Storm open his eyes after an undetermined amount of time and was suprised to find himself in his own nest.
First thing he noticed was that he was starving.
He tried to get up, but winced when his whole body flared up in pain.
At that moment Razor walked in.
She was startled when she saw Storm awake.
He tried to get up to speak to her, but she quickly rushed to his side and pushed him back down again.
"No, No, No! You shouldn't get up this soon after what you went through. Your body needs time to recover!"
As his pain returned again. Storm stopped resisting and settled down again .
"You know what? For once I think I'll listen!" Storm said while wincing.
"Good!"
"How did I get back here though?" Asked Storm.
"Grombrim. He used a homeward stone to teleport you back to the hideout. "
Storm winced again, but not from pain this time.
'Homeward stones' were a rare item among hunters that enabled someone to teleport a single person back to a previously prepared location.
They were expensive to buy, and because they broke after a single use as well as it's limitation of only teleporting a single person, not all hunters could afford to use them.
They were even more rare amongst non humans, as the hunters went to extreme lengths to keep them out of their prey's hands.
He could just imagine the lecture the dwarf was going to give him.
"He'll probably bill me for it's use too!" Thought Storm.
"You know, when I told you to experiment with your body's capabilities!
I didn't mean you should try and consume and ENTIRE ELDER LIGHTNING ELEMENTAL!!" yelled Razor.
"Wasn't exactly planned ahead of time! Circumstances forced me to act this way!" Defended Storm.
"Do you have any idea in what condition your body was when you were brought to me!?
Your own elemental energy was killing you!
Your body was overloaded with so much electrical energy, that even touching your scales gave me an electric shock!
You're just lucky that your body adapted again and that...!" Yelled Razor.
"Wait!! My body did what again!!" Asked Storm.
"Ohhh.... you.... should probably go look in a mirror..." said Razor.
Without another word, Storm sprang up and ran to the mirror in his room.
He gasped when he saw his reflection.
He'd grown since he last saw himself and was easily another foot in height and another 2 feet in length from snout to tail.
His muscles had also grown and was almost as well developed as a feral's now.
His horns had grown longer and a second set had begun to grow underneath the first ones.
The horns were still the same type of blue as his scales at the root, but had begun turning gold near the tips.
His wingspan had grown by another 5 feet to better accommodate his increased weight.
The veins in his wings had turned solid gold in color and was streaking across the membranes of his wings.
"How.... how long was I asleep?!!" Asked Storm nervously.
"30 years.... give or take a year or 2" Replied Razor.
"WHAT!!!!"
She suddenly burst out laughing.
"Just messing with you! It's only been 2 days!" Razor replied.
He gave her an angry glare.
"Don't ever do that again!!" Said Storm.
Razor just continues to laugh.
"Do you at least have an explanation as to what happened?" Asked Storm.
"Your body was overloaded with electrical energy and urgently needed to shed it.
It couldn't discharge itself while you were unconscious, so it used the energy to fuel your growth instead. " Razor replied.
"I look like I aged at least a decade. " Storm said.
"2 or 3 decades, based on my calculations. Your body's evolution seems to have accelerated as well.
The changes to your veins and your horns are a result of your body getting closer to whatever you are evolving into."
Storm admired himself in the mirror again.
"Any new abilities you were able to pick up on?" Asked Storm.
"A few, but I'd need to run additional tests in order to confirm. " replied Razor
"Can you give me a quick rundown?" Asked Storm.
"Your horns are changing into a secondary elemental storage. You should be able to hold a lot more energy than before once the transformation completes.
You should also be able to release that energy from the tips, giving whomever you rammed with them a nasty shock.
Just be careful that no one breaks them! You would lose those abilities if they did." Explained Razor.
An idea suddenly occurred to Storm.
"If I absorbed such a large source of elemental energy again?
Could I potentially accelerate the evolution and growth again?" Asked Storm.
"Don't even think about it!! You barely survived the last time you did this.
I still need to be sure this hasn't damaged your other organs.
We don't know what kind of drawbacks this rapid aging could cause you!
Luckily dragons don't get old, do you?" Asked Razor.
Storm shook his head.
"We continue to grow larger as we age, but we don't suffer the debilitating effects that comes with aging that the other races do."
"Lucky you then!" Said Razor with a hint of jealousy.
Razor suddenly remembered something and walked over to a table.
She took a large golden orb from the table and handed it to Storm.
He remembered seeing this when he first defeated the elemental.
"What is it?" Asked Storm.
"It's a elemental core.
Basically it acts as both the 'heart' and the 'source' of an elemental's power.
That body you fought was just an manifestation.
If you want to damage an elemental, you need to strike at its core, not the body."
She gave Storm a glare.
"Try and remember that the next time you fight an elemental and think 'eating ' it is the only option available to you!" She replied.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Asked Storm.
"They start out dull and colorless, but they gradually absorb the same elemental energy as the elemental it came from.
People use this to enchant weapons with the same element. Wizards also use it as a Power source for staves.
If those 2 options don't interest you, then you can always sell it. It's worth a lot of gold in the human markets. "
"Can I absorb the energy stored inside?" Asked Storm.
With the angry look she gave him, he was certain she was going to strangle him.
"Why do dragons always think with their stomachs!!
Yes!! You can absorb the energy inside!!
But it won't be as much as you got from absorbing the whole elemental!!" Yelled Razor.