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Published at 29th of June 2022 05:34:02 AM


Chapter 19

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Author's Note: First experince why I made this story. Here's a song, and have a listen when you read it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eitDnP0_83k

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The twitching of the birds. The pleasant wind flowing through the forest, as the grass and leaves diligently obeyed the movements of the breeze, turning from one end and then to the other. The robotic ding-ding resounding inside my head as my [Detection Sensor] started to respond to the tiny movements of my neighbors.

That was a normal start to the day for me. However, it was not time yet to wake up. The monotonous warnings were slowly dimming out, as nobody in the area was willing to annoy me. It was far too early, and you shouldn’t wake a dragon from her slumber.

I stayed and continued dreaming, relishing in what peace I have gained through sheer intimidation. I could feel the warmth of the sun slowly growing inside my cooled body, but it was not time yet. It was a calm morning, so haven’t I earned the chance to sleep in?

I kept up my slothfulness until the sun’s light was shining into my eyes. This fuzzy feeling of rushing energy, caused by [The Light], finally gave me enough motivation to welcome the new day. Leaving my bed, made from leaves and other soft materials, in a tree hollow behind, which I made for the night, I roared into the morning sky, “Good morning, Belzac forest!”

“Kraooor!”

I greeted my parallel minds and began taking things out for breakfast; a couple of berries, chunks of cooked meat from last night, and a thirst-quenching amount of water. Delish.

With a full stomach, I shook off any remaining drowsiness and began my daily walks around the Belzac forest. My goal was to leave this forest, hopefully after I gained a more acceptable “human” form, so it went without saying I needed to explore.

Walking through this lush woodland reminded me of Central Park in New York. It was pleasant. Calming.

Now, I might be underselling the Belzac forest by doing this comparison, but I had no other example. I wasn’t a country or nature girl, so Central Park was one of the few experiences I would have with a lush greenland.

My stroll continued deeper into this seemingly endless maze of trees and bushes. I honestly hated this place in the beginning. I didn’t want to be here. It was torture…hell. Well, it certainly wasn’t the place I wanted to reincarnate into.

But, now? I had no idea when it happened, but I’ve been seeing this place more and more as my home.Even the cave was my home for a time. Really, wasn’t this some serious Stockholm syndrome? Considering even almost dying a couple times, I still was able to find some enjoyment in being here.

The sight of small monsters rustling through the thickets and ferns, attempting to hide from me while foraging whatever food they could see. I chuckled at how nostalgic this looked.

Well, I guess I haven’t changed that much, eh? I was still going around collecting berries, mushrooms, fruits, and any nuts I laid my eyes one.

I’m so sorry, little ones, but you gotta contest me for them. At least, I’m not actively hunting you like some kinda belligerent foodie.

Maybe it happened once I assumed this new body. Being stronger meant I had less things to worry about. Then again, after defeating those orcs, maybe I just felt more confident in myself. Probably. Yeah, probably.

‘Yo, when you’re done daydreaming, how about we try flying?’ Manager Mind produced a tablet in our “mind world” and read off her self-created schedule.

Flying practice, already?

‘No, I meant, take to the skies. I bet flying above the forest and getting a bird’s perspective on it will help us find the exit.’

Hmm, that sounded like fun. Walking around was pretty tranquil, never mind the occasional E rank monster group stupid enough to attack me. However, running around in circles wasn’t a good idea. There might be some landmarks I could use to navigate around in this place.

‘Uhh, guys? Exciting as it sounds, shouldn’t we be a bit wary? Flying costs mana and we still need four parallel minds to even fly,’ #2 makes a good point.

Flying was a tiresome activity that consumed both a lot of stamina and mana, just so I could float around in the air. I’ve been practicing for two weeks now but I’ve only gotten used to it by using up four parallel minds to control the mana flow in my wings — two for each — to balance myself in the air. In addition, I had to pilot my body around, so that left one mind to cast spells.

I still had to practice a lot to get better. Not problematic when we didn’t have to fight, but who knew what would happen.

Well, we don’t have to fly up too high. Sticking close to a tree will avoid the worse.

My body was sturdy enough to take little falling damage from that height. It sounded weird coming from a [Young Crimson Spark Dragon] with my relatively low Vitality, but [Draconic Barrier] could act as a cushion… hopefully.

Having made my decision, my parallel minds began working.

#2 and #3 controlled the flow of mana and directed some of it towards my wings. Meanwhile, #4 and #5 regulated the amount of mana needed to take flight, in order to decrease our mana usage.

I, the Original mind, will be the pilot for this flight, while Manager Mind was my trusted co-pilot. I spread my draconic wings, warming up for the flight by flapping them up and down. I then bent my legs in anticipation for takeoff, and prepared ourselves mentally for the experience.

‘‘‘Takeoff!’’’

“Kriiiish!”

With an affirming grunt, two circles of magical runes each appeared under my wings. This spell, [Wind Magic Lv. 6]’s [Wind Blast], was directed towards the ground, and upon activation, It catapulted my body into the air like a torpedo.

Mana began coursing through my wing’s cells, strengthening the muscles with [Mana Control]’s effect, and I began beating my wings at a rhythmic pace. My stamina was quick to drain with this action, but I needed this amount of power to generate enough momentum to bring my body up.

Remember the beat per minute needed to move in the air. Imagine an internal metronome beating at this bpm. ‘So hältst du deinen Takt.’, that’s how you keep up your rhythm. A tip from Papa that always worked.

…Phew.

Now floating comfortably in the air, I believed it was time to ascend further than I’ve ever been. To see what this forest looked like from a bird’s point-of-view.

By increasing the beating of my wings, I cautiously flapped myself higher and higher. Pass the bottom of the tree’s trunks, pass their branches, pass the leaves. All up to the pinnacle!

Let’s go!

Having broken through the leaf bed that covered the sky from the ground, I opened my eyes and stared at the sight. I could see the Belzac mountains. Towering over me in the distance with their grey, brown, and green landscape.

Flying even higher, more of this place was revealed to me. There was another set of mountains further away, located behind an area with a lesser density of trees. Turning around, a large gap between two sections of trees stretched from one side to the other, making it seem like it was some sorta canyon. But, what really blew my mind was the emerald beauty right beneath me, the lush bed of leaves of all the trees.

I wasn’t sure what north or south was right now, but it didn’t really matter. Was this how flying felt like? I’ve been on planes, traveling from the US to Japan or to Germany. I knew how it was to fly… or so I thought.

Beautiful.

It was mesmerizing. This view made me want to capture photos of it, but without a camera or phone, I just had to imprint it into my brain. It was even more awesome than I thought.

The sun in the sky was beaming warm rays on me. I felt rejuvenated. It made me forget about my previous worries and concerns about flying, and I just began soaring off. Unconcerned how further away I was from the ground.

It’s a whole new world…

“Kraaaaaa. Kriiiaaaaaahhhhh. Krash. Krish.”

.

I can see from up here

A sight, one can’t just forget

Radiant sunshine, green mountains

And a gap to divide it all.

.

The forest is beautiful from here

What a fantastic experience

The wind flows calmly

On this very day I soar through the sky

.

A Sea of Trees

The shimmering emerald of this world

The place that I call home

But hate so much

But that’s what makes it exciting!

.

A Sea of Trees

A home that I must leave someday soon

So, I can fulfill my dream

To shine so bright

But that means leaving this Sea of Trees.

.

To become an Idol is my wish!

.

Witness all my neighbors

Monsters wandering about

Killing, eating and sleeping

In this Belzac forest life!

.

A Sea of Trees

A thriving woodland filled with life

I shall stay right here

To Level Up

I can’t leave just yet while I’m not strong enough

.

A Sea of Trees

My horizons expand along this sight

I won’t stop my flight

To claim the spotlight

In this world I’ll make my dream come true

.

A Sea of Trees

For now, I’ll stay

But soon, I’ll leave

I will miss you Belzac

.

Inspiration. Such a random moment, but it gave me the inspiration to write down a whole song in my head. I could hear the noise of the instruments playing, how I had to sing to follow along it, but, most importantly, it reminded me how much fun it was to write random songs and sing to them.

… Absolutely amazing feeling to sing. When I get my voice back, I’ll use it up so much that I’ll become mute! I can probably heal my throat, though. Hie hie.

I’ve been flying around for quite some time now. I guess I should head down soon. It was not like I couldn’t just continue tomorrow, and I think my low stamina took precedence over fun.

Ok, girls let’s descend…huh?

‘Oh, great. The same as usual is appearing, it seems.’ #2 sounded annoyed.

‘Yup, another E rank monster trying to come and kill us,’ Parallel mind informaed me

‘OMG, do these things have a death wish? We’re not even actively trying to hunt them.’ And #3 acted out my bafflement at a monster encounter this late into my flying session.

Yup, nothing out of the ordinary. Usually, some belligerent monsters would try to gang up on me with superior numbers, believing they could defeat me that way. Only problem for them was I was a dragon with advanced elemental spells.

I haven’t seen an E rank monster survive [Inferno Blast] nor [Flame Explosion] yet. It also didn’t help that none of them had some sorta resistance skill against fire, really. I guess there weren’t many fire monsters in the forest. I did wonder sometimes what went through their minds to begin a death battle but all I could guess was that they’re underestimating me or something.

Well, whatever.

…Wait, what?

Just as the description mentioned, these birds weren’t just three, it was actually a whole flock of them! Numerous of those fenghen appeared from the trees, swarming around as they threatened me with their sqaurk and squirp sounds.

I didn’t want to fight in the air, but even if I fled to the ground, would they stop attacking me? I didn’t know, but what I did was this might be a prime chance to train. Train how to fight in the air, I meant!

The flock of birds was slowly increasing, with every single new member soaring through the trees and joining the flock in the sky. Their numbers had increased to the point that it seemed like a giant storm of leaves was coming right for me, and, honestly, that looked pretty frightening.

And only one parallel mind could cast spells right now…

Uh yeah, let’s not try it. Better safe than sorry ~ We’re getting out of here! Bring us down!’

‘Thankfully you are rational…’ Grateful I didn’t chose to fight, #2 sighed in relief as I aimed my eyes to the trees. E ranks didn’t give enough experience to warrant me risking my life in an aerial battle, after all.

“Krieeeeeeeeeah!”

…Oh no. Identify.

Ok, that thing is big!

And that was the final straw that broke the camel’s back. Their mega boss chicken was here! This definitely wasn’t a fight I wanted to take, so it was prime time to escape!

I wanted to get onto the ground, but I was afraid that they would attack me while I was trying to land. Landing, just like flying, was pretty hard, and if I didn’t do it properly, I'd just crash and burn.

Frankly, according to their stats, I could definitely take on the [Belzac Fengcock] and his entourage of [Belzac Fenghen] if we are on the ground. I was faster, stronger, and my skill set was more varied and had more premium skills.

However, while we were in the skies, any aerial fight would put me in a serious disadvantage where I couldn't fully utilize my full power. And the longer this chase lasted, the more I had to acknowledge I couldn’t outfly them!

A few of the fenghens have caught up to me, despite the difference in our Agility. My flying was still lacking.

Manager mind activated only [Swift Winds]. [Haste] wasn’t cost-effective in a drawn-out fight. She then began shooting [Wind Bullet] at the incoming birds, hitting every single one of them and taking them out of the battle, however, they didn’t die.

Still, the immediate pursuers were gone. This allowed her the room to start casting [Petal Flames] to kill some of them before they could get to us.

At some point, some of the birds started to dive bomb me, intending to slow me down and to decrease the distance between me and their harem leader. [Draconic Barrier] was blocking them, but any damage soaked up by this barrier would drain my Mana and Stamina even further. It was also not very pleasant to hear all the bumping and banging happening right on my back

… That was not an innuendo, ok?

Anyways, I also didn’t have enough time to banter with myself, ‘cause [Detection Sensor] was showing that the signal for the fengcock was coming in hot!

“Kriiiiiiiah!”

The male bird screeched. Having determined that I was close enough, he began beating his wings even faster and faster, accelerating himself past the flock of fenghen and unsheathed his talons.

Manager mind materialized the magic circle for [Wind Blast], but instead of shooting it immediately, she somehow was able to keep it from activating by holding off on supplying the necessary mana cost. That was really smart, where did she learn that, I wonder?

But, there wasn’t any time for me to ask her about it. I needed to focus. The moment she attacked, that was when I had to counterattack. And at the very last second, before the Fengcock hit my barrier, I used my wind spell and performed the necessary evasive maneuvers!

Barrel Roll!

‘Wind Blast!’

“Kriiiiiiiiie!”

The spell was a bullseye. Struck by a sudden powerful gust of wind, the Fengcock lost control over his wings and was tumbling around the air, trying desperately to regain balance. Defenselessly descending down to the ground, he was now vulnerable enough for me land the killing blow… just that I had a small problem.

“Kraaaaaahhh!”

I, myself, was rotating through the air uncontrollably. It seemed Manager mind underestimated how much the [Wind Bullet] spell would push us away, too. It was now impossible for me to stabilize myself. I would fall the found one way of the other now.

Kill!

As such, there was no time to lose. I regained my composure and snapped my neck around to the [Belzac Fengcock]. My parallel minds stopped supporting my wings, instead, they swirled my body around to find a safe spot to land.

While all of them were occupied with my body, I finished materializing the [Inferno Magic] spell and snapped my head towards the bird. It was hard to aim now, but that was just part of the challenge.

I took aim. I activated [Accuracy Correction] and—!

Inferno Blast!

… shot the giant flame wave at the soon-to-be-dead harem bird.

… Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. A sea of, what seemed to be, green leaves flew around the fengcock and pulled him outside the area of danger. It was the fenghen. His harem saved his life…

…Oh, verdammter Scheiße. Holy Protection.

Oof! Ow! Ei! Durgh! Eek! Ack! Kak! Kuck! Aaaaaaaaah! Bufu…argh…

Instead of immediately landing on the ground, my parallel mind made me land on a tree. After shattering twigs and crashing on thick branches, my body eventually made a dent in the ground.

Moderate Heal.

Groaning and complaining how I hated pain, I decided to just lay there. Any urgency completely disappeared. I wanted to resting my weary wings after they served me so very well.

This battle was now officially over. This aerial battle for sky supremacy ended with my loss.

“Kriiiiiiiiah!”

““Kriiiiiiah!””

The [Belzac Fengcock] began prancing around like an arrogant bastard, swinging his wings and tail feathers around in a ritual-like dance, while his imposing voice resounded through the sky. “Don’t enter the sky ever again!” was what I assume he was saying.

On the other hand, the [Belzac Fenghen] looked at me, then back to their mate, and then back to me. This time, however, they began flapping their wings in a frantic way, contrasting the happy-go-lucky guy flying beside them. Their screech was loud enough to drownout his voice.

Realizing what they wanted, he finished flaunting his win in my face and left the area with his flock of birds at a speed worthy to call “Let’s get the fuck out of here ASAP!” I guess they remembered that last spell.

‘Welp, I guess it’s getting dark anyway. We played around enough.’ Parallel mind noted a hint of orange in the sky’s horizon.

I should get better at flying before going back up, anyway.

Dusting myself off from this loss, I went to go hunt for my dinner. And when I meant “hunt,” I meant tracking down the many birds I shot down previously.

With the sun slowly sinking away, I began preparing for the night. I found a large enough tree hollow and made my bed for the night.

I used [Humanize] to transform into my “human” form and began my daily practice. It was essentially cooking preparations. Pulling out the feathers, cutting the meat, seasoning them, and finally grilling them on a stone grill.

Gosh, I missed having proper hands to do stuff like this. My dragon legs weren't bad to use for cooking, but it couldn’'t be compared to the utility and flexibility human hands had over them. The thumb was an incredible body part.

I recently took up wood carving, inspired by the eleven furniture, aftering noticing how much my stats were affecting my day-to-day life. You see, I was used to utilizing my normal strength without putting any sorta restriction on it, since I never had to do it before. But, with my increasing Strength and Agility, I was becoming more clumsy.

I would break things accidentally or make a mess out of my cooking and bedding. Another evidence for my lack of power control was during the aerial battle, where I forgot to moderate [Wind Blast]’s power. Well, at least, I suddenly thought of an idea on how to use that spell even better now.

Frankly, I was never good with handicraft in my previous life. The only things I was good with my hands were cooking and playing the violin and piano. That was about it. I wasn’t expecting myself to become an artisan and made a living off making furniture of something like that.

This was my power regulating training. It was paramount I knew how to restrict my body’s new found powers. When I punch, I could punch a donut hole right through a monster’s body. I didn’t want that. I wanted to be able to shake a person’s hand without breaking their bones.

… Still, the number of wooden bowls I broke for this was staggering, but I eventually made a few acceptable, albeit disastrous looking ones for future use. Maybe I will finally make a friend and not have to live like this, all lonely.

Stew or soup would sound nice.

Well, anyways, after swiftly finishing dinner and filling my stomach with some good food, I decided to call it a night. Shouldn’t stay up too long, after all.

Entering my bed made out of leaves, yawning, I slowly let my mind wander into the realms of dreams.

Yup, just an average day like always.

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Author's note: Hope you guys liked it. That's one of the things I want to do in this story. In case if you haven't opened the link above, the song for today came from Disney's Aladdin. "A Whole New World."





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