Levin’s POV

(Rolwen’s left ring and pinky finger, right thumb.) Gaerien called out the command for their finger exercises. This was part of the routine Aerien had laid out for them before she collapsed, and without her they did not really know much about where to go from here in making themselves more capable of mobility. Well, aside from experimenting on their own. They had been doing some of that.

This was the most advanced level of the exercise. They had not gotten much of a chance at it due to Aerien and Gaerien’s crazy mom for a few days, so now they were mostly just doing this because they could and they were trying to catch back up with something familiar before they started trying something new. It was actually starting to get easy. Both him and Rolwen were very frustrated at first with how hard it was to do this really simple stuff, but now after having done it for around a month it was actually very easy.

This exercise consisted of simply joining his fingers together with Rolwen’s fingers. Gaerien would call out a command, and they matched it. The command she had just called out meant that Levin had to touch Rolwen’s left ring finger and pinky finger with his own right ring and pinky fingers, and a similar left and right switch for his own left thumb to Rolwen’s right. She switched who’s right and left she meant, and then called out a number of different fingers.”

(Levin’s left middle and pinky finger, right index and pinky finger) Ok, this was a hard one. 2 finger separations were hard, the finger that was between them always wanted to bend forward. Levin concentrated hard to keep his left ring finger and right middle finger pulled back as he joined the specified fingers with Rolwen’s while Rolwen was doing the same. Both of them had strained looks on their faces. Those looks eventually broke into giggles as they looked at each other’s faces.

(Ok, Ok!) Gaerien interrupted loudly to quiet them.

(Isn’t this good for today?) Rolwen asks. (Let’s try something else.)

(We might be going at any time though!) Gaerien complains. (Besides, I want to keep getting better with talking.) She has a pouting look on her face.

Yes, they had all gotten used to hearing each other by now to a point it was almost normal. However, they still all had a very obvious lisp due to the improperly formed mouths they had in their small bodies, and the effect was even worse with Gaerien compared to the two of them.

(Don’t you think maybe it might just be because you don’t have your teeth yet? I heard that’s important for talking right.) Rolwen suggests. This definitely doesn’t make her any happier.

(Mmm… soon I’ll be the only one talking like this. I bet Aerien will be talking perfectly after she wakes up!) She crosses her arms in a little bit of a “harumph” fashion and then turns around to her comatose “younger” sister, now in a body that looks like that of a 5 year old and easily bigger than any of them, and actually starts sticking her fingers between Aerien’s lips, sliding her fingers over her teeth with a jealous expression on her face.

(Uhh… hey!) Levin interrupts. (I don’t think Aerien would like that.)

Gaerien lets out a small growl of a sound and then flops with her head on her sister’s chest. (I’ll grow faster. The hole in the rules is still here, so I can do my cultivation. I’ll definitely grow faster than an elf should.)

Neither one of the boys knew what they should say to her. They had both grown up normally in this second life, but they also did not really have anyone around who spoke English so they didn’t really have someone to actually talk to. Plus, they were also both clearly ahead of her development wise by a bit more than a year. According to the best theory they could come up with, they were probably all conceived at the exact same time. However, it seemed like elves had a longer period of pregnancy than humans, and that gave the two of them a lot of growth time over Gaerien.

Suddenly, they heard a lot of noise outside, causing them all to look up. It sounded like a loud roar of wind and rustling leaves, but they thought they heard Gaerien’s mom scream. They both saw Gaerien stiffen for some reason. (Whaaah…?) She gaped for a moment before turning to them with a slightly stunned look. (Uhh… I think we are about to leave, umm… someone came to get us.)

(What!? How do you know?) Levin asked.

(It’s prayers.) She said, (or, something like it. Dragons though, it seems like dragons communicate with thoughts or something. I guess you can’t hear it though, huh?)

(What!? Does that mean we’re going to ride a DRAGON!!?) Rolwen stated Levin’s thoughts before he could open his mouth, and definitely louder and with more energy than he would have. In fact, it actually caused Levin to start moving back from his friend a little.

(Ok, move away from the crazy person.) He said, pretending to move to get between Rolwen and Gaerien. He wouldn’t actually touch Gaerien though, he knew that would probably get her upset. He just wanted a way to tease his friend a bit.

(What!? Common! Did you hear what she just said!?) Rolwen asked.

(Yeah, dragons, fantasy world, elves, monsters. Isn’t that normal?)

(Whaaahhh? Uhh… well, I guess…)

Seriously!? That actually got to him!? Levin was actually shocked! (Uhhh… Rolwen? I was just teasing, umm… shouldn’t dragons actually be a big deal though?)

(Huh? That was teasing!?) Rolwen replied. (But yeah… dragons are… Wait! Gaerien! What kind of dragon is it!? What’s it’s color!?)

(Huh!? I don’t know something like that! I only heard it! But… it DID say it was a Marquis.)

(Marquis!? Uhh… Ok, well then I bet it’s probably silver or copper. It can’t be gold, those are the emperor dragons. It should be pretty friendly if it’s silver.)

Just as Levin was about to ask Rolwen what in the world he was talking about, the side of the tree suddenly opened and the two elves, Ether guy and Aerien and Gaerien’s mom, both walked in with a dazed look on their faces as they walked toward all of them.

[Come on, it’s time to go.] Gaerien’s mom said in a far-off voice as though she didn’t really even see them. Before he knew it, Levin was grabbed and being laid face-down on top of Aerien’s chest. This is the method they had devised to accommodate for the fact that she was both so much bigger than him now, and also comatose. He could cling on to her, but she had to be properly supported. After this, her mother scooped her up and lifted her, forcing Levin to hold very tight to her shoulders.

Meanwhile, Ether guy was looking at Rolwen with expectation. The drill between them was very different. Rolwen had to pick up Gaerien before Ether guy could even touch either one of them. Also, it had to be Ether guy that picked them up for some reason. They had been developing their routines in order to accommodate for their difficulties.

They were carried out of the tree and soon they got to see the dragon that had been mentioned. Levin could hear Rolwen gasp behind them. He didn’t blame him.

This thing was HUGE! It made the tall towering trees all around them look like mere saplings as its large serpentine body coiled around several of them. Levin couldn’t tell, but he could swear he also saw something like folded wings at its back. Most of its body was wrapped around the trees over them, darkening the sun with the shadow it cast on the forest floor, but its huge angular head dipped down and was at the same level as them. Just that head by itself was the size of a tank!

They were expecting something big when they heard they were going to ride a dragon, but this!? This was WAY bigger than what they had expected. Was this even a dragon anymore!? It seemed more like that world serpent from Norse mythology or something!

Not that it mattered much in light of that overwhelming size, but its scales were not the gold, silver, or even bronze colors that Rolwen had speculated about. Instead, they were glistening a light green that seemed to glisten under the sun and give the forest life. In fact, as they looked around, there were even signs of the plant life in the area beginning to grow at a rate visible to the naked eye.

“Woaaaah!” Levin heard Rolwen’s voice once again. He had to agree though. This was… well, amazing didn’t really seem like enough of a word to describe what he was seeing. Was that thing seriously real!? It was an actual living thing there right in front of them!? If this was back on Earth, he would suspect it was some kind of super giant animatronic of some kind, but this thing was definitely not there the night before and any explanation that could get a fake creature like this there over night was almost more incredible than it being a real living creature. This… Levin just didn’t have the words or thoughts to describe it.

“Y-yes! This is her!” Aerien’s mom suddenly stammered, and then Levin suddenly found her hand pulling his face into her chest, and he could feel the dragon’s moist and warm breath as it focused in on them. He could feel Aerien’s mom trembling, and he wasn’t very far from that state himself. About the only thing that allowed him to avoid wetting himself was the thought of it going all over Aerien if he did so. He stubbornly tried to avoid doing that one thing. In fact, he tried so hard to avoid it that the mental attention he spared to tighten his bladder muscles allowed him to zone out and forget about the time and place he was in.

From that moment, he was not sure how much time passed or what kinds of words were said. He was only just barely aware that he was being carried somewhere, and then when he looked up he was in the wagon again.

Why were they in the wagon? Weren’t they going to ride the dragon? (Wow! We’re flying!!!) Rolwen said loudly.

What!? Flying!? How!? They are inside the wagon!!! As he looked around, he realized that Ether guy and Aerien’s mom were both in the middle of the wagon. This was not their normal arrangement. Also, neither one of the adults had let go of a single one of their little group of “kids.” And, for a final oddity, the wagon was not shaking at all.

Levin blinked as he began to put the pieces together and then followed Rolwen’s amazed gaze to look around. The cover over the wagon had been removed after it had apparently been crushed by that plant monster Gaerien helped fight. Now, he had a pretty clear view of everything around them. Sure enough, it looked like they were hovering several dozen feet off the ground and they were rapidly rising toward the tree canopy.

Apparently satisfied, the large dragon took off, and they went along for the ride. The wagon seemed to maintain a constant position near the dragon’s neck as though he were wearing it like a necklace, and it did not seem to take any time at all for them to suddenly be several hundred feet off the ground. And yet, Levin did not feel even so much as a hint of the violent sudden acceleration, and there was not so much as a single vibration through the wagon even as they brushed right through the multiple tree branches and leaves were scattered everywhere.

The lack of wind or any sense of movement made it all seem like he was watching a movie instead of being carried through the air. None of it even seemed real at all. What was this? It seemed to be some kind of power that the dragon had. The more he saw, the more it just seemed like it was too much.

(Wow, WOW! It’s an eastern dragon!!!) Rolwen yelled in excitement. It seemed he at least was taking this well. As Levin looked up he noticed Rolwen was looking back at him with excitement. (These things are, like, SUPER powerful! WAY stronger than western dragons!!!) He said excitedly.

[Well, it seems he really likes seeing a “wa-sgiathatch”] Ether guy says, using a term they had not heard before. [You said something, umm… “easter-dragon?” is that your word for a “wa-sgiathatch?” That’s what he is.] Ether guy was pointing upward at the neck of the dragon who was carrying them.

They were learning yet another new word in Elven, and this time it was the word for dragon. There seemed to be something wrong with Ether guy’s pronunciation of the English, but it seemed close enough. Besides, all this excitement was too much to nit-pick over language lessons.

[Look at that.] Ether guy continued talking to them in Elven and pointed toward the direction they were going. All of them, Rolwen, Gaerien, and Levin, looked in the direction he was pointing. It was another tree, but… wait. They were already above the trees. The one they were looking toward though was still towering high over them. This is when Levin realized they were still climbing upward and were at a bit of an angle. He looked back and saw the trees behind them already looked like a carpet of moss.

He looked forward again. If they are so high up the trees below them look like no more than moss, but this tree they are going toward is still higher than them, just how big is it!? He was used to seeing trees, so it did not seem that big just looking at the image of the thing. However, the shape just looking like a normal tree was very deceptive. It looked normal, but then you realized just how inanely much bigger it really was when you saw it in comparison to other things around it. There’s no question, this thing… Levin had thought the size of this dragon was impressive when he first saw it, but this tree was on a whole other level.

[That is the great tree.] Ether guy told them. Yeah, great tree seemed like the right word for it. But, at the same time, it seemed completely inadequate. [That is where the queen lives, she will help Aerien to wake up.] He gave them all a warm smile. Yes, that’s right. This is the reason they have been taking this multi-day trip just to get here.

They had been on the road now for more time than it would have taken to travel around the world in an airplane back on Earth, or get half way across the country in a car. They probably haven’t traveled very far in actual distance since they were in a wagon, but to people from Earth this really felt like a very long and difficult journey. Especially with all the monsters that kept attacking them. But, it was all for this goal, and it felt incredibly fulfilling to have reached it.

Being reminded of their purpose, being reminded of their journey, being swept up in the sheer grandeur and scale of all of this, Levin suddenly felt a great sense of magic about the whole thing. A sense of that intangible uplifting euphoria and child-like mysticism. They had reached their goal, they were going to see the elf queen who lived in this giant tree, and Aerien was finally going to wake up again!

He looked forward again. The tree did not seem to be coming much closer, but judging by the speed with which they left the ground he was sure that was an illusion that just spoke to how truly big this thing actually was. However, he was beginning to be able to make out some details on the upper branches of the tree now. He saw… what looked like another dragon’s body wrapped around some of the upper branches, coiling around them just as the big guy carrying them was wrapped around whole trees. But wait… something’s wrong. If he can see that large looking body from this distance, does that mean the dragon he’s looking at is even larger than the one carrying them!?

Levin was completely blown away by this thought. The one carrying them was definitely HUGE!!! He had thought for sure this must be the lord of all dragons or something with how massive it was, but what he was looking at now absolutely had to be so much bigger that it made this guy look like a garden snake by comparison.

That thing… does the queen keep it as a pet or something? She must be extremely powerful to have multiple dragons, including one so large it makes the others look like nothing, under her control. This whole fantasy world thing just went into a whole new level of fantastical. He could deal with elves and magic being a thing in this world. Little sprite things and glowing women and moving trees were something he could adjust to as well. But, if he was about to go into a room filled with dragons that could fit a whole car in their mouth and not even consider it a light snack then he was not certain how his heart was going to take it.

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Subscribers' comments of the chapter

"Haha Gaerien's jealous of Aerien's teeth. Oh I can just imagine Aerien biting Gaerien or vice versa."

                                                                                                                                 -meowingLexi

"we found the dragon whisperer when shes not pouting like the loli she is."

                                                                                                                                 -Roy

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I think something went horribly wrong in my comments section this chapter. XD