Chapter 51

The speed was indeed about twice as fast as my previous top speed.

Five times faster than a horse galloping at full speed across the plain, or perhaps even closer to ten times.

Undeniably fast—however.

“Haa… haa…”

I stopped, bent over, and panted heavily.

The dragon transformation had somehow already worn off.

This is it…

The speed had indeed increased, but so had the energy consumption.

“Haa… haa… Of course, that makes sense…”

I took a deep breath, stood up.

My breathing had calmed, but the fatigue in my body was overwhelming.

I felt so exhausted that I could collapse at any moment if I let my guard down.

I can't do anything more today.

I should go somewhere and have a proper meal.

“Daddy?”

I looked up.

The original species child who had run off had returned.

The child came back with a curious expression.

Even though the child could run as fast as me in dragon form, when not running, they moved cutely like a puppy.

“What's wrong, Daddy?”

“Nothing.”

“Haa… haa… That was fast… Ah, Master.”

A little later, Louise appeared.

She was also out of breath, just like before.

“…Haha.”

I chuckled softly.

Though in different forms, both Louise and I had been run ragged by this original species child.

“Huh?”

I noticed something.

Louise was carrying something on her back.

“Louise, what's that?”

“This? I hunted it for Master.”

Louise said this and dropped what she was carrying in front of me.

“A bear…?”

“Yeah! Because Master transformed so many times.”

“Thanks, Louise.”

I patted Louise, who blushed and looked pleased.

“Ehehe…”

For a moment, I used mimicry to turn Louise into a human form.

Since my energy was almost depleted, it only lasted a moment.

As expected, she was cute.

The Louise who had been so sleepy when we first met was now so happy to be praised.

The contrast was adorable.

“Daddy, are we eating?”

“Eh, yeah. Do you want to eat too?”

“Yeah, I'll eat with Daddy.”

“Alright, let's start a fire.”

“I'll prepare the spit roast.”

Louise said this and snapped a nearby tree of the right thickness, skewering the bear from mouth to tail.

I started a fire and began roasting the bear.

This wasn't cooking; it was just food for survival.

The bear was cooked, and the original species child and I ate it.

Louise didn't eat.

She knew it was for my energy replenishment.

“Should I go catch a few more?”

She suggested.

“No, that's fine. This is just a quick fix. Eating a lot of unprepared food is still tough.”

“Really…?”

Louise looked disappointed.

It was pitiful, but this was a challenge I had to face for a while.

Even if it could be eaten and turned into energy, I couldn't eat two whole roasted animals without any preparation or seasoning.

I just needed enough energy to get back to the base, Persolon.

With that in mind, I finished the bear.

In less than an hour, I had completely devoured the bear.

The bear, which had been reasonably large, was now just a pile of bones by the fire.

“Thank you, Louise. You saved me.”

“Ehehe.”

“Well, now that I've replenished my energy—”

I started to say, but then froze.

I froze when I saw the bones on the ground.

Specifically, the bones and my feet.

I alternated my gaze between them and froze.

“Master? What's wrong?”

“…Louise, let's head back to Persolon.”

“Eh? Sure.”

“Daddy, where are we going?”

“I just remembered something. Do you want to come with me?”

“Yeah!”

The original species child nodded vigorously.

I should give them a name, but my mind wasn't working that far right now.

“Are we in a hurry, Master?”

“Yeah.”

“Then get on my back.”

“Thanks. You too.”

The original species child and I climbed onto Louise's back.

Louise took off at a moderate speed.

Balaoul species.

While they can't match the original species in short distances, they excel in longer distances to Persolon.

Louise ran at a moderate speed without getting out of breath and quickly returned to Persolon.

I jumped off Louise's back.

Chris, who seemed to be sunbathing outside the dragon stable, looked over.

Chris was perfect to see.

I approached her.

“Hey, my dear friend. ——Hmm? Friend, you seem different. Did something happen?”

“Chris, can you crush some bones for me?”

“Bones?”

“Yeah, that's right.”

I nodded clearly.

Bones.

Seeing the bear bones reminded me.

There was another set of claws like the Balaoul Origin's feet nearby.

“Your bones?”

“Yeah.”

That's right.

The Phoenix Horn.

“Hmm, you seem to have something in mind. Alright, wait a moment.”

Chris said this and prepared the Phoenix Horn.

She created it by tearing off pieces of her immortal body, just like before.

“What are you going to do with this?”

“I think it will work—transformation.”

I muttered and transformed into a dragon.

Then, I took the Phoenix Horn from Chris.

The next moment, the same phenomenon as with the Balaoul Origin's claws occurred.

The dragon's body absorbed the Phoenix Horn!

“Hahaha. Hmm, hmm hmm. This is interesting.”

Chris had an unusually cheerful look on her face.

And—so did I.

I stared at my palm.

“I'm immortal.”

“Indeed.”

I was excited.

I could feel it in my own body.

My body, which had absorbed the Phoenix Horn, now had the same immortal properties as the Phoenix species.

At that moment, my consciousness faded.

☆

When I woke up, I saw Louise and the original species child's worried faces against the sky.

“You're awake!”

“Daddy, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine.”

I sat up.

They moved a bit to give me space.

I checked my body—yeah, everything was fine.

“It was just an energy drain.”

“Hahaha, that seems to be the case.”

Chris was laughing cheerfully from a short distance away.

“Amazing. One bear only lasted a second. And you exhausted yourself to the point of passing out in an instant.”

I fully understood the situation.

In dragon form, after absorbing the Phoenix Horn, I had become immortal like Chris.

In other words, I was literally invincible while in dragon form.

However, this came with a cost.

“I consume about ten times more energy than before.”

“Hahaha, well, it is my power.”

Chris laughed heartily.

I nodded in agreement.

The power of absorbing the Phoenix Horn, the power of being completely invincible.

In exchange, it used an incomparable amount of energy.

One bear for a second means I'd need to eat about a month's worth of food to last ten seconds.

Undeniably strong, immortal, and invincible.

But the energy consumption is horrendous.

“Pretty straightforward.”

“Hahaha, indeed.”

Chris laughed, while Louise and the original species child were relieved.

I—became excited.

If I could secure enough energy, this power would make me literally invincible and the strongest.

I was incredibly excited by this power, full of hope.

This concludes Chapter 3. How was it?

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