One may think of quintessence like it is concentrated mana, because it is. One must never think of devices that use quintessence as using magic, however. Magic is an art as much as it is a science, and what one mage may do with their mana, another cannot hope to replicate. Mana is simply a power source, and devices lack the creativity to adjust a spell to the environment or situation. They simply perform a task, using mana as the fuel, nothing more.

  – Ernst Crownhorn, Introduction to Magitechnology

  When the spaceport workers didn’t immediately try to attack him, Apex reasoned it was fine to start looking into his structure more. Better to do this while not in flight, where any problems wouldn’t be immediately fatal to his passengers. Granted, right now that was only Naven and two cultists whose names weren’t important, but he liked Naven, as much as he could like any human. Honesty went a long way for him.

  His patched-up mana circuits were not in good condition, but they were enough for him to use them to feel out his body better. The first thing he noticed was, of course, that the mana circuits did not match the same paths he had in his original body. Actually, he was pretty sure that the Lesser Folk hadn’t been aware of the pathways they now called mana circuits, though he and other dragons were quite familiar with them.

  Then again… he considered how the mage he had fought had been impressive, for a Lesser Folk. Perhaps they had discovered the pathways even back then, and he had missed it. That was certainly a possibility.

  Regardless, they clearly knew about them now, and called them circuits. Now that he had some ability to control his magical output, Apex focused on that and sent a faint pulse through his circuitry, tracing out the pathways. It was small enough to dissipate harmlessly through the network, if all went well.

  “Hmm…”

  This wasn’t like his dragon body at all. The shape was right, but when he looked over the ‘map’ of the circuits they were considerably different. It was a miracle his earlier spell had worked at all, and something more serious would have misfired badly, not to mention blowing out a lot of the circuits.

  On review, however…

  Apex sent a stronger pulse through the circuits, watching them flare in his mind’s eye. It wasn’t that the structure was incorrect at all. It was not quite right for how he wanted to use it, but it made sense. The fuel tanks all routed through a central path to dispense, instead of acting like the nodes in a living being that generated mana, but otherwise that was correct.

  And it wasn’t controlled by his head, he saw that now. His being, his thoughts, were all mapped to a place deep within his new body. Everything went through this small device, allowing it to control the flow of mana through any part of his body. There were, in fact, two pathways. One to move his body and control the major systems, then a second that had tiny filaments out to all manner of devices, across the entire innards. Small pathways to feed power that mostly fed items like the lights in rooms and doors.

  He could already control these, but he had done so by using the built-in systems already existing on the ship. With a slight adjustment, he could take control of them manually. It would take practice to handle such tiny threads, but he was a Great Dragon. Of course he could do it.

  After he learned to properly use the new network. Priorities.

  “Apex, the lights are flickering again. Are you sure everything is all right?”

  Naven’s voice cut through the dragon’s thoughts, stirring a brief flare of irritation. He quieted it as he processed what the human had said. It may have irked him to be asked something like that as if he was weak, but he knew the human didn’t think of it that way. He was too useful to get angry at over something the man couldn’t possibly understand.

  “Please be quiet. I am working on something and should be finished shortly.” Apex rumbled that out as politely as he could, before diving back into his examination.

  Every tank route through a central dispenser, as he’d noted. This, he realized, was the ‘reactor’ that Sallus had mentioned. It took the raw quintessence and broke it down into the actual raw mana that flowed through the circuits. In his original body this had been handled by the mana nodes, which simply produced the necessary mana and stored it in other ways. Quintessence was more stable than this, but not quite as efficient. The processing needed generated heat, requiring yet another series of pathways through his body. Tubes carrying a coolant kept the system from breaking down.

  Interesting, the dragon mused to himself.

  Another system controlled a set of mana-powered devices throughout the ship. These, he could recognize cleanly. This was how the ship replicated gravity in space, and shielded the crew during his quick maneuvers. This made a lot of sense, and its own connection to the reactor and a separate control system kept it independent from his will.

  His inspection of his body almost complete, Apex moved to the core of his being. He could feel it now that he knew where to look. His soul, bound to some strange device that allowed him to control the body as his own. This was intriguing, as it was much farther beyond what he knew. The rest of the technology, while he could not design and build it himself, he could understand easily. But this was unique, and-

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  A faint buzzing sensation at the edge of his consciousness distracted him. Irritation flared, as he tried to track down what it was.

  Oh, right, he thought. Another incoming call from the spaceport. Not his concern. He rejected the call and went back to his inspection.

  Back to consideration, Apex internally let his mana flow over the strange artifact. This, he realized, must be the Soul Processor that had been mentioned. Deceptively small, but his probing mana could feel its complexity. He could also feel his soul there, his own being – but it was also spread throughout the ship. He recalled Sallus had mentioned the need for a ship shaped like a dragon, and now he understood. His soul was concentrated here, but his aura suffused the ship itself. This let him-

  That buzzing was back. Persistence like this was now to the level of annoyance, but Apex had little desire to talk to these creatures. He was busy with something important. He should have done this while cruising in space, but the risk of accidentally killing the only being who knew how to repair him had been too great. Now he had the stability, but not the peace and quiet he needed.

  He thought for a moment, then opened a channel to Naven’s room. “Human, the port keeps calling me and I am busy with something more important. Say whatever is needed to get rid of them.”

  A redirect of the call to the prisoner’s room cut off any objection, and Apex returned to his examination. That should do it. Let the Lesser Folk settle their squabbles while he examines this device that looks far beyond the complexity of everything else…

  “What?”

  Naven stared at the ceiling, but Apex didn’t answer him. Only silence returned his query for a good five seconds… until the crackle of an incoming external call came in.

  “Draconis Starship Apexillos, this is the harbormaster. Respond.” The voice was stern and sounded exasperated, which already put Naven on edge.

  Even more worrying was that Apex had just given him an open line to the outside. That seemed incredibly sloppy. He was a captive, and if he wanted out of here, he could come up with a strategy if he reported his status. What could have distracted Apex that much?

  “This is the Apexillos, what can we do for you?” Naven tried to keep his voice level but his tone casual. Turning over what had happened in his head, he realized he didn’t have much of a choice. He could escape… but a Commonwealth officer in a non-Coalition port run by crime syndicates wasn’t the best place to escape to. He’d be unlikely to last a day. At best he might get ransomed off, but that seemed a slim chance. He might as well see what they needed.

  “Your ship tore up our docks and walkways. We’re fixing them right now, but we need to square the books. Three crates of Hyper or two of Expanse.”

  Naven sighed and rolled his head back against the back of the chair. He knew a shakedown when he heard one. He also knew they were likely aware that the Captain wasn’t here, and were trying to pressure him into saying something they could hold over Sallus’s head.

  Though why had they asked for that? Did they not know this ship didn’t run drugs? What was Sallus playing at?

  He scratched at his beard in thought before he answered.

  “I’m not the Captain and I also don’t know what the current state of our hold is. Give me a few minutes to check in on it. These old ships can be a pain for that sort of thing.”

  “Sure, sure,” the man replied. He sounded quite reasonable, but Naven knew it was probably just confidence that he’d have to answer soon. And he did, too. What he really needed was to buy enough time for Sallus to return or Apex to get curious about what was happening.

  He briefly considered a fantasy of convincing Apex to fly off without Sallus, but he knew that was unlikely. The disembodied voice was probably a bound soul that thought he was a real dragon, but this was his ship. Sallus was the only one who knew how to maintain him, and she’d likely built in failsafes in case he tried to run to another port. Anyone crazy enough to dip into the forbidden magics of shoving a soul into a machine would be ruthless enough to protect her investment.

  So stalling it was.

  Naven waited just long enough for the contact to start getting impatient before speaking again. “That seems very expensive, it would make this whole trip not profitable at all. Maybe we can negotiate?”

  “Maybe. Clamps are still on, for now.”

  A sigh almost slipped out. Naven couldn’t mute the transmission, so he had to be careful what he said. A ship the size of Apex could tear free of the docking clamps pretty easily, but no ship wanted to be dragging clamps until their charge wore off. The price they were asking wasn’t worth the damage to the hull that would cause.

  He’d have to drag this out longer.

  The Soul Processor was definitely not constructed by the same people. Apex could barely grasp what was going on with it, but what little he knew of necromancy pointed heavily to that. The complex patterns of mana circuitry were precision-crafted specifically to hold a soul, while letting it interact with the world around it, he understood that much. How it did this, and what sort of knowledge could put it together, both evaded him.

  It also felt… uncomfortably familiar despite his confusion over how it was made and what it was doing.

  He’d learned quite a lot now, though. He could not immediately use all of this knowledge, but in time, with careful adjustments guided by his own mana circuits, he could take more control of his own body. He was certain of that.

  Absently, the dragon turned his attention back to the rest of his body. Naven was arguing about some kind of payment. The cultists had returned and just finished loading some new cargo, along with a new crew member. Sallus had settled herself in the bridge and was speaking on her own communicator, and from context… also negotiating payment?

  Apex was confused for a few moments, but listening to both sides of Naven’s conversation, and one half of Sallus’s conversation, it dawned on him. They were either trying to get a contradictory offer so they could raise the cost, or get paid twice. They wouldn’t release the clamps without a deal, so he was stuck here.

  Or so they thought.

  Nobody should try to double deal a dragon.

  He cut off Naven’s transmission. “I will handle this,” he said to both the prisoner and Sallus.

  Without waiting for either of their replies, he flexed his new mana circuits against the clamps, countering the crude ‘attraction’ spell they used to hold onto the hull. He watched as the clamps all collapsed under their own magical circuits continuing to operate, now redirected, leaving his body starting to fall away from the docks.

  Apex curled back, turned about, and fired his thrusters without a care for the docks he melted behind him, leaving the port of Fang City behind.

  Heron's Hearth In Another World

  TweekZ