Chapter 1616: Training [3]

The daily life of the father-son duo revolved around training ever since then. They didn't even notice as the months passed. They were simply too entrenched in what they were doing.

Damien had never been this involved in someone else's growth before. Even when he trained Astoria and the others, he just aided them and gave them what they were lacking. They all had their foundations built beforehand.

With August, he was the one supervising from beginning to end.

It was more than he expected.

Damien was the type of person who learned best when he was left on his own. His mentors had always been there to help him through the roadblocks he couldn't overcome on his own, but everything else was left to him.

August was different not only because he was young, but because he responded to "learning" in a different way.

Unlike Damien, who needed to experience things to learn, August did best when he was taught. He was able to interpret words and information to gather what he needed better than anyone else, and Damien wasn't about to ruin that advantage.

He was there every step of the way, giving August tips and tricks to get past the hurdles he faced. At the same time, August progressively learned and eventually managed to establish a connection with water that was both pure and sturdy.

August had decided that he wanted to pursue multiple concepts of water at the same time. Damien didn't stop him either, since he believed that the increased workload would actually stimulate August's inquisitive mind better.

Still, one year was spent exclusively on feeling and connecting to water.

By the end of that year, not only did August have the appearance of a ten-year-old, he also had a physical body even other baby dragons would envy and a grasp on the foundation of his power.

With that...

"It's time."

They couldn't put it off anymore. It was time for August to hunt for the first time.

'Though, I've eased up a bit more now that some time has passed.'

Damien wasn't as worried as he was before. He had been taking August on hunts with him for the past few months, teaching him how to maneuver in both his human and dragon forms. August had seen the deaths of several creatures, and he'd become used to the rules of the jungle, at least when he was hunting for animals.

If there was something new Damien had learned about his son throughout all of this, it was that he was more confident than he liked to let on.

He seemed to believe that he would be able to do anything he said he could.

There were instances where that just wouldn't be true. Eventually, August would have to face defeat so that he could grow from it and learn how to deal with it.

However, that was something Damien wasn't willing to fake. It would only have a real effect if it was a loss that August felt in his core.

Nevertheless, that didn't have anything to do with the current situation, since there was no way for August to lose right now.

The exercises they were starting now were meant to acclimate him with blood and hunting. It wasn't meant to test his strength and push him to his limits.

So, the animals August was to hunt really were animals. Wild animals that saw them as enemies, sure, but animals nonetheless.

Against a dragon...

"Remember what I taught you?" Damien asked.

August nodded with a firm expression.

"Hunt like a dragon."

Be confident, don't doubt, and always aim for the kill.

They were already on Veridea Mountain. Damien had filled this place with several new species and created an ecosystem that had been functioning on its own for about four years now.

Since it was able to grow and develop, the species he created here had developed habits and personalities of their own.

In this completely primal environment, Damien disappeared, leaving August alone.

That was when it finally set in.

'Dad is probably nearby.'

Rationally speaking, August didn't believe Damien would actually leave him behind. And nobody could tell him he was wrong, but...

'That's not the right way to think.'

Eventually, he would have to learn to give himself confidence, so he could protect his dad instead of it always being the other way around.

He calmed his heart and focused his mind. He remembered the lessons he'd been taught, and spread his awareness to search for prey.

'There.'

August's nose twitched as he sensed them. There was a pack of wolves about five hundred feet away. They were natural predators of August's favorite breakfast source, Sun-

Swallowing Pigs.

August's eyes lit up.

'That means...!'

If a wolf pack was exposing itself like this, then it was marking its prey. Those wolves would completely vanish from perception in a few moments and start their hunt.

That was one thing. It didn't really matter to August. What really caught his attention was a simple...

'...bacon!'

He was a dragon, after all. If there was one thing that was irresistible to him, it was good meat.

And there really wasn't a variation of meat that tasted better than Sun-Swallowing Pigs, at least, not to August.

He rushed through the forested mountain. His feet tapped the ground lightly, but his every step propelled him forward by several feet.

He could feel the wolves getting closer. He couldn't sense the pigs yet, but knowing they were in the vicinity was enough. Hunting these predators came first.

400 feet...

300 feet...

By the time he was within 200 feet of them, the wolf pack noticed his presence as well.

His hostility was plain as day, but since these wolves didn't have any sort of training, they were not able to sense the draconic notes in that aura, a sign for them to run.

No, they didn't have a single thought of fleeing. They charged together, the twelve of them as one, towards the new prey they'd sensed on the horizon.

August's eyes sharpened.

The smells in the surroundings filled his nose, the scenes his eyes perceived were digested by his brain and processed rapidly.

Those draconic slits, no matter how beautiful they may have been, were purpose-built. They existed for the hunt, and now that August was in nature, they were responding better than ever before.

100 feet.

The wolves were already in sight. Their powerful aura could now be felt, but August refused to be pushed back.

He jumped into the air. As he twirled his body, it morphed, elongating into the form of a dragon.

ROOOAAAR!

It was a rookie move, but August felt the need to roar anyway.

He slammed down to the ground in front of the wolf pack, and without paying a single bit of attention to their cowering selves filled with fear...

He swept his claw out with all of the power he had available to him, aiming for the kill.

There was no hesitation.

There was no struggle.

The second August was given the opportunity, he took it in stride.

Because he was a dragon.

It was bred into his blood, his bones, and the very essence of his existence.

He was born to be the king of the hunt.