Reincarnator RB Dragons, ch. 47

“Lydia, could I get your help?”

His cousin was still sitting at the table were they’d eaten breakfast, but now she was sipping on something and reading a book.  She looked up with a lazy expression that quickly turned to shock.  “Wow!  You really are different now?”

“You could tell that fast?”

“Of course, because I’m a dr–” she shut her mouth with a click and tried to casually check whether anyone had heard.  It was laughably obvious, but luckily nobody had been near enough to overhear.”

Kevin arched an eyebrow at her.  “Very smooth, Lydia.”

She sniffed.  “All’s well that ends well.  So you need my help?”

He figured it wouldn't hurt to flatter her a bit.  “Of course.  There is nobody else in Clearmine that I trust and is powerful or educated enough to help me other than Alariel, and she is very busy.”

“As long as you understand.”  She stood and put her book in a satchel she usually carried. “Where are we going?”

“Outside of the town.  To the woods.”

“Alright.  Lead the way.”

Kevin nodded and began moving at almost his top walking speed.  He knew from experience that Lydia could easily keep up.  In addition to her human form being taller than he was, she still had the physical stats of a dragon.  If she’d really wanted to, she could probably run almost as fast as a car back on Earth.

As they walked, he checked his updated magic menu.  After a couple hours of practice already, mostly trial and error, the information in the windows had filled out quite a bit.

Soul Magic

Mastery: Low

Soulwindows (passive)

Your eyes glow when you use Soul Magic.  This passive effect may allow for active abilities after attaining more mastery in Soul Magic.

Soul Shock

You can focus your will, unleashing a burst of soul energy that stuns or damages an enemy's mind and body. Choosing to attack the mind more than the body, or vice versa, is a level of control that can come with experience.

Spectral Weaponry

You can draw upon the lingering essence of deceased warriors to manifest spectral weapons. These weapons can be incredibly sharp and effective against both physical and magical foes, but maintaining them requires focus and will drain energy.

Soul Speak

You can communicate telepathically with willing creatures.  This effect is deeper and easier the more intelligent the creature is. 

Soul Mend

Channel life force to heal minor injuries or ailments in himself or others. Overuse could damage the caster.

Soul Ward

Create a temporary shield that protects against magical attacks, mind attacks, or soul-based abilities.

His magic had some utility, but all the spells with combat-application seemed to lend themselves to front line fighting.  That suited Kevin just fine.  He couldn’t imagine himself being at the back ranks of a group or army, just lobbing spells.  That style could be very powerful, and was what Alariel was known for, but it was also easier for other mages to counter.

Martial mages were very rare, and could be very difficult to deal with.

Kevin had accidentally learned something else on the outskirts of the city while he’d practice over the last couple of hours.  Some of his spells either behaved differently or were affected by [Arcane Surge].

Once he and Lydia were outside of Clearmine and had stepped off the road, traveling far enough not to be seen, Kevin finally turned and explained what he needed. “I’ve learned some of my magic today, and I want to test it out.”

“You just opened yourself to magic today, right?  Are you sure you can use any of it?”  Lydia was not being condescending, she was genuinely confused.  Kevin understood why.  It was common for new mages to take years just to properly manage their mana.

But Kevin had a few advantages, even over a young dragon like Lydia.  He had his past lives, everything he’d learned in the past, all of his study during this life, and his experiences being a super-powered warrior during his second life.  While he could not use magic back then, it had given him a unique perspective and taught him to move supernatural energies.  Taking that experience an modifying it for mana had been simple.

Also, in this life, he had informational screens.  Kevin wasn’t currently sure if the screens about his magic were actually related to his status as a Champion, or whether it had something to do with the book he’d consumed with his awakening.  Either way, it gave him a massive advantage.

He’d advanced farther in an hour than some mages could improve in five years.

“I am very confident I can use it.  Should I demonstrate?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.”

Kevin raised a hand and gestured.  Smoky light rose from the ground, gathering on his palm.  Then with another effort of will, he made the smoke harden into the shape of a throwing knife.  Most of the glow disappeared, but it was pale and mostly-translucent, not a normal looking blade.  “Satisfied?”

“Amazing.”  Lydia shook her head.  “I suppose now you truly deserve to be the adopted son of the Great Ones.”

“Thanks.  I think.  Anyway, would you mind helping me figure out how powerful my spells are?  Can you polymorph back into your original form?”

“Is that why you chose this ravine?”

“Yes.”

Lydia grunted, and a moment later, her form blurred.  Although Kevin could polymorph too, he still found watching the process a bit unsettling.  Instead of a slow transformation, or an instant form-change, the polymorphing looked like Lydia became a blob of magic, then grew, and eventually solidified into something else.  

When it was done, Lydia was in her dragon-form, one that Kevin was very familiar with.  One of Lydia’s parents was a water dragon, aquatic, and the other was a cloud dragon.  Unlike her parents, she might fly one day, but her wings were not fully formed yet.  Now they were whispy and more like fins on her back.  She was smaller than eventually she’d grow to be, too.  Lydia was currently about eight meters in length, small even for a hatchling.

But she could move really fast.

She preened.  “My scales are coming in more densely now, too.  They’re shiny, right?”

“Very.”  Kevin was telling the truth.  As a child of a water dragon and a cloud dragon, she had a very unique parentage and mixture of traits.  Her coloration was mostly green, but with a pale blue belly.  She had white-green, semi-solid magical fur growing in tufts on the back of her joints and down her spine.  Two small antlers grew on the top of her head.  Her face had a pair of mist-like, undulating appendages where whiskers would usually grow that defied gravity and drifted like smoke.  Unlike a water dragon, she had large, powerful claws, but they were still webbed between each digit.  “I think you’ve gotten a little bigger, too.”

“That is kind of you to say, even if it’s not much since you last saw me.  So what are you going to do?  Are you going to attack me?”

“No.  I am not doing anything like that without knowing how strong my spells are–I could hurt you.”

“I am a dragon.  You are a goblin, no matter how talented.  If you could hurt me, I would deserve it.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Of course!  On my name Lydiamsominica, I insist you attack me!”

“Alright…”  Kevin still hesitated.  “Should I use something a little weaker?”

“No!  Attack me with your strongest attack!

“Alright.  If you say so.”  Kevin used [Spectral Weaponry].  Not many warriors had died in this area, so the soul energy was not thick.  It was still enough to form a spear in a few seconds, though.  He focused, maintaining its shape.  [Spectral Weaponry] took more focus and power if the object left his hand, and was a slower drain if he kept contact.

Next he used [Arcane Surge].  The mana in his surroundings collected until he could activate the ability, and it happened more quickly now.  He was much more proficient now than when he’d first learned to use it.

As the power left his body, rushing into the conjured weapon, he shook his head.  “Actually, never mind.  I don’t feel good about throwing this at you.  Just watch, okay?”

“No!  Your concern is not necessary!  I’m a dragon, for the sake of the heavens!”

“You’re a hatchling,” said Kevin.  Then he reared back and threw the spear at a rocky outcropping.

With a blur of motion, Lydia darted towards the throw.  “No!” shouted Kevin.  At the very last second, Lydia turned and eeled her body out of the way of Kevin’s spear.  She put her arm up in the missile’s path instead.

The next instant, it’d sailed on into the rock, and Lydia suddenly had a substantial cut on her limb.  “Ouch!  Damnation!  What in the blazing hells was that!?”

“Why did you do that!?”

“For science.”  The dragon looked at her dripping arm.  She pulled her lips back from her teeth in a grimace before her other hand glowed and she began healing her cut.”

“I can help with that.”  Kevin approached and activated [Soul Mend], using the rest of the power he’d harnessed for [Arcane Surge].  Normally, this spell would use up a great deal of his mana and focus.  By using [Arcane Surge] as a power source instead, it helped him save energy.

Lydia’s nasty wound began to heal.  She admitted, “Perhaps I should not have done that.”

“You think?”

“But you know what this means, right?”

“Yes,” said Kevin quietly.  Dragons really were very hard to damage, even hatchlings.  The fact he could hurt Lydia at all, much less mere hours after learning magic, was…beyond impressive.

As soon as Lydia’s arm was healed, she used a concentrated jet of her dragon breath to burn her blood on the ground.  Then she turned her huge eyes at Kevin again.  “I am not sure what to think about this.  Soul magic.  Rare.  Usually only a dragon can easily hurt another dragon.  I wonder if all of this power is a result of your own efforts, or also something that your parents have influenced.”

“I’m wondering the same thing.”  Kevin remembered Alariel saying that she started tracking him as soon as he’d come to Clearmine.  For some reason, he still hadn’t followed up on that.   “I think I need to pay Alariel another visit.  Hopefully I can remember to ask some questions I keep forgetting about.”

“Well, do what you must.  Since I am already out here and in this form, I plan to go eat.”

The two nodded at each other.  Then as Kevin headed back into the city, Lydia moved in the direction of the distant mountains.

***

“This is a surprise,” said Alariel.  “I didn’t expect you back so soon, Kevin.  It is also surprising that you have changed so much in such a short time.” The great mage’s eyes suddenly glowed silver and she seemed to look right through Kevin where he sat across from her again.

“Thanks.  I need to ask you a question.”

"What about?  I am assuming it is not about how to use your power since you seem to have a good grasp on that already." He didn't bother asking her how she knew that. One thing he had learned about Alariel over the last few weeks he had worked with her was that her eyes saw much. In fact, that's why he was there today. 

"You told me before that when I first came to Clearmine, you immediately took notice of me and kept track of me. I want to know—no, I need to know—what it was that piqued your interest."

"Oh, is that all?" Alariel took a sip of her tea and gently set her cup down with one hand on top of it. "It's quite simple, really. I could see that you've been touched by evil."

Kevin felt his stomach drop. "Touched by evil?" he muttered.

"Ah, I see that we may be having a misunderstanding," Alariel shook her head. "What I mean by 'touched by evil' is that you have been marked by something extremely powerful and utterly evil as an enemy. Functionally, it means you have done something to sufficiently anger a powerful, evil entity enough to mark you for death."

"Oh," said Kevin. He immediately suspected what this was about, perhaps an unforeseen consequence of when he interrupted whatever the ork cultists had been digging up.

Alariel continued, "Just like I have wards around the mine, I also keep a separate set of wards around the city. It's triggered by great supernatural evil. So, in your case, imagine my pleasant surprise when I was hovering above you, ready to destroy you, and instead, I realized that you had already marked yourself a great enemy of evil."

Kevin managed to swallow his fear before shaking his head. "I see," he said. Then he set his teacup down and bowed formally. "I appreciate you not destroying me.  Alos, thank you for all your instruction, guidance, and help until now. Eventually, I have to leave this city, but I would like to ask if I could continue to use your facilities before I do."

Alariel laughed. "Of course, you can. You are my official apprentice now."

"I would also like to ask something else," said Kevin.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Even though I'm your apprentice, I would like to keep learning in the manner I have before, from an open book. This way if something isn't immediately obvious, I can try to figure it out for myself. I feel like this is helping me learn and grow more quickly."

Now it was the great mage's turn to blink in surprise. But she quickly adapted, and her eyes lit up. "Of course! Now that you mention it, this may be wise. I will not change anything too drastically."

"Thank you," said Kevin. He bowed again. "May I take my leave?"

"Of course. Especially since you're not working for Addison anymore, you can spend more time here. So, I will see you tomorrow."

"Yes, Master," said Kevin. And then he turned and left the tower before he could properly see Alariel's reaction.