Chapter 254 – Thunder Weeds–No–Thunder Miracle Flowers

I initially thought we would be going to harvest the Thunder Weed–duh, I was getting too used to how the dragons called it!–I meant, Thunder Miracle Flowers the day after we slept with Schelri. 

But apparently, Schelri helped us by having the Pyrpgrnt kingdom’s meteorologist and the weather research lab to check and do a forecasting of the situation in the Eye of the Storm section of the Dragon’s Continent.

We were told that there would be a harsh storm and rain in the whole area, making it hard to collect the herbs.

Sure, the thunder would make the Thunder Weeds bloom, but the harsh rain would damage the flowers or even cause them to close again. 

I was worried it would damage all the Thunder Weeds and make us unable to collect any Thunder Miracle Flowers, but thankfully that wouldn’t be the case.

Since the experts told us to go the next day and even going as far as researching the area where it would be more probable for us to collect the flowers and even the correct timing, Carbuncle and I decided to postpone our plan and go the next day instead.

Aside from a tour in the Pyrpgrnt kingdom, we also took plenty of rest.

 

The day finally arrived.

The day where we would finally pick the legendary Thunder Miracle Flowers, that the dragons deemed as nothing close to miraculous or legendary at all due to their continent’s unique condition…

I was thankful to what little dragon blood I inherited in this life, coupled with Carbuncle’s magical dragon orb that helped me withstand the condition in the Dragon’s Heritage.

 

On this very day, we followed the instructions from Princess Schelri and Pyrpgrnt Kingdom’s experts. We went towards the appointed teleportation portal that would take us to the portal at the Eye of the Storm that would be closest to the area where we would pick the herbs. 

Yes, they arranged everything and I was forever grateful to them.

Though I could never forget their reaction at first, hearing what our mission was…

It went as following:

“You’re going to collect what?!”

“Thunder Weed Flowers?!”

“All this effort and I’d think it would be to pick some priceless herbs, but oh well…”

“Yes, us dragons don’t normally use Thunder Weed Flowers since we have many other flowers with higher efficacy than that. It is akin to a very low grade medicinal herb to us… Ah, but don’t get it wrong. I think other herbs us dragons prefer would be too much for non-dragons, so…”

“Aaah, I see. That is understandable, then.”

“Should we establish contact with non-dragons, don’t you think we can become rich by supplying them with items we consider ordinary or worthless, yet they consider them as treasures?”

“Hey, hey!”

Yes, such were Princess Schelri and the experts from Pyrpgrnt kingdom’s conversation with us when we were planning this expedition…

 

I reminisced the whole scene as I was riding on Carbuncle’s back again. 

The portal led us to an empty area that was near the Eye of the Storm, so Carbuncle said.

“I know this doesn’t make sense now, but grab onto me tightly, okay?” Carbuncle instructed.

I didn’t understand the need to grab onto her tightly when the flying condition was so good, nothing too harsh or extraordinary… The experts told us that this timing and this area we were headed to would have the least harsh field and weather, so I didn’t get why…

Until suddenly, everything changed.

 

WHOOOSHHHHHH—!!

“GYAAAAAHH!!”

The wind slammed into me like a slap from a giant invisible hand. The cloak that covered my body flapped violently, and I clung to Carbuncle’s back for dear life as she braved herself through the wind, going against the wind current.

“You could’ve warned me!!” I shrieked, totally getting caught off guard.

Carbuncle grinned over her shoulder. “What? I did warn you before. And come on, Lyr. You’re sturdier than that.”

Sure, she warned me… half an hour ago. When she transformed into her dragon form right after we went out of the teleportation portal.

I was so alert and grabbed onto her tightly for more than fifteen minutes until I thought it was fine and I could relax…

So… her warning came off 30 minutes too early? Isn’t that way too much and can even be considered as misleading?!

 

It was as if we went to the other part of the map in a game. Though it was surely still the same area and it wasn’t like we got teleported anywhere else, but the sky ahead darkened rapidly. Distant flashes of lightning forked through the clouds, thunder growling like some ancient beast. The air buzzed with energy—wild, electric.

And the wind was so crazy that I quickly grabbed my cloak and Carbuncle’s dragon orb tightly to my embrace and my hands clung onto Carbuncle’s back, as if… no, as my life depended on it.

We flew past cliffs and jagged ridges until we reached our destination, an area that the experts from Pyrpgrnt kingdom called as the Lozanth Ridge.

To be honest, I couldn’t really tell the difference between Lozanth Ridge and the area before… Putting aside the weather since it constantly changes, the area’s condition didn’t seem so different… 

Anyway, the ground at the area called the Lozanth Ridge was barren and cracked from constant storms. 

Still, what surprised me was the fact that Thunder Weed Herbs stretched across the plain like overgrown moss. Honestly? They really did look like weeds. No wonder dragons thought they were worthless, and only amounted to low-grade and easy-to-procure medicinal herbs that they’d overlook over the other better options.

 

We landed in an area that was safe to land, and I quickly descended from Carbuncle’s back.

Gosh, I didn’t realize I had missed the ground so much!

Carbuncle returned to her humanoid form with a casual puff of smoke, brushing dust off her sleeves.

“Is it really this area?” I asked Carbuncle as I gazed towards the field of uneven Thunder Weeds just right ahead of us.

“Yeah,” Carbuncle nodded. 

We were told that thunder would soon hit this area around this time. The Thunder Miracle Herbs would have their flowers bloom right after they were struck by natural lightning. But once they bloom, the timer also starts–they would wither in a day or two, three at most. If we wanted to harvest the Thunder Miracle Flowers for medicine, it would be best to harvest fresh ones.

So our plan was…

“Now we wait for the lightning… then we harvest the blooming flowers, and preserve it?” I repeated the plan that I had memorized before as I took out a small vial that the dragonkind called the Crystal Flask.

The Crystal Flask was a good container that was imbued with preservation magic, one that the dragons usually have to collect fresh harvest and transport it to another area, usually herbs, or fruits. 

It was as small as the palm of my hand, but I knew it could expand to a certain size, and then shrink back to a small size for better portability. 

It was similar to a storage pouch, only it was designed to have a preservation effect. The dragonkind seemed to need this since they often needed to collect fresh harvest from–let’s say, volcanic areas, and they would need to transport it to freezing areas. Without the preservation magic imbued, the harvest would surely lose its freshness.

Princess Schelri lent this Crystal Flask to us, specially for the purpose of collecting the Thunder Miracle Flowers.

 

I gazed around the surroundings and saw how dark clouds that sometimes displayed flashes of thunder were gathering around the herb field ahead of us. 

Yes, it looks like we arrived on time, just before the lightning strikes.

Now we wait…

 

…

Suddenly, I felt an odd chill down my spine.

“Carbuncle,” I said after a while. “Why do I have a bad feeling?”

“Like what? It’s just a feeling,” she said lazily, eyes scanning the clouds.

“I don’t know. It’s like something bad’s going to happen, for example… like the thunder’s gonna strike us,” I tried to describe the feeling that I was having, trying to mix it with a joke. 

Okay, that was a bad joke.

“Hmm…” Carbuncle closed her eyes to think.

There was a tingle in the air. My skin prickled. I looked down and realized—

“…Is my hair standing up?” I asked.

“Ours is,” Carbuncle said, eyes still closed, but I could sense that she was being calm and it somehow made me feel relieved. 

“A lightning strike is imminent. Incidentally… at the exact spot we’re standing.”

“Oh, I see, that explains,” I automatically responded calmly, still feeling relieved from Carbuncle’s calm answer.

One second later, what she said finally registered in my brain.

“…What?!” I gasped.

“…Yeah,” Carbuncle just casually said.

“WAIT THAT’S BAD! THAT’S REALLY BAD!! WE NEED TO RUN NOW!!” I instantly panicked and said to Carbuncle.

 

Still calm, Carbuncle pointed upward. “Ah. Too late. It’s coming.”

“RUUUUUNNNNN!!!”

I bolted like my life depended on it—which it absolutely did. Wind magic in my legs, life magic boosting my speed, I dashed across the ridge like a streak of lightning myself.

Behind me, thunder crashed. I spun around.

“Carbuncle!!”

She was just standing there, still at the same spot, not moving even an inch.

And then—BOOM!

The lightning struck her square on.

My heart nearly stopped.

“Carbuncle!!” I screamed, terrified she’d been vaporized. 

I rushed back as the debris due to the lightning strike subsided—and found her…

…glowing?!!

 

Yes, instead of being injured and in tatters due to receiving a lightning strike, Carbuncle was intact.

Rather, she was stretching lazily, and her skin seemed to radiate with fresh energy!!

“Ahhh~ That was refreshing!” She suddenly said.

“Huh? Refreshing? But you just got smited?!” And my brain seems to be fried now.

“Duh, Lyr. I am a thunder dragon. I can absorb lightning to recharge my body.”

“You could have warned me about it!!” Gee, give me some compensation for my emotional damage from thinking she’d be injured by the lightning strike!

“I thought you knew?” Carbuncle was genuinely dumbfounded, and it made me even more upset.

“No! I am not a dragon, so I don’t know!” I protested.

Carbuncle really had this bad habit of assuming others had the same common sense as her, when it was clearly not. 

But now I could understand why Carbuncle didn’t bother trying to run away from the lightning. Heck, it explained why she seemed so calm!

“Gee, have some consideration for me, a non-dragon that would definitely get cooked should I get hit by that lightning…,” I could only sigh and remind Carbuncle of this fact.

“Ah… right, I forgot. We’re in the dragon’s continent, so…,” Carbuncle grinned as she scratched her head.

 

“Anyway, let’s get the flowers and return,” I sighed and proceeded to examine the flowers around Carbuncle, wanting to find some splendidly blooming flowers to bring home.

However, I noticed something odd.

Right, contrary to my expectations, there wasn’t any flower that fully bloomed!!

Most of the buds around the area where the lightning struck were still tightly closed. There were actually a few that half-bloomed, glowing faintly. But the slight bloom wasn’t enough.

“Huh? The flowers didn’t bloom?” I stood there, dumbfounded.

A slight panic started to rise in my heart.

“Ah. Right, I forgot. I absorbed most of the thunder, you see, maybe that’s why,” Carbuncle said with a grin.

“Carbuncle?!! But that defeats the purpose!!” I pouted.

I need to press charges to Carbuncle for the emotional damage I suffered!

“Sorry, my bad. It’s been so long since I was here. It was so nostalgic getting hit by the natural thunder here.”

Nostalgic what?! Getting hit by thunder?!

I really needed to turn off my common sense when speaking with the dragons, it seemed. 

 

“Huh? But you dodged the thunder during our way here…,” I suddenly remembered one thing.

“Well, duh. I can’t really fly well if we’re to get hit by thunder, no? But anyway, to absorb thunder to recharge one’s body, one typically needs to remain on the ground and stay focused to channel the thunder. It also helps us let the excess thunder flow to the ground around us, so being grounded is important,” Carbuncle explained.

I am pretty sure the way we use the word ‘grounded’ is different… but I get what she means. 

And no wonder there were only a few flowers that bloomed partially…

Hmm?

But does that mean the reason why I could remain intact without getting hit by the thunder during our flight here is simply because she needs to be grounded to absorb the thunder’s energy, not because Carbuncle remembers her little non-dragon friend was riding on her back???

…Should I consider myself lucky, then?

 

“Worry not, there will be the next sessions of thunder soon,” Carbuncle said casually.

The Eye of the Storm is indeed the part of the Dragon’s Heritage where it will always storm, no matter how little or how small the area coverage. The thing is, there is no way the Eye of Storm is without any storm, or so I heard. It was a bit hard for me to understand, since it indeed defied the law of nature that I knew. At least in the main continent. 

“Where will it be, though?” I asked.

“Hmmm…” Carbuncle seemed to channel her inner energy and pointed, “Over there, I suppose.”

She pointed at the area where the dark clouds were at, with rumbling and a flash of light could be seen around the clouds. 

Oh, right. We can predict it from how the sky looks like. But the area around us is mostly covered by dark clouds, so it was a bit hard to point out. 

“Okay, it’s not that far. Let’s dash there once the thunder hits,” I said.

“Okay,” Carbuncle just nodded.

 

A few minutes later—CRACKKK!! Another bolt slammed into the earth.

“Now!” I shouted.

We raced across the terrain, ducking past smoking rocks until we reached the spot. A bunch of Thunder Miracle Flowers had bloomed in full glory, petals glowing faintly, as if the flowers were charged with electricity.

“Amazing!” I marvelled at the flower in full bloom. It was beautiful, and there was something ethereal about it.

“Eh, but if you see the flowers way too often and almost every day, it becomes an usual thing,” Carbuncle said, without feeling the slightest bit of awe. 

I pulled out the Crystal Flask and carefully set it up in accordance to the instructions I remembered before coming here. 

“Let see… Click something around here, slide this, press this and… Whoa! It expanded!”

The Crystal Flask had just expanded from a small vial to a square container that could very well contain a bouquet of flowers one usually gives to their lover.

We could take a few of the fully blooming Thunder Miracle Flowers this way.

Together with Carbuncle, I plucked some of the best blooms and put them inside the expanded Crystal Flask. 

The flowers then froze mid-motion, suspended in a timeless glow.

“Whoa… Cool!” I said in awe.

It seemed like the preservation function worked as intended. Good. 

After making sure all the functionality was on, I pressed the mechanism to turn the container back to a small vial that I could safely put inside my small bag. 

 

“Lyr,” Carbuncle suddenly called out to me.

“Hmm?” 

“I think you might wanna run now,” she suddenly said.

“Huh? Why? Where to? Shouldn’t we just get out of here together?” I quickly turned to question Carbuncle.

“You see… There’s not much time. Let’s meet up at the place where we landed. Hop onto my back at that time, okay?” Carbuncle instructed.

“Huh?” I still didn’t understand why. She could just turn into a dragon here and we could fly together–

“Thunders will hit this whole area continuously. I can absorb some, then time when I need to transform and fly away, but you can’t get hit by the thunder at all, right? So, run first.”

“Eh? Ehh?? Ah… okay?” I didn’t really see any flash of lightning at the sky right above us, but I followed Carbuncle’s instructions and started to run.

Suddenly…

 

BOOM!! CRACKLE, BOOM!! CRACKLE…!!

As Carbuncle had warned before, thunder started to hit the area where we were standing just now.

I was so flustered but I could only keep running with all my might.

Sometimes, I needed to use my magic to shield me from the thunder that I couldn’t fully escape on time.

Some of the thunder were close calls! Sometimes the impact from the thunder hitting the ground caused me to fly a bit. Thankfully, I could control it with my magic so that I won’t fall and get injured.

 

The ground continued to explode due to the thunder behind me. It was as if I was a character in a game and the thunder was chasing after me in this field. I dove, rolled, sprinted until—

“Lyr!! Now!”

Carbuncle appeared above, now in dragon form, hovering amidst the sparks. I leapt toward her and clung onto her back just as another bolt narrowly missed us.

It took me some time to adjust my position until I settled into a comfortable seat on Carbuncle’s back.

Then, I took a deep breath and–

“WHY IS THIS WHOLE TRIP A DEATH GAME?!” I yelled over the wind.

Carbuncle just laughed as she carried us high into the stormy sky.

 

Right, I didn’t expect I’d be betting my life like this! 

Carbuncle should’ve told me beforehaaaanddd!! 

Will I be able to go home intact at this rate?

 

I wanted to cry as I felt the thunders close by as we flew at a high speed. 

At this moment, there is nothing I can do other than closing my eyes to pray, and put all my trust in Carbuncle. 

This is like the auto-pilot function in a game, but this is way too scary! (T__T)