Chapter 22

"Thank you for teaching us, Ryan."

I can only smile a little. When an ancient youkai bows to you, what do you do? No. Seriously, what did you do?

"Please don't mention it, Chancellor. I'm happy to help. The more people learn this technique, the happier the planet is."

And I'm not lying. The planet becomes happier and happier by the minute because of how many people are helping it.

"Yeah. I can feel it. Even then, thank you for teaching me this new and safer way of using Senjutsu."

"Wait. This technique is even more dangerous, Chancellor. You will be turned into stone if you are not careful."

"Hah! That's why it is safer! The only people who want more power will be the one who is up to no good. Let them die. Youkai already has something humans cannot have, making it harder to be turned into stone. The only youkai that turn into stone will be the one who is hungry for power. Let them die. It is more peaceful for us."

That is rather dark.

"Anyway, I think we should be back to the campus. I already told the other professor about your condition. They understand and tell you to have a break."

"Of course. Thank you, Chancellor."

He smiles and nods his head.

"Good. Take care of yourself, Ryan. We cannot have our healer get sick, can't we?"

I smile and wave my hand. I see them walk away and then teleport away. I release a sigh and get inside my home. I need to recover, and the first thing I need to do is use Senjutsu to heal my soul and body.

I return to my bedroom and start to meditate. I take a deep breath and let the natural energy enter my body. I did not want to rush things, and it took me an hour to enter Sage Mode after getting enough Natural Energy inside my body.

After entering Sage Mode, I did not stop there. I also circulate the air full of energy and enter Dragon Force an hour after I enter Sage Mode. Unlike before, I let the Sky Dragon mana circulate on my body.

I can feel my body get stronger, taller, and more filled up because of the combination of Sage Mode and Dragon Force Mode. I release a huge breath and open my eyes. I blink for a second when I arrive inside a familiar mountain once again.

"You know… I thought that the barrier would prevent you from visiting me, but here you are."

I turn around and see Grandeeney looking at me.

"Grandeeney? How can I get in here?"

"I don't know. You are not supposed to be here to begin with. This is my daughter's soul, you know?"

"I also don't know how. I just meditate, taking in Natural Energy and entering Dragon Force Mode. That is all."

Grandeeney thinks for a few seconds before saying.

"I think it is because of your connection with my daughter."

"Huh?"

"I can see it, you know? I can see the connection between you and my daughter. This is a soul realm; you are now a soul, and I can see it. I can see the same magic I implant into my daughter inside of you. Now… the question is how? How can you have something that I give to my daughter? Are you her alternate self from another world? I have encountered people from a place called Edolas."

I shake my head and decide to tell her how I got this power. It takes me a few minutes of question and answer between Grandeeney and me, but I manage to answer her question. I decide to be truthful to her if I get inside this place every time I meditate.

"I see. What a weird and powerful power you have, Ryan. A power that can copy anything around the omniverse is something I didn't know could be done."

"That sounds about right."

Grandeeney nods her head and says.

"Now I know the reason why you are not as good at fighting. You are rough, but your healing spell and healing manipulation are great. Your power coming from my daughter only knows how to heal and has yet to have me teaching her how to fight."

She pushes her head forward and says.

"How about I teach you how to fight? Making you an official Dragon Slayer."

I look at her for a few seconds before saying.

"Can I ask why? Can I ask the reason why you want to teach me? We just met, you know?"

She looked at me for a few seconds before saying.

"I already told you the first reason. This is a soul palace, and your soul is bare for all of these. I can see that you are a kind person or someone who did not have any bad intentions towards my daughter, this place, and me. The second one is that…"

She smiles at me and says,

"I'm bored."

I look at her in shock.

"You are bored, really?"

"What? It is what it is. There is nothing to do in this place, you know? If not for my own survival, I will try to get out of here and meet my daughter."

"Fair enough."

"So! Do you want to train with me?"

"I don't mind."

"Good."

Grandeeney stands up and smiles at me.

"Let's train."

==||==

"No. You need to put your leg like this. You can get a better foundation with this."

I nod and copy her stance. It has been who knows how long since I trained under Grandeeney, and I must say that it is a very productive training. Other than training the Sky Dragon Slayer Magic, Grandeeney also teaches me how to do hand-to-hand combat.

Even though she is a dragon, her hand-to-hand combat is top-notch.

"Good. Now come to me one last time! I will not move from my current position and only attack after one minute."

I nod and fly at the dragon in front of me. I appear in front of her and throw a right punch but see her block it. I use my leg to kick her, but she blocks it with her tail. I move forward and grab her tail to throw her down. However, before I can even do that, she smirks at me, uses her left leg to grab me, and throws me to the ground.

"Oi! You said that you will not attack me before a minute!"

"I did not attack you. I only throw you… with a little bit of force."

"Argh!"

I fly with all my might and attack and throw a flurry of attacks. Grandeeney's smug smile is still on her face while blocking all of my attacks. I make sure to keep my breathing steady so I can increase the power of the Dragon Force even more.

My body gets faster, more durable, and more powerful. However, it is not enough.

"One minute!"

Before I can even blink, she parries my attack, and the last thing I see is a  white fist. The next thing I know, I'm in the middle of a small crater. I can see Grandeeney appear next to me with the same smug expression and heal me.

"You are too easy to provoke, Ryan. You might not be affected by your opponent's words; their expressions really bother you. Think nothing of them and have some pride in you. Don't let their mocking expression get into you because you are proud of what you have. Don't be prideful, of course. It will lead you to ruin as well."

I nod and sit down on the crater.

"Ah, it looks like it is your time."

I can see my entire body glow, and I know that it is time for me to get back.

"It looks like it. Thank you for teaching me, Grandeeney."

"Think nothing of it. However, make sure to visit me often, okay?"

"I will."

I wave my hand, and my vision is covered by white light. A second later, I'm back inside my room.