First Battle
Before the battle.
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My weeks practice had started. I had to get used all these new skills, that I had just found out I had, in such a short frame of time. That didn't bother me however. As finally it was leading up to one of the things I had been waiting ages for.
"Alllll right! Let's go practice on some dummies."
I had gotten up bright and early with Mother again to begin my practice. She had gotten a lot of old suits of armour out from the armoury in the castle for me to practice my skills on. Although they were old, they were better than nothing.
"Okayyy Alicia, while I go out and hunt for some food you stay here and practice those skills."
"Yes Mother!"
Mother then set off to go hunt for our meals.
Okay, now let's start by trying to use magic. Mother said it is like second nature for us to use fire magic. I suppose that is sort of true since I fired that beam of fire without meaning to.
She said to try and imagine the fire taking form in the way that I want it to.
Then a small fireball began to form in my stomach before heading out towards my mouth. Once I felt it inside my mouth, I spat it towards one of the suits of armour.
Take this! I shouted inside my head as it went hurtling forwards and eventually hitting one the armours.
"Damn it…" Although it hit one the armours, it was not the one I was aiming for. Looks like I need to work on my aim among other things. But I suppose it was my first time using magic, so the fact I hit anything could be seen as a success.
I then practiced spiting out my fireball for the rest of the day. Every time my mana ran out I had to rest for a little bit. But I kept trying until Mother got back in the evening with her spoils from hunting.
"Mother! Mother! I used magic and hit some of the armours!" I shouted as I jumped into Mothers arms. She happily giggled at my excitement as she began stroking me and running her fingers through my hair.
I was so excited about being able to use magic that I had forgotten about all the fatigue that I had built up during the day. The combination of the fatigue and strokes nearly sent me off to sleep right there.
"Not yet Alicia, first you must eat then you can go to sleep with me." Mother said with a smile.
"Haaaah okaayy…" I reply trying my hardest not to make audible noises of satisfaction from being stroked.
I then had my meal of raw monster meat, which was a lot nicer then it sounds, and went and curled up with Mother to go to sleep.
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This cycle repeated itself for a few days and I was slowly getting better at using my magic skills. The accuracy of my fireball was improving and I was able to hit the suit of armour I was aiming for a lot more often now.
During the days I was training I also asked Mother for more information on evolution. She kept the explanation on it rather vague so as to not give me to much information to quickly originally. She explained that most creatures evolve when they get to level 100. Once they evolve their level then resets to zero again and starts again.
However, Mothers level was 194 so I asked her about why her level was higher then the usual max level before evolving. She tells me this is because Dragons are some of the most powerful creatures even after one evolution. Therefore, after the second evolution, they have a higher level they have to reach before further evolving. In Mothers case she will evolve once she hits level 200. So she was quite close to evolving actually.
"So, what's your current race title then Mother?"
"I am currently a Noble Flame Dragon, which is my fourth evolution. Hmmm, I wonder what I will evolve into next…"
Mothers race title sounds quite impressive. I will have to work extremely hard to be able to try and catch up with her someday.
I also learned how old Mother was…
"Hmm? My age? Now now Alicia, its rude to ask a woman her age you know. But I suppose I can tell you; I am 210."
That really surprised me. That must mean that Dragons have a rather long-life span. So that means I have plenty of time to get strong, but I do also want to get as strong as possible as quickly as possible. I am rather impatient.
After that, for the rest of the week I continuously trained in preparation. I had no idea how strong an enemy Mother was going to bring. So I would like to be as prepared as possible to give me the best possible chance of defeating whatever it was.
Then it came to the last day before my debut battle. Due to my constant training, I felt as though my strength, speed and stamina had grown a little bit. My magic capacity (MP) had also increased which was probably due to me using a lot of flame magic during my training. Lastly my vitality had increased due to me becoming healthier as whole as well as an increase in my other attributes.
I am as prepared as I possibly can be with a week's preparation. I am currently in the entrance way of the castle were me and Mother sleep, getting ready for bed.
"Are ready for tomorrow Alicia?" My Mother said as she entered the room with a smile.
"Yes Mother, I have tried my hardest all week. There is no way what ever you bring tomorrow is going to beat me!" I shout while making a gut's pose.
"Hehe, I am glad you are looking forward to it. Be careful not to become overconfident though dear Alicia, that can often lead to unexpected things occurring. Always be aware until you know your opponent can no long fight."
I appreciated Mothers advice. Whenever she was not hunting monsters for food for us, she would come and watch me and give me advice to try and improve myself. I felt like there was no way I could let her down after all the support she has given me.
"Come now, it is time for us to sleep. You need to be well rested for your first battle."
I then curled up with Mother and went to sleep.
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Battle day.
I woke up with Mother, but she soon left to go grab my opponent. I did not want to train any further though. I had prepared for a whole week, I didn't want to get tired or to use any of my MP before the battle in case I needed it.
After a few hours I saw the silhouette of a woman flying towards where I was. Of course this was my Mother who was in her human form with wings sprouting from her back. In her hand she was carrying a sack that seemed to be rustling violently, whatever was in it wanted to get out rather desperately.
Mother was still floating above me as she spoke to me.
"Aliciaaaaa, I am back! Are you ready for your first real battle. It goes without saying it will be much different from attacking harmless dummies of armour, so you need to be careful."
I stood up straight and extended my wings and neck showing what I thought would be a rather powerful and prideful stance.
"I am ready!"
"Hoooh so cuteee… ahem, okay let us begin!" Mother shouted as turned the bag and let what was in it drop out.
"Giiiiii!"
What dropped out was a small green looking creature dressed in rags. As it stood up on its two legs it gave me a wary glare with its rather ugly face.
"This monster is called a goblin. It is a monster that is very weak on its own, they get a bit stronger when they are in groups which may cause problems for those of a low level who fight against them. Now... good luck my Alicia!"
The goblin was looking at me from a distance, it had also picked up a rather sharp rock to use as a weapon.
"Alright let's see how you handle this [Fire Ball]!"
I launched a fire ball in the direction of the goblin who managed to dive out of the way. It seemed surprised but quickly began to charge at me with its rock.
"Giiiiiiii!"
I launched more fireballs but none of them hit. It is a lot harder to hit a moving target then the stationary dummies I was practicing on.
It took a swing at me with its rock, but I easily managed to dodge its swing and smacked it back with my tail. I knew it did damage as it groaned from the impact. I then sent a few more fire balls at it but none managed to hit.
Hmmm, lets try a different approach then.
I decided to let the goblin come close before hitting it with a fireball, that way there is less chance of me missing and it has less time to dodge the fireball.
It quickly advanced at me again after being hit away, it was only a few feet away when I tried to use it but…
"Huh?"
Why isn't it working? Shit the MP bar…
Just as I realised my mana was drained too much to use a fireball, the goblin had gotten close and went to stab me with its rock.
"Tch, I am not going to let you!"
I managed to whack away the sharp stone with my claw, but the goblin kept coming. It grabbed hold of my body and bit down with it fangs.
"Arghh!"
"Alicia!" I heard Mother shout.
I can't make her worry and let her down!
I then stuck both of my front claws into the torso so as to not let the goblin escape, we were then stuck in a deadlock. Little did the goblin realise the position he was in…
"Fufufu, you are screwed [Fireball]!"
I put all of my remaining mana into this fireball and shot it directly into its face. I knew that I wouldn't take any damage from my own attack thanks to my resistance to the flame element.
Due to my skill [Dragon Regeneration], my MP had built back up pretty quickly which allowed me to use my fireball yet again.
What happened after the fireball hit the goblin was rather gruesome. Its head had been completely blown off. The body then fell to the ground soon after.
I had won.
"Kyuuuuuuuuuuu!!!"
I couldn't help but give a victory cry to celebrate my first successful fight in this world. A sense of euphoria filled me, I want to fight more! Who else can I fight?!
However, that feeling didn't last long as I noticed a huge presence charging straight at me.
"Aliciaaaaaaaaa!"
Mother was flying straight at me at immense speed with a worried look and tears in her eyes.
"S-slow down Mother waittt ahhhh!"
Mother didn't listen and I closed my eyes as my Mother dived at me. When I opened them she was hugging and stroking me…
"Uuuuu Alicia I was sooo worried! But I am suuuper proud that you one your first battle but you scared me when you let that goblin bite you I order to defeat it! It was a smart plan because the goblins attacks aren't super strong and will not do too much damage! But you shouldn't worry me so much!"
So she thinks I let the goblin bite me on purpose….
"Th-that's right it was all according to my great plan! Worry not Mother it did not hurt one bit!"
I mean I was shocked when it bit me and I was expecting pain which is why I shouted, but it didn't actually hurt very much at all.
After a while Mother calmed down a bit. She will have to accept the fact however I may get hurt sometimes as seek out my fighting partners. But I suppose that will come with time.
With my first battle finished, Mother declared that she had also brought back tons of monster corpses for a feast in celebration.
And so came to an end my first battle in a new world.