Druk

*Crzzt?*

My lightning bunny was finally back, currently looking at me as if I was an idiot to lose the process of creation in the first place.

'Is this little guy sentient? No way, that would be crazy...'

I had spent every single day this week fully focusing on trying to get my mana control back to a passable level, and I had finally done so. It was still hard to make the little critter move as fluently as I'd like, but this would do for now.

Looking up at the white-haired old man, I searched for confirmation of my hard work, which I got in the form of a smile. "Well done, young hare. Although it might still be a bit lacking, it should be enough for you to start absorbing the essence, albeit just a fraction."

It was finally time for me to try and absorb the essence of the round, purple gem which had its insides raging with a miniature thunderstorm.

As my master put the essence in my hands, I could instantly feel some form of connection to it. It wanted me to reach out to it, it wanted to find its rightful place.

"Focus!"

The yell of my master had brought me back from my small trance, letting me regain my clarity once more.

'Dangerous...'

It was a scary feeling, knowing that the essence was pretty much a Venus flytrap to me; luring me in with its irresistible charm only to take my life if I got trapped.

I took another breath and cupped my hands in front of my navel, one holding the other, with the essence on top.

There was no intention in me to try and absorb a lot of power right now. It was more like an experiment or practice; an attempt to just try to get used to how it would feel when consuming the energy.

Thankfully, my master was here to guide me as well, "Now, slowly let your mana enter the essence but as soon as you feel the connection between you strengthen, block your channels and withdraw your mana."

Doing as told, I closed my eyes and tried to input as little energy as I possibly could into the essence. The moment my energy passed through the small shell, everything went black.

****

"So, you are the one he chose? A bit small for a warrior, ain't you?"

A low and vibrating voice rang out in my inner sanctum, and even though I wanted to rebut his rude words, I couldn't. After all, my body didn't exist here, nor did his. However, this being, or what I assumed to be the essence, could somehow still communicate clearly with me.

"Hmmm... That's a strange Battle Art and Inherent Disposition, [Overclock] and [Boundless]? You are one unique human. On top of that, your element is pure lightning? No, your whole mana pool is just purple thunder?! How did this happen?!"

Although he asked a lot of questions, I still couldn't answer them, unfortunately. Seemingly needing no answers to his questions, the entity carried on.

"This makes things complicated, human. I was about to grant you some of my power right now, but it seems like if we act recklessly, your body will implode as we might not be able to control the flow. Ah, right! It was a part of human culture to introduce themselves, wasn't it?"

My mind was spinning right now, unable to comprehend what the fuck was happening. Why was the essence talking like it was alive, and why was it going to introduce itself? Nothing made sense anymore. Sadly, I didn't have a choice in the matter, I could only continue to listen.

"I am Druk, the primordial dragon of thunder and lightning. I am the one who gifted you my claws, Khanda and Nandaka, and I am the creator of the essence you are currently holding in your little paws."

A fucking dragon?! I guess I shouldn't be all too surprised with everything that had happened recently, even finding out the existence of gods, but it was still mind-blowing that I was currently having a conversation with a dragon. Or at least a dragon was talking to me.

"I gave my friend the mission to find a suitable heir for my inheritance, and he has chosen you to be so. Now, unfortunately, it seems impossible for me to gift you any of my raw power until you find a way to control your Inherent Disposition. Right now it is currently creating a situation where your body will accept any power it is given, no matter how much or potent it is."

Even if his words made sense, how would I ever find a way to stop breaking the limits of being? Wasn't it already an integral part of my entity? However, he spoke with words that insinuated that there was a possibility, thus I couldn't help but trust him.

"Instead, I will give you another gift. Instead of power, I will grant you a skill that might help you in the future. Do know, that I have no idea what kind of form this skill will take, as it likely will adjust because of your Battle Art."

*CRRRZZT!*

'AAAARRRGHHH!'

My nonexistent body was attacked by the feeling of electrocution, burning everything from the inside out. As I was silently screaming my imaginary lungs out, Druk left after saying some finishing words.

"Get strong, tiny human. Get stronger than everyone, more ruthless than anyone, and more determined than even the gods. That is my legacy. Now, I'll take my leave before she gets angry."

****

I came back to reality, the smell of burnt flesh hitting my nose. My body was lying dully on the wooden floor.

"So you are back, little hare. It appears that even if our little experiment didn't quite go as planned, you still managed to gain something from it."

Forcing my numbed body to move, I sat up and looked at the old monster in front of me. I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but I didn't even know where to start. Fortunately, the old man just smile wryly and started to explain a bit about what was going on.

"Seems like you got to know the truth about my old friend. Druk and I have been friends for a long time, much longer than when the general awakening happened in this world. Although a lot of people have the perception that monsters and legendary beings didn't exist on earth before it, they are wrong. For example, the dragons are one of the species which have inhabited this planet for much longer than humans, hundreds and thousands of years before our existence."

"Why are you friends with a dragon, and why did you choose me to inherit his power?"

Even if it was nice hearing a bit about the truth of this world, I didn't care much about it. I wanted to know why my master was hanging out with a dragon and why I was supposed to be the heir to his legacy. Things had already started to get complicated with gods in the picture and now it just got even more so.

"Well, young hare... It just felt right?"

"Old man...!"

"Hohoho!"

The principal started laughing loudly, his hearty laugh covering the room, "I'm sorry, maybe this was not the time for jokes after all. However, there was a multitude of reasons to choose you as his heir. You already inhabit the same purple lightning as Druk, and you bear so much resemblance that I would almost dare say that you could be an incarnation of him. But most importantly, it did feel right."

I still didn't feel good about the final reason, but at least he had given some more reasonable ones as well, thus I could accept his explanation. "Now, sadly I cannot tell you more about this topic until you are ready."

The cliché finally arrived. What I thought he would have said when I asked why he brought me to the academy had just been delayed until now. However, I didn't have the energy to argue with him. If he felt like I wasn't ready to know everything, then I probably wasn't ready.

Instead, I had something else much more important that I had to do.

"Status."

===Status===

Name: Miren Porter

Rank: ★★★

Strength: I

Speed: VII

Stamina: III

Intelligence: III

Mana grade: ★★★

Charm:?

--> Inherent Disposition : [Boundless]

--> Battle Arts: [Overclock]

-Martial Skills: [Lightning Step], [Discharge], [Wings of Thunder]

--> Elemental affinities: [Lightning]

==========

'Wings of Thunder? What kind of skill is that?'