CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TEN

Inside the Belly of the Beast, Part 1

“Eugh,” Sam whispered as he slid down the dragon's throat. “It smells in here…”

There was barely any air too, and what little of it he could gasp into his lungs was like breathing in the ash cloud of an active volcano. It was also poisonous, a fact the system was repeatedly warning Sam about.

WARNING! You have entered a toxic environment. It is recommended that you escape now before your HP drops to 0. WARNING! You have been poisoned. ALERT! [Regeneration (Δ)] is working to counteract the poison. Please refrain from moving while healing is in progress.

Fat chance of that happening, Sam thought. I've got no control here…

The one thing Sam could do was cling to the duffel bag like his life depended on it while he rode down the pipe of the dragon's insides.

ALERT! Regeneration has successfully repelled the poison status effect. However, it is recommended that you escape before you are poisoned again.

Sam had barely read that message when a new notification appeared to inform him that he was once again poisoned.

No time then, Sam guessed. It's now or never…

He wasn't sure which part of the dragon's insides he was in. The journey down hadn't been that long. Sam just hoped he was in a spot where the tranquilizers would be effective.

Craziest plan—Sam reached into the bag and pulled out one of the vials inside it—and what he saw in his hand made him frown—ever… Styx, not this one. I’m not that suicidal.

He returned the vial of Greek fire into the bag and then pulled out another vial. This one was also green.

Seriously?

Sam pulled out the third vial. Still green. That’s when he realized the glaring flaw in his plan.

Hephaestus' flaming balls…this can't be happening.

He pulled out the fourth and final vial with wary anticipation, and it was like the fates were playing a cruel joke on him as this last vial was also green.

Oh, gods… Ashley must have given doc and Thunder all the blue vials... Sam puked into his brain. I didn't think this through.

WARNING! You have been poisoned.

While he coughed from the internal battle within his own body, a new notification popped up, one Sam should have expected really.

WARNING! The temperature around you is steadily increasing.

Oh, Styx…

Sam hoped he'd fallen past whatever organ made dragon fire which he'd read in a science article should have been just inside the horror's mouth. But then he remembered that dragons, despite being horrors born of the greatest greed, weren't all wired the same way. An earth dragon was also pretty different body-wise to the more common European drakes so it was possible that whatever mechanism created its flames were further down the belly of the beast.

Can I survive a blast of dragon fire at point-blank range?

A new notification popped up.

ALERT! Bulwark isn't strong enough to protect you. ALERT! You do not have enough life force to withstand the flames of the Dragon Kholkikos's breath.

Well, thanks for the pessimism…

With all the rumbling, increasing heat, and getting squished by the dragon's fleshy inner walls distracting him, it was a wonder how Sam heard the sloshing of the liquid inside the vial. But he did, drawing his gaze toward the Greek fire in his hand. Which was when a crazy, dangerous idea lit up inside his brain.

Hey, Triple-A… what are the chances I survive the Greek fire?

Chances of survival from continuous damage of Greek fire are below ten percent.

But that's higher than dragon fire which you said I couldn't survive, right?

There was a second of pause before the system responded with...

That is correct.

Sam couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the half-transparent popup.

You know…this is the first time you've answered my questions.

As an added fail-safe measure, the system is allowed to interact with the argonaut whenever the creator's signal is offline.

I didn't know that.

This information is readily available in the instruction manual.

Sam began to cough again as the rising heat was beginning to take away what little air there was around him. He would be choking soon enough.

Alright…ten percent. I can handle that…right?

No reply came, although Sam didn't expect one. He knew the answer well enough. This gamble was a coin toss. Either he would burn a hole in this horror's insides or he was going to burn up inside of it first. As for the dragon's resistance to fire, Sam knew it wouldn't matter. Greek fire had a unique property to it, one that made it a class-one dangerous substance in the Wardens' books. Greek fire burned all it came across, and although a dragon's scales might have resisted this devastating trait better, the Drakon Kholkikos's fleshy insides certainly couldn't. The gamble was whether or not Sam's life force would burn out first.

Way to go, Sam… Put yourself in another life-and-death situation, why don't you.

The increased heat was beginning to sting his eyes, and Sam was sure the rest of him was barely managing only thanks to his gear. That wouldn't last though.

Now or never…

Sam hurled the green vial. It broke easily against the dragon’s fleshy interior wall, its contents splashing across the dragon's innards like toxic sludge. Emerald flames burst to life and began to spread out from the point of impact, resulting in a nasty rumble up and down the length of the dragon's insides.

It’s working!

Sam pulled out another vial from the duffel bag, and despite the space around him constricting, he managed to hurl the Greek fire upward, sending a shower of emerald sparks exploding into the fleshy wall above him.

Um, maybe I should have kept it to just one side…

The one good thing about Greek fire is how it didn’t create smoke while it burned. Not that Sam was safe from death by choking as the heat within this fleshy tunnel had risen to dangerous levels already. Interestingly enough, the heat wasn’t coming from the Greek fire which didn’t produce heat on its own, but from the dragon’s belly underneath Sam’s feet.

ALERT! Title [Fire Proof] is now active: You received a 10% increased resistance to fire damage.

Triple-A didn’t think this was enough to save Sam’s life though, which is why it also recommended Sam activate Bulwark to keep the Greek fire from burning him before he could escape his fleshy prison.

Sam did just that despite knowing Bulwark’s activation time wouldn’t last very long. Spreading its aura across his body would drain his life force quickly—a life force that was already dwindling from the constant healing of poison in his system.

Come on, me…hang in there.

The walls around Sam shuddered and shook. As if the monster was thrashing around on the outside. It was the roughest roller coaster ride Sam had ever been on, and he was puking his lunch out soon enough while wishing the world would stop spinning.

I hope the others are having… a better time than me…

From down below, the Greek fire expanded up to his feet. While from above, the emerald flames began to descend ever closer to Sam’s hair.

Oh, gods, I didn't think this through.

Pain licked at his skin, filling Sam with panic.

If only I had Gram with me… I could have sliced through this damn dragon while it burned from the inside out.

Funnily enough, that’s when he recalled Chiron's words. “It'll come when you need it, kid. Not before then,” his master had promised.

Well, I need it now… So come on. Where are you?!

To Sam’s utter amazement, he suddenly felt something hard pressed against the palm of his right hand. He glanced down but saw nothing there apart from the Greek fire now burning against Bulwark's aura.

I can feel it though. Like it's there waiting for me to call it or something…

ALERT! HP has dropped below twenty percent. It is recommended that the hero attempt to escape back through the mouth you entered.

No way that's happening…but maybe… maybe I can make a new hole.

Sam tightened his grip on the invisible object in his hand. It was a small comfort from the pain now raising across his arm.

Maybe it is all about faith.

He shut his eyes to block out the sight of emerald flames dancing around him. Then, in his mind's eye, Sam visualized the silhouette of a sword just barely within his reach.

It'll return when I need it but not before.

A single word escaped his dried lips, “Gram,” and when he opened his eyes, Sam watched the legendary relic materialize in his hand in a shower of magical sparks.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have successfully achieved your first Summoning.

No kidding...

Sam coughed, and then coughed some more until blood leaked out of his mouth. The air was gone, and Bulwark’s aura was beginning to wink out like a bad TV reception. However, Sam’s fears had lessened. His mind was clearer. Gram was back, and with it, the promise of freedom was now literally in Sam’s hand.