Chapter 31 #3
Cait uses all her might to swing her great axe down on the same spot she’s been attacking since she jumped on the chaos dragon.
Broken pieces of the chaos dragon’s scales look like onyx chips when they spray all over her.
Dozens of little cuts across Cait’s face bleed, and she roars in agony with her eyes sealed tight.
Fuck, she’s been blinded. Heal Minor Wound or Major Wound?
Heal Major Wound is going to zap more of my energy than Minor Wound.
That’s a big deal given that my spell casting energy is limited while I wear Cait’s leather armor.
Also, with an enemy this lethal, there are likely to be many wounds for me to heal.
But Heal Minor Wound might not be enough and, well, it’s Cait.
I lift my staff and shout, “Heal Major Wound!”
Usually, when I cast my first spell in a fight, I don’t feel it that much. The energy drain creeps up on me. This time, it feels like someone’s siphoning it out of me with a syringe because I never changed out of Cait’s old leather armor.
Jesus Christ, I’m going to have to be really careful, especially if I have to use one of my Kiss of Life spells.
I wonder if there’s a time limit on that.
Would I be able to take a long rest and then use that spell afterward?
The idea of kissing a corpse that had been lying around for hours makes me want to gag.
Fortunately, my spell seems to have at least done its job. Cait blinks her eyes open again and returns to whacking the ever-loving fuck out of the dragon, this time with even more rage in every swing.
I check the time again. We have seven minutes left to get in as many hits as possible. Its health bar is somewhere between three-fifths and two-fifths. Except for Miko and me, these are level thirty plus players! Why aren’t their attacks doing that much?
To everyone’s surprise, the chaos dragon screams in a serpentine accent, “Ssssssmoke!”
Just as it had several times in the sky, the dragon’s scales shift to black smoke.
Before, I’d thought it was maybe a trick of the light or a new way to cover its mass.
Now I know that’s a sign that its entire body has turned to smoke.
Joshua and Cait plummet. It’s not a short drop.
When they hit the ground, their bodies make a loud crack.
I panic, wanting to flee to them and check for serious injuries, but I can’t afford to leave Guy alone. The two heroes get up on their shaky legs, and I cry out with relief. How the fuck do you attack a dragon made of smoke, though?
Six minutes left. Fortunately, just before it shifted, Sylvia and Alexander got in some well-placed shots.
The sleeping head they’d worked on together now lays limp on the ground.
It didn’t even turn into smoke with the rest of the body, probably because dead parts of the body can’t function like the living parts.
Its other two heads sing a duet of “Sssssmoke, smoke, smoke…” It repeats the word like a chant, probably because that’s the only way to keep the form. The moment it stops, it will be solid again.
Physical attacks can’t hurt a creature like this, it seems, at least not for long. If only Guy was awake, he’d probably have magic that could take on something with a spiritual form, or at least prevent it from using its magic.
Wait. The silence dome. Guy has used it twice now. I remember how upset Dan the mage was when he couldn’t speak his spells. It rendered his magic useless.
Guy isn’t awake to cast that spell right now, but maybe I could try it with his staff?
It probably won’t work, but it’s worth a shot.
I grab his staff, and it feels wrong. Not immoral or anything, more like I’ve got a new limb, and it doesn’t fit my body.
Still, I can feel its power thrumming through me.
This definitely is an item that belongs with a much higher-level spellcaster.
I take a deep breath and hold the staff up high. “Silence,” I shout, pulling up the word from the depths of my lungs hoping if I’m very loud, I’ll succeed.
To my surprise, it does. The chaos dragon is voiceless now; its body solidifies.
But this one spell has sucked every bit of energy from me.
It belongs to a mage, and not just any mage, a level thirty mage.
The world goes as black as the chaos dragon’s scales, and the last thing I feel is my body falling to the ground.
Before I lose consciousness altogether, I hear that disembodied voice again.
“Cleric of Aphrodite: Level 5. Spell Gained: Sun Ray - the cleric calls on a ray of sunlight to dispel any magical darkness, including creatures made of darkness. Second Class Unlocked: Mage of Aphrodite: Level 1. Spell Gained: Silence - the mage creates a dome that prevents all enemy creatures and effects within it from making sound. Favor Gained: Shielded Slumber - When the player sleeps or loses consciousness, they cannot be targeted by an enemy. Stats Updated: Strength - 8, Dexterity - 14, Constitution - 15, Intelligence - 17, Wisdom - 18, Charisma - 16, Faith - 15.”