I leaped into the air, gripping my sword in one hand as I lunged at Tiamat. My other lit up as I used [Fireball], flinging the flames forward at the dragon.
She responded by opening her mouth, breathing out a massive burst of blue flames that easily overpowered the fireball, consuming it whole as the flames streamed toward me.
I flicked my wrist, a massive wall of ice appearing as I used [Ice Conjurging] to block the flames. The ice didn't hold for long, melting and being blasted through near-instantly, but the split second was enough.
I reached down, gripping the [King's Claw] and squeezing it. As I did, a notification appeared to the side of me.
[[F-Tier] [Sacred Treasure] [King's Claw] has been activated!]
[You will temporarily gain access to five skills!]
[Skills rented: [First-Strike], [F-Tier Speed Enhancement], [Piercing Blow], [Momentum Boost], [Rampaging Beast]].
[Scalability] - [King's Claw] has recognized [Great Dragon King] [Chaos Dragon Karma] [Tiamat] - Level 750 as your opponent!
The power of your rented skills has increased!
I used [Momemtum Boost] and shot down to the floor instantly, allowing for the burning blue flames to stream over my head. The [Scalability] wasn't just for show - the momentum boost had flung me downward faster than I'd ever moved before.
Tiamat was an insanely strong opponent, so I could use the abilities of her own sacred treasure against her.
I didn't have much time to think, quickly using [F-Tier Speed Enhancement] and lunging to the side as Tiamat's huge clawed hand swiped at me. I managed to dodge the swing, but it was still a bit too close for my liking.
She was extremely fast - way too fast for her towering size. Before the speed enhancement, I had been dodging by a hair. Now, it was a bit better, but I was still at risk of getting hit if I wasn't careful.
I needed to make sure she never made contact with me - getting hit meant I lost my best chance at winning this fight: [First-Strike].
Neither me nor Tiamat had landed a blow yet, and whoever did first would decide the course of the fight. If she hit me before I could prepare a powerful first attack, then I'd lose the ability to use [First-Strike] altogether.
Luckily, despite the woman's furious words when she realized what my [Aura of Devour] was doing, she didn't seem to be going all out yet. She looked annoyed, but I wouldn't say she looked truly dialed in on the fight.
If I could set up a good first strike, I could deal a fatal blow and end the fight before she started taking me seriously.
I slammed my foot into the ground, using [Earthquaking Stomp] to try and throw her off balance. The ground under me shook as I leaped upward, but Tiamat looked as if she barely noticed. She shifted her feet a bit, stabilizing herself.
I tensed my body, using momentum boost to fire my body toward her like a missile mid-air. Her eyes widened slightly as I appeared in front of her scaled chest in an instant, my sword pulled back in a two-handed swing.
I knew this was my opportunity - I used both [Strength Boost] and [Crushing Blow] in succession, doubling both my STR and the force of the attack.
I felt a small drain on my body as my MP dropped from the heavily draining [Strength Boost], but it was manageable with how high of a level it was.
I tensed my arms, swinging my sword forward with all the strength I could muster. The edge of the blade slammed into Tiamat's scaled chest, a spark flying out as the two hard materials clashed.
I grimaced as the backlash of the blow flooded through me while her hard scales stalled out my attack, the momentum slowly dying. My eyes widened as the force of my attack died out, leaving not even a scratch on the thick blue scales.
Seriously, I doubled my STR and the already momentum-boosted force of the attack, and it didn't even leave a mark? How much damn END does she have?
I didn't have any more time to think about that as a thick clawed hand slammed into my side, literally sending my body flying.
-19,755 HP! (33,230/52,985)
+9,877 HP! (43,107/52,985)
+9,878 HP! (52,985/52,985)
My [Phenex Immortality] negated most of the pain that would've wracked through me, but it didn't make being flung off a mountain any less disorienting.
My body rolled and skidded down the side of the mountain, barreling through tree and tree and knocking them over before I finally came to a stop. I managed to keep my grip on my sword throughout the fall and hurriedly pushed myself back onto my feet.
While my HP had instantly regenerated, it wasn't like her attack had done nothing. Luckily, my higher level [Physical Regeneration] activated first, which cost less MP than my rather low level [Phenex Immortality], but I could still feel the small MP drain affecting me.
Not being able to break through her scales was a problem. I had underestimated her, but I also couldn't fault myself for not assuming that a 4x-boosted attack wouldn't break through - especially when she was already being weakened from my [Aura of Devour].
I had some more skills I could prepare for another attack, but I had lost my best chance. Now that [First-Strike] was out of the picture, I'd need to stall her out-
I blinked, pausing my thoughts as I glanced down at my unharmed body, which had been engulfed in flames and healed by [Phenex Immortality]. I glanced back up the mountain where the towering form of Tiamat still stood.
If I was at full HP now, and I wasn't actively fighting the dragon, then could my [First-Strike] skill reset?
I wasn't sure what the parameters of the skill were, but it only activated on the first attack landed in a fight if I was the one to land it. However, if I stayed down here and out of combat for a little while, then would it count as a new fight when I fought Tiamat again?
I wasn't sure, but it was worth a shot. Along with that, my MP would slowly regenerate as well.
So, I stood part way down the mountain, not moving a step as Tiamat stayed at the top - obviously expecting me to charge back at her.
It was a strange feeling to go from an intense battle to just blandly standing in the forest, waiting for as long I could. I wasn't close enough to Tiamat to continue affecting her with [Aura of Devour], but the stalling was helping my MP regenerate and for reinforcements to arrive.
After only roughly two minutes, I noticed a bright light suddenly appear on the peak of the mountain far above me. It sparkled for a second, growing brighter and brighter. Then, it suddenly become larger - much larger.
It wasn't because the light had actually grown but instead because it was streaming down toward me at an insane speed. I grunted, sprinting to the side as fast as I could as I summoned both a large mound of ice and a light barrier to block the beam.
It broke through them easily, the blue beam of pure fire slamming into the ground behind me and letting out a resounding boom. Behind me, a large crater spread out from the blast, stretching hundreds of feet in every direction and barely missing me.
"All that bravado earlier, and yet you're down here hiding from me?" A cheeky voice stated as Tiamat literally leaped off the top of the mountain, landing in the large crater and making it even bigger from the impact.
Despite the crater being more than a dozen feet deep, the dragon was still towering over me easily.
"Just taking a breather," I replied casually, tensing my body as I stared her down again. I wasn't sure if the couple of minutes out of combat was enough for the game to count this as a new fight, but I'd find out soon enough.
I lifted my palm, instantly using [Flash] as a massive light shone outward from me. She thought I was wounded from being launched off the mountain - which meant she wouldn't expect a counterattack right away.
Tiamat squeezed her eyes shut, growling in annoyance as the light assaulted her eyes. She turned her head, looking away from the source of the light.
The flash only lasted for a couple of seconds, but that was all the time I needed. I shot forward, boosting myself with the scaled up [Momemtum Boost]. As I appeared in front of her in a blink, I swung my arms out and slammed my sword toward her.
At the same time, my face squished in concentration as I activated a flurry of the skills in the single instant I had.
First came [Material Change] as I focused on the center of her scaled chest. I wasn't too knowledgeable about the inner workings of dragon scales, so the skill wasn't completely effective, but I managed to at least change a small portion of the top of the scales into air.
I followed that up with a quick usage of [Worthless]. In a similar vein to [Material Change], the inner workings of dragon scales were rather unknown to me, so it wasn't completely effective. However, I at least knew that scales were hard and tough, so I willed the skill to negate those two characteristics.
Next came [Strength Boost] and [Crushing Blow], attempting my previous attack that had failed. But that wasn't all - I was taking it to a whole different level.
After that came [Sharpen] and [Piercing Blow]. My sword glinted as the blade seemed to sleek out slightly for a second, becoming sharper on its edges.
I still wasn't sure what boosting the 'piercing' of my next attack did, but if I was trying to bust through a layer of scales, then it would probably help, right?
The next skill was risky, but I thought it was necessary: [Rampaging Beast]. In exchange for copying a portion of Tiamat's STR and AGI, for the few seconds it was activated my END would plummet down to 5 - meaning that if this attack failed and she counterattacked, I was finished.
My [Phenex Immortality] would probably protect me from instant death, but it would drain so much MP keeping me alive that I wouldn't be able to fight back anymore. This attack needed to hit, and it needed to wound her enough that she couldn't counter-attack.
The finishing touch was [Hellfire], as the much more variable flame technique was able to shoot up and engulf my sword in a dark red fire.
It took a shit-ton of concentration to be able to shove out so many skills in the few seconds of time I had, but it would be worth it.
I swung my arms forward, the blade of my greatsword slamming directly into the weakened scales on Tiamat's chest.
For just a split second the blade stalled out, and I was hit with a pang of anxiety. If this failed, the fight was as good as lost.
Then, it broke through.
The blade carved deep into Tiamat's chest, bursting through the thick scales. As gravity pulled me down, I yanked my arms down, causing the blade to slice downward.
A fountain of dark blood shot outward, spraying both my face and the ground around me as the sword cut through her flesh like butter. I gritted my teeth, using all my strength to drag the blade down further and further until it slid out from the bottom - leaving a deep gaping wound down the entirety of Tiamat's chest.
[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Tiamat]!
+6,500 HP!
+650 MAXHP!
+1,490 STR
+1,575 AGI
+1,770 END
+9,875 LUK
+578 INT
+1,970 MP!
I was confused by the insane amount of LUK I gained, but now wasn't the time to think about it. My body felt replenished as the MP flowed into me, and I grinned widely.
"GRAHHHHHHHHH! YOU FUCKING BRAT!" Tiamat roared, and the huge dragon stumbled backward as she was disoriented. She was still blinking rapidly from the [Flash] and was clearly being wracked with pain from my attack.
But she wouldn't get any mercy from me - I had used up my [First-Strike]. There was no time to let her recover.
I shot forward again, taking advantage of [Rampaging Beast] still being active as I appeared in front of her before she could recover. I quickly activated as many of the same skills as I could before my blade reached her.
I jabbed forward at one of her legs, stabbing my blade straight into her foot and causing an eruption of blood to shoot outward.
[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Tiamat]!
+4,270 HP!
+420 MAXHP!
+890 STR
+775 AGI
+1,170 END
+4,995 LUK
+278 INT
+1,290 MP!
The blade went through one side of her foot and came out the other, coated in a thick layer of blood. Tiamat let out another pained roar, the dragon finally opening her eyes fully as she shook off the blinding of [Flash].
I ripped my sword out from her foot quickly, dashing backward as a beat of blue fire slammed into the ground where I had been standing. Now that she wasn't disoriented anymore, I wasn't going to risk taking another attack.
Luckily, she didn't lunge at me right away, instead glaring hatefully as she stumbled and adapted to her wounds. In that time, [Rampaging Beast]'s timer ran out and I was back to a safe level of END.
"I have no intention of killing you, Dragon King," I hummed, grinning slightly arrogantly as Tiamat stumbled and struggled with the pain of the massive wounds in her, "Submit to my rule and become my familiar. I will treat you as an equal, and we can end this battle now."
'Equal' was a bit of a stretch, but I at least wouldn't order the woman around like I did my other subordinates. She was still a proud Dragon King - if I walked all over her ego then our relationship wouldn't be a productive one.
"You… a damn brat is making me…" Tiamat hissed in pain, favoring her injured foot as she glared hatefully at me, "I'm more than annoyed now, brat!"
I tensed as her eyes suddenly glowed with a deep blue aura, and suddenly a notification appeared to my side.
[Tiamat] has used [Karma Control]
[Calculating Karma…]
My eyes widened, and I quickly lunged backward, sprinting through the forest and making as much space between the dragon and me as I could.
I didn't know what this skill did, but I wasn't going to be caught off guard standing next to her dumbly.
[Calculating Good Karma…]
[Calculating Bad Karma…]
[Valon]'s Karma Value: -251,528
I stared at the large number blandly. I know I was responsible for a lot of deaths - like, a lot at this point - but having a negative number that low was a bit much, right?
[Tiamat] has gained a stat boost equivalent to [Valon]'s Karma Value!
What the fuck-
I didn't even finish my thought before a large object slammed into the side of me, sending my body flinging through the forest.
-27,290 HP! (29,930/57,220)
+13,645 HP! (43,575/57,220)
+13,645 HP! (57,220/57,220)
Even with the pain reduction, my mind was still reeling from the blow. Before I could even process it, another hard object slammed into me from the other side, sending me flying back in the previous direction.
-32,525 HP! (24,745/57,270)
+16,262 HP! (41,007/57,270)
+16,263 HP! (57,270/57,270)
"Fuck-" I barely managed to grunt before I was slammed down from above, my body crashing into the dirt below harshly. A huge crater shot outward from the impact, and my body ached even with the pain reduction.
-37,930 HP! (19,360/57,290)
+18,965 HP! (38,325/57,290)
+18,965 HP! (57,290/57,290)
I placed my free palm flat on the ground, my fingers digging into the dirt as I pushed myself up. However, I was shoved back down instantly as an intense heat surrounded my entire body.
-47,250 HP! (10,050/57,300)
+23,625 HP! (33,675/57,300)
+23,625 HP! (57,300/57,300)
-52,900 HP! (4,400/57,300)
+26,450 HP! (30,850/57,300)
+26,450 HP! (57,300/57,300)
I forced one of my arms to drag myself forward, flinging my body out of the blast of blue flames slamming into me from behind. I quickly shoved myself back to my feet, spinning around as I panted lightly.
I had lost the [King's Claw] when Tiamat had been whacking me around like a volley ball, and it was everything I could do to keep a grip on my sword using [Titanic Grip]. Besides that, I was also feeling the exhaustion of the MP draining out me as I healed.
As I turned back to look at Tiamat, I realized why she was so scary in this world.
The blue dragon was surrounded by a pitch-black aura, with small trails of smoke-like strands trailing upward into the sky. Her face was filled with anger as her stomach continued to bleed, and her eyes seemed to bore into me.
I thought the fight had been going a little too well. The woman was by no means weak, as she was instead nearly as fast as myself and dealt a lot of damage with every blow despite not taking me seriously, but she had been a bit… underwhelming?
This was a dragon that even the likes of Ddraig - a literal Heavenly Dragon who forced the Three Factions to team up on him - considered a threat. For someone who could strike fear into one of the strongest beings in the entire world, I had expected her to be stronger.
Level 750 was nothing to laugh at, but the woman only being a couple times higher level than Benemue, who was on the weaker side of Cadre Fallen Angels?
It wasn't Tiamat herself who was an overwhelming force. She was certainly strong, but what made her truly terrifying was this ability: [Karma Control].
I didn't know exactly how it worked, but I could make an assumption - it viewed the Karma of whoever she was versing, which was essentially the ratio between good and bad things they did during their lifetime, and then strengthened her by more or less depending on its value.
For someone like Ddraig, who had killed literal millions during his battle with Albion and throughout his long life, his Karma value was probably through the roof. While Tiamat couldn't hold a candle to the Welsh Dragon normally, by powering herself up a shit-ton with this skill she would be able to pose a serious threat to him.
And now, the dragon who I'd been struggling against before was suddenly being enhanced by the hundreds of thousands of lives that had ended, either directly or indirectly, because of me.
As I gripped my sword, staring up at the dark-aura surrounded dragon, I took in the new level above her head.
[Enhanced] [Great Dragon King] [Chaos Dragon Karma] [Tiamat] - Level 1,500 (750)
I'm fucked.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN: Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be out tomorrow!
You can also read up to chapter 47 right now on Patreon.com/Koyon !