Faded2Fate

Okay, I lied. I am not releasing these chapters next week. After chapter 58, uploads MIGHT be sporadic. Aside from that, leave a review if you haven't, and join the discord. It'd be great to have it become active.

“Ah, right, Aimi. You’re above level 50, right?” Aella asked,

“Yes, why?” She responded rather quickly, riding atop Hoshihime. While her body was healed, the pain lingered, making it difficult for her to walk.

“Why haven’t you used your second Dragon? After reaching level 50, you’ve been able to obtain one, right?”

She didn’t think about it since obtaining a second dragon of her own wasn’t of high priority, but as far as she knew, Aimi was above level 75 and should have been able to gain a second one a while ago.

“Hmm? You don’t know. Miss…” Aimi tried to respond, realizing she didn’t know what to call the young girl.

“Echo or Aella. Either work. Of course, if you want to call me Master, I wouldn’t be against it.”

Aimi nodded before continuing, opting for “Echo-sama,” as that was how she introduced herself in Japan. Even if she didn’t care about her real name getting revealed, Aimi wouldn’t be the reason it happened.

“Well… I don’t have one, but neither does anyone else in the world, even the S and SS-ranks.” Aimi explained.

Spreading out her senses to make sure she didn’t run into anything, Aella turned around to face Aimi.

“Elaborate.”

Aimi went silent for a moment while considering how to explain this. She didn’t know how much Aella knew about Dragons in general.

“Are you aware of the history of Dragons and how things like their Dragon Cores and Affinities work?”

Idly, Aella nodded, “Dragon Cores are the eggs for beings with a bloodline from an old [Dragon God]. That is why such obscure beings like your ‘Idol’ Dragon exist despite not having any reptilian features, much less draconic ones. Also, we Naturalis share the blood of this [Dragon God], and that’s why we’re born with a Dragon that has Hybrid elements, right?”

Dragons came in just about every element imaginable. Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Poison, etc. They also came in more odd things that couldn’t be considered elements such as Sword, Destruction, Creation, etc.

Although there isn’t a Dragon specifically for computers yet, it doesn’t mean there won't be one in the future. That being said, however, Dragons that are a mixture of elements such as Stormy with his Water and Lightning, Aetherion with his four different elements, Hoshihime’s Psychic and Holy, and whatever Magnus’s Dragon has are exclusive to Naturalis and aren’t found out in the wild. Not under normal circumstances, at least.

“What does that have to do with you not having a second Dragon, though?”

“Well. for normal humans, they find a Dragon Core in the wild and take it into their body, allowing them to form a bond with a Dragon as it hatches, mimicking how we Naturalis are born with them. That being said, taking in a second Dragon Core would kill you, so you’d need to tame a wild one. That’s the easy part, however. The system must then acknowledge your bond to access their skills. Only four recorded people have had several dragons; their methods are unknown.”

Aella hummed in confirmation while looking at her system panel. There was still a lot she didn’t understand about it despite examining it for years, so it made sense. Now, however, Aella could converse with the system.

A feature she has yet to use. Finally, she had a reason to.

‘System. How do I tame a Dragon? If you give me some answer like you lack authority, I’m sending Sylphy into her 7th verse immediately.’ She asked inwardly, accompanied by a very minor threat.

|<Dragon Taming is extremely complicated and is heavily influenced by the species or subtype of Dragon. Is there any specific type you’d like to look into?>|

Aella let out a small sigh, “I see. Thanks. I’ll think of a way to get you all second Dragons.” Aella finished before turning back. No matter how good her magic sense was, it wasn’t the same as paying attention to her surroundings with her eyes.

Aside from giving Stormy a friend, she hadn’t thought about what type of Dragon she wanted. When it came to combat power, she had more than enough of that on her own, and she had her new option of [Whirlwind Maestra] in Dominion of Elements to solve any possible issues of versatility. She can heal and buff with her blessings and debuff with her curses.

‘Since you didn’t let me have my murder birds, what about Wind Dragons?’

|<If you had a method of controlling the Gale Wings, it is likely you have a method of controlling anything of the Wind element.>|

Letting out a small chuckle, Aella nodded. ‘You’re learning! Seriously though, what about Dragons of the other nature elements?’

|<Again, it varies. However, if you plant the [World Tree], you will naturally gain a method of taming most Dragons.>|

With that being said, their group small group of 5 arrived at the entrance, consisting of the rest of their group. Cid ran at Aella with all his might when they came into eyeshot. He was oddly agile, avoiding the low-hanging jungle branches and roots before tackling his older sister.

The impact caused Aella to exhale suddenly. Cid hit her with enough force to wind her. As Ironic as that was, it made Aella’s eyes widen.

‘Has this boy always been so physically strong? I guess it’s about time to level him up a bit.’

“You’re amazing! How do you keep doing that vanishing thing? Can you teach me how to do it?!”

“The vanishing thing? Oh, you mean my C.A.B? Wait, you managed to keep your eyes on me while I was doing that?” Aella’s eyes widened in shock. Despite her holding back, she was still moving at her top speed. Not even Aimi should have been able to comprehend her last few movements, much less be able to see them.

“Ahem,” She cleared her throat, “It’s a straightforward technique, but it’s hard to explain. How about I show you it instead? Seraphina, you and Aimi should pay close attention as well.”

This wasn’t what she expected to do after fighting, but it was a technique they’d need to learn eventually.

Putting her arms out with her palms facing the sky, two small spheres of magical energy formed. One was the size of a golf ball, while the other, a tennis ball. Without hesitation, Aella slammed the smaller ball into the larger, causing a small, localized explosion.

“And that’s it. The science behind it is a little confusing, but I guess you could compare it to a combustion engine. You create tons of these tiny explosions inside your feet, arms, or whatever you want to accelerate, and you can send it forward. Of course, if you don’t reinforce yourself properly, you’re just going to hurt yourself.”

What she just showed them was the Combustion Drive. It’s a technique that some unnamed masters in the universe developed that allows for fast, instantaneous movement. It was created for rapid acceleration in tight spaces by slamming two Mana particles of mismatched size together and causing a small explosion.

Since you’re almost entirely resistant to your own mana, the energy will rush out of your body in the opposite direction, propelling you forward. What she used was an upgraded version, which she created herself, called the Combustion Ascension Drive.

If the Combustion Drive were to be compared to a combustion engine, the Ascension Drive would be comparable to a Nuclear Fission reaction. By changing the properties of the Mana to two separate elemental properties, the Mana would begin to rapidly break down before exploding, generating energy far more efficiently. It would also blow her leg clean off with the slightest miscalculation of Mana.

While she used those large sports balls for example, if any amount of Mana larger than the size of a pea was used, she would be risking her life.

“Eh? You can use magic in such a way?! Amazing! You gotta teach me!” Seraphina cheered.

“Yes, yes~ I’ll teach you all sorts of fun tricks. Speaking of tricks, Grayson! Welcome back!”

Grayson groaned as he held his head, walking as he held his head, Eidolon Gear in tow. “You’re… A monster… How can one little girl… No, even S-ranks wouldn’t be able to exert this much raw power.”

Despite Aella striking the mechanical Dragon with no small amount of force, he had no injuries or severe damage.

“Humans can’t utilize Mana without specialized equipment or being a Daoist, and Dragons can only use it in the form of skills. It makes sense that I surpass them in raw destructive power. That aside, though, about the blueprint I gave you, have you studied it properly?”

Grayson looked at Aella with a suspicious glint, “I did… Did you design that?”

“I did. How do you feel about it?”

On Aella’s face was an evil grin, which would undoubtedly be her signature facial expression if not for her manic smile.