Chapter 111: First Growth Complete
Chapter 111: First Growth Complete
Taking a deep breath, Walfred stretched a hand into the air and muttered.
"Ice Spear."
The words had barely left his mouth.
A throwing spear a little over 3 feet long materialized. As he gripped the spear, which radiated an intense chill, another notification appeared.
[Ice Spear: Mana charge initiated]
[Current charge time: 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds...]
His mana drained rapidly as it charged.
The charging mechanism was similar to the ice hammer’s, so it was easy to understand.
And soon after.
[─Maximum charge limit reached]
[Attack ready.]
Having quickly completed its full 30-second charge, the [Ice Spear] had grown to roughly three times its original size.
Gripping the spear, now well over 10 feet long, Walfred looked toward the Giant Ice Hornets.
’How nice of them to bunch up like that.’
He didn’t know how big the [Ice Spear]’s blast radius was, so he’d just throw it dead center for now.
Walfred flooded his arm muscles with strength.
Then, twisting his body to add spin to the spear, he hurled it at the Giant Ice Hornets.
And then.
Whoosh! Kra-ka-ka!
A fierce sound tore through the air.
The [Ice Spear] streaked forward.
In a single breath, the strike closed in right under the Giant Ice Hornets’ noses. The hornets noticed too late and flinched in panic, but by then it was far, far too late to react.
KABOOOOM!
The instant the [Ice Spear] struck its target.
A massive explosion erupted with a deafening roar. The powerful shockwave sent the snow on the ground bursting up into the air all at once, turning his vision hazy white.
Not that it mattered.
[11 coins acquired.]
[13 coins acquired.]
[9 coins acquired...]
Notifications kept popping up announcing that the hornets had been converted into coins and deposited, so there was no real need to check what had become of the enemy.
Still, he did want to confirm the blast radius, so he quietly waited for the snow to settle.
A little while later.
"Oh, that’s pretty wide."
Seeing where the [Ice Spear] had landed, Walfred let out a short whistle of admiration. A crater more than 30 feet across had been carved into the spot.
With this much power, the heavy mana cost was worth it. It would be perfect for times like this, when he needed a preemptive area attack.
’I should use this more often.’
After wiping out the Giant Ice Hornets.
Walfred kept a careful eye out for any other threats in the area. As he passed the time standing guard over Elsa.
Fshaaaaa!
Something changed.
The cluster of blue light enveloping Elsa’s body slowly began to fade.
And at last.
-----
[Notice]
[First Growth complete.]
[Target: Resonator (Elsa)]
-----
The First Growth was complete.
Walfred looked Elsa over closely.
’She doesn’t look any different?’
There was hardly any change in her appearance.
Then what had changed? As he tilted his head in puzzlement, Elsa’s closed eyes fluttered open.
"...Mmm, Daddy?"
"Sleep well?"
"Yaaawn. Yeah! I feel all refreshed now."
Elsa yawned with a bleary face.
Her body must have felt stiff, because she stretched big, then looked at Walfred and broke into a bashful grin.
"Hehe, I had a super happy dream!"
"Yeah? What was it about?"
"A dream where I played with Daddy and Mommy!"
Mommy? Who was Mommy supposed to be?
When Walfred asked about the question that popped into his head, a short and simple answer came right back.
"Mommy is Mommy!"
He couldn’t get anything more out of her.
Elsa said she couldn’t remember either.
So he decided to assume it was the adult Frost Dragon that had given birth to her.
"Anyway, Elsa."
"What?"
"Is there anything different or changed about you compared to before you fell asleep?"
"Mmm, different..."
Elsa wiggled her fingers. Then, as if realizing something, her eyes went round.
"I think my mana got bigger."
"Your mana?"
"Yeah. It got this much bigger!"
Elsa spread her arms out wide.
That was probably the largest amount she knew how to express. Wanting to check the change in her mana, Walfred pulled up Elsa’s status.
And a moment later.
He witnessed a staggering change.
-----
[Name]: Elsa
[Level]: 115 (Resonance)
[Race]: Dragonkin - Pureblood
[Mana]: 1,150,000
[Trait]: Frost Feast
[Skills]: Blessing of the Frost Dragon, Frost Dragon’s Roar, Shared Sight, Polymorph, Freeze Immunity, Cold Immunity, Frost Resonance, Curse Immunity (B-rank and below), Cold Absorption, Dragon Tongue
-----
’Holy shit...!’
He very nearly swore out loud.
Elsa’s mana reserves had increased exactly tenfold compared to before her First Growth.
Compared to his own, the difference was a hundredfold.
’I guess they don’t call her a dragon for nothing.’
Walfred was floored.
Meanwhile, Elsa went on.
"Oh! And my body got a little bigger too."
"Your body got bigger?"
It looks the same to me? When Walfred said as much while looking her up and down, Elsa shook her head back and forth.
"No! I mean my original body."
"Your original body, as in..."
Her Frost Dragon form?
Just as he was about to ask.
"I’ll show you."
Elsa hopped down onto the ground.
She put about 30 feet of distance between herself and Walfred, then closed her eyes and brought both hands together over her chest.
And in that instant.
Flash!
A burst of blue light exploded outward.
It was so bright that keeping his eyes open was impossible, so he squeezed them shut.
When he opened them again.
"...!"
Walfred was stunned.
What emerged as the flash faded was a dragon covered head to tail in silver scales.
Elsa’s original form.
But that wasn’t the reason he was stunned.
’Wait, how is she this big...’
Back when he’d first met Elsa in the Nest of the Frost Dragon, her body, wings included, had been no bigger than a small puppy.
Now, Elsa was larger than your average midsize car. With her wings spread, she’d look far bigger still.
[Hehe, well?]
Elsa spun in a circle where she stood.
As if showing off her bigger body.
Then, striking a triumphant pose, she spoke to him in the language of the Dragonkin.
[I got pretty big, huh?]
Not pretty big. Enormously big.
Walfred almost answered without thinking, then clamped his mouth shut and simply nodded.
And that was when it hit him.
Something flashed through his mind.
’If she’s this big now, then maybe...’
Could she fly with him riding on her back?
The thought struck him out of nowhere, and Walfred said it out loud. Elsa considered it for a moment, then nodded her head.
[Mmm, I think I can do it now.]
"...! R-Really?"
Unexpected good news.
Walfred’s face lit up with delight.
Traveling by air would save far more time than going on foot, after all.
[Yeah! You’ve carried me around all this time, Daddy, so now it’s my turn to carry you.]
Along with that heartwarming answer.
Elsa came over to Walfred, knelt down, and slowly lowered herself.
[You can climb up here.]
Following Elsa’s guidance, Walfred carefully climbed onto her back. To be precise, he settled into the curved hollow just behind the nape of her neck, between the ridges of her spinal scales.
’More comfortable than I expected.’
He’d assumed it would be awkward.
As he was securing his position so he wouldn’t fall off, Elsa spoke up again.
[So, shall we get going?]
"Yeah. I’m counting on you."
[Okay! Hold on tight, Daddy.]
With those final words.
Elsa spread her enormous wings.
As she beat them, a powerful gust of wind blasted away the snowdrifts piled around them.
Whooosh!
After a few flaps in place.
Elsa kicked off the ground. In a single bound, she soared high into the sky.
’She’s fast!’
Far faster than he’d expected.
It felt like they’d only just left the ground, yet they had already pierced through the clouds and reached the open sky.
’At this speed...!’
With any luck, they might reach Key West within a day or two. At the unexpected windfall, a grin stretched from ear to ear on Walfred’s face.
And so, with the frozen world beneath them.
Elsa, carrying Walfred on her back, flew swiftly toward the southern sky where Key West awaited.