EPISODE.110
In a state of selflessness, everything seemed serene and quiet except for Russell’s breathing that filled the silence. With each breath, his chest rose and fell lightly, as if to shatter the quiet.
Drip, drip, drip—
The sound of water droplets echoed repeatedly. They were droplets falling from stalactites, hitting the ground below with a rhythmic sound, similar to the ticking of a clock’s second hand.
After what felt like hundreds, thousands—no, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of repetitions, a softer sound emerged. It was a faint crackling, as if something delicate had snapped or burst within Russell. Along with these sounds, something was happening to his body. The outer layers of his skin began to split and peel away like shedding scales.
With his skin smoothly renewed – not without blemishes, but visibly smoother – a transformation beyond mere appearance also took place. His hair gleamed healthily, and warmth spread throughout his entire body.
Woosh!
As the heat escalated, beads of sweat formed, and as time passed, their nature began to subtly change. Initially ordinary, they soon turned black, oozing out thickly and spreading a nauseating stench around him. These were no normal droplets, and the change within Russell was profound, though he was unaware lost in his void-like state.
Suddenly, an unsettling sound of snapping bones resounded as several of Russell’s toes twisted grotesquely before snapping back into place. It was the beginning of an even more extensive change. The fracturing sound moved from his toes up through his ankles, knees, pelvis, and spine, spreading across his entire body. As a result, Russell’s meditative pose unraveled and he slumped onto the hard cave floor with a thud—a sight that would have induced screams of pain in anyone else. However, Russell’s face remained tranquil throughout this ordeal known as Body Change or, in the East, “환골탈태” (Hwankoltaltae), the reconstitution of the physical body.
As his levels of heart and energy had surged too high for his body to cope, achieving stability within his spirit, energy, and body was necessary. Magic power slowly flowed into and filled the vacancies within his seventh circle as he gained a deeper understanding of the water attribute magic.
Time passed until Russell finally awoke, and the sound of dripping water was still there to greet him. With a light groan, he became aware of the sounds around him, piecing together fragmented memories. “What happened…?” he wondered, thinking back to the circling process to absorb the power of the Ice Dragon’s horn. It seemed he had lost track of time in his meditative state.
He estimated quite a lot of time had passed given his stiff body and considerable hunger. It could’ve been a month, perhaps even three. Resolving to eat, Russell noticed a foul smell and saw that his clothes had deteriorated, turning partly black. He stood in shock, noticing changes in his body—smoother skin and slightly increased height. Such transformations often accompanied reaching a new level of strength, where old forms are shed for new—he had undergone a “Body Change.”
With curiosity, he tested his magic and noted an increase in casting speed, a crucial advantage in combat.
After cleansing himself with clean magic, Russell ate some preserved meat and headed deeper into the cave following his instincts. There, he discovered an egg, radiating a faint blue and pulsing gently—it was a dragon egg, faintly alive but desperately clinging to life.
He realized he had to infuse the egg with magic, using the power from the Ice Dragon’s horn within him. As he poured his magic into the egg, it voraciously absorbed it until Russell was left nearly drained.
Eventually, cracks began to appear on the egg’s surface, and with a few strong hits from the inside, a young dragon broke free, nestling into Russell’s arms crying softly—A juvenile Ice Dragon. Unlike the legendary dragons, this young one had legs fit for walking and lacked wings. Instead of wings, it had two beautiful, aurora-like tufts of hair sprouting from its head.
As Russell was admiring the little one, he summoned Pepper, his fire dragon, from the spirit realm to meet the new addition. Despite their opposite elements, the two small dragons seemed to bond instantly.
Pepper inquired about the new dragon’s name through thought, to which Russell replied, “How about Sherbet?” The young dragon seemed to like the name, responding with joyous cries. Only Pepper knew the source of the name and couldn’t help but express a momentary disdain for Russell’s choice—after all, her own name had been derived from pepperoni.
Regardless, Pepper playfully pecked at Russell’s head with her beak as if to chastise him, adding an endearing touch to the magical moment they shared.
[End of episode]
