Dragon Sorcerer 2- Chapter 93 (Patreon)

Chapter 93- Fists of Fury

Killian stood down then and all sense of hostility I got from him disappeared. I realized then that I could actually sense some of a human’s mood based upon how they smelled. It was interesting, but not something I really wanted to explore that much. Having to walk around in a human body all the time gave me enough of their smell to last a lifetime.

The scales disappeared from his hands and he bowed to me before gesturing for me to go inside. I could see Lisella standing not far inside the building with another someone next to her.

As I walked in, my eyes quickly adjusted to the lack of sunlight. The room was still lit well enough for a human to see, and my sight was now even better than that of a human. The man next to Lisella looked a fair bit like Killian, but was taller. He had to be only a couple of inches below six feet tall and was quite strong looking. Not that such things really mattered.

I cast Identify and poured extra mana into it, trying to see what I could sense.

Edgar Hellegers Transformed Dragon Disciple

Level: 20 HP: 2,810/2,810

Despite the extra mana that was all I got from him. I guess he was just too high of a level for me to get any more. So I had to rely upon my other senses. He was wearing the same type of canvas uniform, but he had a red sash around his waist. On his pants a red stripe ran up the side of both legs, and flanking the stripes were a blue and white stripes.

Edgar Hellegers, not unlike his fellow humans, possessed a facade of brute strength. His body was drawn taut with muscles. If nothing else, it showed the dedication he had for his chosen path. Given how soft human bodies tended to be, he had to have worked hard for what he had. Each knot and line etched out distinctly, like the contours of a roughly hewn mountain range. His shoulders were broad, especially in comparison to his height. His frame hinted at a certain solidity, but to my dragon senses, it was little more than a pebble against a mountain.

His hair, kept to a curt length, was as dark as the night sky, void of the celestial glow of the stars. It clung close to his head, highlighting the stern outline of his skull, the sharp cut of his jaw. I almost chuckled for a moment that I was even thinking in such terms. There was something off-putting about this man that had me waxing poetic.

His eyes bore a certain intensity, the spark that humans often mistake for the flame. To a dragon, it was but a flicker, yet within the confines of his humanity, it must have been a beacon. It was easy to see why his students were so devoted to him. Even after months of being around the adventurers, this man had something else to him, which I could respect.

“Welcome, the grand priestess tells me that you are already at level ten. That is impressive enough for someone your age and with a rare class, but there is something more that you aren’t telling me.” His voice was deep and conveyed a sense of confidence.

When I didn’t answer, he grinned. “Good, you know that knowledge is a treasure as valuable as gold and what dragon would give up his gold.”

For just a moment, I thought he had realized I was actually a dragon, but then it dawned on me that he was simply speaking in a type of proverb. I grinned. A human who used dragons as the inspiration for their lessons. That was something I could get behind.

Lisella started to speak, but Edgar held his hand up. “Respectfully, grand priestess, I would not tell you how to practice your religion in your temple. Please stand back, for this is a temple in its own way. Here we worship the way of the dragon. I sense that young, Nico has an understanding of what that means.”

He pulled his uniform top off then and tensed for a moment. Then, to my shock, his entire body transformed. Oh, he didn’t become anything as glorious as a true dragon, but he became a humanoid dragon. Black, leathery wings sprouted from his back as his chest and shoulders expanded. He gained a good three feet in height.

A tail formed behind him as long curved claws formed on both his hands and feet. Most remarkably, the very shape of his head shifted. He developed properly shaped face rather than the flat human thing. His jaw elongated, and it looked like he could now deliver a powerful bite.

There was only one thing which marred his transformation. The scales which formed were a brilliant, crimson red. Ugh, how annoying?

I rushed forward. He wanted a show of strength, well so be it. Before I took two steps, though, I made sure to take in my surroundings. The outside of the building might be run down, but inside it was very well taken care of even if it was simple. The floor was covered in some thick mats for training. The walls were lined with thin sheets of highly polished and reflective metal. There was no ceiling diving what had appeared to be a first and second story from outside. Instead, the ceiling inside rose higher than twenty-five feet.

I doubted he would be able to use his wings too much advantage with that limitation, but I was curious to see what he had to offer. He leapt back, allowing his wings to guide him till he landed in the middle of the room.

As I continued my charged, I sucked in air to push out a dracomorphic lightning breath, but something caught me at the last second. I put together the magical attacks of the students and the breath weapon utilized by Killian with the strips on their pants. Ah… so that was it. They practiced and mastered different aspects of various dragon types.

Edgar had red as his main stripe, but also had blue and white. So at the last second, I shifted and for the first time in my life. I opened my mouth whether in dragon or human form, and blasted out a cloud of toxic fumes. The poison was so dense that it was almost like acid in the air, but I knew its real power would come if Edgar inhaled it.

I tried to use the thick cloud to cover the final two steps of my approach, but he beat his wings and the air buffeted at the cloud. At the same time, he slid around me. He was fast, definitely faster than me. Then, when his claws ripped into my side and left shallow bloody furrows even through my scales, I knew he was stronger than me, too.

I spun and landed a kicked, but he simply blocked it and moved around me. He moved with so much grace. I had sparred a few times with Galbrecht but never had I felt so outclassed as I did right now. Sure, I might be able to use magic or transform and take him out, but in this human form he was many times my superior. It was a bitter pill, yet made partially palatable by his class and the type of form he had taken.

We continued to fight, and it lasted for more than half an hour. At many times, it was clear he could have finished me, but I still managed to get in some good blows of my own. I felt no shame in using any of my draconic abilities. Dragon Fear had absolutely no effect on him, but a cloud of sand was a bit more effective at blinding him than the poison had been.

He ended that particular tactic though with a burst of fiery breath, which seared my skin even as I dove to get out of the way. Of course, I could have manipulated the glass, but I wasn’t sure if Lisella knew about that trick yet so I wanted to keep it for myself.

Back and forth we went. I got in a good attack when I used Project Image. But again, his mastery of his body was uncanny. Somehow Edgar could move and even fly within this building and I knew there was much he could teach me.

Bit by beat, he beat me down till I was starting to think I would have to actually transform. But then he landed a blow against me with the flat of his palm. He didn’t even use his claws, but it was like a resonance went off in my body. My bones, my teeth, even the blood within my veins all began to vibrate.

I hit the ground unable to even control my muscles.

You have been struck by Quivering Palm. You have failed to resist.

Debuffs: Nervous system disruption, phase decay -50 HP per second for 1 minute.

As I hit the ground, I began to panic. I didn’t have enough health to survive an attack like that. I don’t know what it’s like for humans, but in that moment it was as though the eyes of every dragon who had ever lived were upon me. Or perhaps it was just my ancestors, but whatever it was, I felt the weight of their judgment. Slain by a single human in a training exercise. Foolish. This is why dragons don’t train. Dragons live. Humans pretend and call it training. We know it always life or death.

It was those thoughts which tormented me. My mind raced faster than normal to absorb an extra dose of guilt over my failure. I couldn’t even stand to face my end on my own four feet. All of my curiosity had brought me here.

Then I felt a powerful magic come over me.

Celestial Regeneration: Restores 700 HP per second for 1 minute.

Wow, that was power. Even feeling like I had just been on the edge of death, I couldn’t help but marvel at magic like that. I wanted that kind of power. Then with my next thought I cursed. I had shown weakness before Lisella and had been forced to let her save me. I owed her my life.

Then the minute had passed and Edgar was back in his fully human form. He reached down and offered me his hand to pull me up. When I didn’t take it, he shook his head. “Strength is good. Pride is foolish. There is no shame in being defeated by me and much glory in how well you fought. I would never have used an ability like that if the grand priestess were not here to heal you. Even then, I only used it because I felt like you needed to taste my true power if you were ever to respect me.

“Now, I leave it to you. Do you wish to learn to fight from me? There is much I can teach you about what it means to be a dragon disciple and of the fighting style of the dragon. But you’re a natural. So, you will go far even if you don’t want to study with me. Yet, if you do study, there can be no doubt about who is the master and who is the student.”

I let his words set in. They were bitter. This entire experience had been bitter. I had been faced with challenges and found wanting, at least by myself. But then I softened inside. Lisella had wanted me to win with politeness and passivity, but Edgar and his people understood that a dragon does not ask, a dragon takes. Yes, as far as humans go, I guess I could appreciate these humans.

“I will learn.”