A day has passed since the council came for me.
I've stuck to the outskirts of Magnolia, keeping near Natsu and Happy's house.
I've been laying low in the forest, and so far haven't come across any soldiers, or people at all for that matter.
I've taken this time to finalize my immediate plans and finish fortifying Natsu's place. I'll have to come back to the guild hall and Lucy's house later.
Several protective runes were in place, the building has been "upgraded," and their valuables have been hidden. At least they won't get robbed while they're away.
Looking at the shabby hut, you'd never think anything was different. I nodded, satisfied with my work.
"Luxion," I turned to him, "We're ready."
"Of course, sir," He disappeared into my soul.
I took off, heading north. My recent experiments with magic in the past month have given me an idea.
Soaring over the frozen crags of the Hakobe mountain range, I flew to the tallest peak, landing halfway up its towering slopes.
It was nearing the end of December. As such, the snow was deep, but I found an outcropping of rock to land on.
Fortunately there was no storm or blizzard, but once night falls, that could change instantly. I'll have to hurry.
I activated my seismic sense spell. Closing my eyes, I used both seismic senses and my arcane sense to feel out my surroundings. The cave I was looking for should be around here somewhere…
As I opened my senses, I was baffled at how much life existed even in this harsh, frozen climate. I could feel the creatures burrowed in the snow, from mice, ferrets, and other such small creatures.
Snow owls took shelter in nearby trees as they slept, while white foxes and coyotes prowled the snow looking for prey.
While I sensed some caves nearby, I passed over them; they weren't what I was looking for.
I had to move locations twice, but eventually I found what I was looking for. A large cave system permeated in a cold and ancient magic.
I flew over to one of the few entrances to this cave system. As soon as I stepped inside, I felt the magic around me swirl in anticipation. I inhaled through my nose. I could practically smell the magic here.
A smirk grew on my snout. I found it. The White Silver Labyrinth. It was massive.
I wandered inside, taking time to look around. The entire area seemed to be pure ice, but I could see as well as feel stone in some parts of the cave. Vibrations through ice felt weird; more direct, but also…muffled in a way.
The further I traversed in this massive cave, the darker it got, but that was no trouble for me.
I sensed the magic of the cave flow, slowly and steadily closing my path to the entrance. It thought it was trapping me in here. But if my suspicions about my affinity are correct, then this cave is trapped in here with me.
As soon as it closed off my escape, I lashed out with my own magic. This would be the ultimate test to see just how far I can take my Arcane Manipulation skill, and what the limits of an arcane dragon truly are!
Forming ethereal talons, I gripped the magic of the cave, biting down into it hard.
Rumbling permeated the cave as the magic swirled in pain. I released my own magic into the cave, injecting it like a venomous snake.
The magic of the cave swirled against my own magic as it sought to do…something with it. I couldn't tell if it was trying to absorb, dispel, counter, or accept my magic. A confusion radiated from the power in the cave.
An emotion…confusion…so it is a living cave! This all but proves my theories!
All of a sudden, my magic began to drain at a rapid rate. Looks like it decided to absorb my magic…bring it, ya stupid labyrinth!
I roared in defiance, adorning a claw with the Runic Ring, before sinking my ethereal talons further into the icy magic of the cave, of the mountain itself!
I transferred MP from the ring to myself as the cave absorbed more and more power from me.
We were locked in an ethereal combat, each of us trying to best the other. I increased the pressure, before whispering a suggestion to the ancient sentience of the cave.
Submit…
I felt defiance come from the power, which was battling with my own power. My magical presence in the ice was growing rapidly as I injected more and more of my magic through ethereal fangs.
The mountain began to rumble. I could tell it was trying to break the ice around me in an attempt to crush me, but by now, my magic permeated the immediate vicinity, and I kept it together. It took all my concentration.
Submit…Submit…
An hour passed, before another hour passed. Then another and another. I soon lost all concept of time, loosing myself in the strangeness, and the thrill of this battle!
I kept whispering that word to the Labyrinth, slowly overtaking its magic with my own. This place was massive and ancient though, and was not giving in.
Using my Arcane and Seismic senses, I worked my magic through the magic of the cave. It was weird to describe what I felt, but to put it in perspective, it was as if my magic was an infection, like oil seeping through water, or a snake's venom coursing through blood.
I increased the pressure of my magic, causing myself, and thus the Runic Ring, to drain at an even more rapid rate.
Submit…Submit…SUBMIT…
The mountain shook, a rapid swelling of power extending throughout the cave system.
Ice began blowing apart around me, but I couldn't afford to lose focus.
SUBMIT!
I roared as loud as I could. My whole body tensed even harder, my being under immense pressure, physical and spiritual.
I roared out in pain, fury, and dominance.
SUBMIT!
The cave was shaking and breaking apart around me, until finally, I felt the pressure let up, and my magic soared and radiated throughout the entire mountain!
My body relaxed, and I slumped over, releasing my ethereal hold on the Labyrinth.
I sensed my magic and the magic of the Labyrinth intertwine. Instead of trying to absorb one another, they…mixed. Like two colors coming together to form another…red and blue, into purple.
I'm exhausted! Physically and mentally…my SP is near full, yet dang! I feel like I need a nap! Maybe it's my drained MP causing this feeling…?
I pushed myself up, looking around. The ice around me was repairing itself…but it definitely felt different now. I reached out with my magic again, prepared to strike. But there was no need. The magic of the Labyrinth embraced my touch, and I could tell.
It will listen to me.
I looked at the ring. I swear, I'll end up turning into Sauron with how much I'm beginning to rely on this thing.
Runic Ring
MP: 2,889,345,677
It took a few hundred million MP, but The White Silver Labyrinth is now mine to command. My personal Bat Cave!
I have my own lair now.
Achievement Unlocked!
Enter the Dragon's Den
Objective:
Establish your own lair.
Effects:
Lair Actions unlocked!
Regional Effects established!
Achievements? Those are a thing with this system? Not complaining, but how many more surprises is the system going to throw at me?
Regional Effects and Lair Actions? I'm noticing this system has lots of aspects from Dungeons and Dragons when it comes to my kind.
Lair Actions
Your heritage as a dragon gives you special abilities while in your lair(s). As an Arcane Dragon, you have these abilities only while in your lair(s).
Wild Magic Surge
Ethereal Syphon
Minor Weather Control
Enhanced MP Regeneration
Okay, not complaining. Now I have an actual "home field advantage."
Now, let's see about this regional stuff.
Regional Effects
Due to your heritage as a dragon, the longer you linger in one place, the more your presence affects an area. This is especially potent and true in your established lair(s). As an Arcane Dragon, these effects take place in or near your lair(s):
Arcane ore and crystal spontaneously form within 6 miles of your lair.
Surges of wild and unpredictable magic happen spontaneously within 6 miles of your lair.
Normal creatures inhabiting within 6 miles of your lair begin to change into their more magical and mythical counterparts.
Red Arcane Lightning frequently strikes within 6 miles of your lair, and magic permeates the air itself, causing red and black "storm clouds" to cover the sky.
Notice!
Lair Actions and Regional Effects are not limited to the listed options. Arcane dragon's are the most unpredictable of all dragonkind, thus as more time passes as you grow in power and age, more may take effect.
Oh crap. Mount Hakobe is going to change drastically over the next few years. If I don't want to draw attention, I'll need to take measures to both defend and hide it.
I chose this region because of the Booster Herbs and Hakobe Ice. This whole area seems to generate magical energizers spontaneously; I wanted to research that more. If I'd known about Regional Effects I would've chosen a different location; one that's more isolated from the world.
This is going to attract a lot of attention. Better get to work on hiding it.
"Let's see…" I reached out with my magic. As soon as it made contact with the Labyrinth's magic, it molded to my will.
I wasn't certain, but now I am. The cave system will bend and shape itself to my desire, and now I was certain of another aspect of magic.
All things, living and nonliving, have spiritual matter, or what people here call ethernano. And everything has intelligence, be it water, rock, plants, or animals of living flesh. To a degree, that is.
I have a couple more theories to test. This place will be perfect for it.
I activated my Seismic Sense spell, and spent the next few minutes detailing a map of the existing tunnels in my own head.
"Luxion," He materialized as I called on him, "This Labyrinth is under my control, and won't change shape unless I command it. I want you to map out its current structure, then help me remap it. You'll find a map of the existing tunnels in my memory."
"Understood, sir," It took him less than a minute to scan my memory, after which he layed out a red, 3D holographic map of the structure.
Time to create a stronghold tighter than Fort Knox.
"You want to create a blueprint for yourself?" Luxion clarified.
In the last hour or so, we had created a blueprint for the lair and its surroundings, strategizing different defenses we'd need and how best to execute them.
This gave me an idea, which I was debriefing him on as we worked to reshape the Labyrinth.
"In short, yes," I said as I sculpted the ice around me.
Luxion had continuously been scanning and analyzing my physiology, physical and spiritual. He had been doing the same with other animals we had come across while traveling, and though they weren't nearly as in depth as my own analysis, he was still quite knowledgeable about many different species.
The Genomes he found in the ARK's database increased that knowledge exponentially.
"Using my racial skill tree and your knowledge," I said, "We're going to make me into the ultimate form a dragon of my type can become."
"Question, master," Luxion spoke up, "If this is to be done to your liking, you must have a goal for yourself. What do you wish your body to be able to help you accomplish?"
"In short," I responded, "Survive."
"From my findings, the ability to survive is wide and varied depending on one's environment," Luxion stated, "I have adequate data to provide the blueprints for a near-perfected draconic form for the forested, jungle, desert, mountainous, undersea, or tundra environments. Which shall I proceed to finalize?"
"No, no, hold up," I raised my talons, "Hold your horses there. There's more to it than that."
"How do you mean?" Luxion asked.
"I want to be able to survive in more than just an environmental sense," I clarify, "There are more than just environmental threats in this world, especially one teaming with so much magic. But do keep that data, cause those are big factors too."
"Hm…most of the creatures I have seen in what is known as the East Forest have very little magical power. My current analysis brings me to the same conclusion for those in the ARK," Luxion states.
"I know…" I trailed off, thinking.
"Luxion…you're able to scan my mind and memories, correct?" I looked at him, turning my attention away from the ice for a moment.
"It is something I can only accomplish with you, master," He answered.
"Scan my memories then," I ordered, closing my eyes. This is where my Eidetic Memory perk will really come in handy! Again.
Dang, I love this ability.
I pictured everything I could remember from my time exploring my old world, Earth, including different nature documentaries I loved. I pictured and watched the rough snowy mountains, their jagged rocks exposed. I saw the lush and volatile rainforests and jungles, the mighty oceans teaming with color and life. I pictured the arid climate of the sandy deserts, the windy plains, and every animal I could think of that lived in their respective ecosphere.
I didn't want to, but I also relived different social interactions I experienced. Working with law enforcement, going to school growing up, attending college, trying to get a girl's attention, and what it was like traveling. I even went through memories I had of history, weapons used in wars, the hostility in politics, and what it was like simply walking down a busy street.
I relived through memories of different fantasy worlds I had come into contact with through media, books, movies, and video games. I pictured the fantastical animals they provided, and the powers they held. Dragons, unicorns, pixies, manticores, beholders, undead,and powerful wizards and spell casters.
I even showed him different scenes and creatures from sci-fi's like Star Wars!
With this in mind, I also played through a large portion of my memories from watching Fairy Tail. It'd be good for Luxion to have some fore-knowledge as well.
When I finished, I looked at him, staring right in his lens.
"The world is bigger than the forests here, and it is bigger than the world in the ARK," I explained, "It is bigger than even this world; the universe is massive! The multiverse is massive!"
Luxion hovered silently, seemingly processing everything I've shown him.
"Granted, we only have to worry about this world," I felt a small smile grace my snout, "But this world has powerful and dangerous beings. When I say survive, those are the things I am talking about. Not just environments."
Reliving all those different memories made me realize just how good I have it here. The huge opportunity I have! The potential is insane!
My imagination is nearly the limit!
"Understood, sir," Luxion affirms, "More data is required before a proper physiological blueprint can be made."
"Yes, there is," I nodded, "But that doesn't mean we can't work with what we have now."
I turned back to the cave, continuing my work.
Before I could really get into it, however, the interface hit me with a surprise notification.
Quest Received!
Become the Ultimate Dragon!
Objectives:
Establish and fortify a Supreme Lair
Obtain your Hoard
Become the Dragon King
Evolve into a Great Wyrm
Rewards:
5,000,000 XP
?
?
?
?
Notice!
Each individual reward will be granted as each individual objective is completed.
…Well this is interesting. A quest to become the ultimate dragon. The XP gains alone were insane! Five times greater than even my Archwizard quest!
Let's get back to work on our "supreme lair" then, shall we?
Three weeks have gone by and I haven't slept once.
The interior of the Lair was complete. The basics for Mount Hakobe's defenses were set. Several spells and runes of concealment were at play in the surrounding landscape, along with detection spells.
Despite the current precautions I was taking and the defenses I was creating, I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep the changes secret forever. In seven years when everyone returns, who knows what this place will look like.
As for the interior's defenses; they were largely the same as what the White Silver Labyrinth was doing already.
Entrances to the cave system would only appear where and when I willed them to. Even if someone managed to stumble upon the Labyrinth by chance, the icy tunnels near the surface were enchanted still to make travelers and adventurers lose their way. They'd get lost in the seemingly endless tunnels, ones that change and shift position, rendering maps useless.
Only those I allow entry will be able to find the main chamber of the lair, which is deep underground, almost by a whole mile!
Currently, the main chamber is just one huge room. And by huge, I mean massively GINORMOUS. You could fit a small town in here. And it's all thanks to earthbending and geomancy!
Currently, I was at the floor of the massive chamber in the center. I raised my talons, palms down. Straining them, I used earthbending to create a sort of platform, with steps rising up.
I placed the ARK Obelisk in the center of the platform. Luxion was hovering to the left of my head. Last week he let me know that he had finished overtaking the ARK's A.I.
It's been well over a month since he started. We've moved around a bit, and I've had him working on other things the last few weeks as well, so it's honestly impressive he got it done even in that amount of time.
"You're sure you can take us inside?" I turned to him.
"Yes, sir," He clarified, "It will take around thirty seconds, but I can engage the ARK's teleport protocol."
"Take us in," I nodded.
The obelisk whirred to life. The triangle on the esoteric machinery glowed bright, as it hovered higher in the air. A force field materialized around us in a radius of about 40 meters. It materialized in the form of blue hexagons coming around us to form a half circle.
The laser-like whir got louder and louder, until eventually the world around us grew so bright it went white.
Psssh!
The white light faded. When I looked around, I saw a dense forest with foliage all around us. Massive mountains were off in the distance; even further out I could barely see the image of an active volcano. The sky was blue, the sun high.
A chirping noise grabbed my attention. I turned to my right, smirking at what I saw.
A dodo bird, one that was nearly bigger than me.
"Welcome to the ARK, master," Luxion's automated voice said from my left.
I spread my wings, flapping up, until I was soaring well above the treeline. I spent the next long while flying around, getting to know these new surroundings.
There were creatures, dinosaurs, everywhere. Pteranodons, dimorphodons, argentavis', and so many more soared the skies alongside me.
In the horizon, I saw a desert, filled with giant scorpions, titanoboas well over sixty feet long, human sized mantis', and Carnotaurus too.
In the plains and forests I flew over, I saw true giants. Brontosaurus, Mammoths, even a Tyrannosaurus Rex!
Over the large bodies of water, I saw dorsal fins half the size of Great White sharks.
Some areas contained floating islands, some the size of mountains, while others were barely big enough to stand on.
The game really doesn't do justice for half these creatures and landscapes. They are…jaw dropping!
It took me well over a few hours to fly over the whole of it.
To the northwest, there was tundra, snowy plains, and glaciers. In the northeast, going slightly south, it was a pine-like forest, with trees the size of Redwoods. The southwest, slightly north, was more tropical, with dense rainforest the further south you went.
Plains dominated the central areas, with large and small rivers, plateaus, cliffs, and there was even a canyon splitting the east terrain, going all the way from the rainforests to the glaciers.
The central area of the south contained the desert, with sand dunes dominating the southernmost tip of the map.
The southwest contained the volcano, which was very active. On the far side, there was a wyvern trench. I know this because as I flew over it to get a closer look, I had to soar away from a group of aggressive mothers guarding their nests.
A mountainous environment dominated the central western area. This land was full of enormous predators!
Ocean dominated the borders, surrounding this…this mini-continent. Lakes, rivers, streams, springs, pools, and floating islands were everywhere. A time or two, I even saw caves.
The most dominating characteristic, however, were the massive obelisks hovering over a platform in the corners of the ARK.
Each of these areas are going to need proper names, and official maps. There's a lot of exploring to do, but I have other plans, and the ARK needs to be…cultivated.
"Well done, Luxion," I praised him as we landed in a plateau on the highest mountain in the Redwood Forest.
"Now…" I turned to him, "Tell me all about that 'Reseed Protocol.'"
One month earlier…
Acnologia, the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse, Arcane Dragonslayer, and self-appointed Dragon King, stared down at his victims. Tenrou Island shook fiercely as his wrath and roars rained pain and destruction upon these wizards.
These filthy insects…they had continuously tried to communicate with him, but he refused to acknowledge them as more than mere vermin.
Though their magic is delicious, He couldn't help but admit that to himself as he devoured their attempt at a Unison Raid, surrounded by smoke and dust. He doubted they even saw him consume their spells.
By the time the air cleared and the wizards saw him standing tall still, he couldn't help but revel in their renewed fear!
It was then that three wizards, being flown by cats with wings, started launching their own magic at him.
…What's this, now? It would appear that these three were Dragonslayers. How amusing.
Acnologia will destroy them all!
But then, he latched onto a different scent. This scent was more potent than the scent given off by a mere Slayer…this was the scent of a full blooded dragon! Coming from...all of them?
Acnologia roared in absolute fury!
His roar was so ferocious it knocked the flying cats out of the sky.
Quick as lightning, Acnologia launched into the air, before dive-bombing as hard as he could into the ground.
The resounding earthquake shook the very sea itself. The wizards were sent flying, some getting knocked out cold from impacting the ground.
Acnologia launched back into the air, inhaling deeply. He let loose a breath attack so powerful, the island was vaporized before you could blink.
With the island destroyed, the Dragonslayers vanquished, and the scent cleansed, he took off again as the sea filled the empty space where the island once stood.
If there is another dragon out there…he will find it.
And he will slay it, even if the world was destroyed in his wake!
Zeref stared longingly at Tenrou Island, as Acnologia flew high into the sky. He watched as the Black Dragon readied his breath attack with a somber expression.
"I guess it's over now, Natsu…" He sighed, "If only you had been strong enough…you could've stopped the calamity that is yet to come."
He looked away as the island was destroyed…as his brother was killed by a dragon a second time.
"Looks like your plan failed, Igneel, my old friend," He looked out into the horizon from the ruined ship of Grimoire Heart as it traveled above the sea.
"It is time for me to return to the world that rejected me," His black eyes turned red, "Now…I shall reject the world."
He glanced back at the shrinking form of the Black Dragon.
"Though I can't help but wonder…" Zeref pondered, "What caused you to destroy them so swiftly…?"
From what he knew of Acnologia, he would toy with his prey before destroying them. The only time he fought as ferociously as Zeref just witnessed was during the Dragon King Festival, when The Black Apocalypse was killing dragons.
Did the presence of three Dragonslayers cause him to go berserk? Or was there something else at play he didn't know about?