“…Truly hopeless.”
“…Leave it. Do you think I’m doing this for someone?”
The golden-haired elf, Gal Dragon, who was interjecting from the side, received a scolding.
The Gal Dragon, who had turned into an elf to try and understand the situation, was in the middle of making clothes.
Putting aside the use of plant fibers to make clothes for now,
he then attempted to make garments out of leather, but the creatures in Gal Dragon’s territory were as enormous as their thick skin and subcutaneous layers, suitable only for the clothing of a giant like a Titan, not for someone human like myself.
Above all, one of the reasons Gal Dragon detested was the idea of dressing in an animal’s corpse.
‘Kidnapper though he may be, he sure is picky.’
However, the material selected afterward was satisfactory for both myself and Gal Dragon.
Gold.
The gold in the dragon’s nest was to be used as the material for clothing.
Though a story limited to a high-handed master of martial arts who could deform even metal, it was easier to shape than the fibers.
Though it was common to draw out gold threads and weave them, as it wasn’t much different from using plant fibers, I simply flattened the gold, forming it into gold leaf to use like fabric.
Since the gold was piled up not just like stones on the roadside, but like a mountain, supply was not particularly difficult.
The Gal Dragon was also pleased since the material for their clothing would be something they liked the most, and began to observe with interest as they readily offered up the gold.
Though he looked like a male elf, though he hadn’t rejected becoming hairless, his proximity where the skin of the elf form would touch mine was extremely unpleasant.
After all, aside from my three sisters among the high elves, I had not permitted any bodily contact.
Striking the elf-shaped Gal Dragon with an iron mountain strike (Tieshan kao), I sent him flying before assembling the gold leaves to make clothes…
“Monstrous taste.”
This was what Gal Dragon said while lifting up the clothes I had made.
It was merely gold leaf shaped like clothes, feeling neither curves nor any unevenness—a plain cylinder.
The only advantage was that the seams were carefully made for a streamlined finish.
“Did you deliberately make this?”
“…For now, it’s enough as long as it properly covers the body.”
“I changed into this shape myself, but I still don’t understand. Is wearing clothes so urgent that I must don such an eyesore?”
“Enough. Since you’ve been complaining incessantly and butting in, why don’t you just try making something yourself?”
“Hmm, you’re right. It would indeed be better if I made it.”
“Huh?”
The statement intended to chastise Gal Dragon, who was obstructing everything, turned into a nod of agreement as he picked up the gold.
He then began forming it by infusing his energy, flattening and shaping the gold as I had done before.
“While you haven’t really seen proper clothing…”
“Looking at the clothes you used to wear gave me an idea of how to make it. Beyond that, I’ll just trust my aesthetic sense, and it shouldn’t be that hard.”
“Easy for you to say…”
Despite his confident demeanor, which seemed somewhat disheartening, considering that he only interfered and criticized before, I decided it would be amusing to watch, even if he were acting childish recently.
But the golden clothes woven under the serious gaze of the dragon took shape beautifully, with forms of strength and delicacy.
And it didn’t take too long.
“…What is this?”
“Hmm… It’s a little unsatisfactory, but it is my first work, after all.”
Gal Dragon said while floating the clothes he had made in mid-air.
Though not in the form of the martial clothing that A-ti had made, it was quite presentable.
Moreover, the lines of the clothing, despite not resembling a skirt, seemed suitable for a female martial attire.
This was possible only because it precisely captured the necessary forms.
Gal Dragon, seemingly dissatisfied with his first piece, started drawing out and shaping more gold.
Each new piece of clothing he made had its own distinct feature.
“The structure of the form is a problem? When I simply flattened the gold, the durability and the simplicity of the form seemed somewhat compromised.”
“Is the issue the density of the structure? Perhaps weaving with plant fibers is for that reason.”
“In that case, maybe if I thin the structure, draw it out, and weave it to form a surface, I might create a more stable shape.”
“In that case… It might be a bit troublesome, but…”
Suddenly, as if he were absorbed in something, he began making clothes in various ways using gold, completely ignoring me.
Though I’d abandoned creating threads like silk, attempting to create fabric, he intended to try it as well.
Comparing the forms and patterns to his own body, he continued his passionate creation with intense focus.
“…Now that I think about it, there were an incredible number of statues modeled after himself.”
Recalling the exquisitely detailed gold statues of Gal Dragon that I had seen when I woke up in the treasure chamber, I realized why Gal Dragon’s craftsmanship and imagination regarding forms were so bizarrely good.
“…Not quite fitting. Or, rather, does it fit in this case?”
It’s quite prejudiced to think this way, but aren’t creators of art often portrayed as unruly and eccentric?
The elf, with a beautiful exterior and a serious expression, deeply immersed in his work, looked quite artistic as an elf.
Even though I knew his insufferable character, his dedication to art somehow felt justified, which was somewhat humiliating.
For a martial artist, if one does not possess a character fitting to one’s martial arts, they are generally regarded as black-market riffraff.
Yet, because he had artistic talent, it seemed not only excused but even treated as something special.
“…Feels somewhat unfair.”
With a slightly annoyed expression, I merely observed Gal Dragon’s work.
Both of us had long transcended the limits of regular beings.
Survival without eating or sleeping for long periods was no issue for us.
However, observing Gal Dragon absorbed in his own world was not an entirely pleasant experience, so I quietly distanced myself and practiced Qi cultivation to focus on my body’s recovery.
The clothes I’d made had been dismantled long ago by Gal Dragon, deemed as a profane result for the material, and transformed into gold threads.
Thus, I remained naked, but since the only one around to see me was Gal Dragon, and he was distracted elsewhere, I was, for the first time in a while, able to recover and practice in peace, free from his usual attention.
“…Actually, it’s not so bad as long as there’s no gaze or attention.”
The garden of the giant’s domain, which Gal Dragon considered his own, was incredibly dense with mana distribution.
“The exact cause is unknown, but it seems the Elder Roa might play a special role.”
The environment around the World Tree El Prigion, my mother, also had a high mana distribution, unlike the regions where humans lived.
Moreover, it influenced the flora and fauna, affecting how large the Elven Road animals could grow or the quantity and size of the fruits that plants bore.
How much more so here, where Northern territories were inhabited by both Gal Dragon and Terato.
‘Viewing it from this angle, the vegetation here makes sense.’
In the case of Titans, they were artificially created by the Elder Roa Terato, similar to the elves, but the other creatures and vegetation here were clearly normal life forms.
However, unless they were extraordinary beings like elves or Titans, it would be impossible for creatures like the Brachios seen in the north to grow so enormous.
After all, the bigger their bodies become, the more likely they would collapse under their own weight if normal laws applied.
But due to the dense mana from the two Elder Roas, such growth was understandable.
Moreover, most of the animals here had forms somewhat similar to reptiles.
Even though they weren’t artificially created, they resembled a blend of various animals, reptiles, birds, rats, chickens, etc.
If these original creatures had been influenced by Gal Dragon’s energy…
‘…This is going too far.’
Even I grew up in the forest of my mother’s realm, but I never saw plants evolve into sentient beings.
And during the process of absorbing and purifying the energy in the nest, though the mana was dense and purification somewhat challenging, I felt no alteration in my existence.
Rather, recovery seemed to be faster due to this dense energy.
“The masters of renowned families and the abbots of great sects meditate in chambers built with ancient materials.”
During these past few days of meditation, Gal Dragon’s nest seemed to possess capabilities comparable to such chambers.
It was twice as efficient here for cultivating internal energy and curing meridians compared to other places.
Even if I were to recover at the Elven Road, I doubt it would be faster than here.
‘Am I lucky or fortunate within misfortune?’
After all, the master of this place was Gal Dragon, and I was still in a situation akin to a captive.
As I devoted myself to recovery and energy cultivation over the span of two days with a slightly complex heart, Gal Dragon, who had been focused on making clothes, suddenly approached.
“…? Is there something?”
“The details in my mind are insufficient to fully complete the image.”
“I don’t follow. Be more precise.”
“Your body and the changing forms as you maintain physical activity. It’s insufficient for me to measure only my own body.”
“…You’ve seen my body enough by now, haven’t you? Besides, haven’t you made so much clothing but not even one for yourself? Isn’t it ridiculous that you’re still naked.”
“The discussion about my attire can wait. I need information about you.”
“…What exactly are you planning to do? Your eyes are creepy. Stay back!”
In an instant, Gal Dragon dismounted from his cross-legged position and advanced, sticking to me like glue.
“Are you crazy?!”
“The skin is soft… each joint and tendon… the rib cage moves when you breathe…”
“Stop touching me! Get a grip!”
I shrieked as his hand came close to my body.
Though I tried to strongly throw him off by colliding with him using a backflip technique, the elf-turned-dragon with caved-in chest kept holding on despite spitting blood.
“Ugh… This line…”
With broken blood vessels in his eyes and tears of blood flowing down, he muttered persistently, even as he suffered a serious internal injury from the caved chest.
A wave of fear rose within me as I watched the elf not letting go.
“Hold on, ah! You, no, you bastard, hey!”
Even as he roughly touched me, I threw a curse-laced punch filled with murderous intent, but Gal Dragon had already surrounded himself with something akin to a protective barrier.
It was impossible to kill him in this state, and I struggled to even stop him.
Ultimately, before I could escape what would have been the second degradation since I was born into this world, I couldn’t avoid a third one.
