Subordinate Dragon Teaches

"With the thick presence of mana in the world of Benedicto, it had become possible to perform feats that surpassed mortal intellect. And over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, methods of utilizing such energy were created and improved upon by experts, scholars, and sages who dedicated their lives in pursuit of the universal truth. Thus, the practice of magic was created and spread throughout the realms, fostering a magical culture that shaped the world." An excerpt from "The Basics of Magic".

Yuki sat comfortably on his bed as he read a book that Mirelia had probably snatched away from somewhere. He had just finished his work of organizing the treasury and seeing that the Dragon God did not seem intent on "training" him for the day, he decided to borrow a book that he had previously listed on the inventory.

Magic. It was the thing that he wanted to learn the most since the day he found himself in another world. As a person from a world without sorcery, he was eager to explore anything related to it in order to satisfy his love for fantasy. In addition, it was also the most important key that he needed to have in his search for a way back to Earth. As Mirelia had taught him, only by possessing mana and performing magic practice could he go against the laws of the universe and possibly transcend the distance between worlds in the future.

He naturally had mana already. While paltry in amount, it was possible to increase it by training. He even had dragon blood in him, too, so he was aware that he would not have any problems in that department. What he was lacking, however, was knowledge about magic and theories related to it. Seeing what the Dragon God was capable of doing made him even more eager to learn about it.

"Alright, let's start with the first chapter."

Just as he was about to flip the page, a knock sounded from the door. Did Mirelia need something? No, it was probably not her. She did not seem the type to take the time to knock if she wanted to enter.

"Please come in,"

When his words left his mouth, the door opened gently. The person who entered the room was Ereben who immediately greeted him with a slight bow that exuded grace and elegance.

"Mr. Yuki, greetings."

"No, no. You don't have to call me formally. You're probably a big shot after all if you're master's subordinate." Yuki scratched the back of his head. "Plus, you're stronger than me, so I won't feel comfortable if you call me with honorifics. Just call me Yuki."

"Alright. If that is what you wish." A smile appeared on Ereben's lips.

"By the way, did you need something?"

"I heard that you want to study magic."

"Did master tell you?"

The subordinate dragon nodded in affirmation. He was told that Yuki had borrowed a magic book to study, and being the conscientious subordinate that he was, he decided that he might as well teach the drifter magic. After all, his liege would need Yuki to be strong enough in the future for her intentions to come to fruition.

"Since I have nothing better to do, I have decided that I will tutor you in magic. You can also count this as my apology for subjecting you to my aura the day before." Ereben bent his head slightly, still as graceful as ever even while apologizing.

"That's fine. It was also partly my fault since I was not familiar with manners and anything like that. We did not really need complicated etiquette back in my world, you see."

Although being flattened to the ground along with the bed did not feel pleasant, he understood that it only happened because Ereben did not know that Mirelia had allowed him to be casual with his words. Plus, if he was to teach him magic, it was not a good idea to keep grudges in his heart. He would just count this instance as debt repaid since the subordinate dragon was going to be his teacher. It was also a god-sent opportunity since it was certainly easier to learn something if there was someone experienced to guide him along the way. And from the quick skim that he did with the book earlier, he knew that he would definitely need guidance with the intimidating magical theorems.

"So, what do you already know about magic?" Ereban asked as he sat on the sofa. "I'm sure Her Majesty must have taught you something already."

"Hmm… I know how to do body strengthening now, and master also taught me how to cast natural magic."

After saying so, Yuki lifted his hand and visualized a small flame. A fraction of a second later, a fire the size of a candle wick lit above his palm. It was much faster than what he was capable of the last time.

"Huh? Isn't this easier to do than last time?"

"You have dragon bloodline in your veins now, remember? Dragons, after all, are the most talented when it comes to everything related to mana. It is only natural that spellcasting has become easier now that your body is more attuned to the elements."

"Elements? Do you mean fire, wind, water, earth, and etcetera?"

"Oh. So, you already knew about those."

"No, I only know that there are elements that determine what type of magic you can use. I don't really know much about it aside from that."

The things that he knew pertaining that topic came from the stories that he used to read. It was not false to say that he was just guessing when Ereben asked him a question. Still, if the subordinate dragon thought that he knew, then the principles of magic in this world was more similar to the fantasy books that he liked to peruse than he had expected.

"I'm surprised Her Majesty stil have not taught you this yet knowing that you are already capable of casting a spell."

"Well," Yuki rubbed his cheeks, "she probably only taught me how to cast a spell to familiarize me with how mana feels to make it easier for me to learn body strengthening. After that, she immediately beat me up as 'training'."

"Oh…"

Ereben's lips twitched slightly. It seemed like the Dragon God was in such a hurry to perform the bloodline bestowal ritual that she did not even bother to teach the drifter things properly. His eyes that looked at Yuki softened a little as he thought about what he went through. This person had suffered.

"Well, we will start with that then…"

Basically, elements were mana particles that had obtained an attribute. That was all there was to it, really. And the magic that a person was capable of using depended on which element they had affinities with. That was not to say that a person could not use make use of elements they do not have affinities with. Technically speaking, every living being were capable of using all elements. Just that, some possess abysmal compatibility with certain elements that they could only exert minimal influence or none at all most of the time.

"And, of course, as dragons, we possess high compatibility with mana which gives us access to all elements." Ereben pointed his index finger at the ceiling.

Not a moment later, seven orbs manifested inside the room, each with different colors. Red, green, blue, yellow, grey, black, and white. Yuki was certain which elements those orbs belonged to after seeing what they looked like.

"These orbs are the seven primary elements of the world. The red as fire, green as wind, blue as water, yellow as earth, grey as null, black as dark, and lastly, white as light."

"Primary? So, there are more?"

"That's right. Aside from the primary elements, secondary elements also exist like lightning, ice, metal, and many others…"

According to Ereben, these secondary elements were also known as compound elements due to the fact that they could only exist with the existence of primary elements. Basically, a person could only obtain affinity to certain secondary elements if they were compatible with the required primary elements.

"This means that… dragons can use every type of magic!" Yuki stood up in surprise. "Aren't dragons too overpowered then?"

"That's right. That is one of the reasons why dragons are one of the most powerful creatures in this world."

In gaming standards, dragons were blessed creatures who possessed the capabilities of warriors with their immense strength and durability and mages with their immense talent in magic. It was a broken combination that allowed a dragon to do almost everything in this world. As for how the world still had not ended with these creatures existing, Yuki did not know.

"Wow… And to think that I'm technically a dragon now, too."

"It seems like you are still in disbelief?"

"Of course, that's only natural. I was just a human not too long ago, you know?"

"Then, why don't you try casting simple spells with every element to make sure?" The subordinate dragon suggested, a playful smile planted on his lips. "That way, you can no longer doubt it."

Yuki did not respond. Instead, he sat on the bed, cross-legged, as he concentrated. Which element should he start? Wind? Water? Earth? Doing each would probably take much longer, and he did not want to disrupt the flow of the lesson. And so, he opted for an option that he would not normally take.

Multitude of lights, each with different color, lit up around his body. Orbs with different properties manifested in a circle with him as the center one by one. Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, Dark and Light. After he was done, he opened his eyes and sighed.

He sported a bitter smile as he said, "The null element is missing since I don't really know what that is yet. Seems like I'm actually part of the dragon race now, Mr. Ereben."

Seeing such sight, Ereben's orbs shook, his mouth wide open. How was he able to multicast so many elements for the first time? Was this what a drifter was like? Such talent was a cause for a celebration!

Typically, a beginner should not be capable of casting multiple spells so easily like what Yuki did. Even if those were just simple spells for the purpose of manifesting orbs, someone unfamiliar with magic should not be capable of doing that just yet even as a dragon, especially so with his current power level. However, Yuki did just that, and he did not seem tired at all.

"Your Majesty the Dragon God, you have picked up a monster…"