A triumphant and gloating expression dyed the Paladin's face as it walked into the cavity, his body radiating dangerous mana. The blood on his back has already evaporated but the stains and wounds were there to fuel his fury.
"Face your demise obediently, little punk." The Paladin's voice was still roaring and irksome. Not only Arthur, but even the giant monster seemed displeased by it. That was concluded from the constricting eyes of the giant monsters as it examined the Paladin.
"A cat got your tongue, eh? I'll…" The Paladin's steps ceased as he saw Arthur ignore him completely and look in another's direction. Following Arthur's line of sight, the Paladin's face paled as it looked at the giant monster.
'A cat got your tongue, eh?' Arthur was very tempted to say it but he was wiser than speaking right now. It seems the Paladin shared his mindset as he ceased talking as well.
The nostrils of the monster flared up as it huffed in displeasure and this generated enough wind for Arthur's robe to flutter. Arthur was tempted to teleport out of this space, but he knew that this monster could easily flatten this place.
As the two stood there, fearing antagonizing the monster, the cavity descended into peaceful silence. The silence was cut apart soon after by the growl of the monster that made the whole place vibrate.
It seems when an ant and a coyote appear on their doorsteps, all creatures would rather take care of the coyote first. With his unrestrained mana from earlier and threatening behavior, the Paladin has already marked himself as a target.
With another rageful growl, the monster moved all of its body and the landscape began to shift. Its purple mana dyed the surroundings and illuminated the world. For the first time, Arthur could finally look at the appearance of the monster.
'It is…' Arthur's eyes constricted as goosebumps crawled on his skin. 'the species revered by all.' The monster stood up from its crouching position and its height now resembled a skyscraper. 'Written in literature as the strongest of monsters, it is…' The monster opened its maw and unleashed a roar that shook the world with it. 'A dragon.'
The scales that were now hugged by the purple mana shone brightly in the dim interior of the cave. The chiseled muscles of the dragon covered its hands and forearms, ending with the gleaming claws that looked like they can cut through space.
As it stood up grandly in front of them, its wings spread threateningly as they ripped across the ceiling of the cave. Dust spread everywhere as mana gathered on the dragon's maw.
'A mana blast.' Arthur realized with horror and used his teleport rune. Luckily, the direction of the dragon's fury was the Astra-ranker. Arthur teleported not to the place he came from, but a spot that was to the right of the dragon.
The blast shook the world as it was covered with bright purple light, traveling toward the Astra-ranker. The old man tried to dodge but the radius of the blast was so big that he had no way of getting away unharmed.
He clapped his hands together as the Tiger appeared in front of him, shielding him from the destructive attack. With his spear and mana, he pushed with everything he had to block the destructive mana.
Arthur felt like a paper that can be shredded by the heavenly wind as he clung to everything that he had to stay awake. He used his rune again and teleported beside a giant stalactite.
His skill, Earth manipulation, softened the protruding rock allowing him to cling to it. He looked down at the two fighting figures as he felt like the whole ceiling could cave in at any second.
The cave was deep underground, but it wasn't deep enough to prevent Arthur from teleporting to the surface. The world turned bright purple as the dragon unleashed its mana and spread its wings. Arthur could see a giant protuberance from one of the wings heading his way.
Even this tiny part of the dragon's wing was larger than Arthur himself. Without hesitation, he teleported toward the surface again as he left the two monsters fight for each other.
The moment he appeared on the surface; Arthur's knees gave in as he fell to the ground. His breaths came with long pauses as if he couldn't get enough air into his lungs.
'I saw death,' Arthur's hands trembled. The Astra-ranker was powerful, but the fear he felt from the purple dragon was on another level altogether. It was a primal fear of a higher species.
When his breathing stabilized and he was about to flee, the ground started rising as giant cracks appeared all over the land. The world titled for a second and Arthur teleported away in hurry.
A loud explosion accompanied by a dust cloud preceded the Paladin's emergence into the world. However, just as fast, followed the dragon with its wings carrying him across the sky. Its maws were open as it tried to eat the Astra-ranker with the latter fleeing for his life as if his tail caught on fire.
'Shit luck you have there, dude.' Arthur looked at the paladin in pity. 'This dragon has hidden so deeply only to be discovered by chance.'
Arthur picked up his wounded body and decided it was time to flee as fast he can. He had a little less than an hour before he would lose his control over mana. He took the first step before he paused.
Memories rushed into his mind. When he was still working at the Lime Agency years ago, he had seen a report about a dragon that appeared beyond the gates.
A single line caught his eyes at that time. Dragons were dangerous treasure troves. It wasn't that dragons simply liked shiny objects, but they had a different way of evolving than normal monsters.
They ate runic artifacts. Their bodies could use the runes to raise their state of existence. They could break through their limits using the alphabets of creation. That's why they fed on genuine artifacts.
That was to say that… there were artifacts in the underground cave. Arthur was already heartbroken over the artifacts he lost earlier in Runera. If he could pick up a rune or two from the piles of artifacts underneath… he could become stronger.
'Greed is the deadliest sin.' Arthur looked back as the two beings clashed in the air, sending shockwaves into the surrounding. 'Or was it pride? I don't remember.'
It seems that the dragon was bent on killing the Astra-ranker because it knew humans would bring other humans to take it down eventually.
'To steal or not to steal?' Arthur examined his bruised body that was barely functioning on mana. 'To die or not to die?'
As his thoughts raced to make a decision, he remembered the first time he went to the city after he awakened. He remembered the feeling of excitement that rushed in him as he imagined fighting monsters and celestial giants.
'This won't end well.' Arthur knew. 'Risks, however, are the sisters of fortunes.' He used his teleport rune and appeared back inside the cave. He teleported into the space that still had dust clouds and falling stalactite as he avoided both.
For the first time in a while, he used his Detection-III rune. The general outline of the cave appeared in his head. He poured more mana and had an image of even the tiniest structures.
'Where is it?' Arthur heard a rumble from above. The battle was shaking the heavens and earth alike. He was sure he'd hear all about it in a few days on the news. 'Is it hidden like the dragon was?'
If that was the case, Arthur circulated his art. His body got a little bit better and his senses picked up at the existence of things more. Using this way, he felt the existence of runes behind a giant rock.
Arthur looked at it left and right but there was no hint that he could move it. Arthur thought that it might be hidden inside, so he touched the rock to activate his skill. However, purple mana exploded from the rock and attacked him.
Arthur's face paled as he crossed his arms to defend himself. His mana collided with the incoming attack as he felt the crushing weight of the dragon's mana try to breakdown his body. He screamed in pain but then the purple mana was gone and only he stood in the cave, unharmed.
'What just happened?' Arthur tilted his head in confusion. He examined his body and gaped at its current state. His tattered body was enriched by mana and has healed at a visible rate. His shoulder was alright now and he even got a message from his legacy.
[External mana has been used to heal the mana paths injured by the Restore-II rune.]
That means he wouldn't be without mana in half an hour. His confusion only grew when he saw the countless artifacts that the dragon has gathered and hidden.
'Was that not a trap but a bonus from the dragon?' Arthur wondered to himself as he suspiciously looked at the surrounding. 'This is fishy.' He tried to sense any runes but there were only the artifacts, with no traps involved.
With hesitation and unwillingness to leave, Arthur walked toward the artifacts that laid on the ground. Weapons, bracelets, shields, mirrors, gloves, and more artifacts gathered together.
'Truly, a treasure trove.' Arthur grinned as he reached out his hand. 'Maybe there's another trap, so let's prepare to teleport just in case.' He picked up the artifact but there was nothing. No traps and no sudden events. He sighed in relief as he decided to gather the haul into his subspace.
It was then that he heard a distinctive crack with a sharp pain below his naval. Arthur grabbed his stomach as he felt like someone was trying to rip him apart from the inside.
'I don't remember eating anything spicy.' Arthur thought to himself as purple mana exploded from within his body and a light shone brighter than the brightest sun.