Thunder Tempering!

Lunch was simply corn.

After harvesting the fruit corn grown by the evil dragon Lance, it turned out to be exceptionally succulent. She devoured twelve in one sitting.

The evil dragon Lance gorged himself on more than twenty.

She tossed the stripped cobs to Marley, the hell hound, who merely grinned at her without indulging.

"Isn't corn tastier than big bones?" she mused aloud.

"Dogs love big bones, but why snub corn cobs?"

Marley, contemplating the newborn dragon's presence, engaged in a brief discussion between his two heads before deciding to mischievously nip at the baby dragon's tail.

"Don't really hurt the baby dragon; just a gentle bite," Lance cautioned.

Should Marley actually bite, Lance would undoubtedly consider a rabies vaccine a necessity.

"Young dragons, too, must face their shots," Lance decreed, stating that a bite from a hell hound mandated immediate vaccination. "Even without bites from other hounds, it's safe to vaccinate regularly for rabies."

For his part, Marley's lunch was grilled fish, which the young dragon eyed greedily, eventually succumbing to temptation and devouring several.

The fish, terrified to death by Lance's morning roar, was a sea variety.

As lunch concluded, Lucia speculated that the dragon might command her to hit a turtle next.

Instead, Lance insisted on a nap, a wise strategy for healthy lifestyle.

The following day, Lucia learned the surprising dimensions a turtle could achieve during such a rest. In her morning estimation, a turtle might measure three to four meters, but given it was nurtured by an evil dragon, this creature could be a true anomaly, possibly six or seven meters tall.

"Six or seven meters, and it's no small specimen," she thought, comparing it to the imperial capital's grounded griffons.

However, upon awakening and accompanying Lance to locate the turtle, her view dramatically shifted.

Atop a hill, there ambled a colossal turtle, as large as the hill itself!

Six or seven meters? This leisurely strolling behemoth was easily thirty meters in stature.

Even reclining, it would span nearly the same.

She transformed into a young dragon, standing slightly over ten meters tall.

"The key thing to note," she mused, "is that the turtle raised by the evil dragon Lance is so enormous that when it sprawls across the ground, it forms a massive hill."

"To challenge a turtle as strong as a hill?" She wondered aloud. "Striking it might as well be like hitting the ground itself, this colossal turtle probably wouldn't even register the impact."

"The turtle's shell boasts the strongest defense imaginable. For a creature of such magnitude, its armor must be tougher than stone and even diamond."

"Quite comforting," she thought with a smirk. "No need to fear Lance punishing me."

"In fact," she speculated, "maybe Lance should worry if my blows might be too much for him."

"It's named Turtle, and it's of very gentle nature," Lance instructed. "Strike it with all your might. The day you can knock it over, you will have grown stronger."

"Do I really need to use full force?" Lucia asked, her voice wavering slightly. The thought of unleashing her full power was daunting; she could inadvertently harm someone. "I'm still just a teenager, and I haven't even experienced love yet. What a tragedy it would be to die now."

"Yes, use all your strength," Lance insisted sternly.

"Could I possibly use just half my strength?" she negotiated.

"No."

"Lance, my dream isn't to be a destroyer. I aspire to be a beast-controlling dragon," Lucia revealed. "You should be teaching me how to control creatures, not how to overpower them."

"Just knock it over, and consider yourself an apprentice beast-controller," Lance replied dismissively.

"I fear that every step I take is towards using all my might against Turtle," she confessed quietly.

What would Lance do if she failed? Probably express his disappointment and send her away.

"Send me away?" she thought, a spark of hope igniting. "As the imperial princess, isn't that exactly what I'm hoping for?"

"I won't strike it. Hey, hey. Lance, why are you clenching your claw into a fist and raising it so high? Haha, you really have no sense of humor. Can't you see I'm teasing? You teach me, you want to strengthen me, I get it, your intentions are good. Don't worry, I won't let you down, or this turtle. I'm determined!" she declared, understanding at last what she needed to do.

The evil dragon, raising its fist high, signaled to Lucia the seriousness of the task at hand.

"Hateful!" she exclaimed internally, steeling herself for what was to come.

Lucia was taken aback by the dragon's reaction, it was not at all what she had anticipated.

"Shouldn't the evil dragon be disappointed and send me away for my reluctance?" she pondered, confused by his aggressive stance. "Why raise your dragon fist as if ready to strike me for disagreeing?"

The idea of striking the turtle with all her might was daunting, but the thought of being on the receiving end of the dragon's wrath was even more terrifying. Suddenly, the feats of strength admired in human warriors seemed less enviable. She could only imagine the pain and suffering they endured on their path to becoming formidable.

"If you find no joy in striking a turtle, I could alter your training regimen," Lance offered, observing her hesitance.

"Please, let's change it. It's not that I fear the pain; I'm concerned about harming the turtle you've raised," she replied earnestly.

Lance nodded, "Thunder Tempered Body."

"???" Lucia blinked in confusion.

"What is Thunder Tempered Body?"

"It's quite straightforward. On a stormy day, I'll take you to a region where thunderstorms are frequent, and then immerse you in them to withstand the thunder strikes. This method of body tempering might be somewhat romantic in its bravery, and yes, painful. But endure it, and your strength could rival that of a red dragon in time."

Her heart sank a little. "Haha, a promising future indeed, if I survive the ordeal. Facing such thunder, I fear I might vanish before the storm even passes."

"Let me strike the turtle. That's okay," she insisted quickly.

"I actually think Thunder Tempered Body suits you better," Lance countered.

"No, no, no. Hitting the turtle suits me. After that, maybe I'll even punch a mountain, okay?"

Lance chuckled at her determination. The power of thunder was indeed fearsome; even mages who wielded such forces were regarded as powerful beings within the human world. A single thunder spell could be devastating, and the thought of enduring an entire storm was unimaginable. The intensity of natural thunder far surpassed anything crafted by mages. A few thunder spells could leave her severely wounded; a full storm might reduce her to nothing.

Regardless of the pain it might entail, Lucia firmly decided, "I'll face the turtle instead."

"Then go ahead and challenge the turtle," Lance concluded, giving a slight nod of approval to her brave choice.

Lance's golden-red vertical pupils betrayed a hint of regret; he truly believed Thunder Tempering Body was the superior method.

"As long as I'm present, the young dragon won't perish in the storm. She will, however, have to endure the agony of her body feeling as if it's being torn apart," he mused internally. But he had a remedy for that too, after the ordeal, he planned to immerse the baby dragon in a medicinal vat to heal her wounds with potent elixirs.

The Thunder Body Tempering method was a technique Lance had honed himself, driven by a desire to harness the raw power of thunder. He had even ventured into the human world, studying their arcane arts, and it had taken him two centuries to perfect this formidable body tempering method.

Sometimes, his mind wandered to grander ambitions. "Could such continuous practice lead to ascension one day?" he pondered. Yet, he knew well enough that daylight ascension was a myth; his path was one of relentless strength enhancement.

"For now, let the baby dragon tackle the turtle," he decided, plotting a gradual increase in her trials. "When she can overturn the tortoise, she'll move on to shattering mountains. Only then will she be ready for the thunder."

The journey to power was never without its trials.

The baby dragon commenced her task, striking the turtle with resounding 'dong, dong, dong' sounds. Perhaps out of fear that Lance might still opt for the thunder method, she threw extra force into each hit.

"Don't use just your head, employ the entire might of your dragon body," Lance instructed from the sidelines. His intent wasn't to have her perfect an 'iron head' technique, but to strengthen her whole draconic form.

The baby dragon, slightly disoriented from head-butting the sturdy shell, wobbled a bit.

"You must remember to boil the medicine," Lance reminded himself. "Once she's done, she can drink directly from the brew."

"Three hundred bumps, then you may rest," he declared.

"Okay," she agreed, feeling a bit dizzy from the effort.

As the young dragon persisted with her task, Lance busied himself with boiling the medicine. During this time, he also chiseled a majestic dragon figure from wood, channeling his protective instincts into his craftsmanship, all the while keeping a watchful eye on his charge.