Staring across the sky I could only wonder where my new life would take me next, I felt more powerful than ever but that single human had destroyed my pride, a fact that I would not forget any time soon and will definitely be back to repay tenfold. Maybe I could find out where he lives and eat his family.
Staring at the whole from which I came I could already see the ground collapsing below, a massive sink hole was forming in the ground below as 10 metre (33 foot) tall trees were swallowed hole with no end in sight. Clouds of dust coming out of the circular hole that later squared off, a large pile of rubble in the middle surrounding a now chipped temple with trees lying on top of it. The once rectangular blocks making up the temple have become cracked and more rounded with the base being completely buried out of sight.
Hovering above the ruins makes me think if anyone else has survived this battle except for me and the general, Colbert and Marie were simply held down, however while I engaged with the captain I paid them no heed. This sentiment was reflected by the general, so they could have slipped by and potentially picked up Allelu along the way, I just know that she is made of tougher stuff than the average knight.
Looking away and towards the real temple above ground it remains standing tall, the Mayan architecture does not have a single crack within the frame after a piece of the underground complex created a massive rectangular hole right next to it. The hole through which we entered is also still there, not filled in even if the ground around it looks heavily compacted from a company wearing steel armour passing through the tunnel.
Looking further afield from my new vantage point I see all sorts of birds flying, from vultures to hawks, phoenixes and even a four legged dragon, all of which are the size of a horse at the bare minimum with the phoenix and dragon being half my size. Thinking that I have had enough sight seeing and adapting to my new mode of travel I head towards the ocean, this was I would not give any unnecessary scares to Sentient Assemblage.
Flying over trees and more trees on the way to the ocean gets me thinking, I do not hold many feelings to those that I had just left, they had kept me alive when I was about to become dinner for a group of wolves, and they had helped me out of precarious predicaments without running away. I always got food and shelter, I got healed from any serious injuries and never treated as a disposable asset even though I was a familiar, I even had intimate relationships with the members of Ivy Party.
All that I knew was getting further away from myself, however I also felt like it would be hard fitting in with everyone again after the loss of a party member, Sofia was binding me to the group even with the light leash towards the end. This means that no matter what I could not truly rebel, now that I was free there would always be animosity and fear of my retribution.
Speaking of retribution I had become much stronger than anyone remaining in the Ivy party, even if Sofia was still alive she would not be able to control the new me, and when combined with my size it would be hard to hide a wild true dragon casually being part of a decently strong adventurer party. This would only bring ire from the less fortunate groups and make me the centre point of any adventure, this would also breed anger and jealousy within the party and while I could deal with it the party had been dissolved the moment I became a true dragon.
In any of the future scenarios of how I could be a part of the Ivy party again, with Marie and possibly Allelu there were no chances of us being how we used to be. I was always strong but the rest of the group covered my weak points, Sofia gave out necessary information to alert me of dangers while Allelu took the front line when my scales were too soft, and Marie was the party leader making all the shots while also joining Sofia in dealing ranged damage. This is what made us work so well, taking out a hydra along with Colbert and his group with us doing the heavy lifting, which is the correct way for things to be happening since we were getting paid for protecting him but it still showed how us four bested seven people.
Fighting with the foreign adventuring party proved that we worked like a well oiled machine, but with me changing I feel as though I would strangle the party through simply them having be associated to me, everyone knows that the party with a true dragon would not die to some brigands or a fake hydra.
‘If they ever wish to see me again, then they have to find me on their own merits.’
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Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Moving over the Wester Ocean made me realise that the world was still truly a large place, I had spent a full day and night moving over a small piece of Deep Wood that took a week of travel by foot, only to be met with even a lot more travel over the ocean. According to my instincts back at the temple it would take me two months of travel to reach the special destination, I have already spent two weeks of travel on the fly, however due to my hurried escape I had not taken any food with me.
Although the previous supplies prepared by Allelu would most likely not feed my new size, the Deep Woods would have had plenty of creatures to carry off with me as food on the go. My mind wandered to the could ahead, while I could control the weather I did not want to expend power to turn rain over the ocean into a sunny day, when I could alternatively use my magical power to strengthen the wind around myself and simply fly through any storm, with any stray lightning strikes being harmlessly absorbed by my body.
The waves over the sea would make it more difficult for me to find food, as so far I have been looking at the ocean for potentially large shadows just below the surface as a food option. Schools of fish or a random large sea creature would do well for my rising appetite, thinking back to that Scholars tender flesh that came with healing properties made me think of what a water magic wielding fish would taste like.
The waters are getting choppy and difficult to see food in, but I would never give up on my meal. The silent flying that I have been doing up until now, with only my own thoughts about past events keeping me company, is coming to an end as strong winds pick up along with collapsing waves.
I could fly above the clouds and avoid the rain along with the potential of being struck by lightning, however that would also mean that I am giving up on any potential food washed up by strong currents and the stormy weather.
Currently I am so far out at sea that I have stopped witnessing any sort of fishing vessels from the Sentient Assemblage, meaning that I truly have to find my own food rather than pillaging it from a passing vessel, unless I want to turn tail but at this point I am too committed to travel days back for some food. I have to be self sufficient while out at sea, or I will never be capable of leaving a coastline.
Looking at the turning waves becomes more difficult, as the wind makes the sea turn faster and the rain decreases visibility drastically, forcing me to drop my altitude and seek out food on the waters surface. Lightning strikes down to illuminate the upcoming waves as silhouettes behind a torrential downpour curtain, leaving me with the task of dodging the ever rising waves and searching for food.
Two tasks that take considerable effort carry on for hours, as flying is not difficult I can do this all day just like how I flew in my sleep at night, however my mind is getting frustrated with a lack of progress in finding food and my stomach agrees with.
Thinking of alternatives ways to find food rather than flying straight, this makes me think of flying at a slight angle to the waves and stopping every few minutes to fly in a circle before returning to my angled flight. This increases my coverage and allows me to take time in order to spot anything of interest, with additional time in an area my eyes can spot small movements in the water after just an hour.
Some unusual waves are being created off in the distance, and without the time to think about what I saw I most likely would have skipped over this anomaly. When flying closer I spot what is causing this disturbance, over the large waves that crash a battle is occurring.
Giant squid 15 metres (49 foot) long is suctioned onto the back of a whale that is 18 metres (59 foot) long. The battle is fierce with the squids beak is carving into the whales hide and turning a small area around the fight red, while the retaliation from the whale consists of turning and thrashing in an attempt to get a bite on the assailant sitting comfortably on top of its spine.
Fighting for its life the whale reminds me of myself, back when the general landed on top of me and would not be shaken by anything that I do. With two of the squids limbs in the whales mouth the creature is not pulled off and soon the limbs are simply floating aimlessly and detached in the waves.
I decide to drop down and catch them within my mouth, eating raw squid tentacles while enjoying the fight happening below me. I soon get more food for myself when the whale successfully bites off three more limbs, leaving them to float away, as it continues to attempt and dislodge the main body off of itself.
The fight continues on like this for a while with the squid seemingly not caring about its lost appendages, however after a particularly violent wave the three remaining graspers can not keep it on the whale resulting in it being thrown away. Freed of constant pain on its back the whale does not miss the opportunity to slam into the squid now floating on the water’s surface, with few graspers left to swim away or fight back with the fight becomes extremely one sided. Eyeballs pop out of the soft bodied creature and its swallowed down in mere moments compared to the prolonged fight that had occurred just in front of me. Stormy waters return and the blood is quickly washed away, leaving only a single eye ball to float away under the ocean currents.
After having a meal and some entertainment I decide to fly off above the dark clouds that produce lightning and rain, to enjoy the bright sun and think some more about my newfound powers. Thinking about my food and what I could potentially catch and eat the next time, while the whale was strong I do also wonder how it tastes when compared to the squid, fortunately the battle was not a draw, as I was not interested in carrying a massive carcass high into the sky for tasting later as having five Giant squid arms had mostly filled up my stomach.