The scaled form rose slowly as the group stared at it in awe, stretching out its wings as it arched its back like a cat, waving its tail through the air with enough force to cause gusts of frigid wind. It was about the size of a bus and shimmered in the pale light that filled the space.
My, the voice rang out in their heads, making them all shiver at the cold tone, It would seem that thou hast interrupted mine slumber. How do you plead, mortals?
“Plead?” Alan muttered, looking at the others in confusion, “The hell is this thing talking about?”
And now thy ignore mine presence, the voice continued calmly, Very well, for the crime of defiling mine place of rest, I doth sentence thee to death.
“Oh shit, here it comes!” Chris shouted as he waved his hand, summoning a wall of flame as the dragon opened its mouth, letting out a stream of sleet and snow.
The flames crackled as the blast hit them, freezing in place in an instant as they turned to ice. The group stared at the now frozen fire in shock, before they scattered, the dragon’s claw smashing through the frozen wall with ease.
Struggle all thine wish, mortals, the voice of the dragon echoed in their minds, Perhaps it shall entertain me for a brief moment.
“I really don’t like this thing!” Alan shouted as he skidded along the floor, clambering back to his feet as he hefted his new shield in front of him, “Over here, you over-sized gecko!”
Then thou wishes to be the first to die? The voice hummed, Very well.
“Frost Dragon, C Rank,” Chris called out, “Avoid its breath at all costs, its scales are resistant to all types of elemental magic, and immune to water and ice magic!”
Ah, it would seem that thou hast done thy due diligence and learned of thine foe, the voice replied, It matters not, thee all shall die this day.
“Aurum, speak!” Jessica shouted as the golden wolf jumped out of her hand, “Magic Up!”
The howl echoed over the field of flowers, gold and black energy swirling through the air, empowering the humans as they prepared themselves, the dragon glancing back at the girl and her beast with contempt as the dark energy slid off its body.
What annoying sound is this? The voice asked, Shall I silence it first?
“Oi!” Alan shouted as he banged his sword against his shield, “I said over here, you broken refrigerator!”
The dragon turned back to Alan, obviously growing annoyed by his constant shouts and insults, taking a large step towards him, on top of the man before any of them could blink. It swung a clawed hand down on top of him, snow and ice flying into the air from the impact as it struck him.
“Endurance Up!” Jessica screamed just as the claw hit, the dragon raising the ridge over one of its eyes as it looked down at the man, holding back its claw with his shield as he glowed with power.
How amusing, the voice said, Perhaps thou shalt entertain me longer than I did suppose.
“Then let me get this party started,” the voice said right beside the dragon’s head, the monster turning its eye just in time to see the blade approaching it.
The dragon roared as the knife pierced it, throwing its head back as Elizabeth was launched high into the air.
“Chris!” she screamed as she started to fall.
“I got you!” her brother shouted, creating a cushion of air beneath her as she fell, slowing her descent until she landed softly on the ground, “That was seriously stupid, Beth!”
“Worked though,” the girl chuckled weakly as she pointed at the thrashing dragon.
“Quickly!” Chris shouted, “While it’s distracted! Hit it with everything you’ve got!”
Chris gathered the air around him, shooting forwards at speed as he readied his mace, slamming it into the dragon’s front leg as it used the other to try get the knife out of its eye. A sickening crack echoed over the space as the dragon roared in pain, rearing up on its hind legs. The beam of light slammed into the side of its head, staggering it as the scales on its face blackened and burned, making it scream in agony.
“What was that?!” Chris shouted as he looked at Ayla, the woman already panting slightly.
“Light Magic,” she called back, “It takes a hell of a lot of Mana, so I don’t use it often.”
“How many more can you do?”
“One, maybe two with the staff,” she replied.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Then we’d better make it count!” Chris growled, turning back to the dragon, “Everyone, keep it distracted! Ayla, fire when you see a good opening!”
“Got it!” the others shouted, Ayla stepping backwards as the others moved in.
Insolent worms! The dragon’s voice howled in their minds, Thou shall die by mine claws and teeth!
“Bring it!” Alan roared as he charged in, swinging his sword against the dragon’s scales, grimacing as the attack bounced off the hard surface, “Fuck!”
“Just keep it busy!” Chris yelled as he rushed to the man’s side, striking the leg with his mace, “You’re our first line of defense right now, don’t worry about hurting it!”
“Like hell!” the other man laughed, “I bet we’ll get a special reward for killing this bastard! I want in on that!”
Die! The voice boomed again, the dragon collapsing down on top of the two men, Chris reacting just in time to knock them sideways with a blast of air as the massive form crushed the frozen ground.
“Take this!” Alan yelled as he rolled to his feet, rushing at the burnt side of the dragon’s head, slashing down with his blade, the weapon cutting into the flesh beneath the scorched and cracked scales, “Holy shit! That worked!”
“Ayla!” Chris shouted back at the Healer as she waited impatiently, “Make sure to aim for its vitals when you attack! Your magic weakens its scales!”
Pathetic mortals! The dragon howled, You would seek to end me? Yet it is your end that shall come to be!
“Would you just shut up!” Elizabeth shouted as she appeared on the side of the dragon’s head again, grabbing the handle of the knife still embedded in its eye, yanking it back with all her strength, blood and fluid spraying out of the wound as the monster screamed in a mixture of anger and pain.
Freeze to death! The voice boomed as the dragon opened its mouth again, sweeping its head from side to side as it started to fill the entire arena with its frigid breath.
It panted as it closed its mouth, looking around at the freshly frozen space in satisfaction as it reared up again, before it noticed the strange mounds. The stone walls suddenly collapsed under the layer of ice, revealing the group beneath the half-formed domes. A blast of light shot through one of the structures, shattering it before striking the dragon in the chest, right over its heart, burning into its scales and flesh.
MORTALS! The dragon roared, dropping to the ground again as it charged the person who had cast the spell.
The armored man appeared in front of it, charging forwards with a scream as the dragon opened its mouth to swallow him whole. He jumped, dropping to the ground as he slid along the frozen ground under the dragon’s head and neck, quickly reaching its injured chest. With a battle cry, he drove his sword upwards, right into the blackened patch of scales, the blade sinking in halfway before the dragon reared up again with a roar of pain, ripping the weapon from his grasp.
“Fuck!” Alan shouted as he scrambled to get away from the flailing monster, barely avoiding getting stepped on, “What now?”
“I got it!” Chris shouted as he started to run towards the thrashing creature, “Jess!”
“Attack Up! Strength Up! Speed Up!” the Tamer yelled, her legs shaking as her Mana plummeted, “Five seconds!”
“That’s plenty!” Chris grinned as he gathered the wind around him, using it to launch himself into the air, raising his mace.
The weapon slammed into the pommel of the sword still embedded in the dragon’s chest, driving it deeper as Chris screamed, willing it to sink the rest of the way into the monster. There was a moment of resistance, before the last quarter of the blade sunk in, the dragon freezing as Chris fell backwards, catching himself with a cushion of air.
The group stood ready as they stared at the still monster, waiting for its next move, before the voice returned, quieter this time.
To think, I, the great Velkash the Frostbitten, would fall to mere mortals. You have impressed me.
With those final words, the dragon’s body stiffened, frost covering it as its flesh turned to ice, before the entire body shattered, filling the air with glittering crystals that floated slowly to the ground.
“Holy shit,” Alan panted as he walked over to Chris, picking up the sword that had fallen to the ground, “That was intense.”
“Yeah,” the other man nodded, “But we won.”
“And you know what that means!” Elizabeth cheered, rushing over to the large silvery-white chest that stood in front of the massive door at the back of the area, “Time for loot!”
“What is happening to her?” Chris muttered to himself, looking up as Alan wrapped an arm around his neck and cheered, dragging him towards the chest as well.
Elizabeth threw the box open, looking inside with excitement, her eyes going wide for a moment, before she started to giggle with glee, grabbing an item from the chest and dancing around with it.
“So, what’s in the box?” Ayla asked as Jessica helped her stagger over, the Healer obviously suffering from Mana depletion.
“Well, other than whatever my sister grabbed,” Chris hummed as he looked inside, “A book and a ring.”
“Ooh, that ring is really pretty,” Jessica said as she took it, about to slip it onto her finger.
“Stop!” Chris yelled at the girl, making her freeze, “That ring, it’s called Chill’s Embrace. It will give you resistance to all elemental magic types, and immunity to water and ice magic, but everything you touch will instantly freeze.”
“Oh!” Jessica gasped, looking at the ring in fear, before holding it out to Chris, who quickly put it in his bag.
“And the book?” Alan asked, picking up the leather and iron bound tome.
“That’s a C Rank Skill Book,” Chris sighed as he looked at the cover, “I don’t know what Skill it contains, but it has a shield on the front, so it’s probably best that you use it, Alan.”
“Huh?” the man blinked, “Me? Are you sure?”
“Go ahead,” Ayla chuckled, “You earned it with the whole sliding under the dragon thing.”
“Thanks!” Alan grinned as he opened the book, blinking as it burst into light, sparkles rushing into him from all sides, “Oh…oh! This Skill is awesome!”
“What’s it called?” Jessica asked as she stood beside the man, who was smiling like a child.
“It’s called Aegis, and it projects a wide shield around me and anyone behind me,” Alan explained, “I think it uses Mana, though. Guess I’ll have to start upping my Intellect a bit to use it.”
“Aw, but I like that you’re a little stupid,” Jessica laughed, making the man blink.
“Thanks? I think?”
“Anyway,” Elizabeth suddenly interrupted, holding out the object in her hands, “Chris, tell me about my new toy!”
“That’s hardly a toy,” Chris sighed as he looked at the wickedly curved blade in his sister’s hands, obviously made of some type of bone, the back of the blade even serrated, “That’s a Frost Dragon Fang Blade, it deals extra ice damage.”
“Awesome!” Elizabeth cheered, “I finally got something just for me!”
The rest of the group laughed as the girl continued to gush over her new weapon, before they all headed towards the door, nodding to each other before they touched it, looking into the darkness beyond as it swung open.
