Su Nian stared in disbelief at the series of rewards from the system. "As expected of an SSR-tier start, this is incredible!" he thought. Three thousand system points! Compared to the meager amount he had painstakingly earned after fighting bandits for half a day and even losing some kobolds, this was a windfall.
And now, thanks to Anna's Favorability reaching fifty, a whole bunch of rewards had come flooding in.
Of course, the biggest gain was the [Intermediate Devour] ability. The fact that growth and development were no longer restricted by age was simply overpowered. After all, for creatures like dragons, a young dragon could never possess the power and size of an adult dragon.
Well, except for certain special types of dragons, like Plutonium Dragons or Time Dragons, but those were exceedingly rare, often unique beings.
The more he thought about it, the happier he became. Su Nian couldn't help but give Anna's soft cheek a lick with his rough, large tongue. The gesture left the still-crying Anna completely stunned. She froze in place, her tear-streaked face dazed and bewildered, with a string of glistening tears still hanging from the corner of her eye.
She nearly toppled over from the force of the black dragon's tongue.
Now that he had plenty of system points, Su Nian didn't hold back. He immediately redeemed a Voice Modification upgrade.
[Ding! Voice Modification has been solidified.]
Almost instantly, Su Nian felt a tickle in his throat. The voice modification process was complete, and there was no discomfort whatsoever.
He began to realize that simpler modifications were completed swiftly, while those that significantly enhanced physical abilities often came with unbearable pain.
"Ah… Uh… An… Anna Hathaway!"
A slightly raspy and coarse young male voice emerged from Su Nian's dragon mouth, sounding like that of a chain smoker with over a decade of experience.
He spoke in perfectly standard Continental Common Tongue, which made Anna's eyes widen in astonishment. Her starry eyes sparkled with uncontainable delight.
She completely forgot about the terrifying dragon tongue from earlier.
"Mr. Dragon, you… you can talk now?"
Anna extended her soft little hands and happily hugged Su Nian's neck, rubbing her delicate face against his rough, dry scales in a gesture full of affection and joy.
Although the black dragon had always treated her well, the inability to communicate verbally had been a regret. Most of the time, their exchanges relied on primitive gestures, and when that wasn't enough, the black dragon had to write things on the ground for her to understand.
"But… Mr. Dragon, how do you know my surname is Hathaway?"
Anna tilted her head, her slender fingers resting on her soft lips, her bright, curious eyes filled with confusion.
Uh-oh…
Su Nian's dragon face froze. Had he just slipped up?
He couldn't exactly say that he had a system that told him everything, including the fact that Anna had a sore on her thigh, and that with a higher level of Insight, he'd even know her… peculiarities in the future.
A flurry of excuses flashed through his mind. Finally, Su Nian straightened his dragon face and replied with a serious expression:
"Ahem, I heard it from that king. But that's all I know."
"Ohhh…"
Anna nodded in realization. She blinked her big eyes, her mind brimming with questions she wanted to ask the black dragon. Hugging Su Nian's neck again, she smiled shyly, her dimples faintly visible as she asked:
"Then… why did Mr. Dragon abduct Anna?"
"Uh…"
Su Nian uneasily clawed at the ground with his dragon talons, avoiding her gaze. After pondering for a moment, he replied with a straight face:
"Of course, it was to save you!"
"To save me?"
The starlight in Anna's eyes grew even brighter.
"Exactly!" Su Nian nodded solemnly. "That wicked king had tied you to a sacrificial altar to offer you to an evil dragon. Such behavior is utterly despicable. Although I am a black dragon, I cannot stand such scum. Besides, you were gravely ill."
"So, I beat up the evil dragon that was planning to eat you, then took its place and rescued you. That's also why I've been protecting you so well along the way and even giving you medicine."
Yes, that's it. Perfectly logical, with no loopholes.
"But…"
Anna bit her finger, her clear, innocent eyes looking at Su Nian. Then, she pulled out a book from beneath her skirt.
"The Tsundere Princess Training Plan (Dragon Edition)"
Su Nian: "Σ( ° △ °|||)︴!!!"
What the hell?!
Su Nian was dumbfounded. No wonder he couldn't find his little book when he left the dragon's lair. It had been with Anna all along.
How was he supposed to explain this?
"Well, Anna… That book, uh, it's not mine. It belonged to the evil dragon I defeated. After I drove it out of its lair and took over its nest, its belongings naturally became mine."
Su Nian's claws scratched at the ground furiously, sending dirt flying everywhere, almost burying Bolikri nearby.
"But…"
Anna giggled at the flustered black dragon and murmured, "But, Mr. Dragon, I saw you reading this book. And when you read it, you even laughed, like… hoo-hoo-hoo~."
By now, the pile of dirt Su Nian had clawed up was almost enough to bury all the kobolds. The once timid and gentle little Anna now seemed like a mischievous little devil wielding a whip, grinning at him.
He quickly glanced at Anna's character panel, only to find that her personality traits had undergone some changes:
[Personality (Undergoing transformation due to dragonification): Gentle, submissive, kind, mischievous.]
What the…?!
When did this change happen?!
What happened to his timid, soft-spoken little darling? Although this version of Anna was undeniably cuter, it would be much better if she'd just put the book down.
After clawing at the ground for a while, Su Nian finally pieced things together. According to his inherited memories, any creature that spent extended time with dragons would not only undergo dragonification but also experience personality changes.
For example, the hot-tempered Red Dragons had equally hot-tempered followers. The brainless White Dragons preferred goblins as their favorite first-tier minions.
When he had given Anna medicine earlier, she must have ingested some Dragon Saliva, which naturally influenced her. But why had the effect been so rapid?
Was it because Anna was particularly frail?
Shaking his head, Su Nian forced himself to respond to Anna with a straight face:
"Of course, ahem—after all, it's a trophy. It's perfectly normal for me to browse through my trophies."
Anna nodded at his explanation, covering her mouth as she giggled. Then, to Su Nian's astonishment, she tucked the book back into her skirt.
She was clearly determined to keep it as a treasure.
If she could survive, perhaps she really could become the "princess" described in the book.
With such hopes in her heart, Anna softly embraced the black dragon's neck, as if she were holding the stuffed animal she used to keep by her bedside—the one she loved the most. """