Rue watched as the other magic user fled, appearing and disappearing in quick succession, growing ever further away in her perception until she could no longer sense the bursts of mana from his teleportation. It was no matter—she had plenty of prey left here. Despite her flame reserves running low, she was nearly half full on mana. The huge blast of flame from the goblin shaman had doused her, allowing her to restock her dwindling supplies. Everything was so much easier with a liberal application of fire. Even now, as she stalked among the ashes, her aura claimed more victims, the low-vitality members of the group choking on the heated air.
Rue stalked among the ashes, ripping smoking flesh wherever she found it and incinerating the few metal-clad groups that dared to oppose her. With less than 10% of her fire reserves remaining, she overcharged it with magic, creating flames so saturated with power they resembled liquid mana set alight. The fire glowed in both her mundane and magical vision, stripping metal and flesh from bone before reducing even that to ash.
She could feel a devourer of flame drawing life and energy from her fallen foes, but she suppressed the flood of information pressing into her mind. She was reveling in the fire and destruction—her gains could wait a few minutes. The only brief flash of regret was that this escapade would not grow her hoard. She would need to find another type of creature to hunt to expand her treasure trove. Rue licked her teeth at the thought of glittering silver and other precious metals she might uncover in this labyrinth.
She barely paid a small goblin any attention as it stumbled away from her, its breath quick and sharp, before collapsing under the oppressive heat that accompanied her prowling gait. Without breaking stride, she snapped her jaws around the goblin, taking a few mouthfuls to sate her small appetite—she had just been fully fed before this fight, after all.
Rue stood and briefly focused on her den sense, using it to scan her surroundings for any goblins she might have missed. She detected what seemed to be some cooked goblins in a few wilted bushes, but no living creatures were present in the immediate vicinity. It was the perfect time to assess how much she had grown from this battle. Her few scratches and still slightly sore leg would also have time to heal before she headed to their nest, where some high-leveled goblins would surely be guarding the young.
Rue curled up in the blackened circle of ground where she had fought most of the battle. The soil, enriched with cremated plant and animal matter, felt comforting beneath her. The soft surface cradled her scales, and the lingering warmth of the soil eased her tension.
Hobgoblin Cheifden Lv40 In Combat +1126xp
…
Hobgoblin Shaman/Warlord Lv37x3 In Combat +2895xp
Hobgoblin Shaman/Warlord Lv35x2 In Combat +1728xp
…
Hobgoblin Lv32x5 In Combat +3615xp
…
Hobgoblin Lv30x7 In Combat +4452xp
…
Hobgoblin Lv28x9 In Combat +4995xp
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[1/2]
Conditions Met For Species [Maturation][8+ Meters]
& [Lv 35]
Roar[1]
=> Roar[2]
Regeneration[1]
=> Regeneration[2]
Rue assigned her free stat points to her physical attributes; she needed the raw power to help her defeat the dwarf. With the bonuses from vitality boosting her flame storage, it would receive a significant increase from her stats. She could no longer level up her primary level, but now that it was maxed out again, she could continue to level her core and gain more skills and stats that way. It took far more XP to level up her core than her main level, but it was still possible. If she could earn a few extra skill points, she could further increase her [Dragon Breath], potentially making it strong enough to defeat the dwarf.
Roar[2]
Identify [2]
Dragon Breath[6]
Scaly Skin[3]
Regeneration[2]
Flaming Aura[3]
There were several significant improvements to the percentages and ranges of many of her skills. Many had received a straightforward power boost, while others now covered areas they hadn’t before. For example, Scaly Skin now granted resistance to both fire and non-magical attacks. That would have been very useful in the battle she had just won, making many of the weaker opponents' attacks useless. Rue looked toward her wounds and found them recovering quickly. Her increased regeneration skill was working overtime to heal her cuts and bruises. Though her side was still sore from the magic missiles and weapon strikes, it was regaining its normal sheen, and the swelling was visibly reducing. The more open wounds healed slower, but they would take less than an hour to close—mana and flesh working together to knit her hardened muscles back together.
It was as she felt the last of the power from her attribute increases fade that she sensed a shift in the link to the dwarf. The steady emptiness of the connection suddenly boiled with emotions. At first, she felt confusion, then worry. He was searching for her—he had sensed her huge power boost, and it had unnerved him, if only slightly. He was coming, following the link to her location. It made sense that he could sense the link just as she could. Should she run, or let him catch up? It might not lead to a fight if she returned peacefully; she could pass off her leveling excursion as hunting. He was gaining on her fast. The hours of travel it had taken her, followed by the half-day of lazing and stalking deeper into the cavern, would be wiped away under the power of his gate in just a few hours.
Rue would need nearly an hour to recover both her body, fire, and mana. Her newly increased reserves of fire would take longer than usual to fill up, so she diverted some of her mana to speed up the process. She could feel the strain on the organ as the magic was forced through it, creating a slow trickle of highly flammable liquid. She would need to use much of her mana to recover, currently outpacing her mana regeneration with her aura, healing, and fire drawing from her pool.
Rue got up every few minutes to keep her belly full from the charred buffet surrounding her, the slightly burnt flesh filling her maw and fueling her recovery. The link to the dwarf grew stronger as he approached, managing to take the correct tunnel each time with the aid of the connection. Soon, she would have to choose—fight or flee.
She felt the itching on her leg grow worse as the last scabs fell away, revealing new, untainted flesh and scales, lighter than the deep red of her surrounding scales. The scars would not lessen her battle prowess but would tell stories of the many foes she had faced and burned.
It was only a few hours after the battle when she felt the link surge—he was in the cavern and heading full speed toward her. Rue got to her feet and prepared to meet him. She stood tall, her long body now stretching to four and a half meters, her massive bulk thudding into the ground with every footfall. Her nostrils flared as the air shimmered, and she braced to face an unstoppable force.
Trees broke and birds fled as a thick dwarf plowed through the underbrush toward her. He slowed as he approached, heavy footfalls pacing toward her. He emerged from the bushes, encased in heavy plate metal, with a huge war hammer clenched in one hand. He rested the long hilt against the blackened soil, flexing his gauntleted grip on the shiny metallic shaft.
"You've been faking it, wee dragon." His tone was ominous as their eyes locked. His eyes glowed with a brief flash of blue mana, and they narrowed.
"You've been busy, I see. My years of solitude must've dampened my wit." The words were forced from his grating teeth as a look of sadness, anger, and disappointment warred across his face and the bond.
"None who have shackled my will shall stand before me." Rue funneled her words and meaning through the bond, ensuring the dwarf understood the sibilant draconic that was uttered from her jaws. His eyes narrowed further, and the grip on his war hammer tightened.
[Dwarf Lv85] She could now see his level, just at the far end of her newly leveled Identify skill. This was no longer a fight she could avoid; having a few more days to gain core levels would have been ideal. But still, she had grown in power since their last encounter, and she would face him holding nothing back.
Her mana was still refilling, nearing 85%, with her regeneration no longer draining it. Her fire reserves were full, her organ straining from the forced production but functional nonetheless. She steadily began drawing the heat from the surrounding 15 meters in every direction. She kept it subtle, feeling the debuff from the sub-25-degree temperature take effect, but her mana was rapidly refilling. The ground was full of heat, and she allowed some of it to seep back out, circulating into the air near her scales.
The dwarf gripped his hammer with both hands and vanished in a flash of purple mana.
Win or loss Prediction for the Fight in next chapter?
