She was startled slightly with a high-pitched voice as her body was raised abruptly. Almost falling, Conall quickly supported and brought her away to the blue grass near the campsite.
Laying her on the ground, he lied down beside her, ear to ear. The universe exposed itself before them, countless stars hanging in the sky whilst paving way for the lost.
Juliette’s eyes suddenly as she saw something unexpected. Above, through the beautiful night skies, a green falling star made its way through, painting the world in its blask.
Quickly, after the falling meteor, tens of dragons flew up, chasing it and the mana contained within. Exceptionally rare, they witnessed the famous star chasing.
“Julie.”
He called out to her, to which she answered almost immediately.
“Yes?”
“To me, for something to be wasted, you would have to regret it afterwards. If so, then I used the elixirs better than anyone ever could.”
Her heart started beating harder all of a sudden
Collecting her thoughts, she asked him all of a sudden.
“Conall, do you want to form a party with me?”
At those words, unbeknownst to them, a certain pair of eyes opened, a white ring glowing around the irises.
…
Crouching behind a large rock, three humans hid themselves from a dragon sitting on the red willow. They were just a few hundred meters away from him and their plan was simple. Using her cloak of invincibility, Silvana would carry a couple of Grade B beast crystals to a certain location away from them before coming back.
Enticing the dragon, they would slowly lure it out of the mountain range, which was beyond the kilometers long ridge behind him.
“Now?”
“Now.”
With a last word from Conall, she activated the cloak’s ability before running close to the dragon. Even him, who was a master of mana, wasn’t able to notice her, which greatly improved her notion of the item.
Standing a few tens of meters away, she hid the crystals behind a small rock. All of them put in a bag with a magic circle that ‘tried’ to mask their mana.
The dragon would surely get very suspicious if a beast crystal appeared out of nowhere, a grade B one, no less, but Conall counted for the lack of any dragonberries on the tree.
Though it would be even more shady, they would just change the plan and come another day if the first part didn’t work.
Quickly returning to the rock, she entered the barrier that masked their presence and deactivated the ability, which either needed a long cooldown, or a large refill of mana to be able to cast it once again.
Once she reappeared by their side, the bag of three beast crystals that acted as a bait gained attention of a certain someone.
A large dragon appeared from thin air. Much larger compared to other Grade B monsters of its kind, it also had proper, hard, and crimson scales unlike its peers. However, a thing that couldn’t be beaten with talent was greed.
Invited by the delicious smell of mana coming a few meters away, the dragon moved through the grassy mountain side, not questioning the origin of said crystals.
Seeing this and the state of the tree, Conall judged that the dragon corpse under it must have already been drained by it completely.
Ripping apart the bag, its orange eyes sharpened before instantly putting its body on the crystals, as though to hide it away from other dragons.
Absorbing the mana inside it, he spent a few minutes basking in the remnants that were the crystals. Yet, before the monster could properly leave the place and go back to its tree, his eyes went in another direction from which similar energy was being released.
Running through the mountain with its four legs, the dragon let out a joyful breath seeing another stash of beast crystals. With this, its dragonheart would actually eat properly.
Every few minutes, they slowly made they way through the mountain, however, when they were about enter the territory near the ridge, the dragon began hesitating.
It realized that it was far away from the dragon tree after chasing the beast crystals. At the same time, the berries his tree released weren’t daily anymore like in the past. Actually, nowadays, it was rare for it to even create a dragonberry every week.
Whispering something to Silvana, Conall made an offer to intensify the beast’s greed. Quickly going to the bag unnoticed, she added a few more Grade B crystals and went back to their hideout.
Tweaking the magic circle from afar, it appeared as though it was breaking all of a sudden, revealing a stronger scent of mana to the beast.
It was all that was needed. Standing on top of the ridge, the dragon’s eyes glittered as it saw ten beast crystals in the bag, taking it over on the other side to have some space.
Conall, seeing as the dragon was slowly leaving the mountain range, looked at it with resolute eyes. What they were doing right now was nothing but powering it up before the fight, so, he turned to Juliette, telling her to execute the final part of the plan.
Taking out a Grade A beast crystal he borrowed from Silvana, Juliette saw as it was inscribed with countless magic circles to hide its presence.
Nearly the size of her head, it was both large and heavy, though to her it felt like a feather. Preparing her body in a stance, she waited for a second before rushing forward using her skill.
The others saw as she sped through the mountain without an issue, almost looking like a trail of light that made its way up.
In a few seconds, Juliette was already next to the dragon, grinning while staring at his face. At the exact moment, Silvana crushed some of the magical circles, just so the dragon heart would sense the Grade A crystal’s mighty mana.
With a sneer on her face, Juliette began to run down the mountain, gaining even more speed while retaining balance.
The dragon’s pupils constricted themselves as they stared at the human, who stole the treasure of its mountain before it could find it.
Forgetting about the Grade B crystals under his body, the dragon flapped its wings, flying down the mountain after the thief, not even noticing that the human was Grade A herself.
To not waste any time, Silvana took Conall in her arms before running up the mountain. All of her stats were at the edge of entering the second gate, so it didn’t take long before they were also going down the mountain at full speed.
In less than a minute, they had already moved to the other side of the mountain range, standing on the blue grass that stretched across for a few more kilometers.
At that time, they saw it. A couple kilometers ahead of them, the dragon released a breath of condensed fire from its mouth, at the tall and wide tree that was hiding the human.
Even though the tree itself was tough and Grade B, the fire that spread around it burned it far too quickly. The base, where the heat was mostly concentrated, rapidly turned to ash. In just a few seconds, the enormous tree began to fall down, and like a little mouse, the dragon saw the human run away at the last second.
Angrily, it roared, but there was no dragon around to hear him. Even if they did, they would do nothing. There were countless roars spreading through the mountains every minute. It would simply be drowned out by others.
With fury in its eyes intensifying as it saw another two humans join her and store away the beast crystal, the claws on its limbs elongated themselves while the horns on top of his head began to glow like a molten metal.
'Get away at the last moment!'
Conall shouted in his spirit as he realized what skill it was going to use.
‘A last resort already? How greedy are you?’
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He mused while preparing to run away, a blue shine around his body. Silvana had already cast her own mana shield on him to protect him from the dangerous fight.
She also cast it on Juliette, just in case.
Standing on his two hind legs, the monster’s chest became even more rotund, light glowing through the gaps around the tough scales.
Falling down, he released the deadly beam of condensed fire at them, who were fortunately able to dodge it without a casualty.
Looking back, Juliette’s eyes looked in disbelief at the power generated from a Grade B. In the hill far behind them, a small hole was made, while the path towards it was itself scorched and destroyed.
‘So this is the power of a dragonheart.’
She didn’t ponder about it too long. They needed to take care of him, after all.
Aura filled her body, especially her limbs. As the light blue energy coated her sword, Julie felt a deeper connection descend all over her body.
Lunging forward at the enemy, she performed a swift slash. Hearing a loud clang and feeling something sturdy, she saw the beast struggle, trying to stop the attacks with its claws.
Just as the knightess was about to use even more of her strength, the dragon quickly jumped away before he breathed fire at her.
Not as condensed as the beam, it was still a heavy fire, but not something she couldn’t deal with.
With aura surrounding her body, she repelled the Grade B fire mana while releasing a strike of her own, a great deal of spirit energy coallesceing around her blade.
Slashing through the air lightning quick, five slashed combined themselves into one before a wolf made its way through the fire, quickly arriving at the scales of the monster.
With a ferocious look, the wolf’s teeth were about to penetrate through his natural armor. Yet, just when the aura touched his body, a fiery film appeared around it, burning through the spiritual energy.
'Was that a skill?'
She asked inwardly, her voice aimed at the red-haired boy standing in the back.
'Yes, it’s a defensive one.'
'Is it timed?'
'No, you have to destroy it, but he won’t be able to use another one during the fight.'
With a quick exchange through their spiritual connection, Juliette nodded while determination filled her eyes. Once again, fierce aura gathered in her sword, and she released an attack after attack, not allowing the dragon to rest even once.
Even though he tried to move back a few times, he quickly noticed something around him.
A large wall made up of an transparent, blue energy gathered around him, stopping his way around the expansive hills. Enraged, he moved the mana in the air. Breaking the walls apart with utter ease, he had gone away from them, but the damage was already done.
Witnessing as his protective shield diminished from the attacks and how the human girl was still coming after him, he used another skill.
The mana around the battlefield became hasty as he began controlling it. Even Conall somewhat felt the change, not to mention the witch.
Juliette was performing simple slashes of energy, aiming at every part of his body, however, something changed about him.
Suddenly, five fires appeared in the place of where the attack were going to hit, followed by another five to deal with the rest of the slashes.
Casting multiple spells at once, something considered unparalleled, the monster swiftly overwhelmed the quantity of her attacks, beginning to send out his ones of his own.
Silvana struggled to cast her own magic in this place. It swirled around like an uncontrolled storm as the dragon increased his control over mana.
Using its nature as an exerter, the dragon spaced his mana all across the place, sending out attacks from thin air when they would least expect it.
As Conall and Silvana dodged an attack that came from their behind, they quickly got away from each other as a great ball of fire was coming their way.
She needed to speed things up, thought Julie. Increasing the output of aura around her body, she quickly sent out aura slashes with just enough energy to split the enormous and exploding fireballs apart.
Taking care of the incoming attacks, she ran closer to the beast with the hopes of further depleting the fiery shield.
Yet, the monster simply flew up into the skies. Pouring its hot breath onto the scorched ground, it watched the humans be engulfed in a blazing ocean once again.
With a visible sneer in his orange eyes, he released the fiery breath once again, even harsher than before.
Below, Silvana grit her teeth while tightening the muscles of her body, trying to keep up with the mana barrier she cast around her and Conall.
They weren’t worried about Juliette because they could see her calmly preparing something. Instead, they looked at the circular barrier that was constantly leaking fire to the inside, gradually raising the temperature.
The mana shield around their bodies slowly began to smear away before they could properly regenerate, so Silvana tried her hardest to regain control, even in this messy manasphere.
In front of them, Juliette walked through the fire, her aura fencing off the mediocre warmth she felt. Locating the dragon in the sky, she activated one of her own skills, Wolf’s Eye, and the world around her changed.
Turning muddy yellow, the fire no longer clouded her sight, as though seeing right through it. Focusing on the mythical monster hovering in the sky, she saw all of his vital spots.
Claws appeared on her feet as she lowered herself to the ground. Immediately, all the fire around her dispersed as she advanced through the air, bending the ground beneath her feet.
Before the dragon could move away, he felt its shield break apart in the chest before a resounding pain spread through it. A mighty force pused it back down, all the way to the ground.
Filling her leg with aura, Juliette kicked the breast area that would be least protected. Using all of her strength as a Grade A, she watched as the dragon couldn’t flap its wings to save himself, crushing to the ground and plowing through it.
Stopping after a few meters, it was still surprised to witness the human’s prowess. Soon collecting himself, the monster saw as the human girl was already right beside him, her sword releasing a dreary feeling.
Creating a wall of heavy, condensed fire almost instantly, it tried to cover itself, however, the energy contained within was much too great for his level.
Piercing through, it travelled across his whole body, depleting large amounts of the shield he activated a few minutes earlier.
Quickly moving away, they saw as he took flight once again, creating harsh winds with the flapping of his wings. But it wasn’t just wind. Riddled with mana, he breathed fire at it, and the wind spun at tremendous speeds, combining together with the flames.
Whirls of pure, scorching fire scattered across the battlefield, going after all of them.
Conall felt heat similar to that of Heph’s smithy, despite the fact that he was a couple meters away from the nearest whirl.
Together with Silvana, they moved back, watching as Juliette dispersed the fire tornadoes, only for them to come back a second later.
Although it seemed like it, their mission wasn’t to actually attack them. Connecting themselves, a large fire tornado spread through the hills, trying to get Juliette inside its very center.
Leaving the attack to do its thing, the dragon flew higher in the sky and opened its mouth aiming at the clouds above.
Before long, the fire he spit out started falling, directly towards the fire tornado.
“Can you add another layer of protection?”
Conall asked the girl beside him calmly, to which she promptly replied. She also had a bad feeling about the falling fire that was slowly deforming itself.
“I’ll try, but I don’t guarantee it.”
“That’s good enough.”
Having said that, he turned his head to Juliette, who was still performing attacks at the tornado with hopes to diffuse it.
‘Juliette, be careful. It’s going to explode in a few seconds.’
Using his soul, he let his thoughts be known to the silver-haired girl. Ever since they created their bond as a party yesterday, their spirit were connected on a different, much deeper level.
They no longer needed to use their vocal cords to communicate. As the voice reached the girl, she momentarily glanced back.
‘Alright, thank you.’
She used her aura pathways to their utmost limit, pouring out as much spirit as possible. Almost like a bubble, the rippling aura scattered across her body as she looked up to the thousands of acuminate droplets of fire raining near the tornado.
Once they appeared near the ground, the tornado shrunk down in size, catching a white glow while reaching a critical point.
Despite closing their eyes, they were still blinded by the sudden flash, their ears resounding.
At the last moment, Silvana erected another barrier in the middle. It was stronger because of its smaller structural integrity, and she thanked Conall for proposing the idea quite quickly.
They saw hundreds of fire pellets stuck in the second layer, the mana crumbling apart.
Up ahead, Juliette came out of the crater created from the explosion. Her skin had become quite rosey, but it was nothing lethal.
In the sky above them, the dragon flapped his wings as he let out a disappointed scoff. The humans were strong, but so was he, and there was no way he would give up the Grade A crystal after all he did already. His potential advancement was on the line here.
Once he took hold of a peak from some other dragon, the dragonheart would finally be able to evolve its already powerful skills and become the hegemon of these mountains.
As if his abilities weren’t scary already, his scales glowed bright red all around. A fire different from the shield rapidly covered his body. Performing a sharp, quick flop of the wide wings, he shed itself, forming another dragon beside him, made purely out of fire.
With all the roars and sounds drowning any voice, Juliette asked in her head.
‘What’s that skill?’
‘A copy of himself.’
‘Great.’
With annoyed sarcasm, she prepared her sword and body as the two dragons took a leap down at her while not caring about the other two, who weren’t a threat.
Of course, Conall and the witch wouldn’t neglect such an opportunity. Since the dragon ended his enhanced mana control to activate the copy, Silvana experienced a surge of confidence.
The dragons were about to both breathe fire while crashing into Juliette. Or so the dragon thought.