Ellis frowned.

He hurriedly left the cavern and searched the nearby surroundings. At first, nothing, then a giant shadow suddenly blotted out the sun. He instinctively looked up. A formless pressure pressed down against his shoulders. At the same time, something large and alive fell from the sky.

BOOM!

A half second later, a resounding crash reverberated through the forest. The shadow, whatever it was, it had landed inside the lagoon. Water danced through the air. Ellis reflexively closed his eyes as some of it splashed onto his face and body.

Wiping away the liquid dripping from his brow, he frowned. Already, an uneasy premonition spread through his heart. Still, he kept his eyes locked onto the lagoon.

Something moved from beneath the water’s surface.

“What the hell was that? Where did it come from?”

He had not gotten a proper chance to look at it, but that thing, it was probably the largest creature he had ever encountered. What’s more, it came from out of nowhere. Did it really just fall from the sky, or…

A glint flashed through his eyes. Ellis looked up towards the rock wall.

“Don’t tell me…”

Before he could finish that thought, the water within the lagoon suddenly stirred. Slowly, menacingly, it exited the water.

A large body covered almost entirely in scales. It possessed an elongated neck and a pair of large, bat-like wings. Beady, yellow eyes sat atop its reptilian head.

Ellis froze. Rather than fear or awe, he felt mostly shock. This was the most fantastical creature he had seen yet.

“What the hell is this? Why the hell did a dragon suddenly show up?!” He couldn’t help but shout.

The thing before him was something taken straight out of a fantasy book. Four stout legs and a body almost three times the size of an elephant. It was designed in a way that resembled typical western dragons, but instead of the usual red motif, this one was green. Honestly, the green was a lot more utilitarian, especially within a forest setting.

Ellis let out a hollow laugh.

Why? Dragons were supposed to be final boss tier monsters. This sort of creature wasn’t supposed to just pop up like any random trash mob in a videogame!

Don’t just show up out of nowhere! Quit breaking the rules!

He felt seriously aggrieved, but most of his complaints were simply there to hide the growing fear bubbling within his heart.

It couldn’t be helped. After all, it was a dragon. There was a stigma towards the concept of dragons. In his world, dragons were depicted as ferocious, often times greedy monsters possessing great strength and power.

Ellis was not very confident in his ability to beat that sort of legendary creature.

“Still, why is it here?” As this question popped up in his head, the dragon suddenly moved.

It left the lagoon and swiveled its head around. It briefly surveyed the surroundings with a somewhat arrogant glare. Ellis did the same thing.

He looked closely and noticed a few things. The dragon’s eyes, one of it was dull and slightly faded. A thin scar trailed down its face. Its eye looked to be damaged, maybe even blind. What’s more, there was also some clear scarring on one of its wings.

This thing had been in a fight. Not recently, as its injuries had already scarred, but nevertheless, it was obvious.

Just then, he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. It suddenly clicked. This dragon, its scales, they looked identical to the chipped scales that he had seen scattered near the fox’s corpse.

The green dragon finished surveying the land. Its eyes briefly glazed over him, before they locked onto the waterfall. An indiscernible expression flashed through its reptilian face.

“…”

After a few seconds of silence, it suddenly moved.

I knew it! Its heading straight for the cave. This was the thing that killed the mother fox! Even after coming to such a realization, Ellis still felt somewhat apprehensive.

Why did it suddenly come here? Revenge? Did it not know that the fox was already dead? Or maybe… Did it come here for something else? What other thing could it want?

Then, he remembered.

What was the one thing that he had guarded for so long? There were also the various beasts and monsters that he had previously encountered. Those guys, they practically hurled themselves towards him, despite the fact that he did nothing to aggravate or provoke any of them. Why did they all mindlessly gravitate towards this lagoon?

Aside from a rotting corpse and a pile of withered grass, there was only one other thing within the cavern that had any sort of value: the unborn baby. 

It wants the baby! He was not one hundred percent certain about this conjecture of his, but seeing the look of greed in the dragon’s eyes, he had some measure of confidence.

Was the baby fox really that precious? For some time now, this sort of feeling had already crept up on him, especially when he thought of the consistent monster attacks and miraculous corpse pregnancy, but the Dragon's arrival only further solidified his conjecture. Before he could think about it any further, he shook his head. No, that doesn’t matter. Right now, I need to do something!

Ellis possessed a strong body, but he was not sure whether or not his strength was truly enough to take on a dragon. Still, he couldn’t just sit here and do nothing.

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He quickly searched his surroundings. He picked up a stone and looked back up at the dragon. “Hey, you!” He yelled. “Dumbass, listen to me!”

The dragon briefly glanced at him, before it let out a snort and turned back towards the cavern. It took another step forward.

Ellis felt incensed. That scale covered snout, he did not know how, but it seemed to twist into a sneer. For the first time, his fear was overpowered by the rising indignation within his heart. Ignoring him was one thing, but to blatantly look down on him like that? He was not some doormat that would happily let others walk all over him!

“Fucking, this damn lizard…” Without hesitation, he cocked his arm back and threw the stone using all of his strength.

The grey projectile blurred as it whizzed through the air. In an instant, it penetrated one of its wings.

A pained wail reverberated through the forest.

Ellis was utterly shocked! He had given it his all that time, but he did not expect his strength to have already reached such a level. Maybe fighting a dragon isn’t so impossible, after all…

Just as the thought entered his mind, the dragon reared its head and glared furiously at him.

It took a deep breath and suddenly let out a roar. Ellis felt an immense heat rapidly approach him.

He narrowed his eyes. It was the legendary fire breath!

A blazing ball of fire hurtled towards him. For a moment, he froze. The fire was immense, far larger than the size of Ellis’s body. Even if he moved, he knew he would not make it in time.

As he watched the mass of searing heat approach, he couldn’t help but inwardly complain. If he had possessed such a convenient ability, then he wouldn’t have had to suffer through such hateful ‘meals’ all year long!

WOOSH!

The fire engulfed him.

The flame did not just stop there. It continued along, scorching the land and leaving behind a clear skid mark. Forced by the pressure, Ellis eventually crashed into the trunk of a tree. The fire scattered into tiny separate wisps before completely dissipating.

Beneath the base of a scorched tree, there now existed a giant molten crater. Dust and steam intermixed, obscuring the nearby surroundings.

The entire forest lay still and silent.

“…”

“…”

After a few seconds, the dragon let out a self-satisfied snort. Just as it was about to approach the waterfall, something abruptly caused it to stop.

The sound of a strained cough echoed through the air.

The dragon turned back. Through the dissipating smog, a single figure walked out.

His entire face was covered in soot. Half of his body was riddled with third-degree burns so severe that even the whites of his bones had turned black. For Ellis, this sort of wound would take a full two days to recover.

“That seriously packed a punch…” In the months that he had spent within this forest, this was probably the most severe injury he had ever received. And to think, this was only the first encounter! A soft sigh leaked out from his chapped lips. The following few minutes were destined to be painful.

Just as he was thinking about how to approach the current situation, the dragon snapped out from its shock and suddenly roared. It unfurled its wings, jumped off the ground, and flew towards him.

Its flight was somewhat awkward, on account of the hole in its wing, but nevertheless, it carried with it a tremendous momentum that practically shook the entire forest floor.

BOOM!

The creature slammed into him.

It pinned him against the trunk of a tree, while a jagged set of jaws bit down on his torso. Ellis winced. His chest, shoulders, and arm had been pierced.

Dragons possessed naturally big teeth. This one, for example, possessed a set so large that just a single tooth was almost half the size of his entire torso. When it bit him, it had also almost completely bisected his body in half.

Still, Ellis somehow managed to twist his torso just before the impact, saving him from a fate of instant death. Although he was bleeding, and his right arm was practically attached to his shoulder with only a few strings of flesh, he could still somehow cope with the current situation.

He gritted his teeth and tried to pry open the dragon’s maw. He grabbed the upper jaw with his one good arm and placed both feet on its bottom jaw. He pulled.

His entire body trembled. Little by little, its tightly shut jaw slowly opened.

The dragon narrowed its eyes. It tried to apply more pressure to its bite, but Ellis held firm. Eventually, he was able to pry it open just wide enough for him to squirm out.

He immediately fell the ground like a puppet with its strings cut loose.

THUD!

Ellis let out a cough.

He hurriedly stood back up. At the same time, the dragon immediately reacted and swung its tail towards him.

A rush of wind and an immense downward pressure assaulted him.

This time, he was ready. Ellis caught the tail in a bear hug. He slid back a few feet, but otherwise remained upright. Digging his heels into the ground, he firmed his resolution and suddenly pulled.

He swung the creature forward.

“Guooh!?” The dragon groaned as it suddenly found itself airborne. Ellis’s muscles bulged. Popping sounds filled the air, while random parts of his body suddenly spurted out with blood.

Ellis slammed the dragon into a nearby tree. Despite the dragon’s gargantuan size, it was still dwarfed by the trees. The trees of this forest were unnaturally hard. Even with his strength, the most he could do was leave a dent on their trunks.

He loosened his grip on the tail. The dragon fell to the ground with a moan. Looking closely, he noticed that a few of its scales had fallen off, while one of its front legs bent in a weird angle.

Ellis had injured the dragon, but that wasn’t enough. Instead of waiting for it to regain composure and attack again, he took a deep breath and ran towards it.

He dashed over to its injured arm and stepped down with all of his might.

A hoarse wail reverberated through the surroundings. Beneath his feet, the dragon’s leg sank to the ground. Half a second later, a snapping noise echoed through the forest.

The beast quickly retaliated. It attempted to bite him, but Ellis narrowly dodged. He jumped onto its body, and like a stubborn spider, climbed all the way to the back of its neck.

Due to his proximity and position, the Dragon was unable to attack him with its normal methods (fireball and bite). It tried to shake him off, but Ellis held firm. He slowly made his way to the top of its head.

There, he straddled its neck with both legs, before he reared back his good arm and punched down.

BOOM!

His fist slammed down onto the crown of its head. The dragon’s head slammed against the ground. Looking closely, he could see a small dent on its scaly surface.

Still, this wasn’t enough.

“You damn lizard, you almost bit off my arm! Reflect on your actions!” Ellis vented his anger and threw another punch.

BOOM!

Seemingly in response, the dragon let out a furious roar. It attempted to lift its head up from the ground. Despite two punches, it was still so full of energy.

Ellis gritted his teeth and tried again.

BOOM!

The dent grew larger. In addition, the impact had caused a small crater to form as the Dragon’s head sank deeper into the ground.

Still, the dragon kept roaring, so Ellis tried again.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

He repeatedly punched the crown of its head. Every time he struck, the creature’s body would shake and shiver. At first, it would let out a roar. It was a sound filled with both anger and indignation. After a while, those roars grew muffled. It did not take long before they were replaced with faint whimpers.

The ferocity in its gaze had disappeared, replaced only by fear. It wriggled its body in an attempt to escape, but Ellis would not let it.

On top of almost killing him, this thing was the perpetrator to mother fox’s death. While he had been unrelated to the fox before, right now, it was a completely different story. He had watched its belly grow for over a year. It was only natural for him to get somewhat attached, even if it was only to a corpse.

At the very least, a little bit of revenge was needed.

Thus, Ellis did not hesitate. With a blood-colored fist, he repeatedly beat down on the dragon’s head.

BOOM!

BOOOOM!

BOOOOOOOM!

The scales eventually cracked and broke underneath his constant pressure. At some point, the dragon’s surroundings had transformed into a large crater, with the epicenter being the dragon’s head.

Blood oozed out from between the gaps in its scales. The newly formed crater quickly filled with blood.

Ellis did not know how much time passed, but the Dragon had stopped moving. Even if he were to punch, it would not react.

It finally died.

He breathed out a wheezy sigh of relief. He briefly looked up. The sky, it had darkened. Night had long fallen.

“That, I… I win.”

Without another word, he closed his eyes and collapsed onto the floor.