I’m Not an Earthworm, I’m an Earth Dragon

Over the past two days, besides that outpost, we found several other ruins. Guard towers, hunters’ cabins. Or villages outside the castle walls.

Whenever we found one, we poked around to see if there was anything useful, but since there was nothing useful, only skeletons and ghosts, from a certain point on, we ignored them and passed by.

Above all, we couldn’t afford to go in and out of such places. Because of the heavy rain that day, the road became difficult, and Altera said it was difficult to distinguish the enemies because the ground was damp.

Perhaps that is why we arrived on the seventh day at the bridge across the canyon, where we would have arrived on the sixth day.

“Yes, we have arrived. I remember it looked precarious but it was fine. This is… Hey, Captain. Did the adventurers say the bridge was like this?”

The canyon literally bisected this huge mountain range. Altera said that the depth was such that the end could not be felt, and the canyon itself was emitting wind and making ominous sounds.

I don’t know if the giant’s sword really went through it, but it seemed like people didn’t make that rumor for nothing. A grim energy was felt all around.

Anyway, the bridge, which was originally said to be connected to about a third of the way, was much shorter than that. And the width of the canyon looked wider than I heard.

“…It’s in worse shape than I heard. Did it collapse in the heavy rain? I don’t know. Hmm… what should I do? I don’t think it will be easy to cross this… Altera. Can you do it?”

Originally, I was going to connect only between the two bridges, but this is almost like building a new bridge.

“If I don’t… are we going back?”

“I guess so. Ideally, we would walk along the canyon until we find a place with a suitable width… Well. Then it would take a long time to cross the mountain range horizontally.”

It would be nice if we could go straight across, but I don’t know if she can do it or not. I had no intention of asking her to do anything unreasonable.

Altera stood still for a while, as if gauging the distance, with her hand towards the canyon.

No matter how capable she was, I didn’t think she was capable of building a bridge across this canyon. So I was about to give up and suggest that we move to a narrower part of the canyon.

“I’ll try. It’s better to try than to go back.”

She said she would try as she walked towards the remains of the bridge. I wonder if she can do it. I don’t know, but there was no reason to stop her, so I just let her be.

“Yuna, Akash. Watch the surroundings. Altera… don’t overdo it. Maybe… no. You’ll control it yourself, right?”

She knows her body best. I told her to stop if she thought she was going to go on a rampage, and while I was on the lookout for any beasts that might rush around, I watched what she was doing.

I could only see her back and she was far away, but she was kneeling on one knee with both hands on the ground. Her horn was shining with a more brilliant gold than ever, letting me know that Altera was using a tremendous amount of magic.

…Even so, there was no noticeable change yet. Rocks were moving and I could feel a slight vibration from the ground, but the bridge was not connected, nor was any structure created.

Ah, I see the bridge is being reinforced. Chunks of stone were sticking to the bridge, which had cracks here and there and looked unstable, making it stronger.

Then, suddenly, there was a loud noise and the birds around flew up all at once. The vibration I felt was different from before, it really felt like an earthquake.

When I looked to see what it was, not only her horn but also the ground she was touching was overflowing with golden magic.

Seeing that even a magic circle was deployed, it seemed that she was really doing her best.

“…What is that.”

The vibration stopped, but I forgot to be wary because of what appeared next and just stared blankly at it.

An unbelievably large chunk of rock was floating in the air. As if the canyon was laughable, the rock, which seemed to fill the canyon by itself, soon broke into thousands, tens of thousands of pieces.

The numerous pieces moved around in the air and stuck to the remains of the bridge, and after a while, they created a complete bridge.

It wasn’t just an attempt, it was really. A solid and strong bridge that could be used for hundreds of years to come.

When I looked at Altera again, the shimmering golden magic light had subsided, and her horn had returned to its usual black color.

Her arm, which I could barely see through her cloak, was already covered in scales up to her shoulder.

“…Altera! Are you okay?!”

– – – –

Myungho ran up to me and asked if I was okay. Actually, I wasn’t okay at all. My head hurt as if it was going to crack at any moment, and I heard a loud buzzing sound in my ears.

My arm trembles as if it’s not mine. Not only my arms and legs, but also scales had grown on my chest, neck, and cheeks.

Above all, a lumpy foreign object in my stomach was bothering me. If I looked down, I could see a slight bulge, and I felt like something was full inside.

When I touched my stomach with my hand, which was covered in black, cold scales, I could feel that there was something hard inside.

It wasn’t originally this big. It suddenly grew in that short moment. I don’t know why. All I did was use the dragon’s power, is that why this happened?

“…So-so, except for the dizziness… I’m fine.”

I didn’t take any damage, so I didn’t go on a rampage. Still, it was the first time I had been covered in scales to this extent by purely using magic.

Ah, maybe this thing inside me intercepted the magic in the middle and grew in size. My magic was leaking to my lower abdomen, was it sucking it up?

“Altera. You… your scales… Anyway, good job. Are you okay?”

I’m not okay, but I’m okay. It seems like the day to lay the egg has been moved up a few days, but… I can just go that much faster, so it’ll be okay.

It has to be okay.

“Yeah. Can you get the blue potion from my bag? My head feels like it’s going to explode.”

When my head hurt, it was always when I used magic, so the medicine that clears my head must be something that restores magic.

When I drank the blue medicine he brought, it had a terrible taste that made me want to spit it out right away, but the effect was good and I was able to regain my senses quickly.

“…Phew, I feel better now. So how does the bridge look? Is it usable?”

When I checked the condition by letting the magic flow, the remaining remains were so weak that I practically built it completely anew.

If I built it strong enough to use when I go to put that bastard’s head on my mother’s grave, Myungho would be satisfied too.

He gave me a thumbs up, showing overwhelming positivity.

“Yeah, it’s perfect! Even if a merchant group passes by, it will be fine. Ah, that… I mean it’s good.”

Myungho explained in a clumsy way, perhaps thinking that I wouldn’t know what a thumbs up was. Well, this guy knows that I’m a wild child who is almost cut off from civilization, so it’s not strange.

I felt like I had become too much of a child. I can understand these things without having to explain them one by one.

“I see. Then let’s cross.”

I stood up, tearing off the scales one by one. I used my tail to balance myself so I wouldn’t stagger, then I grabbed my things and took my first step onto the bridge I had built.

It was so stable that I could feel it as soon as I stepped on it, it would last a long time.

“Is it… safe? I was surprised when you filled the river, but this is unbelievable… I can’t believe just one person could make something like this…”

“Well. My true form could have easily made something like this, but not me now. Altera, was it? I express my pure respect for your power as a human being. You can be proud. What are you doing, translator? Tell her that I acknowledge her.”

“Akash expresses his pure respect for your power, Altera. Me too. I never thought you could do this.”

I didn’t expect to be acknowledged by Myungho, let alone that wizard. I didn’t know he could express pure respect without sarcasm.

I felt proud, but I didn’t want to show this scale-covered body, so I walked at the very front and looked down at the canyon beyond the railing.

The canyon, spewing ominous winds, was still so deep that its end could not be seen. It wouldn’t be strange if a giant’s sword had really passed through it.

…But, if a single slash could make such a wound on the earth, how big would it have to be?

I tried to imagine humans as big as mountains in my head, but I couldn’t easily picture it, so I gave up.

In the first place, if they were that big, how much would they have to eat in a day? It was clear that humans made it up because they couldn’t explain it with their own heads.

If they were that big, there would surely be more traces left. I thought so as I put my hand on my stomach. It was time to stop thinking about absurd giants and think about something more realistic.

Judging by the size, it was clear that the time to lay the egg had been moved up. But the problem was that I didn’t know how much.

At this size, it honestly wouldn’t be strange if it came out right now. Rather, it was just a little bigger than usual.

…In the worst-case scenario, it might come out while I’m with them.

I’m going to go as fast as I can. But there are times when you have to prepare for the worst.

A way to avoid being caught laying the egg by them, and to avoid being attacked by beasts.

Is there such a thing?

Only a bleak future was drawn.