"You figured out how magic works?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She had a hard time believing him—not that Zaroth could blame her.
"Well… more or less. From what I felt, the mana core is like a sun in my soul. The more I use it, the dimmer it gets. After a certain point, I'm able to sense a spark of energy, and I connect it to my mana core," he explained, using Luna's hand for support as he stood up.
"So how does that allow you to use magic?"
"Not sure, but it's supposed to help strengthen it and my mana core, so I guess it can't be bad?"
Zaroth was exhausted, so after a quick shower, he went to sleep.
*****
The next day, after a quick breakfast, he found himself in class, listening to the professor's lecture.
"As you all know, we humans primarily live on these three continents," the professor said, pointing to three continents on the world map he had brought out.
"These two," he continued, pointing to the continents in close proximity to theirs, "are where most of the elf population resides."
His voice darkened as he continued, "This one, the central continent, is the one we recently lost due to the actions of the legendary beast master. It was the central hub where most races, including humans and elves, lived in peace… until the tragedy happened."
The room's atmosphere grew heavy.
"Seizing the opportunity, the demons took their chance and captured the continent. This means they now control more land than any other race, holding four continents."
'Demons…' Zaroth thought. 'Luna, what do you know about demons?'
'Not much. I've met a few, but most of them didn't possess the ability to communicate—they only wanted to destroy,' Luna replied.
'Demons are the enemies of the gods, right? Shouldn't that mean they could be considered our friends? We have a common enemy, after all.'
'Maybe, if we could get them to listen. But intelligent demons are hard to find,' she said.
Raising an eyebrow, he asked, 'But considering you're a mythical beast, you must have met some, right?'
'Yeah… I've met a few vampires, but let's just say vampires and dragons don't get along.'
'Vampires…' Zaroth had heard of them before. They were said to appear similar to humans or elves, but unlike them, they didn't get their powers from blessings. Vampires were also rumored to feed on the blood of the blessed and could somehow turn humans into vampires.
"You!" the professor suddenly called out, pointing at Zaroth and breaking him from his thoughts. "Are you paying attention?"
Startled by the sudden question, Zaroth stammered, "Y-yes!"
"Then tell me—how does one defeat an intelligent demon?"
'What kind of question is that?!' Zaroth wondered.
"You make him think you're on his side and manage to outwit him?"
"Wrong! Completely the opposite! You can't outwit demons—they are cunning and smart! They've mastered manipulation to get what they want from humans! You would know this if you paid at least a little attention in my classes!"
A few students laughed at the fact that Zaroth had gotten such a basic question wrong.
'I would've paid attention if you knew how to teach, you old fool!' Zaroth cursed silently, before getting an idea.
"Speak for yourself! I can outsmart any demon I wish to!" he proclaimed confidently.
The professor grimaced at his statement and, with a sigh, said, "That's how you get yourself killed, kid."
*****
The next lesson, Zaroth was fully focused on the teacher's explanation of how to use magic.
"Once you have a stable connection with your core, you can begin using spells. Usually, the more you understand a subject, the easier it will be to recreate it using magic," she explained.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "For first-timers who haven't used spells before, I recommend starting with something you have a good understanding of—like the elements, for instance."
'The elements, huh? There are four… so which one should I pick?' Zaroth wondered.
'Fire,' Luna answered immediately.
He raised an eyebrow. 'Fire? Why?'
'I'm a dragon, and we're connected, so your understanding of fire should be much higher compared to the average person,' Luna explained.
"You have to close your eyes, and using your core, imagine what you want to create and what you want this creation to do. For instance, create fire and send it shooting forward to form the spell, fireball," the teacher continued.
'Fireball… this will be the thing I focus on from now on,' Zaroth decided.
*****
The rest of the classes went well, and now Zaroth was in the duel room with Zack, Roran, and Lily.
"So, who's going to battle who—" Roran began, only to be cut off by Zaroth.
"Lily, do you want to be my opponent?" Zaroth interrupted.
"Why? Wouldn't it be more beneficial for you to battle someone who specializes in close-quarters combat?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Usually, yes, but I'm trying to learn how to use spells. Who could be a better opponent than a spell user?" Zaroth replied with a smile.
"Are you sure? Considering the wolf you're able to summon, you're a beast master. They usually save their mana for their summons," she pointed out.
"That may be true, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to be able to use a spell or two," he said.
Lily agreed, and they began their fight. Zaroth asked her to use exclusively fire attacks so he could get a better grasp of how fire worked. She agreed, on the condition that Zaroth wouldn't use his wolf in the fight.
'Roderic probably got a lot of scolding from Elysia, so he won't let us duel as long as last time… I have an hour and a half at most to figure this out,' Zaroth thought.
Half an hour had passed, and Zaroth wasn't making any progress, which left him feeling irritated. Seeing this, Lily tried to encourage him.
"Don't expect to learn it in a few hours. Learning a spell outside of your class typically takes a long time."
'Even so… I want to get stronger, faster!' Zaroth suppressed a scream as he slowly stood up. His face had been burned multiple times by Lily's fire magic. He was starting to get used to the pain, so he didn't even wait for the room to fully heal him before charging at Lily again.
An hour had passed since the start of the duel.
"Why? Why can't I figure it out?!" Zaroth muttered under his tired breath.
'Lily makes it look so easy! She just stretches out her arm with her palm open, and in the next second, there's a giant fireball ready to fire! I know she must be some kind of magician, but still!'
Taking yet another spell to his chest, he was sent flying back, landing hard on his back.
Seeing this, Lily sighed and spoke. "Listen, we've been going at it for an hour already. It's already enough. You're a beast master, unlike me, so don't expect to get it immediately."
Roran and Zack, despite being engaged in their own duel, glanced at Zaroth from time to time, wondering how his progress was going.
"A beast master?" he muttered under his breath. A grin appeared on his burnt face before he burst into laughter. His unexpected reaction earned strange stares from everyone in the room.
'Yes… have I forgotten? Above all, I'm a beast master. And the first beast I tamed… was Luna… a dragon.'
"Hey, man, I know you want to learn how to use spells as soon as possible, but I think you should take a break. Getting burned endlessly could mess with your mental state," Zack said. He and Roran were taking a quick break, looking at Zaroth with concerned gazes.
But Zaroth didn't hear him, he was far too gone. His eyes shone green as he felt a major change within himself.
What he did next made Lily gasp in surprise.