Dragon System: Red Dragon Legacy-Chapter 47: The Final Test-2 (The Craghorns)

"What now, boss?" Martin asked Orion.

Orion felt a twinge of discomfort—someone his age calling him "boss" felt... weird.

"You don’t have to call me that. Just use my name."

"Okay. O-Orion, what’s our next move?"

Orion paused, thinking. Then he turned toward Esteban.

"What do you think? What are we actually supposed to do here?"

"All I know is you need to survive the monsters in this area and defeat other students. The score’s based on how many students you defeat, not monsters."

Orion nodded. "Alright. For now, we’ll set up a small base, figure out our strategy, and get to know a bit about each other’s skills and classes. After that, we’ll head out to find the other students."

"Hell yeah! Let’s gooo!" Esteban shouted, pumped.

The other two members of the group, however, looked horrified.

Orion turned to them with a reassuring smile. "Don’t worry. I know you have little combat experience, but you’ll be fine. I didn’t choose you guys for nothing."The words seemed to calm them a little.

"Okay... let’s go find shelter," Orion said.

Orion knew these two would hold him back quite a bit, but he decided to bring them along anyway. He wanted Lloyd to depend on him, so he could slowly manipulate him into becoming one of his subordinates. He knew it was wrong and unethical, but he didn’t care. He had a goal, and he would do whatever it took to reach it—even if it meant committing heinous crimes along the way.

When both Lloyd and Martin calmed down a little They moved deeper into the jungle, but soon they encountered their first monster: a bear-like creature, much larger than normal, with a single horn jutting from its head. Martin and Lloyd immediately panicked.

"Esteban, make sure they’re safe. I’ll handle the monster," Orion said, drawing his sword. He didn’t even need to use Appraisal—he already knew the creature was below C-rank.

"Grwwwwwlllll!" The monster charged, its horn aimed at Orion.

He dodged and swung his sword, slicing the horn off cleanly.

"Grwwolll!" The monster cried in pain, now running wildly. Orion seized the opportunity, used Flash Movement, and appeared in front of it, piercing the creature’s skull. Blood sprayed over him.

The monster let out one final howl before collapsing lifelessly.

"..."

"...."

"..."

Everyone on his team just stood there, mouths open. Orion had moved so fast that it almost seemed like teleportation.

"Wh-what was that?" Esteban asked, eyes as wide as saucers.

Orion approached them, realizing he needed to explain—without revealing too much of his powers.

"It’s a skill I have. It lets me move incredibly fast and creates an illusion, so it looks like I’m teleporting and makes me appear much farther away than I actually am."

Orion knew this explanation wouldn’t hold up for long, since they would have to fight together quite a bit while they were here.

"Still... that’s one of the craziest skills I’ve ever seen," Esteban muttered.

"Anyway," Orion said, interrupting the conversation, "let’s focus on finding shelter first. We can go over all our skills once we’re there."

Soon, they came across a small cliff with a river in front of it and enough flat ground to set up camp. The area was also hidden by thick trees, so even if they lit a campfire, it would be hard to spot.

"What do you say, guys? Our backs will be protected by the cliff, and if someone approaches from the front while our guard is down, we’ll still be able to hear them," Orion said.

Everyone agreed. And they crossed the river and began setting up camp.

"Alright, you two," Orion said to Lloyd and Martin. "Go gather wood for a fire."

But Martin froze. His eyes were locked on the hill above, his gaze filled with horror.

"G-guys..." he stammered while pointing at the hilltop.

Orion and Esteban followed his gaze—and saw at least twenty mountain-goat-like monsters glaring at them from the cliff. Their eyes glowed red, and their horns looked razor-sharp.

Orion and Esteban followed his gaze—and saw at least twenty mountain-goat-like monsters glaring at them from the cliff. Their eyes glowed red, and their horns looked razor-sharp.

"Oh...shit," Orion muttered, quickly using Appraisal.

[Craghorn– D-Rank]

"Quick! Hide!" Orion yelled at Loyd and Martin. Without another word, they scrambled into a narrow crack in the cliff.

Orion and Esteban exchanged a determined glance; they were both ready.

The Craghorns leaped from the cliff, landing in front of them. Despite the height, they barely flinched from the impact.

One goat charged Orion. He dodged, only to run straight into another, which rammed him in the ribs, sending him flying.

"Uckks!" Orion grunted in pain but quickly regained his footing.

Esteban was taking hits too, but held firm, thanks to his high strength. One goat tried to headbutt him, and Esteban reflexively caught it by the horns. And looked at Orion.

Orion nodded, understanding what his gaze meant. He used Flash Movement to appear beside the goat and decapitated it in one clean strike.

"Ok, let’s do it like this," Orion said. Esteban nodded.

Six more Craghorns lunged at once. Esteban overwhelmed them with raw strength, punching and throwing them aside.

"East, go check on the others. I’ve got this," Esteban said, slicing another craghorn’s head off.

Orion was now surrounded by eight Craghorns. They were cautious, wary of his speed and power.

Seeing no other option, Orion activated Flame Pulse. The Craghorns—being only D-rank—were hit hard by the skill. They screamed in pain and scattered, running aimlessly in all directions.

"Oh no, you guys don’t get to run away after causing all this trouble," Orion said as he ran after them.

He used his Flash Movement skill again and landed between the two running Craghorns.

Now that he was out of everyone else’s sight, he drew his claws and let out a satisfied laugh. "Ahhh, finally! I can go all out!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Two Craghorns jumped at him, but he didn’t dodge. He pinned one of his claws into a Craghorn’s skull and slashed at the other with his other claw, aiming for its neck. Blood sprayed everywhere, covering him completely—but he didn’t care.

Only two Craghorns remained. Orion lunged, swinging left and right. The creatures tried to dodge, but they were too slow. Soon, both lay headless on the ground.

"Hohhh... that was easier than I expected," Orion said, wiping the blood from his eyes.

He hurried to Esteban, only to see that he had already dealt with his share. Orion couldn’t help but be impressed.

Lloyd and Martin peeked out from the crack—seeing Orion covered in blood was even more terrifying than the Craghorns.

"You look like a monster," Esteban laughed. "Better wash up in the river before you scare them even more."

Orion sighed and made his way to the river for a quick bath, all the while wondering what this place had in store for him next.