At the same time, on the other side.
After giving out all the gifts she had prepared for them, Golly didn’t idle around.
She ran off to the warehouse to restock the missing materials, stood akimbo as she looked at the now fully-packed storeroom, and couldn’t help but sigh to herself:
“Aiya, I never would’ve thought that, back then, there wasn’t even a single obedient little baby, but now, suddenly there are three of them. The basic materials I could never finish using before are running out so quickly… Hm… Lately, luck’s been pretty good too. Should I go fetch another one…?”
She absentmindedly stroked her chin, sinking into thought.
In the end, Golly gave up thinking about it.
“Forget it, I’ll talk about it if there’s a chance. For now, hehe~”
Suddenly remembering something fun, she broke into a mischievous grin and headed outside.
At this time, Genasa and Karu were still horsing around in the main hall after finishing their meal, while Aishe had already gone back to her room.
When the two of them saw Golly walking over, they paused for a moment.
“Hold up, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Hm?”
Seeing Genasa and Karu pause, Golly cleared her throat and spoke:
“Ahem, it’s like this. You two have been studying here for quite some time, and you just got the items I gave you. So, now it’s time to put your training to the test.”
“Huh? Is this an exam? Alright, what do we need to do exactly?”
Genasa didn’t care much about it. After all, he was more or less used to Golly’s antics by now—nothing really surprised him anymore.
“Do you remember the lizardmen we met when I took you out before? Do you know why they abandoned their original territory?”
Golly dangled the question, but Genasa and Karu kept quiet, just silently waiting for her to continue.
“Er… Let me just get to the point. Ahem, a powerful and evil Necromancer has appeared in the peaceful forest, cruelly slaughtering the forest’s residents. So, it’s up to you courageous and strong ones to defeat him. Maintaining the peace of the forest—and even the world—rests on your shoulders! Good luck~ There are generous rewards and glory waiting for you here~”( ＞ ᴗ ᗜ )
“Oh wow, Master, you’re moonlighting as a receptionist for the Adventurers’ Guild now.”
This familiar vibe was unmistakable—she was just like those NPC receptionists.
But the Necromancer part did catch Genasa by surprise.
“Ehehe~ Anyway, that’s the situation. Although that forest isn’t really my territory, no one’s managing it. The monsters inside will all get killed off sooner or later, and by then, that Necromancer will probably become absurdly strong. It’ll be dangerous if you run into him while you’re out and about.”
A Necromancer grows stronger by absorbing necrotic death energy, and similarly, the souls of dead creatures become nourishment for them.
Once enough beings are killed and their souls absorbed, a large-scale undead catastrophe could erupt.
“Oh, I get it now. There’s a super evil baddie outside, so let’s hurry up and go!”
Karu, who had been listening in, more or less understood what was going on and couldn’t wait to set off.
A kind-hearted Golden Dragon is naturally brimming with a sense of justice—everyone knows this.
But to put it bluntly, she was just nosy. Genasa wasn’t surprised at all, and anyway, it’s not like they’d be working for nothing. When they’re done, if there’s a beneficiary, they’ll ask for a reward.
“Alright, let’s go call Aishe and head out.”
“Let’s go fight the bad guy~”
She hopped out excitedly in front, and Genasa followed right behind.
During this time, Aishe had pretty much stayed in her room and never went out. Now was no different.
After learning about their objective, Aishe was, obviously, unwilling to go.
“Mm… It’s really cold outside, so I’m not going out.”
Saying this lightly, she buried her face back in her book.
Karu didn’t know what to do with her and could only stand off to the side, pouting.
At this moment, a red claw pried Aishe’s book away. Genasa looked into her eyes and complained helplessly:
“You’re a White Dragon and you’re scared of the cold? It’s always cold outside; it’s a snowy mountain.”
Aishe: （ᗜ△ᗜ）
“It’s really sunny outside, so I’m not going out.”
She brushed Genasa’s claw aside and continued reading.
“Don’t make up excuses so seriously.”（￣□￣；）
Basically, Aishe just didn’t want to go outside.
But since it was such a rare chance to go out together, Genasa didn’t want to let her skip it.
“You act like a shut-in girl all day. Sometimes it’s good to get some fresh air, c’mon, c’mon~”
He kept pestering her, and Karu joined in, echoing him relentlessly.
“Come on, let’s go play, let’s go, let’s go.”
Two walking sound systems circled around her, their voices reverberating. Calm-faced Aishe visibly grew gloomier.
(艹皿艹)
“You two are so annoying!”
In the end, Aishe couldn’t take it anymore and followed them out.
“I’m saying this upfront, I’m just coming along for the ride. Don’t call me first if something happens.”
“Don’t worry, you just hide in the back and give us ideas if you want. Leave the fighting to me.”
Genasa made a grand promise to her, and only then did Aishe feel a little better.
Outside the Crystal Palace, they waited for Golly to teleport them to their destination.
But…
“Since this is a trial, I won’t be helping you directly—including sending you down the mountain.”
“Huh?”
Genasa was dumbfounded and turned to look at the ground far below, obscured by thick white mist.
“Wait, but we’re still hatchlings. We can’t fly! How are we supposed to get down?”
“I don’t know. Figure it out yourselves. I told you, this is a trial. If you can’t get down, I’ll just count you as unqualified—and there’ll be a punishment~”
Hearing her completely irresponsible words, Genasa pointed a claw at her, about to curse.
“Hey, you bas—”
Golly was quick as lightning, pinching his mouth shut and cutting off the spell.
“If you’ve got time to complain, you’d better figure out a solution. If it gets windy and snowy and you get blown down, I still won’t help you.”
“……”
Genasa’s little feline face drooped, helpless.
A hatchling dragon’s wings still weren’t strong enough to hold enough magic for flying.
Put simply, the veins and circuits inside weren’t fully opened, so they couldn’t form a proper flight magic array.
At the very least, they had to grow to the Wyrmling stage with enough nutrition before unlocking the flying skill.
Genasa’s legendary bloodline made his body even bigger and stronger than an average dragon, but still not enough to fly.
However, maybe he could glide.
As he stretched his wings, pondering whether he could make it work, Aishe seemed to have an idea.
She pulled out a bottle of sky-blue potion and handed it to Genasa.
“Drink it.”
“What’s this?”
“Featherweight Potion. Drink it, and then float down with us on your back.”
Featherweight Potion: Reduces gravity’s effect on the body, lessening or even negating fall damage.
For those who frequently use flying equipment, it’s an essential life-saving potion and sometimes comes in handy in unexpected ways.
“Oh, I know this! Slowfall potion. But where’d you get it?”
“What do you think?” (¬_¬”)
“Ahem, let’s just get on with it.”
Aishe had been a shut-in this whole time, mostly reading and making potions. Genasa hurriedly downed the potion to break the awkwardness.
“Alright, get on my back. Let’s go.”
Though his wings couldn’t actively fly, with the Slowfall potion, steering their descent was no problem.
Thanks to his talent and being born earlier, Genasa was much bigger than the other two—squeezing a bit, he could carry both of them.
“Okay, let’s go!”
Karu cheered excitedly, and Genasa, carrying them to the cliff’s edge, gulped hard.
“Uh… This is my first time flying, I’m a bit… nervous.”
At that moment, Golly’s voice came from behind:
“Wasn’t your first flight the time you got knocked off by a slime?”
“What the heck! How is that even flying! Getting knocked off counts as flying?!”
He turned around just as Golly raised her foot towards his backside.
“Master, what are you doing?”
“Helping you out! Little butt up, off you go!”
“Hey! You jerk!”