Tome of Blood

  I am a badly wounded black dragon.

  I don't know where I come from, and I don't know where my home is. Even my name was given for me by others.

  I still clearly remember when I just woke up.

   It was a painful day, and I huddled weakly in the mine shaft in the endless darkness, tormented by the tearing of wounds and the pangs of my soul.

  No memory, no past, only the severe pain of bruises all over the body, and some kind of fear remaining in the depths of the soul.

  In the dark, I seem to hear an ethereal female voice whispering in my ear:

   "It turns out...it's like this..."

   "Sorry, Eudocia, time is limited, I can't do more..."

   "Sleep, sleep, the wheel of fate has begun to turn..."

   “Our story…is just beginning.”

  …

  I am a badly wounded black dragon.

  If it weren’t for the mithril that is full of magic power in the mine, maybe I would have died because of my injuries and exhausted magic power.

   But even if I can find mithril to replenish my magic power, even if I can rely on mithril to relieve pain, for me who can't find food, it's just lingering.

   Until… I met him.

  I still remember the day I met him.

  Collapsed mine, billowing dust, violent coughing choked by the smoke, and... a thin and weak figure that looks quite delicious.

   That's a demihuman.

  I don't know why I knew it was a demihuman, I only know that the moment I saw the other person, the desire to survive almost overwhelmed my reason.

   That's demihumans, but also... food.

  I dragged my heavy body and launched an attack. I let out a deep roar, and I showed my ferocious minions. I could see his pale face and frightened expression, and I could hear his terrified cry:

   "Dragon...Dragon!"

   But I failed.

  Even with the magical power of mithril, my strength is still dissipating day by day. Even though I have the determination to survive, my body is getting heavier and heavier.

  I'm... so weak that I can't even kill a skinny demihuman.

  I fell in front of him.

  I saw his frightened expression gradually fade away, replaced by surprise, and I felt the fear in his heart dissipating quickly, followed by... Curiosity.

"You are hurt?"

   Those were the last words I heard before I passed out.

  …

  I am a badly wounded black dragon.

   I thought I should have died.

  Although I lost my memory, although I forgot everything, at least I still know my identity.

  I know what happens to a severely wounded and dying dragon being discovered by those low-level intelligent species, and I also know that I have been so weak that even mortals can finish me with their own strength.

   But… I'm not dead.

  When I woke up again, I saw the bright bonfire, felt the warm firelight, and smelled the extremely attractive aroma.

   That skinny demihuman was sitting by the campfire, quietly grilling something.

   is food!

  I saw the food on the bonfire clearly at first glance, and the tempting meat smell even surpassed the demihuman itself.

  I struggled to get up, only to realize that, at some point, the wound on my body was sprayed with a nose-punching powder.

   It was a powder with a bad smell.

  But after being covered with powder, the pain on my body seems to have weakened instantly.

   "Phew, you're awake..."

   "Don't move, you are seriously injured. Fortunately, I found these powders from the tribe to make you feel better."

   That demihuman said so.

  Why didn't he kill me?

   This was my first thought.

I am very confused.

   Very confused.

  However, he did not explain, but handed me the baked food in his hand.

   This time, I saw clearly what it was, it was a huge gopher.

   "Here, get hungry, this is all I have."

   "I'm afraid I smelled you. It's hard to find gophers around here. I ran a long way... I managed to catch one."

   he said.

  I looked at the gopher he handed over, but there was no response.

   "Hello, how are you?"

   he asked again.

   Weird guy...

  I didn't answer him, but I ate the food he handed me decisively.

   Because I'm really hungry.

  …

  I am a badly wounded black dragon.

  I don't know why he saved me, and I don't know what purpose he has.

   But I know, I will not thank him for the help and food.

  I am a dragon.

   is a black dragon.

   are known to be the most brutal dragon species.

   To me, food is food.

  Even if he saves me, he is still food.

  I decided not to try to kill him yet.

  I have to wait.

  Wait for the body to recover, wait until the strength returns.

  I will kill him with my own hands after my strength is restored.

  I will tell him that food should be conscious of food.

  It is a kind of arrogant stupidity to want to rescue the hunter even though he is the prey.

   And until then, I'll use him.

   Taking advantage of his ignorance, taking advantage of his stupidity, taking advantage of his kindness...

  …

  I am a badly wounded black dragon.

Oh no.

  With his help, my injury has gradually improved over time.

  He is a very strange demihuman.

  Obviously because of my fear of Long Wei, but always running to the depths of the mine.

   Bring me food, bring me herbs.

  Although the food he brought could not fill my stomach at all, it gave me the strength to heal myself at the most critical moment.

  I found that I was getting used to his presence gradually.

  He came back almost every day, and every day brought new food.

  Sometimes it's a gopher, sometimes it's an armor-piercing beast, sometimes it's a mountain rabbit, sometimes it's a pheasant...

  He loves to tell his stories while grilling meat over the campfire.

  Share your experience in the tribe and share your daily life.

  Of course, most of the time, they complain about the domineering of the mine foreman and the stubbornness of the tribal elders.

  He didn't care whether I was listening or not, or whether I could understand.

  He just seemed to regard me as a silent confidant.

   Of course, I also know his name.

   "Kyle, my name is Kyle, and I'm a werewolf."

   "Mr. Black Dragon, can you tell me your name?"

   he asked with a smile.

  I turned my head and ignored him.

  He scratched his head, and I raised my head proudly, swallowing the piece of meat I had just put into my mouth.

  Looking at his awkward appearance, I was in a very good mood.

  Well, today’s food is a little more delicious than in the past...

  …

  I am a black dragon that has lost its memory.

  When I woke up, I was already lying in the mine with bruises all over my body, and I also met a strange demihuman.

  The demihuman neither feared me nor exposed my existence, but looked for food for me and healed my injuries.

   I don't understand why he did it.

  Even if I lost the memory of the past, I still know how attractive a wounded dragon is to mercenaries in the secular world, and it is enough wealth for ordinary people to squander their lives...

   Unknowingly, I seem to have gotten used to the life of being fed every day.

  The demihuman named Kyle will still bring food every day, and share his daily life every day.

   And my injuries are recovering day by day.

  I have already recovered enough to kill him.

   However, I didn't do it.

  Through his narration, I already know where I am.

  This is the Northland, a place called Castel, and it is ruled by two young Chi Yangs.

  I didn't act rashly.

  Because I know that although the injury is recovering, it has not recovered enough to be able to face such a powerful existence.

   I will continue to wait...wait...

   Waiting for the day when the injury is completely healed.

  I will kill this self-righteous werewolf with my own hands, and then spread my wings and fly to the sky under the gaze of the blazing sun.

  …

  I am a black dragon in confusion.

  I don't know how long I've been in this mining area.

  I just watched the young demihuman step towards youth, and the immature eyes gradually became firmer.

   Gradually, I liked hearing him share those boring daily routines, and I also liked hearing him complain about the day-to-day life on earth.

  In the dark mine, during the long healing time, the stories he told seemed to be my only pleasure.

  I don’t know when, Kyle no longer comes every day, sometimes two days, sometimes three days, and sometimes... even once a week.

  He seemed more tired than before, and every time he came to the mine, sharing his daily life was mostly replaced by silence.

  I feel a little irritable.

  I don't know why I am irritable, I just don't like this unstable state.

   I don't know when, I'm used to his daily arrival.

  I kind of... don't want to kill him anymore.

   Finally, one time, I didn't see him for a week.

   And when he came to the mine again, it was already half a month later.

   I still remember that day.

  He is limping and seems to be injured, and he is carrying a mountain deer on his back.

   "Sorry, Mr. Black Dragon, I'm late."

   He said with a wry smile.

  Obviously I was very irritable all the time, but for some reason, the moment I saw the other person, I calmed down.

   "You are really slow this time, what happened?"

   After all, I couldn't suppress my curiosity, so I couldn't help asking.

   Kyle froze for a moment.

  I saw the mountain deer on his back fall to the ground with a click, I saw his eyes widen in surprise, and I heard him stammer and speak incoherently:

   "You you...you can talk?!"

   "Wait...Mr. Black Dragon, no...Miss Black Dragon...you are a lady?!"

  I proudly raised my dragon head:

   "I am the black dragon, the noble dragon, and I have already mastered the common language of Miria."

   As I spoke, I glanced at him lightly:

   "Also... when did I mention my gender?"

   That was the first time I spoke to him.

  I never thought that I would take the initiative to communicate with this short-lived species, and what surprised me even more was that after I communicated with him, I did not feel repulsed.

  Before I knew it, I seemed to be not as proud as I was before, and I didn’t seem to regard him as just a demihuman who was overwhelmed.

   "Where have you been these days...?"

   I asked.

  I saw helplessness in him for the first time. He scratched his head, as if he didn’t know how to answer, and he sighed after a while:

   "I went to mine."

   "Mining? Haven't you been mining all the time?"

   "Yes, but it's different now, Black Dragon first... No, Miss Black Dragon, I need to mine more, because I need money, a lot of money..."

   "What do you need money for?"

  Kyle's expression lost:

   "The earl and the countess died in battle, and the high-level management of the mining workshop has been replaced again. Now the workshop requires us to dig more mineral deposits. If the standard is not met, wages will be deducted..."

  “My father has passed away, and only my younger brother and I are left in the family. In the past, my father sheltered us from the wind and rain. The workshop was not so strict before, but now...everything is different.”

   "In order to treat my father, I owe a lot of money..."

   "I need to pay back the money...and support the family...so, I have to mine more silver."

   "Sorry, Miss Heilong, I won't be able to come here so frequently in the future."

  After listening to Kyle's explanation, I fell silent.

  To be honest, I don’t know much about family, and I don’t know much about family either.

  As a giant dragon, I also cannot understand the meaning and value of money to mortals.

   But I had an impulse.

  An impulse that even I feel puzzled...

  I turned around, and under Kyle's suspicious gaze, I went back to the cave I dug.

  I found the smallest one among the piles of mithril blocks I searched for over the years, but after thinking about it, I replaced it with a larger one.

   "Take it, this mithril block should be enough for you."

   I said.

  Kyle froze for a moment, looking at the mithril ingot that was a circle bigger than his head, with a dull expression:

   "Miss Black Dragon...this...such a big mithril block...give...give it to me?!"

"Take it, I am very satisfied with the food you bring every time, Kyle, you have won the recognition of the great black dragon, and you have become the object of the great black dragon's willingness to communicate, this mithril is rightly your reward. "

  I raised my head again and said proudly.

   "Recognition? Reward?"

  Kyle was stunned.

   “Yes, recognition and rewards.”

  I nodded proudly.

   Kelton became excited:

   "Miss Black Dragon, do you mean that we are already friends?"

friend?

  I frowned.

  Looking at the little Asian man wagging his tail excitedly, I snorted softly and said:

   "You think too much, I never make friends with weak beings, this is just a reward."

   "Aren't you...friends?"

  Kyle looked a little disappointed.

   I don't know why, but looking at his drooping ears, I feel a little more irritable for no reason.

   "However... you can make an exception."

   By accident, I choked out such a sentence.

   After I finished speaking, even I was stunned.

   I think I'm crazy...

  As a black dragon, he is willing to put down his dignity to discuss friendship with a humble demihuman!

  I am a black dragon!

  The cruel and merciless black dragon!

   What made me feel even more at a loss was that I found that I didn’t seem to reject such a fact as I imagined...

  Habits are a terrible thing.

  Before I knew it, I didn't feel like myself anymore!

   "Remember, I hate being late, and there will be no next time."

  I left such a sentence coldly, turned and left.

   But perhaps, it is more accurate to use escape.

   "Miss Black Dragon! May I know your name!"

  The demi-human Kyle asked loudly behind me.

name?

  I paused slightly.

   name...

   To be honest, I don't know what my name is.

   At least... at that point, I seem to have forgotten my name.

  In a trance, I seemed to recall the call I heard in the dark the day I just woke up.

  An inexplicable throbbing surfaced in my heart...

   "Eodocia, you can call me Eudocia."

   I replied.

   "Eodocia?"

   Kyle froze again.

   Seeing his dazed look, I frowned:

   "What? Do you have an opinion on this great name?"

   Did Kyle shake his head quickly? While shaking his head, he explained:

   "No no no! No comments! Of course no comments, it's a great name indeed!"

   As he spoke, he scratched his head:

   "I just... didn't expect that, Miss Black Dragon, you have the same name as a totem enshrined by our tribe's legendary ancestors..."

  …