An empty room, so very unusual for this place. No decorations, no art pieces, simply a door and thin metal walls. It was an empty training room, given specifically to our study group. The dragon-girl behind the counter didn’t even ask any questions.
“Alright.” I turned around to face the young dragons. “Since we are in a study group, proper introductions are in order.” I raised my hand up, flaring starpower. “My name is Magnus Glanzvoll, second son of Richter Glanzvoll and future supreme wizard.” I ignored the confusion on their faces.
The silence stretched for an uncomfortably long time. I sighed. “You are supposed to introduce yourself now.”
Steel scratched her horn. “Why?”
“So that I know who you are and what you want? Stop wasting time and get to it.”
Kory scratched her head and said quietly, “We have scouters for that.”
Steel looked at confused Kory, while tilting her head, and then back at me. “You are the one wasting time. Let’s train.” She smacked her fists together.
“S-she didn’t mean it!” Kory mumbled immediately.
I shook my head in disappointment. “Since you want to train, I have some things to show you.” I flared my starpower, focusing my attention on straightening the flow within my arm. “What’s the most important thing one can have in battle?”
Steel’s fists clenched harder. “Power.” Kory remained silent.
“Not wrong, but there is a more important thing – range. If you can attack your opponent outside of their effective distance, you won’t get hit.” I took a deep breath, focusing on the solidification form.
I didn’t want to just solidify starpower, I wanted to make it better, the flow obeyed my ideas, restructuring within my hand. I focused on an image, a simple one, a plain staff.
As I curled my index finger and pointed a thumb outwards, starpower stirred in my body. Just like the book described, it seemed to overlap with my mental image, so I held it strong – it was easy with perfect memory.
“What are you doing?” Steel asked impatiently.
Starpower took the image out of my mind and brought it into reality. A black glinting staff started manifesting in my hand. I reinforced my ambition, feeling the weapon become material.
Starpower Staff
SE: 8
Description: Pretty good for the first time.
Time until dissolving: 2 minutes without support
I was a natural-born wizard, even back on Earth, I felt the allure of mysticism, and here my dream was real. I held the weapon tighter, enjoying the cold texture. My heart drummed with excitement.
“This was not impressive.” Steel shrugged and, with an annoyed voice, said, “Are we going to train?”
Kory mumbled something quietly, looking at the ground.
“That’s not all.” I took a deep breath, letting starpower flow naturally, following the breathing pattern described in the book. With each breath, I felt my vision becoming clearer. Then I nudged the energy further into my fingers. It tackled against the barrier of my body and passed into the staff. Purple glow surrounded me and the construct.
“I’m not listening, if you’re not training with us!” Steel suddenly said and started running towards me. Her movement seemed slow with the amount of starpower that empowered me. What was she trying to do?
I made an O with my other hand. Detection form. An invisible field stretched out of my body, covering the room completely, as if giving me a third eye. I could feel my starpower better, and I could sense Steel’s starpower too. All the time in the mindscape wasn’t for naught. Steel wasn’t using strengthening.
Before she could close the distance, I grabbed the staff tighter and swung at her head. She raised her arm, blocking the strike, letting out a grunt. This made her stop, but not me.
I pulled the staff back and thrust it at her face. Her mouth opened in surprise as the blunt edge smacked against her forehead. While she was staggered, I wound up the staff again and hit her squarely in the head. She let out a cry of pain and fell over.
Grunting, she was about to stand up when I smacked her leg. “Ah! I give up! I give up! You win.” There was blood coming out of her forehead.
Suddenly, Kory grabbed me from behind. “Please don’t hit her!” She sounded like she was about to cry.
I tensed my chest and easily broke free. “You know, this was unnecessary.” With strengthening at adept, I felt like a new man. The speed of my movement, my reaction, my thoughts. Everything felt so easy. I looked closer at the girls... It felt bad to beat up children. I don’t want to fight in this life. “If you want to be in my study group, you’ll have to listen.”
“Yes, yes. I get it!” Kory looked far too afraid for a girl who ripped a monster into shreds.
“Stand up, Steel.” I looked at the struggling dragon, and she quickly pulled herself up.
“Now, as I was saying. Range is the most important thing.” I raised the staff. “The strategy will be the following: both of you will master the strengthening forms. Then we can move on to the next thing.” I nodded to myself.
“I already know it…” Kory looked down in embarrassment, walking closer to Steel.
“And Steel doesn’t? Teach her.” I shook my head.
“Steel can’t flare well...” She grabbed the bleeding girl’s head, carefully wiping off the blood with her sleeve. The strange metal absorbed the blood.
I sighed, trying to make the annoyance disappear. I had to integrate here, and for that, I needed allies, even if they are suboptimal. “From now on, we will use strengthening constantly! It’s by far the most important form.” If I experienced such a drastic jump by going to adept, I can’t imagine what could happen at knight.
They turned to me. Kory’s eyes were filled with uncertainty. "I... I don’t know if I can do it.” Steel was as concussed as before.
“Are you that bad at channeling affinity?” For me, it felt as easy as breathing.
“What’s that?” Steel suddenly said.
I agreed to the worst allies ever. I just had to keep going and ignore the possibility of wasting time. “This is going to be a long evening. Sit down, I’ll have to do some math to figure you out. Starpower became like breathing to me after I understood myself.”
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
I spent the next hour calculating their detailed stats, based on the flow of their starpower. The detection form got quite a bit of use and Kory… Well, she was really helpful.
“You forgot the constant.” She said confidently. “If it’s within the Sapphire domain, you have to add the constant.”
“Right…” There wasn’t a trace of that sheepish demeanor she showed before.
Steel looked at both of us, confused. She didn’t even ask questions. “I think I can get all the data…” I imagined all the numbers simultaneously in my brain and scouted the information. A window appeared.
Kory
Species: Dragon Tiershen (Imperfect genome)
Age: 7 standard years
Standing Emissions: 15
Soul Resonance: 21%
Affinities: Sapphire, Diamond
Spiritual Coordinates: 9,44 Knowledge; 3,1 Hope
Traits (1/2): VITA
Form List
Strengthening. Type: Imbua. Mastery: Initiate 37/100.
Solidification. Type: Phasics. Mastery: Initiate 43/100.
Overmind. Type: Symbolics. Mastery: Adept 10/100.
Dreamscape. Type: Phasics, Symbolics. Mastery: Adept 11/100.
Bloodline Infusion. Type: Imbua, Symbolics. Mastery: Initiate 20/100.
Steel
Species: Dragon Tiershen (Imperfect genome)
Age: 8 standard years
Standing Emissions: 18
Soul Resonance: 35%
Affinities: Emerald
Spiritual Coordinates: 10.1 Harmony; 2,69 Friendship
Traits (1/2): VITA
Form List
Strengthening. Type: Imbua. Mastery: Initiate 56/100.
“Finally, we’re fucking done.” I massaged my temples from the intense explanations.
“Wait… You made a mistake, I think Steel’s Friendship is actually closer to Community. I think,“ Kory Proclaimed, she was fully focused on my explanations, unlike a certain someone.
I quickly redid the calculation, using the scouter to its limit. “Huh… You’re right. I guess it is community.”
Suddenly, Kory’s eyes became wide open. “My SE has increased by two! Thank you so much.”
Your SE has increased to 12!
And explaining how starpower works seemed to help my soul grow, too. Hell, Kory never read that book, but she picked up the concepts immediately.
“Steel! Have you understood anything?”
She tilted her head and muttered a quiet, “No.”
For my potential servants to be useful, I needed them at full capacity. To flare starpower better, she will need to think and feel in a way that aligns with her spiritual coordinates. This was complicated. “Steel. I want you to flare.”
I made a detection form, letting the field of sensations stretch out of me. The girl nodded and clenched her fists, staring at the wall as if she wanted to fight it. The starpower flared slowly, sluggishly. It moved without purpose, unmotivated and unfocused. The flow split within her and merely returned to its unflared state.
Kory rubbed her head. “I tried teaching her about other forms, but she can’t get it.” She looked at Steel, worried.
“I’ll try a different way.” I smiled and concentrated on the perception field. Ever so slowly, Steel emanated more starpower.
“What do you think about?” I asked her.
“Fighting.” The reply was short, but clear.
“Why do you think you’ll fight?” I needed to get to the source of the issue.
“To protect Kory!” There wasn’t a shred of hesitation in her words. The flow of starpower entwined, growing inside of her body like a root. A faint green light surrounded her.
“What?!” Kory blushed. Looking between me and Steel. I ignored her outcry and kept talking.
“That’s right, you want to protect Kory. Don’t think about fighting, think about her.”
She didn’t nod, but I sensed a little more energy surging out of her. Her jaw clenched harder.
“What are you saying?!” Kory clenched her fists. “T-that’s not how you channel affinity.”
I rolled my eyes. “Tell me, Steel, is it natural for a dragon to be strong?”
“Yes!” She nearly shouted as more and more starpower emanated out of her like a tiny hurricane.
“So let it be your nature. You’re a dragon – you must be strong. For Kory and for everything. Now breathe like me!” I started doing the strengthening cycle. “Don’t think about it, just breathe. You too, Kory!”
The other girl jumped in surprise, shakily trying to replicate my movements. Steel raised her hands, and with each breath, her starpower surged more and more. It became so thick that my detection could barely sense anything more than a cloud. I shouted. “Now strike!”
The dragon let out a roar and rushed forward, her arms tensing in a punch. With a loud clank, she struck against the metal wall, making a tiny dent. A wide smile appeared on her face as she started laughing. Her power was incompatible with that pitiful display from before.
“Do you see that, Kory? That’s what knowledge can do. Bring you to the greatest heights imaginable, do the impossible.” I was being overdramatic, but it would serve a purpose.
“You didn’t use knowledge… You just talked to her.” She looked away from me, yet there was a thin smile on her face.
“I did use knowledge. Emeralds think with instinct; it’s important to focus on that for her. You should try focusing on Sapphire things too. Why is your strengthening so weak?”
“Because… I trained other forms.” She scratched her scales. “The Overmind and Dreamscape are important to me.”
“What do they even do?”
Steel stopped laughing and started hitting the wall loudly, leaving dent after dent. Excitement was clear on her face.
“It’s for the restful sleep technique.” She looked at Steel. “I’d rather learn mental forms than strengthening.”
I scoffed at her excuse. “You think strengthening is only for the body? It sharpens your mind, clears your perception. Your mind is part of the body; that form can make it better all the same. Just try it.”
“I see…” She looked down, flaring her starpower. It was different from mine or Steel’s. Mine flowed with purpose and obedience, like a good servant. Steel swirled like wind in a hurricane or like a plant breaking out of the ground. Kory’s on the other hand gently pooled throughout her body, as if unsure what to do. Consistent banging made her energy shake.
“Remember, focus on who you are. You know your coordinates, so you can flare stronger, strengthen better. With it, you’ll be able to learn so much more. Just think about all the possibilities.” The starpower flowed together with the spirit.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” Kory spoke quietly without conviction.
“Have hope, young dragon! Your starpower is you! It knows what you want and it will do everything to help you.” I certainly believed in that.
She gulped, closing her eyes, ignoring Steel’s banging. I intensified the flow towards the detection form, trying to figure out exactly what she was doing. It felt like a quiet rain, slowly getting stronger and stronger.
I put my hands on her shoulders. She shook from the contact. “Steel has hope in you, I do too, so why don’t you believe in yourself?”
“I-i…”
“I said, have hope! If you can’t make yourself, then I will. It’s an order!” I clenched my hands. “Don’t give up, because I won’t let you!” I spoke out of my ass. Still, a good noble required loyal servants, and I didn’t mind lying for that.
The rain started pouring out of her soul, as liquid starpower filled her body, flowing like a river. With a shaking voice, she mumbled, “Yes.” The energy filled her body, and she channeled her affinity correctly for the first time. It probably increased her resonance by a lot, too.
“Remember that feeling, Kory. That’s your reassurance. Everything will be okay. You will learn a lot more. So long as you follow me, everything can come true.” I pet her shoulders and let her go. I said calmly, “Strengthen yourself.”
Kory breathed rhythmically; her body shone with an opaque cyan aura. “I can do it!” She mumbled. “I can do it!” She opened her eyes. Her pupils narrowed down, showing their draconic origin, and even her small wings spread open.
“That’s right, keep flaring, with me by your side, everything is possible,” I repeated my words. Lying to children was far too easy.
I snapped my fingers loudly, trying to bring attention back to me. “Steel! Stop banging on the wall. Listen to me.” Now was the time for indoctrination. The girls turned to me, their faces resolute and happy.
“My name is Magnus Glanzvoll, the future supreme wizard.” I let a confidence seep from me. “Become my followers, and I promise, together we will become great! Your dreams will come true. Now tell me, who are you?!”
“I’m Steel and I will protect Kory!”
The other dragon looked awkwardly at me. I put some pressure in my voice, “Don’t hesitate. Say it proudly!”
“I’m… I’m…”
“Say it loud!”
She held her breath, clutching her fists. Loudly she proclaimed, “I am Kory and I will survive!”
Truly, now that I’m humble, being too charismatic is my only flaw. “Then let’s train! Strengthening is only the first step on our dominion!”
Steel happily raised her hands and shouted, “Yes!” Kory kept focusing on her breathing.
We spent three hours working on our forms. It was fun to hear their perspectives. Yet soon hunger forced me to go to the cafeteria, and exhaustion made me want to sleep. We said goodbye, promising to talk again tomorrow.
