Jett opened his eyes from his reverie, anxiously glancing at the tranquil pool in front of him. His eyes scanned the surface, searching to see if the connection he had felt was real or imagined. What greeted him was an unmoving pool of water, still as glass. Then, a single ripple started to glide across the surface of the water. He could almost feel it move, like a soft breeze that ruffled his dark, curly hair. Then, the trees followed suit, rustling in the actual breeze that blew through the small clearing. Realizing his failure to yet again understand his newfound magic skill, he sighed in frustration. Jett rocked back and splayed his arms and legs wide, loosening the kinks that had started to form from sitting on the grass since breakfast. The sun was now high in the sky.

It had been a few weeks since Jett had been "adopted" by the enigma known as Cassaeyin the God Dragon. He was grateful for what was provided by the feathered and scaled serpent, but he also lamented his unhelpfulness in Jett's pursuit of magic.

Sure, Jett could feel the effects of his passive skill Cleansing Bath, but it mostly just did everything a normal bath did without needing soap. He also could feel the flow of mana into his gut while the skill was in use. He did not know where the mana came from though, since he could not feel its presence in the water.

With a groan, Jett gracelessly rolled to his feet. A few stumbling steps and some minor stretching started the chore of loosening his muscles. His new, extremely sore muscles. New, as in newly developed, never-seen-before muscles.

Thinking back, Jett was never that athletic or fit. He always was on the thin side of chubby and the thick side of wiry. The "dad bod" if you will. Paired with it was a slightly boyish face he only just recently could start to cover with a beard. And what a beard it was. It was an angry red that was not at all the same color of his dark hair. It earned him the name "Cap'n Redbeard" among his college buddies. The Cap'n part was, to his relatives, because of his hobby of fishing. It really was because he could drink most of his friends under the table.

He made his way up the now familiar path that led back to the temple. Once inside the main chamber, he greeted the temple's other resident. The divine serpent glanced his way before uncoiling from his pool.

"I am guessing that you are having no luck?" At Jett's nod he continued. "Well, I still believe it best that you discover your abilities on your own."

"Yeah, yeah. I got it. Lets move onto the more productive stuff. This God Dragon Fighting is actually pretty cool to learn," Jett said.

Cassaeyin chuckled, his golden eyes sparkling with mirth. "Well, start with the first strikes that I taught you. When you have sufficiently warmed up, I will give you a practice dummy to train with. Also, I believe you should be close to leveling up soon. When that happens, you will have a significantly easier time learning the second part of the form."

With a nod, Jett started slowly moving through the different strikes he'd been taught this past week. Some of the flowing strikes reminded him of a certain type of bender from a show he watched when he was little.

When Jett was feeling loose and warmed up, Cassaeyin summoned a figure made of water that took up a stance. After a moment that seemed to stretch on forever, the two moved, the distance between them rapidly closing. Jett's fists started jabbing out, trying to catch the water figure. The summon expertly dodged his attacks, redirecting the few that were close to actually connecting. This went on, Jett constantly on the offensive. No matter how hard he pushed himself, he couldn't land a single hit. There was a shift, and then Jett was suddenly made aware of how far he was overextending himself when he felt its fist connect with his gut. The reckless nature of Jett's strikes was dialed down. He was attacking just as fast, but he was more conservative in his punches and kicks. Jett still didn't land a single hit for the rest of the training battle.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

It ended with Jett on the ground having tripped over the figure's leg. When he started getting up again, a notification popped into his vision.

"Ding" God Dragon Fighting Leveled up! Lvl 1->2

Jett looked over at Cassaeyin with a smile. "I got the level up for God Dragon Fighting!"

"It seems I was correct in my guess that you were about to level your skill. Let us end today's training on that high note. Tomorrow I will teach you the next part of the God Dragon Fighting skill. You should meditate to learn more about your mana. I look forward to hearing about your breakthrough in your magic skill," the dragon said.

"Alright, I'm going to go wash up and prepare myself for tomorrow." With that, Jett walked to the kitchen. There was still an immense amount of food on the stasis shelves. Jett grabbed a bowl of something that looked like chili and some of the bread. After he had eaten his fill, he headed back out to the pool.

He stretched when he reached the pool of water. Then he stripped off his new pants and undid the wraps on his wrists and ankles. He dove into the cool water, the sweat and grime from training washed away by Cleansing Bath. When his head breached the surface, Jett felt invigorated. He then found a spot in the pool where he could sit with just his head and shoulders above the water.

Jett let himself fall into meditation, the outside world fading slightly as he focused on the swirling energy he could feel in his core. His mana. He started prodding and coaxing the energy around his body, feeling the way it circulated and moved within him. The strange substance was slow to react. It was sluggish when following his commands. For the past week, Jett had been focusing on how to move the energy and manipulate it. When he first tried, it moved like molasses on a cold winter's day. Now, it was like a thin syrup with how it flowed. Also over the past week, he had noticed the paths it followed in his body. The mana currents seemed to follow his bones and blood vessels easiest. It was strange for Jett, seeing and feeling the ethereal liquid-like substance move in his body.

After coaxing the mana to his fingertips, he started trying to push out a small amount. He could feel the mana start to dribble out of his fingertips, then disperse like it had all other times he had tried. This time there was a tug. As Jett kept pushing mana from his fingers, he tried keeping his control on the mana. He managed to keep it from dispersing immediately, feeling how it seemed to follow his intent easier than ever.

At that moment, Jett felt Water Manipulation take effect. He saw how the mana seemed to grab onto the water around it like a magnet in a box of nails. Jett opened his eyes to look at where he knew his mana was. He started using the skill to move the water upward. Jett saw a small tendril of water the size of his finger rise above the surface. It was wobbly and looked extremely weak, but it was there.

Jett smiled, then set to work attempting to move it more. It started wriggling around, slowly forming the shapes he had envisioned. He kept at it, attempting to try a more complex shape. The water started to shimmer some, then fell back with a splish. Jett noticed that the mana inside him was spent. He entered meditation again to refill with Cleansing Bath.

When he was topped up again, he did it again. It didn't cross his mind to attempt to streamline the process. He kept up this cycle late into the night. When he got to the point where he felt he could comfortably maneuver the waterball, he attempted to get up and carry it with him. This failed, and Jett let out a loud and long yawn. He glanced up, only just noticing the full moon and the backdrop of stars.

The night was clear, allowing the stars to shine to their fullest. The stars were as foreign to Jett as the moon was. Instead of a pale ball in the sky that, if you squinted, looked like it had a face, this moon was tinged blue and almost appeared to be a giant eye gazing at the stars above. Jett stared in awe, taking the view he had seen a few times this past week. It still never failed to impress him.

"I didn't realize I was out so late," Jett mused. "I guess learning that you can use magic helps make time fly." Jett gathered his clothes he had dumped on the side and started heading back towards the temple.