-Midday. Ragefire's estate.

Nefiru's POV-

The morning will soon change into the afternoon as the storm clouds have finally reached us while increasing the wind speeds, and the Green haired man seeks refuge by the wall to avoid the precipitation's falling angle. I realize the absence of the little girl has something to do with my current conversation partner after shooting glances at the kitchen behind during our frequent pauses in which we admire the wind gusts creating waves in the tall grass and the falling rain dropping the temperature further. The wind magician doesn't appear bothered by the rain or the increased humidity which is most appreciated by the blue water dragon peeking over the wall with his neck while leaning on it.

Ahh... So nostalgic standing on two legs even though I'm also leaning on the wall, and I'm used to walking or running on all fours by now, but I miss my human body regularly. If only I could feel standing not being so uncomfortable, or sitting on my rear imitating a human that feels very wrong and puts pressure on my tail, but at least it doesn't cut blood circulation easily because I'm covered in scales instead of soft skin. I reminisce feeling my heart in the chest loudly pump blood for my big body.

"Great! Here you go..." Faust rejoiced after finally convincing me and used Wind Arts to lift the glass bottle filled with transparent crystals towards my mouth. "Don't be so greedy since this bottle will be sufficient for now. Anyway, I must warn you that Shaila is obedient to her mother, but endure it if Eleonor makes you uncomfortable... she's a bit broken after being spoiled for many years by her mother, Elena." He warned as I open my jaws to bite the object pushed by air.

The bottle landed inside my jaws, and the teeth stopped it from falling out before I close my mouth while feeling the Mana emanating from the glass container under my tongue being stronger than ambient.

"Mm-hmm... Okay then, payment received. Now, who do you want me to eat?" I inquired after being on board with this crazy plan.

Let's see... According to Faust who just funded Experiment Holidays until that woman arrives here, one bottle can take me from Mid Rank 4 to Rank 6, but Magic density just doubles for each Rank until six, so another one would only take me to one-tenth of the way to Rank 7 or maybe less. I recall the exponential difficulty climbing Ranks.

"Right... Kill anyone that tries to take Shaila away before you reach the Bidlake estate, and if possible wait for someone possessing the bracelets to order you, in case they try to blame you for rampaging without orders." He instructed to judge the situation before going wild. "Oh, yeah since you like to eat things... Don't bother eating any Auramancers because they have very little Magic and changing Lifeforce back to Mana takes too much effort, but on the other hand, their bodies preserve longer due to the lingering Lifeforce in the flesh." He revealed the inefficient conversion of Lifeforce energy.

Hmm... I wasn't too serious about making Aura since the process to convert Magic to convert life force is rather complicated, and Magic Arts already give me enough of that. Still, I can't even take the first step which is sensing Life force in my body, and they told me to meditate like some martial artist... a Dragon doing that is ridiculous! I guess the whole thing should be like supercharging Lifeforce energy using Magic threads to weave something that can stick to organic tissue firmly when the quantity increases and Auramancers can use that property to make Sword Waves without worrying about spirit clashes, but at low ranks that's not much. Though the process wastes a lot of Mana at first, the transition rate can be as low as ten parts per unit life force which get easier to wave Magic in time. I speculate about Auramancers weaving life force with much effort and cannot feed Elementals in the end.

"Yeah it's a shame I'm not big enough to swallow High Ranking beasts or that Human Mages aren't on open season, but it's a different matter if they attack first, and I wonder how much Mana a high ranking human would donate..." I announced staring down at him while rain water falls from my snout to the puddles forming below.

Arghh... Sucks being small! I eat everything, but why can't I be a huge dragon like Father already!!? I recall my body's growth approaching two and a half meters already. I could swallow giant wolves alive up to Rank 6 with his size which are easier to hunt than snakes, but serpents need less effort to eat because of their dimensions, and just time gulping down the long body entirely while they take a lot of work to capture alive. I ponder on the conundrum.

"...You won't be able to contain the gushing Mana after a High Rank dies, and it could even be harmful to you if the level difference is too great. Magical beasts also get harder to kill because of their wisdom acquired with age, and if I remember right, it wasn't long that a Rank 5 snake almost killed you. Now imagine fighting a Rank 7 serpent..." Faust states with a smirk before proposing to avoid difficult fights.

Dude, High ranking snakes be scary! Still, the method provides a fair amount of Mana after killing them in my stomach which is worth certain risk, and I should keep doing with Snakes to save mana crystals, but they are rather resistant to my magic... I affirmed ranking up will allow me to hunt stronger creatures for their Mana.

"Ugh... that-- was a miscalculation. I thought my scales would offer some protection and not get pierced like paper since lower ranking snakes either never had the chance or simply couldn't do more than latching on my body which looked funny, but that snake got the angle right it seems. Still, even if Magical beasts get smarter with rank, this is natural to kill each other while climbing the predatory ladder and I've been prepared to be eaten alive since I left my nest." I declare my resolve as a predator while recalling the wound on my neck.

From what I've seen, most beasts feel this way since this is all they know, and this is particularly the case for snakes who are solitary while wolves form packs and have families which I feel a little bad about because they don't leave their territory either. Maybe I should find Midas and apologize, then team up with the wolves to take on high ranking snakes since I can't risk my siblings who are ordinary big lizards. Though sister has been making progress in Magic manipulation, twelve days later she still can't talk back, but at least can take her Magic outside which feeds the collar and is excellent news since there is no change in brother yet. I realize my siblings are falling behind at a faster rate now, and they won't be able to help hunting soon.

"Uh-huh... That's something you would expect from someone who can be reborn..." The drenched man scoffed as the rain noise intensifies with greater precipitation.

"Er-- No, starting over would be a huge pain. I would waste hundreds of years if I die at Divine, Shaila will have to find me, and I might not even get the same affinities again, so no thank you." I stated, showing my desire not to use rebirth as a respawn function. "Anyway, this bottle will certainly improve my chances in the forest, and allow me to hunt stronger prey which will provide more Mana in turn with better absorption..." I stated plans to make prey the more powerful predators soon while moving the bottle around with my tongue.

"Well, knowing you are a cheater Dragon, you'll progress much faster than taking risks eating creatures alive, or collecting ambient Mana before having it stolen by my daughter, though you shouldn't spoil her too much just this once and Rank up yourself. You'll be helping her that way more." He informed before nodding to consent.

"Easy for you to say... Shaila is a Mana Vampire! That girl latches on until she gets what she wants, then runs away to her room leaving me in tears, and comes back down once she's dry again." I complain to the father.

"...Ah, the blood suckers you mentioned. I see, because she takes Mana from inside your body which I have to admit is something outrageous, and not many perform the activity. But at least she's trying very hard to Rank up now that doors have been opened for her Magic, and the fact that she giggles alone in her room a lot is proof of that. ...I think she forgets about everything being so engrossed in her training which allows her to feel happy and that's the reason I don't want to face her... because my presence could remind her of what happened on Autumn's 3rd quarter last year, and it was so close to her birthday too...." Faust commented and went quiet leaning on the wall unmoving.

Yeah... she also can't wet her room training water magic, but she does practices in the bathroom since a light show comes out of the back window... Though it annoys me when she interrupts my morning nap and steals Mana to practice Light comfortably in her room while I want to enjoy a good sleep after hunting all night, even if I can go days without it. But she's getting bolder and cunning... kissing the scales which I hardly feel even near my eyes where they are smallest, but should be no different from kissing a smooth rock for her... that's foul! I recalled the situations where it's hard to know whether to laugh or cry.

Hmm, progress huh...? I think people with resources could enjoy ranking up more than others who don't have anything else than their bodies and soul. However, everyone experiences the Spirit effectiveness decrease with Rank as they mold higher densities because the Soul manifestation doesn't get an upgrade until Rank 7, or Divine. Although I'm jealous of rich bastards who have Mana in abundance like the Divine's disciple, my Soul seems to be enough to get me to Rank 7 which is a luxury some people with weaker Souls don't have, and I possess knowledge that wealthy lucky cheaters need. Then again, individuals with Ancient Souls could cheat their way to higher ranks with a mighty spirit... I concluded before collecting water elementals to fill my core.

I decided to used the silence in our conversation to practice magic and channeled a torrent of Magic with both elementals from my Core to my head. I started by making a ball of water the size of the bottle in my mouth in front of me while floating in the air, then freeze before compressing it with crackling and hissing sounds as the rainwater droplets impact it. I reached my limit after compressing it down to the size of a bean and temperatures at least a hundred degree below freezing, then threw it away to the grass below where it exploded in a small area sapping the thermal energy of the surrounding water.

A long way to making Ice16 and Magic consumption is no joke, but this compression makes ice quite hard for a spear... Though I wonder if any water magician knows that super compressed ice can become metal? I ponder making another ball of pure water float in the air.

I concentrate on the water ball the size of a human head and force out any impurities entering from the environment before lowering the temperature without letting crystals form, then throw it to the grass once more. The sphere containing supercooled pure water burst above the grass, and very quickly everything in a radius of two meters turned white with cracking sounds freezing the grass blades in place while the rain melts it away slowly.

Making supercooled water inside an ice spear with compressed tip is needlessly hard at this rank, then multitasking that ten times is a nightmare, but that's the kind of challenge that rewards! Well, element combinations also pay off, so let's work on multitasking a hydrogen-oxygen bomb with electrolysis on the water... I continue my practice using both Elements now.

...

I ran out of magic by the rainy afternoon after having a ball of gas blow in my face a couple of times while others did it just ahead of me and Faust who kept me company as the sole spectator had a good reason to laugh.

"Wonderful weather we are having right?" I start casual conversation after the long pause

"Yes, it was entertaining watching a Dragon play with water and fire, but... you are empty already aren't you? Still, the other storm that is yet to come might replenish you HaHaha..." He nodded looking into the distance before laughing like some maniac feeding people to a lizard.

"Haha, that's so creepy...haa... Anyway, can I have the other bottle you are hiding?" I requested once again.

"Sorry..." Faust shakes his lowered head. "I think I'll need the other bottle to run across the Kingdom to find Lucious, but I'll try to procure another after snatching him from the battlefield, then sniff me out in the Capital to give it to you. Anyway, use this bottle to make as much progress as you can and maybe the second bottle can get you closer to Rank 7." He explained.

"Bummer..." I lamented blowing the rain droplets away with a sigh. "Oh yeah! Now that I think about it, Water Elementals are a nightmare to collect while Lightning doesn't have a potent source around either, but I find clusters of them when moving around, and that's all I'm going to be doing huh? Gathering Elementals all day long until this bottle is consumed..." I realize the lack of engines to make use of a large tank of fuel.

Ah...this is a downside of being a dual magician in this world. Although the scale is not even, Lightning Elementals run out long before total Magic does and at most it may consume two-thirds of it, so I have to use both for practice. But Water is troublesome to collect unless it's at the stinky river, during rain like now, and inside our bodies which make Shaila a tiny source haha. I recall the hardship of ranking up with two affinities which are slowly becoming three with the addition of Light.

"I don't know about Lightning, and I would recommend going to live at the house of Shaila's grandmother if the Bidlakes weren't such a nest of snakes. In other times, you would find that lake quite comfortable and ideal to play with water all you want, but I hope it will change in the future since you could use that Elemental source at Higher Ranks too." He proposes while expressing his reluctance.

I see... a substantial source of Elementals is needed at Higher Ranks, and in my case, that would be a Mana Vein near water, but then one has to choose which environment to fight prolonged battles too. it would be tough for Water and Fire Magicians to collect their Elementals in a conventional battlefield of swords and bows while an Earth magician would be crazy to fight Water users in a lake or rivers. Well, in my case, Lightning won't be a problem since it's possible to gather it anywhere while Light Elementals are supposed to be harder to acquire at night yet Shaila doesn't seem to have a problem with that either. Probably her talent that allows her to cheat like that, and I'm not sure why Lightning is easy for me to collect either, but it seems Water Elementals must be preserved since it takes almost a day to accumulate passively too.

Sighs, too bad there aren't Elemental Crystals since they would be hard to restrain... I think the major problem is that they don't emerge for a set duration in the respective source, but still, there must ways to contain them which most people in this Kingdom wouldn't know. I pondered on ways to store Elementals while recalling discoveries after observations of growth and overflow of the Core.

The Elementals are capable of changing size, and the minimum set area they occupy within Magic is based on density which determines the quantity under control. Although Elementals are still smaller than Magic threads which allows compression into a small volume of Magic, they offer resistance below the point of Magic volume which is the beast Core size.

Perhaps we were able to control Elementals on the maximum size during affinity awakening, but this is not relevant to humans who spread elementals in their bodies while beasts use Cores as a meter to contain them. I realize the severe lack of knowledge in individuals who aren't descendants of at least Divines.

Hmm... Elementals come and go inside their own source, Magic is needed to move them, and there is a limit depending on density before losing control, but perhaps there is more about the nature of Elementals we don't know. Their source in this world appears to be a beacon to manifest, but pure water produced via Magic doesn't accumulate Water Elementals them for some time, then what does the system acknowledge as a source? Is it possible to use Elementals themselves as beacons to pull more into the world? I initially thought they were just tiny space-time gates, but something like that wouldn't read the intentions in my Spirit before following commands or even refine my awareness like some engine. They seem to be something else more complicated poking into this universe... something like a law? I wonder about the essence of the medium we use to produce Magic phenomena.

"Must be nice being a Wind magician that have Elementals everywhere to collect huh?" I commented feeling strong wind gusts on my back and noisy thunderbolts impacting by the volcano. "Ugh, my ears," I complained shaking my head.

"Nah, not anywhere." Faust creates a wind shield to speak to the bracelet and repel the rain. "There are no wind elementals where the air is stagnant, and even decrease considerably in calm days, but they are far more scattered than in sources for other elementals. I would need to expand my Magic and encompass the estate to collect what you would find inside your body for water elementals." He explained extending his Magic to maintain the wind shield without depleting resources.

"By the way, this is a little late to say, but I didn't receive my daily hug from Shaila..." I announced remembering the little girl didn't come out.

"Hah?" Faust tilts his head with a perplexed look. "Are you asking me to hug you?" He inquired with a darkened expression.