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Chapter 9: Age of Dragons (4)
Chapter 9: Age of Dragons (4)
Chapter 9: Age of Dragons (4)
"If you want to do it, I won't stop you."
"Really?"
"Of course, how could I stop you from doing what you want?"
At my words, Thetis laughed very happily.
"However, since we don't know what the consequences of such an action will be, you must be careful. Understand?"
"Yes? Yes! I understand!"
Ah, she doesn't seem to get it. She's too happy to listen.
That aside... I was able to create bodies for these children by sharing my scales, but what would happen if they shared their scales with the dinosaurs?
I'm a bit curious.
"Just in case, I'll watch over it with you. If a problem arises, you might need my help.""Yes! It's reassuring to have Mother's help!"
With that, I changed back into my original form, a dragon.
"Then, to where the dinosaurs are... Ah."
"Hm? What's wrong?"
Thetis looked back and forth between the lake she was in and me, then said,
"I was going to transport Mother through the lake by opening a portal through the water..."
"And?"
"It seems Mother's body is too big to fit in the lake."
Ah.
"Then, it seems you'll have to transform into a smaller form."
Thetis said as if it were troublesome. Well, my body is indeed large.
"No choice then."
I used my magic to transform my body into that of a small girl.
"Then, would you hold onto the fin on top of my head?"
"Hm. Let's do that."
I created wings with my magic and flew up to sit on top of Thetis's head.
"Let's see... This seems right to hold onto."
I grabbed one of the fins protruding from the side of Thetis's head.
"Does it hurt?"
I held it with just enough force to not fall off, but it would be problematic if it hurt.
"It's an unfamiliar feeling, but it's okay at this level. Then, let's go!"
With that, Thetis dived quickly into the lake.
Even though we dived into the water, I didn't feel like I was suffocating, which meant that even in a human form, my body was still essentially that of a dragon. It was convenient not needing to breathe.
My whole body and hair were soaked in the cold lake water. Since becoming a dragon, I hadn't had hair, so it felt quite fresh.
In the middle of the cold lake water, Thetis's magic gathered to form a circle, and without any hesitation, she jumped into it.
As soon as Thetis swam through the circle, the surroundings changed.
From a quiet lake with no movement unless Thetis moved, to a vast sea constantly churning.
The salty sea water. Countless fish. Long seaweeds and coral reefs.
We were in the middle of the brightly shining sea.
"We've arrived. They should be around here... Ah, there they are!"
Thetis swam quickly through the vast sea. At the spot where Thetis stopped, there were five dinosaurs that had evolved to adapt to the sea.
"Have you been waiting long? I got permission!"
Whether they understood Thetis's words or not, the five sea dinosaurs started to circle around Thetis.
Ah, it's spacious here, so there's no need to maintain a human form. I let go of Thetis's fin and started to move away from her.
"Mother?"
"It seems there won't be any problems if I change back to my original form here."
I moved away from Thetis and took off the white slime leather cloth wrapped around me.
Now, if I change back to my original form...
"Kyao!"
Hm?
Just as I was about to change back to my original form, one of the sea dinosaurs circling Thetis, with a long neck like a sea serpent, charged towards me.
Ah, um... Does it see me as prey now?
"Aah, stop!"
"Kyauu!"
The large dinosaur opened its mouth wide, trying to swallow me in one bite.
It seems to have underestimated me quite a bit.
"Tsk."
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I lightly flicked my index finger in the direction of the dinosaur.
Kwoong!!
In an instant, a tremendous shock passed by the dinosaur's side.
Well, I avoided a direct hit for Thetis's sake.
"You should choose your opponents more carefully. This is why beasts are beasts."
Even though the shock from the flick only grazed by the dinosaur, its skin became tattered in an instant.
"Kraaaak!"
The dinosaur, twisting in pain. If it had been a direct hit, its body would have been torn into hundreds of pieces.
"Oh dear, what should I do!?"
"Hmm, it wouldn't matter if we lost one, would it?"
I spoke to Thetis in a calm voice, and Thetis, not knowing what to do, bowed her head slightly.
"I carefully chose one with a good head, but I didn't expect this. Uhh... That one had quite a good head on its shoulders."
The dinosaur, bleeding and suffering. Well... it was an instinctual action, so it couldn't be helped.
I gathered my magic and lightly enveloped the dinosaur. Then, I hoped that the dinosaur's wounds would heal with the magic.
"Kreuh?"
As the dinosaur writhed in pain, light swirled around its body, and the wounds began to disappear.
"Mother, what was that just now?"
"I used magic to heal the wounds. I thought it might work, and it did."
"Waah...."
Thetis was very amazed. Well, I didn't expect it to be this effective either.
Anyway, it seems the situation has been sorted out. I transformed my body... let's just call it polymorph.
The other dinosaurs showed signs of fleeing at my sudden appearance, but it was a minor issue.
When Thetis called them back, they quickly gathered again.
"Now, I'll pluck my scales and share them with these dinosaurs. I wonder what the result will be?"
"I wonder too."
Thetis plucked five scales from under her chin and distributed them to the five dinosaurs.
Strangely, the scales automatically found their places under the chins of the dinosaurs.
"Oh, what's this?"
"I wonder."
The children I shared my scales with initially had no bodies, so that's understandable, but what would happen to these dinosaurs that already had bodies?
Water magic, similar to Thetis's, spread from the scales under the chins of the dinosaurs, covering their bodies.
The dark scales of the dinosaurs began to turn blue, and their bodies started to change.
Fins transformed into front and back legs, and they began to resemble Thetis.
They had wings, albeit a bit smaller, and instead of horns... fin-like shapes appeared.
After a brief moment, the dinosaurs transformed into beings that looked a bit like smaller Thetises.
They looked like a blue dragons.
Except for one.
"That one... it's the one that attacked Mother earlier."
"Hmm. That's weird."
The dinosaur that had attacked me... perhaps because it had been tattered and wounded, couldn't fully absorb the power contained in Thetis's scale.
It looked like it was halfway transformed into something resembling Thetis. Although it had blue scales, it ultimately transformed into something closer to a giant sea serpent.
Hmm, perhaps it couldn't fully accept Thetis's scale because it was battered by my attack.
The dinosaur, resembling a sea serpent, realizing it was too different from the other dinosaurs... the Bluedragons, bit the scale that had fallen from its body and started to flee somewhere.
"That one... Hmm..."
"Will you chase it?"
"No. It's okay. It wouldn't matter if we lost one."
On Thetis's face as she said this... was a trace of complexity.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The calamity of the sea. Sea serpents were known to be monsters far removed from dragons, but recent research has revealed them to be distant relatives of dragons.
More precisely, they are classified as Lesser Dragons, a category that includes monsters like drakes and wyverns, which, while not as powerful as dragons, are still formidable creatures.
……
While the sea serpent, freely swimming through the ocean and attacking ships or harbors, does not exhibit the same intelligence as dragons, the strength of its scales is undeniable.
As hard and strong as dragon scales, these scales are among the best materials for armor, and many adventurers have lost their lives trying to hunt sea serpents in hopes of striking it rich.
Hunting a sea serpent, with its tough scales, may seem impossible, but there is one spot. A vulnerability exists.
Right under the jaw of the sea serpent. There is a patch of skin about a handspan in size where no scales grow, and this skin is quite fragile, so it can be pierced with a sufficiently powerful arrow or crossbow bolt.
Of course, the feat of hitting a single weak spot while a giant Sea Serpent is rampaging in the sea is a trivial matter.
- Monster Encyclopedia. Sea Serpent Edition.