07 — Of Dragons and Spirits

07 — Of Dragons and Spirits

The door loomed before me. They never got any smaller, did they? I put my hand on it, and it began to absorb my magic, glowing ocher as a crest appeared.

“How does the Wicked One get into these things?” I wondered as it finally swung open. “Just in case, Area Barrier! There.” I would soon come to regret my lackadaisical attitude.

The path forward wasn’t a staircase this time, but a winding hallway. Transforming the Illusion Sword back into staff form, I walked on until the Earth Dragon came into view. The beast, resting just fifteen meters away, had craggy scales like stones. The black, miasmic poison had progressed far more than with its Holy and Flame brothers, with some of the worst areas of its body corrupted to the point of decaying.

I calmed my nerves as usual—as best I could with a fearsome dragon before me, anyway—but then something unforeseen happened: the dragon suddenly began to flail and howl. I froze, and frankly, I didn’t blame myself for being afraid. The dragon’s writhing intensified, bringing with it an earthquake.

“I do not want to wait around and see a dragon go berserk,” I groaned.

I steadied myself, held my staff tightly, and had just begun to cast the spell when the dragon fixed its eyes on me and pierced me with its gaze. There was a hatred in its darkened eyes unlike anything the Holy or Fire Dragons had possessed. I was petrified, and my legs quivered.

“Oh holy hand of healing. Oh birthing breath of the land,” I chanted regardless. “Take my energy and shield me in ramparts of angelic light. Engulf impurity in a bastion of radiance. Sanctuary Circle!”

But the Earth Dragon, unimpeded, managed to unleash its breath as the circle of light swallowed it. With quick reflexes, I summoned a shield and hunched behind it, then tried to activate the wind barrier, but it was too late. The surge of energy engulfed me.

Pain. Heat. An icy cold. Sensations blurred together. I free cast Dispel, Recover, and Extra Heal all at once, surpassing my mana’s limits and sending myself into magical enervation.

I panted, wheezed, and gasped. How I had survived, I had no idea. My shield had turned to crumbling stone. Before I knew it, I found myself face-up on the ground, thoughts swirling with no end in sight. Realizing that this was likely because of the magical exhaustion, I downed a potion.

“I’m gonna be sick,” I moaned. It had been a long, long time since I had last experienced the sensation of complete magic depletion, and it was not a feeling I missed.

A voice reverberated in my mind.

“Undoer of the Wicked One’s curse, savior of the hallowed and the flame, I thank you for coming to my aid.”

Combined with my fatigue, the droning in my skull reminded me all too well of the din of a city after a night of heavy drinking.

“Back in your right mind?”

“Indeed. I’m rather glad to not have joined the ranks of the undead. That fear is why I thrashed so. I was vexed, but now I am at peace.”

That makes one of us! I cursed in my head as I sat up and saw that the miasma corrupting the Earth Dragon was gone. The parts of its body that had rotted seemed to now be crumbling away.

“The Holy Dragon seemed fine, but you and the Flame Dragon were in a lot of pain.”

“The...spirits make rest difficult.”

The dragon could blame it on them all it wanted, but that didn’t change the fact that I’d seen malice in its eyes. It had been in immense agony.

I ignored the nausea and asked, “Do the spirits and Eternal Dragons not get along?”

“We serve the Draconis. They serve the Elemental.”

I suppose it made sense for such different entities to worship different deities. “And?”

“We dragons, you see, are the ultimate beings, while the spirits embody the natural laws of the world.”

“That sounds like totally not my problem.”

“But it will be.”

“How so?”

“The one who carries the blessings of the divines, the dragons, and the spirits three is fated to meet others of its kind. The sworn mystics.”

So those were supposed to be, what, my future companions? How were we going to meet? Better question: why was I the one given this role in the first place? Because the Draconis and Elemental said so?

“The spirits said something similar, but why me? Why not a hero or, I don’t know, the plethora of way braver and more courageous people out there?”

“You may come to understand in time as the threads of destiny are woven. One day, you will be a wise sage.”

This thing was seriously not making sense. I still didn’t understand why it had to be me. There were other reincarnated folks out there to choose from.

“Not interested. Not in sages or any more of this complicated business. I’d much rather go live in peace and quiet somewhere nice, thanks.”

“For withstanding my strength and felling me with but a single blow, I grant you my blessing and the riches in this chamber.”

Ignored. Fantastic. If whining wasn’t going to get me anywhere, might as well ask what questions I could.

“I’ll take the treasure, but I want answers. Why can Crya not fight back against the Wicked One’s curse?”

“The Wicked One’s actions are furtive. And with the demons under his command, his presence is not easily perceived.”

“And you think I can?”

“All I ask is that you relieve my suffering brethren from their endless torment.”

Okay, phrasing it like that’s not fair. “We’ll see.”

“The gears of fate have begun to turn.”

“Cool. Can you stop them?”

“It irks me that the Spirit of Land has blessed you before me, but alas. The power of earth will see you triumph through strife.”

“What does that mean? Will I be able to use earth magic?”

The dragon cackled, ignoring my questions. “Speak your name.”

His time was evidently running short. I hadn’t gotten much out of the exchange, but further questioning was likely to get me nowhere. And I still felt like absolute death.

“Luciel.”

“Luciel, lay your staff made of my holy brother before me.”

“Like this?”

Like with the Flame Dragon before, a light materialized and flowed into the Illusion Staff. This time, though, it was an ocher color.

“I wish you fortune on your path to sagehood,” he boomed. “At last, my word is kept... La...fjilna...”

With those final words, the dragon went limp, petrified, and disintegrated. I anticipated it leaving behind scales and fangs, but where its corpse had been I this time found hunks of ore, including many types of precious stones I had never laid eyes on before. There was also the same large magic stone and treasure chest as always. Like clockwork, the chest opened up and a small bead emerged. A light shone from my magic bag and the necklace flew out once again, glistening as it met the bead in the air and the two merged.

“Six left. You’re not tempting me.” I still couldn’t fathom why I hadn’t died when the dragon’s breath hit me. I had been ready for it. “Wonder what it is with dragons and hoarding treasure.”

Ignoring the magic stone, I gathered the items, coins, and gear after purifying everything, then stepped into the magic circle. My vision went white.

Ping!

Title Obtained: Protection of the Earth Dragon

Title Obtained: Dragonsbane

When my sight returned, I was in front of the entrance to Rockford.

“I’m back. Well, I got both a dragon’s and a spirit’s blessing, but whether that’s good or bad luck remains to be seen.”

The others were probably worrying about me by then, so I mimicked Pola’s movements from when we’d first arrived and entered through the side door. Once my mana was authenticated, I returned to the city. A city in panic.

“The ant monsters?” I muttered. “It has to be. They’ll pour out of that hole in the plaza until it’s plugged.”

I had only just recovered from magical enervation, but I whipped my body into high gear and made for the central plaza. For a split second, I thought I caught a glimpse of Pola’s golem. Everyone had to be there.

Possibilities ran through my mind as my feet pounded against the ground. I had killed a great deal of the monsters as I fell, so if that was the only hole then there was no way they’d be emerging in overwhelming numbers. There had to be more. Numerous cracks all over, just like an ant’s nest. Or so I thought, but as I ran, I didn’t catch sight of a single fissure in the ground.

Instead, I found them at the plaza. Rockford citizens were beating the ants back like a game of whack-a-mole as they crawled up from countless breaches in the ground.

“Is everyone safe?” I asked.

The people turned to look at me in shock.

Grand cried, “Shut the holes! Luciel’s back!”

The citizens cheered. It was a very booming, dwarven cheer. They tossed piles of chemicals down the holes and chucked rocks in with magic tools before Grand and Dhoran used their powers to seal them up entirely, except for the one that I’d fallen into.

“Sorry to worry you guys,” I said. “Why aren’t you closing up that one?”

“What better way ta get magic stones than funnel ’em right to us?” Grand answered.

Leave it to these guys to see monsters as nothing more than walking magic stones. I was glad no one had jumped in to save me.

I proceeded to relate the events after the hole had taken me.

“Incredible. The Earth Dragon, you say?” Lionel remarked, brimming with the urge to put his sword to something.

But his enthusiasm meant nothing to me. “I seriously almost died down there. Twice. The first time when I plummeted down a hole and the second when I took a full-on blast from a dragon. From the Earth Dragon. I still don’t know how I survived.”

Lionel’s clothes were covered with dirt—apparently, he had tried to jump in after me and Pola had held him back with her golem...which also explained the cracks in the stone construct’s arms.

“So, how’d it look down there?” Grand asked.

“Ants everywhere,” I replied. “There must be a nest.”

“Good thing we didn’t chase after ya, then. Pola and Lycian were at their forges tryin’ ta work out how to save you, but we couldn’t very well leap before we looked. Other than Lionel, I mean. Till another earthquake came.”

“Good thing it stopped you from coming after me.”

“Holes started poppin’ up, and then those ants came and wouldn’t stop.”

Dhoran was pale but had still participated in the fight.

“I fell pretty far and saw tons of them down there,” I said as I cast Recover on the dwarf. “I found earth spirits too. They told me the Kingdom of Dwarves was already fighting those creatures. Do you know anything about that?”

“The kingdom? We gotta help!” Dhoran cried.

“Do they not have the resources to handle it on their own?”

“Dwarves used to live in caves,” Grand explained, “but they started diggin’ down when the population grew, and they stopped havin’ ta fight monsters as much. We’re not strong fighters these days.”

An underground kingdom. I could certainly believe that. And from the sound of it, they needed help.

“But why build your country right on top of the Earth Dragon?”

“What better place is there?” Dhoran countered. “Dwarves in those times thought wherever spirits ’n such would hole up might as well have been the center o’ the world.”

“Aye, monsters included,” Grand added. “But y’know, even though we mighta lost our edge, we’re still a sturdy bunch. A bunch o’ bugs couldn’t bring us down.”

I was sure they wanted to believe that.

“Well, with the Earth Dragon free, the monsters should weaken, just like a labyrinth, but some other species could show up to fill the niche. If this place is just a dormant labyrinth, they could be as strong as something you’d find on the very last floor of one.”

“That sounds bad,” Dhoran said.

“Nah, His Majesty ’n his court can handle things.”

We didn’t know how many of those ants were out there, but regardless, not every dwarf was a fighter. I didn’t like it any more than they did, and I’d never wanted to bear this news, but I had to. Now I was responsible for making a decision. I wished I could just forget it all and go about my business, but if I could help people, if I could save lives, I had to try.

Of course, those were pretty words, but my body felt like lead just thinking about what I was getting myself into.

“Before anything, does anyone mind if I take a rest?” I asked.

My brain needed some time off. Lord Reinstar, the spirits, the dragons, and now a war in the Kingdom of Dwarves had my head spinning. I was a bit of an emotional liability at the moment. These things happened when you weren’t the protagonist.

Dhoran and Grand looked at each other, then nodded.

“The kingdom won’t fall overnight,” Dhoran replied.

“No point frettin’ when we don’t know the situation. You could use some rest, lad.”

No one else objected, so I returned to Dhoran’s workshop.

At the forge, I had a quick meal from the magic bag.

“I’m guessing their measurements aren’t done yet?”

“It’ll take about three days,” Grand said. “We’d be done faster if Trett were around.”

“By the way, the dragon dropped ore and stuff this time instead of scales or fangs. Would you and Dhoran mind taking a look when I’m done eating? There’s quite a bit plus some magic items that could be useful.”

“Now there’s somethin’ to look forward to.”

“That’s a stroke o’ luck,” Dhoran commented. “The mines’re getting dry lately.”

“I think that depends on the person, considering I had to beat a dragon to get it. Personally, I wouldn’t say it was worth it.”

“Say, lad, you don’t gotta go askin’ how we mind for favors,” Grand insisted. “We’ve celebrated together!”

“Sorry, old habits from Yenice. The formalities are hard to get rid of.”

He guffawed. “Lookin’ forward to that ore.”

Suddenly, I felt a firm poke in my side that made me jump out of my skin. “Jeez, Pola. Don’t do that. You two need something?”

“You said there were magic items. Can we see?” she pleaded.

“It’s dreadfully boring without any magic gems,” Lycian added.

“Sure. Just don’t tear them apart,” I instructed.

Pola nodded. “Promise.”

“You have our word that we won’t render anything useless.”

“I’ll bring them to your stations later.”

How safe it was to trust them, I couldn’t say. But the items wouldn’t be identified by sitting around in my bag forever, so I gave in. Luckily, no one brought up the Kingdom of Dwarves again, which was a generous gesture to me and my mental health.

After eating, we convened downstairs to go through the spoils. I laid out the minerals and ore as the two dwarves eyed them carefully.

“Looks like gemstones,” Grand muttered.

After a point, the room started looking like the geology section of a museum. I sensed magic from a few of the stones, so I had high hopes that they were valuable. I placed what wouldn’t fit on the tables onto the floor.

Dhoran and Grand were at a loss for words. It seemed like every time I pulled out a new hunk of ore, they had to go through a whole dramatic act.

“All right, that’s everything the Earth Dragon left me.”

“Luciel. Lad. You don’t know what this is?” Dhoran asked accusingly.

“Nope. I’m clueless when it comes to rocks.”

“We gotta hold a lecture before too long. That right there? That’s worth more than several years of Yenice’s entire budget.”

I reeled. “What?! W-Well, maybe I’ll take you up on that lesson sometime.”

Dhoran grunted. “By the way, we’re lookin’ pretty close to havin’ all the parts ready for you-know-what. Just need somewhere ta put it all together and the magic stones. She’ll be ready before too long.”

“Really?”

“Really. Course, your friends’ gear comes first.”

“Right, but I’m still excited.”

“What’re you talkin’ all secretive for?” Grand interjected. “What’re you building and how do I get my hands on it?”

“If you’re interested, work out your fees with Dhoran. I think you’ll like the project, though, so keep it modest, okay?” I left the forge without another word.

Estia had taken a liking to Ketty, and I saw the two together often. I was pondering this as I went for a walk when I found Kefin near the hole I’d fallen into.

“You on patrol first today?”

“Yes, sir,” he said. “We’ve had plenty of experience fighting those ants, but I won’t let my guard down.”

“Put this on.” I handed over my Church-issued robe. “It’ll protect you from their acid. Nothing’ll burn through it.”

“But this is—”

“I’ve got plenty of protection.”

“Thank you, sir. If you insist. I’ll continue with my patrol.” He vanished into thin air.

“I see he’s still using his ninjutsu like I told him.”

Ever since he had decided to follow me back in Yenice, Lionel had been whipping him into shape, and he was an extremely motivated individual. I couldn’t see other people’s skills or experience points, but I wanted to support his growth as much as possible. I had high hopes for him.

Afterwards, I decided to stop by Pola’s workstation. There, I found a door that hadn’t been there before.

“Uh, when did this happen?”

“It’s nothing. Making it was child’s play,” Lycian boasted.

“Magic stuff. Want,” Pola demanded.

They looked like children begging for toys and it hit me right in the heart. I took out the magic items as well as some weapons. The two wasted no time...bickering? Collaborating? Anyway, they began examining the items.

“Thanks. I’ll be super motivated once we figure these out,” Pola said.

“My gratitude,” Lycian said. “We will surely be of use to you.”

“Competition’s good and all, but don’t go overboard,” I cautioned them.

“Mm-hmm.”

“But of course.”

I felt a nap calling, so I headed for the room I’d stayed in last night and reunited with my angel’s pillow for forty winks.