Facing Off Against the Dragon WAYYYYY too Soon

Some time before...

"What is it brother?" A deep, raspy voice came from a fire red, scaly figure. That's right, it was the dragon.

"Pyre, I'm going to go out and hunt us some other essence." This time a gentle, almost melodic voice came. It was from another dragon except it looked...slightly different. Its scales a nice emerald green, smaller claws, feathers on its wings. Overall, it looked friendly-at least, compared to the dragon, or Pyre.

"Why Jade? We have tons of dragonic essence in the crystals in these caves!" Pyre said, rather concerned about his brother. After all, there were many dangers in this world. If Jade made a single mis-step, he would perish instantly. That's how dangerous the outside was.

"Pyre, you and I both know that essence is too strong for us. Unless by some miracle, we evolve to the point we're stronger than our ancestors, but that's impossible. The dragon essences absorbed all the essence here, we can't find the needed amount to evolve here." Jade countered, firm in his decision. For them to survive, they needed to get stronger.

"But brother-"

"No buts. I'm going now. If you can find any type of essence here, make sure to absorb it completely. Maybe you'll be able to absorb the essence in those crystals then. See you soon!" Those were the last things Pyre heard before his brother took off.

"Brother...please be safe." Pyre went back to the cave, dejected. 'If only I could find some essence.'

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I spend some time experimenting with the crystals until I feel the ground shaking...oh no. Is the dragon back already? I need to hurry!

I grab a few crystals and rush back to my little shelter. Hopefully it just goes past me and I don't need to face off against the dragon. While I might joke around about my death, I would very much not like to experience it thank you very much.

As I rush to my shelter, I realize that I'm not going to be as lucky as I was last time. Why you ask? Because the rock...fell over because of the rumbling ground. NO NO NO NO NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! Suddenly, the rumbling ground stopped.

I turn around and see what I was terrified of most-a scaly red exterior. 'Welp, I'm f**ked' I thought, until I realized. This dragon...doesn't have an eye. So maybe it can't see me?

Then, I heard a deep raspy voice coming from the dragon. In spoke in an ancient sounding language, sending me chills. "ᛁᛗᛈᛟᛊᛊᛁᛒᛚᛖ! ᛁᛊ ᚦᚨᛏ...ᛖᛊᛊᛖᚾᚲᛖ?"

While I'm not sure what it said, I know for sure that is senses me. How do I know this? A HUGE F**KING CLAW IS BEING SWUNG AT ME! AND LET ME TELL YOU, IT'S NOT SLOW! As the claw gets closer, I start thinking.

F**king god of mischief! This is all his fault! I was having an extremely nice life on earth before he sent me here! Well technically, I died, but even dying would be better than this! Probably! Also, if you're going to isekai me, ISEKAI ME WITH AN ACTUAL CHEAT! WHAT'S WITH THIS USELESS STICK THAT I DON'T EVEN HAVE! THE LAST I SAW IT WAS WHEN YOU GAVE IT TO ME-wait, speaking of which, where did the stick get sent to again? It touched me right on my chest and disappeared...could the stick be worth more than it's letting on? Is it some sort of soul weapon that I need to call or something? Well...it's worth a try at least.

'Mr. Plot Armor stick, now's a better time than ever to activate...' I thought, as a blinding light shone from my hand. The light causes the dragon to be blinded and miss the claw attack. WOAH, I FEEL A SUDDEN POWER SURGING IN M-just kidding. It's just a normal stick. Sigh. Well, I guess I could at least brag about how cool my death was when I die.

And so there I was. A stick in hand, facing off against a ferocious dragon. I try to charge towards it, as to put up at least a small fight before I die, but my body just wouldn't listen to me. As the dragon gathers fire in its mouth, I certainly feel something surging in me. Except it's not power, no-it's fear. Fear for my life. Fear of a pointless death. Fear of achieving nothing in my life. I push these thoughts away. May as well try to be cheery before I die. 'Man, I know it's been my secretly biggest dream to be isekai'd, but I never wanted it to be like this...' The dragon shoots a burning fireball ball at me. However, at that moment, my body instinctive moved the stick to block the fireball. The fireball collided with the stick and...eh? The stick...blocked the fireball?

While both me and the dragon stand there confused, I recalled something the voice told me before. 'The item you get to help you out is an unbreakable stick' An UNBREAKABLE stick. Suddenly, the fear inside my disappears. In its place, a new feeling arose. Excitement. It's like trying to defeat an endgame boss as a new player. The excitement is just incomparable to fighting the boss while being stronger than it.

As the dragon was regaining its composure, I take the opportunity strike the dragon. After all, it would be pretty stupid if I give up on this opportunity. However, the problem becomes apparent. I don't have any attack power! My stick bounces off of its scales. The dragon, almost completely regaining its composure, slashed me with its claw. I barely move my stick to block it. Not being able to completely block it, I got pushed back, losing my balance. However, before the dragon took advantage of the situation, I use my foot to push myself back, barely avoiding another slash. I quickly dodge back.

And just like that, the battle raged on. The dragon, with its strong attacks keeps attack. Me, who's stick gives infinite defense, keeps blocking. As the battle comes to a stalemate, I suddenly feel a sharp pain in my chest and let my guard down. Big mistake. The fireball slips past my defenses, about to hit me, before I heard a voice.

"oooh, now this is interesting."

Suddenly someone snapped. The fireball immediately disappears.

"You need help, boy?"