A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

Acquisition requirement fulfilled. [Mathematician Lv. 1] acquired

Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Mathematician Lv. 1] evolved into [Mathematician Lv. 2]

The water, the beach, the seagulls, these sounds from each all fluttering about as waves crashed against the shore, scratching on the rough sand as it flowed back into the ocean with its ebb and flow rhythm. This ASMR experience could really send you into a deep, healthy sleep, although it did feel quite cold with how much the wind was blowing, interrupting the seabirds’ communicative cries.

Ah, yet, the thought of a sunny day on a bright vacation morning didn’t sound as enticing as I would have liked it, purely ‘cause the vacation was in Iceskale. I never mentioned warm. It was freezing. My days of being a teenager enjoying her summer vacation on the beach were long gone. SpringBloom … May; how sad.

Now that I thought about it, my first and last chance to get into a proper swimsuit was when I was in Estralia. The temperature there had been soothing to my draconic body and the liveliness of the saurians had naturally raise my mood; yet, I “wasted” that chance by training with Master Kush and Neill. Was this … what being an adult was like? Regretting past choices despite how beneficial they were back then? The loss of youth?

Holy, I already sound old after a week of bureaucracy. How do people handle these kinda mood swings? I’m 18, man! No, I’ve barely become three-years-old this year!

“Princess! We produced your diving suit, please come over and change!” Drakunov, Uncle Kary’s first son and heir, called out to me, waving to catch my attention and to show me where to go.

Regardless of how I saw my “summer” right now, it didn’t mean I wasn’t excited about visiting the sea. After all, this would be my first time actually going diving, as in, the very first experience in either of my lives.

A week had passed since Grimnir had his unique skill rise in level from us fulfilling Chihiro’s divine Quest forHikari’s music video. While I was a bit curious what Chihiro was planning on doing with it, as I remembered Crustacia said that Chihiro was on Earth, it did let everybody that needed to know that we could produce videos, that we could edit them, and that we could stream them to multiple people all at once, as long as they were inside Iceskale’s mana barrier.

This single Quest helped approve everything the digital media guild wanted. Uncle Guyul and Kary were so adamant it succeed that they pretty much expedited the migration process for the digital media guild branch members. Yet, at the same time, Sieg used this chance to actually train me as a bureaucrat—a pencil-pusher! As an imperial family member, my authority was derived from Eltharion’s. Naturally, I had less than the empresses’ unless one of them specified I could use their authority concerning one of their managing fields. In this case, I had Mom’s approval to do what I needed as long as it benefited Iceskale’s and Frozen Nest’s development.

As such, just like all my mother-empresses and siblings, I had to learn the basics of analyzing documents, signing things off, and delegating work to people below me, all while keeping to a budget, making sure my efforts benefited my citizens, and also increasing the ice dragon’s standing. The latter half was mostly a formality for me to adhere to, as I could, as I said, delegate such things to people who were better suited in executing them.

Simply put, Sieg taught me my first adult skill—how to manage properties and lease a workshop and guild house for some ambitious workers! In addition, these workers were immigrant dwarves, which meant I had to process their immigrant worker pass—so a worker visa—and I had to lease out a set of homes or apartments for them, or at least help them acquire accommodations and help them integrate themselves into our country.

We Kargryxmors might be dragons, but we were still rulers, and Mom made sure I understood this fact far before I came to Frozen Nest. I had experience as a party leader and was used to working and watching over projects when I still talked with Reajaen, not to mention signing off on deals and contracts when Ellaine or Saori came with a merchant deal. It was boring, but it had to be done, similar to how I first learned how to be a diplomat and mediator.

So I already knew the general flow of things when Sieg taught me, only having to understand how the paperwork happened, which people I had to talk to, and what sorta laws I had to watch out for, as even the empresses weren’t above the emperor’s words. Though, to be fair, I also mostly talked with other bureaucrats and townhall workers, like the dragonewt workers—Thrahasa, Penaka, and so on—to do my work.

Still, that city building arc I planned was starting to take shape now. Uncle Guyul successfully brought over the dwarves for the digital media guild, I’ve managed to help them with their visas and other social documents, and we’ve also managed to entice enough dragonewt artificers to start training to become the first generation of video recorder engineers.

In addition, this execution allowed us to promote my project to most of the clans on Iceskale, with all of its documentations ready to be presented at the next quarter meeting. Next month on the last day, Uncle Guyul and Sieg were expecting most senator spots to be occupied by a true dragonkin, hopefully even their patriarch or matriarch. I would be giving a speech on the project there as the one who proposed and initiated it, while also using this chance to fully proclaim my existence to them. Uncle Alex’s wish to make sure everybody knew me was coming along.

Nevertheless, I didn’t feel as excited as the uncles about it. I mean… I did like seeing the numbers go up. My chest felt so filled with energy that my heart was pumping my limbs with an unstoppable desire to dance whenever I saw the digital media guild’s number grow in size whenever I was able to finish a pile of documents.

Every signature I gave would grant them more rights and more prestige in the eyes of others … I could really understand why a newly inaugurated CEO or president would get drunk on such a privilege. It felt like you were making a change, that your idea was being realized by people trusting you with this authority. I felt important, although I knew it was only due to Mom’s and my uncle’s will.

However, I was the sorta person who hated such privileges … Not to mention how ungodly boring it got after the initial burst.

It got me excited for a good while, like playing an administrative game and seeing everything work out, but I always kept telling myself none of this was due to me. The digital media guild was working, but only due to my uncles’ near obsession to get the video recorder tech for their respective fields of work.

As such, I needed a change of pace. Something away from all the white-collar work, but still related to my duty as a princess. Well, how about a diving tour, then?

“Done!” I called out, leaving the changing room my party was using to change into our sets of diving gear.

Blizcoelzene Scale-suit: A water and cold resistant wetsuit made from mixing blizzirk leaves and sap with natural oil that had absorbed plenty of ice element mana in an alchemical process to create [Blizcoelzene]. Further strengthened with hard, aged rank B merfiend scales, this wetsuit is made to explore the cold depths of Iceskale’s sea.

Vitality Power: 340

Wisdom Power: 694

Skill: [Sundering Resistance Lv. 2] [Piercing Resistance Lv. 6] [Crushing Resistance Lv. 2] [Torrent Resistance Lv. 4] [Ice Resistance Lv. 8] [Cold Resistance Lv. 8][Mana Conductor Lv. 4] [Mana Efficiency Lv. 2] [Aquatic Maneuvering Lv. 6] [Depth Pressure TProtection Lv. 4]

Enchantment: [Depth Pressure Barrier] [Anti-Freezing Foam Production] [Current Drag Barrier]

Depth Pressure Barrier: Creates a barrier along the user’s skin and armor to protect against underwater pressure by using mana. Effectiveness increased through [Depth Pressure Protection]

Anti-Freezing Foam Production: Using mana, creates a foam-like substance from the skin of the object to reduce the effectiveness of freezing. Does not stop the freezing process or thaws anything already frozen

Current Drag Barrier: Creates a barrier along the user’s skin and armor that anchors itself with water elemental mana to the mana flowing inside water, preventing sudden water currents from washing the user away. Has a limit depending on the strength of the water

A diving suit made from alchemy and the materials of a rank B merfiend; stat-wise, it certainly didn’t live up to the standards Grimnir instilled into me on how strong armor should be; I couldn’t help feeling let-down by the fact this was supposed to be a rank B suit. Sure, the skill created with the monster materials helped to make it look good, but the defensive stats looked like paper to me.

Sure, being fair, this was probably better than what most rank D and lower adventurers could get, not to mention, it was lighter than a full suit of metal armor. A rank C rogue or mage would probably be tankier in this thing than what they would normally wear. It was just, considering this was Iceskale, this wetsuit would protect me from nothing important. 340 vitality and 694 wisdom was good, but my exoarmor gave me over 3000 defensive stats respectively.

“Everything is suited up, my lady!” Tasianna said with a big wide smile, her excitement for our diving trip clear to see with her perked up elven ears. The green-orange scaled wetsuit made her seem almost like a merperson from those Hollywood movies, to the point the scales were sparkling like emeralds and ambers, respectively, as they reflected the sun rays.

My own was made of the same design, but I was more fascinated by how well it was working against the cold. I had just removed my broken core, letting it regrow, so I was at my most vulnerable state concerning the cold, as I couldn’t prevent myself from freezing right now. Yet the wetsuit warded against the low temperatures so well, I couldn’t even feel the howling wind touch me.

There were elven and dragonewt versions of this suit, as the latter also had to cover our tails. Right now, everything below my neck was protected by the wetsuit, and I could only feel the icy bite around my face. My body felt like it was being wrapped in a thick warm blanket in the middle of the winter, warming myself up next to a hearth. It made me want to fall asleep in it.

I might have complained about its defensive usage, but I would have loved to own one of these if they weren’t property of our fishing industry.

In fact, these suits weren’t even sold commercially, since the number of fishers did increase every year. It took a while for the alchemists, mana tailors, and enchanters to finish making each one, and the fishing industry had a standing order to simply buy them the moment any of them were finished, as it was very common for the wetsuits to break apart from random underwater fights.

“Fantastic day to use them, as well!” I agreed with Tasianna before checking on how the both of us were wearing them one last time. “… They’re really cute.”

“Oh, definitely, my lady. Quite skin tight so they fit our forms really well, not to mention all these scales. I cannot believe the fishermen would go dragoon diving with these.”

[“I agree, these clothes should have more armor on them,”] Shay interjected with an anxious-looking face, touching his body in different spots as if he was in a doctor’s checkup. [“I know there were spear-horned merfiends back in Estralia, and I would bet there are even feistier beasts here! This suit of rubber can’t even protect us from a fin strike!”]

[“Better than nothing, I say,”] Beth rebuked her brother, smiling as enthusiastically as Tasinna with her ruby-scaled suit. Nodding her head, probably taking pride in the fact she felt less fear than her brother in entering the water. [“We aren’t going into deep waters, Brother. Just enough for the filming and to test out the recorder’s resistances. We won’t be able to protect Princess Hestia; we will need to leave it to Lord Karydrinos and his dragoons.”]

Beth pretty much hit the nail on the head. This diving trip was the video recorder’s maiden use as film recorder, and part of the deal to satisfy Uncle Kary. I didn’t have to join in with the dive, but I wanted to, as I also thought it would be too good of a chance to experience diving for the first time. Tasianna, Beth, and Shay coming with me was the icing on the cake.

Only Vifi didn’t come, as our clan’s dragoon commander wanted to speak to her about something. Probably training, considering both of them used polearms as their main weapons.

“Hraaagh, bladdarg. Didn’t think my job included diving into the bladdarg ocean!” Stomping out of the changing room, the digital media guild’s first branch guild master scowled and grumbled like any other dwarf, his thick beard making it almost impossible to tell if he was moving his mouth or not. Jadhund wasn’t pleased.

“Would you rely on your dragonewt apprentices for the maiden voyage?” I asked him with a smirk, causing our friend to glare at me, but I could see his true emotions. That bearded mask of his could not hide his clattering teeth nor his antsy hands from my ears and eyes, respectively.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Nonsense, lass! Bah, you would think you would have gotten the gist of how we artisans work with Grimnir! An invention’s first usage is the most precious moment, and I’m the only one here to see it thoroughly done! We’ve gotten approval for the general camera’s usage through watching your video to Goddess Chihiro being made, but this is just as important!” Jadhund’s hands clutched his head before he pulled the wetsuit’s hood over his head, having trouble covering his thick hair until Tasianna helped him. “This is the guild’s chance to get the ball rolling, lass. We need this to work so we can begin production as soon as possible for a return on all our investments.”

“You’ve been here for only five days,” I retorted, trying to help him calm down. He was shaking so much, I thought his wetsuit wasn’t helping with the cold.

“And we wasted two of them to renovate the damn building with Guyulthanos and his decoration-obsessed employees! Not to mention the worker permits and how difficult it is to live with the fact most of your homes do not have an inbuilt heater warm enough to ward off this sheer cold!” Jadhund complained, causing me to smile awkwardly as memories began to be dredged up. “Bah, even the snow-covered tips of our Ankoran mountains ain’t this bad for my beard. Three days for work, and two of them were used to onboard the dragonewts under Siegragxus’s eyes. The fella looked at me as if I was trying to steal something from him!”

He probably thinks you would relocate the dragonewts after you’re done training them … I guessed from what I learned from Sieg, but kept the thought to myself as it would only agitate Jadhund even further. I was happy to act as his outlet to vent his frustrations.

Nevertheless, what he said was partially true. It took us two days to plan and organize everything before Uncle Guyul could fly over to Ankor-Nazta to pick everybody up, and then it took two more days since the dwarves expressed complaints about their lodgings and their way to commute.

Homes in Iceskale were made for ice dragnkin and the random elves who come here, not for tourists or immigrants — the former “didn’t even exist as a word” and the latter was a rare occurrence, even for adventurers. Everything aligned to satisfy the residents’ needs and wants. As an “outsider,” I had to get used to everything as well. From the cold, to how people viewed me, and the culture all around.

Unlike the blazing heat of dwarven workshops and homes with their large and efficient manatech heaters, Iceskale was lacking. If you wanted a better heater, you had to buy them. Frankly, it might just be better for the dwarves to make their own to appease themselves, but for now, we had to buy some temporary ones for them.

Commuting as well was an issue, as Uncle Guyul and Sieg thought they wouldn’t mind the wyvern carriages to traverse both the ground and floating cities. They did. The mining cart transportation system the dwarves used in a similar fashion to Earth’s public train services was similar in that they would be transported through the skies to their destination, but there was something we overlooked.

“Nothin’ below to give us some weight!” one of them shouted when they boarded the carriage to try. “This is worse than riding on the damn dragon, and I thought I would die from the lack of air!” another cried out. These weren’t even the last, as I could remember another saying, “Trusting wyverns to fly, sure, but I rather walk than have to deal with the screeching every day!”

The biggest thing we overlooked was dwarven stubbornness and how much people valued ones’ usual rhythm and schedule. Some things we couldn’t change, others we could influence, but this was one of the problems. It got a bit spicy, in fact, when Jadhund got into an argument with Uncle Guyul about how to decorate the workshop to “conform to Iceskale’s aesthetics,” but since when were dwarven workshops aesthetically pleasing? They relied on displaying their well-crafted products to attract eyes.

“So much time wasted and the moment we got the chance to work, do you think we would let it go?” Jadhund said, his face looking brighter compared to before, probably since he started talking about his work. “Three days. Three days are enough to adjust the recorders to the local salt levels and mana concentration. If this works, we can start contracting alchemists and enchanters to start production of more recorders on Iceskale. After that, I—”

“I’ll handle the docks,” I said, knowing he needed imports from the main branch. We needed more of Grimnir’s arcane crystals as well, but considering how important they were, we would probably be using the sub-space for their transportation. “Iceskale lacks natural veins for arcanuit and andurium, I know. I read up on it since I knew it was going to be a problem down the road, and the mainland has plenty of resources. Probably a ton in their storage with low demand. We can probably get them cheap once ships can travel from our ports, again.”

“Fantastic, lass, thanks!” He smiled. Supplies were part of his issues, as well. “Really can’t stress how important arcanuit is for everything. Without it, making normal mana batteries is impossible. We need them to get those memory cards rolling onto the counters.”

Handling the paperwork also allowed me some more insights into raw materials and how our trade worked with the mainland. It helped that Hikari sorted all the information we learned from our first city hall meeting.

In any case, with Jadhund mostly calmed down, I had Tasianna and the twins send him to the pier while I went and talked to Pradreo, informing him about what Jadhund wanted to note down. He nodded, although his face told me what he was thinking already. Ever since Sieg started teaching me, Pradreo has been following me around with Tasianna, acting as my butler and attendant, despite his actual role as clan Nordor’s representative at the senate and our mansion’s seneschal.

“There have been no changes to the leviathan problem at Coral Beard, I assume?” I asked, prompting him to shake his head.

“You may leave this task to me, Lady Hestia. I believe it would be more crucial to concentrate on Lord Karydrinos’s request. We can always sort our supply issue by sending our own wyverns to pick things up.”

“Not with Inferno Nest heated up after Mom came over to destroy a section of it. We really shouldn’t risk it,” I retorted, but in the end, accepted Pradreo’s suggestion and went into the massive wharf.

Guess when you’re starting to act as a stateswoman, you gotta worry about everything … But, this? Feels good to see my home. I smiled as I watched the hustle and bustle of the port, now from within it, instead of watching everything happen from the foodie area.

To be honest, when the dragonewt bureaucrats talked about how the fishing industry was our most important source of income, I had figured it would be something similar to how Seattle, Massachusetts, or Alaska valued their fishers. Seeing Iceskale’s port from up close now, I could say that it could rival any of Earth’s largest fishing hubs.

The salty breeze dried up my skin, the cold latched onto my exposed face with a vicious bite, and the glaring sun dealt the final blow to ruin any girl’s precious skin. This merciless combo against proper skin care somehow filled me with energy, and this wasn’t even mentioning the fishy aroma covering every corner of this place.

The various kinds of dragonkin populated this busy dock, with their heavy and drenched boots stomping through the hard, wet pavement, as a flood of still flapping fish and the dead carcasses of merfiends would crash into large metal containers. Metal, wooden, and even dragons acting like seafaring boats would dock on these, shouting loud as they worked to bring the seafood from the sea to our dinner tables.

Estralia, the only other port city I knew, couldn’t even hold a candle to this place. Nothing felt industrialized like Ankor-Nazta here, yet the sheer volumes of fish being transported around was astounding. This couldn’t even be compared to pre-industrialized, post-late Gothic Earth.

People were using their naturally high stats, gained from living in this freezing hunting grounds, to shoulder physically-extensive work. The gigantic dragons and large wyverns would act like cranes and heavy machinery, with those able to fly transporting the fish cargo into the city’s storage and fishing market. No need for manatech, not when draconic prowess made things easier.

I was dodging around all the busy folks, not wanting to disturb them. This crowded feeling stole my ability to look at all the details of this place, but I was sure to remember one thing about it. This port was Iceskale’s pride and joy.

After some walking, I arrived at my destination. Once there, Uncle Kary raised his large wings into the air, letting water spray into the air, making each droplet look like pearls. His sharp, frontal horn was dazzling under the bright sun, reflecting against the shining water. Despite the grey sand, the crystal-clear sea was a sight to the eyes, comparable to the splendor of a large diamond, and at this moment, Uncle Kary shone even more with his enthusiasm and large-wide smile.

[“Hestia! It took you a bit, young scale! How is it? Does the suit fit you well? My wife made sure to choose something a bit better to ward off the cold; young scales, after all, are more susceptible to the low temperatures of the water,”] he asked as he placed his head closer to the stony pier.

Despite how large these wharfs were, to the point multiple wyverns and rank C dragons could easily stand on it without collapsing it, Uncle Kary was gigantic like most rank S dragons. In fact, like the tip of an iceberg, only the top of his neck and some of his wings could be seen on the surface of the water, with the rest submerged.

Yet, with only his head fully in view, it was already large enough to act like a medium-sized yacht. This act was enough to tell me how deep the waters on the edge of the pier were. Similar to Coral Beard, they were long and branched off into multiple “teeth,” allowing both ships and leviathans, or dragon-leviathan hybrids, to easily dock and allow their crew, or themselves, to enter the rest of the port.

It also meant that we were far away from shallow shores, though, as I could see rich, glowing corals underneath us. Close by, a few floating small icebergs could be seen roaming around the area, with schools of small fish gathering around it to feed off on the seaweed-like gathering under it, while flocks of seagulls and other sea birds used them to rest and fish.

Yet, even with all of this, my ears were more entranced by the ritualistic chanting of dragonewts and levianewts, dancing and praying as they offered up three dishes full of lamb meat to the God of Sailors and Ports, Melicertha. Even the true dragonkin some of these groups would mount on were giving respect to the leviathan god of sea fortunes.

[“Do they catch your attention, Lady Hestia?”] I heard a voice enter my head as the water split apart on the left side of this “tooth,” dousing nearly everybody here aside from the true dragonkin who could use their floating scales like umbrellas. While Jadhund was complaining at the surprise, I raise my head to see a Liandsee dragon.

“Oh, Drakunov?” I tilted my head as I saw Uncle Kary’s son. As a rank A, his son did show some difference to his father, mostly in his size and also the brilliance of the scales, but otherwise, Drakunov looked like a smaller version of Karydrinos. “Did you think you could be surprised with that, or what?”

“Kruuehaha!” He bellowed in laughter, echoing a deep, air-trembling voice through the area. [“Maybe, maybe not. Sure enough, I think it was a good enough icebreaker for our group, right? Anyways, little ones, as planned by Mister Jadhund’s and my father’s deal to spread the digital media guild’s reputation, the first ‘film,’ as Princess Hestia called it, would be captured today. My father and I shall be your guide and helpers.”]

[“Your safety is guaranteed with the two of us here,”] Uncle Kary said without a single hesitation. [“Still, the underwater is a scenic and mesmerizing sight, and many beginner divers do make mistakes that will damage their health. As a warning, the seas are equally as cold as the surface. You will board on my son as he fares you through the waters, so whatever you do, hold onto his back.”]

Once said, Drakunov moved forward and leaned his torso next to the pier’s dock, revealing a leathery armor was strapped onto his back. Wood and metal were attached on it to make it resemble the deck of a boat, consisting of a railing, a small room to store tools, seats with belts, and also a small box hole with water in it, probably to store the fish to keep them alive after a hunt.

Compared to the other dragon boat contraptions, his was mostly dismantled. The various equipment the fishers would need to catch their daily quota weren’t on Drakunov’s back.

[“Under no circumstances should you try to turn back into your draconic forms,”] Uncle Kary warned the twins and I. [“Your bodies are not made to swim underwater. Your wings will get caught in water currents and, without fins or webbed feet, you cannot fully utilized your agility stat underwater.”]

[“I knew it!”] Shay shouted, scratching his head in annoyance. [“My lady, going down there is a mistake. The thought of being unable to protect oneself is already unsettling, but unable to protect you is—”]

[“Brother, please!”] Beth asserted herself before boarding Drakunov’s back, reaching her arm out to invite her brother on. [“This is not our realm, similar Inferno Nest’s depths. Come, we may train another day, today we guard Her Highness in Vifi’s stead.”]

Begrudging, Shay shook his head with his mouth slightly agape, clearly unwilling to do so, but took her hand anyway. His thalassophobia, or maybe it was simply his dislike for seeming weak, was showing quite a bit here. I could understand the fear as I peered deeper into the water. That crystal-clear vision quickly disappeared at a certain point where it was impossible for me to make out what was there.

[“I am not saying you cannot fight, but if you have to, do so in your humanoid forms,”] Uncle Kary said to assuage Shay’s fear and to clarify things. [“The bodies of elves and their many descendants were made to adapt to myriads of environments, with humans being even better swimmers. Your smaller form will make it easier to dodge, but do remember that wind and earth magic are harder to use underwater. Use spells and abilities that allow you to create your attack through mana alone, instead of manipulation.”]

[Air Shield] and [Wind Blast] were manipulation-based wind spells, meaning I wasn’t creating air “out of thin air” but concentrating existing air around my magic circle to use. Similarly, most of my earth magic required a source of nearby earth to mold. Thankfully, I didn’t have to rely on them since my dragon flames could burn even underwater and my light spells molded mana into new forms to attack things.

However, I also understood the implications here. The biggest threat for underwater diving was pressure. That stuffy feeling your ears would undergo the deeper you swam until it felt like somebody was pushing a needle into eardrums was a known fact, and I had thought spells like [Air Shield] would prevent it, but if I couldn’t even cast it properly underwater then so be it.

Thankfully, that was what the diving suit was for. Now, the question was, how would we breathe underwater?

… And I wasn’t talking about the [Marine Lungs] I had attached to [Battle Frenzy]. Definitely wasn’t a smart choice to exhaust myself mentally during a diving trip.

“There are air tanks for us to use if we need it,” Tasianna said, pointing at the storage room. “Lord Karydrinos briefed me about it before you arrived, my lady. However, since they are physical items, they can break if we do get attacked. As such, I believe the usage of [Marine Lungs] would be best here!”

Tasianna clapped her hands, her smile beaming as if she had just finished a custom spell. I knew that face well enough; that was the look of arcane fascination! Mages who remained on the path of the arcane were those who longed for the excitement of “playing” with magic, I believe. That childish happiness and wanting to experiment and use your spells to manipulate and materialize the elements was now showing on Tasianna’s expression.

When I asked her about it, she was just feeling excited that she could finally use [Marine Lungs], again. The last time she had a chance was our Estralia visit when she helped Rajah train with the saurians underwater. Now, though, she had a chance to use it to help me, in addition to how giddy she was about how we could combine it with my [Idol] effect.

“I thought it through when you accepted this request, and I think you are also aware now that playing your music would be hard underwater, correct?” I nodded to Tasianna’s statement. Without wind, I couldn’t use [Aerokinesis]. “Naturally, this means you have to be in your dragonewt form when you go underwater, my lady. Your ability to spread [Music Resonation] through mana is invaluable here and it should also work with [Marine Lungs] since it isn’t a physically buffing spell.”

[Musical Crescendo] allowed my music to reach people through mana, bypassing even the water, as long as I kept [Music Resonation] at the major stage, which meant I had to dance and sing, giving the entire idol experience for it to apply. Since I could share my buffs with others through that status effect, I understood Tasianna’s idea quite well.

Still, that did make me question something about the “dragon boat.”

“Are there no ways to project an air shield around this ‘boat?’” However, before I could say anything, Jadhund was the first to speak my idea out. “I would rather not have to drink water to breathe, bladdarg. Urgh, being so far away from the Earth Mother’s land already makes me want to puke.”

[“Air shield around the boat?”] Drakunov turned his neck around, inspecting the boat on his back. [“Ah, I see, you want to create a dome around so you don’t need tools and [Marine Lungs], right? Ha, understandable, but for what? This boat is there to carry our fisher crew and help us deliver the fish back. Do you see the box cabinet in the middle of the boat? The entire lower section of the boat is reserved for fish storing.”]

Uncle Kary’s head alone was enough to rival a yacht, meanwhile, his son was far smaller than him, but his torso could still accommodate something the size of those large-scale fishing boats you would see in Seattle’s fishing hubs. When Drakunov mentioned a “fishing crew,” he was downplaying the fact an entire navy brigade could probably fit on it.

This fact alone was enough to tell me how massive the lower deck fishing compartment was, and it only needed that one hole to put everything in. I bet you could store enough to feed an entire neighborhood there. Yet, considering how large our dragons could be and that we were not only feeding Iceskale but also the dragons on the mainland with our seafood, I could understand why the size was necessary.

[“Don’t downplay it too much, Son. The dwarf spoke first because he has the quicker tongue, but I can already see from the brooding of our small princess that she, too, had a similar question,”] Uncle Kary scared me with his deduction, reminding me no matter how mellow he was to me, he was still a being that was over 3500 years old. [“I presume this air dome idea might have something to do with the recorder?”]

Giggling a bit as I patted Jadhund’s back, the two of us looked each other in the eye before we both nodded. We probably did have the same idea.

“It’s for tourism. Like a ‘safari’ tour, you could say!” I answered, confusing everybody with the “safari” portion. “This underwater documentary is there to promote your love for the ocean for everybody to see, and this safari is an underwater trip to allow people who can’t endure the cold and water to see everything in person. The air dome would allow a platform for everybody to be inside.”

The idea of touring the sea with a submarine was a novel, but romantic idea. Humans always strived to conquer the various territories of their worlds, after all. The sea and its mystery must intrigue people even on Peolynca.

Uncle Kary let out a deep, bass laugh as he slowly submerged into the ocean. [“Then, you will be surprised what ‘air dome’ we ice dragons can make then. Come, let me show you just a taste of the bountiful beauty of the ocean!”]

Once Tasianna cast [Marine Lungs] on me and I started playing my music, Drakunov ordered for us to sit down and put our seatbelts on before he dove into the water with his father. From there, my eyes widened as I once again realized I’d only seen the tip of the iceberg.

Advertisement

Remove A note from AbyssRaven

Terrible weather for a summer diving trip, but Hestia just has to make do. Anybody in for some Scandinavian diving?

If you guys want to support me, Hestia and ”A Dragon Idol’s Reincarnation Tale” (or just read up to 20 advance chapters + any Patreon-only chapters) please check out my Patreon: Rawr!

For two dollars, for the cost of a coffee, you can read up to four chapters! You will have my eternal gratitude for any support you can give me! Please.

Thank you for reading this chapter.