A Chronometric Defect

*thud*

Haa? What's that behind me? Sounds like a dragon, but—

*thud*

I turn around.

*thud*

HOLY Chronomet! What kinda dragon is that?!

"Hello, Yvilos."

He has a deep voice, but it's also surprisingly serene for a dragon. Not as gravelly as usual. I suppose Chronomet is another exception; his voice sounds like noise, but it makes sense to my brain anyhow.

I raise one eyebrow.

What's with the broken circles in his eyes? Never seen that before.

*thud*

The dragon kneels and bows.

"Dang, you're darn close to Chronomet's preferred size. You must be sixteen meters tall! Where in tarnation did you come from and how do you know me?"

"Hah, I didn't think you'd recognize me. I'm reporting back early from my break. Dragon Porrthai, at your service."

"P-p-porrthai? You... You became a dragon? And, you're absolutely huge!"

"I'd be even bigger, but Chronomet declared he was regulating his array. Something about overdrawing atmospheric Mana, so it'll only be available late at night, plus the improved version will be limited to determined kaizen along with dragons. Thankfully, he's promised to invent an inscription so the newly grown dragons like myself can shrink down to a more manageable size."

"O-ohkay. So, kaizen are goin' to become dragons, and dragons will become... Stronger? Am I gettin' it? He did often talk about that. Bein' stronger, I mean."

"Yes, our god has made it so! Of course, kaizen can choose to not evolve, but they won't receive this god-blessed body! I can't imagine any who would refuse! I am the first blessed kaizen, so Chronomet rewarded me with a series of his draconic inscriptions. I'm so proud to be a dragon! Praise god Chronomet!"

As if one Dragon God wasn't enough already, is he gonna manufacture more? What is this absurdity?

"Ain't you dragons strong enough?"

He shakes his big scaly head.

"We dragons shall never be satisfied by 'strong enough!' 'Enough' is not the way of the dragon! God Chronomet has declared it thus!"

Yeah, I'll bet he did.

Welp, Porrthai ain't got problems bein' religious no more. It must help that Chronomet's an actual deity. Though, that ideology of his has always made me concerned. Now he's spreadin' it to his underlin's. Chronomet's powerful enough to end the whole damn planet after six days; how strong will he be next week? Nah, scratch that. I don't wanna know.

"Alright, you're more than welcome to get back to work early."

He stands from his kneelin' position and proudly puffs out his chest.

Oof. Yeah, with a towerin' and overbuilt figure like yours, it's hard not to be proud.

"Thank you! My god also shared a video of his private draconic ceremony. After watching, I've decided I'll also be working weekends! Just so you know ahead of time."

He turns and walks away.

*thud*

Ah, this guy used to work hard and play hard. Now he's become one of those dragons, whose play IS workin' hard.

*thud*

I glance at the smaller dragons. They're lookin' way up at Porrthai with pride, admiration, and...

*thud*

Envy.

Hah! To think even the dragons can feel that way about their own kind.

*thud*

I watch Porrthai grab a 40 tonne pile on his own, then unfurl an enormous set of deep red wings, sharply contrastin' his dark green scales.

Holy money. Those wings are BIG.

Plus, it looks like the pile he's holdin' is a mid-sized log compared to his huge body. Sheesh, lord Chronomet. Do you never cease to amaze?

Seein' Porrthai take off, the group of smaller dragons finally stop oglin'. They all rush over. The mid-sized female dragon, defacto leader of this little group, speaks.

"Yvilos, we'd heard news about Chronomet's new inscription but had no idea it was so magical. The four of us feel a lot of regret! What should we do?"

I gesture with my chin at Porrthai.

"Well, first off, I think he's got the piles handled."

She nods her head, but her shoulders droop slightly. She looks downcast. Ha!

"Second, Porrthai's way too damn huge to finish the interior work, so you're gonna have to take his place. Make sure you ask him for details you're not sure about. No offense to you, but he was by far the best worker on this site aside from you dragons, and now—"

#THUNNNNNNNnnnnnn#

...

...

Porrthai just drove a pile directly into bedrock with raw strength alone.

Uhm. Was that possible?

The four of them look at his masterful handiwork with excitement and pride. No envy this time. Such an achievement is mainly a measure of his hard work, skill, and immense determination.

Plus, bein' a huge friggin' dragon, I suppose!

I continue talkin'.

"Well, now I think you all got some much stiffer competition for that top spot."

Surprisin'ly, she straightens right up.

"We— are dragons! Competition to build the biggest hoard is only natural! We will redouble our efforts and fight RIGHTEOUSLY to maintain our lead over Porrthai!"

The other three dragons bob their scaly heads in agreement.

Hoard? Fight righteously? Somehow, I feel this buildin's either gonna be done in the next twenty minutes or we're gonna be rebuildin' half the city. I'm not sure which, yet. Maybe both. I can't do crap against a dragon, but I'm sure Porrthai won't take too kindly to them makin' a mess, and... I glance over at him; he's flyin' over to snag the next pile.

He could probably drop kick these guys if they did anythin' to HIS half-made buildin'. I might be site manager and mayor, but I ain't contestin' the ownership rights of a four-storey dragon.

"Uhm, okay. You do that. I'm gonna move over—"

I point waaaay over yonder.

"— there. Let me know if you need anythin'."

"Sure thing, boss!"

She and her entourage flit back over to the buildin' and head inside. No doubt to do the interior work as instructed. Thank goodness.

I look back at Porrthai, who's landin'.

#THUD#

*klank*

*tong**chong*

He grabs TWO piles.

I tilt my head slightly.

I'm gettin' away from here.