The colossal dragon, Zephyrus, loomed over Ronaldo, an expectant glint in his ancient eyes. "Now, show what you've got," he rumbled, his voice echoing through the vast, ancient forest.
"Uhm, how?" Ronaldo replied, bewildered, his human mind struggling to grasp the concept of wielding magic. This isn't like a video game with a handy tutorial or an office manual.
"Just feel the power rushing throughout your body, mainly on your body's gateways," Zephyrus instructed, his immense head lowering slightly as if trying to impart a profound, yet simple, truth.
"But I don't know exactly how!" Ronaldo, being Ronaldo, panicked. He threw a series of wild, uncoordinated punches into the air, grunting with each futile swing. "Iyah! Wata! Boom! Paw! Eeeeeeyah!" He looked at Zephyrus, hoping for some recognition, some sign that he was doing something right, but the dragon's expression remained unchanged, a stoic observer to his flailing.
Zephyrus just stared, a flicker of something akin to exasperation in his gaze. Then, with a sudden, thunderous roar, he let out such a loud growl that Ronaldo was lifted from his feet, sent tumbling into a deep, shadowy cave formed by the giant, intertwining roots of the cardinal tree. "I've had enough of your idiotic actions!" Zephyrus bellowed, his voice vibrating through the very earth.
"What should I do then? How do you expect a reincarnated office man, without any clue where he is or what magic is, let alone how to use it at all?" Ronaldo's voice echoed loudly from the depths of the root-cave as he explained himself, scrambling, reaching for some vines to climb out of where he was stuck. The air in the roots was damp, earthy, and strangely resonant with the tree's immense power, a power Ronaldo was currently failing to tap into.
"Hurry up!" Zephyrus urged, a hint of impatience in his tone.
"Okay, okay, but can you lend me a hand here? Your claws are huge; they can cut these roots!" Ronaldo pleaded, peering up through the tangle of thick roots, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mighty dragon.
Zephyrus, again, angrily growled so loud it shook the very air around them, dislodging more loose soil and small stones. Then, with a powerful beat of his wings, he flew towards where Ronaldo's voice was coming from. Zephyrus extended one massive claw, carefully but firmly grasping a thick section of roots near Ronaldo, and with a mighty pull, flew high, effortlessly hoisting Ronaldo out of the treacherous root-cave.
"Woah, if you had done that before, we could have had a formal, no-screaming conversation, sir!" Ronaldo exclaimed, brushing dirt from his new, ethereal body. He watched, fascinated, as the giant claw carefully released the roots, letting them swing back into place.
Suddenly, a pile of loose roots and dirt fell from above, directly onto Ronaldo. "Really? So, we're going to be like this for the rest of the day?" Ronaldo sighed, shaking off the debris. He just accepted his fate. Zephyrus flapped his wings again, and this time, a precise gust of wind, almost gentle, whisked the remaining roots away from Ronaldo. Ronaldo, still holding onto a ground root for balance, looked up at the dragon with a dull expression on his face.
I wish I could be a dragon like you too, you know, a conversational dragon to dragon. Aha! A sudden, peculiar thought sparked in Ronaldo's mind. Could I? He looked straight at Zephyrus, a mischievous glint in his eye, and whispered, "Copy."
[You cannot copy an appearance of other livings]
Ronaldo blinked. "Hey, you're the one who keeps talking to me after my death and when I touched the tree." He glanced around, realizing he was addressing the disembodied voice in his head, not Zephyrus.
[Nep] the system chimed again, a subtle, almost imperceptible sound.
"What are you, and who are you?" Ronaldo pressed, a flash of frustration in his eyes.
[…] The system remained silent.
The dragon growled, a low rumble that vibrated through the air. Ronaldo flinched. "Oh, sorry, it's not you. I just imagined something. Where are we at?" He hoped Zephyrus hadn't noticed his strange conversation with thin air. The dragon just growled again, a dismissive sound, and then, instead of watching Ronaldo show off his ability, he simply flew away, leaving Ronaldo alone once more.
Zephyrus flew away to do his timely patrol of his domain, his massive form disappearing among the colossal tree branches. Meanwhile, Ronaldo was left behind, a small, transparent figure in a world of giants. He walked towards the base of the massive tree, feeling its ancient power thrumming beneath his ethereal feet. He sat, leaning against its immense trunk, and began to whistle a tune he vaguely remembered from his old life – perhaps a jingle from a coffee commercial or an elevator music classic. He just observed the beautiful scenery of the forest, the vibrant greens, the distant mountains, and the endless canopy above. It was, despite the bizarre circumstances, a truly breathtaking place.
After his patrol, which seemed to last only a short while to Ronaldo, Zephyrus returned, landing with a soft thud that still shook the ground. "Have you figured it out?" Zephyrus asked, his voice resonating with an unyielding patience.
"Sir, I really can't do it!" Ronaldo admitted, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "I don't know where to start! It's not like I have a mana bar or a skill tree popping up in front of me."
"Because you didn't try!" Zephyrus retorted, his voice gaining a sharper edge. "There are many ways to channel the power within you. Like me, I can use it mostly on my wings." Zephyrus demonstrated, with a single, powerful flap of his leathery wings. A gust of concentrated wind, a powerful blast, erupted from beneath them, tearing through a section of the ancient forest. Trees were uprooted, earth was churned, and a clear path of destruction was carved into the dense foliage.
"Woww, that's amazing!" Ronaldo stood up in awe, his eyes wide, clapping his hands instinctively like an excited child at a magic show. The raw power on display was unlike anything he had ever witnessed.
"Now it's your turn," Zephyrus said, his gaze fixed on Ronaldo, expecting a similar display.
"You just destroyed your forest!" Ronaldo said, concerned, pointing at the newly cleared patch of ground. He's so powerful, but a little destructive, isn't he?
"It will regrow," Zephyrus dismissed, a slight shrug of his colossal shoulders. "So, let me see your ability now."
Ronaldo closed his eyes, focusing. He stretched his hand forward, remembering the system's prompt when Zephyrus had demonstrated his wing ability. This is it. This is my chance to show him I'm not completely useless.
[do you want to copy Zephyrus's winged ability]
"Yes," Ronaldo thought, the word forming clearly in his mind, feeling a strange surge of energy flow through him, a mirroring sensation of the power Zephyrus had just displayed.
"Wild Wind West, paste!" Ronaldo shouted, extending his hand further. A torrent of wind, far more concentrated and powerful than anything he could have imagined, erupted from his palm. It wasn't just wind; it was a swirling vortex that shot skyward, parting the clouds directly above them, revealing a patch of impossibly blue sky that seemed to stretch into infinity. The force of it rustled Zephyrus's scales and sent a shiver through the colossal tree itself.
Zephyrus stared, his massive head tilted, a deep rumbling sound emanating from his chest. This kid is built different. He can copy abilities. Just to prove I'm correct… A flicker of genuine interest, almost awe, crossed the dragon's ancient face. Zephyrus then showed off another ability. "You can also channel your power through your body's gateways. Like on my part, I can use fire by using my mouth." Zephyrus opened his maw, and from deep within his throat, he breathed a stream of transparent fire into the air. The flames danced invisibly, but the heat was palpable, causing the winds around them to become warm and heavy. Ronaldo just stood there, hugging himself with a sudden change of temperature, mesmerized by the almost magical warmth.
[do you want to copy a transparent dragon fire breath ability]
"Er-emmm, yep." Ronaldo responded to the system, a strange mix of excitement and trepidation bubbling within him.
[transparent dragon fire breath has successfully been copied. You can now paste it.]
"Okay, let's try it in a different way," Ronaldo thought, a plan forming in his mind. He smirked.
"Now use your mouth to breathe fire. Just a little flame will do to show off your ability," Zephyrus ordered him, his eyes narrowed, anticipating what might come next from this unusual human.
When Ronaldo heard the command, he was caught off guard, completely frozen. He wants me to breathe fire? Like a dragon? His mind raced, processing the sheer absurdity of the request. "Ye-ye-yes, s-sir," Ronaldo stammered, then, without conscious thought, a primeval roar tore from his throat. It wasn't a human scream, but a deep, guttural sound that resonated with the very essence of the dragon Zephyrus. The sky, already disrupted by Ronaldo's previous display, reacted violently. Clouds churned, thunder cracked, and the sky darkened, forming ominous, ash-colored clouds that swirled overhead.
Before Ronaldo could even process what had happened, Zephyrus moved. With a swift, powerful tail flick, he smashed Ronaldo, sending him flying right through a wall of roots, a new hole created in the intricate underground network.
"Ow, it comes out naturally!" Zephyrus said, observing the chaos with an almost detached amusement.
While Ronaldo was gliding and falling from the branches, he scratched his head. He landed with a soft thud against a root. "Aw, you did it purposefully!" he accused, standing up and dusting himself off. Zephyrus, in response, simply radiated his defining aura, a subtle pressure that filled the air, a silent reminder of his immense power.
"Ah yeah, yeah, everything happens for a reason," Ronaldo muttered, trying to regain some semblance of dignity.
"Now I know why I couldn't sense any ability in you, as your innate ability is copying others' abilities," Zephyrus stated, his voice now serious, laced with a new understanding. "You know that it is dangerous and powerful if honed to its very purpose, Ronaldo."
"Yeah, I know, but I was reborn with this kind of ability, like I didn't ask for this," Ronaldo defended himself, a hint of frustration in his tone. One minute I'm an office worker, the next I'm in a fantasy world with powers I don't understand, and a dragon is my reluctant mentor.