Ithil, being in a good mood, took his time as he flew toward his family. He spent the time studying himself. He had grown a lot without even realizing it.

He passed by the underwater cave as he roughly measured himself. He was turning into a quite long and slender dragon, even more so than his parents. Being 15 meters long and slightly over 6 meters tall, he would no longer have to strain his neck as much when talking to his parents. But he still had a long way to go.

Dragons liked boasting about their strength, but Ithil had never really found out how old his parents were. Though he could guess by their size and the average growth of copper dragons that they were early elders, which meant around 200 - 400 years old.

‘Now that I think about it, I don’t really know much about my family… But there’s really no reason to try to find out. They will tell me when they feel it’s time.’

Ithil, who was now 22 years old, was way too large for a copper dragon. His scales were also unusually dark.

‘Perhaps I’m some subspecies? Maybe I have some rare mutation?’

He studied his wings, which were even larger now compared to his body. He easily had a wingspan of over 50 meters. If not, he wouldn’t have been able to fly without magic helping him.

The Distant Peaks showed up on the horizon as Ithil went on to study his limbs. The four of them were long and slender, much like the rest of his body. Although his back legs were a bit bulkier with larger claws used to jump high in the air. Otherwise, it would be much harder to set off before the flight. His front claws were much more bendable and could be used for grabbing things and attacking.

His eyes turned to his tail. It was long and sharp, useful for surprise attacks. Being half of his length, it looked quite dangerous for attackers. Small spikes could even be seen forming towards the end.

Ithil had to turn his head forward again as he was heading straight for a mountain.

‘Not doing that again…’

He quickly reoriented himself and headed for his parents’ home.

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Ithil entered the nest, wondering why no one had come to greet him.

‘Perhaps they’re out hunting or something?’

He pushed open the gates with a bit of difficulty. Six years ago it would seem impossible, but Ithil had grown enough to slowly push it open. He walked through once the gap was large enough and closed the door again behind him, also with difficulty.

He walked through the large hall. It still seemed huge to Ithil, but he had grown used to it. The outside was much larger after all. He reached the second door, which was slightly easier to open.

The sea of wonder spread out before him. The platform overlooking the riches felt now slightly smaller to Ithil, but it was still very large. His eyes scanned the surroundings. He spotted a dragon about two-thirds of his size rushing toward him.

“You’re back! But why are you so big?” Ithil’s brother Visil asked.

“I have no idea. But do you know where everyone else is?”

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Turns out Ithil’s sister Nadra was out exploring on her own while Ithil’s father had gone to visit someone. Later in the day, Ithil’s mother came home from hunting to see Ithil standing outside. She had been a bit surprised at how much Ithil had grown, but she was getting used to how abnormal he was.

While eating Ithil asked about potential places for him to find challenging opponents.

“Well, there is the Island of Trials. But most go there once they’re adults to prove their strength.”

“The Island of Trials?”

“It’s an island inhabited by many powerful beings ranging from rank 3 to even some rank 1s. But I’m not sure you’re ready. You are unusually strong, but I think it’s a bit much.”

“What if I stay away from those areas with rank 1s?”

“That could work… But it’s still very dangerous, you could still stumble upon something dangerous.”

“Well, I have big wings. I should be able to escape most threats, and my dragon breath is good at slowing down opponents.”

“I’m still not so sure, you never know what can happen…”

Ithil was quite sure he could at least stay safe with his powers, but convincing his mother would be a problem. They sat for a few minutes thinking about possible solutions.

“What if I prove it to you?” Ithil eventually said.

“And how are you going to do that?”

“I’ll show you how much I’ve grown. Afterward, you can decide whether I’m ready.”

“I guess… In a few days, we’ll have a duel. If you can at least avoid my attacks, I’ll consider letting you go.”

“Okay.”

Ithil walked away to think for a moment.

‘I’ll need some strategy… Mother uses mostly ice magic which my dragon breath should be able to shatter at long range. But close by I won’t be able to summon my breath in time…

Dodging is easier when smaller…

Can I even use my dragon breath when in my humanoid form?

If I can, it could prove very useful in bad situations…’

Ithil spent the next days refining his technique and testing out new moves. The more time he spent training, the more confident he became. After five days of training, his mother invited Ithil to the duel.