Reborn As A Nephilim: The Rise of A Manaless Prince

*Lick*

"Stop tickling me… I just want to sleep for a bit longer."

"Kyuu?"

"Yes me… Let me sleep."

"KYUU!"

*THUMP*

"AHHHH"

Arvell woke up in a shock, feeling a pain radiate from his abdomen.

Groggily reaching down to feel his abdomen, his finger brushed past something else.

The texture felt quite scaly as if he was petting a lizard-like beast.

'What's this?'

He moved his hand back to the scaly object, but after he touched it, it suddenly moved.

Now instead of feeling a scaly texture, all he could feel was a soft slimy piece of flesh.

Arvell sat up in visible confusion, only to find a small golden lizard liking his fingers with an innocent look on its face.

As if noticing Arvell was looking, it looked back at him.

"Kyuu?"

'Wait… This 'Lizard' has wings… Is it a?'

'Yes. It's a dragon. Namely, the dragon who resided in the egg that Kujak left for you to take care of.' Lykos answered.

Lykos was just as astonished as Arvell when he saw this dragon.

However, the reason for his astonishment was slightly different from Arvell's.

'What are the odds that this happened? Of all things…'

Lykos thought to himself for a moment, while Arvell was trying to process the current situation.

'Lykos, Why did it hatch so soon? It was almost dying yesterday?'

Snapping out of his reverie, Lykos flashed a knowing smile.

'You underestimate the power of Nether. That and this egg was already bound to hatch any day now. Its hatching was probably delayed due to the lack of natural warmth. Now that it got a dose of Nether, It should be fine now.'

'I see… Well, it's a good thing that it was able to survive. Kujak's sacrifice might not have been in vain then.'

Arvell slowly brought his hand near the golden dragon, and gently touched its cheek.

"Kyuu!"

The golden dragon affectionately rubbed Arvell's finger with its cheek, as if enjoying Arvell's touch.

'What's the deal with this dragon? It seems quite overly friendly.'

Arvell didn't particularly mind the blatant affection this dragon was showing him, but this felt quite weird for him.

The dragon just met him, and it was already treating him like a valued family member.

It felt quite awkward for Arvell, who preferred to be detached from others.

However, he didn't have the heart to push away the newborn dragon.

Also, he made a promise to Kujak, pledging to take care of the dragon.

If they were going to be together for a while, they might as well get along.

If the dragon was taking the initiative to make a positive relationship with him, who was he to refuse?

'I don't get it, why does this dragon seem to like me so much?'

'I believe it's one of two options or both.' Lykos proposed.

'What two options?'

'One: It thinks your its parent, and two: It knows you were the one to save its life.'

Arvell raised an eyebrow questioningly.

'It was only born not too long ago… I think? I don't know the specific time, but that's beside the point. How would it even know?'

Lykos had a conflicted expression on his face before he responded.

'Dragons have always been being with extraordinary senses. It probably felt the Nether energy that saved its life, and the Nether energy within you is the same.'

'Is that even possible? Can't you only sense Aether and Nether if you can use them?'

Arvell was in disbelief at Lykos's words.

Was the dragon race also capable of Aether or Nether manipulation?

Maybe even both?

Understanding Arvell's confusion, Lykos shook his head.

'It's not what you think, dragons can't use Aether and Nether. Their senses are just extraordinary.'

Arvell breathed out a sigh of relief.

'That's good.'

Arvell frankly didn't want to come in contact with another Aether/Nether wielder anytime soon.

He would much rather fight them when he was on a more even playing field.

That, and the fact that fighting someone else who might have these powers would be the equivalent to willingly killing himself.

He only had access to these powers for 5 months, and he didn't even actively increase his Nether Body refinement and Aether Core power stage.

Arvell was far too busy learning Alchemy, his skills, and swordsmanship.

He didn't actively spend that much time properly increasing his strength, but focused more on his core fundamentals.

Lykos warned Arvell about the dangers of having a shaky foundation, especially when he was stronger.

Instead of rushing through his refinement and power levels earlier on, only to crash and burn, Arvell took a more slow and steady approach.

When he does finally solidifies his fundamentals, Arvell would be able to shoot through the ranks much faster.

That was the ideal outcome Lykos and he had hoped for.

While Arvell was deep in thought, he heard a knocking on his door.

"Guest Arvell, would you like to come for breakfast?" A voice softly asked.

Arvell could recognize that this voice belonged to the maid who led him to his room yesterday.

"I'll be there shortly" Arvell responded.

As soon as he heard the maid walking away, Arvell lifted the dragon sitting on his lap.

The dragon offered no resistance, to the point where it was willing to let Arvell pick it up.

'So… What do I do about this? Hiding a normal dragon won't be easy, much less one a shiny golden one…"