I spent a long time just telling my dad about my life, all the fun parts and some not-so-fun parts as well. Since I reincarnated, I never thought so much about home like I was thinking. It made me cry some more. My dad just comforted me during this.

  “It seems like not even another universe can change her,” he said, looking fondly at the tree. He must have noticed my confused face, because a moment later, he explained.

  “The tree you see in front of you is just what was necessary to give birth to you,” he explained as he looked at the tree with a gentle smile. “It was something we both agreed upon a very, very long time ago. But that is a story for another time.”

  He left my side, walked in front of me, and sat down. “Give me your hand for a moment,” he said.

  I raised my right hand. He grabbed it and gently turned it so my palm would be pointed upwards. I felt a faint energy all around my body condense into my wrist. Suddenly, three energy intermingling rings, one dark blue, one green, and one golden, shot out of my body and spun lazily around it. I immediately recognized it as the gift my dad had given me for my birthday.

  “I see,” he said. “Clever application of divinity. Protecting your soul from the reincarnation process and making sure it would give you at least a unique skill.”

  “What?” I asked, not following him.

  “I assume I gave you a gift before the ritual took effect?” He asked.

  “Yeah. You gave me a bracelet, and you said it was older than the country itself. You insisted I use it the whole day, even at school.”

  “I see,” He said. “By the way, how many people were there in your class?”

  “Twenty people, why?”

  He just nodded but didn’t elaborate. He placed a claw on the rings, and they unraveled, turning into strings that wrapped themselves over one another, forming into a strange symbol before sinking into my body once again, creating the same pattern over the scales on my wrist.

  “There,” he said, pulling his hands away. “This will allow you to teleport directly to the entrance and act as a key to almost any door in the palace.”

  I looked at the symbol and passed a finger over it. It was like a tattoo, but I knew that if I lost those scales, it would reform over the newer ones.

  I looked over at him and, without much thinking, jumped at him, wrapping my arms in a tight hug. I knew he wasn’t exactly the same person I knew before all of this happened, but he was still my dad, even if my entire life was still in his future.

  It sounds a bit strange, but knowing that my parents literally moved universes just to have me filled the dark part of my mind that kept placing doubts about their love for what I had become. I felt truly happy, something I hadn’t felt since coming here.

  I was caught by surprise. I didn’t think I would level up like that. I still didn’t know how it worked exactly, but I wouldn’t complain.

  “Is something the matter?” My dad asked me, probably sensing my reaction to it.

  “I just leveled up,” I answered.

  “That’s a good thing,” he said.

  “But not only that,” I continued. “I can evolve again.”

  My dad’s face came to be in front of me, and with me hugging him tightly meant he moved it back so much it was a funny sight if one saw it from outside. He was surprised at my statement

  “You can still evolve?” He asked. “Did you hatch as a complete dragon?”

  “Ehm,” I was a bit confused by his reaction. “I was a White Dragon when I hatched.”

  “So, you evolved once, already,” he said, more of a question than a statement, and when I nodded, he was more confused. “So you already used some of the energy from [Passive Growth], it shouldn’t be possible to evolve with it less than 100%.”

  “But mine is,” I said after a quick check on my skill list. That made my dad hold me by my shoulders.

  “Did any of the Gods do it?” He asked, but when I shook my head, he continued. “That skill is something that every dragon from this universe has when they’re born. It contains a small quantity of Mana, and once it’s used, it’s gone forever. Only the Gods can give it more as they see fit.”

  I was about to say something, but he interrupted me. “If you really managed to gain more Mana somehow, do not, and I repeat, do not speak about it to any other dragon. Don’t even hint at it. There are dragons that would burn whole solar systems just to gain a percent of that skill back. Do you understand me?”

  I nodded. I had a theory on how I had managed to fill the skill again, but now I wasn’t so certain. I know it happened around the time I got trapped inside that dungeon where time almost broke, but I wasn’t sure when it happened. It could have been one of the Gods as well, but now I wasn’t sure.

  Not to mention that it is somehow called Mana? Wasn’t Mana supposed to be what fuelled magic and not magicules? What is the difference? Unfortunately, I couldn’t use [Knowledge Library] because it was still downloading whatever language it was, probably draconic if you think about it.

  “That would explain the obfuscation,” I hear him mumble.

  “Now, Lilith will accompany you to one of our evolution rooms so you can think about your choice in peace.” He said as he patted my head once more and got up.

  The doors to where we were opened up, and Lilith walked in. She stopped in front of my dad and bowed.

  “Lead Denaru here to an evolution room,” he said with a commanding voice I only ever heard once in my life, when some people tried to take advantage of us when we were at a park. “Did he have any contact with any other dragon at the palace?”

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  “Only the dragonlings from the hatch 12.011-C,” Lilith answered.

  “Then bring them here,” My dad said. Lilith bowed and gestured for me to follow her.

  We left the room and entered the same teleportation room as before. Lilith used the control panel, and we were at yet another part of the palace, this one made with white marble.

  As we left the teleportation room, I saw some people pushing carts that I could tell had food because of the smell drifting from them. Like the other workers I saw, they were using a uniform, but with a white color.

  Lilith walked me to a room that had basically nothing but some very cushy-looking, yet very small, pillows, another waterfall at the side, and a crystal button on the wall.

  “I am not sure why the Dragon King has asked me to take you to one evolution room,” Lilith started speaking. “But these rooms are usually for white dragons passing through their own evolutions. There is a bath, some comfort pillows, and, if you are hungry, press the crystal on the wall and someone will bring the food to you.

  “This will be your only warning,” she said, looking at me with an intent look. “Do not eat the workers.”

  I just nodded at her. I wasn’t going to eat anyone, but something tells me this warning is not unfounded. Poor worker, or workers, before this rule was made.

  Lilith then made a very small bow and walked out, the doors closing behind her without a sound.

  “Alone yet again,” I said out loud, moving and lying on the floor with my head on the pillows. “Oh wow, they’re very comfortable. Henry’s bed is left in the dust.”

  The first bed I had ever slept on in this world was the bed of a noble’s child, Henry, though I totally forgot what family he was and what kind of noble they were. What was important was that I hadn’t slept anywhere as comfortably as that bed, until now. Such a shame it’s only enough for my head and not…

  I triggered [Genetic Dysphoria], and after a moment, I had the necessary size for it by simply transforming back into a white dragon. Something I did notice was that the mild discomfort whenever I changed into another species was also present.

  I lay on the pillow and pulled the evolution options.

  Huh. Looking at it again, I could swear I had already seen the last three options. Only the first two were new. Unfortunately, I couldn’t use [Knowledge Library] to see more information because it was still downloading.

  I would have to- I would have to- have to–

  I doze off on top of the pillow. All my stress melted away on top of it.

  After some time had passed, I was awakened by a headache that made me jump from the pillow. It lasted a few moments and was accompanied by a System announcement.

  I decided to look at my status.

  I quickly memorized my current status and checked to see if [Knowledge Library] had finished. After confirming it was, I quickly passed all the options through it.

  [The Dimensional Dragon is a paradox given form, a being that exists both within and beyond reality. Its body exists between the planes of existence, one moment tangible and the next little more than a ripple in space. Capable of traversing not only space and time, but the folds in reality, vanishing into dimensions that aren’t normally accessible.]

  [The Time Dragon is a being forged from the endless flow of time itself. Its form shimmers like a mirage composed of endless layers of possibility that loops upon itself. It shed its mortal form and has fused with time itself. Transformed into solid time, it cannot enter the temporal stream, for its very essence defies causality. From outside of time, it watches the endless passing of time.]

  [The Arcane Dragon is a being of pure mysticism, its very existence intertwined with the essence of magic itself. Its scales are inscribed with ever-shifting runes of unknown origin, their meaning lost to time and comprehension. It is said that all magic bends before an Arcane Dragon, as if the very laws that govern the flow of magicules recognize them as their rightful master.]

  [The Fire Dragon is a creature of heat and destruction. Its scales glow like molten rock, radiating intense warmth, while wisps of smoke often rise from its body. Fire Dragons have complete control over flames, able to breathe searing infernos or ignite the very air around them.

  [The Water Dragon moves with fluid grace, its body covered in smooth, reflective scales that shimmer like the ocean’s surface. Highly adaptable, it thrives in lakes, rivers, and even deep-sea trenches. Water Dragons can manipulate water at will, shaping tides, summoning rain, or creating powerful currents.]

  I carefully read each option. Immediately, I discarded the fire and water options. While they are the most basic species of dragons I can think of, there are better options to choose from.

  The second one I discarded was the Time Dragon. While it feels like an upgrade to my current species, an Ouroboros Dragon, it comes with the downside of being unable to enter the time stream. I would be stranded outside of time, forever bound to a mere observer.

  Yeah, no. I’d like to interact with people, you know?... Not that I did a lot of socializing since being born here, but I wanted to change that. Besides, spending eternity just watching and not being able to interact with anyone else? I’m sure my mind would slip away at some point. Though I probably think the God of Time would be open to chat, maybe?

  That left the Arcane Dragon and the Dimensional Dragon.

  To be honest, the Arcane option is very tempting. Being able to control magic itself would be cool. But something in the back of my mind tells me I would need to use the magic system they use to actually do magic. I much prefer my version, with my [Unique] skill and all, so that is also out.

  The winner, by process of elimination, is the Dimensional Dragon, then. It doesn’t sound bad, and apparently, it keeps the trend I’m having of using [Temporal Manipulation] and [Spatial Manipulation]... thinking about it. Aren’t all the options based on what I do?

  Dimensional is space and time; Time is time, obviously; Arcane is magic, which I do a lot; Fire is from all the fire spells I’ve done, and water is from all the water spells I’ve done. Huh. I think I understand how this evolution thing works, at least a little.

  With a parallel thought process, doing all that nonsense thinking, I mentally select the first option, Dimensional Dragon.

  A huge wave os fatigue washed over me, and I was out cold before I even knew it.