“What’s the strangest, most unbelievable thing happened to you, Papa?” The little mermaid asked her father. The teacher had asked her class to compose a song based on a tale of their parents. Her father lived in the Bottomless Ocean, before moving to Andriel's friendly coasts. Her victory was assured!

The Ocean-merman replied without hesitation. “When I was with my tribe, we were asked to deal with an approaching Kraken. When we found it… something else was already battling with it." His gaze grew distant.

“At first, we thought that it was a simple Ocean dragon. Make no mistake, they are worse than Krakens when they set to destroy something, but this one was… something else. It… changed his elements, many and many times. I wouldn’t believe someone if they told me that an Ardent dragon fought at such depths, but it’s true.

He won, and then… he noticed us.”

The little mermaid gasped. “And then? What happened?”

Papa burst out laughing. "He looked at the roasted Kraken, then at us again. He asked: Did you want some squid too?"

-Old man Ardang, recorded as a survivor at the encounter with Per’ken the omnidragon.

Nashariel pov

*Sanguine-Blood seeker Lvl 108

Cerebral/Stone-Coral golem (Core) Lvl 118

Water/Hunger-Gluttonous grappler Lvl 101 *

Nashariel dashed towards the closest enemy, the Sanguine-Blood seeker. This shark-like seamonster clung to the barrier as if its life depended on it, its teeth spreading cracks through the blue barrier.

The omnidragon sought to rectify that.

[Shroud of darkness] covered the battlefield, Nashariel charging her Breath with mana.

The shark momentarily stuttered when the darkness enveloped its form. Moments later, hungry black mist enveloped it, sapping its vitality.

Nashariel savored the refreshing cooling of this healing, as her wounds closed far faster than they had any right to do. She wasn't fully healed by any means, she had way too much health for that, but a casual sneeze was a threat no more.

Her relaxation was short-lived, as a pair of glowing red eyes shone within her Shroud. Right, shark and blood, she had time to think, before a few tons worth of seamonster slammed into her.

Its skin was slippery. Its teeth weren’t. They grated against her newly regenerated scales, abusing her weakened defense.

Of course, Nashariel didn’t stand still. She led the monster away from the ship, even if her mastery for swimming had mostly waned. The omnidragon breathed once more, without using mana. While healing, she became metal.

And started sinking.

Too heavy! Ignoring the brief moment of panic, she held her breath. Nashariel could last a minute or two, probably.

The darkness vanished, replaced by a storm of razors. The metallic shrapnel made a mess of her opponent’s vulnerable skin.

Still, a seamonster was a seamonster.

The shark ignored all its minor wounds, ramming into her. Its jaws clenched on Nashariel’s left shoulder, crunching her scales.

The dragoness retaliated in kind. Her flexible tail found its way into the monster’s head, spearing to the bone, then she chomped one the closest seamonster’s fin, one of the six along its giant body, eating the raw flesh.

The shark bit harder, shaking its head like a madman. As he finally drew Nashariel’s blood, the strength of his jaws increased tenfold.

The seamonster ripped out a huge chunk of her shoulder, exposing the bones underneath.

Nashariel screamed on top of her lungs, losing all her precious oxygen. After a moment of drowning, she shifted to water, then her maximum powered aura and infused breath struck in tandem.

The attack shredded a good part of the monster’s flank. Nashariel’s grappled the monster, taking extreme care to avoid another bite. She ate a dorsal fin, then used all her limbs to poison the seamonster, minus the dangling left arm. The girl plunged her stinger in the monster’s insides again and again, [Fury] activating spontaneously. Agony and anger clouded each thought not aimed to gore her enemy down.

The shark-like monster found its mobility greatly hindered, but somehow it refused to bleed out. In the end, this worked against it, as the poisoned blood kept circling within. It moved slower and slower until it simply stopped.

Nashariel, in her frenzy, kept slashing, stinging, and biting the monster, even after the bell in her head had rung, maybe out of spite or simply fear. She calmed down after a while, taking in huge breaths. It huuuurts!

The girl vomited the most recent meal. Her shoulder pulsed at the same rhythm of her hearth, gushing out precious life juice.

*Hp: 3290/10.000 *

That was way too close! Fucking Hells! She shook her head, then looked at the ship. The remaining monsters were being pelted down.

The gluttonous grappler, an octopus-like monster, had half of its limbs missing, and a harpoon stuck in its head. The Coral golem resembled a crab made of coral; even if its armor looked grazed in many points, the thing showed no signs of being hurt.

The ship, on the other hand, looked as good as new.

I’m not killing myself, Nashariel thought, deciding to take a moment to rest and regenerate. She looked around, trying to spot anything drainable, but attracting more seamonsters would have been the worst move in the history of Nortanis. The girl swam to the surface, switching to light.

The bite from the monster had provided no mana since it had been a purely physical strike, which meant that Nashariel needed a while to regenerate enough mana to use [Dragon’s breath] as a heal. Warmth spread through her body, as soon as she collected the mana.

*Hp: 4.847/10.000 *

Not much, but it’ll have to do. I need more power. Nashariel decided to tackle with the octopus first, as it could provide a suitable target for her draining. After waiting for her mana, she approached the dying monster.

Unfortunately, the crew didn't stop their assault. After one last strike with its tentacle, a large, azure harpoon speared through its brain. The seamonster began to sink in the deeps.

Nashariel glared at the sailors, then bit her lips. I guess that they can’t really read my mind. She looked at the almost unfazed crab. Its size was the only abnormal thing about it. Well, that and the fact that he was made of coral. How can I take it down? Half the ship did barely any damage… Stone was holding up to its fame as the most resilient among all elements and variants. And it’s still the base tier. Thank Astill it’s not Bedrock…

The problem remained. Nashariel kept her distance, scrolling through her skills, but always keeping an eye on her surroundings. Poison? Does it even have a bloodstream? Next. Darkness is a gas attack, maybe it goes through? I’ll put it into maybe. My elementless form does ignore some physical defenses, but I have no idea of how large its health pool is. Let’s [Identify] it, for now.

*Cerebral/Stone-Coral golem Lvl 118

When a Mind-coral feeds on enough monsters, it undergoes an evolution, reaching maturity. The newly adult golem detaches from the place of birth, assuming the form of the favorite prey it fed on, then roams on the seabed searching for high concentrations of its affinities. During the search, this monster may detach part of its body together with a fragment of its Core, spawning additional Mind-corals. Fighting this particular variant requires a massive Mind-resistance, and means to penetrate, or ignore its layered armor. *

Nothing that I couldn’t guess by myself. Hold on…Nashariel re-read the description. It says that it has a Core. Last time, [Omnidragon kin] asked me if I wanted to absorb that, but it also stated that it needed ten minutes to do so.

Meanwhile, the golem was losing interest in the fight. Its pincers couldn’t hurt the ship, and the crew couldn’t hurt it too much. He skittered off, slowly.

Oh. I love when problems solve themselves. Nashariel sighed in relief. Then, she noticed that the golem was skittering with purpose, its eyes fixed on her. A presence reached into her mind, inviting her to lay down and rest. Duck.

Shaking off the drowsiness, Nashariel decided to give it a go. Worst come to worst, I’ll dart the duck away. She was low on mana, but the mental attack had restored a little of her reserves. The dragoness decided to play dumb, to siphon as much as possible.

She slowly sunk on the sandy floor, remaining careful to never waver for real. It wasn’t easy.

As soon as the monster got a few meters from her, [Omnidragon kin] chimed in.

*Powerful essence source detected by Omnidragon kin.

Source: Mind attuned golem Core.

Absorb?

Error, slaying required first.

Absorbing time: 15 minutes. *

Oof. I guess this is a naturally formed Core in a living monster. Oh well, here we go. Nashariel unleashed the [Dragon’s breath] she held in her throat up until now, aiming at the pincer’s joint. The pressurized jet struck true, earning a loud crack.

The monster recoiled, shifting into an offensive posture. Its stony eyes glared daggers at her.

As Nashariel found, the metaphor got a little too real. She felt as if her skull was trying to strangle her brain, and the latter tried to compress itself to run through her ears. The dragoness gritted her teeth to keep her eyes open, such was the intensity of her headache. She powered through, then went on the offensive.

Something suggested to Nashariel that biting the moving stone could yield bad results, but her mana was still recovering. She used her fighting style to grapple the monster, abusing her flexibility.

The golem didn’t appreciate that, but his pincers missed the agile form of the dragoness with a bone-chilling snap.

Shivering, Nashariel was on the back of the monster, locking both of them in place. Surprisingly, she was physically stronger than the reddish crab, at least from this angle. The dragoness jerked its arms in the wrong direction, but her muscles failed her. Let’s try something stupid, she thought in a moment of inspiration.

Nashariel expelled all the water in her lungs, then shifted in her fire form. Straining her body to the max, the previously damaged pincer detached with a loud 'pop'.

The golem screamed, still feeling the pain despite its rocky body. As expected, no blood gushed out, even when the second arm succumbed to the might of dragonkind.

The pressure on the omnidragon’s mind, for some reason, decreased. Suddenly remembering something, Nashariel decided to try her infused fire breath, putting all her mana into it.

Corals, contrary to popular beliefs, were animals and not plants. When taken out of the water, or significantly heated, they quickly died and skeletonized. So, when the Dragonfire hit the multitude of organisms that composed the golem, they screamed in Nashariel’s mind.

A sudden, giant cloud of steam rose from the seabed, glassing the surrounding sand. Second by second, the pressure eased, then faded to nothing. The Coral golem was completely calcified, then crumbled to ashes soon later.

A small orange sphere floated gently, resembling a small pearl. Vivacious, light flames danced elegantly within. It’s so… beautiful. I think I’ll keep it. Nashariel shifted in her water form, then pressed ‘No’ on her previous notification. The prompt accepted her answer, but it didn’t fade. If I change my mind, I can always absorb it later. Snickering at the pun, she reemerged.

The ship’s defense had faded, and various sailors were plunging in the water. Most of them went towards each corpse, including the one belonging to the Burrowing storm, while others harvested plants or other corals.

Nashariel calmly swam to the ship, waving at the ones who said hello to her.

“You lured them here on purpose?”

Onhark shrugged. “No sense in slacking off, since we are here.”

“I get it, but why didn’t you warn me before? I thought you were in danger!”

As soon as Nashariel was back, she searched for the walruskin. He told her that they had used a Sea-Core to lure in a trio of seamonsters, blocking off others from entering, and using its power to produce that powerful shield.

“It’s a common fishing method in the Deepsea, I’m surprised that you didn’t know about it.” The walruskin scratched his left tusk. “Sorry for the misunderstanding, young Templar.”

“It’s fine, but even then, why not wait until I was done? Some monsters could decide to pick on me. I wasn’t exactly unharmed against that Burrowing storm.” Nashariel remarked. She wasn’t angry, as much as deeply irritated.

One of the first things that the Bastion drilled into her and the other children was precisely to consider the entirety of your group before acting.

“It couldn’t happen, not with another seamonster. The young Lord took great care to extend the aura of repulsion around us. No other monster could enter without his permission," the captain chuckled to himself, “or by being powerful enough that it wouldn’t have mattered either way.”

“Is Cody ok?”

He nodded. “Utilizing the Core took a great toll on him. He’s resting.”

Good. Nashariel sighed. Some of her annoyance was gone, but not all of it. She threw a half-glare at the captain. "I'll follow him for a while. I assume that you plan more hunts since the harvesters are safe?"

If Onhark was bothered by her gaze, he didn’t show it. “Yes, but monsters are about to come out since the battle ended. So, if you could…”

The omnidragon nodded. Never mind. “Got it, I’m going. Don’t lure any more, please.” The righteous never sleeps.

The walruskin chuckled. “That, I can promise.”

Nashariel dived once more.

For the rest of the day and the following night, the omnidragon and the crew hunted.

The harvesters had stripped bare the entire area, causing the ship to move around a lot. For the first round, she simply rested, providing [Light’s refuge] to the ship. The sailors were seemingly tireless. From the second time on, she participated by isolating a single seamonster, letting the sailors deal with only two at a time.

It was easier since she was topped off and not in a hurry. Unfortunately for her collection, no other Core found its way into her claws.

Cody, it seemed, had an innate talent for being a Core-master. He frequently rested, looking rather ragged after a few rounds, but the noble improved his control every fight, becoming able to assist in the offense. The accumulated strain finally forced him to bed, and this was the reason for why the ship sailed home half-day in advance.

Nashariel had shown him the Mind-Core she harvested. The leviakin whistled. “Not bad. Where did you find it?”

“The Cerebral golem. Can I do something with it, other than absorbing it?”

He raised an eyebrow, eyeing the orange sphere. “As you say. Do you have to absorb it all?”

Nashariel checked. Did he think I lied? Her skill wanted all or nothing. She nodded.

“Unfortunate.” He assumed a thoughtful expression. “You don’t look like someone who would enjoy becoming a controller. You could make a jewel with it, or set it into armor. Other than that? It makes a fine decoration. Unless you want to sell it. I could give you 50… 60 gold, since we are friends.”

That’s a lot of money. “Thanks, but no thanks. I like it. Thanks for the talk, mister Seaweaver.”

“Anytime, miss Holyshield.”

Nashariel let the noble to his rest. She sat on the hull, near the figurehead, shaped as a ferocious-looking walrus, and opened her status.

Her gains were… interesting. Not bad for a vacation day!

*Sanguine-Blood seeker (x3) Lvl 108-115 has been slain.

Cerebral/Stone-Coral golem Lvl 118 has been slain.

Sea/Hunger-Pack devourer (x4) Lvl 100 has been slain.

Water/Fury-Berserker strangler Lvl 109 has been slain.

Sea/Metal-Sand ambusher (x2) Lvl 111 has been slain.

…

Omnidragon kin halves some of the rewards.

Hunt rewards: 116 stat and 105 skill points.

2 stat and 3 skill points absorbed from Fire-Core.

Omnidragon Lvl up! *

I almost forgot about the fact that I can absorb essence like this. Mhmm, perhaps encasing this inside an armor wouldn’t be a bad idea. I’ll think about it. Nashariel scrolled down a bit, before freezing. She rapidly re-read the Core part. It changed affinity?! Did I flood it with too much fire mana? I wonder if it’s a common thing, or my skill benefitted it somehow. Although, I did poison that clearing already…

*Name: Nashariel Holyshield

Race: Omnidragon (young)

Age: 18

Current humanoid form: Human dragokin

Current attunement: Metal

Level: 91-> 96

Available stat points: 267

Available skill points: 153

Strength: 400 - 800

Power: 350 - 700

Resilience: 500 – 1000

Vitality: 500 – 1000

Dexterity: 300 - 600

Awareness: 400 - 800

Essence: 300 - 600

Endurance: 250 - 500

Hp: 10.000/10.000

Mana: 6000/6000

Stamina: 5000/5000

Skills:

Racial:

Omnidragon kin (minor) Lvl -

Omnidragon might (II) Lvl 20-capped

Omnidragon body Lvl 4-> 20-capped

Draconic breath (II) Lvl 15-> 17

Draconic fighting style (II) Lvl 20-capped

Draconic Aura (II) Lvl 2-> 8

Dragon hoard Lvl 4-> 5

Air:

Improved flight Lvl 20-capped

Draconic feathers Lvl 20-capped

Water:

Venom Lvl 12-> 17

Draconic dive (II) Lvl 3-> 6

Improved learning Lvl 20-capped

Identify Lvl 20-capped

Improved grapple Lvl 7-> 12

Mana efficiency Lvl 10-> 11

Reduced water resistance Lvl 1-> 5

Draconic quills Lvl 1-> 6

Draconic stinger Lvl 1-> 7

Water dragon fighting style Lvl 1-> 7

Earth:

Improved burrow Lvl 9-> 10

Increased size Lvl 20-capped

Increased body density Lvl 20-capped

Earth armor Lvl 14

Hunter senses Lvl 14-> 15

Fire:

Fury Lvl 13-> 16

Sharpened natural weapons Lvl 20-capped

Improved Aoe Lvl 20-capped

Light:

Improved healing Lvl 20-capped

Light’s refuge Lvl 20-capped

Taunt Lvl 9-> 12

Dark:

Nullify presence Lvl 8-> 9

Improved draining Lvl 4-> 7

Shroud of darkness Lvl 7-> 8

Metal:

Metal manipulation Lvl 6

Metal creation Lvl 9

Metal armor Lvl 9

Metal dragon fighting style Lvl 6 *

Playing with her Fire-Core, Nashariel reasoned about what to do with her points. I could unlock my hybrid forms… The girl thought about her recent fights. She needed something to deal with high-defense-focused monsters and the speedsters. Let’s open the choice menu again.

Nashariel immersed deep into her status, awakening once again in the familiar square. It hadn’t changed much in these years, save for the additional door within the earth chamber, representing her metal affinity. The metallic room resembled a pristine cube of metal, decorated with all sorts of weapons on the walls, and a mercurial riven ran from one side to the other.

The omnidragon approached the large slate, where there was her ‘affinity shop’. She summoned the full list.

*Necessary skill points to acquire new form is 50. Affinity accumulated by Omnidragon kin may reduce this amount. Some skills may be needed to acquire a new form.

Fire:

Conflagration: Some fire dragons live to see the moment a roaring flame comes to life, even while they themselves burn with it. Necessary points to unlock reduced to 22.

Destruction: Flames that consume everything in their wake, eating even the ash they leave behind.

Passion: The embodiment of anger and battle lust, for a fire dragon who wishes to feel their claws inside their enemies, and taste their still-hot blood.

Water:

Ice: The water dragon who relinquish their tricky side for the ability to freeze the world around them, and abandon the warm waters of their birth.

Mind: For the sages among the water dragons, improving their brain is priceless. Or, for the pragmatic ones, making friends in a pinch. Necessary points to unlock reduced to 43.

Flow: The Flux is the energy of the world, and some water dragons wish to bend this power to their wills.

Earth:

Wood: For the earth dragons who like an infinite vitality to pair up with their fortress-like bodies.

Stone: Improving the already immense defensive capabilities of the earth dragons is no easy feat. Stone dragons disagree.

Metal: Deep within the earth, the noble ores await to be discovered and polished into a proper form. The sharpest blades and the sturdiest weapons wait for your command.

Air:

Wind: Speed is everything for these kinds of air dragons. Races aren’t gonna win themselves, right? Weeeeeeeeee.

Sound: The roars of dragonkind strike fear in the heart of all. Some, instead, seek to inspire their friends with their songs and cheers.

Space: A mysterious Aspect, perhaps the most unusual choice for an air dragon. Learn about the constellations, and the warp the world around you into the shape you desire.

Light:

Protection: Dedication to the other to the point of martyrdom, light dragons who make this choice suffer their altruism in great ways.

Healing: Most light dragons never want to see their friends hurt for long. Sometimes, they may even prevent such injuries.

Radiance: For the light dragons who despise evil creatures, a righteous fire to burn through their wicked nature.

Darkness:

Hunger: The gluttonous who enjoy tasting their enemies before, during, and after the fight. Your enemy will need to kill you in a moment or die a slow death.

Curse: For the truly sadistic dark dragons, inflicting pain to their enemies is their reason to live. Traps are going to be your best friends.

Shadow: A dark dragon who gave up on their hunger to execute the perfect strike. Quick, powerful, and elusive. *

Turns out, [Omnidragon kin] had converted a great deal of the Conflagration-Core exploding in her face in affinity. The omnidragon ignored the choice. Leading a team as a Conflagration dragon was a recipe for disaster.

Once again, Nashariel sighed. So many good choices… destruction and wind should be my go-to for what I needed before, but I’ll unlock hybrid variants after the next choice. She thought about the Burrowing storm. That kind of speed kinda suited her wants.

You know what? Duck the optimal choices. Nashariel’s tail wagged.

*Mind affinity selected.

Commence evolution?

Y/N. *

She quickly hopped up, warning the captain that she would be unavailable for a few minutes, then dashed into her cabin. Once there, she laid on the bed, confirming the changes. She fell asleep as a familiar itch washed over her.

*Points reduced to-> 110

Commencing evolution.

…

…

Done!

May your schemes come soon to fruition, young Mind dragon.

Two free Mind-attuned skills are granted for free. *

Nashariel found herself in her water chamber.

One of the waterfalls opened up, a purple glow shining from within. Ignoring the large slate pulsing at her back, the omnidragon skipped there.

The river from the previous room flowed here too, making the place look like an open-air library. The pillars were topped off by closed books, resting on one side. The room was strangely silent but in a peaceful sense. The walls had purple orbs to provide light. It does look like the Library in the Bastion, minus the ominous orbs on the side. Nashariel grinned. Time to choose my skills! The girl skipped to each pillar.