Alistair and Riseth exchanged surprised glances. The dragoness, Rovari, immediately commanded attention. She was larger than the other dragons and demonstrated a keen awareness that set her apart from her kin. What truly stood out, however, was her lack of arrogance—an unusual trait for a red dragon, known as one of the most prideful dragon species.

  Rovari’s appearance adhered closely to the traits of her flight: scarlet scales that shimmered like molten metal, leathery wings, and a crown of spiked horns trailing the back of her skull. Two massive horns dominated her profile, giving her an air of authority and menace. Alistair and Riseth also noted the purity of her coloration, devoid of any signs of mixed heritage. This wasn’t surprising, given how feral dragons rigidly adhered to their specific subspecies or ‘colors.’ Hatchlings born with the wrong coloration were often banished—or worse, purged.

  This brutal practice was a common source of conflict within flights, particularly when dragons of differing colors mated, producing more diverse broods. Alistair and Riseth had observed such turmoil before and strongly disapproved, finding it both wasteful and an unfortunate byproduct of Dragonkind’s overwhelming pride and fear of giving rise to new breeds that could challenge the status quo.

  Alistair very much wanted to see this play out. Adding another dragon to their number would be a massive boon. Even with both King's and Rovari's subspecies being notably dangerous, he was confident they could manage, especially since Rovari already seemed more reasonable than most dragons. Convincing her to join them willingly, without coercion, would be ideal. Demonstrating their strength would likely be the key to earning her respect and trust.

  Their initial plan had been to approach the copper dragons, known for being less hostile and more open to conversation. Unlike many other flights, the copper dragons didn’t purge their mixed hatchlings, allowing them to remain as part of their flight. This tolerance made them one of the more diverse and cooperative groups. However, the potential of securing an ally from the red flight, a group known for its raw power and influence, could open entirely new opportunities.

  Meanwhile, the dragons had begun bickering among themselves, outraged at Rovari’s declaration, almost forgetting the threat Rieseth, Alistair, and King posed. Listening in, Alistair found himself increasingly approving of Rovari’s approach.

  “He is a mere pet of a lesser being; taking him as a mate, no matter his species pedigree, is a disgrace,” the red dragon Arkzer roared.

  King’s claws dug into the rock, crushing and melting it as black flames licked across them, his fury fueling his power.

  “What would you know of pedigree?” Rovari scoffed. “He could have freed himself after the Draconic Ascension. What does that tell you, fool?”

  “That he is a cowed pet of an inferi—” Arkzer didn’t get to finish. In an instant, Alistair moved with such speed using his telekinesis that it seemed like teleportation.

  Arkzer’s eyes widened, but he was too slow to react. Alistair’s kinetically charged fist connected with the dragon’s head, nearly snapping it clean off as Arkzer was flung through the air, smashing through a rocky protrusion before tumbling to a halt.

  Alistair shook his hand theatrically. "Tough bastard. Dragon scales live up to their name, I suppose."

  As he spoke, a kinetic strike charged above him. From the resistance he felt, he knew he’d need to build up a considerable amount of power to break through those scales. He couldn’t take the dragon lightly—he still hadn’t pierced Arkzer’s aura or gotten a read on his core concept. Rovari glanced at him but made no move to interfere, merely sparing a brief look at the splayed-out Arkzer.

  Arkzer let out an indignant roar as he righted himself in the blink of an eye, his fire breath arcing toward Alistair. Alistair used his telekinesis to swiftly move up and out of the way, narrowly dodging the flames. In response, he unleashed his kinetic strike, which pierced through the hastily erected fire barriers Arkzer had conjured, partially melting the blast before it struck into the dragon’s scales and plunged into his body—but not all the way through, as Alistair had expected.

  Extremely tough! I was sure that would punch through him, Alistair thought, his respect for King growing as he processed the situation. Despite the former wyvern having much higher stats, it was still impressive that King had fared so well against dragons of this caliber. Upon closer inspection, Alistair realized he had only managed to crack the scales on Arkzer’s face, even after putting everything he had into that punch. The breath attack felt equally dangerous, and Alistair quickly noted that most of his defensive skills—aside from his force barriers—wouldn’t be as effective against this type of energy attack despite his high affinity for fire.

  Upon closer inspection, Alistair realized that Arkzer was using the concept of strength to fortify his defenses and body while also steadily increasing his power. Even his flame breath seemed to be empowered by this concept. An excellent concept to add to our personal cultivation array, Alistair mused, already strategizing how to integrate the essences into his body cultivation plans. Though he couldn’t be certain that strength was Arkzer's core concept, it could simply be one he had a high affinity for and preferred to use.

  I’ll find out soon enough, Alistair thought as he drew his poleaxe and dashed at the dragon. This time, Arkzer managed to take to the air, evading Alistair’s initial strike, shockingly agile despite his massive form. Alistair quickly manipulated his own momentum, shifting his grip on the weapon as he tried to carve into the dragon with his Blazing Edge skill. The attack scraped along Arkzer’s powerful scales as sparks went flying, leaving a deep groove but failing to cut through. Gaining some distance, the dragon lashed out with his force-enhanced tail. Alistair caught it effortlessly with his offhand, absorbing the impact with a smile. Force is a directly linked concept to strength, so this is another point for strength being his core concept.

  Alistair continued to attack the dragon, trying different approaches and skills, most of which the tough bastard shrugged off while retaliating with flames and fury.

  Alistair felt very confident he got the concept right, and while Arkzer’s concept of strength was undoubtedly powerful, most of its linked abilities left something to be desired. Abilities like resistance, force, momentum, and pressure made him incredibly durable and dangerous in direct combat, but they also limited his options and were a poor match against Alistair's own affinities. He would likely have to rely heavily on his breath attack and inherent fire affinity to deal with Alistair, as his force and momentum were easily countered, and pressure wasn’t proving very effective. Alistair was already shrugging off the enhanced Dragon Fear, his Mental Fortress withstanding the increased pressure and fire attacks without issue—he felt no fear facing Arkzer.

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  Even a dragon wouldn't be able to come up with too many new techniques on the spot; it took time to refine techniques to the level they were fighting at, and the dragon clearly lacked combat experience, particularly against much smaller humanoids as Arkzer struggled to compensate for the size difference between them. Alistair continued to push Arkzer, who conjured storms of fire enveloping his strengthened body, trying to maintain distance from Alistair but failing miserably as Alistair was a bit faster than Arkzer even in the air.

  Alistair weaved around another wave of flame, bringing the hammerhead of his weapon down on Arkzer’s side. The impact shattered a rib, eliciting a pained grunt as the dragon’s head snapped around to breathe fire on him. Alistair dodged while blocking most of the breath attack with his force shield. Initially, he had tried to maintain distance, but the increased resistance and strengthened scales, combined with the relentless fireballs Arkzer unleashed, made close-quarters combat the better option. Up close, Arkzer couldn’t rely on his usual combat style or force-based attacks, a fact that clearly irritated the dragon to no end—an annoyance Alistair gleefully reinforced with his vicious mockery.

  Arkzer was actually not the easiest match-up for Alistair; a less tough dragon would have likely succumbed to the accumulated injuries by now. But Alistair didn’t mind—there was a gleeful smile on his face as he teleported and smashed his mass-enhanced poleaxe into Arkzer’s face again. Most of the scales on the dragon’s face had been shattered, and blood flowed from his nostrils and eyes, one of which had been crushed.

  While charging his next attack, Alistair spared a glance at Riseth and King. Both were already overwhelming and crushing their opponents, with King in particular making short work of his foe. Alistair was glad to see it—he’d been concerned that becoming a dragon might have instilled more pride and arrogance into King. But, fortunately, he seemed to remain the same vicious beast Alistair knew and loved.

  "You dare look away?" Arkzer roared, lashing out with his claws enveloped in flames.

  Alistair stretched out his arm, his telekinesis forming a hand that clashed with the dragon’s flaming claws, bringing it to a stop. The telekinetic hand slightly siphoned the momentum, something Arkzer struggled to counter. He had far less experience in dealing with this kind of technique despite sharing the affinity when compared to Zorrakir, the leader of the Zondu Collective, who had made momentum control an integral part of his fighting style—just like Alistair.

  Alistair felt his magic beginning to melt away under the onslaught of Arkzer's flames, but before releasing his telekinetic grip, he fired off a near point-blank Kinetic Strike. Arkzer's neck snapped to the side, narrowly dodging the blast, but it tore through his shoulder instead, blood splurting out before the wound was quickly sealed by flames, the smell of burning flesh filling the air. Alistair finally released his hold, as the pain of holding the strengthened Dragon Flames was becoming too much for even his high affinity and skill to fully withstand as his telekinetic magic construct melted away, transferring some of that sensation back to him.

  Arkzer flew noticeably slower, his body a mess—shattered scales, burned-out wounds, cracked bones, and a smashed eye. His ragged breaths did little to lessen the fury that fueled him as he unleashed another torrent of flames, turning the ground where Alistair had been a fraction of a second ago into molten glass. His Dragon Heart continued to fuel the fight. In contrast, Alistair remained nearly untouched, but his energy regeneration struggled to keep pace with his constant expenditure, though his new armor helped greatly in that regard.

  Alistair sensed it was time to end the fight. He continued infusing refined kinetic energy into his poleaxe, pushing it to its breaking point. He knew the weapon would likely be destroyed in the strike and would need a significant amount of time to restore itself, but he refused to draw out the fight any longer. Closing in on Arkzer, he grabbed the dragon's neck, siphoning off any remaining momentum Arkzer generated. With as much force and mass as he could muster without vaporizing his weapon, Alistair brought the poleaxe down, concentrating the strike along the weapon’s edge. Instead of merely cutting through Arkzer’s thick scales, the strike crushed and brutally tore off the dragon’s head as the scales and Arkzers attempts at resistance threw Alistair's attempt off.

  Even without his head, Arkzer’s claws lashed out in a final, instinctive attack, but Alistair dodged smoothly, storing what was left of his weapon before pulling out Forging Tides. To his surprise, the blade cut through the dragon’s tough scales much more smoothly than the poleaxe had—the superior quality and materials used in the weapon proved their worth. With swift, telekinetic precision, Alistair extracted Arkzer’s heart, ending the fight for good as he heard a series of chimes go off and felt new power course through his body.

  Before the dragon’s massive body could crash to the ground, Alistair quickly stored it and the rest of its body parts, a grim expression crossing his face as he surveyed the battlefield. Riseth had just finished off her own opponent, while King stood to the side, his claw resting on the body of a dead black dragon, still intently focused on Rovari, who stood tall and proud, as if awaiting her judgment.

  Noting that there wasn't any danger Alistair took the opportunity to look at his new title.

  Tier: [Supreme]

  Name: Red Dragon Slayer

  Effect:

  Grants a 10% bonus to [Power] [Body] statistics and significantly enhances affinity for [Fire] & [Strength].

  Origin: Acquired through the slaying of Arkzer, a powerful red dragon.

  Alistair was surprised to see that the title only warranted a Supreme ranking. Unlike the Dark Hydra Slayer title, there was no mention of "mythic," and Arkzer was merely described as a "powerful dragon," whereas Eberus had been described as an "extremely powerful mythical dark hydra." Killing Eberus had been an entirely different kind of challenge, and the title and records reflected that. He had expected the bonus to stats to be around 20%, as it had been with the Dark Hydra Slayer title, but despite this discrepancy, he was satisfied with the outcome.

  When he first obtained the Dark Hydra Slayer title, it hadn’t seemed as significant, but receiving the Red Dragon Slayer title made him question how the system categorized these feats. Would slaying a black dragon grant him a new title, since they were technically a different species, or would it merely upgrade the existing one? And what about an elder or a more powerful red dragon—could that push the title to Legendary?

  One thing stood out: along with the title, he had also received a boost to his affinity matching Arkzer’s core affinity. That was new. It hadn’t happened with Eberus or any other slayer achievements. Perhaps this affinity boost was granted because it aligned with something he lacked or would benefit from most based on the records available during the title creation?

  Alistair sighed—there were still many mysteries surrounding the system, but a small smile crept across his face. He would uncover them all eventually. Shifting his focus to King and Rovari, he watched as King stored the body of the dragon he had slain and approached the dragoness with a determined expression.