Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Incredible Birthday Gifts

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After my parents scolded me, my entire dragon family arrived with all sorts of presents. Unlike the boring gifts from previous birthdays, which were just clothes or baby items, this time they treated me like a sentient being and gave me proper, exciting things.

The first to present me with something was the amazing Fire Dragon King Surtr. He was tall, massive, and incredibly impressive. I wondered if I could become a Fire Dragon myself. After all, my great‑grandfather was the Dragon King and possessed every dragon bloodline, so maybe I could too.

"Here, Elizabeth, this is your present. A Legendary Artifact. It is both a Soul Weapon, a Spirit Weapon, and a Golem," he explained. "It is my latest invention, a living, shapeshifting weapon."

"Wow!" I gasped, analyzing the small thing in the Fire Dragon King’s hands.

It appeared as a large, sentient mass of red, silver, and gold metal with tiny red jewel eyes and golden horns. When the king infused his energy into it, the creature reshaped itself, turning into various weapons.

It became a lance, then a sword, then an axe, and later a hammer. It could even shrink into a tiny shield.

"As you can see, it can shapeshift. It is an ultimate all‑rounder weapon," he said. "By infusing it with Divine Energy and Mana, you can input certain forms, and the weapon will do its best to take them."

"I see. Uncle, is it alive?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Yes, it is a special type of artificial spirit golem," he explained. "I made it using very high‑quality materials, so you had better take good care of it."

"Sure!" I nodded, receiving the gift with my tiny hands. "Thank you, Uncle."

"Hahaha, it is nothing, little one," he laughed, petting my head. "I am looking forward to what you will do in the future. How about we test it first? Try to make any shape."

"Any shape?" I asked, glancing at my parents.

My dad and mom both nodded with confident smiles, reassuring me that it was fine to go a little crazy if I wanted.

"Okay... let’s picture a cool weapon."

I closed my eyes and held the tiny creature in my hands until I remembered an awesome sword that a character from my favorite RPG used.

And then...

FLUOSH!

An enormous, single‑edged broadsword about five to six feet long emerged, blazing with red and black colors. It was heavy, but I could hold it. It was around three times my size in my Dragonoid form.

"Awesome! My own Buster Sword!"

"Woah!" Surtr was shocked. "That is a big one."

"Eh? I have never seen such a design before," my mother said.

"Incredible, young lady!" Gigantia clapped.

"Huh, is it not too heavy for you, Elizabeth?" my father asked.

"Nah, it is fine, Dad," I said with a confident smirk. "Let us test it."

"Wait, right here?!" my mother panicked.

"Hahaha, there is nothing wrong with it. Let the girl go wild for once, Mirai. You are too overprotective— Geh?!" The Fire Dragon King flinched when he felt my mother’s angry gaze. "S‑Sorry, I should not have said anything."

Suddenly, my grandmother stepped into the conversation. She was so tall that everyone immediately looked her way.

"Here," she said, summoning a rainbow scale‑shaped shield. "This shield is made using Tiamat’s Scales. It was one of the gifts she gave to my father, which he used to forge twenty impervious shields that only his most trusted wielded. You can hit me with it. If you push me even a little, I will gift it to you, Elizabeth. How about it?"

"Woah! Really?!" I gasped. "Mommy, Daddy, can I? Can I?"

My parents whispered to each other. My dad seemed to be asking my mom to let me do it, but she was so worried I might hurt myself that she resisted. In the end, my father kissed her cheek and told her how much he loved her, saying he had to let me be myself for once. He reassured her that I was strong, so she agreed.

Finally.

"Okay, you can do it, Elizabeth," she said. "But your father is going to cast a special protection spell on you."

"Oh? Okay," I nodded.

My father touched my head and covered me with a veil of white light.

"White Void Mantle."

FLASH! 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

As the veil covered my body, I saw a new system notification.

[You have received the Spell Buff: [White Void Mantle] – Negates 90% of Physical and Magical Damage taken. Duration: 5 Minutes.]

Oh wow, that was cool.

Void too. That was an element my father specialized in, but one I had not unlocked yet. I had to study a lot of magic to learn every element.

"Alright, that should do," he said. "Go ahead, Elizabeth. That will help you."

"Thanks!" I said, running toward Grandma.

Everyone stepped out of the way as Grandma placed the giant rainbow shield in front of her and smiled. "Go ahead. Anytime, dear. Just swing with all you have."

"All I have, huh? Alright then."

I closed my eyes and began harnessing all my internal energies. White Divine Power and Dark Demonic Power surged, and at the center a fiery red draconic energy rose, mixing with the others to create a chaotic burst of power.

While holding the sword, I felt something guiding me. I realized it was my Human Species Skill, which I quickly activated.

"Tool Mastery."

FLUOSH!

A sudden surge of knowledge filled me as I held the sword. The skill seemed to have both a passive effect and an active effect when using Mana.

[You have activated Tool Mastery: Your mastery over any tool increases by 25% for 10 Minutes.]

[The large tool you are holding qualifies as a Cutting Tool.]

So swords counted. Or maybe this weird sword was so unusual that the System classified it as a giant knife.

Whatever the case, I was ready.

"HAAAH!"

With all my power, I swung my sword against the shield Grandma held. I channeled every ounce of internal energy, plus all my physical stats, and roared to give it a boost.

The result was...

RUMBLE!

A tremor surged, a shockwave that cut the wind itself.

A slicing wave of sword energy emerged and struck the shield with immense force.

SLASH!

"Ohh?!"

Grandma gasped as she held firm but was pushed back a single step, surprising everyone. The pressure of my attack ended with...

An explosion.

BOOOM!

Black and white flames spread everywhere, even covering me, but thanks to Dad’s spell I was mostly unscathed.

"Elizabeth! Are you okay?!" my mom cried, running toward me.

"Young lady!" Gigantia called out.

"I am fine!" I said, standing up. "Is Grandma fine though?"

"She is alright. She is your grandmother after all," my father said.

"Heheh, that was amazing!" Grandma laughed as she stood up after falling on her butt, brushing dust off her dress.

I ran toward her. "I am sorry, Grandma! Did I go too far?"

"What? Of course not, my cute little thing!" she giggled, grabbing me with her big hands and kissing me all over. "You did amazing. I was already going to give you the shield, but you have proven yourself worthy."

"Woah! Really?!"

This shield was not even in the game, so this was incredible. I got the ultimate shapeshifting weapon and the ultimate impervious shield.

"Eugh, Grandma, stop kissing me and let me go!" I cried.

"Hahaha, oops, alright," she said, placing me down. "Now, here you go. Tap it and I will transfer ownership."

"Ok!" I tapped the shield and felt a rainbow thread of divine energy hit me like a train. "Woah?!"

It felt like a shockwave that almost made me fall. My entire body broke into cold sweat as I looked up. A gigantic dragon, the same one I saw when I returned from the Dragon Realms, appeared and stared at me with enormous eyes.

It did not speak, but it felt like it acknowledged me before everything returned to normal.

"Um, I think I peed myself..."

"Huh?" Grandma tilted her head. "Ah! I am so sorry. Was the power of the shield too much?"

"N‑No! I think I did not pee myself actually," I said. "Thank you, Grandma, but is it not too big?"

"Do not worry about that. It can adjust its size," she said. "Think about it and it will obey."

"Really?"

I closed my eyes and imagined the giant shield turning into a beautiful tiny shield with rainbow jewels and intricate designs.

And it did.

Slowly, the shield shrank, compressing its immense energy into a smaller form that glowed with a rainbow aura.

"It is so light, like a feather."

As I held the shield, new system notifications appeared. My connection with my weapon was also completed, so the system notified me about the bonds.

Ding!

[You have successfully refined the Tiamat’s Scale Shield – Rank 2 into your Spirit Soul Treasure.]

[You have successfully refined the Spirit Golem Shapeshifting Weapon – Rank 2 into your Spirit Soul Treasure.]

"Huh? Why are they so low rank?" I asked, disappointed.

"Oh, the shield?" Grandma said. "I sealed its original power. If you wielded it at Rank 20, the power would go wild."

"Eh?" I frowned. "But Grandma... I wanted my end‑game shield."

"End game?" she repeated. "A‑Ahaha, anyway, do not be sad. You can make it stronger by feeding it materials. Other shields can also work. It might even unlock new abilities."

"So it is a growth‑type shield," I nodded. "Got it. That is fine too."

"The weapon I made for you is the same," Uncle Surtr added, eating birthday cake with whipped cream all over his mouth. "Feed it other weapons so it can take their shape more accurately and gain their powers."

"So that is how it works?" I asked. "Okay, that is awesome too."

After that, several other family members stepped forward with gifts. Everything they gave me was a special item that actually helped in some way.

"Here, little Elizabeth, this is our gift," Uncle Triton said, handing me a small blue ring with a sapphire shaped like a dragon’s eye. "This is the Sea Ring. It will help you train Sea Magic and enhance your Mana and Divine Power regeneration."

"Thank you, Uncle," I said, equipping it. "Oh, I can already feel the difference."

Uncle Drakda and his wife Amethyst approached next and gifted me a bracelet. "This is a special Dark Jewel Bracelet. It offers protection against all kinds of curses and boosts your Dark Magic."

"Ooh! Thank you!" I said, wearing it.

Then the King of Death Dragons, Hydra, stepped forward. "I will teach you Alchemy later, but I wanted to give you something to start with. This is an Alchemy Cauldron, the highest quality one I have. It is already Divine Level, but you should refine it into a Soul Treasure soon."

"Alchemy?!" I gasped, touching the cauldron. "Oh wow, it is huge."

It was immense, roughly four meters tall, pitch black with golden patterns resembling dragons and eyes. Many divine jewels were embedded into the metal. Inside, a giant magic circle made of thousands of runes was engraved. In the game, Alchemy was just a mechanic, but here it was clearly a complex magic system.

"Are there more Alchemists out there, Uncle?"

"There are many. Back in Yggdrasil, there is the Alchemist Country of Philosophia," he said. "I am the director of the Royal Alchemist School there, where the greatest Alchemists are trained. I was paid to teach you Alchemy here, but I can see you are bored of living in your castle. How about coming to the school instead?"

"Can I?!" I gasped. "Mom, Dad, can I?"

They both opened their eyes wide, looking worried.

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