Large dragons were very slow. They were hulking masses of muscles and bones, with heavy scales that were impossible to pierce through with mere weapons. Despite their large wings, they often had trouble flying high because of their weight. They were the types of dragons Danico found the easiest to kill, not only because of their immobility, but also because they tend to be dumber than a brick.

It was said dragons gained intellect the older they got and the intelligent dragons made themselves harder to hit by becoming slicker, faster and deadlier with a tinier frame and higher agility. 

Imagine Danico’s surprise when he found out this particular dragon was incredibly agile for its size.

Danico was lucky he managed to activate his shield on time when the dragon lunged at him and dragged him to the ground. The shield surrounded him like a ball made of transparent glass, but unlike glass, this shield was incredibly sturdy and would require a lot more than a dragon’s claw to be destroyed. The dragon pressed on his shield with all its weight and clawed at it like an extremely hungry cat.

No matter what the dragon can do, the shield will not break as long as he had enough mana to power it and keep it strong. That was the downside to this shield and why he only uses it in extremely dire situations. He can’t have it up for too long or risk mana deprivation.

Danico took a deep breath and summoned fire under him. It burst into a scorching tower of flames. The dragon screeched as it flew up high.

Mana was seeping out of him like water from a broken faucet. Powering his little sun from the top of the tower and using several spells back to back was starting to drain him. If he didn’t slay the dragon now, it would be over for him.

The dragon was circling him around warily, waiting for his next move.

“Why aren’t you using the spell you used before? The one you used to defeat the fairy?” Mikhail asked from behind a boulder.

“Why are you still here?” Danico asked with a roll of his eyes.

“I’m trying to help you,” Mikhail said.

“How? By hiding like a little mouse?”

“I’m trying to find some arrows,” he said while clutching an old bow. The wood was splintered but it was the best Mikhail could find. He wished he had his longbow with him, but it got lost in the chaos of the first trial.

“As if those would be any help against a dragon like that,” Danico said drily. He kept his gaze up at the beast circling him like a vulture, they were both waiting for each other to strike first.

“It’s better than nothing. If I could shoot its wing, it’ll be easier to bring down. It’s their least protected body part. Also, you didn’t answer my question,” Mikhail pointed out.

“You think a little arrow could hurt it?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to try! And please, answer my question.”

“Well,” Danico started, shooting its wing wasn’t a bad idea in itself. But an arrow just wasn’t enough to bring the dragon down. The best it could do was lodge itself on the wing if they were lucky. It’ll be difficult because the dragon could just flap its huge appendage and the arrow will come hurling down at the archer. Maybe if they had a trebuchet or a ballista, it could have worked. “I doubt you can help either way even if you knew.”

“I can!” Mikhail said. There was frustration in his voice. “Let’s think together, two heads are better than one!”

“Eh, I don’t know about that,” Danico muttered. “But alright.”

“Please don’t start spouting nonsense and quickly get to the point. We don’t have much time before the dragon decides to attack again.”

Danico stared at the dragon flying above him, then at the prince who was stressed beyond belief. Poor guy, he’ll get another pimple if he doesn't calm down.His face just got clearer recently too. However, the prince was right, he needed a short break to strategize and the dragon looming over them isn’t helping their brains. He pointed at the tower where the large fireball was floating on top of and slowly dragged his finger down. The fire ball followed his movement and set the roof on fire.

Clearly the dragon saw what was happening and rushed to the tower. It flapped its wings frantically to extinguish the flames.

“Alright, let me explain,” Danico said.

“Are you insane? The princess is in that tower! You could kill her!”

Danico rolled his eyes. “Relax, it’s just the roof. Now listen well before the dragon realizes the only way to extinguish the fire is to kill me. The gravity magic that I used against the fairy requires me to weave mana in a circle around an area and I can’t do that at a large scale in such a short amount of time.”

“So it’s hopeless?” The prince muttered, looking down.

Danico laughed, “No way, I’ve fought tougher opponents than this dragon! I just need to be able to touch it for me to cast a smaller scale gravity magic!”

If the dragon wasn’t so freakishly agile, Danico wouldn’t have as much problem as he does now. One touch and it’s all over.

“Touch?” the prince muttered. “Danico, do you know how to use a conduit?”

Danico kicked acid back with a gust of wind. He can’t let himself lose another limb to the dragon’s acidic spit. He didn’t have enough mana to recreate another limb and he’d rather not use the surrounding mana and get those guys’ attention on him. 

He smirked when the dragon dodged the acid. The dragon was clearly wary of it, it could only mean that the acid was strong enough to destroy the black iridescent scales.

The next time the dragon spat, Danico used the wind to stop it in its tracks. He swirled it around in a ball of wind to keep it from falling to the ground and flew as fast as he could away from the dragon. He flew up high in the sky and looped till he was at the dragon’s back. 

He divided a small amount of wind from the ball and turned it into a javelin. The acid swirling in it colored the weapon a vivid greed. Danico threw it at the dragon and watched it splatter on the scale.

A bright grin spread on Danico’s face. So the prince was right, the reason the dragon was dodging the acid was because it was susceptible to it like any other creature.

The Dragon roared in anger as it snapped at Danico. The bard dodged in time and flew to its side, he repeated the action from before and kept throwing wind javelins at the dragon, aiming at a single spot over and over again. He needed to create an opening for Mikhail and the second best position for it was its thigh.

Aside from the wings, the underbelly of the dragon was another soft spot that was ideal to aim siege weapons at. It was a known fact among dragon slayers, but Danico couldn’t maneuver himself under the dragon several times to create a tear on the scale. If Danico did, it'll be easier for it to fly higher and fling him away with the harsh wind. While the dragon was swift, it’s still a massive creature that has a hard time making sharp turns. That was the only opening Danico had against these types of creatures.

A red spot formed on the dragon’s thigh as the acid broke down the scales surrounding it. While it was fairly small because the acid wasn’t as strong against its own scales, it was enough of a gap for the prince. 

The open wound was a bright color against a dark canvas. An easy mark for Mikhail.

Now all Danico had to do was keep the dragon from flying too high.

Mikhail watched on standby in the middle of the field. Danico was flying around the dragon like a particularly nasty fly and leading it around in a circle.

He clutched the pure white bow in his hands, trying not to mind the fact that Danico told him the “Bow of the Soulful” was made with the bones of a dead priestess from a far away land. It was a family heirloom that was passed on to their children and Danico passed it on to him.

Danico couldn’t use it’s full potential and had given it to Mikhail instead. “Consider this a reward for slaying the dragon with me,” he said with a grin. “The bow is practically indestructible.”

The prince felt giddy and slightly awful at the prospect of receiving such a gift. Not only did his crush give him a family heirloom, that heirloom also happened to have such a dark history attached to it. 

Danico gave him an arrow. It was the last one he had and he told Mikhail to make sure he made the shot count. The arrow was plain brown with white swan feathers at the back. 

“What sort of morbid history does this arrow have?” Mikhail asked.

“Nothing, it’s just a normal arrow.”