Protagonist's Evil System: My Girlfriend Turned Into A Dragon

He saw a huge tree with green leaves and felt the wind blowing between them.

"Good," Luu replied, "now hold your breath and let yourself fall into the water."

Lucas did as he was told and let himself sink slowly into the water. It was cold, but he felt good inside. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and looked at the lake, where the light reflected from the water.

"It's peaceful here," Lucas commented, "like a dream."

"Yes," Luu replied, "it is a wonderful place, the perfect environment for learning."

Lucas stayed in the water for a little while longer until he started feeling tired. He wanted to rest and asked Luu if he could.

"No," Luu answered, "you won't be able to move after resting too long. You'll end up floating to the bottom of the lake."

"All right," Lucas agreed, "let's continue our lesson then."

They moved back to the shore and prepared to start the next part of their training.

"This time," Luu told him, "you will learn how to swim underwater."

Lucas didn't feel comfortable with the idea, but he knew that it was necessary.

"The water is very deep here," Luu pointed out, "so you will need to swim to the bottom of the lake and stay there for a minute. Do you understand?"

"What if I can't?" Lucas asked.

"Then you can just go back to the surface and we'll finish today's session," Luu responded.

Lucas sighed and nodded.

"First," Luu instructed, "you will have to get used to breathing underwater. Try to hold your breath as long as possible, and then when you're ready, we'll start swimming."

"Okay," Lucas replied.

Luu helped him into the water and demonstrated the proper way to breathe while underwater. Lucas practised for a few minutes until he managed to stay for ten seconds. He took a deep breath and went back to the surface.

"Good," Luu congratulated him, "now let's start practising."

Lucas followed Luu back to the bottom of the lake and sat down on the sandy bank. Once Luu gave him permission, Lucas closed his eyes and tried to relax.

He thought about the tree at the top of the hill. It was so big and strong that nothing could break it. Even if someone cut off one of its branches, the tree wouldn't die. It was the same with him, Lucas thought. If he could focus on the tree, he would be able to survive underwater.

"Now," Luu said, "do exactly as I tell you."

Lucas took a deep breath and listened carefully.

"Hold your breath," Luu ordered, "and swim as fast as you can toward the bottom of the lake."

Lucas obeyed and swam down to the bottom. When he reached the bottom, he gasped for air, but he didn't stop. He continued swimming to the other side of the lake. The farther he moved, the more difficult it became to keep his breath.

After several minutes, Lucas stopped swimming and floated on the surface to catch his breath.

"You made it!" Luu exclaimed.

Lucas opened his eyes and smiled.

"I'm not tired anymore," he admitted, "but I think I'll need some time to recover."

"Don't worry," Luu reassured him, "you should be fine after a little sleep."

Lucas was happy that he had completed his first underwater exercise successfully. Still, he also realized that he would soon need to practice this skill over and over again until he got better.

*

The next day, Lucas woke up early and went to the lake before anyone else arrived. He wanted to avoid being seen by others.

After sitting quietly for a while, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw three people walking towards him, including Luu.

"Good morning," Luu greeted him.

"Hi," Lucas replied, "how are you?"

"Great," Luu replied, "everything is going well. Today we will start working on the second stage of your training."

"What does that mean?" Lucas asked.

"It means," Luu explained, "that now you will learn how to fight underwater."

Lucas frowned and wondered what he was supposed to do.

"Underwater fighting is different from regular fighting," Luu began, "because the movements underwater are more limited than above. In order to succeed in your quest, you must learn how to adapt to these limitations."

"How exactly am I supposed to do that?" Lucas asked.

"It's easier than you might think," Luu replied, "I'll show you."

He took Lucas' hand and led him to the shore. They both jumped into the water and swam to the middle of the lake.

"Stay close to me," Luu told him, "and follow my instructions."

They swam to the centre of the lake and stopped. Lucas kept his eyes open and tried to see everything around them. He noticed that the light coming from the surface of the water was dimmer here.

The lake seemed darker and he couldn't make out every detail clearly. He felt like there were shadows everywhere.

"Be careful," Luu warned him, "there are many creatures living in the water."

Lucas shivered and wondered what he needed to watch out for. He decided to ask.

"There are fish," he explained, "a lot of small ones. Sometimes they come closer to the surface. What else can we expect?"

"Creatures and plants," Luu answered, "and a lot of dangerous animals too. Don't forget that the deeper you go, the colder it gets."

Lucas looked around him and wondered why the water wasn't frozen. Then he remembered that the outside temperature was warm enough for that to happen.

"We won't be able to see much underwater," Luu continued, "so we'll have to rely on our senses. Listen carefully to everything I say and don't move unless I tell you to."

"Okay," Lucas agreed.

Luu took a deep breath and signalled him to do the same.

"Take another breath," he ordered, "then prepare yourself."

Lucas took a deep breath and held it. His head began to hurt because of the lack of oxygen, but he was used to this feeling by now. He closed his eyes and focused on the sound of Luu's breathing.

"Now," Luu said, "listen to my voice."

Lucas relaxed and concentrated on Luu's words. He wanted to hear Luu's voice clearly, without any distractions.

"Remember the tree at the top of the hill," Luu instructed him.

Lucas nodded and tried to focus on the voice.

"Focus on the water," Luu added, "notice how your body feels when you inhale and exhale. Now try to imitate my breathing."

Lucas did as he was told, and he felt his chest expand and contract rhythmically with each breath. Soon he started imitating Luu's breathing perfectly.

"Good," Luu praised him, "now listen very carefully. There are two ways of moving underwater: by swimming and by sinking."

"Sinking?" Lucas repeated, "what does that mean?"

"When you sink," Luu explained, "you let the weight of the water push you down until your feet touch the floor. It's harder than swimming, but it helps you get where you want to go faster."

"Is that what you're planning on doing?" Lucas asked.

"Yes," Luu confirmed, "I'm going to show you how to sink."

He moved towards the shore and started strolling through the water. Lucas followed him and tried to keep pace with him. At first, he couldn't do it, but he quickly mastered the technique and managed to stay close to Luu.

"If you walk fast," Luu explained, "the water will push you away from the bottom. So we'll go slow, and focus on sinking."

They walked along the shore for about fifteen minutes before reaching a sandy area.

"This is where we'll practice sinking," Luu announced, "if you look closely, you will notice that the sand isn't quite flat. We need to practice sinking so that we can get used to it."

Lucas looked around and saw that the sand had a slight slope. He realized that if he sank, he would end up deeper in the lake.

"Are you ready?" Luu asked him.

"Ready," Lucas agreed.

Luu took a deep breath and prepared himself. He held his hands behind his back and raised his chin.

"Now," he said, "follow my lead."

Luu stepped onto the shallow beach and sank down. He made sure to put his weight on the balls of his feet and to bend his knees slightly.

"Can you see me?" he asked Lucas.

"Yes," Lucas replied, "but I can't believe you're sinking!"

"Trust me," Luu laughed, "it works."

Luu slowly lowered himself until only his head was above water. He then straightened his legs and pushed off the ground with his heels. He continued to sink until he reached the bottom of the lake. Lucas watched him closely to make sure he didn't hit any rocks or other obstacles.