I've been living in the trees. The day/night cycle seems inconsistent in this fracture, but it hasn't been long since my last encounter with that pack of dragons.

I'm in the middle of their territory, and if I could find one alone, I could gain some experience. Lately, I've been eating bark. It doesn't taste as bad as I thought it would.

I've been stalking them from high up in the trees. They noticed me a few times, but strangely, they never pursued me. The dragons used intimidation tactics to scare me away, which I played along with... then I'd sneak back over.

They seem adept in handling arboreal creatures… I should keep a lookout for things living in the trees.

I've followed guides in my [Lexicon], Survival, tracking, stealth techniques, and others. With that information, I've been fashioning a new weapon.

I resummoned my blade somewhere and climbed the nearby tree. I've learned how to change the blade in many shapes, with the caveat that it has to be considered a 'blade.'

I created a massive bladed spearhead. The point is pretty sharp, and the only thing that differentiates it from an actual spear is that the handle is not nearly long enough.

It's like someone took a greatsword and turned it into a spearhead without caring for balance or composition. With a durable branch whittled slightly and some reliant vines, I tied the new 'blade' to the long stick. The blade was half the length of my body, but with the new handle, this thing is still a mess.

It's now half a body taller than me and a pain in the ass to swing around, but this isn't what this is for. The spray of blood that accompanies my summoning of the blade was purposeful.

I tested this monstrosity on some inanimate targets the day before, so I'm confident in my aim. I wait a few minutes, and my hand sweats as it grips the wooden shaft.

Three [Feathered Ancient Claw-Foot Dragons] appear from the bushes and examine the surroundings. They smelled something delicious and familiar in their territory again, but I was ready and waiting this time...

I'm confident - and risking my life on the fact - that there won't be more coming or nearby to notice this commotion. I wait for the biggest one of the three to stop to investigate the blood at the tree base.

Then I throw. I don't [Battered Bones] to increase my damage since the sound might give me away. Instead, I use my sword's other skill and sacrifice my health for damage.

Half of it. Half of 19,000 is being sent plummeting at the creature, not to mention my other damage bonuses for attacking a living creature, using a blade, and throwing an object.

The dragon noticed my sword spear much too late. It tried to sidestep, but instead of breaking open its skull and pinning it to the jungle's floor, the entire right side of the creature was sheared off. Organs splatter the ground as blood flies everywhere.

[Hurl D lv 4 > lv5

Thrown attacks are stronger.

Damage: + 40%

Velocity: + 50% ⬆ ]

I imbued that skill with my externalized pain. The death may be instant, but it wasn't painless.

It seemed overkill, but now I have a rough estimate of how much health they have. The two other dragons predictably noticed me and charged straight up the tree. Pack animals don't like it when you kill a member of their own.

Wait. These dragons live in packs... but they wouldn't be considered "pack animals." Huh.

I slid down the tree to meet them. I control my speed by pressing my fingertips into the rough tree bark. One opens its mouth in preparation to bite me, so I target that one.

I aim for its mouth. I use the momentum of my fall to shove my foot down its mouth. The teeth shred my shins, but having someone's leg up to the knee inside your mouth isn't fun.

It's about human size and must be absolutely reeling from the sudden intrusion, so much so that it stumbles off the tree and falls two hundred feet down, with me partially in it.

I use one hand to form a fist. My middle finger slightly protrudes from the second knuckle. Using this fist, I punch it in the forehead, activating the skill [Donkey Punch] right before we hit the ground.

Of course, I imbue it with pain.

Critical Hit!

-3274!

It's overwhelmed with pain from my 'intrusion,' my skill, and the fall. Its mind must be blank since it allows me to make the first move.

I punch the right side of the jaw repeatedly, using my exploratory leg to keep it still. I break its jaw and end its life as the second dragon reaches the bottom.

My [Royal Decree] grants me a few seconds to free my leg from the mangled jaw, regenerate some health, and create a new sword.

I crack my neck and stretch my slime-covered leg before kicking the ground and charging at it. Right before the skill would end, either from the creature breaking free or the threat to its life, I imbue my skill with more pain.

The pain instantly broke the dragon free, but it was a distraction enough for me to get a hit in. I aimed for the neck, but it still managed to move its feet and step back. I cut into its face and ruined one of its eyes.

The dragon seems to notice its disadvantageous situation. Two of its mates died relatively quickly, and it's missing an eye. It turns tail and attempts to run away, but we can't have that now, can we?

I use [Royal Decree] and imbue it with madness. It didn't matter what I initially ordered because there's no telling what would happen next.

Instead, the creature starts acting erratically. It runs into a rock and slams its head a few times. Then it turns around and charges me. It jumps at me with both its hind legs extended forwards.

I drop to the floor, and the dragon misses its attack and flies overhead. I turn around to the dragon shaking itself out of a stupor. I jump on its back and wrap my legs under it, using my feet to latch around the inside of its legs.

It tries to buck me off, so I stab it in the other eye. My blade reaches its brain, and it collapses. Besides the occasional twitching, it's unmoving, dead.

I want to scream. Yell out in accomplishment and frustration, but I don't have the time. I picked out the teeth still embedded in my leg and snagged some dinner.

~~~

Starting a fire in a tree sounded dumb, so I ate my dragon raw. I used some vines, sap, and their feathers to make some plumage to wear as a hat. I don't have the means to turn their scales into leather, so no clothes for me. I, however, harvest their [Claw-Foot]s and tie them to my thighs as makeshift daggers if I ever need them.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

I don't have the means to jerkify the meat, so I engorged myself until I could eat another bite and left my spoils to rot up a tree somewhere.

I have to continue moving… or hunting. Although I'd hate to admit it, this place teems with experience because of something strange I noticed.

I'm assuming that everything here is at or around level 400-500, but those dragons didn't have the stats of what I'd read a level 500 creature would have. The centipede seemed 'stronger' than the three I just faced combined.

Something is strange about those dragons... and they may be my ticket into getting out of here.

~~~

I haven't killed anything since the hours? Days? since slaying those three dragons, but I've been trickling in the attributes I gained from my level-ups, so I can adjust to them naturally. I fucking reached my next level cap. [Fell the Mighty]'s increased experience gain is something fucking else.

Name / Nickname

Ellis Vincere / The Last Winner

Race

Human

Class

Monarch Master (Rank A)

Level

300 (MAX)

Titles

Proud Owner of a Rock, Fell the Mighty, Heptad Attuner, Indulger… ▽

~

~

Health Points

19,000/19,000 (+280% bonus)

Mana Points

3000/3000

Armor Points

0

Might

550 (375 > 500 + 10%)

Agility

610 (420 > 545 +10% + 10)

Vigor (P)

1000* (886 + 10% + 25)

Mind

600 (395 > 495 + 75 + 30)

Spirit

760 (425 > 625 + 20% + 10)

Perception

100 > 150

Charisma

100 (45 + 15 + 40)

Attunement

100

Luck

2

Unused

13 > 900 > 500

Let's see here. I have an... interesting choice to make. I can try, and possibly fail, to change my class. Or I can ignore the class progression since I'm happy with my current rank-A class.

If I level my class up, I might be able to reach the fabled S, or maybe a unique one, but doing so will lock me into a class advancement I don't know I can complete in this fracture.

Since my class is Ranked A, I can keep the same class until my next advancement at level 500… and it seems like that will have to be the case.

I don't know when I'll leave this fracture, and in the worst-case scenario, I don't want to be stuck at level 300 for years to come. Something I've been dreading but keeping in the back of my mind this entire time are my beasts. They're in my mansion, and although they have a stockpile of food and water, it's not infinite.

I try to activate my skills again, something I try to do every few hours. [Court of Allegiance] causes terrible feedback, but the silhouettes are back... then gone again.

I call forth Khan from my [Beastial Storage], but I get the same notice from the skill, telling me it's not working.

The first time I used my mansion skill was during some downtime earlier. I carved a door in the jungle canopy and activated the skill. The door was created, but it looked sketchy.

It was jittering, and the edges were fuzzy. The feelings of dread when I stand in front of the inky blackness between fractures are present in this door. It looked like the doorway would bite me if I tried going through.

I created another door, and the dangerous doorway appeared again after struggling to form for a few seconds. I concluded that if it led to my mansion, one of my beasts would've come out to greet me. I tried summoning Khan while the doorway was open, but no luck.

Shit.

Checking what classes I could change into locks me into the class advancement route, so I'm forced to decline my advancement without the temptation of what my theoretical classes would've brought.

I'm 99% sure the fracture isn't floating in the air, so I'm left with boss slaying, exploring, or discovering a different way to exit this fracture.

There is some good news. I've mapped out the perimeter of the Claw-Foot dragons' territory and noticed I've been on the edge of it practically the entire time. If anything, I should leave… However, I can gain experience again.

And I'll need all the strength I can get to roam this massive fucking island and/or kill what would be considered the boss of these ancient dragons.

I need to stop waiting around in trees, uber paranoid about my surroundings… or at least I should put a hustle on it. I'm not as scared of dying as I should be. Instead, I'm worried about leaving behind questions I know the people in my life can't answer.

~~~

I made a mistake. There was some error in my judgment I noticed early on. I realized this after getting chased by multiple groups of these dragons for the rest of the day and into the night. It's the next morning, and I have the sneaking suspicion that I'm being corralled somewhere... but when I get into a position to fight one of the groupings and break away, another squad descends on my position, forcing me to keep moving.

The frequency of bird calls I've heard over the past day - or so -is concerning. I've seen and heard birds in this fracture, but it's suspicious. I know I'm running for my life through a hostile, primal jungle, but honestly… I'm not upset.

My [Dash] skill leveled up three times, and it's on the verge of ranking to E. I'm not dead yet, and that's not about to change.

In this fracture, I've been allocating points into perception. And that has really helped me so far. I notice strange marks scratched into trees or other surfaces, but I'm too busy running past them to get a good look.

It looks familiar, but I'm preoccupied with checking my [Lexicon] as three sets of four dragon packs are hot on my heels. I feel energetic enough to keep running for another week while these dangerous reptiles get exhausted by 'only' running for a little under a day.

A single arrow got shot at me, sticking into my leg with a heavy blow. It scraped against my leg bone as I stumbled to a stop.

My entire leg is numb and has stopped moving as the shot expertly severed some nerves. I pull the arrow out and inspect the arrowhead carved from bone. It wreaks venom of some kind.

More arrows fly at me as I [Bolster Resistance]. Parts of these volleys fail to pierce through my skin entirely and instead scrape against my body. Some deeply embed themselves into my flesh and even into my organs.

I use my forearm to block an arrow going straight for my eyes. The arrow went through my flesh and between the bones in my arm as it slid to a stop.

I managed to see the person who last fired the arrow, and yes, it was a person. They wear clothing made from leather and use feathers to decorate themselves. They don't wear much, and they ripple with lean muscle.

I yell out once I recognize what they are and what markings they are.

"Hello. Can we talk?"

The elves do not respond.