Breakfast had more or less been uneventful. I’d been very excited to once again partake of those wonderful cold desserts; however, the human had insisted I eat something with more substance, forcing me to get steak and eggs. I’d admit that they were tasty, but I hadn’t felt satisfied, so I couldn’t help but also secure myself a few parfaits as well. After all, if everything went well, this might be the last opportunity for me to have them.
The human had suggested we use a portal to get to the infirmary, but I’d rejected the notion, already feeling slightly unsettled from our initial trip to the dining hall. To no one’s surprise, she’d relented to my greatness and led me through the halls to our destination.
Part of me had wondered if taking a portal would’ve been better though, simply for the fact that I could’ve avoided the stares I’d been receiving. Though I wasn’t that self-conscious, I detested the fact that I had to wear a dog collar.
The human had suggested that I cover it up, but I’d rejected the idea since all that would accomplish was adding further clothing to my neck, which was not an idea I was entirely fond of.
Either way, after a decent amount of walking, we’d finally arrived at the infirmary.
The human knocked on the door. “Doctor Paunsasoy, we’re here.”
“Come in!” an excited voice called from inside.
The human opened the door, and both of us froze at the sight that greeted us.
“Uh...what is all this?”
“Great question, Karen! When I was informed that I’d have the honor of performing El’s physical—great nickname by the way—I got a little carried away and brought out all the equipment I could. After all, this will be the first time I’m giving a physical to an elder dragon! There must be all kinds of biometrics and measurements that I need to take!”
“Literally, all you need to do is make sure she’s healed up,” the human said, shaking her head as if it hurt. “Nobody asked you to do anything more than that. Nobody wants you to do more than that.”
“Aw, don’t be like that! She’s our guest in this realm, right? What if there’s an underlying problem that needs to be investigated? We should be thorough and make sure that she’s in tip-top shape!”
Though every bone in my body was insisting that I leave or at least burn this room to a crisp, her words caught my attention. Perhaps, if she’s able to investigate the underlying issues, I may be able to discover the problem with my scales.
“Look, there’s no way I’m agreeing to this, and I really doubt that she’ll agr—”
“I’ll do it,” I said, cutting the human off.
The doctor’s eyes began sparkling, and she jumped for joy while the human gave me a surprised look.
“You really don’t need to go along with her,” the human reassured me.
“It’s as the doctor said—I need to be in ‘tip-top shape.’ If this ensures that, then I’ll do it. However”—I turned to the doctor—“in return, know this: You’ll not get off easily if you do anything unnecessary,” I hissed.
“Oh, believe me, I get off easily— Ahem.” She suddenly cleared her throat. “I’ll be superserious with my physical examination of you!”
“Okay then...” the human reluctantly agreed. “I’ll be right outside for your privacy. Let me know if you need anything.” Then she turned to the doctor. “Also, she needs to be done by eleven. Got it?”
“That’s a little more than an hour,” the doctor said, checking the clock on the wall. “No problem!”
“El, seriously, if you need anything or if she tries anything weird, let me know.”
“I can handle myself,” I huffed.
“Okay...” The human sighed uneasily before exiting the room.
“Now that the nuisance is gone, let’s get this started!”
“I’ve no interest in your tests,” I said bluntly.
“Huh?”
“My body has healed, and I’m back to a...respectable physical strength, considering the limiter on me. That being said, I think there’s something wrong with my scales. Would you know anything about that?” I asked, rolling up my sleeve to show her my arm.
“Your scales, huh? Your arms don’t look any different from regular ones...” she observed. “May I?” She asked for permission before touching them, but she didn’t wait for my answer. As soon as her fingers made contact with my arm, she let out a sound of surprise. “Wh-Wh-What?! I’ve never felt something like this before. Your skin... It’s soft and coarse? How does that even work?!”
“When in this form, elder dragons have scales the appearance of human skin, but their properties are generally unchanged from when we’re in our dragon form. They have the same suppleness as human skin; however, they can be strengthened, and they have many retractable tiny hairs on them—that’s where the coarseness comes from. Each strand of hair acts as an antenna that attracts magic and safely transmits it into the scales, which then disperse it into mana particles.”
“Whoa...” the doctor said in amazement. “Do you mind if I take a closer look?” And again, without waiting for my permission, she moved her head closer to my arm. Her eye glowed purple as she activated a spell to magnify her vision. “Wow, I’ve never seen this before! This is amazing! So, each strand of hair is a receptor for mana?”
I nodded. “However, it seems that they may be malfunctioning.”
“Why do you think that? My eye’s untrained when it comes to elder dragons, but at the very least, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything especially wrong with them.”
“The human’s hit me with two spells. Both should’ve been dispersed upon contact; however, I was affected both times.”
“Oh? So, your scales aren’t getting rid of the spells anymore?”
“It certainly seems that way.”
“Hmm...” The doctor stood up straight and crossed her arms, falling into thought. “What types of spells did Karen use on you?”
“Status affliction. One was a stun spell, the other a sleep spell.”
“Would you be okay if I tried an attack spell on you? Just a small one.”
“You can use magic?”
“Of course I can! I wouldn’t be much of a doctor if I couldn’t use healing magic, would I?”
“In my mind, at best, succubi can use dark magic. Otherwise, all they ever use are charms.”
“Hmm. Maybe that’s how it is in your world, but most of us know general magic. Not all of them are as great at it as I am though. Why don’t I show you?”
“Be my guest.” I shrugged, holding out my arm.
“I’ll start with something small then, okay?” she said, pointing her finger toward my arm. “Ember.” In the next moment, a pebble-sized ball of fire appeared and dropped onto my arm. As it did, she observed it with her enhanced vision. “Hmm... It dispersed without any problem. Let’s try a different spell. Maybe it’s because I didn’t use the full incantation. Or is it because Ember’s a weak spell to begin with? Mind if I try a few more things?”
“Go ahead.”
After that, she attempted a charm, hex, ice spell, wind spell, earth spell, light spell, darkness spell, and every other type of magic she could think of, but nothing worked. In the end, she even tried another status affliction spell, but that didn’t work either.
“I...don’t get it. Are you just pulling my leg? Because so far, it doesn’t seem like your scales have a problem at all.”
I tilted my head, equally puzzled. If magic is being absorbed, then my scales are working properly. But then, why did the human’s spells affect me?
“Maybe I need to kick the strength up a notch or two,” the doctor suggested.
“Sure. Don’t hold back,” I said, taking a few steps back and holding out my arm to intercept her attack. Like she could produce anything that could seriously put me in danger.
“Okay, but don’t blame me if you get hurt. After all, this is for science!” Then, she began chanting a spell, making sure to use the full verse to strengthen the potency of it. “Th’ien yughra den buolpha’bentara...” she began.
Primordial magic? I’m surprised she can use that. Only skilled mages with high mana levels can even attempt to recite a few words of those incantations.
“Yughra jhyt’den relotha: Kahor Serphe!”
When she was done, there was a black sphere in front of her aimed at me, moving slowly toward me. I could feel the dark energy inside threatening to rip apart the first thing that it came into contact with, but as soon as it reached my fingertips, it shattered into bits and pieces, raining down like shards of tinted glass.
Both the doctor and I stared at each other in confusion. Before we could say anything though, the door flew open, and the human was standing there.
“Why did I sense a primordial dark spell being cast?!” Then she looked at the doctor and then me. “Did she attack you?” the human asked me.
“Yes,” I said plainly.
Then the human shot the doctor an angry glare.
“H-Hey, there’s some really really superimportant context being left out!” the doctor screamed. “She wanted me to! I swear! Karen, put away the wand! Let’s talk about this, okay?”
I turned away from whatever the human was going to do with the doctor and instead focused on my arm. There wasn’t even a scratch on it. Though she’d recited only two of the four verses, that spell had been plenty powerful. And yet, it’d still been dispersed by my scales, unlike the spells from the human. Could it be that there’s something about the human herself that’s allowing her to bypass my scales? I didn’t want to consider this ridiculous notion, but at this point in time, I couldn’t think of anything else.