The next week was spent teaching Jon, Morena, and Wane how to better use their mana. Their control was still too shabby, even Wane who was the most talented could only be considered so-so in my eyes. Then again, perhaps I should not use the standards of a dragon to judge them.

I was pretty sure that he would be considered a genius anywhere he went. He was also able to easily grasp most of what I thought him with ease. Thanks to his thick thread that connected him to the mana stream, Wane also had no problem reaching out to his fire element.

The mana elements didn't seem to mind helping him either, which further boosted his prowess. The thing he needed to improve, however, was his control. He was still unable to handle the power input behind the spells, this often puts the others in danger when he was practicing, which meant I had to personally intervene and sever his connection with the stream on more than one occasion.

Still, overall, he was progressing at a steady speed. Next up was Morena, she was also considered talented although a bit less than Wane. However, since her element was water, I was able to help her the most.

I attempted to explain the feeling of using the water mana to her, the different spells she could try, and the way to follow the flow of the mana. Thankfully, she was also a fast learner, which made things easier for me. All in all, It was fun teaching her due to our shared element.

Another fun fact that I discovered with Morena's help, was that I emitted a certain passive pressure on the practitioners of Water magic. This made it harder for them to use the mana against me as it would simply refuse, or at times scatter from their core and come float around me. This was also true against Earth magic practitioners, as noted by Jon as well.

Speaking of Jon, although the first 'orthodox mage,' he was far from being the most talented one. In fact, I could hardly call him that, what he lacked in talent though, he made up with sheer will. The man was as steady as a rock, his mastery over his emotions, and his patience were his greatest strengths.

He could clearly sense the difference in talent between him and his companions, but he did not let that influence or bring him down, instead, it only served to ignite his fighting spirit even further. It was truly impressive.

As I was thinking about all of this, Wane suddenly approached the platform and gave me a bow before he spoke;

"My lord, I have successfully carved my name on the pillar." He said with a hint of undisguised pride. I chuckled before nodding;

"Good, Good. As expected, you are the first to finish. For now, continue with your training until you can create two spinning fireballs the size of a finger, and maintain their size without them growing or expanding."

"Understood," Saying that, the boy gave me another bow and hurried back south to continue with his training. Due to the previous incidents; he now resided in a desolate mountain away from the rest of the church members to avoid any danger.

A yawn escaped my mouth as he left. Morena and Jon were still busy with their training, and the king and emperors were still not here yet. It was truly quite boring. I inwardly sighed and curled around myself, my eyelids grew heavy as I slowly and easily drifted to the dreamland.

****

A sudden large number of presences suddenly woke me up. I yawned and stood up to stretch my limbs, I was still a bit tired but It felt like I was sleeping for a very long time.

The second I woke up, Lana who was laying on the platform a few meters away suddenly jumped to her feet, her eyes lit up in joy as she gave me a deep bow.

"You woke up!"

I nodded before replying; "En, how long was I asleep for?"

"A week! We didn't want to disturb you, so the mages decided to just continue with their training until you woke up."

"Oh, did they finish carving their names?"

"Yes, Morena was the second one to do it, four days ago, and Jon just finished it yesterday night!"

"En, that's good." Saying that I turned to face north before I spoke; "I can sense a large number of people approaching this place."

"Oh, could it be the royals?"

"They already arrived? That will be a pleasant surprise." Another yawn escaped my mouth as I stood there waiting for them to appear. Just as I was thinking about that, the head of the church along with his group of priests and nuns gathered before me.

"My lord, we have just received news that the royals are almost here. They have sent a representative to ask for permission to climb the mountain," The bald chief was the one to speak.

"That's good, let them come."

He nodded and turned to whisper something to the person behind him who then hurriedly ran back to the church.

"Did all the royals respond to the summons?" I asked.

"Yes, my lord. They should all he here."

"Hmm, good. Well then, since we will not be able to conduct the discussions indoors, we'll just have it here instead." I motioned at the foot of the platform.

"Your wish is our command, my lord. I'll have the servants bring out the chairs and tables for the royals."

I nodded before I glanced at Lana. She didn't seem to be concerned with the arrival of the royals, instead, she was satisfied with studying the colorful pattern of my scales from a distance.

"Lana," I called out.

"Uh? Ah! Yes, my lord!"

"Go bring Jon, Morena, and Wane to me."

"Ah, right away!" Saying that the energetic redhead hastily dashed to bring back the mages. Meanwhile, the bald chief was supervising the servants as they brought out a long table of sorts, with chairs facing my direction. The royals were still a distance away, which gave me enough time to think of my approach to this meeting.

Was it best to intimidate them? Or perhaps reason with them? Then again, why not both?

'Decisions, decisions.'