Her grin faded slightly as she noticed I wasn’t alone. She gave the doctor a once over. “Who’s your friend, Sam?” she asked, brushing her walnut locks out of her face to smirk at me.
“Heya, Soph, this is—“
“Dr. Jessica Bell,” she said, holding out her hand. “And you are?”
“Sophia,” she said brusquely, kneeling to set the two bowls on the floor.
Jessica paused, flicked through a page or so from her clipboard, and looked back up to Soph. “Sophia Hale?”
Soph nodded.
“Ah, well, that makes my job a little easier. I needed to speak with you.”
“You offering her the same thing?” I interrupted.
“I am,” she said to me before turning back to Soph. “Now, Ms. Hale, I–“
“Don’t care, I’m in.”
I looked up, shocked. “Just like that?”
She shrugged. “Yep.”
“Well, that makes my job a lot easier,” Jessica said, tucking her clipboard under her arm. “Be at the front gate first thing in the morning.”
With that, she departed, and as soon as the flap closed back, Soph hopped down next to me. She handed me a bowl and scooted close to me on the bed before stealing half my blanket from me.
“Hey,” I protested.
Soph pressed herself against me. Her chest squished against my arm as she arranged herself comfortably next to me. “Shut up and eat,” she told me with a laugh.
My screaming belly delighted in the salty broth that did little for my hunger but warmed me up nicely. The bowl was empty too soon, leaving me sleepy. I sat the bowl inside Soph’s empty one and leaned back.
Soph took the opportunity to cuddle next to me. “Now that we’ve got food, what the hell did I just agree to?”
I shrugged. “No idea. She wouldn’t tell me anything. All I know is that we’re leaving this damned camp. Speaking of, why did you agree so fast?”
“Because. You’re not getting away from me that easy,” Soph said, leaning over to kiss me.
Her lips were full and soft on mine, and I responded to the kiss before I could tell myself not to. Her kisses tasted of chicken broth and desire, and Soph pulled me into her, wrapping her hand around my neck. She slid her tongue into my mouth as her kisses grew hungrier, and it was at that point that I pulled away. I can’t.
“Soph…”
She sighed and eased up but didn’t let go of me. Instead, she pressed her forehead to mine and nuzzled against my nose. “I know, Sam. I know,” she said, curling up into my shoulder.
Her rhythmic breathing brushed hot across my neck, and her body heat took the chill from the air. I wrapped my arm around her and held her close. “I’m sorry, Soph.”
“I know. I don’t fault you for it. I’m just hoping you’ll let me in one of these days.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
Sophia’s breathing deepened as she drifted off to sleep in my arms, curling toward me automatically.
A rough shove snapped me out of my dream and brought me back to reality. Alistair stood over me, shaking me with one hand while working a spell with the other. “C’mon sleeping beauty, get the fuck up already,” he said with one final jerk.
The problem with nightmares is that they linger; when you jolt out of slumber, they leave you stunned and confused until reality sets in, and you can calm your racing heart. I stood and ran my fingers over my scalp, the inflamed, broken skin oozed, and a knot the size of an egg was already forming.
The pain from my forehead, along with trying to shake off my old memories, put me in a dire position in the middle of a fight. I stumbled to my feet, my health bar flashing red, warning me that I was close to death. Yeah, like I don’t know that. Need a health potion. I was a second away from pulling one out of my inventory when I realized how bad an idea that would be. I’ll be too sluggish after. Can’t risk it in the middle of battle. Though I also didn’t want to waste Divine Heal.
Gil and Levi were holding the dragon at bay. It had stopped throwing lightning and was trying to slice them in half with its claws. Levi’s greatshield was thick enough to withstand even the dragon’s onslaught, but they could only hold out for so much longer.
I hobbled over to Alistair, who’d cast his spell and was working on another. His hands held in front of him, fingers splayed as he recited a guttural chant. Two intricate halves of a pentagram formed in his hands. As Alistair wove the spell, the diagram grew more detailed and glowed with intense light before settling on burnt orange and melding into one whole Script Circle.
With a thump of pressure, hundreds of small burning dots appeared through the storm clouds. Tiny, razor-sharp shards of molten metal descended on the dragon and scored numerous lacerations across its tough hide. The effects of Meteor Rain were severe, and it bled from dozens of cuts and puncture wounds, Alistair’s spell distracted the dragon enough to let me run over without fear of attack.
“Alistair, I need healing.”
“Obviously,” he replied with a cheeky grin, his dull green eyes lighting up with humor. “I don’t have time to do this properly, so it’ll have to be fast and hard.”
“Bet you say that to all the girls,” I said with a laugh.
He chuckled but didn’t respond as he built a quick version of Full Heal. Oh, this is going to hurt. In three seconds, he’d primed the basics of the spell, but due to the haste, he couldn’t build it properly. Pain made my eyes water and sent my head spinning as my skin stitched itself closed, and my wounds healed. I ground my teeth to keep from screaming, and by the time I let out a breath, it was over, and my health bar was back in the green.
“Thanks,” I said, pulling out a mana potion and tossing it to him. “Drink up before you deplete your mana.”
He nodded and lifted a shaky hand to uncap the potion and chug the contents. I put Alistair out of mind and focused on the dragon. We’d been fighting for a good while now, and it was still standing firm. Need to pull out all the stops here.
“Gil, step back and let me take over!” I yelled, rushing in.
Gil rolled out of the way of a quick swipe, and I stepped in.
The storm dragon bellowed and swung wide at me. Praying my timing was right, I dipped my shoulder as its claws passed a millimeter from my face. Activating Rush Strike, a gust of wind swept at my back and propelled me forward at breakneck speed. The radiant blues of its belly were in my face before I knew it, and I hastily drew my hunting knife. I plunged it deep in between its thick scales and used it as a steppingstone to get me on its back.
It roared as my knife punctured its flesh, and in pain, it didn’t notice that I’d climbed atop it. I chained the tail end of Rush Strike with Twice Critical, and my sword blurred, vibrating at such high speed that it appeared translucent. My balance was precarious on the dragon’s spine, and I ran in between its spikes to hop onto its snout. My blade sang as I plunged it sideways through one of the beast’s eyes and out of the other. Yanking with all my might, I tore through bone and obliterated what remained of its sight.
The dragon roared in utter agony and threw me from its head. I landed in a crouch just as a wave of thunder crashed into me; it knocked me off my feet and to the ground. Half deafened from the roar, it pressed its advantage and summoned a bolt of lightning from the heavens.
I saw it coming, but I couldn't counter it. Alistair was building a complex spell, which limited my options. If I use Aura of the Antimage, I’ll blow out his spell. Damn it, no choice. My only choice was to dodge it. I threw myself out of the way, but I was too slow. Lightning hit my leg as I leapt from the ground.
Pain lanced through me as I landed, and I stared in horror at the blackened stump of where my leg had been moments before. The pain was excruciating, and for a second, I thought I would black out for a second time. Alistair was busy managing his spellwork, so I was forced to use my one healing ability.
I activated Divine Heal, and my leg reappeared in a flash of golden light. The subtle scent of sunshine
mixed with the stench of burnt flesh. My health bar returned to green as I healed, and a countdown appeared in the corner of my interface, standing at twenty-four hours.
Recovering my senses as quick as I could after having my appendage blasted off, I moved out of range of its claws. The dragon had returned its attention to the other members of my party. Even wounded and blind, it was still an extremely dangerous threat and was trying to tear Gil apart.
The rain lessened with each passing second, and I feared it would take to the skies. I raced forward and swung my sword in an arc above me; my arms trembled with resistance as the blade split a large tear in the dragon’s leathery wing. Bright purple blood oozed out of the gash, and the beast roared in agony, turning to face me, which was a mistake on its part.
Not being able to see meant the dragon didn’t notice when Gil rushed in with his gigantic battleaxe and used Sever. Gil leapt into the air and swung his shimmering axe. He bellowed as he struck the dragon’s front leg from its body. The dragon hissed, lighting bursting from its nostrils as it toppled over and crashed onto the earth.
It’s time to end this. “Gil, Levi. Double guillotine!”
Both of them nodded, while Gil and I exchanged a brief look, we both knew our next move and charged in. The dragon, bloody and weak, picked itself off the ground and roared in rage, swiping out withs its claws in anger. I ducked the dragon’s clumsy swipe, which was a terrible move, as having one leg severed and attacking with its remaining front leg sent it toppling over. It crashed to the ground after its attack.
With me having used both Rush Strike and Twice Critical, I was half as effective as I should be. I’ve already used one aura, but now’s the time to use the second. It was reckless of me to have blown so many abilities so quickly, and because of it, Gil would have to deliver the final blow.
Activating Aura of Speed, I surged ahead as a soft red outline formed over my skin. The aura granted me exceptional speed, so I jumped first, managing to bury my sword halfway through the creature’s neck, and was just able to pull it free before Gil jumped. I rolled to the side to avoid his incoming attack. Gil activated his War Cry, and my battle fatigue faded as his shout reached me, sending it back down to manageable levels.
Spurred on by the rush of War Cry, Gil ran up its torn wing, nearly slipping on the river of purple blood from the gash I’d made. He climbed on the back of the beast and positioned himself in between two of the spikes along the dragon’s spine. With another howl, it tried to throw Gil off but couldn’t shake the grinning berserker.
The dragon bucked, flapping his gigantic wings and flinging warm droplets of blood to mix with the raging thunderstorm. For a moment, the beast took to the sky, and my heart skipped a beat. Time froze, and I was afraid that we’d just let our quarry slip through our grasp.
Gil never lost his smile as he balanced on top of the massive creature and quickly clambered up to the dragon’s neck. His axe glowed silver as he activated his most powerful ability, Steel-Breaker, and with a shout that was lost to the roar of the wind, he swung the axe with all his might.
Steel met flesh, and the dragon’s head arced from its body.
It fell to the ground, sending droplets of purple blood in every direction as bone crushed in on itself. The body hadn’t yet registered its death and remained suspended in midair as the dead dragon flapped its wings one last time. Gil hefted his axe high as the carcass fell back to earth. Gripping one of the spikes tight, he rode it to the ground, jumping off at the last second before it collided with a boulder the size of a house.
He dropped into a crouch and rolled as he hit the ground, sliding on the slick surface and nearly face planting. He leapt to his feet and shouted. “Stuck the landing!’
I laughed, and a triumphant cheer rose from my lips, to which the others swiftly joined in. We did it!
Chapter 2 - All That Glitters
As the adrenaline flooded out of my system, I slumped to the ground, the rest of my battle fatigue slowly drained back to zero. The others followed suit, and we basked in our hard-fought victory.
I went and retrieved my knife from the dragon and looted its heart from its carcass. Gil clapped me on the back as I stood up.
“That was one hell of a fight,” he said in his trademark baritone. “I know my fatigue was high at the end, how about yours?”
“Man, I was two swings away from collapsing on the ground. That was close.”
“Hell of a fight, though,” he repeated. “I feel bad about dealing the final blow.”
“Don’t. That was far too epic for me to complain about. Besides, glory is for suckers. I got what I needed.”
“It was pretty cool, but fuck, man, that was terrifying.” He held out his fist, which I bumped.
“Won’t get any arguments from me. Now go grab your loot and let’s get the hell out of here.”
“Oh, right, I almost forgot,” Gil said with a grin and went off with Levi and Alistair to pick over what remained of the dragon.
I smiled at his back as I watched the three fight over loot drops before focusing on my own prize.
Combat Results!
One Downed (Elder Dragon): 45000 Exp!
Total Exp Gained: 45000!
Exp: 10000/10000
Level Up!
Level: 100
Stat Points Available: 10
Ability Point Available!
I held off on using my new ability point and pulled up my quest tab; a new screen flared to life in my vision.
Quest: Legendary Class: Blade Master
Type: Legendary
Difficulty: S
Reward: Class Change
Quest Log
Acquire access to Rogue Class
Acquire access to Paladin Class
Acquire Ability: Aura of the Antimage (Unknown location)
Acquire Ability: Dance of the Immortal (Seek out Heart of an Elder Dragon)
Finally, after nearly four years of searching, I’d done it. My own legendary class, one no one else has yet.
But I couldn’t gloat about it; having a legendary class was something only select few could ever hope to achieve. People would literally kill to find out how I’d obtained it. Though, even if I shouted it from the rooftops, I don’t think anyone else can acquire it.
Three years of hunting any leads to find the elder dragon only to find it at the very edge of the world. Doubt there are many more left, not since the elves and the dwarves hunted them to the last centuries ago, or so the legend goes.
And, even if someone managed to find another one, acquiring Aura of the Antimage would be an even more challenging task than taking down a dragon. Why Evelyn just gave it to me is a mystery. Maybe she’s not so heartless after all. I shook my head and focused on the squishy, dripping heart in my hand.
Item: The Heart of an Elder Dragon
Use item: Yes/No?
Yes.
Abilities (Choose One)
Dragonscale Defense
Dance of the Immortal
Elemental Resistance (Passive)
Dance of the Immortal. As soon as I thought it, a rush, like a shot of caffeine, ran through me as the screen faded, and my new ability was added to my roster. Which then soon went into my abilities list when I used my newly acquired point. One final screen flared to life in my interface.
Class change from Swift Paladin to Blade Master
Yes/No?
Yes.
I still needed to sort out my stat points, but before I could, Gil called out to me. “D. Over here!”
He sounded excited, so I rushed over. Hidden behind a large mound of rocks and boulders was a treasure trove. An enormous pile of gold and items stood before me, easily up to my chest. It was more gold than I’d ever seen before, millions, a literal fortune, and that wasn’t even counting the number of hero-tier items scattered around.
It was by far more gold than I’d earned in all the years since coming to this world. This amount of money was nothing short of a game-change
r; it would set our guild up as a powerhouse. With this much wealth, we could challenge even the Alliance. For once, we could even the playing field.
“By the nine kings of Hell,” I whispered.
“Right! The hell we going to do with it all?” Levi asked.
“The better question is ‘how are we going to get it home?’” Gil asked.
He had a point. No way could we carry even a tenth in our inventories. We would need some expensive storage chests to store it all in, and even then, it would take several trips to collect it all. I was interrupted from my thoughts by Alistair.
“Guys, do you see that?” he asked, pointing at a dark wooden staff in the middle of the pile.
I tuned him out; it was a magic staff, something I had no use for. I ignored his continued ramblings and went back to logistics when Alistair suddenly bolted and went and grabbed it.
The moment he put his hands on the staff, the pile of gold started to glow. It’s a trap! ”Alistair, run!”
But it was too late. A bolt of lightning fell from the heavens and struck right through him. Ground had long since worn off, and he had no defense against the lightning magic; the spell was so powerful, it nearly disintegrated him, blasting him apart and sending a massive wave of force to throw us out of the immediate area. My health bar dropped to half just from how close I was, and it took a moment to recover from having my bells rung.
By the time we’d risen to our feet, the area around where the treasure had been was nothing more than a blasted wasteland, the gold and items reduced to nothing but bits of charred metal and ash. The ground was blackened glass, and Alistair’s body was gone. I checked my friends’ list only to confirm my fears. A small pile of items and gold remained behind—everything Alistair had on him when he died.
I stared at the spot where Alistair had been moments before, while a small wave of grief rolled through me. We survived a fucking elder dragon, only for him to die to a stupid trap. “Damn it.”
Hive Knight: A Dark Fantasy LitRPG (Trinity of the Hive Book 1) Page 2