5 years.
'Five years too long.'
By the ti August found himself in a state where he could confidently challenge the First Dragon Emperor and aim to land that blow, it had been five years since he first arrived in this realm.
He was now sixteen years old. He was the sa age as his friends who were always far older than him. It was unbelievable, really. In the short monts of respite that he had between training and challenging, he sotis wondered if it was necessary to grow as fast as he did.
However, he knew that there wasn't another option. The situation in Arulionn was too urgent for him to slowly grow and develop into who he needed to be.
He started to understand why Damien had him spend his childhood in that small village in the middle of nowhere. There, far away from his problems, August actually got a chance to experience what would have been otherwise impossible for him.
When August entered this realm, he was at the beginning of 4th class but could display power matching soone halfway through the sa rank. Now, however…
He was far, far better than he was back then. If he had to face Eris again, he was certain that he could end their battle in ten moves or less.
That was the kind of strength he had to accumulate in order to even stand in front of the First Dragon Emperor with confidence.
Ti passed and passed and passed, and he got better and better and better.
Now that five years had passed, now that his attempts were falling short by just a hair's breadth, August knew that the end of his trial would co soon.
'No, it'll co now.'
It was the sa thing he said to himself every ti he challenged the forr emperor, but it was motivating nonetheless.
[Child, have you co again?]
The First Dragon Emperor had beco quite fond of August in their short ti knowing each other. He had provided a separate area for the young genius to train and occasionally told him stories of an era long forgotten to pass ti.
He had truly taken August as a future successor, though, until August achieved what he was striving for, he didn't need to know that he'd practically already passed the First Dragon Emperor's test.
"I'm back. This ti, you won't be able to catch off-guard," August declared strongly.
[Hahaha! How long have you been saying the sa thing? What makes you think that today is the day?]
They weren't malicious words. The First Dragon Emperor was truly curious about what August had planned.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Nevertheless, August didn't speak. Nor did he utter a single thought about what he was going to do. He lost too many tis because the forr emperor was able to understand his entire plan through his thoughts.
He rely took a stance, following Yuna's thodology to erase all thoughts from his mind.
'This ti…'
It was the only thing the First Dragon Emperor heard.
'...I will succeed!'
August dashed forward.
If the forr emperor was constantly changing his attack patterns, then five years wouldn't have been nearly enough ti. August would have required at least a decade in that case scenario.
However, the patterns were always the sa.
The first attack, a powerful flap of the wings. August learned how to dodge this one long ago.
Incorporating the new light-based concepts into his elent, August attached mana to the ends of his wings and spread them as far as possible.
XIUUU!
His body created trails of white in the air as he accelerated to a degree that the environnt couldn't track.
A furious burst of wind charged towards him, but, rather than avoiding it, August charged directly into it.
WHOOOOSH!
The roaring sound that he had beco so used to graced his ears. Actually, in this mont, August found that his winged form wasn't the best option. In the past five years, he learned how to consciously switch between his two forms, and as he approached the winds, he did exactly that.
Without wings, August's body beca sowhat more aerodynamic. He rode the wind as if it was a wave of water, swimming through it with such proficiency that even a first-ti viewer would know that he was incredibly skilled at this maneuver.
'Now…'
On August's call, the second attack ca.
The First Dragon Emperor opened his jaw wide and spat out a beam of light that could incinerate an entire city. It took August months to find a way to escape its trajectory, but once again, he eventually realized what he needed to do.
Still in the air, August transford again. He spread his wings and used the wind to pull him away from the First Dragon Emperor. He lost so progress, but he also rose high above the beam, which gave him a few seconds of ti. VOOOOOM!
Its light was only a few inches below him. The First Dragon Emperor was already raising his head and changing its angle to chase him.
As August arrived below the beam, countless smaller beams of light illuminated the sky. Thousands of densely packed light columns extended from the original beam, creating a maze that August needed to find his way through.
In response, August leaned and allowed his body to naturally fall backward. He did a few spins in the air to increase his montum and rode the side of the light beam until he was almost under it.
That was enough for that particular attack, but the First Dragon Emperor's breath wasn't like any other. As August arrived below the beam, countless smaller beams of light illuminated the sky. Thousands of densely packed light columns extended from the original beam, creating a maze that August needed to find his way through.
'Left. Right. Left. Down. Spin.'
Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! August expertly avoided every single auxiliary beam. He knew exactly where they would appear. He died 43 tis to learn the pattern of the first area alone, and another 68 tis as he morized the further patterns.
The light maze was a large portion of the First Dragon Emperor's attack pattern. They would continue for over ten minutes, tracking August so that he could never escape their golden-white walls.
Still, once he'd morized it, the problem disappeared.
Rather than a difficult attack to get around, this one was an opportunity for August to get close.
As he dodged and whirled, maneuvering through every single beam that appeared, he got closer and closer to the First Dragon Emperor until only a kiloter separated them.
'Now.'
VOOOOOOOM!
August opened his own maw and gathered a ball of mana. It soon transmuted itself into water, and as a sudden unfamiliar property worked its way into the elent, it took on a translucent white color like a hologram.
XIUUU!
It whizzed in a high-pitched tone as its speed reached untold levels. By the ti it reached the forr emperor, it was also an attack capable of leveling a city in one go.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A golden shield covered the First Dragon Emperor, and the breath attack faded.
'Okay.'
The first phase was over. August now had a chance to get as close as possible before the second phase began.
Usually, he would only attempt to attack in the short break between the second and third phases, but he had a different plan in mind this ti.
The First Dragon Emperor was going to assu that he was following a similar pattern because his head was empty, but he emptied his head precisely to form this kind of assumption.
The break between the first and second phases was barely noticeable, but it was a window that August knew he could exploit.
Perhaps this battle would end faster than any other that had taken place in this realm.
However, for the first ti since his arrival, it would end in August's win.
Or, at least, that was the goal.
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