Lv1 Skeleton Chapter 40

Khooooo Poooak!

She managed to cut her animation time in half by reducing the power of her Dragon Breath to ⅓ it's length.

"Teleport!"

I managed to avoid it, but had I been just a fraction of a second slower I would have disappeared from this world. The biggest problem was that her HP was rising quickly, and the flames had once again wiped out the majority of my Skeleton Mages.

'Damn it's so unfair! I'd be KO if she connects just once, whereas I spent hours chipping away at her health only be on the back foot once again. What could I possibly do?'

Ting, Ting Pooooak

The situation was reversing, her Dragon Breaths arrived quicker, she still had the instant cast Roar and Cleanse. Not to mention that her health regeneration outpaced my DPS and after about one hour was back up to 50% health.

'I can't go on like this, it won't end well for me.'

'Sorry Johra, I wasn't well informed and matched you up with an impossible adversary. When I had seen your Stats I expected you to succeed easily.'

Gnoss was truly frustrated by his mistake. I had no chance of winning this and it was also in his self interest to make me survive, in order for me to unseal him at a later date.

The battle continued for hours as I dodged her attacks, looking for an inspiration, when I finally found one by examining her wounds.

'Gnoss, what if I cause her Mana to leak out?'

'It might burst out or possibly backfire on her internally, is that what you're aiming for?'

I summon the maximum amount of Skeleton Mages and had them all attack simultaneously. Focusing their fire solely on the her largest Mana vein running along her stomach.

Hwaruk! Hwaruk!

At first it was just a scratch, but by constantly concentrating the attacks of more than 300 mages, I was able to slowly chip away at those armored scales, causing the first stream of to leak out from the largest Mana vein.

Poooung kukooong!

The timing was perfect as she was just about to unleash another Dragon Breath. Her spell backfired on her, causing an internal explosion which sent her flying into the air before landing with a loud thump.

Oooops Kuuuhe

That exchange alone had taken 5% of her HP, but my Skeleton Mages didn't let up on their attack.

Hwaruk! Hwaruk!

What began as a small nick had turned into a deadly wound as her silver blood poured out. A [Severe Bleeding] was seen on her Status and her health was dropping quickly. She reassumed her Dragon body, unable to maintain the Polymorph.

"You are a worthy adversary."

Lying helpless on the Ice floor, her Hp had dropped dramatically, now only at 10%. At this rate she was facing imminent death and had but seconds to live.

'Create Cure'

[You have learned Cure Lv1]

Suddenly I dropped to floor, having forgotten that I exceed my maximum of 3 Creation spells.

'Create Levitation'

'Johra what are you doing? Surely you're not thinking of….'

'Create Teleport'

[You have learned Teleport Lv1]

"Teleport!"

As I teleported to her side, the Skeleton mages had disappeared as i no longer owned the skill.

"Cure! Cure! Cure!…"

Valenor was on death's doorstep, having all but lost consciousness. I had to cast Cure countless times because considering her HP, each spell had a negligible effect. After thousands of chants, the wound started to close up until she finally recovered from her Severe Bleeding state. After that, her health regeneration kicked in and her life was no longer in danger.

'Johra how can you do this? You were just lucky to win that time and can't guarantee your safety. She was the one that was trying to kill you.'

'Shut up, I can't bear the thought of killing such a magnificent creature.'

I spent the night by her side in this icy world, waiting for Valenor to wake up and as the morning sun rose in the sky, she opened her eyes.

"Worthy foe, why did you not end my life?"

"I simply like people that  are loyal and can stand by their word. You waited patiently for 100 years for your opponent to show up, and you were even willing to forego you advantageous location of the magma pool for my benefit."

"Ha ha ha, are you saying you spared someone who had tried to kill you for such trivial reasons?"

Valenor's booming laughter shook the skies, it was the incredible power of her Dragon's Roar.

"Polymorph!"

Valenor transformed into a heavily armed demi-Dragon and knelt before me.

"From this moment to the end of days, are you willing to accept Valenor as your faithful servant?"

I had no choice but to take pride it my achievements. Managing to overcome and inspire such confidence in my opponent that she would be willing to submit to my commands despite being superior in power. I spoke out without much consideration.

"Yes, I would like it if you stay close to me."

Too late, I realized what my words might be misunderstood and Valenor's silver white skin blushed red form embarrassment. I just now remembered that she was female and scratched my head in chagrin, I can't exactly take my wards back no can I?

'Uhg…gee! Did you intent to marry her all along? What you've just said is the equivalent of a proposal among dragons!

Before I had time to retort to the Supreme Sage, Valenor walked over and kissed my bony hands.

"Valenor accepts the King as her lifelong companion."

It took me a few seconds to understand what had just happened.

'Ha, looks like your single life is over. I never knew that this Supreme Sage had such matchmaking abilities! What are your thoughts, it's impossible to cancel the marriage now though, although it might be a good thing was this you purpose?.'

My mind was a mess. Yesterday's respected and powerful opponent was today's loyal and obedient wife. I had yet to decide if it was a positive outcome.

"My King, I require nothing in return and wish only to be by your side, crushing your enemies and obeying your commands. This is my oath to thee who was the first to defeat me, naturally you will also receive the benefits the agreement entailed.."

I didn't have the courage to tell her that I knew nothing about the proposal and that it had never been my intention to marry her.

"Do not later regret your decision, Valenor"

She rushed in to hug me with her huge, 3 meter tall demi-Dragon body.

"I would never, my king"

After returning to her original dragon body, she cradled me in her arms like a baby before falling asleep.It appeared that although her condition had improved, she had not fully recovered.

'Hey Gnoss, what was this benefit she mentioned.'

'I'll explain later.'

I called over  Arin who had been watching our fight from a distance.

'Arin'

'My Lord…. Was it your intention to marry her from the very beginning?'

Arin shouted out angrily through Telepathy. Normally she would congratulate me on my victory, but it seemed like this was a sensitive issue for her. Although I couldn't guess what she was thinking, I had never once thought of Arin romantically.

'That's right, respect for my worthy adversary led me to embrace the marriage. I was deeply moved by her commitment to me.'

'My King… it's your decision, it's just….'

'Do not doubt my love for you and your siblings, you will always be my children.'

'Ah, yes Lord'

'Good, now return and inform the Dwarven King of the result of  our battle. Then continue with the plan we had spoken of.

'Are you talking about the tribe of Totem Orcs?'

'Yes, they revere true power and have a very hierarchical structure. According to Gnoss, they would be great allies.

'Yes Lord!'

After sending Arin away, I continued to Cure Valenor. She would occasonaly wake and stare at me with her giant eyes. I felt it cute to be stared at with loving eyes that were larger than my body. I had even deactivated my passive Life Steal to aid her recovery. It was an option I had learned with my recent Magic Research.

We spent the next few hours healing and exchanging stories about our lives, but I was pressed for time and couldn't continue just chatting away.

"Valenor, I have enemies upon which I need to enact justice."

"I am both your spear and shield. Simply command me, I don't require you to provide any justifications."

She knelt down, allowing me to climb up behind her head.

"Johra, were shall we be heading to?"

"Let's first stop by and see Inor."

Flap Swoosh!

Soaring through the sky before nose-diving back into the mountain. Her sleek silver wings cutting the wind and moving at impossible speeds. Within but a blink of an eye we had arrived back to see Inor kneeling on the terrace.

"Dwarf King Inor, have you waited long?"

"I have heard of the Lord's victory and according to the pact of Valenor, the Dwarves of Wetheros Mountain submit to our Lord."

"Under my command?"

'Gnoss, what exactly was this promise about?'

'Well, about 100 years ago there was a dispute between the Dwarves and the dragon Valenor over some mining issues. I was brought in to mediate because the Dwarves faced extinction should Valenor prove confrontational. The agreement was that it would be settled through trial by combat and that I would select a champion. Luckily Valenor was patient enough to wait for the past 100 years.'

'So I was what, you fixer?'

'You know Johra… I thought it would be an easy win for you. I never knew Valenor had grown so much and it did work out in the end. So… pretty please don't bury me somewhere!'

Although I hadn't gotten over my anger of being used by him, I did have to admit that my gains this time were quite substantial.

'I'll be putting off releasing your Seal for another 3 years as punishment.'

'Three whole years!?'

'Why, did you think you deserved more?'

'Oh, no, nothing.'

"Inor, I believe in the sincerity of the Dwarves and will treat you as allies, not servants. Send out a delegation to the Pit, where we will iron out the finer details of our future cooperation."

"Thank you Lord, I will do so as soon as possible."

Shortly after Inor left the room Valenor spoke to me.

"My King, I will now hand you ownership of these lands.

"Huh?"

[Acquired ownership of Magma Halls and Wetheros Mountains]

'Gnoss was it possible to simply hand over ownership like that? And even the whole Wetheros Mountains?'

'Sure, the owners can do as they please. By the way you've just received a windfall! There a countless precious resources that even the Gods covet located within these lands

As the new owner I was now capable of seeing the statuses of all living being within my territory. Be it the difficult lives of the miners, thieves, orc villages, dwarves and countless other creatures. These mountain ranges spanned the size of three countries, or ⅓ of Canada from my previous life. All this information was something Valenor had to manage for the last 100 years.

"Ugh…."

The wave of information overwhelmed me, not to mention that having a detailed explanation of a the creatures in your land which lived in misery was quite depressing.

"Lord, is it sympathy for your new subjects?"

"It's my first time owning such a large area."

"You will get used to it. It also took me some time at first, but I'll help out and walk you through the process."

We stayed about half a day in the Magma Hall, as I asked her questions and she answered me patiently. Sorting out and dealing with all the new information I had access to.

Chapter end