3 Chapter 3: Human Dragon
"That means, you are currently six years old, brat!" Zagarot was annoyed.
Bam*
Zagarot flicked Ethan's forehead. Due to the force and his large size, Ethan was sent rolling on the dried ground for tens of meters.
"Fuck! I'm seven!" Ethan stood up, with his index pointing at Zagarot in anger. "And can't you do about your strength! You nearly killed me, you overgrown lizard!" He cursed, caressing the enlarging lump on his forehead.
"Goddamn brat! I checked your bones! You little shit!" Zagarot flared, obliterating a mountain in the distance as if it were glass, fragile.
"Yeah? And how would you know how to calculate that, huh, you overgrown lizard?!" Ethan fought back.
"Damn it! Alright, alright. You are seven, just a few months less." Zagarot snorted. His smug face annoyed Ethan more.
Ethan's forehead veins nearly popped.
"Alright. Let's do rock, paper, scissors." Ethan stood up, his fighting will flaring up.
"Two out of three!" Zagarot grinned.
"Good!" Ethan too grinned.
Rock*
Paper*
Scissor*
"Heh, you lose, snail-like lizard." Ethan mocked.
"Damn it!" Zagarot cursed. He wondered why he always accompanied Ethan's antics, though he couldn't say he hated it, but more like wanting to do much more.
"Then, will you teach me your magic now?" Ethan asked, hopeful.
After waking up and seeing a Western Dragon in full black with some purple linings he was shocked.
Ethan didn't know why he was not eaten, so the first thing he asked upon waking up was asking the dragon why it did not eat him which annoyed the dragon.
Though the dragon was annoyed and shouted at him, Ethan felt no danger coming from the dragon.
But what Ethan wondered was why his injuries healed, his body brimming with strength and energy upon waking up.
And seeing a Dragon beside him, like a guardian, Ethan wanted to befriend the Dragon, so he did.
They became friends.
Did they?
He was hungry though.
But looking around, Ethan could only see barren earth, nothing alive anywhere on the horizon, as far as the eyes can see.
All brown, and red, though the skies cleared for some time, but unlike the hell hole where he was before, Ethan felt free.
And much to Ethan's surprise, his body quickly adapted to the temperature. Not feeling hot, but warm. Just enough for a human to live.
Still, he was hungry.
Asking the Dragon if he had any food only earned him a snort.
However, as Ethan's stomach rumbled, the Dragon flew away, quickly disappearing from Ethan's sight, coming back a few hours later, with some animal on his draconic claws.
Roasting the animal at a nearby volcano atop a magma that never stops flowing, Ethan was then presented with food.
Looking at the dragon and the blackened thing, Ethan thanked the dragon. "Is it edible, though?" Ethan asked, annoying the dragon more.
And just like that, days passed by Ethan bantering with the dragon, and the dragon wondered about Ethan's existence, but since that person himself claimed that Ethan was his person, he decided to judge the human child that crawled out from hell itself, whether to teach him or just throw him somewhere he could live even if alone.
And as time passed, he liked the brat that never acted like one, still there might be some kind of problem with the brat's brain as he kept mumbling things from time to time while smiling like a retard.
Zagarot snorted, "I don't know any human magic, so I can't teach you."
"Huh? But you said I have a lot of energy inside me, can't you just teach me your magic? I think it would be cool, blowing flames from my mouth and all." Ethan questioned.
"What do you know, brat! Dragon Magic is not suitable for humans." Zagarot also wondered how he should teach the annoying brat.
With the two of them being all alone proved to be boring, so in passing, Zagarot mentioned magic which Ethan now annoys him from time to time to teach him.
Ethan rubbed his chin, pondering. Not long after, Ethan remembered something and suggested, "Right! Zagarot, why don't you try teaching me Dragon Language?"
Zagarot tilted his head, "Dragon Language? Can you even write and read human language?"
"Heh. Try me." Ethan believes in himself.
The dragon smirked and began writing on the ground with his claw.
- - -
A month passed...
"Hmm..." Ethan was sitting on the ground, wondering about the rune written on the ground in front of him.
Zagarot was behind him, grinning as he watched Ethan struggle.
"Zagarot, what does this word mean? I forgot?" Ethan couldn't take it anymore and asked looking at the dragon behind him, he lost once again.
Zagarot snorted. "Brat!" Then turned his head away, happy at his winning streak.
"Damn you! What a petty dragon! Can't you just teach me honestly?!" Ethan was annoyed.
It has been a month since Ethan started learning Human Language, how to read and write, but the new and unfamiliar words are proving hard to memorize.
"Try me, he says. But, bwahaha! Try me, try me, hahaha!" Zagarot laughed loudly, mocking Ethan greatly.
Tick marks appeared on Ethan's forehead, he stood up in anger and pointed, "You just watch! I'll make sure I learn human language in no time!" Ethan declared.
- - -
"Can you teach me Dragon Language now?" Ethan asked in anticipation.
Exited at the prospect of finally being able to learn Dragon Language or so he called it, and maybe start his theory. If it proves successful... hehehe. He secretly laughs at himself.
Ethan remembers Dragon Slaying Magic from certain Anime but knowing that there is, is not the same as knowing its intricate details, how to implement it, or anything since it was never mentioned how they did it, they just winged it.
As Zagarot said, Ethan had the same or maybe more magical energy inside him compared to some dragons, the fledgling ones. But still far more than any human could have at his age, or even older.
This left the both of them in wonder, but when Ethan spoke about the rainbow-colored water and the shining rocks he ate and drank to survive, left both of them puzzled more. Zagarot, with old age, had never heard such a bizarre thing and just left it at that.
'Why bother thinking about it? Just go with it!' Zagarot thought that the 'being' used some kind of method. Knowing that such things should be just as simple as breathing for that kind of caliber of being.
And didn't bother thinking about it again.
However, he's still wondering about Ethan's existence as Ethan's body keeps getting stronger every day while he's sleeping. The surrounding magical energy floating from the surrounding, albeit small, an increase is still an increase. This made him wonder how strong Ethan would become when he grew older.
Can I even witness him growing up? The dragon wondered.
Being all alone for years unknown, guarding what they call the Abyss and not letting anything get out of it before it completely closed off, and Ethan's appearance from it to Ethan accompanying him, albeit rude, Ethan's presence started rubbing on him.
Thinking about it, the little guy will finish his stock soon.
Sigh. Another trip to the Living Realm again.
- - -
"Remember, never teach anyone no matter what what I'm about to teach you," Zagarot spoke in a stern serious voice.
"Huh? Are you an idiot? I know just how important Dragon's Language is. I'd die before teaching anyone else." Ethan replied.
"You're the idiot! You little shit!" Zagarot cursed the rude brat.
"Hey! I'm no idiot. I learned Human Language on my own!" Ethan retorted.
Zagarot snorted, "Try me, try me, he says. Hihihi. Bwahahaha!" Seems like he just couldn't forget the look of Ethan when he first started teaching the brat. The look of confusion and loss on the brat's face was too fun for him to forget.
"Tsk." Ethan clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Yes, yes. Can you stop laughing and teach me already?"
"Eager one, aren't you? Okay, okay. We got a lot of time anyway. But don't think it will be easy, it's a lot harder to learn Dragon's Language than any others." Zagarot said, maybe he could watch Ethan's confused face again.
"Even harder than Mandarin?" Ethan mumbled tilting his head and closing his eyes, then nodded his head, seemingly agreeing with something by himself.
The dragon was confused, "Mandarin? Is that a language? What race speaks that?" Oh, the big one was curious.
Ethan shook his head, "Never mind. Hurry and teach me." he urged.
Seeing the brat urging him to teach the dragon language, got the dragon out of his curiosity.
And so, the dragon earnestly taught Ethan every word of their kind he could, waiting for the day Ethan finally learns it and sees what he would do with it.
- - -
"Brat, what is that now?" Zagarot asked in confusion. He could see Ethan writing a bunch of Draconic Runes in a circle with a grin on his face.
Ethan laughed, "Hehehe, I'm creating my own Magic Circle, maybe with this I can finally use real magic."
"Huh? Can't you already use magic?" Zagarot asked.
"But I'm not satisfied. My output is too low. I want to use real magic, something big." Ethan giggled.
"Be careful, brat. That looks dangerous." Zagarot could see the runes, some were normal but there were some forbidden runes placed here and there and he couldn't tell what the outcome would be if Ethan failed.
Three years passed since Zagarot started teaching Ethan Dragon's Language.
Although it was hard for Ethan to understand them from the beginning, he slowly learned, and as Zagarot taught Ethan earnestly, Ethan learned them.
Although they were bantering from time to time, Ethan and Zagarot liked each other's accompany. Not bantering for a day wouldn't be normal and would feel like something was wrong.
So, it's either Ethan or Zagarot would start annoying each other.
And as Zagarot taught Ethan, he also taught him how to unleash his magic.
Ethan was happy when Zagarot himself finally taught Ethan how to unleash his magic and he listened carefully, absorbing everything that was taught to him, though, Ethan would have to make some changes to accommodate the knowledge and use it for his own.
As Ethan learned more and more, Ethan started using draconic runes along with human ones, making a stronger spell.
After fully learning the dragon's language, Ethan started his research.
Ethan wanted to create something similar to that of the Dragon Slaying Magic, but not quite it. Although he failed from time to time, thanks to the animals Zagarot caught as experiments, Ethan's research slowly took from.
Now, Ethan was confident that this magic circle he created would work.
If it worked, Ethan would finally be able to use Dragon Magic, like how Zagarot uses his, destroying a volcano and creating another, which he made look easy.
And to Ethan's knowledge, he didn't know any dragon capable of accomplishing what Zagarot did. The damn dragon could even create a forest out of nowhere and others. They put the animals Zagarot caught and let them roam free and also acted as a cage for them so Zagarot doesn't have to go and catch food for Ethan every day.
Zagarot continued watching Ethan write on the ground, erasing and replacing some from time to time. Ethan continued on his magic circle while Zagarot was watching from the side, giving his comments from time to time to which Ethan agreed and sometimes declined, explaining about it and Zagarot giving his viewpoint.
- - -
On a certain day...
Ethan and Zagarot were standing outside a massive circle written on the ground that was pulsing with different colors every second.
The Magic Circle Ethan created was at least a kilometer in diameter, filled with all kinds of magic runes that pulse each passing second.
Five years, it has been five years since Ethan and Zagarot met.
Ethan was now eleven years old, according to Zagarot, and Ethan just agreed to, though physically but not mentally.
As Ethan grew, his magical energy also did, according to Zagarot, Ethan now has the same magical reserve as that of a weakling mature dragon. Although weakling, it is still a mature dragon which was abnormal for Ethan's age to possess. Zagarot was used to Ethan's abnormality and hadn't bothered about it ages ago.
"It's finally complete!" Ethan cheered.
"You created one hell of a magic, brat." Zagarot agreed. "Are you sure about this?" He asked.
Ethan nodded. "We created this both, don't question it. I believe in you but I believe more in myself!"
Zagarot snorted but inside he agreed. Knowing what the magic circle was about, Zagarot put every knowledge he knew into it, helping Ethan. He does not want Ethan to have any accidents. They had spent years together not for nothing. Zagarot treated Ethan like a child of his own, he grew to love the rude brat.
Ethan removed his clothes which were a bit big for him, but he couldn't do anything about it because that was what Zagarot could get for him. After removing his clothes, Ethan stepped into the magic circle, towards its core where there was a small circle without any runes, and stood there.
Ethan looked at Zagarot who was at the distance and grinned. "Wish me luck." He said.
Crouching down and putting both his hands on the ground, pouring all of his magical energy into it.
As Ethan poured all of his magic reserves into the circle, the runes started pulsing stronger and stronger, brighter than the last.
The ground started trembling, creating cracks and rumbling sounds as the rocks around a two-mile radius cracked and turned to dust.
The sky bellowed dark clouds churned as lightning roared, with lightning hitting the dried grounds around the magic circle.
Winds blew, like a cyclone as dust and stones were swept along and surrounding the magic circle, obstructing the view from the outside.
The earth trembled, and the skies roared, as Ethen continued pouring his magic reserved. Ethan's veins around his body became visible, and blood poured out of his seven orifices, with gritted teeth, he roared, "Forbidden Human Dragon Art: Activate!"
As Ethan roared, the magic circle glowed brightly with various colors covering a five-mile radius, sucking up all forms of energy and making the surroundings void of energy.
Putting his hands together, "Condense!" Ethan shouted.
As he did so, Ethan started floating up.
Zagarot watched ten miles away, he couldn't believe the apocalyptic scene he was watching, hoping that Ethan succeed and survive. But even if Ethan fails, as long as he survives, there will be another chance. 'Survive, brat. Survive and I'll teach you everything you want!' Zagarot prayed.
The magic circle slowly condensed, inch by inch, meter by meter, Ethen gritted his teeth, putting all of his strength into controlling the magic circle, condensing it to his desired size.
Ethan didn't know how much time passed, but he persevered. He only got one chance at this.
With gritted bloody teeth, and focus never waning, the magic circle finally condensed and stopped when it only became a meter in size.
The colorful magic circle floated in front of Ethan's floating figure. Seeing this, Ethan smiled.
Spreading both his hands wide, the magic circle collided with his body.
"Fuse!"
With one final roar, the magic circle pulsed, turning slowly at a different angle. As the magic circle turned, it quickly condensed once more, slowly entering Ethan's chest, towards his heart.
Thump*
Thump*
Boom*
With the thumping sound of the heart that echoed far and wide, the magic circle entered and fused with Ethan's heart.
The deafening booming sound that seemed to swallow any other resounded as the explosion that covered miles took place.
Bright light covered the barren land.
The roaring thunderous sky cleared.
The trembling earth ceased.
The roaring winds scattered.
The scene cleared, revealing a five-mile radius crater its depth unknown.
High in the skies, Ethan's naked figure could be seen. Blood dripped from everywhere, his body covered in his blood, if one sees Ethan one might think of him as a dying man, but with the grin on his face and his brown eyes that glinted in red, one might think of him as a maniac, a lost one.
But that was not the case.
Ethan's body was filled with strength. His magic reserved much larger and within his heart, a miniature magic circle slowly rotated.
Ethan slowly fell, and as he fell from the skies, his body started healing itself.
The blood covering his body disappeared, returning inside him as his wounds closed like it was never a thing.
Swoosh*
Zaragot caught Ethan's falling figure with his head. "Thanks, Zagarot."
"Success?" Zagarot could feel the changes in Ethan's body but he still asked, shocked was an understatement at what had just taken place.
Ethan nodded. With a smile, "Yes. It's all thanks to you. Without you, this wouldn't have succeeded." Ethan thanked Zagarot sincerely, from the bottom of his heart.
"Damn. I've helped create a monster." Zagarot sighed and then grinned. "Now we can spar."
Ethan also grinned. "That we can, but you have to teach me Dragon Magic first."
"Get ready. I won't go easy on you brat." Zagarot replied, landing on the forest he had created.
Ethan got off, standing in front of Zagarot. He bowed, "Thank you."
Zagarot felt Ethan's sincerity. "Don't mention it. I'm just glad that you survived, you brat!"
Ethan got up and nodded.
Thinking back then, Ethan would have never really succeeded, without Zagarot's help.
Giving his Dragon Blood, Scales, condensing his Draconic Magical energy into crystals, all to be used as the catalyst for Ethan's magic circle.
They had succeeded, making Ethan a half-human half-dragon.
"Take a rest. I'll start teaching you Dragon Magic after you've rested enough."
Ethan grinned. "I'll make sure to become stronger than you, Zagarot."
- - -
Now, now.
What kind of Dragon Zagarot is?
Any guess?
