Semi-POV Zephyra:
Tiamat's voice cut like a blade.
"Zephyra."
She materialized behind the student and grabbed her shoulder, preventing her from advancing.
Tiamat spoke in a low voice that brooked no discussion. "Now is the time for cultivation. Return to your position. Immediately."
"I... yes, professor," she murmured, her heart-tipped tail drooping slightly.
She then cast one last look toward Dex—and this time she noticed something.
A genuine smile. Warm. That made Zephyra's heart race.
For a second—perhaps less—they looked at each other.
Until Tiamat gripped her shoulder more firmly.
"Zephyra."
"Y-yes!" She startled, quickly returning to her own cultivation area.
But as she walked away, she saw something from the corner of her eye that made her freeze for a fraction of a second.
Echidna.
The person who intrigued her and made her more wary than her husband's appearance change.
Looking directly at Zephyra, she saw.
She blew a kiss from a distance.
Not discreet. Not shy.
A provocative kiss—lips forming an exaggerated heart, slow and deliberate wink, that would make any man or woman lose control of their own body.
And Zephyra stumbled.
She literally stumbled over her own feet from sheer shock, fortunately recovering her balance at the last second before falling.
She sat down hastily in her position, face burning.
'What... what was that?!'
POV Dex and Echidna:
"Cute!" Echidna commented, watching the beautiful demoness walk away embarrassed.
Seeing his wife's antics with Zephyra, Dex could only lament while rolling his eyes. "Another prey for you to abuse the innocence of..."
Hearing this, she laughed. "I can almost feel the jealousy," She then moved even closer to him while grabbing his tattooed arm. "But don't worry, after all you can take out all that frustration on me, especially in B-E-D."
But before Dex could say anything, another person appeared in the middle of the conversation.
Tiamat materialized between them, her eyes fixed on Echidna as she spoke.
"Bold," she said with a low voice that cut like ice. "Even for someone with draconic blood."
Loaded pause.
"Conversations of this nature are forbidden in my classroom."
Echidna opened her mouth to respond—probably with something equally provocative—but Tiamat raised her hand, silencing her.
"No," the dragon professor said firmly. "I don't want to hear excuses or justifications. Understood?"
Dex nodded immediately. "Yes, professor."
Echidna rolled her eyes but murmured: "Yes..."
Tiamat studied them for a prolonged moment, pearlescent eyes shining with something between curiosity and... recognition?
Then, unexpectedly, her expression softened slightly.
"Besides," she continued with a lower voice, "there's another matter we need to discuss."
Tiamat took a step closer, deliberately invading their personal space. Not in a threatening way, but... evaluative.
And then she sniffed.
A discreet movement—just a slight tilt of her head—but unmistakable.
"Draconic lineage," she said with absolute certainty. "It's not subtle. Your scent. Your presence. The way energy flows through you."
Pause.
"I'm a three-hundred-year-old dragon. I recognize my own."
Dex maintained a neutral expression, but internally, he wasn't surprised.
'Already expected this after the fantastic discovery that I'm now a fountain of draconic scent,' he thought.
Echidna, for her part, seemed... almost bored.
"It's not exactly a secret," she said with a casual tone.
"But that's not what I came to discuss," Tiamat continued, diverting from the delicate topic. "What matters is that due to your lineage, the methods in this grimoire..."
She tapped lightly on the manual that Echidna still held.
"...Are completely inefficient for you."
Echidna arched an eyebrow. "Inefficient?"
"Useless," Tiamat corrected with brutal frankness. "These manuals were written for humans, elves, beastfolk, and all other races. Mortal races that channel mana or aura in conventional ways."
She turned slightly, gesturing to the other students scattered around the room—all meditating intensely, following the manual's instructions.
"And for them," she explained, "the process is... linear."
She then turned her attention back to Dex and Echidna.
"But for those like us, even if you're only half?"
"The process is fundamentally different, because unlike them, we don't need to be linear."
"Mortals cultivate through a single channel. They sense energy, pull it inward, stabilize it in a circle or central soul. Linear. Direct."
With a hand movement, she materialized a floating diagram of golden light.
The image showed a translucent human body with a large channel connecting to the bright central core—soul or circle.
Dex maintained an expression of polite interest, but internally...
'Everything exactly like in the game,' he thought, observing the diagram. 'Basic cultivation system for mortal races. A single pathway for energy entry.'
Memories of his other life—of bright screens, detailed wikis made by players, progression guides, and everything imaginable about how to become stronger in the game—he had read it all.
He then looked at Echidna. 'But still, she was invincible.'
"Efficient for mortal races," she explained. "But limited. Like trying to fill an ocean with a single hose."
"We Dragons," Tiamat said with obvious pride, "don't cultivate like that. We can form microtubules—thousands of them. Each one absorbs extremely pure and dense energy from the environment constantly."
Tiamat materialized a rolled scroll—ancient paper sealed with a crimson seal.
"Draconic Cultivation Method: Primordial Dragon's Breath," she announced. "Ancestral technique that true dragons use to activate and construct microtubules. If you're truly as talented as I think, you can build them in two weeks."
She extended the scroll toward them.
"I offer it freely. As dragon to... those who carry our blood."
Dex extended his hand without hesitation.
'This method is far superior to the normal one!'
'In the game I never had access to this. This is a unique opportunity—'
But before his fingers touched the scroll...
Echidna's hand grabbed his wrist.
"No," she said aloud firmly.
Dex froze, turning to face her with confusion.
'Echi? What—'
But he saw her expression.
It wasn't the usual provocation. It wasn't stubbornness.
It was... certainty.
Absolute.
Tiamat blinked, with genuine surprise. "You're refusing...?"
"Yes." She said without any hesitation.
Dex, confused, lightly touched her hand and asked telepathically. 'What are you doing? This method is—'
'Inferior.' She responded.
'Inferior?! It's a fucking method made by dragons for dragons!'
'Seems like you like to forget that I was a dragon who lived much longer than her.'
"And I'm telling you this method is inferior to what I created!"
Absolute telepathic silence.
'What?'
Echidna finally released his wrist and turned to Tiamat with firm politeness.
"We appreciate the offer, professor. But we already have our own method. One that... suits our nature better."
Tiamat studied them intensely.
"Your own method?" she repeated with obvious skepticism. "You're seventeen years old. I'm three hundred. This method was developed over millennia—"
"And ours hasn't even been applied yet," Echidna interrupted with characteristic confidence. "But it's perfect for us."
And through their mental connection, Echidna sent some memories.
And then the memories hit him.
After the initial awakening. After... everything.
While they explored the newly-formed Realm.
While they knew each other in every sense.
'During THAT, you were... thinking about cultivation methods?!'
Echidna smiled internally through the bond.
'Multitasking, love. I can do both.'
'Both?!'
'Fuck AND invent. I think it's the best combination for me.'
Dex didn't know whether to laugh or be shocked.
'So when we're out of ideas, you already know what you have to do with me, right love?'
Tiamat, oblivious to the telepathic conversation, frowned.
"If you already have an established method," she said slowly, "then... I suppose I must respect that."
But her tone clearly indicated she thought the decision was idiotic.
She turned, preparing to return to the center of the room.
But stopped.
"A method created by teenagers," she murmured, voice low but audible, "will never compare to the method created by our ancestors."
And she walked away.
Leaving Dex and Echidna alone.
As soon as Tiamat was sufficiently distant, Dex turned to Echidna.
'Explain,' he said telepathically, tone between fascination and near frustration. 'Now.'
Echidna smiled—small but proud.
'Remember the Realm? After... everything?'
'How could I forget.' Dex thought, remembering his first time with Echidna.
'I noticed while we were both doing it, the Realm's sky contained a sun that seemed to almost vibrate, and when we took small breaks it seemed to rest.'
'Initially I thought it was just my imagination, because someone was being quite aggressive.'
Dex responded indignantly. 'Funny you say that, because you seemed to want me to be even more so.'
Echidna looked away slightly and continued. 'But after observing for a while I was certain, the sun reacted to our feelings and sensations.'
'And then I started putting the pieces together—the sun that appeared after our fusion is our soul.'
Echidna leaned closer, crimson eyes shining with rare enthusiasm.
"And around the sun... empty space. It's unrealized potential. Like a sky waiting to be filled."
'I still don't understand what—'
She then pointed to everyone around them. 'They all have to do this same process blindfolded and without any control over how the channel construction will be done, but not us!'
'We can see the structures in that sky and create them with perfection and in a way that doesn't overload us like them!'
'We can change everything!' She said animatedly while using her demon king aura to draw in the air just like Tiamat.
'We're going to create a tree using the methods of other races.'
She traced invisible lines in the air between them.
"The conventional method uses a large channel that allows the entry of absurd quantities of poorly purified aura."
"Tiamat's method uses thousands of parallel microtubules, which allow the entry of a smaller amount of aura than the conventional one, but much purer and more potent."
"And the method I created uses both to create a tree like Yggdrasil."
Dex blinked.
'Yggdrasil? The World Tree?'
'Exactly! Main trunks emerge from the soul and branch into fractal patterns made of increasingly smaller branches. Sub-branches grow geometrically and combine the best of both worlds—extreme purity and unlimited quantities of Aura.'
Pause, allowing the information to process.
"And in the Realm," she continued, voice softening, "we can SEE this. Build each branch with perfect precision. Something normal dragons could NEVER do."
Dex remained silent for a long moment.
Processing.
Evaluating.
And then...
'You... created a cultivation method superior to dragons'. While we were... fucking.'
Echidna smiled widely.
'We can say so.'
'Echi.'
'Yes?'
'You're... incredible.'
Her smile softened. 'When you want to, you can be cute, you know?'
Dex shook his head affectionately.
"Show me," he asked. "In the Realm. I want to see and start building this now."
"Now?"
"Now."
Echidna nodded upon hearing the confirmation.
And both closed their eyes while saying at the same time. "Demonic Soul Realm!"