Damion sat on his bed with a relaxed expression on his face, but deep down inside of him, he was seething with rage.
No amount of beating he would eventually give his bullies would ease his frustration and hatred.
He had just seen some medics rush into the room to quickly care for Toby, treating him like a normal human, almost like a prince even.
His wounds were cleaned and delicately healed, and the way in which the female medics touched him only made Damion all the more pissed.
They threw him furtive glances filled with contempt and loathing, but Dragon's Authority, which seemed to have activated again, made the nurses unwillingly ignore him and continue their work diligently.
They worked faster than any medic had even done on him, but he soon ignored them and refocused on the task ahead.
Damion had played a few games growing up, so he understood the mechanics behind them and even knew how to play a few professionally.
The Shadow Dragon System, as he had come to know what the system was called, worked just like any game character's profile. He could see his Skills, Ability, Mana Points and Health Points. He could see his physical stats too, and that was where his confusion began.
He grasped strength and agility as his power output and speed. Constitution covered his Defense, Endurance and Stamina –and a part of his speed and strength too. Then came the Intelligence Stat. He didn't understand what it calculated about him and then displayed in numbers. Was it his IQ, Battle IQ, or just general knowledge of everything?
He thought about it, trying to connect what he knew about himself with what the system displayed. Alas, he got nothing.
He dived more into the workings of his system, and just like that, an hour went by.
Toby was carried away to be cared for thoroughly, and Damion was left alone in his room.
__________
[Swordsmanship- Beginner]
[Skill Description- The way of the Sword is known only to a few, and amongst those few, only a handful seek to reach true Mastery.
Become one with the Sword, and open up Divine Sword paths that lead to the top]
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[Krav Maga- Intermediate]
[Skill Description- You have been taken for granted and looked down upon. Now's your time to fight back and come out on top.
Learn the ancient way of Defense and Offense from the long forgotten Martial Arts, and bring yourself to perfect protection]
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[Shadow Pulse- Lvl 1]
[Skill Description: Your shadow is a wonderous tool that can be used for various purposes.
Release your Shadow in a spherical shape to stop or slow down attacks thrown at you]
[Cost: 1 MP]
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[Dragon's Authority- Lvl 1]
[Skill Description: The Dragon is a Mythical and Legendary creature of unfathomable power, and any other creature with lower status must Kneel.
Debuff the physical stats of any being in a ten meter radius by 10%.
Pressure their mind with your Will and make them succumb to your Authority]
[Cost: 2 MP]
__________
Damion nodded his head after reading the skills again.
To make him use them fluidly in battle, he needed an in depth understanding of them and a greater mastery also.
The skills weren't really flashy, but he could see them helping him greatly. The only thing was just that they didn't have attacking capabilities.
As Damion was making himself understand the system more, a new quest popped up in his view, and he didn't hesitate to see what it contained.
__________
[Quest Description- A Dragon dominates all and is revered by all.
Duel two people older than you and come out on top]
[Quest: Dominate]
[People Defeated: 0/2]
__________
"What. How can I do that?" Damion asked. "I just got this ability and don't even have any attacking skill."
Damion felt a little information stream into his mind, and he paused, thinking. 'There's no time limit?'
He smirked and walked to the bathroom, threw his torn and dirty clothes away, took a bath and then left his room, heading for his next class.
"Just because there's no time limit doesn't mean I should delay, besides, that's two uncompleted quests now,"
"If I can level up and get stronger, then I wouldn't need to worry about anything again."
***
Damion slowed down as he approached the building ahead of him. It was painted a dull blue with black touches to it. It was quite old-school for a building in this era, and Damion was curious about its origins.
The interior of the building was large, and a few students were already seated and waiting.
Most were chatting, and only a few were sitting idly and minding their own businesses. Those ones were in a similar situation with him, but the thing that differentiated Damion from them was that they had an ability. He had one too, but no one knew that yet.
"My MP is full, so I can use Shadow Pulse ten times without fail. The only problem is that Dragon's Authority will be deactivated after that," Damion pondered.
Earlier he had figured out that Dragon's Authority took 2 MP to activate, and that was it. It didn't need to be maintained with more MP, and would only deactivate when it was negated by a target, or he ran out of MP.
He was lucky he didn't have to go through trial and error to know this, and he couldn't help but be thankful for the Blessing of Knowledge and Luck.
Just as Damion was about to find a place to sit, he felt an intense gaze settle on him, and he snapped his head in the direction. He caught a girl staring at him intensely with her dark green eyes, but she hurriedly looked away before he could make out her facial features.
[Candidate Drakaina has been found]
[Would you like to bond?]
"Huh?" Damion uttered before he was suddenly barged into by someone.
"Watch where you're going, moron," Damion instinctively said.
He stared at the person who had just bumped into him, and looked them dead in the eye. It turned out to be one of his bullies, Drax Cottin, and this only made Damion more confident… and angry.
"Are you talking to me?" Drax said menancingly.
"Did I stutter?" Damion replied, his voice getting louder as he continued to stare at the dumbfounded Drax. "Piss off!"
In that moment, Drax snapped out of his shock and took a step closer to Damion, a tight frown plastered on his face. "I sure hope you aren't talking to me, cause if you are…"
"Big words coming from a loser like you. If you dare, why don't you challenge me to a duel onstage."
There was a certain silence that descended when Damion spoke, and immediately after, murmurs and mocking laughter resounded sonorously.
Drax paused for a second, then suddenly let out a booming laugh. The two boys standing behind him laughed too, and it spread to the accumulating students in the building. Soon, it seemed like they were going to bring the building down with their waves of laughter.
"Hahaha, do you all see this idiot?" Drax looked around and asked, his finger pointed towards Damion.
He shot Damion a derisive stare, and he opened his mouth, practically growling out his next words, "I accept."