“I always wanted her to be strong and independent, but now that she’s gone, I don’t give a damn about all that cr*p. Why didn’t Lith stop her? Even though he was still a bit young, he could have married if his parents had given their approval.”
“That’s rich coming from you!” Jirni scoffed. “Maybe if instead of messing with my plans you had helped me, things would be different. Or maybe, Lith knew her well enough to understand he couldn’t stop her.
“Nothing is lost yet. She is in the army and he will join the army. Now, enough sulking. Quylla needs us more than ever.”
***
Lith’s house, same moment.
After more than six months, Lith and Phillard had reached a critical moment in their endeavour. The impurities in the Kroxy’s body were so close to his bright cyan core that they were almost touching.
“Okay, I’ve done everything that I can.” Lith said.
“I’ve brought you to a mana geyser for your training, I have used Invigoration to help you feel the world energy, and I pushed the impurities closer to your core whenever it wasn’t painful for you. The last step is on you.”
“Don’t worry, I can feel resistance but no discomfort.” Phillard replied.
Even after all that time, he had yet to learn Invigoration. The Kroxy’s mana perception was even worse than Lith’s was when he had just started at the academy.
It was only thanks to Lith’s training schedule and his natural attunement with magic that Phillard was able to crudely stimulate his own core.
“I swear, this feels like I’m taking the biggest sh*t of my life!” Phillard couldn’t stop laughing from excitement. He was filled to the brim with an unknown energy that made him euphoric.
Suddenly, the night sky cleared. Phillard’s body emitted a blinding radiance, but unlike normal light it only spread upwards instead of in all directions. Even using darkness magic and his hands as a shield, Lith could barely stand the intensity of the light emitted by the pillar.
It slowly grew in height and width, until a second light pillar descended from the sky. It connected with the smaller one originating from Phillard. The phenomenon gave Lith an oddly familiar sensation.
‘This feeling is too similar to what I experience during my transformations to be a coincidence. What the f*ck is happening?’ He thought.
‘Beats me.’ Solus replied. ‘The only thing I know is that Phillard’s core is evolving.’
The Kroxy’s body started to expand in all directions until his arms became as big as small trees. After that, his body only grew in length. When everything was over, Lith was staring at a ten meters (33′) long serpentine body covered by emerald scales as big as a small shield.
The head resembled that of a dragon from Earth’s fairy tales, with several small horns covering the neck like a mane. Phillard’s legs had been replaced by a long tail, while his clawed arms seemed capable of ripping a stone house to shreds.
“Yes! I knew it! I always knew I was destined to become…”
The light faded and so did the Evolved Monster’s awareness.
“What am I?” He asked Lith while scratching his gigantic head.
Lith accessed the bestiaries he had copied from the academy and stored inside Soluspedia before answering.
“You are a Lindwurm.” He said while clicking his tongue.
“All this work and you’re not even a new species. Protector at least isn’t derivative.”
“I’m not derivative!” Phillard roared. He had no idea what the word meant but he was sure it had to be some kind of insult.
“I’m a…” He stuttered a few times.
“What am I again?”
“A Lindwurm.” Lith snarled. “A lesser dragon. Like a wyvern but wingless and with a very long a*s. According to my books, you should possess some kind of toxic breath.”
“Really? Cool!” Phillard took in a deep breath through his nose, emitting a gurgling sound before spitting an enormous mass of phlegm against the nearest tree.
“Why isn’t it melting?” The Lindwurm looked at the birch tree like it had betrayed him.
“I said toxic breath, not sputum.” Lith replied.
“How do I do that?”
“How should I know? You’re the Lindwurm. You’ll figure it out.” Lith shrugged.
“Ugh! That sounds like a lot of work. Let’s spar already!” Phillard towered over Lith standing 5 meters tall while his tail whipped the air in excitement.
“It would be a waste of time. You just evolved. You have no control over your body, not to mention you suck at magic. Maybe you are physically stronger than me now, but I’ve killed bigger and more powerful beings than you.”
“We’ll see!” Phillard barreled towards Lith like a freight train. His new body was much nimbler and faster than his old one. He clapped his huge hands trying to squash his opponent, but once again he only hit the air.
Lith had long since learned true dimensional magic, which allowed him to Blink above Phillard’s head.
“Bad Lindwurm. Sit!” Lith stamped his left foot using a combination of air, fire, and earth fusion while using air magic to drop down like a meteor. The foot hit with the same impact of an elevator in free fall from the sixth floor would.
The dragon like head crashed into the ground with a rumbling sound, creating a small crater on impact.
“I yield.” Phillard hated Lith, especially when he was right. The problem was that was most of the time. Neither of them had used their true strength, but the quick exchange had been more than enough to prove the difference in skill between the two.
“How did you…”
“Magic. Until now you could only use water and earth. I already taught you everything you need to know about first magic and every other element. Practice on your own. Our deal is over.” Lith said while walking towards his home.
“Wait! I need new axes and something to carry them.”
“Why is that my problem?” Lith replied.
“You have nothing I want and I don’t work for free.” Lith said. “Don’t even think about plundering this area. There’s nothing valuable and if someone pays me, I’ll be more than happy to get rid of you.”
“Dude, that’s cruel. I never needed money before. I don’t even know how to get back home. Boss Scarlett Warped me here with one of those fancy portals. Can’t you do the same? If it was hard going unnoticed earlier, it’s impossible now!” Phillard whined.
“Again, not my problem.” Lith was tired of dealing with the Lindwurm. He always managed to give him a headache.
“Scourge, was that your doing?” Even though they hadn’t met in years, Lith immediately recognized that voice.
“Of course it was me. Nice to finally see you again, Reaper. I was starting to think you were avoiding me.”
Reaper the Shyf, one of the two remaining Kings of the woods, didn’t reply immediately.
“Actually, I was. Since Protector’s disappearance, there is something wrong about you. It scares us greatly.”
“What changed your mind?” Lith asked.
“We are desperate for help.” Reaper admitted. “You never took interest in your role as King, leaving your turf in our hands. Now that Protector is gone, we lack the strength to defend our land from both humans and monsters.
“Those who replaced the two of you are too weak. Can you help us evolve too? Otherwise it’s only a matter of time before something bad happens.”
