I woke up to the sound of morning birds singing, their chirping echoing through the trees. The rising sun cast a warm orange hue over the forest, and a soft breeze rustled through the fallen leaves around me.
Then came the familiar, dry clawing of thirst at the back of my throat. I tried to ignore it, resting a little longer, but the urge eventually won out.
As I pushed myself to my feet, a wave of soreness rippled through my limbs.
I guess the full weight of yesterday's battle had finally caught up to me.
Still, my wounds had closed and seemed to be healing well.
I stretched my arms toward the clear sky, joints cracking faintly as the stiffness began to ease.
"Okay, where can I get some water?"
I glanced between the village and the direction of the stream in the forest, unsure of where to go.
I remembered seeing the village's main well when I went to the village before, it was a shorter distance away.
But I also didn't feel like running into anyone who would be scared, or at the very least uneasy if they saw me.
I made my decision thinking, "It's still pretty early, everyone is probably still sleeping." So, I began to walk towards the well.
As I approached, I looked around the well then to the village entrance, letting out a small sigh of relief when I didn't see anyone.
The well was built from smooth, curved light-grey bricks, forming a perfect circle set into the earth. Several wooden buckets, each with thick rope handles, sat neatly beside it.
I carefully lowered a bucket down. As it descended, I caught a faint reflection of myself in the water's surface, it was just enough to remind me how much more dragon-like I'd become.
The bucket splashed, breaking the image. I drew it back up and took a long drink.
It seemed extra refreshing this morning, "maybe the water from here is cleaner than the forest stream's." I guessed.
I tipped the bucket up to get the last drops, then turned and started heading back.
As I neared the house, the front door swung open. Aurora stepped outside and immediately spotted me.
"Oh, you're up already?" she said, a little surprised, though I thought I also caught a hint of excitement in her voice.
I walked over, and she explained that her father had already left for the day to help the town begin planning their relocation to the capital.
"So anyway, I've got most of the day off until he gets back tonight…" she said with a small smile, her voice trailing off like she was trying not to sound too hopeful.
An awkward silence followed.
Then it clicked. "I think she's asking if I want to spend the day with her."
I looked toward the forest. An idea was already forming in my head.
Then I looked back at her.
I pointed a claw toward my slightly open mouth, then back at her with a questioning look.
As soon as I did it, I froze. "Oh no- that could be really badly misinterpreted!"
"W-what?" was all Aurora said as she took a step back, eyeing me with caution now.
I immediately raised both arms in a stop gesture, shaking my head quickly and closing my eyes.
"Please understand!"
A second later, Aurora face filled with realization, the tension in her posture eased.
"Oh... were you just asking if I've eaten today?"
I nodded rapidly, grateful that she got it.
"Oh, um no, I haven't eaten yet." She answered while taking a step forward to where she was originally.
"Great," I thought. "This might actually be fun!"
I motioned toward the forest, trying to invite her to a meal cooked by myself.
Aurora questioned, "you want to take food into the forest?"
I shook my head.
She paused for a few seconds, thinking it through. "You already have something for us to eat?"
I nodded, wondering if she would accept. "I guess dragons probably aren't known for inviting people for breakfast... unless said person is the breakfast."
She hesitated before saying, "Al-alright, give me a second to get a few things and we can go."
She slipped back inside and reappeared shortly after with a knapsack slung over her shoulder. It looked pretty full, but I couldn't tell what she'd packed.
We began walking towards the forest, as we entered, I made sure to be on guard for any monsters, now that Aurora was with me.
After a few minutes of brushing past leaves and low branches, we arrived at my campsite.
Aurora's eyes landed on the fire pit almost immediately. She walked over to it and asked, "Is this where you cook?"
I nodded, then moved to the hidden cellar, brushing aside its camouflage before heading down to retrieve what I wanted to cook.
As I emerged with a few eggs and a segment of snake meat in my claws, I nearly bumped into Aurora who had come closer and was peaking curiously down into the cellar.
"Wait... did you actually dig all of this?" she asked. "That's really impres-"
She froze mid-sentence when she saw what I was holding. The snake meat still had its thick scales attached.
"I–is that part of a snake?!"
I nodded.
"I've only heard about them growing that big," she said, eyes wide. "But I've never actually seen one even close to this size."
She remained interested in the snake, but her interest also grew to what on what I was doing with it.
She paid attention to the process closely, as I rinsed the meat clean in the stream nearby and began slicing it.
After collecting some trigs and sticks for the fire, I blew a hot, but small flame on them, within minutes, a proper fire was going. The scent of sizzling meat and eggs began to rise and fill the surrounding air.
Once everything was cooked, I placed a fried egg and some meat on a flat, clean rock and offered it to Aurora.
"Well, I've never eaten snake before… thank you Ryn," she said, smiling nervously. I could see she was trying not to let her uncertainty show as she eyed the food.
I watched with slight anticipation as she took a tentative bite.
Her eyes widened with surprise as she tasted it. "Wow, this is actually really good!"
I smiled; I was happy she liked it and relieved that it wasn't just my dragon sense of taste deceiving me into thinking the snake monster could pass as real food.
After we ate for a while, Aurora seemed to remember something. She opened her bag and pulled out two apples, handing one to me.
"Here," she said. "I grabbed these just before we left. I thought you might want one."
I accepted it gratefully, thinking that was very nice of her.
Then it dawned on me, she probably brought them just in case whatever I had prepared was inedible or… horrifying.
I laughed a little inside, imagining what she must've been picturing. Maybe she expected a half-rotted rabbit or a charred pile of monster meat.
Once we were both done eating, she gave me a quick smile. "Thanks for all the effort you put into the meal, I really wasn't expecting that you would be able to cook so well."
She then reached for her bag and began pulling out a few other things.
"Theres some things that I think could be very useful for you to learn about" Aurora said picking up one of the books. It looked like it was at least a decade old based on its wear and tear.
On its cover was a picture of a wand and sword crossed in an X shape, the title read: Warriors guide to Magic and Innate Mana Transcendence.
I remembered the captain saying I had reached "Mana Transcendence." When he realized I was the same dragon that he had nearly killed during my first encounter with him.
I leaned in closer, my claws flexed slightly as she spoke. All this time, I'd been stumbling in my pursuit for strength.
Now I was really eager to find out as much as I could about this "Mana Transcendence."
"This was my mom's book from when she began her training in the army," Aurora said, a reminiscent look crossing her face as she opened it.
She turned to a chapter titled: Innate Mana Transcendence and Its Specifics.
"I don't know if you were surprised or not when you gained that form," she said, glancing at me, "but it's the result of something called Mana Transcendence."
I vividly remembered when I gained my new form, the shock at the painful transformation and new strength was definitely present at that time.
But the anxiety and urgency of the coming attack had made it hard to process.
"It's very hard to achieve," Aurora continued. "At least for humans that is. As it requires hunting and killing many beings to grow stronger and eventually Transcend."
She looked at me and gave a slight innocent smile. "But since you've been living out here with other monsters, you pretty much had the perfect environment to Transcend."
"Wasn't I lucky," I thought sarcastically, remembering all the near-death fights with monsters that I had barely won.
Aurora began pointing to different images in the book, explaining the details as she went.
I listened closely.
She said for Mana Transcendence to occur, you needed to get stronger exactly ten times from killing monsters or any other strong being.
I immediately knew what she was referring to, it was that strange sensation followed by physical growth I had experienced so many times now after killing something.
She continued, "Killing a being that's about as strong as you would generally be enough to reach the required threshold to get stronger" Aurora added, "but you could also kill multiple much weaker beings. "
That reminded me of my fight with the spiders. Where I killed dozens and only got stronger a few times.
"Just having the potential to reach Mana Transcendence is actually somewhat rare," she said, "Most people can only get stronger to the point right before Mana Transcendence would occur."
She hesitated for a moment. "That's what happened with my dad. He was never as strong as my mom was... but he's still not weak by any means."
Everything so far was straightforward enough, but the more complex stuff came next.
"There are actually three different types of Mana Transcendence" she said, "Firstly there is the type that grants physical change which only applies to Monsters and a few other beings."
Aurora looked at me and smiled, adding, "like your transformation."
She continued, "Secondly warrior Transcendence, which has no direct transformation, however through certain weapons called "Transcendent weapons", they can channel their power better and said weapon will undergo a permeant transformation instead."
"That must be what the captain had," I thought, remembering how he manipulated flames through his sword like it was a direct extension of himself.
"Finally, there's Mage Transcendence," Aurora said, her expression brightening as she pulled out the short metal rod I'd seen her use before. "Like warriors, mages also use tools, which are instead called Catalysts, they can transform as well. But unlike Transcendent weapons, Catalysts return to their original form after being used."
She went silent for a second concentrating, then said, "Release."
The rod shimmered and reshaped into a wand like I had seen it before.
"Just like that," she said with a slight grin.
"Both types of weapons can be used with basic magical or physical ability, even if you-haven't Transcended. I can use this one, and I'm not even close to Mana Transcendence yet."
Her concentration eased, as she deactivated the Catalyst before continuing, "see it reverts just like that."
"But they require someone who has reached Mana Transcendence to be truly used properly." There was a bit pride in her tone as she continued. "For instance, when my mom used it, it was on a whole different level."
"Anyway, generally people will naturally have an affinity towards either being a type of warrior or a mage, like how I'm naturally good at magic."
"But it's still somewhat a choice for me."
Then she turned to me, her tone shifting slightly.
"But your basically stuck with the first type of Mana Transcendence, the one that changes your physical form..."
I sighed inwardly. Of course I was.
I was already stuck in this dragon body; I might as well be stuck with its Transcendence path too.
Aurora moved onto the next point. "Once someone achieves Mana Transcendence, they initially gain two abilities-and the knowledge on how to use them."
"So that's where my presence suppression and electrical power or the captains flame abilities, came from" I thought.
Then I remembered what the captain said during the battle, "you have no idea what real power is."
I didn't have to wonder what he meant for long. As Aurora turned the page to a section divided into three sets of images.
The first set showed a monster's progressive transformations.
The second showed the evolving forms of a Transcendent weapon.
The third showed the changes in a mage's catalyst forms.
"Mana Transcendence One is only the beginning," Aurora said, pointing to the first image of the monster. "There are actually nine levels of Mana Transcendence."
Her finger landed on the final picture, one of a towering creature, vastly more massive than the earlier forms.
I looked closer at the images; it seemed that after the initial change at level one it took two more levels to grant new form, so at one, three, five, seven, and nine is when the major changes took place.
The pattern held true for all three types of Mana Transcendence.
"However just like how most can't reach Mana Transcendence, the higher the level one reaches, the less likely they able to reach the next." Aurora said.
I wondered if I also was limited to a low Mana Transcendence level, but then I thought, "maybe being stuck at Mana Transcendence one or two wouldn't be bad, I wasn't exactly excited at the idea of becoming a towering monster like the one in the image. Even though it did look a bit cool."
She continued speaking as she flipped to the next page, "right now there isn't even anyone at Mana Transcendence eight."
But then I felt an unexpected chill go down my spine.
If you had to defeat something as strong as yourself ten times over just to level up once… then what kind of monster would someone have to become to reach the higher levels?
And if there were very few equals to fight at higher levels, how many weaker or non-Mana Transcendence beings would have to die for someone to gain just a bit more power.
I shuddered, thinking how many ruthless people there must be who kill unceasingly to do just that.
The next chapter Aurora turned to, read: Mana Transcendence abilities and Magical elements.
"Each level of Mana Transencence unlocks two unique abilities," she said. "My mom once showed me an ice ability she had by making it snow in a small area even though it was summer."
Aurora smiled fondly as she remembered it.
"Abilities are usually tied to elemental affinities-like fire, lightning, or ice. But some are also based on animals, like hawk vision or spider-like reflexes."
She paused, her expression more serious. "There are also rare abilities that seem to have no point of origin. My mom told me they were also the most dangerous because they are completely unpredictable."
I thought about my own powers.
It's clear then that one of my abilities is based on lighting. "I guess that's an elemental ability." I thought, "but what about presence suppression, maybe it's a type of darkness element? Or maybe it's one of the rare ones that doesn't have an origin?"
"Once you unlock an ability, the knowledge on how to use it just sort of... appears," Aurora said. "That's how it worked for you, right?"
I remembered that I only gained the knowledge of my second ability in the middle of the battle, but it was still about within the first twenty-four hours of Transcending so I gave a hesitant nod.
"Thats what I expected, well that's pretty much all the basics of Mana Transcendence... now just for the test to make sure."
She gently closed the book and returned it to her bag.
Then Aurora picked up the round item wrapped in cloth and placed it between us.
She pulled off the cloth, underneath was a perfectly round glass sphere, smooth and faintly reflective.
Aurora continued, "This is something to test your Mana Transcendence level, all you need to do is touch it. and it will light up with a certain color and intensity based on what level you are at."
I slowly reached out and laid a few claws against the glass… but nothing happened.
Aurora and I looked at each other silently for a few seconds.
I tilted my head slightly, then thought, "maybe it needs more than just contact… maybe I need to use an ability to get thing working."
Catching Aurora off guard a bit, I used the lightning ability. My scales pulsed with a soft violet glow, the pattern rippling along my body.
My eyes widened expecting to see some dazzling light come from it. Aurora leaned in closer as well with anticipation.
The crystal responded at once. It lit up faintly with a low, steady white glow.
I blinked, surprised.
That's it? I thought, slowly retracting my claws and letting the ability fade.
I didn't want to admit it, but I was a bit underwhelmed by the crystal ball.
Aurora said, "that's the same way it glowed when my mom showed me, she was also only Mana Transcendence level one."
She let out a sigh of relief and smiled faintly. "Well, I'm glad it still works, these require very scarce crystals to make."
She gently wrapped the crystal again and placed it back in her bag before pulling out the second book.
Aurora paused with the book still in her lap, her expression shifting as if something else had just come to mind.
"My father told me that we're going to leave for the capital in about seven days… if everything goes well." She said looking away from me.
Then she turned back to me, frowning slightly.
"Ryn, do you know if you're going to stay here, or… go somewhere else when we leave?" She asked.
I lowered my head a little.
The truth was, I didn't have much of a choice.
Obviously, I couldn't go to the capital with Aurora, and I couldn't stay here, not after what the captain said- "You'll be hunted for this, then torn apart."-his voice still rang in my head.
So, my only real choice left is to leave the forest and find somewhere new to live or keep moving from place to place.
I looked at Aurora, then turned and raised one claw, pointing towards a path that led out of the forest.
I wasn't saying that was where I'd go-but I was telling her I had to go.
Aurora understood my gesture, nodding slightly and said, "then you should learn the basics of the regions geography before you leave."
The book she had now was titled: Geography of Lionia's Western Lands.
During the next half hour Aurora showed me some maps in the book and the locations of a few cities.
The most important thing I learned was the general location of the border between both kingdoms.
I felt relieved knowing that I wouldn't accidentally cross over into Lamia's territory.
It was a lot to absorb all at once, but I focused on remembering the parts that mattered most.
By the time we finished going through the maps, the sun had risen nearly to its peak.
There was still plenty of daylight left to waste.
Aurora told me a bit more about what the capital was like. She said it was a grand city, with hundreds of thousands of people and the royal family also lived there.
It honestly sounded amazing, like it was something out of history book, only better.
Inside, I hoped that I might have the chance to see it one day.
But the mood fell a bit when Aurora also told me just how dangerous it could be when I traveled, she said that dragons would have been hunted to extinction if they weren't so strong.
A dragon's body was worth quite a bit of money, as they often used to create weapons and armor...
But I knew I didn't have to worry about that for today, and there's no point dwelling on the coming dangers.
Then I realized that I hadn't showed Aurora the tree house, "she would probably like to see it," I thought.
I turned and pointed up in its direction.
Aurora's face brightened when she saw it.
"Wait, did you actually make a treehouse?" She said with a bit of disbelief in her voice.
I nodded as I began to climb up, motioning for her to follow.
The tree didn't have many sturdy branches, but Aurora surprised me with how well she could climb despite that.
There was just enough space for both of us to sit on the top. After all I had made it when I was much smaller.
Thankfully the platform was also just sturdy enough to hold us both.
"Wow… the view up here is really great," Aurora said, her gaze sweeping over the forest.
I nodded in agreement, thinking that I would probably miss it when I left.
We sat there for a while. Aurora talked about the upcoming harvest, listing off some of the work she and the others would need to do in the next few days.
I wondered if I could help out at all before, they left.
Eventually, Aurora said her dad would be home soon, so she had to go home.
We climbed down, and I walked her back to the forests edge just to be safe.
As we parted, she said while smiling, "Thank you for the meal and everything today, Ryn, it was fun."
I gave a wave goodbye, then returned to the forest to think for a while.
I thought about how fearful and sometimes lonely I used to be in this forest, but now those feeling had almost completely left.
But as I thought about what I would do in the future, or where I would go, I knew those feeling were bound to return.