William shivered as he looked back at the city wall. The sun beat down on him, the midmorning light heating the day. He turned around, his eyes steely as he studied the massive World Bridge.
The dragon was almost certainly going somewhere towards this World Bridge.
He closed his eyes for a moment before folding his hands together.
“Light Magic: Disturbing Light.” A golden beam of light blasted out of his eyes and then quickly vanished, spreading an invisible net over everything in his vision. He stretched this net as far as he could, managing to wrap it around the pillar and base of the World Bridge.
This spell was like draping a blanket over large area. He couldn’t see or hear anything through it, but if there was some type of notable disturbance, like a powerful spell cast, he would instantly feel the ripples through the net.
It was a Master Class Spell, and one of only four at that level that he knew how to cast. Even if he had much of the knowledge and experience of the old Light Wizard, he still needed to practice before he could access much of the old man’s spellbook.
Thankfully, this spell was energy efficient, and he could maintain for several hours, even half a day if he needed to. He sat down on the ground outside the wall as he set to wait.
He wasn’t sure what he would do if the dragon was unable to escape… but he would do something. He’d figure out what exactly later.
..
“Oh my-”
“Watch out!”
“Guards! A beast!”
Dorian ignored the burst of screams as he thundered across one of the paths leading to the capital, wincing slightly.
He’d already past half the enormous city, sticking several miles off to the side. While the route he was taking was a bit out of the way from where he’d been, the World Bridge was still directly in front of them, purely due to how massive it was.
Unfortunately, the closer he got to civilization, the more and more people there were.
He’d been lucky to avoid any groups so far, but his luck had finally faded as the day drew onward, and morning drew close to afternoon.
A large caravan was currently moving down a long, paved stone road towards one of the western gates of Yum City. They were only four or five miles out, and the city was readily visible.
There were around a dozen individual wagons in this caravan, all made from sort of dark red metal. The wheels on each caravan were pitch black, and each one was drawn forward by a horse covered in dark blue scales. Several men and women wearing brown leather armor could be seen, riding along leisurely next to the wagons on small brown horses.
A unique sight in Dorian’s opinion, reminding him of the caravans he’d heard about riding off in the Old West, albeit with a few fantasy elements and colors added in.
He sighed as he leapt up, high, into the air, flying over one of the wagons and crossing the road.
He’d tried to stick to cover as he circled the city, avoiding being out in the open. The area in the immediate vicinity of the city was all grassy plains, with a few small forests. Farmland only started to appear about a dozen miles out.
He had just exited one of the small forests when he’d spotted the caravan, roughly two dozen meters away.
The caravan had spotted him at the same time, as he hurtled forward at a very fast pace.
“Fire Magic: Fireball!” One young looking Wizard, wearing a set of loose brown robes, hurled a ball of flames at Dorian’s back as he leapt the caravan, just barely missing him.
As a Red Salamander, Dorian was resistant to heat, so even if it had managed to land, it wouldn’t have done much to him. Still, he gave the wizard a sidelong glare, as he escaped past the caravan, running at full speed.
The caravan was in disarray, several of the warriors on horseback spreading out. Two Wizards were escorting it, both at the Earth Class. One a Fire Wizard, and the other a Lightning Wizard.
They watched with a sense of loss as the Salamander ran off, unable to make heads or tails of the situation.
..
“There’s a disturbance down off to the side there.” The Titan Byrus’ voice was rugged as it stood, floating upon a giant sword. His eyes were piercing and alert, however, staring off several miles into the distance.
Three other giants swords floated in the air, bearing various human Wizards. Byrus’ was the leader of this group, a direct subordinate of Eren, and a Grandmaster Sundering Wizard.
“It’s just a wild animal fleeing from a caravan. It looks like a Red Salamander, or a Fire Lizard.” Mayne’s voice rose into the air as the Grandmaster Fate Wizard carefully studied the ground, a frown marring her beautiful face.
Byrus grunted, and then shrugged, his shoulders rolling back in an odd looking fashion.
“Whatever. Greta, Numor, go check it out and kill it to be safe. The rest of you continue to spread out and be on alert. Cover the next thirty miles. Be on the watch for a green scaled dragon. Report back if anything odd happens wit-”
The black armored girl, Greta, interrupted the Titan.
“I’m not under your command, Byrus. I’ll check it out myself.” Her voice was cool and cutting, disdain heavy in her voice as she spun around, leaping off the enormous sword. Black miasma seemed to flow around her, forming a small platform that soared through the air.
Byrus rolled his eyes, and motioned for Numor, one of the human Wizards, to come back.
“Arrogant witch. Just wait till you fall out of his Lordship’s favor…” He shook his head, “Whatever. Leave her.”
“Keep spreading out, and maintain a clear perimeter. Remember, a small green scaled drake is the target.”
..
Dorian’s claws sank into the earth and then propelled himself forward, using every bit of momentum he could muster.
His Elder Red Salamander form was much stronger than it had previously been, due to the fact that his soul was at the Master Class. The stronger his soul, the more powerful his physical forms would be, even ones that normally finished their growth at a lower Class.
According to Ausra, the density of his muscle fibers and overall strength had now reached just the minimum to be considered a Master Class beast.
He ducked under a few branches as he charged back into a small, grouped forest once more, relaxing slightly as he came under cover, hidden from the sky above.
Just as he was about to charge through a thicket in the midst of the forest, a sort of sixth sense in the back of his head tingled. An incredibly odd feeling that he couldn’t quite describe, but one that made him freeze and then dodge to the left.
WHOOSH
A split second later a black stream of gas stabbed into the ground where he had been, shaped like a spear. It maintained its spear shape despite its gaseous state, giving off an incredibly unsettling feeling.
“Oh? You dodged that?” A woman with long black hair, dressed in tight, black leather armor landed on the ground next to the spear, picking it up. She had fine, delicate facial features, with dark blue eyes that gleamed.
Dorian tumbled and rolled on the ground, twisting his body to a stop as he turned to stare at her, on alert. As he did so, he felt his Spatial Pouch slide off, landing on the ground behind him.
‘Damnit. Is she with the ones hunting me? I’m in a different form!’ He thought, rattling his claws.
“What?” Her eyes narrowed for a moment as she looked at the pouch that had fallen off him in confusion before she smiled, shaking her head, her mouth twisting into a grin,”Interesting. Let’s see you dodge these.”
She folded her hands together, and muttered something.
An instant later, a dozen spears made of black gas rose into the air, all pointing to aim at Dorian.
‘Ausra, what the hell is this?’ He asked, his body trembling at the dangerous feeling those spears gave him.
‘Some derivation of Curse Magic, focused more on physical combat. The woman appears to be a human at the peak of Master Class, specializing in this type of magic.’ Ausra’s voice was cool. The Genie in his Soul Spell Matrix didn’t have much information on things unrelated to bloodlines, and couldn’t give a more detailed explanation.
Before he could ask any more questions, the dozen or so spears of darkness shot forward, rocketing towards him and his surroundings. They were directed so that no matter which direction he dodged, at least one would slam into him.
Dorian did the only thing he could think of, and threw himself forward.
WHOOSH
The spears of black gas shot past him, none of them managing to hit him. However, some of the black miasma from the spears spread into the air as they moved by, and landed on him.
Instantly, he felt a horrible feeling of sickness, as if he was about to throw up. A terrible headache formed, and his vision grew slightly blurry.
‘Ausra?! How do I shake this? I thought I was immune to poison?’ He mentally yelped, his thoughts racing ahead of him.
‘You’ve suffered some type of Curse, a debilitating one.’ Ausra’s reply was quick.
‘How do I break it?’ His reply was equally fast, the entire conversation lasting only a split second.
‘For temporary Curses, you need to force the spellcaster unconscious, or move out of range of the attacker. For permanent Curses, you will need to kill the Wizard that unleashed the curse or break the Curse directly with another Curse Magic practitioner or some type of healer.’
‘What type is this?’ He mentally queried, his heart pounding. The effects of this Curse were extremely unpleasant.
‘I do not have enough information to accurately judge.’
By the time he’d finished talking to Ausra, Dorian had completely moved forward out of range of the black spears of gas, and was only half a dozen or so meters from the Curse Magic Wizard.
The woman’s lip curled up in a sneer.
“Damn rat.” She folded her hands together, readying herself to cast another spell.
Time seemed to slow down for Dorian, his heart pounding unnaturally fast, as he realized how dangerous a situation he was in.
He could very well die in mere seconds. His body was already starting to shudder, the effects of the Curse weakening him. If one of those black spears had managed to land on his body… he would probably already be dead.
He did the only thing he could think of.
His chest swelled up as he rumbled forward, hurtling towards the female Wizard.
‘Lesser Emerald Flames.’
A blast of green flames spread forward, engulfing the Curse Wizard. The green flames clung to, and surrounded, her body, clasping on to the innate barrier Master Class Wizards had. Colliding with that barrier at point blank range.
And melting through it.
“Draconic Fire?! That’s imposs-” Greta’s last words were cut off, a look of sheer terror appearing on her face, as the flames finished melting through her barrier, and slammed directly into her.
Killing her instantly.
A split moment later, Dorian felt the Curse on his body lift, restoring him to his normal condition.
Dorian stumbled to a half, tripping and stepping through the green flames as he forced himself to slow down. His chest was warm, and a feeling of tiredness settled on his shoulders at using the Ability.
He froze for a moment, slowly turning his head and staring at the corpse of the once beautiful female Wizard, still burning with his Lesser Emerald Flames that were only now starting to go out as they ran out of energy. They emitted no smoke, and the energy within them was extremely contained.
In the 30,000 Worlds, the largest superpower was the Borrel Autarchy, controlling a bit more than 10,000 worlds.
The second largest power was the Draconic Tribes. Between all 12 Tribes, they controlled roughly 7,900 worlds. An enormous number that, while less than their human counterparts, was still massive in scope.
One of the key reasons why the Draconic Tribes were so powerful was because of the awe inspiring Abilities that almost all Draconic Bloodlines had.
Draconic Fire, in its various iterations, was a particularly well known Ability.
All types of Draconic Fire were incredibly potent, many with unique characteristics. One thing all types of Draconic Fire had in common, however, was that the flames were devastatingly effective in shredding the innate barriers made of innate energy that protected Wizards at the Master Class and above.
It was because of this that even the most confident of Wizards would learn several defensive spells, especially in situations where they may face off against Dragons from the Draconic Tribes.
Dorian took a deep breath, his heart trembling as he stared at the body. He swallowed hard, his eyes unwavering.
He closed them for a long few seconds, and then opened them again.
This was the first time he had ever killed a human being.
The abruptness of everything was unsettling, it had happened so fast.
He took another deep breath and then let it out. He then bowed his head towards the corpse of the woman for a brief second before turning around, and continuing his jog towards the World Bridge.
There was no time to waste or squander. He couldn’t afford to let himself get emotional right now. He could still very well die here.
He snagged his Spatial Pouch on the way, deciding to tuck it into his armpit, tying it around his arm and shoulder to hide it. He didn’t want it damaged, and now that he considered it, a wild beast running around with a Spatial Pouch was probably an unusual sight.
Dorian then lowered his pace slightly, making it look as if he was just a wild animal out prowling. His eyes were narrowed, and his mood grim.
He was only a few miles away.
..
“Hmm?” The huge Lord Class Titan Eren felt a tiny signal go off in his mind, as if some connection had just been shattered. He frowned, looking up from his constant examination of the world below him, near the capital of the Tandor Empire.
He scanned the skies to the left and right. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
He motioned behind him,
“Laura. Laura, Laura. Do a quick scan of Fate on your sister and Greta. Also for Byrus, Ugdol, and Barrack. Let me know if there is anything amiss.”
Comments