Rising Moon
Summary: A second chance wasn't something I, Aldrin Zevon, expected. I didn't expect to wake up in a five-year-old body in a forest, nor did I expect what would come after. A multiverse of possibilities has opened up to me, and I intend to take it for all it is worth. SI-OCxHarem, Fairy Tail/Multicross Story
This story is inspired by A Nascent Kaleidoscope by AStoryForOne. I HIGHLY recommend you go check it out. It's almost 1 Million words, still going strong, and definitely worth the read.
Chapter 4
The child was astounding.
The speed at which he'd both awakened to his own magic, even with her more straightforward method, and then adapted to and began using her own magic was nothing short of incredible.
It was to be noted that there was no way that her method of teaching him her magic would work on anyone else but him, thanks to his unique magical container which was unaligned to any magic. Hell, truthfully, she'd used her little 'teaching method' as an opportunity to also assess his body and see just what kind of training he'd need.
Honestly, his body wasn't terrible either. Slightly malnourished from lack of proper food, but nothing a good diet wouldn't fix in time. She also hadn't expected his magic to adapt and gain access to her own so quickly, that was a nice little bonus.
It was talent, pure and simple. The talent to adapt so quickly and pick up magic that fast… The boy would theoretically be able to learn magic just by fighting his opponents and being exposed to their own magic, especially if he was under duress and his magic needed to adapt for his survival.
Of course, it wasn't like he'd master magic just like that. He might learn from watching his opponent, but he'd have to train with it in order to make it usable. But with how fast his magic adapted, there was a great chance he'd create new forms of magic never seen before.
Hell, with how fast his magic adapted, he might have shortened the usually one- or two- week length of magical injection would likely have only taken a few days given just how fast his magic seemed to adapt.
This was good. It meant that he would learn the basics faster, then they could move onto the more advanced techniques… She might even be able to teach him Aqua Aera sooner than she thought, he might be done with his training in only two years or so.
She watched over him as he slept, a small smirk on her face. Yes, this child would go far. With his help, her plans to end the era of dragons and usher in the era of humans would finally come true… And if he died before then, it simply meant that he wasn't strong enough.
"Mother, is something wrong?" A female voice said, causing Selene to look over and a warm smile come to her face.
Stepping out of a portal leading to a world of blue was her daughter, Qila, the Spatial Dragon. Her hair was short and a beautiful shade of blue, her eyes a soft, glowing azure. Unlike her siblings and most other dragons, her horns curled out of her head in her human form, signs of her dragon heritage. Her ears were also pointed, another sign to her heritage.
She was clad in a qipao-coloured blue that went with her hair and horns, a pair of flip flops on her feet to finish her look. All in all, Selene thought she looked adorable.
"Why do you ask, my dear?" She responded.
"Well, I felt you using your magic, and I thought maybe something was wrong," Qila confessed.
"Not at all dear, I was simply training your newest sibling."
"Sibling…?" Qila questioned before she looked down at the sleeping boy and gasped. "Is that a human?"
"Yes," Selene smiled. "This is Aldrin, your new brother, and my Dragon Slayer."
Qila's eyes widened in almost innocent wonder. "You took on a Dragon Slayer? You've never expressed interest before, why now?"
"Well, to put it simply, Kurnugi brought him to me after scaring him silly in his territory, and I felt his vast magical potential and decided to take him in as my Dragon Slayer," she explained to her daughter. "He has already acclimated to and can use my magic."
"Really?" Qila's eyes widened in wonder. "How long did it to take him? When did he start?"
Selene gave her daughter a smirk. "Today."
The bluenette stared at her mother for a moment, trying to determine if she was joking or not, before she looked down at the boy in shock upon seeing no lies in her mother's eyes. "Today…? That's…"
"I know," Selene giggled. "It's pure talent. I found a worthwhile human to teach, and I don't have to do any of that boring stuff that will require me to wait. I estimate his training will only require two, maybe three years if I'm not wrong."
"Two to three years to be a fully fledged Moon Dragon Slayer," Qila said in awe. "That's incredible, what magical potential…"
"Indeed."
"Do you think…?" Qila mumbled something.
"Hm?" Selene looked at her. "What was that my dear?"
"It's just…" She hesitated.
"Dear, you need not worry about making me upset. Speak up, go ahead and ask."
"Could I maybe… Teach him too?"
Selene blinked. "Pardon?"
"N- not that I want to take him from you," Qila said quickly. "Just um… I've kinda been wanting my own Dragon Slayer and stuff too, but it's hard to find someone who's able to survive in my Blue Dimension easily, and it's the best place to teach. So, I was thinking, it would be nice if maybe I could teach my new little brother a thing or two about Spatial Dragon Slayer Magic. Y- you know, just the basics…"
Selene blinked and tapped her chin, considering it.
Her daughter was, without question, one of her strongest children. Perhaps her strongest child, with Kurnugi either tying her or being just slightly behind in terms of strength. And the reason was simply the sheer power of her daughter's dragon nature.
A Spatial Dragon. A Dragon that gained their power through space and dimensions. Unlike hers which used the power of the moon and stars, a variant of cosmic energy, Qila's power came from a more primordial source that made her one of her strongest children. Nothing compared to her strength, but one of the more powerful dragons without question.
Indeed, her newest son would become quite powerful if Qila were to teach him the basics of her magic. It would cut into training time a bit, but it would definitely be worth it… Hm, perhaps he might also benefit from Kurnugi's Sword Saint Dragon Slayer Magic?
Three different Dragon Slayer Magics… If he were to turn into a Dragon, there would be no telling how he would turn out. But that made it all the more interesting to her.
"Very well, I'll allow it," Selene nodded. "But just the basics."
"Really?" Her daughter's eyes lit up happily, and that alone made agreeing to this worth it for Selene. "Thank you so much, mom! You're the best! I'll make sure to write out the more advanced techniques for him to study in his own time!"
"That's a good girl," she smiled gently. "Could you also be a dear and contact Kurnugi? Tell him that I'd like him to teach his new brother the basics of his own magic, if he's willing."
"Little brother too?" Qila blinked, but she didn't question it further as she gave a nod. "I'll make sure to tell him about your request, mother. I'll go and start writing down the more advanced techniques in the meantime."
"You have fun with that," she nodded. "It might be some time before you can teach him, but just be patient, okay?"
"Yes, mother," her daughter gave her a quick hug and a smile before slipping back into the portal and it snapped shut behind her.
Selene smiled fondly before she turned her gaze back to her newest son, gently reaching out and running her fingers through his light blue hair, making him gently rub up against her hand.
Yes, she'd missed having a child around the house to mother. She'd make sure the boy would be calling her mother before his training was done, she'd already taken him in as her latest son, after all.
.
.
.
With my magic now awakened and it having adapted to turn me into a Moon Dragon Slayer, my training under Selene really took off.
She started with teaching me the basics. All Dragon Slayer Magic was derived from four basic attacks. The roar, a punch, a kick, and the wing attack. Every single Dragon Slayer Magic used principles based on one or multiple of those attacks. Ranged attacks used principles of the roar, close ranged attacks used principles from the punch and kick, mid-ranged used principles of the wing attack, and then variations used combinations of multiple.
First, she taught me the roar, which began with proper breathing exercises. She said that the way I did the roar wasn't how it was supposed to be done, but it was a decent first attempt none the less. The roar was supposed to be done in two steps: the inhale and the exhale. You gathered your magic in your lungs when you inhaled, before you unleashed the attack in a powerful breath as you exhaled.
The principle behind it was the fundamental basics behind Dragon Slaying Magic: gathering the magic and then releasing it. Both in small and large quantities. Through learning the spell, you learned how to release a lot of your magic, and also how to only release a small amount.
The next step was the kick, or the 'Talon.' The principle of this attack was to coat the foot or leg in Dragon Slayer Magic and to keep it continuously surrounding the limb in order to both protect it and enhance the amount of damage it could deal.
Though, before she taught me how to do it, she taught me how to properly throw a punch and kick while in battle so that I wouldn't just be flailing about and telegraphing my attacks too much.
The punch was the next one she taught me, and to me was definitely the most interesting. The principle behind the punch required you to cover your fist in Dragon Slayer Magic, however that was only to reduce the damage done to your fist. At the point of impact, you had to release a burst of magic to give a violent increase in destructive force.
The final one was the wing attack, which was by far the hardest. The principle behind it was moulding your magic into a shape. In this case, a pair of whips that acted like a dragon's wings, lashing out and slashing at the enemy. With proper training, the user would be able to mould any shape. Just like Laxus's 'Heavenward Halberd' or Gajeel's various Iron Dragon attacks.
Selene explained to me that those four spells were the absolute basics of the basics as far as all dragon slaying magic went. And that, once I mastered those four basic spells that we could get started on the actual basics.
I immediately understood the difficulty Natsu had with Dragon Slaying Magic in the anime as a child. It looked like it was simple, but it was complicated to figure out how to do them properly. And none of the Dragon Slayers were exactly smart (bar Wendy, but she was young and naïve), so it was no wonder that it took a long time for them all to get down.
But while I might have the physical body of a child, my mind was that of an adult. That meant that it would be easier for me to learn and understand the magic I was studying, and I was determined to learn this magic as best as I could.
It took me only three days to perform a roar that was to Selene's satisfaction, something that she stated herself that she was impressed with. Usually, the roar was apparently the hardest one to learn given people either exhausted all their magic using it right away or used too little to cause any real damage.
Though she then immediately made me keep doing it for the next few days until I didn't even have to focus too hard on the magic to perform the roar properly. I still couldn't do it at a moment's notice, but she told me that would come with experience and battle.
The next one I managed to get down was the wing attack, something that took Selene by surprise as it was supposed to be the most difficult of the four, given I was taking the usually intangible magic and giving it a more physical shape to use. It took about a week for me to learn it and be able to actually hit a target with it. I only hit the target 2/10 times, but Selene told me that was better than she expected given my age and lack of training before her.
I mean, it wasn't like I'd ever trained to aim whips before, so she had a fair point…
The talon was easy to learn, given it was gathering my magic around my foot to form a barrier of sorts that would both protect my foot and deal damage when I kicked. It was definitely the easiest of the four to learn, only taking me a single day to learn how to do it properly.
The final one I learned was, of course, the fist. Unleashing a blast of magical power to increase the destructive force at the point of impact was not easy. Unlike the other three, it required more precise timing, and Selene wasn't forthcoming with answers, meaning I had to figure it out myself.
It was, bar none, the hardest of the four given the more precise timing it required. My guess was that this was the one that was actually easier for children given they tended to rely more on their instincts rather than thinking things through like I did.
I was at a disadvantage since my mind was more mature, thus it was harder for me to just rely on my instincts to get the timing down than it was for a child. As a result, I had several accidents that resulted in damaging my arm, though Selene was at least gracious enough to speed up the healing process, she made sure that it would still take time to heal. She called it 'making sure you learn the consequences of foolish mistakes.'
It took the longest time for me to learn it properly, a full three weeks before I finally got the timing down and was able to do the punch consistently without hurting myself. I did fuck up sometimes, but the timing was only slightly off and only caused a tingle to run through my arm instead of the outright bleeding I had the other times. Experience and some more training would make sure I didn't hurt myself any more.
"Well," Selene clapped, pleased as she saw me breathing heavily after I showed her the fruits of my work. "I must say, I'm incredibly pleased. As I thought, your talent is truly astounding. In only around a month, you have learned the very basics of the basics of Dragon Slaying Magic. Make sure you continue to refine and learn them until you have mastered them but do so in your own time. Now that you have each of the concepts down, we will now move on to the basics."
"Already?" I asked her.
Her eyes narrowed. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"Nope," I said quickly. "Just um… Eager to start, yes, that's it."
She closed her eyes, seeming disappointed by my response, before she nodded and opened her eyes. "Very well. We'll start with a simple one, a more advanced version of the fist. The Moon Dragon's Lunar Fist."
"Isn't Lunar just another way of saying Moon?" I asked her.
"What's your point?"
"Nothing, continue."
She nodded firmly and lifted her hand. "This connects the principles of the kick and the punch. You coat it to increase your punching power, and then you unleash a violent burst at the point of contact to increase destructive force. It's sister attack, Crescent Talon, follows the same two principles just with your feet."
"Well, that doesn't sound so hard," I noted.
She smirked. "Then show me," she gestured to a boulder.
I hesitated before I made my way over. I coated my fist in dragon slayer magic, just like I did with the talon, before I threw a punch at the rock, intending to release a burst just like with the fist.
It backfired. Badly.
Instead of even hitting the rock, I was sent flying back as the magic literally fired back at me, sending me crashing to the ground. I groaned from the ground as I held my arm, now feeling a great deal of pain.
"Still think it's not so hard?" Selene asked.
"I take back what I said," I groaned as I held my arm.
It seemed I wasn't done hurting my body to learn this magic yet.