Drahon met an esoteric atmosphere as he landed on the ground, unmounting from his dragon.
The place was foggy, the type that dragged and seemed to be scratching one's face.
He squinted his eyes as he looked around, seeing nothing but just the surface of his nose. The place was brumal, and before he could take a move, he heard the shouts of other players.
By the sound of things, it was likely they were fighting.
Drahon held his breath. It was a sort of unconscious act actually, one he simply did by impulse.
He decided to summon his sword.
[Weapons Equipped: Rusted Iron Sword (Tier: F)]
A mere thought and boom, the sword was in his hands. He held it tightly as he looked around, trying to find where the noise was coming from.
Roarn was alert, its eyes narrowed as it looked around for any signs of danger.
The choking haze didn't help; instead, it worsened his focus. Pallid streaks of sleet-laced air hit his face as he tried to concentrate.
The sound of steel against something.
Drahon tried to focus.
The sound of steel against something persisted. Drahon was ready; he wouldn't hesitate to use his sword against anyone who came as an enemy.
A grit-laced streak of frost struck his face again. Drahon was prepared. He gripped the sword more tightly, his face fixed nowhere in particular. He wanted to say something like:
'Hey! Anyone there?'
But then he decided not to, he didn't know what could come up at him if he said something like that.
"Arrhhghh!" a voice broke out.
Roarn spread its wings and tried to protect Drahon, who was now alerted and ready to strike.
A sword suddenly fell beside his feet. Drahon looked surprised as he stared at it. It had made him start back from a sudden shock.
And just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, the body of the boy with the Bronzer dragon who had earlier been talking to him fell beside him.
Drahon gasped.
So people could actually die inside the game.
He honestly thought they all would be able to push through and not get killed, but the instant level one had started, someone had died?
Still trying to recover from the shock, a bloody sword fell just at the feet of Drahon.
Drahon almost shouted.
"The fuck!" he exclaimed in a voice that was almost a shout.
Just then, a massive bony hand came at him. Drahon saw that it was time to react by jumping backwards and immediately jumping on his dragon, who briskly flew up.
The fog was slowly clearing, and Drahon wondered why. A reply to his question came quickly as he saw the guy with the Demon dragon.
His dragon was releasing streams of smoky vapor from its mouth, and that was sending the heavy mist away.
That was it! Drahon decided. Higher ranked or not, this Demon dragon would be stronger than his. Well, not physically but…, the dragon was literally doing wonders.
Drahon could guess the monsters that were killing some of the players. If his guess (which would be hundred percent true), was true, then it was certain the monsters were using some sort of magical effect to make everywhere foggy, as it would be easy for them to kill this way.
The acrid wind was constantly whittling against his face as he squinted his eyes and tried to look at what would be inside this hazy place.
Slowly clearing, Drahon could see…
SKELETON MONSTERS.
The Skeleton Monsters were tall and motionless. Their bones were thick, some chipped at the edges, others bearing deep claw marks. Old, rusted armor clung to their frame, shoulder plates cracked down the middle, a chestplate with a jagged hole through it, and a helmet tilted slightly on their skulls, revealing sharp teeth clenched tight beneath hollow eyes that faintly glowed red.
Chains dangled from their wrists, some were broken while a few dragged on the ground, scraping with every slight movement. Their spines were twisted like a crooked pillar, and a blackened cloak hung from their backs, torn and fluttering in the cold breeze.
The Demon rider summoned a sword which he held confidently, brandishing it in the air. It was a scimitar actually. It was curved, with a single-edged blade and an ornate hilt and guard, with intricate designs and patterns.
Drahon was yet again awed. The player must really be good, he thought.
All over the ground were dead bodies. One head was off while another was bringing out blood profusely.
Drahon, for some reason, was a bit indifferent to the dead bodies. To him, it almost meant nothing, but he was surprised nonetheless that people had to die in the game.
Normally, death was expected, but he never thought it would be so early.
The rest of the players were battling with the Skeleton monsters, who by a rough count were up to fifty in number.
[Player Kaon dead!]
[Player Seth dead!]
[Player Kima dead!]
The message was clear in the clouds.
The Demon dragon rider exchanged a quick glance before diving back into the fight scene.
That was the second time they were exchanging glances in the space of a few minutes.
Drahon watched the Demon dragon rider fire out dark fire from its mouth, killing off two skeletons at once.
Drahon adjusted in his dragon. He too had to fight, but first he had to check his system for the rank of the Skeleton monsters so he'd know what approach to take.
The few seconds the rider of the Demon dragon must have wasted was checking the profiles of the monster.
Drahon thought about the Monster's profile, and runes appeared in front of him:
---
[Monster Profile:]
• Type: Undead
• Rank: Third Rank – Deadly
• Tier: D
• Threat Level: Moderate–High
[Description:]
[Taller than a man and cloaked in blackened chainmail, the Bone Reaper wields a jagged scythe forged from bone and shadowsteel. Its skull bears glowing crimson eyes, and thick necrotic mist seeps from its joints. It moves faster than expected and targets weak points with eerie precision.]
[Notable Traits:]
• Enhanced speed and reflexes
• Immune to fear-based effects
• Can cloak itself briefly in mist
• Moderate resistance to fire and cold
• Executes finishing strikes at low HP
[Drops:]
• Bone Reaper Scythe Fragment
• Shroudsteel Chainmail Scrap
• Undead Core (Moderate Chance)
---
Undead rank?
Scythes?
Drahon squinted his eyes as he looked at the Skeleton Monsters.
'They had scythes?' he thought.
He hadn't seen one with one.
But then perhaps that was because he was way too occupied with their appearance—he forgot that they were actually holding large scythes.
With a single slash of that, a head was surely coming off.