Chapter 32: Single For A Long Time
Louie bent his head closer to the ground, carefully observing it along with the surrounding environment.
“From the terrain, it seems like not much time has elapsed on Earth?”
Louis asked with uncertainty.
As a human, he had seen countless anime and novels involving reincarnation. Louie was quite familiar with the time dilatory effects of transmigration. He could not guarantee that the rate at which time moved for the two worlds was one to one. It might even be extremely different.
[There are significant differences between the speed of time in both worlds. The specifics vary depending on certain factors, but on average, in San Soliel, 10-30 days will be equivalent to one day on Earth.]
Before Louie could ask, the Intelligent Brain had already answered his question.
“So that’s how it is……”
Louie sprang up, nervous, “That’s not right. If it’s as you say, then spending a day or two on Earth would mean ten days to half a month in San Soliel?!”
Louie could not help but be shocked. If the time difference was like that, then if he wasn’t able to find enough food for Dragon City in 1-2 days, then when he returned to Dragon City, about only 10 percent of the population would be left. The people there would have already starved to death without any food, increasing his reputation as a cruel dragon.
Although Louie believed that the elves would send some rations to the city, he also knew that they had their own food problems. If Sisna was not lying, then they would only be able to provide a few day’s worth of food.
Louie could not count on the elves. He could only count on himself.
Louie felt a little awkward. He estimated that there were around 100,000 people in the city at present. How was he able to provide for them in just a day or two? Putting aside the fact that he was a dragon in human society, even if he was a rich business magnate, mobilizing that amount of food would take time.
[Host need not worry. The ratio of time passage is dependent on your location. If you spend half a month on Earth, then only a day or two will pass in San Soliel. No matter where you are, the flow of time in the other world would slow down.]
“That is...extremely convenient.”
Louie felt slightly incredulous at the Intelligent Brain’s words.
Although his godhood had an ability related to time, it was not something that belonged to him. Although he could use it, he didn’t understand the nature of time at all.
[This is one of the greatest achievements of the Terran Civilization’s world traveling.]
The Intelligent Brain replied indifferently.
“In that case, wouldn’t they be invincible? If the world your kind invaded did not master such technology, it would have been wiped out without any resistance, right?
How terrifying it would be to face an enemy that could utilize the time ratio. Assuming the Terrans sent out an army, and after a bitter battle their expeditionary force was wiped out, then it could simply send out another army at its own pace. For the invaded worlds, however, hardly any time would have elapsed before the next barrage. If the Terrans could do this, they would constantly assault any opponents until they broke their defenses down.
However much time the Terrans needed to remobilize, the invaded world would only have a fraction before beginning battle anew.
[Time adjustment requires the consumption of energy. For individuals, this is not particularly difficult, but for invading armies the costs are astronomical. When the Terran Civilization invaded any undeveloped civilizations, it generally synchronized the time between the two worlds as soon as it opened the space-time tunnel. Time adjustment was generally only used for scouting missions.]
“So that’s it. They let the scouts spend years or even decades in the other world collecting detailed information, before using it to draft an invasion plan.”
Louie nodded his head. Although he knew little about the details of wars at the civilizational scale, knowing that he could stay on Earth for a while longer was enough.
Now he had enough time to think of a plan.
Setting his mind at ease, Louie began to wander the rainforest.
His body was now 10 meters long and he possessed the strength of a juvenile dragon. As long as the Intelligent Brain did not lie to him, there would be no magical creature in this world at all. While he could not match sophisticated human weaponry, among the beasts of the world he was the truest apex predator. Tigers, lions, and even elephants could do nothing to him.
In addition to his dragon might, there was nothing for him to be afraid of. He did not have to hide in the soil anymore like when he was a lizard. He could now swagger through the rainforest as he pleased.
The tropical rainforest was humid and sultry, but this was nothing for Louie. The magic runes on his scales were not for show. Asides from helping to resist physical attacks, they also kept his temperature at a comfortable level. This particular feature was why dragons could afford to take baths in lava. It wouldn't harm them in the least but packed enough heat to at least warm their bodies a little.
“Come to think of it, when I was still human I always wanted to experience living in the great outdoors. I always envied those researchers who could investigate and experiment with the various kinds of wildlife in their habitats too,” Louie exclaimed.
His frame bulldozed through the forest like a heavy tank, felling trees and crossing rivers easily. Countless animals scattered at the mere hint of his appearance.
“Wow, look. Could that be a jaguar?? Those are some lovely limbs... and look at that beautiful fur. That crocodile too; its teeth look so sharp, and its skin looks like it has a delightful rough feel to it! ”
Louie walked all the way and saw countless animals that were both familiar and unfamiliar. Seeing some especially beautiful female animals, he could not help but become aroused.
But Louie quickly banished the terrible ideas from his head.
‘Jesus! I’ve been single for so long that even animals have started to turn me on!’
The animals that Louie was looking at were scared and trembling on the ground, not even daring to move. Their mouth’s let out pitiful wails, allowing Louie to rub their stomachs at his discretion.
In Louie’s heart, he chanted ‘I’m not a pervert’ and ‘I’m not interested in female animals’ over and over again.
But suddenly, the sound of movement nearby caught his attention.