"Just once, Dropper. Please!" Light's voice, usually a playful lilt, was strained, a desperate edge sharpening his words.

  "Master gave us very specific instructions," Dropper replied, her voice a cool, measured counterpoint to Light's fervent plea. Her eyes, usually sharp and observant, held a flicker of reluctant understanding.

  "But... But... What if I do it while we're retreating? You know. Like a warning shot to make it back off. That'd be acceptable, right?" Light gestured wildly, his shadow-laced fingers tracing frantic patterns in the air. The object of his anxiety, a colossal Dragon that had inexplicably rooted itself beside Abi's nascent city, loomed large in their shared consciousness. Unlike Abi's terror, Light's was a burning curiosity, a desperate itch to test his abilities against such a formidable creature.

  "Only once?" Dropper's brow furrowed, her gaze scrutinizing Light's earnest face.

  "Only once!" Light nodded, his dark hair whipping around his face like a frantic halo.

  "And if you fail? What if you enrage the Dragon? How will you take responsibility for it?" Dropper's tone was laced with a pragmatic skepticism, a counterpoint to Light's impulsive enthusiasm.

  "I'll, er... I'll draw it away myself. That should be good enough, right?" Light clasped his hands, his eyes wide and pleading. He was a whirlwind of restless energy, a stark contrast to Dropper's stoic composure.

  'Definitely spending too much time with Noir,' Dropper thought, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Noir, with his chaotic energy and penchant for impulsive decisions, was clearly rubbing off on Light. "Fine. But if you fail, I will tell Master that the blame is solely yours."

  "Yes! That's fine. That means the credit will be all mine too, right?" Light's face lit up, a triumphant grin splitting his features as he Shadow Stepped past a dense thicket of obsidian-like trees.

  "No. That we will share," Dropper countered, appearing beside him, her voice flat and unwavering. The light in Light's eyes flickered, replaced by a pout.

  "What? Why? That's not fair..."

  "Shh." Dropper raised a finger, her voice a low, urgent whisper. Light, despite his playful demeanor, was a seasoned assassin, and he instantly fell silent.

  The air thrummed with a primal energy, a low, guttural breathing resonating through the dense, unnaturally dark foliage. They were on Abi's mountain, a place transformed since she became a Dungeon Core. The trees, with their bark as black as Barry's shadow, formed an impenetrable barrier, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and something ancient, something reptilian.

  As they crept through the oppressive darkness, the breathing grew louder, closer. They emerged into a clearing, a raw, scorched wound in the otherwise impenetrable forest. The Dragon lay coiled in a massive burrow, its scales shimmering like polished obsidian in the dim light filtering through the canopy.

  "Er, we have to wake it up, right?" Light's voice was a nervous whisper, his eyes wide with a mixture of excitement and apprehension.

  "Of course we do. The problem is how should we go about it?" Dropper's gaze swept across the clearing, assessing the terrain, searching for an advantage.

  "Shouldn't we just shout out to it?" Light suggested, his voice laced with a nervous energy.

  "Wouldn't that be a little rude?" Dropper countered, her lips twitching with amusement.

  "Not as rude as going over and prodding it."

  "True, but what if..." Before they could formulate a plan, the Dragon's eyes snapped open, twin orbs of molten red locking onto them. A wave of heat pulsed through the clearing as the Dragon exhaled, the air shimmering with the promise of fire.

  With a roar that shook the very earth, the Dragon surged from its burrow, a living avalanche of muscle and scales. Its breath, a torrent of searing flames, melted the trees, the earth, everything in its path.

  "What do we do now?" Light shouted, vanishing into the shadows as the Dragon's tail swept through the air.

  "I don't know. We should have planned this first," Dropper replied, her voice tight with suppressed panic. Her fear wasn't for herself, but for the potential consequences of their reckless actions.

  "Wait! Stop! We don't want to fight you!" Dropper's voice rang out, a desperate plea in the face of overwhelming power. The Dragon paused, its head tilting slightly, as if considering her words. For a fleeting moment, Dropper dared to hope.

  Then, with a deafening roar, the Dragon charged, its claws outstretched, its eyes blazing with predatory intent. They both dissolved into shadows, the Dragon's claws tearing through empty air, crashing into the thick wall of trees.

  "Can we retreat now? She's not listening," Light asked, his voice echoing from the opposite side of the clearing.

  "I suppose so. I doubt Master will be happy with this," Dropper sighed, her shoulders slumping. Light, however, was bouncing on the balls of his feet, his eyes alight with excitement.

  "Ok. One attack. Which do I choose? Also if I kill the Dragon, Master will be happy that it can't destroy the town. Right, Drop?"

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  Another sigh, another "I suppose so."

  They retreated, the Dragon's thunderous footsteps echoing behind them. Less than three hundred meters down the mountain, Light made his choice. With a sudden burst of speed, he leaped into the air, spinning like a dark whirlwind. A spear of pure shadow materialized in his hand, the Tier 4 skill, Shadow Spear, crackling with dark energy.

  The spear pierced the Dragon's eye, a dark eruption of power that sent the creature crashing to the ground with a horrifying shriek. The forest fell silent, the only sound the faint crackling of dying embers.

  "Well that solves that. We can just teleport back now. I can't wait to tell Noir about this!" Light's voice was a triumphant shout, the thrill of victory coursing through him.

  "Right... First we have to report to Master though," Dropper said, her gaze lingering on the Dragon's corpse, which was already beginning to sink into the mountain floor, absorbed by the dungeon's essence. "Why was Master worried about that Dragon?"

  With a flash of dark energy, they teleported to the base of the mountain, leaving the silent, scorched clearing behind.

  Dungeon Stories Volume 3

  After listening to my Assassins' story, I didn't know what to say. How did I forget that these two, good as they may be, were a constant source of frustration back in my beginning weeks. They are also to credit for the majority of my exp as well, but that still wasn't without its frustrations.

  How?

  Just... how?

  It was a fucking Dragon!

  The Defiler, fine. The Troll, ok. Even the Elf I can get behind. But how the hell did he fell a Dragon with one attack!?

  Like how?

  It shouldn't be possible. Or so logic dictates. But then, when does that ever happen around here? Logic is a word that doesn't even exist in the Varonian dictionary, apparently. The part about Dragons summoned by me causing calm to all who see them proves that fact hands down.

  Again, how?

  I stop debating the better qualities of what should and shouldn't be possible as Anya, Light and Dropper are all staring in my direction, waiting for me to say something.

  "Er... Good work?"

  I mean the city is safe now, so yeah. Good work!

  "Anya, come here." Stupefied by my words, the Rainbow Mage puts up no resistance as I grab her hand and run down the closest alley. Out of sight I teleport us to my tower on top of the Academy for Dark Arts.

  I wonder if the name will become more rounded after an upgrade. I mean, we do teach more than just dark magic here after all.

  Flopping down next to the gang of cute and cuddlies, Anya is still looking at me as though she is waiting for a proper explanation. Which is fair enough. It's not like she received the same notifications I do.

  "What they said is true. Light killed the Dragon and I absorbed it. I can summon Black Dragons now with the bonus effect that people who see them feel calm and peaceful."

  It's funny watching my friend as her face cycles through many different emotions. Even though I kept it short and sweet, not a single piece of that information was easy to digest. Hell, it wasn't even easy to say.

  "What do you mean by peaceful Dragons?" Is the first question she arrives at.

  "I'm not too sure to be honest. One sec..." Looking down on the masses, quite a few of them are still hyped up over what they thought was an inevitable death so I summon a Black Dragon to see how well they can manage the peace.

  Anya didn't seem very happy at first to see the monster materialize above the tower. After a second though she didn't appear frightened of the creature and had in fact calmed down quite fast.

  Wow. That was easy.

  Not only has my bestie relaxed significantly, but the noise from below has also quietened down. In fact it's almost ceased completely and the only sounds I can hear now are a few "ohh's" and "arr's."

  Seriously!

  It's a Dragon. How is that even possible?

  Anya hasn't said a word yet as instead is still captivated by the would-be predator's magnificent glory. Not that I can fault my friend for knowing beauty when she sees it. From close up, the Black Dragon is even more beautiful than I had imagined.

  Her scales glisten in the midday sun, dark black with a tint of red hidden inside. Only as I'm looking at her do I realise that she's also looking back at me. Intelligence is clear in her eyes as she knows I'm the one who summoned her.

  'Master,' she communicates and bows her head to me.

  Definitely intelligent. No doubt about it.

  "Hi," I wave at the Dragon for some reason. Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking. The look Anya is giving me makes me want to laugh though.

  "So, er..." obviously I didn't think this through.

  Shit.

  "For now, you can make a nest, or a lair, anywhere you want on my mountain," I pointed to the multicolored spectacle behind her. "Sorry if that's insensitive. I'm not sure what Dragons call their home, but you're more than welcome to make one up there. Also, your job will be to patrol the sky. You will be the eyes in the sky protecting the dungeon and the city."

  'Yes Master. I will do as you command.'

  "You don't need to be so formal. You're part of the family now so don't worry about it."

  'In that case, may I make a request?'

  "Sure."

  'Can I transform so that I may match your own height. I feel slightly uncomfortable being above you like this.'

  Transform? Like... Into a cute and adorable little Dragon? Fuck yeah you can. In fact, I implore you to do so right now. I won't take anything less.

  "Absolutely," I reply, cool as winter's evening.

  'Thank you, Master.' The Black Dragon begins to glow before she starts to shrink. I can barely contain my excitement as Anya watches on in shocked silence.

  To my dismay, I don't end up with a cute-little Dragon, but instead a gorgeous little girl. She has black hair and bright red cheeks and is smiling more than Light when he came back from killing the source of her summoning material.

  What the hell? Where's my adorable little Dragon that I can carry around in my arms? And why have I got what looks like a ten-year old child instead? Why is fate so cruel?

  Noticing that I look rather down, Anya puts her hand on my shoulder. She still doesn't seem to have anything to say and instead is staring at the small child now sitting on my futon playing with Dire Wolf.

  We watch as the Dragon loli rolls around on my futon, wrestling with stuffed animals as she does so. In a way it's extremely adorable. Too cute in fact, if you can forget she's a nation ending disaster underneath that bundle of gorgeousness. As I'm trying to process how crazy this whole situation is, our latest family member suddenly remembers where she is and her eyes lock into mine.

  "My Master. This one is ever so sorry. This form is... Very hard to control, but I couldn't bear to be above you. Also what is this?" Her eyes sparkle as she thrusts a white unicorn teddy in front of my face. "It looks delicious!"

  Erm...

  Anya? Help?

  The rainbow mage is looking at me as though I have all the answers, which implies that she isn't going to be of any help whatsoever and demonstrates that by waving her arms in an exaggerated manner.

  Thanks, Anya. Thanks. Well, I suppose a trip to Ali's is on the menu. Wait...

  Were the townsfolk still watching when she transformed? There's no way someone didn't catch that happening. A closer inspection shows that everyone has calmed down and daily life has resumed throughout Varona.

  Huh? Peaceful Dragons, eh?

  I could get used to that.

  "Ok, you two. To Ali's!"