Spear Devil - 008 (Patreon)

Chapter 008 – Expert

[April – 2008]

'Status.', calling out mentally, I decided to check on my progress.

[Status:

Name: Akira Sasaki

Race: Human/Dragon (Racial Trait: Dragon's Wisdom)

Physique: 3.6

Dragon Aura: 16.3

Free Attribute Points: 3

Other Rewards: One-Time-Use Path-Changing Ticket(Rare)

Spearmanship: Unranked

Affinity: Fire[9/10]

Resistances: Fire[9/10], Dragon-Slaying[1/10]

Weaknesses: Dragon-Slaying[9/10]

Strengthening Path: Weapon Absorption

Skills: Sound Concealment [2/5], Telepathic Communication[2/10],

Mind Control Immunity[3/10], Transference[5/10],

Aura Concealment[8/10], Perfect Memory, Longevity – Ageless,

Power Multiplication, Penetration, Shapeshifting – Dragon Form,

Dragon Fear ]

I hadn't yet tested my Shapeshifting Skill, because I simply didn't have the space in my backyard to turn into a giant dragon. I also hadn't tried Dragon Fear though I planned to do so today.

I only had four days left until the start of school, which was time I wanted to spend on Spearmanship for the most part, as it was high time that I regained my skill with the weapon. Setting some time aside for getting the hang of Dragon Fear shouldn't be a problem though.

…

Filling in the small grave with earth using my hands, I had dug for a family of birds, I couldn't help but sigh audibly as I realized that Dragon Fear was a major problem.

After waking up and getting ready for the day, I had some light breakfast like always, before I had moved to the backyard.

I hadn't taken a golden tear as I had wanted to first see what kind of effect Dragon Fear truly had while assessing the difficulty of training the skill without the efficiency boost of the tears.

What I didn't expect was for every animal or insect in my immediate vicinity to just die from sheer primal fear as an aura of pure dominance and destruction erupted from my form.

Finishing up the burial by softly consolidating the loose earth with a few soft, well-placed strikes, I rose to my feet again and went back to sit on the edge of the veranda. Grabbing the small vial filled with liquid gold, I dripped a single drop onto the back of my earth-stained hand, before placing the vial back.

A dragon's intimidation skill was truly incredible and I knew that it would come in handy in the future, while I felt that controlling the spreading and the intensity of the aura wasn't really the issue. Or at least it shouldn't be, but I had no experience when it came to such things, and as such guessing was the best I could do.

And as I wasn't willing to deprive myself of such a valuable tool, I decided to spend the first few hours of day one of my last four days of spring vacation on Dragon Fear.

Activating the skill, I felt the same domineering and untamable aura being exuded from my whole body in one powerful burst. It spread around me like an invisible fear-inducing dome of mental pressure.

Thanks to the golden tear I had taken before though it only took me a few tries to grasp how to shrink the aura until it was surrounding me like a cloak before I worked on regulating the intensity for a few hours.

It was around midday, that I finally felt comfortable with my control over the ability and could release Dragon Fear in a gentler manner, without it just erupting like a volcano with no regard for directions or intensity.

An intimidation skill that couldn't discriminate between friend and foe was pretty useless after all.

Afterward, I summoned my Demonic Spear and just twirled it around for a while, spinning the weapon faster and faster around my body, trying to etch the weight and form into my senses while exerting the limit of my dexterity and agility.

Stopping the lethal weapon with a sudden twist of my hand, I thrust the weapon forward, the air being ripped apart under the forceful movement of the spear while whipping up a slight breeze.

Retracting the weapon, I turned around halfway, my feet repositioning themselves with light steps and keeping an optimal stance for balance, while I drew the spear in a wide arc, executing a decisive slashing motion.

I did all that with surprising fluidity thanks to my physical attributes and experience with the weapon.

I continued moving around the backyard with quick and measured steps while practicing basic Spearmanship sequences. And with every thrust and slash, I could practically feel my body adapting and changing on a microscopic level to bring myself closer to mastering the spear.

I could feel my body's instincts being attuned to the correct stances and movements under the influence of the golden tear with every breath I took. Being completely immersed in swinging my spear and feeling it come alive in my hands.

Everything else had long since become secondary at this point, the hums of the spear blade carving through the atmosphere being the only thing that reached my mind.

I didn't feel my clothes sticking to my form slick with sweat, while my wet hair whipped around my face, nor did I notice day turning to night, the dark and cold unable to disrupt my concentration.

At this point I wasn't a former chess player anymore, a transmigrator, or a humanoid dragon, I was just a spear wielder perfecting his craft.

When I finally came back to reality again, it was already midday again.

Breathing roughly and completely drenched in sweat, I stood in the middle of the backyard with my eyes closed, savouring the aftermath of my training, a slight smile dancing over my lips.

Dematerilising my spear, I went back into the house and didn't bother with undressing, as I just used a push of fire-infused Dragon Aura to turn my clothes to ashes. There was hardly anything I hated more than the struggle of stripping off sweat-soaked clothes.

Making my way to the shower, I turned on only the hot water and nearly moaned in pleasure as the scalding hot liquid ran down my form. For a human, this kind of heat would probably cause severe burns, but for a half-dragon, it was just right.

While washing my hair, I focused inwards and read the few notifications from the System I had ignored while training with the spear.

[Your Spearmanship Proficiency has advanced to the Basic rank. You are rewarded with 0.5 Free Attribute Points for your efforts.]

[Your Spearmanship Proficiency has advanced to the Adept rank. You are rewarded with 1.5 Free Attribute Points for your efforts.]

[Your Spearmanship Proficiency has advanced to the Expert rank. You are rewarded with 4.5 Free Attribute Points for your efforts.]

[Your Physique has increased by 0.5 points through training, reaching 4.1 points.]