Chapter 15: OVER 900,000?!
The following morning, Sam was back training with Koga again.
"I can feel both your Second Mana Gate and Third Mana Gate beginning to loosen," Koga revealed. "You’ve made great improvements over this past month of training. I think with a little push, we can get you to D-Rank today, and C-Rank not long after."
"Okay!" Sam said excitedly. "What did you have in mind?"
"I’m going to have you push your Aura as far as you can and use a magic seal to prevent it from doing any real damage," he revealed. "That should blast open your Second Mana Gate. Then, in about two months, I’ll enroll you in the Youth Battle Challenge."
"What’s that?" Sam asked.
"It’s a tournament for combat-oriented D-Ranks aged eighteen to twenty," Koga explained. "Many of the pirates here have sons and daughters who will be competing. It takes place inside a pocket dimension dungeon, and starts with the Elimination Phase. This is a huge battle royale where everyone fights artificial monsters, and each other. The goal is to find one of the eight Escape Triggers, but other contestants can steal them from you. The eight people who manage to escape the dungeon first will proceed to the Tournament Phase, which plays out like a normal martial arts tournament."
"So you’re thinking if I unlock D-Rank today, train hard for two more months, and then do this Challenge, that I’ll be able to reach C-Rank and choose my Specialization?" Sam asked.
Koga nodded. "Yup!"
"What are my Specialization options as a Dragon Warlock?" the teen inquired. "I think I definitely want to learn to fight with a katana like you."
"Warlock Classes in general are very diverse, so there are a plethora of options," Koga revealed. "I chose Air Samurai, since my strongest elemental affinity is Air. It seems your affinity is the super rare Dragonfire, because of your green flames.
"If you want me to train you to use a katana, the Specialization that would best suit you is probably Dragonfire Samurai. And if you manage to hit C-Rank before the end of the tournament and choose that Specialization, you could win in style."
"And I guess winning would make me an even bigger deal at the Breeding Week Commencement Ball the month after..." Sam said with a weak grin.
Koga raised his eyebrows. "Is that what the meeting with Grimrar was about?"
Sam explained everything. "Do you know why Maeve would want me to get a Druid pregnant? I didn’t bother asking Grimrar because I knew he probably wouldn’t have told me the truth."
Koga thought for a moment. "Honestly? It could be anything. If she’s able to connect with you to visit your dreams, maybe she thinks that she can use your blood connection to a potential child to gain access to the Druids’ Secret Garden to find some hidden knowledge. Or maybe she wants a back-up Unseelie Knight just in case you say no or betray her. Or maybe she wants leverage over you. Again, it could be a million different reasons."
"Yeah..." Sam said, before sighing heavily.
"You know, you don’t have to get anyone pregnant," Koga insisted. "And I would advise you not to. You could just tell Maeve to fuck off."
"But wouldn’t she just turn all her minions hostile towards the girls and I if I did?" Sam inquired.
Koga thought for a second, and then nodded. "Yeah, that’s a good point. So, what are you gonna do?"
"Right now? No clue," Sam confessed. "I don’t have to worry about it for another three months, so I’m just gonna focus on training for the tournament right now. I’ll deal with the Commencement Ball when it arrives."
"Very well," Koga said. "So, let’s get that Second Gate open."
Sam stood in the center of the backyard and closed his eyes. He began powering up his Aura of green flames as Koga erected a spinning column of wind around the teen to channel the flames upwards, away from surrounding buildings.
Sam felt a surge of energy as he blasted right through his Second Mana Gate. For a brief moment, he could almost sense his Third Mana Gate, but it still felt very distant. After powering back down, he brought up his stat book in his mind.
Name: Samreon Qhousalar
Race: Dracozian
Class: D-Rank Dragon Warlock
Specialization: Undefined
Current Mana Power Level: 140
Max Mana Power Level: 260
"Nice!" Sam cried out. "My Max Level is now showing as more than twice what my Current Level was a month ago! I more than doubled my power!"
"Not bad for a month of training!" Koga said with a grin.
"I still can’t really sense other peoples’ Power Levels though. What’s yours?" Sam asked.
"I keep mine suppressed most of the time, but my Max Power Level is 187,000," he revealed.
"Oh fuck, I have a looong way to go, then..." Sam said with wide eyes.
"And I’m not even among the strongest SSS-Ranks," Koga explained. "I met this guy one time who had a Power Level over 900,000!"
"OVER 900,000?! No way!" Sam said in awe. "I guess I better train hard!"
That night at the Inn, Sam, Calista, and Lazula were laying in bed naked after another round of steamy sex. They had started drinking short-term infertility potions to make sure there were no unplanned pregnancies.
"I think I may drink one of these the night of the Commencement Ball," Sam said as he grabbed one of the empty potion bottles from the nightstand. "I don’t know what Maeve’s plans are, but I don’t want to bring a kid into this world, only for them to be a pawn in whatever game she’s playing."
"I don’t blame you," Calista said. "I think the three of us should just leave here and go make a life somewhere else."
"But if there is even a chance that Maeve is holding my mother... If she’s in trouble, I have to save her..." Sam said slowly.
"You may be able to get away with it on that first night," Lazula began. "But if you haven’t gotten a Druid pregnant by the end of Breeding Week, they’re gonna know something is up."
"Yeah..." he said after a long sigh, then set the empty bottle back on the nightstand. "I’ll worry about it later. Training should be the focus for now."
And with that, they all cuddled together and fell asleep.
Knowing that there could be a big battle and possible flight from Ravager’s Roost in the near future, Lazula started training her powers more the following morning. At the same time, Sam and Calista continued their own training at Koga’s house and the clinic, respectively.
This continued for another two months, until the first day of the Youth Battle Challenge arrived...