“Taming a monster is a heavily unappreciated art. Some people think that it has more cons than pros, but they simply cannot appreciate when a loyal creature does all your bidding for you. What’s more? Taming a monster during its evolution allows you to shape its path in the direction you desire the most.

Think about it: One day, if you’re lucky enough, you might even tame a dragon!”

-A burned fragment of a manual, found in a ruin in the desert of Dragon's Lament.

Nashariel pov

Nashariel felt the quickened breaths of the ratkins beside her. They had decided to take the first turn during the fight without disdaining an opening salvo from the Astillians. The roar had intimidated them.

If only they knew…

The stomps rattled the cavern, letting small pebbles bounce against Nashariel’s helmet. She stilled in a throwing position, tensing her arm like a fleshy spring.

As sudden as a summer’s thunderstorm, a wolf-like creature bursted from the opposite tunnel. It looked rabid, drooling acidic spit on the floor from its towering height of four meters. It had a long-finned tail that outright crushed part of the wall beside it. The strange wolf had no fur, but transparent gummy skin that revealed his internals for everyone to see. Every step released a small puddle of acid that melted the stone with ease.

It howled, causing a few stalactites to crash on the floor.

And yet, the terrifying sound was choked by Nashariel’s spear and Veliel’s ever-useful [Sound bombs].

The dragokin used her Sight on the creature. The Intellect from the Mind Aspect was slightly weakened in this form, but it allowed her to read ten times quicker nonetheless.

*Mire/Craving/Anger -Drowning abomination Lvl 309 (II) (Tamed)

This abomination has been spawned from the work of a maddened tamer on a group of evolving slimes, right after they had feasted upon the corpse of a powerful monster.

This mindless creature is a specialized tunnel-fighter that uses its attunement to drown its enemies in powerful digesting juices that heal it and eat the prey at the same time. Should this tactic and its powerful physique not be enough to bring a foe down, this monster will enter a berserker state where its offensive capabilities will increase by several magnitudes, at the price of its reason. Of course, this state is heavily taxing on this creature: unless a feast is swiftly had, this monster will lay in a severely weakened state for days.

Having been tamed, this normally brute and simple creature has gained the same cunning as its master's, making it an incredibly dangerous foe. Be warned: The Tamer might have other skills to influence this monster.

Most Water and Fire attunements are heavily advised against to defeat this creature. Lightning is an exception, should you possess an immunity to self-damage. This monster’s gummy body will also weaken most physical attacks.

The organs are protected by a hard plate composed of solidified acid, but a critical hit from a piercing source should be able to break such a powerful defense. Warning: breaking the plate will immediately cause the monster to enter its berserker state. Spirit and other similar ways to lack a physical vessel are the keys to surviving this monster's attacks, as is bringing it into an open space.

This modified monster is a work of art in its specialization. Good luck, young Omnidragon. *

Nashariel’s eyes widened as they hadn’t in a long, long time. She saw her spear getting dissolved in the blink of an eye, its damage instantly regenerated. Veliel’s spells met a similar result.

The monster’s eyes shone with intelligence, setting on Nashariel first, then on the entrance behind her second.

Its paws started to sweat profusely.

“RUN!!!” Nashariel shouted. It was then that she noticed that the ratkins were frozen in fear, stuttering prayers to their Gods. Damnation! “Guys, take off the others! Bring them out of here to safety; this is going to become a murder swimming pool!"

“Yes, Boss!!!” Her friends echoed.

Veliel fully opened her four wings, summoning bright winds. While Dorel hauled on his back a few kicking people, Dan spawned four copies that brought out an equal number of ratkins.

Nashariel nodded. “You and me, Tamer.” She snarled at the massive monster. She dropped all pretenses, returning to her True form. She roared back, noticing that she was just a tad smaller than the beast. Let’s do this!

/Ready to assist, primary mind/

Put together a tactic; if we’re losing, you’re given permission to use my points as you see fit.

/At your orders!/

The monster’s malevolent gaze momentarily widened in surprise. Its eyes shifted to the entrance behind Nashariel, where the rest of the Templars were helping their guides. Its stomach pulsed once, causing an almost comic big sphere to travel down each of the limbs.

Nashariel didn’t need a superior intellect to foresee what would happen in a moment. She burned some Omnia to create a reinforced wall of stone behind her, sealing the exit. She counted on the fact that her friends would be able to find another way down the tunnels when she would deal with the trouble.

As expected, once the spheres reached the paws, they exploded in a burst of acid. Mire splattered on the cavern, and the monster used its long tail to make the ceiling behind him crumble.

Nashariel’s paws sizzled, but her scales held strong. She grinned ferociously, shifting into Lightning. The electricity danced upon the acid, colored in purple hues thanks to its unusual vector. The Omnidragon finally powered up her Territory. Fighting in a fixed place? That’s my specialty!

The monster didn’t seem to suffer any kind of damage. It kept pumping acid from its legs. Then pounced on Nashariel, both her frontal legs revealing six sharp claws made of bone and crystalized Mire.

Surprised she may have been, Nashariel’s awareness and raw speed allowed her to dart to the side, only getting nicked on her shoulder. While the monster crashed against her wall, she retaliated with an uncharged breath attack.

The slimy abomination growled. It spat a massive glob of sticky acid that connected to Nashariel's right-wing, sealing it against her body.

Why it’s always my wings!? She mentally whined. Nashariel ignored the knee-high pool of acid, burning a bit of Omnia to shift her electricity to Black. The now ominous bolts provided light no longer, healing the Omnidragon with every strike. Nashariel started to charge up her breath weapon.

The monster howled in annoyance. He pounced once again, his jaws snapping right in front of Nashariel’s face.

She repaid the favor by lunging just under the foe’s throat, discharging her attack. Even when powered this little, the breath attack cleaned everything but bone and plated acid.

However, the monster didn’t even notice the damage. Instead, its dreadful claws stabbed Nashariel’s chest, deeply wounding her.

The dragoness winced. She transformed into Lightning, jumping to the other side of the room almost as fast as an outright teleport.

Acid sizzled inside her. The asshole must have hollowed claws! She grunted, using her Manipulation to get rid of the foreign liquids. And he’s smart enough to offer false openings.

The abomination’s neck had already healed. It almost seemed to mock her with its eyes. Another burst of mire filled the sizzling cavern, filling it until the monster’s abdomen.

/I suggest less physical confrontation. I'm reasonably sure that it's immune to our poison/

Right. Acrid fumes started to blur Nashariel's eyes and messed up her sensitive nose. As the ten seconds passed, part of the area now obeyed her commands. The effects were way too weak for her to overpower the abomination’s dominion. For now, at least. Thanks, Lightning, it was fun. She mused, shifting into Ice. Let’s try this one. Time to make Fel proud of me!

The liquid nearby froze, as the temperature dropped. With but a fraction of her fairy friend’s inner blizzard, Nashariel opened her large eyes and wide wings in a burst of hail and magic.

The hot, humid, and bubbling ‘lake’ seemingly stilled. The monster’s movements slowed down as the surface of its skin froze over. It growled in anger, shattering the ice like glass. It vomited a large river of its sticky mire in Nashariel’s direction.

The cold, indifferent blizzard repelled most of the attack, yet Nashariel was forced to add her own breath attack.

The two skills met mid-air, neither of them winning over the other. Despite appearing like a draw, the monster was the real winner.

After all, its acid still splashed down to fill the cavern.

Dang it! Nashariel grimaced. If only I had gotten some more training with my skills! She rose her head taller, knowing that she would need to stand on two legs shortly. Power could hardly compensate for the lack of experience, unfortunately.

Futile or not, Nashariel unleashed her breath weapon on her foe, abusing Omnia to instantly charge it up to its full power.

The monster got stuck as a block of ice for a few seconds, before bursting out with a growl. Both mana and Mire added to the oversaturated room, granting both fighters additional resources to play with.

Why it doesn’t take any fricking damage?!

/The description said that its acid regenerates it. I believe that our damage is simply getting healed over and over again/

Nashariel cursed, loudly, as she was forced to swim in acid for the first time.

Today. She hadn’t forgotten her looting spree under the Swamp after getting rid of its guardian.

The wolf-fish also dropped low, revealing the web between its fingers. It used its long legs and tail to stalk below the acid, almost like a shark would have. The thing that irked Nashariel the most was that her enemy had also become pretty much invisible.

The omnidragon ignored her sizzling scales and open skin to shift into Lightning once more. She maximized her territory’s potency, choosing the more damaging Red lightning. The damage was so high that even her natural immunity was put under heavy strain.

The moment Nashariel heard a scream, she shifted into Acid, diving directly on top of the shocked monster. Didn’t expect this, now, didn’t you?! She mentally shouted while both of her fists landed on top of its head.

The monster shot down to the ground, shaking its head to recover.

The omnidragon gave it no such time. She slashed, crashed, and bitten, tasking the secondary mind with taking control of the surrounding thick sludge that was Mire.

The monster exploited one paused during Nashariel’s rain of blows to grip the broken ground beneath it, then darted away, seemingly unhurt despite the minute-long beating.

Nashariel grunted in annoyance. While attuning to Acid had nullified the monster’s damage, the same held true for her offensive skills. [Omnidragon infusion] and [Omnidragon empowerment] greatly increased her damage output, but not against an enemy of her same attunement that was outright immune to that element.

Well, not quickly enough.

/Should I buy a piercer?/

No. We have a few more cards left to play. Nashariel replied. Exhaling her breath, she shifted into Spirit.

Ethereal Nashariel floated near the monster, ignoring its useless claws. Her territory caused haunting echoes in the cavern, not muffled by them being submerged. Ghostly motes of light sank within the monster’s gummy skin.

The Abomination shivered, its eyes widening. A purple wave surged from within its organs, dispelling the spiritual attack. A moment later, a thin layer of darkness wrapped the monster’s skin. Its presence vanished from Nashariel’s senses.

That wasn’t in the description!

/This must be the Tamer’s doing, then/

Nashariel suppressed a scream, then felt an… inkling of sorts. Almost unconsciously, she propelled to her left. The abomination’s jaws narrowly missed her right paw. Darklight proving its worth yet again.

/Agreed/

Nashariel’s Territory had grown strong enough to grant her some measure of control over her surroundings despite the difference between Tiers. The omnidragon abused it by making the Mire hostile to its creator. The monster slowed down a tad, but the important part was that Nashariel was able to perceive a rough outline of her foe.

This isn’t going anywhere. Nashariel realized. Both of them were mostly immune to the other’s damage, and neither gave off any sign of exhaustion. She had to think of something to break the tie.

Just as when she eyed the ceiling, perhaps hoping to crush the monster under a few tons of rock, her stony wall cracked. Some of the more liquid acids escaped the room, running into the tunnels behind.

No! Oblivious to the risks, Nashariel shifted into Stone. Immediately, the Mire around her greedily ate at her scales, since Acid was the natural counter to Stone. Nashariel burned her Omnia to repair the wall’s cracks as quickly as she could.

Of course, the Tamed monster hadn’t stood still. It launched its body, directly crashing onto Nashariel’s, and pinned her flank against the wall. Once there, it stabbed its paw inside her neck and abdomen, injecting Mire directly inside her muscles.

Nashariel screamed as the acid burned her insides. She shifted back into Spirit and her dragokin form, losing the chain bonuses from [Omnidragon dance]. She became ethereal, dashing past her wall and into the dry tunnel.

She returned into her corporeal self, then shifted into Healing. While her restorative powers healed her body, she noticed that the tunnel was empty. She grimaced. So much for keeping the wall intact…

A booming crash echoed behind her.

Plan, plan, I need a plan. She could probably deal with the monster, but its Tamer had messed up some of the tactics that she had in mind. If only there was a way to…

Widening her eyes in realization, she waited for her health to be above half once again, then dove right back in as a Spiritual dragoness. A wide smirk decorated her visage.

The abomination swiped at her etheric body to no avail.

Nashariel restarted the chain by rematerializing as a Shadow dragon. Despite the Mire’s damage, her swiftness allowed her to lunge at the monster’s plates. This form’s specialty detected every weakness in her foe’s body, such as a centimeter-wide malformation right under where its liver should have been.

Nashariel’s sharp claw pierced through it like a hot knife with butter, shattering the entire section of the plate.

The monster roared in pure madness. It started to drool, as the rest of its plate dissolved. On the more, the thin purple and black layers vanished.

Nashariel’s smirk widened some more. Hard to control someone during a berserker state, uh? She darted right to the other side of the cavern, abusing Spirit once again.

The mass of rubble shook heavily, letting small rivers of acid shoot out in the tunnel. Another crash later, and the monster was welcomed with a maximized Red-Lightning breath and Territory’s electricity to the face.

Most of the Mire was instantly vaporized, but the Drowning abomination stilled in place. It twitched uncontrollably, finally prey of her paralyzing electricity.

Nashariel shifted into Passion, creaking her knuckles. “Payback time!” She launched herself on top of the large monster, wildly abandoning herself to a beating.

Her Territory became much more internal, empowering every consecutive blow. Soon, the monster’s bones yielded, revealing a violet brain.

Not so resistant without a plate, uh? Grinning ferociously, Nashariel crashed it into a pulp.

She hopped down, ignoring the brain matter on her naked body. She crashed against the tunnel's wall, heaving for breath, while the monster’s body sprawled on the floor. She dissolved her influence on her surroundings, recalling to her at least part of the resources that she had expended. “Damn, this thing was a headache to deal with.” She could hardly keep her eyes open. Thank the Goddess, she was not alone.

/No notification, yet!/

Oh, c’mon! Nashariel’s adrenaline pumped once again in her veins, instantly evaporating her sleepiness.

Just in time.

She ducked, right as a swipe sheared cleanly throughout the bedrock.

The headless monster rose again, somehow. It was visibly weakened, judging from her falling mire, but the purple hue had returned.

Cursing, Nashariel darted back into the large cavern. Fighting that thing inside a tunnel was asking to die a quick death.

The Abomination slowly regenerated its neck, bones, and Mire alike. This time though, the regeneration had a green glow to it.

Nashariel grunted in annoyance. And here we go again.

The ceiling trembled once, then twice. The third time, everything crumbled, and a loud Healing song echoed in the cavern. Vel!

Her flying friend was soon followed by an armored man that crashed down onto the floor, followed by two others that grabbed a smirking Trickster to soften his fall. “Missed us, boss?”

Nashariel returned the smirk, shaking her head. “Just as I was starting to enjoy some silence!”

Dorel got back up from the crater he had just dug. “We came as soon as Vel didn’t detect any more acid.”

Did they clear another tunnel in less than ten minutes?!

/They’re Tier 2 fighters now. let’s not forget that/

Veliel winked from above, hovering just behind the trio.

Nashariel grinned, shifting into Metal. She turned on the Tamed monster, who had just finished its regeneration. It looked surprised at seeing more fighters, but soon its fury seeped right back in. “Let’s end this!”

Without another cue needed, Dorel planted his tower shield on the ground and roared a powerful [Taunt]. The purple layer shivered but didn't yield.

Yet.

Seeing this, Veliel sang a wordless deep song that outright shattered the mental protection granted by the distant Tamer. The monster howled, charging directly at Dorel.

And promptly tripped over.

Dan’s copies cackled, vanishing together with the longest and largest rope that Nashariel had ever seen. The man himself darted over, splitting again and again into the monster's two sides. Half of them threw ropes at the other side, keeping the monster as still as they could. "Now it would be a great time to stop lazing around, boss!!!” They shouted together.

Shaking her head at her friend’s antics, Nashariel noticed the angled shield of her Protector. She jumped on the shield, then Dorel helped her to leap right above the immobilized monster.

Returning into her True Form, the Metal dragoness crashed on top of her enemy. She sliced and stabbed the monster, adding her metallic territory on top of that. The skill's lack of friendly fire had been great news for everyone.

Well, except for her and her friends’ foes.

Veliel chanted a song that quickened her strikes and sharpened her metal. She bombarded the Tamed with [Lightning bombs], also abusing the fact that Retainers couldn’t damage an Omnidragon.

With the combined assault of the full team of Templars, the monster bursted into a final wave of Mire.

And then the most welcomed bell rang into Nashariel’s ears.

Seeing as the Mire evaporated into nothing, the dragoness crashed to the ground, exhausted to her core. The fight had made her forget how she had been tired before, but the need to sleep was now ten times stronger. She fought back the blackness, gritting her teeth.

She was also pleased to note just how much faster and simple the fight had been with all her friends with her, compared to the lengthy brawl that she had on her own. Perhaps pushing them away from the cavern was a mistake? Nashariel fought down a not small amount of embarrassment. I should be more considerate of their growth, shouldn’t I?

“What’s with the brooding, boss?” Asked the now whole Dan, sitting on her nose.

Nevermind. She snorted, causing her friend to crash onto Dorel. “Thanks for the help guys; I shouldn’t have excluded you so quickly.”

Veliel chuckled. “Oh no, you did the right thing. Our companions were frozen in terror.”

Oh duck, the ratkins! Nashariel had honestly forgotten about them. “Where are they?”

Dorel pointed upwards.

A dozen pairs of eyes stared back. They carefully dropped down, nimbly rolling to avoid damage. They warily eyed the dragoness.

"Hello again," Nashariel said. "Ready to go on some more?"

“That’s a big-large secret to keep.” Shal replied.

“I guess so.”

“… very well. Lead us.”

Dalka scowled. “Just like that?”

Shal shrugged. “She could have destroyed-razed the Hub, instead of…”

“No-no, I know that! But why are you not asking-demanding a spar-bout before proceeding-going!?” Dalka’s excitement had fully brought out her accent, it seemed

Shal facepalmed.

The ratkins also facepalmed.

Nashariel's friends threw them deeply understanding looks.

The secondary mind metaphorically nodded.

Nashariel rolled her eyes, huffing. “I’m not like that…”

Dan patted her shoulder.

Dang it, Dan!

??? Pov

"Why?!" The Tamer shouted in the mostly empty room. "Why did a fucking dragon have to come in here?!" She punched the wall, ignoring her bleeding knuckles.

The Tamer glared at the few tens of slimes trapped in the room below her. “How did my creation lose against it?” That freakish dragoness had changed more elements than she had ever seen someone with, and all were equally powerful. She had built that monster to be the perfect tunnel fighter, but…

But now it was dead. And her plan had suffered a heavy setback.

The Tamer let out another enraged scream. “You won’t take everything from me!!!" She glanced at the half-broken Cleanser. She had repaired it to some extent, but the work of art's glorious era was long gone. "Not again." She whispered, grabbing the dark platinum Mireum.

“Never again.”