Family 3

"Wow, I feel perfectly refreshed," I said waking up the next morning just to find my body not crying in pain from last night's workout. It was one of the best sleep I ever had, leaving me unwilling to wake up. But I got up, as I needed to do my morning work-up.

"I was going to let you sleep for an extra hour." My father said with surprise seeing I was up, I smirked at his words.

"Looks like you didn't push me to my limits," I said with a smile, which made my mother's eyes narrow at that challenge. She was always up for a challenge.

"I-I was joking," I said seeing how she took my words seriously, to which she smiled slightly.

"I underestimated the might of the phoenix." She said with a smile, and that was indeed a fact. I was healing faster thanks to the fact my magical power was growing faster, one day I would reach a point where I would be like the phoenix, healing from injuries almost instantly.

"Since your healing capability is growing, that means the time to break those muscles and train your body is now. That means we might have to push your body to its breaking points, we might have to use some drugs." She said causing Noah to frown at her words, he looked toward her, he had a feeling she was hiding something from him.

"You have a point..." I said with a frown, as she indeed had a point. My healing factor would one day undo my attempts to work out. Working out is just pretty much forcing your body to adapt to the burden you are putting it under. To get around this, I would have to increase the burden it's under many times over and for long periods.

"Before you start, take this. It's a drug which would increase the result of your training. Your healing capability would nullify its side effects, I also took it through your flames to further purify it." She said once we were alone.

"... is it safe?" I asked, caught off guard by this.

"To others, no. To you, yes. This is a shortcut, and it would give you the chance you could make year's worth of improvements in a matter of a few weeks or months depending on your healing capability." She said lightly, to which I nodded lightly. I trusted her, and I was unwilling to think that my mother would try and do something against me.

So, I took the shot. Instantly, I felt my body burning up, with me gaining a sudden burst of energy which I had to go release through training. So, my morning workout began. But to the shock of both my parents and myself, the workout was far easier for me. Zelda realized once more she was looking down upon phoenix magic, for it didn't simply turn back the clock on my body to heal me. No, it boosted my body's healing capability. This meant that I could grow stronger, in a shorter amount of time.

This made Zelda's eyes glow in joy for this was the best possible outcome. So, I was pushed to limits far greater than yesterday, forced to train under greater gravity, pushing my body to the point that my bones cracked and broke.

My mother tried to offer me painkillers, but I refused, wanting to get used to the pain. I spent the first 3 hours of the morning just training, up until 11 when I took the time to heal. I had to cast a spell, a simple healing spell I learned yesterday. With the help of my mother, I created the phoenix flames, which I went on to bathe under, helping me quickly heal up. It was burning away all of the injuries, purifying my body, and leaving me looking younger than before.

"Wow," Zelda said seeing just how smooth my skin was, she looked at the flames, which she sealed away. She had again looked down upon such flames, for they should be able to extend a person's lifespan to some degree, seeing as they burn away all impurities, leaving behind a perfectly pure and healthy body.

'He can be stronger.' She thought watching me head off towards where Noah was waiting for him. She left and went to her labs, where she went on to think for some time.

"the phoenix race seems to be all around purification, rebirth, and healing. The Demon race seems to be the opposite, all around curses and such things. Devil Slayer magic also has a unique capability that Phoenix Slayer magic doesn't have." She said lightly, All Slayer magic allows one to eat outside elements to restore their magical energy.

For example, I could eat fire, but if I were to eat another element, that could cause negative side effects for me, that could even lead to my death. I also couldn't eat my fire, for that was like throwing up, just to eat your throw-up to fill your stomach.

But Devil Slayers could eat their own fire, or whatever element they created. It's what made them unique.

"I can't get my hands on god slayer magic. but I can get my hands on dragon magic. With your healing capability, your body should quickly adapt to the two extra magic flowing through you... A Fire Demonic Dragon Phoenix... No, I should try to overload him. I shouldn't just have his flames be as powerful as Dragons, be as deadly as Demons, while being pure as a phoenix. His body should be as powerful as a dragon, his body should be as cursed as a demon, while still being as pure and healthy as a dragon. I would need to find a balance between the 3. And with him growing stronger, I have to be quick." She said while looking at a dragon scale, the old Fire Dragon King scale. With that, she could start, who knows, she might create Dragon Slayer magic, a form of magic that didn't exist.

"Come on Ryu, you have to summon those flames faster than that," Noah said while shooting forward, punching towards me. I gritted my teeth as I gave up on calling for my flames, and quickly moved to dodge the punch.

"Ryu, remember what I told you. Your heart is the source of your flame, the stronger your spirit, the stronger your flames shall be. The stronger your connection is to your heart, the easier it will be to call upon said flames. Stop trying to force it, have faith in your powers. It's your friend, it has your back. The stronger the bond, the harder it would be for even the strongest of mages to take hold of your powers." Noah said to which I hesitated for a moment.

"That's easier said than done," I said with a sigh, if only I could just have 100% faith in my powers... wouldn't that be so easy? That's even more so when you know the limits of the normal flames.

"Haha, you are looking down upon normal flames? Well, let me tell you all fire started somewhere. Phoenix Fire, Dragon Fire, Devil Fire, and so on. They all in the end started where? This seemingly normal fire, holds so many possible evolution paths, paths you want to ignore thanks to limited imagination?" He asked while holding a simple ball of fire in his palm, and from that normal fire, he went on to turn it into purple fire, yellow fire, and so on. Showing off the many types of flames out there.

"Master the basic flames, to get the strongest flame. Do not look down upon normal magic, for under the right hands, even the weakest-looking magic is magic. Magic is something you should never look down upon, for so long as one spirit is strong, anything is possible. Magic has no limitation, only the holder of the magic gives it limitations." He said to which I nodded lightly in full understanding.

"Than... I will start." I said while standing up, and going on to create a normal flame. My heart was limiting my potential, I needed to have a free heart, and let my imagination grow. I wasn't from this world, so my imagination should be far greater than everyone else. So, I closed my eyes, feeling my magical energy for some time... before letting go.

I just let magic take over, although a part of me was still uneasy about being so defenseless, letting my guard down like this. But I was willing to let go and put my faith into magic, and its limitless possibilities. Through magic, I could protect what was dear to me.

My mind couldn't help but wonder back to my past life, a life which I had been avoiding for the longest, but I quickly looked away from my past life, focusing fully on this life, which only led to me truly giving in to magic.

'Help me protect what's dear to me... please' I thought while falling backward, towards the ground. Putting one's pride aside was easier said than done, but for what I love, I believed I could do just about anything. Putting my pride away... well, that was nothing compared to my goals.

Just as I almost hit the ground, I paused as flames appeared, catching me. The flames helped me up, standing straight to my feet, all while the flames swallowed me.

'Oh, he opened his heart to magic so quickly?' Noah thought in shock seeing the flames which were wrapping around me, shielding me. This was something almost anyone who had truly opened their heart to magic could do, but there was just one flaw with this... it used up too much magical energy. 

Magic and the user needed to work together. The stronger one's spirit was, the stronger their magic would be in return. To have magic work alone without the spirit as its fuel, then one magic would be half as powerful.

"Why did you give your all to magic?" Noah asked with a smile, to which I opened my eyes, only to be shocked seeing how the fire was around me, like a gentle friend that was waiting for an order.

"To protect those dear to me," I said with a smile, taking control of the flames, and absorbing them into my fist, leading to them being covered in flames, not injuring me in the slightest, but in return strengthening.

"My boy," Noah said almost about to cry... no, he did cry. But he removed those tears and told me to come at him, where I stepped forward and went on to fight him. Noah showing his love didn't hold back, forcing me to push my magic to the fullest to try and avoid being injured... but that was harder said than done, as I was covered in tons of injuries in minutes.

"Your heart isn't in it, see me as an enemy and throw those punches with the mindset to destroy me. Put your spirit into it." Noah said seeing how I was holding back, I gritted my teeth trying my best.

The flames around my fist exploded in might before I punched forward with everything I had. Noah dodged a grin appeared on his face, but he paused the next moment as he saw my leg shooting forward, aiming toward his balls. Noah's eyes widened before he looked at my grin,

"You!" Noah caught the leg with ease before he threw me to the ground. I quickly used magical energy to enhance my body, just as I slammed into the ground. I cried lightly in pain, before getting up, ready to go at him again.

"Let's stop, this was just to show you the importance of being one with your magic, but you did that faster than expected. So, let's start learning a few spells." Noah said with a smile, to which I nodded lightly,