Training The Core

Moon got up and looked at his surroundings. He was still in the forest where he had collapsed. He quickly gathered the herbs in his basket and fled the place. He kept scolding himself for being dumb and falling asleep there. He decided to hurry and get back home before his mother got worried. 

On his way, he could feel that his body was lighter and he seemed faster. He soon arrived home and found his mother waiting for him outside the house. She had a worried expression and was relieved when she spotted her son. 

"You are finally here! I was so worried. Why did you take so long? I almost followed you. I thought something bad happened to you or one of your brothers caught you. It's good that you are safe."

She hurriedly helped him with his basket and was surprised to find it full. She stared at her son, then at the basket, then carried it inside. When inside, she opened the basket to reveal grade one herbs. All the herbs he had picked had glowing light around them. She was astonished. 

"Did you go deep inside the forest, my son? I told you not to go too deep! Are you hurt?"

"Relax mom. I didn't get hurt. I didn't even go that deep. I mean, I thought I was lost, but when I got up to go home, I just walked out, and I found myself outside. That means I wasn't that deep, right?"

"But how did you get your hands on these powerful herbs that easily?"

"I am your son, mom! Can't you put your trust in me? I got them just lying there, mom. It seemed like there was a beast fight there and the loser died and added nutrients to the soil. See how lucky your son is?"

Moon then told his mom about the dragon core he had obtained. He had initially thought of keeping it a secret, but he remembered he really didn't know a lot about that world, and he could trust his mother. He hoped that she might have some helpful information that he could use. 

His mother was amazed by what he said and decided to try and sense Moon's core. His core had perfectly healed and, what's more, it had turned into a golden dragon core. His mother told him that he had a dragon spirit which, if cultivated, could get a dragon body, and he would be able to shape-shift. Dragon blood was important to a demon, especially one with a royal bloodline. Once a new demon king takes the throne, a dragon is always hunted down and its blood fed to the king. Its scales were made to be fine armor for the demon king and worn during his coronation ceremony. But no one has ever gotten a dragon core. It is said that not all dragons have it. It was only found in dragons with royal blood of the dragon clan. Which meant that he had merged with a royal dragon. 

A merge between a royal demon and a total dragon ment eminence power. Moon's mom urged him not to tell anyone about it until he was strong enough. He had decided that he wanted to train himself in the forest, for that he needed scrolls containing control methods. He also needed to find out what his power is. With a broken core, he had never got to know what his power was. 

In the following days, as his mother made potions to sell and exchange for scrolls, he read and practiced in the forest. He hunted and killed demonic beasts and absorbed their cores. As days went by, his power grew and red vein-like lines showed all over his body. He had learned that he had two powers, unlike everyone who only had one. He had the dragon's breath fire which was combined with flying. He could control fire and create fire from the air. He also had earth-shaking tiger roar which was combined with speed. He could control the movement of the ground. He could even break off a piece of land and lift it in the air. 

As he kept absorbing cores, he had new powers every day. Demons couldn't absorb demon beast cores because they had their own cores and if they tried to absorb the other, their core and veins would explode and they would die. Moon was lucky. He not only got a demonic core that had a royal dragon bloodline but could also absorb more cores in order to be more powerful. 

Due to his physical change, Moon had to cover himself with clothes whenever and wherever he went in order to keep a low profile. After about two months of training and reading, he was heading to the mountains when he heard some commotion on the way. People were talking about a tournament that was going to start soon and the prize for the winner was a lot of demon gold. 

He thought that if he won, the money might help him and his mother very much. Although he wanted to go, he didn't want to risk the safety of his mother if he offended anyone powerful there. He decided to go train first, as he thought more about it. He trained until evening before deciding to go back home. In his bag, he carried raw meat that belonged to a prey he had hunted. That was going to be their meal before bed. 

When he got home, he roasted the meat and told his mother about the tournament. On hearing it, his mother was scared and didn't want him to join, but she encouraged him to join if he wanted to because it would help him get stronger. 

"But it's alright if you don't win, okay? If you meet an opponent that is too strong, don't fight until you get hurt, give up and come home. No pressure, OK?"

"Yes mom, I promise! But you should have more faith in your son!"

That night, before going to sleep, he hurriedly went to town and wrote his name on the paper. Since he was the last one on the list, the paper was collected the next day and taken to the arena. 

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***