Skyler stood up and attempted to flap his wings, which were uncomfortably large.
"Is there a way I can hide my wings, horns, and the golden and blue scales covering my body...? I can’t return looking like this. They would call me a half-demonic, half-angelic spirit dragon. Pfff. It even sounds funny."
The calamity stood up as well.
"You can hide them. I’ll teach you."
Skyler nodded, failing to notice something very important that would make him jump.
"Anyway, can I turn into a dragon? I’m 40% dragon. It would be fun to transform and scare the protagonist and his team."
The calamity’s eyes flickered with a hint of confusion. What protagonist and his team? Still, he didn’t pry. Maybe it was something he wasn’t meant to know. Not yet, at least.
"You cannot. You’re not a full dragon. The scales covering your body and your craze for shiny things are the only traits you’ve inherited from that powerful race."
Skyler clicked his tongue in regret. Meeting the calamity’s eyes... wait a second. Wait a damn second. He finally noticed the crucial thing he had missed earlier...! Was he really, actually looking straight ahead instead of looking up to meet the calamity’s gaze???
"Master..."
He staggered back in shock, shouting.
"I’m taller than you!!! OMG!! Finally!!"
Only to receive a curt response.
"Shut up. You are definitely not. I’m still at least a few whole inches taller than you."
Skyler, of course, ignored him.
He was too happy to care—so thrilled he could’ve burst into cheers. Finally, no one would call him shorty ever again!
"I’m sure I’m taller than Max now! Haha—!"
He choked on his laughter as the calamity suddenly grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, leaving him stunned by how easily he was restrained. Skyler caught the gleam of evil sparkling in the man’s blue eyes—eyes uncannily similar to his own—and a shiver ran down his spine, making him shudder.
"Master...?"
The man turned to him.
"Now that your body has grown stronger and you’re brimming with energy, let’s pick up our training where we left off, shall we?"
Skyler let out a dry laugh.
Oh no! Shit!
He forgot just how petty he could be!
Just now, he had inadvertently called his master short—something that was always his sore spot. The man was surely pissed!
He cried out as he was thrown into the air, and the calamity hurled a familiar scythe toward him, his indifferent eyes smiling.
Skyler shouted with a panicked gaze.
"Wait, wait, wait! Time out!"
But he stopped speaking when he saw his master charging toward him and forced his body, which still felt a bit foreign since his skeletal structure had changed, to grab the scythe and parry the attack thrown at him.
His hand holding the scythe trembled.
And this was when the man opposite him wasn’t even using a fraction of his power.
"Haha...!"
Skyler gritted his teeth, twisted his weapon, and jumped back. Yet once again, the man was already attacking him with his wings.
He met the blue eyes peeking through the glowing scales. Unlike his own body, which was partially covered with scales, leaving his face completely exposed, his master’s entire face was fully encased in them.
Blood slipped from his mouth as he was flung back, not even knowing just how.
The calamity narrowed his gaze.
"Use your wings to fly. Don’t rely on your skill. They’ll increase your speed and make you twice as fast. In physical strength, as a 10-star, you can even beat those at 15-star, since your body is stronger now, thanks to the power the awakening has granted you."
Skyler wiped the blood from his lips.
"Stop beating me, will you?!"
He shifted his shoulders, feeling how his wings unfurled. They were truly too big for his comfort. Also, why the hell did he have six pairs? One pair was enough, alright!
He groaned as he noticed the odd shirt he was wearing—likely something the calamity had put on him, since his previous shirt was surely torn during his awakening—wrinkled a bit due to the movement of his wings.
Taking a breath, he jumped to his feet and, this time, made an effort to use his wings. They were his, after all—he should be able to control them like his arms or legs.
The calamity clicked his tongue when he saw how effortlessly Skyler handled them.
"You are a natural. It actually took me a whole month to get used to mine."
Skyler rolled his eyes.
"That’s because I’m awesome."
With a thought, he suddenly retracted all but one pair of wings back into the cracks along his back, then let out a sigh of relief.
"Good, I can do this. One pair is enough."
The calamity laughed—this time, a bitter sound devoid of any amusement—before launching another attack. His eyes dark.
"It’s infuriating how natural you are."
Skyler failed to parry the blow.
Once again, he was flung back.
But this time, he successfully used the single pair of wings behind him to stop his fall mid-air, which made him a little giddy.
And pissed his opponent off even more.
But this time, the calamity didn’t attack. He waited for him to steady himself in the air and assume a proper fighting stance.
Skyler took a deep breath.
The calamity’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Trying to show off how much you’ve learned in the past three months?"
Skyler’s eyes sparkled with delight.
"Yeah, and I want perfect score!"
With that, he rushed toward him.
A faint whisper escaped his lips.
"Abyssal Slash!"
The dark scythe in his grip glowed; the blue core fused within its curved blade darkened further as he channeled his dark Evol into it.
The sudden strike came in a blur—swift, precise, and far too fast for any ordinary 10-star to replicate, let alone dodge. The scythe carved through the air with a piercing whistle as dark Evol surged from its glowing blade.
Yet Skyler laughed when his master easily avoided it, merely tilting his body to the side.
Then came his indifferent voice.
"Zero score for this one. Next move. Still, it only took you three months to get the moves of my Scythe Style. It makes me—who took countless years—feel like an idiot."