RE:volt! Chapter 33: Dragconic Puberty

  More days passed as Ark sat around doing… nothing. Well, not actually nothing but the monotonous days were filled with mostly lectures from Irelix and exercises that made him feel hotter than usual. Bruno seldom made an appearance and when he did he was unkept, more so than the norm and reeking of alcohol so strong it flooded the barracks with its stench.

  Ah what I wouldn't do for a cold beer… Ark said to himself as Bruno passed by for barracks inspection, the man walking through passed the assembled line of children before pausing for a moment to eye Ark.

  “What are you dreamy eyed about?” The armored man spat, staring at Ark.

  Ark quickly put his head down, not realizing he'd been making a face.

  “You…” Bruno said, his eyes narrowing at the boy that was giving off an energy that was… familiar.

  The man stood in front of Ark, glaring at him with a look of suspicion. There was something that unsettled Bruno, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on as he placed his palm on the boy's head and made him look him in the eye.

  “Didn't you have blue eyes?”

  “S-sir?” Ark replied, confused until he saw his reflection in the man's eyes. Ark's irises were gold!

  Ark tensed up, thoughts running through his mind on how to fight Bruno and flee.

  One Knight, four helpers. Ark grimaced. I won't get far with a red core, not this clos-

  “Nothing.” The man grumbled before walking off, leaving Ark behind.

  ****

  What the hell is happening to me?! Ark demanded from Irelix as he stared at his reflection in a bowl of water given to him as part of his lunch.

  Out of nowhere his eyes had taken on a golden hue. His irises matching that of Irelix’s. Not only that his canines seemed sharper, bigger than he was use to now that he observed himself in the water.

  Calm down monkey. This is most likely due to your dragon eyes manifesting.

  My what?! Ark demanded as Thirty-Four approached him while her sister marched off with Bruo.

  “What's wrong with your eyes?” Thirty-Four asked, sitting beside Ark.

  “Nothing, don’t worry about it.” Ark said, making eye contact with Thirty-Four who’s face scrunched up, almost as if she’d eaten something sour before she seemed to jolt, her face going slack and replying with an “Ok”.

  Shit. Immediately Ark realized what he’d done. The girl was entranced, the power of his eyes manipulating her into agreeing with him.

  IRELIX! HOW DO I FIX THIS?!

  You act as if you aren’t familiar with our eyes.

  I am when they belong to overgrown lizards trying to kill or order me around. What I’m not used to is manipulating people’s minds into agreeing with me. How do I fix her?! Ark demanded, trying not to outwardly show his emotions to the other slaves nearby as Thirty-Four sat staring blankly, the cogs of her mind turned off.

  Subtract the positive energy from your eyes.

  What? But I’m not sending mana to my eyes. Ark replied, confused.

  Yes, but that doesn’t mean mana isn’t naturally flowing into your body. You are a magical being now, akin to a scaling entering into adolescence. Soon your body will begin to experience changes that most consider… unnatural. Mood swings, shedding, coughing flames, the need to make a nest, your libido-

  YOU MEAN PUBERTY?!

  Obviously.

  And you didn't think this would be information I might like to have?!

  An image of Irelix laughing on her throne appeared in his mind, causing Ark’s eye to twitch, the former hero imagining his skin peeling with his mouth spewing flames and running rampant everywhere and undoing years of hard work.

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  “Shit.” Ark muttered, a problem brewing on the horizon. Doing a double take on his run in with Bruno, was it possible the man had singled him out because of his eyes? Because he detected the mana?

  This needed to be remedied.

  Ark took a breath, closing his eyes and looking inwards towards his body where he came across what felt like a small reservoir behind his eyes, a puddle of light in a tide of infinite darkness, shallow, with energy dripping into it from above.

  Like a sac of liquid needing to be empty, Ark reached out and reversed the flow, draining the puddle until the darkness took control completely.

  He looked down at his bowl of water, his eyes no longer blue as Thirty-Four blinked and her body shuddered.

  “I saved a bit of my food if you want to share.” Thirty-Four asked, handing Ark a piece of jerky as if nothing had happened.

  “I’m… I’m fine.” Ark said, staring at the smiling girl to make sure there weren’t side effects. He’d seen the effects first hand on what dragon glare could do. From his understanding of the eyes, those under its effects could suffer memory loss, mental impairment, or worse, death if over exposed. Aside from their breath weapons, hardened scales, and magic casting, their eyes were a key part of a dragon's arsenal, it was how the scaly lizards had asserted their dominance for so long without raising a talon.

  And now Ark was turning into one.

  Relax, if you start developing a throat gland and mixing hydrogen around we may have a problem. But as a halfling, you should be fine. Irelix said with Ark's body suddenly fatigued. There, I've helped with the discovery issue.

  You! What- Ark began before he realized that the dragon had suddenly pulled all the Mana lingering in Ark's body toward his suppressed core, sapping his limbs he hadn't realized were being passively augmented with ambient mana.

  I'll keep your core suppressed for the time being. At least until this passes.

  …

  …

  …

  I'm aware that your species has a tendency to be rude and unkept, but societal norms even for dragons dictate a thank you at minimum.

  What's your angle? Ark narrowed his eyes, drawing a look from Thirty-Four. She said nothing, used to the boy who would often, and suddenly make faces as if deep in thought.

  Sitting there, she stared at him, observing his small stature and cute ears, something about his cheeks that gave her an overwhelming desire to pinch them.

  You are so distrusting. Why do you assume I have some ulterior motive? Irelix said, causing Ark to snicker.

  Because you're a dragon. Because it's in your nature. Because the Great Plotter always has a plot. Ark spat back, causing Irelix to let out a chuckle.

  You're right. Consider this a move in our mutual benefit. If you get exposed before you're strong enough, our chance at revenge would be for null.

  Our? Ark asked back, but the dragon gave no reply as Thirty-Four suddenly pinched his cheek, causing Ark to jolt away from his discussion.

  “Huh?” Ark turned, eyeing the look from Thirty-Four who smiled at him sheepishly before running off.

  ****

  Laying in his cot, Ark awoke to the sound of shuffling and footsteps.

  Something was wrong. It was too soon for night training, Thirty-Four and Thirty-Three should still be asleep, meaning it was someone else. Multiple someones judging from the footsteps.

  Ark kept his breathing rhythmic and his body still as his eyes slowly opened up, spying the night sky that was still bright with stars, confirming his hypothesis.

  Someone who shouldn't be up was. Since the monster cullings, Ark had given up his nighttime instructing as his barracks emptied, using the time instead to groom his pawns or work on his cores as he nodded his time.

  His eyes shifted toward the sound of movement.

  Uneven shuffling, separate locations, he could hear them come to a stop in the corner of the room, no doubt, three of the four newcomers making trouble.

  “Hey! Isa!” One of the boys whispered loudly, shaking Sixty-six who was laying in his cot.

  Isa huh? Ark said to himself. While it wasn’t uncommon for slaves to name each other, most didn’t as it was frowned upon by Helpers and Overseers alike. A name gave slaves identity, something property and tools shouldn’t have. So it was a rare occurrence when one did, immediately drawing Ark’s attention to the defiance of the norm.

  “What Axel?” Sixty-six grumbled, the teen turning away from the boys.

  “We’re going to have some fun, you want to join?”

  “If it involves your stupid idea from earlier, I’m good.” Sixty-six said.

  “C’monnnn.”

  “No. You’re only gonna get burned.”

  “Tsk. Fine whatever, lets go guys.”

  Ark silently observed the trio move in his direction, the group of teens whispering to one another and giggling as they approached the boy who they assumed was sleeping.

  “Psst. Hey, wak-.” The kid known as Axel said, a brown hair boy that reached out to touch Ark, only for his wrist to be grabbed.

  “I don’t like being touched.” Ark said, opening his eyes fully.

  “Oh, sorry dude. Hey, a couple of us boys were gonna go out for a thing, we wanted to know if you wanted to come?” The boy said innocently.

  “A thing?” Ark said, eyeing the trio that had spread out and surrounded his cot. Ark sat up, positioning himself in a way that he could kick off the wooden board of his bed and flee should the boys make their move.

  “Yeah, come see.”

  Sensing an opportunity, Ark gave off an innocent smile.

  “Sure, I’ll go!” Ark said jubilantly, getting off the cot and walking with the trio shrugging before following behind the boy.