Dragon Necromancer: Starting With First Dragon Bloodline

Noa walked beside Thalia, heading towards Darrik.

The second lesson was something Noa was excited for, especially after sensing shadow mana particles.

"Seeing you fight against Commander Haric made my heart drop," Thalia said on the side. "It was so intense… and scary."

"You have never fought before?" Noa asked.

The maid shook her head, acknowledging her station.

"No. I grew up in this mansion, and my duties were to…"

She stopped suddenly, as if afraid that Noa would scold her.

She wanted to apologize as well, but seeing how kindly Noa's eyes flickered, she smiled shyly.

"I told you to jog with me, remember?" Noa reminded. "I wasn't joking. You can train with me if you want. The stronger you are, the safer I will feel."

A silence fell.

Thalia knew her master was kinder than the other young masters—those she had heard horrifying stories about.

But this offer was beyond her expectations.

"Really?" she questioned. "I am allowed to do that?"

"Why not? I told you, I want you to be strong," Noa answered, his voice slow and deliberate.

Meanwhile, they reached the destination and found Darrik sitting under the tree, cutting off Thalia before she could press further.

"It's quite hot, right?" the mage said. "I am sure that crude guy made you sweat buckets. Now you can rest in the shade."

Hearing his offer, Noa looked at him as if he were an angel.

Only a fool would refuse this deal, and he sat beside the man, signaling for her to sit as well.

The maid lowered her head for a moment, hesitating.

Noa urged her with a firm gesture, so she complied.

For a while, none of them spoke, basking in a cool breeze until Noa opened his mouth.

"I felt it," he said, glancing down at his shadow.

Darrik looked at him with one eye. "Felt what?"

"Mana."

Noa's voice showed his confidence. "Last night. I tried it again and… sensed it for a while. Then I used all of my reserves and fell asleep."

"Wait, what?" Darrik questioned.

He jumped up, eyeing Noa as if he were a stranger.

Even Thalia seemed surprised.

She also knew how rare it was for people outside of the royal family to sense mana before awakening. And everyone who had done it before were powerhouses who could affect the fate of the entire kingdom.

Noa nodded at Darrik. "Just for a moment. I couldn't shape it, but it was there."

"What about the Affinity?" Darrik asked, his hands shaking with excitement.

Shaking his head, Noa lied through his teeth. "I don't know."

He wanted to lie about shadows.

At least for a couple of days, until he learned more about affinities and the world.

He didn't want to put too many eyes on himself, and sensing mana was already stretching it.

Noa didn't really trust anyone. Not yet.

So he didn't know what would happen after the awakening, and hiding a couple of cards might help him later.

Darrik straightened his back.

"Most people can't sense that damn thing, but you did it on your own. It's alright if you don't know what affinity you have. I can help you with that."

A rare seriousness flashed through his face.

He was eager to teach Noa how to control the mana he had sensed.

Then he crouched again.

This time, he sat cross-legged, gesturing for Noa to mirror his actions.

Noa did as he was told, and he also pointed at Thalia to do the same thing.

Seeing this, Darrik narrowed his eyes but didn't comment.

"Try to reach the same feeling," he said to Noa. "If you felt it once, I am sure your body remembers."

As he spoke, a faint glow moved through his veins, pulsing as the beast merged with him, stirred, and mana obeyed his commands.

Noa concentrated.

It took him quite some time, but he found it.

Mana, hidden beneath his skin, pulsing like a second heart.

It filled Noa with familiar sensations. "I think I—" he said, but stopped before the shadow fled from his senses.

"Hold it," Darrik whispered.

He tried to be subtle so he wouldn't break his concentration.

"And let it rest on your palm. Take it slow and don't forget to breathe."

Noa did as he was told.

He pulled softly, trying to shape shadow from his being into the outside world.

But suddenly, the sensation slipped between his fingers, vanishing like a cloud of smoke.

"Don't worry," Darrik said. "Shaping mana takes time. Even King Rowan needed a week to do it."

'But last night,' Noa remembered. 'I sensed how shadows deepened. Hell, shadows moved even when I practiced with Haric.'

The standard Noa just heard was lower than his capabilities.

Now he had more reasons to hide his strength, because if someone found out that he had shaped mana as soon as he sensed it, only disaster would follow.

Gulping, Noa remembered protagonists from anime and web novels who hid their power.

Now he could sympathize with them.

'One has to be strong to protect one's life.'

In his case, it was his potential, especially reviving dragons and taming them, bound to make him stronger as a human in this world.

But he had to be patient.

So he tried to pull mana again, clutching chaotic particles and shaping them into something more.

Yet every time he was close to giving them a specific structure, the particles crumbled into dust.

He opened his eyes, staring at his palms.

Mana was gone again.

His head throbbed in pain, dizziness overcoming his vision.

But before he lost his consciousness, Darrik made him drink something.

It tasted almost identical to the potion Haric gave him, but instead of the cooling sensation, this potion filled him with warmth.

It quickly washed over his exhaustion, allowing Noa to keep his mind awake.

"You need to think about your reserve and fill the tank when you are low on mana," Darrik explained.

"Let's try again, but this time I will teach you how to harvest mana outside of your body."