“Hey, if you want to do it, I won’t stop you.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Of course, it’s real. If you want to do something, how could I possibly stop you?”
At my words, Thetis laughed with great joy.
“Only… the results of such actions are unknown, so caution is necessary. Understand?”
“Huh? Yes! I understand!”
Ah, she doesn’t know. Too happy for her ears to hear properly, it seems.
By the way… Since I gave some of my scales to create these children’s bodies, what would happen if we give their scales to the dinosaurs?
I’m a bit curious about that.
“In case anything goes wrong, I’ll keep an eye on things too. If there’s any problem, I might need to help.”
“Yes! With Mother’s help, I feel more confident!”
With that, I removed the slime leather cloth I had carefully made and transformed back into my original dragon form.
Ah, I wrapped the slime cloth around my pinky finger. It’s annoying to remake when transforming.
“Then let’s open a portal to where the dinosaurs are… Ah.”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
Thetis alternated her gaze between the lake she was submerged in and me before speaking.
“I can open a water-based travel portal, so I tried to move Mother through the lake…”
“But?”
“It seems Mother’s body is too big to fit into the lake.”
Oh.
“You should probably transform into a smaller form.”
Thetis said this with a troubled expression. Well, my body is indeed quite large.
“There’s nothing to be done.”
I used my magic again to change my body into that of a small girl, then wrapped myself in the slime leather cloth. This should work fine.
“Would you mind holding onto my pectoral fin as you sit on my head?”
“Hmm. Very well.”
After creating wings with my magic, I flew up and landed on Thetis’ head.
“Let’s see… This feels just right to hold.”
I grabbed one of the fins protruding from the side of Thetis’ head.
“Doesn’t hurt, does it?”
I gripped it tightly enough not to fall off but not so much that it would cause pain. That would be troublesome.
“It’s a strange sensation, but this level is fine. Then, let’s depart!”
With that, Thetis quickly dove underwater.
Even though we were submerged, my breathing wasn’t hindered at all, confirming that despite my human appearance, my body remains fully dragon-like. No need for breathing makes it convenient.
The cold lake water soaked my entire body and hair. Having hair since becoming a dragon felt somewhat refreshing.
In the middle of the cold lake water, Thetis’ magic gathered to form a circular pattern, and without hesitation, Thetis jumped right into it.
As soon as Thetis swam through the circle, the scenery around us changed.
From the tranquil lake devoid of movement to the vast restless ocean.
The salty seawater, countless fish, long-growing seaweed, and coral reefs.
We were in the midst of a beautifully blue sea.
“We’ve arrived. They should be nearby… Ah, there they are!”
Thetis swiftly swam across the vast ocean. When she stopped, there were five dinosaurs evolving to adapt to life in the sea.
“Long time no see! Permission granted!”
Whether understanding Thetis’ words or not, the five sea dinosaurs began circling around Thetis.
Ah, here it’s spacious enough that I don’t need to stay in human form. I released my grip on Thetis’ fin and started moving away from her.
“Mother?”
“Here, it seems safe to return to my original form.”
After putting some distance between myself and Thetis, I removed the white slime leather cloth wrapped around my body.
Alright, let me transform back…
“Kyaoo!”
Hm?
Just as I was about to revert to my original form, one of the sea dinosaurs circling Thetis—a long-necked creature resembling a sea serpent—rushed toward me.
Ah, did it mistake me for prey?
“Ack, no!”
“Kyaouu!”
A massive mouth opened wide, attempting to swallow me whole.
Seems like it underestimated me quite a bit.
“Tch.”
With a flick of my index finger, I sent a light slap towards the dinosaur.
Boom!!
In an instant, an incredible shockwave passed by the dinosaur.
Well, I avoided hitting it directly for Thetis’ sake.
“One should choose opponents wisely before attacking. Is this why beasts remain beasts?”
Despite the shockwave merely grazing it, the dinosaur’s skin became tattered almost instantly.
“Kraaaaagh!”
The dinosaur writhed in agony. Had I hit it directly, its body would have been torn into hundreds of pieces.
“Oh dear. What shall we do now!”
“Hmm, losing one shouldn’t matter much, right?”
With a calm voice, I spoke to Thetis, who was flustered and bowed her head slightly after being unsure what to do.
“I carefully selected the smart ones, but I didn’t expect this. Hmm… That one seemed pretty intelligent.”
The dinosaur, bleeding profusely and writhing in pain. Hmm… But it was an instinct-driven action, so there’s nothing to be done.
I summoned my magic and gently enveloped the dinosaur, praying that it would heal its wounds.
“Kruu?”
A light surrounded the suffering dinosaur’s body, and its wounds began to disappear.
“Mother, what was that just now?”
“I used magic to heal the wound. I tried it because it felt possible, and it worked well.”
“Waa….”
Thetis was thoroughly amazed. Well, I didn’t expect the effect to be this good either.
Anyway, since the situation has settled down. Let me change my form… or rather, polymorph into my dragon shape. After doing so, I wrapped the white slime leather cloth around my pinky finger.
Though startled by my sudden appearance, the other dinosaurs started fleeing, but it was a trivial matter.
They quickly regrouped once Thetis called them back.
“Well then, I’ll pull out some of my scales and distribute them to these dinosaurs. I wonder what kind of result we’ll get?”
“Hmm. I’m curious too.”
Thetis pulled out five scales from beneath her jaw and distributed them among the five dinosaurs.
Strangely enough, the scales naturally found their place under the dinosaurs’ jaws.
“Whoa, what could this be? What’s happening?”
“Hmm.”
The children I gave scales to initially lacked physical forms, but these dinosaurs already have bodies. What exactly is occurring?
The water magic contained within the scales spread throughout the dinosaurs’ bodies from their jaws.
The dark-colored scales of the dinosaurs began turning blue, and their bodies started changing.
Their fins transformed into front and hind legs, gradually resembling Thetis.
Although slightly smaller, they clearly had wings, and instead of horns, fin-like structures emerged.
After a brief moment, the dinosaurs transformed into shapes similar to a smaller version of Thetis.
Like a blue dragon, a Blue Dragon indeed.
Except for one.
“That one… That’s the one who attacked Mother earlier.”
“Hmm. Fascinating.”
The dinosaur that attacked me… Due to being riddled with wounds, it couldn’t fully absorb the power contained within Thetis’ scale.
It ended up halfway transformed, closer to a giant sea serpent.
Its scales turned blue, but ultimately, it resembled a large sea serpent rather than completing the transformation.
Hmm, it was likely due to being wounded from my attack that it couldn’t fully absorb Thetis’ scale.
This sea serpent-like dinosaur seemed to realize how different it was from the others—the Blue Dragons—and grabbing the scale that fell off its body, it started fleeing somewhere.
“That one… Hmm…”
“Shall we chase after it?”
“No, it’s fine. Losing one doesn’t matter.”
Thetis’ face showed a hint of melancholy as she spoke.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The Sea Serpent, known as a disaster of the sea, was believed to be far removed from dragons but recent studies revealed it to be a distant relative of dragons.
Precisely classified as a Lesser Dragon, this category includes monsters like Drakes and Wyverns—less powerful than true dragons but still formidable.
…
While the Sea Serpent freely swims through the seas, attacking ships and harbors, it lacks the intelligence of dragons.
However, the strength of its scales rivals that of dragons, making them one of the best materials for armor.
Numerous adventurers seeking quick riches lose their lives trying to hunt Sea Serpents for these tough scales.
Though hunting such a strong creature seems impossible, there is one weak point.
Right beneath the Sea Serpent’s jaw lies a patch of skin without scales, incredibly vulnerable and pierceable even with an arrow or crossbow bolt.
Of course, hitting this tiny weak spot amidst a huge Sea Serpent wreaking havoc in the ocean is another story altogether.
– Monster Compendium: Sea Serpent Edition.
