Dragon Necromancer: Starting With First Dragon Bloodline-Chapter 26: Dragon Gaze

[Ding!]

[Second Mental threshold unlocked]

[Mind development progress]

[Description:]

[Overall efficiency in focus, mana perception, memory retention, and mana manipulation significantly improved]

[Progression:]

[Threshold 2 out of 7 unlocked. (Threshold 7 represents the peak of human potential) Further growth requires regular effort and recovery]

’Hell yeah!’ Noa screamed in his mind.

His eyes fluttered upon reading the final line of the text. He could also feel it...

The ease of forming clear thoughts in his mind, the decision-making speed, and the way particles crawled onto his skin.

’Let’s see what we can do,’ he lamented and nodded at Ashe.

Then, Noa pooled shadow particles in his palm, checking their condition.

When Haric had first explained this concept, and Noa tried to emulate it, mana flickered before linking together—only to fall apart each time.

But this time—

When Noa pushed them, adding a will of his own, the flowing particles didn’t crumble.

They bent the way he wanted. Almost!

But he was getting there.

The Second Mental Threshold increased his mana capacity. His perception of it grew deeper, fuller, and he could even feel the destructive power he could summon from it.

Still—

’I have a long way to go,’ Noa realized, and tried to sense what Ashe was up to.

She lay in the shadows, silently pulling threads and weaving them to give Noa the extra push he needed to shape them.

Noa’s augmented mind tracked every change she made.

He also didn’t miss a single heartbeat of hers, softly approving of her attempts to play a supporting role.

And to her credit, Ashe was doing great.

If not for her and her help, Noa would have had a harder time unlocking this threshold.

As he was playing around with mana particles, the duration of her uncongeniality ran out, revealing her completely.

Instead of looking dejected, the worm pulsed at Noa.

Her cute, round eyes peered into him and settled back on his shoulder with an approving pulse.

As for Noa, he nodded at her and pinched her tough skin.

It was still cold to the touch.

Just like the shadows that still filled his palm.

Yes, they didn’t collapse, but they gave Noa a harder time manipulating and shaping them into something useful.

He had yet to find the correct way or even practical spells to handle them.

Just because he could now shape mana didn’t mean he immediately knew how to utilize it in countless ways other tamers were aware of.

Hell, Noa didn’t even know what path to take.

Be it warrior or mage, each had strengths he didn’t want to give up.

That’s why Noa’s greedy nature came into play.

He decided to walk both paths at once. And even if the world told him it was impossible, Noa was confident in achieving it nonetheless.

The ancient knowledge taught him a lot.

It taught him foreign concepts that most people from this world weren’t even aware of.

Though it didn’t directly show him what to do, the information was more than enough for hope to spark in his mind.

And armed with an understanding of how beasts worked, Noa could tell that dragons were different.

The species that once started as the weakest had the potential to soar the highest.

So Noa was pretty confident that with Ashe at his side, he could walk both paths without giving up either.

The next thing he did was to meet Thalia’s curious gaze.

She still had no idea what was happening as shadows refused to be seen by anyone else.

Yet, it didn’t mean she couldn’t sense how mana fluctuated.

Especially around Noa.

Pinpointing the exact location was beyond her perception, but she felt how some of the mana particles moved towards him.

Noa, meanwhile, looked out of the window and focused on blinding lanterns.

They burned with magic, casting light for everyone who remained outside at this hour.

It was a perfect situation for Noa to test his capabilities.

Before achieving the second threshold with his body, his mind was the sharpest weapon in his arsenal.

He didn’t even have a sword.

So, to keep himself entertained, he asked Ashe to dive deep in shadows again.

The rest she got was long enough to allow her to use this skill once more, and as long as Noa had mana, the worm could continue acting as his support.

After she vanished, Noa imagined shadowy threads at the end of the street.

Because the road was busy, the carriage was crawling slowly.

It gave Noa just enough momentum for him to shape particles and send them to two different locations.

This was his first attempt to leave his mark in shadows, with Graveworm helping him.

[Dragon Gaze]

[Description:]

[With this passive ability, your pupils slit like those of a dragon, radiating a subtle glow. It can detect nearby dragon remains and pierce through illusions]

The next thing Noa knew, his eyes burned like a volcano, but instead of hurting him, it gave him a comfortable warmth.

This was his innate ability. It worked even better with the worm aiding him, fully transforming his dragons.

"Young Master!" Thalia exclaimed, noticing the change. "Yo-Your eyes! They look different."

"Different how?" Noa muttered softly.

His attention wasn’t broken as well; he was still concentrating on the spell he wanted to create, letting the shadow marks hover into the street’s darkness.

"One of them is white as snow, and the other is yellow with a deep green spot, like a snake."

Noa only nodded at her words.

He was too absorbed in his experimentation, hoping that it would work.

Dragon Gaze didn’t just allow him to pierce through illusions; it also gave him a passive ability for remembering the same shadow particles he had marked.

So after throwing them outside, Noa still watched without blinking.

’Please work,’ he said to himself.

Then, Noa tried to shift his perception—to use the shadows as his second eyes or even leap through them.

And he did it.

Noa felt the second pair of eyes wavering from the mana he had tossed.