Chapter 2

Alone

The trip took both forever and no time at all as far as Lykan was concerned. Each step at the quick pace required by the guards was grueling for Lykan’s still-growing body. Worse they only made one stop for dinner and prayers to the Gods before charging through at midnight.

The guards lit prayer stones during their vigils which fortunately kept all the low-level monsters of the forest away. Only the most powerful of monsters could conquer the radiating darkness caused by the glow stones.

The guards looked from the stones to Lykan, who just looked confused at the sudden attention. While the guards were now used to the unnerving magical effects of the glow stone, they expected the stones to have a dramatic effect on the boy. His lack of reaction at all proved that he was truly a Null candidate.

Shaking their heads, almost as if hoping the reading was wrong, the trio marched on. Finally, at day break, the trio stopped at a clearing just as the morning sun began to shine on the vacant fields from the East. Which, to Lykan’s view, was to the right. He knew he had to start paying attention to such things if he were to remove this curse.

Off in the distance stood two ominous mountain chains with only a small lane to traverse in the center. This was a known caravan route used by merchants to link the different Kingdoms together. The Kingdom that Lykan was from was actually a smaller Kingdom known to the world as Tython.

There was an awkward pause.

“You have to make the last step on your own,” the talkative guard said, a tone of sadness filling his words.

Seeing the line that truly seemed to separate the stretch of dead prairie lands from the lush jungle of Tython, Lykan knew what he was talking about. It was easier to keep such natural borders as boundaries between territories than longitude and latitude coordinates, though both were kept. Only the Scholar-related Classes could easily wield boundary magics. So to keep it simple, the natural land changes were a given.

“To the left over there,” the talkative guard said, pointing to a volcano that, while resting, still had trails of black smoke coming from deep within. “That is the Fiery Plateau that your father mentioned. Then the mountain chain to the right, on the other end of that mountain chain, is where the Junble Basin is. That is where your father said you would find the Psychic Dragon,” the guard said, a bit of nervous tension leaving him as he spoke.

“Thank you,” Lykan said.

He made to move forward, his body almost accustomed to the movement by now before he was stopped.

“Just remember, we harbor no ill will toward you. We are just following orders. Should you find that your lot in life has changed, we will welcome you back with open arms,” the guard said.

Lykan knew that these were the words that were supposed to be said. The words were spoken to defuse tensions. Killing a Null was bad business and often caused parents to become distraught and others in a community to not try as hard. By exiling the Null improperly, they would often be tempted to sneak back and strike up rebellion. This method seemed to be the one that would result in the best results for the Kingdom. The family had hope that their child would eventually come back after changing their destiny. The Kingdom of Tython got rid of a Null, and more often than not, the Null genuinely left wanting to accomplish heroic goals that would force their destinies to change. This often led to the Null getting killed, but even that was a win for the Kingdom of Tython.

Lykan, of course, knew all this after translating an old text related to the establishment of the new rules of Tython.

Realizing he was doing exactly as the Kingdom wanted, he left. While he had been allowed to keep the food and weapons provided by his father, he knew he would not come back until he could show his head with pride.

Lykan took one step to be near the border. Then a second step to pass the border. Once on the other side, the two guards took a sigh of relief until Lykan immediately came to a stop. The two guards waited in silence as they watched. Lykan took off his backpack.

Before they could say anything, Lykan removed the knife his father had mentioned and strapped it to his belt and left leg. Then pulled out a canteen and draped it over his neck. Once everything was ready, he nodded to himself, put on his pack, and began walking, never turning back. Despite the fact he could feel the eyes of the guards on him, well, the eyes of the two guards that were directly next to him along with the two other sets of extra guards who had followed to make sure he didn’t do anything truly stupid he continued going forward. Part of him wanted to look back, but deep down, he knew that he was likely done with Tython forever. While he hoped to be able to go back and see his father once more, he knew it best to keep such thoughts out of his mind.

He walked without any real destination in mind other than South and away from Tython’s borders. So lost in his own thoughts that only after a while did he realize he was well off course for the Trader’s Straights, the path that led directly between the two large mountain chains and linked Tython to the other Kingdoms of the world.

For a second, he almost turned to correct his direction but then realized he had been going South-East toward the Fiery Plateau. His heart pounded as he thought about the impossible task his father had given him. Kill a dragon? Let alone a Fire Dragon? That was impossible.

Even stories of heroes long since passed. The Heroes whose bones and stories were used to build the Kingdom of Tython spoke of heroes needing entire bands of adventurers to help in such endeavors. Yet, whether by fate or chance, Lykan found that he had been drawn in that direction. He could, of course, change his direction try to go to one of the other Kingdoms of the continent, but such hopes were vain. He knew most Kingdoms had similar laws against Nulls. Also, no one liked the idea of taking on a wandering traveler by themselves. The idea was that such a traveler was extremely bad luck or cursed by the Gods or both.

For a traveler to move alone meant that either the entire group they had moved with died along the journey, a sign of bad luck. Or, they were so despised that no one would travel with them. Given his age, Lykan knew he would likely not be accepted into a city. That or they would request to see his status, at which point he would be set out to travel again. No, for better or worse, this was likely the best way forward.

If he could kill a dragon, then his accomplishments would be reflected, and the curse of being a Null would likely be removed. If he died, well, then he would never return to Tython, forever shaming his father’s good name.

At this moment, he wondered what his mother would think. She had died in childbirth. While she had been dead for quite a long time, he at least hoped that his mother was looking down over him and watching him. Giving guidance in the form of an unseen hand when he wasn’t expecting any help. It was this last thought that caused Lykan to pause once more. Then thinking about it, if his mother had been guiding him toward the Fiery Plateau, then she likely knew something he didn’t.

Maybe the beast was injured? Maybe the beast lay close to death already, and I could perform a mercy kill? These thoughts and more filled his mind. After contemplating for a second, he nodded to himself and continued forward.

Debating on what to do, Lykan pulled forth his now available status that had been granted to him by the Gods.

Name Lykan Vita Attribute Total Strength 4 Awareness 5 Mobility 8 Intelligence 6 Power Null Skill Rating Linguist Beginner Literacy Beginner Magical Abilities Rating Magic Immunity Beginner

In all, he had great Attributes. The scale for a human was from one to ten, with ten being the highest and generally believed to be the pinnacle of human perfection. While some exceptional people had been reported as having an Attribute over ten, most who had were due to rewards from the Gods due to heroic feats. It was often believed, and for good reason, that one who had an Attribute above ten was favored by the Gods and best to be left alone if at all possible.

The other thing to note was that kids tended to be faster and more agile than their adult counterparts. This only went down with time as a person gained Strength but failed to train their body to be able to adapt to their new state. This was why Mobility was often the highest as a kid and slowly went down as time went on.

Thus even with smaller legs, Lykan had been able to keep pace with the older guards due to his body’s natural ability to move quickly. This meant that he could take three steps in the same time the guards could take two. This didn’t mean much now, as it just meant he could keep pace. But Lykan realized that if he pushed himself, then he could likely keep or maybe even increase the distance he traveled as he grew taller. That thought alone made him push forward as quickly as possible. Before he knew it, the day was mostly over, and he was already at the base of the foothills that led up to the Fiery Plateau.

He wanted to keep going, but a sudden gurgling from his stomach let him know that he should stop and rest. Listening to his body, he found a clearing with low grass. Lykan chose that section of grass to sit in, hoping that it would allow him to see a snake or other predator coming.

With that, he pulled out his backpack and ate a small portion of food. He had what looked to be plenty of food. His dad had likely hit every street vendor getting every morsel of food he could before coming. Just touching the pieces of food, Lykan could imagine the sad look on the vendors' faces, most of whom might have even given discounts based on the circumstance and plethora of food available.

Still, he didn’t want to get too greedy, nor did he want to get too far ahead of himself. Realizing he was starting to feel anxious given everything that happened, he decided to stop after a few bites. The last thing he wanted was to go hunting a dragon only to be discovered due to vomiting from an upset stomach.

No, a few bites and a few sips of water were more than enough. Better to run on an empty stomach.

With that, he made his way up the side of the mountain until the slope of the mountain became too steep. He was so close and the halls of the mountain so hollow that he could feel the walls shake with each massive breath taken by the beast.

Fear gripped him, but only for a second. He knew he needed to continue on. He was close, so close now.

As he rose higher, the steep incline of the hill made it tough to continue going. Finally, he got to a small ledge and rested. Taking a moment to himself, he viewed the surrounding countryside. Everything was calm and serene.

It took him a moment to realize the reason why everything was so serene was due to the lack of any life in the area. No birds were chirping, no insects buzzing. Everything was calm.

This was the unnerving feeling, but Lykan, for his part, could not fathom what was so wrong. He had grown up in a sleepy village, one that had long ago run off the monsters that plague the lands, so he never truly knew the horrors that awaited someone in an empty forest.

Even the Library where he spent most of his free time reading had been insulated with silencing runes to help muffle inadvertent sounds. Even the training fields where he practiced forms had some form of sound dampening system to help students focus on their forms and not be so easily distracted.

So it really should not have come as any surprise that Lykan missed all the clues of danger being around. He was in the proverbial calm before the storm yet failed to realize the signs of impending doom.

If he focused, the only thing he could feel was a small vibration beneath the rocks that steadily increased the higher he got up the mountain slope.

As he got higher, the temperature rose, a stark reminder that the volcano that had originally formed the mountain range was still active. Just moving up the slope caused sweat to form where his backpack hung tightly against his body. Realizing that the backpack would likely be more of a hindrance than anything, he decided to stow the pack on the ledge. His rationale was simple, if he killed the dragon, he could come back for the pack. If he decided to run away, something that he hoped wouldn’t happen but felt was more of a possibility than anything, he would need his arms and legs free to scramble. Then once he was far enough away, he could grab his pack and head to safety between the two mountain ranges.

He knew that dragons were extremely territorial and often looking to expand their domain. So if worse came to worst, he could always try running into the Jungle Basin, hoping to pit the enraged Fire Dragon against the Psychic Dragon. Lykan figured this was a pipe dream as deep down inside, he knew there was no way he could outrun a giant flame dragon for any distance, let alone the miles needed to cover the distance from here to the jungle basin.

No, if he was to do this, to continue forward, then he would have but two options: Victory or Death. And maybe being able to run away in blind fear before he did something stupid. Those were his three options, or so he told himself.

Realizing this was it, he finally worked up the nerve to at least see what the fierce dragon looked like. By the deep constant rumbling, Lykan almost got the impression that the beast was sleeping. Taking one last sip of water, he even left his canteen tied to the outside of his backpack.

If anyone came here, they would see a free backpack waiting for them. But that fear was quickly squashed as if anyone came here, they were likely to do the same thing he was about to partake in, suicide by dragon. Though he wondered what other unfortunate events would cause someone else to go to such lengths.

Lykan, for his part, was eleven and knew that he wasn’t the most rational at this time. Common sense said to go to a city, train up for a few years, become an adventurer, then come back with a well-trained squad. Yet his legs had taken him here. Now his logical mind that should be telling him to turn back seemed to have broken as he continued going forward, ever upward.

The heat was intense.

Fortunately, a few rock ledges that had been recently created by lava pools that had cooled off and been diverted elsewhere were in great supply.

Lykan’s mind began to wonder if the dragon’s heat helped to create the magma of these mountains. Or if the Fire Dragon was drawn to the excessive heat by some deeper design? He knew his father would love to hear of these details alone. His father was a Scholar and had even managed to advance his Class to the high tier-Sage Class. Their job was to know and try to understand these aspects of the world around them.

Even the way the lava had pooled and created rocky overhangs that looked down on an open cave would have been interesting to the Sage.

Some believed that Fire Dragons, due to their being drawn to fiery pits like this, were immune to lava. While others thought that the giant beasts were merely resistant to the element that depicted their natural affinity.

There was a natural bell curve of power potential to diversity. At least when it came to apex predators like dragons and the like. While a lot of beasts could wield multiple forms of magic, few could wield them as effectively as an Apex predator like a dragon. So while dragons often had a smaller range of elements available to them, what they could do with those elements was often impressive.

These were the thoughts that went through Lykan’s mind as he made his long trek up the side of the mountain. At one point, he stopped and stared at the rocks in front of him. He stopped as it felt like the ground was shaking the most violently right before him. He felt the slow, steady rhythmic shaking of the mountain as the dragon breathed in and out.

Steeling his resolve, he forced himself up the final few hundred meters to the top of the plateau that the dragon was now nesting in.

This was a trait that dragons seemed to share with birds, the want to nest in protected areas. Lykan finally got to the top and began crawling out on the ledges that were created by lava swells that had long since dissipated and formed into a protective layer.

Fortunately for Lykan, his small frame and size made it so disturbing the natural balance of the rocks he crawled upon to see his prey was minimal. There were a few cracks and popping sounds that could be heard, but after a second or two of holding his breath, the structure survived. Relieved at his good fortune, he began crawling forward, trying to get to the end of the overhanging rocks to see what lay beneath.

By his nature, he was not necessarily afraid of heights, but he did have a healthy respect for being up high where the wind blew in angry bursts that felt like they tried to lift him off the ground and hurl him toward death.

No, in such cases, the slow and steady approach was best. He strapped his spear to his back for this time, letting it hang there as he moved ever forward.

As he drew closer, the rays of the golden sun shined down, illuminating a dark chasm below. But even in the darkness of the caves, the shimmering red sheen of scales could be seen. Following the pattern, Lykan followed the loping patterns around until he found a huddled-up body. So impressed by the shape and colors, he failed to notice the warning signs. The signs that most brightly colored animals are made so that the color schemes are a natural warning to anyone who would dare oppose the brightly colored beast in their territory.

Still, the sheer glow and shine of the scales were as undeniable as it was alluring, and Lykan found himself going closer and closer to the edge to peer over. Going so far as to crawl on his belly to allow his head to peer over the side. He watched in wide-eyed amazement. Watching as the beast gently slumbered, its chest rising and falling to a deep tone that resonated throughout the empty chasm below.

Whether by design of the lava flow or some other natural incursion, the dragon had taken to placing its head under the overhang so it could better hide its face from the sun. Even now, Lykan could only get a glimpse of the beast as he forced his head to hang low.

Yet curiosity has a cost. In this case, the cost was the cracking and popping of stones from underneath and over the ledge. The hand holds where his hands were placed began to crumble slightly from the effort of holding his body in place, and soon particles of dust and tiny fragments of rock fell down below.

From this height, even the smallest of pebbles would hurt upon impact. Lykan was well aware of this, as he imagined the forces being generated from falling the few dozen feet to the beast below.

He watched, holding his breath. His body was frozen with fear as he looked on at the beast below, wondering if the beast would be roused from its slumber. The beast’s massive body stopped moving as the pebbles hit it. The sudden stop in the movement of the beast caused Lykan’s heart to stop a moment as well. His mind told him that he was already dead. That while he had plans of running, there was nothing he could do to outrun such a beast. Even jumping straight down with his spear would prove useless as no vulnerable parts of the beast’s body were exposed. No, this was a fool's errand, and Lykan quickly realized he was, in fact, a fool.

Finally, the beast let out a slow breath.

With that, Lykan, too, let out a breath he had not known he had been holding.

Then the beast took a second slow breath, and Lykan took one as well.

Slowly after a minute of waiting, Lykan decided that the beast had likely gone back to sleep. Choosing now as his time to move, he too decided to leave. All sights of adventure gone. Any thought that he stood a chance against the fearsome beast below gone, as he knew beyond a doubt that he stood no chance. Not even a divine stroke of luck would be enough to turn the tides if he would find himself suddenly attacked by the beast. The most he could hope for was a quick and painless death.

No, it was best to move away. Slowly he made his way, crawling backward at first. The movements were awkward, but the last thing he wanted was for a sudden gust of wind to pick him up and throw him forward as an easy sacrifice for the slumbering beast. While it might have gone back to sleep after one dropping of pebbles, it definitely wouldn’t hold still for a broken body to fall on it. And he would be broken. Falling from such a height would easily cause bones to break, and that was not even including the fact that there were many sharp spikes that littered the back of the great beast.

Moving carefully, Lykan made his way back. Only once he was a good five feet from the crest did he stand up.

Crack, Crackle.

The stone archway underneath had been easily holding his weight all this time, but now it seemed to have other motives.

Worse, while Lykan had thought the beast went back to sleep, it merely waited patiently, listening for any signs of creatures scurrying away overhead. The dragon was in the middle of hatching her clutch of eggs, which was why she had remained so still. Even moving away slightly for a hunt might be enough to cause defects in one or more of the eggs. This was why she had nearly hunted the grounds into extinction. Why she now desperately clung to her brood. But if a meal were to show up on their own, that was a different story.

Shuffle, shuffle, scurry.

Lykan’s footsteps seemed to echo as he began moving away. Now that the dragon was awake, such sounds were easy to notice. Not wanting to move from her clutch, she did the next best thing. She shot out a torrent of flames right in front of where the creature, her soon-to-be morsel, would be.

“GGRRRHAHHAAAA!!” The Flame Dragon Matriarch let out a massive bellow of flame that rose up and instantly began to burn the ceiling high overhead. It would be a simple matter of moving her body up and over, the lip of the cave to eat her morsel, but her instincts told her to stay still to provide warmth to her brood. So that was what she did.

Flame Dragons, above all others, required constant heat to hatch. Judging by the sound of the creature overhead, it would likely be little more than a morsel. Still, anything would be filling at this point as it had been well over four months since she last ate. It was clear that it would be another five months before she could go out and hunt freely.

THWOOSH!

Bright blue flames erupted from the dragon’s mouth, illuminating the nest that the dragon had crafted for herself from the bones of her many devoured prey. Bones of various beasts, along with weapons and armaments, filled the area. A few Mythril spears lay discarded in clumps on the ground. The spears nothing more than bee-stings to the thick hide of the dragon. Many valiant warriors had fought to fend off the ravenous matriarch who ate entire herds of cattle to satiate her growing instincts to consume as much food as possible before her nesting period.

Lykan froze as a torrent of flame ripped apart the land in front of him as searing jets of heat sprayed forth, breaking off the ground. The strip of land he was on was more akin to a small rock bridge than a true ledge.

Seeing this, Lykan turned to the right, wanting to at least get on the side of the mountain where his pack now lay. Yet a second torrent of flames erupted right in front of Lykan after he made a few steps forward.

Creeek, crumble.

The stones that had up until now began breaking away from the supporting frame being taken away. Soon there was a brief feeling of weightlessness, a moment before gravity had a chance to exert its indomitable reign over Lykan’s body. For that one brief second, he was weightless. Then the next second, his body dropped, kicking off of the stone below. Soon Lykan and a giant boulder were falling to the ground.

The Matriarch was alive and moving, her gaze drawn to the falling morsel. Her size was easily able to eat Lykan’s small frame, which, compared to the dragon, was little more than a lean field mouse. Yet food was food, and not every day that a morsel would fall directly into your mouth.

With deft motions, the long neck and face of the dragon tracked Lykan and the falling rock he was on. Even with the rock, the dragon was certain she could easily swallow the piece whole. Years and decades of eating let her realize how large her mouth was and how much she could snatch from the air with one bite.

Chomp!

Her massive jaws grabbed Lykan and the rock he was on, swallowing them in one fluid motion.

In a matter of seconds, Lykan’s world went from a bright sunny afternoon to darkness. Only faint rays of light shone through in minor gaps in excessively sharp teeth.

Fortunately, or maybe, unfortunately, the beast chose to eat him and the giant stone he was on whole. While he hadn’t wanted to be chewed to bits, he didn’t relish the idea of being slowly dissolved in the stomach acid of the great beast.

Yet there was a slight problem.

Thud.

OOF!

Lykan crashed to the rock as its impact was suddenly stopped. The crashing of his body was so intense that the air was driven from his lungs. Pain filled his body as he lay flat on the suddenly stopped stone. Worse, the spear that had been strapped to his back now felt like it was lodged deep within his spine.

Pain. Pain unlike any he had ever felt before wracked his body.

Ghahal!

Ghahhall!

Suddenly the giant dragon made mad, desperate gasping sounds. It took Lykan a moment to understand what the sound reminded him of. Choking. The beast sounded like it was choking.

The ground began to rock back and forth. The walls around him began to cave in and contrast, touching the soles of his shoes one second and then removing themselves the next. It was odd. Yet Lykan realized that his first thought had to be correct.

While he and the rock could easily fit within the giant mouth of the beast, it was a different thing entirely if they could, in fact, be swallowed in one gulp. The miscalculation in size was now paying off.

The beast cried out, and suddenly, the world went from complete darkness to signs of light as flames wrapped up over and around the rock that was clearly lodged within the giant's throat. Yet, unlike the last two times, it sprayed jets of fire. This time the jets lasted for a second before the dragon let out a garbled crying moan.

“She really is choking,” Lykan said to himself.

Just as soon as he had that thought, a sudden fear hit him as the rock began getting pushed up the throat of the beast. Realizing that would mean that the beast would likely correct its mistake and bite through the giant chunk of rock and likely himself in the process, Lykan moved.

His body moved on instinct. Years of constant repetitive training made it, so his body pulled the spear from his back on instinct, ripping the leather cord that held it in place. The leather cord was a small price to pay in order to get his trusted weapon in hand.

With the weapon securely held, he did the only thing he could think of. He drove the tip of the spear into the throat of the beast as hard as he could. To his surprise, the inside of the beast’s throat was a lot softer and easier to pierce than the outside of its shell was. Then as his instructor taught, when trying to take down larger charging beasts, he dug the hilt of the weapon into a secure location and then leaned into the spear for all he was worth.

In this case, the hilt met the stone rock that was cutting up the insides of the beast’s throat while keeping itself lodged tight.

Feet pressed against the constantly gyrating walls, yet Lykan’s grip held firm.

Even when waves of blood began to pour up and over his feet, he merely used the sticky substance to dig his feet in deeper and provide yet more traction for his spear to hold the massive rock in place.

Ghahal!

The world spun violently inside the creature whose motherly instincts to stay on her clutch were quickly taken over by a want to live. The beast began thrashing about violently, claws grasped for the part of her throat where the rock was lodged.

The world went black for Lykan as swirling sparks of light filled his mind as he was whipped around violently. Another torrent of flame shot past, but this one was shorter than before. The blast lasted for only a second. Fortunately, Lykan was protected by the giant rock. Even his feet that were braced against the smooth membrane of the dragon’s throat were protected by the intense waves of heat.

Then thud.

The giant beast fell to the ground.

A deathly silence filled Lykan as he stopped and waited. He had been thrown about for what felt like hours, yet it was only minutes. Minutes when life and death were but seconds apart.

The beast was dead.

Somehow Lykan had survived. He wondered how this could be. Before he realized the truth, he, too, was going to die.

As soon as the adrenaline of what had happened passed, Lykan relaxed for a second. Only to find that the adrenaline that had kept him moving and focused was now gone. His body was broken.

There was a stabbing pain in his back and arms from his fall and impact to the rock. His feet and hands were sore from holding the spear in place. Now that his bout of survival was over, his body slowly collapsed to the floor. He was covered in a pool of congealing blood that had made its way into the dragon’s massive throat. His last act of consciousness was to drape himself over the spear that somehow was still holding its position, wedged between the now immovable rock and the side of the dragon’s throat.

Before he passed out entirely, he saw the message from the Gods.

Heroic Feat Registered.

You have defeated a tyrannical monster over five echelons above your own.

Five echelons?

Lykan’s mind was a blur of thoughts. As a stream of energy filled his body, being absorbed from the beast he had slain. He had read of this, the transfer of energy. It was known that energy could not be created, nor destroyed, only altered. Thus it was said that killing was transferring energy from one form to the next. In this case, energy was transferred from the dead dragon to Lykan.

He felt it. Five echelons levels worth of energy flowed into and through him before his mind began to burn with white-hot energy. The transfer was so intense that he was unable to fully comprehend what was happening. In fact, his mind gave out just before the alterations could fully be made to his body.