Chapter 62: The Shame of Size Adaptation
The moment the light dissipated, Livia looked down at herself.
Eighteen meters.
Shrinking from thirty-five meters to eighteen, she had lost nearly half her size.
This wasn't an elegant transformation like the Transfiguration Technique—which compresses and reshapes a dragon's body into a human form, awkward but at least balanced. This was a forced physical compression by the system. Bones were brutally squeezed short, muscles were crushed flat, and scales were forced to overlap. Every inch of her skin screamed in protest.
The worst part was the proportions.
Her head was still the same head, but her neck had shortened significantly, making it look as if her head was pressed directly onto her shoulders. Her wings were still the same wings, but their wingspan had shrunk by two-thirds, making them look like a waterlogged chicken when she flapped them. Her tail suffered the most; the originally elegant and slender dragon tail had become a short stump, trailing behind her like a redundant decoration.
She raised a claw, staring at the dragon claw that was now two sizes smaller than before.
A claw was still a claw, and a nail was still a nail, but the feeling of clenching them was completely wrong—like an adult wearing a child's glove, every movement felt awkward.
The giant squatted down and stared at her for three seconds.
Then he scratched his head and asked with a look of sincerity, "Are you sure this will work?"
Livia looked up, having to crane her neck just to see his face.
Twenty-five meters.
She was now eighteen meters.
This angle, this posture, this feeling of needing to look up just to meet his gaze—
She thought back to the Husky she had seen in a pet shop in her past life.
That Husky had been sitting on the floor, head tilted back, staring longingly at a bag of dog food on the counter. The shop owner was a burly man standing 1.8 meters tall, looking down at it. At the time, she had thought the image of the man and dog looking at each other was quite cute.
She didn't think so anymore.
A system pop-up appeared very inappropriately:
[Adaptability adjustment complete]
[Current body length: 18 meters]
[Height difference with target: -7 meters]
[Friendly Reminder: It is recommended that the Host adjust her mindset and experience this mating with an open and inclusive attitude]
[Note: There is truly no intention to humiliate the Host]
Livia stared at the phrase "open and inclusive" for half a second.
Then she closed the panel, took a deep breath, and looked at the giant.
"Let's begin."
The giant nodded and turned toward the cave behind the throne—that was his bedchamber. The cave entrance was thirty meters high and twenty meters wide, enough for a twenty-five-meter-tall giant to enter and exit freely.
Livia followed behind.
After taking one step, she froze.
Her legs had become shorter.
Originally, one step could cover five meters; now, one step only covered two and a half. One of the giant's steps was worth three of hers. She had to trot just to keep up.
The tail was even worse.
Her tail, compressed into a short stick, dragged on the ground. Every step she took caused it to rub against the floor, making a rustling sound. She tried to lift her tail, but she couldn't—the muscle memory was still there, but the tail was no longer that tail.
She gritted her teeth and quickened her pace.
The giant had already reached the cave entrance. He looked back at her, looking confused. "Why are you walking so slowly?"
Livia said nothing.
She simply silently increased her frequency.
Her short little legs moved rapidly, like a sprinting Corgi.
——————
Deep inside the cave.
The giant's bedchamber was larger than imagined. The dome was fifty meters high, with an area equivalent to three basketball courts. The ground was covered in thick animal hides, and in the corner sat a mountain-like pile of treasure—ores, gemstones, metal ingots, and dozens of large chests of unknown origin. The lids were open, revealing the gold coins and jewelry inside.
In the very center was a bed.
Calling it a bed wasn't quite accurate; it should be called a "stone platform." It was a massive slab of rock, thirty meters long and twenty meters wide, with a surface polished smooth. Seven or eight layers of animal hides were spread over it, piling up to a meter thick.
The giant walked to the bedside, patted the hides, and looked at Livia.
"Coming up?"
Livia stared at the bed.
The height of the bed—roughly five meters.
For a twenty-five-meter giant, this height was just right; he could get on just by lifting a leg.
For an eighteen-meter Red Dragon, this height was equivalent to her own shoulder height.
She was silent for three seconds.
Then she began to climb.
Her front claws gripped the edge of the bed, her back legs pushed off the ground, and her body arched upward—
She didn't make it up.
The edge of the bed was too high. After her front claws caught on, her back legs couldn't reach a point to push off. She hung in mid-air, her two back legs kicking wildly, her tail lashing back and forth like a mountain goat hanging off a cliff side.
The giant looked down at her, his expression shifting from confusion to shock, and from shock to—
"Pfft."
He covered his mouth, but a hint of laughter still leaked through his fingers.
Livia's movements froze.
She slowly turned her head, staring at that face that was turning red from holding back laughter.
Inside her golden eyes, something was burning.
The giant hurriedly waved his hands. "I'm not laughing! I'm really not laughing! I just—my throat feels uncomfortable!"
Livia stared at him for three seconds.
Then she released her front claws, dropped back to the ground, and took three steps back.
She took a deep breath.
A running start.
A sprint.
A leap.
Her eighteen-meter body soared into the air, tracing an arc and landing steadily on the bed—on the giant's face.
"Ow—!"
The giant clutched his face and fell backward, the back of his head hitting the stone wall and creating a web of cracks. He rolled around on the bed clutching his face, screaming repeatedly, "My nose—! My nose is going to fall off—!"
Livia climbed off his face, stood tall, and looked down at him.
This time, she didn't have to look up.
She was now standing on the bed while he was lying down; she was looking down from above.
The giant clutched his face, revealing one eye through his fingers, looking at her pitifully.
"You... you did that on purpose..."
Livia was expressionless. "Get up."
The giant clutched his nose, sat up, and straightened himself.
Even sitting on the bed at twenty-five meters tall, he was still much taller than the eighteen-meter her.
The two looked at each other.
Silence.
Three seconds later, the giant spoke, his tone cautious. "That... it was my fault just now, I shouldn't have laughed. Shall we start over?"
Livia looked at him.
She looked at his crumpled face, his bright red nose from the impact, and those eyes filled with a "desire to survive."
She nodded.
——————
The process began.
Then the problem arose.
Eighteen meters versus twenty-five meters was a seven-meter difference.
What does seven meters mean? It means when the giant is standing, her head only reaches his chest. When the giant is crouching, she has to stand on her tiptoes just to reach his back. When the giant is lying flat, she has to jump to complete certain key steps.
The first problem: Posture.
The giant tried to lie prone to make himself lower.
But even lying down, he was five meters high, which wasn't much different from standing.
Livia tried to stand on higher ground—but there was no higher ground on the bed, only flat animal hides.
She looked at the treasure pile nearby.
Those chests were piled two or three meters high; they should work as a footstool.
She jumped off the bed, walked to the treasure pile, and began moving the chests.
The giant lay by the edge of the bed, watching her curiously. "What are you doing?"
Livia ignored him.
She stacked three chests, creating a small platform, then climbed up and stood straight.
The height was sufficient.
She looked at the giant. "Come over here."
The giant crawled over and huddled next to the chests.
Then the second problem arose: Angle.
Stacked chests are unstable. With three chests piled together, they wobbled at the slightest movement. As soon as the giant approached, the ground vibrated, and the chests began to shake.
Livia steadied herself and gritted her teeth to endure it.
She endured for three seconds.
The chests collapsed.
She fell into the treasure pile, gold coins clattering onto her body, burying her halfway.
The giant reached out and dug her out of the gold pile, asking with a look of sincerity, "How about... we change postures?"
Livia spat out a gold coin and stared at him.
"You tell me."
The giant thought for a moment and scratched his head. "You lie down? I squat?"
Livia was silent for three seconds.
Then she turned around and lay down.
The giant squatted down and moved closer.
The height was right.
The angle was right.
The position was right.
Then the third problem arose: The tail.
Her tail, compressed into a short stick, was currently right next to the giant's knee. When the giant squatted, his knee pressed down on her tail.
It hurt.
No, it wasn't just pain; it was that sharp, stinging sensation like getting caught in a door.
Livia's pupils instantly constricted, her entire dragon body tensed, and her scales flared out.
The giant hurriedly lifted his knee. "Sorry, sorry! I didn't notice!"
Livia took a deep breath and moved her tail to the side.
Continue.
Another three seconds passed.
The giant suddenly stopped and looked at her.
"You have a scent on you."
Livia's movements stopped.
The giant leaned closer to her, sniffed, and furrowed his brow.
"The sulfur smell is normal for a Red Dragon. But there's something else—rose fragrance? And a bit of—" he sniffed again, "the scent of a Blue Dragon?"
Livia said nothing.
The giant continued to ask, "And a Copper Dragon? That bookworm scent you have, I can smell it."
Livia remained silent.
The giant scratched his head, looking confused. "Just how many dragons have you—Ow—!"
A blast of fire was sprayed in his face.
The flame wasn't large and the temperature wasn't high, but it was enough to make him shut up.
The giant clutched his face and shrank back pitifully.
Livia looked at him, her golden eyes saying two words: Shut up.
The giant nodded silently, not daring to ask again.
——————
Two hours later.
Livia lay on the pile of treasure she had knocked over, having regained her thirty-five-meter form.
The compression time limit had expired, and the system automatically lifted the adjustment. She had finally returned to her original appearance.
Comfortable.
Her scales were back in place, her bones were stretched out, and her tail had returned to its elegant and slender shape—though it was currently hanging limply on the ground, at least it was her own tail.
The giant sat nearby, holding a piece of roasted meat and chewing silently.
The atmosphere was very quiet.
Quiet enough to be a bit awkward.
The giant stole a glance at her, then quickly looked away.
Livia glanced at him.
"What do you want to ask?"
The giant hesitated for a moment and asked softly, "That... those scents on you, what was that about?"
Livia was silent for three seconds.
Then she spoke, her tone as calm as if she were talking about the weather:
"Gene Collection."
The giant was stunned. "Gene Collection?"
Livia nodded. "I need genes from different races. Blue Dragon, Copper Dragon, Fire Giant—you are the third."
The giant's mouth formed an 'O' shape.
He stared at her, his expression shifting from confusion to shock, and from shock to—
"Then what about me?" he asked. "I'm just a gene?"
Livia looked at him.
The expression on the giant's face was complex, like a pot of mixed stew. There was the annoyance of being used, the resentment of being treated as a tool, and a hint of something inexplicable—
Grievance?
Livia was silent for three seconds.
Then she reached out a claw and pulled the last piece of roasted meat out from the treasure pile—it was one she had specifically saved, wrapped in fire lotus leaves and brushed with three layers of honey glaze.
She pushed the roasted meat in front of the giant.
"Yours."
The giant looked down at the roasted meat.
The roasted meat emitted a tempting aroma. The honey glaze sparkled under the firelight, and the fresh scent of the fire lotus mixed with the meat aroma wafted into his nose, making his mouth water.
He looked up at Livia.
Livia was expressionless.
The giant was silent for three seconds.
Then he grinned, his face wrinkling up with the smile.
"Fine then."
He grabbed the roasted meat and took a huge bite, chewing until his mouth was dripping with oil. "I'm not losing out anyway," he said while chewing. "Your roasted meat is delicious, that's better than anything."
Livia looked at him.
She looked at his cheeks bulging with roasted meat, his eyes narrowed into slits, and that massive tail swaying gently because of his happiness.
She withdrew her gaze, lay down, and closed her eyes.
The giant's voice came to her ears, muffled because his mouth was full of meat:
"Come again next time... bring more roasted meat... and put more fire lotus in too..."
The tip of Livia's tail twitched.
She didn't answer.
But she didn't refuse, either.