Chapter 265: Chapter 264 – Wings

Yuki looked down and found claws staring back at her a ways down. She was quite high above the ground, higher than she had expected. She lifted a leg, her body weight shifted to her other three, and examined her talon. Her claws were an ivory white and looked quite sharp. They were attached to a talon covered in bright silver scales the color of moonlight. When she angled it under the light, it shimmered an iridescent rainbow. 

When she put her talon back down, she rose up to her tallest height. She found that her neck was quite long, longer than Sophie’s it seemed. She craned to look behind herself and saw a pair of large wings tucked neatly on her back. She unfurled them, a jolt of excitement passing through her.

“I have wings,” she murmured. 

“Of course you do,” Sophie laughed. “You’re a dragon. We fly. We’re not little water serpents.”

“I know that, but still, I have wings,” Yuki said.

“You can stretch them for a bit.”

Yuki swung her head back toward Sophie and grinned a toothy grin. Then she noticed Sophie’s scent, the smell of fresh dirt on a rainy day. It smelled quite nice to Yuki. Her tongue slithered out as she continued to sniff around herself. Her mind was jolted with a sudden spike in clarity as she tasted the air.

“Oh, my sense of smell improved a lot,” Yuki remarked.

“We’re hunters. Smell is important,” Sophie replied. “I’ll have to teach you how to hunt properly in the future. Our vision is quite good as well.”

Yuki could see what she meant. Even though her head towered above the ground, she could see every single blade of grass in the field with razor sharp clarity. The tree that stood a hundred yards or so away was so clear that she could have counted each twig, branch, and leaf if she had the time.

“I can see why you said hunt properly,” she said. “There’s no way I can hunt like I normally do now that I have wings and such strong senses.”

“Mhm,” Sophie nodded. Yuki hid a smile. A dragon nodding was quite a thing, a head going up and down on such a long neck. “If we really need to get small things, we just go right back into our elf forms.”

“That seems convenient.”

“It is.”

Yuki looked up at the fake sky created by her mana. She peeked back at Sophie who smiled.

“Go ahead. We have time. I think two hundred years plus of being stuck on the ground is enough,” she said.

Yuki smiled back and shook her wings, flaring them out to stretch them. Then she did one mighty flap. And then another. And another. As she did, she ran forward, letting instinct take over for her. Her wings angled to catch the air, pushing it under her. With every flap, more and more air was pushed through her wings.

Then all she felt was air.

She pumped her wings again and blasted up, her wings changing angles as she climbed rapidly into the air. She blinked, the second pair of eyelids shutting to block the wind and whatever was in the air from striking her eyes. Her vision was still as clear as day. 

Exhilaration filled her chest as a wide smile spread across her face as she soared in the sky. Flying took almost no thought. Her body just knew how to adjust. She looked down and brought her wings in, diving down before pulling out at the last moment, her body swinging up. Then she made loops in the air as she continued her momentum. 

‘Amazing,’ Yuki thought. That was all she could think to say.

She did twists and twirls in the sky, testing her limits. When she had exhausted everything she could think of, she eyed the ground for a landing. She dove down, the ground rushing up to meet her. Then she slowed her descent with her wings before dropping to the ground with a thud as her legs bent from the impact. 

“Not the most graceful of landings,” Sophie commented. 

“Hey, I’m still learning,” Yuki laughed. 

“I wouldn’t have been able to tell,” Sophie smiled. “You seemed like you were flying your entire life.”

“Thanks.”

“Others would be jealous of you,” Sophie said. “You’re not the best, but you’re basically a fledgling at this point. Most would kill to be able to fly so well at that time.”

“I still need to practice,” Yuki replied. 

“You do,” Sophie nodded. “Before that, though, try turning back to your elf form. I know you just discovered this whole dragon thing, but being able to go back is useful.”

“That’s true.”

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Though Yuki felt a bit sad at the thought, she complied with Sophie. She soon found that turning into an elf was much easier than it was to turn into a dragon. It only took her a few seconds to do.

When she was back on two legs, she noted a sudden lack of stability from losing two legs. Her senses dulled. Most strikingly, though, was that she felt much smaller now. Tiny. 

“Now you know how dragons feel when in their elf bodies,” Sophie said, noticing Yuki’s expression. “Actually, a lot of demons in general.”

“Do you get used to it?” Yuki asked.

“Eventually. But the small part of you that wants to just break out and soar through the sky is still there. Enough of that though. Try your magic. You’ll notice something.”

Yuki tilted her head, but followed what Sophie said. But the moment she touched her mana, a barrage of words filled her vision.

[Notice: Self Awareness Has Completely Unlocked.]

[Notice: Ancestral Knowledge Has Been Complete Unlocked.]

[Notice: Passive Omni-Elementalist Has Been Unlocked.]

[Gaea’s Authority Has Fused With Omni-Elementalist. Nature’s Loved One Has Been Created.]

‘That’s a lot,’ Yuki thought. ‘I don’t think I’m going to check my complete stats right now. It might be a bit too much.’

But one thing that stood out was the last notification. Nature’s Love One sounded like something to do with using all the elements, especially since it was changed because of her omni-affinity. 

‘Does it mean that I have to use every element to a masterful degree to complete it?’ she thought. 

She put that away for later thought. She touched her mana again and a gasp escaped her lips. It was as if her mana pool had become an ocean. Having so much mana wouldn’t help her use magic better, but it was crucial to using more complicated spells. But how did it become so large?

“You noticed it?” Sophie said. “It’s because you’ve found your dragon-self. Dragons have naturally large mana reserves and production. Yours was stunted due to having such little time, if any time, as a dragon. But it still leaked through with your high mana reserves and production that was abnormal for an elf.”

“But why can I access it as an elf?” Yuki asked. “I’m not a dragon right now.”

“It’s because unlike physical attributes like vision and smell, mana is connected to your soul,” Sophie shrugged. “Your soul didn’t change. You’re still a dragon. Only your physical body changed.”

“Oh. That makes sense,” Yuki said.

“Now. We have the tools we need,” Sophie said quietly.

“Tools?” Yuki wasn’t sure what she meant.

“For you to get strong enough. Strong enough to escape this accursed arena,” she said.

Yuki’s chest tightened at the reminder. The excitement of the day had almost made her forget. She was trapped in an unknown place. With unknown people and dangers. This field was all just an illusion in her mind. 

Worse, her loved ones. They were out there somewhere. She had to get to them, to be there and comfort them. To apologise for all this. How could she have almost forgotten all of that. She wanted to punch herself.

‘I promised Akira,’ she thought. ‘I promised her to never abandon her.’

“Are you ready?” Sophie asked. “It’s time you got real training.”

“I’m ready,” Yuki growled.

She knew who she was now. And now with this knowledge and the strength that came with it, she’ll escape. Even if it takes her months or years, she’ll escape. 

‘For them.’