When Emre finally woke again it was dark. Night had just fallen but he felt like the energy he had lost due to casting more magic than usual had returned. He was still safe and sound on the tree branch, having not fallen during his sleep.
Sitting up he stretched out his limbs and wings with satisfaction. The best naps were naps that left you feeling energized! He unraveled his tail, stretching it out to its full length to relieve the stiffness from being curled around something the whole time.
He looked through the leaves above him to see the vast starry sky. Without a second thought, he pushed off and flew into the air. Breaking through the treetop, he could see the black sky stretch out endlessly. Two moons shone brightly among the stars, breaking through the darkness to cast their light upon the forest below him.
Being able to fly felt far more freeing than he'd ever felt on Earth. He had almost gone skydiving once when his friend brought it up to him but he never did. Even so, he bet that right now, this was far more freeing than skydiving would have ever been. Unlike being tied down by gravity and simply plummeting, he was able to control everything he did and where he was going.
Breathing in the night air, Emre began to soar back northward. His goal was still the far-off mountain ahead. He figured he'd be able to fly another 30 minutes before his wings started to ache again.
Aside from the village, the forest in front of him just stretched as far as his eyes could see in the dark. Even though it was night, his vision was still fairly decent. It was probably due to being a dragon and being able to see in the dark.
The only problem right now is that he was hungry. He didn't know what types of prey might live in the forest or even be awake at this time. His tracking wasn't entirely the best because he always stuck to the waterways. If he could find a water source that would be the best for him.
He flew for a few hours before he noticed a small break in the trees. Turning his attention to it, he found what he was looking for. It was a small creek that looked to be just large enough to host some fish. Creeks and rivers all led to a big water source usually, right?
Following this train of thought, he started to fly in the same direction the water was flowing. It was easy to glide without much effort as he followed the weaving creek. Soon enough it led into a larger river which Emre also followed down.
He was flying without restraint when he actually spotted something down the way drinking peacefully. He couldn't tell what it was because he swerved toward its side of the river too quickly and glided along the treetops for a moment. He was just inland from the river as he entered the forest from above and perched upon a tree.
The creature hadn't looked too big, nor too small. He quickly began to jump through the trees and down to where he had seen it while using his Stealth skill.
In its general area now, he looked along the water's edges through the leaves until he spotted it still drinking. It was about the size of a deer, but its dark fur was a bit longer. It had a long feathery tail and thin legs. It had paws like a wolf, and from this angle, Emre wasn't able to see its head.
He couldn't tell if it was a herbivore or carnivore, but either way, it was probably edible. It was larger than him, but if he was able to ambush it then it might go smoothly. He quickly crept along the tree branches until he was hovering just inside the treeline. A branch wasn't close enough to the water for him to be able to ambush while it was drinking so he could only wait for it to go back inland.
Focusing on it, Emre's golden eyes squinted. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? It almost looked like there was dark smoke drifting off its pelt as if it were burning. It didn't seem normal…
'Voice, what is that?'
[ Corruption ]
He felt his chest tighten at the word. What? Corruption? Why so ominous? Is there no explanation other than that? Usually, it would give him a creature name and a quick description of them. Did this have something to do with the smoke? Was it a dark creature of some sort?
He didn't get enough time to think about it as the creature turned around and began to saunter back into the forest. He could see its head now. It had a canine-like head aside from not having a visible nose and instead of just two eyes, it had four pupilless red eyes. It also had no visible ears. This definitely was not a kind creature.
It started to pass under Emre and he didn't want to lose this chance. If it was a dark creature then he had abilities to harm it. Besides, if he was going to be a proper radiant creature, wouldn't killing corruption only benefit him?
Without a second thought, he dropped down with outstretched claws. His fangs bared and he landed on it with a thud, his teeth immediately sinking into the back of its neck as he used Venom Bite.
The places he came into contact with the creature started to let out a gross sizzling sound. Was his touch burning it? Only then did he realize that it was painful. Touching this thing was horribly painful, but it wasn't just painful for him it seemed.
He flinched back as it screeched and bucked. Emre quickly let go and kicked himself away from it. It whipped around to face him with sharp bared teeth. The places he had been touching were actually crumbling. Pieces of its back where Emre's feet had been placed were glowing brightly as well as where he had bitten.
Emre could hear the creature's skin sizzling as it tried to pick whether to whine or snarl. Emre feet also hurt. It was like he had barely touched a hot stove by accident. With his aching feet, he held his ground. Touching the corruption hurt him, but it looked like it hurt worse for the creature. The bright burns continued to burn for only a few more seconds before they faded away, overtaken by the black smoke that surrounded its body.
He wondered if his venom would even work. It was injected directly into its neck, so he hoped it would take effect.
As the burning stopped, however, the creature lunged toward him straight away. Emre was a bit faster and barely dodged as the black teeth snapped for his face. As it was pulling back he sent out a swipe barely catching it across the muzzle.
His scratches were feeble, only burning its nose for a second before it faded. Emre cursed inwardly as he started to retreat. His mouth was painful from biting directly onto it and his feet were sore. Biting it again or even touching it all seemed like a bad idea.
It was time to use his ranged attacks since he didn't have time to use any healing skills on himself. He would have to be careful not to exhaust himself right away.
Opening his mouth he decided to use Light Bolt. The golden sphere manifested quickly before he shot it out, aiming for the creature's legs. It landed on an empty spot with a sizzle. The creature had managed to jump out of the way.
Emre snarled as it landed and regained its stance. Battle was truly tedious and annoying. He started to consider retreating before he watched the creature begin to hack. The sound of its coughing was grating on the ears. Then a black liquid spilled from its mouth and splattered out on the ground in front of it.
What the hell? Emre grimaced as it didn't give itself to recover from the grueling experience of hacking up whatever the hell that was, and shot toward him. Time to use the more intense spell! And… something he had totally forgotten about.
Standing his ground, he waited as the creature loomed over him only to quickly activate his Band of Protection. The blue gem on the bracelet glowed brightly as an almost transparent barrier appeared right in front of him.
The creature smashed its face into the barrier and screeched in surprise. Taking this chance, he pushed forward as it was pulling back. He felt his throat warm as he opened his jaws wide. Suddenly, a jet of radiant fire billowed from his mouth and engulfed half of its body. It was his Radiant Flame Breath.
The shadows of the creature were immediately covered by the golden fire as it spread along down to its tail. Emre jumped back as it began to flail and scream in pain as the fire burned its entire body from nose to tail tip. It was a truly violent and morbid view as it slowly began to crumble onto the ground.
The fire didn't spread along the grass and only remained on the body of it until finally, it stopped moving. The flame began to die down until it left nothing but a charred body of what the creature once was.
[ A Creature of Corruption slain, gained 1000 experience ]
[ You leveled up ]
[ Gained 2 stat points ]
[ Perception leveled up ]
[ Level requirements met for new skills ]
[ Skill gained, Circle of Protection ]
[ Skill gained, Radiant Claws ]
[ Skill gained, Dispel Magic ]
[ Skill gained, Dragon Aura ]
[ Title gained, Destroyer of Corruption ]
Emre was stunned as he stared at the burnt corpse of the creature. The mass amount of information that flooded into his head was no help to his mental state. He had just watched a creature burn to death within seconds. And it was caused by him. Sure it may have been an evil creature but his stomach still roiled at the sight of its remains and he felt everything that was in his empty stomach start to race up his throat.
After vomiting, he only felt a bit better as the scent of charred flesh continued to invade his nose. He stepped away before flapping his wings and taking flight. He flew for a few minutes downriver before stopping and landing upon a tree branch.
Slowly, he used his Healing Touch skill on himself and healed his feet and mouth. The magic usage took a toll on his energy as well as his aching empty stomach. He didn't even get to eat it… Not that he would eat it if it even had any edible remains. Just touching it hurt, why would he dare try to eat it?
With a sigh, he laid upon the branch and with nothing better to do, decided to check out his new skills.
[ Circle of Protection, a 4-foot diameter circle of radiance that protects against any creatures the caster decides for 5 minutes ]
[ Radiant Claws, covers the casters claws in radiant light. Most effective against dark creatures ]
[ Dispel Magic, a spell that dispels magic upon contact ]
[ Dragon Aura, an aura that exerts a dragon's strength ]
[ Destroyer of Corruption, a title that displays the honor of having destroyed a creature of darkness ]
He guessed that each of the spells would get stronger as he leveled them up. They were all very handy for the future but he still wasn't used to using so many spells at once. It exhausted him quickly each time he used them.
Now he was just tired and hungry. He thought he was pretty lucky, but at this point in time, he felt like crap.
'Voice, define creature of darkness…'
[ Creature of Darkness, a creature that has been corrupted upon death to do the bidding of the Goddess of Despair ]
There was a Goddess of Despair?? Why was this made possible? Why did he have to run across something corrupted as soon as he left the safety of the Black Swamp? Was this why he was made an Angel of Tirian and given radiant abilities? So he could kill these dark creatures?
Is this why he was brought into this world?