(Before you read, should i change the title of the story? There have been a couple people suggesting to do so, but i can't really think of anything good to replace this one. Let me know in the comments, if i find one i like i will definitely use it!)

I stayed up all night thinking of a ‘battle plan’ for my new fiances and i have formed something that i think will work. I just have to show dominance and let them know i am still in charge, those twins have been influenced by their mother far too much.

Of course, they could have changed on their own during the duration of their past lives, but i know for a fact that demon in disguise did something as well. It doesn’t matter to me because either way, i will have to ‘teach’ them that i will not be their plaything.

I am already past that stage, mostly anyways. I vowed to myself that when i evolved i would not keep the status of a kitten and i plan to act on it.

But first, i need to get overwhelmingly stronger than them so i can start. That is why i need to maximize all of the results during this one month period, a leader needs to be the strongest, yes?

Currently i am in a one on one classroom type area, i am seated in human form listening to my mother lecture me about mana. She said beforehand that i will first need to know what mana is and how to use it before i can practice later, this way i won’t accidentally injure myself like how i did when i first learned to use fire magic.

She doesn’t know about that though and i don’t plan on telling her, she also said it will be easier to teach me because of my intelligence and quick learning.

Mother does not know that i was born with this intelligence, but i will let her keep thinking that for many years...i might die if i anger her.

The twins i will have to control, but mother is someone who can never be tamed. I’d rather skin myself alive than go up against her, she is just too sadistic.

Thankfully, this class is a one time thing just for today, the rest of the month will be spent in an area quite a ways away from our castle behind the mountains. I am glad that it is with my father and not my mother who will be physically training me, i have a feeling that she does not know how to be merciful.

“Are you listening, Vedova? What did i just say.”

Hah! Lucky for me i was paying attention during my internal monologue.

“You just explained how mana is in a formless state until it is willed into the energy that is used in a spell.”

She nods and continues on with her lesson

“As you know, mana comes in 4 types of energy; Electricity, Water, Fire, and Air. Excluding Light and Dark, this is how it has been since the great Allfather sacrificed himself to save us.”

Boring~

“But, there are always exceptions to everything.”

Oh? Exceptions?

“In your case, you are gifted to have the possibility to learn how to mix the different types of energies to form an amplified spell or something completely different. The council members have all seen Pahborma using said spells, it is told that he created something he called ‘plasma’ as well as common ice in the forms of spells when he mixed two or more elements together.”

Plasma and ice, i never really knew much about plasma but i know that it is essentially a mess of supercharged ions and that our sun is made of the stuff, but other than that it is a complete mystery to me.

I haven’t read anything about this either, even in the legend books telling about Pahborma and his deeds nothing sai anything about this. Now interested, i listen more closely to the lesson as it will probably be important later on.

“He explained that he willed air and water to create ice, that part was simple enough. But to make plasma he had to combine fire, air, and electricity. Because of the tri combination, plasma was said to vaporize anything it touched. This plasma was apparently his strongest spell and took him many years to master, but even this was not enough to kill the Lot Dinok.”

I can imagine that plasma is able to vaporize anything...but how long will it take me to learn? How many years will it be before i gain enough strength to do what he did? This is just a reminder that i cannot be taking this easy, i need to progress and fast.

There are some questions pertaining to the combination of elements...there has to be more than two combinations, and i wonder what would happen if i combined all four, it might just cancel out but if it doesn’t then it will surely be a great spell.

“There was also steam, but that did not have any attacking abilities, just as a method to hide things like his home. He additionally amplified the effects of certain elements by combining them, he just didn’t make anything in a new type of energy.”

Ah, this will answer some of my questions right now

“By combining electricity and water, the shocking power was magnified by many times. Of course, this can happen at any time as long as your target is wet, but was able to do it on a whim so it had the possibility of being used in combat at any point in time. There was also scalding water that was made by combining fire and water in an indirect way”

I’m not sure how great the hot water is against creatures with hard scales like dragons, but i think the electrified stuff would be successful.

“Lastly, theres a superheated fire that burns many times hotter than what it usually would, although not nearly as hot as plasma was, it is only made with a lot of air magic being combined with fire magic so it should be easier to use. The fire turns a bright blue color once it’s complete and is so hot that it turns the ground into lava.”

If it is capable of melting the ground and burns a bright blue, then the flame is most likely around 1,200°C. Thats neat and all, but i still likely won’t be able to have such adept control over my mana for several years.

I mean, i can already cast some spells but those are the most simple and basic ones for anyone of light purple stage, i will have to progress my core to do anything flashy or significant. If i do the meditation that mother showed me and build my mana pool gradually, i should be able to advance my stage to dark blue within the next 3 months.

That’s actually really good by the way, it usually takes double that for a child like me to advance a stage. The only reason i can do it this fast is because of the insanely large amount of mana i have, i already have triple that of what a light purple stage dragon should have.

Everything about this body is ridiculously fortunate, from the size and looks of both my bodies to the mana i can control is almost too good. I’d be happy for my abilities but i know that they are not nearly enough to be able to go out on my own...as much as it pains me to say so i am currently weak compared to the rest of my species.

-------------------------------------------

With renewed motivation, i listened intently to the rest of my mother's lecture for the next hour or so. Nothing much was shared, only basic information that i already knew about mana control and how it takes a lot of practice to get the amount right.

Right now i am with my dad on the roof of our castle on a small clearing, it is like a helipad of sorts, meant for other dragons in humanoid form to land and take off on without causing massive amounts of damage to the surrounding area.

As soon as we get there Sahqoviing grows a large pair of leathery red wings out from his back, turning around in the process.

“We we have to fly to the training area. Ill shift into my real body after we get up a proper distance. I’ll carry you for the first bit, but you’re riding on my head after that.

This will be my first time flying in this world, i am more excited than worried that i will die in the process. Not even thinking about the dangers, i let myself be picked up by my dad and he leaps into the air, flapping his wings to keep us afloat.

The feeling of the wind on my face and the cold air nipping on my skin is something that i will never get tired of no matter how many times i feel it. As a Navy SEAL i have jumped out of a moving airplane hundreds and hundreds of times, i always felt it was recreational than practicing for a job.

I never was scared of heights in my old life, actually i’d say i tried as often as i could to get into high places. Things like climbing trees, going onto my roof, and only riding the tallest roller coasters

The clear bright blue sky without a hint of pollution only adds to the amazing experience, coupled by the feeling of the warm sun on my skin combines to create a feeling of bliss and comfort that i have never felt before.

I can’t wait until i can do this every day~ i might even end up in the sky more than i will be on the ground. If i could find a way to sleep up here that’d be great…

We flew around a kilometer up into the air before Dad started to transform into his 110 meter long dragon boy, during the shift i stayed in his hands even as they turned into massive claws capable of mass destruction.

After he is finished, he sets me onto his back and tells me to climb further to the crown of his head in a booming yet gentle voice.

On top of this massive dragon, i look like nothing more than an ant crawling along on a giant stretch of flatland, except the flatland is replaced by incredibly hard red scales.

It takes me over 5 minutes to walk unsteadily to the place in between his horns at the top of his head, losing my balance on the constantly moving and slippery back of my father. There i lay down onto my stomach and grip one of his scales as per his instruction. Firmly latching onto one of his 50cm long scales, we continue our journey through the skies of this world.

I don’t know how long it was before we stopped because i was so caught up in the feeling of being carried through the skies, but it had to have been 3 hours at the least. When we landed we were in a completely different region as the one i grew up in for the past 4 years.

The calm summer that was around our castle was replaced by what would be an unbearable heat if i was not a dragon and did not enjoy the warmth so much, luckily for me it just feels great.

As soon as we landed Dad allowed me to get off from his neck and he shifted back into his winged human form.

The area where we landed is incredibly mountainous, no, these are definitely volcanoes. Tens of active mounds constantly spurting out tiny amounts of lava were completely surrounding us, the ground was dead and black as the night sky as it was covered heavily in ash.

The air around us is actually very clear for what i would expect from being next to all of these volcanoes in such a short space, but i pay the thought no mind.

Father tells me to shift into my dragon form and i gladly do so, i would have done it on his back but i can’t grip or penetrate his scales with my claws.

For the second time i focus completely on the image of a draconian form and seconds later i feel my body go numb as my vision goes black momentarily.

Not even a full 2 seconds after my eyesight fades, i am back on all fours in my 3m tall and 7 meter long body again. More than glad to be back, i let out a moderately loud roar and stretch my wings once more.

Now in my scaly body, the heat feels even more comforting and less like the blistering temperature that it really should be. Seeing my comfort and happiness to be in my true form, Sahqoviing lets out a very slight laugh underneath his breath and says

“I’m glad you are so eager to spread your wings, you will be doing a lot more for the next couple days. Until you learn to fly, we will do nothing else. A dragon's flight is one of it’s best weapons an you need to master it to maximize your proficiency.”

Fuck yes! I have been waiting for this day since the moment i figured out that i would be able to take flight! If i was not in a 4 legged reptilian beast form i would have been dancing for joy.

Father tells me that we have to climb one of the smaller cliffs to start first and we hike the closest one, a small one maybe 80 m in height, not even a volcano.

It does not take long at all before we stand at the top and Sahqoviing gives me a vague outline on what to do and how to fly, he says that before i try to flap my wings i need to glide and steady myself.

Now that i am up here, im getting a little bit nervous at the thought of failure. My previous excitement is now ruined by the dread of realizing that i don’t actually know how to fly.

The birds just flap their wings and fly right? Now that i think about it, i have no idea what they actually do, i’ve never really looked at a bird and thought

‘Huh, i really should figure out the aerodynamics and the process of flight, i might be a giant dragon who will need to know how to do such a thing’

Of course i wouldn’t have, i was just a basic human who didn’t even have the ability to use the slightest bit of mana in my old world. Even if i was a human mage, i would have never imagined that i might become a large winged reptile.

Seeing my hesitation, my dad laughs and gives me some reassuring words like a man teaching his son how to ride a bike

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. You old man here managed to get it down pat on the first try! Well, most people do so don't worry, because it comes naturally. Just clear your mind and focus on flying. If everyone got scared as you are now when we started out, how could anyone know to take flight?”

I guess with that logic it makes sense, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about my lack of knowledge in the ways of flying, but i have to do it nonetheless. The reward far outweighs the risk, right?

Doing as instructed, i clear my mind of any unnecessary thoughts and spread my wings with the intention of soaring through the skies as a majestic reptilian seagull

Gaining confidence, i look forwards off into the empty space directly in front of me and try to imagine a flight path. I do know that i need one of those, it’s pretty basic information in jump school at the navy. ‘Always imagine where you are going to go, visualize the path’.

That saying was drilled into us time after time as we learned the basics, it should be no different here except that i am traveling the skies in a different way.

With a leap of faith, i jump off the peak of the giant rock with full intention of mastering the ways of flight.

The moment i dive headfirst into the air, i start falling downwards in a nosedive at rapid speeds. Not wanting to panic at this and risk losing the chance at control, i tuck my wings and embrace the fall.

After descending about half of the distance, i slowly re spread my wings and arch my back upwards. Improving slightly, i am now in around a 50° angle facing towards the ashen ground which is about 25 meters away.

Something in the back of my mind clicks and i fully spread my large wings, causing my body to cut upwards with the force of the draft now pushing underneath me.

My vision slowly turns black because of the high G forces i just pulled, but after flattening myself once more the blackness is replaced by the sight of the empty air in front of me.

Im flying! I can’t believe i did it, this is amazing! I can’t help but crazily laugh at my success, reveling in the feeling of the skies, i continue on for what seems like an eternity.

The breeze at my face and the slight push at my wings snaps me out of my stupor and i realize how close i am to hitting the floor.

I did not even remember that i was gliding not flying, maybe i just thought that gravity would be kind at leave me alone. No matter what i thought or didn’t think of, the fact that i was now about to crash into the earth 10 meters underneath me cause me to panic and flap my wings quickly.

The hastened movements do nothing but ruin the glide i was in, and now i have nothing supporting me.

Now, instead of gliding, i’m just falling forward in a mess of flaps and screeches. Right before i hit the ground with bone crushing force, something materializes underneath me and breaks my fall.

I keep sliding across the ground with the image of a person underneath me for about 10 seconds before we come to a stop.

Gathering my thoughts and calming myself down, i look at the now smiling face of my father as he sets me down chuckling brightly

“You weigh a lot, you oaf, what did you have to fall for? Just kidding, that was actually several times better than i ever thought you would do. I made up that part about everyone getting it on the first try, i could’t even glide until my 6th attempt.”

Pretending to laugh, i give a bitter smile as he admits his lie. I can see why he gets beaten so much by our loving Vedbrii.

Now patting on the back with another heartfealt dad like saying

“Im proud of you, son.”

Ahhh fuck you. I can’t even get mad at him now, there’s no point when he’s this sincere...as much as he lied to me i realize now it was to get me to progress in my training…

Or he could have just been fucking with me and is now trying to make me think like he’s a good person...i hope it’s the first one.

(Author here! This starts the training camp, it will probably only continue for 1-2 more chapters. After that we can start to get some real action incorporated into the story! The action is my favorite part ;P Anyways, thanks for reading and thank you very much for all of the support you guys have given me in these past 8 chapters, just know that i read and appreciate all of the comments whether criticism or compliments and i hope you all continue to do so in the future!)