Capítulo 7: Steps to Dragonhood(Edited)
A month quickly passed by since Mark summoned Runeas by mistake. However, in the end, he was actually glad he summoned her instead of the Devil King as no matter how kind he might be he would want something in exchange.
And whatever it was, it would probably be something that Mark would have to spend time paying back. That would have probably been annoying. Meanwhile, Runeas was thought dead and could do as she wanted whenever she wanted. She did not have any responsibilities to take care of so she spent all her time with Mark. Most of the time she did as she promised to spar and train with him.
Though in exchange, Mark simply kept her happy by taking her out into New York to explore and take in the sights. Currently, she had once more made an advanced Bounded Field within his house which the Greek Gods had not felt.
Ddraig was right that the Greek Gods were perfect deterrents as they mostly kept to themselves. Mark currently was sitting with Runeas in front of him with the Boosted Gear resting on his lap.
"Ddraig, I have been practicing with the Balance Breaker every day for the past month and I got a good hang of it. While it is crucial that I master it before I go on to create my Sub-Species Balance Breaker. There is one thing that I need to get done.
How can I change my race from human to Dragon? If I stay as a human, no matter how strong I get my life span will kill me."
[You already have the key. Let me ask you this, what makes a Dragon a Dragon?]
Runeas answered that.
"Their strength?"
[That is just a small part of what makes us Dragons so strong. Three things make up a dragon. One is a body that is made of condensed mana that allows us to face any foe in physical combat and is magically gifted to use that strength. A soul mighty enough to match that body and control the magic within it.
And most crucial of all is the main organ that separates us Dragons from the rest. The Dragon Heart. A reactor of magic. A Dragon can fight to the death because of this organ. As long as he keeps fighting, living, and enduring our magic will constantly replenish endlessly.
So, this shall be your first hurdle. You must transform your human heart into a Dragon Heart then will come your body. Your soul is already good enough for the moment.]
Hearing this made both Runeas and Mark think about this little dilemma. Ddraig offered up three options.
[We can do this with the easy method and we can make a contract. You can offer up your heart and I turn it into one, but I don't recommend it. This is the easy method and will just be you being exactly like me. Or, you do it the hard, slow, and painful method.
When you meditate you circulate your mana through your body. Use the Boosted Gear to build up both Mana and dense Dragon Aura and began to infuse your heart with it. The feeling will feel as if your heart is on fire and being devoured by ravenous insects.
And it won't be overnight. Depending on your body, it could take several weeks, months, or at worst years. And the third method is that you get a dragon to give you its blood for you to use. Not easy to acquire or recommended as once again, you could get so much more by doing it yourself.]
Mark looked at Runeas and decided.
"Guess I will be choosing the second method."
She reached out and held both his hands.
"I will help you. I may be a Devil that uses Demonic Power, but I am quite knowledgeable. I will make you a hybrid Time and Mana-gathering magic formation. It will gather mana and Speed up time inside it. Giving you more time to get to work."
Mark nodded.
"Alright. I trust you."
Mark rolled up his sleeve and sliced his wrist open which began to pour blood out. Runeas with a wave of her hand drew his blood from his wound and began to form the hybrid formation. With an expert wave of her fingers, she weaved his blood in with her Demonic Power which would make it work better.
It only took her around a minute to finish the rather complicated magic formation. Once it was complete, Mark clenched his fist and used mana to stop bleeding. Runeas was not a healer, but she knew basic healing magic which she used on Mark's wrist.
Meanwhile, Mark used his own mana to speed up his healing. He sat down on the spot and sent mana through his bone marrow to encourage it to produce more. Bone Marrow made your blood, not the heart and he did make sure to drink plenty of magic water made by Runeas.
After 30 minutes he had fully recovered as Runeas was constantly using the healing spells she did know. Once he was recovered he opened his eyes and looked at Runeas.
"Thank you, princess."
Runeas frowned.
"I am not a princess. If anything I am a queen, see the crown."
She pointed at the crown on her head. Mark loveling stroked her cheek before he stood up. He could be a charmer when he truly wanted. When not busy he had his fair share of hookups in the past.
"You look too young to be a queen so I am calling you princess."
She crossed her arms with a smirk.
"We Devils can actually change our overall appearance so I only want to look this young. Meaning I could look like a mature woman if I so want to."
Mark imagined Runeas as a busty and sexy milf which made him grin.
"Good to know. Miss milf in disguise."
Runeas got bright red at the words.
"HEY! Don't refer to me in porno terms. And that is the second time already."
"So you have been watching that. When?"
She pointed at the magic formation with a frown.
"Get in already and stop teasing me."
"Fine,"
Mark stepped into the formation and sat down in the middle. Runeas stepped outside of it and gave him a thumbs up.
"You ready?"
He nodded.
"Ready."
She activated the formation with an infusion of Demonic Power which instantly began to do as she designed. It drew magic from outside the Bounded Field and Time sped up within. It gave Mark more time to begin the painful process of transforming his heart.
Mark exhaled as he closed his eyes and got ready.
'Ready Ddraig?'
[I am here for you, partner.]
'Then let's get to it.'
[Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!][Boost!]
[Transfer!]
He Boosted both the mana and the formation drawn for him and fused that with Dragon Aura. With the help of Ddraig, he formed pure Dragon Mana and drew into his heart which instantly began to hurt like lava was in his veins. Just like Ddraig said, it felt like insects were knawing on it.
Ddraig did not let Mark pass out.
[Mark, do not give up so soon. If you give up here what right do you have to become one of us? Endure and ascent.]
Mark grit his teeth and began to slowly infuse his heart and the arteries around it with Dragon Mana. His flesh drew in both, but this was not easy or painless. If not for Ddraig keeping him awake, he might have passed out already.
Runeas watched from outside as Mark's chest was glowing bright crimson. It was so bright she could see his heart, lungs, ribs, and his other organs. She got worried for a moment, but from the look of it, Mark was holding strong.
[Yes, keep this up. Do not let it go.]
Mark sat up straight up refusing to even show weakness as his heart drew in Dragon Mana like a shark. Mark did not notice it, but not just his heart was being infused with Dragon Mana. The blood that flowed through his heart was also getting infused.
This was why every part of a dragon as valuable as its very body contained dense mana. Mark was much too focused on his heart to focus on this, but the more of his blood that got infused, the easier the process got.
That blood reached his entire body and actually began to make him feel relaxed. The pain was there, but along with it came the feeling of a calming heat in his veins. When that blood reached his brain he felt pure euphoria for an instant which nearly caused him to lose focus.
[FOCUS!]
'Sorry!'
After 24 hours Mark fully finished infusing his heart with the Dragon Mana. When he finished he fell straight to his side panting like crazy. Red Steam left his mouth which made Runeas rush over. She grabbed his hand and looked at his Gauntlet.
"Ddraig? He is still fine right?"
[Yes. Everything is alright. While he is far from done forming his Dragon Heart, he did manage to infuse his heart. Now, his very blood will flow with magic and Dragon's Aura. This is the first step in his Dragonification.]
Mark opened his eyes which turned into dragon-like slits. It only lasted a little while before he sat up.
"By the love of Great Red that hurt."
[Of course, it did. Did you think it would be easy? You are barely getting started. I recommend you eat and sleep for a few hours before you do it all again. The first infusion will quickly drain out of you if you do not keep it up.
And I do not recommend you fight in this state for a while until you finish. Fighting will simply delay the process so get to it.]
Mark was about to sit up when Runeas pushed him down.
"You heard the dragon. I will bring you some food, meanwhile, you rest."
"Yes, ma'am."
She stepped out of the Bounded Field while Mark actually did fall straight asleep. While he slept, Ddraig wanted to laugh.
[What luck. For the first time since my imprisonment, I feel I can truly call my host my friend and equal. Mark, I hope one day you become the greatest of all Red Dragons surpassing all who have come before.]
Mark continued to sleep until Runeas returned. She had not cooked anything and instead opted to steal a bunch of meals from the whole city. She made sure to wipe their memories of the event as she had no idea how to cook.
Mark opened his eyes when he smelled the smell of food. He saw so many dishes that she set them down on a massive table of Demonic Power.
"I can't cook so I just stole a bunch of meals."
Mark got off the ground and without hesitation began to gorge himself on food. He ate chicken dishes, pork, spaghetti, stew, and several other random meals she stole. However, she noticed how he was leaving any dish that had cheese.
She wondered why that was as she personally liked cheese.
"I see, you hate cheese."
Mark nodded.
"Yeah, I can't eat it. I thought I would be able to consume it in this new younger body, but nope. I still can't stand it."
Mark had already told her about his death and how he accidentally stole this body. Though he kept the fact he came from another world secret with only Ddraig knowing. Ddraig was his partner, friend, and guide. Only he deserved to know the full truth about him.
But telling others he trusted about his death was not out of his terms. She did not care as she had heard of a few techniques where the same could be done. She even knew of an extinct family of Extra Devils who were masters at this.
However, Mark's case was very different as he did not plan to do it. He just died and awoke in Issei's body after consuming his soul.
"I see. I personally love the taste of cheese, but if you can't stand it don't try it."
Mark nodded as he finished consuming the rest. Once he was done eating he returned to the Magic Circle. He had gorged himself, but his body was quickly digesting the food for energy.
"One more time."
Runeas smiled as she walked over to activate the circle once more.
"Good luck."
Mark's spartan-like training would take a while, but he had time. Or so he thought. And while he did so, the Energy in his soul began to flow through his body. He did not know the name of the stuff, but it was pure Void Energy. A volatile mixture only higher dimensional beings could touch and he was doing it as a mortal.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder