It was a lovely morning in the Mitsuha household. In their dining room on a certain day, Mitsuha Reika could be seen eating her breakfast while her mother was busy tending the dishes.

     "Reikaaaa! Help me wash these dishes!" Hearing her mother's voice, Reika gulped the food that she was chewing.

     "Gulp! Geez Mom, I was still eating my fill!" "Oh God, you aren't finished yet? What an eater you are!"

     "Moom! You knew I ate this many because your cooking was good!"

     Reika's mom smiled upon hearing her daughter's compliment.

     "Uh, huh... Well enough with your flattery and finish that fast."

      Reika heard her mom while her mouth was full.

     "Mhookayy!"

     Reika stared at her mother with a pleased look on her face.

     I'm glad that she's my mom...

     ...

     Inside a room lies Reika, who is still sleeping soundly. With her eyes closed, a single streak of sunlight hit her skin, passing through the open window.

     "Mmghh..."

     Her skin immediately felt the warmth of the sunlight and woke up from her slumber. She opened her eyes slowly, only to find an unfamiliar ceiling in front of her.

     Where am I?

     Confused, Reika rose slowly from her bed. There, she realized that she's in an unfamiliar room.

     "What happened last night..?"

     Reika suddenly remembered the events that evening before she got unconscious.

     That night, I was testing that new ability I obtained from Mister Alguis, but we got into an accident and were stuck in the ground...

     Reika held her head as she felt a slight discomfort.

     During that incident, I felt a tightness in my chest and difficulty breathing. Mister Alguis tried to help me... But when I was about to pass out, Soru came and... My vision became blurry after that...

     While Reika was still figuring out the events that happened that evening, Sylva entered the room.

     "Reika?"

     Hearing the familiar voice, Reika looked towards it and saw Sylva standing at the door.

     "Sylva?"

     Sylva hurriedly approached Reika and sat next to her.

     "Are you okay? They told me you got into an accident."

     Reika looked into Sylva's eyes and smiled.

     "I'm fine. Maybe because I slept, my condition is somewhat better now."

     Sylva smiled back at her.

     "I'm glad you're okay."

     Suddenly, Sylva stood up.

     "Oh, that's right! My purpose here was to get some stuff and then head back right after. But now that you've woken up, we'll walk outside together and eat some breakfast. I know you hadn't eaten yet since evening. Wanna come?"

     Reika shook her head slowly.

     "No, I will go on by myself. It seems like that stuff you were referring to was important."

     Reika saw that Sylva was busy looking for something in a basket.

     "Nahh... It's just my sister's clothes. My mother was bathing her, and she needs new clothes."

     Finally, Sylva found her sister's clothes and carried them on her arms.

     "Well, if you're feeling hungry, feel free to come outside anytime. I'll go first, alright?"

     Without uttering a word as a response, Reika simply nods her head and watched Sylva walk outside the room.

     Reika let out a deep sigh and stared outside the window in silence.

     While staring at the luscious trees in the distance, Reika felt a presence coming towards her. Out of nowhere, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in the window, entering the room.

     "Veylir?" 

     Veylir noticed Reika and got surprised too.

     "Reika? Oh, you're finally awake. I thought you'd sleep longer..."

     The dragon flew closer to her.

     "Wait. Where did you wander off while I was asleep?" Reika asked Veylir.

     "Uh... I helped that old dwarf, former king, whoever he is, to tend his broken ribs using some simple life-type ability to heal him."

     Reika immediately knew that the dragon was referring to Alguis Fellad.

     "Huh? They knew about your existence? How did they—"

     "Master Soru blew my cover while I was trying my best to conceal my presence on those dwarves. I can't defy his order, so I tried to gain your save using an aerial-type ability to fill your lungs with air."

     Reika connected the pieces that she was trying to recall that night, but something was still missing.

     "Mister Alguis has broken ribs... Wait. What happened while I was unconscious?"

     Veylir paused for a moment.

     "Erm... While you're unconscious, Soru misunderstood your situation, mistaking it as an intentional act from that old dwarf. So he pulled you away from that dwarf and began to attack him, including its subordinates after that."

     Reika was shocked by Soru's reckless actions. Now, all she could think of was worriness over the former dwarven king's condition and that of his subordinates.

     "Now that I think about it, it was impressive for him that he effortlessly handled those three without breaking a sweat, even though he's just a human."

     Reika looked at Veylir with dissatisfaction.

     "Yeah, and that very human is the one who managed to kill your physical body with ease too!"

     Suddenly, Veylir felt shivers down its spine, even though the dragon doesn't have one.

     "Guhhhh..! I don't want to hear about it..."

     A moment of silence between them emerged after that. However, that silence was broken when Reika uttered something.

     "Now that you've mentioned it, I kept hearing these "aerial-type ability" and "life-type ability" from you. What was that anyway?" Reika asked the dragon.

     Veylir was surprised by Reika's odd question.

     "Wait. You don't know that!? Which mountains did you even come from—"

     The dragon remembered that Reika wasn't from this continent, but rather from a place called "Japan."

     "Ahem. Okay, I will enlighten you so that your ignorance on this continent will dwindle..."

     "Ignorance? Are you—"

    Reika couldn't finish her sentence when a small flame the size of half of her fist emerged out of thin air.

     "All existing abilities were divided into three major classifications: Natural Abilities, Deviated Abilities, and Inherent Abilities."

    Reika quietly listens as Veylir explains it thoroughly.

     "Natural Abilities are abilities that are able to command and manipulate the laws of nature. They were divided into twelve subclassifications, and this ability was one of those twelve..."

     "This ability,《Ember》of the thermal-type ability, belongs to the Normal-class. Including the 《Breath of the Wind》, which I used to save your life at that time... is an aerial-type ability that was also categorized as Normal-class," Veylir added.

     "Normal-class? Does it have any relation to those thermal and aerial-type abilities?" Reika asked.

     "While aerial-type and thermal-type were classifications based on the type of nature of that specific ability, Normal-Class is a categorization that was based on the ability's rarity, range, and level of destructiveness."

     "The more destructive or larger the area-of-effect the ability could achieve, its rarity correlates with it. Almost all abilities are accessible through acquisition, be it learning or other methods, crude or not."

     "Normal-Class... How many classes are there to categorize these abilities by their rarity and destructiveness?" Reika asked.

     "There are four categorizations on it, which are Normal-Class, Special-Class, Ultimate-Class, and finally: Extremity-Class. Each of them had a different degree, ranging from a size similar to an average individual up to large structures and even a kingdom-sized range and destructiveness."

     "That's kind of scary... There's such an ability that could destroy a kingdom!?" Reika exclaimed in shock.

    "Of course! All abilities are diversified, be they offensive, defensive, or just a support one!"

    "Then... how many types of Natural Abilities you possess, Veylir?" Reika asked.

     "About that, aside from the thermal-type which I was highly proficient at, I also possess some aerial-type and life-type. About the soul-type... only one is all I could acquire through learning."

    "I see..." Reika murmured.

    "The second major classification of the ability, the 'Deviated Abilities', had only two subclassifications: the Conjure-type, which behaves like an output-type, and Augment-type which is basically an input-type of ability."

     "What differs on it from the Natural Abilities was that Deviated Abilities don't command or manipulate the laws of nature, but rather interacts with it. All of the Deviated Abilities were not related to either each one of the laws of nature, but it could influence them in a different manner."

     "Just take《Translator》, a Conjure-type for example. It has nothing to do with the laws of nature, yet it interacts with it. It exists like a medium to understand between languages, and doesn't have any relation on the laws of nature."

     "Do you have any Deviated Abilities beside《Translator》?" Reika asked Veylir.

     "Besides that, I have《Aeon Barrier》and— Woah, woah! Your ability allows you to have access to mine, right? You'll know all of it in the future anyway, so telling them one by one is useless."

     Reika's expression changed upon hearing Veylir. Seeing that the dragon was too lazy to elaborate further, she gave up.

     "Alright, Fine!"

     What a lazy dragon...

     "Hm... Now that I remember, was my ability《Contract》a... What? It's not one of the natural abilities since it doesn't have to do anything with this 'laws of nature' thing. It's more like a 'Deviated Ability' kind to me," Reika asked.

     Veylir fell silent for a moment.

     "Since the dawn of my existence, I've never heard of an ability named《Contract》. I'm not truly certain, but perhaps that ability is an Indvidual-type..." Veylir answered.

     "Individual-type?"

     "On rare occasions, certain individuals had a special kind of ability that only they could possess in their lifetime. These abilities are Individual-type, one of the two subclassifications of 'Inherent Abilities'."

     "Inherent Abilities are very unique compared to the other two because these abilities could be accessed only under specified requirements. Take the Individual-type for example."

     "Individual-type abilites are various abilities that were unique only to certain individuals the moment they were born from this world, and that specific ability can't be found on other individuals as long as the current one still exists in this world. It may appear once again after that individual is long gone, but the interval would take years, probably hundreds or thousands," Veylir added.

     "The other one is called Racial-type, which is also unique in its own way. These abilities were classified according to the race of a certain entity. Take me as an example. Since I am from the Draconic Race, I also have a unique set of Racial-type abilities that is intended only for the Draconic Race."

     "Is that so..?" Reika asked Veylir.

     Suddenly, an absurd idea struck her mind. To test it out, Reika immediately closed her eyes.

     "Draconic Race... Draconic..." Reika murmured.

     Suddenly, Veylir felt an immense aura that engulfed the room in an instant.

     "Wait. That...That is absurd!"

     The dragon wasn't mistaking it. Right in front of its very eyes, Reika activated an ability that only members of the Draconic Race could use.

     "Am I seeing things? That's 《Draconic Aura》!!"

     For the first time in its life, the Wildfire Dragon saw that a human used an ability that didn't have any relation to its racial origin. A human who could use an ability that only dragons had access to.

     "How did you...? Was that one of the functions of your ability 《Contract》!?" Veylir exclaimed.

     Reika deactivated the ability, and the aura dissipated quickly.

     "Yes. You said that Draconic Aura was a Racial-type ability that only those from the Draconic Race could've access to, right?" Reika asked Veylir.

     "Yes... But—"

     "I was curious to what extent the《Contract》ability could achieve, so I tried to use that despite knowing it was impossible in the first place. But to think that I could use it even though I'm a human..."

     "That individual-type ability you possess was simply overpowered! If you possess that cheat ability, not only don't you have to worry about ability acquisition through learning and stuff, but you could access abilities that are only available to a certain race!" Veylir exclaimed.

     "Eh? That's..." Reika murmured softly.

     "Wait. If you could use abilities from a race different from yours, does it mean that you could also use their Individual-type abilities as well?" Veylir asked Reika.

     "I don't know... Do you have one? I've never tried it before, so maybe it could be if we use yours," Reika asked.

     "Even though I am one of the Six Calamity Dragons, I do not possess one. Perhaps my existence isn't special enough to obtain it despite being one of the strongest monsters in the continent..." 

     Reika noticed that Veylir's expression turned gloomy. She tried to lift the dragon's mood.

     "Hey, don't worry about it. Even though you haven't possess one, why does it matter? You're strong even without that kind of ability!"

     The dragon's expression changed upon hearing Reika'a encouraging words. Veylir's confidence returned after Reika cheers the dragon up.

     "You're right. With my fiery flames alone, I devastated several and was hailed as one of the Calamity Dragons, and I should've been proud of it!" Veylir exclaimed in a joyful manner.

     "That's the spirit!" Reika exclaimed.

     While they were in the middle of their conversation, Reika's stomach suddenly acted strange.

     Grrrrmmmb~

     Veylir heard it and got confused by the strange sound.

     "What was that?" Veylir asked.

     Suddenly, Reika blushed out of embarrassment.

     "Miss Reika. Is that yo—"

     "I haven't eaten since yesterday, okay?" Reika exclaimed.

     Veylir blurted out a small laugh.

     "Pft!" 

     "What are you laughing at?" 

     Veylir noticed its actions and stopped laughing further.

     "Yeah, yeah. I apologize..."

     "Anyways! Since I told you everything about abilities, perhaps it's time to fill your stomachs up?" Veylir asked Reika.

     "Yes, I think it's time..." Reika said while holding her stomach.

     Having an urge to take a meal, Reika decided to stand up and head outside.

     Reika was about to get off when she noticed that her clothes were different.

     "My uniform..." Reika murmured.

     "Oh, was it the clothes you wore yesterday? A young woman changed your clothes since they got dirty. What was her name again? Yeah, right, Sylva." Veylir answered.

     Reika quickly checked her undergarments to see if they included it, but it was still there. Reika felt relief and sighed.

     Thank god she didn't change my undies...

     After her confirmation, Reika quickly got off the bed while Veylir followed beside her. While walking towards the door, Reika slowed down for a moment.

     "Veylir. I've been thinking about it for a long time, but what is your gender anyway? I have had trouble referring to you correctly this whole time..." Reika asked the dragon.

     Veylir also slowed down upon hearing Reika's strange question.

     "Well... unlike humans, dragons have a distinct constitution when it comes to genders and reproduction."

     "Oh?"

     "When a dragon was in its infancy stage, they had no such thing as genders, and reproductive organs were nonexistent. But as we grew older, our organs developed based on our desires and preferences on what gender we wanted," Veylir answered.

      "Then, since you're not an infant anymore, what gender did you desire?" Reika asked Veylir.

      "Isn't that obvious? Of course I chose to be a female dragon!" Veylir exclaimed.

      "Yeah, figures. It's just that I wasn't sure since your voice was slightly deeper compared to feminine ones..." Reika murmured.

      "Hey! The voice of an individual has nothing to do with its gender. There are several reasons why voices differ from each other, you know?" Veylir said to Reika.

      "Yeah, you're right. Whatever..."

      When Reika finally reached the door, she opened it and headed outside. There, she saw the village people busy with their own things.

     Reika looked beside her and noticed that Veylir was gone.

     Oh, I forgot that she... needs to conceal herself from others.

     While Reika was walking around, Sylva saw her from the distance. To get Reika's attention, she waved her hand in the air.

     "Reika! Over here!"

     Reika turned around and saw Sylva waving at her. She noticed that Sylva was holding a bowl, probably eating her breakfast. Seeing her eat made Reika's stomach grumble again.

     Grrrmmb~

     Without hesitation, Reika hurriedly walked towards Sylva. Sylva placed her bowl down on the table and picked another one. 

     When Reika reached her, Sylva poured the final soup from a spoon and gave the bowl to Reika.

     "Here it is. I hope you enjoyed my cooking!" 

     Reika reached out of the bowl and sat on a log next to a house. Sylva followed and sat beside her. She ate the food that Sylva cooked, and her hunger was finally satiated.

     "What took you so long? Don't you feel hungry at all?" Sylva asked her.

     Reika stopped for a moment to answer Sylva.

     "Erm, I rested for a little bit. I woke up when my stomach finally grumbled." 

     Sylva laughed after she heard Reika's absurd reason.

      "Ahahahaha! You waited for your stomach to grumble before you came here to eat? That's hilarious!"

       Embarrased, Reika simply giggled at her and didn't utter a single word.

       Minutes later, Sylva finished eating and stood up.

       "I will head first because I have something to do. If you feel like eating more, you could get some on that pot over there. See you later, Reika!" Sylva said and walked away.

       Reika nods and is left alone. She continued to eat her food in silence.

       Another minute had passed, and she finished her bowl. But she felt that her hunger still existed and decided to go for another one.

       She approached the pot when suddenly a familiar figure also walked in the same direction. Reika looked beside her and saw Alguis with a bowl in his hand.

       "Oh, deciding to go for a second?" Alguis asked her.

       "Yes. I need to catch up since I didn't eat yesterday evening..." Reika answered.

       Both of them took some food from the pot and sat next to each other on the same log that Reika had taken a seat on before. 

       While they were eating, Reika remembered the events that evening while she was unconscious.

      "Mister Alguis,how were your injuries?"

      Alguis paused for a moment.

      So that strange creature finally told her, huh...

      "Yes, it's fine. That familiar of yours helped me heal my injuries using its ability, per Soru's instruction..."

      Although that kid's instruction was only to assist me, it healed my injuries instead...

     Reika sighed in relief.

     "I apologize in his stead. What he did was simply reckless."

     "You don't have to apologize, Miss Reika. It is my fault that I didn't explain to Mister Soru what exactly happened to both of us. And also, he already apologized that very evening for the ruckus he caused," Alguis answered her.

     Hearing that there are no problems between them anymore, her guilt vanished, and she felt relief. Both Reika and Alguis continued to finish their food in silence while watching the new bustling settlement.

     While she was chewing her food, an image of Soru came to her mind.

     By the way, where is he now?