The First Spirits Awaken
Watching the slimes transform into fish and swim just like real ones, I marveled at the wonder of evolution. Cautiously, I dipped my hand into the seawater. Cold to the touch. I licked it lightly, and the salty tang hit me right away—it tasted just like the ocean water I knew.
Hmm. I'd love to explore deeper inside the sea... But peering down from above has its limits. Should I dive in? Still, how the hell am I supposed to swim in this body? A dragon with such beefy legs and lower body doing the swim thing... Hmm... No clue. Well, won't know till I try it myself.
I gingerly waded into the sea. The chill seawater lapped at my legs and tail. Not a bad feeling. Oh, but doesn't saltwater sting your eyes? I've never tried it, so I hesitated a bit. Ugh... Screw it! Challenge accepted! No way a dragon drowns! I can flap my wings and soar through the sky—what's water compared to that?!
With that, I took a deep breath and plunged into the depths. And surprisingly, I felt completely free underwater. No need to hold my breath, no eye irritation at all—in fact, my body felt weightless, making movement even easier. Swimming was a breeze too... just wiggle the tail a bit, and I glided forward effortlessly.
Hmm, as expected of a dragon—nothing ordinary about us!Worried for nothing, huh!! I zipped through the sea, taking in the sights. Seaweed and coral were sprouting here and there. No proper fish yet, but it had its own charm. And those slimes morphing into fish shapes caught my eye too.
The slimes adapting to their environment were changing into all sorts of forms. Some took on classic fish looks. Others resembled squids in a weird way. There were ones turning into trilobites or shrimp, and even some going full deep-sea freakshow. I wonder how many of these slimes will survive? It was getting kinda exciting.
Come to think of it, the slimes I released on land were evolving attributes, not forms. But these underwater ones were different—morphing their bodies instead. And so, I roamed the world, scattering slimes everywhere and watching their changes unfold. One day, two days, three, four. Days cycled with sunrises and sunsets. In the flow of time, the world slowly transformed.
Life spreading from barren nothingness—it was a sight to behold. Before I knew it, I was grinning like an idiot. The world changing because of my actions and choices... makes me feel like a big deal. Well, a dragon with god-like powers is a big deal.
Days, weeks, months passed as I observed life's evolution. Then, another change swept the world.
What is mana?
The driving force behind magic.
A mysterious power pervading the world.
A blessing from the gods upon this world.
The realization of the will to enact change.
Definitions of mana abound, as many as there are mages. But I see it as the blood coursing through the veins of this world itself.
At first, the changes were subtle, easy to miss. But as time went on, it became clear: the world's mana was growing denser. The god's message had mentioned it, but what exactly this mana surge would bring... Hard to predict. Still, having more mana at my disposal wasn't a bad thing.
I let out a small sigh, and the mana inside me reacted, exhaling a tiny breath. No attribute infused, so it came out as plain wind. If I'd willed a specific element, it would've transformed accordingly—fire, lightning, ice, even water. That's what mana was.
The power to make desires real. The force that turns intent into change by infusing it with mana. What shifts this power would bring to the world... half worry, half excitement. But that was minor compared to the slimes, who were thriving as ever.
The ocean slimes had evolved into diverse creatures. Some grew hard shells, resembling bugs. Others perfected fish forms. But these evolved ones needed more energy to maintain their bodies—meaning they had to eat. Can't be helped. Slimes could just absorb stuff, but fish had scales, mouths for swallowing and digesting, gills for breathing. Energy demands were worlds apart.
Now, bigger fish slurped up the little ones regularly. Survival of the fittest. Part of evolution, I suppose. On land, slimes stayed mostly slime-like. Fire-spewing or ice-blasting ones existed, but they barely qualified as creatures. Oh, but the rock-shaped slimes were intriguing. Too rigid to move well, so some sprouted tiny leg-like appendages to scuttle around. They kinda looked like golems—minus arms or heads!
Anyway, I kept wandering, observing life's changes. Thanks to the thickening mana, I noticed anomalies cropping up. Specifically, bizarre natural phenomena.
"Hmm... What to make of this?"
Tornadoes raged endlessly in grand canyons. Massive whirlpools spun in ocean corners. Mana circulating through the world, birthing all sorts of effects. But that alone wouldn't make them anomalies. The real issue was...
「Aaah... Aaaaah...」
...faint glimmers of intelligence budding within them. I gazed at the whirlwind before me and sighed softly. A fierce one, but still too weak to budge my body. A dim voice echoed from within.
「Aaaaah...」
An undefined intellect, not yet fully formed. In a world where I was the only thinking being, something new was emerging. Destroying it would be easy—a breath laced with mana would scatter it. But I didn't want to.
I didn't want to destroy a being born of this world. So I said,
"What is your name?"
「Aaah... I... Iii ammm...」
"Yes. Your name is—"
「Iii ammm... Whoo am Iii...?」
A newborn mind couldn't define itself yet. Of course—a blank slate like pure white paper. So, I'd have to name it.
A massive whirlwind. Why not borrow from the wind spirit's name here?
"I shall give you a name. Sylphid. That will be your name from now on."
「Sy... lphid...?」
"Yes. Sylphid."
The name of the wind spirit king. As I bestowed it, the whirlwind stirred differently. The raging winds slowly approached me.
「I... am... Sylphid... Sylphid...!」
"That's right. You are Sylphid."
「Sylphid!!!」
The whirlwind was overjoyed—I could feel it from a distance. In short, the winds grew fiercer.
「Name! Happy!!!」
"Glad you're happy. Well, I have business elsewhere, so I'll be off."
「Yeah! Thank you for the name!!!」
Leaving the ecstatic whirlwind behind, I flew onward. Mana-induced changes like this were sprouting everywhere. Unquenchable flames from volcanoes. Giant whirlpools in the sea. The world's tallest peak. Trees swollen to mountain size by mana. Pockets of absolute darkness without a sliver of light. Endless daylight that never set.
Natural phenomena gaining egos. And notably, no overlapping elements—like it was deliberate...
Wait, do I have to name all these phenomena? Me?Ugh... My naming sense sucks. What a pain.