Mom once said that wise men can easily be considered fools if they say the right thing at the wrong time. I'm not sure if this is the occasion to test that teaching, but I don't think I should let them continue to stare at each other so intensely.
"I prefer to avoid forming bonds with someone who doesn't deserve my trust. But if the bond is formed, it's not just up to me to try to maintain it, Mahara. If the other person doesn't want to, I won't insist."
"Trust is never something that arises out of nowhere. It's like a plant, which needs time to grow and even more time and care to finally bear fruit."
Mahara and Marien may be friendly and kind most of the time, but both have a striking characteristic in their personalities... the determination to defend their ideals. They are tough, persistent, intelligent, and very patient.
"Humph, to care for this plant, it takes two or more people. No one knows what the other person is thinking or what their intentions are for the future."
"Why not just ask? The first step is always the hardest, but initiative must be taken at some point to start the journey."
If I let them continue, I'm sure they could spend the entire morning at this pace. Aglaya prefers never to get involved in this situation; if she weren't here with me, I'm sure she would already be moving to another place.
"If the reward for this journey were only worthwhile..."
"Destiny isn't always the best part of the journey. I'm sure that..."
"ENOUGH... Let's stop here."
I couldn't stand just listening anymore and had to take action. Neither of them will change their minds so easily, so continuing with this will only waste both of their patience and mine.
But perhaps because of the way I interrupted their dialogue, both are looking at me a bit displeased. I can't blame them, since basically, the reason this discussion started was because of me.
Fortunately, I have an idea of what to say to end the matter even better... Aglaya gave me an idea with the words she said.
"I'm sure none of us needs to worry about this issue; our trust is strong, and I hope it stays that way. Besides, I have time to slowly learn about trust bonds; I believe all of you have much to teach me."
Neither of them said anything after hearing what I said. They just settled back into their chairs and turned their attention back to the battle that was happening in the distance. That means I got the words right, but they don't want to show it.
"Good job, Young Lord."
It was Aglaya who leaned in to me and whispered words of confirmation in my ear. I opened a small smile and took the opportunity to whisper back to her:
"I must thank you for the idea of what to say. Thank you."
"... Clever as always."
All's well that ends well... Now we can go back to watching the combat in silence.
As I watch the DCT, I'm reminded of what Marien was saying earlier. That I didn't need to watch this type of training every time. Even today, after five years of watching combat training sessions every ten days, Marien still says the same thing.
I feel touched to think that she cares enough to keep saying it even after all this time. However, I easily understand why she keeps telling me this every time we watch a DCT.
In fact, I fully agree with her, and if I could choose, I wouldn't come here to watch such brutal training. Seriously, I've always liked a good brawl, but the training here is a whole level beyond the brutality of Spartan training.
I think even the word "brutal" isn't enough to define what this training is. And for me, even with my over 28 years of mental age, seeing such scenes is still a bit traumatizing, especially when it's two people I care about who are fighting.
Before explaining a bit more about Dragon Combat Training (DCT), first, I have to explain some things about the peculiarities of Dragons. It will be better to understand a little more about the social context of this type of training.
Anyway, it's very important to point out that dragons have insane regeneration by nature. They can close deep wounds in a matter of hours, for example, or regenerate huge muscle chunks in just a few days.
This, coupled with the fact that they are also born with a high resistance to pain, means that almost all types of injuries do not significantly affect their fighting ability. Fighting ability is only affected when the injuries are really severe.
Secondly, dragons can train in human form without any problems, so they usually train with weapons and unarmed martial arts. Mom, for example, is an expert in a martial art very similar to Japanese Karate and is a master in several sword styles.
Nala and Abigail are also martial arts experts and proficient in various types of weapons, including: Spears, bows, aura weapons (firearms), axes, and hammers. Nala is a master of numerous martial arts, and Abigail is a master of an art similar to Taekwondo.
Although they train extensively in their human form, Dragons cannot reach their peak power in this form. They are limited to about 75% of their total power in human form; only in their original form can they unleash their full power.
That's why when they fight each other, whether in combat or not, Dragons fight in their original form and where they are most accustomed to fighting: in the sky. And obviously, they don't use martial arts or weapons in this form.
What they have to use is their magic, their teeth, their claws, their tails, and any other part of their body that is useful for combat. In a DCT, none of them can use aura under normal circumstances, only when they are supervised by a superior.
Exactly for this reason, the DCT basically comes down to bites, cuts, punches, and a lot, but a lot, of flying skill and aerial dodging. In general, it doesn't seem fun, but after learning the basics, it's like watching an MMA fight.
Anyway... To complete the entire social aspect of the DCT, it must be said that dragons have no fear of getting hurt.
This is quite obvious, since besides an absurd resistance to pain and an equally absurd regeneration, Dragons also have the ability to use extremely powerful healing magic.
Some more than others, but they are all trained to use the basics of healing magic. In other cases, there are Dragons who have a natural ability for healing magic; Abigail, for example, is one of them.
By the way, it's important to highlight that Abigail holds the title of Dragon of Life. This type of title is given to certain Dragon Ladies and above who are born with a natural affinity for healing magic and choose to dedicate all their talent to learning only this type of magic.
But this only makes everything a little worse, as it makes the training even more aggressive and brutal.
Bites strong enough for numerous huge and sharp teeth to pierce skin covered with scales; cuts with claws sharp enough to cut through skin and leave flesh and bones exposed; strangulation by a bite; tendons cut by claws...
Punches with paws strong enough to disorient the opponent; Tail strikes strong enough to momentarily knock out the opponent; Scales being torn off with every attempt to grab; chunks of flesh being torn off whenever the bite is not accurate...
Broken bones, missing teeth, torn nails, huge chunks of flesh lost, countless liters of blood spilled, open wounds, hemorrhages, bruises, holes in the skin...
They have no fear of getting hurt or hurting the opponent; if I didn't know they were rational and very intelligent women, I would think they are just irrational animals fighting to the death for territory or food.
But that's exactly why sometimes I wonder if they're not just trying to kill each other. But my answer is always the same at the end of the day: they're not trying to kill, on the contrary, they're trying to find ways to survive.
Every injury suffered is a reminder that they did something wrong. Every injury inflicted is a reminder that they did something right. It's a brutal way to learn to defend oneself and is hardly effective.
But fortunately, Mom and Abigail train in this way only to perfect themselves and condition their sense of battle. Nala is the one responsible for what they still don't know, giving real meaning to Dragon combat training.
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Ah, 5 year time skip. That explains SOME of last chapter.
So... Dragons forms have no dragon martial art? Super Lame. They just fight like beasts, what about using spells? Airborne movements? In the air they can move in any direction and using momentum of their move, you can drastically increase a tail swipe for example, or using magic to empower a claw attack or give the claw an element. There is so much to think about it than just barbaric brawl. Honest im very dissapointed in DCT. I would expect this for a wild dragon with no intelligence.
If their human forms have 75% of their power, add up GOOD equipment, add up martial arts, add up spells. And you can take down in their dragon forms while in human form with no issue. It wont even be a fight
In a DCT, none of them can use aura under normal circumstances, only when they are supervised by a superior.
When Dragons fight with Aura, there is always the imminent risk of mass destruction. The minimum area is 100km² for Dragon Ladies to fight at full strength.
Furthermore, if there are aura-enhanced attacks, why wouldn't there be aura-enhanced defenses?
DCT is not about training combat power... it is about training the body for combat situations. It's like training with wooden swords... You won't have the adrenaline of real fighting, but it will be efficient in learning the movements and subtleties of the art.
But don't worry... As soon as Tatiana returns to the story, you will get a taste of what a battle between dragons really is... Of course, not between Tatiana and Nala, because at the moment there is no Supreme Dragon Lady willing to supervise the combat between them. It will be a Aura DCT between Cristhine, Felicia and Nendula...
@Undead i see... Still, going big is not always the answer, compact things, if you can have an attack to destory 100km².... Compact the attack so that the damage is done is within 100 meters... But since the damage is soooo concentrated, the damage inside those 100 meters is HUGE. Its similar to using water pressure to cut things... Huge volumes of water can cause wide spread damage? Yes. But Compressed water? You can cut ANYTHING with it.
As for defenses I believe that if 2 parties have equal power and they go battle with the intent to kill the other. It all comes down to strategy, battle expertise, luck and aura reserves. So aura enhanced attacks will force you to use aura enhanced defense. Then it becomes a mind game of experience. How much aura i use to block this attack? And so on, like IF i use 100 aura to block this attack, but the attack had aura power of 200, my defenses are destroyed and i get the attack, reduced damage but still i got the attack and so on. Then the first one to deplete the aura first is at a huge disadvantage. Also i don't believe the dragons regeneration does not consume stamina and aura. So avoiding getting hurt if possible would be smart, and even if i take a claw attack to deliver a bite attack... If i dont get an advantage in said bite attack its just being hurt for no reason. Example. I got your we nuke it. using spells and all.. I suppose that you need to chant to use big spells or something, at worst you need to concentrate to do so... But i got your claw attack, but i managed to bite you on the neck. The trade of blows will be good if you got hurt a lot worse than me.
@DigiteFantasyHeart I agree... But imagine that I launch a concentrated aura attack and you dodge or counter the attack, where will this explosion end up?
The 100 km² is the minimum distance they need to be so as not to cause damage to cities, towns, important structures or nests of aura beasts that could pose dangers to other beings.
Another important detail: Dragons can train their attack and defense attributes equally, but they will all have different fighting styles. Some may like quick attacks, others heavy attacks, some prefer to cast restriction or tracking enchantments, etc... The strategies are really varied.
But the most important thing is: each dragon has a strong natural affinity with a specific aura. And not just dragons, all beings are like this...
For example: Abigail has an affinity for healing aura. Inessa with a fire aura, Aglaya has an affinity with a wind aura, Nala has an affinity with an earth aura...