16 Ch. 15 Morning

Tian walked away from the lake and shook himself off. He glances briefly at the water wondering what was up with that crab but snorted at the water and walked off. Tian saw his sisters and father sleeping still but could tell by how they stirred they would be up soon. He went off to the woods and sniffed around to see if there was anything small to snack on. The fish didn't quite fill him up. As he walk amongst the trees he listened to the sounds of the bird and tried to listen for any area they were quiet in which would give him a rough idea of where he could start looking for food.

He noticed some squeaks coming from a tree in the distance which reminded him of squirrels fighting from back home. He got low to the ground and began to make his way over to the noise. When he got there he noticed it was in fact two squirrels arguing... They'd briefly throw gusts of wind at each other and then yell. A thought came to his mind... He hasn't used his own magic yet. Not an attack anyways. He thought about Light Ray and decided to give it a shot. He noticed the larger of the squirrels had its back to him and focused on it.

"Light Ray" Tian thought to himself and felt heat building in his mouth. On instinct he waited until the right moment and then opened his mouth aiming a beam of light at the target. A terrible squeak was heard and then silence followed by a small thud landing on the ground in front of him. Tian walked forward towards the body and noticed the damage. It was not a pretty sight. The fur had been burnt off and the body was blackened a bit. Tian smelled it and while it looked burnt the smell was actually great. His mouth began to water. Having not had a cooked meal in awhile he quickly snatched up the food and savored the flavor in his mouth. It was a bit gamey but it was amazing either way.

Tian looked around as he swallowed the last bit of the food in his mouth. He began to inspect the damage that Light Ray did to the trees behind it. He was a bit surprised when he saw a clear path from where he fired towards the sky behind the trees. Granted it was just wood and leaves but he didn't expect it to cause such a clear, clean cut all the way towards the sky like that. He briefly looked around to see if he could find that other squirrel however it was no where to be seen. As expected. He did just blast the one it was fighting in a not so stealthy way.

Tian smiled and began to walk back to the lake, his family should be awake and up by now. He trotted into the clearing where he spotted his father once again watching over the family as they ran around the field or played in the water. As Tian walked across the clearing he could feel his body regenerating the mana he used to attack the squirrel. It wasn't much, but it was a different feeling using mana like that. He used a few spells in the past but nothing extreme like that attack. With how the system worked, he began to wonder how he could level up. Could he fire his attack into the air and gain experience from using the attack, or would he need to use it on something to experience the combat?

[System experience can be gained through combat if it is a combat based skill or spell. Example being, if you use your Illuminate to light up a cave you will gain experience. However, if you use Light Ray to light up the cave you wouldn't gain experience as Light Ray is a combat ability.]

Tian nodded understanding that. Now he knew that instead of just blasting Light Ray into the sky, he'll need to actually use it in combat. Even a one sided fight like the hunt earlier would count. He then began to wonder if he could gain experience by attacking a much larger creature. As he thought this, he looked over at his father. He knew his father was strong. His attack shouldn't do any damage really...

As Tian pondered this his father sensed his stare and turned his head to Tian. "What is bothering you son?" Muk asked him when he noticed the odd expression on his sons face. "Father... I recently learned of an attack I can do and I want to gain some experience with it. Really get to know the extent of its power and how well it can work. I was wondering if it was something I could use on you. I feel no matter how hard I try to do damage I would not be able to make it through your scales" Tian was honest with his father and knew he would understand. He constantly talked about how he couldn't wait for Eldra to gain control over her fire so he could teach her all types of spells and attacks. At the mention of wanting to test an attack Muk quickly jumped to his feet and ran over to Tian. "My boy, any time you want to practice fight with me, all you must do is ask. Your father is big and strong and I will do everything in my ability to make you the same!" As Muk was stating this, he held his head high with pride. Clearly self confidence wasn't an issue for the big red dragon.

Tian chuckled at his fathers attitude and jumped backwards into a playful pose. The size difference was hilarious. He was like a kitten in front of a great dane. Making sure to not aim for the face, Tian quickly fired a ray of light at his fathers chest. Muk looked down as the beam hit him and then looked back at his son with Pride. "Tian! What a strong attack! I can feel it warm my chest plate! If you tried that on a weaker creature you'd surely destroy it! My! My son will be powerful indeed!" Muk looked at his son as his face beamed with pride.

Muk had a glint appear in his eye, one of mischief that did not escape Tians sight. Muk quickly fired a small fireball at Tian. It was a small, weak attack for Muk, but for Tian it could cause damage if it landed. Obviously not much, but enough for Tian to learn to dodge. Having already been in a life or death situation as well as already being in a balanced stance, Tian quickly dodged out of the way. Not missing a chance to retaliate, Tian quickly fired another Light Ray at his father, aiming for his body. This would be a good chance to learn how to aim it. You'd think using your mouth to aim would be easy however with the force of it leaving his body he could feel it pushing his head back. Muk and Tian exchanged blows for awhile, both getting lost in their game. Tian made sure to dodge all of his father attacks however as the fight went on the combined fatigue of dodging and also using the spell began to pull on him.

Muk jumped to the side, the sun at his back as Tian turned to look at him. Muk used this chance to fire a small fireball at him. With the sun in his eyes Tian never saw it coming. The impact was quick and painful. Enough to blow Tian back about fifteen feet. This was also enough to get Xics attention. She quickly flew over, kicking Muk in the head as she flew by him and landed by Tian. "Tian! Are you okay?" On wobbly legs, Tian stood and looked up at his mother. He had a dark scorch mark on his side from where his fathers spell his him. "I'm okay Mom, father was teaching me a very important lesson. The sun can be a great ally, or a terrible burden." Xic quickly rubbed her snout against her son and hummed "You are wise beyond your years Tian. Just please be more careful so those years don't come to an end."

After checking on her son, Xic went over towards Muk and began to thrash him with her tail. Tian used this as a chance to look at his status to see how much damage was done.

"Status"

Name: Tian

Species: Drake(Young)

Level: 1(11)

HP: 5120/7120

MP: 270/500

Exp: 50/200

Strength: 30

Stamina: 55

Speed: 25

Agility: 18

"So a small, simple spell from Father caused two thousand damage." Tian thought to himself. "Just how strong is he? I'd hate to be on his bad side" A shiver went through his body at the thought. Tian decided this was as good of a time as any to use Light Heal. It'd help him gain experience with the spell and maybe it'd help with other things as well.

"Light Heal"

Tian closed his eyes and focused on the feeling that was now radiating through his body. The light from the sun seemed to be pulled towards him as a light shimmer began to overtake his body. As Tian focused, the shimmer got brighter. The dark scorch marks on his scales began to disappear as the power from the spell began to cause pulses of power to ripple across the grass around him. Feeling the change in the air Muk and Xic quit their fight to look at their son, confusion and wonder taking over the expression on their faces. They share a brief glance at each other and walked towards their glowing child.

Tian opened his eyes as he felt his body was fully repaired. He looked up at his parents as they watched him with curiosity. Muks eyes filled with pride. His eyes began to look distant as he began to think about the future his son will have. The glory and power that will follow him. Xics eyes filled with concern, as she begins to think of her sons future. The trials and hardships he will face.

Tian sat down staring at his parents in confusion. He didn't understand the looks they were giving him. This was quickly thrown from his mind though as he was tackled by the bodies of all three of his sisters.