"Shh, it's coming."
It? Melina turned her face away, and soon saw a small black dot in the sky expanding in her eyes. It spread its wings, roaring violently while crushing every puppet soldier hanging from the balloons. Seeming unsatisfied, it landed on a small island and wreaked havoc, sending dust and smoke billowing everywhere.
Because it was in such a foul mood, it didn't notice a small boat drifting with the current on the lake surface.
"Glintstone Dragon Smarag?"
"Yes, that island ahead is its lair. This poor wretch was abandoned by the academy."
Throne lifted his body slightly and pointed into the distance. "Perfect, I'll relieve it of its suffering."
The Glintstone Dragon clearly hadn't noticed them; having fought Adula earlier and sustained some minor injuries, today was truly a good day for revenge.
"If you want to slay a dragon, just say so. Why make excuses?" Melina retorted, then watched as the man shifted his gaze back, looking somewhat moved and surprised.
In that lunge, Throne solved a mystery: the Kindling Maiden also had a heartbeat, which was unscientific on two levels. Why would a 'dead person' have a heartbeat? And since she was lying on her back on the ground, how could her chest touch his? How broad could her chest be?
Melina's eyes were calm as she asked with some confusion: "Smarag has already passed. When... are you going to get off me?"
"Sorry." Throne quickly sat back, hesitated for a moment, and explained: "My aura can be detected by flying dragons, so I cannot be exposed to their sight. Just now..."
"Why are you telling me this? I don't care." Melina sat up expressionlessly, patting the dust off her chest. "By the way, you can lunge over next time, but don't bring your face so close."
What the hell? What does she mean lunging is fine but don't get your face close? Am I that ugly?
Throne, who had just been pretending to be a gentleman, twitched the corner of his mouth. Looking at the indifferent girl, he felt a breath of air stuck in his chest, incredibly uncomfortable. He really wanted to teach her what it meant to have dead wood bloom in spring and to burn with dry tinder.
Forget it. If he kept talking, his blood pressure would skyrocket again. The "Fixing Melina the Wooden Block" plan clearly didn't include this item.
Throne suppressed his displeasure, crawled a few steps to the bow of the boat, and waved his hand excitedly. "Row faster! I'm going to take you to slay a dragon right now!"
......
The light of the Erdtree gradually dimmed, and Throne had already snuck onto this small island in the lake under the cover of darkness. The violent tremors had ceased, and the air was filled with the stench of dragon dung, with the occasional remains of eaten crabs visible.
Throne hid behind a rock, holding his breath and waiting quietly, his deep blue eyes filled with eagerness.
Among the many 'monsters' in The Lands Between, he had the most 'affection' for the dragon race. Having killed so many by now, his skill tree was roughly divided into four major parts: Martial Arts, Energy, Items, and Dragon Heart, then using Ashina Style to systematically combine all skills to release various Secret Sword techniques or mutated skills.
Martial Arts are easy to understand—they are the manifestation of physical aspects; Energy encompasses various sorceries and incantations; Items go without saying, naturally things like wondrous physick, crystal tears, spirit calling bell, and the like.
But the power of dragons can be listed separately; it is a powerful buff, just like when he transformed into a battering ram this morning, knocking the Cuckoo Knights about.
What a shame. After cutting down so many enemies and claiming a great rune, he'd only managed to kill one dragon. The skill tree remained a mystery—no matter how much he pondered it, he couldn't unlock its deeper potential. His growing strength made the Dragon Heart feel increasingly inadequate. Liurnia was supposed to be a map-clearing expedition, and this Glintstone Dragon wasn't getting away.
Throne crouched behind a boulder, waiting. Finally, Melina materialized beside him, her presence as silent as a shadow.
"How is it?"
"Two hundred meters ahead. It's alert but licking its wounds."
"Where's the wound?"
"Base of the left wing."
Adula, you absolute legend. Throne's eyes gleamed. Now he understood why Smarag hadn't fled.
An injured wing grounded it. In The Lands Between, where Tarnished prowled like vultures, that was a death sentence. Plenty of Tarnished craved dragon power, though their Dragon Communion rituals differed from his own methods.
"It's trying to reach Caelid. To Greyoll."
"That 'Mother of Dragons'?"
"Yeah. I nearly took her down once. They say her wings can blot out the sky."
Throne couldn't fathom how monstrous Greyoll must be, but one thing was certain: if she found him, a dragon slayer, she'd attack without hesitation.
"Then why keep hunting dragons? Aren't you inviting trouble?"
Throne glanced at her and edged forward. "I take all things as my nourishment."
It sounded like something a villain would say. Melina tilted her head, quickening her pace to keep up. Something about this dynamic felt off. Between rowing boats and scouting terrain, she was starting to feel like his assistant.
Putting her doubts aside, Throne crept closer. Peering around a rock, he saw it: a Glintstone Dragon, coiled like a serpent, its massive frame spanning meters. Its eyes flickered open occasionally, scanning its surroundings. Smarag was no fool—it knew Liurnia wasn't safe anymore. But it hadn't expected trouble to arrive so soon.
"It's wary. I can kill it, but stopping a dragon mid-flight is another matter."
Throne didn't charge in blindly. He stayed calm. His Gravity Magic was no match for Radahn's power—he couldn't yank a dragon from the sky.
"Melina, you go."
Why me again? Had she fallen for his schemes? Her feelings were conflicted. She'd once longed to be useful, but now Throne's demands felt endless. Cooking, errands, killing enemies—and now, dragon slaying? Was she his servant?
Still, she obeyed, slipping silently into the shadows like a seasoned assassin.
Seconds later, she vanished from sight. Impressive. With a better weapon, she could become a formidable ally. Throne began scheming how to maximize her potential. Her obedience made her invaluable—too valuable to stop using.
A few seconds passed. Then, a needle-thin thread of killing intent pierced the air. Smarag's eyes snapped open. A woman stood before its face, golden light blinding it.
"Pfft!"
The dragon's roar split the air, a wretched sound that echoed across the lake. Melina didn't hesitate. Her blade plunged into Smarag's right eye like a red-hot iron rod piercing jelly.
A miserable dragon roar immediately echoed across the lake.
Pain ripped through the Glintstone Dragon's body, sharp enough to make its vision blur. It thrashed its head violently, flinging Melina away like a ragdoll. Its jaws parted, hatred burning in its eyes as its breath condensed deep within its throat.
The girl landed lightly on the ground, her expression blank. She pressed her palm flat against the earth. Golden Land. The air rippled, and golden beams shot forward, slamming into the dragon's skull with brutal force.
The scales held firm, but the impact jerked its head sideways. A cyan torrent of dragon breath erupted, scorching half the island and setting the lake's surface ablaze. Melina seized the moment, lunging forward with her golden blade still clutched tightly in her hands.
Smarag snapped its jaws shut, feeling the weight of the blade crash onto its forehead where glintstones gleamed. Those crystal-clear stones were harder than steel—even the Erdtree's incantations couldn't crack them.
Roar!!
The dragon reared up, its tail whipping through the air like a battering ram.
Melina didn't hesitate. She flattened herself against the ground.
Whoosh—
A gale roared overhead, lifting her slight body and sending her tumbling. She drove her sword into the earth to steady herself. When she looked up, the Glintstone Dragon was already airborne, wings spread wide.
The wind battered her face, pinning her down. The dragon's attack shifted—no longer breath, but a beam of glintstone light.
Comet Azur?!
This wasn't just a dragon; it was a flying fortress of destruction. The ground erupted in a mushroom cloud, dust choking the air.
"I'll reduce you to nothing, you insect!"
Smarag glared down, furious. It beat its wings, scattering the dust, ready to unleash another Comet Azur—
Wait. An aura filled the air, one it found utterly repulsive. Its gaze snapped toward the source.
Throne stood amidst the scorching winds, spear in hand. His body was coiled like a spring, every muscle taut. Magic Enhancement. Storm Assault. Gravity Reduction. Layers of energy surged through him. He saw Smarag lock onto him, jaws opening as the brilliant beam of Comet Azur erupted.
Faster than dragon breath, it was the culmination of the dragon's gluttony for glintstone sorcerers. Throne had seen its devastation moments ago, yet he pushed his magic to its limit.
Starlight Leap.
An advanced skill he'd mastered while studying Miriam's manuscript at the Three Sisters Towers. The wind-up was longer, the cost higher, but the distance it covered was unmatched.
Boom.
The Comet Azur obliterated the ground where Throne had stood. Smarag exhaled, ready to turn its attention back to Melina, when its eyes widened.
No. That aura…
It lifted its head. Starlight coalesced into a human silhouette, falling with the night wind. Golden eyes burned as the figure hurled the spear with all its might.
"Go!!"
A pale ring bloomed in the sky, and the three-meter-long lance descended like a meteor, slamming into the dragon's spine.
Magic melted the scales. The spear pierced flesh. Momentum drove the dragon into the ground, its limbs splayed, unable to rise. It twisted its neck, its single eye catching sight of the man wrapped in purple light, falling faster than a stone, a golden axe gleaming in his hands.
"Don't even think about it!"
Smarag's jaws gaped wide, its breath a searing torrent ready to engulf him. But its eye flicked sideways. Melina leapt into the air, sword gripped tight, her trajectory unmistakable.
No!
Throne watched the dragon's breath erupt past him, painting half the sky in cyan. He laughed, golden axe gleaming as he raised it high.
"Lay down obediently for me!"
Falling Slash!
The axe crashed like a meteor, heavier than any katana, cleaving through scales, muscle, and bone. The ground shuddered, a crater forming where the dragon fell.
Thud. The head hit the dirt, blood gushing in a crimson tide.
Melina dodged, avoiding the deluge. She landed, staring at the twitching corpse.
That was it? Already dead? From ambush to execution, less than a minute. This thing, stronger than any ordinary dragon, was now just meat.
Part of it was his cover, sure. But this was a victory of tactics and raw power.
"He's gotten stronger again," she muttered, glancing at Throne as he crouched nearby.
Throne didn't waste time on reflection. Two heroes against one dragon—if it had been a struggle, he'd have thrown himself into the lake. The dragon's power surged through him, a satisfying fullness filling his veins.
But then he frowned.
Why so little?
His Dragon Heart beat harder, yet the increase was minimal—maybe five percent.
"This makes no sense. Smarag was far stronger than Agheel, a specially evolved breed. Wait…"
Something wasn't right. Beyond his pounding heart, his skin burned, an unnatural heat spreading.
He closed his eyes, peeled off his armor, and opened them again. His pupils flashed gold.
"Throne, why are you—" Melina blinked, confused as he stripped. Then her eyes widened.
She saw that a patch of crystalline cyan stone had actually emerged on Throne's skin, smooth and radiant, covering his arms and half his back.
It looked eerily familiar.