When I arrive in the cave I find Lin, Nala, and Albion having their lunch. Mulan and Mushu are taking a nap, meaning they probably ate their lunch first. Lin doesn't look worried, so I probably didn't sleep for too long, which is a relief.

"How long was I gone?"

Lin says "Just since last night, why?"

"Good, then I didn't sleep for more than a few hours."

Lin says "Did something happen?"

While eating the food that Lin hands to me, I tell her about what happened. At her request I take out some of the gems I got from the pool for her to look at. I also check them out again, but they are just normal gems as far as I can tell.

Lin says "I've never heard of anything like that before."

"That's no surprise. If it happened to anyone else they would have died. Either from the heat or from suffocation."

Lin says "That's true. Not that anyone else would go swimming in lava. So, what do you think it was?"

"My best guess is that it was the nest of something that died long ago."

Lin says "It is pretty unbelievable, but this kind of thing happens to you a lot, doesn't it?"

"Yes it does, but I also go places others fear to go."

Lin says "Well, as long as you keep surviving!"

"True. Have you found any time to meditate?"

Lin says "Yes. My mana pool is almost full and I have been practicing moving pure mana through my channels."

"That's good. Keep at it."

Lin says "Are you going back to mining?"

"Yeah. I may not be back for dinner, but I will try to remember to open a soulscape."

Lin says "Just don't push yourself too hard."

"Don't worry. I am nowhere close to reaching my limits."

Lin says "Alright. I trust you."

In response I give Lin a smile and then go back to eating my food without saying anything. From how she said that she trusts me I can tell she actually means it. It gives me a really warm feeling hearing it, no one else really trusts me.

Anyone else I told that to would have immediately accused me of being overconfident. Of course, Lin also hasn't known me as long as the others have, but it is still nice. Hopefully, I can avoid doing something stupid that will cost me her trust, at least for a while.

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Normally, I would eat a couple of dishes and be fine, but for some reason I am still hungry. Lin has the food pouch so I end up having to ask her for more food. She doesn't say anything, but she smiles as she takes out a dozen more dishes for me.

At first I think that she has given me too much food, but I end up eating all of it. Even after all of that I am still not full, which starts to make me suspicious. It is only then that I pull up my stats and notice that my rank has gone up.

However, going up in rank alone isn't enough to explain my current level of hunger. I go through my enter character sheet, but I don't see anything else that has changed. Then again, I have gone through a number of changes that weren't reflected on my character screen.

Maybe I am getting ready to go through another growth spurt, that would explain the hunger. When I think of that possibility I go ahead and ask Lin for some more food. Her eyes widen when she hears that, but she goes ahead and takes out more dishes.

Lin says "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I am probably just going to grow some more."

Lin says "You aren't fully grown?!"

"Honestly, I have no idea. I am somewhat similar to a drake, but drakes and dragons never really stop growing."

Lin says "If you get much bigger you aren't going to fit inside the cabin."

"I can always shapeshift if I have to."

Lin says "That's true. Have you had enough or do you want more?"

"No, I finally feel full, thanks. I think I am going to take a nap though."

Lin says "Alright."

I curl up right there in the middle of the cave and as soon as I get comfy I am out. When I wake up I don't move because I can feel two weights on top of my head. Opening my eyes I see Lin, Nala, and Albion over by the spring as far from me as possible.

"What's going on?"

Lin says "Finally awake? As soon as you went to sleep you sucked all the heat out of the fire. After that you started radiating heat like a blast furnace."

"Well, that explains why Mulan and Mushu are sleeping on my head. How long have I been asleep?"

Lin says "About three hours or so."

"Want to help me out here?"

Lin laughs and says "Just a second."

Lin gets up and first goes over to restart the fire, then she moves the babies to the fire. Once they are off of my head I get up and stretch my entire body, resulting in popping noises. My body feels really good once I have stretched out, but I can't tell if I have grown.

"Do I look any bigger to you?"

Lin says "Not really. You might be a couple of inches taller, but it is hard to be sure."

"Well, either way I feel good. Isn't it about dinner time?"

Lin laughs and says "Hungry again?"

"Yeah, a little."

Lin immediately starts taking out dishes for dinner all while she is still laughing. I don't know why it is so funny, but her laugh is pleasant so I won't complain. Besides, once there is food in front of me it captures my complete attention.

It turns out I am more than just a little hungry as I demolish dish after dish. It looks like I am definitely going into another period of growth, nothing else makes me this hungry. However, I can't be sure if it is natural or was brought on by the lava pool.

Considering the timing, the latter is more likely, but either way I don't see it as a bad thing. In fact, growing could be a good thing, it could enhance some of my abilities. I would totally love it if I could manage to evolve into a drake or even a dragon.

From the way my body is shaped, I am probably closest to becoming a drake. However, that is not something I can force, I just have to wait and see what happens. Although, I should probably spend more time working on raising my rank.

That is something I will have to try to work on when I am done with this mining mission. Well, after I am done modifying the ship, once we are traveling I should have more time. Of course, it will all depend on if I remember or get distracted by something else.

That happens way more than it should, but it isn't something I am able to control. Speaking of distractions, the biggest distraction is in front of me handing me more food. However, she is a very attractive distraction so I am not going to be able to avoid her.