All of that power that soul, life, and even the necromantic energy had to go somewhere, and the dungeon channeled it into XP for us. It was a good gain.

  “I should have thought of that.” I had a sobering feeling. I’d just seen proof that dragons were not infallible. Tiamat acted without understanding what she was doing and it had created the horrors. Now, I was feeling the power of a dragon monarch on overdrive, at least in this pocket dimension, but I couldn’t let it blind me.

  “There isn’t a doubt in my mind that we can destroy him even now, but you’re right. It would be foolish of us to face the man who sought to destroy dragons without every tool at our disposal.”

  “Does that include waiting for Galbrecht and Lisella?”

  I only pondered that for an instant. “No, this is a private matter, revenge for three hundred years of dragon suffering and indignity. But we will make ourselves as strong as we can.”

  I looked at my options. I had plenty of XP to level up either class, but it seemed a waste to level up Transformed Dragon Disciple when Living Storm was a legendary class and gave much greater benefits. So, Living Storm it was.

  The XP was enough to push me to level 12, which wasn’t huge, but every little bit counted. It increased my spell slots and gave me 70 more stat points. The class assigned 5 to each stat per level except Agility, which got double that. Perhaps it was a good reminder that I didn’t want to become fat and sluggish like one of the lazy reds and have to depend upon a massive Strength stat to move around. So, I even added my free points to Agility for a net gain over 30 more points or a 10% increase. Speed was always a good thing.

  I now had a mountain of DKP but opted not to spend it. I needed to more basic evolutions before I could take the Prismatic Evolution, which in turn, I had to take in order to become eligible for the Horned Evolution. So, I’d need every single one of the DKP.

  My attention was then turned to Cami. The system gave her far more XP than it gave me, but then again, I got more DKP, so I guess fair was fair. The thought tickled the back of my mind. Part of me said, that fair meant that I got the most of everything, but somehow that didn’t seem right, at least not where Cami was concerned. I wanted her to grow stronger, too.

  Your bonded companion has gained 4 levels in her legendary class: Elemental Valkyrie. She has divided her free stat points equally into each of her stats and gained:

  Strength: +21

  Agility: +29

  Durability: +25

  Mind: +29

  She has gained a new class ability which is modified by her bond with you.

  Storm Angel Form - This form allows your bond to grow white angelic wings while gaining tremendous elemental power, particularly over air and lightning. She will maintain a semi-solid state in this form capable of solidifying or being as ethereal as the air. Her ability to interact with the souls of the dead in this state is boosted by 50%. Her speed is boosted by 200%.

  Duration: 15 minutes

  Cool-Down: 6 hours

  A portion of the XP and energy which flowed into her has also filled her soul-bonded weapon and each of the already trained elemental affinities has been pushed to their next level.

  You have gained 40% age category growth pushing you to Elder (92% to Ancient)

  You have gained 9 feet of length and 3,050 lbs.

  You have gained:

  Agility: +32

  Durability: +28

  Mind: +20

  You feel as though you’re on the cusp of a greater power. Ancient is the threshold where dragons have begun to dominate their areas.

  So close. I could taste the power. The system message almost seemed like a taunt, but then I heard an outraged cry and could no longer concern myself with such thing.

  “You will not make me wait. I am the emperor. I rule over Taleia, not that petulant boy who fancies himself a seer. I am the master of humanity and your kind are little more than overgrown horses for us.”

  There was no mistaking the arrogance. Apparently, pausing to level up had been enough of a delay that my prey was coming to me. That suited me just fine.

  The dungeon finished forming, but instead of some dreary ancient ruin, it now took on the form of a dragon’s lair. This wasn’t a copy of my lair, it was grander. It was a vision of the future. Piles of gold lay everywhere. If only, I could have taken them out of the dungeon, but while dungeons possessed the ability to create matter as rewards, there was always a cost.

  Balance in all things. That was the lesson that I was learning.

  But for just a moment, I pondered how delightful it would be if I could convert mana into gold on a whim. What a wonderful life that would have be.

  Once the dungeon had finished forming, the lich came to a stop on the other side of the cavernous chamber. He must have been taking a second to inspect the beauty I had shaped the dungeon into. It was something to take the breath away, even if he was a dead thing that no longer needed to breathe.

  “Bah, this is what you think to create out of a dungeon. I don’t know how you’ve done it, but this is a mockery. You would make a shrine to gold?”

  I shook my head. He’d never understand and his existence was soon to come to an end so I ignored his question. “Answer me one question.”

  He looked back at me. I felt him inspecting me, just as I felt Cami moving around. She was ready but waiting for me. This was a powerful foe, perhaps the strongest of the lesser… er… the smaller races who were currently living. Although if my exalted minions were given enough time, they might surpass him.

  Finally, with disdain filling every word he asked, “What question?”

  A deep rumble filled my throat as I felt his disrespect. Vengeance was coming. I had to remind myself of that. “Why? Why did you seek to rip the very souls out of dragons?”

  His head tilted to the side. “That’s really what you wanted to know?” Then his head leaned back, and he began a bitter, mocking laughter.

  Three hundred years… I reminded myself of that fact. I could listen a moment longer.

  “Yes, I have my theories, but before I destroy you, I thought I’d like to understand why you’d do such a thing to your betters.”

  “My betters… you don’t know anything. Dragons are callous, cruel beasts who destroy the realm around them. Only because mighty teams of adventurers existed back when the human empire had power, were we able to drive your kind away. But in all of my experiments to learn how to break this mortal coil, I found no more concentrated source of soul and life energy.

  “Something about dragon souls interacts differently with humans than anything else.”

  Then, as though he were struck by a thought, his head snapped so that he was staring at Cami. “I thought, I felt something different about you, girl. Tell me how you’ve done it. Well, not done it, but you’ve started. I can feel a spark of the divine within you. Tell me how you stole this power that should be mine, and I’ll allow you to flee from here while I scour the lizard’s soul for the power I need.

  “Don’t think to keep it from me. I’ve learned methods of torture which will have you begging my name within minutes.”

  I stepped forward, placing my body between Cami and the lich. “Keep your eyes upon me. You don’t know anything. I, however, do know the secret to creating gods. Is that what you hoped to become?”

  He glared at me. The red flames in his eyes blasted brighter for a moment before he said, “And why not? The gods of this world are foolish. They play games instead of elevating the mortals they are supposed to be looking over. And what do men do in response? Why do they worship the gods who do so little for them?”

  “Finally, we can agree upon something,” I said. “The gods are a failed experiment. They cause more harm than good, but they are not the rulers of Ileria. For that matter, they are not the gods of this realm. The last being who was properly the ruler of this world was the mother of dragons, Tiamat. She was more of a god to Ileria than Miseria and her ilk will ever be.”

  We locked eyes, and I saw a deep emptiness within him. He had surrendered his physical life and called this undead state a true existence all in the pursuit of becoming a divine spirit. He was a fool. More than ever, I understood the value of this physical world. He had given up all of that splendor because of ignorance.

  “Tell me how. I must know.”

  I burst out into a deep laughter which filled the chamber, echoing off the walls, and even causing the massive mounds of gold to shake.

  He lifted his staff up and shook it. I felt magic beginning to gather around him.

  “Stop mocking me!”

  Cami called out in a sing-song voice, “Stop mocking me…”

  I added, “It pleases me to know that you’ll go to oblivion with this question unanswered.”

  Then I struck. I had already crouched and prepared. I struck out with tremendous speed. My newly increased Agility was better able to make use of my tremendous Strength. My body was almost instantly moving faster than a galloping horse.

  Still, he had his staff up in time. A dome of magic formed up around him. I lashed out with my claw and swiped at the magic.

  Shocking Aura

  Electricity crackled along my claws as they tore into the shield. I saw it tremble and would have enjoyed the shocked expression on his face, which would have been there but for the lack of flesh. “How? Only a great wyrm should be that strong and even then…”

  I ignored his words. What did he know of a dragon monarch? It was the 100% boost to my stats granted to me by my followers, which made a dragon monarch more of a god on Ileria than any who claimed that title. The power which rippled through me had yet to be fully put to the test.

  All of my physical might only made his dome shake. Given enough time, I might be able to beat it down like that, but Cami was already casting spells and I added my own buffs to them. Haste, Sphere of Controlled Speed, Resist Energy: Necrotic, Call the Charge all surrounded me while Elemental Shield, Spell Turning, Elemental Imbuement, and Elemental Armor surrounded Cami.

  It wasn’t that we could cast in peace, because even though the lich had surrounded himself with a vibrating magical dome, he seemed to be able to cast out of it. Bolts of dark energy tried to latch onto me, but since gaining the power of a Fairie Dragon when I first created exalted minions, my magical resistance had been enhanced. It was now sufficient that his spell didn’t even take hold on me.

  He began casting again, but we alternated attacking. Cami’s spear blazed brighter than ever and it appeared that the Soul Cut power of her weapon was able to make lasting marks even in the necromancer’s shield.

  His grand spell finally went off, and he threw a small pouch through his shield. I would have laughed, but I could feel the epic power of the spell. There was more to the bag than could be seen with the naked eye. The weaves of magic tied it to a greater space inside than on the outside. It must be what the humans called a bag of holding.

  As it burst open, a veritable storm of bone fragments exploded outward. They filled the air and began spinning at high speed. It was a nightmarish construct created from the bones of thousands of dead creatures. Each of them had imprinted a bit of their hate, a bit of their life force, and a bit of their desire for blood onto the remaining fragments of their bones.

  Identify

  Bone Horror Construct - Tier 4 monster, tainted with the hatred of ten thousand souls, this construct will seek to rend the flesh from bone on any living creature it encounters. Once cast, it can not be recalled but only spent. Its strength will grow greater with each living being it kills as it adds their bones to its total.

  Beware this is a cataclysmic encounter. If this existence escapes the dungeon, it could potentially destroy all life in Taleia.

  That wasn’t good. The lich laughed, but I ignored it.

  Our telepathy allowed for strategy discussions even while the creature was pushing me back. My scales deflected most of the blows, but my claws did nothing to it. Lighting breath did nothing to it. Even when its form was ripped apart, it would simply reform. I prepared to risk using my Anti-magic Domain again, but I knew I risked permanent soul damage if I did, so I wanted to find a better way.

  “I need you to borrow a couple of my abilities while I keep that construct busy.”

  Thankfully, she didn’t argue that she could keep it busy while I was working. I quickly filled her in on my plan and felt the smile cross her face. Then I threw myself back at the bone horror. Lashing out with tail, claw, fang, all while trying to protect my softer wings, eyes, and even the inside of my mouth on a couple of occasions.

  I lunged at the bone horror construct, my massive form cutting through the air. The clatter of bones rang in my ears, a discordant symphony accompanying our deadly dance. Every swipe of my massive claws sent a cascade of bone shards flying, their sharp edges glinting menacingly in the dim light of the dungeon.

  The construct, an abomination of bone and dark magic, moved with a horrifying grace. It seemed to sense my every move, countering with whirlwinds of bone fragments that hissed and screeched against my scales. I could smell the dust of ages and decay, a pungent reminder of the thousands of souls ensnared within this creature.

  I roared, a great thunderous sound that echoed off the dungeon walls, feeling the vibration of my own voice resonate through my body. With each thunderous impact, the ground beneath us trembled, and the gold piles around the cavern shimmered, sending up clouds of glittering dust.

  As I fought, I tasted the metallic tang of fear and determination in the air, an intoxicating blend that fueled my rage. My senses were alight with the battle; the sharp sting of bone shards against my hide, the sight of the lich's shield buckling, as both the construct and I landed on it. Only to then see it rebound and hold firm if somewhat worse for wear.

  Amidst the chaos of our battle, I sensed Cami drawing deeply on my power, channeling it into the creation of a Magma Minion. The earth beneath us groaned and shifted, as if giving birth to a primal force. From a fissure, molten rock surged upwards, coalescing into a colossal, vaguely humanoid form. This elemental, a behemoth of glowing magma, stood towering over thirty feet tall. Its surface roiled and bubbled; an ocean of fire captured in a solid form. The air around it shimmered with intense heat, distorting the cavern's grandeur into wavering mirages.

  Each movement of the elemental was ponderous yet purposeful, like the shifting of tectonic plates. It left behind a trail of molten rock, the dungeon floor hissing and melting under its searing touch. The light from its body cast an ominous, flickering glow, painting the walls with dancing shadows and turning the gold into a sea of liquid amber.

  As the magma elemental approached the bone horror, the air crackled with energy. When the elemental reached out, its arms morphed into fluid rivers of fire, it clashed with the bone horror. The sound was cataclysmic – like the cracking of the earth's crust. Bones splintered and hissed as they came into contact with the scalding magma. The construct's form shuddered and writhed; its integrity compromised by the relentless assault of heat.

  The bone fragments, once part of a formidable whole, were now drawn inexorably into the elemental's molten body. They sizzled and popped, consumed by the elemental's fiery core. The construct had no way to rip flesh from the elemental, as it was composed entirely of animated magma. With each fragment absorbed, the bone horror's form became increasingly disjointed and frail, its once overwhelming presence now dwindling. The air filled with the scent of charred bone and the acrid smell of ancient death burning away.

  Cami then cast, Magical Disruption.

  This elemental, a creation of earth's fury and dragon magic, was able to weather the magic of my bonded companion. As it battled the horror, absorbing its essence, I felt a surge of satisfaction. The construct was not so fortunate. With so much of its mass being swallowed into the magma, it was weakened to the point that the disruption broke the tethers of magic which had bound all of those tortured souls into the one monstrosity.

  I took advantage of this moment, striking with renewed vigor. The battle raged on, a maelstrom of fire, bone, and dragon fury.

  With the bone horror vanquished, its remnants dissolving into the air like ash on the wind, Cami and I turned our attention back to the lich and his shimmering shield. We moved in tandem, a fluid dance of destruction, our powers amplifying each other.

  Cami, her movements a blur of speed and grace, thrust her spear forward, channeling her Soul Cut ability. A brilliant flash of light erupted as the spear made contact with the shield, and a small crack appeared, a fissure in the lich's magical armor. It was the opportunity I needed.