“Good,” I said softly, my voice still a bit weak.
“We have to take this one chance to attack the Dragonborn.”
“Understood.”
The darkness began to fade away slowly.
“May the shadows be with you,” Acnologia said.
All of a sudden I found myself back in Ikarius, the light shining down onto me. I turned around, but couldn’t see the Shadow Dragon.
“Ah, I forgot to mention,” the Dragon said. “My physical form disappears for the period when we are in Dragon Fusion. I will return once the mode is deactivated.”
Got it, I said.
“What the hell just happened?” a voice whispered. I turned and saw Markus standing in front of me, confusion all over his face.
DING!
A screen appeared in front of me.
Congratulations! You have unlocked the hidden special skill: Dragon Arts. The world of the Dragons now sits before you. Attack increased by +10% in the presence of a Dragon. Speed increased by +10% in the presence of a Dragon.
DING!
You have activated: Dragon Fusion. The Curse of the Phantom Lord has been erased. Equipment modification will now start.
Equipment modification? I blinked.
In less than a second, the neck of my Berserker armor expanded out, forming a helmet over me, and I could tell immediately this one was shaped like a dragon’s head.
Like the Shadow Dragon’s head.
I felt a spark of electricity to my side, next to my sheath. I tugged on my sword, pulling Dawnbreaker out. My eyes widened as I noticed the jewel on the blade’s hilt, its color no longer an ethereal purple, but a rich shade of soul silver.
“What the heck happened to you?” Markus asked, unease in his tone.
I looked at him. “Are you curious?” I asked. I surged forward, and punched him right in the face, before he could even flinch. The Dragonborn went straight through the air, smacking into about three houses before crunching to a stop. I didn’t stop there and went after him, my sword in hand.
I heard a boom from inside the house, and Markus broke through the roof, jumping high up into the air and landing onto the house closest to him. “So you fused with Acnologia,” he muttered. “How unnecessary.”
“Says the man who would kill a beast for power.”
“Are you saying you’re any different from me, Eternal?” he shot forward, sword in hand. I held my weapon up and he struck it hard, pushing me back a few feet. “We’re the same, you and I,” he said.
“Don’t you group me with scum like you,” I muttered, putting my hand into the air. “UHER!” I yelled.
A massive phoenix, nearly two times the size of the dragon, shot out of the floor, smacking into Markus and throwing him high into the air. I placed myself on the ground, right where he was going to land, and readied myself for the next move.
Markus came down headfirst, his fist recoiled and ready.
This is going to be fun, I thought and swung hard.
Our fists connected and a boom shattered from the impact point. The sound wave sunk into the buildings of the village, cutting the wood and stone like it was paper. Dust and smoke picked up all around us as we nearly collapsed to the floor from the effort.
“You are like me Eternal,” Markus said, wheezing as he stood himself straight, his body but a silhouette behind the smoke. “You thirst for power, the same way I do. The only difference is you were born with it. And I wasn’t.”
“I don’t want this power,” I muttered.
“So you say,” he chuckled. His hands made a sign in the air, and all of a sudden, a rune of light glowed, hovering over the floor. In seconds a blast of lightning struck down from the sky, hitting him where he stood. It kept contact with him, maintaining a single stroke of lightning between the sky and the earth. Sand and dust around him began levitating into the air, influenced by the sheer raw power around the man.
“He’s turning stronger,” Nyx said.
“How strong?” I asked.
“It is better you don’t know,” Acnologia said.
Dammit, I muttered.
“You seem astounded, Eternal,” Markus said. The lightning broke off and he instantly shot at me. One second he stood a few yards ahead and the next I found myself flying away, an aching pain in my body. I went smashing into multiple walls of stone before I sunk down to the floor, my body exploding with pain.
“Even I could not see that move properly,” Acnologia said, and that was when I realized how outmatched I was.
What do I do? I asked. Even this doesn’t seem to help. Dragon fusion has had no impact on our power in battle. Markus just keeps getting stronger and stronger.
“There is one last thing,” Acnologia said. Our thought processes went in sync, and I instantly knew what he was talking about.
“It’ll be hard,” I said as I got up, brushing the rubble off my face.
“It’s the best way,” Acnologia said.
“It’s the only way,” Nyx added.
I nodded and stood myself up straight, just in time to see Markus walked up to me.
“How was that, Eternal?” he asked. “Powerful, was it not? The sheer strength of such a blow, an attack so fast even the fastest cannot see it coming let alone predict its movements. This is the epitome of the Lightning Dragon’s power.”
“That Dragon was always all about power and speed,” Acnologia said.
That’s a good combination to have, I muttered. I however quickly focused on my task at hand and put my hands up into the air.
“Felias octane,” I said. A spark of light shot up far beyond the clouds, and in a second, a haze of darkness covered the skies, a sea of black hovering over the village.
“What is this, Diablo?” Markus asked, a little unease in his voice, but his arrogance showing through at the same time. “This will change nothing,” he shot at me, but I was ready for his strike.
However, being ready helped in no way. I don’t know what happened but the next thing I knew I found myself flying through the air once again, his punch far too fast for me to even see. I didn’t give up though. I planted my feet to the floor as I came down and let myself slide to a stop.
You will regret this, I immediately thrust my hands into the air, and words spewed from my mouth, the sounds echoing as I recited them. Markus glanced at me and I could see panic seize him. Fear grasped his mind fast, and he shot forward, ready to strike me where I stood.
No no no, I need more time! I panicked.
All of a sudden, Freya shot out of nowhere and swung her massive sword at Markus. The two met with a thundering boom, and my eyes widened as the elf flew into the air, unconscious, completely overwhelmed by the Dragonborn’s strength.
I turned to the brat, my sword now in my arm, the silver jewel on it glowing bright, the entire blade of night-black glowing with a royal white. I pointed it right at Markus. “DRACO METEOR!” I boomed.
The earth shook and howls ruptured the skies. A hundred dots of red emerged from the darkness above, and before anyone could understand what they were, the blazing meteors sunk into the Dragonborn, striking him where he stood, and striking him a hundred times more.
I watched with cold eyes as massive chunks of rock upon rock struck into the man, each one sending a shockwave through the lands, shattering the rooftops around. My gaze stuck to Markus’ health bar, watching as it quickly sunk down to empty, and then disappeared away into nothing.
The final meteor struck the ground, sending a shockwave that crunched through the stone and wood around me. But it served no purpose anymore. For I had accomplished what I had set out to do.
The Dragonborn was dead.
***
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Ikarius has turned out well,” Krof smiled as we stood at the village square, watching everything around us.
About a month had passed since the battle with Markus Goodfield, and with nearly the entire village having been destroyed from that one excha
nge, it provided the opportunity for a massive overhaul of the infrastructure here. Thus, Ikarius was no longer a village of wood and stone, but one of sophistication, modeled in the image of the Dragonfall I had seen.
Buildings of three and four stories stood all around, mostly built from stone, but with metal and glass adornments embedded within. My very own home stood a few yards away from the village square, a simple home of three stories, with enough rooms for everyone I knew to come stay.
The town square though remained untouched during this mass renovation. The circular hole from before had closed back, and now atop it stood the fountain that had always been there, water flowing from it like it always did.
I glanced at the fountain, reminiscing of everything that had happened back then. When the battle had finally ended, the Dark Alliance and the Black Guardians had already run for it, and the Alliance of Light ran as well when they realized their leader had been killed. Krof and the others managed to find some people to capture, but they all took their lives instantly.
“What do you think they’re all going to be up to?” Krof asked, looking up at the sky.
“The Alliances?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“I actually don’t know,” I said. “With Markus Goodfield gone, we’ve put Ikarius on the map. It is likely the Alliances will soon turn their attention to this village.”
“It is assured that they will,” he said. “We have crossed paths with many a villain, Diablo. It would be wise to think forward to what to do if they attack.”
“Yes,” Ijyela walked up to us, Nazu and Freya at her side. “Historically, the Phantom Lord has never settled down in one space. He has always had too many enemies to be comfortable with having a place he could easily be found in.”
“You on the other hand,” Freya said. “Are an idiot, so we need to be careful.”
“Hey, you like this village as much as I do, okay?” I pouted.
“I like it too!’ Nazu said, excited, and I smiled at him in reply.
“In all seriousness, Diablo,” Ijyela said. “You must think hard about this. There is a lot that we need to consider to ensure we remain safe here.”
“I know, I know,” I said.
“Zoran, incoming,” Nyx said.
I heard deep rumbling come from above, and gusts of strong wind spun around us. I looked up, watching as wings of black lowered Acnologia down onto the ground.
“Sorry, gotta go,” I smiled.
Ijyela and Krof sighed as I ran up to the Shadow Dragon and jumped onto his back.
“It is good to see you, Diablo,” Acnologia surged into the air with a few wing-strokes and rose high into the sky.
“How was your visit to the Ulhur mountains?” I asked.
“Well,” he said. “Not much has changed since I had been there millennia ago.”
“That is good to hear,” I said. “And what of the things we had talked about?”
“I spoke to the Guardian,” he said. “She would not tell me much, but I know enough to confidently say there is something big happening soon.”
“How big?”
“If what the guardian has seen is true, then this very ordeal we just went through will seem like nothing compared to that.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Nyx said.
“It isn’t,” I muttered. “We need to talk about this.”
“Indeed,” he said. “There is much that we will need to plan over the next weeks.”
“Life just doesn’t give us a break, does it?” Nyx chuckled.
“We’re beings of the old times,” I said. “That’s how it should be.”
I glanced over the side of the Dragon, down onto the small village. Ever since I’d woken up four months ago, I was a vagabond, a travelling warrior who had no home and no family.
Ikarius gave me a place I could finally call home, a place with people I could trust, people I could depend on. There are hardships and problems that are going to come up over the next few months. Many might die, relationships might fall, and blood will most certainly be shed. That is the nature of battle and conflict.
However, amongst all this, I know I will feel no fear. I know I will feel no unease in facing these future adversities. I have found people I cherish, and a place I want to protect. And for as long as those two things exist, nothing can strike me down.
We are strong.
We are fearless.
We are Dragonfall.
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CHARACTER SHEET (BOOK TWO)
WEAPONS (CURRENTLY KNOWN):
Weapon Name
Attack
Buffs
DawnBreaker, The Void Blade
15K - 17K ATK
+100% attack
+100% chance of critical hits
+100% resistance to all magic
+50% Accuracy
+100% Agility
+100% Dexterity
+10% health recovery
ARMOR (CURRENTLY KNOWN):
Armor Name
Defense
Buffs
Berserker Armor
18K - 21K DEF
+100% Defense
+100% resistance to all magic
+50% chance of evasion
+10% Health recovery
+10% Stamina recovery
+10% Mana recovery
+4% rebound damage on receiving attack
SKILLS (CURRENTLY KNOWN):
Skill Name
Level
Buffs
Analyze
Level 14(86% to next level)
None
Tracking
Level 1(5% to next level)
None
Hunting
Level 5(10% to next level)
Agility +10%
Strength +10%
Herb Lore
Level 1(5% to next level)
None
Swordsmanship
Level 13(42% to next level)
Strength +6%
Agility +3%
Heavy Weaponry
Level 9(63% to next level)
Strength +1%
Defense +1%
Hand Combat
Level 8(15% to next level)
Strength +2%
Agility +3%
Dexterity +1%
Night Vision
Level 13(32% to next level)
None
Stealth
Level 12(23% to next level)
None
Fire Arts
Level 9(15% to next level)
Attack +11%
Dark Arts
Level 25(9% to next level)
Attack +200%
Agility +150%
Death Arts
Level 24 (7% to next level)
All stats +50%
+5% Attack for 1 hit K.O
Chain Casting
Level 17(1% to next level)
None
Water Arts
Level 4 (98% to next level)
Attack + 5%
Agility + 5%
Health Regen + 1%
Wind Arts
Level 5(79% to next level)
Attack +5%
Agility +10%
Mana Regen +1%
Drag
on Arts
Level 1(78% to next level)
Attack +10%
Agility + 10%
SPECIAL MOVES (CURRENTLY KNOWN):
Move Name
Level
Skill
Bladestorm
Level 13(31% to next level)
Swordsmanship
Weapon Shatter
Level 12(19% to next level)
Heavy Weaponry
Heavy Swing
Level 12(34% to next level)
Swordsmanship
Meteor Fist
Level 1(63% to next level)
Hand Combat
SPELLS (CURRENTLY KNOWN):
Spell Name
Level
Magical Art
Blast Burn (Erkiela)
Level 4
Fire Arts
Flame Charge (Asgionis)
Level 6
Fire Arts
Incineration Flame (Oskis)
Level 10
Fire Arts
Fire Blast (Ulhius)
Level 5
Fire Arts
Fire Storm (Helios Azure)
Level 8
Fire Arts
Dark Phoenix (Uher)
Level 15
Dark Arts
Dusk Sky (Beltair)
Level 7
Dark Arts
Shadow Travel (Hiestia)
Level 6
Dark Arts
Shadow Cloak (Utulio)
Level 4
Dark Arts
Dark Run (Peliosia)
Level 5
The Eternal: Dragonborn - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 2) Page 25