Chapter 210: The Power To Slay Dragons

****(POV)

Gon was a young man that grew up reading the classical epics about magic, fighting, dragons, and fighting dragons with magic! He had always wished to one day become as amazing as the Dragon Slayers in those stories. 

When the Tower appeared, the whole world freaked out! In fact, a small part of him did too, but a bigger part was celebrating this magical wonder. He excitedly made his way to Metropolis-C and witnessed it being built from the ground up. 

He was one of the firsts to volunteer to enter the Tower. For that, he had to sign a contract with a rich resource exploitation corporation, now calling itself a guild. He had to sacrifice his freedom for his dreams, and that's how he joined Obsidian. 

He had proudly entered the Tower and defeated many Cerberus valiantly, even shouting popular fictional attack names happily in the process. Some found him silly at first, but he carried his team to the end of the Floor. 

Perhaps it was because he had been copying known moves, but he had received the Class: Copy Artist. It wasn't the one he had been hoping for, but he was nonetheless ecstatic. When his team reached Floor 5, he began to thank Heaven for his luck. 

That's when people began getting skills, and he could copy and use every single one of them! While others only had one ability, he became a goddamn one-man army! Sadly, this happiness didn't last long. 

There were issues with such a thing. He could copy other's abilities but not their mastery. Soon enough the first incident happened as he lost control: his childhood friend got hurt. She was the one that had convinced him to join Obsidian too. 

The incident wasn't big, but it was the precursor to a series of failures. By the time they reached Floor 10, he had almost caused many team wipes and lots of financial damage in healing costs. 

That's when he was kicked out, right as the guild was expanding. He tried to plead that he could do better, that he would train endlessly, but it was no use. By then, he was already nicknamed 'the Number 1 Death Cause'. 

Back in the day, Obsidian was kind of a big guild, even if now they were only C-Ranked. No one wanted to have anything to do with him. They were right for he was trouble itself. Plus, the more abilities he copied and the more likely a critical failure would happen. 

One skill copied meant perfect mastery, but what good was that? Other climbers only had one skill in the beginning, but as they leveled up, they would have so many! 

Two skills copied meant a small risk of something bad happening. 

Three skills copied meant there was a medium risk of something bad happening and the possibility for everything to go wrong. For example, a healing skill could suck the vitality of an ally. 

He was always bound to remain a sub-par imitation of other Climbers. It was a fate that he had initially accepted, but that's when he heard about Very Happy Farms. So many Climbers would all be bunched together: 500 of them! 

That's when he had a stroke of genius. He would scour the place and try to copy abilities until he got an extremely strong one. It sounded simple, but it was always a random ability that was getting copied and often its weaker version. 

Furthermore, this act was exhausting and time-consuming. Still, he kept struggling until recently the farm was attacked. Back then, he could only helplessly watch from afar, his nails digging into his flesh. 

He had felt so weak and unworthy, but then he had talked with Frank. Somehow the guy could see the best in people. He had reminded him that if he truly gave up, then even a miracle couldn't happen. 

That's why he kept struggling. Today, such a miracle appeared in front of Gon. An incredibly powerful man had appeared out of nowhere along with imposing warships. This rekindled his dwindling hopes. 

This man was his ticket to salvation! He had to have the strongest Class of them all since he had dealt with the sloths. This interview would be Gon's only chance: he had to copy a skill from this man at all cost!

Gon could feel his own heart going crazy inside his chest, felt his legs shake, and his stomach constrict. On the side, there was Frank smiling at him encouragingly while giving him a thumbs up. He had probably guessed his plan. 

Gon pushed the wooden door open while feeling the rough grain of it. C'mon, Gon, he is just a man. Smile, relax, answer all the questions as best as you can and when he's not looking copy! 

Actually, it would be best if he asked for a handshake. Physical contact would probably improve the grade of the skill. He entered the room as confidently as possible. His shoulders were wide, his pace steady, and his eyes focusing on…What the fuck?!

There was something wrong with the scene. Josh Malum was lazily sitting in a rocking chair. He looked even more casual than Welner when he was taking sunbathing. Was this really a serious interview?!

Perhaps this was to test his reaction. He should probably greet him and….No, Josh was now gesturing him to remain quiet. The room remained still with the only exception being the chair squeaking. 

Was this a ploy to see how long his nerves would last? Gon remained ramrod straight, but no matter how he wracked his brains, he had no clue what Josh was doing. Surely a man of his status had better things to do, right?!

The silence felt oppressive. Gon had the impression of being judged for every single mistake he had ever made in his life. He could see the man's eyes that were observing every part of his body as if meat on a cutting board. 

At first, he barely took notice of it, but then it changed. Gon could feel his own lungs struggling to bring him air as his entire body tensed up. He was nothing more than the man's plaything. 

He felt his heart miss a beat as fear plunged sharp daggers into him. He had never felt like this. This primal fear was even worse than the first time he had faced the seemingly invincible vine beetle. 

Just his gaze was enough to raise all the hair of his body. Gon felt cold, weak, and tiny. He couldn't even hear the creaking of the wood nor perceive the room. There were only these red eyes in front of him. These were the eyes of a devil! 

For a second, Gon could see him furrow his brows in displeasure. The devil had realized how weak he was. He would be sending him away any second. No! He couldn't accept that! 

Gon felt as if his own body wasn't his anymore. It belonged to the devil, and he had to wrestle control back. It took all of his efforts to breathe a big mouthful of fresh air slowly. He forced himself to stare back at the devil's eyes. 

Red, red, red, so much red! No, it was all blood. Blood, blood, motherfucking blood! This was the real Josh Malum. No, Josh Motherfucking Malum! An existence that shouldn't have been possible. 

He was there. He was everywhere. No, he was omnipresent! Gon felt his heart stop, possibly forever, but he couldn't accept that! He hit his chest as hard as he could and felt the excruciating pain of his broken rib. He had to endure! 

If he had one ticket out of mediocrity, it would be this devil. He just needed one ability! One incredibly strong ability! 

"Are you alright?" The devil asked, showing a playful smirk. 

Gon had to answer, but he found his tongue frozen. It didn't follow his will, so he bit it slightly. Then it magically worked again. 

"Yes, Sir!" He uttered while feeling a smidgen of blood escape his lips. 

How many more questions would there be?! Could he even survive another one? No, he had to! This was the only way he'd get close to his target. Stay strong, stay strong, stay strong! He just had to….?!

It had all stopped. There was a man casually sitting in front of him. He was relaxed, innocent, and weak-looking. At that moment, he didn't feel relief. He felt fear. Had he failed?!

"I-I can keep going—" Gon uttered. 

"Bravery is fine, but one shouldn't overdo it either. You really can't handle it." Josh Malum shrugged. 

No way! Was this all for nothing?! No! He had to try one last thing at least. "Can I shake your hand once as a sign of respect, Sir? It would mean a lot to me!" He begged. 

Josh showed an amused smile before nodding. "Sure." 

Gon approached him with his stiff legs while smiling as much as he could. He wiped the blood and sweat off before putting his hand forward. As he felt the man's warm hand, he instantly activated his ability. 

Soon he would see a glimpse of his target's Class, and he would naturally understand one of its abilities. He felt the feedback strongly, but….there was no Class?! How?! This was impossible?! 

As he raised his eyes, he saw that same playful smirk. No, it was a huge grin. The devil had known everything: his identity and his goal. He knew it all! That is when he spoke gently. 

"This is the power of someone that is Classless." Along with these words, the man emitted overwhelming magical energy. No, it was different!

The entire world ceased to exist. Gon could only see the devil: the incarnation of evil itself. Gon couldn't stand this aura and forgot to breathe while heavily falling. He barely felt his knees and hands collide with the floor or its cold touch.

He could barely support his weight on all four, and even then, his entire body began shaking. It started in his innards, then spread to the rest of him in an unstoppable wave. That's when he started vomiting everything inside of him.

He vomited his gut, his blood, his worries, and everything he knew about life. What madness was this?! He lost all bearings, but he would never forget this feeling. Doom itself! It was more powerful than anything he had ever felt!

Gon somehow found the energy to raise his head slowly. It was the most excruciating thing he had ever done. He could feel stings of pain in his skull but endured it all. He finally made eye contact with the towering Josh Motherfucking Malum. 

This was power, true power. This was the power he had always been looking for! He felt more desire for this power than toward life itself. 

With such power, he could slay dragons! 

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[A/N] First: !DuckLegionRequest winner: DraGon_SlayErr. There was no name given so I improvised ;) A new winner will soon be picked! 

Write !DuckLegionRequest in the latest PRIV chaps to participate and write your request. If you've already written it somewhere repost !DuckLegionRequest + chapter number of where it's posted. 

Also winner of the Discord contest = AjTheDude. He asked for best girl cameo (Wolfie). [Upcoming]

Creator's Thought

How many more had been deemed useless because they didn't fit the mold? Society determined quickly who was and wasn't useful but with bias. No one would have believed back then that such a vomiting mess would become the mighty and unkillable Dragon Magic Collector.