Once outside, I saw rivers of scorching purple flames everywhere in a scene straight from hell.

Fires burned diagonally across layers of wall, causing the air to burn hot like ash while numbing the senses with poison. Whole sections of jagged rocks had already been destroyed or melted, having been subject to a dowsing by flames that refused to be put out.

My eyes began to water as I took in the blistering scene of chaos.

Red hot layers of rock stood out like ugly scars, where sticky flames continuously devoured surfaces, and now fallen debris and scorch marks marred most of the chasm's walls, alongside several molten rivers of rock that flowed down the chasm's layers like blood.

The once peaceful valley was now shrouded in dense noxious fumes that peppered my lungs as I breathed in. The smoke already made it difficult for me to breathe, and if not for [Detox] I would probably be one of the burning Abyssal monsters strewn dead across the valley ground.

I couldn't believe it! Sylrin was alive?!

And it seemed he had woken up angry.

«Why are you so surprised? Didn't I tell you this already?» Sensei's grumble cut through my thoughts, and I rolled my eyes.

Like any of his words could be trusted.

Could he really blame me for not believing him?

However, seeing all the havoc and destruction, my smile soon stiffened.

The more I saw, the more I wanted to cry from stress.

Sylrin was on a rampage, most likely under the influence of [Sensei's Brew].

Stopping him in his boosted state, might be even more difficult than facing all the monster's here. Just seeing how much the landscape had changed in a short time was enough to convince me I was in for a rough ride again.

Also, a portion of my new pit members had disappeared in one go, the number going from [6718] to [6520] in the time it took me to blink outside. I didn't care for them, but Sylrin's rampage was making them die too quickly, and I frowned.

I had to stop him from completely incinerating them, because I need them to find the elves. Besides, if the elves were still in the valley and Sylrin killed them by accident, the mysterious journal and my quest would all be lost.

And so, I stormed past the Abyssal monsters, my eyes focused on the silhouette of the dark dragon wreaking havoc in the distance.

However, I didn't blink, because I wanted him to see me coming. Being the good brat that he was, he would realise he was no longer in danger and stop his rampage quickly, right?

Or maybe I was too naïve.

As he saw me approaching, the thoroughly incensed Sylrin belted out a flaming ball of fire in my direction. I swerved aside quickly, and the fireball struck the space above me in a shower of melted rock. I tried approaching him again, before realising there were several Abyssal monsters following behind me.

Damn! Did he think I was coming to attack him with all of them?

It also didn't help that I looked a lot different from before!

I crashed through the wall of flames and smouldering ash, shaking off the monsters following me, before blinking to appear beside Sylrin, who leapt back with a surprised roar. I let out a chuckle, as a pillar of flame sped towards me, forcing me to blink away before I was scorched.

Yet, I didn't get away completely.

The blades of my pronged tail were set alight by purple flames before I could get away, making me twitch in irritation.

It seemed Sylrin had grown even more tyrannical since taking the potion.

He didn't even recognise this snake!

Just how much stronger could he have gotten?

I was curious to find out, so I appraised him the moment I reappeared.

----------------------------

Name: Sylrin [LV27 Verum Stilio]

Specie: Ailith Drake

HP: 2105/3875 Defence: 2750

MP: 2318/3290 Intellect: 1800

SP: 3550/3550 Magic: 2600

Attack: 4350 Agility: 4710

----------------------------

Skills:

[Silence: LV10] [Stealth: LV10][Pounce: LV8]

[Sting:LV10] [Deadly Venomous Stinger:LV9]

[Bite: LV10][Poison Slime: LV10][Grip: LV10]

[Tail Swing: LV10] [Wisdom: LV8] [Lift: LV10]

[Sprint:LV10] [Perception:LV10][Slash:LV10]

[Claw Retraction:LV2] [Bipedal Stance:LV7]

[Tail Spike:LV10][Scent:LV10] [Fortune:LV2]

[Fiery Mane:LV10][Vision Enhancement:LV5]

[ShatteringImpact:LV6][PredatoryGrace:LV4]

[CrushingBite:LV9] [Frightful Presence:LV6]

[Debilitating Poison:LV6] [Mana Sense:LV2]

[Accelerated Flight:LV6] [Cooperation:LV4]

[Smouldering Breath: LV10] [Solidity: LV10]

[ImpactEnhancement: LV10] [Leap: LV10]

[MP Generation: LV2] [Flame Burst: LV10]

[Strength:LV10] [Enhanced Agility: LV10]

[SP Recovery: LV7] [HP Recovery: LV8]

[Night Vision: LV10] [Toxic Roar: LV10]

[Perception Field:LV3] [Firestorm: LV7]

[Flight: LV:10] [Directional Stability:LV7]

[Colossal Strength:LV4] [Detection: LV8]

[Miasmic Breath: LV7] [Dark Vision: LV10]

[Fire Breathing: LV10] [Amphibious: LV10]

[FireBall: LV8] [Impervious Armour: LV5]

[Charisma: LV4] [Poisonous Smog: LV6]

[VenomousBite:LV10] [Deception: LV5]

[Insight: LV7] [Natural Defence:LV10]

[Sturdy: LV10] [Column Spike: LV9]

[Anger: LV10] [Scorch Toxin: LV7]

[Claw: LV10] [Razor Claw: LV10]

[Aerial Manoeuvring:LV10]

[Fearsome Might:LV8]

----------------------------

Title:

[Pyromancer] [Pit Member] [Saviour] [Imp]

----------------------------

Magic Skills:

[Poison Magic:LV8] [Fire Magic:LV10]

[Poison Manipulation:LV6]

[Fire Manipulation:LV8]

----------------------------

Attributes:

[Regeneration] [Status Inspection]

----------------------------

Resistances:

[Paralysis Resistance:LV7][Rot Resistance:LV5]

[Piercing Resistance:LV6][Acid Resistance:LV8]

[Cutting Resistance:LV7][Fire Resistance:LV10]

[Heat Nullification:LV10][Pain Resistance:LV10]

[Faint Resistance:LV6][Heat Resistance:LV10]

[Poison Resistance: LV9]

----------------------------

This overgrown lizard!

As if the destruction he caused across the valley wasn't bad enough, his appraisal results were also insane!

What a disaster [Sensei's Brew] was.

And then, Sylrin spotted me, and let out a deafening roar.

Why didn't he recognise me?

It was all my fault. I should never have left any of the crazy potion around him!

Nonetheless, I had to figure out a way to calm him down quickly.

Ah!

A crazy idea suddenly popped in my head.

Reading my cheerful emotions, Sensei immediately protested. «No way! Do something else.»

I blinked away just as another heated blast of flame came crashing towards me, and reappeared behind the winged back of Sylrin.

I watched him thoughtfully.

«Please stop.» Sensei sighed in embarrassment. «Command him, coerce him, or beat him into submission. Anything would work...anything other than hugging him.»

I ignored Sensei and made a beeline for Sylrin.

What else other than a hug from me would bring him back to his senses? And wasn't this position just perfect for that smothering ambush?

As long as he was within my grasp, how could he struggle?

However, as I was about to reach him, a massive tail slapped me out of the air, and I rolled down the chasm as a pillar of fire shot towards me.

Instead of blinking away, I opened [Dimensional Box] to swallow the fireball. But the smouldering heat and hot ash that followed it, couldn't be avoided completely. I was pelted by ashy debris and wild winds that made me roll down the chasm, until I resembled a dust ball.

I looked up and saw the Sylrin hovering above me haughtily, his glowing eyes filled with mischief and ridicule. My face darkened even further as I realized he was actually playing around with me. This brat already recognised me!

I blinked to the top of the chasm immediately, and crashed into him like a sandbag, in an attack that was more constriction than a hug. The overgrown lizard let out an incensed roar, as he stumbled down the chasm while struggling to free himself, but I wasn't letting go anytime soon.

I hissed in outrage. How dare he toy with me!

From his boosted stats, I knew he was strong. Fortunately my evolved form put me in a similar weight class, and I was also much longer, and easily capable of wrapping multiple times around him like toughened rope.

Buried under several layers of snake curls with his mouth constricted, Sylrin could barely resist, aside from spewing noxious belts of smoke that made me gag. The stinger on his tail even attempted to pierce me, until I stuck it to the ground with my own pronged tail, chuckling sinisterly as Sylrin groaned.

Nice try, brat!

However, as Sylrin continued to struggle, his roars soon became complaints.

|[Tight!]|

Eh? What was that?

I stared around in confusion.

|[Let go, you prickly worm!]|

[Prickly worm?!] My eyes widened in astonishment, before realising where the sound was coming from..

This disrespectful brat!

So he wasn't satisfied with his current beating?

|[This beautiful serpent is your elder!]| I hissed back, making sure to slam his head into the ground.

|[Now, repeat after me. Beautiful serpent!]|

But Sylrin only stared at me in shock, refusing to say anything.

Once I was not so annoyed anymore, I released him, and watched with a smug look as the overgrown lizard sprawled across the rocks as he gasped for breath.

It seemed another language had registered under [Glossary of Aeon].

It was cool, but I still couldn't get used to hearing Sylrin speak.

The lizard in question promptly rolled around, refusing to look at me as he settled down on the burning rocks.

I listlessly sighed. Was I too harsh on him?

Why was this overgrown lizard suddenly acting shy?

Since Sylrin refused to say more, I decided to check the system to see how many languages I now had saved. Under Glossary of Aeon, there were now three.

-----------------------

Language Slots: |Draconic| |Khaja Mutant Tribe| |Sleipnir|

-----------------------

There were seventeen more free slots which could be filled, and that got me curious.

"What is the language of the people of Ailith continent?" I asked Sensei.

«There are several as many races that share this continent, but the ruling populace of Ailith are High Elves, so the common tongue is their language.»

Elves? Not mortals?

Well that was a bit unexpected.

But then, I remembered something Sensei mentioned a long time ago.

"Does this mean my classmate above ground is also an elf?!" I gushed in excitement.

Sensei didn't reply, but I grinned broadly, having caught him unprepared.

"Who is it?" I pressed on. Which arrogant bastard got lucky?

«You know I can't tell you that.» Sensei blandly replied, and my thoughts darkened, my distrust for him growing even more.

"How boring." I sulked.

What did he think I was going to do if I knew about it?

Nonetheless, my annoyance did not last long.

With Sylrin calmed down, the smoke cleared a little, enough to see a flock of Abyssal monsters returning to the valley.

A few landed before me, much to Sylrin's shock, and just as he was about to fire on them, I hissed at him to stop.

These surprisingly useful creatures had news.

It seemed they had spotted the party of elves and mortals, who were currently stuck somewhere in the valley after getting caught up in Sylrin's rampage.

That was good news to me.

I quickly left Sylrin, and soared above the billowing smoke, to catch a glimpse of them.

What were they doing coming back here, when they could've escaped a long way by now?

I stared at the group with [Mind's Eye] as they progressed further into the valley, my eyes settling on a dishevelled looking female elf.

However, without waiting for my signal, the flock of Abyssal monsters following behind me, swiftly descended into the smoke towards the oblivious party.