Chaoter 15.5

'It's like being sent to die…' Merlin sighed tiredly as he stuffed as many arrows into his quiver as he possibly could.

The Forest Trolls had an arsenal somewhere near the secluded area of the town, it was filled to the brim with weapons, all blessed by the sage's magic.

'I really wish I was stronger.'

He was happy that his friend had come back stronger than before, this meant that he wouldn't need to see him die again like last time. That incident had haunted his dreams and plagued him with unimaginable guilt and he constantly blamed himself for it.

It'd become difficult for him to maintain a positive attitude, and at some point, he'd even given up on trying to resist the Griffins' authority.

'Is this my punishment?' Merlin slung the full quiver around his shoulder and summoned his bow.

When he'd walked out of the building, Theodore was already there waiting for him. "Ah, you're done? Shamba had just come back too so I'll go check what she's got first."

"Okay." The ginger nodded and watched as his friend slithered away.

He quietly stared at the snake leaving as an unknown and uneasy feeling rose in his chest.

Merlin pursed his lips nervously while slightly frowning. 'I'm sorry…I should've been stronger than this.'

'Rustle!'

He immediately turned around in reflex at the sudden noise.

'!?'

It came from the bushes behind him, and even as he was staring at it, the tall grass continued to move, like something was traversing inside of it.

His hand reached for an arrow in his quiver and he knocked one on his bow, prepared to shoot at any incoming enemy.

"Come out." His voice went uncharacteristically low as his eyes narrowed. The two dark orbs suddenly glowed yellow when he activated the 'Eagle Eye' skill.

As if responding to his call, a black shadow emerged from the woods.

.

.

.

Theodore stopped at the town square, where a Forest Troll had come to tell him where Shamba was.

He perked his head up and stared at a tied-up creature in front of him.

'Wow, I didn't think they could actually do it.'

Chains shining a bright red color wrapped tightly around the monster's entire figure, hindering its movements and getting rid of any chance for it to struggle out of the bindings.

He was amazed at not just the trolls' prowess, but also at how fast they'd delivered the prey to him.

'It'd only been a few hours.'

Shamba was down on one knee while her hand and staff rested on her other thigh. She'd come alone since the rest of her supposed 'team' was nowhere in sight. "Oh, Great Serpent! We have delivered you the strongest beast we could find in this area!"

<<Golden-Scaled Dragon

Lvl: 92

Rank: A+

Rarity: Very Rare

Age: Mature (1,000-3,000 years old.)

Yield: 2.5 Million EXP.

[You've already met with this type of creature. Other information is temporarily hidden.]>>

It was truly a mesmerizing specimen; Its beautiful gold scales nicely overlapped each other while some of the spots on its body were riddled with cuts and stab wounds, where blood continued to flow from them. Its claws were seemingly made from silver and its fierce blue eyes stared at Theodore with a look of contempt.

"How cowardly, you did not fight me yourself." Although its snout was tied up by the magical chains, somehow the dragon's voice resonated in his mind.

'Telepathy? No...'

[The Golden-Scaled Dragon had used the skill 'Dragon Tongue']

[It is trying to use magic, however, the Sage (Shamba)'s spells: 'Bind', 'Absolute Authority', and 'Magic Suppressor' are interacting with it.]

Theodore had just realized that the Level 6 'Gaze of Wisdom' now allows him to see what spell or skill his opponents used.

But he would look into it later, he was more interested in the 2.5 Million experience points he could get when he kills the dragon. "Do not be mistaken. This is a test to prove their faith toward me."

A burst of heavy laughter sounded out. "Test? You are no god, cunning serpent, what makes you think a being like you could become a deity?"

'Ouroboros.'

[As you wish.]

[The Fragment of the Origin has released the Bloodline Skill 'Embodiment of Chaos']

[The Fragment of the Origin has released the Bloodline Skill 'Coldest Death']

The air around Theodore suddenly changed and everyone present at that moment flinched with surprise. The temperature abnormally dropped to an uncomfortable degree as the sage's eyes widened even more.

"That is…It's the Great Serpent's true form…"

[The Sage (Shamba) had activated the skill 'Nature's Eyes'.]

[She's now staring at the Fragment of the Original.]

The dragon was bewildered, it seemed that it was able to see Ouroboros' aura as well. "You…What are you!? How are you housing the mind of a god!?"

"Does that information matter to a dead man?" Theodore stared coldly at the terrified dragon as he activated his skill.

[Ambitious Snake: Devour.]

"No…" The beast tried to struggle out of the chains, however, Shamba merely lifted her staff from its resting position and the dragon couldn't move any further than that. It turned its angry eyes towards the sage before shouting. "Release me, witch!"

"Do not resist the might of the Ouroboros." Shamba glared back, not fazed at all by the dragon's words.

Theodore's skill had already encircled the dragon's body and was preparing to swallow it from the tail. The phantom serpent was slightly larger than it, but since snakes can eat anything even if it's several times bigger than itself, its size merely became more of a hindrance as the silhouette sank its blade-like fangs into the dragon's scales before it began slowly making its way up the torso.

The golden dragon screamed in pain. "You bastard! Release me this instant! I demand a death match! Fight me, coward!"

The snake didn't waver one bit at the insults and continued to swallow the dragon.

"Once that thing starts eating, it won't stop until it's finished," Theodore spoke in a brazen tone as his skill had already devoured half of the prey's large body.

"You..! You won't get away with this unscathed! 'That man' will surely come for you!"

Theodore snorted. "I've already heard about that, it was a red dragon's dying words actually."

"So why are you continuing to defy the laws of the gods!? You'll pay the consequences for sure! Tragedy will come, and…!"

The dragon's words muffled in its throat as the light snake finally made its way towards the neck, the fangs dug deep into the air duct making it near impossible to breathe.

After a few more seconds, the dragon was entirely swallowed and the large snake dissipated into shining dust.

[You killed a Golden-Scaled Dragon. Gained 2.5 Million EXP.]

[Level Up! You're now Level 38!]

<<Lvl: 38

EXP: 480,000/2,300,000

Skill Points: 1,175

HP: 305,000/305,000

MP: 1,175/1,175>>

'Good progress.'

Theodore looked at Shamba with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. "Great job, continue to provide me with the strongest offerings, and I shall be pleased."

The sage lowered her head, although he could still see a soft smile on her face. "Yes, Great Serpent, as a tribe, we will not disappoint!"

"Good, anyhow…have you heard from your father yet?"

"No, I haven't. What might this be about?"

"I'll be taking a temporary leave to the Ancient Cavern."

Shamba's eyes widened. "O—Oh…Great Ouroboros, do you need us to dispatch—"

"No, I and Merlin will suffice." Theodore shook his head before turning around. "I'll be leaving now, it would be best if I quickly get this over with."

"But...!"

"Are you doubting the prowess of your god?" He turned around and stared at her angrily.

He would've gotten an oscar award for his actions if not for the current situation.

"No…No, of course not, Great Serpent, I am simply worried for your well-being."

"I don't need it." Theodore shook his head. "Watch me, I shall come back victorious."

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.

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A column of flame that appeared out of nowhere was certainly something unordinary. But he was sure that it was created from magic.

And who else in this world could cast spells?

'Humans.' The man's singular dark blue eyes sparkled with hope. 'Maybe they can help me…'

It was a risky gamble since he'd heard that the Griffins had sent multiple groups to the areas near Deeper Delphi, he might just be sentencing himself to death if he's not careful.

'I have to at least try, I'll still die if the wound got infected anyway.'

With that thought, he carefully made his way over to where he'd seen the magic. It wasn't far away from his current location so it took only a few minutes of limping to get there.

He hid behind the tall trees and dense bushes as he peeked his head through the gaps. 'Isn't that…'

He was surprised to see someone familiar among a group of green humanoid creatures, but what startled him more was the giant snake towering over all of them. 'What…What the hell is he doing there!?'

They were talking in a language that he couldn't understand. He knew that he would need a skill like 'Animal Empathy' to hear the monster's languages, he assumed that the red-haired man had such a skill.

'I haven't seen Merlin in such a long time…When did he develop that skill?'

It didn't matter in the end, since his goal was to find someone that could help him, and that opportunity had presented itself in the form of an old classmate.

'We weren't that close…But I heard he has a big heart.'

Hoping to survive, he decided that following Merlin was his best bet. He stayed relatively far away from the group as he waited for the opportunity to talk to him.

Eventually, after hours of hiding in the bushes, he finally saw a chance; The snake had left Merlin alone somewhere secluded.

'Yes! He's separated from that snake!'

He slowly made his way towards the ginger, his movements rustling the bushes and startling Merlin, who immediately turned to him with an arrow knocked on his bow.

"Come out."

"Merlin!" He exclaimed as he pushed his way out from his hiding spot, his hands raised high in the air in a surrendering posture. "It's me! It's me! Don't shoot!"

Merlin blinked at him with a surprised expression as he lowered his weapon.

"Eugene?"