Babel Tower — Fels' secret workshop.

Charles, Stella, and Fels stood silently, watching the complex magical apparatus glowing with magical light.

Through the magically-forged crystal casing, the three could see the wondrous transformation occurring within.

After being delayed for a few minutes by Dix, Stella and Wiene had encountered no further trouble and successfully met up with Fels.

Charles arrived shortly afterward, after giving Tsubaki and the others a quick update, and thus, Wiene's regeneration ritual formally began.

Inside the machine, Wiene's body became translucent, revealing the magic stone within her. It glowed brighter and brighter, and the dark purple substance inside began to purify.

The magic stone transformed from a rocky form into something as clear and brilliant as a gemstone. At the same time, Wiene's body gradually faded until it disappeared completely.

In the next moment, countless strands of light extended from the magic stone, outlining the shape of a human.

The potions arranged around the magical device were rapidly consumed, supplying massive amounts of nutrients for the generation of a new body.

Skeleton, organs, muscles, skin—her tissues formed rapidly, and a girl's body soon appeared before them.

Her appearance was just like the old Wiene, except without the dragon scales or blue skin. Aside from her long, pointed ears, no traces of a monster remained.

Her eyelids trembled. The newly reborn Wiene opened her eyes.

Fels spread his arms, speaking excitedly, "Charles, we did it! We've achieved something only half-divine beings can do—a miracle of creating life!"

Charles couldn't help but show an expression of emotion. Not only had they changed Wiene's life entirely, but this also proved that all his efforts had not been in vain.

This first success was proof that, as long as he kept moving forward, he would one day fulfill his dream.

The magic crystal casing opened, and Wiene cautiously stepped down, holding onto the edge for balance.

Her pale feet touched the ground, and she took a few hesitant steps like a baby learning to walk.

Emotion welled up in Wiene's face—was this how humans perceived the world?

Sight, smell, touch—everything was different. She couldn't explain how, but it all made her want to cry.

Charles lifted a hand and draped a cloak from his ring over her shoulders, simply smiling without saying anything.

Of course he understood Wiene's feelings. From now on, she would have a new life—no longer hated just for existing, free to live openly under the sun.

Anyone who had cast off the heaviest of chains would feel overwhelmed.

Stella came forward and, overcome with maternal instinct, pulled Wiene into her arms.

Once the two had calmed down, Charles finally spoke. "Wiene may have successfully undergone regeneration, but we still need to run a few tests. We've never done this before, so if something goes wrong later, it could be difficult to fix."

Stella nodded, then glanced at Wiene in her arms, and then back at Charles. "Alright, all men out. Wiene needs to change clothes."

Charles let out an awkward laugh and pulled Fels out of the workshop.

While they waited outside, Charles said, "Now that this works, we can improve it and start spreading the technology, right?"

Fels nodded. "Indeed. This could resolve the entire Xenos problem."

Charles replied, "Don't get complacent just yet. Not all Xenos will want to become human."

As someone who'd interacted with the Xenos more than anyone, Fels had to admit Charles was right. Not every Xenos was like Wiene—many didn't long for life on the surface.

Some were radical and deeply resentful of humans. Whether they'd be willing to undergo regeneration was uncertain.

Fels sighed. "Then there's nothing we can do. It'll be their own choice."

Charles nodded, saying nothing more. After all, the reason Uranus had assigned Fels to help the Xenos was because, from a divine perspective, intelligent monsters were no different from humans.

He hoped the Xenos could coexist peacefully with humans. And as creatures born of the Dungeon, the Xenos would no doubt be crucial in exploring its many mysteries.

But that didn't mean Uranus or Fels would take responsibility for every Xenos. If they chose another path, the gods wouldn't interfere—just as they didn't with humans. They would only offer guidance and support, not force.

The two were still discussing how to optimize the process when the door suddenly burst open, and Wiene ran out and threw her arms around Charles.

She was now wearing a snug white outfit with blue stripes, covered by a short cape—an athletic-looking set perfect for the upcoming tests.

A short skirt and thigh-high socks made her look especially adorable.

Hugging Charles tightly, Wiene looked up and cried, "Stella is scary!"

Charles blinked, then looked up toward the door.

"Wait, Wiene! Just try on this one too, it looks so cute!"

Stella's eyes sparkled with excitement—no wonder Wiene had run away.

Charles immediately understood what had happened. Of course—no woman could resist dressing up an adorable girl.

He let out a wry chuckle and blocked Stella from coming any closer. "Alright, that's enough. If you keep this up, it'll be night before we're done. You'll have plenty of time later."

Stella reluctantly backed off, stashing the clothes she held. "But it really was cute…"

With Stella still muttering, the group headed into the Dungeon and found a wide-open area.

Charles observed Wiene closely the whole way. At first, her movements were still a bit awkward, a natural result of adjusting to her new body. But once she adapted, everything looked completely natural.

It wasn't just her movements—Charles also monitored her life force closely. It seemed like her soul and body were perfectly compatible.

With that, the core requirements of the regeneration ritual had been met. Everything else would just be a bonus.

And the most important "bonus" was, of course, her combat ability.

Charles turned to Wiene. "Wiene, focus your mind. Try to sense the energy flowing inside you, and channel it the way I taught you."

Wiene shut her eyes, brows tightly furrowed, focusing all her effort on finding the energy Charles had described.

Charles was starting to think his theory had failed—when suddenly, Wiene opened her eyes and breathed out a blast of flame.

Startled by the fire, she quickly clapped her hands over her mouth in surprise.

Charles burst into laughter. "Looks like you'll need a lot more practice—but it worked. Wiene, you're a Dragon Slayer just like me now!"

Wiene exclaimed joyfully, "I'm just like Charles?!"

Charles replied, "Well, technically there are some differences, but yes."

According to the classification of Dragon Slayers, Charles—who had been taught directly by a dragon—was a First Generation. Wiene, on the other hand, had received her power through an embedded Dragon Slayer Lacrima, making her a Second Generation.

To solve the problem of soul-body fusion, Charles had been inspired to convert Wiene's soul-bearing magic stone into a Dragon Slayer Lacrima, then implant it into her newly formed body using the Second Generation method.

The dragon magic power used in the ritual had been supplied entirely by Charles, making Wiene a Fire Dragon Slayer like him.

Wiene closed her eyes again, then said, "Charles, I can feel another power."

She raised her hand, and in an instant, her pale skin was covered in dragon scales—her fingertips transformed into sharp claws.

A pair of massive dragon wings unfurled from her back, and her eyes became vertical slits.

Charles quickly said, "Wiene, can you change back?"

Wiene nodded, and after a few breaths, the claws, scales, and wings receded, returning her to her human form.

Fels spoke up. "It seems that after regeneration, not only does she have a human body, she also retained the ability to transform—like having a built-in polymorph spell.

That means she's no longer a monster. If anything, she should now be considered one of the demi-human races, like the Pallum or Dwarves.

And not just any race—an elite one with rare gifts."

Charles nodded. "Exactly. A race with universal shapeshifting abilities—just like druids."

Fels marveled, "Druids… That is a fitting name. Then let's call this new race 'Druids.' From this day forward, a new race has joined the stage of Orario."

Druids—figures frequently seen in mythologies of Charles's previous life.

It meant "Spirit of the Oak," and in legends, they were beings who could commune with nature spirits and gods. In other versions, they were practitioners of nature magic who could shapeshift into animals.

In this world, shaped by the myths of Charles's previous life, there were legends of druids too.

Except here, "Druid" was simply the name common folk gave to nature spirits—especially those who walked the earth in animal form.

Though Charles and Fels had different reasons for choosing the name, it truly was a fitting one.

(End of Chapter)

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