Reborn as a DRAGON

Chapter 466: To the mortal realm

I didn't fight against the mana elements that surrounded me. Instead, I lowered my defenses. My cosmic mana almost had a mind of its own, but my control over it was perfect, so it did not interfere with my transformation.

It didn't take long before the familiar feeling of disorientation overtook me. I looked down at my now pale hands and nodded. I clenched and unclenched my fists, getting used to the sensation. Essie's transformation was impressive. However, with my current power, I only needed a slight nudge of my cosmic mana to break it.

"Oh! You look nice, brother!" Essie exclaimed with a grin. Her form morphed before my eyes as she turned into a cute, short, green-haired girl. She wore a plain white dress and smiled wide as she twirled in the air.

I turned to Breta, who gave me a nod. "Interesting choice for hair color," she said.

"Hm?" Curious, I grabbed a strand of hair and lowered it before my eyes. It was purple, dark purple.

I looked toward Essie, who responded almost immediately. "It's similar to the color of your scales!"

I subconsciously nodded, "I see." I didn't mind nor care for my current disguise. It was temporary, after all. What I was curious about, however, was this planet's mortal world.

"Well, now that we got that out of the way. Let's go."

Essie smiled happily and waved her hand at us. The wind picked up and gently carried us toward the storm barrier. The sound of thunder was deafening, and the constant strikes of lightning made me feel small in my current form.

Still, a part of me felt nostalgic. It took me a long time to get the lightning affinity, but that was also lost along with the others. A sigh escaped my lips as I pushed the thoughts away.

With Essie leading the way, the clouds parted before their natural ruler. We faced no problem as we flew through them and emerged on the other side. It took me a second to get used to the sudden change of sight.

The world beyond the storm barrier was sunny. That was my first impression. The clouds here were sparse, and the weather was warm. It was very comfortable.

Essie gently guided us to the ground. I could see the vast green meadow that extended as far as my eyes could see. My feet touched the grass. It felt soft.

I turned to Essie and asked, "I'm not sure how the mortals here live, but aren't I supposed to have shoes to go with the clothes?" I awkwardly raised my foot to show her.

"Ah!" Essie gasped and hastily nodded, "I forgot about the shoes! One second!" Saying that, she quickly flicked her wrist, causing mana to gather around my feet. In but an instant, shoes materialized.

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"Feels a bit uncomfortable," I muttered.

"You'll get used to them, brother," Essie smiled. She then turned to Breta, who had been silent this entire time.

"A-Are you okay?"

"Hm? Yes, I am," Breta replied as she admired the vast open meadows. "This place is beautiful," she added, causing a wide smile to bloom on Essie's face.

"It is! There are other places that look even better than this one!"

"Is that so."

"Yes! And their cities are so noisy, with a lot of people living there."

"Well then, let's go! I'm quite curious about their food," I said with a grin. I could feel my mouth watering at the thought of food.

If there was one thing I had to admit the mortals did better than us, that would be food. It's been a while since I last needed food for sustenance. Still, It would be a lie if I said I didn't miss it. And what better chance to indulge than now?

After a few minutes of mindfully enjoying the scene, we began to walk. Essie was already familiar with the direction of the nearest human capital. It was there where her friend was now crowned as the monarch, after all.

We were in no rush and instead took our time. By evening time, we reached a dirt road with traces of carts on the ground.

"So we'll reach the capital if we follow this road?" I asked.

Essie shook her head, "It's not the first stop. There are a few villages and small cities along the way before the capital."

Breta joined in on the conversation, "Remind me why we can't just fly there?"

"Because this is an adventure! The point of an adventure is the journey, not the destination!" I said.

"Ohh!" Essie exclaimed with eyes wide open.

Breta, on the other hand, shook her head with a sigh. "Journey, he says."

****

I'll admit, the novelty of walking across green fields quickly wore off. By the time night fell, I was very tempted to teleport us to the nearest village. But my pride didn't allow me.

'The whole point is the journey, not the destination,' I kept repeating to myself. 'Ah, damn it! Why did I have to go and say something stupid like that? This is boring.'

I cast a glance toward Essie, who seemed as happy as always. A small rodent of sorts was flying around her. The poor creature had its eyes wide open in fear, but Essie failed to notice. Still, she gently carried the rodent and made it fly in circles around her.

Shaking my head, I turned my gaze to the road. My eyes widened as a smile made its way across my face. It was dark. Only the moonlight served as a light source, not that any of us had any problems with seeing in the dark.

Still, that was beside the point. Right before us, in the distance, was a faint light. It looked like a camp of sorts.

"Travelers?" I muttered.

Breta nodded. "It seems like it."

"Let's go!" I urged, and Essie reluctantly parted with the small rodent. The poor creature dashed across the field the second its feet touched the ground and disappeared behind the grass.

"Bye, Bye."

We arrived at the camp quickly, and our presence went unnoticed at first because we didn't have any torches.

I was about to speak when what looked to be one of the guards screamed in horror at the sight of us.

"AH!!"

Startled, the others hastily jumped to their feet and drew their weapons.

Confused, I turned to Breta and asked, "Are we that frightening?"

Breta shrugged.

"Who are you?!" asked one of the men, his face marred by a long scar, which gave him a gruff look.

"We are but humble travelers," I calmly responded.

As I approached the men, I could finally see their armor up close. Some were damaged, while others had dried blood on their armor. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

A frown made its way across my face. 'Well, they don't look like your average travelers.'