Growing Large

Dawn broke, signaling the start of a new day.

The distance from our current spot to the Royal Capital Garond was roughly a five-day trek on foot. I hadn’t wanted to force Spira to walk that far, so I’d originally planned to use an inter-city carriage—but then...

"Go, Shiroru! Mush!"

Before we set out, Spira was happily perched on Shiroru’s back. She seemed to be playing "horsey." The problem was that Shiroru was only about the size of a small dog. No matter how petite Spira was, he couldn't actually carry her. Even putting aside the question of his stamina, her feet just dragged on the ground.

However, that problem was solved quite easily.

『Hmph. I suppose I have no choice.』

With those words, Shiroru activated his Giantization. Even calling it "giantization" was a bit of an exaggeration; he only grew until his back reached roughly the height of my waist. Still, it was the perfect size to carry Spira.

"Wahaa! Shiroru got big!"

Spira was overjoyed. Shiroru trotted in a circle around us and came back, his steps steady and sure. He looked more than capable of carrying her for the journey.

"Since when could you do that?" I asked, surprised.

『Only recently. As you grow, Tort, my own capabilities seem to expand as well.』

I recalled someone mentioning that Holy Beasts are influenced by the humans they bond with. Apparently, as I leveled up and grew, Shiroru would grow right along with me.

When I used Appraisal on him again, I saw that 【Giantization】 had been added to his skill list. For now, it seemed that waist-high size was his limit. However, since the skill had a level, I figured he’d probably be able to get even larger as it went up.

With the concern over Spira’s exhaustion resolved, we decided to scrap the carriage plan. As it turned out, inter-city carriages weren't actually that fast. Since they usually carried multiple passengers, they couldn't maintain a high speed, and the horses needed frequent rest. Their daily travel distance was also strictly dictated by the location of the post stations. If you had the stamina and didn't mind camping out, traveling on foot didn't actually take much longer.

Most importantly, I’d heard the ride quality was abysmal. It made sense—there was no such thing as a suspension system in this world, and the roads were far from paved. Walking seemed much more pleasant.

We weren't in a particular hurry, anyway. We were more than strong enough to handle any monsters in this area, and with my Storage Ring, our luggage wasn't a burden. We eventually agreed that walking would feel more like a fun picnic.

The greatest threat in these parts was the Grassland Wolf, but after our training in the dungeon, they were no match for us. The same went for Lowell.

"...Ha!"

With a sharp breath, Lowell fluidly evaded a lunging wolf. In the blink of an eye, he drove his blade through its heart. The Grassland Wolf hit the ground with a dull thud and didn't move again.

Lowell didn't even pause to confirm the kill before moving on to the next target. Faint arcs of lightning crackled along the length of his short sword. He told me he was imbuing the weapon with magic. It was overkill for a mere Grassland Wolf, but I’d asked him to show me how he fought. It was incredibly cool.

Apparently, Lowell was a rarity among Forestfolk in that he was poor at magic—or more specifically, he struggled with "releasing" mana. To compensate, he activated his magic by shrouding his weapon in it instead.

I didn't quite grasp the mechanics of it. Was "cladding" something you could do just by visualizing it? At the very least, the spells I had learned had very specific, fixed effects, like Sally’s Fire Arrow or Flame Whip.

But come to think of it, I could control what I removed with Clean to some degree based on my mental image, and I’d successfully manipulated Decomposition to create soy sauce. Perhaps the idea that "effects are fixed" was just a limitation I’d placed on myself. Depending on the visualization, magic might be capable of all sorts of applications.

Thinking about it made me want to learn more spells. So far, I’d only focused on utility magic, but maybe it was time to pick up some offensive spells as well.

By the time I finished my musings, Lowell had finished off the pack of wolves.

『Well done, Lowell! A brilliant display!』

"Yeah! My big brother is super strong!"

Shiroru and Spira ran over to heap praise on him. Shiroru’s tail was wagging furiously, clearly caught up in the excitement, while Spira giggled happily. Lowell responded to them with a gentle smile. It was a heartwarming sight.

"Alright, time to dismantle them! Tort, you want to try, right?"

"Yeah, please teach me."

Halfa and I got to work on the carcasses. Recently, she’d been showing me the ropes of the dismantling process. I wasn't at the point of gaining a skill for it yet, but I hoped to eventually. I couldn't just keep leaving all the dirty work to her.

Thanks to my 【Dexterous Fingertips】 trait, I managed a fairly clean job for a beginner, though I was still nowhere near Halfa’s level. We took the meat and the pelts; the meat wasn't the tastiest, but we couldn't afford to be wasteful. Once we were done, we burned the remains and buried the ashes.

The rest of the trip followed a similar pattern. We encountered no major trouble, and our progress remained smooth. Four days later, we finally arrived at the Royal Capital, Garond.

Name: Shiroru Race: Holy Beast Age: 0 Level: 12 [7 up] Vitality: 86/86 [42 up] Mana: 70/70 [35 up] Strength: 54 [26 up] Stamina: 51 [25 up] Agility: 63 [30 up] Dexterity: 43 [21 up] Magic Power: 51 [25 up] Spirit: 50 [24 up] Luck: 72 [3 up]

Skills: 【Thought Transmission】 【Scratch Lv11】 [6 up] 【Bite Lv11】 [6 up] 【Lightning Magic Lv6】 [4 up] 【Telekinesis Lv13】 [8 up] 【Giantization Lv2】 [new]

Traits: 【Kin of the Destiny God】

Magic: 〈Lightning Clad〉 〈Lightning Strike〉