There was no time to admire the night, as SoulShadow’s skill showed its effects.
He slashed with his dagger from ten feet away, a distance that in no world should have reached Heywin, but a wide slash of spectral wind released from the dagger. His dagger grabbed the air behind it, forming it into a sharp projectile, before launching it with tremendous force.
And just like [Ghost Swipe], the ranged projectile had the spectral element. It couldn’t be blocked. Goddamned mythic items—in what world was that not broken overpowered?
Heywin’s dragon eyes glowed blue as he cast time magic. The projectile froze, stopping in the air before reaching Heywin.
“Rude adventurer,” Heywin’s voice echoed. It now sounded much deeper and majestic, and he spoke by actually opening the dragon’s mouth. “You have stolen my staff, my robe, and my studies—all for a feigned belief of defeating me. Your efforts have led me to a much greater body. The casting of a dragon’s heart is much stronger than any staff will ever be!”
Two giant runic circles appeared below and above the dragon as Heywin double-cast two spells simultaneously. Both circles spanned the whole diameter of the tower itself with incredibly complicated patterns that I doubted even Veyra could quick-cast. The circles only kept growing during the long cast time.
SoulShadow desperately threw more attacks at him, but each ranged projectile froze mid-air before they could hit Heywin. He gritted his teeth, then [Shadow Dashed] at the dragon, hoping for a critical strike.
The first casting circle erupted into a spell just as SoulShadow appeared out of the shadows.
Shackles of time magic grabbed his limbs. His legs, his hands, everything was chained down. SoulShadow was locked in place, perfectly stunned.
The second runic circle followed, and the widest [Chronorift] I’d ever seen opened up on the battlefield, splitting the air itself right underneath SoulShadow’s feet.
Oh my god, I thought, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for the poor rank 2 assassin from the sheer unfairness of Heywin’s magic. This spell just straight-up wasn’t designed to be dodged.
A single large spike pierced SoulShadow from below. A slash sounded.
[You have assisted in slaying SoulShadow. Experience divided.]
“Insolent invader,” Heywin said. He puffed through his nostrils. Fire came, burning SoulShadow’s disintegrating corpse.
I stood next to Veyra, both of us utterly baffled by what we were witnessing. Since when had Wonderwind been this crazy? A named dragon NPC just one-shot the rank 2 assassin player?
And that dragon was our friend.
Heywin turned to us now, and the small dragon grinned at us. He was cute in his own little way, but more than that, the expression reminded me of a smug little boy. His scales were made of glimmering stone, and his orange eyes were sharp and reptilian.
“It seems, not all adventurers are evil,” he said. “Thank you, Veyra, Assassin. I’m a dragon now!”
That last line came out of such genuine excitement that I couldn’t believe we were talking to an AI.
“You’re magnificent,” I said with a bow. “Thank you, Great Dragon Heywin.”
“Indeed,” Heywin said. “This is the true reason I’ve been looking for these eggs. You have realized my dreams. Although, stealing the body of a dragon will greatly upset the Ray Dragon herself. I may have made a mortal enemy of a literal god.”
“You are almost a god yourself,” I said.
“Meh,” Heywin said. “I’ll need decades, no, centuries, to get used to my new body. I will hone my casting abilities, and I will make a resurgence. When I do, I hope to hear of your legacy, young Veyra.”
Her expression was of utter awe.
“Now, I must make my leave,” Heywin said. “My job here is done. I must flee the Ray Dragon’s mountains before I am killed. Goodbye, my friends.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
He jumped and flew to the air, where he flapped his wings. The launch was far from majestic. Heywin was tiny, and he wasn’t very good at flying yet. With each flap, he bounced around in the air, slowly making his way into the distance.
A Stone Wyvern (Level 315) tried to attack him right away, sensing easy prey, only for a gigantic casting circle to spawn underneath Heywin. A spike of time magic erupted from the ground, one-shotting the wyvern.
Veyra and I continued staring, unable to form words.
The system gave us a quest pop-up, and our heads panned to that.
[Quest: Holder Of The Ray Dragon’s Egg, has been completed!]
[Rewards split between party members!]
[Your rewards: +5000 gold. +25 million experience.]
[You Leveled Up!]
[You Leveled Up!]
[You Leveled Up!]
[You Leveled Up!]
[You Leveled Up!]
[You Leveled Up!]
[Worlds Invitation Ticket has been delivered to the quest’s original owner, Veyra]
[Bonus Reward!]
[You have been awarded the title: Apostle Of A Great Dragon.]
There was one more reward. I picked up SoulShadow’s gear piece.
Boots Of The Unseen Veil
Item Type: Legendary (Unique Event Item)
Required Character Level: 221
Stats:
-
200 Defence
-
150 Attack Force
Abilities:
Unseen Veil (Passive): The cooldown of dash abilities is 15% lower.
Critical Veil (Passive): After exiting a dashing ability, the next melee attack will deal 20% more damage.
The five thousand gold was added straight to my account. I now had 12913 gold total, and that didn’t include all of the items I still had listed in the auction, yet to be sold. That was over ten thousand dollars worth of gold, and I’d also transferred a lot of that into real money already. I was far from rich, but hell, earning this much money in under a month was insane. If I kept it up, I could probably earn more than my dad.
The air was getting cold from the mist that now filled the destroyed wizard’s tower. I glanced at Veyra, who couldn’t contain the surprise either.
We met eyes, stared at each other for a moment, until we both burst out laughing.
“What just happened?” I gushed. “A dragon NPC just killed the rank two assassin for us? We completed a freaking invitation quest?”
“Did you see his face when the shackles hit?” Veyra asked with a laugh. “The best assassin, my ass. He got outplayed by noobs in common gear!”
“What was up with your ice? You just made him slip!”
“Well, he was cocky, and he wasn’t looking at me,” Veyra said, laughing. “You did amazing as well. He looked like a complete fool.”
“The student defeats the master, huh?” I said. “He was a lot worse than I thought to be honest. He seriously called us cheaters.”
“Yeah…” Veyra said, her smile falling slightly. “Hopefully he doesn’t make a big deal out of it.”
“It’s whatever,” I said. “Still, I didn’t think he’d be so slow. So much for the rank two assassin.”
“Slow?” Veyra asked. “You two literally moved so fast I couldn’t have sneaked an icicle in had I wanted to. I couldn’t read either of your movements at all.”
“Wait, really?” I asked.
“I think you’d do well in Worlds,” Veyra said. “You’d just need actual gear and not that monster avoidance nonsense. Sucks that I got the ticket.”
“Yeah, well…” I said, and I was about to ask her something, but the words got lost.
The pause made me notice the tightness in my throat. The same pressure that had turned me into a total awkward idiot back in the portal mage’s crypt.
Veyra tilted her head at me, wondering if I was going to complete my sentence. Gods, she was just so damn cute.
“Uh, and what’s up with this title?” I asked, managing to say something. “Apostle of a great dragon?”
“I got a quest from it,” Veyra said. “You didn’t?”
I checked my quest log, and I noticed that I had actually gained a quest.
Quest: Apostle Of A Great Dragon (SS Tier Event Quest)
Quest Details: You have earned the title of Apostle to one of the ten great newborn dragons. On the night of the red moon, you have been invited to visit the Dragon Canyon.
Completion Conditions: Visit the Dragon Canyon at the correct time.
Quest Reward: High probability of a follow-up quest.
“An SS tier quest?” I asked. “How do we just keep getting crazier quests?”
“I’m guessing this one is the final quest of the Ray Dragon event,” Veyra said. “You know, how with the Endlich event, everyone who found a key got access to fight the final boss in a raid. I think this might be similar.”
“So we’re literally involved in the main event,” I said. “The final boss fight where only the top guilds are supposed to be invited?”
Veyra shrugged. “Looks like so.”
Wow, I thought. Just wow. I couldn’t believe my life had changed so drastically in one week.
All because I teamed up with Veyra.
“We’ll have to watch the moon, then,” Veyra said. “And we’ll have to find where the canyon even is. We should have a lot of time, though. The final event usually starts a week or two before Worlds. So it will be at least a month.”
“So, until then, we’ll have lots of time to hunt more guilds,” I said.
“Yeah, and we’ll definitely need to replace your common and uncommon trash gear,” Veyra said with a grin. “Are the boots you got any good?”
She’s just too cute… I thought.
“The boots, uh, yeah,” I said awkwardly. “They’re going to my build for sure. They shorten Shadow Dash’s cooldown.”
Veyra nodded. “I suppose we should prioritize hunting for assassin gear, then. My build is already good, so I’ll help you. As long as I get my share, of course. Do you have any ideas on where to go next?”
I had no idea where to go for assassin gear. I mean, as far as I was concerned, my set was already way further than any dream set I could think of.
Still, I said, “I think I know where we should go,” and it took my all not to explode from nerves as I formed the next words.
“Want to go on a date?”
20 chapters ahead on !