Dragon's Tale 68

I ignored the jealous glares of the guards as they escorted me back to my room, suggesting that, toward the end, we had made quite a bit of noise with Theodora. However, I had more important things than assuring the fragile egos of my guards, my mind already on my plans. When the guards finally assisted me back to my room, my table was piled with freshly-cooked food, no doubt as a reward for my latest victory. 

Just like a farmer trying to fatten his prized sheep. No matter how proud the farmer was, ultimately, it wouldn’t change its fate in the end. 

Luckily, they didn’t know they had a wolf hiding under the sheepskin, with no intention of allowing it to be slaughtered when it was time. 

I just needed to sharpen my fangs, and the techniques I managed to steal from my trip were the best option. 

My initial plan was to test those new techniques the moment I had returned from that fateful evening, but the ambush, and the sudden acquisition of a book about a whole new magical discipline,  not to mention the potential to tame a rare magical beast, distracted me from my other objective. 

 I sat down on the floor, my legs crossed as I tried to use one of the mediation techniques I managed to pilfer during my latest library adventure. It was a specialized technique for Sorcerers, developed specifically for non-combat-focused mages. 

I had no intention of changing my focus, of course. In my circumstances, ignoring my combat potential was the worst possible idea. But there was one advantage for the other magical applications compared to combat, that they required a calmer, smoother mana control. And with my mana getting wilder and wilder with each passing day, I needed all the help I could get. 

As the mana flowed from my core to my torso, swirling softly, I was happy to note that the flow was much smoother, even as I forced it to flow faster. It was much better than the meditation techniques I had found in the lost city, both in terms of function, and in terms of quality. 

Since I doubted a random patrician house would have better techniques than the man who had managed to invade and loot most of the known world, as well as raiding most of the other patrician houses as well as the treasury of Rome during the civil war, it was clear that the lost city only included the techniques Caesar intended to share with his army, rather than the true treasures of House Julia. 

Even with the quality-fitting nature of the newly acquired meditation technique, however, it was was by no means an effortless activity. My core was thumping fast, like it was my heart and I had just run for half an hour. Not because it was straining, but because it was trying to flow even faster. 

Since my Ascension, I was having trouble with limiting my mana output, the exact opposite of any other struggling mage, trying to maximize their mana impact. Luckily, that lack of control was yet to reach a point that affected my combat effectiveness, but the development itself was worrying. 

Though, it wasn’t as worrying as the sudden warmth that covered my right arm. I let the transformation happen, and just like that, glistening scales covered my arm, turning it into a monstrosity. 

“It’s spreading even more,” I murmured even as I noticed just how much it spread, reaching high enough to cover half of my bicep, signaling that I was in dire need of a solution. 

Pity I was yet to find one. 

After I suppressed those scales, I turned my attention back to my mana flow, flowing smoother thanks to the new technique. All that remained was to test to see whether it impacted the elemental spells I cast. 

I raised my hand, summoning a small flame, to check if there was any change in the wild nature of the spells. I was trying to create a small flame, like I was trying to light a campfire. Instead, I ended up in a raging explosion, directing itself toward my face as if it was trying to burn me, rebelling against my touch. Curious, I switched into different spells, testing the other three elements. 

The results were still the same, the elements were literally fighting against my control. And, interestingly, more controlled mana flow made the control issues even worse, like nature itself was trying to take advantage of the limited mana I put behind the spell to lash back even harder. 

Even more interestingly, the more I maintained control of the elemental spells, the more I could feel some kind of pressure thickening around me, the air itself getting stale, almost suffocating. 

“Interesting,” I said as I switched once again, this time testing my lightning abilities. A little flux flew between my fingers as an acrid smell filled the room. Considering the relative obedience of lightning, I expected it to work smoother, so, when it ended up burning my fingertips, as if it was rebelling against me as well, I was surprised. 

For a moment, I was scared, like my only reliable element was lost to me as well, but the sudden weakening of the oppressive feeling that surrounded me suggested something else. I let my mana flow wilder, more aggressively, only for the lightning to flow smoother, without pain. 

Ironically, it was easier to control lightning without control. 

I couldn’t help but remember the moment of ascension, where I had to suffer through the oppression of the four elements, only to be saved by a sudden lightning strike. 

However, the problem persisting after changing my mediation technique — even getting worse — in the process, suggested that whatever plaguing my control was clearly not something that could be solved by a meditation technique that gives more mana control. Not that I expected it to be a solution, but I was hoping that more control would at least give me more time. 

I certainly wasn’t expecting the reverse to be the case. 

For the next few hours, I had cycled through other techniques I managed to find, hoping that they would help, but the best result I was able to get was to keep the problem stable. None of them actually allowed me to have better control over the elements than simply overpowering the spells — which was not exactly a problem with my excessive mana reserves thanks to the dragon’s heart I had swallowed — or helped me to reverse the transformation that was going on in my body. 

Of course, even pushing excessive mana wasn’t a consistent solution, because for the elements, with the notable exception of lightning, the more I used them, the more they started to rebel. The water spells I tried started to bubble aggressively, coming out violently steamy, while the fire spells flickered, threatening to extinguish one second, while exploding aggressively the next. 

Whatever malfunction that happened during my Ascension made sure that the fundamental elements were still rejecting my existence. 

When I finished my tests, it was already evening. With a sigh, I stood up, casting a spell to hide myself. I needed a distraction, and visiting my prospective pet was the best option. 

Sneaking past the guards was easy to arrive the modified stable that held the lion was easy. There were a few guards and caretakers around, and one of them even had some magical abilities — though not enough to make him a combat threat — a sleep spell was all that needed to make them a non-issue. 

I was so glad that my non-elemental spells weren’t suffering from the same problem, keeping my utility options open. 

“Hello, buddy,” I said as I walked toward the cage that held the Nemean lion. It growled threateningly, but I just chuckled even as walked to the cage, and I let my control slip on my arm once more, this time completely. 

Watching the beast that was scary enough to intimidate a small army flinching away was always a nice moment. I flared my magic once more, and the door to the cage opened, but when I stepped in, rather than trying to escape, the beast retreated to the corner, growling. 

“Calm down, little kitty,” I said even as I threw a piece of meat to him. He growled suspiciously, but that didn’t prevent him from eating the juicy piece of meat. At the same time, I cast a spell, essentially fixing the sudden flood of positive emotions he received from eating magically, along with the instinctive fear he was feeling toward me. 

It was the whole reason I was able to use a simple taming technique against such a beast. If anyone else dared to copy that, the only thing they would have been achieved was to link the idea of a delicious meal even deeper into the beast, which meant the beast would turn them into the meal at the earliest opportunity. 

Especially since a magical male lion didn’t have convenient herd behavior to tap into, turning his taming into a real challenge. It would have been much easier to apply the same trick to a wolf, for example. 

“Good boy,” I said after he finished his meal, and threw another piece of meat, and after a couple of repeats, I decided to test it some more.

I walked even closer. He growled a bit, but when I reached to scratch under his chin, he didn’t dare to attack, just stiffening in fear. But after a couple of spells to calm him down, his threatening growls were replaced with deep, satisfying growls. 

Taming my first beast was processing excellently.