Chapter 5

I had to think fast, my skillset and gear were all wrong for this encounter. A Sword wasn't going to be of much use against dragonbone and steel like this Dragon and an axe was only going to be a little better. For now, I'd have to play it defensively.

I dodged to the side just in time to miss getting hit by a claw of razor sharp dragonbone and had to keep dodging as three more claws came at me in rapid succession, followed by a tail attack. It seemed that this dragon was following the D&D standard attack pattern for dragons, four claws two wings, a tail attack and a bite. Sure enough the wings lashed out at me and I had to jump over one and duck the second, which was immediately followed by a bite attack which had me running around the corner into the alcove that the Dragon came out of, it's fanged maw running into the corner of the wall and crashing into it, which took out a noticable chunk of it's HP and caused some masonry to collapse from the floor abovem raining chunks of stone down onto the battlefield.

A Plan began to form in my head, after all didn't Sun Tzu say to use the terrain as much as possible in battle? I instinctively knew that I had gained a point of Intelligence for recalling a scholarly work and using it to form a plan, which brought my intelligence up to 20 and gained me a Trait that allowed me to gain a 5% bonus to damage for fighting smartly. That would be useful in the upcoming battle.

I began to run out of my cover as the dragon skeleton recovered, shouting at it, "Hey! Dragon! Come get me you simple son of a bitch!" I shouted, knowing I had just created a Skill for taunting. It seemed to work as the dragon lunged for me and I set to dodging again, making sure to time my dodges in such a way that I inched ever closer to one of the large chunks of fallen masonry. Claw, Claw, Claw, Claw Tail Wing Wing, Jump-Behind-the-Boulder! The Dragon Came in with a Bite just as I jumped behind a Large Chunk of the Fallen Floor from Above me, shattering the stone, but causing another chunk of damage to the dragon. I received -15 HP in Damage from Stone Shrapnel, but found that the Dragon was missing 30% of it's HP now from the Impacts and my new trait amplifying the damage from the last impact.

I immediately hit the dragon with 3 uses of Mordschlag right in the mouth which did about 7% of it's HP in damage only, but every bit helped, then I began Running Again as the Dragon picked itself up off the ground and prepared to attack again. "Hey! You're a filthy, dirty, disgusting, bottom feeding, garbage, excuse for a dragon, did you know that?" I shouted at the Dragon, noting that my skill with Taunt leveled up thanks to a little help from Y2J, and now the dragon was enraged again.

I repeated my strategy of dodging the first 6 attacks and dodging around a fallen boulder just before the bite attack, causing the dragon to once again crash into the stone head first, only this time, I kept running so as to not get hit by shrapnel. The Extra distance only allowed me 2 uses of Mordschlag before I had to start running again for an extra 4% of it's HP, but that was enough to take it down to Below half health. Unfortunately, this caused the Dragon to immediately get up and Roar at me, with such intensity that more of the floor above dropped down and I took -75 HP worth of damage from sound and air pressure. I imagine this was this thing's version of a breath attack. Fortunately my Gamer's Body skill prevent internal damage from air pressure like hemorrhages from the pressure or my ear drums dissolving from sheer sonic power, but it was still a pretty hefty attack. Fortunately it also gave me more fallen masonry to work with as I set about dodging the next series of claw, wing, and tail attacks, ducking behind another piece of masonry as the bite came in.

This time I got in 4 uses of Mordshlag before the dragon recovered for a further 8% damage, mostly because the last two were able to hit their stun chance. Unfortunately that also meant that my MP was now below half, but I didn't dare stop to fish soul stones out of my inventory to recover, not when I had to dodge the next series of attacks. Fortunately with that the Dragon was down to just below the the last 10% of it's health, which meant that I only needed one last use of the terrain to win.

Unfortunately it seemed that my Taunt had run out of time on the status effect it granted and I didn't notice. I took a Claw Swipe for my inattention, knocking off -35 HP from my own health, as I rolled away from the blow and got to my feet in time to dodge the next claw. The dragon was no longer wantonly attacking in a blind rage. Fortunately I had a skill to fix that. "Hey! You call that an attack? My 82 year old Grandmother hits harder than that! Where's the fire? Where's the Blood? You're a disgrace to dragonkind!" I shouted before I took off running again. That seemed to do the trick, as my taunt skill leveled up one more time, but it also seemed to reset the attack series as I found myself dodging a further four claws, two wings, and a tail, before the requisite bite attack came in just as I leaped over a fallen pile of stone debris.

The dragon crashed into the stone debris, and it's skull shattered into a bunch of pieces. The Dragon began to dissolve as I did a little victory dance. Most of the Skull fragments dissolved with it, but I noticed that a rather large fang remained.

Your Level has Increased to 7!

"Yes, yes, but what about that fang?" I asked, as I dismissed the Notice.

"Observe." I muttered.

The Beast's Fang

This is a Special Crafting Ingredient

The Fang of the Undead Dragon Skeleton known as the Beast of Swords, it's length and toughness allow it to be used in the creation of a Weapon

A Crafting Quest has been Created!

Forge the Beast's Sword!

Main Objective: Create the Dragon's Fang Sword

Requirements

1x The Beast's Fang

2x Steel Shards

1x Large Soul Stone

2x Leather Scraps

Blacksmithing Skill Lv 10

Main Objective Reward: 50 Experience, Dragon's Fang Sword-Dmg 18, +3 STR, +3 VIT, +3 DEX, +1 LUK

Y/N

Oh yes please. I accepted that whole heartedly, though I still needed 8 levels worth of Blacksmithing to be able to forge that and a Large Soul Stone. . .I wonder if I can find that in here somewhere.

I looked around, "More importantly, how do I get out of this pit?" I wondered aloud.

Finally I noticed that there was a hallway branching off the grated alcove that had held the Beast of Swords, far too small for the Beast to squeeze through, but just about right for a human-sized person. I walked through it and found a stairwell leading up to the opposite side of the pit in the floor, which now had jagged edges as the masonry I had used to great effect against the boss had come from the formerly smooth pit edge. I stepped out into another hallway to find myself fighting more of the basic skeletons, gaining more Soul Stones and Steel Shards, along with More Silver Stags as I defeated with more ease than previously.

Finally I ran into another of the Large Skeletons in Armor, this one with a Halberd. It wielded it with great skill and speed, keeping me at range and even doing the odd -25 HP hit to me, enough of them that I would have to use one of my healing serums before taking on the boss that was sure to be in the next area. I hit it with Mordschlag every time I could get inside it's guard, but it invariably managed to push me out into range again. It was then I recalled that I had received a technique, Leaping Strike from a soul gem I had absorbed. I tried that, and found that although it did less damage than otherwise due to the heavy armor, Leaping Strike carried me into the Guardian Skeleton's Guard with an attack. From then on I alternated Leaping Strike and Mordschlag until the skeleton was down, earning 2 Levels to Leaping Strike, 1 to Sword Mastery, 1 to Axe Mastery, 1 to Dual Wield Mastery, and 1 to Mordschlag.

The Guardian Skeleton dropped 2x steel shards, the Large Soul Stone I needed, 20 Stags, and another Crafting Recipe.

"Huh, I guess these guys randomly drop either multiple regular soul stones or a Large Soul Stone. . .Apparently I just got the common drops the last couple times. Oh well, Observe." I said to myself.

Guardian's Vambraces-Def 6, +2 DEX, +2 WIS, +2 LUK

4x Steel Scraps

4x Soul Stones

These Plate Vambraces are infused with the Power and Nobility of the Guardians of Ancient King's Landing

"And we all know what comes now." I said to myself as I began crafting the Vambraces as a prelude to equipping them. As I finished I instinctively knew my blacksmithing had leveled up, which was handy as it meant I only needed 7 more levels in the skill to craft the Dragon's Fang Sword. I immediately equipped the Bracers after I finished Crafting them, which left me with one last piece of the set unclaimed, which I was betting was the helm. I was also betting that this last boss had it on him. Using a Healing Serum and some regular soul stones to refill my HP and MP to full, I entered the next room.

It was what could once be considered a command center, perhaps 2 and a half centuries ago. Tattered standards hung on the walls alongside maps of the city and crownlands, A Desk with several books and yellowed parchments on it sat against the back wall. Studying the maps was a skeleton in full plate with a wicked looking greatsword strapped to it's back, on it's head it wore a helm of quality steel with bronze engraving. "The Dornish have broken through the Mud Gate but out lines hold in several areas and my Uncle's Army is but a day's march out. . .we must hold the city until they arrive. . ." Turning the Skeleton noticed me and shouted, "Dornish Spies! You have done well to get this far, but I will kill you and rally my men! Prepare yourself to face a Prince of the Realm!"

It charged me and I was thrown back by the ferocity of the charge, taking -42 HP in damage before being able to parry the follow through slash of the greatsword. I immediately Counterattacked with Mordschlag but the Skeleton wove a web of steel with his blade and deflected my attack. The Skeleton Counterattacked with a Power Strike something I had not encountered before in an enemy, but which was nonetheless apparent as to what it was, forcing me to leap back out of range or take damage. It charged back into the fray with a Leaping Strike and I found myself parrying and counterattacking with Morschlag which finally hit him for a noticeable chunk of his HP. Before I could Follow up, however, he attacked with an Interrupting Strike which disrupted my attack as he forced me back with -32 HP for my troubles. I used Leaping Strike to get back inside his guard and followed up with a Mordschlag that stunned him long enough for me to get in another Mordschlag and then dance away from his Counter.

We dueled like that for awhile, attacking and counterattacking with Skills as it ocurred to me that this was probably what facing an actual fully-trained Westerosi knight was going to be like, unlike the peasants and half-trained levies I had faced before. Even the Guardian Skeletons and other bosses hadn't actually used skills, or at least not ones I was familiar with, but this was an actual duel between swordsmen, and it was starting to worry me. I mean, this guy was long dead, with only the violent circumstances of his death and will to continue doing his duty animating him, he was probably far from at his peak in life. What would fighting Jaime Lannister be like?

We had finally whittled each other down after a half hour of this. I was below half health and he had less than a quarter of his HP remaining but had been steadily climbing in skill this whole time. I figured that the next few attacks would probably decide this fight. He opened with a Mordschlag that I countered with an Interrupting Strike which spoiled his planned attack series. I pressed the advantage with a Mordschlag only to have to dodge a Power Strike immediately afterwards. We stared each other down. I had just enough MP to pull off an ace in the hole if I needed to, and he began a whirling series of attacks that hit me twice for -32 HP each. I gave ground and saw him preparing to attack me with a Leaping Strike to press his advantage that I had no chance to dodge because of how his last attack sequence had backed me against the wall of the Room. Time for my ace in the hole, As he leapt in with the Leaping Strike, I hit him with a Meisterhau, using the last of my MP to do so. The attack took him in the neck as he was leaping in and he fell crashing to the side of me, hitting the wall. The Attack itself took him down to probably 3% of his HP and hitting the wall finished him. There was a flash as he dissipated and the wall opposite me ground inwards with the sound of stone on stone to reveal the next World Dungeon.

I received several notifications then, that all my sword and axe related skills had gone up by at least one level, that I had gained two levels, that I had completed the World Dungeon Quest. I dismissed them all in favor of loot. First, I collected the 2 Golden Dragons that had been dropped by the Skeletal Prince, then I used Observe on the helmet he had left behind.

Helm of the Guardian Commander-Def 8, +2 DEX, +2 WIS, +2 LUK

This Helm belonged to the Last Commander of the Guardians of Ancient King's Landing and was lost when the Order of Guardians was destroyed in battle with the Dornish. It is imbued with the Agility, Wisdom, and Fortune of the Order.

I immediately equipped that and gained the full set bonus for the Guardian's Set. I then went to the large desk in the back of the room to look through the books and parchments for anything of note. Most of what I found were parchments too yellowed with age to be of any use or scrolls that crumbled to dust with a touch, but I also found a Skill Book and a History that I could probably sell to a Maester somewhere detailing the History of the Order of Guardians.

"Observe." I muttered as I looked at the Skill Book.

Skill Book: Web of Steel

This Book Teaches the Web of Steel Skill

Would you like to Learn this Skill?

Y/N

I clicked on the Yes.

You Have Learned a Skill!

Web of Steel Lv 1 Exp 0%-A defensive technique that covers all angles of frontal attacks and several angles of side attacks, High Chance to Parry attacks from the front, Average Chance to parry attacks from the side, Costs 20 MP

I then stuffed the History Book into my Inventory and resolved that since I had been in here for a couple hours, I should probably head back to the inn. Focusing my MP on the need to Leave I learned that I had created the Skill ID Escape which apparently also worked on world dungeons and found myself back at the Myrishman's Head in the cellar. I hit the sconce to close up the Dungeon Entrance and went back upstairs to the common room.

"Och, ye been doon there a long time, was gettin' a might worried." Said Amarda as I exted the stairwell into the common Room.

"There were a lot of Rats, turns out that one of the secret passages that honeycomb this city empties into your cellar, fortunately I managed to figure out how to close it up after taking out the rats nest on the other side. I don't think Rats will be bothering you much again." I replied.

"Well, that's good then, I suppose ye'll be wantin' supper now?" She asked.

"That would be lovely, thank you." I replied.

She served me a bowl of Shepard's Pie and a Mug of Brown Ale.

It was the most delicious meal I've had in years.