Hard Training

Months flew by effortlessly, and I found my way out of the Spirit World surprisingly quickly. It took me a mere two weeks to devise a gateway from that realm back to the world of the book.

I lost count of the countless attempts I made—some resulting in teleportation to strange realms, while others ended with the explosion of the portal. Sar-Elam proved to be an effective teacher, immersing me in the realm with books detailing the failed attempts of others who sought to cross over to his domain or reach Asha.

The books described the Spirit World as a perilous place, ruled by a deity. Asha supposedly created this realm as a sanctuary to heal from Urgash's wounds. This raised questions for me—why would Asha need to retreat to a realm when it was believed she resided on the moon of Ashan? Additionally, it seemed that the realm was more vibrant and alive during Asha's existence, yet all I encountered were endless mists.

The mists would have driven anyone mad, but I was a demon madness was already in my DNA, so I worked and worked, creating portals until I created one back in the cave, portal creation was a skill that used Arcane magic and Air Magic, after all I remember that the demons had access to a skill named Dimensional Door, that surprised me, why the hell does Air magic bends space ? Another question for me that I will never have answer for because Sar-Elam replied to me 'I don't know, it's like that'

"So, my pupil, ready for the next lesson?" His sinister grin did little to calm my nerves.

"Yes, teacher," I grunted, his presence unsettling me.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands as the beautiful cave and clearing vanished.

I glanced around, finding myself in a mountainous region, the cold breeze sending shivers down my spine. It took me a moment to adjust to the new environment, my body feeling heavier than before.

"Here, we will train your dragon transformation—the final part of my teachings. But first, you must have extensive knowledge of the magical lore of the dragon element you wish to transform into. For you, it's the Air lore."

So that was why he sent me to the Spirit World, I thought, nodding in understanding.

"Now, let's begin. Your first lesson for today," he continued, clapping his hands again. The sounds of the mountaintop fell silent as I waited for something to happen. Suddenly, a pillar of fire erupted behind me, melting the frosty peaks and sending lava cascading down the mountainside.

"Come, Sar-Badon !" I heard Sar-Elam cry out as I looked at the pillar of fire

'Sar-Badon, the first dragon knight,' I thought, fear creeping into my mind, as a human figure emerged from the flames. Standing over two meters tall, his red hair and ashen skin marked his allegiance to Arkath, the dragon god of fire.

"Now, Val-Beleth, survive against this manifestation of my disciple for one month," Sar-Elam's voice echoed in my mind, but I was too focused on Sar-Badon to acknowledge him. My senses screamed that this man was dangerous.

Summoning a sword made of pure air magic, I locked eyes with Sar-Badon as his human form transformed into a magmatic armored figure. He raised his hands, conjuring an enormous sword of magma and fire.

Taking a deep breath, I bolted towards him, banking on my height advantage to gain the upper hand in the fight.

As I charged at Sar-Badon, my heart raced with adrenaline, but as soon as I got close, fear gripped me like a vice. His swings shook the ground, making me feel like I was fighting on quicksand.

I dodged and ducked, trying to keep up with his fiery attacks. But every swing felt like a sledgehammer aimed at my skull. I tried to push him back with gusts of wind, but it was like trying to stop a tidal wave with a bucket.

Still, I refused to give up. I gritted my teeth and fought back with all I had. But with every passing moment, it seemed like I was fighting a losing battle. The mountain echoed with the sound of our clash, rocks tumbling down around us.

Sar-Badon's flames licked at my skin, threatening to turn me to ash. But I wouldn't let him win.

"Take that!" I yelled, conjuring up a massive tornado above Sar-Badon. But before it could even touch him, he sliced it in half like it was nothing.

I whipped up a gust around my sword and swung it at him, hoping to slice through him like butter. But he charged right at it, crashing into the blade of air like a freight train. The air blade vanished, leaving me wide-eyed and grunting as I scrambled to generate gusts of wind beneath me, lifting me off the ground.

He aimed his hand at me in the sky, smirking like he had me all figured out.

"Grounded," he growled, and suddenly I felt myself plummeting towards the earth.

'Grounded? Seriously?' I grumbled to myself as I conjured up a gust of wind to soften my fall.

I sensed the heat of his approach as Badon leaped from the mountaintop, his sword blazing like an inferno.

'You can't dodge in the sky,' I thought smugly, conjuring lightning bolts from the thundering sky to strike him down.

"What?" I exclaimed as he vanished, only to feel danger looming behind me. I spun around just in time to see his sword swinging towards my head. Thinking fast, I drew upon all my knowledge of air magic to conjure a dimensional door beneath me, causing me to drop slightly and narrowly avoid his blade. As the door closed behind me, all I saw was his frustrated frown.

–

"This kid's got skills, too good to be just another student," Badon growled, a smirk playing on his lips. "Hey, teacher!" he called out, casually resting his sword on his shoulder. "If I off him, you'll bring him back, right?"

The sky seemed to respond with a rumble as the clouds formed a thumbs-up shape.

"Guess that's a yes," Badon muttered, his body rapidly transforming. In the blink of an eye, the human was gone, replaced by an immense dragon with scales as black as night and magma oozing from its form.

"Get ready, kid," the dragon warned, as a fiery portal appeared and swallowed him whole in an instant.

–

The demon cursed and bolted out of the door, miles away from where the fight was going down. "What the hell! Badan was gonna take me out!" he shouted, his eyes scanning the area. "Alright, if my regular self ain't enough, let's see what this dragon thing is all about."

Lightning crackled around him as tornadoes ripped through the once-pretty forest. Clenching his teeth, the demon felt feathers sprout from his back. Before he knew it, wings burst out, and he kept on transforming into a feathered dragon.

"ARGHH!" he roared as his armor got shredded, replaced by white scales with feathers. The feathers crackled with lightning magic, making the sky light up with flashes. His head stretched out, turning into a snakelike shape, ending in a dragon head with two electric blue eyes.

The newly transformed dragon sported two sets of paws, each boasting blue claws that crackled with lightning. Its two wings, covered in feathers and scales, sparked with electricity, mirroring the chaos in the sky. A typhoon roared in response, the winds whipping around the area with terrifying force. Nothing could withstand the fury of nature unleashed.

The sky shifted from stormy gray to a fiery red as an enormous portal materialized in the sky. From its depths descended a colossal magma dragon. The lightning dragon growled in response, its jaws crackling with an immense amount of lightning magic. Meanwhile, the red dragon opened its maw, gathering an intense amount of magma energy within.

The dragons unleashed their breaths simultaneously, the lightning beam shooting out much faster than the magma blast. However, the magma breath was denser and more concentrated. When the two collided, the result was a cataclysmic explosion that shattered the clouds and sent tremors through the earth.

"You've learned to transform, huh? Excellent! That means I've got more to feast on!" Badon roared triumphantly as he swooped down like a predatory bird towards his grounded opponent.

Val-Beleth tried to dodge, but he was stuck on the ground, making him slow. Badon crashed down on him hard, squashing him under the earth. The ground split open, revealing a huge cavern below. They tumbled into it, battling fiercely, tearing at each other with teeth and claws. Val-Beleth's long neck gave him an advantage in maneuvering, but Badon was stronger. He grabbed Val-Beleth's wings and ripped them off, causing him to cry out in agony. Val-Beleth thrashed, trying to break free, but Badon clamped his jaws around his neck and swiftly ended the fight with a fatal bite.

In the blink of an eye, time reversed itself, undoing the damage and restoring both combatants and the battlefield. Val-Beleth looked shaken as he stared at Badon, who wore another grin on his face.

"You've got some strength in you," Badon remarked, conjuring a fiery warhammer. "And we've got all the time in the world to spar and mold you into the true successor of our teacher's egg."

Val-Beleth remained silent, his eyes widening at Badon's words.

"Not much of a talker, huh? That's fine by me. More fighting means more fun!" Badon declared, charging at Val-Beleth once more.

–

"Nice try," Badon exclaimed, missing his left eye and half of his right arm. "How many attempts does that make now?"

"Three hundred and twenty-four," Val-Beleth's raspy voice grunted as he rose to his feet once more.

"Not too shabby," Badon said with a grin. "You've mastered every spell from the Air school of magic. Now, let's focus on refining your mana management and spellcasting." he said as his spear impaled Val-Beleth and they were once again in front of each other on top of the mountain.

–

"Congratulations!" Sar-Elam's voice echoed throughout the mountains as Val-Beleth and Badon exchanged blows on the ground, both of them battered and bruised, missing limbs and sporting cuts. "You made it through one month, Val-Beleth. Quite an entertaining show you two put on for me," he said, his smile never faltering.

"I thought one month meant with all the attempts, not one month in a single go," Val-Beleth sighed as his body and Badon's were healed.

Sar-Elam chuckled as Badon vanished, then he turned to Val-Beleth with a smile.

"Well, that concludes our mentor-student relationship. You've mastered the art of transforming into a dragon and have honed your skills in Air magic. Now, it's time to confront the Burning Legion and any other adversaries threatening Azeroth. Once that's done, you can finally relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor," he said with a grin, applauding.

"I do not agree with that," replied Val-Beleth as a blue portal materialized behind him.

"Would you like a glimpse of your fate?" Sar-Elam offered, but Val-Beleth shook his head.

"No, I will forge my own destiny, not adhere to some predetermined script," he asserted before stepping through the portal back to Sheogh. Once he passed through, the portal vanished.

"Choosing your own path? It seems rather idealistic," Sar-Elam remarked as the dimension around him began to fade.

---

Emerging from the portal in the Library, I surveyed my surroundings and noted that nothing had changed. Just as Sar-Elam had indicated, time had remained frozen outside the book.

I slumped onto the ground, exhaling deeply. 'That was quite the journey,' I reflected, recalling every intense battle, every spell cast, and every surge of power. Now, I felt more formidable than ever, prepared to retrieve Ylath's egg from Sheogh.

Opening a dimensional door to Kha-Beleth's throne room, I encountered three Heretics standing guard. They regarded me warily, hands resting on their sword hilts.

"I have come for Ylath's egg," I declared. They exchanged glances before charging at me. But before they could reach me, I unleashed a Chain Lightning spell, incapacitating them and their armor.

"Why attack me when you know you stand no chance?" I queried as they struggled against my bindings of pure Air magic, rendered powerless.

I floated and took the egg of Ylath from the stand, I eyed the five others quite greedily but exhaled and decided to not take them, for now.

I smiled as I dispelled the spell around the Heretics as I created a dimensional door, appearing back in Azeroth, the egg in my hand pulsated with power that I hungrily devoured, becoming even stronger, preparing for the coming war.

'This is gonna turn out just fine,' I mused as I observed the fortress under construction. Seated on the ground, I began absorbing the energy from the egg, closing my eyes to focus on the immense power coursing through me.

I was poised to grow stronger, to triumph in this war, and to bring an end to the atrocities committed by the Burning Legion.

The crackling thunder and whispering winds surrounded me, their sounds echoing from miles away. The wind carried the movements of every branch, every animal, every orc, and every demon.

I opened my eyes and the world replied with storms and hurricanes

'Bring it on ! ' I thought with a smile.

–

Well, this chapter closes the first volume of this novel

I am going to take a little time for myself, after that I'll research a bit more and see how I will shape the following stories.

But I have another novel that lies in wait, a pure wow novel with a SI using Necromancy, I'll drop the first chapter tomorrow. This other novel will not update at the same speed as this one. I have only 20K words prepared while this novel had the same number when I published the first chapter. I had the time to continue the story, which is something that I lack a bit right now.

Hope you liked this volume, and I hope you'll like the other one even more !

See you soon