“That was too close for comfort! The gold is dead, the chances of anyone else attacking you are really low. You should calm down! Shouldn’t you be sleeping again by now?”

  Everburn says “After being attacked I just couldn’t calm down. Thanks to those giants I ate, I have enough energy that I don’t need to sleep yet.”

  “Are any of your wounds still bothering you?”

  Everburn says “No, they are all fully healed. I just haven’t gotten over being caught off guard and almost defeated. My nerves haven’t settled down yet.”

  “Well, I can understand that! Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Everburn says “No, not really. It will just take some time for me to be able to relax again. So, what did you need from me?”

  “Well, I have a question and a request.”

  Everburn says “You always have questions! Alright, go ahead and ask.”

  “Recently, I maxed out my core and began the core integration process. However, the goddesses are worried that my lack of essence is going to make finishing the process impossible. They were surprised that I was even able to begin it.”

  Everburn says “Alright, but I didn’t hear a question in there.”

  “Oh, well the question is, can I complete core integration or would it be a bad idea to even try?”

  Everburn says “You can complete it and will need to do so to be able to withstand a dragon’s essence. If your lack of essence was going to be an issue, you wouldn’t have been able to max out your core.”

  “So it is safe to keep working on it?”

  Everburn says “It should be, but there are no guarantees. You don’t do anything the normal way.”

  “That’s basically what the goddesses said. Any advice for speeding up the integration process?”

  Everburn says “Sorry, I don’t know how. I completed it when I was still in my egg and that was a really, really long time ago! I don’t remember how it felt.”

  “That’s understandable. I will just figure it out by trial and error, as usual.”

  Everburn says “I can’t wait to see what you come up with! Anyway, if that answers the question, what is the request?”

  “I want to bring my tattoo artist here and see if she can tattoo you.”

  Everburn says “Tattoo me? Why? You do realize that it most likely won’t work, right? My regeneration will just remove it.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “That is exactly what we want to test. I came up with an ink that my regeneration didn’t remove. It has also worked on a demon, so we want to see if it will work on a dragon as well. If it does, then the plan is to get the tattoo artist to Soul City and make a fortune doing tattoos.”

  Everburn says “Magical tattoos that can work for any race would certainly be worth several fortunes. Alright, I will allow you to test the tattoos on me.”

  As soon as he agrees I send a message to Bella to have her get her tattoo tools and get ready. When she tells me that she is ready, I open a gate to her location and wait for her to come through. It only takes a minute, but when she comes through she freezes and starts trembling.

  “Take it easy Bella, this is Everburn, my friend. He has agreed to let you try giving him a tattoo like we discussed.”

  Bella says “You could have warned me! I have never been so scared! I feel like I am being crushed by his aura!”

  Everburn says “Oh, my apologies. Is it better now?”

  Bella says “Yes, thank you!”

  “Sorry, I don’t really feel his aura anymore so I didn’t think of it.”

  Bella says “How can you not feel it?!”

  “Oh, I did when I first met him, but I’ve gotten used to it.”

  Everburn says “You have also gotten much stronger than you were when we first met. Also, as a dragonling, my aura wouldn’t affect you as much anyway.”

  “Oh, that explains it. Anyway, if you have calmed down, shall we try the tattoo and see if it holds?”

  Bella says “Alright. What tattoo am I doing?”

  “Let’s start with mana gathering, that will be the most beneficial to him. If that works, we can just ask him what other ones he wants.”

  Bella says “Okay. Am I tattooing a scale? Or do you think it would be better to put it beneath a scale?”

  “Since damage could ruin the tattoo, it would be better to put it under a scale. If that is alright with you, Everburn?”

  Everburn says “Well, I do have the energy to spare to regrow a scale and I am assuming that you want my scale?”

  “I wouldn’t say no, but that is not the point. I have plenty of scales to work with right now. The tattoo, if it sticks, will be safer underneath a scale.”

  Everburn says “Alright, whatever.”

  He then rips a scale off of his shoulder and then lays down so that Bella can reach it. Even then, it is still too high for her to reach, but luckily she has a step ladder in her pouch. While she is getting set up, I take the scale that Everburn hands me and put it in my pouch.

  It only takes Bella about ten minutes to do the tattoo, at which point I step in and enchant it. Everburn then stops holding back his regeneration, but nothing happens to the tattoo. His scale starts growing back, but the tattoo remains unchanged, meaning it is a success.

  “It looks like it worked. Everburn, can you feel the mana being gathered by the tattoo? Does it interfere with your normal ability to gather mana?”

  Everburn says “Yes! I can feel it working and my normal mana flow is the same. With this, I won’t need to sleep as much. Thank you, Bella!”

  Bella says “You’re very welcome, Everburn! What other tattoos would you be interested in? We still have some time before your scale regrows.”

  Everburn says “I have no idea. What kind of tattoos can you even do?”

  Bella says “The most common ones that people want are strength, speed, and defense boosts. I can also do elemental type attack tattoos.”

  “I would suggest the boost tattoos and an ice elemental attack tattoo.”

  Everburn says "Why ice?”

  “Something to use against an enemy that is immune to fire like the gold.”

  Everburn says “That is a good idea. Alright, I will accept your suggestions.”

  Bella says “Okay. Do you want a ranged or melee ice attack?”

  Everburn says “Melee, please. It will be easier to control.”

  Bella says “Alright. I will add the boosts to the hide near the mana gathering, but the attack tattoo will need to be on your claws.”

  Everburn says “That’s no problem.”

  As soon as she has his permissions, Bella gets to work on Everburn’s boost tattoos. She is racing to complete them before Everburn’s scale regrows and covers the hide she is tattooing. Everburn is doing his best to slow the regrowth, but he can’t stop it completely.