A lot of voices quietly dissented. Joe dismissed them all. “You guys stuck with me because I promised to protect you. I'm not about to stop now. Keep the caravan stationary, I'm gonna put up my Deflection Field, then go try to draw it's attention away.”
Before anyone could stop him, Joe was already gone using Backtrack. Instead of going further up the road like he did when drawing attention away from the hawks, Joe went back the way they came, so if the caravan needed to flee they could flee towards Lefpool.
Joe used his Target Sight on the dragon first of all. It was still rather far away, but he didn't wait for it to come to him. Instead Joe cast Speed Boost and combined it with the new version of Cold Snap and started skating across the top of the swamp, leaving trails of frozen swampwater to show his path. His Telescopic Sight let him Inspect the dragon before it was upon him.
Frost Dragon. Dragons are the apex predator. They can fly, they have unusually tough scales, they are really strong, and they have elemental attacks. Frost dragons like to freeze their prey in place with their icy breath before biting through the frozen flesh at their leisure. Every part of a dragon would be useful, but so few people are capable of taking them down that it's practically only theory.
Joe let his Telescopic Sight end as the dragon was quickly approaching. He activated the Weakness Identifier ability of his hat and it showed him the dragon's heart inside of its chest. It must have a really strong skull if it didn't also show the brain.
Joe aimed and fired his raygun at the approaching dragon. Since he already knew the CGS considered his gun a weapon he cast Channel Fire first and saw the beam of lightning had flames dancing around it as it shot forth. It hit the dragon square in its chest, but was stopped by the dragon's scales. Even so, the dragon roared in anger that someone would try to hurt it and let out a breath of freezing cold. Joe's boosted speed and freezing path helped him just barely avoid it.
He had to keep up the evasive maneuvers until his raygun was ready to fire again. Thirty seconds didn't seem like a very long time when he first made his gun. Staring down a rampaging frost dragon and trying to avoid its breath made those same thirty seconds feel like an eternity. Finally it was time to fire again, and he again added Channel Fire to the attack. This time he also used Boost Spell on the Lightning Jolt. He actually made a hole through the outer scales of the dragon, but could still see its hide underneath. One more hit to break through its skin, and would probably need another beyond that to actually hit the heart.
This time when the dragon tried to freeze him, instead of skating away he used Backtrack to move to a patch of ice he had been on shortly before. The dragon didn't lose too much time homing in on his new position, but anything helped, of course. Joe had so many different effects up at once that as the seconds ticked by he could feel an improvement to his Focus skill. The extra Intelligence is a welcome boost to his spells' effectiveness against the frost dragon.
Finally he could end his Iceman impersonation and attack the dragon again as the thirty seconds had passed. Joe stood defiantly in front of the dragon and aimed with his raygun. Joe was able to hit the same location with the Boost Spell enhanced beam of fiery lightning. Just as expected it did break through the dragon's hide, but again, the dragon itself didn't seem to care much, other than responding with even more anger.
Luckily it did not take much mana to make an attack with his gun, even boosted, so he had plenty of mana to spare on mobility in the swamp. If his Minor Levitation was faster he'd use that, but teleporting and skating along the ice were still the best moves for evasive moment in this environment.
The dragon roared in frustration again and Joe got a CGS notice, but of course had no time to check it. The dragon tried to breathe on him but he once more teleported out of the way.
“STOP, FREEZE SO I EAT!”
Joe couldn't believe what he just heard, so he stopped and did a quick review in his head. The dragon had still roared, but Joe could understand that roar now. Joe highly suspected that the final rank of Tongue of All was just unlocked, and it allowed one to understand animals and monsters. Well, Tongue of All works both ways, so maybe he wouldn't have to kill the dragon to end this fight.
“Go away. I will not let you hurt my friends or take our animals.”
“FOOD SMELLS GOOD! AFTER I KILL YOU AND EAT I GO EAT IT, TOO!”
Well, so much for that option. Joe resigned himself to killing this dragon. It was almost time to use the raygun again. Joe looked at the dragon's heart with his Weakness Identifier ability and then the hole he had made into its chest. The angle wouldn't work except for much closer to the dragon. Joe started skating towards the dragon with a newly cast Speed Boost thanks to Cold Snap providing a path. The dragon unleashed its freezing straight at him, catching him in the blast.
Back when Melanie had learned Elemental Shield and started to train her Focus with it, Joe noticed that no one other than him could notice she had it active. There were no visual clues unless you could use Read Aura or had a high-ranked Sense Manachlorians ability. Joe had been using Elemental Shield ever since, training his own Focus, Meditation, and Mana Channeling skills. His Elemental Shield was up to level 4, his Focus up to level 15 before the likely increase he got during the dragon fight, his Meditation up to level 14, and his Mana Channeling up to level 17.
Even with as high as his Intelligence was and the level of his Elemental Shield which he had Boosted before he cast it, he wasn't able to defend against the entire breath. He took about 400 points of damage that he immediately fixed with Healing Touch. Finally he was in position so he used Boost Spell on both Channel Fire and Lightning Jolt to fire on the open hole in the dragon's chest.
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He teleported away and watched as the dragon made a harsh crash landing before hesitantly getting back up on its feet. It took a few tumbling steps, then tried to lift off of the ground. Instead of flying back into the air, it crashed onto the icy swamp surface again and stopped moving. Joe got several notification chimes at once. The dragon was dead and Joe got two levels in his Mage class for it. All four of his extra points went towards his Intelligence, as usual, and he picked the Paralyze spell, as well as a new one offered at level 10, Imbue Spell Conduit.
Paralyze (Level 1). This spell can prevent the target from moving or speaking for a short period of time. The target can resist the spell with the strength of their Wisdom versus the caster's Intelligence. The current level of the spell will paralyze the target for 5 seconds.
Mana cost: 125 mana
Imbue Spell Conduit (Level 1). This spell allows the caster to add an enchantment to any object that could be used as a spell conduit. The spell must be active during the entire creation process for any parts created by the caster. The spell funnels all mana from the caster while the spell is active to a magical matrix which will become part of the conduit upon completion of the spell. Breaks of no more than 10 hours can be taken or the matrix will fail. Any attempt to cast the spell again for a different item before completion of the first will cause the matrix to fail.
Stamina cost: 10 stamina per minute
Mana cost: The caster's entire mana pool, including everything that would refill while the spell is active.
His Speed Boost leveled to 3, Channel Fire to 2, Cold Snap to 7, Backtrack to 6, and Lightning Jolt to 9. His Ranged Weapons and Spell Conduits skills each got to level 3, as well. Joe definitely wanted to Harvest the dragon, but needed to wait for his mana to refill so he could get good magic from it, so he grabbed it by the tail and dragged it to where he left the caravan.
Kerras and Gymmie were wildly and excitedly discussing the fight between themselves, Melanie looked introspective as if she was wondering what she would have done against the dragon, Eleanor and Tess just stared at Joe, mouths agape. Finally Malcolm spoke up, “How did you survive that attack? Everyone knows how powerful a dragon's breath is. You're really strong, but I don't think your Vitality or Toughness are that high.”
“I do have another secret about myself, although this one isn't some weird thing unique to me, this is, as far as I can tell, something all Mages can eventually do. I can learn spells from watching people cast them. I learned Melanie's Elemental Shield when she did and have been keeping it going as much as possible so it's now level 4. With my Boost Spell ability I was able to get it strong enough that I could survive the damage that carried over from the dragon's breath.”
Melanie then asked, “So that fire we saw added to the beam of your gun, that was Channel Fire?”
Sheepishly Joe replied, “Uh, yeah. Sorry for stealing your spells.”
“Sorry? Joe, that was a frost dragon. If you didn't have fire to attack it with it may have survived long enough to wear even you down. I'm glad someone else knows how to use these spells well. It means you can teach me even better.”
Tess asked, “Have you learned any spells from the rest of us?”
“No, I learned Glior's spell for summoning a dagger and I learned two spells from the Enchanted Smith Davis, but I haven't seen any of the rest of you cast spells except for your Healing Touch, Tess, which I already know.”
Malcolm then offered, “Would you like to learn more?”
While waiting for his mana to refill Joe spent time learning more spells from the others. From Malcolm he learned Shadow Cloak, Straighten Wood, and Imbue Wooden Object. From Tess he learned Root Trap, Animal Status, Dye Fabric, and Imbue Fabric Object. Finally from Eleanor he learned Torchlight and Imbue Alchemical Product.
Shadow Cloak (Level 1). This spell gathers shadow around the caster to assist in blending in under dark or shadowy conditions. At the current level the effect lasts 1 minute.
Stamina cost: 15 stamina
Straighten Wood (Level 1). This spell will straighten any unwanted curves or bends from a wooden object or log. Full straightening may not be achieved in a single casting depending on the severity and size of the object. The higher the caster's Vitality, the more straightening can be achieved.
Stamina cost: 25 stamina
Imbue Wooden Object (Level 1). This spell is used to permanently enchant an object made up of at least 50% wood with a magical effect. The spell must be used the during the entire creation of the object or it will fail. Breaks of no longer than 10 hours can be taken or the magical matrix formed by the spell will fail. Non-wooden parts need not be created while this spell is active or even created by the caster, although the more the spell is active during the creation process, the stronger the result will be.
Stamina cost: 10 stamina per minute
Mana cost: The caster's entire mana pool, including everything that would refill while the spell is active.
Root Trap (Level 1). Magically created roots surge up from the ground around the target and bind it in place. The strength of the roots is dependent on the caster's Wisdom and the level of the spell.
Mana cost: 20 mana per minute
Animal Status (Level 1). See the health, age, and well-being of an animal.
Mana cost: 5 mana per casting
Dye Fabric (Level 1). Change the color on one object made of fabric. This change is permanent.
Stamina cost: 50 stamina per casting
Imbue Fabric Object (Level 1). This spell is used to permanently enchant an object made up of at least 50% fabric with a magical effect. The spell must be used the during the entire creation of the object or it will fail. Breaks of no longer than 10 hours can be taken or the magical matrix formed by the spell will fail. Non-fabric parts need not be created while this spell is active or even created by the caster, although the more the spell is active during the creation process, the stronger the result will be.
Stamina cost: 10 stamina per minute
Mana cost: The caster's entire mana pool, including everything that would refill while the spell is active.
Torchlight (Level 1) This spell creates a small hovering light above the caster that softly illuminates the surrounding area. The area affected is based on the spell's level. At the current level the spell lasts for 1 minute.
Stamina cost: 5 stamina per casting.
Imbue Alchemical Product (Level 1). Normally an alchemical compound's strength and properties are based entirely on its ingredients. This spell allows the caster to channel mana into an alchemical product during its creation to strengthen its effects and/or add additional effects to it. The spell must be maintained during the entire creation process. Breaks of no longer than 10 hours can be taken or the magical matrix formed by the spell will fail.
Stamina cost: 10 stamina per minute
Mana cost: The caster's entire mana pool, including everything that would refill while the spell is active.
Joe refilled his mana with that diversion and began casting Harvest on the frost dragon.