The evening descended on us as Zyradon stepped out of his cave, the seven of us in tow. He reluctantly looked towards the group of kobolds, grasping a clawed hand around each and lifting us onto his ridged back. As the claw came for me, I realized how much more human the hands looked than I was expecting, the wrist rotation matching how a kneeling person would grasp. I tried to pay it little mind as the hand released me closer to the front with the leading couple, Cinzek and Cilgris, while the swordbolds and axebolds sat further back. Zyradon spread his wings, the flight-capable muscles in them flexing like biceps before making a few test flaps.

"What kind of mating display is this?" I thought warily.

Zyradon's quad feet thundered across the ground, flapping wings putting more air under him with each step. Steps grew to running hops, which gave way in turn to long leaps, until the great dragon grabbed onto the top of a large rock and practically hurled himself to the sky. As he did, I felt my stomach drop. Kobolds clung to the spikes and ridges on our mount's back, and I braced my fins as to not fall off. I seemed to resist impacts better than sharp blows, and didn't want to chance it- as I wasn't certain I'd survive with my vital organs so close to the ground. My pondering lead to the desire to sabotage my rider. Putting a fin up to my snout as a signal to be quiet about this, I spat small amounts of my corrosive poison onto Zyradon's flank-scales. Trusting his toughness almost enough, I reached out a mind-bridge to Zyradon. No words came through, but a sense of pleasure- a soft mattress after a difficult day. All of course to mask the thinner spray of poison onto his back. When a single scale the size of a dinnerplate broke off, I knew it was working, and it took the kobolds every ounce of their self-control not to celebrate.

[Skill: Corrosive poison synthesis has risen to level 4]

We flew with great speed over what seemed to be a jungle, intermittent glows illuminating it's more magical areas like beacons in the falling night. The lands they illuminated slowly gradient from hills to mountains. A fire atop one inspired Zyradon to turn, spreading and angling his wings to shed his accumulated speed. Looking off the side again, I saw kobolds get into formation under the light of stone torches. Their small flames illuminated kobolds of deep green, raising their curved swords in defense until a single swathe of flame torched them where they stood. While my eyes adjusted, Zyradon touched down with a scrabbling scrape, back-facing claws digging in to slow him further.

"Everybody, off!" Zyradon roared, folding his wings and sticking his arm out like a slope. We slid down, landing on the ground with running starts, my kobold allies forming into a protective hexagon around me. Stairs carved into the mountain stretched up ahead, traversed with ease to and leading up to a stone plateau the size of a parking lot. Stalagmites burned with a strange green light, bathing a slender dragon within. Forest green wings parted, revealing scales of black and green.

"Marazel!" Zyradon boomed, standing on his hind legs behind us as a fear-inducing backdrop. A jet of fire shot into the air, flash-lighting the platform orange.

"State your terms, brother." She threatened, unfazed by the display.

"Your death. For my queen!" Zyradon gestured downwards, directly to me. Marazel looked between me and him with her yellow eyes, flash of green predating her scathing remark

"I never thought you'd court below your weight class. She's only tier two."

Zyradon started to justify something about being 'mature for my tier,' but I left my right head in charge of listening to him while my left one politely knocked on Marazel's mind. When she answered, I made my pitch

[It's a double-cross, and I need him dead even more than you do. I've already weakened the scales on his flanks, I'll pretend to fight you while trying to line up a killing blow on him.]

[My brother needs to leave this mortal coil.]

The dragon siblings circled the plate, making quick, opportune strikes and feinting out of eachother's effective ranges. As I watched the two of them in the warmup of their fight, I saw the difference between the two with clarity. Zyradon was larger and thicker, built more like a bear than a wolf. Marazel took the opposite path, being longer and thinner in body and limbs, as if a logical extension of my old squiggly form. I was about to move in to deliver a false blow to Marazel, when she pounced. Her upper half lashed forward with a whip's cracking speed, her mouth latching onto a discolored spot on Zyradon's flank.

The queen-maker laughed, pulse of flame escaping his mouth. "You expect to break through my scales! You haven't been able to-"

A crunch and a snap punctuated the night's silence. Zyradon let out an angry roar, light welling up in his mouth. After a second of charging, he breathed towards Marazel- deep red fire shooting from his mouth and engulfing her. She writhed and pulled away, rolling on the ground to beat out the clingy flame just enough to gesture downwards, ring of water passing over her from tip to tailblade. She slunk back, steam rising off the aquatic dragon, and Zyradon pointed.

"Charge." He ordered indignantly. I gave a knowing look to Marazel, lighting up my mouths to [Bite] just short of her neck. The kobolds, following my plan, beat their weapons on the slithering Marazel's side. While we chased eachother around the plateau, kobolds convincingly faking wounds from an errant claw-bash or tail-sweep, I asked a few probing questions.

[So, how do you treat your kobolds?] I asked, jumping out of the way of a telegraphed bite.

[Well enough.] Marazel answered defensively.

[What's your favorite one's Name?] I continued, to no avail.

[I do not Name my kobolds. An individual is too much of a liability]

[Thoughts on humans?]

[Beneath me. And would do well to stay that way]

This settled it, both these dragons needed to go. I dodged another bite, then ducked under another, and made my move. My mouths shot up, latching onto the underside of her neck. Marazel suspected nothing. My skill-powered bites were the standard, and used primarily for easy telegraphing of fake attacks, but these were made to kill. They teetered on the edge of damaging for half a second, and worry that her armor was simply too tough crept through me, but I felt my fangs sink into something. Felt an unusually tasty liquid grace my tongues

[Oh crap, my teeth are stuck!] I lied through the mental bridge, shaking in mock panic to try and dislodge myself. My teeth pressed to supremely-tough dragonflesh like I was trying to eat frozen meat. Marazel whipped aside, force popping out at least two of my serrated teeth and casting me to the stalagmite walls. I rolled to my flippers, righting myself just in time to see Marazel point an open claw at her bit throat. She started to cast a spell, gold and cyan light beginning to fill her hand, when a larger haymaker of a claw whipped across her torso. She twisted to minimize the force of the blow, but scales cracked all the same under it's force. Marazel fell back, gesturing again. A blade of wind whipped towards Zyradon, breaking several of his scales under it's own force. My kobolds sprang into action, weapons clanking off her scales again, acting as a haystack for the needle of Cinzek's tailblade glaive stabbing into the wound Zyradon opened for me. It sunk an inch in, Cinzek slamming the back with his palm for greater depth. He accomplished another, when something with Marazel snapped. She opened her mouth, a spear of wind piercing Cinzek just as deep as Cinzek had pierced her. The kobold fell over in heart deprival, last muttering words a subtle "worth it..."

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I had to hold myself back from doing anything worse to Marazel. She jumped over me, light glowing from her, and slashed at Zyradon with a howling breeze from her tailblade. Vermillion blood descended from the diagonal wound on his chest, dragon lumbering forward, blocking another strike with his forearm, slamming down predictably to a dodging whipdragon, eating another windblade like it was nothing of consequence, and launching a spread of flame. Marazel's position already mid-attack, she couldn't dodge the spread of flame quickly enough. She slammed herself on the ground, trying to roll away as more and more of her flesh burned. The deep red flame burned itself out, strength of the long dragon visibly fading from the set of attacks when Zyradon himself was barely fazed. I needed a way to tip the scales.

"Strike her down. Peirce her heart!" Zyradon thumped the ground in passion, fire in his heart burning even hotter and redder than the fire he served his own sister. I nodded my head, slipping close to Marazel with words of concern. I pulled off my same pain-erasing trick, curled up near her heart. I nested close, whispering words of comfort, words of healing, when my other head summoned my signature brew.

[What are you...] she whispered, baffled at my feline behavior. I hushed her, battlefield falling to a quiet before I made my move.

My heads chomped at her heart, pulling apart. All at once corrosive poison splashed over her chest, blown into the wound with forceful breath. A burned arm grasped my tail, threatening to pull it off, but I was too [Frenzied] to care. I thrashed in every direction, flesh over her heart beginning to give way, when something magical happened.

[You have slain: Marazel, Wind dragon (IV). Experience shared with party.]

I didn't know if hit points as a concept existed in this world. Other game-like stats did, but I hadn't seen any evidence of them. All I know is that taking an enemy to zero was a concept very much recognized, as the System responded to the practise with abundant clarity and reward.

[Valerie, Hydrapprentice has risen to level 9. 11 Skill Points gained. +1 quickness, vitality, and mind]

A bolt of surprise filled me. I couldn't do anything with those Skill Points yet, but the System knew what I wanted before I asked for it. My stronger head reached inwards towards the poisoned wound and touched something smooth. All at once, the stone drilled out of Marazel's chest and slid down my right throat, large kanastone barely fitting as it rapidly integrated with me. I could feel the pressure on the base of my skull, but there was far more pressure to defeat Zyradon. To protect my kobolds. To use the strength gained from him to sweep the world clean of evil. With every desire in my head joining the pile, something in my heart clicked like a gassed-up barbeque. Zyradon began slow clapping, leaning back on his thick tail. He appeared fatigued from travel and the wounds he inflicted. This was the chance I needed, and his words would be the spark for my blaze of glory.

"Ah, Valerie." he started with disappointment. "It seems you're a level short. You spread your Experience too thin to be my queen. And I can't just take home a rank two now can-"

Something gave him pause. Zyradon looked directly at my two pairs of eyes, flicking between them with uncertainty. "-What does that look in your eyes mean?"

I connected a mind bridge to him as if to answer, serving up only a dual-channel load of mental static. He responded with a grip to his head and an unusually human curse, leaving his weapons far enough away to get a strike in. I leapt forward and bit onto his damaged front, poking a small wound onto the left of his underbelly with one head while my other watched out for an attack. His claw scooped down at me, predictable swipe easily dodged backwards I. bit onto the back of his claw, finger-like connections thick as human legs and capable of fitting into my mouth. I grabbed on with both mouths, afforded an easier time dealing damage with greater leverage. Scales pushed aside, thinner and more flexible to allow for grasping and manipulating. Dragonblood, delicious as ever, streamed into my mouth. Zyradon tried to shake me off, only making me twist and thrash harder.

"You are to be my queen. Stop this at once!" Zyradon stomped, deep red fire pooling in his mouth. I no intention to stop, no shortage of mana in my tanks, and no problem using it. Before Zyradon could breathe, I conjured dual streams of water, one just above each of my heads, pointed at Zyradon's snout. Something in his throat gurgled, mouth snapping closed to swallow, and the fire went off in his mouth. Zyradon fell forward with two booms- one for his feet hitting the ground, and one for the fireball going off inside him. I kept going, kept putting more effort into my hydraulic efforts, when I fell back with a rending noise.

"You Imbecile." Zyradon roared, air of sharp tranquility entering his state of anger. I scrabbled to flip myself onto my back, swallowing the meat I had with me, as I realized a tide-turning fact.

Zyradon was short a claw. He reached his arm up to cover his nose, breathing a lance of deep red flame at me. I slid aside, pushing off with a fin and wetting the ground for reduced friction, but was too slow to dodge the flame. A spray of water spread the burning oil more than it dislodged it, leaving a blackened burnmark on my side that was already fading back to my magenta hue. He fell forward, breaking into a predictable run. And while I couldn't stop the charge, I could dodge it. And make another lance at his mind

"What's a leader like you doing fighting over scraps like me?" I asked into his head while my other one compressed pain into a neat spear of a package. Zyradon started to respond along the same connection, trying to make it personal, when I struck again. I angled my heads upwards, double- biting onto the back of the dragon's leg. He thrashed his tailblade aside, too uncoordinated to hit me-

Or so I thought, before it took off my primary head.

Be half a hydra.

Dumb, but not dead.

Be fighting a big foe. Fall off his back leg.

Foe is strong, grip is weak

Use quick healing, no more blood loss.

Stamina returns fast. Stamina is my friend.

Big dragon turns around. Insults how I follow.

But I do not follow. I command.

I command acid to fly.

Large dragon sweeps claws. One strikes my side. I fly.

I strike rocks. My neck stump lengthens.

And my brain grows back.

My toughened skull sealed over, grey matter rapidly replacing itself in my primary head. Zyradon roared over my kobolds, sword and shield clattering to the ground. I had lost another kobold. crunch signifying it's death. That was two down, one of the two swordsbolds, and of course, Cinzek. Lying right next to me. Having no time to mourn him, I looked at the stone aside, eyes drawn to the red gem of his glaive. I sighed, taking it in both my mouths like hands. And looking through my periphery, pointed and fired. The flaming spirit of the weapon prevented any sort of water magic, but my other option, mind, came through. I could feel myself lock on even easier, view of Zyradon's mind clearer. Even with the difference in tier, it was still larger and more complex than mine by almost an order of magnitude. At least, until you count how I was stacking the desk in my favor. A tendril of disdain shot out from underneath, tethering to Zyradon's and forcefully injecting every kind of inadequacy under the sun.

"You will not infect me with your... uselessness"

I could tell his heart wasn't in it, while mine roared with power. Chec's bite-ridden upper half lay on the ground before where I approached, only stoking my rage hotter. I jumped onto the back of his hand, using it's lift to throw myself to zyradon's back, and bit down. He took off, clearly trying to accellerate into the night, and I took a second to calculate. Poison spat forward from each mouth, deforming in the air, and splattered on Zyradon's eyes.

"You idiot! you've blinded me..."

Zyradon faltered in midair, barely even trying to remove me from his back. Knowing he no longer had any vision to test, I flexed my mental muscles. The mental image of a goddess of some sort in a white dress opened her arms to Zyradon, encouraging him to join the next world, but a single set of words sealed the deal. Just those three words caused him to alter his trajectory downwards, swan-diving into the rocky ground.

"We love you, Zyradon."

[You have slain: Zyradon, Fire dragon (IV). Experience shared with party.]

[Valerie, Hydrapprentice has risen to level 10. Skill Point gained. +1 to all stats. 1 Fundamental Power gained.]

[Evolution ready. Excess EXP converted to 6 additional Skill Points]

[Gained achievement: Dragonslayer (Kill a draconic being of tier IV or higher). 1 Fundamental Power gained.]

[Cilgris, Croc, Drox, and Khirc are ready to evolve. Guide their paths?]

I looked over my rewards with awe. And weary from battle, climbed ontop of Zyradon with a roar.

I had fucking won.