CHAPTER 14

When she woke up it was around midnight, the moon shone brightly in the sky adorned by the countless stars. Sapphire rubbed her head, trying to ease the dizziness, the gentle cold breeze helping with it. 

Her stomach growled as she looked around. Hesitantly she took out another sandwich and devoured it in an instant. Somehow she still felt very hungry, but did not have any desire to waste her food. There was an option right in front of her, and while her conscience told her not to, her stomach was ordering her to devour the entire thing, and so she did just that.

There wasn't much time before dawn when she was done with her meal. Her mind had been somewhat numb after she woke up, but now she was thinking clearly, and there was only question in her mind. Why in the world did I eat an entire dragon? And how did I eat the entire thing? Anyways, Appraise.

"Midnight wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 2. HP: 775/775, MP: 880/880, Stamina: 1080/1100, Strength: 208, Defense: 175, Speed: 443."

"Wait, those things are new. I guess more details on higher levels was no joke," Sapphire observed. "I am guessing HP is my health, Attack is how much damage my attacks can do, and Defense is how much damage I can take without getting hurt, and Speed and Stamina are self-explanatory. But what is the level of Appraisal?"

"Skill: <Appraisal > level 4."

"Taking this relic was certainly not a bad idea in any way," Sapphire shrugged. "Anyways, I should get moving no. She said starting to walk. "But, before that." She smiled turning to the inside of the cave.

She entered the cave and looked around. The charred corpses were still there, some dried blood around them. She looked around to find anything valuable enough for her to take. There were rumors that dragons hoarded valuable metals and gemstones, but along with that, they also hoarded artifacts and relics. If Sapphire could get her hand on another artifact or relic then she would be on the fast track to becoming truly powerful.

She also collected some gold and silver coins and filled her bags with them, just to make sure she doesn't runs low on them. There were tons of armor but it was too big for her to wear. The weapons were also far too heavy for her.

Such a waste of time, Sapphire thought.

Just as she started to walk towards the exit her leg hit something, causing her to trip and fall face first into a pile of gold.

"Ow," Sapphire groaned getting back up.

She looked at what she tripped on. It was a black colored object protruding from the pile of gold. She tilted her head and inspected it.

"Appraise." Sapphire said looking at the object.

"Blade of Lost Shadows, level 1, bound to: none." Appraisal answered.

"Huh? It sounds like a relic or artifact. It's also dark looking, not like the other shiny things a dragon would normally collect." Sapphire thought over.

Grabbing the dark projection Sapphire pulled it out. The sheath was stuck in the ground, so, because of her pulling, the blade unsheathed in an instant and knocked her off balance. She fell backwards onto the pile of gold.

Sapphire inspected the blade. A completely black blade, darker than the night itself. The hilt was wrapped by a black cloth, which Sapphire unwrapped, revealing a completely black hilt, a wolf's head carved into it. The handguard was in the shape of a flower with twelve petals, dark blue lines faintly glowing in it.

"A Midnight Lily." Sapphire gasped recognizing the pattern.

Putting her hand in her coat's pocket she pulled out the Midnight Lily. The twelve petals of the Midnight Lily were identical to the petals of the katana. She brought the two closer to each other to compare them better.

Just as she brought them closer the katana's blue patterns glowed bright at the tips of the twelve petals and shot to the blade, travelling up the blade and down the hilt. The blade emitted a blue glow as the eyes of the carved wolf head lit up with a blue light. Sapphire stared wide-eyed at the spectacle.

"Blade of Lost Shadows, level 1, is now bound to Midnight Wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 1."

"Woah," Sapphire beamed with joy.

"Skills of the Blade of Lost Shadows shared with wielder. Acquired skills, <Shadow movement> level 1, <Dark Slash> level 1, <Dark magic> level 1, <Sneak > level 1."

"How am I getting so many powerful things so easily?" Sapphire said waving her head in joy. "This feels like cheating but I am all for it."

Getting up Sapphire retrieved the sheath before walking out of the cave. The skeleton of the dragon caused her to jump as it shined in the light of the rising sun, giving it an ominous and terrifying look.

"Well, since you have the guts to scare me, let's see what you got against this." Sapphire steadied her legs saying that. "Dark magic, level one." She chanted holding out one arm.

There was a moment of silence as nothing happened.

"Why did it not work? Did I do something wrong?" Sapphire asked, half to Appraisal.

"Magic requires knowledge of runes, the ability to perceive mana, and the ability to channel mana. Lacking: knowledge of runes."

"How do I gain knowledge of runes?"

"Knowledge of runes is gained through gaining the <Runic Wisdom> skill or by studying the runes. As more runes are appraised more runes are unlocked. The skill <Runic Wisdom> grants knowledge of all runes and their usage, it can be gained by defeating a Runic Guardian."

"Sounds tough, guess I will have to do without magic for now," Sapphire sighed. "But I can still do this, Dark Slash." Sapphire yelled as she unsheathed her new katana, which she still carried in her left hand, and swung it in a horizontal arc.

The blade formed a slash of complete darkness as it soared through the air. The slash formed moved quickly in the direction Sapphire aimed it. It sliced through the ribs of the dragon and disappeared into thin air some distance behind the skeleton. The slashed ribs fell down to the ground and shattered, blowing a cloud of dust and gravel.

Sapphire coughed while waving her hand in front of her face. "That was cool, I love this." Sapphire beamed as soon as the dust settled.

She replaced her old katana with this one. There was the option of ditching her old katana, but she chose to tuck it in the other side of her belt. Now, she can fight with two katana instead of one, though she will need to practice first.

"Now, let's move ahead, I have already wasted a lot of time." Sapphire said happily skipping her way left and higher up the mountain.