'This human…'
The Nightcrawler Champion felt fear grip its heart for the first time in its entire life, slowly lifting its bulky body as it stared at Draco with wide eyes.
It had never been harmed before, so the foreign sensation of pain that squirmed around its body made him tremble slightly. It was an unpleasant experience, one he was determined not to let happen again.
'But… how is he able to use such a power?'
From its experience, humans could not use the power of Dragons—that was why Dragons were the apex predators of Te'rah.
Or… had something changed in the years that he had remained confined in its cave?
'Doesn't matter!' The Champion shook its head as it glared at Draco. 'For all I know, he could be the only one who has this power, just as he can tame Dragons.'
Due to that main reason, the Nightcrawler Champion had extra motivation to kill him.
"I don't care if you beg me to become my subordinate anymore… you're dead mea—!"
"You talk too much!"
Draco's voice echoed in the rumbling clearing as he charged at the Nightcrawler Champion with a blazing white fist. His entire arm was shrouded in flashes of light, and as he leaped forward, his body seemed to blur.
'Tch! Cheeky brat!'
"ROOOOOAAAARRRRR!!!"
The Nightcrawler Champion let out a deafening roar, causing everything around it to violently tremble—even shatter. The determined human charging towards him could do nothing to resist this cry and was sent flying back by the shockwave.
BOOOOOM!!!
It was his turn to hit the jagged walls, and it instantly created a small crater, with cracks stretching all around the point of impact like spiderwebs.
"Gahh!" Draco instantly coughed out, his eyes bulging as his entire body was assailed with incredible pain.
Just like the Nightcrawler Champion, he had never felt so much pain before.
He collapsed on the ground, nearly falling to his knees, but quickly picking himself back up while staggering. His eyes remained on the Nightcrawler Champion, who seemed a little nervous about the confrontation and didn't want the crazy human to get near him.
Then, Draco raised his hand, stretching it towards the suspicious Dragon.
'What is he trying to do now?'
"Submit." He whispered, activating his [Dragon Taming] Privilege
[Taming Failed!]
~You are yet to meet the requirements for Taming this Dragon~
{Taming Requirement: Defeat the Dragon!}
'Sigh… it was worth a shot anyway.' Draco thought, noticing the Champion cocking its head in confusion while staring at Draco like he had finally gone mad.
'The Hidden Quest says I should defeat this Dragon, and I can only tame it after I defeat it… so I guess the answer is obvious.'
He simply had to win.
Unfortunately, such a thing was easier said than done.
'Status Window.'
[STATUS WINDOW]
- Name: Draco (Lvl: 4)
- Race: Human
- Class: Legendary Dragon Tamer
- Integrity: 2/4
- Physique: 3/4
- Aptitude: 4 (70% Essence)
- S Points: 0
- Quest Completion Rate: 30%
[Current Quest Information]
Primary Quest: Complete the Cave of Trials (Ongoing)
Secondary Quest: Kill every Dragon you encounter (Failed)
Hidden Quest: Defeat the Champion of this Dragon Nest (Not Started)
[Synchronization Rate: 5%]
'My [Integrity] and [Physique] have gone down considerably, and in just a few seconds, my Essence only remains 70 percent.'
Things were looking incredibly grim for Draco.
Integrity had to do with his overall durability, and a single shockwave from the Dragon's roar was sufficient to reduce it by half. Even now, he felt incredibly lightheaded and his body was sore all over. It took everything from him just to stand straight.
'My Physique represents the overall strength I can muster, but even that has been impeded due to my injuries and the strain of using [Let There Be Light] to forcefully increase the speed and force of my attack.'
His body had been placed under an incredible strain, so it was only natural it would bend—if not break. However, even after pushing himself to this point, he had hardly made any dent on the creature before him.
'The only way I see myself winning is coating my body in light, forcefully elevating all of my stats at once.' He sighed. 'I won't be able to hold it for very long, since my Essence will run down in a matter of seconds, but… it's worth a shot.'
Life is a gamble, and to succeed risks are often a necessary evil.
Draco was already far weaker than the Rank 3 Dragon before him, and so he had to resort to more desperate methods to win.
'[Let There Be Light].'
Instantly, a bright burst of light enveloped his body, causing his hair to shimmer white while his eyes shone gold. The golden tattoos on his body gleamed bright and pure white energy coalesced all over his body.
'Let's go!' Draco vanished from his position, becoming nothing but a flash of light, as he instantly appeared right in front of the wary Nightcrawler Champion.
"Wha—?!"
BAM!
The powerful blow hit the Dragon right beneath his chin, instantly causing its colossal body to rise into the air.
"Keuk!"
Not only could he feel the strength behind the punch, but the speed at which it was traveling elevated the strike to the point that its very tough scales cracked at the moment of impact. It was a devastating strike that sent a paralyzing surge of pain throughout the Dragon's body.
However, Draco was not done.
WHOOSH!
He launched himself into the air, causing the ground beneath him to instantly shatter.
Slicing through the air like a wave of pure light, he sent another punch to the Dragon, before rebounding in the air and descending with an equally powerful strike. It was like he was using his body to slice through the Dragon's defenses, slashing all over his adversary's body while targeting its face.
Due to the Nightcrawler Champion being a Land Dragon, it had very little mobility in the air and was thus subjected to the incessant strikes that assailed him.
BAM!
BOOM!
WHOOSH!
Draco kept overwhelming him, leaving no room for retaliation on the Dragon's part. He also kept targeting specific regions on its face, causing it to feel lightheaded and faint.
'Damnit… it's only been a few seconds, yet it feels like an eternity!' The Rank 3 Champion growled to itself, not used to feeling pain at all.
Upon sensing his time was coming to an end, Draco clenched his two fists and leaped towards the back of the Dragon, sending a swift flurry of attacks towards his neck—particularly the nape.
The creature spasmed helplessly, unable to reach its back and defend itself against the assault.
Then—
BAM!
A final deafening blow echoed in the clearing as Draco thrust his strongest strike at the enemy.
The result?
BOOOOM!!!
It landed a couple of meters from Draco, once again crashing into the wall and shattering it instantly.
"Haa… haa…" Draco landed on the ground, struggling to breathe.
His body collapsed on the ground, too weak to muster any more strength. He could feel his heart racing, almost to the point where he had cardiac arrest, and all of his muscles spasmed in pain and exhaustion that he almost felt like fainting.
But… he couldn't!
'My Essence has reached rock bottom, and all of my Stats are at their last figures.' His thoughts trailed as his vision turned blurry.
The worst part about the situation was that the Nightcrawler Champion was still standing.
"You impudent human!" It roared in rage, still wincing from all the injuries it endured. "I'll make you wish for death! I'll make you suffer unimaginable pain. You will curse your very existence as you writhe in sheer agony."
Draco shut off the loud threats of the Dragon, too tired to feel fear.
Instead—
'Should I kill my tamed Dragons? I can use the EXP they give me to Level Up at least once…'
The moment this thought flashed in his mind, Draco felt a strange feeling of repulsion. It was a disgusting feeling that made him nearly throw up, shuddering the instant an image of what he intended to do appeared in his mind.
He couldn't do it!
'Looks like I can't kill any Dragon that is bonded to me.' He gritted his teeth. 'But, I can use them to stall for time.'
He slowly picked himself up, barely able to move at all not to mention escaping the wrath of the fast-approaching Dragon. He swiftly gave a mental command to his Nightcrawlers and they swiftly marched forward, the largest one of them rushing to his side as a support.
'I'm sending them to their deaths, but… it's to preserve my life, so I guess that's fine.' He gave a sad smile, grabbing the spear brought to him by the Dragon he was resting on.
'My weapon would have been suitable for a Rank 2, but it would have likely broken apart if I used it in my fight against this guy.'
That was why he had resorted to blows rather than utilizing his spear.
'Thanks to all my attacks, its defenses have been weakened considerably. If only I had a bit more Essence, I could land a decisive blow…' Draco clenched his teeth, watching as his tamed Dragons died in droves as they tried their hardest to slow down the advance of the beastly juggernaut.
Unfortunately, his Essence recovery happened automatically—accumulating slowly over time.
The higher his Level, the quicker the rate of Essence Recovery, but he currently had an empty tank and whatever Essence he could obtain in the mere few seconds that he had would be nowhere near enough for his opponent.
'Unless…' Draco had already reached the corner of the room after retreating a couple of steps, so his eyes spotted the Essence Stones that poked out of the jagged surface of the wall behind him.
Normally, Essence Stones were only used to fuel DragonHearts so humans could use the [Breath] of Dragons. It was never meant to be directly used on the body, which was why Draco never considered it as an option before.
'But fuck it!' He quickly grabbed one, uprooting it from the wall it was stuck in.
He had run out of options.
'Since I can use [Breath] without a DragonHeart, I should be able to use Essence Stones directly on my body.' He roughly predicted. 'I'm screwed either way, so it's at least worth a try.'
"I'm coming for you, damn human!"
As the words of the Rank 3 Dragon echoed in the trembling hall, Draco closed his eyes and felt the warm energy emanating from the honey-yellow crystal in his hand. He suddenly felt connected to the power, swiftly guiding it into his body in order to replenish his lost strength.
Within moments, he could feel it.
Power was seeping into his veins, refilling all the weak and empty regions of his body.
~10 Percent Essence~
He kept pushing, his eyes scrunched in concentration.
~25 Percent Essence~
He ignored the loud bellows of the beast that neared, his entire focus centered only regaining his lost energy. Until…
~45 Percent Essence~
… Draco opened his eyes.
He swiftly grabbed his spear, pouring all the energy he had gained into the weapon.
An explosive roar of light burst from him, instantly causing the entire clearing to radiate bright white and gold light. Even the advancing Nightcrawler Champion had to pause, wincing as a result of its blinded eyes.
This created the perfect window—a moment that Draco refused to miss.
WHOOSH!
The spear flew at a speed neither Draco nor the Champion could quantify.
All they knew was this:
One second, Draco thrust the spear of light, and the next second… it had hit the Nightcrawler Champion straight through its face, ripping apart everything surrounding it and exiting right outside the nape.
A moment of silence echoed in the clearing as both man and beast stared at each other; one flashing a smile of triumph while the other displaying humiliation that accompanied a shocking defeat.
"Y-you…!"
The Nightcrawler Champion collapsed on the ground, its oily dark blood spurting everywhere until it created a puddle beneath it.
"Hehe…" Draco's eyes turned blank the moment he saw this, losing the last strand of strength that kept him conscious. "... Serves you right.
Before his mind went completely silent, however, he saw a System Notice that justified all the effort he put into his task.
[Taming Successful]