Reincarnated as the Strongest Dragon

Chapter 33: Magical Reeducation II

I woke up when I felt a tap on my cheek. Opening my eyes, I saw an exhausted Liz leaning down in front of me. “So, how are you doing?” I asked.

“My accuracy is better, but not good enough to reliably hit the target. Also, I only managed to crack the pillar a little, so I still have a long way to go before reaching the power I have with my staff.”

“I would say cracking the pillar already is pretty good.”

“But it’s still the first pillar. With my staff, I managed to crack the third one.”

“Oh? Did I forget to tell you? When I remade the pillars, I started from the hardness of the third one since you already managed to destroy the first two,” I said with a sly smile. “You have made more progress than you thought.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah, you are progressing faster than I thought. Do you want to continue right away? Or if you prefer, you can take a ten-minute snuggle break,” I suggested, patting the ground beside me.

Liz immediately sat down next to me and leaned on my shoulder. “I feel a bit bad that you have to sit here while I train.”

“I don’t mind. It’s not like I have anything better to do right now. The guild didn’t have any quests for me either.”

“I really appreciate it. Makes me want to push myself so I don’t let you down.”

I put my head against hers. “You could never do that.”

Ten minutes passed as we sat cozied up, leaning against Boxy, before it was time to continue, much to Liz’s protests. I buffed her again and she got back to work casting spells.

As I sat there and stared into the sky, I was jumped by two small furballs. Woxy and Roxy seemed just as bored as I was and decided that I had to pay attention to them. Woxy looked at me and tilted his head.

Don’t act so cute. I’m supposed to be mad at you! Not that I could be even if I wanted to. You have always been the one that needs the most attention, so it’s obvious that you would jump the new person for belly rubs.

I enjoyed snuggling with my furballs while catching Liz sending glances of pure jealousy my way from time to time. After about an hour, I noticed that Liz didn’t use her staff anymore and now continuously cast spells with chants in quick succession that hit the same spot. The first pillar had broken, and she was now working on the second one.

She might actually have more talent as a mage than I initially thought. The amateurish way she practiced magic must have stunted her growth. I'm curious why it declined since the last time I was awake. I should ask Chloe what happened to the Byzan Empire; she seemed knowledgeable about it.

“Looks like you can start practicing chantless now,” I yelled. “Do the same thing as you did with your staff. Alternate between them until you get a feel for it.”

Liz looked back at me and my throne of fur. “I guess there’s no room for a break first?”

“You guessed right.”

She sighed and resumed the barrage of spells.

In all honesty, I don’t know if I should push her this hard. It’s not like I have trained a human before. I’m sure she will tell me if something is wrong.

After another thirty minutes, a happy Liz came skipping over. “You are looking awfully chipper. Happy to get rid of the staff?”

“My water and wind magic both went up to level five!” she said with a beaming smile.

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“Oh? Aren’t you just full of surprises?”

Liz casually picked up Woxy and Roxy and put them down next to me before taking their place in my lap. “Looking for a reward?” I asked.

“Don’t you think I deserve one?” She replied, batting her eyelashes.

“I think you could probably use some food more than anything. You have been going for about four hours already.”

“No wonder I’m tired.”

“Everything else okay? No headache or anything?”

“No, why? Should I have one?”

“I don’t know. I'm not sure how humans handle casting this many spells in such a short time.”

“I feel fine.”

“That’s good. Let’s eat something then,” I brought out some food for a light lunch and gave Liz a much-needed break.

Another two hours passed, and I could see a clear improvement in her chantless casts. Usually, progress like this would take months or even years, but with her unlimited mana pool, she has already managed to cast thousands of spells. Her skills are also improving rapidly. Higher tier spells give more proficiency to their respective skills, but they come with a cooldown, while she can cast [Icicle] continuously.

“How are you feeling?” I asked the now less chipper Liz who sat in my lap.

“A bit tired, but still okay. I have used more spells today than I did for the last year.”

“You are really putting in some effort. I’m proud of you,” I said and stroked her head.

“I can only do this because you help me so much, though.”

“Back in the day, it was quite common to train with buffs, mana regeneration gear, and even mana potions if you were rich. It’s harsh but effective. If you only train when you fight monsters, you won’t get enough practice unless you fight all day long every day.”

“Harsh is an understatement. I will dream of icicles.”

“I did tell you it would be hard.”

“I know. You’ve already given me a year's worth of training in a few hours. I’d be an idiot to complain.”

After another ten-minute break, Liz went back to casting spells for a full two hours without complaining. By now, she didn’t chant anymore, and the icicles were fast and accurate. The second pillar had been destroyed as well.

I would be pleasantly surprised if she could destroy the third pillar before she reaches level six in water and wind magic.

“You don’t chant at all anymore,” I said as Liz walked over, looking proud.

“I feel like I have gotten used to it by now. Sometimes I feel like chanting on reflex, but I guess it takes time to retrain years of chanting practice.”

“Are you still level five?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to do another two-hour session, or call it for today? I will let you decide.”

“Is the next session the same as this one?”

“It looks like you have the basics down, so the next one will be casting one [Icicle] with each hand. That way, you'll gain skill proficiency twice as fast.”

“One with each hand? How am I supposed to do that?”

“Same as you do now, but with both hands?” I replied, tilting my head. “Picturing both hands as magic mediums isn’t any different than just picturing one hand.”

“You make everything sound so simple,” Liz said with a frown. “Maybe we should call it for today. I need to digest all this training before my head explodes.”

“Okay, let’s go back to the inn and get some dinner then.”

When we returned to the inn, we ordered dinner to be brought up to our room.

“So, what did you think about your basic training?” I asked, making myself comfortable on the couch.

“Basic?” 

“Yeah, that’s what I had assumed was basic knowledge.”

“What else do you have planned for me?”

I put a finger on my cheek and pondered. “Faster casting, multi-casting, concentration practice, and some spell utility training, I guess?.”

“Just how much training do you intend for me to do?” Liz asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

“Just a little bit.”

“By dragon standards, I assume,” Liz groaned.

“You already relinquished your opportunity to quit,” I grinned. “You’re mine now.”

“Just remember that I'm human, okay?” 

“I'm painfully aware of that…” I let slip a whisper in a slightly sad tone.

“Did you say something?”

I cleared my throat. “I wondered if you wanted to take a bath?”

We took a relaxing bath and went to bed. Liz was a lot more exhausted than what she let on as she fell asleep almost instantly.

The next day, I dropped a sleepy Liz off at the training area with the instructions to cast one [Icicle] with each hand. Then I went to the adventurers guild, picked up my materials, and found a spot close to Liz where I could set up my house and start crafting.

First, I'll refine and combine the water and wind magic stones from the prismatic hydra to make two ice-attribute magic stones. There should be plenty to work with considering their original size. Additionally, I have two eyes from the hydra to extract the elemental damage attribute from. The magic stone I obtained from the frost wyrm should be strong enough to add an ability, but what? An offensive spell would eventually become weaker than what she can cast herself… Maybe a buff? I'll have to think about that one.

I can refine one of my own scales to act as a mold for the magic stone. Should I use the hydra skin? I don’t think it will be a good base material. Do I have some other leather or fabric? Maybe use some yeti fur to line the edges? It would suit an ice mage, but winter gloves in this climate? Maybe not. I’m sure I will have all kinds of stuff I forgot about if I start sorting my [Inventory]. I’ll see how it comes along first.

The rest of the day consisted of checking on Liz’s training and buffing her before returning to focus on my crafting. By the end of the day, Liz could rapidly cast spells with both hands simultaneously.

The pace at which she improves is staggering. Getting help from a dragon is almost like using cheat codes.

After returning to the inn and having dinner, we took a long soak in the bath. Liz was visibly exhausted from today's training.

Eight-hour workdays are not uncommon, but eight hours of casting? I’m pushing her too hard. I better ease up on the training.

“Are you going to tell me what you were doing all day today?”

“Not yet,” I said and smiled at Liz, who was busy pouting. “Were you lonely?”

“Yes,” Liz said, putting her arms around me. “Is that bad?”

“Not at all,” I said and kissed her. “But don’t tell my foxlings. They might sulk.”

“But you still won’t tell me where you went?” She asked with pleading eyes.

“Correct,” I said with a sly grin. “So, you feel like you have today’s practice mastered?”

“Somewhat. Casting with both hands is hard. But my water and wind magic both leveled to six.”

“Oh? You didn’t tell me that.”

“You would have known if you didn’t run away all the time,” she pouted.

“Oh, you,” I shook my head. “I guess we can move on tomorrow then. Can you use [Glacial Spike]?”

“No, I haven't learned that one. What does it do?”

“It thrusts a big ice spike from the ground. It’s good for attacking weak points. It’s also a fair bit stronger than [Icicle], but it does come with a cooldown. I will have you learn that tomorrow.”

“New spells?” Liz's eyes were full of sparkling stars.

“Now that you’ve leveled up to six, you can also use [Biting Cold]. Since both spells have a cooldown, it might be a good idea to learn both at the same time.”

“What does that spell do?”

“It’s a debuff that reduces agility, movement speed, and attack speed of the target, as well as inflicting a fairly low amount of ticking ice damage over the duration.”

“That sounds really useful. I don’t really have much in the way of utility at the moment,” Liz said with a giddy tone.

“Sounds like you are looking forward to tomorrow.”

“Let’s get out of the bath and go to bed already,” she said and ushered me to get out.

“Calm down now, the spells aren’t going anywhere.”