Elliot stood, using his sword to lift himself up. He was baffled.
He looked at the beast. It was staring at him. It gave him a look that made him shiver to his bones.
"Elliot! Finish it off!" Lance yelled.
Elliot was broken from the trance. He gripped his sword and took a deep breath.
"Hasty Aspire!"
Elliot bolted towards the large lizard and leaped. He pierced his sword through the beast's head, swiping it to the side to completely obliterate it.
'Quest [ Fire Lizard Dungeon ] finished.'
When he landed on the ground, Elliot felt his mind getting hazy.
"Are you okay, Elliot?" Connor asked.
"It smirked," Elliot repeated. "Why did it smirk? Like it new something was wrong."
"It's dead now," Lance said. "Are you alright?"
Elliot nodded, "I am. I'm sorry I spaced out."
"I'm sorry," Ed said. "I'm sorry, Elliot. I almost ruined the plan. My ability. I don't want this ability!"
"I'm fine, Ed. Calm down," Elliot said. "But how do you cancel magic? How does it work?"
"I don't know either," Ed cried. "That's why I can't be with other people. I'll only cause trouble."
"But not in our party," Hope grinned, walking towards the others. "We have papa who is the strong as a dragon. Like me, but stronger. He will save us if there's anything wrong, right papa?"
Lance pursed his lips, "That actually depends whether or not you're good to me."
Hope scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Ah, look at that. He's all grown up," Connor said.
"Are you seriously a dragon?" Ed asked.
"Yep," Hope smiled. "That's why I know how you feel. I know what it feels like to be different."
Elliot could sense something coming from the stomach of the lizard. He walked over and pierced its belly. There, he used his Scan ability.
'Item Found.'
'Quest material.'
Elliot used The Creator's Sloth to take the item.
'Fire Lizard carcass inedible.'
I better leave it here. It's useless. Elliot thought.
'Quest [ The Creator's Heart ] finished.'
'Creator Reward: Creator's Heart 1 X1'
<< Creator's Heart >>
(Upgrade possible)
// Boosts all stats by 5%, shortens Creation time by 5%
Bonus:
< The Creator's Greed >
// The Creator can steal rarer skills from Royals
Once again, the Manual had proven its prowess. If Elliot would absorb this item, he could even steal even more powerful skills from the beasts. And he thought that his skills were already powerful enough.
For some reason, Elliot glanced at Lance.
Royals, huh? He thought.
He had always wondered if The Creator's Greed would activate on humans. And since Lance was a royal and he didn't have a green symbol on his chest, maybe it doesn't.
Or maybe 'Royal' did not refer to royalty after all. Maybe they have some other criteria in being a Royal.
These thoughts were baffling Elliot. He had decided to settle on the thoughts later on. For now, they must go home.
"Are you done?" Connor asked. "You're spacing out again."
"I-I'm fine," Elliot said. "Let's go?"
"Let us!" Connor cheered. "I can finally leave this creepy cave."
They were about to leave the boss's den when a roar shook the entire cave once more. This time, it was louder. The roar held more power than the Fire Lizard's.
"What was that?" Connor asked. "There's one more? But we already defeated the boss."
Lance sighed. "It seems like we have been mistaken."
"What do you mean?" Elliot asked.
"The one we defeated just now was the new boss," Lance said. "And the true boss is still alive. After the death of the Fire Lizard, its flames died down. The true boss must've felt the death of its child."
"What do you mean its child?" Connor gasped. "You mean that the beast that lies inside that cave is a parent?"
Lance scrunched his face, "Beasts have complicated relationships."
"Figures," Elliot chuckled. "So, there's a bigger boss?"
"Basically," Lance said. "Are your MPs still okay?"
"Yes," everyone responded.
A growl resonated from the innermost cave, the cave where the Fire Lizard exited. Silence followed.
"Did it lose interest in us?" Connor asked.
A huge snout appeared from the cave. The large fangs bit the Fire Lizard's carcass, the tongue encircling it before the beast swallowed the smaller beast whole.
'Beast detected.'
<< Flame Dragon Emperor >>
Level 87
"That's not a lizard!" Elliot yelled. "That's a dragon!"
"But it's still hasn't gone through Carnal Breakthrough yet," Connor said.
"That doesn't comfort me one bit," Ed gulped. "A group of Adventurers would even have a hard time defeating a Level 25 dragon. Their stats aren't like ours. It's like comparing the stats of a horse to a mouse."
"Calm down. We still have to conquer it," Lance informed. "This one's bigger and stronger."
"It's a dragon that's why," Elliot retorted. "The previous ones were just small soldiers. This one's the king. And I'm pretty sure it's hungry!"
"How can you say so?" Ed asked. "Do you know how dragons behave?"
Elliot rolled his eyes, "Did you saw the beast it ate? How big it is?"
"Yeah. It was pretty big," Ed said. "So?"
"If it was full because of that, it wouldn't look at us like that," Connor said.
The dragon licked its lips and everyone else nodded. "Makes sense."
The whole cave shook once more. The head retreated back, followed by silence.
A few seconds followed and the front part of the large den exploded.
"Black Fortress!"
Lance's defense magic covered his party. The rocks and flames failed to pierce the shield made of brick-looking black colored magic.
"Three Cannibals and three dragons," Lance chuckled. "Must be my lucky month."
Lance walked out of his fortress, passing through the walls and walked towards the large beast. The dragon was similar to the size of the Water Dragon Emperor. Only this one had flaming scales instead of the silky one the water dragon had.
Another smirk found its way to Elliot's lips. The dragon had a yellow symbol on its chest.
Another skill. Elliot thought.
Lance shot himself to the dragon, crossing his swords and firing crescent-shaped attacks. He continued slashing until he got the dragon's aggro.
"Same plan!" Lance yelled, leaping back to secure the beast's attention.
"Knights, in position," Elliot said. He felt awkward, knowing this was the first time for him to give the command. He cleared his throat, "Now!"
Hope and Ed dashed to the dragon. As Knights, they must fight in the front lines. Even when facing such a terrifying beast like this dragon.
"Can Ed cast other magic?" Elliot asked.
Connor shrugged, "I haven't seen him cast other magic. And I don't think he does either."
Elliot hummed and took the Creator's Heart. He figured that he could boost the chance to steal a rare skill by using it.
He tapped his Weapon Gem just like Connor did when he absorbed an Ember Heart.
'Absorb Creator's Heart 1.'
"Yes."
'Creator's Heart 1 Absorbed.'
'Upgrading Console.'
For the first time that the Console had upgraded, this was the first time it notified Elliot.
And the upgrade was quite significant too. The color scheme of light blue was changed into gray, the icons had been changed into more sophisticated symbols, and the overall interface was changed.
There were also new features too. Like a Beast Detector at the top right of Elliot's vision. It showed the yellow symbol of the dragon.
He figured this was the Creator's Greed panel where it shows a royal beast nearby.
"Status off," Elliot said. "Now I feel even stronger."
"Elliot got stronger again, nice!" Connor cheered. "I can finally sleep better, knowing you'll be there to save me when something happens."
Elliot snorted, "Whatever. I'll go on ahead."
"I'll support," Connor said and nodded. He casted Luminous Dexterity on Hope and Ed.
Elliot blasted himself towards the dragon. "Supreme Malevolence!"
He slashed the dragon's side, creating a long cut.
'Supreme Malevolence 1'
Elliot landed on the ground, flipping back and attacking once more. He kept on slashing the dragon while Lance held the aggro.
…
'Supreme Malevolence 7'
"Elliot, stop!" Lance yelled. "You'll aggro it!"
Elliot nodded and purposively hit the ground with his sword.
'Supreme Malevolence Succession Broken'
He still has one more minute with the skill. He's going to make the most of it.
Elliot had found an ideal way to use his skill when he's not the one who's tanking. He would hit the beast and break the succession just below the aggro line. He would repeat this step until the beast is killed.
As the fight went on, there was a thought that popped inside Elliot's head.
"Hey Ed, you said you could cancel Ethereum right?" Elliot called from above the dragon.
"Yes!" Ed yelled back, dodging the dragon's claw that it slammed on the ground.
"Can you–"
"It's not the time for that, don't you think?!" Lance yelled. Like the Fire Lizard, he pierced one of his swords above the dragon's head, riding it like a rodeo.
"Ed, I'll talk to you later!" Elliot yelled.
"Approaching Rage Mode!" Lance yelled. "3, 2, 1!"
"Ghostly Flame!" Connor casted.
"Rage Mode on!" Lance informed.
"Hope, boost me!" Elliot yelled.
Hope nodded, pointing his sword on the ground. Elliot ran towards him in full speed, leaping on top of the sword. Hope pulled his large weapon up, boosting Elliot up in the air.
"Please don't cancel. Please don't cancel…" Connor chanted, crossing his fingers. "Please don't cancel."
"Hasty Aspire!"
Elliot's body glowed with the reddish light of his skill. He was mid-air when he darted towards the dragon, piercing through its neck and directly landing on the ground.
'Flame Dragon Emperor killed. +17,500XP'
Elliot panted, taking everything in. "Are there any more beasts?"
Lance chuckled and ruffled his head. "I don't think so. Good work everyone."
Ed walked over to them, "Are you okay? What about Ethereum?"
"Ah," Elliot said. "Can I use your ability to cancel the Ethereum on my skill?"