I bet Ddraig called me conceited because I actually felt pretty good about myself when I saw the back of my left-hand glowing and then heard his voice. A small smile even appeared at the corner of my mouth.
Thinking about it made me wonder if Ddraig could hear my thoughts or, worse, if he could see my memories.
If that were the case, he wouldn't have asked how I felt, right? It would have been a redundant question from a thousand-year-old dragon.
I decided to believe that he only heard the thoughts I actively wanted him to hear and just continued the conversation with him.
"The voice of my dreams..." I muttered, as if surprised to have gotten a response.
"What are you? A demon?"
["HAHAHA!"] Ddraig let out a genuine laugh. ["Don't compare me to such an inferior race, and I think you meant 'devils'... But I am a true Dragon! Although not in my perfect form."]
I blinked twice. "Dragon? That means..."
["Exactly, kid. A dragon with scales, wings, and the ability to breathe fire, but much more than that as well."]
Without someone like Rias Gremory, Azazel, or Sona Sitri to give me a long explanation about the paranormal world, I got a special lesson from the Welsh Dragon himself.
As if following a script he always used to explain his own existence to his former bearers, he went on telling me things I already knew and was pretending not to know. Ddraig went from the most basic topics, such as the existence of hundreds of other races besides humans, such as devils, angels, and youkai, to complex subjects such as the Sacred Gears and his sealing in one.
Ddraig's condition was special because very few Sacred Gears contained living beings sealed within them. Since the Sacred Gears were created by God and he was in favor of free will, obviously, it was not he who had sealed Ddraig in a Sacred Gear, but rather a rare alliance between devils, angels, and fallen angels because Ddraig and another dragon named Vanishing Dragon often fought very destructive battles.
If Ddraig's condition was special, so was the Sacred Gear that now imprisoned his body. Boosted Gear was the name of this Sacred Gear, and it was among the 13 most powerful Sacred Gears—this special class of Sacred Gear was called Longinus.
"I have such special power inside me...?" I muttered, looking at my left hand.
["Yes, all thanks to me."] declared Ddraig, sounding a little arrogant. ["Boosted Gear's main power is to double the physical strength and mana of its bearer whenever I want. My powers are not limited to that, but this is usually the main reason for my bearers' triumphs in important battles. The longer we are together, the more synchronized we will be, and that will allow us to explore new abilities."]
"I have a question," I said, raising my right hand.
["Finally, you're unsure about something. What could it be? Did I explain everything too quickly?"]
"I believe I was able to follow most of the information. However, you said that your last bearer died over two hundred years ago, which means you can reincarnate multiple times. How many times has this process occurred?"
["..."]
Ddraig seemed surprised by my question, and I'm almost certain I heard him swallow. After a few seconds of silence, I said:
"If you don't want to share, that's fine. Maybe I was being–"
["That's not it, kid. You just made me realize that I've lost count of how many bearers I've had and how weak my memory has become over time. I can remember a few bearers, such as Belzard and Eisha, the strongest male and female bearers, respectively, but I must confess that I've forgotten the faces and voices of most of my former bearers."]
Ddraig's story was very sad when you stopped to think about it, but I couldn't blame those who sealed him in Boosted Gear for doing so. If Ddraig's power was already great with him sealed, then unsealed, his battles against the Vanishing Dragon would be like atomic bombs falling on the entire world.
"Well, I hope you'll remember me after our journey together is over," I said, smiling as I closed my left fist.
["You're already different from most, because the others usually awaken me when they're in dire danger. Several of them died in their first battle, when they needed to win at all costs and activated Juggernaut Drive."]
"Juggernaut what?"
["N-nothing. We'll definitely never need it. How about you test my basic ability? Try raising your left hand with all your might and wish for power. When you do, I'll know you need another push."]
His response made me certain that I was correct in my assumption. He could only hear the thoughts I deeply wanted him to hear.
"Okay, I'll try," I said, raising my left hand slightly. I would never have the courage to strike that exaggerated protagonist pose with my hand raised.
["BOOST!"]
I saw the back of my left hand glow green, illuminating my entire surroundings. An inexplicable, magical sensation spread through my body, like a rush of adrenaline. My heart was racing; I could hear everything more clearly, and I could feel everything too.
While I was frightened by this difference caused by just one Boost, I wondered how the hell Issei couldn't win his battles with ease.
'Reading the light novel, I always thought that Boost was just physical. But now I see that it's much more than that…' I thought to myself, closing my left fist and admiring the gauntlet that had appeared.
The gauntlet was made of metal, but it tried to imitate the appearance of a dragon's scales in an almost stoic way, with pointed parts that didn't quite match the image of a dragon I naturally had in my mind.
["Can you feel my power, boy?! Isn't it amazing?"]
"Yes, it is... I haven't tested it yet, but I feel like I'm much faster, stronger, and my perception of things also seems sharper."
["Boosted Gear has the function of duplicating the user's characteristics. Your natural perception is high, so when you used a Boost, it became even higher, and you could see that although Boosted Gear is famous for enhancing physical abilities, it is much more than that. But..."]
Suddenly, I felt all that energy go away as my heart also calmed down. Even the heat I was feeling in my chest and head decreased dramatically.
["Every Boost ends after ten seconds. You'll need to use another Boost right after, but each Boost consumes your mana. This means that if you overuse Boosts, you'll get tired quickly."]
In fact, I could feel a little more tired now than before. It was like the side effects that coffee could have on some people. However, wouldn't feeling this side effect become increasingly difficult if I found a way to increase my mana? If this was the case, I could already think of two ways to do that!