Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Cradle!

Crack, crack.

Charlotte and Sol Marron broke free of the ice in an instant.

The two truly were the captain and vice-captain.

Even though Charlotte's strength had been hindered by her curse, she and Sol Marron were still far stronger than Vanessa and Noelle before them.

They broke free from the ice in mere moments.

But the first two to escape immediately flushed bright red.

They looked at each other, both wearing awkward expressions.

Naturally, it was because of that step they had taken forward earlier, as well as the unexpected, though not terrifying, ice-and-fire magic that had spilled out from Lake of Ice and Fire.

Neither of them had been injured, but their clothes had suffered badly.

Now, they looked at each other again.

Though they were mostly covered, there was still plenty left exposed, enough to stir the imagination.

Both of them immediately became embarrassed.

The next moment, they understood why Vanessa and Noelle were wearing Carl's clothes.

Seeing the two staring at him so intently, Carl's expression changed slightly.

He pointed at Charlotte and Sol Marron and said,

"You two are a captain and a vice-captain, you know.

Don't even think about getting ideas about my clothes."

"Besides, I'm already bare-chested.

You can't expect me to take off my pants for you too, can you?"

"Putting aside whether you could even wear them—

if I took them off, would you two even dare to look?"

Carl's words made Sol Marron spit to the side.

"You shameless pervert!

Watch that filthy mouth of yours!"

Carl's words also left Charlotte utterly mortified.

Carl stretched out his hand again and dispersed the ice coating Vanessa and Noelle.

The two had originally been relying on Carl's clothes for cover. The moment the ice was gone, they were once again dressed in rags.

Charlotte's expression turned solemn as she looked deeper ahead.

Ice and fire magic raged endlessly, and ice crystals and flames had completely blocked the path. Charlotte seemed to be sensing the surrounding aura before she said to Carl,

"I can feel that resentment.

My Thorn Magic belongs to Plant Magic, so I have an innate instinct for strange auras."

"That resentment is constantly growing stronger.

If we don't get there soon, I'm afraid none of us will make it out unscathed."

At Charlotte's words, Vanessa and Noelle both froze.

Especially since Charlotte clearly possessed captain-level strength, yet could not use it at all.

That left everyone feeling an intense sense of urgency.

It could be said that the danger before them had nearly risen to hell-level.

Vanessa and Noelle gritted their teeth and looked at Carl.

"We're continuing the trial.

If we don't solve this problem, we definitely won't go back."

Noelle immediately nodded beside her.

The two stubbornly took another step forward, no longer caring about Charlotte and Sol Marron's stares.

They were both women anyway. What was there to be afraid of?

As for Carl...

Forget it. He had already seen everything there was to see.

The two had completely given up on appearances as the pressure bearing down on them relentlessly squeezed out their potential.

Noelle clenched her teeth and took one step forward, then another.

Even as ice crystals cut open her delicate skin and flames scorched her body, Noelle still gritted her teeth and strode forward.

She took three steps in succession.

Terrifying magical backlash struck in an instant.

Noelle screamed, and the water magic around her body began to tremble violently.

Noelle gave a sharp cry.

The water magic she had been releasing suddenly began to spin in a rhythmic pattern. Noelle stretched out both hands, bracing herself fiercely against the terrifying pressure ahead.

The next moment, Noelle's body seemed to grow a little taller.

Even her measurements seemed to have increased at that moment.

Carl was a little confused.

He could understand magic growing stronger, but her body and figure growing as well was a little beyond imagination.

Was the magic world really this fantastical?

Was bigger magic stronger? Was bigger justice?

He could not make sense of it at all, but he was not exactly against it either.

But at that moment, Noelle seemed to have suddenly grasped something.

She pushed both hands outward and shouted,

"Water Creation Magic—Sea Dragon's Cradle!"

With her loud cry, the water magic around them instantly flowed in a single direction, even forming a huge water-attribute barrier.

The water kept spinning, and its terrifying rotational force rapidly dispersed the pressure around them.

Noelle stared at her hands, tears of joy streaming down her face.

The next moment, she lunged forward and jumped straight into Carl's arms.

"That's great!

I finally awakened a new magic skill!"

"My control seems to be working! I can control my own magic now!"

Noelle was beside herself with excitement.

However, Carl's entire body stiffened. He could only whisper in Noelle's ear,

"Congratulations. You really did surpass yourself."

"Noelle, you were amazing."

Hearing Carl's praise, Noelle felt her cheeks turn crimson.

Carl then quietly reminded her,

"But Noelle, could you get down first?

Everyone's watching."

"And... you really don't have many pieces of cloth left on you."

As Carl's words fell, Noelle let out a scream.

She leaped away at once and crouched on the ground, utterly embarrassed.

Her Sea Dragon's Cradle nearly shattered along with her.

[Congratulations to the host for completing Task 7: Noelle's Three-Stage Valkyrie Form!

Defense, attack, ultimate transformation; help Noelle complete her transformation to receive the reward: Loyal Water Spirit! Current progress: 1/3]

Charlotte and Sol Marron stared in stunned disbelief.

They were somewhat astonished that Noelle's behavior was indeed rather embarrassing. But what shocked them even more was this:

Since when had the Silva family's silver-haired "giant eagle" little sister become this kind of person?

Wasn't Noelle supposed to be shy and tsundere, an extremely difficult woman to deal with?

Yet in front of Carl, that seemed to have completely stopped working.

But what shocked Sol Marron and Charlotte even more was this.

Noelle's sheer stubbornness had actually allowed her to awaken this defensive magic.

And this defensive magic possessed astonishing defensive power. At the very least, Noelle alone had withstood all the pressure in this space so far.

Within this space, the other three could no longer feel that terrifying oppressive force at all.

Charlotte could not help but praise her from the side.

"This little girl from the Silva family really has limitless potential."

Seeing Noelle's transformation, Vanessa's eyes shone with excitement.

She looked at Carl and said,

"If Noelle can do it, there's no reason I can't."

Vanessa nodded seriously at Carl, then jumped down from her magic broom.

Her gaze was steadfast and serious as she stepped out of Noelle's Sea Dragon's Cradle, one step at a time.

The dual ice-and-fire magic seemed to take that as a provocation and surged madly toward Vanessa.

Vanessa snorted coldly.

What she wore at that moment was Carl's cloak.

The cloak had originally been tattered beyond recognition, but because of the red threads, it seemed to have changed.

Though it still looked ragged, it was constantly repairing itself, as though trying to restore itself completely.

Vanessa strode forward.

One step, then another.

Countless wounds were torn open across her body as flames continuously scorched her.

She gritted her teeth and took another step, then another.

She took more than ten steps in total.

She was blocked several times by frost and flames, but Vanessa always relied on her Thread Magic to push forward little by little.

Noelle watched from the side with disbelief in her eyes.

At that moment, she finally acknowledged this teammate named Vanessa.

Vanessa was sexy and alluring, a witch,

and her figure far surpassed Noelle's, while her personality was also somewhat coquettish.

But Noelle deeply respected Vanessa's perseverance.

Now that they were on the same side, Noelle even felt a little distressed for Vanessa.

"Carl, why was I able to awaken magic after only three steps, while Vanessa still hasn't had any reaction?"

"If this continues, she won't be able to hold on."

"Carl, hurry up and think of something!"