Chapter 9: Age of Dragons (4)

"If that's what you want to do, I won't stop you."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Of course it's true. How could I stop you from doing what you want?"

Tethys smiled with great joy at my words.

"However, since we don't know what the results of such an action will be, you need to be careful. Understand?"

"Huh? Yes! I understand!"

Ah, she doesn't really understand. It seems she's too happy to listen properly.

By the way... We were able to create these children's bodies by sharing my scales, but what will happen if we share these children's scales with the dinosaurs?

I'm a bit curious.

"Just in case, I'll watch with you. If any problems arise, you might need my help."

"Yes! It's reassuring to have your help, Mother!"

So I took off the slime leather cloth I had just made, and changed back into my original dragon form.

Ah, I wrapped the slime leather cloth around my little finger. It would be troublesome to make it again if I transform later.

"Then, let's open a gate to where the dinosaurs are... Oh."

"Hm? What's wrong?"

Tethys looked alternately at the lake she was in and me, then said:

"I can open a gate through water to move, so I was going to move you through the lake, but..."

"But?"

"Your body is too big to fit in the lake."

Oops.

"It seems you'll have to change into a smaller form."

Tethys says, looking troubled. Well, my body is quite large.

"It can't be helped."

I used magic again to change my body into a small girl's form and wrapped the slime leather cloth around my body. This should be fine.

"Then, will you hold onto my fin on top of my head?"

"Hmm. I will."

I created wings using magic, then flew up and stood on top of Tethys's head.

"Let's see... This is suitable for holding."

I grabbed one of the fins protruding from the side of Tethys's head.

"It doesn't hurt, does it?"

I held it with just enough strength to not fall off, but it would be troublesome if it hurts.

"It feels strange, but it's fine at that level. Then, let's depart!"

With that, Tethys quickly dove into the lake.

Even though we've dived into the water, the fact that I'm not having trouble breathing suggests that even though I look human, my body itself is still that of a dragon. It's convenient not needing to breathe.

The cold lake water soaks my entire body and hair. Since I hadn't had hair since becoming a dragon, it felt a bit fresh.

In the middle of the cold lake water, Tethys's magic gathered to form a round circle, and Tethys jumped into that circle without any hesitation.

As soon as Tethys swam nimbly through that circle, the surrounding scenery changed.

From a quiet lake with no currents except for Tethys's movement, to a large, constantly churning sea.

Salty seawater. Countless fish. Long seaweed and coral reefs.

We were in the middle of a blue-glowing sea.

"We've arrived. They should be around here... Ah, there they are!"

Tethys swam quickly through the vast sea. Where Tethys stopped, swimming more nimbly than any fish, there were five dinosaurs that had evolved to adapt to the sea.

"Did you wait long? I got permission!"

As if understanding Tethys's words, the five sea dinosaurs began to circle around Tethys.

Ah, it's spacious here, so I don't need to be in human form. I let go of Tethys's fin and started to move away from her.

"Mother?"

"It seems there won't be a problem if I change back to my original form here."

I distanced myself from Tethys, then took off the white slime leather cloth wrapped around my body.

Now, if I change back to my original form...

"Kyaoo!"

Hm?

Just as I was about to change back to my original form, one of the sea dinosaurs circling around Tethys, with a long neck like a sea snake, rushed towards me.

Ah, um... Does it see me as food right now?

"Ah, no!"

"Kyawuu!"

The dinosaur opens its huge mouth, trying to swallow me in one bite.

It seems to be quite underestimating me.

"Tsk."

I lightly flicked my index finger in the direction of the dinosaur.

Kuwoong!!

In an instant, a tremendous shock grazed past the dinosaur.

Well, I avoided a direct hit out of consideration for Tethys.

"You should choose your opponents carefully. This is why beasts are beasts."

Even though the shock from the flick just grazed past the dinosaur, its skin instantly became tattered.

"Kraaaaaak!"

The dinosaur writhes in pain. If I had hit it directly, its body would have been torn into hundreds of pieces.

"Oh no! What should we do!"

"Well, it wouldn't matter if one is gone, would it?"

I spoke to Tethys in a calm voice, and Tethys, not knowing what to do, bowed her head slightly in confusion.

"I chose and chose again for the smartest one, but I didn't expect this. Ugh... That one had quite a good head on its shoulders."

The dinosaur is in agony, bleeding from its entire body. Well... It was an instinctive action, so it can't be helped.

I drew up magic and lightly enveloped the dinosaur. Then I wished for the magic to heal this dinosaur's wounds.

"Kruru?"

Light enveloped the body of the dinosaur that had been in pain, and its wounds began to disappear.

"Mother, what was that just now?"

"I used magic to heal the wounds. I thought it might work, so I tried it, and it worked well."

"Wow..."

Tethys is very amazed. Well, I didn't expect it to be this effective either.

Anyway, it seems the situation has been resolved. I changed my body... Let's just call it polymorph. I polymorphed into a dragon form and wrapped the white slime leather cloth around my little finger.

The other dinosaurs tried to flee in a panic at my sudden appearance, but it was a minor issue.

Tethys called them back, and they quickly gathered.

"Now then, I'll pluck my scales and distribute them to these dinosaurs. I wonder what results we'll see?"

"I'm not sure. I'm curious too."

Tethys plucked five scales from under her jaw and distributed them to the five dinosaurs.

Strangely, the scales began to settle themselves under the jaws of those dinosaurs on their own.

"Oh, what's this? What's happening?"

"I'm not sure."

The children I gave scales to didn't have bodies at first, so that's understandable, but what's happening to these dinosaurs that already have bodies?

Water magic, the same as Tethys's, spreads from the scales settled under the dinosaurs' jaws and covers their bodies.

The dinosaurs' dark-colored scales begin to turn blue, and their bodies start to change.

Their fins begin to change, forming front and hind legs, and they start to look just like Tethys.

They even have wings, though a bit small, and instead of horns... fin-like shapes are forming.

After a short while, the dinosaurs had changed to look like smaller versions of Tethys.

They look like blue dragons, like Blue Dragons.

Except for one.

"That one... It's the one that rushed at you earlier, Mother."

"Hmm. How curious."

The dinosaur that had rushed at me... Perhaps because it had been battered and tattered, it couldn't fully accept the power contained in Tethys's scale.

It looks like it's halfway through changing into Tethys's form. Although it has blue scales, it ended up looking more like a large sea serpent.

Hmm, perhaps it couldn't fully accept Tethys's scale because it had been battered by my attack.

The dinosaur that had changed to resemble a sea serpent, seemingly realizing how different it was from the other dinosaurs... the Blue Dragons, took Tethys's scale that had fallen from its body in its mouth and began to flee somewhere.

"That one... Ugh..."

"Do you want to chase after it?"

"No. It's fine. It's okay if one is missing."

Tethys's face as she said this... was filled with complicated emotions.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Sea Serpent, a scourge of the seas, was known to be a monster far removed from dragons, but recent research has revealed it to be a distant relative of dragons.

More precisely, it's classified as a Lesser Dragon, a category that includes monsters like drakes and wyverns - creatures that are not as powerful as dragons but still quite strong.

...

While the Sea Serpent, freely swimming in the sea and attacking ships and ports, doesn't show the intelligence of a dragon, the strength of its scales is undeniable.

Its scales, as hard and strong as a dragon's, are one of the best materials for armor, and are also the reason many adventurers lose their lives trying to hunt Sea Serpents in hopes of striking it rich.

Hunting a Sea Serpent with such tough scales seems impossible, but there is one weak spot that can be attacked.

Right under the Sea Serpent's jaw. There's about a hand-span of skin there without scales, and this part of the skin is so weak that it can be pierced even with an arrow or crossbow bolt of moderate power.

Of course, the fact that one has to perform the feat of hitting a weak spot less than a hand-span wide while a huge Sea Serpent is rampaging in the sea is a very minor detail.

- Monster Encyclopedia, Sea Serpent entry.