Welcome, Hwindungi!
"B-but wasn't I supposed to wait until I got a good core of ice?"
That was the biggest problem. I didn't have any snow prepared. Wouldn't that make it less efficient...?
"Your ability isn't limited to the moment of creation, Miss Shiro. It will be easier to understand if you think about Jeolmi."
"Ah!"
Come to think of it, he was right.
Jeolmi had started out as a tiny crow-tit made from a scrap of plastic and some snow I cobbled together.
After undergoing several evolutions, he had become the majestic owl he was today.
"Hmm..."
"And while I originally postponed it out of concern for your mana capacity... I believe you should be fine now."
Resting my chin in my hands, I pondered this and turned my head toward Master. He was looking at me with a gentle smile.
Well, if Master said I had to make it today, he must have a good reason.
"Okay! I'll try making it."
"Excellent."
A dragon... a dragon...
I pictured a dragon in my mind and stretched my hands toward the Yeouiju. The dragon orb, the Dragon King, Jin-il... everything was telling me to create a dragon.
"What is she doing?"
"No idea. Is it a magic trick?"
Whew...
The murmurs of the older kids, who had no idea what was going on, briefly broke my concentration.
Focus... focus...
"Is it not working?"
"Yeah... is there a problem?"
The pressure was real.
"Huuup... come out!"
Though my focus wavered slightly at the end, I activated the skill. *Rumble!* With a clap of thunder, a fierce blizzard whipped up, enveloping both me and the Yeouiju.
— Hoot...!
Startled by the thunder, Jeolmi bolted upright. Honestly, I was startled too. I was still startled.
The speed of the swirling blizzard was abnormal. A blizzard far more powerful than anything I had ever summoned before was raging around the Yeouiju.
"Ugh...!"
Even though it was a blizzard created by my own skill, the sheer force of it made it hard to keep my footing.
— Hoo-oot!
Jeolmi flew through the wind and braced my body. As expected, there was no one more reliable than Jeolmi.
"I-it's changing!"
"Ah, my eyes! What is that?!"
The storm gradually condensed around the Yeouiju. The spherical orb began to glow with a brilliant blue light as its shape shifted.
Its body stretched longer, and horns began to sprout from its thick head.
It's a dragon!
Perhaps my constant visualization had worked, because I could see it taking the unmistakable shape of a dragon.
Soon, the wind died down—
— Pee-uu-ung.
A tiny dragon with a white body and blue fur plopped onto the floor.
It was so small that its entire body could probably fit inside a basketball.
Why is it so chubby?
Granted, its overall appearance was definitely that of a dragon. White body, blue horns, and slit pupils. It was a dragon through and through... but it was somehow short and plump.
Weren't dragons and snakes supposed to be long and slender? That was their trademark, wasn't it?
And why did it have fur instead of scales...?
— Pee-ung! Pee-uu-ung!
"Whoa!"
Did it read my mind?!
As if telling me not to think such rude thoughts, the dragon swung its horns at me. A sudden blast of cold air hit me, and my body floated into the air as if caught by telekinesis.
"P-put me down!"
— Pee-ung!
The dragon whipped its head away and slowly lowered me back to the floor. No matter how I looked at it, this dragon had a nasty attitude.
— Hoot! Hoot hoot!
— Pee-ung? Pee-uu-ung!
*Slap!* Jeolmi tried to scold the dragon for treating his master that way, only to get slapped across the cheek by the dragon's tail. Unbelievable. Jeolmi was actually being overpowered.
— H-hoot...!
Jeolmi took a step back, his beak trembling in shock. Until now, he had spent his days bullying the gentle Bombe, but now a rival who wouldn't back down had appeared.
It looked like a dark age was ahead for Jeolmi.
"...Is that a dragon?"
"I think so. Wait, so that thing earlier really was a Yeouiju?"
"What kind of kid is Shiro to have an A-rank and a Yeouiju...?"
"I told you! She has to be the number one from the Tower of Awakening—"
"She must have received the Yeouiju Hunter Kang Yong-su had! Right?"
Just as my identity was about to be exposed again, Woo-rin raised his voice, pushing his mana to the absolute limit.
"Whoa, really?"
"I'm so jealous~"
"True, the Tower of Awakening's number one makes no sense anyway."
That ability... how is it any different from hypnosis? If Woo-rin ever turned evil, he would make a terrifying villain.
Anyway, as I stared blankly at the dragon, Jong-woo walked over and spoke to me.
"It seems the skill activation is complete."
"Ah, yes! Now... I just need to decide its gender and name."
"Do you have a name in mind?"
"Hmm..."
Jeolmi... Bombe...
To be honest, I hadn't put much thought into naming those two. Jeolmi was named because he reminded me of injeolmi rice cakes, and Bombe was just a combination of Bomber Ranger and Volibear.
But this was a dragon.
A mythical, legendary creature of imagination!
I wanted to give it a good name...
"How about Invincible Dragon Emperor Supreme King?"
"You want to name it... what...?"
"Ice Dragon God King Heavenly Defeating Sword Dragon is also quite nice."
"Urrrgh..."
Grandfather Yong-su, who had been watching quietly from the side, chimed in. It wasn't that I didn't love Grandfather, but... his naming sense was a bit too much to handle.
For starters, those weren't names a nine-year-old would ever choose.
And they were just plain tacky!
"How about Araka?"
"Araka?"
"It's the name of a dragon deity in Slavic mythology."
"Ooh...!"
That was definitely better than Invincible Super Dragon. Sorry, Grandfather.
"Isn't that a bit too light for a dragon's name?"
"Isn't that for Miss Shiro to decide?"
Grandfather Yong-su glared at Jong-woo, clearly hoping that his suggestion would win this time.
Hmm...
Seeing Grandfather look so desperate made me waver a little.
"I've decided!"
"What is it?"
"What name will you choose?"
"Hwindungi!"
"What?"
"Pardon?"
I had thought long and hard about it.
Grandfather's names were absolutely out of the question, and Jong-woo's suggestion seemed too hard to remember.
Besides, if I sided with Jong-woo again, Grandfather would definitely pout. That was why I, Shiro, decided to choose the name myself.
— P-pee-uu-ung?
"You like it too, right?"
— Pee-ung! Pee-ung!
Hwindungi shook her head vigorously. Hmm... maybe she was just shy? I was sure she'd get used to it over time.
"Then... what should we do about Hwindungi's gender?"
"I think... it would be best to ask her directly."
True.
It might be better to let her choose her own gender.
Thinking about it now, I felt a bit sorry for Jeolmi and Bombe. It wasn't like I could change their genders now...
"Hwindungi, do you want to be female or male?"
— Pee-ung! Pee-ung!
— Hoot! Hoot!
"Huh?"
Hwindungi insisted she wanted to be female. Honestly, with her delicate eyebrows and pretty features, she did look like a female.
But Jeolmi chimed in, arguing that a male would be better this time.
— Hoot, hoot!
"Dragons are naturally stronger as males...? That's not true. A dragon is a dragon."
— Hoo, hoo-oot!
"Since Bombe is female, we should make this one male?"
What was this...? Why did he want Hwindungi to be male so badly?
But since I decided to let her choose, there was nothing to be done.
"Be a female, Hwindungi!"
— Pee-uu-ung!
Hwindungi shuddered. I wasn't entirely sure, but it seemed she had officially become female. I didn't really know how dragon genders worked, but...
— Hoo-oot...
I used Seolan to sense Jeolmi's gloomy thoughts... and it seemed he was worried that she would become even fiercer and more sharp-tongued if she was female, especially since she already had such a strong personality.
Uh... now that I knew what he was thinking, I kind of regretted not making her male too.
"Anyway, welcome to the team, new friend!"
— Pee-ung.
Hwindungi gave a reluctant nod. Well, since she had joined our party, I had to treat her well from now on.
"But Master, why did I have to create my friend here with all the older kids around?"
"Hoho... because everyone is gathering for training today. You need to show them that you can hold your own."
"What does that mean?"
What did he mean by that? Confused, I tilted my head and looked at Grandfather Yong-su. Grandfather nodded and turned to face the others.
"Today, we will be holding sparring matches between teams grouped by position."
Huh?
"B-but I'm by myself?"
"Then Shiro will be a one-man team. Haha. Hunter Il-hwan requested it."
"What?"
I furrowed my brow and turned to Master. What was this? They were sparring in teams based on positions, but I had to be a team all by myself?
"It's all training... training..."
"Master! That's so mean!"
"Hoho..."
What in the world...!
No matter how strong I was, how was I supposed to win all by myself...!
"Don't worry, Shiro~ You have your summons, don't you?"
"W-well, yes, but..."
Se-eun's comforting words cheered me up a bit. Right! I had Jeolmi, Bombe, and Hwindungi, so I could do this.
Probably...
"Whoa, the Association President is watching?"
"My dream is to join the Association directly."
"Wow, this is crazy."
"If we lose, Coach Yeon-hwa won't let us hear the end of it."
"..."
"..."
Some students were excited at the thought of Jong-woo watching, while others were nervous because they feared their coach.
As for me... I was just plain scared.
Deep breaths, deep breaths. I'll be fine.
"Then which team fights which?"
Woo-rin raised his voice to ask. Grandfather Yong-su gave him a look that clearly said, Are you the one asking again? before speaking.
"The Vanguard team and the Striker team will spar, and the winner will fight Shiro. Naturally, the Backcode team will spar with the Seeker team. Once Shiro's match is over, the winner of that match will play the finals against the winner of the Backcode and Seeker match."
"So it's a tournament format?"
"Indeed."
A tournament...
That meant it wasn't just a single match and then done...
That only made me more nervous. Does that mean I might have to fight twice all by myself...? Ugh...
"Now, Vanguard and Striker teams, step forward."
Grandfather Yong-su crossed his arms and barked. His booming voice instantly drew everyone's attention, signaling the start of the mini-tournament.
"We have to win, no matter what. Got it?"
Seong-hyeon... kept glancing at Yeon-hwa as he walked forward with the grim determination of a soldier marching off to actual war.
D-do we really have to go that far?