Chapter 211
After relocating the allied forces near the Mage Tower, I headed back to the Grimshade Kingdom. I had to collect the winter whale, Raben, that had been left behind.
Upon arriving once again at the Grimshade Kingdom, I found a massive whale lying in the center of the island, struggling to breathe.
It appeared that the priests and elves had provided emergency care, as there were no noticeable wounds on its body. It simply lacked the strength to soar into the sky.
[Nuoooo…]
As I approached, Raben blinked its large eyes and flapped its tail. The creature that had seemed enormous when I was in my little girl form now looked rather small.
If it had been the old me, I wouldn’t have been able to move such a creature, which was much larger than a dragon.
Of course, I no longer had to worry about that, so the moment I thought I wanted to soar into the sky with Raben, a mighty wind blew, and both our bodies lifted into the heavens.
Woosh-!
[Nuooooo…]
Raben’s temporary resting place was chosen to be a small port city near the Mage Tower. Given its condition, I was sure that with a few days of rest, it would quickly regain its strength.
The higher-ups of the Mage Tower were busy calculating compensations for the survivors and condolence funds for the families of the deceased, a task that stretched over several days.
During that brief period, many unexpected events occurred. Since I couldn’t yet take on human form, some adventurers from the Aben Kingdom mistook me for a massive monster and formed a hunting party to come after me.
The most bothersome among them was the visit from the Dragonblood Beastmen. Ch’eong-bin and Red Wind openly expressed their admiration, envy, and pride in their lineage when they saw my complete dragon form.
“Indeed… The training method of the Dragonblood is not wrong. It has been proven that one can become a perfect dragon.”
“Red Storm! I am proud of you! It’s a bit of a pity that your scales aren’t red, but so what? You have reached a level that no one, aside from the founding lord, has ever touched.”
“If an attendant falls short, it would be embarrassing for you as well. I, Ch’eong-bin, will pledge the name of the Blue Dragon House that I will strive to reach your level. Can you wait for me until then?”
[Ah…]
In such a short time, various visitors came by.
Still unable to take on human form, I had to stay curled up in the back mountain of the Mage Tower.
Although I wanted to roam around, it was impossible. If I tried to flap my wings to fly, a strong wind would blow, potentially sweeping away nearby villages, so I had to stay laid down.
One week had passed since I had transformed from human to dragon. Finally, I could regain my human form. It was early dawn, exactly one week after my return.
As the gentle moonlight wrapped around me, I began to manipulate my mana to restructure my body.
My bones and flesh shrank. It was a miraculous phenomenon that defied physical law, yet the power of magic is to make the impossible possible. It shouldn’t be surprising that a once large body could shrink.
Woosh-
A brilliant mystery enveloped me. Just like the stars shining in the sky, the entire forest was illuminated. The Nightmare, who had been sleeping beside me, startled awake, leaped up, and began dashing around the shrinking space.
The perspective that had looked down on the world lowered. My long tail, which had wrapped around a small mountain, vanished. My sharp teeth and nails shrank immeasurably, leaving only a very small girl behind where the colossal light once was.
“Ah—”
Trying to test my voice, I felt a familiar sensation. Even a stranger could drop their guard in an instant, as my soft tone echoed through the woods.
Carefully brushing my skin that sparkled in the moonlight. The warm and soft sensation brushed past my fingertips. It traveled over my arms, neck, and then touched my cheeks.
As I ran my fingers through my golden hair that flowed like sticky rice cakes, I was relieved that I hadn’t appeared in an utterly naked state. All my clothes and possessions retained their state from before I fought Skasha.
Even Simon, who I had kept in my bag, was still there.
[Did you finally notice? I was going crazy in frustration all this time.]
That annoying demon with its usual cocky voice.
[By the way, where is this? The flow of mana is free, and I sense several presences of other creatures. They are not humans. It’s like…]
I had brought something that I should have left on the island. After a brief moment of contemplation, I shook my head and passed the artifact containing Simon to the Nightmare.
Flop—
The Nightmare, seeming to take a liking to Simon, opened its mouth wide and gulped it down. Its sticky saliva began to drip out and cover the artifact.
[Hey. Did I do something wrong? Why…]
Simon’s words were never completed. The Nightmare, with the artifact in its mouth, was shaking its head wildly, jolting Simon around.
[Aaaah!]
The tranquil dawn and soft moonlight combined to create a pleasant forest path. I pulled on the reins of the Nightmare and began to walk slowly.
Even after becoming human from dragon, my immense power didn’t vanish. Even with my eyes closed, I could see, and if I desired wind, it would blow.
My steps felt incredibly light. A gentle wave of air wafted with my casual gestures, softly lifting up the leaves that had fallen in front of me.
Just before reaching the Mage Tower along the forest path, I sensed a change within my body. Light, it was shining.
As I lowered my gaze to observe my petite hands, my skin sparkled like starlight.
This was a manifestation of an undeniable presence. Even without using the mana within me, the mana scattered around began to cling to me, creating this phenomenon.
As I neared the Mage Tower, the Nightmare naturally shrank to the size of a small dog. It seemed well aware that it wouldn’t be able to roam around the Mage Tower with its large bulk.
-That person is…?
-The Starlight…
-What in the world brings you here?
Even in the early hours of dawn, there were many wizards bustling around the Mage Tower. They must have a lot of tasks still to handle inside.
I passed them by, making my way to the floor where Haiven was staying. In the past, just before I reached there, Haiven’s teleportation magic would activate, whisking me straight to his door in no time.
However, this time, the teleportation magic did not activate. To be precise, it shouldn’t have been able to activate.
The mana that had gathered around me had lost its control and approached, sticking to me. It seemed that my charm had transcended the human realm, even captivating mana itself.
Enough with these useless thoughts. I shook my head and opened the door to step into Haiven’s room.
Even under the early dawn when the moon began to hide, Haiven was still looking over documents.
An awkward gaze clashed in the air. Haiven put down the papers in his hand and opened his mouth.
“Hmm… Could it be that you can change your appearance at will?”
“If I want to.”
Nodding in response to Haiven’s question, I pulled a chair from nearby and sat down in front of him. As soon as I did, the Nightmare leaped onto my lap and settled comfortably.
Just as Haiven said, I could be whatever I wanted to be. From Haiven’s current form right in front of me to my appearance from my previous life.
However, I insisted on maintaining the form of the girl, Seris. It was this form that my newly established identity as a dragon firmly recognized as me.
Now, to revert to my previous life’s appearance would mean denying myself. I was quite fond of my current small form.
It was soft and cute, after all.
“Right. What is the reason you came to find me? Even if you abruptly departed, there’s no one who could catch you.”
“How could that be? There are people who have risked their lives to navigate through danger together. I need to greet them before I leave.”
“Still planning to leave, huh…”
I nodded at his words. Just because I had become a dragon and redefined my identity, it didn’t mean my character had changed.
Staying long in one place isn’t my nature. Like the winds that blow. I wanted to be free. Haven’t I not yet explored this entire world?
“Oh, and could you give me an airship?”
“An airship…? That’s not a difficult request. I will prepare it myself.”
That was indeed a very satisfying answer. I nodded and fished out a notebook from my bosom. It was essentially a diary that I had started keeping since embarking on my adventure.
“What’s that…?”
“I have one more request. Could you perhaps turn this into a book?”
Haiven took the notebook from me and skimmed through it quickly. He let out a short hum before speaking.
“Hmm… That’s not too difficult of a request. Have you thought about what the title of the book will be?”
Several names flashed through my mind at Haiven’s question. After a brief moment of contemplation, I smiled and responded.
“Otherworldly Reincarnation Chronicles.”
“That has a nice ring to it… So, where are you planning to go next?”
“Well, I’m not quite sure…?”
There wasn’t a specific destination in mind. Isn’t wandering aimlessly the essence of my adventure? As I thought that, my parents’ faces suddenly came to mind.
Not the parents from my previous life, but Emily’s mom and dad from this little girl’s life.
“I think I’ll stop by home.”