Chương 4: This Baby Is Too Strong!

The next morning arrived, and I slowly woke up, opening my eyes. To my relief, I hadn't slept for an unnaturally long time—apparently only the usual amount. That felt strange, though, because inside the Draconic Records it seemed like days, perhaps even weeks. Time perception there was truly bizarre. Whatever the case, the sun stood high in the sky, birds chirping brightly, and my mother was right there to greet me with a warm smile as I stirred.

"Good morning, Elizabeth. How are you today?" she asked gently. I sat up slowly on the bed and yawned, feeling something stir within my Soul the moment I looked at her. I quickly glanced back down at the sheets for a second. What was that inside my soul? Wait—I could actually feel my soul now. The sensation was so odd: an ethereal presence deep within my body. But how did I even recognize something as "ethereal"? It was genuinely bewildering.

Shining with soft azure light, a beautiful flower made entirely of azure ice rested inside my soul. It looked strangely lonely in the still-undeveloped space, yet azure-colored, ice-formed roots were slowly spreading outward from it. Whenever I tentatively "touched" the flower with my consciousness, a peculiar sensation rippled through me. My affinity with cold, ice, snow, and winter felt noticeably stronger, almost instinctive. Somehow… I felt I could do something with this.

"Hmm…!"

"Huh? What's wrong—Woah?!" My mother jumped in alarm as I reached out and touched the edge of the cradle. Without effort, a sharp icicle shot upward and pierced the ceiling. Wait—is this magic?! It had to be!

"Woah! Cool!" I exclaimed aloud.

"Y-You can use magic already?!" My mother's eyes widened in shock.

"But the sigil your father placed should have prevented that…"

"Hm?" I tilted my head innocently.

"Heheh!" I only giggled, raising my tiny hands as I focused. Mana surged from my body in the form of azure, ghostly energy. It spread rapidly, forming clouds overhead that began gently snowing across the entire room.

"It's snowing now!" My mother gasped, then clapped delightedly.

"Well, it's not so bad if Elizabeth knows how to control it! What else can you do?"

"Hm…" I considered for a moment.

"Ah!" I gathered Mana into my palms, touched the bed, and instantly froze it solid. From the ice, large azure-colored flowers bloomed—each petal delicately formed of shimmering ice crystals.

"Wow!" My mother clapped even harder, utterly astonished. It felt as though my Ice Magic let me shape ice into anything I imagined, though the range and precision were limited by my inexperience with Mana control. Even after all this time, I still wasn't at full strength. I needed to train diligently. If I pushed my magic to its limits, perhaps I could break through the seal my father had placed and finally unleash my true innate abilities.

The ones he seemed so afraid of—well, Chaos & Harmony really were monstrously powerful Skills, so I could understand his caution…

"Mirai, are you done changing the girl? We should eat breakfast and prepare for the visit of the—What in the world is happening here?!" My father stepped into the room and froze. The entire space was covered in frost, snow drifted from the ceiling, and a garden of ice flowers bloomed everywhere.

"A-Ah, look! The girl awakened ice magic, Louis!"

"W-Wha…?! But I placed the sigil on her so she wouldn't cause destruction until she was old enough—Elizabeth, stop it!"

"Why?"

"It's dangerous."

"Hm, no!"

"Are you disobeying your father, young lady?"

"Heh." My father's face registered pure shock. His eyes widened and one eyebrow twitched violently.

"What sort of disrespect is this…" But instead of growing angrier, he suddenly sighed deeply, looking unexpectedly depressed. Oh no—did I make him sad?

"Dear, she's just a three-year-old," my mother said gently.

"Do you really expect perfect obedience from someone who's barely lived three years? She's smart, though. Elizabeth, can you stop, sweetheart?"

"…Ok," I nodded. I released the magic; the ice slowly began to melt away.

"See? She's smart," my mother smiled proudly.

"And she had perfect control over her magic."

"What?! You call that whole mess perfect control?" he asked incredulously.

"I mean, she produced clouds that created snow, then shaped an entire garden of individual ice flowers—and through it all, she never once hit me," my mother defended.

"Hmm…" My father studied me with worried eyes, arms crossed.

"Haaa… I'll think about it. As long as she behaves and doesn't destroy anything with her magic, I may just let her keep it." Ugh, now I regretted making him so much of a worrywart—more than my own mother!

"Now, onto more important things," he sighed, brushing ice dust from his shoulders.

"She has to get ready, Mirai. Let's bathe her and prepare her."

"Okay," my mother agreed.

"Come on, dear—bath time, your favorite."

"Hm!" I nodded eagerly. My parents carried me to our vast, luxurious bath and placed me in a small tub. They washed me carefully with warm water—even my grumpy father helped without hesitation. I guess he still loved me after all. At one point I spread foam everywhere, and a big glob landed right on his head. He glared grumpily at first, but he looked so ridiculous that we all burst out laughing. Eventually he cracked a small smile, called me "little rascal," and started playing with the foam alongside us.

♢♢♢♢ While eating breakfast, I idly played with tiny ice crystals between my fingers. Even without visible status screens like in the game, I could sense something inside me slowly progressing. The more refined, precise, and complex my ice magic became, the stronger that inner growth felt. Circulating Mana through my body also filled me with renewed energy, sharpened my control over my movements, and noticeably boosted my speed, vitality, and durability.

"Are they coming soon?" my mother asked between bites.

"No, another couple of hours," my father replied, glancing at me.

"I suppose once we finish breakfast… Hm. Since she's so interested, maybe we could teach her a little more about magic."

"Really?" My mother looked surprised.

"?!" I perked up instantly.

"When I was her age I was just a dumb kid," my father admitted.

"I couldn't do half the things she's already doing—mostly because I was almost purely human. But it's clear our daughter is different. She takes after my mother far more. Dragons born with such strong bloodlines, especially those already in Dragonoid form like her, develop incredibly fast. From what I've heard, in just a year she was already speaking fluently, making friends, playing, and even fighting alongside her parents…

So it would feel unfair to deny her that childhood and force her to live like a normal human when she clearly isn't one."

"Oh… I guess you're right," my mother nodded thoughtfully.

"And isn't she a little demon-like too? Though my vessel—the body I was born into—is human, my soul…"

"It might be," my father agreed.

"So far it feels like both our dragon and demon bloodlines have fully merged in her. She could be like my uncle Drakda—a Demon Dragon—but at the same time a Chaos Dragon, an Ice Dragon, and a Celestial or Heaven Dragon. She might be all four at once…the first ever born like this."

"That's incredible," my mother breathed.

"The sigil you placed… did you do it because you sensed that power?"

"Indeed. I was afraid it might be too dangerous," my father admitted.

"And I still believe it is! However… maybe starting with the basics as the years pass will encourage her to grow faster and stronger." While listening, I debated whether to mention Hrymdra. For now, I decided to keep my words simple and baby-like to avoid suspicion. Maybe I was being overly paranoid, but caution felt wiser. Time passed.

After breakfast, my parents led me to a separate studio filled with magical trinkets: weapons, artifacts, potions, elixirs, three large alchemy cauldrons, even a magic forge and a spirit forge.

"Waow." My mother smiled and set me on a small, cushioned seat built for my size. My father stepped forward like a proper teacher and opened a thick book.

"Elizabeth, even though you're still very young, I already know you're quite intelligent. You understand our speech perfectly, don't you? Let me teach you more about magic, its origins, and Fantasium."

"Oh…" I already knew most of it, so this was going to be a bit boring. I rolled my eyes slightly as my father launched into his lecture.

"Fantasium is a special supernatural energy—the origin of all supernatural phenomena. It is born from the Fantasy Dimension, an extremely unstable and toxic substance capable of causing mutations and even distorting space and time. It is the source from which other energies such as Mana, Spirit Energy, and more originate. This has been known since the earliest records in Yggdrasil, a world entirely born from Fantasy itself, brought to that solar system by the Ancient Fantasy Tree.

From there, Fantasy eventually spread across the universe, birthing new realms and opening portals to previously inaccessible dimensions. When a great cataclysm struck Yggdrasil—the legendary battle between my grandfather, the Divine Dragon King, and the primordial beings Pandemonium and Chaos—reality itself fractured. Fantasium leaked everywhere at an accelerated rate.

Worlds once connected to Yggdrasil—Spiritias, the realm of Spirits; Zipangu, created by a sun goddess; and among many others, Earth—our ordinary planet of humans—were gradually infected. That contact triggered a catastrophe, an apocalypse that nearly ended humanity. But we adapted. With help from the Fantasy Worlds, including my mother Benladra, the Holy Dragon Mother, humanity was protected and taught to harness this energy. Though countless lives were lost, survivors learned to live with it.

From mutations and intermixing between species, Sinners were born. Your mother, I, and you are classified as 'Sinners'—beings born between humans and the supernatural. Though the term has largely fallen out of use after worldwide efforts ended Sinner discrimination, it still lingers in some mouths.

The connection to the Fantasy Dimension created an unstable spatial rift in Earth's Antarctica, linking our world to the Dimensional Labyrinth—an endless spiraling maze of parallel, destroyed worlds swallowed by the Fantasy Dimension. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. From there, Dimensional Rifts tore open across Earth. Entities and Grievances emerged—powerful, distorted beings capable of warping space and reality—humanity's greatest enemy.

They have now been vanquished by us. After that long, brutal war, Earth finally stabilized. The rift to the Dimensional Labyrinth was sealed, the planet was saved, and with everyone's help we terraformed the world—cleansing the distorting Miasma and fully transforming Earth into a Fantasy World before it was too late. Now we live in a new era forged through the sacrifices and efforts of all who fought or gave their lives to make it possible." Damn.

I wrote most of that lore myself but hearing it straight from my father felt completely different—profound, almost overwhelming. The history of this world tied so perfectly to Fantasium.

"I hope that wasn't too confusing," he said with a confident smile, readjusting the glasses he wore purely for the teacher aesthetic—he didn't even need them.

"Do you understand the power you wield better now, my daughter?"

"Uhhh…" I acted a little confused even though I'd understood it from the start.

"Of course she wouldn't get it all at once! Why did you dump everything on her in one go, Louis?" my mother shook her head.

"Just teach her the fundamentals of Fantasium, Mana, and so on—then Magic Circle creation…"

"Haaa… No, I think she got it. She has that sharp gaze I once had," my father said proudly.

"She definitely gets it…! So anyway, Elizabeth, it's time for your proper classes. Let's begin with Fantasium itself." He spread his hand. Pure, undiluted Fantasium appeared—a strange, rainbow-hued ethereal cloud that constantly shifted colors and sent ripples through the air around it. At any moment it could tear space apart; its raw power was terrifying.

"Raw Fantasium is too unstable and powerful for you right now," he explained.

"You likely won't be able to wield it directly. This, however, is Clean Fantasium—weaker, but controllable. It lacks the infectious properties of the raw form and has purifying qualities." The substance changed in his palm, becoming clearer, like radiant rainbow light rather than gas. He shaped it into floating letters and tiny animals just to amuse me.

"And this is Divine Power," he continued, compressing the Clean Fantasium into bright white-gold light that radiated gentle heat.

"Divine Power lets you alter the laws of the elements, while Fantasium is the laws themselves. You'll naturally develop this as you grow, along with one or more Divinities—Authorities over Laws and Elemental Domains." I nodded eagerly as he split the Divine Power into two distinct energies. One glowed with interwoven green, blue, red, and yellow light—beautiful and sparkling. Yeah, I recognized that one. The other was pure flowing blue, like ethereal water made of semi-transparent energy.

"And these are Spiritual Energy and Mana," he said.

"Spiritual Energy is the elemental essence present throughout all of Fantasy. Mana is the most basic, compressed, and filtered form of Fantasium—breathed by nearly everything in every Fantasy World. It often functions as a secondary energy system inside living beings. Spiritual Energy is also what Spirits are composed of. Spirits are sentient masses of elemental energy. They oversee the world's elements; there are quintillions of them, constantly being born.

They range from microscopic to the size of animals or greater—eventually becoming Divine Spirits or even Primordial Spirits." He shaped the Spiritual Energy into tiny flying creatures that danced around me, leaving me wide-eyed in wonder.

"So, that's about it," he concluded.

"Right now you're wielding pure Mana. I also sense Ice-Attribute Spiritual Energy within you. You seem to blend them seamlessly into circle-less magic without incantations or gestures—you're an innate Sorcerer."

"Oooh!" I nodded enthusiastically.

"For now, we should check if you have any special organ," he said.

"Organ?" I asked curiously.

"People from Yggdrasil are often born with a Mana Heart. Dragons have Dragon Hearts, Demons have Demon Cores," he explained.

"Your Fantasy Heart is already awakened, but that one exists metaphysically between you and your soul—it can't be reached physically except through a direct attack on your Fantasy Domain."

"...?" I tilted my head.

"Haha, honey, please stop," my mother chuckled.

"She's still a baby."

"She's smart! She understands—I know it," he insisted.

"Anyway, let's see." He stepped closer and gently infused a thread of his white aura into me. His eyes widened instantly.

"Wait—your Soul…! You have a Soul Treasure?! How? When did it appear—Wait, is that a Grievance?! Were you attacked?!"

"Um… no…"

"...?" In the end, hiding it seemed impossible. So I told them in my most babyish speech.

"When sleeping… found myself in snow… snow dragon auntie… Um… gave me flower."

"...?!"

"...!" They exchanged stunned glances.

"I see—you accidentally entered the Draconic Records?!" my father exclaimed.

"Incredible! I couldn't access them until much later in life… and you did it casually?"

"Hm!" I nodded proudly.

"It might be because her spiritual powers are developing so quickly," my mother mused.

"Part of her consciousness must have slipped into the draconic dimension tied to her bloodline. Well, if an auntie helped her, that's good."

"So that's why your ice magic came so naturally," my father laughed.

"You little rascal—keeping secrets already?" He kissed my forehead warmly.

"Alright, I'll let it slide for now. Later I want to hear more about that auntie—we might even visit her. For now, let's continue." He infused his aura again. Slowly I felt something crystallize inside my chest—a powerful convergence of energy awakening.

"I see—you have a healthy Divine Dragon Heart. It was dormant until now, but you'll soon begin developing Draconic Energy," he explained.

"Think of it as vitality fused with magic and unique draconic powers. It's a special form of Fantasium that only dragons possess, each with their own elemental affinity and abilities."

"Cool!" I said happily, feeling my true potential finally stirring.

"Awesome…" I stared at my small hands. My aura surged endlessly—half pure white, half dark purple flecked with red. Light and darkness, holy and demonic, chaos and harmony intertwined. This was the true power of the character I had once roleplayed—now my real self.

"Hehehe… Hahahahahaha!" I laughed with wicked delight. My parents looked slightly worried for a moment, but they quickly brushed it off.

"Now, let me explain how growing stronger works," my father continued.

"Every world has its own growth system. Mana Cores and Dragon Hearts advance through Ranks, from Rank 1 to… well, your great-grandfather reached Rank 30—the highest documented so far. That's comparable to Tier 0 Spiralwalkers. Spiritias and Zipangu have similar systems. Spiritias uses Spirit Orbs and Ranks like ours, but each rank also grants a new spirit. Zipangians cultivate their Core of Yin and Yang, gathering heaven-and-earth essence to strengthen body and martial arts—their Ranks align with ours."

"Spirals?" I asked, tilting my head.

"That's where things get a little confusing—but it's not too hard," he said.

"When the Dimensional Labyrinth overtook Earth and the Fantasy Dimension fully manifested here, a new power awakened: Spirals of Incarnation. They form a direct connection to the Fantasy Dimension, granting immense power in exchange for sanity. Spirals vary wildly in form and interact uniquely. They're often considered the ultimate form of power—if raised high enough, they can surpass even divinities. Your mother and I are both Spiralwalkers.

We possess multiple spirals and have mastered our emotions, so they no longer consume our sanity. That state is called Soul Heart Enlightenment, achieved at Tier 0."

"Tier 0…" I gasped.

"Y-You both…?"

"Yeah," they nodded together.

"That makes us the strongest ever," my mother chuckled.

"So don't ever worry—we'll always protect you."

"There are many other Tier 0s, though," my father added.

"And my grandfather reached Rank 30 without even being a Spiralwalker. His raw power alone surpasses Tier 0. He remains the strongest."

"Great grandpa!" I said in awe.

"I wanna meet Grandpa Drake!"

"He's far away right now, enjoying a vacation in another star system, apparently catching up with old alien friends from some race," my father sighed.

"He won't be back for a couple of years… honestly, after everything he did in the final battle, he deserves it."

"Hm," my mother nodded.

"Your mother and father went with him too, but they're returning earlier, right?"

"Yeah—to celebrate Elizabeth's birth," my father confirmed.

"They should arrive within the year." T-They're in outer space? I guess being beyond god-level really lets you travel the stars. Still, even they take time to cross the cosmos… or maybe they're just sightseeing and stopping at every amazing place. Honestly, I'd do the same. Argh, now I want to travel through space too!

"Umm…"

"Right—let's move on to magic," my father said.

"Even if you can conjure it instinctively, learning the basics never hurts. This book is called Basic Magic Conjuration and Magic Circle Creation. Listen carefully." He taught me how conventional magic worked for most people: drawing mana into runes, shaping them within a circle to form a proper magic circle, then infusing words to conjure the spell.

"But we dragons can skip much of that," he smiled confidently.

"Magic is in our blood. Still, mastering the technical side can amplify your wild magic. Combining innate talent with proper conjuration lets you create spells far stronger than what 'normal' magicians with centuries of experience could achieve."

"Wow…" I muttered, genuinely impressed.

"And since you're still so young, Cultivation Methods for Ki, Spirit Energy, or Mana are off-limits until you're older," he added.

"Some of those methods can be excruciatingly painful, and I don't want you enduring that yet." Huh—Cultivation Methods? That was new content I hadn't created. This world kept surprising me with richer, more intriguing layers.

"Can't we at least teach her basic mana cultivation?" my mother asked.

"She has such talent—if she starts early, she'll be even stronger by the awakening ceremony."

"Hm…" My father hesitated, but when I gave him my cutest puppy eyes, he softened.

"Alright… fine. But first I need to measure your Dragon Heart…" He approached again and sent his aura probing inside me. It gathered in my chest, around that crystallized heart.

"Oh?!" RUMBLE! Suddenly a blinding explosion of white light and deep darkness erupted. Everyone gasped—but my father swiftly compressed it before it could spread.

"W-Wha…?!" I was shocked too.

"I see—merely touching your Dragon Heart triggered that reaction," he muttered.

"It's far stronger than I imagined…!"

"What do you mean, honey?" my mother asked.

"Normally a newborn Divine Dragon has a Rank 6 Dragon Heart. Ranks 1 to 5 are Mortal Realms," he explained.

"Rank 6 and above enter the God Realms… But Elizabeth's Dragon Heart surpasses even that. Its potential and power… it's close to Rank 9!"

"R-Rank 9?!" my mother gasped.

"T-That's ridiculous—wouldn't that put her on the same level as Venerables?!"

"I suppose so," my father said gravely.

"Most of it is still hidden—not by my sigil, but by her own potential. She'll need to train to fully release it. For now… let's keep it contained." He carefully compressed the surging energy with his bare hands and guided it back into my Dragon Heart. I felt instant relief. Venerables… Yggdrasil, Zipangu, and Spiritias all had Supreme Deities called Venerables—beings who reached Rank 9 and beyond, forging Ascendancy Laws above normal Divinities.

In Yggdrasil they shaped the world itself and became living laws, stabilizing the largest Fantasy World. In Zipangu they were Martial Gods capable of reshaping reality with their bodies, forging Ascendant Martial Bodies of unmatched physical might. In Spiritias they were Holy Spirit Gods, creating Holy Spiritual Halos and ascending their Spirit Orbs into Divine Spirit Orbs—turning every spirit born within them divine. And you're telling me I'm starting at their level?! This is insane…

Well, my father did say the power was "compressed." It was there but unlocking it would take serious effort. That just meant more hard work—and I was getting pretty good at that.

"Elizabeth, do you feel any Ascendancy Law or Divinity inside you yet?" my mother asked. Well, I might—if a certain sigil wasn't sealing half my strength away.

"Not for now," I shook my head honestly.

"Hm, alright then," my father nodded.

"We'll watch how it develops. She's close to Rank 9… but not quite there yet. I'd say she's at the Peak of Rank 8. That means she already possesses several developed Divinities and Authorities she isn't even aware of. The sigil I placed for safety might actually be limiting her growth more than protecting her…"

"She has too much potential to seal away," my mother agreed.

"It could harm her in the long run."

"Yeah!" I nodded vigorously.

"I promise to… be a good girl!" My father looked deep into my eyes, seeing the genuine honesty there. I wasn't a foolish child—I knew how dangerous uncontrolled power could be. I would train until I could wield it responsibly without hurting anyone.

"Hmmm… it has been three years…" he sighed, then nodded.

"Haaa… alright. We'll do this. But tomorrow—our guests are almost here."

"Oh?" We stepped out of the studio and into the vast garden in front of the castle. From the sky, three majestic airships slowly descended—regal vessels forged of gold, mithril, and orichalcum. Each bore a different flag. The red airship topped with a grand pagoda belonged to Yamato—once Japan. The white-and-blue ship with a gleaming castle was Camelot—once Britain. The golden vessel was Mesopotamia.

These were three of the major powers that rose on Earth after the Cataclysm triggered by the Dimensional Convergence. The Convergence had shattered the old world; humanity rebuilt from the ashes, fully embracing Fantasium. They had once been rivals to Frostbane—the kingdom founded by my grandmother Benladra. But after the Great War that finally sealed the Dimensional Labyrinth, all four nations united under Frostbane's banner in a Worldwide Alliance. The other three became vassal states—still powerful, still proud.

My father worked hard to maintain good relations with their rulers—especially since they had been his childhood friends, classmates, and comrades from the Sinners Academy decades ago. The airships landed at the airport. We walked out to greet them. Two rows of Celestial Knights—Frostbane's elite military—stood in formation. As the doors opened, the rulers emerged with their families and ten elite bodyguards each—warriors comparable to our own Knights.

From Yamato came a tall, elegant woman with long black hair and eyes that burned red, orange, and yellow like living flame. She wore a blazing red-and-orange kimono; her hair was tied in a high ponytail secured by a golden sun-shaped crown. She radiated majesty and power—the Empress of Yamato, Mikoto Kaguya Amaterasu. From Camelot stepped a muscular, handsome blonde king with a short beard and bold blue eyes.

He wore blue-and-white armor and carried the sheathed divine sword Excalibur at his side—the King of Camelot, Arthur Richard Pendragon. From Mesopotamia arrived a tall, strikingly handsome king with dark brown skin, bright golden eyes, and long black hair. Extravagant golden jewelry and bright gems adorned him; he wore puffy white pants and left his chiseled, tattooed torso mostly bare. Magical golden tattoos gleamed across his body—the extravagant King of Mesopotamia, Ashur Bel-Marduk.

Seeing them in the flesh was breathtaking. These were characters I had once poured so much love into designing—now alive, breathing, real. It felt like watching my own creation step out of the page into reality. A truly magical, irreplaceable moment.

"Welcome to Frostbane, friends," my father greeted, arms spread wide.

"I'm glad you're here. A grand feast awaits—but first, allow me to formally introduce my wife and daughter. This is Mirai, my wife and Queen of Frostbane. And this is my dear daughter, Elizabeth. She's only three, but she already speaks fluently and is remarkably intelligent."

"It's nice to see you all again," my mother said warmly.

"It's been a couple of years since our last meeting, haha."

"Hi!" I waved cheerfully, trying my best to look friendly.

"Louis, Mirai—it's good to see you both," Mikoto said with a gentle smile.

"And this little girl… she's an adorable little sun. How delightful. Would you like to be friends with my daughter?"

"Haha, so that's the little one, huh?" Arthur chuckled.

"She's clearly inherited far more dragon blood than you did at birth, Louis! I think she'll make an excellent sparring partner for my princess once she's a bit older."

"How cute," Ashur smiled.

"What a wonderful family you've built, Your Majesty. My son would be delighted to have her as a playmate." With the three rulers came their families—and their children. All of them destined, somehow, to stand by my side. And for some reason my father had foreseen this moment. None of these children… I had never designed any of them. This was entirely new content. And honestly? I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to see what exciting twists and changes these new characters would bring to the story.