"Ah... that's the stuff," Alistair exhaled, sinking into the hot spring.
This trip had been incredibly productive: a mutated Dragon Talisman, a powerful mentor, and a wealth of "Mystery" knowledge.
He wondered why the Horse and Ox powers could be sealed by Takai, but the Tiger's power remained undetected. Takai had praised Alistair's "innate" balance and control, not realizing the Tiger Talisman was doing the heavy lifting. Is the Tiger's power fused deeper into my soul?
He tried to convert a portion of his mana into fire-element energy. His body temperature spiked. The warm water around him began to hiss and boil.
Bubble, bubble, bubble...
The bath began to emit thick clouds of steam. Under Alistair's control, the magic manifested as pure heat rather than combustion. This was the beauty of magic—he could raise the temperature of an object to the point of melting without it ever catching fire.
Very magical.
Because of the Tiger's influence, Alistair's control was perfect. There was zero leakage, so nothing accidentally ignited.
He thought back to his fight with Takai. How did he close the distance the instant Time Stop ended? Alistair had stopped time to dodge a wave, but the moment it resumed, Takai was in front of him. Was it just raw speed? If someone with maxed-out physical stats fought a time-stopper, the results would be terrifying. Like Saitama—one normal punch, and it's over.
Alistair stood up to dry off. He had considered the [Saitama Training Method] before, but he'd discarded it. That path led to the erosion of all desires except the urge to fight. No sex drive? No thanks.
"Ugh! So itchy! What the...?"
As he went to wipe himself down, a fierce itch erupted across his skin. He scratched at it, and to his horror, chunks of skin flaked off. His fingernails had become sharp, like talons.
Skritch—!
Beneath the dead skin, dark gold scales emerged. When his nails scraped against them, it sounded like metal on metal. Soon, his upper body was almost entirely covered in these scales, reaching up to his jawline.
Whoosh—! "Ah!"
When he exhaled through his nose, sparks flew out, startling him.
"Am I... turning into Shendu?"
This had to be Shendu's influence. Gilgamesh was a demi-god, but Shendu was a Dragon. In this world, he'd be classified as a 'Demi-Human' or 'Beastman.' The dark gold color was a nice upgrade from Shendu's original swamp-green.
He moved his arms; the scales were incredibly flexible despite their hardness. In this state, fire control felt like an instinct. This "Fire" wasn't mana—it was Demon Chi, a power that this world's mages wouldn't know how to counter.
Why is it only partial? Alistair frowned. Only his upper body was dragonized. Is it because I only have three Talismans? Or... is it linked to my awakening progress? I'm at exactly 50%.