Although the restoration efforts within Joya were proceeding well, Ryuko couldn't help but find herself uneasy, troubled even at the recent events that had transpired. Not only was she haunted by the knowledge of something that might either be a vision of the future, or a nightmare waiting to become reality, but she was also stuck trying to figure out a safe way to learn to master her newfound powers without the risk of unleashing a calamity upon Joya. Her initial idea was to ask Mishiko for help, but no doubt she was busy doing that complicated covering stuff. Or maybe she was chasing one of her husbands again, it did remind her that she didn't see her uncle Ryujin recently. Heaving a sigh the dragon girl took a seat on the bench overlooking the nearby plaza in the small village, her wings stretching lightly behind her as she tried to think of any possible ideas. She had heard stories of dragons teaching mortals their ways of magic, but this was a bit different. She couldn't just walk up to someone like her father or uncle and try to ask them to teach her such a dangerous power. But even then, it was of utmost importance for her to figure out a way to master her newfound power, lest she'd become the very reason her nightmare would become a reality...

"If only there was someone strong enough around that also had experience dealing with dragons... but that is almost as rare as winning the lottery! Not that I have any experience with that either... Best I won was a free barbeque in Hargeon before..."

Sighing audibly the girl continued to ponder, oblivious to the presence of a stranger.

Meanwhile, hoping to be more secluded and away from any distraction, Alexandre was training his defencive spell Glacial Defence. Yes he was that simple with spell calling. But all in all, he stood there closed his eyes and took a breath, he focused and concentrated as he raised his hand as a cyan magic circle appears and sweeps over him as a frosty cape of frost energy appears and covers him with a defencive frost aura. But it was short lived. It was a spell he had to sustain and he was out of practice.

He sighed as he had to focus more. He placed his hands on his hips as he was a bit annoyed. He was sure he'd do it, but he just hated the hurdles and hoops to get there. He also figured he needed to test his defence against someone. But how... who? Its not like he can do it by himself so someone should help? Should he bother asking someone for help? Coincidentally he heard a sigh too. He looked in the direction of the sigh and spoke "Is someone there?" granted he spoke in fiorian as he didnt know joyan.

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The voice that suddenly called out to her had surprised the dragon girl whose gaze swiftly went into the direction the voice had called from. Despite the fact she had been at a plaza of a small rural village, it was still quite early so usually one wouldn't find many people on the streets aside from those already going to their early jobs or a patrolling guard. This one seemed to be neither of these, especially since he called out in Fiorian.

Fortunately Ryuko knew a bit of Fiorian, courtesy of her time spend in the country, and as such she replied in kin. "I apologize if I intruded onto something, I decided to catch some fresh air and clear up my mind a little." Ryuko spoke, although she couldn't help but notice a slight peculiarness in the man's scent. She wasn't sure how to describe it, but while similar to that of a dragon, there was a subtle difference, one that reminded her of a story she had once heard about before. Something involving dragons teaching their powers onto the mortals of Earthland?

Quickly shifting the thought aside she inquired. "I couldn't help but notice the fluctuations in your mana's presence just now, Were you trying to practice some type of magic?"

WC: 219.

And somehow, he got a response back in Fiorian, he saw a girl that looked like a dragon which astounded him and confused him. Her scent even threw him for a loop. He heard that there were stories of dragon slayers becoming more dragon like if they overused their magic. He wasnt sure if those tales were true and she was one such dragon slayer. Granted he was also a user of the magic, but he did have a big period of no magic use, hence why he is training it. He forgot some spells because he had not used them in forever.

The girl asked him if he was training magic and he merely nodded, still astounded at what the hell was he looking at, trying to collect his thoughts, while also avoiding to gawk at her and be calm and collected. He just needed to think of inner peace

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A slight tilt of her head followed in response to the man's silence. Although he had confirmed her initial assumption that he was training some form of magic, she couldn't help but notice a certain restlessness to his mannerisms. "It seems we share the same idea then~" The dragon girl admitted as she gazed around to observe their surroundings. It was fortunately still quite early, so there wasn't much in terms of villagers or onlookers what did made for an excellent opportunity to practice a little.

"I been trying to get a grasp on some of my powers as well, although I'd be embarrassed to admit that, unlike my father, I am not all too attuned to the usage of the magic my ancestors employ."

She lightly raised a hand, shifting the palm of it upwards as an obsidian flame surged into existence. It burned softly, like kindling in a campfire when finally she closed her hand and the flames died down. "Then again, I'm a bit too proud to ask my father to teach me, he tends to be quite dotting and overprotective so he wouldn't take any training seriously. If it was up to him I likely would still be staying at his temple rather than dwelling in the realm of mortals on Earthland."

"Are you... a dragon slayer?" he asked her, still a bit baffled by her appearance and scent. After she answers him, he would regain his composure and speak "Ehm yes, I was training a defencive spell. If by any chance you have an offensive spell maybe we can work this out and train together?"
He had to train up his spell for his own sake. If she had an offensive spell, she can use it on him and he can defend against it. That way both of them work out their spells.

"In any case, I am ready for some training." even if she wasnt going for an offensive spell, but a defencive or supplementary, he was still ready for some good spell training as he was ready to reuse his spell once again. He was just waiting for her cue, for her word to do it. He had to regain his forgotten spells to be useful once more

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The term Dragon Slayer earned a brief chuckle from the dragon girl who shook her head slightly in response. "In a certain way I am one, and yet I am not a Dragon Slayer. You see, Dragon Slayers learn their magic from the Lacrima and teachings of Dragonkin, right? However, my magic comes from my origins, I am what some might describe in Earthland's terms as a 'half-breed'. My father is a dragon, but my mother is a Demigoddess. But the nature of our magic is quite similar to a degree."

However, when he mentioned wanting to train a spell of some sort she couldn't help but find her excitement stirred. "While I am not a traditional magus, I do believe I could conjure up something to help you practice."

With a slight sweep of her hand the dragon girl caused the air behind her to twist and distort, as if something was tearing open the very fabrics of reality and from within the gaping maw of the void a clawed hand started to pull itself upwards. Something, or someone was clearly attempting to climb out of the portal and after a moment as its arm pushed itself into the realm of Earthland more of its body became visible. The creature seemed unlike anything that dwelled in this plane, while its body was a humanoid, its features were more akin to what would have happened if a sick experiment blended a human with a lizard. This scaled creature however seemed even more different, since when it finally stood tall beside Ryuko the entity made no motion, said no word or even breathed. Its eyes were pitch-black, devoid of life and color as if it was some sort of twisted puppet. With a light snap of her fingers the portal closed itself shut again as Ryuko explained further.

"As you can likely deduct from its appearance this creature is a summoned entity called an Anjin, it should prove to be a worthwhile training partner for you. Should you be ready I will now command it to attack you."

Making certain the man had prepared himself, she raised a hand in a pointing gesture toward her opponent upon which the lifeless puppet seemed to react. First, its muscles twitched slightly, as if some sort of energy was being fueled into its limbs when at last the entity stirred to life. The Anjin's legs pushed itself forward, a dash in a straight line being made toward the man as it raised a clawed hand, attempting to lash it forward at whatever protection the man would have conjured.

"Although they might not be the strongest foe you faced, Anjin are fairly durable and know neither pain or exhaustion, able to last in a fight until destroyed or I'd exhaust my mana to keep them anchored into this realm."

WC: 480
---

Name: Ajin
Rank: S
Mana Cost: 10% of the user's total mana per Ajin
Requirements: Oblivion Dragon Slayer
Type: Summoning
Element: Darkness
Range: 50 Meters
Cooldown: 5 Posts
Duration: Sustain
Size: Ajin are humanoid in shape and are up to 2 meters in height
Strength: 77
Constitution: 251
Speed: 77
Description: Ajin are terrifying entities from the void who are considered by some as the souls of the damned, mindless creatures that lack a physical body but still have the fortitude to maintain a spirit-like presence. Some Ajin have no loyalty while others such as in this case serve a master who can harness their abilities.
Effect: The user raises their hand to open portals behind them out of which the Ajin crawl out from, once on the field, the user may continue to use them as though they were Champion Summons. The user can summon up to 2 Ajin at once.

The answer he got was a headscratcher if her mother was a demigoddess and father a dragon. Does that mean like a demigod comitted bestiality? Demigods are lowkey gross if they did that. Yea, no wonder he was speechless seeing this person.

Anywho, the not so traditional magus spoke how they may help eachother. Soon she did something with her magic, he didnt quite understand what as this was all foreign to him. It looked like she conjured up a portal and a creature that he had never seen before appeared out of it. This scaled creature was....he didnt know what. It stood up and kind of froze. It was disturbing. Its eyes were turned pitch black, devoid of life and color or was it always that way and he just missed it because he was disturbed by the presence of the creature emerging. With a light snap of her fingers the portal closed itself shut again as halfbreed not so traditional magus girl explained further on, which he would listen

He couldnt help but lightly chuckled as she said 'as you can likely deduct'. There was no way he could deduct that. The same of the entity was Anjin, it sounded purely Joyan. And he was very unfamiliar with Joya and everything about its oriental nature. But back to the matter at hand, this thing would be his training partner? Interesting

He nodded, "Right" Alexandre then got into a stance and raised his hand as a cyan magic circle appears and sweeps over him as a frosty cape of frost energy appears and covers him with a defencive frost aura. He took a deep breath and looked at the creature "Show me what you got"

287
----
Name: Glacial Defence
Rank: B
Mana Cost: 100
Requirements: Glacier Dragon Slayer Magic
Type: Defence
Element: Frost
Range: Self
Cooldown: 3 Posts
Duration: Sustain
Effect: The user raises their hand as a cyan magic circle appears and sweeps over him as a frosty cape of frost energy appears and covers him with a defencive frost aura

The Anjin was quick to unleash it's attack, the clawed hand digging into the frosty cape, seemingly engaging in a brief struggle of force as it tried to overwhelm its foe, but in the end it seemed their strength was even-matched for while the aura would likely shatter under his force, the Anjin was slightly pushed backwards giving Alexandre a moment to prepare a new spell should he wish to do so.

"Hmm, it seems your spell was around the same strength as the force of the Anjin's attack~ If you want I can empower him to give you more of a challenge?"

The Anjin regained its footing, and yet it was still eying Alexandre like a predator waiting to see an opening to exploit. However, something about its presence seemed to change, the mana that coursed through its limbs pulsing more violently as its muscled started to swell slightly. It appeared it was preparing itself for some sort of attack, but while bound to Ryuko's will it couldn't attack without any commands or instructions of her own.

"Hmm that scent..." she caught a whiff of that familiar scent again, something that left her slightly curious but for the time being she shook the thought from her mind.

WC: 214

The disturbing creature or Anjin as she called it, was rather quick to unleash its attack. Fortunaly he did set up his defensive spell, the clawed hand digging into his frosty defence, seemingly engaging in a brief struggle of force as it tried to overwhelm its foe. Alexandre didnt want to show it as he had a decent poker face, but he was nervous he might have to dodge as his spell would give in to the attack. But luckily in the end it seemed their strength was even matched and so while the spell shattered under the attack, the creature or Anjin as he is supposed to call it was slightly pushed backwards giving him a moment to prepare a new spell

The unusual mage lady, whom he still didnt know the name of spoke to him how it seemed their spells were evenly matched so if she wants she can empower her summon to give more of a challenge
"I assume you wish to train as well, so if you wish to give more power in your attack, do as you will. If your spell overwhelms my defence, I'll just be ready to dodge out of the way" probably backflip away so he doesnt get wounded during training. Alexandre repeated its spell once again to reactivate it, did the same motions and gestures until the magic circle and the spell did its thing and it became active.
"I'm ready whenever you are"

The disturbing creature regained its footing, and yet it was still eying Alexandre like a predator waiting to see an opening to exploit. However, something about its presence seemed to change, the mana that coursed through its limbs pulsing more violently as its muscled started to swell slightly. Alexandre couldnt repeat nor convey how much this magic was odd and unnatural and disturbing to him, it felt so otherworldy and yet here he was. But in a way this was the best training to be had. The battlefield is not roses and tulips, but this.

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Ryuko smiled briefly at the man's question. "Of course, as embarrassing as it is to admit I had to test your strength a bit first. I wouldn't want the Shogun of Joya to scold me for maiming a guest to her land~"

Her smile faded slightly as she raised a hand toward the fiend. "It seems the test wasn't necessary in the end - my apology." The Anjin swiftly raised a clawed hand toward the man, a sphere of black flames erupting in front of his limb as the projectile went in a straight line toward the defensive barrier! Once more the creature lunged after the fired projectile, intending to either overwhelm the weakened barrier if it remained or otherwise lunge with a downwards with of his arm, attempting to shred into the flesh of the man!

"I wonder, you showed yourself able to hold your ground against one so far, if you wish for me to make things even more challenging I could conjure a second one for you to fight. Unfortunately, my methods of combat are limited to the usage of familiars for the most part. I guess I am what they would call a 'Summoner' type mage.

But for now it seemed she was genuinely impressed by the man's performance.


---
Name: Obliterate
Rank: A-rank
Mana Cost: 200
Requirements: Oblivion Dragon Slayer - Ajin Summon
Type: Offensive
Element: Arcane
Range: 20 Meters
Cooldown: 4 Posts
Duration: Instant
Effect: The Ajin raises a hand toward a target of their choice and causes a 2 meter diameter grey magical circle to appear in front of their hand. Once activated a black sphere around 50 centimeters in width will appear and launch itself toward the direction the shot is fired at, causing the sphere's corrosive energy to burn for A-rank damage onto their enemy.


WC: 216

"I see" well he knew this was someone more powerful than him, so he knew he had to be careful as to not get injured during spell training, as he wasnt really combat training or sparring. Merely remastering a spell he has not used in years and has grown rusty to.

The Anjin swiftly raised a clawed hand towards him, and a black sphere of flames appeared in front of its limb as the projectile went in a straight line toward the defensive barrier. The spell was far too powerful and got rid of defencive barrier and thus Alexandre had to dodge the lunge, in a rather fancy backflip. Hey, he may be old, but he still got moves.

When she offered to make things more difficult, he replied "No thanks. You are a mage of higher rank than me, thus your current spells are more than enough. Anything else would be overkill, that I would need to physically dodge as opposed to spell train. So, as you said. Best not to anger the Shogun"
when she mentioned she was a summmoner, Alexandre nodded. "I surmised as much through the style of your spells. Now how do you feel with your spells, do you still feel you need to train some of them?" he asked her as he was ready to train more

223

Ryuko clapped her hands lightly, clearly excited at Alexandere's display. With a light dismissive wave she caused a small pool of shadows to emerge at the Anjin's feet, causing the creature to start sinking back into the void while she pondered for a moment on Alexandre's earlier question. There was something she did want to test, but in all honesty, she was not entirely certain how to go about it. "Well, there is something I would like to test, but please keep this display between just the two of us~ I don't like people being aware of the fact I wield multiple magics."

As she spoke she stretched an arm to her side, allowing a magical circle to appear at the end of her outstretched limb. Soon liquid metal started to pour over her arm, shrouding it into a makeshift metal claw. "Could you please try putting up one of your defensive spells again please? I would like to find out just how potent my attacks would be when backed up by magic."

She smiled softly as she waited for him to set up another defensive spell. "In return, I'll tell you something that might interest you due to your earlier question: I possess two different Dragon Magics within my being, or Dragon Slayer magics if you wish to call them as such. Maybe one day I can try to teach you more about this, and we can find out together if it is something you can accomplish as well. At least judging from the scent of your magic I think your might be of a similar origin."

Buit for now she was waiting for the signal to launch her attack onto Alexandre's defense.

---

Name: Metal Claw Left
Rank: A-rank
Mana Cost: 200
Requirements: Metal Dragon Slayer
Type: Offensive
Element: Arcane
Range: Melee
Cooldown: 4 Posts
Duration: Sustain
Effect:
The user raises a hand to the side, allowing a magical circle to appear that is the equivalent dimensions of the spell rank in front of the outstretched limb. Afterwards the user's hand becomes covered in a layer of liquid metal that quickly takes the shape of a claw that has the same dimensions as their hand. Due to the properties of Metal Dragon Slayer the Metal Claw has S-rank durability, but once this damage is surpassed will start to damage the user's weapon or limb. This spell inflicts an additional A-rank damage on top of the user's physical attacks.

She told him how she wields two different magics. Something she deems a secret, something that he normally would not know if they didnt train. When she told him to put up his defence. Once more, the spell Glacial Defence. He raised his hand as a cyan magic circle appears and sweeps over him as a frosty cape of frost energy appears and covers him with a defencive frost aura. But it was short lived. It was a spell he had to sustain, before he was out of practice, but now he was getting it. He felt more comfortable using it.

She smiled softly as he set up his spell. In return she told him something unique. She was a Dragon Slayer, though possessed two different magics, which was eyebrow raising.
"I am a Dragon Slayer yes. But we can continue talking about that later. I am ready to face your magic" he spoke, not to cut her off or silence her, but merely to give her a signal that he's ready to proceed with their training

He'd observe her spell carefully as now he knew that she was a higher ranked mage than him, so her spells will pack a punch. So he needed to be careful to dodge any incoming attack that would actually harm him

220