BXBX NOVEL Chapter 230 229: Skeletal Drake
Watching as it\'s chest exploded from the pulse of mana, I smirked as it\'s core fell to the ground, the spherical object clattering to the floor as the Ghoul\'s corpse turned to dust.
Intriguing.
What would that have done to a living, breathing person, I wonder?
If I amplified the pulse, would their entire torso have vaporized?
What if I lowered the power of the pulses but increased the frequency?
I stared down at my First Fang with a wide grin, the ash coated blade becoming clean again as I sent some more mana into it.
Hearing something shuffling to my left, I swung the dagger towards the sound of the noise, a crescent of ice slicing through the air and decapitating the stumbling Ghoul.
We were back down in Zhu\'Rong Caverns, both because I needed a release, and the others wished to test out their new skills against the monsters.
As always, we were making our way down the Obsidian Valley, and had harvested a few hordes of Ash Ghouls before stepping out onto the Yama Plains, where we would be fulfilling our Requests.
This time, we took a Request as a party, so we were making our way towards the Lava Lake to hunt for a Skeletal Drake, which needed to donate it\'s horns to us.
However, we would also be taking care of any monsters that were in our way, but as we traversed the Plains we sighed, not finding much besides Lava Goblins.
Though, I did stop the group as I grew curious, shrouding myself in a quiet Wind Cloak as I crept forwards, the others watching as I approached the Goblin Encampment silently.
Like always, the base was made from stones, broken weapons, and dirt.
Goblins stood atop the ramparts, their beady red eyes scouring the landscape for attackers.
There were only three, and I smirked as I found their blindspot, creeping around the bumpy ground and shoots of grass, the Wind Cloak diffusing my scent and shrouding any noise I might have made.
Getting closer, I glanced around the ramparts before grabbing the nearest Goblin Sentry, yanking it down below the wall and swiftly slitting its throat.
Watching the fear in its eyes grow as it felt the cold, sharp edge of my dagger slice across its throat, all whilst I clamped its mouth shut, made the bloodlust inside me swell.
This new kind of \'hunting\' was slowly becoming addicting...
Peering over the walls, I looked into the Encampment, counting a dozen Goblins lounging inside, all while two stood on the walls, still looking around the Plains.
None of the Goblins inside were focused on the ramparts, so I crept around and repeated my actions, silently killing the Sentries.
My next course of action was more complicated then simply sneaking, as the dozen Goblins were all in close proximity, but...
Crawling over the wall, I dropped into the Encampment and snuck forwards, towards a lone Goblin.
It was sharpening its spear, and was leaning against a small tent pole, away from the others.
Sheathing my dagger, I clamped my right arm around its neck and dragged it away, grabbing its spear in my left.
When we were far enough away I stabbed it in the eye with the spear, killing it instantly.
Drawing my Fang with my right hand, I stalked around the roaring fire, before silently chuckling as I decided to use my wind for something else.
I wanted to remain unseen, but with such a prime cluster of Goblins before me...
Slipping behind a tent, I drew a Ritual Circle around the tip of the spear, before preparing to throw it.
Tracing another spell, I used my Wind to distract the Goblins, creating a noisy whistle on the other side of the Encampment.
Turning, they all stared at the tent that had \'whistled\', making me grin.
Scooping up their weapons, they prepared to investigate, all shuffling together to feel safer.
Launching the spear forwards, I coated my Fang in mana and sent out a crescent of wind, watching in amusement as the spell laden spear exploded.
Shards of ice sliced through the group of Goblins, making them shriek in agony as they lost limbs or were cut open, only to fall silent as the bladed wind severed their bodies apart.
Blood sprayed from their bisected bodies, before it all turned to ash.
Seeing that crimson shower made my grin grow wide, and I chuckled as I appeared before the unlucky Goblin who survived.
The poor shorter Goblin was missing an arm, and when a shadow fell over it\'s battered, bleeding body it shivered.
Extending my hand, I summoned a sharp gale of wind, placing the Goblin inside a blender of blades, a twisted grin on my lips as it began to scream.
When I finished satisfying my lust for agony, all that remained of the poor thing was a few clumps of flesh and a pool of blood.
With that done, I returned to the group, each woman staring at my content face with blank looks, before they all shrugged and started walking towards the Lake again.
We reached the lake minutes later, with no other monsters crossing our paths, nor any other adventurers coming close to us.
Our Request for a Skeletal Drake\'s horns was an interesting one, since they were supposed to appear inside the Lake and around it, and were considered one of the harder monsters that existed on the Plains.
The black sand beach was occasionally inhabited by a few Obsidian Crabs, which we swiftly disposed of, before we continued our search.
Each of us was looking forwards to the 10 Gold that we would get upon completion of the Request, and that wasn\'t even beginning to take in the other materials we might harvest from the Drake.
Thankfully our search didn\'t take long as a large, pearly white pile of bones was heaped on the beach, the giant skull of a Drake staring straight at us as we approached.
Leone had told us that they tend to appear as little more then these piles of bones to lure in adventurers, where it would then reanimate and kill those who approached, draining and feeding on their mana.
Staring at the beast, we all prepared our spells before Jahi and Anput rushed forwards, initiating the fight.
Creating a frozen half dome around Leone for protection, I rushed forwards as well, joining the two as I coated both of my blades in mana and launched myself towards the Skeletal Drakes ribs, where a large, black core hovered, replacing the monsters heart.
While I went for the weak spot, Jahi was holding the Drake\'s attention with her giant Greatsword, keeping the monsters razor sharp fangs at bay.
As for Anput, she was dealing with the monsters mobility, slowly shackling its limbs with her metal before cracking and breaking the bones.
Hearing something whooshing my way, I dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding the swing of the Drake\'s tail, which was covered in spikes.
Ducking under the backswing as well, I slipped inside the monsters ribcage and took a deep breath, pouring some more mana into the blades.
When I felt that they had been strengthened enough I stabbed them forwards, the steel tips piercing into the giant black core.
With a pulse of mana through my Fang, cracks began to splinter throughout the smooth black surface, and I strained my arms as I pushed them deeper.
Pouring more and more mana into the daggers, I grit my teeth and growled as the core began to shatter, small chips of it falling to the ground, before a large chunk split off, the monster\'s movements turning sluggish as the mana empowering it disappeared.
One pulse later and the entire core shattered into a dozen some odd large pieces, all of which released wisps of deep red mana.
Scooping them up, I wrapped them up before storing them away, rejoining everyone outside as we began picking the bones apart, searching for anything valuable.
Coming away with a few fangs, claws, tail spikes, the horns, and the core, we all grinned at one another before making our way back to the surface, where we would sell everything and continue to practice back home.
Back at the Guild Hall, I negotiated with the Receptionist and sold everything at a higher price, netting us all an extra 6 Gold and 50 Silvers, which was on top of the reward for the Request.
Anput decided to use her money right away, purchasing a few chunks of steel that she could use as an anvil, as well as a few bags of Everburning Coal, wishing to begin learning to forge.
She was hoping that her Metal Magic would allow her to make forging easier, as well as her Fire Magic, but that remained to be seen; from what I knew, she couldn\'t tamper with stronger metals like Stygian Silver or Celestial Gold, so if she wished to forge masterpieces like Jahi\'s blade, she needed practice.
As for Leone, she purchased some ingredients for her alchemy, since the set that her Mother purchased for her was coming in soon.
I was looking forwards to watching these two delve into their hobbies, and Jahi seemed the same way, a small smile on her face as she took in their anticipatory smiles as we returned to the cottage.
I could only hope that we had the time for them to begin creating something truly useful, to help us should we need them soon...