Chapter 8 - [Bonding]

While both Dawn and Emilia were unaware about the deaths that had happened due to the mass teleportantion and changing of multiple humans around the planet, they were having a nice time walking around the crimson forest.

They were walking at a forest that had a lot of fireflies, making it brighter at night, the forest was crimson red and there were some wildlife on the branch of the tree's, weird crow like creatures with 4 eyes. But overall, Emilia really liked this forest, it was pleasing for her eyes.

"Look Chrono! Aura Roots!" Dawn pointed at the vines that were moving on the ground, they were 4 centimeters thick.

"Those moving roots are a little unsettling." Emilia glared at the roots and felt danger from them, her instincts were very sharp as a dragon and could distinguish what was dangerous and what not.

"Yeah, they grow and impale people who step on them, but if you do this.." Dawn takes out her short sword and imbues it with her aura stabbing the root deeply with her aura. Once the root stopped moving, Dawn carefully lifted it up, there was a blue gem underneath it.

"Phew, usually there are those below the Aura Roots, they appear due to the Aura Roots leaking aura and over time they become this blue gem! They are good for people who did create an Aura Vessel and are seeking to progress to the next stage." Dawn imparted knowledge to Emilia happily, Dawn slowly grabbed the gem together with the Aura Roots.

"The Aura Roots can also be used to treat sick people and injured people, there is liquid aura in them." Dawn said while ripping apart the Aura Root, small drops of black liquid drips down. "Aura Roots are also good for those at Elemental Awakening stage, helping those who have a bad Aura Vessel by strenghtening them. It can also be used to do the rebirth ritual, though for that you would need a forest worth of that liquid." Emilia nodded her head, she was like a nice student listening to a teacher.

"What does that rebirth ritual do? Revive people?" Emilia question made Dawn laught.

"Pfhahaha!"

"H-hey! Stop laughing!" Dawn looked at Emilia puffed cheeks, she looked like a harmless dragon. If dragons werent born with enought power to burn down a mountain that is.

After some seconds, Dawn regained her posture, "S-sorry, it was just funny." Dawn was still snickering slightly while recalling such naive question.

Emilia sighed and asked once again, "..So what does it do?"

"Reroll potential, That ritual has a high chance of failure, but if it works, you will get to reroll your potential. That is where the name comes, it is basically a rebirth for people that have bad potential with Aura arts." Dawn said wisely, Emilia was surprised by how many uses those Aura Roots have.

They kept on walking while Dawn taught Emilia about the various uses of the Aura Roots, the leaves on the tree's and even the wood! The wood could be used to create a potion that could help grow back limbs over time! How amazing was that? While they were walking carefully to not step into any Aura Root, Emilia decided to ask a question that was bothering her for a while, "Do you know humans?"

Dawn tilted her head, she had never heard of that term before and asked, "Huh? What are humans? Do they look like kobolds?"

"They are like.. Uh, it's quite hard to describe them now that i think about it.." Emilia never thought that she would need to describe a human.

"Are they nice?" Dawn asked with shining eyes, the thought of meeting something new really amazed her.

"Well some of them.."

"Are they good swordsmen?" Dawn eyes were shining even more, she probably was thinking of fighting a mythical creature.

"S-some of them.." Getting drowned with Dawn's question Emilia was helpless and kept answering, after 5 minutes Dawn stopped asking question and seemed to be thinking.

*Yawn*

A yawn subconsciently escaped Emilia mouth, Dawn could also see that she was visibly tired as she didnt get enough sleep.

"Do you want to stop here for today Chrono?" Dawn asked with a friendly tone. Both of them were getting along really well.

"No, it's fine. I dont want to slow you down." Emilia was visibly tired, Dawn shook her head and stopped walking.

"We can rest here." Dawn said while doing a quick look around.

"No, it really is fine i can-" Emilia was interupted by a boop on her nose.

"Did you just.." Emilia thought about the audacity this kobold had, her body was urging for her to punish Dawn but, as any past reasonable human, she let it go.

"I just saw an oportunity~ Now stop trying to push yourself, a tired mind isnt any good on a forest like this. Plus look at the full moon, tonight is a perfect night to sleep!" Dawn lightly petted Emilia, Dawn had figured that Emilia liked to get some head pats, wich was quite odd for a dragon but she didnt question it.

After a few minutes Emilia was slowly giving up to her tired mind, so Dawn started to take care of the Aura Roots around them while Emilia was looking around. The whole situation of becoming a dragon, fighting weird creatures and testing her magic made her tired and also question reality, 'how can this whole situation happen? Does it have any explanation?' Emilia shook her head, thinking of such things wont help her now and might just give her a headache.

Emilia decided to take a last look around, she could see hundreds of trees, the fireflies were going here and there.. It was then, about 260 meters ahead, Emilia could see.. Goblins?

"Dawn, is there small little green creatures around here?" Emilia described goblins, as she did not know if her perfect dragon vision was wrong.

"Goblins? No, they usually stay on Green Forests wich have no danger, an Aura Forest like this one shouldnt have those." Dawn said, getting rid of the final Roots. They have now a 15 meters safe zone!

"Well, i see some there." Emilia pointed toward the direction where she saw the goblins, but Dawn doesnt have a perfect sight. If anything her eyesight was only slightly better than one of a human.

".. You are worrying too much. There is no way a group of goblins would be in an Aura Forest. Even if there were, i wouldnt be able to seem them because of the trees in the way." Dawn had no way of seeing that far so she couldnt confirm anything. She also thought that Emilia was seeing things because she was tired.

'Perhaps i am worrying too much? I am seeing things because im tired?' Emilia laid down and rested her head at the soft grass, cuddling into a comfortable position, just laying down as humans did made her limbs go numb so she figured this was the best way to go to sleep.

Dawn petted Emilia as she slowly dozed off to the dream land. "Isnt she cute? I thought that dragons usually went around bringing destruction, but she is doing the exact oposite.." Dawn grabbed a small, old and dirt notebook from her small bag that is around her hilt, the bag seems to have way more space than it looks, Dawn stores all the blue gems in the bag and takes out a small flask out of it and puts the old book on the ground, she drains the black liquid from each root she had taken into the flask and then stores back at her bag only then she grabs somethings that resembles a pencil.

Dawn grabs the book back from the ground and starts to draw a dragon similar to Emilia together with her strange patterns around her body, 'When the patterns shine, the aura in a small area seems to become more pure and refined, wich also increase the growth rate of plants and probably provides a low regenerative effect as some plants that seemed death had gotten back up after being her for a few seconds. Stronger than a Full Aura swordsmen.. A nice friend.' Once she was done drawing and adding the description, 47 minutes have passed.

'I dont know what make those paterns glow or why do they purify aura, i only know that hey do. When i was close to her and those weird patterns glew yellow, i felt myself getting stronger aswell. Though her patterns now are yellow they dont shine as before and the aura isnt being purified.' Dawn had a hobby of drawing those she saw or met and describing them. It was a way to remember people aswell since she was already over 200 years old.

After she felt satisfied with what she had drawn and written, Dawn starts to flip through the book pages, it seems to have drawings of multiple creatures such as, kobolds, dragonfolks, earth spirits, elfs, dwarfes, a group of skeletons, ogres, trolls, goblins, a lich, shroom people, hydras, a giant slug, a giant flying beast that had 8 wings with a city on it's back and more.. All but humans were present. "Perhaps they are a divine race?"

Dawn closes her small notebook and stores it back to her bag together with her pencil, and finally she lay down on the ground close to Emilia.

'Tomorrow we will be able to reach Tainzer Planices.' Dawn slowly manages to sleep, but, they wont be sleeping for long..