Chapter 17. Dragon Noble

Although Netherborne could float, they could not fly. A few meters off the ground was the best Victor could do, and apart from his Doom Ray, he lacked in ways to deal with aerial threats. Such as dragons. There was a shocking lack of flight-capable monsters in the cursed forest. Victor had brushed it off initially since forests usually favored land-based monsters. But seeing those flying lizards perching on the crater’s edge made him realize another possibility. There were flying-type monsters, but they never lived long.

Victor almost felt bad. Imagine being a freshly spawned magnificent bird and leaving the nest for the first time, only to be hunted down by a group of dragons for lunch.

Despite the distance, Victor could overhear the dragons snarling at each other. However, his universal language skill gifted by the goddess translated the primal snarls into an eloquent language.

“What in the high heavens is that thing, and what happened here?” a green-scaled dragon around the size of a double-decker bus asked the dragon beside it.

Victor floated closer and noticed that the dragon in the middle seemed the largest and most arrogant. Its golden scales shined in the sunlight as if they were polished and made of chrome. Its snake-like eyes were a constant swirling myriad of exotic colors that gave a similar crystalline appearance to Hyveth’s eyes.

The other two dragons on the chrome dragon’s flanks refused to raise their heads higher than it, suggesting that the chrome dragon was some kind of noble dragon. But, even if it wasn’t, and Victor had mistaken how the dragon’s society functioned, it was the most valuable of the three, so it would be his focus.

Victor feared dragons on the level of Hyveth, but compared to that dragoness, these three could barely be considered hatchlings. He floated up the side of the crater and circled around as the three dragons gawked at his newest creation. Despite their large sizes, they looked like bugs compared to the undead earthworm.

The chrome dragon squinted its eyes and spoke in an aloof tone. “You two wouldn’t know, but a necromancer has recently been plaguing the lowlands. My mother told me to avoid the area for the time being. It seems their assessment was correct; only a being on my mother’s level could cause such destruction.”

The green dragon nervously looked at the red-scaled dragon over the chrome dragon’s back. A silent agreement formed between the two, and they began cautiously walking backward.

“Sir Arcgold, don’t you believe we should flee the area if such a powerful mage is nearby?” The green dragon peeked back at the crater a few miles in diameter, covered with molten rock and that enormous black-scaled thing in the center that rivaled some of the Elder dragons in size and the sheer presence it exerted on its surroundings. The green dragon knew of most of the monsters in the lowlands, but this one was easily the most powerful it had ever seen. Even the creatures on the lower levels of the Grand Dungeon couldn’t compare! Dragons are supernaturally attuned to the surrounding mana. That death worm was casually emitting waves of death mana for a hundred meters around it that would give even a dragon’s mana defenses a hard time.

The golden chrome dragon didn’t budge. It was the definition of arrogance, or perhaps pride? “Run away, you fools,” it snarled. “I shall not bury your corpses.”

The two dragons shared another glance, and with a synchronized flap of their wings, they took the sky. The chrome dragon shook its head and lay down. Then, with a snort, it laid its long head on its front paws and closed its rainbow crystal eyes.

Victor watched the dragon with amusement. It was smarter than he expected. But, alas, it seemed not all dragons shared the same thought process. They know I must still be nearby, yet they think they can escape? He ignored the chrome dragon for now as it was making no signs of movement and focused on the two fleeing dragons. To hopefully conserve some stats, he ordered his new undead worm to target the green-scaled one while he charged up a small-scale Doom Ray to eliminate the red one. Before Victor even started charging, his new pet surged through the ground and shot up from below the green dragon, and in a shower of dirt, the green dragon found itself chomped in half by thousands of razor-sharp teeth.

Victor blinked in confusion. If someone told him the worm teleported, he would agree. It had dove into the earth and emerged within a second. Not wanting to be bested by an oversize worm, his Stealth briefly deactivated as he aimed his hand and shot out a semi-charged, super-weak Doom Ray. Like a purple lightning bolt, it lit up the surroundings briefly as it shot through the sky and blasted the red-scaled dragon. The bolt superheated the dragon’s blood, exploding it mid-air like a firework.

A moment later, Victor’s Stealth reactivated, and he vanished again. He checked on the chrome dragon, and its eyes were still closed. “Not going to flee, young dragon?” he asked, and his ancient-sounding voice echoed through the ruined land.

The golden chrome dragon opened an eye and looked around. The voice seemed to come from all directions, making the dragon frown. Although Victor was the most powerful one here, dragons had limitless pride, so being talked down on like a child made the chrome dragon’s mood sour.

Victor realized his mistake and used Shadow Magic to create a temporary avatar for the unruly dragon. The chrome dragon glanced at a swirling mass of darkness as a humanoid figure with glowing blue eyes manifested.

“Run?” The dragon continued to speak in snarls to the shadow. “Would there be a point when I came to meet you?”

The shadow had distorted features, so the chrome dragon could not guess the necromancer’s reaction, but they seemed amused. “Oh? Why would a hatchling be looking for me?”

“The girl they took, it was one of yours, right? I know where to find her—” The dragon was interrupted as the shadow put up a hand for silence.

“You misunderstand. A mere girl means little to me. I picked her up a few days ago; she was my pet project. What would interest me is your corpse.”

The dragon shuddered as it felt a wave of power wash over it, causing it to doubt that this person was a simple necromancer. Perhaps it was a creature with a similar level of intelligence as dragons but specialized in the dark arts? The chrome dragon puffed out its golden chest and eyed the shadow with shifting eyes. “Necromancer, I will be blunt with you.” The dragon hesitated before it lowered its head toward the ground in an awkward bow.

“I request power. If your elusive self is unfamiliar with dragon politics, let me explain.” The shadow nodded, so it continued. “Many centuries ago, twelve families fought together and banished the other races from these lands and seized the Grand Dungeon. After a few years, other dragons heard the news and traveled across continents to arrive here.” The chrome dragon nervously looked around as if he felt awkward shouting such important secrets into the open air. “To maintain their control, the original dragon families gave themselves a surname that showed their authority, and the other dragon families reluctantly agreed. That surname was Arc. I am from one of these families; my name is Genus Arcgold.”

Genus sighed out his nostrils before continuing his tale. “Without regular invading, the Grand Dungeon has rapidly increased in size and power over the last few centuries. So much mana pours out that it has begun evolving anything near enough to its entrance.” A flash of anger passed the young dragon’s eyes. “Recently, the Arcwing family, the self-proclaimed Royal Family, began throwing its weight around and pushing the other noble families from the central region so they can claim the most floating islands for themselves. My family was one of the first to stand up to the tyranny, and we were,” Genus winced, “slaughtered. Only a few of my family remain. Those Arcwing bastards used us as an example to the rest.” Genus’s claws dug into the earth and left marks in their wake.

The shadow pondered for a while before answering. Its voice was ancient, came from all directions, and the shadow’s hazy mouth didn’t move, making the whole experience unsettling for Genus. “You want my help to take the throne?”

Genus paused. Originally he planned to ask for help getting revenge. He sought redemption after the Arcwing family dragged the Arcgold name through the mud and banished him to the lowlands. But to become king? Was such a thing even possible? Genus sucked air through his teeth and nodded. He didn’t know the price this mysterious necromancer would demand, but he was willing to pay it.

The shadow vanished, leaving Genus with the sight of that monstrous worm munching on one of his childhood friends. A voice echoed through the forest. “Proposal accepted. But on a few conditions…”