Chapter 1235 – Dragon Hunter (4)

If Jake had faced Yrelstromoz without Dragonsbane Poison, he would have been far less confident in his victory. Not necessarily because he believed she was more powerful than him, but because he doubted his ability to outlast a True Dragon with an insane mana pool and the ability to heal herself.

Getting enough toxins into his opponent’s system had taken a bit longer than he’d hoped for, but now that it kicked into effect, Jake instantly felt it, and from the looks of it, so did Yrelstromoz.

Her healing magic did work to mend her claw, but it now came with consequences as the Dragonsbane was stimulated by her heavy use of mana and dealt damage proportional to the magic she used.

Jake watched Yrelstromoz’s eyes open wide as she stared at him in confusion.

“What have you- “

She didn’t even have time to finish the thought as Jake wasn’t going to waste an opportunity like this. He launched a quick Arcane Powershot, inflicting even more damage as the dragon was sent flying back from the impact. Several more arrows followed his first one, with two more striking as Yrelstromoz was still trying to figure out what was happening to her, but eventually she mustered a response.

Powerful barriers of light appeared, blocking both arrows… and once more dealt damage to her as the Dragonsbane Poison was stimulated. This caused Yrelstromoz to hesitate, summoning more barriers as she tried to fly away, but Jake’s arrows curved and followed, striking her in the wings, tearing through the webbing easily due to the lack of scales.

Through Sense of the Malefic Viper, Jake felt Yrelstromoz try to figure out what kind of toxin she’d been inflicted with, a task that wouldn’t prove easy. While Jake hadn’t purposefully tried to hide the properties of the poison, it was still of epic rarity and thus possessed high-tier concepts and energies, making it difficult to see through.

This split focus on identifying the poison proved counterintuitive, as it allowed Jake to land even more arrows, thereby increasing the dose. Yrelstromoz was unfocused and even seemed to panic a little as she encountered a situation she didn’t quite grasp.

Her lack of experience in real combat was truly showing. Jake doubted she’d ever truly been pushed in a fight, at least not since reaching B-grade. Even if she had been pushed, Jake reckoned there was a good chance it had been in safe sparring matches where death wasn’t on the table. Something very different from her current predicament, as Jake very much aimed to slay her. A fact she somehow only now seemed to be grasping fully.

Pushing his advantage, Jake already began to set up for the finishing blow now, knowing it was best to be prepared. Within his quiver, he was weaving together a powerful Protean Arrow, where he planned for Eternal Hunger to serve as the arrowhead when the time came.

Perhaps already preparing for the kill now seemed premature, but based on Yrelstromoz’s mental state and total lack of proper responses to Jake’s constant bombardment of arrows, this fight would end far sooner than he’d first thought possible.

Yrelstromoz struggled in vain as she tried to dodge and swipe away arrows, her healing magic targeting the Dragonsbane but finding itself unable to do much. Dragonsbane Poison was naturally resistant to a dragon’s attempt to cleanse itself of it, and Jake’s variant even meant that using mana to get rid of it meant she was hurting rather than helping herself. If she had truly understood the poison or been a more talented healer, it would have been a different story. Evidently, Yrelstromoz was neither.

Jake landed dozens of arrows one after another, all of them coated with even more Dragonsbane as the two of them moved across the surface of the planet. The dragon tried to get away, even using her movement skill occasionally, something he felt didn’t even have a high mana cost, yet Yrelstromoz hesitated. That’s when Jake realized something else.

She wasn’t just avoiding using her magic because of the damage it would do. While the damage was noticeable, it wasn’t at a level where she would suddenly kill herself if she used magic like normal. It was just another source of damage from Jake that made healing herself inefficient. Yet Yrelstromoz barely used any magic, and Jake believed the explanation was found with something he hadn’t even considered a factor:

Pain.

Someone like Jake didn’t find himself affected by pain. He felt it, sure, and he wasn’t particularly a fan of it, but it wasn’t going to stop or even slow him down. The same was true for all other geniuses Jake usually fought with. Most monsters who’d grown up and reached their current station through constant combat were no strangers to the sensation and had long become desensitized.

Yrelstromoz was another case entirely. She was like a flower grown in a greenhouse, having never experienced the harsh reality of nature. Now that she suddenly felt herself confronted with it, her response was less than ideal.

In her defense, the pain from something like Dragonsbane Poison was on a whole other level compared to regular wounds. It was the kind of poison that tore through both body and soul, causing immense anguish, and Jake could totally understand why her initial response was to stop doing the thing that caused her pain. However, it was clearly the wrong choice and only pushed her further towards death.

Jake found it a little disappointing and hoped she had more to show him. However, with the way things were going and her increasing level of panic, he was starting to question if his first dragon hunt would really end this anticlimactically.

“She’s truly the bottom of the barrel… or at least close to it,” the Primordial of Karma sighed, shaking his head as he watched the recording – one that was only a few seconds behind the live feed to avoid Jake noticing another observer.

“Oh, for sure,” the Viper nodded in full agreement. “She has the stats, body, and skills of a dragon, but not the mind of one. True Dragons are dangerous not only due to their innate power, but because of their incredible ability to utilize that power. This only becomes truer when they’re focused on magic like her.”

“It certainly appears she’s a weakling among the strong,” Eversmile agreed.

“However…” Vilas began.

“She’s still a True Dragon,” Eversmile finished his sentence and smiled.

“Indeed, she is,” the snake god said, knowing there was no way she would fall this easily. Her heritage and Lineage simply wouldn’t allow her to.

—

The arrows just kept coming. Yrelstromoz tried to fend them off, but no matter what she tried, she just couldn’t. They didn’t do a lot of damage, but each of them inflicted more of that horrible poison that seemed to have invaded everywhere. She tried to get rid of the poison, but it didn’t work, and all she did was cause more debilitating pain, making her hesitate.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Yrelstromoz had easily handled all the other poisons the Chosen of the Malefic Viper inflicted on her, but this one was different. It was incredibly powerful, and no matter how she approached it, all she received was more pain.

She knew that this couldn’t continue, but she wasn’t sure what to do. Her mind was spinning as she got hit by arrow after arrow, with no good options coming to mind. Any response she made would only result in more pain. A pain unlike anything she’d ever felt before, and while the arrows did also hurt, it was nothing compared to when she made the poison flare up.

At least it didn’t seem to do much when she wasn’t actively using mana, and when she used very cheap spells or skills, the pain was manageable, but she still wanted to avoid it if at all possible.

All she could do was run, hoping the human would stop chasing her and give up. His boosting skill was incredibly powerful, which should also mean it had a limited duration or serious backlash once dispelled, so maybe if she just kept running long enough, he would be forced to also retreat.

However, as time passed, and she continued to flee, the human never let up. In fact, he only seemed to be growing in momentum, every arrow hurting a little more than the one before.