Dragon King's Harem Chapter 19. A Night In The Training Ground
"Tell Sarah to prepare Almeric's dinner. And add some Wugreame Cookies for him," I said to the guard at the front of Al's room.
"Yes, Your Majesty," answered one of the guards and he carried out my orders.
After hearing that answer, I walked down the quiet corridor. But instead of returning to my chamber, I walked towards the training ground.
"Your Majesty," the guards bowed and greeted me.
"Open the door," I ordered.
Two guards opened the door for me. While another was just turning around, intending to leave. But I turned to him and stopped him.
"You don't need to report this to Eiron." Whenever Argod came to the training ground, he always took Eir with him. But tonight I wanted to practice alone. I knew Eir was worried about me and wouldn't agree if I said I wanted to spend the whole night practising. Besides, I already knew where my limit was.
"Yes, Your Majesty." The guard returned to his position.
I walked into the training ground and the stone door behind me closed. A long breath escaped my mouth as I shook off my nervousness. Even though I had prepared myself, this time no one would help me if I lost. My feet stepped closer to the green crystal and I put my hand there.
"Level 10, 3 monsters."
The door across from me opened and 3 Gloom Trees came out of it.
'Adrenaline Surge! Dragon Armor! Power Boost! Accelerate! '
[Adrenaline Surge has been activated.]
[Dragon Armor has been activated.]
[Power Boost has been activated.]
[Accelerate has been activated.]
[ATK: 85 + 43+ 47]
[M.ATK: 85 + 43 +47]
[DEF: 50 + 25]
[SPD: 50 + 25 +28]
[Time remaining: 14:56]
Without wasting time, I flicked my wings and flew towards them.
'Rage!' I took out my Bazooka and aimed it at one of the monsters.
- Boom!
Like before, I shot it to immobilize him. But, since this time I had Accelerate skill, I decided to finish him off with my sword.
'Nightmare!' I glided as I summoned my sword.
As his body regenerated to normal, I swung my sword in front of him
[You have cut a Gloom Tree for 147 HP]
Unfortunately, I only managed to cut him once and had to retreat since he had regenerated.
"Tch!" I clicked my tongue in annoyance and glided backwards out of his range as an announcement appeared before me.
[A Gloom Tree is in an acid burn effect.]
[Its HP will decrease by 1 point per second]
[Its Speed will decrease by 20%.]
"Grroooaaahhhhh!" That Gloom Tree shrieked in pain and slashed his tendrils in all directions, including at his friends. Unfortunately, his attack did not affect them.
'Well, that should take care of the rest.' I could see his HP dropping due to my acid burn effect. But I could neither approach him nor approach his friends because he was moving his tendrils in rage.
After that Gloom Tree died, I summoned my bazooka again and fired at the other Gloom Tree. Then I glided at him after he couldn't move.
Since I only had one chance, I decided to change my strategy. So instead of summoning my sword, I imagined another weapon. This was also one of Argod's main weapons.
'Mana weapon!'
The bazooka in my hand was replaced by two shorter black swords with sharp edges. Its blade slightly jagged in the middle and a blue crystal that resembled my eye resided at each of its hilts. 'Honor and Pride' were the names of these swords.
Even though its range was shorter, I could swing it right before the monster could attack me again.
[You have cut a Gloom Tree for 130 HP] X2
And the Gloom Tree died.
'Nice ...' I thought as I flew backwards and repeated my previous strategy.
-----
Al, who just finished his dinner, was silent on his dining chair. One of his elbows placed on the table and the side of his head rested on his palm. His other hand was twisting around a Wugreame Cookie and his eyes were fixed on it, staring at it blankly. His head was filled with questions. He was confused about why Argod ordered him to make those potions 10 years ago. While he knew, those potions were too weak for Argod. Restored 300 points HP was nothing compared to Argod's HP. At least Argod needed Elixir to heal himself, but Elixir couldn't be made unless Argod flowed his mana into the potion since Elixir could only be made if a 'Magus' owner blessed Al's special potion. Unfortunately, Elixir could only last for 7 days after being made.
Al took a bite of the cookie in his hand.
'Has His Majesty really lost his power?' That was the worst-case scenario inside his head. Even though he rarely came out of his room, Al knew all kinds of information because his 'eyes' were everywhere. As a Royal Magician, Al was entrusted to placing spies among other tribes and reporting to him if they were thinking about attacking Draconis. He realized that while Argod was asleep, many tribes who didn't like him began to move and gather more strength to take down the dragon king forever. Meanwhile, their allies began to doubt Argod and leave him. The Minotaur tribe's attack on the border was only a prelude, or it could say a trial attack. Another, bigger attack was coming and nothing worse if Argod lost his power at a time like this.
Al finished the cookie in his hand and stood up. He decided to check on Argod once again. His feet stepped out of the room, down the quiet corridor to the king's chamber.
The guards bowed to him.
"Good Evening, Sir Almeric. How can I help you?"
"May I request an audience with His Majesty?" said Al.
"My apologize, sir. His Majesty has not returned to his room," replied the guard.
Al's forehead creased in confusion.
"He's not back yet?" he asked, which was answered with a simple 'yes' from the guard.
"Thank you for your information," said Al as he nodded slightly and left. His mind was wondering where Argod had gone. Then he remembered what Argod had just taken from his cupboard, the potions.
'Is His Majesty at the training ground?'
Driven by his curiosity, he stepped to the training ground and was blocked by several guards when he was about to enter.
"Good evening, Sir Almeric. May I know your business? "
Al took out an elemental potion from his blazer pocket and showed it to the guards.
"His Majesty asked me to deliver this to him," he reasoned.
Even though they seemed to doubt him, they finally let him in.
"But you must come out after giving it to His Majesty."
"Okay." He had Mark of Servant, so everyone knew he couldn't possibly betray Argod.
They opened the door a bit. The gap was just enough for someone to go through diagonally and he sneaked into it. The door behind him closed and Al heard a strange sound from within the room.
- Bang! - Bang! - Bang!
He walked slowly towards Argod who was fighting several large frog monsters in violet colour. He recognized those monsters as Dawn Frogs.
Al frowned in confusion. He knew Dawn Frog was a level 17 water element monster. Instead of using those strange weapons, Argod could kill them with just one snap with his Thunder Storm skill.
'Has he really lost his power?'
Al's eyes fixed on Argod, who continued to fight the monsters without noticing his presence. The strange weapons in Argod's hand turned into a lance with a tip that resembled a large arrowhead in gold. He recognized the weapon as Argod's beloved Lance, Justice. A blow from that weapon separated the last monster into two pieces. The blue blood and disgusting slime that came out of the monster soaked Argod's body, replacing his sweat. While Argod was gasping for breath, it was clear he had reached his stamina limit.
Instantly, Al realized that even though the curse had disappeared, it cost him his power. And right now Argod was catching up desperately, trying to restore his power from 0. Al clenched his fists.
"Your Majesty ..." he muttered. Now he understood all Argod's orders to him.
A stamina potion appeared in Argod's hand and he drank it. His breathing returned to normal and Argod approached a green crystal to release the next monster.
Meanwhile, Al reached out his hand to Argod and cast his spell.
'Shadow Reflection!'
-----
I just finished level 17 and was about to touch the green crystal in front of me, but suddenly an announcement appeared.
[Almeric Griga Bevier gave you Shadow Reflection!]
[This skill will block enemy attacks by three times or reduce the attack damage of epic skills by half.]
I looked behind me and saw the stone door closing. But I could already guess who he was. A breath came out of my mouth.
'Looks like he already found out,' I thought. I knew that Al was childish, but he was sharp. If he didn't make that fatal mistake perhaps the witch tribe king would make him his right-hand man.
I put my hand on the green crystal in front of me.
"Level 18."