Chapter 318 (Patreon)

Chapter 318

Cirrus got to know the group, and everyone immediately liked her. Naturally, Aura immediately challenged her to a duel because of her goal of fighting every elder dragon there is. Unable to say no to a good match, the cloud dragon agreed, and the group returned to Sophia's domain to watch the duo having their fight there.

“Are you ready?” Aura and Cirrus had gotten away from the group and faced each other on the plain with roughly 200 meters of distance between them when the wolf addressed her.

“Ready when you are, my dear.” The dragon’s voice was overflowing with confidence.

Aura didn’t need to be told twice, and her expression changed into a grin that revealed her sharp teeth. Instantly after, she kicked the ground with her paws and lunged forward with such force that she ripped four craters in the grass caused by her immediate acceleration. She wanted to test the grounds and decided to just catapult herself into the dragon to see what would happen before using magic.

Naturally, Cirrus didn’t feel too threatened by such an easy attack. She didn't physically react at all, but a thick layer of fog suddenly appeared in front of her that quickly grew into a dense wall of cloud between her and the wolf.

Aura dove headfirst into it and stopped immediately because the nullified all of her momentum before the wolf had even halfway entered it. She bounced back and briefly shook herself to get rid of the moisture that was now clinging to her fur, originating from the cloud.

“Well, it was worth a try~.” The wolf let out a small chuckle once she was dry again.

“If you say so.” Cirrus didn’t sound too impressed. “How about we play a little game of hide and seek?” Not waiting for her answer, the dragon started generating even more clouds before the entire area around them was covered in a layer of fog so thick that she completely disappeared inside of it.

Regular people would be completely lost and blind inside such a predicament, but Aura couldn’t care less. Activating her detection magic, she found the massive dragon in an instant and went right for her.

“You don’t actually think a bit of fog would blind me, right?” Saying so, the wolf readjusted her pose and shot two air blades right at the dragon hidden in the clouds. They were aimed right for her head, but the dense cloud matter slowed the air down enough that nothing more than a gentle breeze hit the dragon.

“Both of us are testing the other after all." There was a hint of amusement in the dragon's voice as it echoed through the white mist. “Still, locating me with that much precision is quite impressive.”

“I do have some handy tricks~.” Aura enjoyed the praise, and naturally, she had no intention of telling her that Cirrus is glowing like a beacon to her thanks to the detection magic.

“Fascinating.” Immediately after, Cirrus increased her efforts to conceal herself. The plain got flooded with even more cloud matter, so thick it basically looked like the default configuration of Sophia's domain again. Everything around Aura was completely white. However, it was very different in a rather important detail. There was no visibility at all. Even if something were two meters in front of the wolf, she still would only be able to see white. On top of that, the humidity around her was incredible as well. After all, Aura was basically in the middle of a cloud.

It didn’t stay like that for too long, though. In an attempt to confuse Aura’s senses even more, Cirrus began to introduce movement to the ultra-dense fog. Soon enough, the wolf found herself in the middle of a cloud-whirlwind that made it impossible to pinpoint directions or navigate at all in any logical way.

Thankfully, Aura didn’t need to rely on logical tactics. In fact, the dragon’s increased efforts made absolutely zero difference to her. Using her trusty detection magic for even a fraction of a second, she was still able to instantly pinpoint Cirrus’s new location with ease.

This time, she shot a roughly one-meter-wide fireball, once again, directly at the head of the dragon. It tore through the fog like a bullet and only fizzled out once it was mere centimeters away from her head. The moisture in the clouds eventually won against the fire. That, or Aura knew exactly how much power she had to put into the flames to perfectly stop right where she wanted it to.

“I don’t want to be rude or anything, but has anyone ever told you that you’re rather bad at hide and seek?” The hole in the cloud matter lasted long enough that Aura could show Cirrus an extra smug grin as she looked in her direction.

“How?” There was more than just a hint of frustration in the dragon’s voice. “My clouds should mask anything. No view, no sound, no smell, your senses shouldn’t be working at all. I’m hiding my presence as well, so there’s no way your instincts could locate me.” While Cirrus wasn't concerned about being in danger, she didn’t like how her clouds seemed to be completely useless so far, so she decided to remove them for the time being.

“Well, what can I say?” Being able to see again, Aura tilted her head to the side while looking right at the frustrated dragon. “You using magic to create those clouds and blocking my sense only made you light up even more like a beacon to me. I couldn’t have missed you even if I tried with how much magic you’re radiating.”

“Hmm? Wait a moment!” Cirrus’s eyes suddenly shot open. “You can sense magic, can you not? Not just when it’s being used or through your natural instincts, but you can detect me, right? Just like how I use my clouds to sense the flow of magic around me.”

“I use magic to detect magic.” Aura had a change of mind and decided that it would be more fun to tell her about it. “If anything, you blocking all my regular senses made it easier for me to pinpoint your exact location. In fact, I must thank you because I had some trouble getting fine readings from my detection ability, and realizing that it works better if I filter out everything else will immensely help me train it further."

“You’re welcome.” Cirus rolled her eyes while letting out a deep sigh. “I see, though. I admit that I underestimated you. I knew that you were a formidable sparring partner, but I’m still surprised. Although, that’s on me. If you really broke off Kelrax’s horn, you’re not even warmed up, are you?”

“Only one way to find out~.” The wolf was having a great time.

“I guess it’s time for me to start trying as well, huh?” The dragon’s voice turned more energetic again. “Now that I know how you’re finding me so easily, let’s see how you deal with this.”

Just like before, Cirrus flooded the entire plain with a thick layer of cloud matter so dense that looking through it became impossible. This time, however, they weren’t white. Instead, every single particle of the vapor shone in the same pearlescent glow as the dragon herself, filling Aura’s view entirely with her glow.

“Do you think it will confuse me if it looks pretty?” Aura tilted her head. “I’m not Sophia, you know? This changes nothing for as I will just… Hmm?” The wolf activated her detection magic as usual, but suddenly stopped talking.

"What's wrong, my dear wolf?" The dragon's voice sounded incredibly smug. Furthermore, the sound came from all around her at the same time, as if Cirrus was everywhere. "Having trouble finding me?" At the same time as she said those words, her massively long tail came swinging at Aura from her left, and the wolf only barely managed to avoid it as she felt the cloud moving just a fraction of a second before the tail appeared out of nowhere. It still ended up grazing the fur on her back, too.

"Huh?" Looking rather bewildered, Aura's eyes darted all over the place as she moved her head in every direction possible while trying to figure out where the dragon was in the middle of the pearlescent fog. “Why does it feel like you’re everywhere and nowhere at once?!”

“I guess you weren’t listening when I introduced myself, huh?” Cirrus let out a small chuckle. "I am one with the clouds. That wasn't a metaphor. I am the clouds, and the clouds are me."

“That makes no sense!” Aura reacted with a snarl as she dodged another swing of the dragon’s tail. “If you elder dragon bunch could shape-shift into their elements, Kel would’ve long done that. That guy likes to boast way too much to keep that a secret.”

“Who knows~.”

“No, that’s definitely not it.” The wolf shook her head. “Why would you still be trying to hit me with your tail, then? You’re flooding your clouds with your internal raw magic, aren’t you? It being everywhere blinds my detection, and I can't pinpoint your body.” She concentrated for another moment to make sure of it. “A clever distraction, but it also leaves you vulnerable.”

Realizing that she couldn’t rely on her senses and detection magic anymore, Aura decided to change her approach to a more direct one. At first, she created a massive whirlwind with her in the center before combining it with fire magic as well, turning it into a massive, flaming tornado that instantly burned away the cloud matter around her.

Naturally, Cirrus had no intention of letting her do as she pleased. Before the flames consumed all of the mist, the dragon hardened them and created a solid dome that trapped the wolf inside of it.

The plain grew silent for a moment, but the hardened, pearlescent cloud dome eventually turned bright red. A few seconds later, it seemed to melt before suddenly cracking and shattering in a massive explosion. Afterward, the raging fire inside instantly consumed the entire mist in the plain.

Once the flames calmed down, the area had visibly changed. The grass was completely gone, and everything was covered in a thin layer of black ash and soot. Aura and Cirrus, who were both completely unharmed, stood right in front of each other as they showed their sparring partner an expression that was a mix between a glare and a smirk.

“Draw?” The dragon’s voice suddenly grew softer.

“A draw sounds good to me.” Aura also relaxed and reacted with a small nod. “I learned enough to know that the two of us are going to have a lot of fun together.”

“Indeed.” Cirrus felt the same. “It was supposed to be a test of strength, and now I know you mean business. I look forward to more matches in the future.”

“Likewise.”

The duo decided to leave it at that for the time being because it was only meant to get to know each other better and gauge their strength before going all out on each other soon.