Useless Dragon

Topaz hopped on, and focused. I started to accelerate, but didn't have to wait long to observe the problem. A muscular being, brandishing a curved, spiked greatsword and horns to match. A bristling crowd of imps surrounded it, coming up to its... his goatlike legs, bluefire-tipped spears in their hands keeping kobolds away. Several lay dead or wounded around them, Khirc rushing between the wounded like a tornado of protection. As I looked upon the scene, a gust of wind welled up in my mouth. I reared back and roared with force, half the imp squad dropping their spears. Drox rushed forward to take a bite out of the imps' frontline, burning her foot stepping over a dropped spear but caring little as she bit into an imp and shook. 

"Stand down, or my executioner will make an example of you" I ordered the recovering imps, but before I could scatter them, their boss did. He stepped forward, swinging his cleaver in a wide arc. I raised my forearm as if holding a shield, mentally activating [Block] A circle of grey light formed, ready to hold up to the blade, and my other claw [Slashed] forward and upwards to the underside of the demon's head. Winds whipped around me, keeping the aerodynamic imps from drawing too close and letting me fight the demon one for one.

"Not if I do it firssst" the demon hissed, flaring a cobra-like hood. A pattern danced within, jets of flame shooting out at my already-forward hand. A cold fire stung the back of my arm, forcing my hand to pull back. My other arm fared only little better, force of his cleaver breaking through my inept shield and cracking my scales. The demon and I headbutted as one, my scaled forehead slamming into his horns. I felt no real pain, but heard a crack, and saw the demon flinch. I backhopped out of the way of another sword swing, breathing a gasp of relief as it knocked chunks of rock out of the ground. I lunged forward, using one claw to hold down the blade and the other to slash at his arm. As my claws scored sinewy demonscale, I felt a cool, refreshing breeze run up my arm like I just dunked it in mint. My mana felt more full, and the demon looked less solid. He raised his sword to strike again, and I charged into it, confident in my block. The greatsword still broke this shield, levelup for my efforts a sufficient consolation as a scale or two fell off my side. My second headbutt knocked him further off-balance, and my third, empowered by another level-up, sent a crack halfway down the horn. This was my chance. My head already in position, I tilted it downwards to the shoulder. My claws shot forward to his sides to stabilize my position, flailing blade unable to get enough leverage to do anything meaningful to the scales on my back. Mana flowed from the demon to me, weakening his physical presence even further, and my fangs went in for the kill.

[Skill: Lacerating Bite has risen to Level 6. You have slain: Lesser demon (III). Level has risen to 6]

The demon dissolved in a wisp of red, imps dropping to the ground in bursts of crimson smoke.

[Your army has slain: Imp warrior (II) x7. Level has risen to 7].

I roared in victory and planted my feet on the ground. 

"They came up through the tunnels, my lady!" a newer kobold shouted with a point. I nodded my head, and redirected attention to my rider

"Topaz, search for a tunnel down!"

Our mental connection, emboldened by sturdier minds, allowed for greater data flow, and that's exactly what I received. I sped down a mining tunnel, noticing myself curve too far forward until a steady gust of wind kept my head up, kept my front half from going under my midsection. I made turns at a breakneck pace, cushioned by pockets of thick air to prevent myself from crashing. The longer I ran, the warmer it grew, heat welcomed by my reptilian scales. I saw an imp raiding party ahead, feeling neither shame nor recoil as I bowled through them, swallowing one down to satiate some hunger. A spear from my back stabbed at another, Baldemar's creations empowering topaz's strike. Imp flesh was every bit as spicy as I imagined, leaving a satisfying burn on my tongue. The others regrouped, but only two could retreat into red smoke before the others fell dead from spear and claw alike. 

[Skill: Mana gathering has risen to level 3]

Those claws were showing their usefulness early on, and demons were rich in magic. I ventured downwards more cautiously, observing the stone- having gone from grey and home-y to dull red and foreboding. Swirls lined the crimson-grey rock, subtly drawing my eyes away from the tunnel ahead. I whipped my focus back to the opening, feeling a shift in the air pressure before I reached it. The tunnel led into a cave of impossible size, hot wind blowing through it from a swirling sinkhole in the bottom. Agitation filled me at what I saw; Imps crawling over the place like ants. Like rats. Like vermin.

[Failed to resist curse.] Of course these little annoyances had some sort of a curse field. They'd need it against me.

"And I am here to exterminate"

[EXP gain increased.] 

Not questioning the sudden luck, I rushed forward, slashing an imp with my claw as Topaz slashed down at another one. That group fell to the vermillion ground easily, fleeing member dispatched by a corrosive poison orb. The unusually loud shouting of imps drew attention to the rest of the small complex, and I had an idea on how to turn the tides.

"Keep them away, I'm charging something big" I requested. Topaz pointed her weapon forward, pushing the scattering imps away from their charge. As soon as I knew I was safe-ish, I visited my mana pool again. It was much fuller than before, around four-fifths capacity, with the bottom fifth the deeper, darker material. The abyssal deluge column took half my pool, and I needed results quickly. Allowing compressed mana to flow out, controlling and shaping the flow of compressed mana with my willpower.

[Skill: Mana control has risen to level 2]

Back in the overworld, I pointed my claw, almost dropping the spell when an imp's spear made it through Topaz's defenses and stabbed into my eye. Pain shot through me as icy-blue fire blinded me on one side, but I only doubled down on the act and fired.

Or, watered.

A foot-wide beam of water shot from my outstretched claw, punching a hole in the spearman who dared to take my vision. The beam widened as it went onwards, losing some power- yet keeping enough to turn from a hole punch into a water slide. The imps with wings tried to fly, but topaz was on the draw, confounding their efforts with her own magic and pushing them into the whirlpool of my creation. Imps clawed at the floor, rough ground hardly enough to contain them.

And then the notifications started.

[You have slain: Imp] played in my mind at least a dozen times, with some imp warriors mixed in. Mana saving leveled up once, and I'd likely need it for the fight ahead. Stealing a glance at my mana, I was nearly out of compressed, leaving me just over half a pool to deal with the large, spider-like construct from out of the sinkhole.

"I don't think we should be here..." Topaz warned apprehensively. An inward-curving smokestack rose out from a stone quartet of bracing arachnid legs. Last to rise was a singular hexagon-meshed eye, glaring at me with truly demonic anger. I roared in challenge, feeling the pebbles dance under my feet, but this creature knew no fear. It responded in kind, opening with a single, wide shot from its eye.

Panic knocked me out of my battle-focused mind as icy cold destruction sheared across my back. Stinging pain danced across the wound like chili powder to the highest degree, space on my back meant for wings half-destroyed. The payload on my back felt lighter, and I tried to send a mental call out to the one human I knew I could trust

"Topaz? Please be getting me backup"

My pleas fell on a deaf mind. Out of allies but not out of options, I pumped mana to the damaged flesh. Cold pain descended to cool relief, almost enough for me to notice the demonic forge charge it's attack again. 

"There's no way I'm getting blindsided" I snapped at the brightening eye, throwing myself to the side in a [Dodge]. While the beam of blue-white destruction snaked across the crimson wall, My scales were spared- its ocular beam could only aim so far to the side. The construct raised one of its legs to turn, and I took this position to strike at it with a headbutt, only to take a leg stab to the side. My scales tried to turn the stab away, only succeeding in taking the leg stab through less important muscle. My head was too valuable to bring close to its hellish heat, and my claws and teeth were better meant for biological creatures than boiling constructs, but I had one reliable trick.

I reached up with my arm and wrapped it around the spiked leg, stabbing at my flesh but keeping me secure, and conjured my trademark acid. Poison was useless, but I cared not as my jaws bit onto the connecting joint. Flames shot out at my dark scales, and corrosive poison filled my mouth. My fangs clanged, clashed, then crunched onto the weakening joint, mangling it to uselessness before the hellstone thing threw me off. 

[Skill: Corrosive Poison synthesis has risen to level 6]

I rolled to the side, dumping mana to my small wounds. I saw another ocular beam charge in my peripheral vision, [Dash]ing aside to leave the death range, before feeling one of my back legs give out. I fell to my front from the sudden lack of support, looking behind me in surprise, when I saw the blue-smouldering stump where one of my back legs used to be.

"This isn't going to stop me." I growled, dragging myself directly towards the construct. It seemed to laugh, rubbing its damaged foreleg on its good one. It took its time, savoring my weakened state to lance down at my back. I sprung out of the way, a burst of speed surprising it in my weakened state. And of course, drawing me closer to my goal.

[Skill: Dodge has risen to level 3]

I pushed off the ground with my good leg, rolling to the side and slamming my claw into its eye. From the heartbeat even before it touched, I felt alive. Mana flowed into my pool. The stone monster shot flames out every side but below, raising one leg to stab me but only managing a half-inept thump from its half-leg. I raked my claw across the stone eye, flow rate only rising as my clawpoints drew closer to the pupil. I united them together, building up stamina to gouge in a modified [Slash], and it fired again. My eyes widened. I tried to dive back into my mental realm to avoid the pain, only succeeding in feeling like I had slammed my fingers in a freezer. However, pain faded as I looked upon the glowing pool.

[Skill: Mana storage has risen to level 2]

[Skill: Mana compression has risen to level 2]

[Skill: Mana storage has risen to level 3]

It was overflowing. Mana sloshed around the sides as still more flowed in, and I had everything to spend it on. I directed the compressed pool towards my wounds, pain silenced over seconds.

[Skill: Mana control has risen to level 4]

Back in the real world, I switched claws. My left set was burned off, but my right set was ready to go. Crimson light gathered around them as stamina turned into speed, released like a catapult into the eye of my foe. 

[Skill: Slash has risen to level 4]

The stone eye shattered, and the creature began to slow. I pushed myself out of the way of the sudden collapse, smokestack of a building colliding with the ground. As it did, it released wisps. Ghostly forms of humanoid torsos. Souls. I wanted to bow in respect to them, but felt an urge to claim my prize.

[You have slain: Hell forge (III). Level has risen to 8.]

This would suffice.

I wanted to go back to my internal realm. Play with my new mana. Reach out for topaz, now that I had the range for it. But as soon as I could, I saw a portal open.

A tall, serious-looking being emerged. She wore a black cloak, patterned with dark purple hexagons. She said something incomprehensible, but I didn't need a mind bridge to know her intentions. Challenge. Bloodshed. Victory. Nearly blind to all else, I [Roared].