A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

Chapter 23: I am Saori Segawa

My name is Segawa Saori or Saori Segawa if you use the western naming standard.

I amin my early twenties and am a history teacher at Shirako High School, a, rather, prestigious college-preparatory school designed to transform its students, through a rigorous curriculum, into the elites of the future.

While our ranking among our peers is nothing to scoff about, a gem among the rubble you can say, we are still not considered the shiniest among them.

Well, that is nothing for me to worry about. Regardless if we are the best or not, the environment of the school is strict but fair, which provides our students with the necessary requirements for an efficient academic life. It also helps that the pay is rather goodahem.

Besides my duty to teach history, I also serve as the homeroom teacher for a 3rd year or, the equivalent, 12-grade class.

On a, usually, normal day, I was concluding my class preparations for the day and was about to head out of the teachers room for the first period. I was rather excited as the first class Ill be teaching would be my own.

But everything turned dark. I dont remember how it happened. I believe I wasnt even outside the room when it happened. The moment I regained back my consciousness I was looking at a giant wolf licking me.

Frankly, the sudden change from sorting out my lecture papers to being covered in saliva was mortifying, to the point that I screamed and tried to run away from the wolf. I wasnt thinking properly back then but that was the moment I was born, or reborn seems to be more fitting, so it made sense that my body didnt have the strength to escape. That didnt change the fact that I struggled quite a bit.

The wolf seemed quite surprised when I panicked that much.

[My child, you must stop fidgeting. You need to be cleaned.]

These were the first words I heard in this new world. You must understand that this whole situation is not something you could ever mentally prepare yourself for, so acting like a normal person, instead of soothing me, those words caused my already agitated self to break.

[Stop moving!]

Was all I heard before falling back into another sleep. I know not how long I slept but it felt like an eternity. Could this have been death? Swimming in complete darkness with no light to guide you anywhere, constantly wondering if you are swimming upwards or delving even deeper into this abyss. Creepy. Terrifying. The worst.

So, it went without a need to explain that it felt liberating when that illusion shattered with the sound of an explosion. However, I returned to feeling terrified as the screams and explosion weren't expiring anytime soon. It was hot, my nose picked up the smell of smoke, and I was constantly on edge.

When the sounds finally ended, I heard two loud bangs and the howling of a wolf. At that moment, I couldnt remember the wolf mother that gave birth to me.

After snapping back to reality, the memories surged back to me. That was when that appeared.

A rather large being. I would guess around the size of a medium-sized dog like a husky or doberman. This lizard was covered in black scales, adorned on its head were two glistening horns and on its back were scaly wings that had interesting markings on the webbings. An imposing western-style dragon with giant fangs growing from her jaw.

I was no larger than its scale-armored feet in my current situation. How could I not be fearful?

This, however, faded when it spoke and asked me if I was Japanese. The next moment, it mentioned that it was a Reincarnator, who died on earth and that my situation wasnt any different.

I was confused. I had questions. I needed answers. When I learned how to speak through our minds, I was given the chance to question this being. Where am I? How did I end up here? Is this a dream? Who are you?

So many questions that I had to save up for later when the dragon fell asleep next to me. Before it did, a bowl filled with meat suddenly appeared out of thin air, and the earth magically moved to construct an igloo made from earth. Even the blazing fire that suddenly torched was nothing but magical.

I had to wait. I had nowhere to escape after all. All I could hope in this situation was that the dragon wouldnt suddenly wake up and try to eat me. It was scary. Just, I had no chance to feel any fear because my hunger compelled me to devour as much food as I could.

Itadikimasu.

With a satisfied stomach, I also fell victim to drowsiness. When I woke up, the sun was already shining pretty high in the sky. The next thing I saw were the eyes of the dragon.

[Good morning, Ms. Segawa.]

It politely said.

[Good morninguhh.]

I havent asked her name yet. How embarrassing

[You can just call me Miss or whatever you think is appropriate.]

[However, is it not rude to simply call you Miss? I would like to learn your name.]

It would make me uncomfortable if I couldnt learn the name of the person Im talking to. Miss Dragon began fidgeting when I inquired, uttering Ohh and Uhh without seeming to know what to say.

The many scales and bone plates covering her face made her very expressive; it made her emotions quite clear. They were moving around erratically as she continued to order her thoughts. I found it oddly adorable.

[You see. Compared to you, I cant really remember my name. Neither can my memories nor the Profile tell me who I am.]

[That was rude of me.] Recognizing my mistake, I apologized to her for asking it.

[Its ok. Asking for my name is natural, after all. I still have my memories when I was a human, though, so it isnt that bad.]

[I see]

[Oh, right. Did you enjoy your meal? I saw that the bowl was half empty, so I wasn't sure if it was enjoyable.]

I gave my thanks for the food and told her that the meat was well seasoned. My only complains came from the fact that it was lacking salt; a fact that she fully admitted due to not being able to find it in this forest.

I wanted to be a bit more reserved, but I guess my pride as a home cook showed a bit. Miss Dragon seems to have understood what I meant with it and seems slightly regretful.

It might be better to not talk about this topic for now.

[You mentioned a forest?]

[Uhh yeah, we are currently in a forest called the Belzac Forest. That reminded me. You had questions, right? I think this would be a good place to start the Q&A, so dont be reserved. Ill try to answer anything I can.]

[Thank you very much.]

And so, I asked. I must admit I wasn't able to accept most of the answers I got, so I had to question her again to make sure she wasn't mixing anything up. I recognized that she was feeling a bit annoyed by being asked a second or third time, but I appreciate her ability to calmly answer everything I wanted to know, despite that.

Naturally, I can relate to this considering my profession.

I learned quite a lot about my current situation. I died and was reincarnated as a warg, a monster wolf.

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That this world possesses a game-like system that influences power and physic with numbers and skills. How mana and magic is not a fantasy but a reality in this world, and how destructive this can be for the world and yourself.

Frankly, I couldn't understand all of it.

This was too much information, and she also delved a bit too much into the details of each of my questions, which caused me to enter into my "teacher mode" and lecture her about the importance of explaining information concisely, to avoid confusing the questioner. I definitely heard her mumble But I'm supposed to explain stuff, which made me feel a bit guilty.

Gods, does this mean I really am dead? How did I die? Why did I die back then? I-I cant just accept this. What about my life back then? My students? My mother? What is my mother doing right now?!

I couldnt ask her this. She wont have the answers for any of them.

Having answered all my questions, she stood up and requested me to follow her, which prompted me to ask, To where?.

[Somewhere away from this area.]

It was an extremely vague answer. She added that she only needed one more level to evolve and that she had to hurry. Leaving aside that I had no idea what she meant with evolve, I instead was reminded about what she said about this forest.

[Isnt this forest supposedly dangerous?] I argued in protest. [You cant possibly want to drag me through it?]

["Yes, I am. You really don't have a choice in this. If I leave without you, you will have to fend for yourself. I can defend and support you if you come with me. Besides, wouldn't it be logical to travel together?]

Urgh, isnt she imposing a rather harsh ultimatum? However, she does have a point

[Come on, it beats being alone, right?]

I reluctantly agreed. She was right. I have no idea what this world is. If this forest was filled with dangerous and kill or be killed monster-like animals, then I guess joining up with someone that can communicate and protect me would be for the best.

Due to not being used to my four legs yet, I was now riding on Miss Dragons back.

[Ow, please be careful when you are on my back.]

[Oh, I apologize. Did I hurt you?]

She bitterly told me that her left wing hasnt healed up properly, that her healing magic wasnt able to cure it.

["So, magic even has that sort of limitation. That takes away what makes magic, well, magical."]

[Tell me about it.]

Upon descending the nest, Miss Dragon moved towards the corpse of a wolf, which I presume is a relative of mine.

[Who is this?]

[You dont recognize her? Shes your mother. The person I fought on the night I met you.]

Well, I only saw her for a few seconds before falling back into sleep. I still havent even registered that she was my mother, to begin with. I asked if this was the cause of her wound.

[She stomped meI had no chance at all. She once again made me realize how weak and insignificant I am"]

With down casted eyes, she answered. Her face began to grimace, and her voice started to waver the more she spoke.

[Uh, are-are you ok?]

[Oh, oh! Sorry, Im ok. Do you want me to bury her?]

What a weird question.

[Why are you asking me?]

[Well, she is your current mother, right?]

[We only met for a few seconds. I dont have any bonds with her. I only have one mother and she will be the only one I will consider my true mother.]

[I seeYou seem to love your mother. Doyou miss her?]

[Do you miss your mother?]

[ISorry, I shouldnt have asked. Ill just bury her then.]

That was a bad move. Shes been living in this world for far longer than I am. If I already feel terrible, then what could she be feeling right now?

For me, my mother was my everything. My last family member and also the person that I worked so tirelessly for, so that we could enjoy a better life. I should not have been the one to die first; is it not already unfair enough for her? First losing fatherand now me.

I need to keep my cool.

After burying the wolf, she continued to do so for the other members of the pack, which includes my wolf siblings and father. I don't believe I am callous to think this, but I felt nothing when I saw their dead body. To be honest, I felt repulsed by the sight of the dead body itself. I felt no kinship towards them.

The burned smell of hair and meat was still surrounding this burned down area of the forest. First, it was a field of skeletons and now a forest of charcoal trees. What sort of battle did she participate in?

A few days have passed since then. Miss Dragon has been diligently taking care of me during these past days. She went hunting and cooked up all the meat, so I could eat. I didn't really like receiving food for free like this, and I wanted to help her out somewhat to not be considered a burden. I was feeling frustrated due to my weak body not being able to do anything.

I heard your body and stats can increase through normal training and practice. I dont know if I did it purely for altruistic reasons or if I only did it to escape from reality, but I made up my mind to mimic her daily training regimen.

Honestly, thinking of these problems was the only way for me to rid myself of this lingering dissatisfaction of how my life ended.

I made a promise to my mother and I broke it. I didnt want to accept this reality but the guilt for failing my mother caused a turmoil inside me. Miss Dragons little bits of kindness prevented me from losing my sanity and I slowly digested everything.

Another few days past and then that happened.

[You need to kill it.]

[Wh-What?!]

Miss Dragon told me to do something preposterous.

[You need to kill it. As a monster, you need to kill. You cant expect to grow fast enough with training alone, as monsters grow fast by leveling up and evolving into new forms.]

[]

[I know it might be daunting at first, but you will feel much better after you get a taste of leveling. This thing is completely paralyzed from the venom, so you only need to stab or bite its throat.]

Recently, she has been collecting poison and venom from monsters and plants, alike. She mentioned that my wolf mother used a venomous concoction, which she made herself to gain an advantage in the fight they fought.

As she personally was on the receiving end of that tactic, she replicated and made that idea her own, with great success.

[Are you ok, Segawa-san?]

[You can just call me Ms. Segawa, Miss Dragon. I am not very picky about which language we address ourselves.]

Funnily enough, the Japanese and English honorifics werent translated to our preferred languages. To test this, Miss Dragon called me Saori-chan suffice to say that it proved the theory.

[Urghwhat did you do when you made up your mind to kill your first living being?"]

Having finished that little memory, I hesitantly asked Miss Dragon what matters now.

[Survival and curiosity. I was running out of available food back then, so it was pretty easy to decide on it. Being a dragon probably helped too. I was also curious about what would happen when I killed something. I knew the concept of leveling from video games, which I want to experience it myself.]

[Any tips?]

[All I can say, is to turn off your sympathetic part of your emotions and just do it. I cant tell you anymore. Killing is not something you can fully prepare for. The feeling of ending somebody elses life disgusted me back then, and I tried to get used to it as soon as possible. I guess I have gotten used to it quite a bit, considering the guilt has lessened, but I don think I can fully forget the first month I spent in this world...]

Miss Dragon shivered for a second, as she told me this.

The first month she spent in this life, huh?

Dying. Being dragged into a foreign world. Reborn into something completely non-human and then being forced to kill to survive. She has done her best to adapt to this world in the few months that she has spent in it.

[Experience it and just let your emotions go. Whatever you feel, just let it all out. You will feel better that way.]

[Ok.]

Swallowing my spit, I prepared my stomach and mind to do the deed. This isn't a dream anymore. I need to be able to kill if I want to eat. I can't let Miss Dragon continue doing all the work.

[You can do it, Ms. Segawa.]

Ok, I can do itI can do it. I just need to stab my claws into the throat of this monster. This kobold thing. This humanoid dog person. One stab and it bleeds out and its done. It will all end just like that.

[Do you still need a second?]

[I]

["It's ok. It's hard. There is no need to push yourself if you can't do it today."]

Miss Dragon moved my frozen body aside and slit the kobolds throat herself, decisively. She then held the kobolds corpse upside down, causing a river of blood to stream down, slowly creating a red puddle.

[There its done. Ill prepare our dinner for toni]

Mrmmmph! Urrrrrghhhhhhh!

["Scheie! Are you ok? Is your stomach not feeling well? Here, let me help you. Cure.]

[UrghThank you.]

Even without doing the deed, I guess both my mind and stomach were too heavily prepared to not do it. The taste of my own vomit is terrible

Well, I guess you could call this my introduction to this world. On the next day, I was able to kill my first [Belzac Forest Kobold] with the help of Miss Dragon.

Experience has reached multiple breaking points. [Young Warg, Saori Segawa] has risen from [Level 0] to [Level 11]

Attributes have increased due to level up

Acquired 1200 skill points

What she said was correct. This feeling of leveling up is amazing. Absolutely invigorating. If I remember correctly, I will require four more levels to evolve into an E rank monster. An easy task with her around.

With my feeling of accomplishment slowly fading, Miss Dragon started her lecture on the skill system. As I need to fully understand how it works this time, that meant that I need a detailed version of it. I could see that she was happy to finally share her knowledge. This enthusiasm was another cute trait of hers.

Under her instructions, I bought the skills she found to be the most usable in this situation. During this process, we learned that due to her title [Bearer of Kargryxmors Blood] the SP cost of skills was discounted on her side. A skill like [Enhanced Agility Growth] would cost 150 for her, while I would need to pay 300 SP for it. It wasnt even restricted to a simple 50% discount; it could range from 70% to any other number. I cannot express out envious this makes me.

Damn!

Regardless, I could only sigh and buy it anyways.

You have bought [Enhanced Mana Growth Lv. 1] [Enhanced Strength Growth Lv. 1] [Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 1] [Enhanced Stamina Growth Lv. 1]. Your current SP is 0

Once we were done, Miss Dragon asked if I was fine, mentally, and if I wished to kill another. Having just done it, I agreed to her suggestion, under the expectation that I will be able to experience this evolution today. Treating these monsters like monsters, made this process so much easier.

Feeling that I owe her for treating me this generously, I thanked Miss Dragon before we departed to search. Bowing with my new wolf body, I expressed my appreciation for all the things she has done for me in these past days.

[Huh? Oh, you dont have to bow. I was happy to help.]

["No. Please accept my gratitude. Taking care of me must have been nothing but trouble, but you have been very kind and patient with me. I cannot imagine surviving in this forest if it weren't for you helping me."]

[He he hie, its really nothing to mention, I personally enjoyed the company. A-Admittedly, your wolf mother asked me to help you, so I think Im helping you more cause of that obligation instead of any good intentions]

Eh? That was weird. She acted quite elated at the start but then deflected her intentions to something else. This bashfulness reminds me of something my students mentioned, hmm. Was it Tsundere?

[Dont be so modest. Fulfilling that obligation already shows that you are altruistic.]

[He hethank you.]

Interestingher fidgeting would make this very endearing were it not for the fact that her smile makes her very scary looking.

Experience has reached multiple breaking points. [Young Warg, Saori Segawa] has risen from [Level 11] to [Level 15]

Attributes have increased due to level up

Max level has been reached. Evolution is now available for [Young Warg, Saori Segawa]

After our little talk, we wandered around in the forest until the afternoon, where we finally found something suitable for me to kill. This was my second kill. My stomach gurgled a bit, but I kept myself from vomiting.

Anyways, with this, I have reached the maximum level for my rank. Evolution. What will it feel like?

Evolution

[Young Garm]

[I only have one option. Its called [Young Garm]]

[Well, that makes your choice easy. You just need to confirm with System Voice that you have made your choice and the process will start.]

Alright. System Voice I wish to evolve into a [Young Garm].

Will you choose to evolve into [Young Garm]?

Hai.

Evolution choice decided. Commencing evolution of [Young Warg, Saori Segawa]

Woah, how warm.

And then I lost consciousness.

*******************

[Ms. Segawa?]

[Good morning, Miss Dragon. How long did I sleep?]

Fully refreshed, I stood up and inspect myself before asking a question.

[Its already noon of the next day. How are you feeling?]

[Honestly, great.]

It was incredible. I was only a small newborn warg a few days ago, but Ive grown up to become as tall as a Shiba Inu over a single night.

I couldnt wait to see my new status board.

Profile.

Saori's Status Board

Profile:

Name: Saori Segawa

Level: 0

Race: Young Garm

Age: 0 Month

Status:

Health: 309/309 (+259) Mana: 156/156 (+141) Strength: 211 (+181) Intelligence: 52 (+42) Vitality: 128 (+113) Wisdom: 119 (+104) Agility: 265 (+230) Stamina: 287/287 (+247) Effects: None Skill Points: 700 (+700) Skill:

[Primal Senses]

[Enhanced Claws Lv. 2] (+1)

[Enhanced Fangs Lv. 1]

[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv. 1] (New)

[Enhanced Strength Growth Lv. 1] (New)

[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 2] (New)

[Enhanced Stamina Growth Lv. 1] (New)

[Telepathy]

Titles: [Belzacs Successor] [Otherworldly Reincarnator]

Hopefully, I can hold my own now.

You have bought [Enhanced Health Growth Lv. 1] [Enhanced Vitality Growth Lv. 1] [Identify Lv. 1]. Your current SP is 0