BOSS OF THE BLACK-SCALED DRAGONS POV

“Hey!! Raise your shields!”

“Cloak yourselves in Mana!”

“Boss! We can’t detect the attacker! I think he has Shadow Element abilities and is using the trees to move!” one of the minions shouted.

“What!?”

“Cast a Ray of Light in the surroundings! That should neutralize any Shadow abilities!”

“Yes, boss,” a subordinate responded, casting the spell. Yet… nothing happened.

“Frontline! Use Blade of Origin to cut down the trees. Let’s see if he can still move!”

“Yes, boss!” The subordinate began the chant, but before completion, he was hurled to the ground.

What the… how is this possible? Is he one of the Great 12 Kings in the Upper Realm? My eyes failed me… I roared in frustration, activating my Frenzy Skill, amplifying my strength tenfold—for just three minutes.

“NOW LET ME SEE WHO YOU ARE!” I shouted, but when I opened my eyes…

A thin man floated before me, short golden-black hair, deathly cold eyes piercing through me. My body froze. I couldn’t move. Even at full Frenzy, I couldn’t harm him. Who is this?!

He raised his hand—and with an Invisible Slash, severed one of my legs. I didn’t resist. My wings still allowed flight, at least.

“Senior, we apologize! We didn’t mean to offend you. We only wanted to retrieve a little girl who lost her way here,” one of my minions begged.

“WHY!? DID I ALLOW YOU TO!?” His voice sent chills down my spine.

“Please… spare us, Senior! We deeply apologize!” I sweated bullets, terror frozen in my bones.

“Go,” he said, eyes colder than death.

“Go and never return! OR ELSE I’LL WIPE YOUR ENTIRE RACE!” He disappeared silently, leaving us trembling.

I bent in awe, terrified of the aura he radiated—it was beyond even the Great 12 Kings. How did we encounter someone like this? Most of us are probably dead if he decided to attack fully…

“RETREAT! RETREAT! DON’T EVER COME BACK!” I screamed to my minions as our aura dissipated.

YANYAN’S POV

I needed to test my full power. When I unleashed my aura toward the Black Scaled Dragon Boss, even his Frenzy Skill couldn’t withstand it. Interesting—so unique skills like Frenzy exist…

I scanned the surroundings and checked with Celesty via telepathy.

“Are my family okay?”

“Yes, they’re sound asleep,” she replied. I let her stay at the house to ensure the village’s safety.

Thinking back, the boss had been measuring my strength. Upper Realm, huh…? Hmmm. I’ll visit soon enough.

“Glad to hear that. Sleep now, Celes! Thank you,” I said.

“I should be the one thanking you. I know you made an enemy because of me…”

“Woops! Don’t say that. What I did was right. I won’t let anyone take you away from me.”

“Okay… even though I know you have your… Celine,” she muttered, sleepily jealous.

I checked my System Status: my strength remained the same, but magic increased to 6500. Using levitation, invisibility, and ancient magic simultaneously took a toll, but thankfully my Auto Recovery Skill mitigated it.

I tested more spells:

• Lightningcraze — summoned lightning through clouds

• Snowdoom — produced a storm of snow and wind

• Light of All Light & Dark of All Dark — ancient magics, capable of controlling the brightest and darkest environments in the surrounding area

Still, I remained cautious. No need to attract unwanted attention.

According to my improvised clock, it was already 2 AM. Not all modern devices were operational yet; I’m still researching connectivity for devices like phones.

Next time…