Reborn as the First Boss, Chapter 85

Chapter 85 – Tamer

As the Tier 1 creature that could eventually become a Lesser Dragon, it was only to be expected that Drakes were tough customers. The smallest ones we found in the dungeon were the size (and speed) of a horse, went on four legs, and had teeth like daggers. Their hides, meanwhile, were as tough as steel and made them resistant to magic. Plus, their bites were poisonous as hell, and they could infuse elemental magic into their attacks. Did I mention the fact that they could climb walls and hang from ceilings, too?

Suffice to say, the Drakes were a problem, at least for most groups. There was a reason why the Guild ‘gently recommended’ that groups stick to the Kobold levels until they were sure that they could hang with the Drakes. And if you couldn’t get past the Drakes, then there was no way you were going to be ready for the Lesser Dragonkin. Most groups hit the dungeon again and again until they had broken through into Tier 2 before even thinking about taking on the Lesser Dragonkin.

We were not most groups.

Our upgraded gear was serving us well. Having an Enchanter who could transfer enchantments over was a real boon, since otherwise we would have been stuck with weapons or armor we were either unused to, or was weaker in some ways than what we had, at least until we got back to town. With Zazriel, though, everyone had at least one Dragonslayer weapon by the time we pushed into the tenth floor.

Even without the Dragonslayers, we were moving through the Drakes fairly quickly. Quickly enough that I decided it was worth it to take a bit of an extra risk. Something that most groups, even ones with a Mind Sorceress in the party, would never think of, unless they were much higher level. Something that, if it worked out, would almost guarantee me something good when I broke through to Tier 2.

We were on Level 8 when I got the chance to make my attempt. To have a good chance of success, we needed to find a drake on its own, without any nearby backup that might get called if this didn’t work out instantly. I wasn’t worried about getting injured, since I was immune to poison, I had [Glamour Aegis], high defense, and reduced all incoming damage by my CHA, which was north of 1000 now.

Frost Drake Male

Level 45

Titles: Magebane, Well-Endowed

All drakes had an element. When they became Lesser Dragons, that element would help determine what kind of dragon they’d be, and would determine the class they received. Frost Drake was a little rare, especially in this area, since the snow and glaciers they liked weren’t nearby. Dungeons got around those rules, apparently. They were inherently magical places, after all, and the creatures inside didn’t need a stable ecosystem to survive. Only made sense that the normal rules got fuzzy.

This one was alone, probably because his frost attacks did more damage to the more common Flame Drakes, and their fire did more damage to him. Either way, this was probably as good a chance as we were going to get. Time to see if my plan was going to work. I mean, it should work. There were records of people doing something similar in other dungeons, after all. Not with a Drake, sure, but the point remained.

“[Daze]. [Daze]. [Daze]. [Daze]!”

I didn’t bother with some of the more powerful mental magic, like [Charm] or [Dominate]. While I hadn’t actually felt it myself, the knowledge the Voice of the World gave me told me that the high-level spells had a nasty backlash effect if they failed. Probably not fatal, but not something you wanted to risk when getting close to a drake. And given how my spell failed three times? Yeah, that wouldn’t have been good.

I’d had to take wing and fly up, over the drake’s head, as the first three [Daze] spells slid off its scales. The drake was not happy with me, that much was obvious, since he kept trying to eat me. Thankfully, the fourth one landed, and the drake stumbled to a stop.

Dropping down next to the drake, I took out the item I had moved from my inventory to my pack, just in case. Couldn’t have it in my inventory, when you weren’t able to access inventory during combat. Thankfully, it wasn’t too bulky, so it didn’t hinder me.

The [Slave Collar] went on easily, but that was to be expected with a magic item. Unfortunately, it also broke the [Daze]. The Frost Drake turned with a quickness that belied its size and attempted to make me intimately acquainted with its digestive tract. I didn’t have time to go for a weapon, and I didn’t want the thing dead, anyways. [Angelic Might] brought my STR to the sum of my physical attributes, while [Necrotic Touch] caused my skin to crackle with necrotic energy, and [Unarmed Combat] made my fist a weapon as I punched the drake in the side of the head.

That one strike did well over three thousand damage, since both Krenrena’s Blessing and [Necrotic Touch] added my CHA to the damage, and my combined STR+DEX+CON was over a thousand, as well. Actually, my DEX had recently overtaken my STR as the highest main attribute after CHA, so that helped my reaction speed, as well as my damage in this case. Either way, it was enough to cause the drake to stagger back, momentarily stunned, thanks in part to [Willbreaking Weapons] dealing over 300 damage to his WIS, though it was likely not all of it actually went through, since the Drake was still upright.

There was a standoff as I crackled with both holy and necrotic energies, and the Frost Drake growled back at me. The beast may not have been intelligent enough to understand just how outclassed he was, but there was enough low cunning behind those eyes to understand that I was not a foe he could just rush at. People often thought that because a beast couldn’t talk or use tools, that it meant they were idiots. Those people forgot that stupid beasts didn’t survive long enough to breed unless they were so idiotically hard to kill that no one thought it worth the trouble.

Your party has defeated a Frost Drake!

You gain 5000 xp.

You have leveled up!

You are now Level 45.

You have 991000/1035000 XP to reach Level 46.

+13 CHA, +3 STR, +2 DEX, +3 WIS, +5 INT, +3 CON

4 Attribute Points to spend.

20 Skill points to spend.

You have gained a new Title!

Dragon Tamer

Whether through friendship, magic, or other means, you have made a dragon-blooded creature your subordinate. This is something that few mortals have attempted, and fewer still have accomplished.

Your CHA is counted twice when using social skills on creatures with Draconic blood. Your resistance to the social skills of those with Draconic blood is doubled.

New slave Frost Drake Male is unnamed. Do you wish to give him a name?

Yes / No

I sighed in relief as I let my skills drop. The mana draw was intense, even with my insane mana pool and regeneration. “His name is Frostmaw.”

Frostmaw

Frost Drake Male

Level 45

Titles: Magebane, Well-Endowed, Slave

Syllia was the first to speak. “I knew that you could capture creatures from a Dungeon, if you used a [Slave Collar], [Capture Ball], or similar, but I never thought that I would see someone crazy enough to try that on a Drake! They’re supposed to be immune to things like the [Slave Collar]!”

“Not immune,” I shook my head, as I stroked Frostmaw’s scaled head. “But both the Dungeon and the drake’s own nature gives them some resistance. Makes the process take longer than if you used the [Slave Collar] on, say, an elf. According to my [Scholar’s Knowledge], there was a seven in ten chance that the process would fail entirely, and ruin the [Slave Collar], especially if my attributes had been lower. Luck, however, was on my side.”

“Because you’re a succubus who gets to add their Charisma to Luck,” muttered Angelina. “Most people don’t have that kind of privilege.”

“If we went around chronicling everything that other people cannot do because they do not have the good fortune of being me, we’d be here all week,” I said, a smile on my face. “The big thing, though, is that our party will be even stronger, now, as we move towards the lower floors. And, when we get to Tier 2…”

Linette’s eyes went wide. “He will likely grow into a Lesser Dragon of some type, with a class, and he’ll be able to get a profession, as well. The number of adventuring parties that can include a Lesser Dragon in their midst is likely to be counted on one hand, across the entire world. Not even Heroes have such a party around them, as a rule.”

“Mistress,” Jewell said with a note of concern. “We already stick out enough with a half-demon, elf, angel, and hellhound. I don’t think bringing a dragon around with us is going to let us do the whole ‘low profile’ thing you were wanting when we left Windwater Barony.”

I shook my head. “Low profile went out the window the minute we took down the Necropolis, unfortunately. Too many announcements from the Voice of the World, too quickly. The business with Baron Longchaser after only made it worse. That’s part of the reason I didn’t see an issue talking about the truth with the Farstriders. Doesn’t mean I’ll be telling everyone about what I am, but pretending to be ‘just an adventurer’ is a pretext we’ll probably have to do without, from here onward. Well, except as a ‘polite fiction’ to clear through restrictions.”

I took a breath, and said, “We should have all leveled up, and Level 45 should have new skill options for us. Check your skills and see what looks good.”

Available Skills:

Note: Your available skills are based on your Race, Class, Profession, and activities.

Racial Skills (Greater Angelic Succubus):

Demonic Corruption – Infuse a creature with demonic corruption, turning them into a Demontouched Creature. May increase corruption in those already of a demonic nature. (Costs 2 points to take.)

Soul Brand – Can mark a creature’s soul, ensuring that it comes to you when they perish, rather than passing to the afterlife. Requires a contract through [Contract Magic]. (Costs 2 points to take.)

Aura of Truth – Project an aura that prevents anyone of your tier or lower from lying within 10m of you, unless their WIS or CHA is greater than your CHA. Can be raised or lowered at will. (Costs 2 points to take.)

Aura of Peace – Project an aura that prevents any creature of your tier or lower from attacking others within 10m of you, unless their WIS or CHA is greater than your CHA, or someone else attacks them. Can be raised or lowered at will. (Costs 2 points to take.)

Class Skills (Mind Sorceress):

Mental Fortress – Immune to mental attacks or spells from creatures of your Tier or lower. (Costs 2 points to take.)

Realign Mind – Change parts of a creature’s mind, making permanent alterations to mental attributes, memories, skills, and more. Target must be willing, or unable to resist for the duration. (Costs 2 points to take.)

Class Skills (Spellshooter):

Magic Bullets – When shooting physical ammunition, the Spellshooter can conjure up to three replica bullets for 10 MP each that fly alongside the real bullet, but do no damage. If the real bullet would miss, one of the replicas replaces it, giving the real bullet another chance to hit, and so on, until no replicas remain. (Costs 2 points to take)

Bane Shot – Can make any magic bullets or spell shots have the Bane quality, targeting one type of creature. Once chosen, the Bane cannot be changed until the next dawn. Bane Shots deal half damage to targets that are not their bane. (Costs 2 points to take.)

Profession Skills (Courtesan):

Magic Touch (Charisma) – With a touch, the Courtesan can enhance an ally’s presence. Cannot be used on oneself. By spending (CHA) MP, increase the touched creature’s CHA by her CHA for 1 hour. (Costs 2 points to take)

Magic Touch (Constitution) – With a touch, the Courtesan can boost an ally’s health. Cannot be used on oneself. By spending (CHA) MP, increase the touched creature’s CON by her CHA for 1 hour. (Costs 2 points to take)

General Skills:

Onslaught Shield – When a spell you cast would do more damage than the creature’s current HP, gain a temporary magic shield. This shield absorbs incoming damage. It disappears after 1 minute, or when it has absorbed a total amount of damage equal to the difference between the spell damage and the creature’s HP before the spell hit. (Costs 2 points to take)

End of Tier skills cost more points, and came more rarely, but DAMN were they worth it! All of the new skills were great additions, and I had enough points for them, so I went ahead and bought them all. [Onslaught Shield] could rot, once again. I had yet to be in a fight where I overkilled something by enough that I could get a decent shield, where there was enough left over that I actually needed a shield to deal with them. Absolute waste of points.