed out to see if he could finish the task.

He slowly walked through the forest while controlling his breathing. He didn’t want to breathe too loudly or make too much noise. He tried to listen to the sounds of nature, but he couldn’t hear a bird chirp or a bug buzzing.

It was eerily quiet like everything was trying to be quiet in fear. Nothing wanted to be found.

Atlas felt his nerves tense when he realized how quiet the forest was. He couldn’t even hear the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. On top of his head, Lapis was shivering and he could feel that Lapis was scared but it had nowhere to run.

He didn’t know how long he walked for or in what direction he was going, but eventually, he found himself in a clearing. It wasn’t as beautiful as the center of the Great Dragon Forest or the Divine Realm’s flower clearing. This place had tall, unmanageable grass with a few boulders scattered around.

In the center of the clearing, there was a dragon about half the size of an airplane. Even when it was curled up and sleeping, it still took up most of the clearing.

It wasn’t as large as Sohtris, but it was still much larger than Atlas.

The silver dragon seemed to not have noticed Atlas as he walked closer to get a better look. It was his first time seeing a dragon other than Sohtris, so he was curious if there were similarities.

Atlas thought he would be able to approach the dragon quietly, but he stepped on a conveniently placed crispy branch. The sound seemed to echo in the forest, causing the dragon to open its eyes and look at him.

The dragon had light, crystal blue eyes. He felt like he was staring at blue glass.

A low-pitched but childish voice came out of the dragon’s mouth, “Atlas? What are you doing here?” The dragon asked and it seemed to know Atlas too.

“Eh? Have we met before?” Atlas was trying to think of all the dragons he knew but the only one he had met was Sohtris and she was a black dragon, not a silver dragon.

Silver and blue eyes… Wait, this dragon had a similar aura to… “Prince Ronan?”

“Yes, you got it right. What are you doing in this forest?”

“Oh, my combat teacher told me I needed to kill the monsters and beasts on this list and survive for three days. But I have only been able to find one slime and two horned rabbits. I was wondering why this was happening because Teacher Devina said this forest was teeming with monsters and beasts, but now I know it’s because of you!”

“I was able to make a new friend so this trip wasn’t for nothing. But now that I think about it, if you are still here, how will I be able to finish my tasks?”

Atlas gave his notoriously long explanations and Prince Ronan was able to understand it.

“I apologize and will explain the situation to your Teacher. I will be in the forest for a few more days, so it might be best if you come back another time.”

“Why are you here in your dragon form?” Atlas was a bit curious.

“Why should I tell you? People are not supposed to know what my dragon form looks like, but now you know. And you want to know my other secrets? Shouldn’t you exchange a secret with me so we can be considered even?” To be honest, Prince Ronan was half joking. He didn’t expect Atlas to tell him any secrets and he didn’t think he would tell Atlas his secrets either.

He just wanted to tease Atlas a little bit. And then he would send Atlas on his way.

Plus, Atlas was still wearing the hair and eye-changing earrings even in the forest. If there was a secret, it would be his hair and eye colors. Atlas still had lavender hair and pink eyes from the party.

At Atlas’ birthday, he did say he would rather wait until Atlas’ debut, but wouldn’t this be a good opportunity to find out?

Would Atlas be more interesting with his earrings or without? That’s what he wanted to know.

Atlas did his best to process everything that Ronan said and felt that the other was not unjustified in wanting to know one of his secrets. He also knew that the Imperial family hid their dragon forms and only those who were family or spouses were allowed to see it. To the Imperial family, seeing their dragon form was akin to seeing them naked.

It was incredibly intimate and it wouldn’t be surprising if Atlas was forced into an engagement if Ronan’s parents, the Emperor and King Consort, found out.

On top of that, Atlas wanted to know why Ronan was in the forest, which was asking for another secret to be shared. He was curious though… Should he or should he not?

Seeing Atlas thinking so hard, Ronan thought it was a bit amusing. “I was just kidding, but if you do want to tell me a secret, I wouldn’t mind.”

Atlas felt it wouldn’t hurt to show Ronan his true hair and eye color. He would have to show it during the debut anyway. Plus, he would let Cyrus know about everything that happened here.

And he basically saw Ronan naked — in his true dragon form — which should have been forbidden. Atlas felt kinda bad for seeing Ronan like this, so he felt a bit more inclined to tell him.

“If I tell you my secret, then would you promise not to tell anyone, not even your family? If you can promise me that, I will consider telling you a secret.”

“And if I don’t keep the promise?”

“The Alnhart family won’t be forgiving. Plus, I will be mad at you and won’t ever talk to you ever again!” It was a childish threat, but Ronan felt that Atlas was really serious about this.

“Okay, then I will keep my promise and I won’t tell anyone, not even my parents about your secret. How is that?” Now he wanted to know what the secret was even more. He almost forgot why he was in this forest in the first place.

“Then, if you break the promise, the Dragon God will strike you down with lightning.” This was a common saying among commoner children, but Atlas thought it was cute.

Especially because he knew that Mama Sohtris would probably strike down anyone who would dare break their promise to him. Well, that’s what she told him anyway.

For the first time, Ronan felt a chill go down his back when Atlas said that. Why did he feel that it was more than just a children’s joke and more like a divine punishment if he really did break his promise…

“I understand. If I break our promise, then the Dragon God will strike me down with lightning.” When he said that, he felt it wasn’t a coincidence that he got the shivers a second time. Was this a warning that the Dragon God was listening?

And she was listening.

Since Atlas was her son, of course, she would strike down anyone who broke a promise with him!

When Atlas heard him promise, he felt that it was good enough.

He tapped on the earrings with a bit of magic. This turned off the earrings, undoing the magic and changing his hair and eye color.

In a split second, Atlas’ hair and eye color returned to normal. His black hair seemed to glimmer in the sunlight. It didn’t turn dark brown, but it was like obsidian reflecting light. And his eyes were gold and purple.

Ronan was speechless. He wasn’t sure if it was because Atlas looked like the scriptures talking about the Dragon God, or if it was because Atlas looked nothing like he was expecting.

It was the first time he had ever felt someone looked beautiful.

He couldn’t take his eyes off Atlas before, and now, he didn’t want to stop looking at him.

“Now that I showed you my secret, you have to tell me yours!”

Hearing Atlas’ voice, Ronan snapped out of his stupor.

“Ah, that is right.” Ronan stretched his limbs out and then went back to the position he was in before. “I am here because my dragon body is going through a growth phase. As someone who is half human and half dragon, our bodies grow independently. The human body grows a bit slower than the dragon body, but when I turn 18, the dragon body should stop growing.”

“When I’m going through a growth phase, I cannot turn back into a human, so I will go to different forests and pass the growth phase. There should have been an illusion in the forest, but you have the blessings of not only the Dragon God, but the God of Light. It is no wonder the illusion didn’t work on you, Atlas.”

For some reason, Atlas felt that Ronan was more expressive in his dragon form. He could see that Ronan was telling the truth. “I understand. Thank you for telling me your secret… Is it painful? Your growth period?”

It was the first time anyone had asked him if it was painful. Then again, only his family knew what he was going through, but since he was a kid who didn’t show emotion, why ask if it was painful?

Of course, he could feel pain, and the growth phase was a bit painful, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle.

“It’s a little painful, but it’s something I’m used to.” He didn’t know why, but he decided to be honest with Atlas. Especially because he could see the concern on his face.

“I see, then, is it okay if I accompany you here until the third day? Maybe I can help distract you from the pain!”

Ronan didn’t see the harm and it was a bit boring out here.

“Okay, that’s fine. Then, help me ease the boredom. There’s nothing to do when I am in the growth phase.”

“Okay! How about I tell you a story?” Atlas sat down on the ground next to Ronan and took out some snacks. Can’t tell a story with snacks!

Ronan placed his head next to Atlas’ leg and closed his eyes. “That is fine with me.”

Atlas excitedly began to tell a story from a video game he worked on. He gave the full background of the characters, the world, and even the side characters. After that, he told Ronan the story about the game plot, talking until the sun went down.

Ronan was not bored though. He listened to Atlas describe an entire world that seemed foreign to this one. If only he could listen to Atlas tell stories every day, maybe he would never be bored.

*****

After the three days were up, Atlas only killed two horned rabbits and tamed a slime. It was the first time Teacher Devina had someone fail this task, but it was also out of the control of the student.

Atlas also walked out of the forest with Prince Ronan, which shocked Devina to the core.

“I apologize for disturbing Atlas while he was doing tasks. Please do not punish him.” Prince Ronan apologized to Devina with a formal bow.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Devina didn’t see the need to accept this apology. No one was hurt and no one was at fault, so there was no need to apologize in their opinion. “I can also make him do this again another time. I just picked an unlucky time, so there’s no need to punish him.”

“That is a relief.” Ronan sighed. “Well then, I should take my leave.”

He smiled at Atlas, but this time, there was a bit of fondness in his smile and eyes. “Atlas, I hope the next time we meet, it will be just the two of us again.”

Atlas waved goodbye. “Okay, I can’t send an invite, but you can send me one when you are free!”

“Then, expect a letter soon.” Ronan waved back.

With that, Ronan walked to the servants who were waiting for him nearby.

Teacher Devina patted Atlas on the head. “Come on, Lord Atlas, let’s go back. Your family is waiting for you to come back with good news.”

“Yes, Teacher! I also have a lot I want to tell them.”

When Atlas got home, he was lectured by Cyrus for showing Ronan what he really looked like instead of waiting for their debut.

Cyrus really couldn’t trust Prince Ronan! His motives were not malicious but they were unclear. Plus, his obsession with Atlas was not normal and he didn’t want Atlas to get caught up in that.

Judging from his past life with his biological parents, there’s a thin line between love, obsession, and possessiveness. Even when he died, his biological mom turned her love into obsession and hate. Even though she remarried, it seemed all feelings of love went to making his biological father’s life worse.

That’s why he was a bit worried about the way Ronan treated Atlas.

Cyrus couldn’t stay too mad at Atlas though. “Promise me, next time, you won’t be so rash and let me know beforehand.”

Atlas, who was sulking the entire time, nodded his head. “I promise I will go to you first… I’m sorry for being so rash and not thinking properly. I really thought it would be fine. Plus, I felt bad because the textbooks said that I basically saw Ronan naked and I wanted to compensate him for that.”

“I understand your reasoning Atlas. That’s why, I am not mad, but I hope that you will come to me next time, for anything serious like this.”

“I promise I will.”

Cyrus brought Atlas into a hug and patted him on his head. “Alright, I’m not mad anymore. Plus, I feel like Prince Ronan will at least keep his promise, so our identities will not be exposed early.”

Cyrus, Sirius, and their father were still making preparations, but it should be done by the time they debut.

Until then, they have to stay hidden.

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Grandpa Marky: One more and I am done for the week (for this story)!