Draconic King of Shadows-Chapter 72: Strength or Death

’Why does he seem angry all of a sudden?’ Damion asked himself, staring at the heat ball Nyx had become.

The switch from his calm state to his angry side made Damion scan the Wolf again, trying to see if there was something on it or something it exuded that made Nyx agitated.

Damion found nothing, so he switched his attention back to Nyx.

"You know him... or her?" He asked, getting himself prepared for anything the Extraterrestrial was going to throw at them.

"An hour ago, I received word from my men that they were attacked by the Extraterrestrials," Nyx began, the intensity of the purple flame surrounding him increasing drastically. "Luckily no one was hurt. However, I would have let this one go since he was not among the attackers, but he seems intent on dying."

"You tiny little thing," the Wolf chuckled derisively. "Do you think you have the strength to defeat me?!"

"I can end your life in just one paw swi..."

The Wolf’s head exploded, blood, flesh and bones fragments raining down as Nyx emerged on the other side at the entrance of the cave.

’Fast!’ Damion gasped, barely catching Nyx’s movements.

"Fool," Nyx spat out, before turning to Damion.

"You need to get as strong as possible," he said. "The Extraterrestrials are up to something for them to have sent a Lesser Cosmic Wolf at you."

Nyx shifted forward and circled the Wolf’s corpse. "I’m guessing you’re not the only one though, others might be in trouble too."

"Others?" Damion asked, his eyes widening slightly as he thought of Matilda. He gritted his teeth, annoyed about his weakness. "What is the fastest way for me to get as strong as possible then?" Damion asked, his eyes glowing slightly.

Nyx looked down at the corpse, and the flames surrounding him died down. "The only way I know is for you to unlock that skill."

__________

[New Quest Received]

[Quest Description- You seek strength, but lack the tool to get it,

Unlock the skill, Shadow Puppet, and get stronger.]

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Damion’s gaze flashed with a bright light, and a smile crept up his face, only for it to falter a second later. ’How?’ he thought. ’Perhaps I need to grind and get more experience to have a chance at unlocking the skill.’

He raised his gaze to the mountaintop. ’The System grants me skills randomly, so that’s the only option I have left.’ Damion clenched his fist, his gaze flashing with determination. ’So be it!’

He placed a hand over the Wolf and took it into his storage, not without absorbing its Essence though. And just like with the previous Wolf, his agility was boosted.

Damion didn’t waste another second and immediately began his ascent again. He didn’t explore the cave like he wanted to earlier because he was running out of time. The headstart he was given due to the shortcut he was shown by Nyx wouldn’t last for much longer, so he was maximizing every second he had.

Not much time passed in his ascent though, before he came across a beast.

It stood on all fours, four twisting horns jutting out of its head. An eye adorned its head, its position at the center just above its wide nose. The thick muscular body and tight skin made for a strong protective layer, and the four steel-like hooves beat the ground powerfully, sending tremors through the mountain side.

Its size was enough to dwarf Damion two times over, yet one fierce look from Nyx sent it running off.

[Berserk Mutated Bull]

[Lower Rank 3 Beast]

"They’re docile creatures when their emotions are calm," Nyx said. "And they are slow to anger," 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"They run away and avoid fights as much as possible, even to the point of not reacting when attacked," Nyx paused dramatically. "But beware of their anger, they’re much stronger than their ranks when unnecessarily agitated."

Damion stared at the backside of the mutated bull as it scampered off. Who would have thought that such a fearsome creature hated fights.

"Seems like I’m not the only one who wants peace," Damion muttered, then seemingly remembering something, he turned to Nyx. "What are your powers?"

Nyx stared at Damion, then for some reason, decided to float right before his face. "I dunno, honestly," he said. "My powers were bestowed upon me by the Dragon God and I don’t know all that I can do, yet."

"You mean even after living for so long, you haven’t discovered all your powers?" Damion asked, to make things clear.

Nyx bobbed up and down, nodding his head.

"Just tell me the things you can do then."

"Ok," Nyx replied and continued moving forward with a straight face.

Damion scrunched his nose, puzzled by Nyx’s actions. "Well?" He asked.

"Hold up, I’m compiling everything into one memory sphere so I can send it to you at once," Nyx replied.

’Huh? That’s a nice skill.’ Damion thought.

’I know right,’ Nyx replied.

"What the f**k!!" Damion suddenly screamed. "Did you just read my mind?"

"Yes," Nyx responded unhesitatingly. "What about it?"

"..." Damion stared at Nyx, mouth wide open. "What do you mean what?! How long have you been reading my mind?"

"How long? I only read your mind once —which was when I met you— and it was full of shit! So I stopped. I didn’t want to lose my sanity listening to your weird thoughts."

Damion clicked his tongue in response and looked away, mumbling some curses under his breath.

They reached the summit of the mountain not up to ten minutes later, and ahead of him, he could see a field of pink roses.

Damion found a smile creeping up his face as the serenity of the environment washed over him. His breathing calmed considerably even though the air was thin, and he... felt his arm burning.

"Why’s my arm on fire!!" Damion screamed as the pain hit him in waves.

He dropped to the ground and tried using the sand to quench the flames, but in his panic, he failed to wonder why there was sand there in the first place.

He tried and tried, but the fire didn’t seem to stop. He looked around, hoping for Nyx to help him somehow, but Nyx wasn’t there.

No sooner had he had this thought when the whole scene changed, and his eyes ’opened’.

"What? Where am I?"