Day 294

  For the last few weeks, Isaac had been taking life easy. As in flying over a continent and places he had never been to. The new land and nature were all fascinating to see, as he found new favorite places to hunt and plants... spices to add to the tastes.

  He really was starting to think like a dragon.

  Places to remember so he could add what he wanted to his collections... ‘more like a hoard now.’ Be it food or a plant.

  The more he flew around and saw, the bigger this world was. The continent he was on was in the shape of a crescent, almost like a half moon. He hadn’t explored all of it yet, as it was huge. But his eyes could see quite far. He had made a mental map of where everything was. His mountain was in the mid-north. A giant mountain standing up in the cold plains, very unnatural compared to the rest of the continent so far.

  Further north, he could see forests and hills creating a rugged landscape. ‘But no snow,’ that was interesting.

  To the south, and the way he was heading now. He could see a desert, and further from there, what could only be a jungle.

  It made him smile that he had the chance to explore this. And see the world untouched by anyone but himself, monsters, and animals. He even had the chance to see more spawning of monsters he hadn’t seen. It also made him start looking more into the phenomenon.

  He was more into magic phenomena, anyway. For he was still trying to understand the basics of magic. And on his current journey, Isaac was learning a lot. He met more monsters that could use magic. And he found a twin-tailed horse that used the ambient mana to create small fireballs. And as he had been following them and seen how they did it, he had perceived that he just needed to follow the flow of the mana motes that were formed. It was a way of writing... kinda.

  And that sent him for a loop. He had, for every time, just been using “the feels of mana" to move the mana motes. But if the mana motes could be used to write and form the words. The magic words could be bent more easily than ever, and from the last few tests, getting closer for every try.

  He spent days and weeks trying to make the Sigil of fire and failing. But it suddenly clicked, like a level up.

  Congratulations. You are the first Arcane Dragon to form a Fire Sigil. For taking your first step in mastering the Arcane of Fire, your {Arcane Fire Attunement} has increased. And additional evolution paths have opened for you.

  Here we go!!

  The success of the Sigil, clicked into place and was palpable. He felt, and could see it in his Mana core. the Sigil taking shape, and Isaac knew he couldn't forget this even if he wanted to.

  He quickly made the Sigil, and fire came to be. But as he found out, this was in essence a way to shape the mana in a chosen element, and he could feel that he had a lot more control. In addition, he could feed it more of his mana. That was what the twin-tailed horses didn't have, a mana pool.

  He started feeding the small flame in his claws. The fire Sigil took in the mana, turning more and more blue. It only took a few seconds, but after fifty mana, he had made what could only be a fireball. And he aimed for a clearing nearby.

  The resulting explosion and crater were... not what he had been expecting... but it was a welcoming result. ‘Damn, am I a wizard now?’ he was getting quite close... wasn't he, but it wasn’t like anyone in this world could say anything against it.

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  Day 309

  Closing in on the desert, Isaac was pretty happy with his progress for the last few days.

  He was still testing his skill against monsters he thought could make him put in the effort. And for that, his Arcane Claws had leveled up to twenty. which gave him a new screen.

  Congratulations, Arcane Claws has reached the evolution point. Evolve and the skill will grow with you.

  He didn't get more information than that. But he didn't need more. He knew when his dragon level would reach twenty, it would make him evolve... as long as he had enough Dragon nourishment, he guessed it needed to be above a hundred, and currently it was over two hundred. He wasn't as hungry as he had been at the start of the year, but he could always try out something new to eat.

  There were, of course, more level-ups.

  You have leveled Mana Bite to level 19

  You have leveled Mana control to level 7

  ...

  You have leveled Mana control to level 9

  You have leveled Evasion to level 7

  You have leveled ?Arcane Sight to level 9

  You have leveled Arcane Focus to level 7

  You have leveled Dragon Fear to level 3

  You have leveled Dragon Fear to level 4

  You have leveled Mana perception to level 6

  You have leveled Arcane Dragon fire to level 4

  ...

  You have leveled Arcane Dragon fire to level 7

  Congratulations, you are now a Level 12 Arcane Dragon youngling.

  Congratulations, you are now a Level 13 Arcane Dragon youngling.

  It was good progress, and for all of it, the magic training he was doing had also been progressing.

  It was easier to use the sigil for each level up, that was for sure. But it had also synergized with his fire breath as his Arcane Dragon fire was easier to produce, and it was hotter.... And from the last few times he had used it with his Mana perception, he could see that the Arcane Dragon Fire was fueled not only by his mana.

  But it was also eating all the ambient fire mana motes that it could get its hands on.

  It was essentially a super-hot, yet somewhat self-sustaining, fire...

  That could, in theory, live on as long as there were fire mana motes... There were, however, not too many of them in general.

  'Maybe if I make a big enough fire?' The thought made him chuckle.

  It was funny, Isaac wasn’t sure, but life as a Dragon, and the progression was actually making him happy.

  He landed on the start of the desert, which had very quickly shifted to the new terrain. From the frosty to the hot and dry desert. His Mana perception explained it; the ambient mana motes in the desert were more of the fire variety, and in the grass plane, it was of the ice motes.

  The sand on his right side twitched, and Isaac looked over. It wasn’t above ground, it was under?. And whatever it was, it moved almost too fast for him to react, but it was visible in his Mana perception, too. ‘Is that a worm?’ he didn’t get to finish that thought as a dragon-sized worm came biting out of the sand, right under him.

  Isaac did respond before it shot out, he started to flap his wing-arms, and getting away from the ground, he did get some air... but not enough. ‘Shit’ was all he could say as the worm, for that was what he saw, shot out of the ground. It went straight for him. Its face was made out of teeth and sharp bone, perfect to bite and hold it’s prey down.

  The worm, however, did struggle as it bit him. Isaac’s scales were holding. But it did hurt like hell.

  Howling in pain and starting to fall, Isaac started to scramble for a quick solution. And it was fire; Dragon fire.

  A quick inhale of air, and he let it rip. But then the worm did something Isaac would never have guessed... it let go and it cast its own sigil.

  In rapid succession, it formed a stone cone around it as Isaac’s fire engulfed it. The worm shrieked in pain, but that was it. As the worm hit the ground, Isaac now sensed that it moved through the earth like water, and that it had a core like him...

  That meant it had awakened its mana; it generated its own like him.