I decide to target the nearest Elder Dragon, which is a little over 300 km south of my location. I activate my concealment and flight spells, and I take off towards it. When I am further into the forest, I drop the concealment spells, and I use a magic pulse every few minutes to fine-tune my trajectory.
Eventually, I sense my destination coming closer. I reapply my concealment spells and drop my speed to limit turbulence. I also lower my altitude to get a better view of the situation as I approach.
Shortly after, I see a massive clearing ahead whose size puts my own to shame, and a large lake is visible within the clearing by the edge of the forest. Towards the center of the clearing, I see a creature curled up in a ball resting.
It's absolutely massive – probably about 15 meters from ground to back when standing, and over 35 meters from head to tail. No doubt about it, that's one of the Elder Dragons. If it's not, I certainly don't want to meet the real ones.
Maintaining full concealment, I fly down to a spot about 10 meters away from its head and deactivate all my other spells. Upon closer inspection, the dragon has dark brown scales covering every visible inch of its body, with each one being about the size of a laptop.
I can't say for sure, but I'd guess that anything less than a plasma ball or enhanced katana wouldn't even draw blood. I don't see anything that lets me know which Elder Dragon it is, though.
Now…how should I go about this? I've heard that they are at least as intelligent as humans, so a little chat should be fine. I can just ask which one they are, right? However, startling it sounds dangerous for my health. I think I'll play this safe.
As far as I can tell, it's not fully asleep, just resting. I take up a position further from the dragon, then use a variation of my flight spell to launch nearby small rocks at its nose. They bounce off pitifully but seem to do the job.
The dragon slowly moves its head and opens its eyes. It glances down and sees the rocks that hit it. Then it slowly begins scanning the area.
Alright, here's my chance. I drop the silencing part of my concealment spells, and shout at the dragon.
"Hello there! You wouldn't happen to be the Elder Dragon of earth, would you?"
I immediately teleport a short distance away from where I yelled and reapply my full concealment spell. At the same time, the dragon's eyes widen as though in surprise, and it lifts its head up. Suddenly, a voice rings out in my head.
[Who has entered my domain? Why can I not sense your presence? Reveal yourself, creature!] (Elder Dragon?)
Woah, that's pretty cool, is that thought communication!? Man, I really want it to teach me that.
I repeat my same speak then teleport approach while staying constantly invisible. It seems irritable, so I don't want to get caught by a blind attack. It might kill me in one shot.
"Uh, hi! Nice to meet you! My name is Mizuki! You can't sense me because I'm invisible! I'm happy to reveal myself, but only if you promise not to attack me!" (Mizuki)
[FOOL! Don't make demands of a dragon, creature! I'm not unreasonable. If you are not a threat, I will not harm you. However, if you do not show yourself, I will not be so kind.] (Elder Dragon?)
What a cranky one…I almost hope this isn't my dragon. I sigh internally. I guess I don't really have a choice though if I want to avoid a fight. I apply max body enhancement just in case, then drop my concealment spells.
As I materialize in front of it, the dragon's eyes narrow at me.
"Hey there, I did as you asked! Now, can we talk? I really don't want to fight with you!" (Mizuki)
Before I can ask more, the dragon begins standing up.
[A human!? You dare trespass this far into our forest, after my last warning!? You will die for your insolence!] (Elder Dragon?)
At this point, the dragon begins to take flight and, at the same time, sends a large boulder screeching towards me with magic. I teleport out of the way, then call out to it.
"Hey, cut it out! I'm not here to cause trouble I swear! I just want to talk!" (Mizuki)
Seeing me talking from a new location, the dragon snaps its head over towards me.
[WHAT!? How did you get over there!? I'm not interested in your reasons – you humans cannot be trusted inside the forest! You will perish here today.] (Elder Dragon?)
I get another boulder launched at me, and I dodge it the same as before. Damn, this dragon is not listening. I think it's safe to say that this is the earth dragon based on these attacks, though. What a bummer.
I still get the feeling that it's holding back. This thing wiped out a whole army from what I remember, so I'm not confident of my chances if it goes all out.
"Listen! I mean it when I say I don't want to fight, just tell me how I can prove it to you!? I'm warning you, though, if you attack me one more time I'm going to fight back!" (Mizuki)
[You dare threaten me, human!? DIE!] (Elder Dragon?)
After that lovely retort, the earth around me begins to tremble. Looks like it's getting serious. I tried to play nice, but I'm not just going to take this lying down. I guess we're fighting.