by TJ Reynolds
Kai sent a Flame Spear at a cluster of the creatures before turning to observe the Mireen. The yumdarts’ sizzling skin and hissing death rattles told him he’d taken down quite a few in the conflagration.
The Azure would have to take a few more hits, and, hopefully, might even learn a lesson from them.
Several yumdarts were tugging at the Mireen, their tongues sunk into the flesh on her left side. This reduced any attempts of the dragonling to counter, and more and more of the little monsters were digging their tongues into her flesh by the second.
Kai launched a second Flame Spear, and the spell roared out of the tip of his glaive.
It roasted a half dozen monsters and burned through many of the tongue binding the dragonling down.
Then he spun to see what trouble the Orondi had gotten itself into.
The gold dragon whipped her tail back and forth, dealing hard knocks to many of the smaller monsters.
Her tactic seemed to be paying off, but again, she was simply too outnumbered to last much longer.
Since she was dealing with the situation better, Kai though it best to support the dragonling rather than step in directly. He began casting Barbed Barkskin.
The spell used Earth ether, and took ten seconds to finish.
When it completed, a ball of green ether flew out and struck the Orondi. A series of crystalline thorns and barbs rose up over the dragon’s hide, which would cause damage to the yumdarts as they fought on.
Another benefit of the spell manifested shortly after as the dragon’s movements sped up.
In addition to providing a small buff to defense, the increased speed would allow it to effectively handle the rest of the attackers.
Kai glanced ahead when he heard the Azure roar.
More of the monsters were pulling him down, a few showing the second attack that made them more of a threat than he’d originally anticipated.
Rolling forward like sentient stones, the yumdarts threw themselves at the Azure and pounded into it with incredible force.
Kai was about to use another Barbed Barkskin when he noticed movement at the far end of the tunnel.
A veritable army of yumdarts were on their way.
I can call up Greg and the kobolds, Kai thought, or I can try to buy us a little time for these little shits to do what they can on their own.
Without hesitation, Kai threw out his right hand and channeled Shimmering Shield Wall.
He chewed his lip as the spell took forever to cast. Thirty seconds was a very long time in such a situation.
Remembering the Ananri still behind him, Kai sent the beast a stern order. It translated to Go, kill monsters, save friends!
At last, the Ananri entered the fray, darting forward in a streak of white steel and scales. It made for the Azure, who by now was getting the worst of it.
Whipping its tail around in a blur, it detached several lashing tongues at once.
This freed up the Azure to retaliate as well.
Then the most amazing thing happened.
The shivving fools fell in beside one another and fought in an effective, if loose, formation.
Kai’s spell completed and a wall of light fell down from the ceiling, blocking off most of the advancing monsters.
Dozens more had made it within range before the casting had completed, but Kai felt confident the dragonlings could handle the rest.
One by one, he cast Barbed Barkskin on the others.
With the added buff, the little dragons fought as bravely as Kai could have asked.
In twos and threes, they crushed the yumdarts, destroying the monsters and filling the air with a thick cloud of ether.
When the last of the monsters died, Kai held his breath.
Will they be able to absorb it? Kai wondered. If so, this has to count for a great deal of Progression.
In a whoosh of swirling light, the ether in the room started to move.
A small portion absorbed into Kai’s core. He’d killed quite a few with his Flame Spear.
But the vast majority raced into the dragonlings’ bodies.
Perhaps in relief that the fight was over, or due to the cooling effect of taking in so much ether, the dragons all tilted up their heads and roared.
Kai couldn’t help but grin. “Good work, you guys. Next time, listen more carefully though.”
With a couple minutes still left on his shield wall, Kai cast Restoring Tide on his charges.
He was grateful once again he’d chosen to reactivate the healing spell scale. Giving up Soul Projection wasn’t an easy choice to make, but given that his primary duty now was to keep the baby dragons alive, he knew it had been the right move.
Dragons mostly healed up, Kai strode forward to stand closer behind the beasts as they faced the hundred or so yumdarts writhing in a pile of squishy bodies at the wall’s edge.
Greg, Kai commanded with his mind, come forward and get ready to support.
Then he barked out to the kobolds still in the room behind. “Kotsi, Sora! Bring in your warriors. But do not attack unless we need you to.”
Two shouts of “Right away!” echoed back, followed by the pounding of a dozen sets of kobold boots.
Greg ran up beside Kai just as the Shimmering Shield Wall dispersed.
Ban had been so excited about his new champion, not only for its appearance but for the new abilities it came with.
Similar to the javelin attack the previous Greg had, this one had a similar ability that could target a large area at once.
Kai pointed to the surging mass of monsters, and cried out, “Thousand Sting Strike!”
Greg roared and threw back his arms.
The spider legs on his back arched backwards as well, their steel-clad tips glowing. Then a multitude of small, gleaming projectiles erupted from the daggers.
They streaked up into the sky, curving over the top of the dragons.
Suddenly, the chamber filled with a hissing noise that sounded like a tumbling waterfall.
It wasn’t the ability itself, but the cascade of deaths it caused as the yumdarts were thinned out.
The incredible volley had a two-hour cooldown, which made plenty of sense to Kai. That ability could turn the tide of a real battle too, he realized, proud of Ban’s accomplishment.
Greg stood dumbly at his side as the dragonlings fought together to finish the rest.
With snapping jaws and slashing talons, his young charges fought for another twenty minutes before the battle was won.
Having mostly recharged his spent Available Ether, Kai walked forward to heal the tired beasts.
More ether was absorbed, and Kai felt hopeful that they would finally be able to ascend to Amber.
After an hour-long break, the party headed further into the dungeon.
As the tunnel narrowed, Kai ordered the Azure to take the lead with him just behind.
They wound ever deeper, and soon came across resistance.
A handful of furry monsters burst free from the stone floor where they’d been hiding, and attacked the blue dragonling.
Already buffed with barkskin, the blue dragon reacted fiercely.
He dragged his claws at one of the monsters, which Kai had now identified as a frenzied quartzhog, injuring it fatally.
Two more got within striking range, only to be pounded in their armored chests by the Azure’s long tail.
Another of the monsters got off a hit, however.
As its oddly stick-like appendages struck the dragonling’s leg, stone erupted outward like spears.
Rather than shy away or wince, the Azure’s wrath exploded.
Raging, the dragonling flung the monster into the nearest wall, then swung his body.
His tail blasted the quartzhog in the chest, caving in its ribcage and killing it in a single blow.
This apparently wasn’t satisfying enough for the blue dragon.
It ran forward and crushed the monster’s skull in its jaws and tore its body limb from limb. Only after cons
uming most of the beast did it calm down.
Kai watched in fatherly admiration.
Then he sent out a thought to the Azure to fall behind, and he called the Mireen forward.
One by one, the dragonlings alternated as they plumbed the dungeon’s depths. They each got dozens of kills collectively, filling their cores with precious ether.
Finally, the tunnel ended, and a massive stairwell led downward.
Considering the rank of the monsters, all between Amber 1 and Golden 1 so far, Kai assumed they must be nearing the boss.
Sure enough, as he descended from the last step, Kai stared into a vast cavern.
At the far end, a brighter glow of ether-blue rose up and spilled across the wall. It was coming from a stone dais, one that most certainly held an Earth Core.
It would be satisfying to walk up to the shivvered core and heal it as he’d done so often before.
That would have to wait, however, for curled up in a ball before them was the bulky figure of the dungeon boss.
Losing any chance at a stealth kill, the dragonlings shrieked at the sight of the thing.
Surely, they thought the sound to be intimidating, but when the boss rose up on all fours, the young ones quieted.
“What’s wrong?” Kai asked with a smirk. “Not so strong anymore?”
He commanded the dragons to move to the flanks. They listened this time, the gold and blue heading off to the right of the chamber and the green and white to the left.
Kai jogged up with Greg at his side to face the monster directly while the kobolds stood behind in a defensive formation.
As he cast the barkskin spell on himself and Greg, Kai inspected the boss.
Rondus Prime
Territorial Geophage
Golden 3
The boss’ level didn’t concern Kai; it was the other details he’d picked up on.
This rondus, whatever the hells that was, had a stout body that looked to be made of stone.
With four legs splayed out below it, the monster had the general shape of a sludge hound. A single, broad claw tipped each foot, and instead of a slobbering maw, the monster had a beak in the center of its odd face.
For the life of him, Kai couldn’t find the thing’s eyes. Then he gave up inspecting the creepy expanse of gray flesh that made up the monster’s head.
Geophage… does that mean it can burrow? Kai wondered, recognizing only part of the strange word. Or does it eat stone? And it is a rondus prime. Does that mean there are—
The boss suddenly opened its beak and trumpeted loudly. A vortex of green ether surrounded its beak as it did so.
A rumble shook the floor, and stone exploded all around them.
Dozens of smaller rondus monsters rolled into the room from the tunnels they’ll been concealed in. Each was less than half the size of the boss, but that still meant they were as big as a dragonling.
Greg, pull the boss’ attention, Kai commanded with him mind. The dragonlings and I will kill its underlings first.
Then, before the battle could progress further, the monsters attacked.
The prime hunkered down and pounded its beak into the floor. Before Greg could get to the bastard, it tore a huge hole in the dungeon floor and disappeared.
A wave of Earth ether washed out in its wake.
Okay, so that’s what we’re dealing with, Kai thought grimly. This won’t get complicated at all.
Rather than be frustrated, Kai redirected Greg to support the Azure and Orondi as the beasts fought several of the smaller rondus monsters.
Kai charged to the opposite side of the room.
The Ananri attacked one of the monsters as he approached. Drawing the beast in with his wicked black claws, the dragonling lashed out with its jaws and ripped the monster’s throat out.
As it died, the rondus’ body shook and trembled.
Kai figured it was a sign of the beast’s death throes, but shortly after, long green spikes erupted from the beast’s knobby back and chest.
One lanced through the Ananri’s neck.
Recoiling in pain, the white dragon backed away and blood sprayed out in a wide arc.
Kai winced as he saw the grievous wound.
Before he could heal it, however, a few of the lesser monsters needed to be killed.
For the first time since entering the dungeon, Kai used his glaive.
Even as he slashed out the throat of a rondus, Kai sent a mental image of the Ananri’s misfortune, hoping to inform the other dragonlings of the danger of biting these creatures.
Then he dove out of the way of an incoming monster. The beast rolled past him like a boulder, then popped out its legs and opened its beak to bite him.
Kai thrust his glaive down its throat and released a Flame Spear.
The monster’s insides were torn apart and scorched, and it died before it could activate its death spikes.
Seeing the Mireen stuck between two more rondus monsters, Kai activated Breeze Step and teleported across the room. His glaive shot out in a deep thrust, sinking into the expanse of the monster’s forehead.
Kai spun around and slashed the rondus beside him through its hamstring.
Distracted by the pain, the monster wheeled around to fend him off, but Kai was already gone.
One more Breeze Step later, Kai sent two consecutive Flame Spears into the faces of three monsters that were hedging in the Orondi.
Then, seeing the battle was turning, Kai backed away to the center of the room and cast a heal on the Ananri.
Greg, wound the monsters but let the dragonlings finish them off, Kai commanded, hoping that most of the ether would feed the dragons’ cores.
Watching the battle unfold, Kai couldn’t help but be impressed with how much the dragonlings had already improved.
The Azure and Orondi alternated attacks now, both keeping the few remaining rondus monsters at bay while also landing critical blows occasionally.
Adopting a slightly different approach, the Mireen was facing three monsters and fighting in a completely defensive manner. It slashed with its claws and whipped its tail to keep them at bay.
Occasionally, when one of the rondus monsters overcommitted, the Ananri would jump out and deal a mortal wound.
He was bolder than Kai had given him credit for at first.
By far the weakest physically, the little Ananri male was showing a primal knowledge of battle that was often hard-earned.
It slashed tendons and struck only vulnerable areas with its tail.
When the last of the monsters died, Kai glanced around to make sure all were good and well.
Noticing the Orondi was limping heavily, Kai cast Restoring Tide and waited for the boss monster to return.
Minutes slowly passed while Kai rebuffed everyone present with another application of Barbed Barkskin.
All was silent until the often moody Mireen sat down heavily. Its plate mail clanked as its bottom struck the stone. No sooner had the sound faded than a faint rubble shook the floor.
Kai shouted mentally to the Mireen female. Move. Flee. Hide! He tried to approximate with a series of panicked images.
The green dragon swung her long head toward Kai, but she didn’t react in time.
In an eruption of stone and Earth ether, the ground opened up beneath her. Then the great rondus prime emerged, its beak already clamped down on the dragonling’s hindquarters.
The dragonling’s screech of pain reverberated in the chamber, slicing Kai’s heart in two. She flapped her wings and tried to pull herself away, but the boss monster’s jaws were too strong.
A squeak of metal giving way proved Ban’s armor was reaching the limits of its protection.
“No!” Kai screamed as he ran toward the beast. “No! No! No!”
He blasted its flank with three Flame Spear spells, but the monster remained fixated on his squalling quarry.
Kai wound up a Confounded Core, and while the spell charged, he shouted for Greg to act. Arachnid Assault!
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br /> One of Greg’s dagger-tipped arms lashed forward and fired a thick beam of light. It bored into the rondus’ hip joint, bursting a second later.
Finally, the boss monster opened its beak and roared in pain.
The Mireen slashed deep furrows across its face as she flapped away.
Kai released Confounded Core.
After ascending to Emerald 2, he’d been able to accept yet another spell scale. He’d happily chosen Confounded Core again, knowing it could devastate most enemies.
Since he was a higher ascension level than the boss, the spell worked.
Glowing faintly, the boss took a half step, then faltered. It tried backing up, but its movements were confused. Most importantly, it seemed the spell had also removed its ability to use skills.
Acting as one unit, the other dragonlings converged on the monster. Wisely, they didn’t try to injure it with blunt strikes from their tails. Instead, they used claw and fang, ripping into the beast’s stony flesh.
Kai let them have at it for long minutes.
The dragonlings could not pierce the boss’ flesh deep enough to kill it quickly, but they found arteries at its neck and the joints of his legs.
They ripped it to ribbons, shrieking louder and louder and they let their blood frenzy take over.
Even the Mireen joined in after Kai’s second Restoring Tide took effect.
Then the beast shook its head and a vivid green glow surrounded its body.
Not wanting to find out what might happen if the prime released its spell, Kai called off his charges.
Away. Mine. Kill, Kai mentally ordered as he jogged forward.
The dragonlings backed away as Kai leapt into the air. Using the enhanced strength of an Emerald ascended warrior, he flew high enough to thrust directly into the rondus’ skull.
As he’d done with its smaller counterparts, Kai pierced the beast with his glaive.
The enchanted weapon struck bone, but his momentum and power punched the blade through. Only when the glaive’s tip was embedded in the monster’s brain did Kai trigger Flame Spear.
He released his glaive and landed in a crouch.
A moment later, the monster toppled over, pounding into the stone of the dungeon’s chamber.
Kai ordered Kotsi and Sora to guard the dungeon’s entrance while he inspected the dragonlings one at a time. Only the Mireen remained injured, and it was due to a strip of plate mail that had been embedded into her haunch a few inches from her spine.
