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The Calamitous Bob 220: Karmic Adjustment
🕑 Added 2024-10-25 17:17:13 +0000 UTC[Aspect of the Guardian]
Viv blocked a hasty claw strike. The massive talons clicked against her aegis with an ear-splitting screech but it was designed to stop Solar. They failed to penetrate. The next tail strike triggered a shockwave that raised the sand in a wide circle without any more success.
The dragon was off her game, for now. Viv could feel her surprise and confusion in the erratic pulse of her mana. It made her aggressive but uncommitted, and that was what Viv wanted for now. Her anchor firmly planted in the fabric of the planet, Viv weathered those first attacks.
Seeing as it wasn’t working, the dragon moved back. The sand and rocks of the valley came to hostile life. The ground rebelled under her feet while the dunes rose like curtains ready to entomb her under meters of grit. A flower of floating debris tightened its grip around her shielded form like the fist of a giant. Loose stones peppered her shield, which slowly sunk under the surface.
“None of that now. Deadland domain.”
Black mana exploded in a circle that swallowed the wagons and the nearby slopes. The light dimmed. Colors bled out of reality while a deep chill made the rare water condense into ephemeral droplets. The dragon’s working died on the spot, sand falling and stones quieting. Whatever was in the air slowly fell back down, suddenly deprived of energy. The sand under Viv writhed in alien tentacles, crawling away from her unmoving body. The dragon’s attack had stopped completely. Surprised, she took another few steps back.
In the distance, the dunes stirred. Sand traveled upward, moved by the elemental shards in a cacophony of cries like discordant horns fighting for the exits. Even barely conscious, they fled for their lives.
Pathetic!
The dragon exerted her will. A giant chunk of stone emerged from the ground with a thunderous crack, extracted from the bedrock by anger and raw strength. The projectile was the size of a minibus. With a contemptuous wave of her claws, she threw it at Viv.
“Flail.”
Black whips barely thicker than strings tore through the air in front of her. They cut the projectile to ribbons before it could impact her shield. Scattered pieces of stone crashed against her defenses. More dust joined the cloud of dust over the ravaged landscape the valley had been only a minute ago. Despite the mutual display of power, neither adversary seemed impressed.
The taunting voice of the dragon sounded in Viv’s head.
You are weak. Only defend. You are scared.
Viv felt the last mana traces of blade master Sin disappear far behind her. That was it. She breathed deeply.
“No no no no. I wanted room.”
Space? What?
“Yes. Now… we can begin.”
Viv pulled on all of the skills, stats, and all that number-based bullshit that just meant she was infused with mana to her fingertips and knew how to use it. Her mind fashioned dozens of ‘astra’ spells at the same time: colorless mana formed semi-stable containment spheres around concentrated cores of annihilation. Greater sequence allowed her to pile them like rockets in a truck. She was full to bursting with them. The dragon was pulling mana for a shield as large as an observatory, wary. Viv needed to push her a bit.
She needed her to breathe fire. Just once.
Mana reversed. The defensive structure around Viv turned into a spike.
[Aspect of the Destroyer]
“Salvo.”
The mass of projectiles rolled over the landscape with a muted ‘thoom’, eerily quiet for how destructive it was. Everything behind and around the dragon disappeared in a series of ‘pop’ that devoured the sand, the dust, the rocks, everything in large, round bites. Two entire dunes disappeared in a heartbeat. The dragon’s shield collapsed. Explosions kissed its flesh but it didn’t penetrate enough, not yet. Its inner mana was protecting it from grievous wounds but she was still hit at point blank range and, adult dragon or not, she was still hurt.
The dragon groaned, the dragon shrieked. She pulled back, soul screaming with outrage, pain, surprise. Fear. Viv closed the distance with a shadow shift before her foe could recover, even before the last of the astra spells carved their gashes in the surroundings.
[Greater sequence: guillotine]
Void blades the sizes of poles lashed out. The dragon managed to avoid most of them by moving back, again, but two of them still carved bleeding gashes in her forearms. Some of the scales lost their luster.
Viv didn’t let up. She had to push the dragon to breathe fire. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t done it yet. Arrogance? Her bloodline regarded fire as sacred. She closed in again. A dragon’s body wasn’t meant to jump back. It was no prey.
Wings spread. They beat furiously, propelling the monster in the air. A wave of pure mana crashed into her surroundings, crumbling exposed stones and adding more scars to an already defaced battlefield. This was it. Viv focused.
[Aspect of the Guardian]
The dragon opened her mouth at the same moment as Viv cast.
“Portal.”
White, pure, incandescent power submerged everything in sight. Viv was forced to close her eyes and she could still see it in front of her, a sphere of salvation surrounded by primal heat so intense it ate at her spell. Dragonfire wasn’t just hot, it was purification made into energy. Just the edge of the flame consumed her aegis, scathing her black defenses. Dragon fire didn’t care for glyphs, or constructs, or structure, not that one. It would cleanse Viv if she let her guard down. Sweat covered her limbs as the portal started to crumble.
“Shit.”
But two seconds of primal wrath after it started, the fire stopped. It stopped with a cry of pain. A shriek of agony from lungs the size of forge bellows. And what a sweet sound that was.
The dragon’s left wing was on fire, a fire Viv had redirected with a portal. Her own fire, so intense even black scales couldn’t stop it. It was a trick that worked once but by fuck had it worked well this time.
“Get wrecked.”
The desert on both sides of Viv was molten glass, hot white, and flat for the surface of a football field in every direction between her spells and the creature’s breath. The heat was intense, in that hellscape of heat and destruction. The dragon felt it too. She took off. So did Viv, using her newly made harness.
The beating wings managed to push her large frame up, despite the damage. A furious mana battle between air, water, and fire raged on her wounded limb. Viv had expected the attack would be enough to ground her but that had been a little optimistic. It was still hurting, from the piteous moans.
You little…
There was no more need to hide her abilities. As the dragon somehow flew up, she closed the gap with a quick shadowstep. This time, the dragon retorted with a shockwave of pure mana aimed at destroying her working. The shift failed slightly before it reached the place Viv had aimed for. She felt the tail coming for her.
[True Aspect of the Destroyer.]
Mana. Everything was mana. The tip of the tail smashed through her weakened aegis and went through her midriff but she was black mana and black mana only. There was no flesh to rend.
Still hurt like a bitch.
[Guillotine]
The counter dug furrows in the dragon’s flanks. This time, the creature twisted on herself before rising into the desert air at great speed. Viv followed though she was slower, through columns of smoke left from the devastation.
The wounded wing stopped burning, perhaps due to the dragon’s control over flames. That was bad, but Viv had never hoped to win against an adult dragon with her opening move. The massive monster was still struggling, but she spotted Viv midair and a fierce growl emerged from her open mouth.
Fighting dragons in the air was foolish.
The dragon increased the distance between them, flying higher and higher, then she dove towards Viv. The sight of the creature of legend approaching her like a speeding jet, gray mana forming a wedge in front of it was awe-inspiring. Viv focused.
[True aspect of the Guardian]
[Greater Sequence: Aegis]
Rather than contest the dragon with speed, Viv built up her defenses. Layers upon layers of hive shields formed, turning dark as the night as they locked in with the greater construct. Inside of the sphere, Viv piled on the defenses facing towards the speeding dragon. The world shook around her as it approached, screeching her rage at the daring human. Viv anchored herself as she waited without fear. The immovable object to her unstoppable force.
Despite Viv being anchored, despite her defenses, she was still pushed back by the cataclysmic impact. A shockwave expanded through the Sandsong sky. Viv’s mana body shook, but now it was her turn.
[Shatterstar]
The shield exploded like a Claymore mine if they were made of hexagons of annihilation mana. The vicious shrapnel sliced the muzzle and chest of the attacker, sending her tumbling down just as Viv was pushed back, and despite the intensity of the attack, the dragon was still standing. She wasn’t happy though. The gray mana that had acted as a wedge sustained a sharp turn, but the strain was high. Viv could see blood dripping in the creature’s path. She just had to keep the pressure on. She released the aspect of the Guardian.
[High Sequence: Sustained Hyperbeam.]
Three continuous black lasers lashed through the sky, landing on the dragon who was forced to raise multiple shields. Viv kept them on, their aim perfect. Great slabs of mana-infused rocks were conjured from nowhere and destroyed just as fast. The mana expenditure forced her to interrupt them as the dragon approached, more slowly this time. Even with [A Light that Never Dims] and [Always a chance] pushing her on, there was only so much destruction she could throw at once. Fire erupted from the creature’s maw again. Viv prepared another portal.
The fire split. in several tongues that aimed for her following unnatural paths. Each of them could vaporize a fort. Viv’s mind went into overdrive. Several portals appeared at the same time.
***
Bes turned. It was the second time he turned and Sin had dragged him by force the first, but he had to see it. The dragon and the woman were now flying over the apocalypse they’d unleashed, tossing the mana of entire mage cadres at each other with every spell. He could not comprehend the colorful bursts erupting throughout the late morning sky but he didn’t care. It was enough to know the woman was fighting with an adult dragon, a national cataclysm, on equal footing.
He spotted the smoking win from here. Nay. She was winning.
“Ambassador!”
“Do not call me by that august title. I have lost the right to bear it.”
“Bes. We need to keep running.”
“Are we not far enough? Does your soul not also crave to see this? Battles are the stuff of books, captain, but dueling dragons is the stuff of legends. What manner of man are you, who do not wish to see what your grandchildren will whisper about?”
“A man who wants to live. You can see just as well from farther —.”
Just then, the sky turned red from a wave of fire, snakes of scorching fury tearing through the sky in great scarlet gouts while smoke and soot rivaled the distant white clouds. A titanic roar silenced the good captain mid-tirade. Some of the snakes were redirected, to be extinguished as they neared the dragon again. Others fell. Others converged on the woman, smothering her form. The lost gouts of flames fell to the ground without extinguishing, their anger still unspent. Some of them looked like they were getting pretty close, and the visceral cold of black mana was being replaced by the sort of heat that left nothing behind.
“Perhaps another few minutes of walking,” Bes allowed.
“Just hurry, man.”
***
The fire surrounded Viv, eating at her mana just as the black ate back. Even through all those defenses, she could still feel it, like being next to a window into a furnace. It was there, barely held back and the most minute crack would be her end. The dragon had claimed the world around them. It was up to her to claim it back.
The Light that Never Dims needled her on. Black mana burnt within her conduits, ever faster. Now was the perfect time to test the first of her god killers, the only ‘defensive’ one. She switched to her aspect of the guardian.
Memories of the Helock arena filled her mind. She had turned that place into her domain, hers, and only hers, fully. Sonagi’s spells had failed before they could reach her. Because here, where she stood, she was dominant.
[Sphere of Control]
A black sun erupted from between her anchors. A sphere as large as a building expanded in every direction. The dragonfire, so intense, was suddenly muted. It still tried to devour everything but now it was in her domain. She was in control here. She was in control everywhere.
The dragon was so stunned, she momentarily forgot about her wing and lost altitude. Viv moved up, the sphere persisting. She formed yet another shield, overloading it.
[Meteor]
The spell accelerated, then exploded against the dragon’s shield with Viv inside. Inside of the sphere, the dragon lost control over gray mana. It fell, and Viv followed, but a fresh burst of fire pushed her away. The burst turned into a curtain fed by monstrous red mana. She could almost taste the creature’s panic. All of Viv’s attacks had shed blood. None of the dragon’s had landed. Viv had faced countless dragons, especially her daughter, in spars. She knew how they thought. Neriad’s balls, it was more difficult to corner Arthur than to land blows against this dragon. By contrast, Viv was the first black elemental archmage the dragon had faced, and she was also going to be the last one. The two exchanged more attacks but the dragon was below now, and Viv didn’t let on.
What is HAPPENING?
Viv laughed.
What do you mean? I thought humans were prey?
A fresh wave of intimidation backed by her Dragonslayer title hit her enemy, shaking her already cracking confidence. Some people (her friends) had once said that she was a bit too dramatic when she was fighting. Those people didn’t get it. The planet was listening. Her skills worked around people listening, too. For her, acting like the galactic queen bitch wasn’t tactically sound.
It was optimal.
I am going to let you in on a little secret, dragon. As much as I love some of you, there is a rarely known truth about your kind that most would find unpleasant.
The dragon was slowing down, battling gravity with her maimed wing as much as she was fighting Viv. They were still high in the sky, the desert little more than a carefully curated zen garden around a torched and defiled battlefield carved by titanic spells. Both of their attacks striated the sky in rays and bubbles of color. The sounds of the dragon’s red spells echoed over the hills.
You taste delicious.
YOU DARE?
No no, I’m serious. After I kill you, I will carve you and bring your meat back to the camp. I will eat you braised and seasoned with a side of buttered tubers, and a lovely red wine.
The next thoughts came panicked and jumbled. Viv had her now. She could finish…
The mana on her right arm took on the aspect of change. Tempting tempting… but not right. And Enttiku wouldn’t approve anyway. She still had options though. Time to try another of her god killers, this one for fast fuckers. Viv anchored herself hard, giving the surprised dragon some breathing room or so she thought. The surprised creature managed to slow her fall using that one brief moment of respite, then portals formed all around Viv, and all around the dragon.
It took every ounce of her considerable mind for Viv to maintain control over the constructs all while generating two dozen guillotine spells. The black blades of concentrated annihilation traveled through the portals, entrapping the dragon in a maze of deadly lasers. By a supreme effort of gray mana control, the dragon managed to stop slicing herself on the thick lattice of blades.
Viv screamed. She pushed herself to her limits to exert her control over colorless mana. This wasn’t the spell of a black elemental. It was the spell of a genius who’d worked every day for thirty years to reach that result.
[Reign of Terror]
The portals turned. Mana so focused and destructive it carved through dragon scales tore into the dragon, and what had been a road turned into a desperate yelp. Blood sprayed even through the portals Viv maintained. When the blades dissipated, the dragon had fallen silent. She fell, crashing on the sand below after more than ten seconds of ghastly free fall.
Broken, it almost didn’t feel like the same creature.
[Mana mastery: expert 2
Shield Mastery: Intermediate 9
Acuity Reflex: expert 5]
Viv was really a tough nut to crack by now.
Dragonslayer has been altered to reflect you have defeated several dragons, however, the title itself will not change as you have been merciful when you judged it appropriate.
“That’s ok. So long as they know.”
She floated down.
***
Viv stared at the body.
Now what? She couldn’t cut off the head and parade it, or even save it to give to Solfis on a good day. Dragons could tolerate her killing one of their own because Viv had been the defender. If she’d climbed a mountain to assault the monster in her den, things would have taken a turn for the incendiary. That didn’t mean Viv was off the hook just yet. She had to be respectful enough, but at the same time, the meat was tempting. She was a woman of her word.
Fuck it. It would probably be more disrespectful to let her rot. No more time to hesitate. She used black mana and transparent mana to clear and cut a stone slab, spending around twenty times what a brown mage would have needed but whatever. Now that the dragon’s mana was dissipating, cutting into her flesh with the elemental knife proved disturbingly easy. A pang of guilt and horror grasped her mind, if only for a moment.
She was going to eat a sapient creature, one she’d had a conversation with. The same species as her daughter. It was not quite cannibalism, but it was still pretty bad.
Viv looked at the meat and realized she was actually fine with that. It was going to be mana rich and extremely useful very soon. As long as she was respectful.
Viv started with the legs, carving around the many wounds she’d inflicted where the flesh had withered from black mana corruption. The wings were toast so she discarded them, but the back, and then belly, proved promising. Her task took the rest of the day, then continued well into the night. She had three slabs the size of a small truck with meat piled knee high by then. Some weird ant monster had come sniffing but she’d disintegrated it. No sharing. Kill your own dragon.
At dawn, she was not quite finished but she was unwilling to do more. Even the tail had been partly harvested by now (for soup). Grabbing the core, She was now facing a carcass, her face still intact but otherwise pretty well processed.
The decision to take the core was an easy one. It was a traditional prize, a winner’s treasure. She didn’t feel conflicted about that one. The scales were a more daunting prospect. Even dead, they’d offered resistance to Viv’s monstrous magic. If it were enchanted…
Viv decided it would be fine to take some back and belly scales. She cut the skin and rolled it, hoping she wasn’t fucking up the harvest. Maybe someone back home could do something.
And now, she was truly and fully done. That left the burial. Viv could obviously not incinerate the remains like most nations preferred, back on Param, but she could provide the last rites. The dragon had inflicted countless atrocities upon the people of Sandsong but that was different. An exemplary death was one thing, desecrating remains was another. Under the light of the early morning, she carved the land with annihilation until she had an appropriate hollow rectangle of polished rock under her feet. Pushing the body in it was difficult, and making sure that last claw fit in turned into a rather humiliating task, but Viv persevered. As her dad always said, funerals were about the living. After she was done, she used eldritch walls to cover the remains under a vault of twisted walls, much more subdued than her usual fair.
At the front of the tomb was the relief of a supine dragon, her eyes closed. Viv hadn’t tried to do that.
“Uhm.”
Time to try.
“Oh, Neriad, I call upon you.”
Viv sent the dregs of her mana, her reserves now dangerously low. It was still a respectable amount that traveled towards the city of the gods, but this time, the answer was silence.
Viv knew what it meant, and it made her feel a bit iffy. She hadn’t done it in a long time but now she was forced to go through meditative kata to replenish her reserves. Only once she was satisfied with her recovery did she call upon another deity.
Fuck, she might be one of, if not the only human ever to try that.
“Dragon God.”
Pressure pushed down upon her. It didn’t even feel hostile, only very, very focused. And distant. While the human gods were not unlike some semi-trashy aristocratic family constantly meddling with mortals, the new presence was very distant. Nevertheless, Viv had a plan. Stay polite, get her business done, get gone. Simple. She poured all the mana she’d prepared towards the distant shape with no idea if it was received or not. It felt like shooting in the night. Maybe something landed, or maybe not.
“We fought. I fought better. Regardless of our conflict, please lead her soul to the afterlife it deserves, and please protect her mortal remains from the depredations of undeath.”
The pressure resumed, then it cut. Abruptly. The aftertaste of a hiss drifted through Viv’s brain, chuckling at a concept.
The Hand that Strikes Down.
Viv stood by her sentiment on being as extra as draconically possible. It was a valid strategy. As she thought that, the earth rumbled. Viv took a few steps back. She felt the bottom of the tomb she’d carved crack, then something emerged from the ground. At first, they looked like bones and she feared the worst but the ribs turned out to be the trunks of tall white trees, surging from the ground at impossible speed. Actually no, on second glance, those were really ribs. Ribs, then trunks. Roots shattered the rock, turning it to soil. Red leaves and thorns popped from the strange vegetation, slowing down eventually. It took maybe ten minutes for the miracle to finish and when it was done, Viv was standing before a copse of desert vegetation with muddy water gurgling at its feet, colored red too. From the original tomb, only the sleeping dragon headstone remained, half-buried among thick brambles. She inspected it.
[Dragon tomb (artifact): a mark of respect, a gesture of dignity. Do not try to open it.]
Ok that was pretty neat. Also, the dragon god hadn’t objected to her taking the meat which was fair since dragons were cannibalistic too.
“By all the gods,” a voice said from behind.
Captain Sin had arrived, along with Ambassador Bes, or rather, just Bes now she presumed. The Sandsong scout trailed them.
“You have done it. I cannot believe my eyes! You have slain a dragon in single combat. Not since the days of Eron the Dragonslayer have I… this is… are you an avatar? Nay, you cannot be. Lady Sai… where do you hail from?”
“You guys haven’t brought the carts, I guess.”
They seemed to be in the middle of a religious experience. Viv suddenly contemplated having to float three truck-sized slabs covered in valuable but perishable meat across the desert. Without carts.
“Fuck…”
Comments
ManguKing
So the dragon summit happened and Arthur got preggo in it, but we won't know what happened?
Roombot
I love this chapter, so badass
luxrus
We never got the specializations for mana mastery or acuity reflex… even though you hyped them up. Cmon
Fernando Roman
Isn’t she supposed to get advance versions when she gets to expert? Her skills keep advancing but we haven’t gotten the description of what she picked yet.
KnightRider007
"much more subdued than her usual fair." => "usual fare"
H.
Oh no! I caught up! This story is amazing, one of my favorites for sure. The timeskip I found a bit jarring, but it needed to be done I would love there to be some maps, that would be awesome.. Maybe like one of the empire before and after the timeskip.. maybe with greens to show how much of the deadlands they reclaimed and the transit lines.. maybe some little icons to show what is where and who is overseeing what place. Maybe it's a bit much, I don't know how to create maps but it'd be lovely
Random Information
I wonder if the Sandsong regime will worry about killing the Dragon - a "You were supposed to drive it off not kill it." type of attitude. They may be fearful of draconian retribution, not aware of how Judgement judges intervention.
AgentFransis
It's been decades. It's safe to assume she knows a bunch of new spells.
ItWasIDIO!!
We just gonna keep throwing it in they face mid battle for demoralizing effects everytime? You taste good
ItWasIDIO!!
The rules say the young & dumb live & die by fuck around find out(Judgement himself said so) she found out
Vincebourgh
Good taste
Daemion
It was on my mind, yes.
Never
a practical guide to evil reference?!
Alexander Dupree
Lol like if she gets [Artifact: Stomach of the Dragon Eater] or something hilarious like that.
Desert Yeti
And aside from the false reputation caused by Vichy France, the French have historically been some of the biggest asskickers in Europe. They beat everyone, often times more than once. Viv is certainly living up to the imperial French legacy.
Emily Gurnavage
Booooooooootttttsssssss She took the belly scales. Some nice soft dragon leather boots.
Emily Gurnavage
Sounds like an actual literal ton of meat though. Does this world have a way to preserve such a huge amount of meat in a way she can go allllll the way home with it? Plus she isnt done with her business here yet. Seems like her options are sharing, makin jerky, or gorging herself. Given shes half elemental, I bet she can eat and eat and eat if she wants to and maybe eating most of an adult dragon by herself would give a stat boost of some kind.
Szelanaya
Hmmmm, I like this ship better.
Denva
Wait who is lady gar. If it's that scout women they found in the Salt Mountains then she likes the blade master Sai. I think she was also shown her in one of the last paragraphs. If her name is lady gar
Denva
It also makes sence for the dragon god to be concept itself, because that's what gods are as far as we have seen.
Denva
Judgment is part of the clan on strength not fire.
RonGAR
She better not SHARE that meat with anyone else~~~ ---------- Worried about Judgement. That dragon was part of HIS CLAN! SMH. Surely that was one of his daughters. SMH.
Jennifer Leigh
That chapter also has 3 years ago and 4 years later. I found this in chapter 213: "Over fifteen years before, Kazar stood at the edge of a kingdom of death."
Andrea Boudas
Makes sense , since if they go by the convention of concepts , dragon god would be the concept itself
Stuart Anderson
Great chapter! I’ve been looking forward to it and it doesn’t disappoint! I assume by dragon naming laws, the Dragon God doesn’t actually have a name?
Diego Rossi
With her previous advisor retirement, Viv could benefit from a competent ambassador. Bes seems to be very competent. A new acquisition?
Daemion
Viv reminds me so much of Nestra in this chapter. "Yeah, yeah. You're big and scary. But most importantly, you're made of meat." And of course Viv has to eat the dragon now. It's part of her role. Since she decided on her path, especially since she became an Ascender, she has basically been on stage the entire time. Viv is the Evil Empress of the Dread Empire, she is the villain of the play. Just look at her Legions of Terror and her deadly black mana. Let's not forget Solfis' plan for her. The world doesn't quite run on stories but keeping your word is being recorded by the system. Viv is a VIP and her actions resonate. Her very being impacts the world. Making a threat/promise and following through might upgrade her Dragonslayer title or perhaps give her an additional one.
Flippu
Though its just Nous trolling
Szelanaya
Not him
Denva
Doesn't she like the blade master
Manlor
I love that as a writer you always give us full and satisfying chapters! 😀
Raptor425
We're gonna get that mother fuckin' Dragon Scale Coat aren't we? Of course it's gonna be AFTER the craftsmen/women pick their collective jaws up off the floor back in New Harrak. I hope we get another autistic... erm I mean eccentric character who is a master craftsperson that has absolutely LONGED to work with draconic materials who hears about Viv's acquisition and jumps ship to her team to finally get the chance.
John Anastacio
Regarding Arthur's purse, the text specifically mentions blessing of an unknown god.
John Anastacio
My point was that it can't be 30 years. I cite chapter 212: The World at Peace: Five years later, year 885 of the restored Harrakan calendar Thirteen years later (year 893), mountains in northern Harrak. 893 minus 885 = 8. 13 minus 5 also = 8. That's the main reason why I mentioned 13 years; if my inferences are correct, the time skip was 13 years.
DAK
Yeah, to clarify , I meant that in a ‘make sure the eggs are cared for’ way, not ‘smoosh her progeny.’ It would be interesting to see how much would be acceptable to help with—probably not adopt another creche, but at least make sure the surrounding area is clear of predators kind of thing. But maybe the Dragon Prime Directive is in full force—no outside intervention at all.
Maou Razonica
Real nice to see more of how Viv has developed during the timeskip.
i shteynberg
arthur (looking at a pile of dragon meat): "for the children!"
i shteynberg
you can take frenchwoman out of france. you can not take france out of frenchwoman.
Senko
And that's another artifact Viv accidentally made, and possibly another convert to her worship. Should be interesting to see the reaction of the approaching army when they hear one caster took down the dragon in direct combat then ate her.
Senko
I get the feeling Arthur and her siblings were more a result of where their mother perished than natural dragon inclination.
StuBee3
Cool chapter! thanks 😎
Damian Karis
I checked, and the section from Bes’ point of view refers to the dragon as “it” or “the creature.” There is one sentence where “his” is used in reference to the dragon, which is either a typo, or could be explained as Bes not having any idea what gender the dragon is, and just making an assumption.
Clifton
Okay, Big D as name for the dragon god is hilarious.
Emily Gurnavage
John, Viv has been on Nyil long enough that Ban had no kids when she met him and now his eldest son is second in command of the 100. And he was 2nd in command of the 100 *before* the most recent large timeskip. Idk the exact number of years, but its been a lot longer than 13.
Clifton
She also used the alter of the dragon god to speak to Judgement when the undead army incident happened.
Clifton
I actually assumed that's what was meant: look after rather than end. I mean, she does have that appalling mother title.
Emily Gurnavage
Ah, so that wasn't just me a bit confused on that. I didn't go back to check but I thought I remembered reading it being referred to as male already before. I just figured I was wrong and moved on lol.
Emily Gurnavage
I feel like something as ridiculous as Harrak's revival, a new half-elemental, someone working with dragons and such is worthy of international rumors. Enough for someone like Bes to connect the dots in front of them. The Empire has been around for a minute now, news certainly had time to travel with merchants and other delegations and spies and so on.
Steven C
So thinking with portals and eating your kill aside, anyone notice that Viv is an Empress who styles her spells after her famous regicidal ancestors? What delicious irony.
David Morrison
Awesome! Great battle. TFTC
Raven
She may not have consciously tried to do it, but the world may have read her intent and acted accordingly
Raven
There are a few times skips and some ambiguous timelines of events. Not sure what they add to but more than 13
Raven
Or first bloodlines remaining on planet if dragon god started on the planet but ascended. Maybe they were first bloodlines split from dragon prime now dragon god
Raven
Hatchlings will fend for themselves as is natural, or they'll die as natural. No dragon came to rescue Arthur or her brother, none would come for this one's brood
Jeanean
Huh, how convenient that the dragon came in Viv's favorite colour!
Leviathon251
Whoop whoop! Cool fight. Dragonscale armour!
Murigi
*creepy slurping sound*
Jennifer Leigh
FYI: last chapter, from Bes the first time the dragon speaks, reads as male. I was very confused about a female dragon.
Jennifer Leigh
There was a 15 year gap, plus all the years we followed.
KnightRider007
“Viv was standing before a copse of desert vegetation with muddy water gurgling at its feet,” => “at its foot” (foot of the copse, singular)
Damian Karis
I’m not convinced Viv would even offer to share it with them, or anyone besides Arthur, Sidjin, and maybe a few others. The king and queen are her subordinates now, she barely knows them, and the dragon is her kill, she earned all on her own.
Damian Karis
I’m pretty sure “dealing with” any hatchlings or eggs would be severely frowned upon by Judgement, and Viv knows better than to get on his bad side. Though Judgement also consulted with Viv on helping to raise young dragons in the future, so if there are any, Judgement might ask her to take them in I suppose.
Szelanaya
Did Lady Gar make it? I'm shipping her and the Lord that likes buff gals super hard lol.
Mantarok1205
Jolly good!
BOT
I’d guess the others think the dragon is a he, though Viv knows enough to identify their gender
Kennyevilmonkey
Viv screaming, "Are you idiots trying to give me a heart attack!? Ahhhhhh!"
KnightRider007
Are “High Sequence” and “Greater Sequence” two different spells? If so, what’s the difference?
DAK
-Right about when Viv gets things settled down and her traveling companions aren't losing their minds, I imagine Arthur wandering through a portal in the middle of their campfire and demanding some of the mana-meat she heard they had. -Also, that's a whole lot of crazy to threaten to eat your opponent as a battle taunt and then tell yourself that you really have to do it because you made a promise. It's about integrity, after all... -Since it was a female do they have to make sure there are no hatchlings or eggs left behind?
Denva
Maybe I'm wrong. The was a similer spell in journey of black and red
Denva
And the previous chapter said it was male I think. Is the dragon trans?
Denva
She could teleport.
Young Youghurt
Oh, you think the might is your ally, but you merely adopted the violence. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the peace until I was already a monster; by then, it was nothing to me but blinding! The power betrays you, because it belongs to me. I will show you where I have made my home, whilst preparing to bring guillotine. Then, I will behead you. Your precious meat, gratefully accepted. We will need it. Ah yes, I was wondering what would break first. Your flame, or your body.
John Anastacio
But it can't be Viv because she hasn't been on Nyil for that long. Unless the number is 13, not 30.
Adam Davies
Yessssssssssss. So good.
steamrick
It's been mentioned several times in story that Viv was 'born for magic'. In terms of spellcasting, she's a genius in her own right, give her some credit. Amongst her many achievements, there's reinventing the Gate Spell because Sidjin's style of casting it doesn't work for Viv and vice versa. There's a reason that Sidjin keeps bitching about Viv's witchyness.
Denva
She didn't pray, but she did get hint for it when she inspected the coin perse she made for author. It had changed into an artifact and it had dragon god as its blessing.
steamrick
If he's up to date on who's who on 'the other continent', he might even arrive at the right conclusion by sheer process of elimination. There's not that many female warcasters who can slay a dragon, after all.
steamrick
Someday the dragon god will check in on the grave and there will be a bucket left in a conspicuous spot inside. Nothing else will have changed (because the League of Lesser Evils are not grave robbers), but there will be a bucket hanging off of one of the dragon skulls' horns.
Grumpy Cucumber
Nice to 'meet' the other gods, since hearing of the fatebased lizard gods I have been hoping to expand our knowledge of who else is watching over this world
Alex
No, Judgement and Mother are the eldest of their bloodlines and therefore the de facto rulers of their bloodlines. They aren't the gods of dragons just the oldest and most powerful.
Til Weisheit
Probably. It sounded very similar to the blender spell that gave him his Red Mist nickname
Benjamin Mages
As was talked about in the same chapter where we learned that Arthur laid eggs, he was a dragon she met, mated with, and then he left without us ever actually seeing him. It was also made clear that dragon dads sticking around was, at the very least, not the norm for their species (and indeed sometimes even the mother doesn't stick around after the eggs hatch, but that's a more individual choice than racial).
Kennyevilmonkey
Would be funny though is we hear about happening later on. Like her hearing a rumor about some idiots that tried and getting a laugh out of it. Gotta go full circle on these kinds of things. For the lols.
pelya
I thought Judgement was the equivalent of the dragon god, but a separate dragon god seems to exist
Dietz
Viv said it herself, the world is listening. But the world is not an audience member, it's the director. A director with a Flair for the Dramatic.
John Anastacio
It was the spell of a genius who’d worked every day for thirty years to reach that result. thirty years? Was the genius Sidjin?
Roombot
Good to see the long-awaited god-killer spells come out to play!
Roombot
Some fava beans and a nice chianti?!
Emily Gurnavage
Just a completely random side story with characters we never met before, never meet again, and its all its own self contained little story that never ties back. Just for funsies. Almost sounds like a fun creative writing exercise.
Emily Gurnavage
Oh yea, it is time for that. Woo. No point in the disguise anymore. Ima be a tad disappointed if Bes doesn't guess who she is without being told though. Now hes got lots of info to work off of, and he saw lots of the battle. He was a diplomat for a kingdom, so he should have *some* knowledge on Viv and be able to connect the dots on the long march back.
Ryan
When did we learn that Viv prayed to the dragon god before?
Emily Gurnavage
Watch everyone else refuse to eat the dragon out of fear of future retribution, lol. I could see like just the King and Queen trying some for the appearance and morale boost etc, but everyone else refusing as best they can. Maybe Viv will have to make a fuck-ton of jerky in the end. Imagine wasting dragon meat to make dried and salted travel jerky, lol. I bet most of the magical benefits are lost if it aint fresh. . On the other hand, I can also see everyone wanting a bite of the dragon that all but destroyed their country and huge lines to each get their toothpick bite.
Emily Gurnavage
Nous and or the world itself did it. Whatever his godly-zombie-ass really is anymore - he IS the system afaik. Any magic anyone uses, Nous is aware of. Not enough to always be consciously paying attention, hes considered "dead" for a reason (I assume because hes so stretched thin), but we have seen that he/it pays attention to those who tug on Fate and Luck as much as Viv does. So he knew what Viv was doing and when and why. Or if the world did it, instead of Nous - we can say it was just the natural magic of the world responding to a battle between 2 primal forces of nature - an elemental and a dragon. Neither die often, let alone to each other. So when one makes a grave for the other, magic happens.
Emily Gurnavage
Have we ever even met Arthur's mate? Or, are they even considered mates? Maybe they aren't even important to Arthur. Just another dragon. Seems like dragons in this story just meet to fuck or fight then split back up. Judgement made it sound fairly normal (except for the location chosen) for Arthur's mother to have went off on her own to nest. Doesn't seem like the males are usually part of things. But still - hope Viv meets him one day, lol. . As Viv gets better as being in her full Elemental form, she can prolly eventually turn into a non-physical dragon made of black mana. Maybe even now, if she was standing in place. Moving or flying in that form would surely take more practice though since its all mana.
Oskatat
It's strangely appropriate that Viv's first fight with a dragon is on RR the same day as this chapter went live on Patreon. Almost as if it was planned that way. I'm sure some carts will be along shortly, the king would have been foolish if he hadn't sent some observers after her.
Enif
I think that's just the planet/system fucking with her through her magic.
Drakenclaw
Thanks for the chapter. Dragons are delicious! "and what had been a road turned into a desperate yelp. " -> roar not road "He spotted the smoking win from here. Nay. She was winning." -> wing not win
Robert Rosenthal
I there is a princess who will be so proud...
lenkite
"At the front of the tomb was the relief of a supine dragon, her eyes closed. Viv hadn’t tried to do that." So who did this ? THis was before she contacted the Dragon God.
Alexander Dupree
Viv and her foodie tendencies are making EXTRA an achievement.
BurnNote
Just hungry
i shteynberg
“amateurs argue about tactics. professionals argue about LOGISTICS!” save the meat!
Andrew
Thank you!
Isiah Debarros
I don't know it back before he finished the first story he would switch some spell names but the description with be a old spell
Orange Thistle
Thanks for the chapter. Looking forward to next week when I assume her identity gets revealed to her travel companions.
Orange Thistle
I do sort of remember it. I think it's a underused yet new spell. Underused because it only comes out once if it does get used.
Kennyevilmonkey
Mecanimus, we NEED to see some idiot having the brilliant idea of trying to open this tomb so they can get some valuable dragon bones. That would make for a hell of side chapter, even if it has nothing to do with the current story. I want to see some idiots piss off the Dragon God and get punished. Please!
Enif
Damn. Viv is so bad-ass. And now shes got a connection with the dragon god.
Forint
I like the acknowledgement of the name. I was curious if she was using the name as a jab("For you") or if she really was adopting it. Now big d got a laugh out of it, it's pretty legit.
James Faulkner
Incredible chapter, Tftc!!
Jackjargon
Dlicous as usually boss! ( delicious is extra funny in this context) RIP carts have fun with your transport! Probably better to portal
SFGuru
Yeah ch214 needs updating when it goes to RR - the ship captain says its red not black
Desert Yeti
So the Dragon God has accepted Viv's draconic name. Yeah, I definitely see Viv getting a dragon form now, or at least decent wings. And actual recognition from draconic 'society.' Arthur's baby daddy is in even deeper shit now.
SDCard
Thanks for the chapter!
Red Viking
Gluttony. Gluttony is always the correct answer.
tr13ze
Thanks for the chapter 😁
Angela Roberts
Viv got her dragon on, full bore! Love it.
Simon Hoerder
Thanks for the chapter, it's awesome. I believe I noticed a wee typo in what should've been 'roar': "[...] and what had been a road turned into a desperate yelp [...]"
Brandon Yarberry
Were we prophetic in the discord?
Diego Rossi
Thanks for the chapter. ' Viv suddenly contemplated having to float three truck-sized slabs covered in valuable but perishable meat across the desert. Without carts. “Fuck…” ' The parting shot at the end of a chapter is always a wonder. Thanks again.
WarStrider72
Thanks for the chapter boss!
Isiah Debarros
I'm pretty flail is from a different story unless it's a new spell but based on the description it sounds like her Net spell
MoonlitShade
Let’s gooo tyftc
