I Reincarnated As A Dragon With A Devourer System

The forest fell silent; Noir’s request took the half-human aback; it seemed she had expected anything but that.

But the young dragon remembered his manners and hadn’t asked her name yet.

"Before you answer me, what’s your name?"

The half-human was even more taken aback; she tried to move, opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, and let out nothing but a long, resigned sigh.

"My name is Arlene."

Noir nodded, committing it to memory, but he had something more important on his mind—something that piqued his curiosity the most.

"I don’t understand your magic; it’s different from human magic. It looks the same, but it isn’t."

Arlene opened her eyes slightly.

"Do you know... human magic?"

The young dragon nodded.

"I only know the basics of human magic, but even though they seem the same, they are different."

The statement made Arlene forget her fear for a moment.

"...You noticed them?"

The young dragon slowly raised a claw.

"Every time you cast a spell, the magic circle would completely transform."

He paused briefly as he recalled the runes, then continued.

"The human sorceress used very few runes."

Arlene took a deep breath.

"...The magic of half-humans is different."

"Different?" Noir looked up.

She nodded.

"We don’t use magic the same way humans do."

The young dragon stood motionless for a moment. Then he slowly shook his head.

"No."

"No?" Arlene blinked.

"It’s no different." Noir continued speaking calmly. "Everything that exists has a Concept; every Concept has a Word; and every Word contains power."

As he spoke, he recalled Chrysola’s calm voice echoing through the vast cave. Those words had been etched forever in his memory.

"True magic..."

Noir slowly raised a claw.

"...It happens when you understand a Word well enough for the world to hear you."

Arlene remained completely still.

As Noir looked at the young woman, a smile appeared on his face, and a human-shaped magic circle—which he had learned from Amanises—appeared in one of his claws.

"The foundation doesn’t change—only the path."

Arlene nodded as her surprise grew even more.

"You understand everything."

"Not entirely; that’s why I’m asking."

The young dragon took a step closer.

"My teacher used runes to convince the world. Each rune represented a fragment of meaning. By putting enough fragments together... the world understood the spell."

Arlene nodded slowly.

"That’s the human way. But you..."

His red eyes drifted down to the staff, recalling the magic circles she had used to attack him.

"You use many more. So many more—not because you’re stronger or because your magic is more powerful, but because they do something else."

Arlene slowly lowered her gaze to her hands. For the first time since she began listening to the young dragon, she let a small smile escape.

"Humans make the world understand their spell."

She slowly raised the staff; several runes began to appear around it and rearrange themselves.

"We do not write solely the way humans do."

A second layer of runes appeared around the first, then a third.

Noir watched closely as each group seemed to relate to the one before it. They weren’t repeating themselves; they were complementing one another.

"We half-humans write the connections."

Noir narrowed his eyes slightly, which piqued his curiosity even more, since it was so different from human magic. And that was exactly what he wanted!

"Connections?"

Arlene nodded.

"A flower doesn’t exist on its own; it grew from a root; the root sought water; the water nourished the earth; and the earth sustained life."

As she spoke, the runes continued to intertwine with one another.

"We don’t just describe the result; we describe how that result comes into being."

Noir’s eyes began to sparkle.

Now he understood. Humans convinced the world by showing it an answer. Half-humans showed it the entire line of reasoning.

"...Interesting," he muttered, almost to himself. "They don’t change anything; they change their approach so the world will listen to them."

Arlene’s smile widened a little.

"Exactly, that’s why our magic circles are never the same; each spell requires different relationships."

Noir remained completely still. He felt the same excitement he had felt when Amanises first told him about human magic.

He had discovered another branch of the same tree. And that could only mean one thing. He still had a great deal to learn about that world’s magic.

Noir remained completely still for several seconds; then he slowly raised a claw and rested it on his chin.

"..."

Arlene watched him warily.

"Is something wrong?"

The young dragon didn’t answer right away. His red eyes remained fixed on the ground as he sorted through all the thoughts that had just come to him.

’She knows this world.’

’She knows the magic of the half-humans.’

’She probably knows human magic much better than I do, too. And besides... she seems to know how towns, kingdoms, and adventurers work.’

The more he thought about it... after all, he had left the Magic Valley just a few days ago.

He knew nothing about human customs. He didn’t know anything about cities, and he didn’t even know how far away civilization was. He didn’t know so much.

"I’ve made up my mind."

Arlene gave a little jump.

"W-what did you decide?"

Noir lifted his head with a completely serious expression.

"You’ll teach me about this world."

"..."

Arlene blinked once, then again.

"...Huh?"

"I know almost nothing about the outside world."

Noir began to list them off with one of his claws.

"I don’t know anything about the kingdoms, the cities, the adventurers, the currencies, or the culture."

It lowered each of its claws one after another.

"So the conclusion is pretty simple. I need a guide."

Arlene was still completely frozen in place.

"You’ll do."

"..."

It took the half-human several seconds to react.

"...Will I do?"

"Yes."

Noir nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Arlene raised a hand.

"W-wait a minute! I can’t go traveling with a dragon."

"Why not?"

"Because you’re a dragon!"

"I don’t see the problem."

"That’s exactly the problem!"

Noir tilted his head slightly and smiled, clearly enjoying himself; now he understood why the golden sphere was doing this. Teasing others was a lot of fun. Maybe it’s something all living beings do.

And he continued,

"I don’t understand."

Arlene took a deep breath.

"If anyone sees you...! They’ll think I’m a dragon tamer."

"No, I think that’s possible; you just told me we’re extinct." Although Noir didn’t believe that statement—after all, he remembered Chrysola’s words.

"..."

"And besides, I don’t think he thinks I’m your pet."

"...Good point."

Arlene let out a small sigh of relief.

But the relief lasted only a moment. Noir raised a claw once more.

"Then we’ll take care of that problem."

"..."

"How?"

"It’ll be easy."

The young dragon smiled with absolute confidence.

"We’ll just make sure you don’t find out that I’m a dragon; just say I’m a very powerful and magnificent dragon spirit."

"..."

Arlene felt a headache coming on.

To one side, Uki let out a little bark, as if he fully agreed with the brilliant plan. The golden sphere began to emit tiny flashes around Noir.

Flashes that the young dragon knew all too well.

"...Don’t start."

The sphere continued to glow.

"..."

Noir let out a long sigh.

"What’s wrong with my plan?"

The sphere slowly spun around Arlene.

Then around Noir. After that, it spun back and forth between them several times in a row.

"..."

"..."

Noir narrowed his eyes.

"Why do you always think such strange things?"

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!