While a huge dragon roars, a 23-year-old guy in his cheap and crappy brown hood stood casually on the corner of a cliff. The man surely looks very tranquil in this state.
The man stood sturdily while watching the dragon below the not-very-high cliff.
That is me. I am an unknown wizard facing the huge, jagged, scaly strange creature with large wings by myself.
The dragon might look huge—about 5x the average human in height measurement, but this one is actually quite small for its species.
Perhaps a young one!
I leaned my wooden staff towards the dragon with a hand.
"Die." I said as a glint flash circles the huge creature before it shoots out lightning strikes out of nowhere towards the dragon.
ZAP!!
RAH!!
The dragon shook and groaned helplessly as it began to weaken before collapsing on the ground with a loud rumble and sound wave. My hood flew open in the wind of impact; revealing my face full of scars, and long black hair as it also got blown.
Suddenly, a floating, transparent screen appeared in front of me and made a distinctive ding sound.
[System Notice:]
[You've successfully defeated a young dragon!]
[Lightning element is upgraded by 5 levels.]
[4 more levels are needed to evolve your staff's lightning element.]
5… good, I guess.
Dragons are the best to get levels for sure. Also, this floating screen is my special ability.
I take a look at my staff. The system really is useful to upgrade my power…. If not, this cheap staff wouldn't even be able to charge such power…
Well… I was born in a very frail condition. My body doesn't even have much mana and power. All of this power and mana came from this cheap staff that has gradually been upgraded by the system. If not, my staff is also useless.
My whole life is relying on the system and staff just to survive in this cruel world.
As I ponder by myself, I suddenly snap back to reality.
After the very quick and boring fight, I turned around and headed to the forest ahead.
But suddenly, my stomach growls.
I stopped my steps after my stomach growled. To solve this, all I can do is…
I scanned the area.
Ah-ha! I found a little piggy from afar. Hehe, y'know how'd this end up, right?
10 minutes later…
I continued my journey with a medium cooked pork leg on my hand. It's quite burned, though, perhaps because I used magical fire to roast it.
I took a small bite, munched, and swallowed. It lacks spices. But what can I even do about it?
After walking and eating for a while, suddenly, a group of slimes approached me from behind bushes. Ahh, slime… they're not a strong enemy, though. So, I can wipe them with ease.
I leaned my staff towards them and shot a small fireball, which immediately cleared out the way for me.
Enjoying this pleasure of ease, I subconsciously bite the burned side of the pork. Arghh, so bitter! Yeah, the bitterness instantly pierces through my tongue. Of course, I couldn't help but spit it out.
I immediately took back my dumbness and began to step. I walked while the melting slimes began to vaporize beneath me. When I took a step on a puddle of vaporizing remaining slime, it kinda left my old boots melted.
Good thing I wore a pair of boots so it doesn't burn my feet. I've burned my food, but I don't want my feet to burn, too!
Heh… so this is what it feels like being homeless.
At this point, I don't even know the purpose of living like this. Every day, all I do is wander around without a clear goal.
However… I couldn't help it either.
Upon all of these tall trees, there's quite a mist around. But it's fine, I guess.
After maybe about 15 minutes of walking, the mist is now gone, but there are tall grasses blocking the way. I couldn't even see through them. Without further ado, I cast a strong wind towards the grass before getting through.
As I walked through, the contrast of lightning from the shady forest to direct sunshine made my eyes begin to adapt. Not long after, I saw a small village on a wide grassland as far as the eyes could see.
Ahh, another village…. I tried to balance my staff before pulling my hood back on and immediately grabbing my staff back. After that, I took a step as I took a huge bite of my slightly burned pork.
I might need some rest at the inn. I hope I have enough coins…
At the village, I heard some unpleasant muttering from the citizens.
"What's with that staff? Is he one of those bast*rds?"
"Is he a wizard!?"
"How can a wizard even get here?"
"No one gonna stop him?"
I'm a caster, idi*t!
I ignored their whispers and mockery by enjoying my pork. So, I looked around the village and finally found an inn. It was a 2-story wooden building with nothing appealing in the front. Only a sign that says: Everyones' Inn.
The pork leg is now only bone, so I throw it into a small wooden trash bin in front of the inn before entering the building by passing the saloon door through.
The doorbell rang.
Inside, there are many big dudes drinking beer like an ordinary tavern-below-an-inn would be.
I walked straight to the innkeeper to reserve a room.
"Hi, how much to stay for a night?"
"Ah, welcome, sir, it's—" The lady turned to me, but she immediately looked at me with a cool gaze as she spotted my staff. "I'm sorry, there's no available room."
I immediately learned the situation. Does this village have some sort of trauma to casters like me?
"Oh.. kay." I accidently landed my eyes on the counter before walking away. There lies the price list. 2 silver coins per night?Sigh…I only have 1 silver and 1 bronze…
I made my way out of the inn. I feel disappointed and dissatisfied at the same time. I guess it's not an everyone's inn after all…
Suddenly, a boy with blonde hair around the age of 8-10 fell in front of me. He wore a modest green shirt and black shorts.
I lent a hand with a faint smile and said, "are you okay?"
However, he looked with a hint of fear in his eyes at me before running away frantically.
I was left speechless. They really have a trauma…
ROAR!!!
A loud roar mysteriously came from the opposite of my direction. Why so sudden?
"RUN! It's the dragons!"
D-dragon…?
Suddenly, one massive dragon flew out of nowhere while spouting fire to buildings. I spontaneously looked up, and my eyes widened, realizing it's not 1… but 2 dragons circling this village in the air. It's a lot bigger than the dragon I just killed.
A flap of its wings even made some buildings collapse.
"Help!"
"NO, moommy!"
The whole village went hysterical, and I saw a scene where a building that catched on fire next to me collapsed. I heard many screams and cries from all directions.
"Is there a knight? Knight, someone, help us!!"
A group of sturdy men with complete gear came to the location. They're equipped with armor, swords, spear, and shields. "It's fine, we're here."
"Hey, it's the knight!"
"Please help me. My mother got hit by debris!"
"Please, help!"
The knights looked overwhelmed, but one of them was giving commands to his team.
I found myself pensive in this situation. What should I do… Should I…
In the middle of the riot, I approached the knight who was giving instructions before tapping his shoulder and said, "hey, evacuate the village for me."
"Wha—"
I levitate myself in the air.
As I was slowly drifting into the air, many crowds looked at me in disbelief. The knight I told the instruction eventually began to tell the citizens to evacuate.
When I reached the same height as these dragons, they began to roar even louder at me. They're much, much bigger than I expected. I… don't know if I could defeat them myself…. But I had to try!
Suddenly, the system appears in front of my eyes.
[Warning!]
[Adult dragons are beyond your current power.]
[Survival chance: 12%]
[Suggesting to retreat.]
Only 12% chance of me defeating them by myself? I made a fist.
As I was pensive in silence, one of the dragons approached me from the back at high speed.
I spontaneously turned back and manipulated a fireball. It became bigger, bigger, and bigger before I shot it directly at their head.
Whoosh and BOOM!
However, it's able to withstand the impact and let out a resentful roar. It flies back to me. And the other one approached me. I was arguably sandwiched by them.
I rocket myself away and increased my height from the ground. Both of the dragons stopped their wings.
ROAR!!
I took a long breath. "I have to do this…" I raised my staff high in the air. "...prepare yourselves."
The sky gets cloudy and dark.
A massive white and shiny pearl-like sphere suddenly came out of nowhere above. It instantly brightens the whole area. It is so massive, about three times the size of the 2 dragons combined.
From the ground point of view, there's no citizens to be seen. Only the knights watching me floating high in the sky with a giant sphere just above my head. They were staring in disbelief but also showed a hint of hope in their eyes.
"Please…. I'm counting on you."
Not long after, the system flashed in front of my eyes.
[Warning!]
[Either your staff's and your body's mana are inadiquete.]
[Please cancel your action!]
"Shut the f*ck up!" I yelled as the system disappeared.
Whoosh!
The massive sphere shoots out a deadly, white, and shiny beam of light towards the dragons. The beam is so powerful that my ears started to hurt because of the high-pitched sound. My hood also gets blown violently.
The earth rumbles like an earthquake. I'm exerting all my strength, and my head feels an intense throbbing pain.
"Arghh!!" I groaned.
The beam vanishes everything in its path before gradually shrinking. It even leaves a huge crater on the ground it went through.
The system appears.
[System Notice:]
[You've successfully killed 2 adult dragons!]
The system disappears, and another appears.
[System Notice:]
[The Divine element has evolved.]
There's no more dragons in sight as the beam disappeared completely. However, I feel weak. I… can't feel myself… The sphere is banished, and so with strength. I…
[Warning!]
[You've run out of mana!]
[System recovery failed. System recovery failed.]
I lost my consciousness and fell straight downwards helplessly. I'm dying…. My eyes are lidded.
[Initiating…]