Chapter 18: Abilities (Part II)

     "Individual-type?" Reika asked while confused.

     "On rare occasions, certain individuals had a special kind of ability that only they could possess in their lifetime. These abilities are Individual-type, one of the two subclassifications of 'Inherent Abilities'."

     "Inherent Abilities are very unique compared to the other two because these abilities could be accessed only under specified requirements. Take the Individual-type for example."

     "Individual-type abilites are various abilities that were unique only to certain individuals the moment they were born from this world, and that specific ability can't be found on other individuals as long as the current one still exists in this world. It may appear once again after that individual is long gone, but the interval would take years, probably hundreds or thousands," Veylir added.

     "The other one is called Racial-type, which is also unique in its own way. These abilities were classified according to the race of a certain entity. Take me as an example. Since I am from the Draconic Race, I also have a unique set of Racial-type abilities that is intended only for the Draconic Race."

     "Is that so..?" Reika asked Veylir.

     Suddenly, an absurd idea struck her mind. To test it out, Reika immediately closed her eyes.

     "Draconic Race... Draconic..." Reika murmured.

     Suddenly, Veylir felt an immense aura that engulfed the room in an instant.

     "Wait. That...That is absurd!"

     The dragon wasn't mistaking it. Right in front of its very eyes, Reika activated an ability that only members of the Draconic Race could use.

     "Am I seeing things? That's "Draconic Aura"!!"

     For the first time in its life, the Wildfire Dragon saw that a human used an ability that didn't have any relation to its racial origin. A human who could use an ability that only dragons had access to.

     "How did you...? Was that one of the functions of your ability "Contract"!?" Veylir exclaimed.

     Reika deactivated the ability, and the aura dissipated quickly.

     "Yes. You said that Draconic Aura was a Racial-type ability that only those from the Draconic Race could've access to, right?" Reika asked Veylir.

     "Yes... But—"

     "I was curious to what extent the"Contract"ability could achieve, so I tried to use that despite knowing it was impossible in the first place. But to think that I could use it even though I'm a human..."

     "That individual-type ability you possess was simply overpowered! If you possess that cheat ability, not only don't you have to worry about ability acquisition through learning and stuff, but you could access abilities that are only available to a certain race!" Veylir exclaimed.

     "Eh? That's..." Reika murmured softly.

     "Wait. If you could use abilities from a race different from yours, does it mean that you could also use their Individual-type abilities as well?" Veylir asked Reika.

     "I don't know... Do you have one? I've never tried it before, so maybe it could be if we use yours," Reika asked.

     "Even though I am one of the Six Calamity Dragons, I do not possess one. Perhaps my existence isn't special enough to obtain it despite being one of the strongest monsters in the continent..." 

     Reika noticed that Veylir's expression turned gloomy. She tried to lift the dragon's mood.

     "Hey, don't worry about it. Even though you haven't possess one, why does it matter? You're strong even without that kind of ability!"

     The dragon's expression changed upon hearing Reika'a encouraging words. Veylir's confidence returned after Reika cheers the dragon up.

     "You're right. With my fiery flames alone, I devastated several and was hailed as one of the Calamity Dragons, and I should've been proud of it!" Veylir exclaimed in a joyful manner.

     "That's the spirit!" Reika exclaimed.

     While they were in the middle of their conversation, Reika's stomach suddenly acted strange.

     Grrrrmmmb~

     Veylir heard it and got confused by the strange sound.

     "What was that?" Veylir asked.

     Suddenly, Reika blushed out of embarrassment.

     "Miss Reika. Is that yo—"

     "I haven't eaten since yesterday, okay?" Reika exclaimed.

     Veylir blurted out a small laugh.

     "Pft!" 

     "What are you laughing at?" 

     Veylir noticed its actions and stopped laughing further.

     "Yeah, yeah. I apologize..."

     "Anyways! Since I told you everything about abilities, perhaps it's time to fill your stomachs up?" Veylir asked Reika.

     "Yes, I think it's time..." Reika said while holding her stomach.

     Having an urge to take a meal, Reika decided to stand up and head outside.

     Reika was about to get off when she noticed that her clothes were different.

     "My uniform..." Reika murmured.

     "Oh, was it the clothes you wore yesterday? A young woman changed your clothes since they got dirty. What was her name again? Yeah, right, Sylva." Veylir answered.

     Reika quickly checked her undergarments to see if they included it, but luckily it was still there. Reika felt relief and sighed.

     Thank god she didn't change my undies...

     After her confirmation, Reika quickly got off the bed while Veylir followed beside her. While walking towards the door, Reika slowed down for a moment.

     "Veylir. I've been thinking about it for a long time, but what is your gender anyway? I have had trouble referring to you correctly this whole time..." Reika asked the dragon.

     Veylir also slowed down upon hearing Reika's strange question.

     "Well... unlike humans, dragons have a distinct constitution when it comes to genders and reproduction."

     "Oh?"

     "When a dragon was in its infancy stage, they had no such thing as genders, and reproductive organs were nonexistent. But as we grew older, our organs developed based on our desires and preferences on what gender we wanted," Veylir answered.

      "Then, since you're not an infant anymore, what gender did you desire?" Reika asked Veylir.

      "Isn't that obvious? Of course I chose to be a female dragon!" Veylir exclaimed.

      "Yeah, figures. It's just that I wasn't sure since your voice was vague to identify your gender. It sounds... androgynous." Reika murmured.

      "Hey! The voice of an individual has nothing to do with its gender. There are several reasons why voices differ from each other, you know?" Veylir said to Reika.

      "Yeah, you're right. Whatever..."

      When Reika finally reached the door, she opened it and headed outside. There, she saw the village people busy with their own things.

     Reika looked beside her and noticed that Veylir was gone.

     Oh, I forgot that she... needs to conceal herself from others.

     While Reika was walking around, Sylva saw her from the distance. To get Reika's attention, she waved her hand in the air.

     "Reika! Over here!"

     Reika turned around and saw Sylva waving at her. She noticed that Sylva was holding a bowl, probably eating her breakfast. Seeing her eat made Reika's stomach grumble again.

     Grrrmmb~

     Without hesitation, Reika hurriedly walked towards Sylva. Sylva placed her bowl down on the table and picked another one. 

     When Reika reached her, Sylva poured the final soup from a spoon and gave the bowl to Reika.

     "Here it is. I hope you enjoyed my cooking!" 

     Reika reached out of the bowl and sat on a log next to a house. Sylva followed and sat beside her. She ate the food that Sylva cooked, and her hunger was finally satiated.

     "What took you so long? Don't you feel hungry at all?" Sylva asked her.

     Reika stopped for a moment to answer Sylva.

     "Erm, I rested for a little bit. I woke up when my stomach finally grumbled." 

     Sylva laughed after she heard Reika's absurd reason.

      "Ahahahaha! You waited for your stomach to grumble before you came here to eat? That's hilarious!"

       Embarrased, Reika simply giggled at her and didn't utter a single word.

       Minutes later, Sylva finished eating and stood up.

       "I will head first because I have something to do. If you feel like eating more, you could get some on that pot over there. See you later, Reika!" Sylva said and walked away.

       Reika nods and is left alone. She continued to eat her food in silence.

       Another minute had passed, and she finished her bowl. But she felt that her hunger still existed and decided to go for another one.

       She approached the pot when suddenly a familiar figure also walked in the same direction. Reika looked beside her and saw Alguis with a bowl in his hand.

       "Oh, deciding to go for a second?" Alguis asked her.

       "Yes. I need to catch up since I didn't eat yesterday evening..." Reika answered.

       Both of them took some food from the pot and sat next to each other on the same log that Reika had taken a seat on before. 

       While they were eating, Reika remembered the events that evening while she was unconscious.

      "Mister Alguis,how were your injuries?"

      Alguis paused for a moment.

      So that strange creature finally told her, huh...

      "Yes, it's fine. That familiar of yours helped me heal my injuries using its ability, per Soru's instruction..."

      Although that kid's instruction was only to assist me, it healed my injuries instead...

     Reika sighed in relief.

     "I apologize in his stead. What he did was simply reckless."

     "You don't have to apologize, Miss Reika. It is my fault that I didn't explain to Mister Soru what exactly happened to both of us. And also, he already apologized that very evening for the ruckus he caused," Alguis answered her.

     Hearing that there are no problems between them anymore, her guilt vanished, and she felt relief. Both Reika and Alguis continued to finish their food in silence while watching the new bustling settlement.

     While she was chewing her food, an image of Soru came to her mind.

     By the way, where is he now?

          "Hyaaah! Hup!"

     "Hahh! Hyah! "

     Soru silently observed Aeden and Völun as they exchanged blows while training.

     "Even though your proficiency in Warhammer Arts was slightly better compared to my Axe Arts , you won't beat me in close-quarter combat!" Aeden exclaimed.

     Aeden swiftly launched her fist and landed a huge blow on Völun, but he managed to block her attack.

     "Kugh!"

     Völun jumped back in order to gain some distance between them. He felt numbness in his arms due to him blocking her punch.

     The heck... Our gap in raw strength is simply too great!

     Just when Völun was about to take countermeasures, he was surprised when Aeden vanished from his sight. He frantically searched for her.

     Where did she—

     "Caught you!"

     "What!?"

     Völun looked below and saw Aeden crouching in front of him. He couldn't see her because Aeden made a swift sprint on her left side, away from Völun's range of vision, and slid quickly towards Völun without his notice.

     Without a moment to react, Aeden immediately kicked both of Völun's legs, tackling him down within a second.

     "Ghkk!"

     Völun fell to the ground in an instant. Aeden stood in front of him with a disappointed look.

     "Is this the extent of your combat skills? It seems like you rely on your weapon so much that you forgot to train your body!"

     While Aeden was busy scolding him, Völun secretly took a handful of dust from the ground. Choosing the right timing, he threw it in Aeden's eyes without her notice.

     "Gaaah!?"

     Aeden's eyes got irritated by the dust particles, and she immediately covered her eyes and rubbed them. Seeing that it was the perfect chance, Völun kicked her abdomen with his foot.

     "Hwaaggh!"

     Aeden was knocked away and fell to the ground. She groaned in pain and held her stomach.

     "Yahoo! Another one bites the dust!" Völun exclaimed.

     Literally!

     Aeden opened her eyes as the dust particles were washed away by her tears. He looked towards Völun with anger.

     "You little..!"

     Without hesitation, Aeden immediately tackled Völun and pinned him to the ground. She grabbed both of his legs and stretched them to their limits.

     "Ow! Owww! OOOWWWW!"

     "You dare play tricks on me, then proceed to show your back towards your enemy! Do you have a death wish or something!?"

     "Owww! Stop! Stopp! I'm sorry!!"

     Seeing such a spectacle, Soru got interested in their training session.

     I've seen some shows that using your body as a weapon is quite handy if you want minimal damage to the surrounding area...

     Perhaps... It is time to learn some moves.

     Soru stood up and approached both of them in the middle of their session. Both of them got surprised and immediately stood up and fixed themselves.

     Both of them remembered what Alguis warned them about yesterday evening.

     "You shouldn't provoke that person and be wary of your actions and attitude towards him. Despite being a human, I sense no remorse nor hesitation in his actions, and killing us is an easy feat for him."

     "Mr. Shin... What do you want from us..?" Aeden asked him.

     Suddenly, Soru slowly raised both ends of his mouth, mimicking a smile gesture.

     Völun noticed Soru's strange action and got confused. He whispered to Aeden.

     "Was that kid... faking his smile? It seems like he's mocking us..."

     Aeden suddenly stomped Völun's foot to prevent him from yapping further. Völun whimpered and tried to prevent his voice from coming out of his mouth.

     "Ahh... I apologize for his rude behavior, sir. I hope you don't mind," Aeden said.

     Aeden stared at Soru's blank face, waiting for his response.

     "Those moves you did before... could you teach me how to do them?" Soru asked Aeden.

     Aeden's eyes widened upon hearing his request. 

     Does he mean... those Body Arts we performed before?

     "Uh... S-Sure, we could teach you. But it's more complicated than it looks," Aeden said.

     "The name of those 'moves' you mentioned was called 'Phantom Combat Technique'."

     "However, it might be an inconvenience if you learn that Body Art." Aeden added.

     "Why is that so?" Soru asked her.

     "Basically the 'Phantom Combat Technique' is a kind of Body Art that was meant to disable opponents with quick succession and mainly relies on speed. In exchange, it would lose its firepower, although it could immobilize the enemy with precise attacks of its balance."

     "And on top of that, you must train with focus and dedication, as it requires knowledge of your enemy's blind spots and ways to disturb their balance to disable them quickly..."

     Soru listened to her explanation in silence. Aeden feared that she provoked him unintentionally, so she thought of another way to teach him something and prevent him from being agitated.

     "Perhaps I could teach you the 'Dwarven Imperial Body Combat'; it focuses on power and would sure help you injure your opponents. Although those who serve with royal families are only allowed to practice it, I could make an except—"

     "Just teach me the 'Phantom Combat Technique' only." Soru replied briefly.

     After hearing his response, Aeden fell silent and immediately nodded in agreement to avoid provocation.

     "I-I could teach you right now, sir, but may I ask you a question?" 

     Soru nods in silence, allowing her to ask a question. Suddenly, Aeden's face went serious, and she looked him directly in the eyes.

     "What's the reason why you would want to learn that Body Arts?" Aeden asked him.

     "Considering how powerful you are, such menial techniques are practically useless to you."