Isabelle cracked her neck and readied her hook swords as she watched the dragon snake its way through the clouds, getting lower and closer to her. It landed on the ground with a roar and a bellow, spraying dragon spittle all over the place.
“I guess we’re fighting now,” said Isabelle.
The dragon raised its head high, and the sun shone off of its scales. Its breath weapon, whatever it was, was clearly deadly. But so was Isabelle.
“Ready when you are,” said Isabelle.
“Good luck,” said Stelas. "I guess."
Isabelle grinned, drew back her swords, and charged.
The dragon roared again and launched itself forward, aiming balls of lightning directly at Isabelle.
[Stamina 96%]
She jumped backward, dodging them excellently, and swung both hooks at the same time. One of them caught the dragon on the side of the face, and the other punched straight through its shoulder.
[8065 damage dealt]
The dragon hissed with malice.
It swiped at Isabelle with its claws, but she leapt to the side and sliced its throat open with her second hook.
[Stamina 94%]
[Critical hit]
[10134 damage dealt]
The dragon staggered back, clutching its throat, and tried to spit at Isabelle. Instead, it coughed up blood.
Isabelle had no intention of letting the dragon recover. She spun around, swung both hooks again, and this time she hooked the dragon right between its wings.
[Critical hit]
[12003 damage dealt]
The dragon roared in pain and rage and thrashed about wildly, trying to throw Isabelle off. But she held on, and with a terrible tear of its tattered wing the dragon went flying through the air, crashing into a nearby rock and shattering it.
[9885 damage dealt]
Isabelle smiled. This dragon might have electric powers, but it was a young and inexperienced fighter.
The dragon shook itself off and glared at Isabelle, its eyes glowing red. It roared with vitrol.
She charged at the dragon and swung her hooks at its head. It ducked, and she missed.
[Stamina 92%]
It whipped its tail at her, but she jumped over it and cut deep gashes into its neck.
[Critical hit]
[10082 damage dealt]
[Stamina 90%]
The dragon hissed and spat at her. Then, it shot out a ball of lightning.
[Stamina 86%]
Isabelle jumped back out of the lightning’s way and swung both hooks at once, slicing the dragon across the stomach.
[Critical hit]
[12003 damage dealt]
It roared in agony.
Isabelle swung her hooks again, cutting into the dragon's arms and legs.
[Critical hit]
[10025 damage dealt]
It screamed and thrashed around, trying to shake Isabelle off.
The dragon swung its tail at Isabelle, knocking her sideways. She stumbled, fell to the ground, and rolled to her feet.
[-6 hp]
The dragon roared, and a bolt of lightning shot from its mouth, striking the ground where Isabelle had been standing a moment ago.
Isabelle felt pangs in her chest from the loss of her hp.
[-15 hp]
Good thing she had so much hp that even the dragon’s modest damage dealing could barely affect her save for those little tinges of pain.
[Stamina 93%]
She ran toward the dragon, swinging her hooks. It dodged one hook and slashed at her with its claws.
[-8 hp]
She leaped back, swung both hooks, and cut deeply into the dragon's arm.
[Stamina 84%]
[Critical hit]
[12093 damage dealt]
It roared in pain and knocked her backwards.
[-3 hp]
Isabelle wasn’t done yet. She ran forward, swung her hooks, and cut into the dragon's neck.
[8055 damage dealt]
The dragon roared and turned its head away, shaking its head.
Isabelle took advantage of the opportunity and slashed into the dragon's leg.
[7116 damage dealt]
It roared, and lightning shot out of its mouth, hitting Isabelle in the shoulder and sending her rolling backwards.
[-33 hp]
Isabelle growled in pain as electricity coursed through her body.
The dragon raised its head and roared again, sending another blast of lightning at Isabelle.
[Stamina 83%]
She dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike. Then, Isabelle leapt forward.
[Stamina 80%]
She slashed into the dragon's neck, cutting deep gashes into it.
[Critical hit]
[10082 damage dealt]
The dragon roared and tried to bite her, but she leaped back, swung her hooks, and cut into its belly.
[Critical hit]
[13008 damage dealt]
The dragon roared again, and it fired a bolt of lightning at Isabelle. She jumped back, narrowly avoiding it.
[Stamina 78%]
She slashed into the dragon's neck yet again, cutting deep gashes into its flesh. Its neck was starting to look like a tattered fish's gills.
[9856 damage dealt]
The dragon roared and fired another blast of lightning at Isabelle. She dived to the side, barely dodging it.
[Stamina 77%]
Isabelle knew that she couldn't keep this up forever. The dragon had already taken a lot of damage from her attacks, so surely if she used some magic it would probably croak. She figured an ice attack might just do it. Isabelle unequipped her hook swords and raised both her hands. She thought, 'Cast Ice Blast' and concentrated to use a lot of mana.
[Mana 35%]
There was a flash of light, and then a large sphere of ice appeared in front of her. Woah. That was new!
The dragon roared and charged at her, but she waved her hands in front of her and sent a flurry of icy daggers flying at the dragon.
[12001 damage dealt]
[8075 frost damage dealt]
It hissed and tried to swat them away with its claws, but it was too slow. Isabelle kept on throwing daggers at the dragon until there was nothing left there but a bloody dragon-shaped carcass.
[10938 damage dealt]
[8274 frost damage dealt]
[‘Purple Wyrmling’ is dead]
[Combat mode deactivated]
[Achievement unlocked: level up a spell by using it a lot]
[Notice: You’re ready to level up]
"Isabelle, I might fucking hate you for decapitating me—“ said Steals, “—but that was fucking cool.”
"Don't I know it," said Isabelle.
"Okay, no need to brag," said Stelas.
"Whatever," said Isabelle. She had more important things to do. Looting, mainly.
[Notice: You’re ready to level up]
Or maybe looting could wait. Isabelle thought, ‘Open Character Sheet.’
[Notice: You’ve reached level 37!]
[Notice: You have attribute and skill points to spend]
[Would you like to spend your points now?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
Attribute Points to Spend: 25
Hp:
366
H-Regen:
3/30sec
Mana:
181
M-Regen:
2/40sec
Stm:
176
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Five points could go to hp, ten to mana, and ten to stm.
Skill Points to Spend: 25
Str:
100
Int:
75
Dx:
100
Wis:
73
Const:
77
Char:
69
Isabelle wanted to boost her int. She decided fifteen points would be a decent boost. That left her with ten more points, which she decided to split evenly between str and dx.
[Congratulations, you’ve finished leveling up!]
Character Status
Name:
Isabelle
Gender:
Female
Level:
37
Class:
Undefined
Race:
Human
Alignment:
Neutral-Neutral
Attributes
Hp:
371
H-Regen:
3/30sec
Mana:
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
191
M-Regen:
2/40sec
Stm:
186
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Skill Points
Str:
105
Int:
90
Dx:
105
Wis:
73
Const:
77
Char:
69
Magic Ability Levels
Enchant:
3
Summon:
2
Heal:
3
Destroy:
13
Transmute:
2
Confuse:
3
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting:
8
Sneak:
12
Archery:
11
Lockpick:
3
Armed Combat:
18
Melee Combat:
4
Speechcraft:
15
Sleight Of Hand:
6
She walked over to the dragon corpse. There was plenty of loot here, she could tell. She focused on the dragon's corpse.
Inventory: Purple Wyrmling
Item
Traits
Purple Wyrmling Hide x10
+20 carry weight
Purple wyrmling Scales x10
+25 carry weight
Purple wyrmling Bones x10
+16 carry weight
Purple wyrmling Skull
+25 carry weight
Purple wyrmling Eye x2
+15 carry weight
Purple wyrmling Heart x1
+13 carry weight
Purple wyrmling Claw x12
+20 carry weight
Dragon Scroll
n/a
Amethyst
n/a
Garnet
n/a
Potion of Excellent Health
+50 hp, +0.5 carry weight
Gold (11016)
n/a
"Wow, that's a really decent amount of loot considering the fact that this dragon is so young," said Isabelle. “Mainly the gold, of course. Always good to have more gold.”
It wouldn't really replace all the gold she lost, but that was okay. It would still weigh too much to all go into her inventory, so Isabelle grabbed Stelas' head off the chest and swapped everything heavy over into his inventory amid some cries and protestations.
Once that was settled, Isabelle was on to what she was learning was going to be one of the most fun bits of killing and looting dragons: getting a new breath weapon! The only problem, of course, is that she'd have to read a damned dragon scroll. Oh well, this dragon only had one scroll to read, so at least it wouldn't take too long.
[Dragon Scroll equipped]
The scroll unfurled in Isabelle's hands. She started to read.
The Generous Wyrmling's Troubles
There once was a young wyrm
Just barely hatched from its egg
Who was so happy when it could first fly through the air
That it decided to spend its days doing nothing but hunting and eating
Until one day, a great golden dragon
Came to eat the little wyrmling
But the little wyrmling's mother
Wouldn't let the dragon have it
So the two adult dragons faught
And they both died
It was quite gruesome and macabre
But it left that young wyrmling with two enormous hordes of riches aplenty
With which the wyrmling knew not what to do
So into town the wyrmling flew
Meeting peasants who through and through
Wished that they had money, for over their head the tax man's hand loomed
Feeling sympathy the wyrmling stole away to its lair
Forged a sword and shield, and with these weapons
Did battle with the tax man
And slew him with a mighty blow
Now the wyrmling had to its mind all the wealth of the world
Which was a very great deal
So it decided to share it with everyone else
And began giving out free gold coins
To anyone who asked for them
Until the dragon's hoard was stolen by bandits
Who sold the gold to a rich merchant
Who made the wyrmling a slave
And gave it to the king of the land
The wyrmling battered, shamed, and hungry
Went to see those peasants
Upon whom it had gifted so much of its gold
They folded their arms and stuck up their noses
And snickered behind the wyrmling's back
Foolish dragon, they would say
Go home, go back to your empty lair
You're no good to us
If you don't have gold to give us
So the wyrmling raised its head
And did what only it could do
It signed a bill of employment with the king
Donned the clothes of the slain tax man
And went back on into town
And said, tongue in cheek, "Please, please, please
Give me all the gold you have
I'm a poor, poor, poor dragon
I've got no gold at all!"
And so the people of the town
Were filled with fear and rage
And disgruntled though they were
They gave the wyrmling all the gold they had
Which was quite a lot
And then the wyrmling said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you
I'll be going now
I promise I won't come back
Oh, and one last thing!"
And then with an evil little pout
It shot lightning from its mouth
And every light in that town went out
The scroll shook, and shimmered, and exploded into smithereens.
[Dragon scroll unequipped]
[Dragon scroll removed from inventory]
[Congratulations, you’ve learned a new breath weapon: ball lightning]
"Nice," said Isabelle. "I got a new breath weapon!"
"Great job," said Stelas. "You should definitely put that in your
journal."
"Oh, go fuck yourself, Stelas," said Isabelle. "Also, can I just say, that was quite a strange story I just read in the dragon scroll. I'm pretty sure it described a dragon killing somebody with a sword. Why would a dragon use a sword?"
"Because it's a wyrmling a young, weaker dragon," said Stelas. "And also because it was a terrible story."
"Yeah, it was," said Isabelle.
"Oh my gods, I can't believe you've done this to me again!" shouted a familiar voice from the direction of Lugano, Isabelle's beautiful horse.
"Lugano? You can talk?" asked Isabelle.
"I'm not the damned horse!" said the voice.
Isabelle did a double-take and realized it was the false prince of Sharithlond, whom she'd tied up and bound to the back of Lugano. He'd woken up!
"Oh, it's you," said Isabelle, chuckling under her breath. "Sorry for the misunderstanding."
"What do you mean?" asked the fake prince.
"Well, I, uh...I thought you were the real prince of Lugano," said Isabelle with a halfhearted snicker.
"Just like you thought I was the real prince of Sharithlond?" he asked.
"Yea, sure," said Isabelle, rolling her eyes.
"Well, guess what?" asked the fake prince. "I'm not either! Now untie me, you damned hussy!"
"Hussy?" Isabelle scowled. "Why the hell would you call me a hussy?"
"Erm--" Stelas interjected, "--you do remember when you dressed all in lingerie in order to convince a bunch of kobolds that you hadn't just committed arson, don't you, Isabelle?"
"Oh, that," said Isabelle. "Of course I remember. But why are you bringing that up now?"
"Because it was, for lack of a better phrase, a bit of a hussy-esque move," said Stelas.
”Okay, fine," said Isabelle. "I admit it, I did dress up in lingerie to trick the kobolds into thinking I wasn't the arsonist. And I suppose I did kind of enjoy it, too."
"So you're saying you're a hussy?" asked the fake prince.
"No, I'm saying I'm a girl who likes dressing up in lingerie and acting like a slutty whore in order to manipulate and bend people to my will," said Isabelle. "Plus, it raised my speechcraft by, like, ten levels or something. Is that so wrong?"
"Yes," said the fake prince. "Yes, it is. It's really fucked up, actually. And that's coming from someone whose lifelong profession is conning people out of their hard-earned money, property and dignity."
Isabelle scowled at him in silence.
"Look, just untie me, and we'll get along just fine," said the fake prince.
"Fine," said Isabelle. She walked up to the false prince and spanked him on the left butt cheek three times, then she tightened the ropes on his wrists a little. Then, she looked at Lugano and thought, 'Run around in a circle until he pukes.'
Lugano obeyed with a whinny and a neigh.
"Wow, Isabelle, that's pretty cruel," said Stelas.
"I think you mean hilarious," said Isabelle.
"Do you really not think you're the mage of shadows?" asked Stelas.
“I know I’m not!" Isabelle shouted.
“Hey, calm down, now. Keep in mind, Isabelle, you just used your mind to command your horse to torture a guy for calling you a hussy," said Stelas.
"Hey, it was funny!" said Isabelle. "Also, it wasn't because he called me a hussy. It was because he said it was fucked up for me to act like one in order to manipulate people."
"Well, maybe if you weren't such a manipulative bitch," said Stelas, "people wouldn't think it was so fucked up for you to act like one."
Isabelle scowled again. Her mouth was getting sore from all this scowling. Then, she looked to Lugano, who had not stopped running in circles, and thought to him 'Stop running.'
Lugano stopped.
Isabelle grabbed Stelas' severed head off the empty chest he was perched on.
"Ow! Hey! Watch the hair!" said Stelas.
Isabelle snatched the burlap sack off the ground and stuffed Stelas into it. She tied the top of it shut and then walked over to Lugano. Then, Isabelle clasped the sack onto the side of Lugano's saddle and thought, 'Start running again.'
Isabelle stood back and laughed as Lugano ran in circle after circle, hearing both the false prince and Stelas screaming out in agony. Once she'd heard both of them vomit numerous times, Isabelle thought, 'Stop running.'
"Oh my gods, Isabelle, you absolute sadist," said Stelas. "That was so totally unnecessary."
"Oh, shut up," said Isabelle. She untied the burlap sack from the side of Lugano and pulled Stelas' head back out, preparing to dig through his inventory and try out some crafting. "You were the one who wanted to know whether I was the mage of shadows.”
Stelas coughed and spat out a piece of his own tongue.
"Holy shit," said Isabelle. "I didn't know that could happen, what with you having an invincible system and everything."
"Yea," said Stelas with a hack. "Me either. Gods, it's hard to talk now."
Before Isabelle could even think about focusing on Stelas to peek into his inventory, she spied something on the horizon. Something terrible.
"Oh my god," said Isabelle. "Is that seriously another fucking dragon flying towards us?"
"That's what it looks like," said Stelas. "And this one looks even younger than that dragon you just killed."
"What?" said Isabelle. "This thing is probably ancient. It probably ate entire civilizations when it was a hatchling."
"It's a baby," said Stelas. "And that doesn't make any sense. Dragons don't eat civilizations. They eat people."
"Stop being a smart ass!" said Isabelle.
"Then stop acting dumb," said Stelas.
"Do I need to take you on another ride around on the horse?" asked Isabelle.
"No," said Stelas pitifully.
Isabelle suddenly noticed something about this remarkably young dragon. She noticed that it was getting what was clearly within fifty feet of her, but combat mode had not become activated. She raised her hands, preparing to cast a spell.
"Wait!" said the dragon in a squeaky voice. "Wait, don't kill me!"
Isabelle paused.
"Don't kill me!" cried the dragon. "Please don't kill me!" The dragon flopped onto the ground. It was smaller than Isabelle was, and it was trembling. "Oh gods, please don't kill me! I'm on your side!"
Isabelle blinked.
"On my side?" asked Isabelle. "Also, dragons can talk?"
"Well, not all dragons," said the little dragon. "But dragon-kobold mixes sure can."
"Dragon-kobold mixes?" asked Isabelle.
"Yes," said the dragon-kobold. It extended a trembling, scaly hand. "It's nice to meet you, Isabelle, even though you terrify me."
"Uh, nice to meet you," said Isabelle. She shook his hand. "Who are you again?"
"Oh, I'm Tahsi Junior," said the dragon-kobold. "Would you like some bread?"