Return to the dragon's den [2]

Sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor inside the principal's dojo, I was intently listening to him talk about what we would be working on during our classes this semester, while he was sitting in his usual chair.

"In my eyes, it appears that you have made some quite rapid improvements in your mana grade. Although most people would say that's a good thing, there are a lot of dangers that come with it."

"What do you mean?"

*Dok*

Tapping his cane on the floor, he manifested a bubble of pure mana, which made its way between us.

"Mana isn't so simple that it can be used with leisure, and in your case, it's probably even more volatile. It can be used to create impossible phenomena, but it's only because of its erratic nature."

*Pok*

Tapping his cane again, the bubble exploded with such force that I fell on my back.

"Unfortunately it also makes for a natural instability. Just like some chemicals are naturally flammable, mana is prone to behave chaotically."

Sitting back up, I understood what his point was. My mana grade had progressed faster than my level of mana control, creating a situation where it was prone to backfire on me. This was something I had already experienced in the time capsule.

"Couldn't you just have told me that without blowing me away with that bubble, though?"

His wrinkles got even deeper as he let out a hearty laugh, "Hohoho! But that wouldn't be as fun, now would it?"

He was still the same old drake I knew from before, a mischievous old geezer.

Not minding his immature behavior, I pushed the conversation forward, "So that means I will continue the mana manipulation practice, focusing on creating more dynamic and intricate forms?"

The last time we were practicing I had managed to create my little lightning bunny, something I had continued to practice at the base of Basilisk, but without guidance, I didn't make enough progress proportionally to my M.G.

"You are correct. There is no point to cultivate the mana seed further until you have control over the energy it can produce right now. Instead, we are going to focus on your skills. So, how many skills do you have now and what do they do?"

It was obvious that he thought I would have learned at least one new skill during the time I was gone, but, unfortunately, that was not the case.

"I still only have the same two skills, although I got a derivative use of [Discharge] which makes it possible to send lightning out in the form of a projectile."

The principal waved his hand, and a dummy appeared.

"Please show me."

I stood up, getting ready to send a lightning bolt out with my hand when the principal interrupted me, "Aren't you going to use your daggers?"

Turning my head to the old man, a bit embarrassed, I told him the truth about the situation.

"Actually, when I practiced shooting a projectile with my dagger in the time capsule, it kind of blew my hand off several times. Oh, but I did manage to pull it off with about a 20% success rate!"

The old man turned to stone, his face now devoid of emotion, as he released his pressure, instantly forcing me to my knees. His gentle tone was replaced with a cold voice, "What was the pain simulation set to?"

"Hnng... It was... 70%!"

Gritting my teeth I had managed to squeeze out an answer, but instead of releasing his pressure the dragon increased it even further making it hard for me to breathe.

As I still didn't feel in danger, my brain didn't numb my emotions, thus I felt the full strength of the principal's aura. The principal stood up, appearing to be bigger than a mountain,

"YOU FOOL! DID YOU NOT STOP TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT KIND OF PAIN DOES TO YOUR MIND?! DO YOU WANT TO RUIN YOURSELF COMPLETELY?!"

After a few seconds of letting his pressure rage on, he calmed down, returning to his seat.

"Huff, huff, huff."

I had never seen the old man genuinely angry, and now I never wanted to see it again. He really was a fucking monster.

His calm demeanor came back as quickly as it left, "So, why did you think that was a good idea?"

Still on my knees, I answered, "Before I always practiced with a 100% pain simulation, so I could get used to the pain I felt when I used my Art and skills. When I realized how much damage it could do, I lowered it to 70%. And to be honest, I don't think I dare to lower it anymore. I don't want to be put in a situation where using my skills could turn into a liability just because I wasn't used to the pain."

Now I could just await his verdict, bracing myself at possibly having his pressure suffocate me again, in case he didn't like my answer.

Luckily enough, he just let out a sigh, "Haaaa... Miren, how much does it hurt to use your skills?"

Not wanting to deceive my mentor, and now official master, I told him the truth, "In the beginning, it hurt so much I wanted to die. Now it still hurt a lot, but it's manageable."

"Alright, if you think that it is necessary, I won't question your decision. Just promise me to be careful, okay?"

Once again our dynamic had shifted a bit, and I could now understand why he got so angry; it was because he cared for me. From a student and a principal to a youth and his granddad, that was our relationship right now, although it was unspoken.

Nodding my head, I promised him, "I will be careful."

Taking a sip of his tea, he got back on track, "So, get up and show me your lightning bolt then. Oh, without your daggers, of course, it would be good if you keep your hands still connected to your body."

Once again, I stood up and put up my arm toward the dummy. I charged up my [Discharge] for a couple of seconds before sending it out towards my target.

*Crrzzt*, *BOOM!*

It was still as powerful as ever, creating a small shockwave that lightly ruffled the principal's hair and beard, "Not bad. The power is good, but it takes too much time for you to use it in a real fight."

This had been the general theme so far with my [Discharge], even when I used it with a physical strike. It took a long time to produce enough power for it to be effective, ten seconds in a fight was more than enough to be killed. Not to mention the fact that I could also feel that my fist had already gotten damaged quite a bit after just one shot.

"I can do it without charging as much, but then I lose a lot of power."

It was fine to use against stupid monsters, as long as I had someone to keep their attention. There was no problem standing at a moderate distance, charging up my attack, and then either shooting it as a projectile or using my [Lightning Step] in order to close the distance to strike with my daggers, but this wouldn't work in a fight against an intelligent creature. There was also the scenario where I was by myself like I would be when fighting against James.

'I wonder when our fight will be held...'

There was still no word about what day we would be dueling but, for me, it felt like it would be better to do it sooner than later. The sooner I defeated James, the sooner I would get recognized as someone not to mess with, and if I was defeated I at least wanted to go out with a bang, creating a similar situation. But I had no intentions of being defeated.

The principal urged me to continue displaying my newfound skill, "Show me the different amounts of energy you can use, and how much time it takes to deploy the skill. There are a lot of potions to be used if need be."

As he already knew the drawback of my skill, he withdrew a box of potions from his spatial inventory.

I spent the next couple of minutes just showing him the four other different versions I had come up with while experimenting in the time capsule.

The weakest took only a second to charge, but it was incredibly weak. If faced against an opponent of a similar star grade, it would have no effect at all. The fourth strongest took three seconds to charge, and it could probably create a bit of a stunning effect on the target, but no real damage. These were the only ones I could use without damaging my body.

The third strongest took five seconds and could damage my opponent to some extent, but it wouldn't be a decisive attack. It would likely be inefficient against tanks. The second strongest had to be charged for eight seconds and it could do some serious damage if I manage to land it cleanly. Not a finishing strike but still strong.

My hand was now completely out of commission, and my whole right arm felt as if it was torn apart.

The verdict?

"We have a lot of work to do before you can use this in actual combat."