"Ladies and Gentlemen! Witches and wizards of all ages! I present to you the opening act of the First Task of the Quadwizard Cup!"
As the announcer amps up the crowd, I listen in from within the rest area alongside the other champions. Each of them seeming to either be psyching themselves up, or checking over the things they're planning on using for the task.
"Soooo..." The American from Ilvermorny begins. "Y'all ready for this? Cause I'm pretty excited."
Raising an eyebrow at him, I merely smirk for a moment as the only other guy here, a Japanese guy from Mahoutokoro, speaks up.
"This isn't a game you idiot." He begins. "Many good witches and wizards die in these competitions. Treating it in such a manner is nothing but an insult to their memories."
Before the American can even respond, I interject.
"He's right. I don't know about you two, but while I am excited for the challenge this will pose, I am very aware of how likely it is I could die. You'd better reevaluate yourself before the organizers have to scrape your corpse off the ground."
The American bristles at the insinuation of him being weak, but before he can retort, he's once again interrupted by a fourth voice speaking up towards me.
"Hmpf! As much as this American truly does seem to be a blowhard, you aren't much better Fraener." The girl from Durmstrang speaks. "After all, aren't you to young to be a participant? Seems to me that you have something to prove and forced your way into the tournament just to show off."
With a condescending look on her face, she looks down at me.
"Then again, seeing as your family was exiled from the North, I suppose you'd have a reason to try and make up their honor somehow."
A frown adorns my face at her words. Preparing to speak up, I only manage the beginning of the words when the announcer's voice reaches us again.
"Now then everyone! Please applaud and welcome your first champion! Rin Fraener of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
Hearing the words, I sigh and stand from my seat and begin making my way towards the entrance of the arena we'll be competing in.
As I'm about to leave, I give one last look at the Durmstrang girl.
"It must be a sad life you live if all you're able to think of is your families honor."
And without further adieu, I pass through and enter the arena.
Rooooarrghhh!
The wind buffets my face as I face onward with a wry grin. The gigantic beast of a dragon roaring at me from the other end of the arena in its anger.
Massive in stature, thicker then the trunk of the oldest tree, with scales blacker then the darkest night, it roars its defiance at me as I bring myself to bare against it.
Where these people found a Fatalis, I'll probably never know.
[Quest Acquired!]
[Quest: Win the First Task of the Quadwizard Cup by defeating the Fatalis]
[Optional Sidequest A: Kill the Fatalis]
[Optional Sidequest B: Tame the Fatalis]
[Reward: 20 Level Ups, 5 Gatcha Coins, and 7 Fatalis Scales]
[Optional Reward A: Dragon Slayer Perk]
[Optional Reward B: Dragon Tongue Perk]
A difficult quest right off the bat. Hopefully my current ability is up to par.
[Rin Fraener]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 198]
[Strength: 107]
[Magic: 972]
[Perception: 576]
[Endurance: 201]
[Dexterity: 345]
[Allure: 110]
Alright. Lets get this started!
"Hōi!"
An array of glyphs appear around my index and middle finger as I raise them in front of me.
"Jōso!"
An outline of a square appears around me as I swiftly swing my hand downward.
"Ketsu!"
As I raise my hand back up, a translucent blue cube barrier appears around me.
Just in time to block the debris from the Fatalis striking the ground. Rocks larger then myself having been flung towards me, each one striking my barrier, sapping away part of my stamina.
[Hazama-Ryū Kekkai Jutsu: A style of barrier techniques used by the Sumimura and Yukimura families. Strength of barrier is equivalent to stamina of the user.
Hōi: Designates a target for the Kekkai.
Jōso: Determines where to create the Kekkai.
Ketsu: Creates and activates the Kekkai]
"Feisty ain't ya?" I ask rhetorically.
With my wand in one hand, I wave it in a triangular shape.
"Bombarda!"
My spell flies from my wand through my barrier, racing towards the Elder Dragon at high speed.
Before my spell is even halfway there, I'm already moving. Dispelling my barrier, I race off to the side. Quickly activating White Light Steps, I sprint amidst the already rough terrain with incredible dexterity.
[White Light Steps: A footwork Skill that increases the user's speed and adaptability to rough terrain]
Coming up to a particularly large boulder, I swiftly slide behind it just in time to hear my Bombarda impacting the Fatalis. A loud explosion emanating from the contact, the dragon's roar drowning it out easily however.
Peeking out from behind my cover, I see my spell did nothing to it.
Taking a deep breath, I harden my resolve.
Raising one hand up to the sky, I gather my mana. Building it into a familiar shape I've grown more accustomed to then any other. An arrow.
"Magic Arrow..." I whisper.
With a silent launch, the magic arrow launches into the sky. Its bright light shining bright for all to see, successfully drawing the Fatalis's attention.
Running from my cover, I charge towards the Fatalis while its distracted. Reaching into my Inventory, I pull out one of my first creations in preparation for this day.
[Minor Dragon Slayer Sword: A sword imbued with the power to slay dragons. Deals 10% more damage to all draconic entities]
Slashing forwards, the blade catches in between the scales of the Fatalis's foreleg. The Elder Dragon letting out a pained roar as it rips its limb upwards, the dragon slaying sword still stuck in between its scales.
Stumbling backwards from the abrupt movement, I scowl and reach into my Inventory again. This time, I pull out an even more fearsome weapon.
[La Black Luna: A Noble Phantasm wielded by Astolfo of the Paladins of Charlemagne. Taking the form of a large trombone, when blown it sends out a shockwave of sound, causing destruction and confusion in all those the sound is directed towards]
Taking a deep breath, I slam my mouth onto the cup of the instrument. And blow with all my might.
Favroooooommmm!!!!
The deep sound of the Noble Phantasm echoes out and slams into the Fatalis. The force of the shockwave knocking the Elder Dragon onto its back as it roars in pain and confusion. The Dragon Slayer sword being driven deeper into its foreleg as it thrashes about.
Stuffing La Black Luna back into my Inventory, I pull my hand back out holding another Dragon Slayer sword.
Unable to accurately get close to the Elder Dragon due to its thrashing about, I instead sprint backwards using White Light Steps. And using my free hand, I begin etching runes into the various rocks I pass by.
[Runecraft: The ancient practice of using Runes to enact various magical effects]
[Known Runes:
Umbra: Meaning Shadow, can conceal an object within darkness.
Crepitus: Meaning Explosion, can generate an explosion in a specific direction.
Viator: Meaning Travel, can make an object move for a certain amount of time.
Tempus: Meaning Time, can set a timeframe for something to happen. Only works when used alongside other runes.
Amnis: Meaning Torrent, releases a torrent of water]
Using my various runes, I set up future traps for the Fatalis if I can manage to lead it towards me. Even if they don't do much damage, they should at least manage to distract it.
Once I reach a good distance away, I begin raining down Magic Arrows upon the Fatalis from afar. Repeated barrages of raw mana hitting its scales over and over again.
Eventually though, the Fatalis manages to right itself. Shrugging itself back onto its legs, the Elder Dragon looks around until it finds me, my Magic Arrows not doing any damage anymore it seems as the dragon's scales release a deep red glow. The glow starting primarily from its belly, and rapidly racing towards its neck and mouth.
Thinking quickly, I cancel my Magic Arrows and instead bring my index and middle fingers up and chant again.
"Hōi! Jōso! Ketsu!"
Bringing up my barrier, I instead direct it around the Fatalis's head just in time for it to release its fire breath. The barrier catching the flames and filling the insides of the cube, cooking and bathing the dragon with its own flames.
"Ha! Take that you overgrown lizard!"
As the Fatalis roars in pain and agony at the feeling of its own flames covering its head, I feel the barrier beginning to weaken. The strength and intensity of the flames to much for it to fully bear.
Wooosh!
I only just manage to evade a sudden swipe of the dragon's tail. The massive appendage flying over my head as I crouch down, eyes wide in surprise.
Quickly getting myself back together, I hurry away again. One of my rune traps going off and sending rocks of various sizes flying towards the Elder Dragon. Bombarding it and distracting it enough for me to begin using other spells to attack.
"Bombarda Maxima! Aqua Eructo! Confringo! Deprimo!"
My various spells slam into the Fatalis. Each one striking either its head or chest, marring the scales and leaving small trails of blood to leak from in between said scales.
My wand thrums in my hand as I continuously throw spells at my opponent as if in glee. My equipment making each consecutive spell slightly stronger then the last.
[Coat of Oaths: A Noble Phantasm used by Okita Souji. Taking the form of a blue-green haori, this Noble Phantasm increases the wearer's Stats by 30% when in use]
[Necklace of Archmagic: A necklace worn by a forgotten powerful archmage. Spells cast by a wand deal 1% increased damage for each spell cast before it.
Current Bonus: 30%]
[Neberius' Bracelet: A bracelet that Neberius treasured. It doesn't have much effect, but it is an artifact that is very helpful to a magician. Reduces casting speed of all the user's spells by 5%]
[Fairy Brooch: A brooch that increases the wearer's Magic Stat by 10%]
With these in effect it becomes much easier to beat down the dragon before me.
"Diffindo! Expulso! Reducto! Sectumsempra!"
My last spell flying out of my wand and pinging directly into the Fatalis's eye. Slicing it apart and rendering it useless as the dragon lets out a guttural roar of anger and pain.
Before I can even react, I'm thrown through the air. Tumbling head over heels across the dirt and rocks of the arena. Letting out pained gasps until finally I slam into the wall.
Gasping and groaning in pain, I blearily try and look up, and only just move out of the way to evade another strike. The Fatalis's claws slamming into the wall and embedding themselves deep within it.
Glancing upwards, I look into the beast's one remaining eye, seeing nothing but hate and anger within it.
Gulping, I scramble to my feet and activate White Light Steps and sprint away as quickly as I can.
Only to be even more surprised as the Fatalis is keeping up with me. Its thunderous steps following right behind me as it repeatedly snaps its teeth right behind me.
"Shit!" I groan, my body screaming in pain as I force it to move faster.
Swinging backwards, I slash out with the Dragon Slaying sword in my hand, barely nicking the dragon's maw. It retaliates though with yet another swipe of its claws, not even reacting to the Dragon Slaying sword leaving scratches on its mouth.
Without thinking, I barely manage to bring up another Kekkai around myself. The barrier forming and only just stopping the dragon's teeth from impaling me.
Unfortunately, the dragon then begins to lift, bringing me and my barrier up into the air between its fangs.
"Shit! How do I get out of this?!" I wonder.
Bracing myself, I put all my focus into holding my Kekkai strong. The Elder Dragon's teeth scraping along the sides of the barrier even as I then notice an orange glow beginning to build within its maw.
Blinding flames erupt from deep within the dragon, washing over me and my barrier. Incredible heat instantly building up around me, almost making me drop the barrier, but managing to hold on. The fear of being roasted alive keeping me focused.
"Fuck..."
Using my free hand, I begin tracing my Amnis rune into my barrier. Water flowing out of the rune into the barrier with me, rapidly filling it even as it begins to heat up, rapidly approaching boiling temperatures.
Swiftly tracing Tempus alongside the Amnis rune, I set it to slow down, using my knowledge of rune interactions to make the water temperature to raise slower then it should. Leaving the water to instead sit at a slightly uncomfortable warmth instead of scalding.
"You can do this Rin... This overgrown lizard is nothing compared to you..."
With my attempt at amping myself up done, I take a deep breath and ready myself for whats to come next.
The Fatalis begins to raise its head higher, another blast of flames about to be released at me again. To combat this, I dispel the Kekkai at the zenith of its rising head, sending me flying upwards even as the water that was trapped alongside me falls down into the dragon's throat, impacting the flames just as I swing my arm down and use another Skill.
"Aurora Beam!"
[Aurora Beam: Fires a beam of multicolored light that gives off a chilly air. Has a small chance of lowering the target's Strength Stat]
The beam of light slams down into the Fatalis's throat at the same time as the water and its flames meet. The chilly air of my attack meeting the water and fire and causing a chain reaction to occur all at once.
Vabooomph!
The simultaneous meeting of hot and cold causes an explosion of steam to be released inside the dragon's throat, making it let out a silent roar of pain. The beast slumping to the side as steam pours from its mouth.
Falling from the sky, I can only look down in fright and excitement as I try and think of someway to get out of this. Thinking quickly, I prepare another barrier.
"Hōi! Jōso! Ketsu!"
A barrier forms down below on the ground beneath where I'm going to land. Upon reaching it, instead of slamming into a hard construct, I instead sink into it, as if its made of the fluffiest of clouds.
Dispelling it once I'm close enough to the ground to stand, I immediately use White Light Steps to race into an overhanging outcrop of rocks, allowing me a good vantage point of the Fatalis.
What I end up seeing though is surprising. The Fatalis lying limply on the ground. Little wisps of steam still leaking from between its teeth with its one remaining eye staring blankly ahead.
Did I knock it out?
"W-well everyone! It seems Miss Fraener has accomplished her task in a spectacular fashion! Please ladies and gentlemen, give her another round of applause!"
The announcer loudly says to the crowd having been watching all of this from the stands. Looking up and around, I listen in to everyone's applauding.
I spot my friends in the front row of one of the stands waving happily. Tracey and Daphne in particular cheering excitedly for me, though Daphne has looks to have been distressed at some point during the bout as theres what looks like tear streaks down her face.
Smiling softly, I wave back up at them. My battered and bruised body beginning to make my way towards the exit of the arena to hopefully rest.
As I approach the exit though, the noises of the crowd seem to change. Going from excitement and applause, to confusion and fear.
Turning around, I notice a looming dark shadow coming over me.
And then...
Darkness.
Excruciating pain erupts from my side as I come to. Blinking tiredly, I try and stand, but am to weak and in pain to do so.
Roooooaaarrrr!!
A billowing wall of sound and air slams into me, throwing the dust in the air away and giving me a look at whats happening.
The Fatalis wasn't defeated it seems. I don't know if it was faking it, or just stunned for a moment, but now its rampaging wildly. Slamming its body into the barriers placed by the tournament organizers, with cracks beginning to form at the area its hitting.
Wearily, I try and rise again. Reaching out with my left hand, I try and brace myself against the arena wall to stand, but instead I stumble onto my side, pain erupting even more from my shoulder.
Looking over at my shoulder to see whats going on, I finally notice something wrong.
My left arm is gone... Blood seeping from my the open wound from where my arm used to be connected to my shoulder.
"Oh... well then..."
Thankfully the rest of my limbs are still there and intact. Though my right leg has a nasty gash in it thats leaking blood just as fast as my shoulder.
Using my right arm instead, I manage to bring myself up to my feet. Stumbling my way towards the dragon with wand in hand.
"You... damn... lizard!" I growl out. "Stay... the fuck... down!"
Lashing out with my wand, I cast Sectumsempra again at it. The curse flying from my wand and bouncing off the Fatalis's scales.
Unfortunately my curse was to weak. The Elder Dragon not even reacting to my attack as it continues impacting the barrier to escape the arena.
My breathing intensifying as I begin to feel the blood loss, it takes all I have to keep myself up on my feet.
Theres only one weapon I have left to take down this thing. But using it will change things forever. And probably not for the better, for either me or my friends.
But it looks like I'm not going to have a choice. Either I use it and deal with consequences, or don't and lose everything and everyone.
Not even a question!
"Commence transformation: A pilgrimage to the beyond!"
My words reverberate throughout the arena. A feeling of might and power pressing down on everyone and everything.
It's teeth were swords!
A blinding azure light begins to form within the cloud of dust.
Its claws, bringers of death and ruin!
A growl leaks through, sending shivers throughout all that hear it.
Its wings a hurricane!
The Fatalis turns and faces towards where I am, its face an expression of fury as it lunges in my direction with a roar of defiance.
"I am the Evil Dragon that flies away holding the Grail of Heaven!"
The cloud of dust is blown away as I race forward to meet the Fatalis, revealing my new form!
"Ákafiloga All-gríð!"
Fafnir, the Gigantis Dragon of Greed!
