SSS Rank Dragon Tamer: Unleashed
Chapter 63: Ember Lesson

Chapter 63: Ember Lesson

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He set up a new tall wooden log, then placed an iron pike directly behind it to test piercing depth.

Star flexed, flame swirling from his belly to his throat. This time, his jaws shaped the fire differently. It was longer, thinner, more focused. A jet of orange-red condensed into a glowing lance of pure combustion. When he released it, it didn’t make a sound—just a snap of heat that felt like the air cracking.

FWOOOM!

The Ember Lance tore through the wooden log like a red-hot needle through cloth. It sliced the metal behind it, leaving a molten edge that hissed steam into the sky. The ground at the impact zone glowed red.

[SKILL- Ember Lance: Focused combustion attack shaped into a piercing javelin. Ideal for high-defense or evasive targets. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Penetration Depth: 15 meters (non-resistant targets).]

Zephyr blinked again. "I think you just stabbed a hole into next tree"

Star puffed proudly. The tip of his snout still glowed faintly orange.

"Okay. Infernal Ring. This one’s tricky," Zephyr said, backing up several meters. "Full control. Don’t burn my eyebrows off."

Star took a low stance, legs splayed. Heat rose from beneath him, the dirt cracking at his feet. When Zephyr gave the signal, the little dragon roared and then fire exploded outward from his core in a perfect, spiraling ring.

WOOOSH!

Flames radiated in all directions like a spinning sawblade of fire. Bushes nearby caught alight. Training flags ignited instantly. Zephyr had to dive behind a boulder as the wave of heat blasted past.

The ring extended ten feet, burning a full circle around Star. The ground smoked. The fire danced for several seconds before flickering out in a spiral pattern.

Star stood at the center. He was unburnt, breathing hard, but shimmering like glass armor.

[SKILL- Infernal Ring: Area-of-Effect flame burst. Unleashes circular fire from caster’s body. Targets enemies within a 10-foot radius. Cooldown: 45 seconds. Burn Duration: 5 seconds.]

Zephyr peeked out from behind the rock. "Okay... maybe don’t use that one when we’re indoors."

Star trilled proudly and wagged his tail. A tiny spark launched off and singed Zephyr’s bootlace.

With the battlefield still smoldering, Zephyr chuckled and rubbed his forehead. "Three techniques. A solar bomb, a fire javelin, and a circular flamethrower of death. You’re basically a walking siege weapon."

They trained for hours more.

Zephyr drilled Star on combos Solar Burst into Ember Lance, Ember Lance feint into Infernal Ring burst. The transitions were rough at first. Star stumbled, burned his own temporary nest once, and even coughed up smoke instead of fire after a bad inhale.

But he never stopped.

He adjusted his wing posture for balance. Shortened his stance. Timed his breaths. Gradually, his flow became smoother. Stronger.

"Hit me with the fireball, dash to the left, then use Infernal Ring mid-turn!" Zephyr shouted.

BOOM! — Fireball.

WOOOSH! — Ring of death.

Zephyr ducked and rolled, laughing. "Now that’s how you pull aggro."

By afternoon’s end, the training field looked like a dragon apocalypse. The once-green grass was black and cracked. Training dummies had been reduced to ash. Half of the metal plates were warped and melted.

Zephyr sat down heavily, wiping sweat from his neck. "No more. My nose hairs are gone."

Star flopped beside him, panting, tongue out. His eyes, though tired, sparkled with fire and satisfaction.

Zephyr reached into his bag. "Time for a snack."

He pulled out a dried jerky strip and tossed it to Star, who caught it midair.

As they chewed in companionable silence, Zephyr looked up at the thin smoke rising from the volcano in the distance.

He muttered, "Fenna is training... and so are we. We’ll all come out of this forest stronger."

Star nosed into Zephyr’s side, warm and firm. The message was clear, he meant, "We will."

(Inside the volcano.)

The lava chamber was quiet save for the occasional bubbling of molten rock and the gentle snores of the phoenix chick. The Ember Matron stood tall on her perch of obsidian, wings folded, eyes burning softly as she turned to Fenna.

"You have decided to accept the bond," she said. "But acceptance is not enough. To raise one born of flame, you must become flame."

Fenna stood firm, though her boots trembled slightly on the scorched stone. Her travel clothes clung with sweat, her hair matted with ash and heat. Yet her eyes glowed with a stubborn fire. She swallowed hard and nodded.

"Good," said the Matron. "Your training begins now."

She extended a single wing and motioned to the smooth stone slab in front of her. The heat rising from it shimmered visibly, distorting the air, but it did not sear. It welcomed her. It felt alive.

"Sit."

Fenna knelt, then crossed her legs upon the obsidian slab. It pulsed with warmth, like a heartbeat under her spine.

"You feel that?" the Matron asked, voice like coals shifting in a hearth.

Fenna nodded slowly. "It’s like... it’s breathing."

"It is. Fire is not just destruction. Fire is hunger, yes—but also life, protection, and will. To guide a baby phoenix, you must learn the difference between burning and becoming."

Fenna took a deep breath, the thick, sulfur tinged air burning her lungs, and let it out with quiet determination.

The first lesson was Attunement.

"Close your eyes," the Matron commanded. "Feel the heat not as pain, but as rhythm. Find the pulse beneath the stone. Beneath yourself."

At first, it was impossible. Her thoughts were loud. Her doubts are even louder. Sweat rolled down her neck and sizzled on the stone. But slowly it was guided by the Matron’s soothing whispers. Fenna quieted her mind. Her heartbeat slowed. Her breathing steadied. She stopped resisting the heat and started listening to it.

It was a thrum. A dance. A song without sound.

Her fingers tingled.

"Do not fear it," the Matron said. "You are not a candle to burn. You are the spark that lights the flame."

When Fenna opened her eyes again, her palms glowed faintly, not from heat outside, but from warmth within.