N-A-A Chapter 15 Bloodline Summoning
Chapter 15 Bloodline Summoning
They crossed a neatly manicured lawn and came to a magnificent building. It was a typical Gothic building, with its spires soaring into the clouds and its walls carved with intricate reliefs—not of saints and angels, but of dragons and knights battling. The heavy oak doors were inlaid with bronze door knockers, each shaped like a dragon carrying the World Tree in its mouth.
"This is the library," Professor Guderian said, pushing open the door. "It's also where we conduct orientation for new students."
The interior of the library was even more breathtaking than the exterior. The ceilings soared at least twenty meters, enormous stained-glass windows depicted epic tales of dragons, and rows of towering bookshelves stood like silent giants. The air was thick with the unique scent of old paper, leather, and ink. Light streamed down from above, casting golden beams of light through the dust.
In the center of the hall sat a long oak table, beside which sat a man in a white coat who looked like a doctor. He was probably in his forties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and carrying a metal briefcase.
"Masashi Fukuyama!" Professor Guderian waved happily. "Have you been waiting long?"
"Just arrived." Masashi Fukuyama stood up, adjusted his glasses, and looked at Mingfei Lu. "This must be Mingfei Lu?"
"Yes, it's me," Lu Mingfei said cautiously.
"I'm Masashi Fukuyama from the Psychology Department, responsible for the psychological health assessments of new students and... Dragon Clan cognitive education." Fukuyama's tone was gentle and professional. "Please have a seat."
Lu Mingfei sat down at the table, with Professor Guderian to his left, while Fingel dragged a chair from somewhere and sat a little further away to continue taking notes.
Masashi Fukuyama opened the metal briefcase. The inside was lined with black velvet and contained two items: a silver pistol and a palm-sized scale with a dark gold sheen.
"This is..." Lu Mingfei stared at the two items.
"The PPK pistol, modified with alchemy, uses specially made Frigga bullets." Masashi Fukuyama picked up the pistol and skillfully inspected it. "The bullet's tip is a specially made tranquilizer dart; upon impact, it rapidly releases an anesthetic, rendering the target unconscious but not fatal. The academy uses it for certain missions."
He put the pistol back in the case and picked up the scale again: "And this is a real dragon scale. It comes from a third-generation dragon and was discovered in the Siberian ice in 1912."
Dragon scales.
Lu Mingfei stared at the scale that gleamed metallically under the light. It looked somewhat like a fish scale, but larger and thicker, with intricate patterns on its surface, like some kind of ancient script. The color was dark gold, with burn marks at the edges.
"You can touch it." Masashi Fukuyama handed him the scales.
Lu Mingfei hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take it. The scales were cool to the touch and hard, but the edges weren't sharp. He pinched them with his fingers and felt... a bit like plastic, but heavier and more substantial.
"How is it?" Masashi Fukuyama asked.
"It's a bit...unreal," Lu Mingfei said honestly. "It's like a movie prop."
Masashi Fukuyama laughed: "Many people have this feeling when they first come into contact with dragon relics. Because in our understanding, dragons are mythical creatures, and their scales should be something from fantasy. But when it actually appears in your hands, your brain refuses to accept this reality."
He took the scale back and placed it on the table, then picked up the pistol: "Now, I'd like you to do a test. Use this gun to shoot this dragon scale."
Lu Mingfei was stunned: "Me? Shoot?"
"Don't worry, it's Frigga's bullet; it won't cause any actual damage to the scales." Masashi Fukuyama handed him the pistol. "We just want to see your reaction."
Lu Mingfei took the pistol. It was heavier than he'd expected, the cold metallic feel of it radiating from his palm. Aside from handling an old-fashioned rifle during high school military training, he'd never touched a firearm before. Logically, he should have been nervous, clumsy, and unable to even turn off the safety.
But strangely, the moment his hand gripped the gun handle, a familiar feeling welled up inside him.
Just like... he had held this gun countless times.
His fingers found their place naturally, his thumb pressed the safety, and he cocked the gun—the movements were so fluid that even he was surprised. He raised the gun, aimed at the dragon scales on the table, his posture as precise as a well-trained soldier.
Masafumi Fukuyama and Professor Guderian exchanged a glance, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes.
Lu Mingfei pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
Gunshots echoed through the empty library, startling a few pigeons perched high up. Frigga's bullet struck the center of the dragon scale accurately, but it was as if it had hit a steel plate; the bullet deformed and bounced off, leaving the dragon scale completely unmoved, without even a scratch.
"As expected." Masashi Fukuyama nodded. "Even the modified PPK couldn't penetrate the scales of a third-generation dragon. Dragons' defenses far surpass those of human weapons—unless specialized alchemical equipment is used, or..."
"Or what?" Lu Mingfei put down the gun, his hand still trembling slightly. Not because of the recoil, but because of that strange sense of familiarity.
"Or hybrids can use Words of Power," Professor Guderian continued. "Words of Power are a special ability bestowed upon us by our dragon bloodline. By chanting dragon runes, we can manipulate elemental power. High-sequence Words of Power can even melt steel and alter terrain."
Words of power. Lu Mingfei remembered that Lu Mingze had mentioned this word before, but he had always thought it was some kind of metaphor.
"Do I possess the power of words?" he asked.
"In theory, all hybrids have the potential to awaken the power of words," Masashi Fukuyama said. "But whether they can awaken it, and what sequence of words they can awaken, depends on the purity of their bloodline, their personal talent, and... the right opportunity."
He paused, then took out a glass bottle from a hidden compartment in his suitcase.
It was a specially made cylindrical glass container, about the size of a mineral water bottle, with walls at least two centimeters thick, filled with a transparent liquid. Floating in the liquid was… a creature.
Lu Mingfei held his breath.
That was a dragon.
Though small, only the size of a palm, it was unmistakably a dragon. Dark red scales, bat-like wings curled at its sides, a long tail encircling its body, and a slender head resting on its curled forelimbs. Its eyes were closed, as if asleep, but even through the thick glass and liquid, one could sense an otherworldly majesty.
"A red dragon cub." Masashi Fukuyama's voice was soft, as if afraid of disturbing something. "It was discovered under the Greenland ice sheet in 1978, and was in a dormant state at the time. We used special methods to preserve it, keeping it in this state to this day."
Lu Mingfei stared at the little dragon, his heart pounding. It wasn't fear, but a kind of… resonance. Like seeing himself in a mirror, like seeing him countless times in a dream.
He unconsciously reached out and gently touched the glass bottle with his fingertips.
In that instant, the young dragon opened its eyes.
Those were golden eyes, vertical pupils, like burning lava.
Lu Mingfei met those eyes, and time seemed to stand still. He could no longer hear Professor Guderian's exclamation, Masafumi Fukuyama's warning, or the click of Fingel's camera shutter. His world consisted only of those eyes and his own reflection in them.
Then, the baby dragon moved.
It opened its mouth—though no sound could be heard through the liquid, Lu Mingfei seemed to hear a roar. Dark red flames spewed from its mouth, forming a column of scorching bubbles in the liquid. The flames struck the inner glass wall, making a hissing sound, and the entire bottle shook violently.
"Oh no!" Masashi Fukuyama's expression changed drastically. He snatched the bottle away. "It's awake! How is this possible..."
Professor Guderian also stood up: "Formaldehyde solution! Quickly check the seal!"
Masashi Fukuyama frantically checked the seal on the bottle opening, cold sweat beading on his forehead. The young dragon struggled wildly inside, spewing flames again and again, but the specially made glass and the large amount of formalin solution suppressed its power. The flames cooled rapidly in the liquid, only forming brief bubbles.
A full minute later, the young dragon's movements gradually weakened, and it finally closed its eyes again, returning to a dormant state.
The library was deathly silent.