Chapter 3

Energy Transference

Lykan awoke to a slight throbbing pain in his left side. As he awoke, it felt like the left side of his body was completely numb. Shock set in as he tried to move, only to find that his legs and lower body were seemingly stuck. Mind racing with panic, he tried to focus, trying to understand where he was and what he was doing. Slowly his thoughts came to him as he tried to piece together where he was and why everything hurt.

He tried to move and was slightly relieved to see that he could, in fact, lift his arm off the spear that was still embedded in the ground and hold up his body under his own strength. Only once he was off the spear did a feeling of instant relief begin to flood his left arm as blood was finally able to flow to the appendage. He was cold, drying cool liquid filled up to the top of his knees. His mind reminded him that this pool of liquid was likely drying dragon blood.

He moved to stand, slowly supporting himself both with the spear on his left hand and bracing his right against the rock behind him. Sludge covered his body. And now that he was standing, cool air seemed to grip his body where the oozing liquid clung.

When he imagined killing the beast, he did not expect the final outcome to be this disgusting.

He could feel a thin sheen of slime sliding off of his legs and going back to the pool from which it came. Idly he wondered if he could get the spear, only to find that with a slight yank, the entire rock that had been lodged began to move.

Shaking his head, he figured the spear was likely a lost cause at this point. While he might be able to get it out, the rock that it was holding back might crush him. Or worse, the spear tip that was so deeply thrust into the dragon’s esophagus could easily snap and break under the strain. In fact, given everything that happened, he was surprised that the steel rod had held true to this point.

Shaking his head, he got up and slowly trudged his way forward.

He took the first step and paused, half expecting pain to wrack his body. There were pains, but none as severe as he originally expected.

The light coming from the end of the long neck and rows of sharp teeth was dim, but fortunately still there. While he might have passed out from the pain, he might still have some daylight left to get his pack.

Rumble.

As soon as he thought about his backpack, his stomach let him know that he had purposefully gone in on an empty stomach. It sounded dumb now, but at the time, it made sense. Also, he didn’t know if he would have been able to avoid vomiting from fear had he gone in with a full stomach.

After a few dozen paces, he made his way to the mouth and teeth of the monster.

Oddly Lykan found the view from the inside of the dragon’s mouth to be…intriguing? Was that the word he was looking for. He half expected rows of perfectly straight teeth that interlocked to form an air-tight seal. Yet what he found were rows of teeth that, like his own, had an over and underbite. The lower jaw seemed to be in, just like his own jaw. Then the upper set of teeth were slightly further forward, allowing for both sets of teeth to grab tear and pull the meat it had gathered apart. This discovery alone was interesting enough to cause Lykan to stand and stare at the jaws.

Then as he looked, there was a particular opening that seemed to offer more space. The teeth of the dragon had been pulled out of alignment, giving the beast a slight gap between his teeth. While this likely meant the beast had pains when eating, it meant that Lykan now had a chance to escape his temporary prison with seemingly minimal effort.

In fact, other than having to grab onto one of the protruding tusks, the escape was quite easy from the lower jawline. Then it was a simple matter of crawling on his belly to get out from scraping his back against the giant incisors that hung like stalactites from the roof of the mouth.

Freedom hit his senses in multiple ways all at once. The first and most obvious way was the fact that clean air filled his lungs, and finally, he realized just how terrible the smell from inside the beast’s acidic throat actually was. The second was that the slime that had been only slightly cold inside the confined space of the beast’s throat was now rapidly cooling off as it too was exposed to the cool open air.

Still, Lykan couldn’t help but have a smile form on his face as he had done it. He had faced a dragon and survived. He would never do it again. In fact, in the future, when people ask how he had managed to change his fates, he would never bring up this portion of his journey for fear that people might mistake him for a true adventurer, rather than someone who barely survived death by choking a dragon to death. Worse, he wasn’t even the reason the dragon choked to death. He collapsed to the ground.

Then a thought hit him.

Did I change my fate?

He remembered the words from the Gods. The one where the Gods gave him credit for killing the dragon. While he did relatively little in the process, he was happy that his efforts to survive were at least noticed.

Also, in a way, for universal power to be maintained, the energy caused by the death of the great beast had to go somewhere, so just by proximity, he had to have gained some of the energy. Though he knew he couldn’t have achieved received all of the energy. He hadn’t even awakened as a classer this year. That was still a few years away.

So, where did the extra energy go?

That thought hit him at the same time he felt a slight tremor beneath his feet.

As soon as he felt the tremor, his heart began to beat slightly faster as he realized he was on an active volcano. He looked up in horror to see that the half dome of protection that had protected this little nest was partially destroyed from the attacks caused by the dragon.

At least a third of the dome shield looked to be broken off. Worse, that was the highest part, the part that would cause lava to flow down and away from this cave.

Trying to think quickly, Lykan tried to focus, but his thoughts were a jumbled mess. His normally calm, rational mind was moving faster than he ever remembered it going before. As soon as he pulled up his status screen, he quickly realized why.

Name Lykan Vita Attribute Base Plus Modifier Total Strength (4+5) 9 Awareness (5+5) 10 Mobility (8+5) 13 Intelligence (6+5) 11 Power (1+5) 6

All of his Attributes had been increased by five, even if that pushed his body beyond the human limits. He stared in awe at the Attributes before him and wondered first how such a thing had happened, but then, more importantly, was it real?

A quick look at his Skills showed that he had, in fact, received huge gains from being near the dragon during its death.

Skill Rating Universal Linguist (Maximum) Spear Mastery Master Literacy (Maximum) Regeneration Master Magic Abilities Rating Energy Absorption (Maximum) Energy Sensing (Maximum) Energy Control Adept Energy Alter Adept

Blessing Bestowed: Titan Slayer.

Titan Slayer Epic: You managed to slay a monster at the pinnacle of existence. As a reward, the Gods have blessed you with a permanent +5 bonus to all Attributes that can take you beyond the normal maximum assigned to your race.

Seeing the bonuses made his head swim. He knew that one could only have two Skills active at a time but never knew that once a Skill hit its maximum level, it would then spawn a second Skill. Though truth be told, he had thought something to this due to all the great weapons Masters who walked around seemingly collected different Skill masteries and proficiencies with different weapons.

Seeing that he too had a weapons mastery made his heart race as that had been one of his dreams to be a legendary spear wielder, just like the heroes from all the stories he read.

He was glad that his Magic Immunity had evolved. The evolution of Magical Abilities was not something that was completely unheard of, but it was interesting to see that this one act had changed him so much. Giving him not just one but two Magical Masteries. It was often noted that Magical Abilities were better to maximize but the hardest. After one managed to evolve their first Magical Ability, there was the chance it could spawn a second one, which seemed to be what happened here. Then those two reached their maximum, and rather than evolving again, they just spawned two new Magical Abilities that he would now have to level before he could unlock more Magical Abilities.

After a minute of lying in slowly drying slime, Lykan began to move. Even now, after only a few seconds of rest, the slime that had been coating his clothes slowly began to crumble away as dried pieces began to flake off. Realizing he would likely need to change his clothes, he again remembered his backpack with what hopefully was a spare change of clothes. He remembered that it had his dagger. The one he had purposefully gone into battle without.

Idiot, he thought as he realized how stupid he had been.

The entire thing was an unquestioned mistake. Had it not been for divinely good luck, he would be dead now. Shaking his head, he tried to force his mind to move on away from his mistakes and focus on what he could change. He looked up at the walls of the cave and saw what looked to be handholds. Or at least folds in the rock formation that looked like they would provide enough of a handhold to escape this area without too much effort. It was clear that the nest was designed, or at least chosen with the Ability to fly away firmly in mind. Since Lykan wasn’t a dragon and therefore lacked the necessary wings, it was clear that he would need to climb his way out of this cave if he wanted to escape.

RUMMBLE!

Lykan paused for a second as he realized that the volcano was beginning to come alive, if only slightly. It was now clear to him that he wasn’t the only one who gained a burst of energy. But before he could make his move, he first needed to get supplies. He looked around to see that piles of gold and other precious metals littered the ground. There were spears and weapons of all makes and sizes that littered the ground. While most looked like they had been at least partially digested, there were a few spears that had clearly fallen to the ground.

Seeing the spears, Lykan made his way through and chose one with an amazing blue sheen to it that seemed to glow with an unnatural power to his sight. Then seeing a few gold and silver coins in the piles of bones that littered the nest, he gathered the ones that were easy to grab. Many were in a giant brown pile. Only after taking the first few pieces did Lykan realize how the pieces came to be here. It appeared that the stories of dragons sleeping on gold were just a dramatization. His now highly analytical mind told him the much deeper aspects of what he was seeing. The dragons ate anyone, and metals seemed to be passed through their systems with minimal changes.

He brought the coin close to see if it, in fact, smelled but then thought better of it and instead put the few gold pieces in his pockets.

He was about to leave when he received a direct request from the Gods.

Request Made: Slay the progeny. You have stumbled upon a nest of unguarded Fire Dragon eggs. Should these eggs hatch without a parent to guide them, they will become feral and destroy everything in their path.

Will you slay the beasts before they become feral and ravage the lands? Yes or No?

Lykan had heard of these missions from the Gods. They often appeared to heroes who had accomplished great deeds, and while the tasks assigned were often tough, the rewards were amazing. Idly Lykan looked around, looking for the aforementioned dragon eggs. Only once he focused on the eggs did he find them under the giant body of their mother. There looked to be a dozen that glowed in different ranges of energy colors to his sight.

Seeing the eggs, it was clear that a few were already cracked open as the dragon inside was slowly dying.

Realizing that he was the reason that these dragons would awaken to become feral, he felt it was a fitting punishment sent by the Gods.

Realizing he had only one choice, he made his decision, “I accept.”

With that, a flood of information filled his mind as he moved forward. Taking his newly acquired blue metal spear in hand, he lunged forward, piercing the first egg. As soon as he struck, he half expected there to be some resistance. Dragon eggs were said to be exceptionally tough, yet the tip of the spear flew in easily, striking right where Lykan had been aiming.

For a second, he wondered if he had struck true or if more would be needed. As soon as he thought that, he was rewarded with a message from the Gods letting him know he had been successful.

Dragon Slayer Bonus: You have slain a Fire Dragon before it could become feral. Reward Minor Blessing of the Gods. +1 Intelligence +1 Power.

Attribute Base Plus Modifier Total Intelligence (6+5) +1 12 Power (1+5) +1 7

Seeing the message. He nodded to himself, removed his spear tip, and proceeded to the next brightly glowing egg. After which he once again was greeted with the same message from the Gods. Minor Blessings were great but were temporary, unlike the Epic Blessing he had gained earlier. The amount of energy required for a Minor Blessing was minimal but meant the gains would be minimal and would often only last long enough to accomplish a minor feat of heroics. These were often granted to warriors who proved to be exceptionally valiant in battle to defend a village, only to have their powers be released once the battle was over.

With that, the fact that such a reward was granted for slaying dragons, even dragons in eggs, made sense. Dragons were, by their very nature, powerful beings. If one knew about this, they could kill off the clutch, trying to gain enough of an advantage to then kill off the mother before the mother had time to react. Of course, that form of logic seemed particularly stupid, especially now with Lykan’s enhanced Intelligence. Who would want to face off against an enraged mother dragon who no longer had to be stationary?

Still, these thoughts and more filled his mind as he forced his way forward through this request from the Gods.

Thrust, pierce, hold.

Dragon Slayer Bonus: You have slain a Fire Dragon before it could become feral. Reward Minor Blessing of the Gods. +1 Intelligence +1 Power.

Resolved that he was doing as the Gods had commanded, he continued forward. Each strike rewarded him with another message. Six eggs in all provided a confirmation of a job well done. He struck a few of the cracked eggs to find that they didn’t reward him with a message from the Gods. Just when he wondered if he was done with their request, he received another divine message.

Request Completed: Slay the progeny. You managed to slay the clutch of unattended dragon eggs before they could grow feral and become a blight upon the land. Reward: all Minor Blessings still active have been made permanent.

Lykan looked to see that he had made such quick work of destroying all six eggs that all six Minor Blessings were, in fact, still active, despite their relatively quick timer.

Shocked, Lykan pulled up the two Attributes in question and saw that they were, in fact, now permanent.

Attribute Base Plus Modifier Total Intelligence (6+11) 17 Power (1+11) 12

His mind spun with endless possibilities as he now saw and could process more information than he previously thought possible. At an Intelligence of 17, he was more than one and a half times smarter than the most brilliant people. He even thought that he might be smarter than the Elven maximum. Elves were often known for their long lives and extremely high acumen.

Before he could get lost in too much thought, the reality of the situation he was in hit him with another seismic shake.

Lykan was about to move toward the escape route he had plotted for himself when he saw the flows of energy around him. He saw the way the energies from the now active volcano were converging directly in the path of where he had come. Worse. He could see the canopy overhead becoming alight with an eerie golden hue of color.

Realizing that energy was soon going to flow North, in the direction he had come from, he spun about and looked for an alternate escape route.

There, off to the South, was a second escape route, or rather a smooth slope that led up to higher ground. From there, he knew he could find an appropriate escape route. He gave one last look around for anything of value. There was armor covered in feces and other items.

Then he saw it, a leather pouch and sling that had somehow made it through the entire digestion process. This was a small pouch likely unable to hold more than a spare meal for the road, but the leatherwork was undeniable. Better still, Lykan saw a way he could use the slightly frayed but still intact leather to fasten his newly acquired spear to his back. Moving it, there was a bit of jingling and clanking of the items inside. Without having time to fully look at what he had found, he did what he set out to do. He wrapped the leather strap around his new spear. Then quickly, once it was on his back and didn’t slide much, he began climbing up the steep exit as quickly as possible.

His mind screamed at him to leave the nest quickly due to its shape and the fact that lava had tried to slide down there previously. He moved as quickly as he could, his mind spotting the next handhold and his body moving with quick, precise movements that would feel odd if he had more time to evaluate his situation. As it was, he chalked it up to the speed and grace given by the blessing of the Gods and moved on.

Only once he reached the top of the peak he was on did he stop to survey the area.

A deep gust of wind blew in from the East.

The gust was so intense that the hair on his head began to flutter about wildly. Yet, rather than before when he feared the wind would blow him away, he felt stronger, more sure of his position. He pulled the spear off his back as he intended to use it to help him make his descent down the steep mountain paths once he found a path worth going.

He watched as the fiery mountain top began to thrum with lava that cascaded down it slowly. The light of the lava was so intense that it seemed to outshine the sun. As he watched, a cold breeze continued to blow. Idly he looked North toward his homelands to see that the great plains that had separated the Tython Kingdom from the unclaimed lands lay in waste as a slow sea of magma slowly made its way out, burning everything in its path.

Realizing that going back home was denied to him, at least for now, he looked around. It was clear that going West toward the fiery mountain top was also off-limits.

That left the East, toward the great ocean and beyond. Or South, toward the other Kingdoms of the continent. After thinking about his situation for a bit, he realized South was the only logical path forward. So he began making his way forward.

Mentally he mapped out a route that would lead him toward the roads that were now being covered in magma further ahead. The idea was that once he made it to the roads, he could follow them to the nearest town, where he could buy food and supplies.

He looked down and was somewhat relieved to see that the dragon’s cave below was as yet untouched by the flowing magma. He looked with sadness to the area where he thought he left his backpack, only to see that it lay waist-deep in a see of flowing magma.

Shaking his head, he wondered what else had been in that pack. His father had likely spent everything he had on the contents of that pack. Food for days, water for a while. And water bottles. Why did I leave the water bottles behind?

He mentally scolded himself.

Realistically he knew the reason why. He didn’t want the canteen clattering around while he was crawling around.

Such a waste, he thought. He had been credited with not just killing one but an entire nest of violent Fire Dragons. Yet all he could think of for the moment was how stupid and wasteful he had been.

With that thought, he looked up to the heavens gave a mental prayer of thanks before he continued forward, trying to find the next sources of life. Realizing that he might need to rethink his survival strategy, he instead chose to find the nearest source of water. Fortunately, since this was a mountain and water rolled downhill, a stream was not too far away. While he knew that other predators would likely be drawn to a body of water, right now, he could not care. His first instincts were survival, and chief among his concerns for survival were finding water and food. From there, he would work on his next major steps, establishing shelter or finding a way to move forward.