Meera took Verna by the hand and went to sit as far away from the door as she could in case the dragons broke in here. Given their size, it would be hard. Verna grew quiet again as the sounds of the dragons' carnage overhead had grown closer. They had all grown quiet.
Kalrina tried to sit by them, but Meera sent a chakram zipping her way, which stopped an inch short of slicing through her neck.
"You're sitting on the opposite wall," Meera whispered.
"But that puts me in direct line of sight in the chance the door breaks," Kalrina protested—her tone as that of a protesting child.
"I don't care. Do you have that little faith in your defenses?" Meera motioned to the mirrors covering the door.
"Against a dragon's breath…yes. We'd need something made of bedrock, and even then, we'd have a minimal chance of surviving."
"I. Don't. Care."
Kalrina huffed and sat on the opposite wall. "We're going to be here for a few hours. It's best we get some rest."
She rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Meera didn't need much sleep, as she had slept many hours before coming to this world. So, she was good to go for many hours. Besides, she planned on blinking as little as possible while in the room with that snake.
Meera watched the witch for several minutes, and the dragons had made her tumble off her high horse. Gone were the fancy dresses and the perfect makeup that would make any man swoon, and replaced it with someone who looked like she had been jumped for everything she owned. Unless this was all an illusion, one could never tell with her.
After a few more minutes, Meera saw the gentle rise and fall of her chest, indicating she had gone to sleep. Only then did she bring up her notifications. After all, she had killed a dragon and was expecting something good.
*ding!*
[You have killed Sootscale Dragonling – Level 438. For killing an opponent ninety levels higher than your own, you have gained bonus experience.]
*ding!*
[Congratulation. The Shadow Image has gained 8 levels and reached Level 352. You have been awarded 24 stat points]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Chakram of Echoes effect activated. Upon reaching Level 350 in your main class, you have earned one more Chakrams.]
One more chakram appeared on her arm. Both her arms were filling quite fast. She had nineteen regular chakrams. She badly needed to make more level 2 chakrams, but not here, not in front of the witch.
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror's Affinity has gained 5 levels and reached Level 247. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 251% boost.]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Armor of Mirrors has gained 4 levels and reached Level 128]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Tower Shield has gained 7 levels and reached Level 124]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Blast has gained 3 levels and reached Level 116]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Vitalize has gained 5 levels and reached Level 125]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Wing has gained 3 levels and reached Level 124]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Shadow Coating has gained 4 levels and reached Level 86]
*ding!*
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
[Congratulations. Spectral Dominion has gained 4 levels and reached Level 28]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Death Mark has gained 3 levels and reached Level 73]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Shadow Affinity has gained 5 levels and reached Level 106. All of your shadow-based attacks will get a 109% boost.]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Spectral Resilience has gained 6 levels and reached Level 118]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Iron Skin has gained 7 levels and reached Level 92]
Next was the part she was waiting for—the skills she obtained from a dragon. She was practically tingling with excitement. After all, they had been hyped up, and she expected some god-like skill, even if it were a baby dragon.
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Eternal Embers – Type: Passive. You erupt into a fiery explosion upon death, dealing massive damage to nearby foes and leaving behind smoldering ashes. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Smoke Eclipse. Smoke Eclipse – Type: Active. You exhale a massive cloud of thick, choking smoke, obscuring the battlefield and enveloping your enemies in darkness. Within the veil of smoke, you become all but invisible, and your shadow or darkness affinity attacks become devastating. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
The choice was obvious between the two. Either become a lethal force in darkness or take one last potshot after death. She would've been a menace if she had the latter skill while training with the Wardens. Since she didn't have Brison to bring her back, she chose Smoke Eclipse.
Now, the question arose once more—which skill to let go of? She went down her list, and one stuck out as very similar to Smoke Eclipse.
It was almost the same as Smoke Eclipse, but it utilized mists and didn't give her attacks any added punch.
She let go of Mist Concealment.
*ding!*
[You have acquired the skill Smoke Eclipse – Level 1]
She allocated her stat points to Dexterity, Endurance, and Focus. With the bulk of it going into Focus. After getting a taste of that level 3 chakram, she wanted to make one that was stable and wouldn't break after one hit, and she needed a lot more Mana to keep it steady.
She sat there staring off into the distance until boredom finally got the better of her, and she dozed off.
Meera heard footsteps, which woke her up. She saw Kalrina's outstretched hand coming for her, most likely to steal a chakram, the Gem of Echoes, or even her necklace, which stored the armor.
"You have one second to take your hand back, or I will cut it off," Meera said coolly.
"You really need to cool off, dearie, or you might burst a blood vessel," the witch replied. "It's time to move. I think the dragons have moved on."
"You think, or you know?"
"I must've done something bad to piss you off so much, and I admit to enjoying getting on people's nerves, but as of right now, we're both in the same boat. You need me as much as I need you." Kalrina crossed her arms. "Last I looked, it was you who had brought those nature's calamities down upon us."
Meera huffed and looked away. For one, she could only bear to look at the witch's ugly mug for so long, and secondly, she was painfully right. The dragons were chasing them because Meera had killed the dragonling.
"Say, how did you get so strong that you're killing dragons in less than a month?" Kalrina smiled. "When I saw you last, you struggled to kill my golems?"
"I trained with a few powerful individuals," Meera left it at that.
"Fine, be like that." She bent down to raise Verna, who had curled up on the floor, still clutching the medicine bag for her mother. "Though I must admit, I am quite curious about your shining armor and horse skill. That was clearly an illusion. It seems you gained more than the Crystal of Darthin from the Cave of Wraiths."
Meera slapped Kalrina's hand away. "Don't touch her. If I wasn't here, you might have even thrown the girl to the dragons to save your own hide."
Kalrina's face twitched, and for a moment, she looked down as if hurt. "Children are sacred to me. Even I'm not as depraved as that."
"I've seen the depths of your depravity in the Cave of Wraiths."
Meera gently shook Verna. "It's time to go."
Verna rubbed sleep from her eyes. Then shot up into a seating position. "Oh no, what time is it? My mother…"
"Shh, it's okay, little one," Kalrina said, caressing her cheek. "It's only been a few hours at most. We've still got lots of time to get the medicine to your mum."
She headed for the door and dissolved the mirror armament. Meera focused on the sounds coming from beyond the door and heard nothing—not even the sound of wind rolling on by."
Kalrina carefully opened the door, and they moved out to a world of carnage. Firstly, there was no roof over their heads. Stars shone, along with Mirithia. The dragons had leveled this place. Rubble and broken pieces of wood lay strewn about everywhere. Some wood was charred black and still smoked.
Meera checked the skies, and there were no dragons. Still, they carefully picked their way around the cluttered stairs as they made their way above. The ruins of the building were ominous, but the lack of any guttural growling or flaming roars gave Meera some assurance that they might find their way to this safe haven.
Kalrina made a shushing sound by placing a finger on her lips and formed a flying mirror disc wide enough for them all to stand on. She jumped on it and motioned for them to come on up. Meera was skeptical, but they wouldn't make any noise this way.
She handed Verna to Kalrina and then jumped on. Despite the additional weight, the disc remained hovering a few feet off the ground. They took off a moment later, flying over the wreckage of what was someone's home—someone wealthy, but not so anymore.
Kalrina swerved them onto a main street, and the scenes here made Meera want to turn back. Scores of people turned to charred husks, lay in the streets as they, no doubt, tried to escape the dragons' fury.
"This is horrifying." Meera wondered out loud.
"This is what remains of the greatest city in all the worlds," Kalrina replied. "We're truly in the end days now."
No sooner had they spoken that Meera heard a whooshing sound. It was unmistakably the sound of flapping wings.
Kalrina's eyes widened.
A dragon rose from among the wreckage a few streets over. Thankfully, it was one of the dragonlings and not the dragon mother.
"Keep us moving. I'll protect us," Meera yelled.