Ashley

While we fly in the direction of the other mini boss, the thought of asking Blake to let me kill him in a System Event that will let him resurrect briefly crosses my mind. Just to get his rather convenient skill set. Until I realize that it wouldn’t work anyways.

Not with the fact that they’re spells in the first place. And spells aren’t just something you can instantly get the skill for mana manipulation and use well. Especially for a perfect manipulation skill.

Especially since I’m sure a lot of his spells that he’s using are personalized ones he himself made. Whether through combining his mana manipulations or using his perfect mana manipulation skill.

Not to mention the fact that I’d end up with higher level skills if I waited.

So I don’t say anything about it, and we eventually find the alpha dracoraptor.

But unlike the drachne lord, the alpha dracoraptor is still in relatively good shape as it charges after a force of kobolds with a small pack of regular dracoraptors charging with it.

I narrow my eyes at the creature, just studying it to see what shape it’s in.

The creature is missing one of its short hands, along with several patches of scales across its body. Some of which seem to be tainted with a purplish-crimson color implying the alpha was poisoned by the drachne lord.

Other than that though, it’s just missing one eye, with no significant injuries that leave openings to attack like the drachne lord’s rather exposed organs. Clearly showing who won their little battle.

And if I had to guess, the only reason the drachne lord got away was because of its poison.

The poison is clearly spreading. But why it hasn’t spread all the way through its body by now is beyond me.

At least, until I see the alpha chomping down on a kobold, making the poison retreat a tiny bit. As if the creature’s process of eating something heals it.

I stare at it for several seconds before glancing at Blake and giving him a nod.

He nods back and we both quickly move up towards the alpha from the air as it’s focusing on tearing the kobolds to shreds.

I want this thing’s skills.

A healing skill would be very helpful after all.

Not sure how I feel about the idea of needing to eat creatures for it to work though. But I’ve got all these bite skills, so maybe I should…

Whatever. I’ll see what happens when I take its skills.

I activate Assimilate again.

{You have activated Assimilate. The skill will last for ten minutes, and you will gain the ability to permanently unlock the Skill Trees of anything you kill during this time.}

Then I quickly begin to activate numerous skills at once. Just like I did against the drachne lord. Meanwhile Blake does the same.

But instead of attacking a wounded drachne lord, we attack a distracted alpha dracoraptor.

And our combined attacks prove to stagger the creature and worsen some of its wounds a bit, even with the creature noticing us long before the attacks strike. With the creature doing nothing to block it and instead just trying to dodge. Likely implying it doesn’t have defensive skills.

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Despite our attacks though, the creature’s wounds don’t actually worsen all that much. Even with half of our attacks landing directly, and me even directly slashing at its poisoned area with my claws.

All I do is cause some cracks on its wound, with Blake making it drip some blood from its mouth.

Before it opens its mouth wide and lets out a loud screech as a ball of black and crimson flames emerges in front of it.

A ball that instantly makes me back away as quickly as I can, with Blake teleporting away himself.

I don’t move quickly enough though, and am forced to create several Silver Barriers in front of me along with barriers of destruction mana. But the ball of destruction flames shoots out in one powerful jet straight at my barriers, shattering one after another without even pausing.

Shit.

I grit my teeth as I continue flying backwards while making more and more barriers to block the shot, but every barrier is destroyed without hesitation.

Even when Blake forms spatial barriers in front of me to help out, they’re shattered just as easily.

And right when the jet of destruction flames is about to reach me, I finally activate the skill I took from the drachne lord.

Cocoon of Destruction.

A skill I really wasn’t expecting to need so soon.

Just like with the drachne lord when I used Frigid Tempest Call before on it, a large cocoon of crimson thread appears around me. Then the cocoon begins to tremble when the destruction breath hits it, rapidly tearing away at the cocoon.

But unlike the previous barriers, the cocoon constantly repairs itself, fighting back against the breath.

Seconds pass as the breath continues to wear away at my cocoon.

All the way until the breath finally stops along with a screech of pain from the alpha itself.

When my cocoon slowly fades away from my canceling the skill, I look beyond it to find the dracoraptor missing a leg. Right where the poisoned portion of its body was.

I glance at Blake to find him panting in exhaustion, the man clearly having managed to sever the alpha’s leg where the poison weakened it. Likely stopping its breath attack at the same time.

Then I turn back towards the alpha as I draw my blades and fly straight down, blasting flames behind me through fire spells to speed me up before I slash both of my blades straight into the alpha’s head when it turns to look at me.

But even with my speed, with Chaos Energy flowing through my weapons, and with its own weakened form, the alpha opens its mouth and strikes back with its large fangs against my blades. With energy shooting out from our clash.

I tighten my grip on my blades as I continue pushing into the creature, with Blake using his spatial magic to hold back the alpha’s remaining paw that it tries to strike me with during our clash.

Seconds pass as the energy radiates out from our clash, sending the other raptors who just happen to be here yet are too weak to do anything flying.

Slowly the alpha’s teeth begin to crack, surprising me a little with just how durable these blades are. Until I remember that they’re made from a part of Chaos.

Then the cracks expand until the alpha’s teeth shatter, and my blades push straight into the alpha’s mouth, cutting it open. Albeit without killing it.

Not yet at least.

I narrow my eyes as I fall to the ground on top of the alpha, only for the alpha to let out a loud screech that hurts my eardrums so bad that I feel blood dripping down from them with my vision growing a little hazy. Meanwhile I see soundwaves floating through the air outwards from the alpha’s mouth. All in crimson colors.

The haziness in my head grows worse and worse before I slowly begin to lose consciousness.

But right when everything is about to go fully dark, a large barrier appears around my head, blocking my view. And the sound vanishes in an instant, leaving me panting in exhaustion and pain.

Not long after that, another ringing sound echoes out in my head, making me wince before a System Message appears in my still-hazy vision.

{You have been granted 100 Skill Points for killing a mini boss within a Unique Domain.}

{You have slain a being while Assimilate is active. You have now unlocked the Skill Tree: Destruction-Touched Alpha Dracoraptor}

{You have unlocked a new Skill Tree, therefore the root skill of the Skill Tree, Alpha’s Breath, is now unlocked for your usage.}

{Congratulations, you have now reached level 81. Your PHY and MEN have increased by 1 point, and your MAG by 2 points. Please choose where you wish your 1 Free Point to be allocated.}

I feel the corners of my lips quirking upwards, only for me to wince at the ringing still running through my head right now. Then the barrier vanishes again, leaving me finding myself lying on top of the alpha dracoraptor with a spear made of spatial mana piercing through its mouth and up into its head. No doubt into its brain.

My gaze slowly moves over towards Blake to find him rushing towards me.

Until the last of my consciousness begins to fade, leaving me with one question that I can’t help but wonder.

How many times am I going to fall unconscious in this place…?