The adult golden dragon stared Isabelle down. Doubtlessly it was preparing to spit another ball of fire her way.
“Alright, Jingles—” said Isabelle, “—it’s time to prove your worth as a party member.”
“Excuse me?” said Jingles. “Prove my worth?”
“Yes,” said Isabelle. “I need you to help me fight this fucking thing. And I mean really help me.”
“Well… I… um…” Sir Jingles’ cat eyes darted around nervously. “Look, I don’t actually have that much in the way of weapons in my inventory. But I’ll give it a shot.” Sir Jingles drew a small throwing dagger and chucked it at the adult golden dragon. However, his arm strength was unsatisfactory, and the blade fell down in an arc far too early to hit the beast at all. “Oh, gods damnit.”
“Jingles, if you want to do ranged attacks, why don’t you use arrows?” asked Isabelle.
“That’s a great idea, Isabelle,” said Jingles. “I totally would, if I had any.”
“I’m sure there are some stored in Stelas’ severed head inventory that you could use,” said Isabelle.
“…Fair enough,” said Jingles. He looked around. “Oh, but, looks like the horses ran away. That’s too bad, huh?”
Isabelle rolled her eyes. Then, she thought, ‘Lugano come here.’
In a flash, Isabelle’s black and white speckled, strangely muscular horse ran up to them from a random point in the distance. Dangling from the side of the horse’s saddle was none other than the burlap sack that held Stelas’ severed head.
“Aha! I see I’ve been summoned back to the courtyard at last!” said Stelas. “No doubt by the Overlord, who has surely overtaken that foolish player Isabelle’s system and amalgamated it with his own for even more glorious power! And now that I am summoned, he is indeed to free me from my itchy, sack-based prison and reconnect my severed head with my beautiful bodice, whereupon I may finally enact my revenge upon that very same player whom rended mine head from it in the first place!”
“Actually, you’re completely wrong,” said Isabelle. “I’m still here, and your precious Overlord had a couple members of his party defect and make their own party.”
“What? You can do that?” asked Stelas. “That’s absurd, I don’t believe you.”
“Believe whatever you want,” said Isabelle. She turned to Jingles. “Alright, then, Jingles. Go ahead and get a crossbow and arrows from Stelas. I think getting the crossbow of flames would be a bit of a bad move, seeing as this dragon uses fire, so I’d suggest grabbing the poisoning one.”
“Fair enough,” said Jingles. He focused on Stelas’ head.
Isabelle focused back on the dragon. Its huge, piercing blue eyes were just watching them all, almost like a human looking down at ants trying in futility to protect their dirt hill from a mighty human foot. Almost like it was daring them to try something.
“By the order of the Cloud Reach guard, stand down, scaly beast!” said a deep, kobold voice.
Isabelle turned around to see a large army of Cloud Reach guards with bows and arrows readied.
“We mean no offense, Isabelle the Dragon Slayer,” said the guard. “But we are here to help you in any way we can. Yes, I know that previously, we intentionally attempted to kill you. But times have changed, the Overlord seems to have been either dispatched or at least kidnapped by a dragon, and this scaly fiend will surely destroy our entire humble township if we do not face it in battle. So, Isabelle, you have all of our arrows, too.”
The dragon cocked its giant head over to look at the guards. It huffed puffs of smoke and flame angrily out of its nose, singing a few of the guards to death quickly.
“I, um, I will admit—” continued the kobold guard, “—we are not as strong as you or your party members, but even in the face of death, we will try our damndest! Fire!”
All of the remaining guards fired arrows at the dragon. Frustratingly enough, half of them missed, and the other half seemed to do little more than annoy the beast. Still, it was distracted.
“Alright, Jingles. Now is your moment. Fire some of those poison arrows at this monster while it’s looking the other way. Aim for the eyes!” said Isabelle.
Jingles sighed and readied his crossbow. He missed his first shot, and his second, but he managed to hit the dragon in the neck on his third and fourth. While it didn’t seem to have a big reaction, its body did glow slightly green with each hit, signifying that it had surely been poisoned.
“Great job, Jingles,” said Isabelle. Now it was time for her to fire some arrows. She opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 251.9/282
Item
Traits
Hunter’s Crossbow of Chills (enchanted)
+3 frost damage, +7 damage, +2 dx, +4 carry weight
Arrows of Chills x27 (enchanted)
+2 frost damage, +1 damage
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Perfect.
[Hunter’s Crossbow of Chills (enchanted) equipped]
[+3 frost damage]
[+7 damage]
[+2 dx]
[Arrows of Chills x27 (enchanted) equipped]
[+2 frost damage]
[+1 damage]
Isabelle readied her arrows. Her archery was a good deal higher than Jingles’, so she felt certain that she could land some good hits while the dragon focused on shooting burst after burst of flame at the constantly dwindling Cloud Reach guard.
[Notice: use stamina for extra battle focus?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
[Stamina 90%]
Time slowed down in that all-too-familiar way. Isabelle’s depth perception increased as she looked down the crosshair of her crossbow and squinted. She wanted to hit this big golden bastard of a dragon right in its big blue eyes. It glanced over for a second, just a second, as it reeled its head back to breath more fire at the guards. And that second was enough, because as Isabelle pulled her arrow back time nearly stood still.
[Stamina 80%]
Assured of her shot, Isabelle fired.
[Critical hit]
The arrow implanted itself perfectly in the dragon’s eye and immediately incased that section of the beast’s head in ice crystals.
[9876 damage dealt]
[‘Adult Golden Dragon’ resisted fire damage]
[10081 frost damage dealt]
[8556 electrocution damage dealt]
[Stamina 77%]
Woah! Isabelle had forgotten about her electrocution damage modifiers. That enchantment crafting was coming in handy.
The dragon bellowed a moan of pain and agony. Which, coincidentally or not, gave Isabelle a great chance to shoot at its tongue.
[Notice: use stamina for extra battle focus?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
[Stamina 67%]
There was no time to waste, even though it was slowed down significantly. Isabelle drew an arrow, focused on the dragon’s outstretched tounge, and fired.
[Critical hit]
[10827 damage dealt]
[‘Adult Golden Dragon’ resisted fire damage]
[11231 frost damage dealt]
[9117 electrocution damage dealt]
[Stamina 65%]
This was almost going too easily, especially after that fight with the Overlord. Isabelle almost felt like she could do anything! Sure, the dragon was terrifying, but at this point it ought to have been a little terrified of Isabelle, too.
The dragon roared and shrieked, swishing its tails around and leveling a few more surrounding buildings. Dust and rubble flew through the air.
[Debuff activated: Partial blindness]
[-5 dx]
Shit! It was almost like getting caught in a dust storm, and Isabelle could barely even see the dragon’s head any more. What a hell of a debuff.
“Isabelle!” said Tahsi. “Isabelle, I finally was able to get out of the rubble I was buried under after the dragon flung me away! Do you want some bread?”
“Actually, sure,” said Isabelle. She didn’t want to use her mana on a quick heal, just in case.
[+5 hp]
“Holy shit!” said Tahsi. “Isabelle taking my bread? And is the Jingles I see firing arrows over there?”
[+4 hp]
“Yes,” said Jingles with a groan. “I’m poisoning the dragon. Though I can’t fire for shit, what with my archery being so low.”
[+3 hp]
“I think it’s just kind of a ‘use it lose it’ skill, you know?” said Tahsi. “Don’t worry, though, I’m sure that if we make it out alive and get out of combat mode you’ll level up considerably.”
[+2 hp]
“Thanks,” said Jingles. “I guess.” He fired some more arrows, most of them missing, two of them hitting the dragon’s toes. “Fuck me! This sucks.”
“Now, Jingles, you’re still poisoning the thing,” said Isabelle. “And for that, I’m appreciative.”
“Why don’t you stop being so appreciative and show your appreciation by fighting some more?” asked Jingles.
“Now you know how I feel,” said Isabelle.
[+1 hp]
It felt good to have gained all that hp, but it also felt good to be done eating Tahsi’s bread. It seemed to have gotten even more brittle and stale since the last time, if that was even possible.
The dust seemed to have cleared a little, but Isabelle was still hit by the debuff. Her archery seemed to almost be a lost cause at this point. It was time to get creative. Isabelle looked around, spying the dragon’s idle tail laying in a pile of destroyed buildings.
“Alright. Tahsi, Jingles, you two do your best to keep the dragon distracted. The Cloud Reach guards are doing their part, but I don’t know how many of them are left at this point,” said Isabelle.
Tahsi squinted. “Not many, I think. Looks like there are about fifteen left.”
The dragon breathed another burst of hot flame. The screams of many a guard rung through the air.
“Scratch that. Five left,” said Tahsi.
“Yea. Just, do your best. And try not to die,” said Isabelle. “I’ve got a plan.”
“Try not to die?!” said Jingles. “That’s, like, my life motto. Does that mean I can put this crossbow away?”
“No,” said Isabelle. Instead of continuing any bickering, she dashed off, towards the dragon’s tail.
[Stamina 75%]
She was running fast, but now it was using up some of her stamina. Classic combat mode.
[Stamina 73%]
Isabelle was shocked at just how massive this dragon’s tail was. It looked almost like a giant anaconda. She shivered a little as she saw its brilliant, golden scaliness up close. It was almost like a long, round, scaly schoolbus. Isabelle then decided she would have to do something else with her stamina. Namely, she was going to use her stamina in the same way she had to scale that wall back in the cauldron dungeon of the Cloud Reach palace. She focused on the scaly tail.
[Notice: use stamina for extra battle focus?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
[Stamina 60%]
The scales on the dragon’s tail stopped just looking like large murder spikes as Isabelle focused on them. Now they looked like tiny, pointy ledges and footholds that she could use to scale (hah) onwards and upwards. After assessing the situation, Isabelle leapt forward, hands opens, and landed perfectly on the side of the dragon’s scaly tail.
It was time to climb. She looked up and focused. One scale after another, Isabelle reached up, then stepped up, then reached, then stepped, never once looking down or back from whence she came. She had to stay focused on what was ahead if she wanted to make any progress. A couple times her hand slipped, and a few times her foothold was a little tighter or less stable than she’d hoped, but each time Isabelle was eventually able to find something to grasp on to and keep her headed up, up, up, although she knew that the afterimages of scaling the dragon’s tail would be imprinted on her consciousness for a long while.
And then, just when it all seemed endless, Isabelle was standing on top of the end of the dragon’s tail.
[Stamina 10%]
Time snapped back to normal speed. Isabelle suddenly felt very unstable under her feet. The dragon had decided to move its tail! It didn’t seem to know she was on it, but that didn’t mean the behemoth wouldn’t be smashing its tail into another row of buildings soon. If only Isabelle had more stamina! Then again, maybe she could have more stamina. She checked her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Carrying capacity: 251.9/282
Item
Traits
Potion of Endless Stamina x2
+0.5 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Fuck yes!
[Potion of Endless Stamina consumed]
[Stamina 100%]
Okay. Now Isabelle would have to actiate her time-slowing focus, and quickly, because the tail was becoming more and more unstable by the moment.
[Notice: use stamina for extra battle focus?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
[Stamina 100%]
Great. Time slowed to a crawl. The dragon tail was almost stuck in a serpentine shape, though it did still move ever slowly. Isabelle focused on the tail and tried to look at it less as a tail and more like a big, scaly pathway towards the dragon’s lower back, and then from there she concentrated on the dragon’s spine almost as if it were a staircase running from the dragon’s back up its shoulders through its neck and to the top of its head. Isabelle was headed for the head. She had a feeling that if she was smart about it she could take this thing out. The more she focused, the clearer her trail became. It almost glowed a faint green color.
[Stamina 100%]
Yes, Isabelle could actually see each scale of the dragon she needed to either grab or use as a foothold become lit with a faint green glow. A perfect outline of a climbing trail, a wayward path up the beast. Assured of herself, Isabelle climbed forward with all her might, strength, and speed.
[Stamina 100%]
It went by in a flurry. Sound was low and slow, and made the whole event feel like a psychedelic fever dream. Isabelle rushed over scale to scale, stepping on edge after edge. Never once did she turn her head anywhere but up, anywhere but forward. She had a feeling that if she did, she would lose sight of the perfectly glowing path, and possibly lose her footing. And that was not something that Isabelle at all wanted to leave up to the system’s random number generator physics. No, she had to make this count.
[Stamina 100%]
The higher Isabelle got, the more filled with doubt she became. As she climbed up towards the dragon’s wings, she wondered just what in the hell she was thinking. Even the Overlord was scared of dragons! Hadn’t she been scared of the Overlord? What was she thinking?
[Stamina 100%]
Isabelle had just passed the dragon’s wings now, and was approaching the beast’s shoulders. Higher did she climb. She slipped for but a second as the dragon quickly jerked one of its arms, almost falling, almost losing her footing. And Isabelle got a glance at the ground below. She was so, so much higher off the ground than she thought. The dead Cloud Reach guards and her living party members both really did look like ants from here.
[Stamina 100%]
But she couldn’t let that stop her! Not while she had unlimited stamina! Isabelle looked forward, onward, and focused on the trail. The green glow of the scaly pathway had faded, but it came back into focus as she forced her vision forward. Onward she climbed, upward she climbed, higher and higher!
[Stamina 100%]
Isabelle had reached the dragon’s neck now. Its neck was huge, and long, and it moved faster than any other part of the dragon. Worse still, its scales were smaller, and sharper. Isabelle was thankful for her system, without it she surely would’ve been covered in scrapes and scratches. She soldiered on.
[-2 hp]
Shit!
[-1 hp]
This part of the climb was actually dealing damage to her! With each step, each grasp of a scale, Isabelle lost hp. Still, time stayed slowed for her, and Isabelle’s vision of the path stayed available long as she focused on what was ahead, so that’s what she did as she climbed and climbed.
[Stamina 100%]
[-1 hp]
[-2 hp]
[Stamina 100%]
[-3 hp]
[-1 hp]
[Stamina 100%]
Whatever Isabelle did, she couldn’t give up now! She could see the top of the dragon’s head. She was almost there, damn it!
[Stamina 100%]
[-4 hp]
[-1 hp]
[-3 hp]
[-1 hp]
[-1 hp]
[Stamina 100%]
Only four more scales waited for her with that perfectly focused green glow. Isabelle went on.
[-2 hp]
[-1 hp]
[-1 hp]
[-1 hp]
[Stamina 90%]
Isabelle stood atop the dragon’s head. Time sped up to full speed. She would’ve probably been overcome with vertigo were it not for being stuck in combat mode. Still, Isabelle was having trouble focusing, as now the dragon was moving at normal speed. It kept cocking its head this way and that, seemingly looking for Isabelle! She thought, ‘Activate Combat Lock.’
[Combat lock activated]
Now Isabelle didn’t have to worry about looking around, her vision automatically staabilized and focused on the top of the dragon’s head.
She needed to attack now. But what would be the best move? Isabelle looked in her inventory specifically for weapons that could do that most damage to this dragon.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 251.9/282
Item
Traits
Overlord’s Flaming Yellow Katana
+48 damage, +22 str, +37 dx, +11 stm, +10 carry weight
Overlord’s Black Silver Hammer (enchanted)
+50 damage, +50 str, +10 const, +8 stm, +13 carry weight
Overlord's Glorious Electrifying Axe (enchanted)
+45 damage, +48 str, +18 const, +15 stm, +12 carry weight
Steel Warhammer of Electrocution (enchanted) (poisoned)
+18 damage, +11 str, +8 const, +5 stm, +11 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Damn. Isabelle really wished she could do something with all of the Overlord’s weapons, but they required so much more str than she had!
Isabelle had a thought. Was there any way she could use some of her stm to temporarily increase her str score?
[Clarification: You can attempt to leverage stm for str for a limited amount of time with a const+int check. You will have a disadvantage.]
Fair enough, Isabelle figured. She had to at least try, since it was possible. So, she thought, ‘Leverage Stamina for Strength.’
[Attempting to leverage]
[Performing check]
[…]
[Your check had mixed results]
[Result: You can leverage your stm for str for a total of five seconds before your stm reaches zero]
[+25 str]
[Stamina 20%]
Shit. That wasn’t a lot of time. Then again, had the system just said that it would last until Isabelle’s stm reached zero? Isabelle had an idea. Wasn’t there one last stamina potion in her inventory?
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 251.9/282
Item
Traits
Potion of Endless Stamina
+0.5 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
[Potion of Endless Stamina consumed]
[Stamina 100%]
Well then. It was time to see if all this mess was worth it. Isabelle opened her inventory yet again.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 251.9/282
Item
Traits
Overlord’s Flaming Yellow Katana
+48 damage, +22 str, +37 dx, +11 stm, +10 carry weight
Overlord’s Black Silver Hammer (enchanted)
+50 damage, +50 str, +10 const, +8 stm, +13 carry weight
Overlord's Glorious Electrifying Axe (enchanted)
+45 damage, +48 str, +18 const, +15 stm, +12 carry weight
Steel Warhammer of Electrocution (enchanted) (poisoned)
+18 damage, +11 str, +8 const, +5 stm, +11 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
[Overlord’s Black Silver Hammer (enchanted) equipped]
[+50 damage]
[+50 str]
[+10 const]
[+8 stm]
Isabelle raised the huge hammer over her head. It vibrated with powerful energy. She could barely believe she’d managed to weild it! The dragon thrashed its head, but Isabelle’s combat lock forced her vision to stay focused on the top of its head no matter what it did. All she had to do was stand her ground, swing down, and hope that the Overlord’s hammer was—
[Overlord’s Black Silver Hammer (enchanted) unequipped]
Shit! What? How had that happened?
[Clarification: The stm + str leverage only functioned on your stamina when you performed the check. To get the benefit of the endless stamina potion, you would’ve had to perform the leverage first.]
Fuck. Now the system told her! Worse still, from what Isabelle could tell, the dragon had finally taken out all of the Cloud Reach guard and was now focused on killing her party members! Isabelle needed to think of something clever, and quick.