Chapter 12 - Komodo dragon cosplayer

The mess they made was cleaned up with a wave of Giselle's hands, giving David a glimpse of what magic could do, after which they went on to talk for a couple of hours before David returned to the inn to call it a day.

The ability to wield mana was restricted by one's talents and thus only few among thousands could ever hope to become a mage. There were other roads to gain power but to be a mage was a prestige and honour that all men and women desired.

In this world it seemed that the magic system consisted of chants and incantations which allowed mages to use the mana within to form spells. If one is familiar with a spell they could use chant-less magic such as Giselle's cleaning spell.

According to Giselle most 'lifestyle' spells could be done without incantations by even the weakest of mages. As spells get more complex, one would have to recite the proper incantation to get the desired effect.

Sitting on the bed, David went over the book Giselle gave to him, containing various beginner spells. There were spells for cleaning and lighting candles but none of an offensive nature. It was obvious the more lethal spells wouldn't be spread so freely but a man could dream right?

'Time to try and see if I can do some hocus pocus.'

Beginner spells didn't require any specific level of power or demands from the mage. As long as a being possessed the ability manipulate mana, they could freely use such spells. Such spells were freely spread among the populace and could be used to test whether one had the talent to be a mage, there was no need to travel to a city and get tested like in the novels David read.

Preparing himself David looked at a unlit candle near him and waved his hands over it and chanted,

"Igni."

Flames flickered and gave the room a warm glow but David wasn't focussed on the act of magic before him but instead tried to recall the feeling he just felt, it wasn't a rush of power through his body nor a mental strain like his [Eldritch arm].

It was as if he clicked a button and a machine fulfilled its purpose, the only cost being the energy used to push the button which was his mana.

David blew the candle and relit it using the spell repeatedly and soon gained an understanding of magic worked. The spell was a program and he simply had to execute it using his mana. Simply uttering the incantation with the proper intent and it worked all on its own.

If this was the case then it was no wonder all mages could perform these spells. David had no doubt though that higher level spells would have a more complicated process but was satisfied with his progress.

David tried to get a feel for mana, but other than the small click when cast a spell he didn't feel a thing. Mana wasn't Ki or chi, it was not a life-force type energy that could be felt out and manipulated by the practitioner.

Mana operated on a different wavelength and could only be manipulated through the use of spells. There was no possibility of getting a combat spell and even he did there was no way he was capable of casting it without the training, so for now David decided to memorize all the beginner spells until it was time for bed.

When morning came David resumed hunting goblins. By the time he finished his quota, David discovered it wasn't even noon yet and hence decided to explore the forest. Moving further into the forest he realized that goblins were becoming scarce and even the normal beasts weren't around.

David's [Enhanced intuition] wasn't ringing, it however made his mind taut with tension. Further away was a clearing and he could spot a cave at the bottom of a cliff. One could tell it wasn't a natural cave. Something had dug the cave and made it a home.

As David was wondering what creature the cave housed, he felt the ground shake and his [Enhanced intuition] rang bells, compelling him to take cover behind a tree.

He peeked around the tree and saw a giant lizard type beast slowly making its way out of the cave. David observed the beast and found it be very dragon-like,

'Dragon?'

Rumours and myths from the village said that there was a 'Dragon' living in the mountains and David believed those tales as one of his objectives was to defeat the 'Dragon'. The mission objective must have been formed keeping in the mind the villager's tales as the creature before couldn't be called an actual dragon.

The beast wasn't even a Wyvern, a dragon-like creature whose arms were fused with its wings. Rather it was similar to a Drake, a dragon-like beast with no wings. Both Wyverns and Drakes were said to have the blood of Dragons coursing through them but weren't true Dragons.

If David was being fair,

"It looks like a giant fucking Komodo dragon."

A true Dragon would have four limbs and two wings. Though not as powerful as true full blooded dragon, a Drake was still a powerful creature that wasn't to be fooled around with, any creature with a hint of dragon-blood possessed might most mortals couldn't contend.

The Drake came out and observed its surroundings, making David realise that it must have detected his presence. Looking at the beast, David knew he wasn't ready to go up against it today and slowly retreated back to the forest while remaining out of sight.

After making sure he wasn't being followed he bolted out of the area. On the way back to the village he killed a few more goblins while contemplating how he would kill the 'Dragon'.

In the end David came up with a plan he wasn't proud of but was his best choice. The main objective in this mission was to be a hero and for the longest time David wondered how he would go about doing that when it occurred to him,

'A hero needs a villain.'

Without a villain, there could be no hero. David decided to use the Drake as the villain in his plans to become the hero. He would manipulate and draw the Drake into attacking the village and he would arrive and 'save' them all and the villagers will celebrate him as their saviour thus completing his mission.

Morally it was questionable and he would be endangering the lives of numerous villagers but it was the best way to complete the mission at the moment. There would be only one enemy and with the help of the village guards he could finish the job much more easily than alone.

David decided to come up with a plan that ensured he completed the mission with zero casualties. He still didn't know how powerful the Drake truly was but it wasn't something he could handle now based on the feedback from [Enhanced intuition].

Magic was a bust with no visible avenues and being a druid like Giselle was too much effort and time so the only thing David could turn to for a quick power boost was his main weapon of choice, the [Eldritch arm].

Buying from the shop wasn't the only way to become powerful in the [Nightmare realms]. When David first made a connection with arm he knew there were certain methods to increase the arms power but there too many disadvantages and it simply wasn't necessary, but with a monster bigger than a truck that needed slaying his options were limited.

Making sure there were no goblins nearby David readied himself, What David was about to do would require great mental fortitude. David summoned the [Eldritch arm],

"[Possession]"