Chapter 50: Ruthar Awakened... Slaying Dragons
Ruthar watched as multiple notifications appeared one after the other after he killed the dragon. He was still baffled by his new title, Dragon Slayer, but remembered he was not alone.
He turned to see Tomaha and Taraha healing themselves with magic. The other alchemists were still recovering from disorientation.
That meant he had time to quickly check his stats.
[New Title: Dragon Slayer]
* Strength and agility increase by one every time the user is strained. Mana gets amplified.
"Wow, that's really useful. This boosts me more than I hoped for. I can get stronger just by getting stressed out in battle."
Ruthar turned to the golden box that had manifested in the air like a hologram.
"Open box."
This was his first time receiving a surprise box, so he believed it would hold valuable items.
And it did.
The golden box dissolved into flickering lights, and three notifications appeared.
[Dragon Output]
* Mana type ability.
[Roar of the Mighty]
* Ability to conquer lower beasts with a roar.
[Eye of Extraction]
* Ability locked until user reaches level 10.
Ruthar was amazed by his rewards. He already felt overpowered, assuming he could train these abilities to their full potential. The final skill, which was locked, also seemed very tempting, but for now, he was satisfied with what he had received.
[You have completed a quest and earned an ULTIMATE REWARD]
[Level Up Rank: Newbie]
* Gain EXP easily and invest stat points into your system. Gain surprise boxes from every Primordial beast killed.
"Wow, I even unlocked this. I feel like I just struck a gold mine..."
"KAYAAAHHHHK!!!"
"Lady Taraha!"
Ruthar turned to see Taraha coughing violently, with Tomaha tending to her, worry etched on his face.
Without a second thought, he ran towards them. As he got closer, he understood why Tomaha was worried.
The healing magic worked, but not effectively. Lady Taraha was still bleeding internally, her face completely pale.
She was dying.
"What the f**k happened?" Ruthar asked, gritting his teeth in rage.
"The dragon you just killed wasn't a mere flame dragon but a poison one. Its flames are corrupting Lady Taraha," Tomaha explained, his voice strained as he searched through his alchemist bag, pulling out multiple potions and mixing them together.
"What are we going to do?" Ruthar asked, his face pale with regret and determination. If he had been more prepared during the blast, he might have saved Taraha. Instead, he had let himself freeze.
"Damn it! I caused this."
"Don't worry, I'll be able to cure her with a bit of alchemy, but it's going to take time to make a strong enough healing potion," Tomaha said, mixing as fast and delicately as he could.
Another alchemist, who had survived the first attack, joined them, kneeling beside Tomaha and bringing out a few potions to help.
"I am the brother of the head of this town. I can help," he said, his voice filled with worry.
"Why the hell are you here? Run! I never called for your help!" Tomaha muttered coldly, his focus on Taraha. If not for her condition, he would have done more than just talk.
The stranger folded his lips and shrugged in guilt. "I'm sorry. My brother was the one who was turned into a dragon, so this is on me. I can't live with that guilt. Let me help."
His reasons were genuine; he had just lost a brother to whatever transformed him into a dragon. The important thing was that he still grieved and wanted to help.
"There isn't enough time to argue. Lady Taraha might die or worse... I have to drop my pride."
"Help us!" Tomaha asked, focusing back on his potions. The two combined their knowledge to make a cure for the venom in Taraha.
While they worked, Ruthar noticed a change around him. The survivors were clearing out as quickly as they could, while others stared blankly at them, unmoving but very interested.
"More dragons."
Ruthar frowned, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly with both hands and spreading his stance. "I'll protect you all until you're done. Don't worry about me."
As Ruthar stood, he could hear distant booms, explosions from all around the kingdom, and the growls of multiple dragons.
This was a full-fledged attack meant to kill them. A planned one, but for what reason?
"Is it because we are the Darkdawns? Or is there a snitch in the kingdom that planned this? For now, I can't tell. I have to kill these b*stards!"
In synchrony, the mouths of the people opened, and they began to morph into dragons the same size as the one Ruthar had just killed, but in different colors.
"Five dragons up front, three behind us. I have to go all out to pull this off while protecting Taraha and the others."
As soon as the dragons had all morphed, they gave a piercing shriek, charging at once.
"Dark Sword Art... Beast Master Sword Art... Dragon Sword Art!" As Ruthar began to mutter, his hair flowed into the air, overwhelmed by the foreign energy he began to emit. Surges of black, purple, and gold energy radiated off him.
"All these sword arts I combine to form mine... The Sword Art of the Grim."