After a couple of minutes of convincing the two, they finally let me go when I said I’m only going there to observe it and not to try and kill it if it's still slithering around.
[hiss]
Now that I’m actually looking at it, there are two horns on its head. A sidewinder? They’re definitely not something that would grow at the size of a goddamn Titanoboa but hey, this is a game, anything is possible. [snort]
Hah~ what’s the point of having the blood of the dragons running in my veins when I can’t even transform into one or something?
[hiss]
Hmm. Should I try jumping on it? Maybe my dragony abilities would be triggered that way?
I stepped out from my hiding spot and, lo and behold, it turned its head to me without sparing a second.
As stupid as it may look, I still took out the blade that I had and tried to bury it on its scales to figure out its thickness.
[swish]
…
Of course, it wouldn’t work.
I immediately turn my back and ran away to use the teleportation scroll.
I breathe in relief when I found myself standing in the grassland, much closer to the forest where I left Sarai and Gandi.
“Told ya guys I’m only out to—”
“MISS LEA?!!! AAHHHH!!! WHY DID YOU BRING THAT SNAKE IN HERE?!!!” Gandi shouted as soon as she saw me.
I turned my head and saw the snake flicking its tongue out while looking around. Oh my, it looks kind of cute. He looks a little silly.
It stopped looking around as soon as it saw me. It immediately dived in so I ran to the forest quickly.
“WHY IS THAT SNAKE HERE MISS LEAAAAA??!!!” Gandi cried out while running all over the place with Sarai behind her.
“I DIDN’T KNOW IT WANTS TO JOIN MY EXPEDITION!” I shouted back and hid behind the huge tree trunk.
The two of them did the same so I signaled them to hush and not move.
After precisely 30 seconds of silence, I found myself staring at the snake's eye on the same level.
I swiftly pulled another knife and attempted to bury it on its eyes to no avail. Hah, I could really use some awesome dragon skills right now.
I moved quickly when it was about to eat me whole and jumped on the next tree I saw.
How did Heath transform into anything? I didn’t hear him say something whenever he transforms. Did he do it mentally? I should've asked him that before leaving the palace. Should I think something like ‘Dippitty doppity do, I want to turn into a dragon’?
I sighed in defeat. That sounded ridiculous. The only way I can think of to get out of the sight of this huge ass Titanoboa that looked like a sidewinder is to teleport back to the desert.
…
Hmm? That could work.
“Sarai! Gandi! Grab the horses now! We should teleport back to the desert now that it’s here!” I shouted and quickly moved to another tree.
They didn’t answer so I looked at the two of them. Their expression is mixed with fear and relief.
"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TWO DOING?! BE QUICK!"
Huh? Why do they look so far?
“Miss Lea! Watch out!” Gandi shouted and, oh boy, why is the snake’s wide mouth underneath me? Did it toss me before gulping me whole? It's bad manners to play with your food. Tsk. Tsk. Well, looks like my 80th travel ends like this.
"MISS!" Gandi's voice became farther so I turned around, trying to discern where she is standing.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
I thought seeing the snake's mouth was the most surprising thing I saw today but no. As soon as I turned my back, instead of seeing a tree, I saw a tail with a thick scale. A dragon scale. A real one.
Dun… dun... dun...
“AHHHH?!!!!” That might be a late response but a response is a response so bear with me.
Motherfu- I ACTUALLY TURNED INTO A DRAGON! HOLY—
I flew around excitedly and only stopped when I realized that the snake is following me desperately.
I stopped flying in circles and faced it. I dived in and wrapped my tail on its small body and squished it enough to make it lose consciousness.
It looks really small from the point of view of my current state. If I have to take a guess, my dragon form is at least 5 times bigger than this Titanoboa wearing a sidewinder’s face.
I only let it go when its poor body dropped.
Moments later, I returned to my human body.
Lorde, I keep possessing random animals throughout my travel yet this is the most exciting I’ve ever been.
Sarai and Gandi ran to me.
“Miss Lea, are you all right?” Gandi asked me.
My head is throbbing. My whole body is in pain. Is this the repercussion of using that form?
“haaugh- haauff- keep what haauff- you saw to yourselves”
I fell to my knees, still catching my breath. My vision is starting to blur. My heart is beating like crazy.
Crap. This pain is terrible.
“Hah! Damn.” And that was the last thing I uttered before darkness engulfed me.
“…should I tell her?”
“Of course. It goes without saying. It looks like she…”
“Uhg-”
Crap. My head’s about to burst.
I sat and extended my hand. “Water”
Someone handed me a glass of water so I grabbed it and gulped it down immediately.
“How many hours did I pass out?” I asked while adjusting my vision.
“It was only 30 minutes, Miss Lea” Gandi answered.
“And the snake?”
“It’s still alive but we already immobilized it.”
I looked around me and saw the snake about a hundred meters away from us.
“Why didn’t you bind it earlier?” I asked. I stood up and stretched my body a bit. My head is still throbbing but it is manageable. The pain on my body also subsided so I don’t see any reason to lie on the ground any longer.
“We weren’t able to do it because it is moving and binding it like that is set to fail.” Gandi continued.
So it’s like that.
I walked closer to the snake and took out the cube.
“It cannot escape now, right?” I asked.
“No. The bind we put together is a strong one. It should be able to stay that way for centuries.” Sarai responded.
Heh. Magic is really interesting. I still can’t fully wrap my head around this game but whatever, so long as I can turn into a dragon again, it is enough to fuel the excitement I’ve been feeling.
“Are you going to bring it with you, Miss Lea?” Gandi’s worries can be heard in her tone.
I nodded as I watch the snake getting sucked in by the cube.
“In hopes that this one could be a help to Heath.” Perhaps he could examine it and transform into one.
“For now, let’s continue our journey to Cerres. We still should be able to arrive there on time.”
We untied the horses they apparently tied after I collapsed and teleported again to the desert.
“So it was alone,” I uttered as our horses galloped in the deserted land.
Our journey to Cerres is a quiet one- except that part where we encountered wild animals so we decided to exterminate it and stored the dead bodies on my cube for later use. They didn’t even try to ask me about what just happened earlier. Good. I don’t need nosy people on my journey. I can imagine Adam smirking at me right now while saying ‘It’s because I know how to pick the right people, Madame.’ I am currently rolling my eyes if you can't tell.
When we arrived at the borders of Cerres, various inspection was done before we were allowed to get in. As expected of the most powerful country in this game.
“We still had to travel for another day before we could reach to capital,” Gandi said as she took out the scroll.
“But because we have this, we’ll arrive in about 10 minutes.” She tore the scroll and the next thing we saw is the tall palace of Cerres that’s about thousands of meters away from us.
Amazing. Even at this distance, I can already tell that the palace is designed exquisitely.
“We can continue on horse,” Gandi said.
I nodded and tapped the horse.
“Giddy up, bud!”
[festive instrumental playing]
Oh, the SFX is back again. Last time I heard of this was in Stryker land.
[people chattering on distance]
“I could never get used to this place,” Gandi uttered while looking at the bustling city.
Now that I am actually standing on it, I can’t help but be amazed. Every corner you see is an eye candy. I smiled wickedly. Should I dump Aswain and move here?
I shook my head when I remembered Adam and Lyra. Goodness.
I glanced at Sarai who's just looking around silently so I slowed my pace to match his.
“You’ve been quiet since earlier. Is there something you want to tell me?”
He flinched a little and chuckled nervously. He looks rather conflicted so I sighed.
“You can tell me.”
He lowered his head before meeting my eyes. Whoa. Did his eyes just glowed?
“It was about earlier… at the forest. I haven’t told anyone about this nor the magic tower head because I was a bit afraid of the responsibilities that come with it but… I have the Eye of Discernere.”
Heh~ I read those in the archives. Mages who have that ability are tasked to check everyone’s magic and their capabilities if they have any.
“And what is it that you want to tell me?” I asked.
He hesitated a bit before he continued.
“When I checked your dragon form earlier, I thought I was seeing something wrong. Upon further observation while you were asleep, I noticed something odd so I went ahead and inspected it properly. Your Ma—Miss Lea," He scratched his knuckles until it is bloody red. He then pat his sweaty palm on his clothes before continuing.
"...the dragon form earlier was only at its early stage.”
I blinked twice when I heard that. Early stage? But it was already that big?
I looked at him and shuddered a bit when the realization hits.
Holy Mackerel.
“I want to confirm whatever you have in mind, Your Majesty. That dragon earlier was the maximum length it can grow. It was written in the book. Seeing that it’s only at the early stage, that would mean—”
I nodded at him and he immediately stopped talking.
That would only mean I could grow much bigger if I refine it. Crap.
CRAP!
This is way too exciting!
I inhaled loudly to calm myself.
“Stop calling me by my title. That was the agreement before we left our border.” I said as I walked past them and entered the nearby tavern with a wide smile plastered on my face.