As the dragon's flames pour down on us, I close my eyes awaiting my inevitable doom. After a few seconds of keeping my eyes closed, I realize that I'm still alive. I open my eyes and find out that the dragon's flames have stopped in midair, a few inches before reaching us, as if they were frozen. But that's not all, I see that everything else is frozen. Damien, Leah and Rachel are all standing completely still, and I can't even feel the wind anymore.
Man: Seriously now! How could I have let him win after saying a line like that?
I quickly turn around and see Theo standing behind me, with his eyes closed as usual and a smile on his face.
Theo: I mean, I don't think I've even read in a children's book where the main villain gloats to such an extent. It's embarrassing, really.
JÒN: Where have you been hiding this whole time?
Theo: Now, now, Jòn, is that any way to talk to your savior. To answer your question, I've been following this dragon for a while now. I've been covering my presence, so that he couldn't find me with his sight, smell, hearing or magical sense...
JÒN: What did you do?
Theo: I'd say this should all be self explanatory. I've frozen time.
JÒN: Frozen ti-- How is that even possible?
Theo (still smiling): There is no such thing as impossible, Jòn. As long as you never stop believing in yourself, you can overcome any limits. Remember this advice!
JÒN: Is this all a joke to you?
Theo: No, but your fight with the dragon was. I've been watching it since it began and I must say, I'm not very impressed.
JÒN: Are you serious right now? What do you expect me to do against a dragon?
Theo: How about using that device your attached to your wrist?
JÒN: Yeah? And what would you have me do? Max my strength and punch him to death?
Rachel: Um... excuse me...sir...
Theo and I both turn around at the same time, and see that Rachel is standing up and looking at Theo, confused.
Rachel: Um... Hi... My name is Rachel. Are you a friend of Jòn?
Theo furrow his eyebrows, and points his fingers towards Rachel.
Rachel: W-What are you doing?
Theo: Interesting! Rachel, I've cast a spell that's supposed to freeze time for everyone except me and Jòn. Have you by anytime done time magic during your lifetime?
Rachel: Uh..no, I can't cast any magic at all. I'm not a mage.
Theo smile widens
Theo: Then I offer you my sincerest congratulations. As of this moment, you are officially a time wrath!
JÒN: A...what?
Theo: Jòn, I must admit, I don't think I've ever seen such diversity in a team before. A time wrath, A healer in armor, a survivor from the Institution of Truth and a stat device wielder. I think I might start to root for you guys!
JÒN: What's so special about being a stat device wielder?
Theo: It's more special than you think! You are one of the rare cases that can utilize this device to it's full potential. Not many can boast such a feat. Allow me to demonstrate.
Theo snaps his fingers and my stat device detaches from my wrist and flies into his hands. The device then suddenly starts glowing and it looks like it's receiving a massive amount of energy in a very short period of time.
JÒN: Hey!!!
Theo: I realize this must all be very confusing for you, Jòn, so I'm going to provide you a little bit of information. The beast that just attacked you is Qaerys, the self proclaimed king of all dragons. The reason he's looking for me is because I wrote a message in the stars last night in an ancient language used mainly by dragon hunters. The message was to let all dragon hunters who joined this competition know that a dragon exist on this island. I very much doubt that anyone of them would pose a threat to him, but it'll be fun to watch.
He finishes charging up my stat device and then hands it back to me. As I hold it in my hand, I can feel a powerful surge of magical energy flow through me.
Theo: I believe your ultimate goal was to win this tournament and become a mage, was it not? For about five minutes, you'll have magical powers, almost as comparable to mine. More than enough to beat the dragon, I bet. I look forward to watching your battle!
Theo then starts to fade into thin air. When his face is almost invisible, he says
Theo: Oh, and I'd recommend starting with a magical barrier. Your friends don't seem to be doing very well.
As Theo vanishes completely, time is slowly starting to resume its course. I take the stillborns advice and quickly conjure a protective barrier around Leah and Damien. It's weird how natural this is all feeling, almost as if I've been casting spells all my life. Is this the true power of my stat device?
Just as I finish casting my spell, time unfreezes itself, and the dragons fire hit my barrier head on. The flames then vanishes into air, while Leah looks around her, shocked at the discovery of the newly formed barrier protecting her.
Leah: Damien, did you...
Damien: No, it wasn't me. This barrier is way stronger than anything I could ever conjure. I don't know who did this.
Qaerys (points at me): You! You did this! It does not matter. All you've managed to achieve is make yourself my next target. Prepare to die!
I conjure another barrier around me and Rachel just in time to defend us from the incoming flames. My barrier's holding up better than Damien's and I'm barely feeling the heat outside of it.
The question is, what am I going to do now? Looking at my device, I can see that my stats have remained exactly the same and I have no extra points available. So then what exactly did Theo do to it? Guess I'll figure it out later
I have less than five minutes to finish this fight, because I can sense the speed at which the magical energy Theo gave me is depleting. Even with all this power the dragon may as well burn me up in a one on one fight if I don't do this right. Both Damien and Leah are too exhausted to help me, so I'm on my own for now.
Going in without a plan would be suicidal. I'll just have to use the time I have as quickly as I can. Firstly, I now know that I have access to dozens of powerful protection spells
JÒN (to himself): Let's see... the one I'll need the most is protection from fire. I can't just spend my whole time trapped inside this barrier . And this spell will grant me protection from flames although it'll still feel like I'm in an oven, but at least I won't be burnt to a crisp.
Aside from that, judging by how I've seen the dragon fight so far, I think I could use some protection from physical damage, to defend me from his claw attacks.
The strong wind he generates with his wings might also be a problem. It felt like I was trying to fight a hurricane when he first made his appearance, so I could use protection from wind
The dragon sees that his fire isn't working, so he tries to dive in again. My barrier is too strong to be broken as easily as Damien's, so he'll be busy for a while.
Now that I've set my defense, I need to think about my offense. With the spells I have access to now, I have almost limitless choices, but I'll have to think of a strategy that could defeat Qaerys in the few minutes I have left.
I am going to definitely need to cast a flight spell on myself, so it'll be easier to engage the dragon.
The thing I'm lacking the most here is information about my enemy. All I have are stories and fairy tales. One thing most legend agrees on is that dragons are immune to fire and mind control (illusion).
I already know that Leah's ice did nothing to the dragon, but I might as well use all elements except fire. I can also use shape shifting magic or summoning magic.
Or maybe I'm thinking too small of a scale. With the powers I have at my disposal right now, I could be doing a lot more damage. I could literally make a tornado, or use earth bending to animate a rock giant that would squash the dragon or a blizzard, a lightning storm, a rain of acid or rain of meteorites.
I start of by casting protection from fire, wind, and physical damage on myself, as well as a flight spell.
Next, I cast the necessary protection spells on Rachel, Damien and Leah.
Damien: Jòn, what happened? The magic power radiating from you... It's insane!
JÒN: I'll explain later. I don't have much time, and I'll need to concentrate as much as possible on casting these protection spells.
After I finish casting the spells on the four of us, I fly out of the barrier to face the dragon. Finally, I can go ALL OUT.
I raise my hands in the air and feel all of my magical power flow through me. This is what I've always wanted. This is what I've been looking for all my life. I'm not going to let one single dragon stand in my way.
I start by creating a tornado. The wind around me is now so strong that it's literally breaking rocks from the ground and making them fly around me
The dragon is struggling to keep itself in the air, while my protection from wind are allowing me to fly through the currents with ease. Next I use earth bending to make a giant out of rock. The ground shakes as an enormous two hundred feet rock golem rises slowly and once it spots the dragon, it uses its huge hands to crush the him between them.
Qaerys lets out a deafening roar. A roar so powerful, it creates an explosion of air all around him, and it shatters the giant's hand setting the dragon free.
Even though he managed to get out, it's clear that Qaerys has taken a lot of damage from my last attack. He's now breathing fire hotter than ever, turning the rock giant into molten lava.
JÒN (to himself): Try all you want dragon, but you won't escape my grasp. Nothing can stop me now.
Dozens of volcanoes start to erupt from the earth below as I use more magical power, this time to call upon a rain of acid. The dragon screams as the acid burns through its wings, and he starts to desperately shoot fire everywhere above him, in order to burn all of the acid before it reaches him. I teleport next to Qaerys, and point my palm towards him using a gale palm technique, I blow him away with a powerful explosion of air. I've interrupted him from burning the drops of acid, the rain is now once more pouring on him, and the dragon starts screaming in pain again.
Suddenly, the whole area gets covered in a blue light and I'm starting to feel a strong magical power coming from all around us.
Qaerys (In pain): What's... What's happening?
Theo: Has it been so long you've forgotten, old friend?
I turn around and see the stillborn floating in the air next to us, with his usual smile on his face.
Qaerys: Theo...
Theo: Just because these traps haven't been used in over thousands of years doesn't mean they don't work. The Thackeray of old were anything but inferior craftsmen. This trap was just a bit rusty, that's all. Luckily, your continues use of flames and Jòn's volcanoes were just enough to restart it.
As the two of them speak, the blue light intensifies.
Qaerys: You'll... pay for this... Both of you... I will not rest until I hunt you down. Do you hear me?! I will hunt you down! Wipe that smile off your face, you lowborn little--
All of the magic in the air gets unleashed in a single moment, and the dragon gets teleported away. The energy from my device is gone. I sensed it disappear when the dragon was teleported away.
Theo turns back to me
Theo: Well done, Jòn! You have far exceeded my expectations.
JÒN: What just happened?
Theo: I'm sorry about your duel, I'm afraid you'll have to resume it some other time. Qaerys was caught in an old dragon trap that's been around for thousand years.
JÒN: What did the trap do to the dragon?
Theo: It transported him to a dragon prison on this island. But I doubt there's anyone guarding it at this point, I imagine that he wouldn't have much trouble escaping, but even so, he'll still have to destroy the prisons automatic defenses and he'll have to travel all the way back here. So it should be at least a few days before he gets back.
Damien (shouts): Theo!! What are you doing here?!
Rachel: Wait... I don't understand... isn't he your friend?
Theo (feigning sadness): That's what I thought, but it seems I was mistaken.
He then turns to leave
Rachel: No wait, don't go! I'm sure Damien didn't mean what he said!
Theo: I thank you for your kindness, Rachel, but I can tell when I'm not wanted. I bid you farewell.
He then teleports out of our sight. Or did he? After seeing how well he could mask his presence before, I'm starting to wonder
Rachel: Damien, how could you do this to your friend? That was horrible!
JÒN: Calm down, Rachel, it's not as simple as that.
Rachel: What's not that simple? He saved all of our lives! I saw it happen before my eyes! We all would have been dead if not for him! He's the one that gave you all those powers that allowed you to fight the dragon. Why are you acting like he's our enemy?
Leah: It's because he's our enemy. When we first met him this morning, he tried to kill Damien straight up and decided against it, on an impulse. If what you're saying is true, and he really did save all our lives, then I'm inclined to believe that this was also a decision he made on impulse. Did he give any reason for saving our lives?
Rachel: He, uhh... He said that he couldn't let the dragon win, after having gloated like a villain from a children's book...
Leah: Well, there you have it. But never mind Theo's intentions, what I would very much like to know is how the both of you got to interact with him in the middle of our fight, when neither me nor Damien saw him appear until the end of the fight.
JÒN: He froze time.
Damien: Froze time?! How's that even possible?
JÒN: I don't fully understand, but he just snapped his fingers and made time stop for everyone except me and him.
Leah: Wait, what about Rachel?
Rachel: He said... that I was able to resist his spell because I'm a time wrath.
Leah: What the hell is a time wrath?
JÒN: He didn't tell us, but judging by the name, I'd say it's a person that can use time altering magic.
Damien: Rachel, did you feel different, after withstanding Theo's spell?
Rachel: No... I feel exactly the same as before. I think he might have been wrong, I can't have time powers. There must have been something wrong with his spell, that's all.
Damien: Hmm... Perhaps you're right. Anyhow we should be thankful enough that we somehow managed to make it out of this alive. We're all in terrible shape. Here, let me start casting healing spells.
Once Damien finishes healing us, we waste no time and resume our journey, in other to avoid meeting any mages or creatures that may have been attracted to the loud noise of our previous battle.
Leah: I still don't understand one thing, Jòn. How did Theo manage to give you all those powers? As far as I know, transferring powers between mages is impossible without some kind of tool to assist them.
JÒN: Oh, he used my stat device. I'm not sure exactly what he did, but he made it start glowing, and then I suddenly got all those spells. I've tried messing around with the stat device ever since, in order to see if I could unlock some secret options or something, but I can't figure out how he did it.
Leah: Wait, you're saying that you got all those powers through your stat device? No, that's impossible! In order for that to work, you'd need to have even less magical power than a human, otherwise it wouldn't match at all with the magical frequency of the device.
She pauses.
Leah: Actually, come to think of it, your magical energy was always weaker than that of a normal human. Very weak, in fact. Almost as if you were a...
Leah suddenly stops and looks straight at me. The look in her eyes slowly turns into one of terror, hate and sudden understanding. Then her look becomes dark. Darker than I've ever seen it before, as she continues to look me straight in the eyes.
JÒN: Almost as if I were a... what?
Leah: Nevermind, it wasn't important. Let's catch up with the others, we're lagging behind again.
The tone in her voice was as cold as her freezing magic. She doesn't say another word to me, and goes to catch up with Damien and Rachel.
JÒN (to himself): Great, just what we needed. More underlying conflict between us. I'm sure this can only end well for everyone.
>>>End Of Chapter 7<<<