Location: The Ruins of Valyria - Obsidian Cliff
Ren was gone. The ground where the Fire Wyrm had burrowed was a crater of molten slag and ash.
For a heartbeat, there was silence. Then, panic.
"REN!" Amy screamed, running toward the edge.
"Stop!" Saeko grabbed Amy's tactical vest, yanking her back before the ground crumbled further. "He's not dead. He let it swallow him."
"He let it eat him?!" Saya Takagi shrieked, checking her radiation counter (which was going haywire). "That thing is a subterranean furnace! Even with regeneration, he'll be digested in minutes!"
Maggie stepped forward. Her face was pale, but her hands were steady on her Barrett rifle. She remembered the Farm. She remembered the Prison. Ren had trusted her to lead when he wasn't there.
"Ren doesn't die," Maggie stated, her voice cutting through the panic. "But we might."
She pointed to the ruins behind them.
From the fog of Valyria, shapes were emerging. Not dragons. Stone Men.
Hundreds of them. Victims of Greyscale sent to die in the ruins, but twisted by the magical radiation of the Doom. They weren't the slow, shambling things from the show. These were feral, their stone-like skin glowing with faint purple veins. They moved with unnatural, jerky speed.
"Contact front!" Maggie roared, assuming command. "Formation Delta! Protect the medic!"
[System Alert: Party Leader Missing.]
[Emergency Protocol Activated: Valkyrie Override.]
[Adrenaline Boost applied to all Party Members.]
The Valkyries Rise
The Stone Men charged, screeching like banshees.
"Open fire!" Maggie ordered.
BOOM. BOOM.
The heavy .50 caliber rounds from Maggie and Hirano tore through the front line. The Stone Men exploded into dust and rock shards.
"They're brittle!" Hirano shouted, grinning maniacally as he worked the bolt. "Like shooting statues!"
But there were too many. A swarm of twenty Stone Men flanked the right side.
"Saeko! Right flank!"
Saeko Busujima didn't need to be told. She drew the Murasame.
She closed her eyes for a split second. Ren gave me this sword. He gave me this strength.
She snapped her eyes open. They were cold, devoid of humanity.
She charged.
The Valkyrie Protocol (Tier 1) combined with her natural genius turned her into a hurricane. She moved faster than the Stone Men could track.
Hummmmm. The high-frequency blade sang.
She sliced horizontally. Three Stone Men were bisected at the waist. Their stone skin offered zero resistance to the vibrating molecular edge.
One Stone Man lunged at her, claws swiping for her throat.
Saeko ducked, slid between its legs, and slashed upwards. The Stone Man split in half vertically.
"Beautiful," Saeko whispered, flicking the dust off her blade.
On the left flank, Andrea and Amy were using their M4 carbines.
"Headshots don't work!" Andrea shouted. "They don't have brains!"
"Break the limbs!" Saya Takagi yelled from the center, where she was guarding Shizuka. "They are animated by magic, not biology! Shatter the joints!"
Saya pulled her own pistol—a modified Glock Ren had given her. She fired three shots into a Stone Man's knee. It collapsed.
"Finish it!" Saya ordered.
Amy smashed the fallen Stone Man's head with her rifle butt.
They were holding. Seven humans against a horde of magical abominations. And they were winning.
The Belly of the Beast
Deep underground, Ren was in hell.
The inside of the Fire Wyrm was a pressurized tube of muscle and magma. The heat was over 1,000 degrees.
Ren's clothes had disintegrated instantly. His skin was constantly burning off and regenerating.
[Regeneration Factor: Overdrive.]
[Pain Level: Critical.]
Ren couldn't breathe. There was no oxygen.
"Titan... Hardening..." Ren thought, his mind focusing through the agony.
A white crystal shell formed around his body, shielding him from the stomach acid and heat. It was like being inside a diamond coffin.
Ren floated in the magma belly. He opened his glowing blue eyes inside the crystal.
"You picked the wrong snack," Ren thought.
He couldn't transform into the full Sovereign Titan here—there wasn't enough room. If he expanded to 15 meters, he might be crushed by the earth pressure before he killed the Wyrm.
He needed a surgical strike.
He dissolved the crystal around his right hand.
[Skill: Warhammer Construction (Spear Form).]
He formed a short, dense spike of Titan crystal.
[Skill: Elementalist: Lightning (Internal Discharge).]
He grabbed the spear. He channeled every ounce of mana he had into it. The spear glowed blindingly white-blue.
Ren thrust the spear into the wall of the Wyrm's stomach.
ZZZ-CRACK!
Electricity conducts well in liquid. In the magma/blood of the Wyrm, the lightning traveled instantly to the creature's nervous system and heart.
The Wyrm convulsed.
Ren didn't stop. He activated Telekinesis.
"Expand."
He pushed the walls of the stomach outward with telekinetic force, creating a bubble.
"And now... Limit Breaker: Strength."
Ren punched the hole he had made with the spear. He punched through the stomach lining. Through the muscle. Through the scales.
He punched his way out.
The Eruption
Back on the cliff, the Stone Men were thinning out, but ammo was running low.
"Last mag!" Hirano shouted.
Suddenly, the ground beneath the Stone Men horde bulged.
KRA-KOOM!
A pillar of blue lightning erupted from the earth, vaporizing ten Stone Men instantly.
From the hole, a figure shot up into the sky, wreathed in steam and electricity.
Ren landed on the cliff edge. He was naked (again), his body smoking, his skin knitting itself back together in seconds.
The Fire Wyrm's head breached the surface behind him, limp and dead, smoke pouring from its mouth.
Ren stood up. The System Auto-Equipped a spare set of clothes (Black robes this time, fitting the setting).
He looked at the horde of Stone Men.
"You're touching my girls," Ren said calmly.
He raised his hand.
[Skill: Telekinesis (Mass Crush).]
He clenched his fist.
Every remaining Stone Man within fifty meters was instantly compressed into gravel. The sound was like a rockslide.
Silence returned to the ruins.
Ren turned to his team. They were panting, covered in dust, but alive. Not a single scratch on them.
"You're late," Maggie said, lowering her rifle. She was shaking, but she smiled.
Ren walked over and pulled her into a hug. Then Saeko. Then the rest.
"I had to get the loot," Ren said.
He opened his hand. In his palm sat a glowing, pulsating organ. The size of a basketball (shrunk down for inventory).
[Item: Heart of the Fire Wyrm.]
[Grade: Legendary (Crafting Material).]
[Effect: Can be consumed to gain 'Fire Immunity' or used to forge a weapon.]
"Fire Immunity?" Ren mused. "That sounds useful against dragons."
[Quest Update: Survive Valyria.]
[Reward: 2,000 System Points.]
[Party Achievement: 'Valkyries' - Your harem successfully defended against a superior force without your aid. Loyalty Maxed.]
The Treasure of the Doom
"We need to leave," Saya coughed. "The Wyrm's death is releasing more gas."
"One detour," Ren said. "The Wyrm's tunnel."
He led them to the massive hole the dead beast had created.
"It tunneled through a vault," Ren pointed.
Exposed in the side of the tunnel wall, cracked open by the Wyrm's passage, was a black stone chamber. Inside, glinting in the dim light, were weapons.
Valyrian Steel.
"Jackpot," Ren grinned.
He used Telekinesis to pull the items up.
A Greatsword: Rippled dark steel.
A Dagger: Dragonbone hilt.
A Chest: Locked.
Ren broke the lock. Inside sat three petrified eggs.
Black. Green. Gold.
"Dragon eggs?" Saeko asked, touching the rough surface. "They feel cold. Stone."
"They are dead," Ren said. "Time turned them to stone. But..."
He looked at the Heart of the Fire Wyrm in his inventory.
"Life pays for life," Ren whispered. "But that's a ritual for later. For now, we have trade goods."
He pocketed the eggs and distributed the steel.
"Saeko, you keep the Murasame. It's better than Valyrian steel. Maggie, take the dagger. Hirano, I'll melt this Greatsword down later to make you Valyrian Steel bullets."
"Valyrian bullets?!" Hirano drooled. "Magic armor piercing?"
"Exactly."
Pentoshi Manse - Illyrio Mopatis
Two weeks later.
Ren and his group had arrived in Pentos. They had sold some "exotic spices" (raided from the HOTD world) to secure a massive manse and fine clothes.
They were no longer soldiers in tactical gear. They were dressed as wealthy nobility from Yi Ti or Asshai. Ren wore a black silk tunic with silver embroidery. The women wore elegant gowns that hid their weapons.
Tonight was the wedding. Daenerys Targaryen to Khal Drogo.
Ren stood at the edge of the feast, holding a goblet of wine.
"That's her?" Saya asked, looking at the silver-haired girl looking terrified next to the massive Dothraki warlord. "She looks like a child."
"She is," Ren said. "But she has potential."
"And the eggs?" Saeko asked.
"Illyrio gave her three eggs," Ren noted. "That makes six in play. Three alive, three dead."
Ren watched as Ser Jorah Mormont presented books. He watched as the Dothraki fought and screwed in the dirt.
"Disgusting savages," Saya wrinkled her nose.
"They are cavalry," Ren corrected. "And I need a cavalry."
Ren walked forward. He approached the high table.
Illyrio Mopatis, the fat magister, noticed him. "Ah! The Lord Ren of the Shadow Lands! Welcome, welcome!"
(He bought his way into the wedding using modern loot and lied about his origins to create a mysterious, untouchable persona.)
Ren bowed slightly. Khal Drogo glared at him, hand on his arakh. Drogo sensed strength.
"A gift for the Khaleesi," Ren announced.
He didn't give eggs. He didn't give books.
Ren signaled Saeko.
Saeko stepped forward carrying a long, wrapped bundle. She presented it to Daenerys.
Daenerys unwrapped it.
It was a Valyrian Steel Dagger (the one found in the vault).
"Steel?" Viserys Targaryen scoffed from the side. "A woman does not need steel. She needs silk."
Ren turned his head. His blue eyes bore into Viserys.
"A Queen without a sword is just a woman waiting to be conquered," Ren said.
He looked at Daenerys. "Keep it close, Khaleesi. The night is dark and full of terrors."
Daenerys looked at the dagger, then at Ren. For the first time all day, she didn't look scared. She looked intrigued.
"Thank you, my lord," she whispered.
Ren nodded. He walked back to his group.
"We made contact," Ren said. "Now, we follow the horde to Vaes Dothrak. And when the dragons hatch... I'll be there to claim one."
[System Notification]
[Objective Update: The Dragon's Birth.]
[Optional Quest: Save Khal Drogo? Or let him die to trigger the pyre?]
Ren smiled. "Let him die. I need the pyre."