Growing Up

(I will sometimes write Maxamillion, Constantine's Dad as just Max.)

In the Texas country, at the ranch, his grandfather bought in the 40s where his Father worked and lived. Constantine already knew what ranch life was like because he had family in Mexico who were ranchers in his past life.

As such, he was quite happy to live in Texas and not New York where Camp Half-Blood was. Being as far away from that place and having two great grandparents who were actual Demigods, had its boons. 

As for how he knew all this, it was because his memories came back when he turned three. At that point, Vritra began to speak to him after waiting patiently for his mind to return.

The Dragon became his mentor on the path of strength to allow him to not let his talent go to waste. As a Demigod with ancestry to three gods, he was plenty talented. More so than any human host that Vritra had in the past. 

For Vritra, the best thing was that he wasn't a Sacred Gear. Meaning that Constantine could use all his abillities without limitation and he could grow stronger alongside his partner. 

What could be better after being sealed in several Sacred Gears for millennia? He began to teach and mentor Constatine to use some of the basic abillities that were expected to have. Mana Control, and Mana Reinforcement. 

Since he was so young, that was all he needed at the time, as not even his great-grandparents had begun to teach him anything just yet. They just told him stories of their time as Campers and the years following them growing out of the Camp. 

While telling a Demigod what he was would increase the chance for monsters to come for them, the wards around the ranch worked to hide him and keep monsters out. After the return of his memories, he secretly continued to learn with Vritra as his mentor. 

---

Constantine was currently inside the pasture with the cows sitting on the back of a large bull. The animal didn't seem to mind his presence and continued to graze with the herd unbothered at the small human on his back. 

As he sat cross-legged, Vritra spiritually manifested around his neck. The serpentine Black Dragon flicked his tongue as he looked at his partner.

"Good, the better you can control your battle reflexes and your magic the better. At the moment I am hiding your 'scent', but you should be able to do this yourself soon, Partner."

"Got it."

Constantine was struggling not to control his magic as he had that innately thanks to his Mother Hecate. No, he had a very hard time standing or staying still for very long periods. He blamed that on the fact that Hecate's god blood had amplified the legacy abillities of Ares and Nike.

Ares, one of the 12 Olympians, was a major god. As such, his legacy granted Constantine with enhanced physical abilities which were enhanced by Nike, the goddess of Victory and competition. 

As a young boy, he was taught by his grandfather to pray to Ares for strength, his grandmother did the same for her mother, Nike. He had not met them, but they assured him that they knew of him and expected great things from him.

He was thankful as he was a very strong 5-year-old because of Vritra's soul. All his Demigod heritage had enhanced the Dragon abillities he was gaining by being Vritra's host.

At the moment, Constantine's magic was flowing at a steady pace through his body enhancing its attributes. Vritra had to say that being Hecate's progeny came with perks as the innate ability to control mana or magic was a godsend. 

Just that his Demigod traits worked against him a little. However, with the discipline of being an adult, he could force his ADHD down through force of will.

 Even now, he was still circulating his magic or mana as he was taught. Most Demigods didn't know how to do this despite all of them being magical. They just relied on their 'gifts', but they didn't have a Dragon King to teach them after all.

After 30 minutes of practicing a basic technique, Mana Reinforcement, Vritra gave Constantine the go-ahead to release. When he did, he noticed his magic kept moving instead of being stagnant.

Constantine exhaled as he patted the bull on the back. 

"Sorry about this Hank." 

The bull just grunted and went back to grazing. As he was sitting he suddenly heard his dad's booming voice. 

"CONSTATINE! WHERE ARE YOU BOY!"

"COMING DAD!"

He properly mounted Hank and gently squeezed with his legs on the bull's ribs. The bull turned around and walked toward the fence line where his dad was waiting. It had been 5 years since Maxamillion had split with Hecate. 

She did come to see Constantine on his 4th birthday and dropped off some magic books for him. Other than that, he and the goddess were over with. Luckily for Maxamillion, he was a handsome man and he was back in the dating scene. 

However, he did have to deal with a hyperactive Demigod son who he was constantly losing. When he saw Constantine riding the back of Hank, his bull he chuckled as Hank pulled up next to the fence. 

He reached over the fence and grabbed his son before pulling him over the fence. He then put him on his shoulders which made Constatine smile. 

"Hank likes me." 

"I see that. Keep that up I will give you a bull calf rather than a foal for you to ride." 

His Father had been planning on gifting him a stallion foal for his 6th birthday. It was currently August 24th meaning his birthday was in 8 days." 

"Ooh, can I have a Percheron?" 

Constantine thought about it. 

"Those guys get big, you sure you want one of those? I can get you a Mustang or a Quarter instead, or do you want one of those big boys." 

"Big."

Money was most certainly not an issue for Maxamillion. During his grandfather's time as a Camper, he had kept his eyes out in the mortal world. Some smart investments were in the right places, and his ranching had paid off. 

His Father William learned investment from his Father as well and continued the trend so they had plenty of income. 

"You know what, sure. Those are good horses, just make sure to take care of them since with proper care they can live into their 30s. A live long commitment." 

"Thanks, Dad." 

"No problem kiddo, it is what my dad did for me, and it is what my grandfather did for him." 

"Is that why you love your Mustang so much, cause dad gave her to you." 

"Exactly, a gift and a friend that will be there for you for a big part of your life." 

Vritra spoke to Constantine in his mind. 

'When you get the foal, make it your familiar. Your magic will let it grow healthy and it may gain some abillities of its own.' 

Now Constantine imagined him riding a giant Percheron with hooves burning in black fire covered in dark blazing armor. He would be like a cooler ghost rider which made him chuckle. 

'Good idea.' 

Since the sun was already going down, his dad brought him inside the house for dinner. Once he shared a meal with his Dad, he took a shower before returning to his room. When he closed the door, Vritra emerged from his chest in a ghost-like manner to look over him as Constantine lay in bed. 

"At the moment, the only issue you have is that you are too small. Your Father still protects you, but eventually, you're going to have to face the danger head-on. In this world, we have gods, Titans, Giants, Primordials, and Monsters to deal with. 

Tell me, do you want to spend all your teenage years locked away in a camp?" 

"Not in the slightest, I never planned to live at Camp Half-Blood. I am just going to visit it to have some allies. For the most part, I rather just explore this world. Since there are other Pantheons and gods in this world, there is so much to see. 

Though, I do have a question. In the future, can I trade my heart for a Dragon one? Since Issei traded his arm to Ddraig, can I do that for my heart?" 

Vritra hummed as he coiled around Constantine. 

"That might be a good idea when you are about to enter puberty. At that point, your Demigod abillities will begin to mature and by having a Dragon Heart those abillities would get enhanced and vice versa. 

Very well, but you have to make sure you are as strong as possible until then. Keep up your training, and keep up mastering yourself. If you want to be a big player in this dangerous world you will need to be as powerful as possible." 

"Got it, thanks Vritra." 

"Of course, you are my Partner are you not?" 

With that said, Vritra returned to Constantine's soul. Once the Dragon stopped talking to him, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. The next few days leading up to his birthday were hectic. Constantine continued his training under Vritra who continued to teach him things he should know. 

Including how to call on his abillities with the easiest being controlling his flames which would have been in the Sacred Gear Blaze Black Flames. They were flames mixed with a curse that made it so they never stopped burning and they would curse those they burned forever. 

Calling on those flames was easy and a similar ability was Shadow Prison. It allowed him to control fire-like darkness that could restrain, seal, or trap opponents or places. Two types of Black Fire one for attacking and cursing and the second for sealing. 

There was a reason why Vritra was called The Enveloper or the Prison Dragon King. Another one of his useful abillities was Delete Field which could create an area where his opponent's power was weakened constantly until it was erased. 

Another very useful power was what the Absorption Line Sacred Gear would have been. With that, he could drain the magic, blood, and life force of a foe and take it for himself or transfer that power to someone else. 

In theory, in the future, he could drain Luke when he was possessed by Kronus to take his Divine Energy. That or one of the Titans that would escape during the Second Titanomachia that would happen. 

Even the Gigantomachia or Typhon who he could take power from to make himself stronger. That solidified his choice to not go to the camp where he would be monitored and not be able to train with Vritra in peace. 

Thanks to his Demigod talent he got a decent feeling for Vritra's abillities in just the eight days leading to his birthday. In secret, he even brought out the Black Sword of Sigismund which Vritra had been empowering the last few years. 

When he brought out the emperor-crafted Adamantium Black Sword which could cut through Space Marines, and Daemons with ease. With Vritra having been saturating the sword in his Draconic Power, it was a weapon he would treasure. 

This sword would bring low any Monster, Demigod, or even gods in his hands. The Black Sword of Constantine Drake II. It even came with a chain that wrapped around his wrist like a Templar. 

With all these abillities, Vritra and Constantine both felt assured they would not just be able to survive but thrive. When Constantine's birthday arrived, his entire family had arrived including his dad's new girlfriend who wanted to meet his son. 

Much like he promised, Max had bought Constatine a Percheron Stallion Foal for him. While the celebration was going on, someone unexpected came to the celebration. A large man in a black leather jacket, a vulture on his shoulder, biker attire, on a red and gold motorcycle with images of people dying painfully on it. 

Ares the Greek God of War had come to see one of his favorite son's Demigod Great Grandson. 

"Where is the brat?" 

Constantine was now wondering why Ares was here.