I was mad with joy because I finally had a magic-disrupting skill of my own. Although it couldn’t seal the opponent’s magic outright, the ability to interrupt a channeling spell was still incredibly powerful. This skill was especially useful in PvP because all magic spells such as Magic Shield, Ice Dragon Howl, Flash, Ice Blade, and so on had a 0.5-second channel time at the minimum. If I could time my attacks properly, I could absolutely deal a critical blow to any mage with this skill!

Moreover, Magic Piercing Punch wasn’t limited to interrupting magic spells only. It could be used to interrupt any skill, meaning that I could interrupt a Charge, a Triple Slash, and more. It was one of the best skills someone could have if they were forced to mount a do-or-die counterattack...

……

Next, I checked my experience bar and felt my happiness grow. I was almost Level 117 70% before I turned in the quest, and now I had risen to Level 117 89%. Barring any accidents, I should be able to reach Level 118 today. This was definitely good news.

"So…"

Dragon Knight Tia looked at me and said solemnly, "Young warrior, you have passed my trial, but your real challenge has just begun. Are you sure you want to challenge the mighty Earth Lizard Dragon? It is a kind of giant dragon, and it possesses incredible destructive power. I urge you to think over your decision carefully…"

I nodded, but in my head I didn’t think much of it. Worst case scenario, I die and lose a level. This boss was a Spirit Rank boss, and these days it was incredibly difficult to find one. There was no chance I was going to let this opportunity slip past me.

So I nodded. "Yes, I’m ready!"

"Very well!"

Tia smiled before continuing in a solemn tone. "I am poisoned, and the Earth Lizard Dragon’s blood is the only thing that can cure me. Therefore, your job is to kill the Earth Lizard Dragon and bring back a bottle of its blood to me. If you succeed, I will reward you with an extraordinarily generous reward! My life is in your hands, young warrior…"

I nodded.

Ding~!

System Notice: You have accepted the main quest [Kill the Earth Lizard Dragon]! (Current Quest Rank: SS)

Description: Venture into the deeper parts of Dragonspine Basin and seek out the Earth Lizard Dragon’s lair. Find the Earth Lizard Dragon, kill it and bring a bottle of its fresh blood back to Tia so that her affliction may be cured. Besides that, you may bring the Earth Lizard Dragon’s head back to Sky City’s adventurer guild and receive a bounty reward!

……

The pleasant surprises wouldn’t stop coming. A main quest? If today didn’t count as a joyous day, I didn’t know what did. An SS Rank quest was very difficult, but the harder the quest was, the better its reward would be! Moreover, this was a double-reward quest where I could receive a reward from Tia by giving her a bottle of dragon blood, and receive a bounty reward by giving the adventurer guild of Sky City the head of the Earth Lizard Dragon.

In fact, after the boss was dead, why not dissect it on the spot and take everything it had? If even a pig’s body contained untold treasures, there was no reason to believe a giant dragon would be any worse. Yes, its skin could be used to make armor, its fat could be used as fuel, its bones could be used to make medicine, weapons, and more! Long story short, the royal road lay in maximizing the utilization of resources!

It was at this moment Tia passed me a glass container. "Use this to hold the dragon’s blood, thank you!"

"Mn!"

"Also…" Tia’s hand slipped into her waist again and pulled out three bottles of green-colored medicine. "These are poisons made by our royal pharmacist. It can suppress the beast’s regeneration speed. The Earth Lizard Dragon has incredible health regeneration, so this poison may be of use to you!"

"Thank you!"

My eyes lit up when I accepted the bottles and saw its description. It was incredibly good stuff—

Voodoo Poison: Can be applied to user’s weapon. Applied Poison effect lasts for 60 minutes. When attacking a target, there is a 40% chance to poison them for a duration of 10 minutes. During this time, the target cannot regenerate health, and they will lose 0.01% remaining HP per second. Level Requirement: 100.

……

Hmm, it stops a dragon’s regeneration and reduces their HP by 0.01% every second. This should shorten the duration of the boss fight by a lot.

My confidence surged even higher now that I had the Voodoo Poison from Tia. With the Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf by my side, I left immediately to meet the legendary Earth Lizard Dragon and see if it was strong enough to withstand my wrath.

I leaped back into Dragonspine Basin and checked my equipment durability. After grinding for an entire day, the Heaven-stealing Sword was sitting at 29% durability, and the rest of my equipment was at 10% to 25%. It wasn’t much, but it should be enough for one boss fight.

In fact, the durability dropped this quickly only because I had chosen to AoE down the mobs and finish the quest as soon as possible. It usually dropped a lot slower when fighting against a single target at a time.

I circled around the Fire Lizards and One-horned Rhinos’ area and ventured deeper into Dragonspine Basin. As mentioned by Tia, a huge dragon cave soon appeared at the horizon. Its interior was completely dark, and it was impossible to tell how deep it was from outside.

The corner of my lips turned upward. This was a giant dragon, and I was going to solo it myself. To be honest, I had no idea how this fight would turn out. I could balance out the odds somewhat by recruiting a couple of helpers, but I didn’t feel like disturbing the others today, and if too many people decided to join in on the boss fight, loot distribution was sure to break a couple of hearts or more. That was why I would rather do this myself.

……

Rustle rustle rustle...

My war boots hit soft soil as I slowly entered the cave with the Heaven-stealing Sword raised in front of me. I turned on all the visual effects of my equipment and illuminated the small area around me. Out of all the items I was wearing, my Heaven-stealing Sword shone the brightest of them all. It was bright enough to illuminate everything within 10 yards of me.

The ground was covered in animal bones, and a disgusting stench emanated from all of them. I also heard a vague growl coming from deep inside the cave. It wasn’t the sound of a generic mob, but that of a giant dragon!

My Heaven-stealing Sword shook slightly because my hands were shaking with excitement. Giant dragon boss, here I come!

A few minutes of walking later, I arrived at the deeper parts of the cave. I quickly discovered that the cave was more of an underground maze. There were thick stalactites hanging on the ceiling, and there were paths leading down every direction. My war boots made a wet, dripping sound every time I stepped on a pool of hard water. I brought up the mini map and noted that the place was as huge as I imagined it to be. The water of this cave had punctured holes on the walls, and I could vaguely spot venomous snakes, spiders and other critters in them.

My mouth opened a bit as I thought to myself: Man, this place sure is a cursed place!

The deeper I went, the dryer the air became. Eventually, all the paths converged into one giant path that led to the deepest part of the dragon cave. I could hear the boss's breathing growing louder and louder. I’m almost there!

Every hair on the Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf was standing on end. Even that goof had noticed the huge threat right ahead of us.

Thud, thud, thud...

I continued forward until a surge of heat abruptly brushed past my face. When I turned the corner, I saw a huge hall with a gigantic dragon at the center of it—

The Earth Lizard Dragon was curled into a ball like a small hill of scaly flesh. It looked like it was taking a nap, but unlike most creatures, a jet of flame was exiting its nostrils every time it breathed out. Its lightly-swaying tail seemed to indicate that it was in a fairly light sleep, and at the back of the boss lay a small mountain of literal treasure. There was gold, Big Magic Stones, Phantasmal Magic Stones; even the legendary gems such as Cyanfire Gems and Dragonstone Gems!

My eyes turned into a pair of gigantic dollar signs. If I could kill the Earth Lizard Dragon, its hoard alone could send me to the realm of ecstasy, let alone the rest of the reward. There was plenty of gold in that small hill of treasure, but the high-level gems were what I really wanted. It was a pile of wealth that could tempt any man or woman into action!

……

Crack!

It was a soft cracking noise, but it was one that deflated my euphoria in an instant and filled me with horror. My bastard pet actually stepped on a dead bone! There was no way the boss wouldn’t hear this!

Just as I thought, the Earth Lizard Dragon’s drooping eyelids abruptly opened. Crimson eyes filled with unimaginable fury, it abruptly opened its mouth and launched a blazing breath straight at our direction!

I backed off quickly and saved myself by dashing behind a stone wall, but the Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf wasn’t nearly as lucky. The fiery breath had burned off every hair on its body and deleted 14672 HP in one go!

I was flabbergasted to say the least. Holy shit, its Magic Attack is out of this world!

I dashed out of my hiding spot and Charged the Earth Lizard Dragon without hesitation!

Whoosh!

MISS!

I wasn’t able to stun it. I immediately followed up with a triple-hit combo: Ice Ray + Desperate Gambit + basic attack!

Clang clang clang!

Sparks actually flew off the point of contact. It felt like I was hitting solid metal. At the same time, three damage numbers rose into the air—

2272!

3091!

1284!

……

Fuck, what ridiculous Defense! Even my basic attack was only strong enough to deal 1284 damage. Just how much Defense does this fucker have?!

The good news was that my second hit had poisoned the Earth Lizard Dragon, sealing its HP regeneration and reducing its HP every second. I still had a great chance of killing it.

"Roar!"

The giant dragon roared angrily and raised its front paw. Then, the mountain of flesh swung at me!

I raised my sword but quickly discovered that I couldn’t block the attack at all. I was sent flying into the air as pain exploded across my shoulders!

6894!

Holy shit, this motherfucker can kill me in two hits or three! What kind of Attack is this?

Shocked, I immediately turned around and ran toward the exit. Trying to fight the boss head-on would only result in death, the only way to kill it was to exploit this terrain!

The Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf was a loyal and courageous pet, so it charged toward the Earth Lizard Dragon and bought me a couple of precious seconds. Then, the boss flattened it like a pancake before throwing its carcass into its mouth. It was terrible to say the least.

I ran out of the hall with all my might before looking to the back. I aimed at the Earth Lizard Dragon’s head and tossed a Dragon Slaying Slash at it!

Bang!

3092!

Huh, Dragon Slaying Slash can pierce its Defense? The long haul it is then!

I also took the opportunity to check the boss's stats, but sadly I saw nothing except an incredibly intimidating description—

Earth Lizard Dragon Rajes (Spirit Rank Boss)

Level: 150

Attack: ???

Defense: ???

HP: ???

Skills: ???

Introduction: After the giant lizards who lived underground consumed the essence of the earth, they grew a dragon soul and became a member of the giant dragon race. The Earth Lizard Dragon Rajes was one of them. Rajes was a violent creature who once slaughtered a dozen or so human villages and killed countless Dragon Slayers from Sky City. Its infamy had cowed the warriors of Sky City since time immemorial.

...