Useless Dragon

I walked into caves that were by all accounts mine, surrounded by kobolds like I was a parade float. And today, I was just as celebrated as one.

"I never knew Zyradon had this many kobolds" I cheered quietly, marveling at their numbers. The kobolds seemed braver, recognition of me as their [Lord] rather than their potential predator letting them exist in an unusually happy frenzy. Kobolds seemed to need to be doing something at all times- some were carrying rocks out, some carrying logs in, more than one wrangling a rebellious-looking wyvern.

"Who are you?" I stated, feeling the weight of my command wash over her. I would have my answer. Not her, I thought, as I looked closer, draconic familiarly piecing together the details with this wyvern's posture and voice. Them.

"I'm onyx, wyvern of sharpness!" They answered, seeming unafraid; or at least to mask their fear. "And you're not the boss of me!"

"Very well then." I reared back, sitting on my back legs in a move of both stature and relaxation. "Show me your right to lead"

Onyx roared and whipped into a stream of attacks, and it was all I could do to twist aside to let my side-scales block what my underbelly could not. Wings powerful enough for flight this early lashed out with their hooks, before she took off and landed on me with her claws, a death sentence to prey. A long tail clattered off my side, tipped with an end like an estoc, acting as a distraction for the wyvern to dive-bomb me claw-first. I felt the scales on my neck chip, but she was in position

"Make sure" I instructed, grabbing her long neck with my wide claws "That you can finish those killing blows"

And in one motion, threw her aside. Her fangs scraped across flesh, almost deep enough to threaten my life, but this was no match for my greater size. I threw her down, pinning the smaller, lighter wyvern under my own weight.

"I win." I commanded, onyx's resistance breaking quickly as she accepted what she thought was her fate. "But that was a good display of attacks!"

Onyx looked confused as I stopped pinning her down.

"You would have overwhelmed and killed a foe your own size. I don't think a human could defend from that at any range"

Onyx looked so happy I thought she was going to fall over, all the more impressive from her four-pointed stance. 

"What did you do for Zyradon?" I asked

"Nothing..." Onyx admitted. "I was here as bait for big sis Kiara to rescue me"

"And if you're still that powerful, imagine how much more you can become with some real training! You're free to go home, no harm no fowl, or stay here and hunt monsters on my lands until you're strong enough to make the trip. You can-"

"Mom Toria must be worried sick! Thank you!" Onyx exclaimed, almost tripping over her wings as she flapped out the doorway and into her freedom. Yet even though I lost some fighting force, I gained some reputation- and a reminder of how I wanted to fight. My claws looked like the missing piece of a puzzle to deal with magical creatures of all kinds, but left me too exposed. Corrosive poison synthesis was at a weird spot, specialty split between acidity and toxicity. And of course, several skills were ready to grow. Frenzy, Rapid Healing, Stamina cap, and both Water and Mind magic...

True to my species I was hoarding skill points, so away I spent. [Headbutt] and [Tackle] were two skills that let me make use of better size, one for armored foes and the other for armored structures. I was surprised that a being as large as I could take [Dodge], but that and [Block] shored up my defenses. [Fire synthesis] was a no-brainer, as the first I knew about dragons was their flaming [Breath]- Hold on, [Breath] was back on my list?

Purchased! That and [Bite] came back to act as cheap alternatives to their older siblings and explore new paths. Rounding out my physical skills was [Dash], letting me push my boosted speed even further at the cost of stamina. I couldn't neglect magic either, and scrolled to that section of the Skill panel. Mana Gathering and Mana saving, and Mana storage would let me cast more. Mana compression scaled off of that, and let me use more mana to cast stronger spells. And finally Mana control, a small but straightforward buff.

I felt a rush of cool winds just behind my head. Mana built up slightly but noticeably better in my hungry kanastone. And of course, all that mana had a purpose. Intentionally or not I left half my stash of skill points for evolving what I already had.

Stamina cap was... oddly game-like. I could increase its size, but that was pretty much it- And that's how I knew it was fusion fodder. 

Frenzy was stuck in a similar boat; I could increase its power, increase its efficiency, do about half of both, so I looked at fusing it with [stamina cap up]

[Buffered frenzy-] of course it locked away my stamina for no obvious gain. Frenzy became [Greater frenzy], further increasing raw power at no greater stamina consumption

Rapid healing was always useful, but . Ready to give it the standard 2-point advancement, I saw the Fundamental power I had left over and dropped it right in

[Skill: Rapid healing (I) has become Fundamental Skill: Rapid healing (I+)!]

The options for it opened up. I could always promote it to just a better version of itself, but the other options looked more promising. A lingering heal that kept my health rising even after I stopped the main heal, an automatic heal that activated a little when stamina was full and health was not, a desperate heal that restored health faster the more of it I was missing, and even weirder still. The last option seemed to modify fuel source, be it mana, food saturation, or...

[Ki-enhanced healing usage blocked by title: Useless]

I sighed, but chose the mana-powered heal. This would allow me to double down on using stamina for the new moves, and let me use my stamina skills in all forms for more important acts.

Mind magic allowed communication. Between its choices like advanced, efficient, and forceful, I chose [Distant mind magic (II)], letting me stay in communication range

But my final 4 skill points went to...

Water magic (I+) -> Abyssal water magic (III+)

And I went to test it all out. I was fast, but [Dash] was faster, letting me hurtle through my cave like a thrown rock. Topaz didn't, couldn't even stop me, seemingly too busy conversing with a kobold to notice. I stopped my dash by the sea, alternating between taking deep [breath]s and lapping up the salty water with my wide tongue. While both those skills gained a level, I was far more excited about the prospect of this new water magic.

"The most basic spell, water orb" I lifted one claw, following the flowing motions required by water manipulation. A sliver of mana flowed through my purple claws, power attracting nearby water into an orb and sending it flying a dozen feet ahead to a nearby tree. My aim was true, though likely only at a stationary target.

"And now..." I thought. I pushed deeper into my well of magic, blacking out for a second. My vision un-hazed, revealing a familiar internal realm. A familiar nest. 

Yet a new door nest had opened, to a half-full pool of glowing cyan. The square stones on it were much smaller, edges even ridged to prevent slipping. This was a mana pool, I realized, constructed from my knowledge on swimming pools. I looked down this pool, seeing the bottom sliver a deeper, darker colour. More mana slowly fell in through the roof, forming a near-unbroken stream

[Skill: Mana gathering has risen to level 2]

And the stream widened. My pool began to fill slightly faster. I watched it fall like a cat, turning my focus from the obscured opening to the fill below. Where the stream met the surface, mana plunged. Most of it floated back to the top, joining the light blue, but some seemed to stay heavy, darkening and deepening. Watching it fill another few inches, I realized this was no different. The stream and surface were the same colour. The mana wasn't separating, it was condensing.

"And I can condense it faster."

I focused my mind on the top, far away from the ripples, and pressed the mana to the wall. It slipped through my grip like water through an open hand, but I persisted, focusing on a smaller and smaller area until the mana droplet seemed to implode on itself, shrinking in width from finger to pencil eraser. The drop of condensed mana fell to the ground, and I could feel my flesh-self pant, but I did it.

[Skill: Mana compression has risen to level 2]

The system clearly rewarded my efforts to make compressed mana, but I had some beforehand. Did I just waste...

"Of course I didn't." I corrected myself. That would be like calling rapid healing a waste. I reached into the pool and drew out a handful of compressed mana, azure substance all too eager to work with me.

Back outside, I cast the same spell, willing the compressed mana through my claw. It moved in familiar ways, memory reinforced by the Skill. This time, a larger orb of water floated to my hand, it too seeming darker, and shot towards the nearby tree. The mana holding the water together ran out halfway through, but the impact bent branches with a crack. The orb of water decompressed on impact, spreading out with force and weight and taking a clump of leaves down to spread on the drenched grass.

"My apologies, tree. But I'm not done with you yet."

I wasn't done yet. And while I might be low on compressed mana, I still had a good chunk of the regular stuff left. I plunged into the depths of my new school of magic, past the intermediate tier and downwards to the first spell. And as it did, I realized how out of my depth I was. Mana gushed out of my pool at an alarming rate, and as I did I felt like I was drowning. All the while it formed a circle on the ground just ahead, cyan mana turning a sinister, dark blue.

"What am I casting?" I thought, before the dam burst. Water surged upwards from the four corners, entombing the tree in inky depths. I could barely see or hear through the wall of water, but the cracking of the tree was unmistakable.

I only had the mana to maintain this spell for a second, maybe a second and a half. I released my grip, and the water ceased to be a cylinder. It spilled all at once, drenching the ground and flowing rapidly back to the seaside. I had to dig my claws into the ground to prevent being swept away, but couldn't dig them out in time to dodge a log to the foreleg. It struck my limb with a crunch, a curse in draconic hissing out of my mouth like steam. What was left of the tree however was... A stump inside a tiny lake. Water pooled around the snapped tree, its weight having compressed the ground to a concave shape. 

[Skills have risen. Mana control 1->2. Mana saving 1 -> 3]

I knew this was a leap in power, but three levels off one Skill solidified it. Wanting to give my empty mana pool a break, I tried the other Skills. Fire synthesis did exactly what I expected, turning stamina into this burning wax which I could forcefully breathe at foes. Headbutt and tackle turned this stamina into momentum, and a quick spar against the greatsword kobold taught me the basics of [dodge] and [block]. I didn't want to lose myself in a greater frenzy just yet, but a Level for most if not all of my new skills left me prepared for the basics of what was ahead. I strode to Zyradon's old nest, curling up on it with pride and letting time blur as I rested. 

"Valerie?" Topaz asked through our mental connection, without even waiting for a pause. "The kobolds dug their way into trouble."

I sighed, and stood on my four legs. "It won't be trouble for long"