The Moonlight Swordsman

As the new day began, Aizel rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stretched. He looked around and saw that Kalesi wasn't in the room. 

Seems like she has gone somewhere," he thought.

Rising from the bed, he proceeded to the restroom to freshen up.

He came back a few minutes later to find a dragon maid setting the table with some food.

This should be for me; should I ask her about Kalesi?"

[Master, she told us not to speak with anyone]

Yeah, you are right. Let's not risk it and make things difficult for her."

Aizel, clad in the cloak that Kalesi had given to him, approached the table and sat down silently. 

The maid offered a respectful bow before exiting the room.

"Let's see what we got here,"

On the plate, he observed a substantial piece of meat, dwarfing even the size of a steak. A large glass holding a thick, red-colored liquid rested next to it, and a tasty sauce garnished the meat.

The meat's taste exploded when he bit into it. The savory essence of the well-cooked meat mingled seamlessly with the medium-spiced sauce, creating a tantalizing dance on his palate.

The meat's luscious juiciness and the sauce's spicy bite created a flavor profile that he found both harmonic and pleasant.

Damn, what kind of monster meat is that. This tastes so good,"

Indulging in every mouthful with the sauce, he continued in savoring the meat. As the tantalizing aromas waltzed across his palate, he couldn't help but savor every bite.

Now let's check out the drink,"

With a cautious whiff, he raised the glass. His eyebrows arched as a strong odor, like that of blood, drifted into his nose. 

Taking a slow sip, the intense flavor hit his tongue suddenly. It had a powerful effect, and then, something happened.

As if a new source of energy were bubbling up inside, a revitalizing feeling swept over him. In an instant, all the muscle soreness and mental fatigue from his training vanished.

Incredible!"

Kalesi stepped into the room, catching sight of Aizel relishing his meal and the drink.

"Hey... what is this drink?" Aizel asked.

"It's the blood of Wveyrn and also the meat," Kalesi replied as she grabbed a chair and sat beside him,

"What! Aren't they like dragons too? You fed me those in your house?" Aizel asked, looking a little bit shocked and confused.

"We don't consider them Dragons. They are more like lizards. We eat them too, as they also do.

"You can consider them our mortal enemies," Kalesi explained.

Never thought Wveryn and Dragons are the mortal enemies here," Aizel thought.

"So can Wveryn transform too?" Aizel asked.

"Yes, only after reaching Grade III," Kalesi replied.

Interesting,"

"So what are we going to do today?" He asked.

"We are going to practice. You need to train against illusions. It will help you in the Lunar Marsh."

"That's a good idea." Aizel also agreed and nodded.

After finishing his meal, they rose from the table and exited the room. 

Following Kalesi's lead, Aizel avoided prying eyes and kept a low profile. They took a leisurely stroll through the tribal streets as they departed from the house. As Aizel watched the dragons go about their everyday lives, he saw them as humans, each one lost in his own work.

That meat and blood was really good and effective. I might as well hunt some Wveryns on my way." He thought.

[Master, you will kill them and eat them, knowing they might be transformed into humans?]

Below Grade III, right? I don't give a fuck about them. Why should I?"

[Well, you are right in some ways. What about the dragons?]

I might as well try them too in the future, hehe,"

[Master, you are really evil... I like it, fufu]

Arriving at a modest hut, Kalesi knocked on the door, patiently waiting for a response. 

The door finally creaked open after what seemed like an eternity, and the dragon lady inside first let out an irritated sigh. 

"Who the hell is here to disturb... oh my, my queen. It's a pleasure that you arrived at my humble small hut," She greeted with a shift in mood.

"Join with me, Electra,"

"S-Sure my queen," 

Now that Electra was a member of the trio, they set out for a plain field not far from the tribe. Opting to walk, they left the tribe behind.

Electra showed great interest in Aizel during the voyage, looking at him from all angles. Her constant observation made Aizel feel awkward and even furious.

"Wow my queen, I never knew you were friends with the new war god." She spoke, and hearing that made Aizel shocked.

"As expected. I knew you would recognize him anyhow," Kalesi replied.

"Shihi, I mean, the cloak he is wearing is made by me," she said.

"That's why I need you to train him."

"Train him, but how?" Electra asked as she looked a little confused.

"Illusions. Trap him in your illusions again and again until he becomes comfortable in getting out from those. Now I will take my leave," Kalesi explained and then left back towards the tribe. 

"You can now take your hood off. There is no need to worry," Electra said.

Aizel pulled up the hood as Electra continued to examine him from a closer distance.

"Can you stop doing that? It makes me a little uncomfortable," Aizel said.

"Uhh... sorry. I was really interested in you. When I saw you fought despite being a Grade II, I was really taken aback.

"You know we Dragons always respect the strong," She explained.

"Thank you for the compliment."

"So now, the queen has given me tasks to train the way god, I am going to give 200%, Shihih"

Well, that's good to know; she is really into it," Aizel thought.

[It is a good thing master. Now without anything to worry about, we can train peacefully]

You are right,"

"So how are we gonna start," Aizel asked.

"First you need to know something about the illusions. 

"There are two types of them. One which will not hurt you physically, but it will drain and hurt you mentally and emotionally. 

"Another one is those, in which you can be hurt physically," Electra explained.

Aizel attentively listened and nodded after learning about them. 

"Also, the illusion's strength depends on the one who is creating. The stronger the mage, the greater the illusions and its power will be," 

"What about if someone has made an illusion trap with some kind of artifact?" Aizel asked.

"Then it will depend on the artifact power and other things."

"Okay, got it,"

"First, let's train in the physical ones, as they are a little easier than the mental ones. But don't take them too lightly either," Kalesi explained, and Aizel nodded.

Aizel moved away from Electra as she closed her eyes.

When he gazed back at her, the surroundings had transformed into what seemed like a graveyard. As the moon shone brightly over the night sky, the icy air reverberated with faraway howling.

As Aizel took in his surroundings, he noticed that Electra had disappeared without a trace. The illusion had trapped him.

Aizel quickly summoned Sekki and walked carefully across the graveyard.

"So how to get out of this illusion, Sekki?"

[She said this one is physical. So probably we need to defeat her here in order to break out of the illusion]

*HOWL*

Aizel heard a cacophony of screams and saw a legion of canine-like monsters charging at him.

It seemed like these monsters were in a horrific state; some of them were missing eyeballs, and others were missing or partially consumed skin.

"They look like hyenas," Aizel murmured as he started to fight them.

As Aizel attacked the monsters individually, Sekki sliced through their ranks. He sprang into action, sprinting after each of them and killing them instantly. 

However, the echoing howls multiplied, signaling more packs converging on him. 

Amidst them, Aizel spotted larger ones, formidable Grade III monsters, joining the menacing horde.

So, if I die here, I might really die,"

[Yes, Master]

"She must be around here somewhere,"

Aizel, encased in lightning, stepped up his fighting game and adopted a more aggressive approach. Simultaneously, he remained vigilant, attempting to discern Electra's whereabouts.

He had a hard time finding Electra despite fighting for hours. The constant barrage of monster packs continued as if they aimed to deplete his core energy.

Out of nowhere, Aizel leaped into the skies, destroying all of the monsters in the graveyard below with a deluge of lightning and thunder.

In the distance, Aizel spotted a colossal monster, towering over him like a giant. It made him look like a small puppy in front of him.

It pounced with the ferocity of a hideous goblin, its round, brown features belying its enormous club. 

That shit is so ugly,"

[And powerful]

The ground quaked beneath its destructive path, shattering everything in its wake.

"Bring it on, ugly bitch ass monster,"