Chương 61: Dragon Kill Ridge - 2

How had a week past already? LANCE didn't know. He had followed his dad's advice and pushed himself harder; he completed more tasks more often for the townsfolk and students, he applied himself for extra-extra-credit in class, and he did venture on a limb and discuss matters of 'footing' and 'movement' with the academy's coaches. He guessed that was why the days passed so quickly before his next excursion. Not that he looked forward to his father berating his every move...

His efforts had not been for naught, though. He gained an additional two-level ups! Not bad just for faith, action, and study on a small scale. As he sat in his dorm and pondered these things and other matters besides, wondering if he maybe had time before his father's portals opened to write another reflection journal entry for one of his classes, the tell-tale sign of a portal forming, his papers fluttering throughout his room as if he had left a window open during a storm, rocketed his humble abode.

"So much for that idea. Show time." At once, the papers settled once his father strode through the portal.

"Ready?" Was all his father asked as they offered him only a momentary glance.

"Ready," was all he said back in turn as he walked through the portal, already not caring what BS his dad was on to barely acknowledge his own son. Their destination through the portal was a mountainous forest. He breathed in the crisp early morning air and felt reinvigorated. The land must be rich in natural manas. Which meant, the creatures would be powerful! Lance could only imagine what threat his father had in store for him.

They walked along for a few minutes before his dad had the good grace to mention where they were — "This is Dragon Kill Ridge. Probably one of if not the most dangerous place on the planet. Truthfully, where we are is probably one of the safer areas in this place, but overall, I mean, this place will kill just about anyone. We're here to hunt a dragon. Be ready to suffer." Dragon hunting... how horrific. Dragons were, by and by, intelligent creatures.

Newborns of a primitive species could be dimwitted and vicious, sure, but the oldest of dragonkin? They were practically a species onto themselves and as far as Lance was concerned, it was only primitive barbarisms which kept the 'sport' alive. To say his father had found a way to put him, somehow, into an even worse mood, was an understatement. Lance prayed that the dragon they hunted would be of the lesser varieties and would be nothing but a snarling beast.

That said, he did embrace his father's advice on one point: he was ready to suffer. Despite being one of the most dangerous places on the planet, they encountered nothing until coming to what his dad called an 'open-air watering hole, hold he water.' It was a clearing in the middle of the woods. Animals, beasts, and magical folk evidently used such areas to congregate and rest for a spell without the no-holds barred contest of survival lording over them.

Dragons, his dad said, tended to prize such areas and keep them in their domain as a sign of power. Hence, all they had to do was wait and be patient, and a dragon would show up eventually. His father was correct, unfortunately. An hour after arriving at the 'open air watering hole,' they heard the fast-approaching flapping of a large beast from the sky.

First a dot, then a smudge, before finally showing as a full in-the-flesh beast, the dragon was a force to be reckoned with and would've intimidated him had Lance not dealt with his share of vicious-looking monsters before. It seemed beastly, so perhaps he did not have to worry about slaying something intelligent. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Any advice?" he asked his dad but received no response. He looked over but saw nothing of his dad; clearly, they had gone invisible. If that was how it was going to be, then so be it. Lance brought his shield up and held his sword at the ready. He had a mana grenade still in his possession as well as a stamina potion and a fairy dust. If the battle proved to be protracted, he would have recourse. The dragon crashed to the ground, landing with perfect grace which shook all.

Lance recovered from the quivered ground and charged at the creature. His sword dinged harmlessly from its thick, ore-rich scales.

"No good." He knew if he was going to hurt this thing, he would need to hit it in a place not covered by scales. Which meant he had to go for its eyes or wings. He didn't have to think for long on which part of the dragon to assault — wings. Why he selected its wings as a target showed itself a moment later when the dragon heaved itself into the air and flapped up a storm as it flew off. Obviously, the dragon was not fleeing, rather, it was gaining momentum before coming back around for a strafing run.

Lance only had minutes, if that, to devise a counter; he could pop into the forest, but that would limit his movement, while adding, potentially, the ever-present threat of a bushfire spreading among the trees. He could stand in ground in the open, but where would that get him? Roasted to a crisp, no doubt. His decision-making process ended in a hurry when the dragon returned.

His decision was the worst of both worlds, but he would need to roll with it — literally; he would wait in the open for the dragon's strafe, and then, at the last minute, roll out of the way. A superheated fiery cloud came from the dragon's maw, then shot toward him like a gust of wind fired from a cannon. By instinct more than timing, he threw himself out of harm's way, barely evading the beast's flame breath.

Not having the time to dose the petty fires which raged on his field attire, Lance brought his weapon up and willed it into a crossbow's shape. He fired many bolts at the creature as it flew away. Several of the bolts hit home and pierced its webbed wings, though the dragon's suffered minimal damage, at best. Yet, the pattern had been struck! In a series of tit-for-tats, he and the dragon traded blows — the dragon fire strafing and he evading.

It would have been an impossible physical feat to a normal person, but to him, it was merely a dance. One that strained the muscles, sure, but not beyond his limits by any means. With each strafing run down, Lance returned fire at the dragon's wings, piercing hole-after-hole. Eventually, the dragon's wing gave way, and it fell to the ground with a terrible crash. For such a large beast, it righted itself quickly and charged at him not unlike a bull.

He fired more crossbolts into the beast, aiming for its eyes, but he either missed or the bolts become stuck in the creature's visual membrane before being 'blinked' off by its scaled lids. What was he to do? He only had one choice, shocking as it was — he had to pull the sand worm trick. He had to stab the creature through its brain from its mouth.

Going inside of it, like he had done with the kraken, wasn't an option; its insides were probably made of sterner stuff than a sea creature, and besides, its scales likely worked to keep him in as much as they would to keep him out, so he didn't like his chances of busting out. Which left just skewering its head-stuff from the outside-in... The only problem with his plan was the obvious... it was a dragon.

Then, the dragon was upon him, and all moved in slow motion: the dragon opened his maw, he activated [Super Charge] and rushed forward, the dragon growled petite flames, and his arm stretched to its maximum, shield moving with him as part of his body entered the dragon — narrowly avoided its knife-like teeth — and shot into the dragon's upper mouth. It let out a agonized roar but did not die.

By now, Lance was all the way inside the dragon's mouth, and so he had its tongue to contend with as it attempted to dislodge him as if he were a bone or hunk of sheep meat.

"Stop it, dragon, or I swear to Jeva, I will slice your tongue to pieces! I have Neon Magic!" He didn't know if a Neon infusion into his sword would help him in slicing up dragon tongue, but it seemed to do the job of getting the dragon to stop lashing at him. In the next second, after he thought about the effectiveness of Neon magic coupled with his sword, he had a realization: he had asked the dragon to stop barbing him and it listened.

"Could it be a coincidence?" Fuck. His father was invisible and probably barely looking at his fight. He might as well go for broke.

"Dragon!" he said.

"If you can understand me, if you are an intelligent beast, then stomp the ground twice with your dominant limb!" He waited for a reply. One stomp, then two...