As Dallion flew into the crater that composed the fallen south, he could feel the eerie calm that wrapped the world. There hadnt been a rocket or tidal wave for over six hours, as far as he could tell. It was easy to think that the sides had grown tired of mass attacks, but the truth was that such forms of action were simply no longer efficient. Every settlent was in constant motion; the world itself had entered a phase never seen since the start of ti. Travelling was all but impossiblefrom this point on, people had to rely on their domain rulers and overseers to transport people and goods where they needed to be.
Dallion suspected that in a day or two the next phase would start: a new form of strategic combat in which settlents were the pieces moved on the board. As long as one managed to surround an enemy settlent with an overwhelming force, they could tear it off from an enemys domain and add it to theirs. Before that, Dallion had to win his new army and, hopefully, increase his awakening level by one or two.
Beasts once considered lethal scattered at the sight of Dallion. Even the stupid ones were aware they didnt have the strength to face a being of such power. Yet, there still was no trace of any shardfly colonies.
Maybe they really died out, Adzorg suggested. The tis arent perilous just for people.
Dallion didnt reply. There always was a possibility of it happening, even if the odds were low. At the sa ti, searching for a bit longer would cost him very little, while the potential of reward was huge.
Stopping in the air, Dallion summoned his vortex finder. There were several small dots indicating small vortexes, but nothing that could be considered a shardfly colony.
Any thoughts, Gleam, Ruby? he asked, putting the magical device away.
Nothing, the spectral shardfly admitted. Id have sliced through half the area as a reminder of what would happen if anything enters my territory.
Youre too wild for your own good.
Most creatures in the wilderness are.
If the incident at the Academy was an indication, the colony might well have burrowed itself deep beneath the ground. Dallion might as well have flown over billions of the insects and never known. They didnt like intrusion and if they had picked up on magic, could well create a complex illusion that would fool his device or even Gleam.
I might as well Dallion didnt finish.
Thanks to his high perception, he noticed a dot of fire flying right at him. Summoning his harpsisword, Dallion directed a point attack in the dots direction, while simultaneously casting two aether sphere spells around his companions. Gleam protested, naturally, slicing the confinents with her wings.
Get Ruby out of here! Dallion ordered as darted towards the source of the distant attack. Dont get involved! Youre not an item guardian anymore!
As he suspected, a new torrent of fla erged from the distancedragon fire. This ti, it surrounded a core of lightning.
Im not here to play! Dallion infused his sword with spark, then thrust it forward. A growing spiral filled the air.
Both attacks clashed, but Dallions was clearly the strongest, dispersing the energy of fla and lightning, as if they were dandelion seeds.
Im not here for you, Derrion! Dallion shouted, maintaining six instances in close proximity. And even if I were, youre no longer able to take on. Music strands went in all directions, instilling fear and doubt into anything they touched.
In response, another stream of fire shot at him, this one coming from a totally different direction. A lot less powerful, it shot up from the ground, missing by several feet. Dallion knew well in advance that it wasnt going to hit him, spending the ti to locate the source. And, this ti, he managed to do so.
His opponent was a dragon, though not large enough to be called an adult. To his relief, it wasnt the emperors great dragonAuruns magic attacks were different, more hostile. The fire of this creature seed to have determination and a touch of fear within it.
Summoning his aura sword, Dallion sliced the space around him, performing a full three-sixty slash attack. He could see clusters of magic concentration in the area shift. His invisible opponents were moving away, expecting a line attack. Instead, a series of magic circles erged, releasing purple lightning all around.
Not to comnt on your battle, dear boy, but usually one doesnt cast an anti-magic spell in the area one is, Adzorg said.
Its fine, Dallion ignored the spell and the comnt. The layer of magic threads he had covered his skin with were more than adequate to counteract such a feeble spell. The illusions of his opponents, on the other hand, werent.
Air shattered in several spots, causing several green dragons to erge. Four of them flew off with a snarl, quickly casting new sets of illusions to conceal themselves. The remaining two didnt. Maintaining an aggressive stance, they kept on flapping their wings, staring straight at Dallion.
Youre a lot stronger now, a female dragon said. Not fair!
Snarky? Dallion asked.
The following snark indicated that he was correct, just as the dragon didnt appreciate the na he had given it back during dragon training.
Erald? An instance of Dallion addressed the other dragon. Wheres
The cone of a hurricane ford beneath him, thrusting Dallion up into the sky. There was a ti when such an attack would have been fatal. Now it was slow, weak, and far too visible.
Choosing the path of least resistance, Dallion let the wild force carry him, yet before any of the air cluster currents could harm him in any way, hed slice them one from the other and gently push them away, creating a zone of calm around him.
A second cone of air blasted from below, in an attempt to increase the intensity of the air currents.
The effort was in vain. At a monts notice, Dallion slashed through the cone again, letting off hundreds of line attacks. He could feel a slight pull as soone attempted to force a different instance of reality. Too weak to cause any changes, it persisted for a while longer, before abruptly ending.
I told you, I havent co to fight, Dallion said, as the cone of air around him weakened. Already it had lost two-thirds of its strength and kept on decreasing until only a gentle breeze remained. I can oblige you if you want, but it wouldnt last long.
The air above the ground rippled. Several layers of illusion cracked one after the other, revealing the massive form of a green dragon remaining in the air, right above the thick jungle. Not intimidated in the least, Dallion floated down, stopping right in front of the monsters face.
Quite the welco you put out, he said.
The dragon snorted, releasing vast amounts of air through his nostrils.
You never did that during my previous visits here, Dallion added.
Youve changed, the dragons voice bood. The world has changed as well.
So, you felt it.
Any domain ruler would feel the change. The wilderness has been growing, yet all the power keeps concentrating in smaller and smaller areas. Green sparks flickered all over the dragons scales. Ive been alive for a very long ti. I rember the ti before the fall of the city and the split of races, but this This is sothing I have never seen before.
Acceptance emanated through the dragons shell.
Have you co to claim the fallen south? it asked.
Yes. Dallion admitted. Do you want it? I can give it to you.
If you do, youll only make your puppet. The dragon snapped its jaws in anger. There can only be one master of a realm, and I dont have the strength to challenge you.
One by one, the smaller dragons flocked to the scene. Dallion could feel the fear emanating from them, but also determination. They knew perfectly well that they had no chance against him, but even so were willing to give their lives to help their father.
Theyve grown quite a bit, Dallion smiled. Dark has as well.
Relief and pride emanated from the ancient dragon, even if on the outside he didnt react in the least.
Im searching for shardfly colonies, Dallion changed the topic. They werent up north, so I thought they might have settled down here.
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Will you make them the sa offer you made to ?
You said you werent interested. Yes, I plan on giving them the south to rule on my behalf.
So, theyll beco another army, giving you a few levels in the process. A guttural growl ca from the dragon. The way of the domain ruler.
Its better than the alternative. Trust . As you said, the world is a lot different now.
The young dragons moved closer to their father.
Are there any safe places left? Derrion flapped his massive wings once, rising a few dozen feet higher.
Dallion shook his head.
I see
You can go into an item realm. It wont be safer, but at least youll live under the illusion it is. Until it no longer matters, he added ntally. Ill try to protect you as much as I can.
You?
The dragon laughed internally. Dallion could hear the emotion so loud that the dragon might as well have done so.
The first ti you ca here, you only survived thanks to luck and my rcy, the dragon continued. Now, you say that you have to protect . I dont think so. Derrion turned around, looking at the six dragons that he gently tucked beneath his wing. The shardflies are here, he said after a while, refocusing his attention onto Dallion. Look for them beneath the towers. Youll find one of their nests beneath the building on which I had mine. From there, you should be able to find the rest on you own.
That made sense. The shardflies had co into existence in the basent of a mage and were accustod to think of it as their ho.
Thanks. Dallion reached out towards the dragon, but the creature pulled back. Are you sure you dont want to stay here? There are no guarantees, but Ill do what I can to help.
I walked away from one master because I wanted to have freedom of mind. What was the point if now I went back to another? The dragon spread its wings. Its scales flickered, forming symbols between them. Good luck, otherworlder. I hope you make it till the end.
Green and purple magic threads shot out, surrounding the creature like a cocoon. For several seconds, they grew brighter and brighter, until they suddenly imploded on themselves, leaving nothing behind.
Goodbye, Dallion said ntally.
The spell had been too foreign for him to discern its purpose, but he could hope that it was a teleportation spell.
Hell be fine, Adzorg said from within Dallions realm. Dragons havent survived so long by accident.
Yeah. Dallion rose further up into the air.
What was Dark going to say about this? Maybe it was better if Dallion didnt share the encounter. That was sothing hed have to discuss with Euryale once he ca back. For the mont, he had to focus on what hed co here for.
It took him a few minutes to find Gleam and Ruby. The pair had kept away from the fight, as he had instructed, but in exchange demanded to know all the gory details of the fight. Upon learning that there werent any Gleam flicked her wings in disappointnt, but dropped the topic. It was no secret that she wished she could take on a dragon, especially after failing to do anything substantial during the northern dragon hunt.
Reaching the building ruins the green dragon had spoken of took less than an hour. On the way, Dallion went through dozens of conversations in his mind, anticipating any demand or doubt the creatures would have. The mont they got a glimpse of Gleams true form, the negotiations were already won. Despite coming from another world, the creatures remained true to their naturethey were drawn to the strong specins of their species, viewing them as the greatest asset to protect and lead the colony. Thus, the decision was left to her.
Quite ironic that I get to claim this place, Gleam said, amused. Its the place from where I got sent to the banished realms.
Think of it as interest for what you did that, then. Dallion looked around. Even now, thousands of shadflies were off to inform the other colonies of the changes. I take it you dont want to stay here.
Not a chance. Your fights will be a lot more ferocious from here on. Im not missing that.
Alright, lets get on with this.
You have created the Land of SOUTHERN FALLS Level 1.
You have full control of the Land of SOUTHERN FALLS.
A quartz spider has been made the lands guardian.
Defeat the guardian to change the lands destiny.
For a mont, Dallion wondered whether the area guardian would end up being a shardfly as well, but it turned out to be a quartz spider. That was irrelevant, of course. Dallion imdiately linked the new domain to his whip blade, which was also Gleams personal domain.
SOUTHERN FALLS linked to GLEAM
Now it was ti to see whether Dallions theory about the shardflies was true.
Venturing into the realm, he imdiately had Nox challenge the guardian, then proceeded to destroy him, improving the settlent each ti. When the area reached level five, Dallion paused for a few monts. This was the mont of truth. If he succeeded in improving it further, all this would have been worth it.
SOUTHERN FALLS Level increased
The VILLAGE has now been improved to a Level 5 TOWN
Yes! Dallion kept on going.
Soon, the town beca a city and kept on growing. At fifteen, the city beca his domains capital, which was rather awkward, co to think of it. Normally, this was the point at which one would stop, though not Dallion. When the domain reached level eighteen, three rectangles erged.
SOUTHERN FALLS Level increased
The CAPITAL CITY has now been improved to a Level 18 WORLD CAPITAL
WORLD CAPITAL
( 2 Mind)
Every bright hopeful goes through this step. The question is, what will you do now that you have it?
You have broken through your one hundred and thirtieth barrier.
You are level 130.
Choose the trait you value the most.
And there it wasthe level that Dallion had strived for. Most likely, it was going to be the last level hed earn before the end of the conflict, but it made him feel a lot better. Given that his reaction was at ninety-nine, he chose to finally add the final point to make it a round hundred.
No sooner had he done so, when a new rectangle popped up.
HUNDREDS SOFT CAP
All your traits and skills are now a hundred or more. Its quite a feat for which youll earn sothing special.
A hundred? Dallion wondered. So many things had been happening lately that he hadnt even stopped to think about it. Indeed, everything was three digits, indicating a vast sense of improvent since hed started. On the negative side, he was still thirty levels short of the awakening gate. Sadly, there was no way he could make up the difference through achievents.
Without warning, an orange cloud poofed into existence before him. Once the cloud faded away, Dallion saw nothing less than a dragonlet of the sa color curled up on the ground.
FAMILIAR COMPANION GREAT DRAGONLET AQUILEQUIA
You have gained a Level 1 companion!
While still young, the dragonlet has the power and potential of a great dragon. Loyal and eager to grow, the dragonlet has been created by the Orange Moons magic and has the potential to move faster than any creature as well as offer so of its magic when needed.
Being a great dragonlet, it can additionally see magic threads and move in and out of realms of its own accord. The size and abilities of the familiar depend on its level.
It had been a while since Dallion had received a familiar. Ever since receiving Gleam, he had been convinced that only a Moon would let a new creature join him, and now a Moon had. Not only that, but they had granted him the most special creature one could hope for.
Aquilequia? Dallion asked.
The dragon opened a lazy eye, then stood up, stretching its wings, tail, and neck. The resemblance was unmistakable, although she was a lot smaller now, and without all the hatred emanating from her.
Hello, she said in an almost childlike voice. Are we in the real world?
Yes. Dallion reached out and petted the creature on the top of the head. Yes, were in the real world.
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