Chapter 257 The Magma Railgun

POV Vesuvius:

Thick black clouds drifted across the sky, lightning flashing and rumbling in them. A brightly glowing yellow lance of magma levitated in the air as if there was no gravity.

Two golden glowing eyes were looking straight at the lance, hidden between the black clouds, as a monumentally large dragon flapped his wings, hovering high above the white mountain, peaks under him.

'This time, it should work.'

Two bright lines of lightning flared up around the magma lance forming rails forged of plasma and electricity, shining across the sky and throwing blue sparks.

The lightning rails sparked in increasing intensity around the magma lance, blue sparks raining down from them, and electrical arcs connected with the lance.

The magma lance just remained to hover, only slowly moving forwards.

'Dammit, the magma simply isn't conductive enough. There is not enough current passing through it.'

Suddenly the dragon looked at it from closer as he got a new and better idea, 'Why am I trying to replicate how railguns worked back on earth when I have magic, and I can use it to make shortcuts?'

The lightning flashed again around the lance of magma, flowing on both sides, the electrical current flowing in opposite directions, creating spinning magnetical fields.

'Back on earth, I would need to bridge it with something highly conductive, but I don't think that I need it to do now. It doesn't matter if it isn't conductive enough. I can force the electricity to do what I want with my affinity.'

Vesuvius focused, his horns and eyes slightly sparking with electricity. His will moved to grab both rails of lightning, and then he grabbed an arc of blue lightning from each, forcing it to flow through the magma, bridging them right behind the lance of magma.

The twisting current of electricity immediately generated strong magnetic fields, pushing the magma lance forwards.

Immediately the sharp orange rod of magma launched forwards, quickly accelerating and turning into a yellow-glowing blur.

Then a loud bang passed through the sky, creating a circle in the air as it passed the sound barrier.

The yellow blur flew into the distance, quickly turning into a small glowing spot before vanishing beyond the horizon.

'Yes, this is the correct way. The magic and the scientific approach from the earth are not enemies. I should not isolate them but combine them for greater effects. Well, anyway, the first phase is done.'

The dragon raised his clawed hand, and the black ring on his finger flashed in bright red light.

Gold flowed out, melting and turning into streams that kept flowing, turning thinner and smaller with each passing moment.

The molten golden liquid flowed around the dragon, glowing and contrasting with his pitch-black body.

The gold kept spreading, forming veins like lines of gold as through his black amour that melted, absorbing the gold, getting a slight golden glint.

In an instant, he felt his body, muscles and even the magical force of his soul grow by a noticeable chunk.

'I need more gold. This is not even enough to fully cover me, and I am already using just the thinnest possible layer.'

Ding!

//

You are under the effect of the dragon hoard armour.

Current effect: 1.137 X power amplification.

//

It was the power that Vesuvius chose to evolve his hoard too, 'Do I need to be so careful about it? It doesn't matter if it melts or disperses. It will always be my gold, and with my domain, I can always regroup it.'

Ding!

//

Noble Dragon Hoard Armour (LV 12):

Description: The armour of a dragon using his own treasure in a battle to amplify its powers.

The armour resonates with the dragon's greedy soul, empowering them when in battle with much greater efficiency than when compared to them just being present next to their hoard.

The more gold and other expensive metals and jewels used in the armour, the greater amplification of the force will be, without any limit.

//

The dragon sighed again, still having doubts if it was the right choice, as he thought about the other options in the form of the cursed gold, which would turn his hoard into a deadly trap.

The living hoard, which would turn the hoard into a golem-like existence fighting for him or the generic upgrade just empowering its original effects.

'No, this is the best option. Not only will it make me stronger, but it will also keep my treasure safe. Does it matter if it gets broken or melted? No, I can always regroup it with my domain. Even with magic, it is hard to transform elements. I am not the first dragon who ever did this.'

The dragon flapped his wings, looking at the traces of gold in his armour, his heart beating loudly as he felt it all around him.

A huge grin formed on his face, 'I want to see anyone trying to steal it now! In any case, I can easly move it between my armour and my ring.'

Vesuvius closed his eyes, and bolts of lightning grew on both sides of his, forming rails forged of electricity and plasma.

Their intensity quickly increased, the blue arcs sparking between his massive black body and them.

The next second, the dragon's horns flashed, lightning and electricity passing through his body, creating a channel between the two lightning currents.

The immense force pushed against him, his body shooting forwards, quickly accelerating.

However, suddenly it slowed down, his massive wings getting in the way.

Vesuvius immediately discharged all of the lightning, stopping mid-air and flapping his enormous crystalline fiery wings.

'I need better timing.'

The dragon closed his eyes again, two lightning currents forming by his body, each flowing in the opposite direction, creating opposing repelling magnetic fields between them.

'Now!' the dragon folded his wings into sharp aerodynamic shape on his back, and the lightning began to crackle again, bridging his body between the two rails of lightning.

The winds swished around him, his massive body shooting forwards, the whole mass turning into a massive black and purple blur that kept accelerating, lightning creating and striking by his sides, creating the rails of lightning before him.

He kept accelerating further and further, shockwaves passing through the air behind him together with loud bangs as he quickly surpassed the speed of a sound.

The dragon kept moving forwards, his black volcanic armour turning red from the heat caused by the air resistance slowing him down.

He immediately flapped his wings, dispelling the rails of lighting around him.

'I also have winds affinity. I can probably redirect all of the air around me to eliminate all of the resistance that made me even faster.'

Vesuvius felt his heart beat louder and louder with every second, his mind going into a frenzy as he realised how brutally perfect is the combination of magic and science.

'Both of them are good alone, but together they are perfect. Using the laws of physics to my advantage instead of brute-forcing it and bypassing them with magic is much more efficient. At the same time, the magic can give immense energy or modify variables or even remove them from equations, making complicated stuff much less complicated.'

POV Minor Antagonists:

Crowds of people moved through the royal capital. Players were everywhere, constantly bombing the natives trying to sell them their goods, with questions about the dragon.

"Hey, old man! How strong is the dragon!"

"How the hell should I know?! But just by looking at you, I am sure you will end up as a nice snack. So buy my special pills to fight the dragon! They are cheap and non-addictive!"

The whole street suddenly turned quiet, the players parting in respect, with natives covering back in fear.

A group of winged players in shining armours forged out of mysterious metal, each of them easly being two meters tall, marched down the street.

A terrifying force radiated out of them, the air shivering around them.

Even though they were decked in heavy armours, they moved silently, their metallic greaves not making any sound as they hit the stone-paved street.

Each of their faces was hidden under their helmets decorated with feathers made of pure blue energy.

Nametags floated above their heads.

"Wow, are these the elite players? Damn, I heard that they went through multiple metamorphoses!"

The elite players didn't even bother to stop and instead entered an old rustic tavern.

It was almost empty, with dirty tables covered in grease and old stains. A strong smell of alcohol and mould filled the air.

"There he is." one of them pointed towards a corner of the eating room.

A lonely player in shiny plate armour was sitting behind a table, holding a mug filled with foamy beer. The nametag, MarcAnthonius, floated above his head.

"Welcome, my friends!" he immediately stood up, spreading his arms in a wide welcoming gesture.

"We are not your friends. You fought against the dragon before. We want information."