-Afternoon. Dragon POV-

"WUOOo..." I raise my head in panic and deny her offer to name me out loud.

Noo... I can't let anyone name me something that will feel uncomfortable, and it didn't matter in the wild since beasts won't ask for names before eating, but it looks like I'm going to have to decide on one now... While lamenting the terrifying fact that some people, mainly children are bad at naming things, a black haired guy nearing his forties, and wearing yellow soldier uniform appeared from the left corner. That's Alphonse, the guard captain that helped resolve the situation earlier after they found out I'm not tamed and is probably here to supervise her well being, but she's the one giving me that feeling that I'm meant to find... so I won't hurt her much. However, I cannot live comfortably forever within humans, and my dragon instincts tell me to ascend the predatory ladder and get ready for the mating season, but I don't know what to do beyond having offsprings or making a family. Not enough information about this world or dragons, but for now I should stop the girl on the verge of tears...

Alphonse gets close to us then reclines on the left wall with his arms crossed observing our interactions. Somehow, we seem to be amusing to him...this place lacks entertainment which is why so many people went to my auction even with their children.

"I-is it not good...?" She looked at me saying with upturned eyes and holding her bracelet.

I start feeding the collar that's far away from my head to talk to her. Well, it seems the collar don't need to be near my head after the scan, and I thought this infernal little device was only used to destroy your will, but it made sense that it can be used for communication if it can transmit what they say from those bracelets into commands. The collar appears to be some kind of magic-based computer, with a neuro interface to interpret thoughts and convert spoken Language into ideas using mana waves while powering with the individual's magic. Then transmit signals to communicate with the bracelets which produce sounds no louder than a cell phone from the same place that acts as both microphone and speaker.

This thing seems a little too advanced for this place unless it uses pieces of brains like fictions, but if it's not then whatever has inside is more precious than these people think and can have other applications than just enslaving creatures. I noticed how mana everywhere is the same density which means it doesn't interact with anything or otherwise it would accumulate inside a room, but these collars can use ambient mana to send waves like sounds through air, and that tells me they have something interesting inside. Perhaps the person who came up with these is unaware of its value, but that's ridiculous if they are this smart and I should collect more collars in the future to break apart since I'm using this one to talk.

"Fine. Male names. I choose." Finished powering up the collar, I hurry to answer at the girl intently staring at my left eye as if wanting to look inside.

The way for me to talk back through the collar is injecting my magic until something inside of it is pushed while I'm thinking something but failed at first because the initial scan took longer pressing the magic switch inside. How was I supposed to know the scan takes so long? I failed a few times and had to start over until it finished reading me, it felt weird, but now I just need to press it for the duration of what I'm thinking. I guess it has some sensitive detectors inside for reading the brain at that distance which makes me even more curious what's inside...I really want to break it apart, but let's refrain because without proper tools there's no point anyway.

"Yay!!" She cheers up almost jumping on the spot. {Male names? Are you sure?} She said tilting her head, probably recalling her previous inspection on my rear.

"Beast Nose. Know Smell." I inform her pointing at my nostrils with my left forearm.

"I-is that so..." She falters backing away until her back hit the wall on the left and her white skin turned bright red then lowered her head in shame.

Alphonse on the sides laughs and told her something before she nodded.

He probably explained how natural it is for beasts with a sense of smell many times greater than humans to be aware of every scent around, including what she had for breakfast. I interpreted.

"Don't Mind. Normal Thing." I comforted staring at her fidgeting figure.

Alphonse said something again, and she covered her red face with both hands then peeked at me through her fingers. This guy, is always a mediator huh? Something that made her feel more shame than before...Ah! It had to be when she checked my rear earlier without being aware the dragon could be embarrassed about it too. Well, any intelligent creature would feel some shame if their genitals are exposed, and I wonder what reaction she would show if I say it's okay to check now? Haha, let's not tease her that much or I might not get food tomorrow...

"S-sorry...about checking your body earlier..." She said interlocking the fingers while averting her gaze from my left eye, then I moved my head closer to corner her against the wall.

Looks like I was right and wonder if Alphonse is having more fun here than in the barracks over there with the other guards... I stare across the courtyard while wondering if I should give them a game to play.

"You are mine. I'm yours. Pet me. Name..." I tell her with only broken sentences that I'm capable of expressing because of the collar interference then closed my eyes staying still. I waited for her to stop hesitating until something started running over the left side of my scaly muzzle. Well, the scales lacks the sensation of human skin by order of magnitude, but I can still feel something pressing and sliding over them, similar to touching long human nails besides the heat generated by friction or transmitted from her hands.

"Terrouman!" She proudly says from the left side of my snout while expecting my acceptance.

...Well, at least it's not Liza, but is this name a combination of terror plus human? I ponder at her name choice that is far from what would make me comfortable.

"Feels wrong." I deny her name choice while recalling my early attempts to name myself.

"Destrouman?" She said while running her fingers on my lips now.

I'm starting to see the pattern here, and I admire your dark creativity, but all those names feel wrong. I wonder what happened for you to hate humans to the point of getting a pet that can devour them? Well, at least she won't have trouble with what I eat in the future, and she wants to inspect my teeth doesn't she? I slowly open my mouth while keeping the eyes closed then she starts touching my teeth.

"Feels wrong. Pointy?" I disagree with her next choice and ask her opinion on my teeth that which I have yet to see myself in any reflection.

"Mn, they are pointy. What about Killum?" After saying her opinion about my fangs, she asked another combination of killer and human.

That last name is not so bad, but it's also wrong, and you are going to get slobber putting your hand in my mouth. I wonder if Dragon's have the same system as rats where a smaller layer of the tooth is very hard while the bigger portion is softer to keep sharpness as it wears down. Noticing her names will probably be about the same thing, I open my eyes to stare at Alphonse leaning on the wall who shrugs under my gaze, then I focus on picking one from the list that doesn't feel so bad.

"Feels wrong. Name myself." I tell her pulling away to close my mouth then scoop her with my snout so she can sit on my head.

"No good? What do you mean feel wrong?" She asks after getting in a comfortable position on top of my head which I placed over the forelegs.

"Complicated. A moment." I replied leaving her confused, and Alphonse who was near pitched in again, but this time I'm not sure what they talked about.

They stayed quiet and let me be in deep thought, going through the list of names previously narrowed down that didn't give me a weird feeling and used each one to name myself making sure which one to pick. Well, a name made up once for a game character feels comfortable and not commonly used, so when someone says 'Nefiru,' they probably won't find another in this world when even on Earth it was rare for a short name. I raise my head to show I'm done, and she patted my head to let me know her bracelet is powered up already so as not to waste our precious mana.

"Shaila. It's Nefiru." Recalling her name, I let her know mine and wait for her reaction while Alphonse nodded his head in approval.

"...I don't like Nefiru since it doesn't inspire fear." She compares to her combinations of terror plus humans feeling a little depressed. {But if that's what you want, I'll call you Nefi.} She leans on the left side holding onto my horns to stare into the eye.

I look at her inverted figure with all the shiny white hair cascading in front of my vision then let out a sigh. Well, I like scaring humans as much as the next dragon, but I'm sorry, this name is a keeper and isn't shortening my name a little too soon for you?

-On the southern mountain range, Southeast of the kingdom of Aurum. Young Dragon POV-

"Wake up Rukai!" A shout loud enough to shake my cave brings me out from the land of dreams.

I open my eyes and stare at huge dragon's jaws illuminated by the shiny crystals in front of my dwelling place. Uh...how long was I sleeping for? I blink a few times then let my head drop to the ground and closed my eyes.

"Rukai!" Another yell blows hot air to the insides of my room. "Get your scaly behind out here!" The inpatient dragon said, but didn't wait for me to get up on my own and pulled me out with her claws.

"Uh..Mommy, I really don't like that name..." After being dragged outside of my room by the neck like a doll, I get up and shake my head to clear my thoughts protesting at the name she picked for me.

Huh? That's weird, a name I thought of before suddenly became more comfortable... Nefiru, I remember it was a water mage character, but I live in a volcano and might get fire or earth affinity according to Mother, so I'll use it backward as Urifen...yeah, I like it and it was about time to decide. Having decided on a name, I tell her before she turns away denying my protest.

"Urifen...I want to be called Urifen." I chase after the big dragon already walking away inside the cave while looking behind, expecting me to follow.

The owner of this huge Dragon's rear walking in front of me, is my mother Remkarua Terraeru, an early Rank 10 golden scaled dragon with golden eyes that shows her high affinity for earth. We are descendants of an Ancient Bloodline from survivors of the Terraeru clan, now gone because of the war nine hundred years ago and she chooses dragons above Rank 7 as partners then leaves them to raise the young by herself. She's probably around the height of telephone poles from Earth to the back, but despite the difference in size reducing the numbers of potential partners, she is also picky about ranks and the ones available are mostly lazy or indifferent parents. Luckily for me, Mom is really into raising children alone, and her size was also beneficial to me since I didn't have to be born from an egg the size of a human head like from low-ranking dragons.

"What's wrong with Rukai Terraeru? She asks looking back at my small figure relatively speaking, but taller than a person just to my back.

Descendants of bloodlines under Rank 10 put more effort into quality than quantity, taking longer to lay the eggs and usually a single one, but mother managed to lay two this time around. The perks of being born from a parent such as my mother include, a bigger egg with higher quality, some knowledge of magic and Dragon language is passed on compared to regular dragons who have to learn it from their parents. It sure is an odd sensation to be aware we are just growling at each other but understand it as a language and being born from a bigger egg means larger after birth with more intelligence as opposed to regular dragons who are just lazy to get the mating season over with.

"The last name is fine, but Rukai feels too ordinary, it makes me uncomfortable inside, and I bet many have that name already..." I reason with her to let me keep the name I just came up with.

"Sighs...fine." Mom does a sigh blowing enough air to raise a cloud of dust in the already dark tunnel. "However, you are not allowed to change your last name, and this is not open for debate." She sternly looks down at me until I nodded, then we continue our march through the spiral tunnel going upwards while feeling her steps shake the ground slightly.

Unlike typical fire dragons who just reside on top of volcanoes to gather fire elementals, we live deep inside an active volcano on a vast network of tunnels spiraling downwards and around the central magma conduit. The reason for living in such hazardous environment is because Mom discovered an intermittent tiny mana vein during its active period, and has been digging deeper towards the higher mana density ever since, but stopped when it was too close to the magma chamber since she's not a fire dragon. The downsides of small intermittent mana veins are that you don't know when they disappear or if they reappear at all, it only raises the ambient mana a little, and if the source is deep underground, you would need an earth magician to reach it. However, that's also the upsides since stronger beings won't covet it because of the work involved to get there, and it might disappear before they benefit at all. However, I'm in luck because it's active now and according to Mother it might last a couple more years before it's gone again, though my lair is not as close as mother's to the higher mana density because I can only withstand temperatures until certain depths.

"So, are we visiting another friend of yours?" I ask the reason for pulling me out of my cave.

As an Earth Dragon with digging as her forte, she is appreciated by others who had their lairs build around this mountain range, especially other Dragons and will come to her aid if they hear the call. Well, it's not a clan but more like friendly neighbors and not all are dragons since we visited before a giant red tiger-like creature with horns and even a giant crimson snake as thick as a car that is probably over a thousand years old, though I couldn't understand them. They all reside nearby because the mana density around the mountain is a little higher than normal, and it attracts other creatures, mainly those with fire affinity, but since nobody around marks territories, the smaller ones become our food. Well, there is an area up north that belongs to a human Divine where this mountain range ends and beyond a kingdom that belongs to him, but mother told me not to approach people if I'm not at least Rank 6 since they could capture me.

"You are going hunting with your sister tonight by yourselves." She stopped and looked back at me saying.

"Awesome!" I start jumping around in excitement because we are finally going hunting without supervision which makes it more interesting.

The forest is healthy with several small streams and lakes around, that make this an excellent place for any creature to grow up and easy to find prey, but there are other big animals or high ranking beasts that could be a threat to young dragons.The volcano is a good home too with its many tunnels that are fun to explore just like caves in my previous life, but unlike Earth, there are creatures in here that come out of a movie. The most annoying are creepy insects the size of rats with hard shells that can resist fire that and are difficult to kill because they sink into the ground when you smash them, but I had mother harden the walls of my room to kill them since they keep invading my room for some reason.

"Fufu... you sound like a human child sometimes..." She said as if recalling encounters with people. "Except for the wagging tail...that makes you a wolf." She said arching the corners of her scaly lips into a smile.

"Agh...what if I tell mommy that I'm actually a human who was born into a dragon? I tell her, but she just sighs again making worse the visibility in the tunnel, illuminated by tiny shiny crystals.

"Won't be the first crazy Dragon born from me and you can do whatever you want...just try not to die and waste my efforts alright?" She said and after seeing me nod, continued our march until we reach the exit tunnel where Sister was waiting.

I'm lucky just to have a sister because parents who have too many eggs will let the young fight to thin their numbers. Well, she's not as intelligent since I have extra human memories, but doesn't want to do many things together, especially sleeping in the same cave because she's wary of me for some reason.

I picked Entertainment from the memory options before birth because dragons have instincts and parents to survive, but children tend to get bored.

However, I couldn't choose Science since it said 'corrupted' with parenthesis which makes me wonder how many more memories are broken when I can't even recall my old name and the cause of this makes me worried. In any case, It turned out to be the right choice when being for months in these dark tunnels gathering mana alone is super boring, and there was plenty knowledge in entertainment, but some things are not applicable in this world without skill menu. A regular dragon would take years to reach the affinity awakening of Rank 1 where you stop being an ordinary creature, but I'm almost there already, and a bit ahead sister too who keeps trying harder not to fall behind by going into deeper tunnels than me.

"You can compete with each other for the biggest prey and whoever wins will get a mana crystal that I found in the depths." Once together, Mother reveals the prize to be a crystal that could allow either of us to become Rank 1 first.

"Buaha...I'll become an overlord!" Getting overly excited at the find, my Chuunibyou went a little out of control immitating a line from anime while doing a the villanous laugh with growls.

"Mom!" Sister calls Mother's attention backing away from me then complained. "Brother is acting creepy again..." She said switching her gaze between me and the golden dragon that is now shining with the incoming light from outside.

"Shut up! You Emo Dragon that closes in her cave all day instead of playing with me. You are gonna get Darkness affinity at this rate!" I made fun of her habits as usual, and knowing what it meant she lashed at my tail to bite it.

"Just ignore him, I dropped his egg a few times." The golden dragon occupying the entrance of the tunnel said. "Saying he's gonna rule the world when he can't even rule his own cave every time it got infested with bugs." Mother looks behind saying while shaking her head then continues outside.

"GRRR...let go of my tail!" I growled at her to show my anger, and she let go of it. "Wait, what were you doing with my egg?" I ask running to Mother, recalling the movie with the Penguin and fearing my egg dropping might have something to do with my memories.

"You were taking too long to hatch and had to keep moving you further down to receive more heat." Mother replied going outside the where sundown is painting the forest orange.

"Now come on, you need to grow up and be able to survive before the next mating season." She said sitting down to wait for our return, and we headed into the forest on separate ways.

Mom said the Demigod in charge of the mating season keeps in contact with those who cooperate, pays attention to bloodlines, and orders dragons who are about to reach Divine to go into hiding, but she didn't want to tell me why. However, for a Chuunibyou Dragon with a lot of anime content in his head, this is an easy answer...that Demigod is building an army to make a comeback in the world and Dragons take their rightful place earned through eons. Moreover...that Demigod person can change between human and dragon form in an instant, and that means I could ditch my body at Divine rank to have fun as a human then get it back at Demigod.

I walk through the woods heading for a lake while imagining the size of the Demigod dragon that mom said to be several times her own size.