"Sigh..." Still lamenting, Ashter is seen sitting in a new area, away from prying eyes.
The next round is going to be a test of strength via fights between the Dragon Riders. (Huge retcon) The Bond Skill, to the greatest extent, was banned, and the use of mana control is the limit for us. But still... June Lionheart...' Ashter thinks, as she managed to blitz him in one go... She won the race, placing him in second place.
'My mana control is next to none of my years. But it seems that isn't the case if people like her managed to do something exceptional. Then there's that other girl... She was riding in the air...' Thinking to himself, Ashter lies in a bath, staring up at the ceiling,
'I need to do better. But this round, we can use our dragons, so Bismuth will be able to fight alongside me. Since most of us are at that stage, we can use the Bond Skill Stage 2 to merge our souls with our dragons to become the dragon itself. This allows us to utilize their strength by manifesting it physically.' Ashter thinks,
'I became familiar with it... I even tested it out during my week of training.' Remembering it, Ashter is seen practicing with...
"Great work!" Cale is seen as, despite her being two years younger than him, she had Cottonbun for many years, the dragon being an adult. Most of their dragons were in the Juvenile Stage.
"..." Sighing once more, sinking more into the soapy waters-
'I need to impress them. This match will be the time to do so.' Thinking, he's seen with a cloth over his head and his new set of clothing-
"Ashter!" Spoke...
"!" He noticed...
"Cale?"
"..." Walking to him, the girl breathes a bit,
"Good job on the race. You were amazing out there." Congratulating him, Ashter can only sigh,
"Yeah... Thanks, Cale."
"?" Cale, noticing this, asked,
"What's wrong? You won the race! You even-"
"It's not that simple!" Ashter suddenly spoke, cutting her off,
"?" The woman became confused once more,
"W-What do you-"
"I... I didn't..." Ashter can't put it in words. He knows it's stupid, but it's...
"I... I didn't work hard enough... If she managed to one-up me like that! I trained HARD, Cale... Yet... Yet she... She just..." Suffering from his promises, his training, everything... And what? He got-
"Tsk, I didn't think you were some whiny little brat!"
"!?!" Ashter looked at her,
"W-What did you-"
"I said it! A WHINY BRAT! Look... I get you're determined to win this, but it's the fucking first round of five different matches! I didn't train a bitch, I trained a MAN. MY MAN." Cale pushes forward, making Ashter step back,
"C-Cale-!"
"I put time and energy into making a MAN, not some brat who can't handle one simple loss!" And soon, Ashter's back presses against a wall,
"Now you better stop acting like some pathetic excuse for a Dragon Rider and become someone who I COULD BE PROUD OF! Got it!?!" She was inches from the man's face, as Ashter started...
"..." He... He was acting irrationally just now...
"... Sorry, Cale." And soon, the woman steps back.
"... I promise I won't act like that anymore." Promising once more, the woman only walked away,
"You better keep it. Because... In a few years, you're going to take me as your wife." Cale said,
"!?!" Ashter's face burned red,
"W-What!?!" Ashter knew this was a possibility... But-
"CALE, WAIT!" Stepping out of the room, she was nowhere to be seen.
"Ah..." Still red in the face, Ashter was just...
He's too stunned to speak.
"..." He remembered what the king said to him...
He might give one of his daughters in marriage.
"Makes sense... C-Cale is the second child of the king..." He even met the first child of the king, her older brother. Around the same age as him, he isn't sure if he knows, but he hopes he won't get some divine retribution from him.
'I WON'T ALLOW HIM TO MARRY HER! RAHHH!' The faint image of him is seen,
"Hehehe..." He only laughed, hoping his fate wasn't sealed.
"..." But he soon walked back to his dorm. It was a one-hour grace period until round two.
He isn't sure how other Midterms work, though, so who knows if it's a 1st year exclusive event or not.
***
"BAM!" One by one, Ashter treads through the competition. His mana control allowed him to utilize a large amount of strength. By wrapping the body in mana, you increase the capabilities of the body. This is similar to the Lionhearts' method of achieving their massive physical prowess, but the difference is that, to the naked eye, you see no mana. But to a trained Dragon Rider... They can feel something deep in their being.
The power of a dragon. Many discoveries figured out how to achieve draconic abilities like the Lionhearts, Cursed Items, Draconic Weapons and Items, etc. These discoveries made humans almost comparable to dragons. They can hunt them if they want, while they were first scared of their kingdom shattering, breaths of fire and magic.
They tamed nature and understood it to the point where the dragons from the past would be horrified by how much they were reduced to a mere child's pet.
The Lionheart family is also a group of people with the largest collection of Draconic Weapons and Items. They're also researching Cursed Items, the things Jacob wishes to study. These items are cursed by resentful dragons who neared death. Their mana was used to curse items that drove the users insane, mad, but granted incredible capabilities beyond any Draconic Weapon/Item. But due to the drawbacks, nobody can withstand it. Even Priest Type Dragons, a branch of the Support Type Dragons, could barely counter the effects of the curse.
Only a true being of light can stop the effects... or maybe it's true that it's an unbreakable curse.
Even the melting process makes the curse linger, making blacksmiths who specialize in melting and removing it extremely dangerous since they could be attacked by it if they're not careful...
These items can prove deadly.
***
"RAHH!!!" Roared warriors, wielding Draconic Weapons, they clashed with their companions in an all-out battle.
Their swords clanged, as the king watched, staring...
"Grooo..." A dragon, now a small wisp, growls,
"I know. I sense it too." The king said to his companion,
"A dragon of exceptional power. Even now I sense it's growing in power... It sends shivers down my spine..." The king said that the Ironclad Kingdom is beyond the mountains, separating the two kingdoms.
But that also means nobody would dare check on one another. For all they know, a spy can be amongst them and vice versa.
"..." But soon, the king is seen walking in a large vault. Draconic energy erupts as he walks in. Weapons made from the scales of dragons, forced from the bodies of dragons, the Castalix Kingdom uses scales naturally dropped from dragons. From their Wyrmling Stage and their near Adult Stage, these scales drop and are used to create weapons and items. But afterwards their scales would harden and stay intact unless they're whipped and broken off. These scales are the rarest because they are intact and would become ruined by battle.
But these scales... They're used to make weapons like most.
"Hng..." Staring in a vault... A shining weapon is seen... A pair of fans...
"You cursed us even beyond death, dragon. Your Energy Propulsion ability proves great... but your curse is still strong,g no matter how weak you are." The king said, as he grabbed the fans... A deadly energy coursed through his body.
"Hmph!" But his mana counters it, the black energy shifting and pulsing, and rams against the man's mana.
"One of the few ways to keep a curse at bay. Use your mana to ensure it won't interact with your body." The man said as he swipes the fan,
"FWOOSH!!!" A powerful energy propels from the fans.
This is the Royal Armory filled with items of strength unrivaled in the Ironclad Kingdom.
A man of might unmatched.
The one who possesses the only Platinum Rank Dragon...
Ryan Ironclad.
An older man in his 50s, he is skilled in combat, strategy, and is a master of many arts of war. With these fans, he's almost able to topple kingdoms if he wishes.
But since then...
"Huff..." He breathed a bit, as since then, age watched up. In his late 50s, his body wasn't what it used to be 19 years ago.
"I was 31, yet I conquered land after land... Fueling the economy of the Ironclad kingdom, spreading its name, yet it all comes down to time itself?"
The king paused, for Ryan Ironclad was the last of the kings...
"... Immortality." The man turned around, he was going to find something...
The curse of immortality.
"I'll figure it out... When I do... I will rule this kingdom until the end of time!"
***
Fight after fight, many went up the ladder of rankings.
"..." Many spectators watch... Their anticipation is high for the battle against Ashter and June.
"..." Ashter soon steps forward, as...
"Seems we meet again, Ashter Lake." Spoke...
"Gabriel Agate." Within the matches... Gabriel Agate stands in front of him, his dragon a lot bigger than before.
"!" But Ashter felt an intimidating presence...
"Seems you noticed something different... Ha... To think I could bypass the natural sense and talent of a Platinum Rank Dragon Rider." Gabriel explained, as...
"I sense... Something familiar..." Ashter comments, as Gabriel removes a cloak, that he is an electrifying chain around his body.
"I'm more experienced than I used to be back then," Gabriel explained, smirking even,
"Thanks to your humiliating defeat... I took my life in my hands. MY TWO HANDS, LAKE!" Gabriel's mark appeared,
"COME FORTH!" Electricity rains as a violent surge of energy erupts, causing the crowd's skin to crawl.
"Hm?" Sean is taking note of this...
"A ruler of lightning and thunder? Hm..." Sean comments,
"Hm..." The king also took note,
"His mana is... Violent... It's almost wild. But it..." Cale said, as from a circle...
"GROOOAAAA!!!" Roared a beast, as electricity coats and fires in multiple directions.
"... It's in its middle stage, yet it's gigantic... Diamond Rank Dragons are as big as buildings..." Ashter comments, as Bismuth is a Juvenile...
But Gabrie's dragon...
It was in its first year of adulthood.
"Kro?" But on the other end...
"KRO!?!" Bismuth's eyes widened, as a fiery passion burned...
"Come forth!" Ashter summoned...
"KROOO!!!!" A roar erupts from the circle Ashter formed, as coming out of the circle, Bismuth materializes. He was a lot larger, almost the size of Gabriel's dragon.
"..." Gabriel sweats a bit...
'It grew a lot bigger than I thought... Then again... The king's dragon rivals a circle with its sheer size and age... Knowing that... Makes my skin crawl. It's a Platinum Rank Dragon and a lot stronger than even his kin... Think, Gabriel can only think...
He needs to give it his all.
"Don't hold back, Lake! Even if I lose I am going down with my fucking honor!" Twilight the chain, electricity crashes,
'A chain made of scales... Or at least made with it...' Ashter thinks,
'I don't know what kind of power it possesses... But who knows if he can use a weapon as well... If so... I might be screwed.' Ashter thinks, as...
"Vrmmm..." The gun formed in his hand.
"..." Gabriel started...
"Gabriel Agate... Ashter Lake... FIGHT!" Janus shouts, as...
"HMPH!" Gabriel swings the chain,
"CRASH!!!" Electricity crashes from it.
"HNG!!!" Ashter felt it...
"!?!" He felt-
"SO IT DOES WORK!" Gabriel shouts, as...
"Hng!" Ashter avoided it,
"No fucking way..." Saying to himself...
"Is his mana... Bypassing-!"
"!!!" Ashter remembered the weakness of the Light Reflection skill...
As long as the mana is weak, he can reflect it.
But since then, he only practiced...
"Shit...!" He never really got the hang of honing his magical capabilities! He only reinforced his body, honing his combat, but not this-
"AUGH!!!!" A lightning strike hits him, causing everyone to gasp,
"By Calaban above...!" Even the scouts were awed,
"Hmph! So this is what came of my rival, huh!?! The man who bested me!?! HUH!?! GET BACK UP!" Gabriel ordered,
"HNG!" Being hit to the side, Ashter growls,
"BAM!" A bullet rushes,
"Hm-!" Gabriel's eyes widened, as...
"Hng!" He is hit multiple times, as Ashter fired-
"BZZT!" On one hand...
"HA!!!" A bolt fired,
"BOOM!" And the two attacks collided, as...
"Alright..." Ashter breathes a bit,
"Mana reinforcement..." Ashter said his body was reinforced with mana.
'Hmph... He may be a Tank Type... But his skill is breaking me down a lot more easily than I expected... Is it his skill?' Gabriel wondered to himself,
'It has to be. He reflected on my attack... That gunshot is also mana... But it's light... Like a bolt of white light... Similar to my lightning... Ironic.' Smirking to himself...
"BZZT!" Circulated the chain...
"I WILL END THIS NOW!" Shouting, Gabriel swings the chain, as Ashter leaps from place to place, as...
"KROOO!!!" Bismuth flies in, as...
"Groo...!" Gabrie's dragon blocks, as...
"!?!" The dragon is scratched,
"GROO!!!" Gabrie's dragon roared,
"!!!" Gabriel then noticed...
"His dragon...!" Saying to himself, he noticed...
"HMPH!" Flashing through the area...
"OUF!!!" Gabriel is punched,
"!?!" June's own eyes widened,
'That arrogant brat...!' That's...
Her move!
"Hng...!" Ashter's legs were SCREAMING, as he forced his mana to pump through his muscles, but due to his inexperience...
"You...!" Gabriel growls as Bismuth and his dragon fight.
"BZZT!!!"
"SCREEEE!!!" They fired a beam of their respective elemental attack, electricity and light clashed...
"Holy crap-!" Others are being hit by the stray attacks,
"Do you think we should stop them?" Spoke Lola,
"..." Janus watched as the pair fought in close combat, hitting, punching,
"Hmg!" Ashter blocked with his arm,
"FWOOSH!" His fist passed where Gabriel's own-
"SLISH!" But...
"!?!" Ashter's eyes widened,
"Hmph!" A blade formed, as...
"!!!" A cut formed on his face...
It was shallow, but...
"Good. You still bleed." Gabriel said, as Bismuth's eyes widened, as beforehand...
"Kro-!" And...
"!!!" Bismuth watched... Ashter was cut!?!
"KROOOAARRRRRR!!!!" Bismuth roared, as...
"OUF!" Being hit back, Bismuth rushes and crawls by his master's side.
"I am okay... Thank you, Bismuth." Ashter thanked...
"Seems his chains are made from his dragon's scales and some other metal... And his weapon... It's a knife. It's rather long..." Ashter explained, as...
"Klink!" The gun formed in his hand.
"BAM!" Fired once more...
"Alright..." Gabriel said, as electricity sparked around him...
"Let's finish this, Ashter Lake."
End of chapter 11.