-Afternoon. Ragefire's estate.

Nefiru's POV-

The dark gray stormy clouds continue to downpour in the darkened day as powerful wind gusts blast on my back from the east and thunder crashes reverberate from all around, adding up to the noise that disturbs our conversation. We continue our conversation unaffected by the storm as the green haired man enveloped in a thin wind shield repels the rain and extends his Spirit upwards collecting Elementals while I replenish as well after a session of experiments that scarred the grass below and my snout...

Ugh, I love storms, but the noise is killing me!! I grumble as my ears flinch at the rumbling sound. Unlike Earth where loud noises destroyed my ears, my Dragon audition is excellent. Still, I want to fly up there, but at the moment neither I can take off or survive one of those lightning bolts since the resistance to my Element is based on the total electricity my Elementals produce and I'm not there yet. I admire the storm while ignoring Faust.

"I'm just messing around, no need to make an awkward silence..." Faust waved a hand from inside his bubble "Then again, we are talking in a thunderstorm haha..." He affirmed chuckling.

"Hilarious..." I roll my eyes at the infantile attitude. "Faust, my legs are getting cramped since we've been talking like this all morning, and I'm tired of seeing your face already, so I'm going to lie down," I informed before resting my body back down on the wood pile.

Ahh...! that's the stuff. I finally sense comfort in my sore hind legs and relax my body.

"Oh? Done admiring the storm? This should be the ideal time for you to practice since Water and Lightning Elementals are quite abundant." He commented from the other side of the wall.

Indeed, the Elementals filled to capacity already, but I have to keep them squeezed in a small volume of Magic until the Core is full since Spirit alone can't control them, and they do not like being compressed like this. Though I didn't know how to do this at first, their opposition feels uncomfortable because it's an unstable state where losing focus allows Elementals to start to detach from Magic seeking balance. I recall the minimum size Elementals shrink down within Magic being based on density which also determines the amount controlled.

Still, they don't go out of control in this condition, but the resistance is even greater with more than one Elemental as if greedily competing for access to Magic which divides my Core into two parts like a mini storm sometimes. How weird... Water and Lightning Elementals appear to be bullying Light which doesn't even occupy a portion inside and just floats on the surface of whatever volume of Magic is containing them all. I think back to how the Core size follows the full Magic volume and best stability for all Elementals commanded.

"Truly... storms always fascinated me, and maybe I should have called myself something like Stormy haha." I jested. "Anyway, collecting elementals is so quick! This makes me excited enough to look for trouble since I could use magic to my heart's content with a steady Mana supply, but our talk is not done yet it seems..." I replied wishing to hunt beasts in the forest.

Hmm, it feels more relaxing spreading Magic throughout the body like humans do to collect Elementals passively, but having it accumulated in a small space prevents overfill and decreases the chances of dumb beasts losing control like me. I'm not even sure how the body creates the core or detects Magic volume, but passive Magic accumulation probably has something to do with the Spirit's ability to replicate certain actions after repeating them enough. I recalled the mysterious porous sphere made of a material similar to teeth that automatically accumulates Magic.

Though that unconscious function is responsible for taking me so long to implement Light Elementals since my Spirit rejects them and I have to gather them manually, but at least they won't detach when Magic capacity is close to full. I affirm keeping elementals in check.

"...Shaila used to love watching the sun every morning until she awakened. What nostalgic days when we were a famil--" He announces before getting interrupted.

"Ah! I saw that! She awakened in her room and ran to show you guys, but she didn't get the expected reaction..." I declared recalling the recent dreams.

Well, she doesn't get blinded from staring at the sun now though. I affirm the girl's improvement in light magic.

"..." Faust sends a pondering voice.

"It's ironic that she was born with blue hair and green but didn't get water or wind affinity. Well, not that she needs them anymore..." I stated looking up at the window in her room as rain drops impact my eye.

"So.... You were stalking a little girl from somewhere since birth until she was old enough to collect, then you hatched from one of Big Red's eggs to snatch her away?" He sternly asks confirmation.

Sighs, maybe I'm in a hurry to get a wild Shaila, but her human body and submissive mind are holding us back now, though we might just need to wait until she's rank 7... I affirm eager to know what will the girl remember of her past lives.

"Oh, you made it sound like I'm this huge pervert, and perhaps I am from your point of view but why should I give a crap about your human morals? As for where I peeked from. It was a pitch black room with a sole shiny window showing Shaila's life, and think I was making sure she would have a good life, but even at school, she was already having a tough time... However, Shaila is an intelligent girl capable of understanding quantum mechanics at a level most adults can't, not just any naive child, and in my eyes, she is but an ancient wolf trapped in a small human body." I lash out after anticipating these questions from the parent. "I could have just... not chosen her, you know?" I proclaimed feeling depressed this subject was brought up.

No, seriously, I'm not saying anything, but I'm not a simple creature that can live with right or wrong in black and white like some tale of good versus evil. I respect life to a certain extent and consider myself highly empathic which stops me from being too cruel, but the path I'm taking might end up destroying entire universes and countless lives even accidentally. I affirmed thinking back to the Cosmic Dragon hanging in the balance that could destroy many spaces after waking up.

"...I'm just confirming, so don't eat me!" Faust countered with a protest of his own. "I already thought about what it meant entrusting my daughter to someone who abandoned humanity forever and is living as a beast with an eating disorder." He stated before speaking with a somber mood. "However, it does bother me that you don't want Shaila to be human, and even if her body brought her sadness, she shouldn't abandon it at Divine... She shouldn't give it up as you did." The worried father requests.

"Well, the sight of a cute girl is refreshing to the eyes, but her current body was very, VERY convenient to acquire resources, connections, and teaching Shaila was infinitely easier than a wolf in the forest." I declared wondering how a dragon and a wolf would communicate in the wild. "Still, her human body is reaching the limits of usefulness for now, but I guess at Divine, that won't matter much so don't worry about it, she might keep her body. Ah! But I'm not responsible if she modifies it." I informed wondering if she'll accept her father's wish.

"Mmm, it's good being honest, but are you planning to tell her everything? You can't just tell a little girl you watched her...it's shameful. Not to mention, there must be dangerous secrets that she or I am not meant to know." Faust opposes my decision.

"Indeed, there are...sensitive and dangerous things which are mostly personal, but I'm going to spill everything because for good or for bad, I don't want any barriers between us. Also, Shaila needs to stop being so tied to the values of the human society, that only hinders her spiritual freedom," I announced my desire to let Shaila find her own principles.

"I see... But you'll be 'guiding' her, and that's no different from brainwash..." Faust revealed his deduction with emphasis to convey the meaning. "Sighs... Well, I always spoiled her... even now with her blue pet from another world, but that didn't lead to anything good before since letting her go to school knowing it wouldn't help with Light magic and Nobles would make a fuss about her Rank caused a catastrophe. Though Shaila is a strong girl... ancient as you say, so ultimately she'll be what she wants to be." He approved after recounting the past.

"Haha, you worry too much about her state of mind-- Where is she anyway? Or anyone for that matter..." I inquired realizing nobody has come to the backyard in the whole day.

"Lester was keeping people away, but then, it started raining, so Shaila should be in her room studying." He informed the whereabouts of the girl. "This conversation was long overdue, and it wasn't necessary since my observations were enough, but now...it's possible we may never get another chance." He explains the reason behind our lengthy first discussion. "In any case, if things don't go well, then do what you must to keep her alive, and if they do go well, my wish is that you become a backer to help Lester restore our family before taking her away to travel the world." He declared solemnly.

"Mm-Hmm... Lester said that backers need to be high ranks staying within the kingdom, and we still have fightings to do around or the vicinity of the country that should give him enough time if your suicidal actions have a positive result." I accepted his death wish. "Still, you seem prepared to die and set the stage for this conversation, but do we need to hide this from everyone?" I inquired about the origin of the secrecy from all that we have talked.

"The privacy was to keep the plan a secret, and the risk is necessary now that the enemy is openly making a move that could expose them to the Royals, but they might have someone to take the blame, so I don't think they intend to fail this time. To be honest, I was content after achieving more than thought possible in life since I was a nobody before meeting Lucious, but ever since a year ago, it's been eating me inside a hatred for those who tarnished my cherished achievements, and I will regret more not moving now." Faust declared his resolve. "As I said... if things go wrong, then run with Shaila and forget about us. Or are you worried about something else?" He reaffirmed before asking me to specify.

Of course that I'm worried! Nothing worth having is easy to keep, and if word gets out that a pet dragon is running around with a treasure, then the forest won't be peaceful anymore. Furthermore, won't the royal family get angry for Faust skipping war and giving the resources to the pet dragon? Maybe he has no intentions of coming out alive to get punished... I realized the troubles that might come with such power level item.

"Won't it get me in trouble having this bottle if it's so expensive that even my auction price was only one sixth of it? Also is it alright spending precious Mana crystals for personal use when it's something that was meant for the war? And are you even planning to go to the war?" I inquired about the consequences of using military resources for a personal war.

"Precious?" Faust replied with mockery. "What I gave you are mostly low-quality Mana crystals leftovers from my share of Mid and Top crystals. Divines consider Mana crystals trash that comes out of small Mana veins, or after enough Mana leaked from manastones downgrading them, but they are relatively rare while Mana Essences which are exceedingly rare, get used by Demigods." He revealed the ranks of the energy stored rocks. "Oh, and don't worry about the war... Erydon does invasions quite often and the Royals will be busy for a while to bother with a high rank missing." He dismissed the war responsibility.

Ugh, I was given trash-- expensive trash! That's why they are given out like candy by the Divine after his Manastones downgrade from leakage... Indeed, the ones in my mouth are leaking Mana by themselves which is why I saw the number decrease with my probe earlier and they'll waste away if you don't use them huh? Well, I doubt Manastones are sold for money since nobody mentioned them before, and it looks like becoming a Disciple of the Divine sure is a luxurious position with practically unlimited mana supply alone. I realize the need to decrease sleep time and focus on ranking.

Still, Faust is rather chatty... I recognize the green haired person keeping me company during the storm.

"Hey, you are rather talkative... were you guys hiding things from me?" I question the provided information.

"Yes, I told everyone not to reveal everything to you, especially Alphonse who is well-informed until we could be sure that you were trustworthy, but Shaila revealed everything on the first night! Well, we planned to explain what you immediately needed while observing your progress, but things changed." He confesses their wariness of me.

Ugh, I would totally do the same, but still hurts being lied to, though I guess there are things Shaila doesn't know huh? Otherwise, she would have spilled the beans. I concluded and continued with my query.

"Anyway, how do I increase or decrease the leak rate of Mana crystals? And how in the world I tell them apart when they are transparent?" I inquired more information to preserve the contained energy.

"Just poke the crystals with your magic until Mana leak increases since it's actually layers that get peeled off but they are too tiny even for me. The higher the quality of the stone, the greater the leak rate, but it's possible to slow it down if your Magic density is greater than the Crystal's, and you can tell their quality a little by their shade. Though they don't have a color of their own, they obstruct light the higher the quality and Low-quality crystals are transparent like glass while top ones are light gray which going up would make them black, I guess." Faust explains the origin of crystal quality.

"Uh-huh... Interesting. So, what defines their quality?" I asked realizing the top quality ones would be wasted on me.

"Well, ambient Mana is mostly even in the world unless you are next to a vein, so you can use that to calculate how much crystals have or compare it to the Ranks of people which is easier. Low-quality crystals are considered to have a density of an early Rank 7 or below while Mid-quality crystals have a density up to intermediate Rank 8, and Top-quality crystals have a density of a Rank 10." He elaborates confirming my theory to use ambient mana as scale.

"Hmm... Rank 6 and a chance to get to Rank 7 with another bottle on the way, but that doesn't seem enough to take on a whole family..." I cringe at the helplessness that awaits us.

"Relax... There are many high ranks at war right now and although Rigel is almost Rank 9, I'm also about to reach Rank 8 thanks to what I learned from you while Lucious is there already, but we possess excellent equipment that would grant us the advantage." He attempts to comfort.

"How nice, I had a secret emo student. Anyway, that's still 10 times stronger than you even with proper equipment and yet, you brush off the possibility of time travel when I don't see how we can punish these people." I mock our chances. "Sighs, it's a shame we are short on time for this crazy plan of yours or with ten more of these bottles I could join the High Ranks!!" I inform my opinion considering other alternatives.

"Not so." Faust denied my preconception. "Although anyone who achieves 10 times the density at Rank 6 can indeed cross the barrier naturally as the world permits to awaken the next Soul stage, there are some talented individuals who can awaken with as low density as just two times and the rest of the way becomes a lot easier to reach ten times density of a true High ranked." He revealed a shortcut.

"Talented individuals capable of skipping Ranks?" I narrow my eyes asking

"You know... taking your Rank for granted would be an insult to all those beings who can't ever reach Rank 1 in their entire lives while others struggle for a long time, but you reached all the way to the third in one night..." Faust admonished my behavior.

"Hmph! You guys didn't deem necessary for me to know that other creatures struggle so much with magic, and I thought people just needed knowledge." I blame my misconceptions on them.

"Yes, that certainly helps a lot, and it didn't make sense to me either since a piece of the puzzle seemed missing, but people having limits to their progress is probably related to what you said about souls being recycled. Not many manage to manipulate Magic for many years which is required to increase density and awaken Affinities or convert life force, then being able to take Magic outside the body which qualifies you to become a magician as well as a slave. However, there are Magicians who become stuck in some Rank for a long time, unable to refine Spirit to higher densities or their progress in doing so becomes remarkably slow. Awakening to Low Affinities is an indication of very high chances progress will slow down at one point, and switching to Auramancer can help them advance or extend their life until they can resume their profession as Magician." He explains the hiccups in the journey to becoming a Magician.

Indeed, that's why Raiga qualified for a collar while brother would require frequent visits from the Tamer or someone constantly feeding Magic to the device. I recall feeling her magic outside sometimes which was a clue to know her capabilities.

"Can normal people learn Magic eventually?" I inquired of the common folk.

Those who cannot manipulate their own magic are common folk that makes up to 80% of the population and the ones unable to take it outside the body to cast far away can only become Auramancers to progress until they can start as magicians.

"Yeah, ultimately they are able to Manipulate Magic, and even Rank up, but taking Magic outside the body would become the next hurdle for them, then the average lifespan of ordinary people is not high enough to make it very far at that point. Though learning Aura extends their life or spends their last years more comfortable until the body gives out." Faust clarifies people's ability

That's why Alphonse said there are no Auramancers dragons. Since lifespan is not a limitation and without getting killed, eventually all Dragons would learn Magic. I wonder if another reason for Dragons taking so long to awaken is to strengthen the soul enough to receive medium or high affinity since it's for life? I ponder about benefits from growing slowly.

"Is there really no way to change affinity talents?" I inquire realizing there is a possibility.

"Oh, I wouldn't know the answer to that if I didn't talk to the Divine once before and it's common knowledge they stay the same in our mortal lives..." Faust insinuated he had a friendly conversation with the Kingdom's founder.