Rose was having a good day. She really hadn't expected her weekend to be this exciting.

Her task was simple: find a remote location in the forest for this so-called ritual. The forest itself wasn't that dangerous due to its proximity to the town, so the monster population was routinely culled down to an acceptable level.

Not that any of the monsters could stand up to a dragon!

Her body seemed to revel in this. What few monsters she had encountered had practically fled in terror when they spotted her approaching before she dispatched them with either a kick, punch, or gout of flame if they fled out of her reach.

It felt good.

Rose found herself looking forward to the trip with Lady Desthu more and more and wondered what type of monsters they would hunt. Would they hunt bigger ones? Would it be a more fitting challenge? She felt a beating, pulsing heat rising within her chest.

She eventually snapped back to reality when she recalled her current mission. Finding a spot for Lily.

It's too bad she can't come with us. Sure, she didn't get much from those two birds, but if she was close by and I killed something big, then surely even she would gain something, right?

Rose had no idea. She had tried obtaining more information about it from Lady Desthu, but she had been unsuccessful so far.

"Rose, if you'd like to find out so quickly, we can happily move up our schedule instead of waiting around," Lady Desthu threatened.

Rose shuddered, not because of what the stuck-up lady had said but because she herself had nearly been tempted to give in to those words.

I really need to get this dragon thing sorted out. As much as I hate her, I can also understand the logic behind it. If I go to a school like this, I might start punching all the teachers and pupils. It's certainly not a good way to make friends or get through the school years. I don't want to be a bully like Tim.

Trying to get rid of the negative thoughts in her head, she broke into a light jog as she tried to scout a bit deeper into the forest. She felt she had boundless energy that needed to be expended, and she would jump over rocks or logs just because she could.

But still, what exactly am I looking for here? It's not like I'm going to find a secret underground lair… Or a cave behind a waterfall. I don't want to bring Lily too deep into the forest, but at this rate, that might be the only solution. If it's far enough away from the city, then even casual explorers might not come across it.

She started going deeper. There was a section of the forest with a lot of undergrowth, and to progress, you had to cut through the wild vegetation.

A natural deterrent for any would-be wanderers? Rose postulated.

She easily tore through the underbrush with her bare hands and claws. It had certainly inconvenienced her everyday life while they were still in the process of growing, but once they had fully formed, she could almost "retract" them in a way.

A battle mode and an everyday mode.

After finally breaking through a good 50 meters of underbrush, Rose finally entered what looked like a relatively open clearing. A hidden glade?

This… Might be perfect? It looks like it might be large enough to work with. Although I'd be willing to bet something has probably made this their home.

Rose began cautiously entering the glade as she searched for the possible occupants. Despite a lack of formal training, she thought she was being perfectly stealthy. Her optimism was proven unfounded when a low growl suddenly came from her flank before a large blackish-gray creature lunged for her.

A dire wolf!

Rather than fear, Rose felt exhilaration. That constant thrumming heat in her chest began to swell as she raised her arms to block the incoming fangs.

The pouncing wolf's fangs snapped down on her arm, although due to all her newly grown scales, it barely punctured her flesh more than a blood trickle. The wolf started trying to ravage her arm by jerking its head to and fro.

Rose gave off a savage grin as she quickly performed a dropkick motion with her leg into the wolf's gut. The impact was loud, followed by a slight whimper from the wolf, but it still clutched onto her arm as if trying to sever it.

"You'll need much sharper fangs to get my arm, you mangy mutt!" Rose taunted as she swung her free arm.

Before her fist made contact with the wolf, it burst with a wreath of flames. When the blow hit the monster, an explosive gout of flame seemed to almost punch through it and continue its trajectory.

This time, the wolf let go of her arm as it flinched back in abhorrent pain. It was likely contemplating retreat, but Rose was too fast, and she pounced on it.

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Her clawed nails had fully extended, and she began tearing into the dire wolf. To any observer, they might wonder who truly was the beast in this situation as Rose seemed to lose herself in the moment. That thrumming heat was now a full percussion orchestra; it egged her to continue fighting.

She punched, she tore, and she burned. If she fully gave in to the instincts screaming at her, she might have even taken a bite out of the dire wolf! But thankfully, she held enough sanity to not consume any monster flesh.

Her victory was apparent when her final blow against the beast broke off a large black chunk of it. The indicator that the monster was dead and losing its form.

Gods! That felt exhilarating! My blood is on fire!

She didn't feel tired or even injured. She just felt good. There was a burning, tingling sensation from her lower back, but she ignored it as she basked in the glow of triumph.

As she watched the monster flake away into black particles, her victorious aftermath was suddenly cut short. She heard far more growling. Turning her head, she saw a much larger dire wolf followed by two more.

The pack leader and its mates?

Rose growled in response, and a flaming aura kindled around her. The grass she stood on even wilted and singed.

I guess it's finally time to put my magic lessons to use! She thought positively.

Despite being outnumbered, no fear had crept into her heart; it was as if some primal part of her denied such inferiority. As if almost in a trance, she reached for the Mana in her blood, and it answered in full force! It had never come to her this easily before, and she couldn't help but feel exhilarating excitement.

She raised her arms to the sky. A large ball of flame burst into existence and kept growing in size. She rapidly fed that ball of flame while her blood boiled.

The wolves suddenly seemed less confident and began almost instinctively backing off. But Rose wasn't about to let them escape. She swung her arms and sent the ball of flame hurtling towards them.

The wolves tried to scatter, but the unexpected speed of the spell was too much, and they had barely gained any distance before it struck their previous position.

Boom!

A massive explosion echoed throughout the forest, followed by the sounds of squawks and fleeing wildlife that overheard the commotion. One of the wolves had instantly burnt to a crisp in the explosion, while the other two looked like they would succumb to their burn wounds shortly.

The pack leader was still standing, although most of its fur was burnt, exposing singed, raw flesh. Rather than yelping in pain, it answered with snarling anger—perhaps even rage at losing one of its mates.

Not that Rose cared; it was a monster in front of her, and monsters were to be put down.

She sprinted toward the wolf, flame gathering in her fists again as she prepared to strike it. The wolf, however, was prepared this time and dodged to the side before lunging at her.

Rose wanted to raise her arms or perhaps kick, but instead, she instinctually swung her hips to the side. A reddish-scaled shape blurred and slammed into the flank of the airborne dire wolf, sending it scattering to the side.

Rose blinked in confusion as she felt the impact against the wolf but ignored the questions for now. She had a monster to kill!

To counterattack, she lunged at the wolf, but rather than a fist, her hands were outstretched, and the flames coated her claws. It looked like she had manifested a gauntlet of flame as she swiped at the beast.

The claws, both flame and draconic, dug deep into the monster's flesh. It howled in pain before snapping back at her. She tried to block, but this was a mistake. She had expected her scaled arms to be enough, but this wolf had far sharper fangs and a much more powerful jaw.

She yelled out in pain when she felt the teeth sink deep into her flesh. And then she saw red. She let out a roar that echoed throughout the glade. The wounded wolves whimpered in terror, but the pack leader just clenched harder.

Rose began punching with her free arm before resorting to clawing and tearing. When that didn't work, she started kicking with her legs, but the wolf refused to let go and began thrashing as if trying to sever her arm.

The heat in her chest was now a blazing furnace. She sucked in the air. Shecould hear the burning intensity deep within. And then she expelled all the heat, all the rage, from within her chest.

Intense flames erupted out of her mouth, so powerful she felt they might unhinge her jaw from the backlash or even roast her own flesh. But when the fire collided with the wolf and swept across her bleeding limb, it felt more like a soothing warmth rather than burning pain.

This was her flame! It wouldn't dare burn its mistress!

The wolf still didn't let go, but it didn't matter. Amongst the blackened char were the familiar black flakes of a dying monster. Even dying, the wolf refused to relent, and it literally perished with its jaws snapped shut on her arm, its last act of defiance as the dire wolf pack leader.

Rose tore its jaw off with her free hand when it flaked away enough. She flexed the injured arm a little to ensure it hadn't become too wounded. She had expected more blood, but the flame had almost cleansed her arm, and even the puncture wounds were starting to look partially cauterized.

She glanced around at her surroundings. The adrenaline and burning within her both smoldered down. There was fire everywhere.

"Oh gods… This is going to burn down the entire glade!" Rose exclaimed in panic.

She also saw that the remaining wolves were still alive, and that was when she had an idea. She reached out with both her arms and breathed in deeply.

"Ignis colliget in manu mea," Rose chanted.

The surrounding flames seemed to awaken and jumped at her magical command. They began to coalesce into a ball within the palm of her hands.

"Yes! I did it!" Rose said excitedly.

She had collected the flame, stopping the fire spread, and now she had a spell to finish the job on the last few wolves. She hurled the ball of flame at the whimpering dire wolves.

Part of her wondered if she was being too ruthless, but she easily swatted away that niggling doubt. Monsters attacked anyone not of their kind; there was no mercy needed for such creatures. They both died, and she once again basked in her victory.

She felt great. She felt stronger.

"I almost want to go run off with Lady Desthu right now!" Rose admitted.

Now, she just needed to check if there were any remaining dire wolves in this small glade. If she cleared it out entirely, then it would be perfect.

She felt a small chill run up her lower spine. She glanced and nearly screamed at what she saw.

A tail. A long, large, red-scaled dragon tail was dangling down. It had somehow grown tremendously, likely fueled by all the monsters she had killed. And it had completely shredded through the back of her pants!

"My pants!" Rose cried out in dismay.

She had finally found a shop with clothes she actually liked, which specialized in garments for tailed individuals. And now, with the sudden growth, she had thoroughly ruined one of her few good pairs of pants.

"Ugh… This sucks…" Rose muttered in dismay.