A dragon. A MOTHER FUCKING DRAGON! GODDAMN IT!
Archer had known that there was something up with this place. The energy being drained from the fallen, along with the power it was pulling from what Archer was now understanding to be a Leyline underneath the ground. This entire place was one giant summoning circle, and the Demon's life had provided the last scraps of energy to power it up. And now they were locked into an underground chamber with a giant winged lizard.
This is why you must NEVER rush into a situation completely blind!
The Dragon's stats were easily five times higher than the Demon's had been, and its defenses were Conceptual Weapon levels of unfair. It had the ability to negate half the damage of any attack directed at it and reflect that damage at its source. Without proper knowledge of how it worked, Archer was unsure if he could kill the thing, even if he did use his [Body Split] skill. If he used a Noble Phantasm, that might just result in their mutual destruction.
The Moonlight Dragon was well over thirty feet tall, with his horns strapping up against the ceiling, even as its neck was bent over. Its body was almost entirely black with a few streaks of white, a color pattern that was also displayed by its horns. A sense of power and mystery rolled off of its body. It might have been beautiful, under better circumstances.
But with the current situation being what it was...
[Fran, we need to get out of here!] Archer shouted as he tried to figure out how they were going to be getting through the massive door. Earlier experiments had taught him that [Earth Magic] would not work inside of this strange place, but perhaps the [Dark Magic] that they had gained from the Demon would help.
After absorbing the Demon's max level [Dark Magic] Skill, they had already achieved level 3 [Dark Magic]. However, that was still not high enough to use the transport spell that the Demon used.
Archer quickly dumped 6 Self-evolution points into it and then swore as he discovered that the spell could only be used to travel up to 15 meters, and only into a shadow within line of sight.
He needed another option, so Archer activated [Parallel Thought] in order to allow him to search for a solution. Any solution.
But while he was diving into himself, trying to find a way of getting his Master out of this alive, Fran began to move… working straight towards the beast. [You are not fighting that...]
"Mama… Mama, don't go!" Fran shouted, Archer slipping through her fingers as started to run towards the dragon. Fran's conditional status had been changed from normal to 'hypnotized'.
[FRAN!] Archer mentally screamed at her as loud as he could, but it didn't penetrate whatever spell the dragon had placed on her. The girl rushed straight towards the dragon, who started to lift one of its massive claws. [NO!]
As the Dragon struck, Archer did the only thing he could. He triggered his [Body Split] skill, using it to defend his master.
Name: Achilles' Shield
Race: Noble Phantasm
Defense:5000 Durability: Indestructible
Skills:
Impenetrable
A massive bronze shield, decorated with the symbols of the Greek Zodiac appeared between Fran and the Dragon's massive claw, right before the beasts would have crushed the tiny girl like a bug. Archer, using his [Telekinesis], did his best to force Fran into a ball as the Dragon's attack pushed the shield down on top of her.
Achilles' Shield was curved outwards, making a cavity between it and the ground just large enough for Fran to be squeezed into. But even if the shield had provided a barrier between Fran and the attack, the force by which she had been knocked to the ground had not been insignificant, as the girl's HP dropped like a stone and Archer had to rush with a [Greater Heal] just to stop her from dying.
"Mama, please don't die. Don't leave me. mama…!" Fran continued to cry, not seeming to have felt the pain at all.
[Fran, I need you to wake up! We don't have the time for...]
*BOOM* *BOOM*
The Dragon was slamming its claws against the face of the shield again and again. The magical claws striking against the solid surface of the shield, knocking it back and forth across the stone ground. It was only by using his [Telekinesis] that Archer stopped the shield from flipping over and exposing the girl underneath.
The Dragon was strong, but Achilles' Shield was stronger. It was a shield which had seen the fields of Troy, and had passed through that legendary battlefield without so much as a scratch being left on its surface. Even an A-rank Noble Phantasm, wielded by a Servant, would not be enough to break it.
That said, all things have their weaknesses.
The Dragon put its claws on either side of the shield, but its giant fingers couldn't get the leverage needed to lift it up. So instead, it lifted its head back, and did what dragons are most known for.
The flames washed over the shield's surface as the Dragon began to cook Fran alive, causing her HP to once again drop.
[Middle Heal] [Middle Heal] [Middle Heal] [Middle Heal]
Archer cast the spell over and over again, restoring his master every time her body began to burn.
He couldn't keep this up. The mana drain was too quick.
Archer once again turned to his Skill, selecting [Magic Barrier] and spending the 27 Self-Evolution Points needed to raise it to its maximum level. The barrier worked, shielding Fran from the worst of the fires effects and buying Archer a moment to think.
"Yes! That's it! Kill that thing! Roast it alive…" The goblin cheered on the Dragon… until a sword impacted against his chest. The Dragon didn't seem to care, or even notice.
Archer hadn't really expected it to. He just wanted that goblin to shut the hell up.
Archer began to trace weapons, identical copies of the Demon's Magic Sword, and fired them at the Dragon, hoping to draw it away. It didn't work. The Dragon didn't even care as the swords slammed into it, the reflected damage to the blades causing them to crack during the moment of impact. It just kept attacking the shield, trying to get at the still crying Fran.
The current situation was more manageable than before, but it was only a matter of time before the dragon realized that its current strategy wasn't working. Before then Archer needed to find a way to snap Fran out of it.
[Skill Taker] Lv1: User has a 10% chance of stealing 1 named [Skill] of Rarity 1 or less from a target within 1 meters. 1 day cooldown.
It would appear that [Skill Taker] could steal a [Skill] of rarity equal to its level, and had a chance of success equal to 10% x [Skill Taker]'s level. So in order to have a 100% chance of stealing a skill, you would need to max out [Skill Taker]'s level.
However, his experiences with upgrading the [Body Split] skill had taught Archer that his [Skills] would have their cooldown's reset when he upgrades them. So he had as many as 10 chances to steal, and could perhaps steal multiple Skills. The problem was knowing which skills to target.
Even with maxed out [Appraisal], he wasn't told what the rarity of an individual skill was. He might even end up wasting attempts if he wasn't careful.
Well, the most important skills to take would be [Moonlight Magic], [Dragon Arts], [Principle of an Element (Mirror)] and [Moon Phase Empowerment], as one of these skills was likely the cause of Fran's sudden hypnosis. He should probably just focus on them until he got a success and them move to the next one.
{Warning: [Skill Taker] cannot effect Innate Skills or Extra Skills.}
Archer swore as the strange voice, which he now recognized as being slightly feminen, echoed in the back of his thoughts. [I don't suppose you can tell me which [Skills] I should target?]
{Calculating… 10 Self-evolution Points have been consumed. Upgrading [Appraisal] to [Eye of Empyrea]... Upgrade complete.}
Archer mentally blinked as he felt something using up his Self-evolution Points, and then a moment later, his Appraisal was now showing him the rarities of the skills. [Um… thanks.] Archer said before looking over the skills and cursing again. [Dragon Arts], [Principle of an Element (Mirror)] and [Moon Phase Empowerment] where all either Innate or Extra Skills and [Moonlight Magic] apparently had a rarity of 11.
His [Eye of Empyrea] now told him that [Moonlight Magic] was the rarest of all magics, and dealt with spells capable of reflecting both light and magic, as well as spells to attack an individual's mind. It was only learnable by a select few Demonic Beasts and those mortal who have been blessed by the Moonlight Goddess. Because it required both the Goddess's blessing and the training to develop it, it was rarer than even Unique Skills, which could only be gifted to people by the Gods. Even if he maxed out [Skill Taker], he couldn't take it.
This was bad. He couldn't wake Fran up. Even if he did, how would that help? They were still trapped in a magically locked room with a goddamn dragon, and Archer had been forced to use his only use of [Body Split] for the day on defending Fran's life.
His trump card was gone and they were out of options. If only he could get another use out of [Body Split].
{Calculating… 10 Self-evolution Points have been consumed. Installing the Self-specialization add-on… installing… Installation complete.}
Archer's Self-evolution Skill suddenly gained a new function, Self-specialization. By spending 10 Self-evolution Points, he could upgrade a maxed level Slotted Skill into a Specialized Skill.
{Self-specialization: Activated. 10 Self-evolution Points have been consumed. [Body Split] has been specialized into [Doppelganger Synthesis SP]. Activating [Doppelganger Synthesis SP]}
A murderous intent fluid the room, so intense as to make the Moonlight Dragon stopped its attack as its survival instincts forced it to take a step back.
Across the room, closer to the door, was another intruder. A man, taller than the other with white hair and darker skin, he was garbed in black and red and gave off an aura of danger as he looked at the dragon with piercing silver eyes. In his hands were a pair of pitch black long swords, held at his sides.
"I suggest you get away from my Master." The human… was it a human?... said with a chilling voice.
The Dragon paused, but remembered the Dungeon Master's orders. "Destroy the intruders."
It let out of roar of challenge and used its [Moonlight Magic] to send another mental attack at the new arrival, only for the [Prison of Nightmares] spell to have no effect at all. It would seem that the Dragon would actually have to fight this one.
{[Doppelganger Synthesis SP] parameters set: single duplicate of 50% strength, 3 minute duration. Cooldown: 60 hours }
"Three minutes? That is more than enough time to make this lizard pay for what it has done to my Master." Archer said as he lifted up the copies of the Demon's Demonic-Steel Longsword and prepared for a fight. "Once I'm done with you, I'm going to turn you into a pair of boots."
Name: Nameless
Age: N/A
Race: Servant | Intelligent Weapon (Doppelganger)
Job: Hero of the Bow
Status: Normal
Level: N/A
HP: 5721, MP: 7508, STR: 1344, END: 1635, AGI: 1748, INT: 2132, MGC: 2230, DEX: 1837
The Dragon's head snapped forward like a viper's, attempting to bite the manifested Servant with jaws large enough to swallow him whole. It was an attack that was so fast that most people wouldn't have even been able to follow it with their eyes.
However, Archer was not most people.
Not only could he follow it, he timed his attack to intercept the attack at the very last moment, usings all his strength in a slash that parried the beasts massive head, using the momentum of his swing to knock its attack off course, as well as pushing himself to the side.
*SHATTER*
The black blades shattered as the damage they dealt was reflected upon them. While to any other fighter, this would have spelt the end for them, it wasn't even an inconvenience for the Faker. All he had to do was make more.
Before a moment's breath could pass, Archer had another pair of black blades in his hands and was attacking the Dragon's extended head. Four more attacks, four more broken swords. One blow to the underside of the neck. *SHATTER* A blow to the back of the jaw. *SHATTER* A strike over the nose. *SHATTER* A thrust into the creature's right eye. *SHATTER*
The Dragon's scream of pain was music to Archer's ears and it's head shoot back up, bashing itself into the ceiling. Most of its attacks had hardly did anything at all, but even the Dragon's mystic defenses didn't protect it from getting a sword shoved into its eye.
As it raged, batting its wings in the confined space, the temperature dropped and ice started to form all around the room. A wave of icicles flew towards Archer, who started to move in on the Dragon. He dipped and weaved, dodging all of the incoming shafts of ice as he approached the Dragon, which slashed out at him with a claw that glowed with mana.
[Vorpal Claw] a 10th level [Claw Technique]. It bends space as it goes, creating an area effect which can penetrate some armor and drags targets into the line of the physical attack.
"[Skill Taker].[Skill Taker].[Skill Taker]."
([Skill Taker] Lv1: Target:[Claw Arts]: Rarity 1. Chances: 27.1% Result: Success)
([Skill Taker] Lv2: Target:[Claw Techniques]: Rarity 2. Chances: 48.8% Result: Failure)
([Skill Taker] Lv3: Target:[Claw Techniques]: Rarity 2. Chances: 65.7% Result: Success)
The [Vorpal Claw] fizzled out as the [Skills] supporting it was lost, letting Archer easily dodge the half assed swing of the claw and climb up onto the beast's arm, running up along its length and delivering a strong blow to the base of its neck. *SHATTER* *SHATTER* Two more swords broke, leaving long scars across the Dragon's scaled neck.
The Dragon raved about, throwing Archer off of him, right before the Servant had a chance to go for the Dragon's wings. Though Archer didn't fall far away and easily landed on his feet.
The Dragon, turning its head to see him, opened its mouth and prepared to let loose a burst of flames.
Archer had been ready for this. A massive black bow appeared in his hand, along with a long black bolt. Before the Dragon could let out its drawn in breath, Archer had the projectile pulled back and let it fly. It went straight into the Dragon's mouth, piercing straight through the dragon's uvula.
Pain forced the creature to shut its jaws, causing it fiery breath to come squirting out of its noise, sending it spluttering, and as it did so, Archer prepared himself to finish the job.
"I Am The Bone Of My Sword." Archer said, drawing of his vast stores of Mana.
The world reared up, confused as something was being brought into existence. Something that didn't have any place there. But Archer didn't care. Using over 5000 units of Mana, he forced the world to accept his version of reality, forcing it to accept this weapon, and the legend that came with it.
Which Noble Phantasm to use had been a question. The Dragon's scales were hard and its mystical defense was broken as all hell. However, that didn't make raw power the way to go. Balmung and Arondight were both powerful Dragon Slaying swords, known for their destructive abilities, but Archer had a feeling they would not work well in this unusual case. The damage they dealt would immediately be reflected upon them, causing the blades to destroy themselves before they got further than the first layer of scales and flesh.
No, raw power wasn't the solution, so Archer picked a different Dragon Slayer, one known more for its durability.
"Dragon of sin, you now face Ascalon." Archer said as the 'Blessed Sword By Which Force is Slain' manifested within his hand, glowing with power as its legend was called into effect.
Archer knew that time was short. Even after expending the majority of his Mana, the world was seeking to undo his creation. So he rushed forward and aimed for the base of the Dragon's neck.
The Dragon's [Principle of an Element(Mirror)] came into effect, increasing its defense in respect to the attack and rebounding the counter acted force… only to run into Ascalon's own effect.
Ascalon was a blade known better for its defensive properties than its offensive ones. But when fighting against dragons, the blade would turn defensive power into offensive power. Both the blade's own defense, and the defense of the dragon it was attacking.
It was defense which scales with the aggressor's attack pitted against an attack that scaled with the target's defense. A loop was created and the force on both the blade and the dragon grew stronger and stronger.
However, unlike Ascalon's indestructible blade, the Dragon's neck could only take so much. The blade passed clean through the Dragon's tick neck and sent the head spinning through the air, finish the fight in less than a single minute.
(Fran's level increased from 26 to 33. New title(s) unlocked: Dragon Slayer)
Before anyone says anything, the Goblin DM isn't dead. He had a Sacrificial Bracelet on. As Archer isn't exactly a gamer, he wouldn't have a clue what that even means.
Update on Fran's stats.
Name: Fran
Age: 12
Race: Black Catkin
Job: None
Status: Normal
Level: 33/45
HP: 341, MP: 253, STR: 208, END: 183, AGI: 191, INT: 152, MGC: 150, DEX: 153
Titles: Fire Mage, Lord of Cooking, Lord of Dismantling, Lord of Digging, Skill Collector, Incarnation of the Sword, Favored of the Goddess of Chaos, Cadet of Hell's Training, (New) Lord of Climbing, (New) Goblin Slayer, (New) Insect Slayer, (New) Demon Slayer, (New) Dragon Slayer, (New) Recovery Mage, (New) Wind Mage, (New) One Man Army, (New) One Who Slaughters, (New) Big Game Hunter, (New) Skill Maniac
Equipment: Nameless, High-Quality Wyvern Leather Armor (Heavily Damage), Good-Quality Wyvern (Heavily Damaged)
Big Game Hunter: Awarded to one who overcomes an overwhelmingly difficult opponent alone.
Effect: +20 HP, +5 to all stats, +1 to all stats with each level up.
Skill Maniac: Awarded to one who has collected over 100 skills.
Effect: Skills are easier to obtain and level up faster.
In the course of the fight, Archer used 79 Self-Evolution Points, leaving him with 99 left. Just goes to show how fast these things go when you are actually using them.