CHAPTER FOUR: TRAINING BEGINS
"Bored Dragon Brain = Dangerous Ideas"
First-Person | Velmir Elvaris
Five years of seclusion.
To most people, that sounds like a prison sentence.
To me?
It was a training arc, cooking show, science experiment, and cultural crash course all wrapped in a five-year-long Rimuru-themed vacation.
At least… it started that way.
And then I got bored.
✦ Morning Routine: Slash, Burn, Repeat
Every morning, I stood barefoot in the courtyard, shirtless and dramatically overposed—not because I had to, but because it felt correct.
A sword hung loosely in my grip. Custom-forged from asteroid metal, fused with predator-enhanced meteorite alloys. Elegant. Thin. Unreasonably sharp.
I blended traditional sword techniques with anime flair—samurai katas, fencing thrusts, spear-style arcs. At one point, I even tried posing like a Bleach character.
I once sliced a falling leaf in half while sipping tea.
Twice.
Then whispered "Bankai" and immediately tripped over a rock.
So… progress.
[Skill Acquired: Weapon Mastery – Blade (Advanced).]
[Subskills Unlocked: Flowstep | Mana Edge | Kinetic Redirection.]
✦ Magic & Elements: A Draconic Buffet
Magic training was, in a word, delightful.
Air and water came naturally. I'd already spent weeks flying and skimming the ocean; commanding them felt like flexing extra fingers I didn't know I had.
But then… I got ambitious.
I stomped a foot—just to test a theory—and the garden exploded. Jagged stone pillars erupted like angry sculptures.
[Skill Acquired: Earth Manipulation.]
"…Okay, cool. Did not mean to redecorate the garden, though."
Then came fusion.
I tried combining all three elements—air, water, and earth—in one experimental blast. The result?
A small tornado.
Which snapped my meditation tree clean in half.
[Subskill Acquired: Elemental Fusion (Stage I) – Unstable.]
[Reminder: Host is not immune to self-inflicted disasters.]
"Thanks, Sage. Really helpful."
[Sarcasm Detected.]
Later, I cooked some incredibly spicy curry.
It melted part of my tongue.
[Resistance Acquired: Poison Resistance – Level 1.]
"…Wait. I can eat my way to resistance?"
[Correct. Predator stomach analyzes consumed matter for mutation and adaptability.]
…
Guess who ate a Carolina Reaper on purpose?
✦ Lightning and Fire: Because Subtlety Is Overrated
I started experimenting with friction and air pressure.
Tried rubbing my hands together like a cartoon villain.
On the twelfth try—zap.
[Skill Acquired: Lightning Manipulation.]
A few days later, I tried heating air through magical ignition points.
The result?
A very small wildfire in the courtyard.
[Skill Acquired: Fire Manipulation.]
I put it out with a sheepish grin and a water spell.
Then carved "DO NOT TRY AGAIN" into the stone floor.
I will, of course, ignore that note later.
✦ Cooking: The Most Dangerous Magic of All
Cooking became an obsession.
I tried everything—handmade soba, katsudon, Thai curry, dumplings, risotto. I recreated anime food scenes frame by frame. I even reverse-engineered Food Wars dishes, minus the melodramatic stripping.
Once, I made a dish so spicy it breathed actual flame.
[Fire Affinity Boosted.]
[Taste Acquired: Explosive Flavor. Literal.]
I didn't die.
Which probably triggered Poison Resistance – Level 2.
But I did cry.
Twice.
✦ Piano, Paintings, and Existential Panic
Afternoons turned quiet.
I learned piano. Every Ghibli song. Every Yiruma ballad. I composed a few pieces that even Sephiroth would cry to.
Music became therapy.
I marathoned the entire MCU for research. Cried during Your Name. Whispered "spoiler alert" before Endgame out of ritual respect.
I tried painting once.
It looked like a banana had an existential crisis.
Art… may not be my calling.
✦ Business Stuff: Turns Out I'm a CEO
By Year Two, I got curious.
I started reading through the companies Great Sage built while I was unconscious.
Elvaris Enterprises wasn't a shell company.
It was a sprawling global network—real estate, cybersecurity, green energy, luxury fashion, underground arcane research disguised as think tanks.
I skimmed a few documents.
"…Sage, why do I own a crypto-mining rig in Switzerland?"
[Diversification.]
"…Why do I have a perfume brand called Breath of Dragons?"
[Brand synergy.]
"…Why is it number one in South Korea?"
[Marketing campaign: 'Smell Like a Legend.']
I stopped asking questions.
And started managing them.
I reviewed accounts. Rebranded divisions. Sent charitable funds to war zones. Introduced AI ethics standards to rogue labs.
I wasn't just pretending to be human anymore.
I was becoming someone worth following.
[Skill Acquired: Governance – Global Strategy (Tier I).]
✦ Energy Problems & Very Bad Ideas
I had one problem.
Magicules.
My Convergence skill converted ambient energy into magic… slowly. Full recovery took about three days after heavy use.
I needed more.
So naturally, I asked Great Sage:
"Can I eat the sun?"
[Denied.]
"…A nuclear reactor?"
[Partial permission granted. Predator may absorb condensed energy cores for accelerated regeneration.]
"…Wait. Are you saying if I ate a nuclear plant, I'd be fine?"
[Correct. However, geopolitical consequences: High.]
"So… that's a maybe."
Then Sage added:
[Alternative Plan: Consume Stark Industries' Arc Reactor. Energy density sufficient for permanent regeneration loop.]
"…What."
[Monitoring Arc Reactor development. Estimated availability: within five years.]
"…You're planning to eat Tony Stark's heart battery."
[Only if approved.]
"…YOU ARE A MENACE."
[Thank you.]
✦ Final Thoughts
And so here I was.
Four years into isolation.
Wielding a sword that could cut steel. Wings that could part clouds. Magic that responded like breath. A heart full of music. A spice drawer filled with danger. And a possibly unethical plan to eat a superhero's power core.
One night, I stood on the rooftop.
The stars shimmered quietly above me.
"I miss people," I whispered.
Not chaos. Not crowds.
Just… someone else.
But I wasn't ready yet.
Not until I could walk into the world as more than a mystery.
As a man.
A leader.
A dragon who knew why power mattered—and why restraint mattered more.
I still had a year left.
And when I finally stepped into the light…
The world wouldn't know what hit it.
But it would smell amazing doing it.
[END OF CHAPTER FOUR]