Reincarnated elf (105), making friends with long-lived species
【Name】Vritra
【Species】Ancient Dragon
【Attribute】Darkness
【Dragon Age】29
【Enslavement Sigil】 Flesh Creation Magic
【Practitioner】 Reese Klein
The black dragon before me crunched the boar, once its original vessel, into bones. Its dark body shone beautifully in the moonlit night.
『Hahaha! My desired body! Now I can fly anywhere I want again!』
"Oh, you originally had quite an impressive figure. How's it feeling?"
Vritra extended wings that filled both arms. 『Not bad at all. In fact, the flow of magic is even better than in my prime. How did you, an Elf, acquire such a level of magic power?』
"I spent a hundred years secluded in the forest, just training. Thanks to that, by the time I came out, you could say I was pretty capable."
『What!? A hundred years!? You've been doing nothing but training for that long!? You're quite the senior, aren't you!』
"I've only been out in the world for about five years, so I can't say for sure."
『I spent over twenty years in a sealed state. It's somewhat similar.』
The cheerful Vritra from a moment ago confirmed the sensations of its body by flapping its wings several times.
"Your soul settling into the vessel will take some time. Fortunately, I don't plan on dying for another 900 years or so. If you come, I'll provide magic whenever you need."
『...900 years, that's a long time. I never thought a species longer-lived than us dragons, with our 500-year lifespan, would appear in this world. I won't be able to repay the favor at this rate.』
Vritra lowered its head apologetically.
I placed my hand on Vritra's forehead.
"Just bring me a tasty-looking fruit from time to time. It's not much of a burden, and that's exactly what I wanted."
In my past life, I died without accomplishing anything, without being of use to anyone, and without being remembered by anyone. I, as an unconventional Elf who left the Elf forest, wanted to leave a mark of my existence somewhere. Giving Vritra a body was a way to ensure that I remained in its heart. It made the hundred years of continuous training worthwhile.
『Indeed, you are quite the peculiar Elf. I appreciate your kindness. If you ever find yourself in a crisis, I shall come to your aid promptly. By the way, what is your name?』
"I'm Reese Klein. Like you, I'm an Elf who left the confined world to live freely in the outside."
『Hahaha! I see. We're kindred spirits. Very well, I, Vritra, the black dragon of the dark night, hereby swear to be a lifelong friend to Reese Klein. As a token of gratitude, I'll give you this as well.』
Vritra lightly tapped its forehead against my fist in response.
"What is this..."
Immediately, images flowed into my mind. It was a collection of information about the internal affairs of the Demon King's army back when Vritra was in the body of the boar.
『It should be something you desire. As long as I have my body back, I don't care whether it's demons or humans. Follow whoever you want, Reese.』
Dragons, in general, would not be affected by the state of the world. Originally, Vritra wouldn't have mingled with demons either.
『When I've circled the world, I'll come back to play, Reese Klein. Until then.』
Saying that, the casually flying dark dragon flapped its enormous body into the sky. Vritra's diminishing figure seemed very content.
As long as Vritra doesn't plan anything sinister, I can supply magic anytime. Being the first friend of a long-lived species in this world, we might be able to catch up on each other's lives in about 200 years. I have enough magic for that. I want to maintain a good friendship with Vritra.
And then...
"Sir Reese! I did it! I managed to cleanly peel off the magic stone from the Magic Snake, a magic-eating serpent."
Running towards me with excitement was Minori, who had defeated the Magic Snake with five uses of high-level magic. In her hand, she held a magic stone from the Magic Snake, the size of a golf ball. Its radiance closely resembled its state when alive, making it perhaps the most beautiful among the ones Minori had peeled off.
Minori still had plenty of magic within her. Considering that using high-level magic once would deplete her stamina before, this was significant progress. Minori had been working hard on her training for the past few years.
"Oh, this is excellent. Well done, Minori."
As I stroked her swaying red hair, a sloppy "Ehehe~" leaked from her mouth as if in response. The resolute attitude she had against magical beasts seemed to have been discarded somewhere.
"To be able to cleanly recover the magic stone of a powerful magical beast like the Magic Snake..."
Jin, who had been observing our situation all along, muttered quietly.
"Maybe it's not the time to be expressing your admiration, Jin."
Looking at Minori with envy-filled eyes, I emphasized.
"Since you have a year from now to surpass the current Minori."
"...Huh?"
Without the factor of a "Hero," defeating the Demon King directly would be challenging for me. To maintain a peaceful world for the next 900 years, it was crucial for a "Hero" to defeat the "Demon King" without any manipulation. The first step toward that goal started with Jin's thorough strengthening.
TLNOTE: Starting from this chapter, I have decided to use 'Reese Klein' (クライン) as the intended name by the author.
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