A Dragon’s Curiosity

 

 

Quite a few of the parties behind her gave the elf weird glances as she strode alone into the boss room, save for her familiar.

Nevertheless, it was not uncommon for strong cultivators to make a trip in order to practice new skills or spells on their own, so it was not unheard of either.

Nisha hardly cared about their impressions and carefully observed the environment she encountered for the first time.

Unlike the series of tunnels and small rooms on the previous four floors, the boss room sported a gigantic size, reminiscent of an arena.

Seaweed and algae ranked on the sturdy stones of the walls, whereas the floor had a variety of puddles filled with salty seawater.

Some of the depressions were deceptively deep and anyone careless to step into them unprepared would either stumble, sink down or get submerged entirely.

Thankfully, the dragon had her [Spirit Sight] to scope them out in advance and her wolf familiar was at even less risk.

Neither the damp cave nor the decorations were enough to distract from the hulking monster squatting at the deep end of the room, just before the second gate leading deeper into the Dungeon.

Because Nisha and Little Lia left the safe perimeter around the entrance, the first gate rumbled shut and closed off the boss room from the people waiting before it.

It was now impossible to sense the groups outside, so the elf hoped it was similarly impossible to peep inside while she was battling.

Out of consideration of the undue attention and the possibility of getting discovered as a beast in the middle of human civilization, she had always refrained from delving deeper down, yet some of those concerns lessened after the dragon reached the fourth rank again and learned more about the true means and conventions of the higher social circles in the capital.

With a modicum of power and influence to protect herself, Nisha was eager to test her own limits and fight to her heart's content.

 

With narrowed eyes, the subdued air around the elf reduced drastically and the hood of her cloak was blown off as the majesty of a fourth rank dragon billowed.

The sword in her hand no longer had a dull sheen and sparkled with a light ready to cut through everything and the soft pliable leather armour donned beneath the cloak shone with the gleam of well oiled and maintained gear.

Even the girl‘s [Dragon Force] sped up in circulation, making the Dragon Heart in her chest beat faster and pump blood through her body.

Studying her opponent from a distance, Nisha discerned its race right away.

Small beady eyes rolled beneath the protection of a murky carapace, taking measure of the unknown figure and the strange wolf, befitting of a [Rotting Sands Giant Crab].

Sitting at the peak of the third rank, the crustacean monster snapped with its one oversized pincer, eager to pull the flesh from their bones and feast on their blood.

While not the most agile creature among the sea dwellers, these crabs often scoured beaches for food and had no trouble to fight on solid ground as well as beneath the rolling waves.

Their entire carapaces were coated with a mix of coarse sand and a special mucus secreted by them, mixing together to form a special layer of armour.

True to their name, any contact with the sand layer on top of the armor would corrode the skin and soften leather, making them a terror for other monsters.

Only those with solid shells or metal armour could ignore the inborn talent of this monster, [Rotting Sand].

Nisha had heard some details about this monster, yet she was hardly concerned as her own skin was as sturdy as dragon scales, a crab was dreaming if it ever hoped to break through the defence of them with such a paltry talent.

Little Lia next to her had nothing to worry about either, firstly the sand had to come into contact with skin to take effect and as a wind beast it was far more agile than a bulky crab.

Furthermore, the soft golden fur covering the [Storm Trail Dragon Wolf] might appear soft and fluffy, but it was also a fearsome defence that feared neither blades nor claws in combat.

 

“You go first, I will distract it and you look for an opportunity.“

Thanks to the contract between them, the elf did not really need to convey her words so directly, it was just more convenient to do so as the opponent was incapable of understanding them.

Just like any other creature found in the Dungeon, neither [Monster Language], talents related to communicating with monsters and beasts or other means such as same species communication worked on them.

Those born here apparently lacked any capacity for communication and only desired to rip all opponents into tiny pieces.

In the outside world, it might be possible to cross the territory of a wolf pack with a wolf familiar, provided that the intruder howled and conveyed its intention to cross the area quickly and held no intent to challenge the ruler of the pack.

Many merchant caravans found their own routes that skirted the area of influence of such sovereigns and paid a little tribute through their contracted monsters in exchange for safe passage, cutting down the required travelling time greatly by passing through the wilderness.

Yet even if the elf had a contract with a [Rotting Sands Giant Crab], the boss of the fifth floor would never communicate with them or allow them passage, it was bound to be a fight to the death.

Without her knowledge, a ferocious grin appeared on the dragon‘s small face as her familiar sprinted in a wide arc to the side.

Ever since advancing to the fourth rank, there hasn‘t been a proper fight that challenged her limits.

While the oversized crab barely served as an appetiser, this was the gateway to find proper opponents.

Jumping over the deceptive deep puddles and spending some aura to propel herself forwards, Nisha raised the tip of her [Taurith Short Sword] and advanced bravely.

 

Enraged at the audacious intruders, the sand crab gurgled with anger and brought up its large pincer in front of its body like a giant shield.

Similar to the mystery of communication, it was unclear how the beings born in the Dungeon acquired knowledge.

No matter how many parties fought the boss of the fifth floor, a new one was waiting when the stone door opened and allowed a new group entry.

Notwithstanding the short time it took for the appearance of another monster at the peak of the third rank, the monsters were all adept at using their bodies and the innate skills of their species, making it very troublesome for the adventurers to take them on in a fight.

They also recognized the gear crafted by humans, even though they never came to the surface and learned to keep sharp edges away from their vulnerable spots.

To some degree, lesser known weapons such as whips and bladed shields fell outside of the general knowledge scope bestowed on these monsters, making them a tiny bit more effective as they had to figure out their threat in battle, but there was not a single individual on any floor that was not adept at combat.

Little Lia did not let her master down and directly employed [Storm Steps], leaving swirling scars of concentrated wind aura behind every time the wolf stepped on the air.

After advancing her race, it was no longer quite as strenuous to keep the skill up, allowing the wolf to gracefully soar through the air at low altitudes.

The unstable footing no longer held any threat for Little Lia.

Naturally, the ability of a fourth rank beast was not simple, anyone thinking about pursuing the wolf in battle would need to resolve the trail of wind scars, or sharp wind blades would burst out every time they came in contact with one of the marks.

Nisha focused her attention on the crab, her aura wildly rumbling in her veins as her Dragon Heart sent one blast of potent energy after the other through her body.

Near her feet, the small puddles hissed and evaporated into steam as the flame of combat burned brightly within her vessel.

Apparently the [Rotting Sands Giant Crab] also noticed the disparity between her size and overall threat, as it mainly focused on the elf and ignored the wolf familiar mostly.

Snapping its giant pincer open and shut between the interloper and itself, the crustacean wanted to intimidate her and keep her from advancing.

 

The dragon found it largely meaningless to roar in her current form.

Back when she still had Little Flame’s body, a Dragon Roar not only carried a faint intimidation coming from their own bloodline, it also disturbed the mind of those it managed to overwhelm.

With an elf’s physique, it would not change anything if Nisha roared, so she might as well not say anything at all.

Silent like a wraith, the girl shot straight at the crab in a spray of water and hot steam, her blade ready.

Just before she crashed into the big pincer claw, the elf brought the [Taurith Short Sword] high above for a telegraphed strike.

Naturally the [Rotting Sands Giant Crab] dreaded the sheen of sharpness on the high quality weapon and did not dare to let it fall on its body, so it seized the opportunity to grab it with its own pincer mid air thanks to the big arc it moved in.

A loud clunk echoed in the great hall once the claw closed around the sword, holding it roughly at eye level for the crab and above her head for the girl.

Nevertheless, Nisha did not worry about her sword, Little Lia closed in from the flank and her plan never revolved about engaging the enemy from the front.

Exercising her great physical strength, she kept the [Taurith Short Sword] in place and refused to budge, always putting some pressure into the handle so that the crab could not just release its pincer.

Sensing the strain on its front limbs, the crab released a few distressed bubbles from its maw, clacking its strong jaws several times once it noticed the predicament.

If it let go of the sharp pointy stick, it would get hurt, yet if it did not turn around to fend off the furry ball of anger, it would get hurt too.

Struggling to make a decision, the crustacean could only brace itself for impact and hope that the familiar dealt less damage than its master.

At that moment, Nisha smirked because it looked like her plan was feasible.

 

Right before Accalia fell in from the flank and attacked the back of the enemy, the dragon surged with physical strength and pushed the sword even higher in the air.

Taken by surprise, the crab had to go along with the sudden push and turned a little to keep the sword locked up.

Right when it exposed its legs on one side, the elf did a very surprising thing.

Having shoved the sword left, she raised her right foot and slammed down on the crab’s legs, letting go of her weapon.

The lack of actual experience was fatal here as the [Rotting Sands Giant Crab] knew that pesky humans and elves would never abandon their gear in a fight, so it opened a flaw because it assumed that no one could capitalise on it.

Unfortunately, it met an illogical opponent this time and the boss suffered for its assumptions, one of the four leg joints was smashed completely and the second one close to it creaked with worrying noise as the crab recoiled with pain.

At times like this, Nisha missed her dragon body even more.

If Little Flame stamped down in this manner, at least half of the shell on this side would be broken, not to mention just one out of four legs.

Anyway, her purpose was achieved as the boss monster froze in place for a moment, giving her familiar the opening it needed.

Her [Taurith Short Sword] was too small to inflict fight-deciding injuries in a short amount of time, so the elf did not even bother to use the techniques of her [Imperial Swordplay].

Going up front and meeting the crab in a contest of strength was nothing more than a distraction to allow Little Lia to charge up her strength.

Rewarding her effort and strategy, the golden furred wolf aimed at the unprotected back of the crab and dashed over, a maelstrom of wind energy churning around one front paw.

Different from a [Wind Claw], the wolf obtained a better method from its bloodline after evolving.

Gathering several strands of wind and colliding against each other, a sharp blade reminiscent of a storm formed on the wolf claw and carved deeply into the sand covered backside of the boss.

[Storm Break] did not disappoint and took away half of the [Rotting Sands Giant Crab], the sand layer unable to cushion the blow and the crab armour broken to pieces.

The boss screeched with a hidden sadness, having a premonition that its end was about to arrive.

Red blood and purple foam ceaselessly poured from the wound on its back, but it was not beaten yet.

Until its last breath, the crab would defend the Dungeon from the intruders and prevent them from delving deeper.

Swinging its pincer and throwing the sword far away, it readied itself for a last battle.

Nisha smirked at the act of defiance, the outcome was already decided.

Her goal was never the boss on the fifth layer, it was just a stop necessary on the way.

It was time to find a real challenge down below.