The Sun Dragon’s first attack scorched the air and blackened the earth.
Its breath cut right through Adama’s Rippling Sword, forcing him to hurriedly jump to the left to avoid being immolated. The breath carved an ashen trail in the earth behind Adama as he sprinted along the ground, tracking him mercilessly. Only his cloak kept the ambient heat from roasting him alive. Adama unleashed a few Rippling Swords while on the run, targeting the dragon’s neck and head area. The attacks stopped the enemy from killing him, forcing the dragon to flinch away and send the last of its breath attack into the side of the canyon. Sensing an opportunity, Adama sprinted toward the dragon, conjuring a Hidden Blade in his left hand and beginning the chant for the Endless Sword. In response, the dragon beat its wings vigorously, clearly planning to take flight. Dragons could often kill adventurers of a higher Level than they were, thanks to their natural biological advantages. Namely, the ability to fly. A flying Sun Dragon would be a lethal threat to even Level six adventurers if the aforementioned adventurers couldn’t fly or didn’t have a strong long-range option. There wasn’t much a foot soldier could do about an aerial terror, no matter how strong the foot soldiers were in close-quarters combat. In the Dungeon, a dragon might be constrained, or the foot soldier might be able to use the terrain or the walls to jump off from and fight back. Out here, the dragon could fly free and scorch nearly anything below to death.
This tactical disadvantage applied quite well to Adama, who wouldn’t come close to killing a Sun Dragon with Rippling Swords alone, especially as a measly Level 3. The wind from the dragon’s wingbeats alone slowed Adama down, giving the monster plenty of time to take to the air. As it hovered above the clearing below, looking haughtily down upon Adama, more powerful breath kindled in its throat. But something was wrong. Before the monster could torch Adama from afar, it stopped. And wobbled. It started wobbling and didn’t stop until it came plummeting back to earth with a cry. Adama dashed to where it was falling, a massive grin splitting his face as he watched his plan work out swimmingly.
The adventurers had known all about their disadvantages against a flying opponent and devised their own solutions. Extensive studies showed that dragons relied on a certain organ in their heads to balance themselves while flying. The right potion could interfere with that delicate organ’s functions, disabling the dragon’s ability to fly altogether. The ingredients to make this potion effective as a splash potion were scarce, but Naaza and Adama had acquired enough to make two of them. They wouldn’t last long, as splash potions had very limited effect lengths, but Adama would make them count.
The Sun Dragon came back to earth with a boom, and Adama was already on top of it. Hearthblade stabbed right through one of the beast’s shoulders, and Adama threw his Hidden Blade at the Dragon’s face, calling out the final line of his most powerful incantation right as it reached its target: “Endless Sword!”
Hearthblade immediately savaged the monster’s shoulder from the inside out. Meanwhile, the Hidden Blade drew light scratches across the beast’s face, preventing it from retaliating. Furious, the dragon let out a scream of pain and unleashed its second gambit. The beast’s milky scales glowed with a powerful light, and Adama felt the atmosphere around him boil. His skin blistered, but he had a trick of his own. Backup: “Mighty Protector!”
Emi had finished her chant, making it longer than usual to empower her cast. Adama felt a rush of energy as his skin began to shine with grey light. The defense boost turned the heat down to more manageable levels, and Adama went to work. He dragged his sword through the side of the fallen dragon, delivering a patchwork of cuts all along the beast’s right flank. Even as he savaged the dragon’s side, Adama felt a thrill of danger and was forced to leap away. Spears of white fire pierced the air where he’d been before, and Adama watched in consternation as more of those attacks shot out after him as he retreated. The Sun Dragon had resorted to one of its most deadly magics, Lanceflame, summoning a plethora of white spears that shot out those deadly jets of fire.
Adama ran through this barrage like a man possessed, rolling under and jumping over blurs of white fire that often came within millimeters of piercing his face or chest. The Sun Dragon had gingerly come to its feet, blood pouring from the side Adama had injured. It barely had time to get its bearings on the situation before its Lanceflame spell ended. With that threat now over, Adama shot toward his opponent like a green and grey rocket, determined not to give it time to rest. He dodged underneath the creature’s breath attack, sliding on his knees and bending his lower body backward to allow the river of white fire to pass over his head before straightening up and leaping toward the dragon’s wounded side. The Sun Dragon tried to angle its attack to hit Adama again, but he’d slipped too close. He hit its injured shoulder with a barrage of Rippling Swords that further mutilated the damaged limb. The Sun Dragon listed a bit, as the arm began to be unable to hold its weight, but it wasn’t one of the deadliest predators in the Valley for nothing. Tensing its core, the monster spun around, whipping its tail toward Adama at blistering speeds. Adama saw the attack coming in the tensing of the beast’s muscles, but he didn’t have time to dodge. He could only raise his sword and block.
The barbed tail hit Adama’s defenses in a broad sweep, sending him bouncing across the rocky floor like a stone skipping across a pond. Adama managed to get his sword lodged in the ground, slowing then stopping his momentum by dragging it across the rock. He did this just in time to avoid an apocalyptic onslaught of the sun’s fire.
The dragon had decided it couldn’t afford to hold back. As Adama flew backward, it prepared another breath attack while also conjuring two more Lanceflames. Using so many spells at once would tax its magic reserves, but it was worth it to end this threat once and for all. The earth shook and the sky cracked as the dragon unleashed hell on Adama’s position, and running was all he could do. Superheated dust clouds, kicked up by all the explosions, choked the air while chips of semi-molten rock pelted his face and his body. He took a spear of white fire to the chest, the attack blackening his flesh even through his fire-resistant cloak. The clearing was filled with deafening claps of thunder, the heated air continually expanding from the passage of each attack. Adama was almost relieved when he found he couldn’t hear anymore, his eardrums bursting from the close proximity of the sonic shockwaves.
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The Sun Dragon cast two more Lanceflames and another breath attack before finally cutting things off to conserve resources. It was confident that it’d turned every square inch of the clearing into a blackened ruin. No normal human could have possibly survived that.
Before the dust could even settle, a blackened figure appeared from a cloud that had drifted close to the dragon, green eyes shining with the promise of death and vengeance. Adama nearly had been killed, and certainly would’ve been if it weren’t for Emi’s magic. Even with the Fortis Pugnator and his fire-resistant garb, Adama had taken fatal injuries. The key was that they weren’t instantly fatal, and Adama had managed to down an Elixir the moment the dragon finished its attacks. Due to resource and time constraints, Adama had only managed to acquire two of the golden potions, so he’d need to make that one count. He’d need to finish this here.
More Rippling Sword landed on the butchered left arm, and it had finally had enough. With a sickening tearing sound, the limb came free of its socket. In a haze of pain and rage, the Sun Dragon reared up on its hind legs and brought its right claw down in a titanic swipe. Adama jumped back, forcing the attack to fall short. He leapt onto the claw and ran up the arm, sending Rippling Swords into the creature’s neck and face as he closed in for the kill. The dragon’s neck flinched to the side, but Adama watched as it snapped back at him with a brutal bite attack. The swordsman jumped out of the way, the wind from the missed attack rippling through his hair, and Adama saw his opportunity. He stuck his sword in the side of the beast’s neck, hanging on as it lifted him into the air. The creature thrashed in protest, scales glowing with heat, yet Adama was apparently unruffled. He drew his sword in a line down to the base of the monster’s throat, calling out the chant of for the Endless Sword the whole time. The dragon had summoned another Lanceflame in a last-ditch effort, but it was too late. Adama’s Endless Sword detonated in the most vulnerable spot, sending a shower of blood and gore everywhere.
The swordsman was forced to jump off the beast’s neck, deflecting or evading its new Lanceflame attack, but he knew he’d won. The Sun Dragon had suffered mortal wounds, since it would certainly bleed out between the hole in its right arm and its neck. Ironically, its flesh was too fire-resistant to cauterize effectively, meaning it had no easy way to stop the bleeding. Adama was diligently dodging the last of the spearlike flames when something strange happened. He missed a step, skin going from shining grey to its normal pale. The sudden loss of speed meant that he failed to evade one of the tongues of white fire. It scraped his ribs, paining him, and he turned to look for Emi. The dragon wasn’t formally dead yet, and another Fortis Pugnator would help him finish it off safely.
Sadly, he saw that she and the others were very occupied. Another Salamander horde had come charging at their group while Adama was distracted. Emi and the others were sandwiched between the horde and Adama’s nightmarish brawl, so they’d had no choice but to stand their ground and fight. Emi’s shield and buff magic were crucial in helping the elves stave off the invaders and she didn’t have the time or focus to reapply Adama’s buff. It wasn’t clear she’d even noticed he’d lost it.
That was fine, Adama told himself, turning his eyes back to his opponent. He could finish this off without the buff.
Then, things went from bad to worse.
The debuff potions visibly wore off, sending new strength coursing through the dragon’s remaining limbs. Bloody eyes turned their fury upon the swordsman, seemingly swearing revenge with a hatred that shook the atmosphere. Adama threw a Hidden Blade, but it was knocked away. The creature beat its wings once, twice, then took to the air with the third flap, kicking up yet another cloud of dust throughout the clearing. The dragon watered the ground with its lifeblood as it flew, but if it noticed, it didn’t seem to care. It had eyes only for vengeance. Now that it was in the air, it had the perfect shot, and it was prepared to burn through everything. Preparing its most powerful dragon’s breath yet, it cast four more Lanceflames and prepared to show this mortal the sun’s fury.
Adama stared up at the creature with a grim expression and a hint of thoughtfulness. He remembered his life on Cradle, how he’d used the Hidden Blade to fly through the sky, and cursed his current weakness. There was no sword aura on this world, not that he could easily sense or manipulate anyway, so flying with the blade was impossible. He ran through his other options, coming up empty, before finally returning to his first thought. He couldn’t fly with the Hidden Blade. But that didn’t mean he was out of options.
The idea flashed through Adama like lightning, and he immediately summoned a Hidden Blade. As the dragon was preparing hellfire, he tossed the blade up in the air. And Adama jumped.
As he flew, he conjured another Hidden Blade wordlessly. It wouldn’t have to last, and with the flick of the wrist he sent it flying higher as his feet landed on the blade he’d thrown beforehand. A quick balancing act and another jump sent Adama flying up to the second blade he’d thrown, already conjuring a third as he did so. The entire spectacle was probably the most brazen and insane display of skill this world had ever seen, as Adama mimicked flight through a crackpot usage of his own magic. All the while, the dragon unleashed its beams of death upon the miraculous jumping swordsman, desperately trying to shoot down the terrifying sight. Adama leapt between lasers, zigzagging so that it was hard to get a bead on him, drawing inevitably closer to the creature. The dragon’s wings flapped faster, trying to put some distance between the duo, but it was not made for quick acceleration. Surprise and fear overwhelmed the dragon’s gaze, its eyes rolling around in distress.
Then, the Sage got within range. And he threw his sword.
A final Hidden Blade struck right where it needed to, in the wounds at the base of the monster’s neck. The dragon didn’t even have time to register what’d happened before Hearthblade rang out, more softly this time, but it was enough. The already weakened flesh parted in a fountain of blood, the life draining from the monster’s eyes along with it. The fires winked out as the creature’s head lolled, sending it back to earth with a thunderous BOOM. Adama landed on his feet, having slowed his fall with two more Hidden Blades. Badly burned, yet still appearing aloof, the swordsman chugged two health potions as he ran to help his group. As he did, Adama realized that the creature’s fire had burned through most of his coat, leaving only a few charred remains in a couple of places. He shook his head in exasperation.
He was going to need a new coat.
