Hikari prepares the ritual.
The pulsating titan core rested in the center of her mana circle, right in front of her.
She controlled her breath and relaxed her body.
A core of a titan whose legs dwarf the walls of a city.
It sat dormant across from her.
She could feel a tremendous amount of mana within.
An amount she couldn't absorb all at once.
Stockpiles of foodstuffs that would last a merchant convoy a trip from Moradale to the Herdial capital.
Wheats. Wheatgrass, ivory berries, Herb mixtures, beans, chunks of meat. All of them would be gone when she is finished.
She fills a cauldronful, grinding them into paste with a stone grinder.
A tankard of water, followed by intense mixing.
The fire heats the cauldron from below.
She meditates while it cooks.
The cauldron lid bubbles.
She lifts it.
Large mouthfuls.
Her earlier thorough mixing lets her swallow the mixture whole.
She stuffs herself full.
Before long, she hears her ladle scrape against the bottom.
No matter; the scraps will cook with the next batch.
Back to the ritual circle.
Fistful after fistful of mana crystals into the sockets.
The leylines of the ritual circle glow.
She sits in the center.
Mana from the titan's core flows through her body.
The foreign energy courses through her body.
Hikari feels like she's being pricked by needles.
She breathes heavily.
Her body had been stable for a long time.
This was the first time in a long while that she'd been exposed to a concentration that would trigger growth.
Bit by bit, she absorbed the mana.
Hours passed.
It was dark.
She prepared another meal.
She stuffs herself.
More than she normally would.
Mana and food.
That's all she needs to grow.
Back to the ritual circle.
The titan's core still has much to offer.
The last round before she sleeps
She would fall asleep sitting up with the titan's mana flowing into her.
Repeat.
Repeat.
— Hikari —
[Physique : 787]
[Mana : 753]
[Defense : 762]
[Height : 4.8 meters]
[Weight : 2600 kg]
…
Ria stood outside Hikari's chambers.
It had been in full lockdown since she began the ritual.
But since morning, the mana presence inside had died down.
The stable hands removed the scaffolding draped around the building to shield the mana.
"Good morning, my lady. It seems that our maiden knight is just about done now."
The drill master greeted her.
"How is she? Is this alright? It's been four days since she locked herself in there."
Ria was exasperated.
"She's fine. Four days isn't even a record for her. I just hope we have underwear big enough for her Chuckles*"
The head maid arrived, and several other maids pushed carts with more clothing for Hikari.
"Fortunately we do, Drill master, so that you and the boys don't get any ideas?"
"Haha! Alright! Alright! We'll be leaving now. Oh, by the way, Lady Ria. I heard you'll be going to Herdial. It must be exciting to go on a trip for the first time."
"Yes, Drill master, I hope your teachings will serve me well."
"I hope so too. It's your first raid. The convoy leaves in a few days for Herdial. Remember, It's a dangerous world out there. Don't hesitate to fire your musket when you need to."
"Yes, Drill master."
Ria entered Hikari's chambers.
The maids followed behind.
Hikari had gotten bigger.
She wrapped herself in messy robes, stitching her cloth pieces in a way that wouldn't fit her.
"We brought you more cloth pieces."
The maids placed the new cloth sheets in Hikari's wardrobe area and left.
They had woven the fresh batch of cloth pieces and etched their telekinetic runes just yesterday.
Thud. Thud.
Hikari strides over.
A pair of gigantic, muscular legs filled Ria's view.
Her makeshift outfit just about covered her modesty.
She was startled; she still hadn't gotten used to Hikari's widened stride.
The immensity. Ria held her breath.
Hikari disassembled her clothes.
Ria sensed the giantess's telekinetic aura enveloping her.
She shivers. Hikari's aura was suddenly crude. Forceful.
Ria had gotten accustomed to her aura.
Hikari usually controlled it well, minimizing the stray energy that spilled from her body.
Pieces of cloth rose from their carts.
Suddenly, they burst into the air in all directions.
Ria was hit by a piece of cloth and knocked to the ground.
"My lady."
Ria rubbed her sore bottom as she got up.
"It's all right. Are you ok? I haven't seen you have trouble assembling your clothes before."
Hikari tries again.
She gathers the loose cloth pieces in a pile.
Ria walks over and places the one piece that was covering her.
"My body's unbalanced."
"Ah. That makes sense. It's normal after a body expansion that it takes a lot of training to get used to the new body. Will you be alright? We'll be leaving for the wyvern raid in a few days."
"Yes."
Hikari tries again.
Ria backs off and hides around the corner of her wardrobe so she doesn't get hit by another piece of clothing.
The telekinetic control was better this time.
No more stray clothes flying in random directions.
Ria watches as Hikari assembles and disassembles her outfit multiple times to get the proportions right.
Loose tops and a mini skirt.
That's enough for now.
She assembles her socks.
Same trial and error process.
They only covered her lower leg.
But she was still barefoot.
The bottoms of her socks landed on the ground in front of her feet.
She steps onto one.
The area of her foot swallows the piece of sock bottom.
"Oh, I forgot. Some pieces of your outfit can't get bigger just by adding more pieces. I'll go check in on the weavers later."
"It's alright."
Hikari strides across to her exercise area.
Ria got a full view of her room.
The titan core sat in the middle of the ritual circle.
It's nothing but a dormant piece of rock now.
The sockets in the circle were stuffed with crystal dust.
The remains after mana is extracted from the crystal.
In her kitchen area, stacks of empty crates are arrayed in a box.
Hikari begins her workout.
Squats. Fifty reps.
Push-ups. Fifty reps.
High knees. Fifty reps.
Ria feels the ground shake as the giantess lifts one knee to her stomach, then stomps the ground.
Hikari's sword floats over.
She tries to hold it.
But the handle had gotten a little too small.
She puts it down.
Combat movements.
Single-arm punches.
Straight punches. Fifty reps on each hand.
Hooks. Fifty reps on each hand.
Lower cuts. Fifty reps on each hand.
Kicks.
Hikari tucks in her knee and kicks.
Straight kicks.
Twenty on each leg.
High kicks.
Hikari swings her foot in a high arc.
Ria watches.
Hikari relaxes.
Deep breaths.
Standing up, she circulates her mana.
Her first set ends.
The ground around her is slick with sweat.
She catches her lady staring again.
"Oh… don't mind me… Continue your training."
Hikari giggles.
She strode back to her wardrobe area where Ria was.
The smell of her workout was strong.
Ria's knees trembled,
She fidgeted, leaning against Hikari's wardrobe.
Hikari stopped some distance from her.
Far enough for Ria to see the length of her leg without tilting her head backward.
Without a word, Ria crawled.
She had developed quite the habit around the pair of gigantic gluts.
"Stop."
Hikari's voice from above.
Ria froze.
She stared at Hikari's toes.
"It's dangerous"
"Dangerous-? How do you mean, Hikari?"
Hikari lifted her foot and hovered it in front of her for a moment before pulling it back.
Cough. A suffocating feeling came over her.
Thud. Hikari stepped back.
The mana around her lady dissipated.
"Ah.. I see. Your mana is really strong after absorbing the core. I guess we can't…"
Hikari thinks for a bit.
"Oh… we can't have our normal session… but you can still show me how big you are?"
Hikari giggles.
Thud. Thud.
Hikari telekinetically pulls her loafers from the wardrobe's bottom slots.
The force of her shoes landing startles Ria.
"Bring them to me."
Blood rushes to Ria's head.
"Yes, right away, Hikari."
She crawls behind the shoe.
On her knees, she pushed the back of the shoe with both hands.
The shoe budged.
Friction with the ground stopped it.
Ria shuffles forward on her knees.
She repeats the motion.
The shoe nudges forward a bit.
Moving the shoe was laborious.
She made half the distance on one shoe, and she was already panting.
Hikari giggles.
"Heavy?"
"Oh… Yes… Hikari… Your shoes are so big…"
Hikari pulls the shoe over with her toe.
It took her only a moment to move her shoes.
But her lady had to exert all her strength just to budge them.
She places them side by side in front of Ria.
"Mmm…!"
Ria moans.
Hikari's foot no longer fit into her old shoes; they were a full size too small.
"Big?"
"Oh…! Yes…! Hikari… You are so big…"
"Heavy?"
"Yes… Your shoes are so heavy… so big… I can barely move them."
"Bigger."
"Yes… I'll have it enlarged so that your… ooh… big feet can fit into them again…"
"Heavier."
"Ohh… they'll be heavier too… I won't be able to move them…"
"Train."
"Yes… of course… I'll train hard so that I can move your shoes… Even when they get heavier and heavier… I'm so pathetic… You are so big and strong… I can't even move your shoes…
Hikari laughs.
"The greatest knight."
"Yes… I want to be worthy to be the lady of the greatest knight… I will train hard to move the greatest knight's shoes around… Please train me!"
Booming giggles from above.
"Crawl"
Thud. Thud.
Ria crawls after her.
On her hands and knees, she could see how long Hikari's leg was.
Longer. Bigger. She could feel it through her aching arms.
"Big."
"Yes… You have indeed gotten bigger… so long… "
Hikari strides ahead, keeping a safe distance so her lady won't suffocate in her mana.
But the widening gap made Ria feel even smaller.
It turns her own so much.
Up above, Hikari was getting excited too.
She tilts her head and watches her lady crawl after her.
She feels herself bulking. She had grown bigger.
To her, it was not much. Perhaps the feeling someone gets after months of training.
But seeing her lady getting tinier compared to her sweaty footprint made her feel so turned on.
"Stop."
Hikari reached her exercise area.
"Oh… are you going to work out now? You need to get used to your new body after all. I…"
"Watch."
Ria watched intently as Hikari began her usual exercises.
"We have a few days to get in shape before the convoy leaves… I do look forward to more of our training sessions… especially with your new… confidence…"
Booming giggles.
"Crawl."