A Salamander, but Mighty

POV: Dyenna

On the day of the battle the groups were divided into two: the normal monster hunters would clear the area while keeping their distance from the area where the newborn ascended monster was presumed to be, while the trio formed by the two beastkins and Dyenna would then advanced to the aforementioned areas in search of the enemy to be defeated once and for all.

Generally, ascended monsters did not constitute a direct threat to the civilizations around them but rather due to their passive effects: they were not interested in conquering the world nor did they see any point in subjugating a kingdom to their will, however, they loved creating domains of their own within the wilderness, and those territories became their hunting ground for every wild monster, which then ended up trying to migrate elsewhere.

And to migrate elsewhere, they had to sooner or later pass through a village or city.

This did not mean that ascended monsters were exactly a threat that was easy to eradicate if someone wanted to try: by achieving ascension, the monster managed to make their limited reason prevail over their instinct, this generally happened beyond the fiftieth level and paradoxically, the weaker – or better said: closer to this lower limit – the newborn ascended monster was, the greater their potential to become truly powerful. This was due to the fact that monsters chose their Feats based on instinct, and therefore monsters who ascended later in their level progression found themselves more limited due to the choices already made before reaching the ability to reason.

For these reasons, Dyenna felt quite positive about her chances of victory: the monster had only recently ascended, and even if it were low-level, it would be at their most vulnerable.

The trio stood at a distance on three hoquins, observing the hilly landscape before them for some time before reaching an agreement, at which point they spurred on their tamed, horse-like monsters. The three monsters accompanied them only for part of their journey, becoming progressively more restless as they approached the areas where the enemy was believed to be.

“Looks like we'll have to continue on foot from here,” Dyenna said, dismounting from her hoquin, “a few more steps and our hoquins will unseat us if we try to move forward.”

“Stupid beasts,” one of the beastkins snorted, “too bad, they would have been useful as targets.”

“I don't think the ascended monster would have targeted them, it's clear that the hoquins aren't the biggest threat,” the other beastkin pointed out.

“Right, now they're no longer a monster driven by mere instinct…”

Dyenna and her companions freed the hoquins by ordering them to return from where they had come, then they began to enter the vegetation of the hilly area; there, they found themselves fighting only a few monsters that were looking for a hiding place rather than a way to get away from the area, fries so small that they almost didn't move Dyenna's experience bar just as presumably it didn't even happen to her adventure companions. They had almost reached the top of one of the hills when a large, dark shadow passed over them, depriving them of the Sun for a single moment.

“What the…”

Dyenna looked up: the shape that passed over her head was too fast to be recognized, but the most obvious option considering the shape and size was that it was a drakafyr… it made goosebumps appear on her arms: if the ascended monster was a drakafyr, having ascended to a low level and recently would have made the challenge only partially less demanding.

Fuck you, you damned, twisted god, she thought, gritting her teeth.

“We need to move,” said one of the beastkin. The duo was equipped with an ax and the other with a spear similar to a pitchfork.

“If it's a drakafyr, the expedition becomes more complicated,” said the spear-wielding beastkin, “perhaps it would be best to turn back.”

“If you want to go back, go back,” the axe-wielding beastkin cracked a feline smile, “this is just the challenge I've been looking for to test my limits!”

“I'm not here for the challenge but because I intend to remove this threat to the poor people of the surrounding areas,” Dyenna replied, “but I won't blame you if you want to leave,” even if I lose an expendable target if the need arises, she concluded thinking.

The adventurer that was pondering about chickening out snorted, beastkins can be a bit prideful, like the croconoids, “I think I'll continue with you in this case…”

Too ashamed to go back alone saying he ran away even before seeing the monster, Dyenna thought smiling, "let's look for a spot where we can see it and fight, let's not let it choose its favorite place and let's take the initiative."

“Leave it to me,” the spear-wielding beastkin pointed to a rise that could be glimpsed through the trees, “let's reach that point, if we can lure them there, I can force them down using my spear.”

“Do you want to disarm yourself before even starting the fight?” Dyenna asked with a raised eyebrow.

The beastkin smirked, “not so fast. This is a Returning Spear, I can throw it and it will get back to me.”

“Oh, I see…” Dyenna pursed her lips, a weapon like that could be useful to her in the future, “so we have a plan, let's go execute it.”

Having reached the chosen height, Dyenna and the axe-wielding beastkin did their best to be visible to the drakafyr, who in response roared ferociously towards them, beating their wings with unparalleled rapidity; Dyenna recognized them as a blue drakafyr, a type of drakafyr with affinities to [Wind] and [Lightning], not the most dangerous of all drakafyr, but not the weakest either.

“Hold… hold…” Dyenna said to the beastkin with the spear, hiding nearby, “they're not close enough yet, they still have time to get out of the way.”

The blue drakafyr continued to approach, from their still ajar mouth, flashes of light like an approaching storm began to appear… they were about to use one of their magical effects.

“Now!”

The beastkin spearman came out and threw the spear with all his strength: the drakafyr turned their head suddenly, surprised, tried to avoid the weapon that had been thrown at them but Dyenna had made the calculations correctly and at that point it was now too late. The monster was pierced in one of the main muscles of their wings, forcing them to plummet towards the ground.

“Let's not give them time to recover!” The axe-wielding beastkin shouted, running in the direction he predicted the monster would fall.

The other beastkin called back his spear as the monster crashed to the ground in a less than graceful manner, planting their paws on the ground and waving their still healthy wing and tail to keep their balance and not find themself prone. The axe-wielding beastkin tried to hit them on the head only to be knocked back by a sudden wall of wind.

Dyenna waited, she knew the inspection wouldn't tell her the level of the drakafyr, but there was one piece of information she could still get:

[Blue Drakafyr – Lv: ??]

Only two question marks, so their level is below 99, Dyenna thought, maybe there is hope.

“That wall of wind is strong!” said the beastkin, “we must try to exhaust their Mana!”

The monster, however, did not attack, instead, they changed their form: a not exactly pleasant noise of bones breaking and welding together with a sound of moving flesh announced the change of the drakafyr from a draconic form to a humanoid one, even if still as tall as three horses at the withers: the humanoid still had a decidedly monstrous appearance, with their... HER body covered in blue and yellow scales, reptilian eyes, hands and feet equipped with long poisonous claws and a thin, long tail that could be used as a whip. She flapped her wings, and her curved horned head turned to look at her three adversaries.

“You made a mistake coming after me, thank the gods because this is the last one you'll do,” the monster's voice was gurgling, deep, as if it came from vocal cords that weren't really made to speak yet, “I don't take trespassers kindly!”

She has not yet had a chance to unlock a more advanced humanoid form, the chances of victory increase, Dyenna narrowed her eyes, “such a big talk! Shall we put your words to the test?” She exclaimed without really having the confidence she was showing, an ascended monster was still an ascended monster, and she had never met one before.

The ascended monster took her at her word and without warning fired a chain of lightning; Dyenna let out a small scream but had time to throw herself to the ground and roll, avoiding the most dangerous energy discharges. The beastkin spearman attacked again with his spear, attempting to strike from a distance to avoid the creature's wall of wind and claws, but the drakafyr was now aware of his presence and was no longer in a position to be caught by surprise.

“Damn!” The spearman exclaimed.

“Nice try, now it's my turn!” the drakafyr raised a finger towards the beastkin spearman and a whirlwind of wind began to swirl with increasing speed and accumulate in a small stormy sphere in front of the claw of her index finger. An air projectile was fired towards the lancer, a shot so fast that the beastkin didn't even have time to fully evade.

The beastkin gritted his teeth as the air projectile pierced him in the shoulder, Dyenna and the other beastkin instead tried to throw themselves into the fray together and engage the ascended monster so that she couldn't use her Mana efficiently. The ensuing battle was no holds barred, with serious wounds caused by both sides, but none of the contenders had the intention of giving up, each driven by different ambitions.

“E-Enough!” The drakafyr roared, opening her jaws full of white teeth and although she was pierced by Dyenna, she still managed to accumulate the Mana necessary to fire a powerful bolt of electricity at the axe-wielding beastkin, killing him almost instantly, "and now it's your turn!"

The situation was becoming critical, Dyenna's health points had reached a critical threshold and she had no idea what the conditions of the drakafyr were, who from the outside seemed exhausted and weakened and therefore only gave the idea of not being in much better shape than her; Dyenna gave vent to everything she had learned both from the kingdom's swordmasters and from her brother Wilfrod, who she considered one of the youngest and most talented swordsmen in the entire kingdom. Despite this, the drakafyr managed to use her claws to tear open her abdomen, sapping her strength and causing her to collapse on her knees.

This... this is the end of me? No… it… it can't be!!! I must reform the Empire! I must restore order and justice throughout the continent! I can't die here! Dyenna raised her eyes, her vision was blurry, she felt cold in her arms and legs and her heart was beating wildly, meanwhile the drakafyr stood in front of her, ready to give her the final blow. I refuse! I refuse! I refuse!

“You are only food,” the drakafyr said, raising his monstrous clawed hand.

The second beastkin's spear interrupted her halfway: the ranged attack forced the ascended monster to interrupt her attack and instead of killing Dyenna she grabbed the spear, "you and this stupid toy have really pissed me off!" he roared, breaking the shaft of the weapon in two parts, "how dare you enter my dom..."

I WILL NOT DIE! YOU WILL NOT TAKE AWAY MY DESTINY!

Dyenna had gathered her last energies by piercing the drakafyr's throat, perhaps she was lucky or perhaps she was really that precise, the fact is that she managed to wound her in a major vein and the monster collapsed to the ground drowning in her own blood.

“You… you did it!” The beastkin lancer rushed over to assist Dyenna, “you must drink a potion immediately!”

“I'm f-fine…” she said, her stomach torn open, “take… take my sword, the… the monster is still alive… you have to finish her…”

"Yes! Right!"

The beastkin took the offered weapon and turned to face the dying drakafyr, his back to Dyenna. He didn't waste too much time and approached the ascended monster, turning her upwards to pierce her heart.

What he didn't expect was for the tip of his spear to be used as a dagger by Dyenna, and for the improvised weapon to be stuck right on the top of his skull, “It's…. it's my destiny! MY de-destiny!”

Girl and beastkin fell to the ground together, but Dyenna wasn't finished yet, there was still the most important part of her entire plan to complete. Now that she was left alone, there were no witnesses who could see and tell the tale about what she had done; she dragged herself to the dying body of the drakafyr and climbed on top of her, spreading her legs and placing the inside of her thighs on the immense monstrous abdomen. She was panting, life was still flowing out of her, her only hope was to level up, so she could increase her health points quickly by distributing the new points in [Resilience].

Dyenna gripped the tip of the spear in both hands and raised it above her head.

“What… what are you?…” the dying drakafyr asked with difficulty and between gurgles.

“I… I am…” Dyenna brought the blade down on the monster's chest, killing her and sending blood splattering everywhere as a cold butcher's hand cut through the flesh and bone to expose the monster's still-throbbing heart, “The Blessed Champion!"

Her mind was flooded with level up notifications from the system; Dyenna immediately distributed a dozen points in [Resilience] feeling immediately better, then grabbed the monster's heart and pulled it out, bringing it to her mouth: the monster's blood ran down her throat with the taste of a sweet nectar, the heart, warm and slightly slimy, it was chewed gracefully, like a delicious dish at a palace banquet. The more she ate, the more ecstatic Dyenna felt, closer and closer to the realization of a potential she had always known she possessed.

SYSTEM: Requirements for a Prestige Class obtained. Starting the process of the Second Awakening...

And then everything went black.