A golden figure wrapped in azure battle aura sped along the jade forest path. She leaped high, soared through gaps between trees, landed with a roll, and accelerated again.
The small warrior stepped on massive tree roots seven or eight meters apart, gliding through the air.
She approached her target — the Green Dragon — with astonishing speed.
The dragon sensed the challenger's fighting spirit and let out a terrifying roar. It flapped its eight-meter wingspan, stirring fierce winds that dispersed the mist. Its neck, covered in jade-like scales, rose high as it spat thick phlegm toward Aiz.
The foul-smelling, dense green liquid tore through the air. Aiz planted her left foot and shifted her charging form three meters sideways. The corrosive phlegm landed on a tree root, emitting acrid smoke before the root cracked sharply and broke in two.
Her pupils contracted, "What powerful poison!"
But stronger opponents only excited Aiz more. She stomped hard on the falling tree root and, wrapped in wind, propelled herself upward a dozen meters. Stepping on a vine, she rose even higher until she was at eye level with the Green Dragon.
"Tempest!"
The wind around her body responded to her call, enveloping her as she charged straight toward the stunned Green Dragon.
Her long sword, wrapped in azure light, pierced the dragon's flank. It raised its head in a howl of pain, twisting its body and swinging its massive tail.
With a thud, Aiz was struck in the lower back, becoming a streak of light as she was driven into a tree trunk.
"Hey, wait! I told you not to rush!" Kael arrived breathlessly, looking up at the battle in the sky.
Although Aiz claimed she could fight dragons three Levels above her, such battles were barely sustainable and victory wasn't guaranteed.
The effect of [Avenger] depended on Aiz's inner hatred. Her primary target was the Black Dragon, followed by dragons, monsters, and humans.
Against the Green Dragon, whether she could fully activate her skill remained unknown. Even if she could, the boost in destructive power couldn't compensate for her lack of battle experience.
Plus other capability shortcomings...
[Ariel] could only close an attribute gap of nearly one Level, but against a treasure guardian Green Dragon with abilities at Level 4, the difference remained obvious.
"Tsk, this quick defeat isn't the result I wanted..."
"Shut up!" Seeing the Green Dragon opening its massive maw with corrosive liquid about to spray out, Kael raised his right hand.
A huge fireball appeared and shot skyward in an instant.
The Miracle Ring's magic was highly unpredictable, but basic elemental spells made up most of its capabilities. In situations like this, non-chanted spells typically fell into this category.
Kael gulped down a bottle of Elixir to restore his mind and alternated hand movements. His chaotic spirit energy merged with the surrounding magical atmosphere, forming spell runes in the void. A colorful torrent of magic swept toward the Green Dragon.
Like a magnificent fireworks display, the magical barrage hitting the Level 4 Monster couldn't cause significant damage, but it successfully disrupted its attack.
The dragon's angry vertical pupils shifted from Aiz to Kael.
"What are you looking at!" He shouted to draw the Green Dragon's attention, his gaze catching the blue-black light flashing behind the beast, "I'm not your opponent!"
Slick—
"Arggghhhh—"
A sword wrapped in an ominous black storm sliced through the Green Dragon's neck like tofu. Twin streams of blood cascaded down as the dragon let out a shrill cry.
Aiz landed on a tree trunk on the opposite side, kicked off, and launched herself again.
The Green Dragon wasn't a powerful magic species, and its strength was helpless against the black wind tearing everything apart around her.
Having learned its lesson, it should have flapped its wings to seek a better counterattack opportunity. Instead, it unexpectedly lay down and whimpered.
"Begging... for mercy? No, that's not it!" Kael's eyes widened.
With his broader perspective as an observer, he saw beyond this Green Dragon. Among numerous jewel trees, countless glowing fruits were opening, revealing a monster covered in rainbow jewels. It was significantly larger than the Green Dragon and emitted dazzling light.
"That is... a second Green Dragon? No, an enhanced species! A Jewel Dragon!"
Kael wasn't sure if this unusual monster was actually called that, but without doubt, it was a species far superior to the Green Dragon!
"Tsk, theoretically, these Dungeon treasure guardians shouldn't exist in multiples, right? How did two appear at once, with one being a magic-specialized enhanced species?"
One mountain cannot contain two dragons... unless they're a mated pair...
As this absurd thought flashed through his mind, connecting countless threads, Kael realized a terrible truth. The city — how long had it been since adventurers were sent to clear the middle and lower levels of monsters?
After Zeus and Hera's departure, few Familias could shoulder expedition requests. With the Evilus's rampage on the surface diverting most fighting power, the Dungeon depths had gone uncleared for a long time.
Elite monsters like this, far exceeding the level of monsters on the same floor, had devoured multiple magic stones and evolved into enhanced species — it made perfect sense.
He'd been careless, not anticipating this!
After just a moment's thought, Kael's mouth reacted faster than his brain, "Aiz! Run!"
But it was too late.
"Weak..." Aiz's eyes turned crimson, "Too weak! Monsters... dragons... should all be defeated!"
Both monsters, and herself.
She wanted to know where her limit was!
Kael was right; Riveria's gentle approach to growth was wrong! She could defeat stronger opponents! If she couldn't even beat a mere Green Dragon, how could she ever slay the Black Dragon — dubbed the "End" by the world?
"Die... die!"
She rode the wind toward the smirking Green Dragon, her black storm colliding with an invisible rainbow barrier, tearing at each other.
Crack crack—
The barrier trembled, her weapon wailed. After just five seconds, Aiz's weapon, forged from refined metal, and the barrier both shattered simultaneously.
"Mmgh..."
Blown backward by the recoil, Aiz twisted in mid-air, struggling to regain balance. In the next moment, the surrounding forest came alive as countless vines began to stir.
Kael spotted a jade crystal on the Jewel Dragon's forehead emitting a faint light. Looking through its smooth surface, he was horrified to see a pair of innocent eyes staring directly at Aiz.
Inside was a wrinkled face resembling a newborn fetus. Tentacle-like protrusions extended from its head, rooted around the jewel. Its small mouth opened and closed as it sucked on its finger, seemingly drawing nutrients.
"What... what's happening?" The scene before him shattered Kael's understanding of the plot. His voice turned hoarse, "A Jewel Fetus? How is this thing in the Dungeon now?"
According to the plot he knew, this creature shouldn't appear until next year — six years before the main story begins — during the Nightmare on the 27th Floor. Why had it emerged a full year early?
Was it because of... me?
"Butterfly effect? No! That's not it..."
❈❈❈
T/N: Favorite, comment and save to your library of best reads in the world, thank you for reading this far!
T/N: Follow me on Pa-treon for advanced chapters: MrBlackWing! ( ◕‿◕ )
TikTok of my wife for personalized notebooks: @lunartpapelaria
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)