Chapter 220: A Grown Tol To-ri (1)

Even as I rubbed my eyes before looking again, the scene before me did not change.

Dialugia, who was standing blankly and looking around, had come with him, but I paid her no attention and fixed my gaze on Tol To-ri once more.

When I saw him last time, I remember that he had been about the size of a pup.

Seeing that he had grown up to the size of a large tiger, my jaw inadvertently dropped. At this point, he looked scary, not cute.

Though Tol To-ri had been sniffing around curiously, he perked up and looked my way instantly. The unexplained emotion in his eyes unsettled me.

"Kie-e-e-e-e-ee-ee-ee-ee!"

After letting out a huge scream, he began to nod, drooling. I felt nervous. Though he often drooled during his infant years, I began to wonder if he now saw me as food.

In addition, he looked highly expectant. I knew I shouldn't let him down, as I had neglected him thus far and only got to see his new form now. Dialugia's upset expression reinforced this idea.

The best thing to do now was for me to welcome them.

"Ah… Tol To-ri…"

The moment I spoke, Tol To-ri brightened.

"Haaaaa! Haaa!"

'What's with him?'

"Kie-e-e-e-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee!"

He surged forward at a faster speed than I had initially expected. Reflexively, I got into posture. Before I could even come to my senses, he jumped onto me, and I fell onto the ground.

"Kiek! Haaaa! Kie eh eh! Haaaa!"

It was painful, but the pain only lasted for a while. When I saw the tears in his eyes, my guilt only doubled.

"Kie eh eh eh! Haaaa! Haaaaa!"

As he looked up at me with his tail wagging furiously, I could tell that this was definitely Tol To-ri.

"Oh!"

"Kiee-ek!"

"Oh! How have you been, Tol To-ri?"

"Haaaa! Haaaaa!"

Not only did he lick each place with his tongue, but he also kept sniffing and smelling me everywhere. I couldn't hold him in my hand like I used to, but I hugged him tightly and stroked him everywhere.

"Well done! Well done! Well done!"

"Kiek! Haaa! Kiek! Haaa! Kiek! Haaa!"

His reaction remained the same to my praise.

'So cute.'

In the meantime, he was looking at me with eyes, asking me to lift him up, but given his size, it now proved to be difficult to do so.

Dialugia, who saw this, approached us slowly.

"He grew up too fast."

"If you are always together, you'd be able to check on his growth. I can feel how much you have neglected our Dialuria in the meantime."

"I was a little busy. I planned to visit home. Somehow, things didn't go well. Isn't it me that sends the food he eats every time? If you scold me too much, I'll be a little disappointed."

"Just doing that doesn't mean you're doing a father's duty. It's more important to be by his side. Think how lonely Dialuria has been. Isn't he missing you enough to shed tears? Are you okay? Dialuria?"

"Kiee-ek!"

"I'm not mad at your dad, Dialuria. I'm just talking for a moment. It's not that I'm punishing and fighting him, my lovely son."

"Kiek!"

"I won't tell you to be together every day, but you should be with him at least once a week, no, maybe once every three days. And from now on, I will teach him how to hunt little by little… I don't know about the other days, but you must be with us on that day. It's the day of Dialuria's first hunt. It will be helpful if his father sees it."

"Ah… Yes. Of course. If there is such a day, it would be better to tell me in advance…"

"Aren't I telling you right now?"

Dialugia seemed dissatisfied. Certainly, seeing tears on Tol To-ri's face was sad, even to me.

In fact, I didn't think it'd been so long in terms of time, but there was definitely be a difference between what I felt and what he felt. However, a thought popped up in my head.

"Will he get bigger than this?"

"No. He will keep this size for a few months. Of course, he will grow little by little, but we still have to wait for him to grow up."

"Ohhh…"

If he got a little bigger during his stay here, he might really feel life-threatening.

"It will be a little difficult to handle."

"He will also learn how to change and learn how to speak."

"Ah! Like you?"

"Of course. Usually, it is normal to take a little longer, but… our Dialuria is very smart."

As if Dialuria wasn't content staying on the ground, he got on his hind legs, trying to get on top of me.

'Hmm…'

Of course, he couldn't easily climb.

'Ah, he's heavy.'

Since my strength had increased a lot, I had stronger muscular strength than common adult males, but it was not easy to bear this much weight.

Nevertheless, it looked like he didn't want to give up.

In the end, he hung off of me in a half-piggyback.

His legs and tail were wrapped around my waist, his front legs around my chest and left shoulders, and his right shoulders kept pushing my face as he continuously screamed.

"Shall we go together today, Tol To-ri?"

"Haaa! Haaa!"

I had to use a little magic power, but I felt more comfortable once I did. A familiar voice now called out to us.

"Is he Dialuria? No, was it Tol To-ri, Honey?"

It was Cha Hee-ra.

"Kee-e-e-e-eek!"

I didn't know why, but Tol To-ri began to scream as he caught sight of the red-haired woman.

The sound was a little different from usual. He appeared to be hostile.

'What's with him?'

"Ke-e-e-e-ee-ee! Kiek!"

"He's so cute! Tol To-ri! You really are a real dragon. Even by looking at the nest in Lindel, I could feel it, but seeing him here, it feels a little more plausible."

However, the more she approached, the more Tol To-ri trembled. He must've felt that Cha Hee-ra was a dangerous person.

The fact that he had been quick to notice certainly seemed to resemble me.

Of course, in my case, I didn't have any contributions to Tol To-ri's genes, but I thought about it anyway.

"Really cute. Look at him with his head down. Tol To-ri is drooping, honey."

It was then that Dialugia blocked Cha Hee-ra's hand, which had been trying to stroke Tol To-ri.

"Don't you see he is scared? Please step back."

"Ah…"

Cha Hee-ra looked at Dialugia up and down, and after fixing her gaze on the horn for a while, recognition dawned on her face.

"Oh. You are… Dialugia?"

"Yes. You?"

"You can call me Cha Hee-ra. I didn't know he was scared… my mistake. I'm sorry, Tol To-ri. And I'm sorry to you too, Dialugia."

"Ah, no… I overreacted a little…"

It was a little unexpected to see Cha Hee-ra acting like this.

Seeing that she kept giving attention to Tol To-ri, she seemed to like cute things.

Of course, the current Tol To-ri was too grown up to be called cute, but I wasn't used to seeing the red-haired woman being so gentle.

'Does she like children?'

Cha Hee-ra apologized immediately at Dialugia's words. It may be a little rude to describe her in this manner, but it felt like I had seen something akin to a gorilla cherishing its babies. After everything was said and done, Cha Hee-ra was a woman, too.

On the contrary, Dialugia, who had reacted with an edgy voice, looked confused.

"I heard a lot about you… Nice to meet you. Is it okay if I speak to you comfortably?"

"I don't really care about that."

For some reason, it felt like they would get along well.

"Are you going to the training center now?"

"Huh? Yes."

"Dialugia? How about we go to take a little rest?"

"Yes? But… I have to take care of my child."

"It will be fine for a while. Our honey will take good care of him. The place where he works is also nearby. If something happens, he can run there right away, and I think it's better for you to take a break."

"But…"

"Let's have some tea and talk. You look like you need a break."

Dialugia evidently looked tired. I didn't know if it was just me, but there were dark circles under her eyes, and her skin and hair, which had always been smooth, now felt crumbly.

The long-stretched horns above her head also seemed to be a little dull in color.

Of course, she couldn't help but be tired. Even though she had more than a 100 stamina stat…

'Parenting is exhausting.'

Right now, Tol To-ri was quietly sticking to my back, but it probably wouldn't be easy to control him once he went berserk.

Of course, I felt guilty.

"It would be better for you to take a break, Dialugia. I think it would be nice for me to take care of Tol To-ri today."

Only then did Dialugia begin to look relieved. For a short time, Dialugia's gaze fixed onto Dialuria, but she eventually nodded.

"Then, please."

"Yes. Please rest assured."

"Today, Tol To-ri should hang out with dad. Okay?"

"Kiek! Haaaa!"

"If you don't behave, I'll send you back home. You have to be quiet."

"Kieeek!"

Dialuria nodded effusively as if he surely understood the words. Dialugia's expression also brightened.

"Then, I will be going."

"Okay."

'It'll be fine, right?'

It was a fact that most of the trainees knew that I had been appointed to one of the Eight Seats of the Empire anyway. They also knew that a dragon had chosen me.

There must be some trainees who had doubts about whether that was true or not, but I knew I would get more attention today than usual.

Although there were practical education and training using monsters, it would be their first time to see a legendary-grade monster.

'Even if he's still a baby…'

Tol To-ri's specifications were quite high.

[Checking the status window of the legendary-grade named monster, Dark Dragon, Dialuria.]

[Name: Dialuria]

[Title: Tol To-ri]

[Age: 1]

[Disposition:???]

[Category: Dragon]

[Stats]

[Strength: 32/Growth potential: Legendary or higher]

[Agility: 32/Growth potential: Legendary or higher]

[Health: 33/Growth potential: Legendary or higher]

[Intelligence: 10/Growth potential: Legendary or higher]

[Durability: 41/Growth potential: Legendary or higher]

[Luck: 32/Growth potential: Legendary or lower]

[Magic Power: 40/Growth potential: Legendary or higher]

[Overall: He is very excited. You're lucky to be able to be the father of this kind of being. Please be careful.]

'His disposition hasn't come out yet.'

His durability stat was at 41, while his magic was at 40.

In short, even if the attack team rushed to Tol To-ri all at the same time, it would not be possible to defeat him.

Of course, my baby couldn't fight as he still couldn't handle the magic as well as his body properly, but I could be sure that Tol To-ri would have the upper hand due to his primal instinct.

'There are three days left to finish the ceremony…'

After the work here was done, I knew I had to pay more attention to Tol To-ri.

'Yoo Ahyoung also seems to be nearing the end…'

Seeing that she had been spending time with Kim Ki-cheol again recently, I knew she wanted to find more ways to stab him in the back.

I let her do what she wanted, but I never thought she would be designing it to this extent.

It seemed that this aspect had been hidden behind her optimistic and relaxed personality.

As I entered the training center with these thoughts, I could feel the gazes from everywhere.

Of course, there were also voices whispering everywhere I went.

"That… Isn't that a dragon?"

"Really?"

"Wow… I didn't believe it, but I guess it's true… I think only a few can be successful here in that aspect. Won't I get chosen or something, too?"

"At best, you'll get chosen by goblins."

However, something felt off.

'What's wrong with him?'

Tol To-ri was hanging quietly behind my back.

When a male trainee passes by, there is no problem.

'What?'

However, when a female trainee passes by, the problem is that he foams his mouth.

"Keee-ek!"

I even thought about whether he had a problem as he even showed his teeth as if telling them openly not to approach.

He looked around to check if there is no one approaching.

It's ridiculous, but that kind of look is pretty familiar.

'Jung Hayan?'

Tol To-ri is showing what Jung Hayan has always shown.

'No, it can't be.'

I activated my Mind's Eye to check it.

[Checking the unique characteristic of the legendary-grade named monster, Dark Dragon, Dialuria.]

[Twisted and Dangerous Affection in the Dark] [#Father that can't stop him] [#Mom is annoying, too]

"Ke-e-e-e-e-e-eeeeeek!"

"Tol To-ri, y-you're crazy…"

I was able to realize now that Dialugia had failed to properly discipline her child.