Chapter 10: Adventure abound

"Embrace the vast skies and boundless horizons, for in the wings of dragons lies the truest spirit of freedom and the call to grand adventures."

— Anonymous

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Journal Entry #4: The craving for adventure.

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I've been living on this island for almost a month now.

In that time, I've come to understand what it truly means to live a frugal and primitive life. In this place, I have a humble but nice hut to live in, a constant source of food (Apples) to eat and clean water to drink—even if I've come to find myself not needing those said basic necessities to survive, oddly— and I have DRAGONS as my companions and fellow island mates. How cool is that!?

In a way, this place is a Utopia. A beautiful island filled with mysteries, quaintness, and mythical beasts, untouched by the less savory aspects that civilization and people bring with them. Development often comes at the expense of nature, after all.

But it is also true that it's not a place someone who's been very closely acquainted and comfortable with modern-day civilization can survive on. At least, not everyone can stand the sheer loneliness of this place. There really isn't a whole lot to do other than enjoy a chill life and feed and play with dragons. Oh! There's also magic. Yes, can't forget about magic!

And while I've been able to cope with it somehow; these days, I feel the need to go out and get back into the familiar sights of a civilization.

I thought the last excursion into the wilderness of Remnant would keep me content for quite some time. It was quite an adventure, after all. But it's hardly been 2 weeks and I have this craving to go out again.

I guess I do have a bit of an adventurous zeal in me. That, or I'm too cooped up on this island. Like I said, there really isn't a whole lot to do here. Some means of entertainment and pastime would be nice.

And so, this has led me to be daring and once again venture into the world of Remnant.

I don't know what's awaiting me, but I am curious and excited. And this time, I'm also better prepared.

Let's once again hope that this goes well.

Until next time.

Damien.

***

I stood in front of the mysterious portal that was the centerpiece of this island, my mind going through the things I needed for this venture into who knows where on Remnant.

'Let's see now. Dragons? Check.'

This time, I was taking Pyra, Terrin, and Cyclis with me. I would have taken all four of my dragons, but due to the evolution of my first two dragons, I had to reconsider. They were really growing quite big. Also, I chose Pyra but not Nixie because I've come to realize she doesn't prefer land much these days. As she grows, her affinity to water increases but her affinity to land lowers. So, unless we arrive in a water-based environment, I decided Pyra would be a better choice out of the two.

Also, Pyra is my first and strongest dragon. I'm a little biased towards her.

As for the two new dragons, this would be their first fight.

Unlike my first two dragons, Terrin and Cyclis were still relatively low-level and thus could grow more from this. Plus, I wanted them to get used to fights.

'Then… me? Check.'

I wasn't exactly prepared for the upcoming battles, per se. All I had was the newly made spear I'd been forging from a solid branch and a sharp stone I found on the stony shore, binding the two together with a fibrous vine that seemed pretty durable. It wasn't easy, but I thought I did a pretty good job on it. It managed to hold strong in my preliminary tests.

I also had two backup spears, one of which was just a sharpened branch while the other was a slightly inferior version of my main spear that I was carrying.

For armor… I had none. It wasn't like I could make armor from wood or something. I didn't have such capabilities. Even the stone spear took a long time to construct and I had gotten myself hurt a few times during the process. Thankfully it healed completely thanks to my HP regen.

So, yeah. There wasn't much to see here. Just plain old me. Though a little stronger and more durable thanks to my increased stats. And also capable of using magic. I wasn't as helpless and weak as I was the first time I ventured out into the wild.

[–Status–]

Name: Damian Pendragon

Age: 18

Race: Human(Magical)

Class: Dragon Tamer(Novice)

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Tier: II

Level: 5/50

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HP: 1000/1000

MP: 220

Aura: -Locked-

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STR: 18

END: 17

AGI: 16

DEX: 16

INT: 22

WIS: 17

CHA: 15

LUC: 20

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SP: 0

DP: 10

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Gold: 123,250

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Affinities:

[Fire(Minor)]

[Water(Minor)]

[Earth(Minor)]

[Wind(Minor)]

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Dragons: 

Pyra (Lvl 23)

Nixie (Lvl 20)

Terrin(Lvl 12)

Cyclis(Lvl 16)

♦-♦-♦

I hadn't made much progress from the last time as leveling up had become quite harder since I reached Tier 2. But to make up for it, I had a decent repertoire of magic.

Still, I planned to gain some levels this time by being more proactive, unlike last time when I was scared like a pussy and was always on the back foot, getting protected by my dragons like a helpless maiden.

And also, if possible, I really wanted to get close to a civilization this time. Maybe even enter it, if possible. It would be nice to see what the civilization of this world has to offer.

That, and… it would be nice to see people again.

It's been a while since I've seen another person.

…

'Alright, then. I guess I'm set and ready.'

With a deep breath, I turned to look back at my three dragons.

"Ready for some adventure?"

In response, I got their cries and growls of affirmation.

"Good. Then, let's go."

With anticipation and caution, I entered the now-lit portal.

***

"Alright, then. Where are we this time?"

After exiting the portal and doing a quick scan of the area to see if we weren't in any immediate danger, I let my dragons guard me while I opened up my [Map] to ascertain our location.

… Well, our relative location anyway.

Zooming out, I could see both of my previous entry and exit points quite a bit up north.

'So… I'm somewhere down south, huh.'

The last time I'd been on Remnant, I explored for quite a while, at least until my makeshift spear broke and I decided to leave before things turned hairy. But even then the area I explored was negligible on this scale, a mere blip on the map.

The area we were in currently seemed like a mixture of sparse temperate forests and hills.

"Alright, let's go find some Grimms."

With my dragons in tow and the portal shut behind me, I began moving in a random direction: East.

The first Grimm we encountered was a Level 16 Boarbatusk. It was not alone, however. There were 5 of them, each between Levels 9 to 16.

"Alright, Pyra. You're in front. Cyclis and Terrin stay a little behind beside her. Let Pyra attack first when I signal and then Cylic can attack. Terrin you'll defend once we get close to them. Got it?"

With their growls of affirmation, we began to approach the herd of grim.

In the formation, I was a little behind Pyra and others. It wasn't because I was afraid. This was just how the formation ended up being. As the tamer, I would often end up in the back to be able to see and command my dragons in the fights.

In fact, I was actually eager to fight this time. Must be the perk working its wonders.

Our encounter didn't take long. The moment the grim noticed our approach, they roared and ran towards us, ready to tear us apart. Unfortunately for them, they were in for a fiery surprise.

"Pyra! Flame Burst!"

With my command, Pyra opened her maw wide and a sizzling sound followed as her mouth was alight with flames. Then, with a roar, she exhaled it, and a large torrent of flame hit the approaching Boarbatusks.

"Nice!"

I cheered, seeing the boars pause in their tracks and instead wright in agony.

If they were normal beasts with some sense, I would feel bad for their suffering, but these things were personifications of darkness and evil. They didn't require such pity.

"Alright, now, Cyclis—"

I paused midway through my command when I noticed the Grimm turning into whisks of black smoke and disappearing.

"… Huh?"

I was a little taken aback. I didn't think Pyra's flames were so effective; they'd certainly improved since last time. But then again, she was higher level than them and this was her best attack, so it was sort of understandable.

"Oh well, guess we will have to find another group. Good job, Pyra. You're so strong!"

I patted the red dragon and she seemed to preen at my praise and petting.

After that, with renewed eagerness, we started our search for Grimm once again.

***

I was sitting on a large rock in a small clearing, looking at one of the screens from my System while my dragon companions lay nearby, resting a bit from their recent battles.

I had sort of forgotten about it, but I had recently gotten a [Beastiary] from one of the quest rewards.

Seeing as we were not in any immediate danger and slightly curious, I opened it to look at the contents and found a list of Grimm we had encountered until now.

[—Beastiary—]

–Beowolves–

Description: Wolf-like Grimm that often hunt in packs. They possess agility and speed.

Locations: Commonly found in forested areas and occasionally in urban regions.

Strengths: Agile movements, speed, and pack tactics.

Weaknesses: Relatively weaker individually, vulnerable to teamwork and ranged attacks.

–Boarbatusks–

Description: Boar-like Grimm known for their tough armor and ability to roll into a ball for attacks.

Locations: Forests, plains, and grasslands.

Strengths: Strong armored defense, rolling attack, and brute strength.

Weaknesses: Vulnerable when not in a rolled-up state, slower mobility, weak points around their stomach.

–Creeps–

Description: Small insect-like Grimm often found in swarms.

Locations: Urban areas, forests, and dungeons.

Strengths: Swarm tactics, fast movement, and overwhelming numbers.

Weaknesses: Individually weak, vulnerable to area-of-effect attacks.

–Ursa–

Description: Bear-like Grimm with variants such as Ursa Minor and Ursa Major. They exhibit strength and endurance.

Locations: Forests and wooded regions.

Strengths: Great strength, durability, and power in close combat.

Weaknesses: Slower mobility, vulnerability to fast and agile opponents.

The 4 types we had encountered so far in our search were Boarbatusks, Beowolves, Creeps, and Ursa—the Minor one.

Among them, Creeps were the ones that were dealt with the easiest. None of them could even lay a scratch on Pyra and for others, and they were not that hard to deal with either. Though the group we encountered was quite large in number, counting over 20, a single blast of Pyra's Flame Burst eradicated the majority of their numbers. The stragglers were dealt with the rest of us using simple melee combat. They really were not a threat once they lost their numerical advantage.

Beowolves also came in packs of 5 to 10 and were much more threatening than Creeps, but the levels of the ones we encountered were fairly low and while we suffered some damage, we managed to deal with even the largest of their packs which had 10 Beowolves and no alpha variants.

The 2 Ursae we encountered in the wild were probably the toughest opponents we had to face due to their strong hides, but even they were not immune to Pyra's sizzling flames and suffered a great deal of damage from her attacks.

I was a little surprised and also impressed when Terrin, who had barely reached Level 15 then, entered into a melee fight with one of the Ursae after it was sizzled with one of Pyra's AOE attacks, and managed to win.

Even if the said Ursa was already hurt from Pyra's preliminary attack, it was still a Level 20. And Terrin bit the medium-sized bear to death, ignoring the attacks it landed on him. At the end of their fight, Terrin just had a few scratches from the battle and gained 2 whole levels from it.

Seriously, dragons are legit overpowered. I love 'em!

The one who was least effective in the fight initially—after me, of course—was probably Cyclis.

Even though the wind dragon was proactive and launched a fair number of attacks, its first ability seemed to deal the least damage to the enemies and acted more as a knockback and stunning skill. The poor thing was quite miffed about it from the looks of it and started using its second ability to zoom around and maw at the Grimms who had lost balance or were dazed from its attacks.

This tactic raised his effectiveness in combat severalfold.

Finally, there was me.

I… didn't actually do that much, all things considered. 

As I previously said, my contribution to our fights was probably the least out of everyone. Mostly due to how effective Pyra's attacks were; She was undoubtedly the MVP of our team. And with her and the other two in front, not many Grimm got past and reached me. But I did manage to kill a fair bit of Grimm and leveled up in the process. In fact, all of us had leveled up nicely.

Pyra, our best fighter, was sitting at Level 28, going past the Level 25 milestone, and in the process earning a cool new ability and giving me an affinity upgrade for my Fire element.

[Pyra]

Fire Dragon

Rarity: Common

Level: 28

HP: 1450

MP: 13500

Abilities unlocked: [Ignite] [Flame Burst] [Ember Blast]

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[Ember Blast]

Cost: 40 MP

Description: The Fire Dragon unleashes a fiery projectile attack on opponents, which upon impact creates a blast dealing high fire-based damage to the target and anyone in close proximity.

Her new ability was akin to a hand grenade, but one that was already burning.

Then there were my other two dragons, who, while a bit behind Pyra, had also gained a fair amount of levels.

[Terrin]

Earth Dragon

Rarity: Common

Level: 17

HP: 900

MP: 8000

Abilities unlocked: [Rock Shield] [Terra Surge]

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[Terra Surge]

 Cost: 30 MP

 Description: The Earth Dragon channels the Earth's energy to launch sharp rocks at enemies, dealing damage and potentially stunning them.

I had yet to test this skill, so I decided to do it now seeing we were not in the middle of a fight.

"Terrin. Face that way."

I ordered, pointing towards our left where there were a few trees and nothing else.

The Earth Dragon followed my instructions and promptly turned left.

"Now, Terra Surge!"

Terrin didn't make a single move but the next moment, I saw the land around him being carved and reformed into several sharp and pointed rocks, which were then promptly fired straight ahead. Some hit and punctured the tree trunks while others went past them. I hadn't specified a target so the attack was quite spread out.

'Hmm, that's quite powerful. It can easily be considered a good AOE attack.'

"Again. But this time focus on that tree with two rocks attached to it, okay? Terra Surge!"

Once again, the land around Terrin was carved out and sharp rocks formed and were promptly launched. Only, this time they had a specific target and so almost all of them hit the trunk of a singular tree, covering it with a good number of jutted pointy rocks.

The tree was still standing, so they weren't powerful enough to tear apart a tree. But in Terrin's defense, the tree I had asked him to attack was fairly girthy. Something told me the Grimm wouldn't have such an easy time with this attack, not unless they had a really thick hide, like the Ursae.

"Not bad. With this, you can easily demolish those Grimms."

The Earth Dragon turned back to me and after giving me a quick lick of affection, sat back on the ground nearby, its task now done.

Then there was Cyclis, now in a good mood after it had killed so many Grimm. It had breached Level 20s, becoming my second strongest dragon in terms of Levels.

[Cyclis]

Wind Dragon

Rarity: Common

Level: 22

HP: 1150

MP: 10500

Abilities unlocked: [Gale Burst] [Zephyr Cloak]

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[Zephyr Cloak]

 Cost: 50MP/min

 Description: Envelops the Wind Dragon in a cloak of swirling wind, making its body much more lethal while also reducing the damage taken.

Its second ability was a continuous ability that was a good mix of offense and defense and complimented Cyclis's inborn agility and flight. And since Cyclis could use it as long as it had Mana, it kept itself coated with it while we were fighting and it proved quite useful. The coat had a translucent greenish hue which seemed to act like razor-sharp saws when it touched its enemies, the Grimm. It tore through weaker Grimms and could severely hurt even the tougher ones.

With Cyclis, the ideal fighting strategy was knocking and stunning the enemies with quick shots of Gale Bursts and then letting it zoom around them and attack them, covered in Zephyr Cloak. An effective strategy indeed, proved by the amount of level-ups it had gotten from our battles.

Finally, there was me. Other than getting a surprise hit from a creep during our last bout, I hadn't suffered any major injuries. And I had gained 5 levels from our excursions so far.

Seeing as I had free time, I decided to allocate my 25 free stat points. With all said and done, my Status was looking a bit balanced once again—bar INT and WIS that gain extra stat points every time I level up.

[–Status–]

Name: Damian Pendragon

Age: 18

Race: Human(Magical)

Class: Dragon Tamer(Novice)

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Tier: II

Level: 10/50

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HP: 1810/1810

MP: 300

Aura: -Locked-

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STR: 20

END: 20

AGI: 20

DEX: 20

INT: 30

WIS: 25

CHA: 16

LUC: 25

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SP: 0

DP: 10

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Gold: 123,250

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Affinities:

[Fire(Intermediate)]

[Water(Minor)]

[Earth(Minor)]

[Wind(Minor)]

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Dragons: 

Pyra (Lvl 28)

Nixie (Lvl 20)

Terrin(Lvl 17)

Cyclis(Lvl 22)

♦-♦-♦

After allocating my stat points across my stats, I had a single point remaining, and not wanting to leave it, I ended up putting it in the CHA stat which was now lagging behind the others. There was no other reason besides that. Definitely nothing relating to the desire to be more charming and attractive. Nope.

Ahem.

Anyhow, things were progressing nicely and it hadn't been that long since we came here. Barely a couple hours. The Grimm presence in the area was much higher than the previous regions I had been in so it was easier to find them. Heck, we had even stumbled upon 2 groups of Grimm one after another.

While that was a bit troublesome since it meant I couldn't catch my breath for long, it gave us a good amount of EXP, so all was good.

"Alright."

I began after a while of resting.

"We should continue. Let's hunt for as long as possible and gain a ton of levels!"

Seeing I was already 20% of the way to the max level for this tier, I was feeling quite eager to progress. The fights that had been nerve-wracking before somehow felt much more manageable now, even if the Grimm we encountered were larger in number. I could react and fight much more effectively. My attacks packed quite a punch as well when compared to me when I was still a low-level Tier 1. Especially my magic. Man, magic was overpowered. 

With our break over, I picked back my trusty spear that was still holding strong, even if a little damaged from use, we continued our exploration/hunting.

***

'Earth Spire!'

I mentally commanded, causing 3 sharp pointed spires of rocks to erupt from the ground and pierce through the large semi-bipedal wolf Grimm, making it howl in fury and agony.

Seeing the Beowolf was pinned from the ground and couldn't move too much, I immediately aimed for its head and chanted.

'Earth spear!'

Earth molded into a sharp spear-like shape was launched in response and hit its target, the head of the alpha Beowolf, causing its struggles to halt and then its body to dissipate slowly.

'Phew. One down.'

Turning around, I saw 3 Beowolfs halted in their paths toward me, frozen in what seemed to be shock.

Then, much to my surprise, they turned tail and ran away.

'Wut?'

I had no idea Grimm could do that, to be honest.

Looking around, I saw the few remaining stragglers were also in the process of running away from us. Two of the unfortunate ones still fell victim to Cyclis who gave chase to a few of them running near it.

I mentally commanded my dragons to not pursue them further and instead paused to take a break.

'Phew.'

I heaved a sigh of relief seeing we were no longer surrounded by the large horde of Grimm. 

It had been a little nerve-wracking suddenly seeing over 2 dozen Beowolf emerge out of the blue and surround us, led by not one but two Alphas. And here I had thought there could only be a single alpha in a wolf pack. Guess Grimm worked differently.

Anyway, we managed to deal with them. But I had to fight one of the alphas myself as it had lunged for me while my dragons were busy fighting the Beowolves.

Cunning little thing. It aimed for me probably because I looked the weakest—I was. It was a good thing that I was keeping track of the alphas or else I wouldn't have been able to react in time and things could have turned very dicey.

With our surroundings filled with evaporating Grimm, I took a moment to look at the [Map] to ascertain our location.

We were southwest, a few kilometers from the place we exited from the portal. Not a long distance considering we had been traveling for over 3 hours according to my rough estimate based on the position of the sun. Of course, that was just a vague guess from me. I wasn't proficient in reading the time based on the Sun's position.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any signs of civilization this time around and I was starting to feel tired from the hunt.

While I could recover from physical fatigue thanks to my stamina regen and my new perk boosted my mental fortitude quite a lot, it got a bit stale and monotonous after hunting and killing Grimm constantly for a couple hours.

I wasn't really a hunting or fighting enthusiast and my main goal for this expedition was to find civilization, rather than hunt Grimm. Not that I had any qualms against the fighting we did as it helped a lot in leveling us up.

I was Level 16 now. Pyra had breached Level 30s and halted her progression due to her soft level cap. But since I knew the XP would be stockpiled and gained later when I upgraded the temple, I didn't stop our expedition then and there. Cyclis was Level 24, just 1 level shy of reaching the Level 25 milestone. Terrin was now Level 19, the same as Nixie.

Man, I felt a little bad for leaving Nixie behind. She was being surpassed by her juniors. I needed to help her Level up so she wasn't left behind solely due to her decreased land affinity.

"Alright, I guess it's time to head back. I don't think we'll find any settlements here. This place looks untouched and filled with nothing but Grimm."

Heaving a resigned sigh, I opened the portal that led back to our home.

I had enough adventure for today. I'd leave the rest for tomorrow or whenever I come back here next time.

***