10 A Healthy Dragon!

The evil dragon who shirks his traditional duties is quite the frustration.

Imagine a dragon, famed for its wickedness, that neither kidnaps princesses nor plunders villages, but rather spends its days absorbed in scholarly pursuits and fortifying its lair.

Is it unfair to criticize such a creature for neglecting the typical tasks expected of its kind?

Not in the slightest.

"Then, you must know the language of the dwarves, right? Can you speak it?" Lucia inquired softly, tracing patterns in the dirt as she secretly hoped that the dragon, Lance, lacked any knowledge of dwarven culture and script.

"By the time I turned 1,800, I was fluent in Dwarvish and could inscribe their runes. When I adopted a human guise, I even mastered weapon forging under a dwarven master from their guild," Lance boasted.

Oh, dear gods, are you not listening today? Why ignore her silent pleas?

"And what about the beastmen? Can you converse in their tongue? Write their script?" Lucia pressed on, a note of desperation in her voice.

"Yes, indeed. When I crossed my second millennium, I delved into the shapeshifting arts of the druids. I spent years among them, learning their ways," Lance replied with a hint of pride.

"Is this creature truly a dragon?" one might wonder. Aside from abducting royalty, shouldn't a dragon primarily indulge in centuries-long slumbers?

Yet, here is Lance, never seen resting, always tinkering with trivialities. Is such a being worthy of the grand title of dragon?

As a self-respecting beast of legend, shouldn't he engage in more... dragon-like activities? Lucia slumped back to her rest spot, her energy sapped by the revelation.

"If you're eager to learn the languages and scripts of these peoples, I'll gladly teach you, after you've mastered Draconic," Lance offered, undeterred by Lucia's disenchantment.

"Alright, I resolve to become a distinguished dragon, just like you," Lucia declared, a flicker of aspiration rekindling in her eyes.

If only she could live for two or three thousand years to see it through.

In her heart, Lucia whispered a feeble wish, "I aspire to be an outstanding evil dragon like Lance." To her, Lance represented not just intelligence and scholarship, but also the allure of immortality inherent in dragonkind.

Yet, she mused with a mix of humor and resignation, she could live at most a mere century, hardly enough time to fulfill even one of her lofty dreams. The prospect of matching Lance's draconic excellence seemed an impossible feat.

Still, there remained one title within her reach, being Emperor of the Faloran Empire. In this ambition, at least, she did not feel overshadowed by Lance.

Indeed, there was one aspect where she eclipsed the dragon: wealth. Lance's hoard totaled a modest sixty gold coins, while her monthly allowance alone was a princely sum of two hundred gold coins. A fact that brought her a secretive smile.

"Damn, I left all my treasure back at the imperial capital," she suddenly remembered, her mood souring. "If that detestable Princess Asina finds it... Eva, you must protect it from her clutches, please hide it well," she prayed, having entrusted her fortune to her loyal confidante.

Lying amid the fragrant flora, Lucia closed her eyes and sent her prayers into the ether.

Meanwhile, Lance was busy drafting a simplified version of the Draconic script textbook for beginners. After finishing the necessary preparations for his evening classes, he noticed Lucia, now fast asleep and curled up in a nook of his lair. Her recent failures in the human empire, including a near capture by Gryphon Knights, and her encounter with another adult black dragon like himself, must have been overwhelming for him.

Observing her defensive posture, Lance deduced her sense of vulnerability but chose not to disturb her rest. "Sleep well, little one," he thought, deciding to postpone their conversation until she awoke.

With time to spare, Lance wandered over to the lair's library, retrieved a tome on medicinal herbs, and settled down to read. His interest wasn't purely academic; he planned to concoct magic potions and elixirs using these herbs. These concoctions, he hoped, would fetch a good price in the human markets, supplementing his modest treasure.

Earning a substantial amount would allow him to show the young dragon he had taken under his wing the thriving expanse of the human world.

The human world had transformed remarkably since the time Lance had first hatched from his egg. It now boasted an array of professions both bizarre and wondrous, wizards, mages, warriors, knights, energy card creators, potion masters, summoners, and various others whose roles dazzled the eye yet wielded formidable magical prowess.

By introducing the fledgling dragon to these humans, Lance hoped to expose her to the extraordinary capabilities within the human world. It was essential, he thought, that she understood the consequences of any misdeeds she might contemplate there in the future.

"If we can locate Dragon Island," Lance mused, "it would be enlightening to take her there as well."

He had anticipated that the young dragon would awake before nightfall, perhaps in time for dinner, but she had fallen into a deep slumber with no signs of stirring soon.

This unexpected turn of events meant no dinner preparations were necessary. "Teaching her Draconic will just have to wait until tomorrow evening," he decided, allowing her the peace of a good night's rest.

As the evening wore on, Lance spent time developing a recipe for an invisibility potion, jotting down his formulae and notes diligently. Once satisfied with his concoctions, he noticed the young dragon remained deep in sleep. He then stood and stretched his limbs in the spacious living room, adopting the precise posture required for his exercises.

The Longevity Kung Fu, a set of yoga posture for health and flexibility, had been a part of his regimen in his past human life, Kung Fu in the mornings and yoga in the evenings had greatly enhanced his physical condition.

Reborn into this world as a young black dragon, he had adapted these practices to his new form. Discovering that his draconic physique could manage the eight steps of Kung Fu, even in an upright dragon stance, had been a revelation.

Thus, he continued his disciplined training, ensuring his strength grew from his days as a hatchling to his current formidable stature as an adult dragon.

Health preservation begins in the earliest days of youth. A pure-blood dragon, blessed with a lineage of longevity, can span the eons, living up to ten thousand years. Yet, one as astute in the ways of vitality as him could well surpass that, reaching twenty thousand years with grace.

I, myself, have dabbled briefly in the art of healthy living and committed to sporadic physical exertion.

Lance, having shared his wisdom, reclaimed his place upon his botanical bed, a weave of flowers and verdant plants, and gently let his eyelids fall.

Before reaching the age of 2,300 years, Lance often succumbed to deep, extended slumbers, a necessary concession to his rapid developmental phases.

Post 2,500 years, his daily rhythm had remarkably synchronized with that of a human's.

A night passed in utter tranquility.

At dawn's break, the slumbering young dragon, Lucia, was roused not by the familiar call of Eva in her customary black wizard's robe, but by the imposing presence of Lance, the dragon often dubbed as a malevolent being.

As consciousness returned, Lucia's first instinct was to stretch, momentarily forgetting her current form and residence. She was no longer in the imperial capital but nestled within the den of the so-called evil dragon, Lance.

"Good morning, Lance," she greeted, her voice steady despite the oddity of her awakening.

"Good morning, Lucia. How did you fare through the night?"

"Quite well, thank you."

"Would you care for a morning stroll?" Lance proposed, a trace of encouragement in his tone.

"That sounds delightful. I've always cherished morning walks," Lucia replied, embracing a semblance of her old routines.

"Excellent," Lance responded with a sly grin. "Are you keen on health preservation as well?"

"Um..." Lucia hesitated, her youthful mind weighing her interests. Beauty intrigued her, health less so, she might as well have stayed in bed. "I suppose so."

"Then let us proceed. I'll introduce you to a regimen of exercises designed for well-being," Lance declared.

Lucia blinked in surprise. "Really? But, you're an ancient dragon. Surely, you could thrive for millennia without such routines?"

Her skepticism bubbled up as she pondered whether Lance might occasionally forget his own draconic nature amidst his eccentricities.