Magic-Smithing-Chapter 121.2

Escaping wouldn’t be that easy.

Aaliyah and Tabitha had drawn first blood, but there was no way a single cut to the mouth was enough to stop a lesser dragon as big as the winged serpent.

Gallons of blood dripped from its mouth like red rain, but the lesser dragon was already healing even as it thrashed in agony. Aaliyah didn’t have time to estimate its level, but if she had, she would have realized it was level 133, six levels higher than General Pitz.

Meanwhile, Tabitha was currently at level 105, and thanks to crafting her new shield, Aaliyah had leveled up to level 85.

LV: 85 Experience: 1,193,311/ 1,718,239

Health: 2,584.63/2,700

Stamina 1,797.15/1,836

Mana: 1,060/1,060

Vitality: 270.04

Endurance: 100.47

Strength: 181.03

Dexterity: 181.02

Senses: 62.80

Mind: 65.71

Magic: 106.05

Clarity: 79.39

Status Points: 30

Skills:

Tier 1:

Meditation (LV81), Running (LV80), Blacksmithing (LV76), Hammer Skills (LV72), Axe Skills (LV60), Cleaning (LV58), Chanting (LV53), Mining (LV51), Drawing (LV48), Trading (LV48), Cooking (LV47), Sword Skills (LV40), Acting (LV36), Wood Carving (LV36), Dagger Skills (LV35), Sewing (LV34), Dancing (LV33), Pugilist Skills (LV16), Alchemy (LV15), Spear Skills (LV2)

Tier 2:

Sense Mana (LV81), Double Step (LV68), Charm (LV50), Hammer Arts (LV50), Measurement (LV49), Axe Arts (LV39), Steady Hands (LV37), Intimidating Shout (LV34), Writing (LV32), Mathematics (LV31), Increase Price (LV22), Lower Price (LV20), Sword Arts (LV17), Gourmet (LV16), Dagger Arts (LV13), Marching (LV5), Shout of Valor (LV3), Pugilist Arts (LV1)

Tier 3:

Mana Manipulation (LV67), Expel Mana (LV64), Weighted Strike (LV48), Double Strike (LV46), Precise Strike (LV46), Flash Step (LV40), Contract (LV22), Poison Resistance (LV14), Enchanting (LV12), Heat Resistance (Lv3)

Tier 4:

Mental Resistance (LV63), Mana Skin (LV61), Inject Mana (LV57), Extract Mana (LV40), Magic Blacksmithing (LV38), Magic Threads (LV34), Air Walk (LV24), Empowered Spell (LV22), Ironclad Agreement (LV8), Multi-Strike (LV8), Appealing Deal (LV3),

Tier 5:

Sense Soul (LV41), Soul Manipulation (LV23)

Tier 6:

Soul Devourer (LV18), Experience Transfer (LV3)

Increased Skill Levels

Blacksmithing (LV76) 3,800exp

Hammer Skills (LV72) 3,600exp

Wood Carving (LV32-36) 8,500exp

Sewing (LV32-34) 4,950exp

Steady Hands (LV37) 3,700exp

Gourmet (LV16) 1,600exp

Weighted Strike (LV48) 7,200exp

Enchanting (LV12) 1,800exp

Heat Resistance (Lv1-3) 900exp

Magic Blacksmithing (LV37-38) 18,750exp

Empowered Spell (LV22) 5,500exp

Multi-Strike (LV8) 2,000exp

Skill Experience: 62,300exp

Crafting Experience: 1,235,840exp

Fighting Experience: 0exp

Total Experience Gained: 1,298,140exp

Aaliyah had checked her status page right before they set out for the surface, and she had been ecstatic with what she saw. She never would’ve dreamed that she would finally break through Blacksmithing’s bottleneck down in the dark, but that's what happens when you forge a badass shield using nothing but stones and roots.

The other skills that leveled from making the shield had pushed Aaliyah close to level 85, but the experience she got from finishing it pushed her well over the limit, putting her over two-thirds of the way to her next level up.

Aaliyah wasn't sure if building a forge factored into the experience she was awarded, but she wasn’t complaining. Thanks to Tabitha’s new shield, she now had 30 extra status points to distribute—something she didn’t hesitate to do now.

While running, Aaliyah mentally allocated 4 points to her Magic stat to jumpstart her mana recovery. In the brief time that they were in the winged serpent’s venomous cloud, she used roughly 300 points to keep the noxious stuff off them. It wasn't nearly as mana-intensive as purging it from their bodies had been, but it still used a significant chunk of her mana pool.

As she was, she could only block the snake's poison another two times before she collapsed from the strain. She had the remaining potions with her—it was her job to apply them as necessary—but those were best left until they were absolutely needed.

The cool sensation that accompanied distributing her status points washed over her, invigorating Aaliyah. She could feel her mana pool expanding and filling quicker than usual as she ran beside Tabitha, and that was enough for now. As she got used to the sensation, she put two points into Vitality, Strength, and Dexterity to better match Tabitha’s movements and heal the bit of damage she still had on her arms.

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The effects weren’t significant, but Aaliyah still felt a slight difference in the ease with which she was moving, and there couldn’t have been a better time for it to happen because the winged serpent had stopped contorting in pain.

It was furious at them for injuring it and charged at them through the air like a green-and-black missile locked onto their position.

Overall, Aaliyah and Tabitha had only made it a few hundred feet from where they exited the ruins, less than the total length of the serpent barreling towards them.

“Here it comes; it looks mad!” Aaliyah tries not to let her panic seep into her voice as she shouts over the roar of the charging monster.

“Stick to the plan,” Tabitha calmly reminded as she turned around and placed herself between Aaliyah and their rapidly approaching foe.

Aaliyah didn't respond; she didn't have the time to. The winged serpent reached them insanely fast with a ferocity she’d never seen before. Aaliyah had barely enough time to Flash Step away before fifteen tons of snake slammed into where they were standing.

The explosion of dirt kicked up was many times that of the snake’s initial sneak attack. Rocks of all shapes and sizes were ripped from the compacted forest floor and launched at them as shrapnel, slamming into Aaliyah’s Mana Skin and bouncing off Tabitha’s armor. It was a powerful attack, but power wasn’t everything.

“Die!” Aaliyah screamed as she swung her hammer with all her might. The snake's body slam wasn’t calculated like its previous attacks, just the ravings of a feral beast. It was mad with bloodlust, leaving its side wide open, thinking it was invincible, and Tabitha and Aaliyah weren't generous enough to let such an opportunity go unpunished.

A lot of force was behind Aaliyah's hammer as it slammed into the side of the winged serpent. The blow was strong enough to turn most stone into dust, but it did little against the scaly hide of a lesser dragon.

From an outward appearance, Aaliyah's hammer did nothing, but that wasn't the case on closer inspection. She had managed to dislodge a single scale the size of a small dinner plate from the beast's armored hide, the perfect opening for Tabitha's follow-up attack. With ruthless efficiency, Tabitha appears next to Aaliyah and drives her sword into the pale flesh she had exposed.

By herself, Tabitha would have trouble getting past the winged serpent's scales, but with Aaliyah tenderizing it first, they could do much more damage together than they ever could alone.

Aaliyah smiled frantically as the serpent started to bleed again, but the battle had just started.

“Back!” Tabitha orders as she pulls her sword from the lesser dragon’s tough hide and jumps away.

Aaliyah sprang into action, but she was a fraction of a second slower than her mentor, and she was going to pay because of it. The snake rolled in her direction, intending to smush her with its immense weight. Aaliyah tried to use her skills again to jump away at the last second and succeeded in not taking a full-powered hit, but couldn’t evade it completely. The snake's massive body slams into her with incredible force, crashing into her like a scaly bus, sending her skipping across the ground like a stone across a lake.

Tabitha rushed after her, helping her to her feet, scanning every inch of her body for mortal wounds. “Are you okay?” Tabitha asked worriedly.

“I’m fine,” Aaliyah groaned loudly, tasting blood in her mouth. She had used Air Walk at the last second to reduce the impact, but was still sent flying. If she had been even a moment slower, her injuries would’ve been a lot worse than they were.

The two had no time to say anything else to each other before a loud whistling noise drew their attention. The winged serpent was flying a few feet above the ground in a tight circle, looking like it was trying to eat its tail, but there was nothing funny about what it was doing.

A veteran of many battles, Tabitha immediately sensed something was wrong and instinctively raised her shield, and not a moment too soon.

A loud crack splits the air as the winged serpent flicks its feathered tail at Tabitha like a whip, breaking the sound barrier and producing a concussive blast in its wake. It was the same attack that had destroyed her last shield and broken her arm during their first encounter, only this time the snake wasn't holding anything back.

The attack was so fast that Aaliyah only saw the afterimage of the serpent's tail striking Tabitha's shield, but she clearly saw the results.

Tabitha was immediately pushed back twenty feet, her feet leaving deep grooves in the forest floor. Aalyiah and the serpent both froze, one in disbelief, the other in excitement, when they both realized Tabitha was still standing after taking such a hit.

Tabitha’s shield arm was trembling, and the root rope securing the buckler to her arm had a few split fibers, but other than that, the shield had held up spectacularly. There wasn’t even the slightest dent from the winged serpent’s attack, but nothing was perfect.

The small shield had done its job; it reflected 99.99% of the kinetic energy directed at it. But that still meant .01% of the force made it through, which sounded like nothing, but was, in truth, equal to a small explosion directly against her forearm. It was a remarkable feat that Tabitha endured it, but it was overshadowed by the hiss of pain let out by the lesser dragon.

It hadn’t noticed because it was so surprised that its prey had somehow survived yet again, but after the shock had worn off, the serpent realized it was in agony. Dozens of pitch-black feathers fell from its beautiful tail as copious amounts of blood dripped from between its interlocking scales. Seventeen of its vertebrae in its back end were fractured, leaving the snake’s tail crooked and no longer straight.

The force of its attack had successfully rebounded on it, putting considerable strain on its bones, which were already weak from the initial force of its attack.

The snake was now more pissed than ever, deciding that it was finished playing around. Inhaling, it directed another wave of venom at Tabitha, only this time it was twice as thick as its two previous attempts, covering a huge swath of land in death.

Aaliyah and Tabitha didn’t need to communicate. As soon as the snake started inhaling deeply, they moved towards each other, meeting in the middle. Aaliyah smoothly chanted her cleaning spell again, protecting them.

Tabitha dealt the most damage, but Aaliyah’s job was to keep them alive.

“Do you think it’s going to charge us again?” Aaliyah whispered behind Tabitha as the thick haze of poison swallowed their vision.

“No, it won’t try the same trick twice, not after I stabbed it in the mouth; it's not that stupid. No, I expect it will—” Tabitha was cut off by something that made her and Aaliyah’s blood run cold.

“Get out!” Tabitha urgently ordered as they heard a clicking noise in the distance. To Tabitha, it sounded like someone striking two stones together, while Aaliyah's mind immediately pictured the click of a lighter. Either way, both knew what was coming.

“No time!” Aaliyah makes an executive decision and jumps over Tabitha, only to promptly turn around and do her best to shield her friend with her larger body from what they both knew was coming. No sooner than she did, the poisonous cloud around them burst into flames.

Neither human made a sound as their surroundings turned into a sea of fire. Aaliyah prepared to use Air Walk to get them out of the flames, but Tabitha stopped her. "Don't; it'll attack as soon as we leave. It’s faster in the air than you are.”

She was right. All Aaliyah could do was protect Tabitha to the best of her abilities. These flames were nothing compared to the ones she endured when forging Tabitha’s shield. She couldn't even feel anything through Mana Skin, but Tabitha wasn't so lucky.

Aalyiah did her best to cover Tabitha’s head, but she could smell her friend's hair burning. Strands of blue hair vaporized, leaving only a horrible smell in their wake. The fire lasted only a few seconds, but it felt much longer.

“I’m good,” Tabitha patted Aaliyah on the back, signaling for her to let her go and to get back behind her as the flames died out.

They expected the winged serpent to take the opportunity to attack them, but as the last flames vanished, they could see that it hadn’t moved from its position. Its eyes were laser-focused on them while slowly opening and closing its mouth. While doing so, its upper and lower fangs scraped against each other, producing the clicking sound they heard along with copious sparks.

Leave it to a lesser dragon to figure out how to breathe fire, if only technically.

“It’s mocking us,” Tabitha says with a straight face as thin strands of her half-burnt hair drift in the air.

“Tabitha, I need time to recharge my mana,” Aaliyah warns her teacher. That last blast had taken more out of her than the first, and she was starting to run low on mana. If the winged serpent tried something similar again, Aaliyah wasn’t sure if she would remain conscious.

“It’s okay, take your time and recharge,” Tabitha tells her reassuringly. “Look, you aren’t the only one running low on mana.”

As Aaliyah stepped back, giving her teacher enough room to react if needed, she observed the winged serpent that was bobbing in the air. The mana around it, keeping it afloat, was noticeably thinner than a second ago, with faint scorch marks around its mouth. Seems the winged serpent wasn't built to breathe fire.

It was running on fumes, too, which meant now was the time for them to strike. Allocating another five points to Magic to further boost her recovery speed, Aaliyah prepared herself to follow Tabitha into battle.

It was about to turn into a melee.

“Keep up with me,” Tabitha orders as she raises her sword and buckler.

“To the underworld and back.” Aaliyah literally had Tabitha’s back.

With those few words, the battle resumed. For the first time, the two humans were the ones to initiate an attack, rather than respond to one, and rushed the winged serpent as it dipped lower towards the ground.

It didn’t like that, not one bit.

How dare these lower lifeforms think they stood a chance against a mighty dragon! They should be fleeing in terror after experiencing its fierce attacks, and here they were, charging as if they could kill him! He couldn’t understand these creatures—and he didn’t want to.

They were rivals in his territory, insects infesting his feeding ground. They were the prey here, not him!

By the time he was finished with them, they would learn to fear him, and only then would he eat them. Their bones would line his nest; the winged serpent would be sure of that.