Frank didn’t have time to think. Didn’t have time to react. One second, he was hurling himself into the crevice, body scraping against rough stone as he forced himself deeper into the tight space. The next?
The world behind him exploded.
The Young Drake hit the wall like a living wrecking ball, its sheer force cracking the cavern around him.
The impact alone nearly concussed him.
Dust and stone rained down, chunks of jagged debris bouncing off his shoulders, cutting into his arms. The air itself shook, the pressure in the confined space making his eardrums feel like they were about to rupture.
The only thing keeping him alive? A single fact.
The crevice was too damn small.
The Drake couldn’t reach him.
But it was trying.
Clawed forelimbs raked the narrow entrance, carving deep furrows into the rock, talons screeching as they searched for flesh.
It couldn’t fit.
Didn’t mean it was gonna stop.
The beast slammed its skull into the wall again, snapping its jaws, spittle flying in thick ropes. Teeth the length of his damn forearm clamped down on empty space, gnashing violently.
Frank had a second. Maybe two.
Then it’d figure something out.
He had to move.
A deep grinding sound came from above.
Frank’s heart dropped.
He could already see the cracks spreading. The walls weren’t gonna hold much longer.
Which meant if he didn’t get out of here soon?
He wasn’t gonna die to the Drake.
He was gonna get buried alive.
His body moved on instinct, hands slamming against the rock floor. He needed something between him and it.
Something big.
Something sharp.
Earth Magic.
Pain hit like a freight train.
A deep, ripping sensation clawed through his chest, something vital being burned away. His HP plummeted.
The ground obeyed.
A barrier of jagged stone spikes shot up between him and the entrance, thick and bristling with deadly edges.
The Drake hit it full force.
A sound like wet leather tearing.
A roar that nearly deafened him.
The monster reeled back, forelimb impaled straight through the muscle.
Blood sprayed the stone.
It should’ve stopped.
It didn’t.
The beast snarled, eyes locking onto him through the gaps. It was pissed.
And not slowing down.
It lunged again.
Frank burned more HP.
More spikes. More walls.
The Drake hit them all, snarling in rage, but this time?
It couldn’t break through.
Frank gasped for air, body screaming from the loss of HP. His vision blurred.
He had to last.
Just a little longer.
Just enough for Aura to finish the job.
But the Drake wasn’t giving up.
And neither was he.
The Drake wasn’t stopping.
The first wall of spikes had slowed it down, but that was it. Slowed.
Not stopped.
Frank’s breath came in ragged gasps, his pulse hammering so loud he could barely hear anything else. His body screamed, his muscles locked in place from sheer exhaustion.
And his HP?
Dropping like a goddamn stock market crash.
The Drake’s tail smashed into the cavern wall, sending a shockwave of rock and debris flying. A sharp chunk ripped across Frank’s arm, opening a deep gash from elbow to wrist.
He bit back a shout.
This was bad.
The Drake had adapted.
Instead of rushing forward, it had stepped back. Its nostrils flared, pupils narrowing as it surveyed the barrier. It was watching. Thinking.
That was worse than blind rage.
It meant this thing had figured something out.
Shit.
Frank’s fingers dug into the stone beneath him. He needed another move. Something to keep it from tearing through his defenses.
Something big.
Earth Magic.
Pain seared through his chest. Something deep and raw, like a hole being carved into his goddamn soul.
His HP plunged.
The ground shuddered, obeying.
Another layer of stone spikes shot up, jagged edges reinforcing the first line of defense.
The Drake didn’t charge.
This time, it swiped a massive claw into the base of the spikes, testing them. The stone cracked but didn’t break.
But the fact that it had stopped blindly throwing itself forward?
Frank’s stomach dropped.
It was learning.
His Aura kept working, the passive damage stacking. But was it enough?
Frank focused, pulling up a status update.
It was working.
Slowly.
Too damn slowly.
Frank wiped sweat from his forehead, heart hammering. He had two options.
- Keep turtling up. Hope the Drake keeps bleeding out.
- Take a risk and burn more HP to force an opening.
The Drake shifted, muscles tensing.
Frank didn’t have time to choose.
Because the Drake had already chosen for him.
It lunged again—
And this time?
It was aiming for the weak spot.
The Drake moved.
Not in blind rage, not in a wild thrash of claws and teeth.
No.
This time, it calculated.
Its eyes locked onto the base of the stone spikes, the weakest point in Frank’s makeshift barrier. Its massive leg muscles tensed, its tail flicking to adjust its stance.
And then—
It slammed down with everything it had.
The entire cavern shook.
The spike wall cracked, deep fractures spreading through the stone.
Frank’s stomach plummeted.
That wasn’t a desperate attack. That was intentional.
It was going to tear through.
Frank didn’t have a choice.
He slammed his hands to the ground.
Earth Magic.
Pain.
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Deep. White-hot. Almost unbearable.
Like his goddamn bones were turning to ash.
More spikes exploded up, layering over the fractured barrier.
But the Drake wasn’t stopping.
It reared back, claws glinting—
And then it came down.
Full force.
The spikes shattered under the impact.
Frank barely rolled away in time.
Frank hit the stone hard, chest heaving.
He was losing this fight.
He could feel it.
The Drake wasn’t just stronger. It had more health, more stamina, more raw power. It could keep pushing forward.
And Frank?
Frank was bleeding himself dry just to stall.
Frank’s fingers twitched.
Not enough.
It was dying, sure. But not fast enough.
His Aura wasn’t burning it down quick enough.
He needed more time.
And the only way to buy that time?
Blood.
His own.
Frank gritted his teeth.
Didn’t matter.
He wasn’t dying here.
He slammed his hand down again.
Earth Magic.
His HP cratered.
The ground answered.
A new barricade of sharpened rock erupted up, forming a jagged pike wall.
This time?
It was angled.
The Drake didn’t just hit it.
It skewered itself.
The spikes pierced straight through its shoulder, black blood spraying the cavern floor.
The Drake let out a howl of rage.
And for the first time—
It staggered.
Frank gasped, fingers twitching.
It was working.
The Drake was getting weaker.
But so was he.
And he was almost out of blood to burn.
Frank didn’t have much left.
But he had one last gamble.
Frank was barely holding on.
His lungs burned, his vision blurred, and his body felt like it was made of shattered glass. The only reason he was still conscious?
Sheer, stupid survival instinct.
The Drake was slowing down.
Not by much. Not enough.
But enough to notice.
Its movements weren’t as sharp anymore. Its tail flicked erratically, its balance faltering.
The bleeding. The Aura damage. The constant impacts.
It was adding up.
Frank gritted his teeth, pushing himself up. His HP was in the gutter.
One more cast. That’s all he had left.
The Drake sucked in a breath.
And lunged.
Straight for him.
Frank didn’t think.
Didn’t plan.
He slammed both hands to the stone—
And burned what was left.
His HP cratered.
The ground roared.
A final, desperate row of spikes erupted up—
And the Drake hit them full force.
Its own momentum carried it straight into the jagged stone.
Three spikes pierced through its chest.
One drove through its shoulder.
Another sank deep into its throat.
The monster. Stopped. Moving.
Frank collapsed against the wall, chest heaving.
Not dead yet.
But damn close.
Frank didn’t have anything left.
Couldn’t move.
Could barely breathe.
It was him or the Drake.
Whoever held out longer.
And Aura was still burning it down.
Frank smirked through the pain.
“Let’s see who breaks first, you bastard.”
The Drake twitched.
It was still alive.
Barely.
Its massive chest heaved, each breath wet and ragged. Thick black blood spilled from its throat, pooling beneath it.
It was trying to move.
Trying to push forward.
Frank watched from where he lay slumped against the cavern wall, body too wrecked to do anything but breathe.
This was it.
Neither of them could fight anymore.
This was just a waiting game.
Aura’s passive damage kept working, biting into the Drake’s health every second.
The Drake’s body gave another violent shudder.
It let out a low, guttural snarl. A sound of pure, stubborn rage.
It knew.
It knew it was dying.
And it still wasn’t accepting it.
Frank closed his eyes for a second.
7%.
Didn’t sound like much.
But when you were fighting something this big?
Every damn percent took forever.
The Drake let out a deep, ragged snarl, claws twitching, its legs trying to push against the spikes pinning it.
It was still resisting.
Frank gritted his teeth.
“Just… die already.”
The Drake exhaled sharply, a final burst of defiance.
Then?
It stopped moving.
It was over.
Frank let out a slow, shaking breath.
He didn’t feel victorious.
Didn’t feel triumphant.
He just felt fucking done.
His body wasn’t moving.
His vision was fading.
His HP was still in the gutter.
Shit.
He was about to pass out again.
The system started spamming alerts.
Frank couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore.
The last thing he heard?
The system losing its shit.
Then?
Everything went dark.
PROCESSING…
The void churned.
Something deep in the system groaned, as if it were fighting itself.
Frank’s core mechanics had collapsed, his body stuck in an irreconcilable loop. Regeneration restored him. Blood Magic forced him back into negative HP. Aura refused to deactivate.
Nothing should be functioning.
Yet?
Everything still was.
A shift.
Something clicked into place.
The system stopped trying to separate his HP, Mana, and Stamina.
If they couldn’t exist as separate pools…
They would exist as one.
Numbers flashed. Rewrote themselves. Adjusted.
The system wasn’t fixing Frank.
It was rebuilding him.
Making something new.
Everything flashed white.
The reconstruction was complete.
For the first time since the fight began…
Frank’s heart started beating again.
Frank’s fingers twitched.
His lungs dragged in a slow, shaking breath.
His new resource pool flickered into existence.
The system had changed him.
And it had no idea what he was now.