Chapter 14-Dragons awakening echoes 

Leroy: Look.at.you

Leroy approached Rico's unconscious form, his cocky smirk oozing with arrogance as he surveyed his fallen adversary.

Leroy: Why didn't you come sooner,you could have saved the little brats.

Leroy:You could have saved the villagers.

With a mocking sneer, Leroy taunted as he pressed the heel of his shoe against Rico's head, reveling in his dominance over his defeated foe.

Leroy: That doesn't mean you would have defeated us but at least you would have tried.

With a chilling chuckle reminiscent of a psychopath, Leroy's laughter grated on the nerves, its piercing intensity surpassing even the cries of a wailing infant. With sadistic glee, he raised his foot and began to mercilessly stomp on Rico's head, each brutal blow punctuated by his maniacal laughter echoing through the air.

Leroy: Those poor kids, all that crying and screaming was for nothing even the little gripper cried for help. It was a sight to see. I'm telling you.

Leroy leaned in, bringing his upper torso close to Rico's left ear, despite Rico remaining unconscious, his actions betraying a sinister intent.

Leroy: You want to know what the little grippers' last words were?

As Leroy's words echoed through Rico's ear, a sudden reaction stirred within Rico, causing his right hand to twitch involuntarily in response.

Leroy:  she stretched out her arm and then she said “My knight”.

A blue rectangle-shaped screen materialised in front of Ricos face.

“Passive skill:Dragon mode requirements have been met; do you wish to enable skill: Yes or No?”

Rico's eyes snapped wide open, a surge of adrenaline coursing through him as he lifted his right arm with surprising strength, seizing Leroy tightly by the jaw.

Leroy: Gahgh!?

Rico rose to his feet, Leroy's jaw firmly grasped in his hand as he hoisted Leroy into the air. With determination etched on his face, Rico turned his attention to the blue screen, his gaze fixated on the two options before him.

Leroy: Damn…it

As Leroy raised his arm, wielding his battle axe with deadly intent, poised to strike at Rico's head, Rico remained unfazed, his focus unwavering as he continued to study the options on the blue screen. After a moment of contemplation, Rico finally made his choice

Rico: Yes.

Leroy:  Die…you…f###er!

With a swift and decisive motion, as if Leroy's jaw were made of butter, Rico crushed the orc's jaw with incredible force. Blood and bone spilled from the lower portion of Leroy's face, a gruesome testament to the sheer power of Rico's strength. Leroy's earlier stat boost now seemed utterly worthless in the face of Rico's overwhelming might, a stark reminder of Rico wasting his experience points.

Leroy:EEEEEEERHH!!

As Leroy's scream was muffled by his shattered jaw, Rico turned his head to confront him. Leroy's widened eyes and raised eyebrows betrayed his terror as he gazed upon Rico's transformed appearance. Rico's eyes, once default brown, now glowed with an intense crimson light, their pupils elongated into sharp, oval shapes like a demon.

With a swift motion, Rico activated his first skill, Burning Fist, enveloping Leroy's face in searing flames. Leroy's blood boiled as he convulsed in agonising pain, his screams drowned out by the crackling inferno engulfing his visage. The flames licked hungrily at his flesh, reducing it to charred remnants until only a blackened skull remained. Above Leroy's head, the transparent bar turned red indicating his demise.

“Orc bandit Leroy(dead)”

As Rico emerged from the ruins of the destroyed house, little droplets of water began to fall from the clouds, signaling a change in season from snow to rain. The area became slightly misty, the moisture in the air contrasting with Rico's glowing crimson eyes and his expressionless face. Despite the lack of visible emotion, an aura of anger emanated in the air around him.

The orc leader's attention was drawn to Rico's presence as he turned his head, his gaze fixing upon Rico as he emerged from the destroyed house.

Orc leader: That boy-NGH!?

The orc leader's eyes widened in shock, his body trembling as if confronted by an unstoppable force of nature.

…

Orc bandit:Damn it, this kid is fast!

As Nico sprinted away from the orc bandits, he skillfully dodged their swinging battle axes, utilizing his high speed stat to outmaneuver them with ease. However, despite his agile movements, the orc leader's ultimate move had turned the tide, causing the orc bandits to gradually close in on Nico, making it increasingly challenging for him to evade their relentless attacks.

Nico: (Curse buff up skills, I can't keep running away from them like this)

Nico:( And who's the sadistic bastard that made this game, why is a game this messed up doing on the shelves in the first place.)

With frustration and a hint of anger bubbling within him, Nico silently lamented the existence of the death game that had ensnared him and his friends.

Taking a deep breath, Nico shifted his stance to face the approaching orc bandits head-on, his bronze daggers materializing in his hands. As one of the orc bandits raised their battle axe to strike, Nico swiftly kneeled, preparing to execute a precise and calculated counterattack.

Nico:(Two can play at this game)

Nico:(come at me you over-sized green ugly f###er!)

The orc's axe arced towards Nico's head with deadly intent, but Nico's swift movement allowed him to narrowly dodge the lethal blow. Seizing the opportunity, Nico lunged towards the orc, his dagger aimed directly at their hip with precise accuracy. As he closed in, Nico activated his second skill, ready to unleash its devastating effects.

Nico: SKILL 2: VENOMOUS STRIKE!!

With a swift and decisive motion, Nico's dagger slashed across the bandit's hip with precision. The bandit let out a pained gag as he felt his strength draining away, his body weakening until he collapsed to his knees, incapacitated by Nico's skillful strike.

Orc bandit: V-ve…nom?

Blood gushed from the bandit's mouth, eyes, nose, and ears before he crumpled to the ground, unconscious and incapacitated by Nico's potent strike. Nico watched in astonishment, surprised by the effectiveness of his venomous attack.

As he prepared to join Elara and Banko in battle, Nico sensed the presence of the second orc bandit behind him, their axe poised for a deadly strike.

Elara: Nico!

From a distance, Elara observed the orc bandit looming behind Nico, readying her bow to unleash an arrow towards the looming threat. However, before she could release her shot, a sudden loud noise reverberated through her senses, causing her to freeze in place, her movements stilled as if by some unseen force. Surprisingly, everyone in the vicinity, including the orc bandits, also ceased their actions, captivated by the mysterious sound.

In front of the orc leader, the air crackled with the intense sound of steam, reminiscent of a boiling kettle, while rings of flames danced around Rico's surroundings. From his feet, multiple tiny embers began to emit. Suddenly, two black horns sprouted from the temporal sides of Rico's head, their shape resembling a jagged zigzag or a wide tilted V-shape aimed at the sky. Simultaneously, crimson wings began to magically materialise from his back, emerging through his earthen chest plate armour.

Rico tightly frowned his eyebrows,his eyes narrowed and his teeth gritted tightly as he grinded them against each other, emitting a close to screeching sound as the air around him began to vibrate.

After that day, life wasn't easy anymore. Ever since then I was no longer the good well behaved little kid I used to be, I became an overconfident one punch man obsessed loose Cannon who always picked fights with kids bigger than me, which caused me to become a victim of bullying and to have no friends but I didn't care, at least that's what I told myself.

Honestly, even though it wasn't my fault I blamed myself for what happened to my parents. I always thought that maybe if I didn't duck my head  I probably could've died with them, we could've died together as a family. I know that's a pretty messed up way of thinking and it got worse after my grandmother decided to take me in, she was 47 years old, she was 20 years away from retirement.

I hated that, at one point I hated her. I know I was being grateful but I actually hated her for not abandoning me, for not letting me starve to death in the street so I could join my parents in heaven or hell, wherever they were. I didn't want to imagine living in a world without my parent's.

My hatred towards gang members grew bigger the older I got, one day during break time at my sad excuse for a school I heard that a couple kids were related to gang members or associated with them. Without giving it a second thought I picked a fight with them, I didn't even bother hearing their side of the story all I wanted was vengeance and vengeance was the only thing I wanted, I fought and fought and fought so many kids even the school bullies,  I lost many of those fights cause I was a weak but I didn't care, at least I thought so. My fights grew more violent until I started shedding blood from my victims.  The only thoughts that were playing in my mind was the memory of my dead parents and the words I kept uttering every time I found a new victim.

Me: (I'll kill you)

Me: (I'LL KILL YOU, YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR ENITRE BLOODLINE, I'LL BURN EVERY LAST TRACE OF YOUR EXISTENCE UNTIL YOU FEEL THE PAIN I FELT WHEN I LOST MY PARENTS!!)

I screamed in my head with so much bloodlust that even I was scared but…as usual I didn't care, at least I hoped I didn't.

All…I wanted…was to-

Kill…them

Kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,Kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,Kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,Kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,Kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,Kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,Kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill-

KILL THEM ALL!!

 

As Rico gazed upon the children's charred corpses, a flood of memories surged through his mind, vivid recollections of all the times Maximo, Romeo, and Gabriella had looked at him with warm smiles and hope shining in their eyes. Each memory served as a painful reminder of the bonds they shared, now tragically severed by the cruel hand of fate.

A blue rectangle-shaped screen materialised in front of Rico.

Rico: I WILL BURN YOU ALL ALIIVVVVVVEEEE!!

An immense pillar of fire erupted around Rico, engulfing his body in its searing embrace. Simultaneously, the ground beneath him began to convulse and tear asunder, as if wracked by an earthquake of unprecedented magnitude. The intense heat and violent tremors made it difficult for everyone in the vicinity to maintain their footing, forcing them to struggle just to remain upright amidst the chaos.

Orcs: What's going on!?

Orcs: The ground is shaking!?

The orcs cried out in terror as they were thrown to the ground by the force of the tremors, their shouts drowned out by the cacophony of chaos surrounding them. Some were crushed beneath falling debris, while others disappeared into the gaping cracks that split open in the surface beneath them, swallowed by the unforgiving earth.

Elara: Wha-?

Elara's eyes widened in astonishment as the silhouette of a colossal beast materialised within the raging pillar of flames. A massive red claw, adorned with ominous black nails, reached out from the inferno, followed by a towering maw filled with razor-sharp teeth and glowing crimson eyes. As the flames parted, revealing a form cloaked in red scales, with glowing crimson light emanating from the gaps between each scale, the true magnitude of the creature's imposing presence became undeniable.

A deafening, earth-shaking roar erupted from the colossal beast, its mighty voice reverberating through the air like thunder. As the pillar of fire scattered and dissipated, it unveiled the fearsome form of the creature beneath, poised and ready to unleash its devastating power upon all who dared to stand in its path.

Elara: A dragon!

Chapter 14 ends.