"[Serpent Step]!" Mord launched forward with a burst of speed that let her get inside Frie's swing before it could connect. She used that acceleration to slam her practice lance against their upper shoulder, a very good hit that was only the start of her combo. "[Vein Ripper]!"

  A dim red glow suffused her weapon and she launched into a ferocious combo, wielding the normally unwieldy polearm with incredible dexterity. Most would be hampered by how close it was, as a lance was ordinarily meant to be used with some distance for comfort. Even glaives would like a bit of breathing room.

  For the promising dragon slayer, it was almost as smooth as using her own claws to rip into the doll.

  Frie was definitely beginning to get overwhelmed by the intense assault. Just one more push! Mord took in a deep breath, recalling her practice, then stepped back in what seemed to be a retreat. But she then leapt off the ground, into the air, calling out the skill to determine the fight. "[Sky Dive]!" She yelled, bringing her lance around-

  Only for Frie's fist to connect first and send her flying back.

  She landed on the ground and rolled over her head, not stopping until she crashed the wall. "Ow," moaned the young woman with slightly swirling eyes.

  Kuch leaned over, health potion at the ready. "Are you alright? Did you hit your head?"

  "Even I did, I'm fine," she muttered and slowly righted herself, standing with a sigh. "It didn't work."

  "I told you. Even if you might know the skill name, calling it out doesn't activate it until you are truly ready." The doll handed over the potion anyway, something that Mord sourly snagged and drank. "So if you didn't hear the world's voice, you haven't qualified yet."

  "I know," she muttered and handed back the bottle. "Just...frustrated. It's not working."

  Indeed, Mord was actually struggling to master [Sky Dive] compared to the other skills that she had picked up so quickly. It was quite surprising and confusing to me, because I'm fairly sure that this was what Isabella had done to practice for acquiring the skill. There might be some missing criteria that I unfortunately wasn't aware of, or it could be that it simply required more practice. For now, I was hoping for the latter because I could nothing without knowledge to fix the former.

  "Nothing too it than trying again, and again, right?" I gently encouraged.

  "...Sure," answered the dragon, a little distant and distracted as she got ready to practice the stance. Maybe something was on her mind.

  I think I'll let her stew on it before bringing up the topic.

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  Right, while Kuch handles that, time for me to lock in. I'm going to be making something that would probably make a lot of people in this world very uncomfortable. Maybe even a few gods.

  A raid-tier weapon.

  No compromises this time. Nothing but the very best I had would do for the weapon. So that meant cracking open my player vault and taking that very precious ore that I had once so wished to forget about. Now, I would face the past to craft the future.

  Solarium Ore (Item Quality: 627) (Infused Level: 703)

  This was a super-durable material that literally came from the stars above and was the best energy conduit material known in all of FLOW. It was thus the rarest metal in Shin. Even the cash shop never had the gall or shamelessness to sell the ore directly so.

  I would be using it to make the lance head for Mord's weapon.

  There was no need to take time to debate a design first. I knew exactly what I wanted to make, and the steps to do so. First, we need to make a solution to gently soften solarium up before putting in a fire, because the hottest flames wouldn't suffice by itself. That was how durable it was, to the point where I was sure throwing it into lava probably wouldn't be enough to destroy the thing. Oh, that would've been cool to have a forge in a volcano though, making rings of power-

  Okay, okay, I really needed to focus.

  The saliva was added to water alongside other choice mushrooms, and a use of [Brew] turned it into a very sickly green color. I boiled it down to create a very potent acid that could actually eat through my cauldron if I was too slow, so I had to act quickly. The solution was poured into a small glass vial that wouldn't last much longer but would give me the fine control needed to gently douse the solarium ore with a few drops.

  The glass bottom was nearly completely corroded away by the time I was gone, then I grabbed the ore with prongs to stick into the forge. No way would I by handling something coated in the stuff with my bare hands. When the element was in, I checked and yep. Definitely going to whip up a new set of prongs, this one had its tips already dissolving from the brief contact with the acid.

  Good to at least have confirmation that I definitely just couldn't bottle this thing and hurl it around like my own weapon.

  Now came the firing. When I first had found the solarium, the only saving grace from me going insane over what I should make with it then was that I just couldn't even melt it. Aside from the acid coating, the temperature to melt the thing had to be very intense. Something that you could make steel with. I didn't even have coal to turn into coke for that.

  But I now did have coke-grade charcoal, courtesy of that crimson dragon burning up Kuch's wooden body with its flame.

  It would take my entire limited supply of the stuff to achieve the necessary temperature, and keep it that way for a prolonged period of time. Maybe a day or two where I could not leave the forge no matter what. I had to watch the flame and keep it going until the solarium was glowing with the radiance of a star. Then the first step of making it malleable was complete.

  And then came the hard part of shaping it into what I wanted. Ah, I probably should make sure I knew what I wanted to etch into the resulting blade in that limited time I would have.

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  The dragon was in the middle of eating some wolf steak when Kuch entered, carrying a parchment with some charcoal lettering. "Mord? Might I ask if you recognize these glyphs?"

  "Hm?" She turned and blinked slowly, frowning at the runes. They swam before her, familiar yet the first time she'd ever seen them. "I don't think so, but I'm not sure. My head feels like I should but I can't. I think my mother might've know why, she was way, way smarter than me."

  ...The thought still hurt.

  "I see. How curious," Kuch mused and flipped the sheet over, studying the writing. "The dragons have truly forgotten their ancestral language. I suppose it was only a given how it was already dying back then, so it would definitely have become extinct since."

  That made no sense, but Mord didn't really care to figure it all out. Things already mostly flew over her head, despite her mother's best lessons. This insane puppet was no better.

  Pushing away that aching thought again, the scarred woman shrugged and took another bite. "Couldn't say. The day that bastard showed up was the day I first saw another real dragon other than my mother and I."

  "Oh? So you don't know even where other could nest or gather?"

  "Not in the slightest. She said she'll take and show me one day, but…" Now the pain was too much. The rest of the food on the plate was forgotten and Mord abruptly stood up, heading to her room. "I'm going to sleep."

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "Wait, one last question!" Kuch called out. "What was her name?"

  "Bedra." The simple utterance was like physical pain for her. "Now, buzz off."

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  Yeah, I supposed enough time had passed for the rash anger to fade, and for the reality of things to sink in now. Mord hid it well, but at the end of the day she was still a girl who had lost her mother only so recently, and also trying to adapt to a new body entirely. There was only so much a mind, even that of a dragon's, could take.

  But trying to confront her directly on it wasn't going to work well. Neither could I let it simmer any long before she exploded though and did something rash like running away. Hm, let's see; there were some snow clouds moving in. Looks like there'll be a bit of snowfall, but nothing to the level of the blizzard that had heralded winter's arrival. I think I have an idea, best check all the winter coats I had.

  Well, that was what Kuch was going to do. I myself was taking in a deep breath and grasping the handle of my forge. Then I yanked it open and stuck my new set of prongs in to withdraw the glowing solarium. Even under such intense heat, the fact it remained in one piece was a testament to just how resistant this thing was!

  At least because of it, I could immediate get to shaping and working it. There wasn't any slag to worry of. The combination of acid and heat ensured that any impurities would have definitely been purged from the glowing star metal before me. All I had to do now was mold it to the envisioned shape in my head.

  My hammer struck the material, forcing it to begin curving with every repeated hit. When the overall form was to my satisfaction, I tapered the edge, then grabbed my hammer and chisel. The surface was going to cool soon, so I have to work quickly. It wasn't like I could reheat this thing now with all my finest charcoal exhausted.

  There was something I wanted this weapon to say to all slain by it.

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  I knocked on Mord's door, then opened it without waiting. "Get up."

  "Nngh? Kuch?" She was still wrapped in her blankets when she poked her head out like a turtle coming out its shell. Her eyes blinked, then turned to glare at the snow fall outside. "Too cold. Need to sleep."

  "I know you haven't actually been. You snore too loudly otherwise," I firmly insisted. "Get up and put on these winter clothes. They've got the best heating runes I've got, so you should be mostly warm in them."

  "What? Why?"

  "I mean, you could go outside without wearing them, but I imagine you'd be miserable. Oh, and bring your training lance."

  After some more whining and a minor threat of arson, Mord eventually was coaxed out the room and into the great hall. "I still don't understand anything," she complained all the while, doing all but actually dragging her feet. "You said this is training?"

  "It is. It's also a chance for us to talk."

  The snowfall greeted us outside. Like I'd noted, it wasn't a fierce snowstorm or blizzard, but the wind was a little bit strong still, enough to whip strands of hair about. Mord's complaints only intensified, though tinged with increasing confusion when I directed her to climb a ladder. "We're going to the roof? This is getting crazy, no way am I doing that!"

  "You said you'd do anything to get stronger." I paused mid-climb and turned to look at her with one arm on the rung. "Do you think if you have a chance if you can't handle this little bit of bad weather that wouldn't bother that crimson dragon?"

  She gritted her teeth, then stomped forward with a huff. Good, the idea of revenge still was enough to drive her to hear me out at least. Once on the roof, minding how slippery it was, I guided her to stand at the ledge and pointed down. Mord followed my arm and saw the training dummy there, something I'd setup beforehand. "So you want me to try hitting that from here? Guess it's worth a shot."

  "I do, but before you do so." I gestured to the snow falling about us, to that wind that blew in our ears. "I want to ask you something. What do you feel?"

  "Cold. Hungry. Miserable."

  Okay, all fair feelings. But enough beating around the bush. "Aside from that, this wind. Wouldn't this be perfect weather to fly in?" I wondered aloud and the dragon froze, the very mention having her clench her lance tighter. "Not that I could say, I don't have the instincts of a dragon. So I'm counting on you to tell me."

  "...It would be." The tension left both her hands and legs, the enthusiasm for the jumping attack bleeding out of her. "I-I would normally be thrilled. To feel the air over my wings, to hear it whistle past my ears, it's...it's intoxicating. Mother would be so cross with me, saying it's not safe to fly with such strong headwind. Even if it was just a little breeze like this."

  "I see. You must pity us then, to know that we on the ground can't feel the thrill of flight."

  "I did, and now I'm one of you." She let out a hollow laugh. "Even if I turn back into a dragon, what then? My wings are still gone. I-I can't ever fly again. Gods, I'm...I'm wingless."

  That wasn't true. As I noted before, I could make a potion to fix that. It'd just be require beating an apocalypse first. Though there was another correction I wanted to make public. "Wingless, but not necessarily flightless."

  Her head snapped up. "What?"

  "What if I told you that in my time, we could fly? That with magic or technology, some of my comrades once took to the skies and flew alongside dragon?" Faust had a spell that allowed them to fly about, all in the name of gathering even more knowledge. Ironfist made himself an airship and stuck cannons onto it. "My comrade, whose style I've been teaching you: she could manifest wings of blood as a vampire to cross vast distances."

  "That's a vampire, and not one I don't think mother would've even heard of before! I'm not like one of them! I'm just...me."

  "You are," I plainly and patiently agreed. But yet I pushed. "So tell me. Are you Mord, the dragon who doesn't have wings? Or are you Mord, the human who can't fly. Or perhaps Mord, who won't even dare brave the cold-"

  The butt of her lance struck my nose and I stumbled back. Ah, might've been too much. Then I saw the fire in her eyes and knew the brief discomfort had been worth it.

  "SHUT. IT! I'm going be the me I want to be!" She yelled and turned to face the target below. Her legs tensed, then she leapt up into the air, propelled high from the force the jump. At its apex, Mord twisted, bringing the point of the lance facing right at the dummy, and activated the skill the world now whispered to her.

  "[Dragon Dive]!"

  Then she was became like a comet, streaking down from the sky onto earth like a dragon descending upon its prey. Her practice lance pierced through and shattered that dummy target, the impact breaking it completely. She used the feedback to perfectly bounce back and land on her feet, ready to keep fighting if need be.

  [Dragon Dive], hm? That hadn't been in FLOW, or at least to my recollection. Maybe another cut skill for a planned dragon player character or something? I suppose I should have expected the system to perhaps changed a little since I last played, it wasn't like I knew everything. I clapped before wincing, feeling the slightly cracked nose on my face, along with an unmistakable slight resonance in my dark crystal core.

  Oho. Mord might've not been the only one to realize a skill just now.

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