The unicorn turned around, "I understand," He said, "Soon, my people will reach Alina,"
Zephyr waved her hand, "Don't forget like last time, I need them this time,"
"Who is that?" Arad asked, "It's clear you know him,"
"That Boarrak, a two thousand years old unicorn." Zephyr said, "Don't let his look deceive you. He's a bloodthirsty monster. His main ability is the divine step. When he takes a step, his hooves land where his sight ends."
"No, he moves in a rainbow of light," Zephyr sighed, "That's an ability he got when Luminance used him as a mount for decades."
"He moves? That's sheer speed? And who's Luminance?"
"She's a magic dragon like you, a prismatic light dragon." Zephyr stared at Arad, "Magic dragons are far stronger than the rest of dragon kind due to their attunement to powerful elements. She controls light and moves with it."
"You mean this?" Arad waved his claw in the air, "I can't catch it. She controls the light?"
Zephyr nodded, "And she's fast as hell," She pointed at the sky, "It's not dark yet, but do you know the moon?"
"She went there and returned in the blink of an eye." Zephyr shivered, "I talked to her several times, and she told me about something she discovered,"
"The damage a punch does depends on the arm weight and the speed it's moving at. She tried it once in the abyss, and now a continent-sized land had disappeared." Zephyr sighed, "Mana speed is one-thousandth of the speed of light. Meaning that she could outrun mana. Do you know what that means?"
Arad scratched his head, "Teleportation happens at the max speed of mana. That means she is one thousand times faster than literal teleportation magic?"
"She's the fastest being I ever saw," Zephyr nodded, "But she's the only light dragon I saw. So I won't know,"
As Arad sat there, a memory came to his mind. "Is she the glowy bath woman that you had her mirror in Aella's house?"
"You're right, that's her. She sells those and more magic items to fill her hoard."
"Do you think I can do the same?"
"Even with magic knowledge, it still takes a lot of effort and time to make magic items. They are expensive for a reason." Zephyr flew from Arad's head and headed back to Aella.
Arad looked around at the barbarians preparing for the night, ^I'm still a young magic dragon. Should I focus on aging faster or should I focus on honing my skills? Aging rapidly shouldn't decrease my life span as I don't have one... But I could grow into a weak adult if I rushed it,^
[You're far stronger than most young void dragons. Take your time. Leave the older dragons until you reach their age.]
^You know,^ Arad thought, ^Let's rush to adulthood so I get my class skills, then I will start focusing on leveling up.^
[That should be possible. The most prevalent magic dragons are the void, time, and light dragons. Void dragons are dangerous because they can delete matter from existence. Light dragons for their speed, and time dragons since they can freely move through time.]
^I don't intend on fighting them, and I won't be able to meet any void dragon in the near future.^
[I can hear it in your head. Magic dragons keep to themselves most of the time. They won't bother you if you don't bother them. Don't start unnecessary fights, and focus on growing stronger.]
"I know," Arad sighed, going to sleep as everyone else formed the camp around him.
The trip back home took seven uneventful days, and Arad took that time to hone his barrier magic further.
Upon arriving at Alina, it already started snowing.
Arad shifted back to his humanoid form as the barbarians started unpacking at the mountain foot.
"More people?" Mira approached them, "Don't tell me we have to house those as well. I barely managed to get a dorm for the villages before it got too cold to work." She said, standing beside him, wearing a thick leather jacket.
"Yeah," Arad scratched his head, "Nina said they would be fine, but I don't feel like letting them camp,"
The barbarians never build anything more complicated than basic camps and tents made of monster hides. They never lived in homes, so spending the winter was normal for them.
"ARAD!" Gojo called, appearing out of nowhere in the forest. "I heard you're back,"
Arad turned toward him, "Heard? You felt me here and came to take a look,"
Gojo laughed, scratching his head. "You can tell?"
"Of course," Arad looked at him for a moment. Feeling that something was off. "Your scales are different, aren't they?"
"Thought you won't notice." Gojo smiled.
"You really did age. A mature adult dragon," To the average person, Gojo didn't seem that different, but Arad could feel and sense it. The infinitely growing void inside his brother.
"I'm still learning how to control it, but I'm much stronger now," Gojo smiled, "But I didn't come here to brag. I was waiting for you."
"No, I wanted to tell you that I'm leaving for the north with Lucy, Gug, and Liliana. I'm already too old to not have a domain to rule,"
"You were keeping your hoard inside your stomach this time, didn't you?"
"You're right, and that can't remain the case." Gojo smiled, "I will visit when I have time. You're also welcome to come."
"I still haven't tried using the void to accelerate my evolution," Arad looked at Gojo, "Won't you help me?"
"From what I can see, you still have some time before evolving. You can come visit me then. I'm not that far away from dragons," Gojo waved his hand, teleporting away.
"And he left," Arad looked around and then back at Mira, "Did anything happen when I wasn't here?"
"I heard that Merlin is going crazy over her heater. There were rumors of some strange monsters popping out on the eastern border with the tiefling kingdom. And Roberta has been making wagons of money with Sara after you opened the capital for them to trade." Mira explained what should could remember off the top of her head.
Crossing his arms, Arad thought. ^What should I do first...^