Dragon System: Red Dragon Legacy-Chapter 40: Training with Lilian

The next morning, everything seemed normal, although both Orion and Lilian hadn’t gotten much sleep. Still, they both woke up early.

This time, Orion didn’t need anyone to wake him. He took a cold shower for obvious reasons and then went to the dining room—but Lilian wasn’t there.

He was so used to seeing Lilian sitting in the dining room every time he came that it felt strange not to see her.

"If you’re looking for Lady Lilian, she’s at the back of the mansion, by the training ground. I’ll take you there after you finish your breakfast," Sofia said with a warm smile.

After finishing his meal, Orion followed Sofia to the training ground. Lilian was already there, hard at work.

She wore a sleeveless top and tight pants, swinging her sword as sweat dripped from her hair to her lips.

Orion looked up at the sky and silently cursed every god he could think of. Why are you guys torturing me? He was already pent up, and now seeing Lilian like this... it was almost too much to handle....

He really deserved a medal for self-control.

After taking a few deep breaths to erase the inappropriate thoughts from his mind, he approached Lilian.

"Working hard, I see," Orion said.

Lilian turned to him. "Yes. I wanted some early-morning exercise, but it quickly turned into a full-blown training session."

Orion was impressed, "that’s very comandable. Do you mind if I train with you"

"Of course. Just pick a weapon and change your clothes," she said, pointing toward a small hut labeled as the changing room.

Orion changed into comfortable clothes from the changing room, picked up a spear from the armory, and walked onto the training ground. Lilian raised an eyebrow.

She had clearly seen him using a sword when they first met, fighting the bandits.

"Aren’t you a swordsman? Why are you using a spear now?" she asked.

"I like to dabble in multiple weapons—spear, sword, whatever I can. Expanding my skills," he replied.

Lilian tilted her head thoughtfully. "That’s admirable, but not very efficient. Spreading yourself too thin can hinder your mastery of any weapon. Don’t be a jack of all trades and master of none. I suggest you choose a primary weapon and focus on it first."

"I know," Orion said. "I’m learning all of this to create my own fighting style—the one I’ve envisioned. It’s a technique that uses multiple weapons at once," he added, his eyes lighting up. He was clearly excited about it.

"Your own fighting style?" Lilian smiled."Your own fighting style?" Lilian smiled. "Using multiple weapons in a fight does have its advantages, I’ll admit, but it requires proficiency with each weapon—and then the ability to sync them together. That’s a very ambitious task. But knowing you, I think you might just pull it off." She was impressed by Orion’s commitment and ambition.

"Do you want to spar with me? It’ll help us get used to each other’s techniques," she added.

"Yes, I’d love to," Orion replied.

They took their positions. Orion noticed that the blades were dulled to prevent any fatal accidents.

"Ready?" Lilian asked.

"Ready," Orion replied with a smirk and lunged at Lilian.

But Lilian barely moved. She twisted just enough for him to miss and quickly caught the hand holding his spear.

"Your technique is complex and advanced, but you can’t utilize it fully. You rely on strength and stamina rather than skill. I guess you haven’t had much training with this technique," Lilian observed, exposing Orion’s weakness.

"I know," he sighed, recalling the short time Ember had trained him. If he had trained under her for just one more month, he might have been better.

"I can’t teach you your fighting style since it’s different from mine, but I can give pointers," she said, and what followed wasn’t sparring so much as Lilian scolding him on his mistakes and showing him better techniques.

Three brutal hours later, both were exhausted. Sofia appeared with refreshing drinks, and they decided to take a break.

"So, what did you discuss with the priestess yesterday? You didn’t seem happy," Orion asked as he gulped down fresh orange juice. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"You’re right. She didn’t have good news for me. But it’s confidential; I swore an oath not to disclose it," Lilian replied.

Orion let it go, since it didn’t concern him, and instead asked about the information he really wanted: the ancient dragons and the demon queen.

"Hey, Lilian," he said, serious now. "How much do you know about the ancient dragons?"

"I know what everyone knows. They were godlike creatures who were the first to roam the earth. Didn’t your master tell you anything about the primordial times?"

"Primordial?" Orion asked.

"It’s just as it sounds—it was the time at the very beginning of the world," she explained. "And it ended with the Primordial War." She looked at him as if he were some hopelessly clueless bastard.

’Primordial War... that must be referring to the fight between Ember and the other ancient dragons,’ he thought.

"Do you know anything about the Red Dragon?" he asked.

Lilian’s eyes lit up at the mention of the Red Dragon. "Of course. Everyone knows her. She is as respected as a goddess in this part of the world." She clearly held the Red Dragon in high regard.

Her expression then darkened. "But the other dragons envied her power. She was the strongest and closest to a divine being, and they tried to kill her in the name of balance... selfish bastards," she gritted her teeth.

So far, Orion had only been able to confirm information he already knew. But one thing did surprise him: people seemed to hold Ember in great respect.

When he had heard her story from Ember herself, he had expected she would be portrayed as the villain.

Seeing how much Lilian admired Ember, Orion really wanted to tell her that she was actually his teacher. But he controlled himself.

Lilian then laughed. "Honestly, this knowledge is so basic that even a baby could know it. Talking to you feels like talking to someone from another world—hahaha."

Orion smirked internally. ’Only if you knew...’

"And the demon queen? What do you know about her?" he asked cautiously.

Lilian narrowed her eyes. "What does the demon queen have to do with the primordial times?"

Wait... do they not know the demon queen is Ember’s daughter?

"I mean... how powerful was she? Just curious."

"Well, it took seven heroes to seal her. They couldn’t even kill her. That should tell you how strong she was," she said.

Orion nodded, realizing that pressing further could get him into trouble. So he asked the question that had been in his mind since he met Lilian.

"By the way, why do you call them candidates and not just heroes?"

"It’s because we’re not fully heroes yet. To become a hero, we must pass the Hero Trial. It’s a trial that tests our determination, willpower, and how we face our greatest fears. If someone fails, they are stripped of the Hero Candidate title." Her eyes becoming serious, she was clearly thinking about what her own trial would be like.

"Ohhhhh"

"Anyway," Lilian said, standing up, "I think we should spar with each other more often. I had a lot of fun training with you."

"Really? Can we? I’ve already learned a lot in this short time training with you, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to continue now," Orion said eagerly.

Lilian let out a dark smile. "Well then, let’s begin, shall we?"