Chapter 226: Where Have You Been Sneaking Off To?
The night passed without incident.
Daenerys enjoyed another peaceful night's sleep, while Drogon spent the entire night practicing maintaining his divine domain as a constant passive ability. His control steadily improved, and he even managed to catch a short nap in the process.
The next day, instead of accompanying Daenerys, Drogon continued refining his control over the divine domain.
By evening, he carried Daenerys to the southern edge of the Kingswood and gently set her down.
Stepping off his back, Daenerys looked around in confusion, unable to understand why he had brought her here.
[This is the perfect place to practice magic.]
Shrinking back to his tiny form, Drogon flew to her side.
"Practice... magic?"
Daenerys stared at him with wide eyes.
[That's right. Aim at that tree over there. Think 'Release'... and be careful not to burn yourself.]
Once the divine rune had fused with Daenerys's mind, it established a void channel between them, allowing her to draw upon Drogon's magical power to cast spells.
"But, Drogon... I don't know any magic."
She hesitated, still unconvinced.
[Just do exactly what I say.]
Flying closer, Drogon grabbed her right hand and demonstrated a simple forward thrust.
Frowning slightly, Daenerys mimicked him.
She pulled her hand back to her chest and gently pushed it forward.
Nothing happened.
Watching her limp, half-hearted movement, Drogon couldn't help saying,
[Put a little more force into it.]
She repeated the motion, this time thrusting her arm forward much harder.
Still...
Nothing.
That shouldn't be happening...
Drogon muttered to himself, unable to figure out what had gone wrong.
He looked at Daenerys.
She returned an innocent look that practically said,
I told you—I can't use magic.
Then inspiration struck him.
[Did you think 'Release' in your mind?]
"Oh..."
She blinked uncertainly.
"I... don't think I did."
[Try again. But this time, don't think it—say it out loud while swinging your arm.]
Daenerys considered it for a moment before looking toward a small tree only a few meters away.
Taking a breath, she thrust out her hand.
"Release!"
Whoosh!
A pillar of flame as thick as her arm suddenly erupted from her palm, instantly engulfing the small tree in fire.
"Ah!"
Completely startled by the flames bursting from her own hand, Daenerys instinctively flung her arm wildly, trying to shake them off.
The stream of fire hadn't fully disappeared yet.
As she swung her arm, burning flames splashed across her sleeve and pant leg.
In an instant—
Her clothes caught fire.
Startled, Daenerys hurriedly slapped at the flames on her clothes.
Fortunately, the fire in her right hand had already vanished. Otherwise, frantically patting at it would only have made the flames spread even faster.
Although Daenerys possessed an affinity for fire and wasn't harmed by ordinary flames, her clothing was made of perfectly ordinary fabric.
The moment sparks landed on it, several large holes were burned straight through.
Looking at her scorched clothes, then at the still-burning sapling in the distance, she felt both thrilled and on the verge of tears.
"I should've thought to bring a spare set of clothes."
Even Drogon hadn't expected her to set herself on fire.
"Drogon... since when could I use magic? Why didn't I know about this?"
Despite the embarrassing state of her clothes, excitement overflowed from her voice.
Ever since the encounter with the Heart of the Undying, she had become deeply wary of anything related to magic and the supernatural.
She never imagined that one day she herself would wield magic.
[Since last night.]
"Drogon... I can only use magic because of you... isn't that right?"
The moment she heard his answer, Daenerys immediately understood the reason behind her newfound power.
Drogon nodded.
[Practice a few more times. Just... try not to set yourself on fire again.]
"Okay!"
Calling out confidently,
"Release!"
She swung her arm again.
Another stream of blazing fire erupted from her palm.
This time, she didn't panic.
Her eyes widened as she watched the flames strike another young tree.
After the second successful cast, her confidence soared.
She began swinging her arm over and over, sending jets of fire in every direction, laughing as she played with her newfound magic.
[Now try compressing the flames into a fireball before releasing it.]
Granting Daenerys the ability to wield fire had been Drogon's part.
How she chose to shape and control that fire...
That depended entirely on her.
Rather than long streams of flame, compact fireballs would offer greater precision and explosive power.
Hearing his suggestion, Daenerys raised her right hand.
Fire...
Fire...
Following the image in her mind, a tiny spark slowly appeared in her palm before steadily growing larger.
Once it reached the size of a child's fist, she began trying to reshape it into a sphere through sheer concentration.
Unfortunately...
That level of control was still far beyond her.
The fireball had barely begun rounding out before it suddenly collapsed, scattering flames in every direction.
Luckily, Daenerys reacted quickly enough to avoid getting burned again.
Though the attempt failed, her confidence remained unshaken.
Wiping a few beads of sweat from her forehead, she stretched out her hand once more and began gathering flames again.
Watching the strain on her face, Drogon realized just how difficult fine control over fire truly was.
Not only did she have to regulate the flow of magical power with precision—
She also had to shape the flames at the same time.
The mental burden was enormous.
Adins had only given Drogon a general understanding of how believers cast magic.
Even he knew little about the finer techniques.
For now...
Daenerys would simply have to discover them herself through practice.
Fortunately, she was a quick learner.
After several more attempts, she finally managed to create an oval-shaped fireball.
Although far from perfect, it was already the limit of what she could maintain.
Without hesitation, she swung her arm.
The fireball shot forward.
Boom!
It smashed into a distant tree branch before exploding violently.
Branches and leaves were blasted apart.
The shattered wood instantly burst into flames.
Watching the tiny fist-sized fireball produce such devastating destruction, Daenerys stood frozen in astonishment.
She had never expected a fireball to possess such incredible power.
It was far more effective than the streams of fire she had been releasing earlier.
Standing nearby, Drogon silently evaluated the spell's destructive capability.
The fireball's temperature was at least twice that of ordinary flames.
Theoretically...
If Daenerys ever mastered perfect control, she should eventually be capable of compressing enough magical power to form a fireball the size of a washbasin.
Of course...
That assumed she could one day completely master both shaping and releasing the spell.
The reason its power was so extraordinary wasn't simply because Daenerys was talented.
It was because of Drogon himself—
And the unrestricted authority he had granted her.
Ordinary believers had to first recite a prayer, establish contact with the God they worshipped, and receive temporary permission before casting magic.
Even then, the amount of divine power they could borrow was tightly limited.
Generally speaking, those permissions fell into three distinct levels.
Daenerys, however, was different.
Drogon had opened every restriction.
She could draw upon his magical power freely, anytime and anywhere, without any limitations whatsoever.
After successfully casting her first fireball, she quickly formed another.
This one was rounder...
Larger...
And much faster to create.
Her control improved visibly with every attempt.
Drogon remained by her side, guiding her practice until darkness had completely fallen before finally carrying the still-reluctant Daenerys back to the Red Keep.
Seeing Daenerys return so late—with several large holes burned through her clothes—Jhiqui nearly screamed in alarm.
She thought the queen had been attacked.
Only after seeing the excitement written all over Daenerys's face did she finally relax before asking what had happened to her clothes.
(End of Chapter)