Preparation for the tournament

Asher had been training nonstop for days, attempting to get back to the point he had gotten with the lich. There just wasn't enough beings with raw power for him to absorb. He had killed an entire clan of vampires to fight the lich, even on the level he had been at. That in itself had been a feat, with vampires being quite superior to the draugr he had initially struggled with.

Asher came across a job he had been waiting on for a while. There was an ice drake spotted in the area. He contacted Leah immediately and they began to prepare for the beast. He had already come to an agreement with Leah that he would be the one to slay the drake if at all possible.

Asher saw the creature well before it saw him, coming to the top of an ice topped hill. It was still a magnificent beast, but he was somewhat disappointed after seeing the storm dragon from before. The ease with which Abraham had fought that gargantuan monster was something Asher aspired to.

Alas, that was going to be a very long time. He didn't see that kind of growth coming for years yet. Possibly even decades. Asher went looking for a vantage point from which he could ambush the creature.

Leah had more experience with drakes now than he did, by a fair margin. It was a rare occurrence that the guild would put a bounty out on them. That was usually reserved for the beasts that were either encroaching on human territory or becoming a nuisance like the first drake Asher had encountered. This one was simply getting too close to Winterhaven.

Asher had been informed by Leah not to make any sound whatsoever, the senses of the drakes were highly enhanced compared to humans or monsters. With that in mind, he snuck closer while using his muffle ability, staying almost completely silent. With his own enhanced hearing, he could tell there was a slight patting sound as he took each step. He was actually surprised the drake hadn't been alarmed.

As he got closer, he saw the eyelids of the drake open wide and it's crystalline blue eyes stared holes into him. That gaze had him frozen in place. It felt like hours had passed before the creature moved it's serpentine neck upwards over Asher and went to snap it's jaws shut over him. He barely avoided the attack by jumping onto the drake's back. It took flight and Asher held on for dear life.

He felt the rush of the cold wind biting into him and he summoned his power of fire to ward off the chill. His fingers were dug in behind a scale almost the size of a dinner plate, keeping as tight of a grip as he possibly could. The drake began to roll in the air, twisting and turning while it tried to fling him off. Asher didn't let go, as he knew if he slipped once it would mean his death. Blood poured from his fingers as the scale dug in deep.

The whirlwind of movement eventually stopped and Asher moved towards the wing of the beast. It began to violently twirl through the air upon feeling movement on its back, but it was no use. Asher wasn't going to let go.

As he climbed closer to the massive wing, he gripped his sword tightly before he supercharged it with intense heat. With one mighty blow, he severed several tendons that allowed the drake to fly. It began to sway in the air, back and forth. Asher braced himself as the ground approached quickly.

Upon impact, he was sent flying through the air. He curled his knees into his chest and rolled across the hard ground with a loud thud. He had no time to let the pain get to him as he felt the wind off the dagger length, razor sharp teeth snapping behind him.

Asher swung his sword backwards and took out the beast's eye. The screeching sound echoed across the land. As soon as Asher had finished the motion, he had dove into cover to collect his thoughts and try to come up with a plan. There wasn't much time for him to think of how to deal with the beast before he had gone into hiding.

The first drake he had dealt with had been taken by surprise, making it a much easier target. He knew that it had been an easy way out, but he didn't realize exactly how much easier. Leah had been hanging back during the whole exchange, per Asher's request. He didn't want her to take the power from the drake. It wouldn't benefit him very much in that case. He had more than enough money to live comfortably on for a very long time now, that wasn't why he continued to work with the guild. He knew the guild was exactly what he needed to gain more power.

As soon as he had finished that thought, he heard loud footsteps coming his way. The serpentine neck of the drake snaked around the corner of the snow mound Asher was hiding behind. It's lips were curled back in a snarl and the chest of the creature began to glow a bright blue. Asher threw a burst of flame into its face right before frost erupted from the beast's mouth.

Asher took advantage of the moment of surprise and slashed into the drake's exposed throat. Blood began to pour down and the creature looked woozy. Asher hacked at the same spot over and over again until the head of the drake fell off.

As soon as the beast fell over, Asher felt a rush of power like never before. He felt his ice power becoming stronger along with his own raw energy. He knew if he could encounter a few more of the drakes, it would boost him exactly where he needed to be in order to fight in the tournament and win.

He saw Leah was coming towards him from afar. He could tell immediately that his eyesight was better than ever before. It seemed as though his senses had improved several times over due to the drake's power. It was almost disorienting because he could see individual features on Leah from quite large distance away.

"How do you feel?" she asked as she approached.

"Powerful," Asher simply replied. "It feels like I could take on another one of the drakes easily now."

Leah nodded and stated, "That's how I felt after taking one down. It's a really intoxicating feeling, knowing that you have not only defeated one of the most dangerous creatures in this province, but took it's power for yourself and in doing so, you are becoming more powerful than it ever was."

Asher knew what she was talking about, the thought had crossed his mind. There was almost nothing in the province that he could not deal with now. Before long, he would have to move on to another province, whether it was the Western province or the Eastern province towards the kingdom of Aetheria.

He still had a large outstanding bounty in Arcadia, so that was out of the question. He planned out his next moves as he went back to the guild with Leah. There was still the matter of subjugating another goblin, but he didn't want to weaken himself so close to the tournament. It was under a month before it was due to begin and he wasn't going to rest until he was strong enough to take first place.

As soon as the tournament was over, he planned to begin experiments attempting to dominate a new monster. Asher figured if he could get a dozen monsters under his command, he could easily regain whatever strength he lost from the ability.

Asher was somewhat nervous, he knew that Willow had suspicions about what was going on with both him and Leah. There was nothing concrete to lead her to the correct conclusions, but he still worried. If she found out, Asher really didn't want to be on the wrong end of the guild considering what Abraham had done to the greater dragon. He wasn't even the strongest the guild had. The power that Asher had felt off that man was immense. He felt a shiver go down his spine at the thought of ever crossing blades with Abraham.

Asher already knew, in his current state he would be dead before he could do anything. He intended to head to the Western province of Seawind before long to try his luck with the creatures there. First though, he had spotted a job that piqued his interest greatly. He was very intrigued because he had hardly heard about the creature in question. It was a frost giant.