Thirty cycles had passed since my fight with that fucking dinosaur. I spent the first days recovering and studying magic like my life depended on it.
I learned every domestic magic spell in the book. They weren't powerful, but they were fucking useful: one to light a fire with a spark, another to clean objects (yes, I cleaned myself), one that repaired non-magical things—thanks to that, I still have decent clothes. They were minor spells, sure, but at least they kept me from dying from filth or cold.
I also managed to reduce my spell-casting time to one second. Still slow, but I'm getting close to where I want to be.
One thing I got obsessed with was how to become a dragon.
Spoiler: it didn't go very well.
But I discovered something interesting.
Let's recap. The Twice Critical is a dragon-type Sacred Gear, created from Ddraig's flesh, blood, and energy. Its power is to double everything that makes up a being: strength, energy, speed, recovery… everything. The gauntlet runs on the user's mana, but it's made of draconic matter. Even if just a trace… it's there.
My plan was simple: use that energy to transform into a dragon. The problem was I didn't have the slightest fucking clue how to do that.
All I had was my ability to perceive energy, thanks to the fact I'm a being that doesn't belong to this damned universe. So I tried the obvious: activate the Twice Critical while using my energy perception.
And I saw it.
An energy ran through the gauntlet and spread across my body, branching like a new set of veins. I couldn't control it… but I could feel it. That was success enough to keep trying.
I tried meditating with the Twice Critical active. Nothing happened—except that I was better at meditating with it than without it. I tried some magical tips from Vritra. Still nothing. Just one disappointment after another.
Until, half giving up, I did something that I honestly thought would either work or kill me—one of the two. I connected my neutral internal magic to one of the many draconic veins wrapping around me.
The good news: something happened.
The bad news: something happened.
I blacked out. I don't know how long I was out.
But it wasn't a dream. The place I went… it was another plane. A sky of crystalline red tones stretched into infinity, and a guttural voice shouted the activation of the Sacred Gear at full volume.
A dragon was there.
Or… a cheap imitation. A dark, translucent silhouette, with red lines running through its draconic body. For a moment, I thought it would kill me, but no… I instinctively knew that thing was the residual energy of Ddraig within the Twice Critical. It didn't have a consciousness. It was just energy for a user to wield. And now that I was the one using it… that "energy" became the new conscious mind behind it.
I smiled. I mentally ordered it to fly over me.
And it did.
It wasn't knowledge that came to me. It was instinct. Sensations. Images.
What I did know clearly was this: I could now use draconic energy. But I didn't yet have it inside me.
I wondered how to fix that. And as if the gauntlet itself heard me, options unfolded in my mind:
The fake dragon could transfer its energy to me little by little, turning me into a kind of failed hybrid, since I'd never become a true dragon—more like something similar to Samael.
I could obtain energy from a dead dragon and let the Sacred Gear absorb it and transfer it to me, turning me into a full-fledged dragon in one go. That was the safest, but also the hardest to even consider in my current situation.
The last was an equivalent exchange. My flesh, blood, and magic would be burned and replaced by that of the False Dragon. Little by little. Transforming, part by part, because my human body couldn't endure the burning and reconstruction of my being all at once. This was the most painful option, but honestly the best one I had.
There was no doubt where to start. I didn't want to die to some random demonic animal, so giving up my humanity had always been under consideration.
I decided to start with the most fundamental part: my brain.
If my mind changed, my way of thinking would change with it.
And then it began.
The dragon-shaped energy concentrated in my head. I felt my brain burn. Hot, steaming blood poured from my eyes and ears. I couldn't move. I couldn't scream. I couldn't do anything. Just feel. Just suffer.
And then… new thoughts.
Different. Strange. Sharper. Wilder.
The landscape shifted. I was back in my cave, drenched in sweat and blood.
My new thoughts weren't better than those of a normal human, but they were different—more optimal, tougher, more flexible against things like the passage of time.
A quick glance at my energy told me I was now using two types, though there was no clear line between where one started and the other ended. The only certain thing was that one was much lesser in quantity than the other—and no, it wasn't the dragon energy. It was the mana.
I sighed, feeling exhausted, as if my body had spent the whole day exercising and then had to carry burning rocks like live coal. It wasn't pleasant, so I wisely went to sleep. For the first time since arriving in this world, I felt whole—as if I'd been given a missing piece.
…
I woke up not knowing how much time had passed, though I can infer it was several days—I was starving, and my new mind also told me a similar amount of time had gone by.
I pulled out more meat from some random monster I had killed and ate like I'd never eaten in my life. The flesh and blood of the beasts spilled from my mouth, yet strangely none hit the ground. Everything was used to the extreme—from the organs to the skin and bones.
Once my hunger was satisfied, I resumed studying human magic as was now my habit. I must say, the equations and formulas that composed the spells became easier, as if they were topics I already knew and just needed a brief review before applying them.
My own magic also felt more under control, and when I cast a spell again, the speed was as expected: one-tenth of a second. A proud smile crossed my face.
But that wasn't what truly mattered—not today.
I had to test dragon magic.
I started with one of the simplest spells that every dragon instinctively knows, and even though I'm not a full dragon yet, I should be able to do it.
Basic elemental breath, as Vritra's book called it. First, I directed my dragon energy to my lungs, let it settle for a moment, and then inhaled until my lungs could take no more. Before the energy was released, I infused it with my will. The burning flames didn't take long to emerge—red and crimson flames burst out for a few seconds until I could no longer expel air.
I clapped with smug satisfaction at my own expectation.
This was just the beginning, but at least as a dragon kin, I could feel somewhat safe in this world.