Reincarnated as the Strongest Dragon

Chapter 32: Magical Reeducation I

The next morning, I woke up to Liz kissing my neck. 

“Good morning,” I yawned. “I take it you’re feeling better?”

“Yes. Yesterday was a nightmare, but I’m good as new now. Thank you for everything you did.”

“I didn’t do much.”

Liz continued nibbling on my neck. 

“You did more than enough,” she whispered as her hands started to wander. 

“Someone seems to have a lot of extra energy from all that sleeping.”

Liz moved and sat on top of me. “What should I do with all this energy?” she asked with an alluring gaze.

“You can get dressed and go order breakfast.”

“What?”

I gave her a playful grin. “You heard me.”

“But…”

“No buts.”

Liz’s shoulders slumped down. “I can’t really complain since I was the one who said I wanted to train,” She murmured in a defeated tone as she reluctantly began gathering her clothes.

After getting dressed and eating breakfast, we returned to the same location Liz had used the day before. I remade the broken pillar and repaired the second one to match its previous state.

“I’ll head to the guild and report on the quest I completed. Do the same thing as yesterday. I expect at least one more broken pillar this time.”

“I will try my best.” 

I buffed her with [Owl’s Wisdom] and summoned my foxlings. Woxy immediately ran over to Liz and tried to jump up in her lap.

At least try to hide who your favorite is, you traitor. You’re making me feel bad.

“Thank you for keeping me company again today.”

“Kyun!”

I said ‘company’ yesterday, but it’s more for protection. All alone outside of town while focusing on casting spells at pillars? What if someone or something attacked her? I can't sense anything nearby with [Biomagic Radar] now, and there shouldn’t be any monsters strong enough around here, but you never know. What if she was attacked and her spells misfired?

I squatted down and put my hands on Boxy’s and Roxy’s heads, whispering. “Keep her safe, okay?”

They both began wagging all of their tails in unison. “Kyun!”

I stood back up and looked at Woxy, who was standing between Liz’s legs, trying to get her attention. “That goes for you as well.”

Liz looked at me, confused. “Did you say something?”

“Nothing,” I grinned before shifting my wings and leaving for the capital.

I arrived at the capital and landed close to the adventurers' guild. This time, no one bothered me while I stood in line for the B+ counter. I did, however, get some attention in the form of stares.

I guess rumors spread quickly. 

After about ten minutes, I once again stood face to face with my fangirl Nadia. Luckily, she kept it professional while I reported on the quest and when I went over to get my materials. I gave them one hydra head to dismantle so I could get some of the materials I needed. 

It would probably be faster if I dismantled it myself, but I’m not in a rush. Besides, I hate dismantling. I was never any good at it, and it’s messy. I’ll leave it to the professionals.

I could see in Nadia’s eyes that she really wanted to ask about the hydra, but I managed to change the topic before she had the chance. I asked her about dungeons in the surrounding area, their difficulty ranks, and the monster variety. After getting answers to all my questions, I made a quick exit, much to Nadia’s disappointment.

When I returned, I saw Liz sitting in front of three pillars, one of them being slightly cracked. “I see you are already doing better than yesterday.”

“Yeah, it went a lot faster today. It already feels natural.”

“It sounds like we can start doing some actual training then.”

“Actual training? What have I been doing so far?”

I tapped a finger against my chin. “Hmm, warm-up?”

Liz frowned at me. “So, what should I do?” 

“You have to do exactly what I say, no questions asked. Are you sure you are up for it?”

Liz seemed a bit hesitant before resolving herself. “I’m ready!”

“Okay. First, attack the third pillar so I can see where you are now.”

Liz nodded and shot an [Icicle] at the pillar, slightly cracking it even more.

She turned to me, waiting for my reaction.

“Why do you chant?” I asked, surprised.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

What? Chanting is something you do when you learn a new spell before you master it. Surely she must have mastered [Icicle]?

“Do you always chant?”

“Yes. This is what happens if I don’t chant,” Liz said and shot another [Icicle]. This time, it was slower and shattered like glass the moment it hit the pillar.

“Do you do that for all spells?”

“Yes?” She replied.

“I don’t recall you chanting when you used a water spell when we first met.”

“That was just a basic spell to create water. You don’t have to chant for those.”

I let out a deep sigh. “Spells are spells no matter the form. Why would you need to chant for one but not the other? It’s the same with abilities. I don’t hear you say status whenever you open your [Status]. Imagine how silly it would look if a fighter yelled out his abilities when he used them,” I said with a chuckle.

“...”

“What?”

"Actually, they do," Liz said. Her voice had a hint of embarrassment.

I just looked at her in disbelief, not knowing if I should laugh or cry.

I will have to make her learn magic from scratch. 

“Chants are something that is only supposed to be used when you first learn a new spell as a helpful tool until you get used to it. Is this how all casters do it?” 

“As far as I know, that is how everyone does it. I just assumed that all your chantless casting was because you are super good at magic… and a dragon.”

“How did humans manage to skip the actual learning step and stick with chanting?”

“I don’t know. That’s just how I was taught.”

“Back to basics then, I guess,” I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Okay, so when you use a chant, it’s basically a crutch for your mind to cast the spell in the correct way. You’re meant to learn how to recreate that step without the chant when you are able to cast the spell with the chant.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“Try to really feel how it feels when you use a chant and then try to recreate that feeling without the chant. Repeat chanting and casting chantless until you get it. There are no shortcuts here.”

“So I just have to repeatedly cast [Icicle]?”

“Yes. I guess the goal is to train until you can do about this much?” I replied and swiftly cast [Icicle] twice at the same time, instantly obliterating the fourth and fifth pillars.

“That’s impossible! Do you know how many people are able to dual-cast? Basically none,” Liz protested.

It’s easy to do, but I can’t blame her for thinking otherwise. I’m more impressed if someone can do it while chanting. Technically, shouldn’t it be possible to trick your brain by chanting double icicle? Now I’m curious.

“Don’t worry, I don't expect you to master that today,” I said with a reassuring smile.

Liz sighed. “What did I sign up for?”

“It will be alright. I can take your staff.” 

“Huh, sure?” Liz looked confused as she handed me the staff, which I swiftly tossed into [Inventory].

“Let’s start then,” I remade all five pillars, this time starting from the hardness of the previous third pillar.

“Without my staff?” Liz asked, looking confused.

“Of course, why would you train with a staff?”

“Huh?”

“Don't tell me…”

Liz just stared at me. “How am I supposed to cast spells without a staff?”

“I said don’t tell me,“ I groaned. “Have you always trained with a staff?”

“Everyone uses some sort of magic medium. Otherwise, the spells can misfire.”

I grabbed my head in despair. “This is insane. What have you humans done for the last few thousand years to end up like this?” I muttered, then looked back at Liz. “I’m going back to my cave. Wake me up in a millennia.”

Liz’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m only joking.”

“It wasn’t funny!” Liz pouted.

“I’m sorry. Let me see what you can do without your staff. Cast [Icicle] on the first pillar. You can chant if you need to.”

Liz cast [Icicle] on the first pillar, but it flew past on the left. 

“Again.”

This one went slightly above. 

“Again.” 

This one hit the pillar, but the impact was weak.

“So without your staff, you can't control the aim or power of the spell correctly, and without chanting, it’s even worse,” I muttered while rubbing my forehead.

Seriously, what happened to the world? Magic was way more advanced the last time I was awake. No wonder the adventurers are weaker if this is how they fight.

I took out her staff and gave it to her. 

“Use your staff to cast once on the fifth pillar. Try to really feel how it feels when you use it. Then do it five times without the staff on the first pillar. Repeat until you don’t need the staff anymore,” I said and buffed her with [Owl’s Wisdom]. 

“You can’t go out of mana, so cast spells until you pass out.”

Liz looked at me with a painful expression as I sat down and leaned against Boxy. 

“Go on then, wake me up in two hours when the buff runs out or when you don't need the staff anymore.”

Reluctantly, Liz started releasing an absurd amount of spells in a row without rest. Thanks to my buff her mana pool was immense and there was no chance of her ever depleting it.

Some time went by, and I noticed that she didn’t make any progress.

It looks like she is struggling to get the hang of it. I guess it’s to be expected since she is used to doing it the wrong way. Is there anything I can do to help? Hmm, how about…

“Liz!” I yelled. “Come here for a moment.”

Liz stopped casting and came over. “What is it?”

“Where do you focus your spell when you use your staff?”

“Uhm, I guess the head of the staff?”

“So that’s your image of your magic medium. Do the same for your hands.”

Liz frowned. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“Think of your hands as magic mediums. Instead of casting your spell from the head of your staff, cast it from your hand. It’s essentially the same mindset.”

“I have been casting with my hand, though?”

“With and from are different.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t cast with your staff, but rather from the head of your staff, right? Cast from your hand, not with it.”

“I think I understand,” she said and went back to her spot.

I observed her for a while until the comfort of leaning against Boxy made me doze off.

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