"Just kidding, but still your blood is really sweet." Ryan said with a smug smile appearing on his face.
As Ryan was talking, he felt vibrations from Umbra and when he looked at her, he saw that all the blood was getting absorbed at a rapid pace.
"Umbra?" Ryan called out in confusion as he saw a slight glow appearing around the black blade.
"Your weapon is trying to increase its power." Tia said in a slightly flustered voice but Ryan's complete attention was taken by Umbra because the golden glow was getting brighter as they spoke.
After a minute or so the glow started receding and Umbra in her sword form came to view. The edge on the blade looked more shiny as it released a slight golden aura. The hilt itself looked more sturdy but the most prominent change was the golden runes, which were only present in the hilt of the sword but now they spread across the entire blade. This seemed like an addition to the beauty of the blade.
"Ryan, I think I can change into an animal now." Umbra's bit more mature voice rang in while informing Ryan about the changes and new abilities they can use.
"So the first change is you being able to turn into animals?, like any animal?" Ryan saw new possibilities in this power.
"No, I can only change into small animals like birds and squirrels." Her voice held immense excitement because she can finally walk around and not be called a mere weapon to be used by someone.
Ryan was fully aware of this and was really happy for her. He knew that she never liked being in the form of a cold weapon.
"Hey, can you turn into a hamster?" Ryan asked as it was the most fitting form for her.
"Ok." Umbra replied as her body started getting covered by black smoke, the smoke started moving in a circle and after a while the small hands of a hamster became visible. They were mostly black with small nails which were golden in colour. The smoke disappeared and the most cute creature Ryan had ever seen appeared.
Someone saw this creature and disappeared from her seat in an instant. Selene appeared before Ryan with starry eyes while she said "So cute. Can I hold it?"
Ryan looked at her and saw her smiling as he sacrificed Umbra who was cursing in his mind.
"Fuck! Why did this woman come here?" Umbra didn't really like women because she was a little envious of their bodies but she endured Tia and Selene because they were her master's friends.
"A little sacrifice for her happiness. Don't you think so too? Umbra, my dear hamster. You will not change your form until I ask you to." Ryan looked at Umbra with a smile that never reached his eyes.
"Yes, you can play with her." Words that oozed affection left his mouth as he looked at Tia for a bit of explanation.
"My blood was absorbed by your weapon and it aided her growth. As simple as that." She sounded a bit surprised because weapons don't usually evolve like that. Especially when it comes to soul weapons, they evolve as their master gains mastery over the weapons but of course Ryan's weapon did not have any specified form and can change into any weapon.
Tia looked at Ryan who was now looking towards the jet black hamster that had distinctive golden eyes which strangely resembled humans. The black hamster was looking around with great excitement as it was her first time changing into something which is considered "living".
"Tia moving from the topic of her transformation, I noticed that the cracks in my cores have widened and I also noticed a dark orange colour in my red core. Care to explain what's happening?" Ryan asked with a smile. Ryan was not at all worried about these little things because he believed that even if his core has some problem Tia and Selene are more than capable to fix it.
"The orange colour means that the core is ready to expel impurities which are inside it, this is a normal phenomenon and everyone who possesses a mana core needs to go through this process." She said while her hand moved towards Umbra who was being cuddled by Selene at this moment. Tia was also a sucker for cute things but tried to hide it. In this case only Selene and Ryan were present so she thought it wouldn't matter if she caressed the small hamster a bit.
"After you expel a certain amount of impurities your core will change from red to a dark orange colour." She continued in an almost uninterested voice.
"Cores have been classified into six colours: Black which you skipped, Red the current colour of your core, then orange, followed by yellow, silver and white. Each stage is further divided into three shades: dark, rigid and illuminated." She started to gently nudge Umbra's small head with her finger as a bright smile appeared on her elegant face. If anyone saw her like this they'll die from immense shock because Tia was never seen smiling by people from the dragon world.
"As your core evolves you will be able to use mana more freely and in a more purified form." She continued.
"Will it improve on its own or will I need to absorb mana to manually purify it?" Ryan was fine with both outcomes because it will lead.
"Being a dragon allows you to improve your core without putting any effort. Although this is only limited to dragons, some special beings can do something similar to this with a little effort." Her eyes were still locked on the hamster.
"Your soul may rest in peace, Umbra." Ryan transmitted through their connection. Umbra seemed really troubled but didn't get time to escape because her small figure was surrounded by two powerful women.
"Save me Ryan, these witches are planning to make me wear weird clothes. I can see a weird light in their eyes." She pleaded but Ryan being a good man wanted Umbra to socialise with people.
"You monster, help me." She screamed but only light squeaking sounds were heard which provoked the ladies holding her.
"They say one should keep quiet in some situations and you clearly don't know that." Ryan was trying so hard to control his laugh.
"Tia, what should I do now?" Ryan asked with a smirk on his face.
"For now, you need to learn how to fight. I'll use some simulations which will act as your opponents." She waved her hands and a translucent screen appeared out of thin air.
"You will fight monsters, elves and organisms of many different races which I came across while travelling to different planets." Tia said with a small incomprehensible smile.
"Both of us will leave you here alone so that you can fight without any distractions. Oh, just so you know your weapon will be going with us and you will need to make your own weapons using the elements." She said while a blue portal appeared as she proceeded to leave.
"Bye Ryan, I'll see you tonight." Selene said before giving Ryan a warm hug.
The portal collapsed after they left, leaving behind Ryan so he can have some time alone.
"Now then, shall we start a big guy?" Ryan looked at the figure of a big rock golem who was ready to attack any moment. When she said simulation he thought that his enemies will just be projections but seems like he was wrong about it, very wrong.
One might think that this heavy guy would be slow but boy would they be wrong because the moment Ryan materialised an ice spear it disappeared and all that was heard was two things colliding, with one being shattered to pieces.
It was Ryan's ice spear which was weaker than he expected. Although he blocked the attack from the golem who was now high in the air, ready to body slam him. Ryan quickly shot fire balls which were the same size as before.
The golem realising that he was being attacked, curled up and shaped its body like a cannonball which was falling from great height. The Golem was using one of its major attacks which deals severe damage if the person fighting is not killed by it.
Ryan quickly moved out of the target area and a moment later a huge bang was heard. No one would like to stay there and willingly turn into a pile of bones and meat.
'Explosion, I need to blast that guy' Ryan thought while he constantly changed his positions to avoid [swipe] attacks from the not so smart golem. One of the major vulnerabilities of this guy was his limited thinking capability. Other than its natural instincts he could only change paths and avoid obstacles. That was it.
Ryan knew that he could not use his mana recklessly because this golem was just the start. This time he didn't just pour mana in his fire attack but did something more interesting. He increased the kinetics of the atoms and molecules of the attack to turn it into something which can explode after making contact.
Ryan couldn't help but smile as he tweaked it a little to make it less flashy and more effective. His attack changed its basic shape and now looked like a magnum bullet but unlike the normal bullets his father had shown him in the past this was a 100 times more destructive and looked like molten metal was filled inside it.
He then proceeded to lure the ignorant golem who didn't care what Ryan did and attacked without thinking much. Ryan quickly ran to a corner and waited for the golem to arrive and it soon did. The golem used a body slam again.
As it was falling towards Ryan who was just smiling and a moment later he disappeared, the golem was confused but what can it do when it was already falling. Having a heavy body became a disadvantage as Ryan was above him as he finally released the bullet which was ready to complete its task.
The explosive fire bullet pierced the golem's body with a loud bang. Seconds passed but nothing major happened, it looked like the bullet failed its mission but suddenly the golem started melting without making any noise. Almost like someone cut off the sound.
If one noticed carefully they would see that it was exploding but at a very small scale, so it looked like the rock was just melting. One would have to know that melting a rock needs around 600-1,300 degree Celsius temperature, depending on the type of rock one is trying to melt.
Ryan at first wanted his attack to blast this golem's body but changed his idea midway and while keeping the thought of explosion in mind he managed to recreate the attack on a much smaller scale which decreased the mana cost and improved its effect. Every small explosion in his attack held almost half of the total firepower of the previously planned one.
Ryan was already aware that in extended fights he will need to be wise with mana expenditure. No matter how fast his mana regeneration is, he would still need to be careful. Ryan proceeded to monitor the golem's body which was almost liquid now but the explosions kept ravaging its remains.
He couldn't help but smile as he named his new attack which would continue to haunt people in their sleep. He named it [Bullet of annihilation] or one can even call it [BOA].
Ryan was satisfied with his new creation which he can easily create more than a few hundred times. He was holding his laugh which could easily scare grown men.
Ryan felt sudden tremors as he turned his face and saw 10 rock golems ready to attack. He couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha" An almost maniacal laugh resounded from the small figure of Ryan who was letting himself loose from all restraints.
"Sorry for the disgraceful performance. I shall entertain you guys for a while for compensation. I hope you enjoy it." Every word he spoke, [Boa]s kept appearing around him, giving him a look of a hitman out of a fantasy novel.
"And the last one for the boss." A blue [Boa] was conjured by Ryan who had a crazy smile on his face.
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Thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you liked it.
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