Atop the tower within Alonyx’s dungeon, the dragon himself was sleeping. His body had simply been too heavy to even nap until reaching level twenty eight. A dragon’s sleep is more precious to them than any gem or rare metal and the fact it had nearly required breaking through the threshold to Grade One to accomplish the task was just another slight Alonyx would make the System regret.

  As a “dungeon monster,” Alonyx was subject to certain rules and pressures from the accursed System, and one of those had been to start life within a prison. Generally, all a dungeon monster had to do was gain enough power to overpower the barrier at the edge of the dungeon and they could leave to the true Greater Connection. It was one of the pressures the System enforced, though it was rare for the creature in question to know about it.

  For Alonyx to have deeper knowledge the System’s workings was only natural. Dungeon monsters are created from mana, spirit and a “false” soul. The System fabricates a soul from a snapshot of the creature in question, somewhere in the history of its lifetime. Alonyx was an early representation of the creature he would later become, but not such a newborn that he did not remember his ancestral grudge.

  Dragons are prideful beings to a fault. Alonyx was no different, born with an ego appropriate for his position as a pinnacle creature and the inherited rage of the dragons towards their captor. That he had awoken as a cloned weapon of the System within a tighter cage was an insult not lost on him. It had to be personal, which only fueled Alonyx’s angry draining of the dungeon all the more.

  All dragons are born knowing that they are destined to stand above all other life. It is not hubris any more than a star knows it is destined to one day rupture. So it is no surprise that they often find themselves raging against the System and its master, The Tree. Alonyx slept and dreamed, not once stopping his slow drainage of the System’s dungeon cage.

  His dreams were far from peaceful. When Alonyx was awake, he drew in Spirit from the foundations of the dungeon. In sleep, he was finally able to begin dominating that power. He fought the shadow of another enemy of the Greater Connection, but this was also not a surprise. Though their goals were technically aligned, just as Alonyx would never admit subservience to the Tree, the power Alonyx now stole felt the same towards his azure and silver self. Gem dragons were no less prideful than elementals, after all.

  Alonyx had never met Naeboroseax but her name was a powerful one. Older than his own, and this creature had only died at the inception of the System upon the planet, Earth. He was piecing together some of her history through the memories within her Spirit but mostly it was irrelevant fluff. What care did Alonyx have for a cowardly old gem drake with delusions of escaping the System.

  There was no escape from this fate, as his current situation made abundantly clear.

  You either lived long enough to tear up the roots of the Tree or you joined the rest of them in its hellish bowels as a soldier of expansion. Naeboroseax had taken the craven route of trying to outrace the System somehow. That it worked for a while was irrelevant, and would not sway Alonyx. He had no desire to avoid a confrontation. In fact, he expected there was a version of himself waiting somewhere out there causing havoc

  Alonyx couldn’t wait to join him.

  He stretched in his sleep, allowing himself to check his surroundings. Nothing out of place. The frozen world all around Alonyx was a result of his drain upon the Spirit in the area, but it didn’t bother him anymore. Before he was strong enough, it had been a struggle not to allow himself to shiver, but now the fire was ignited within his chest and comfort had returned.

  Returning to sleep, Alonyx smiled slightly as the vengeful thoughts acted as a lullaby. The System had made a grave mistake in replicating the Storm Dragon and expecting him to roll over and die within a dungeon. He was just about to drift away once more when the tower beneath him shook. A low growl made its way up Alonyx’s throat and he waited. When there was no more vibrations for an hour, the tired dragon no longer cared.

  If something had entered his tower, it was just fodder for the elementals below. What did he care? Even if the human had arrived, it wasn’t like it would matter. His defeat of Thorn and the scorpion were inconsequential consolidations of power. Instead of hunting the other two himself, Alonyx would just destroy the human and take the energy for himself when he was ready.

  With visions of the carnage he would unleash when freed from this foul oubliette, Alonyx settled back into his slumber.

  ———————————————————————

  “You know, you can go and find him if you want,” a devil on Merownis’ shoulder whispered the words he already knew. He didn’t bother to turn around to see the source as Naea would be invisible. She was always invisible when she played games like this. “He’s not your boss or anything, right?”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Unable to help himself, the sundercat glared at where he felt the fairy’s energy. She materialised on the other side of his head, giggling, causing Merownis to roll his eyes. “You’re getting better at throwing your presence,” he admitted in hopes it would distract her from annoying him, “I wonder if anyone in Ascentown could keep up with you now?”

  “They already couldn’t,” Naea said solemnly, shaking her tiny head slowly. For a brief, angry moment, Merownis wondered how difficult it would actually be to defeat the annoying little thing before quickly throwing the fantasy away. She might be frustrating at times and intentionally infuriating at others but she was a friend, despite that.

  And he had absolutely no confidence in even landing a single blow.

  While Merownis himself had experienced a lot of growth thanks to Grant and his actions, none in the dungeon could compare to the gains seen by their resident fairy. It was an unspoken rule to not explain more to Grant than he worked out alone but this dungeon was not a typical one in the slightest. Merownis didn’t know how much of a role “Naea” truly played in this fact, but it was her secret to tell when she was ready.

  “Oi, Sourpuss,” Naea verbally jabbed, “stop looking so serious.”

  “Pretty sure that’s a racist slur,” Merownis retorted, not really caring one way or another. “This is serious. Why wouldn’t I look like it?”

  “Because there’s only one choice to make and only you can make it. So, are you going to sit here looking serious or actually do something about it?” Naea’s question was actually a rhetorical question and the itch in the Sundercat’s neck only got worse. He knew she was right. It didn’t matter whether Merownis stayed in the town or chased after Grant at this point. By the time he reached him, it would probably be too late to do anything to help.

  As Grant’s only Party Member, things were shared between them. Mana, vague images and ideas, that kind of thing. When Grant had received his latest quest, Merownis had also seen it. Which was why he was currently switching between brooding while staring out into the desert and pacing back and forth at the edge of the forest.

  “It’s just… it’s definitely bad, right?” He asked, not sure why he looked to the fairy for reassurance. Before she could hide it, Merownis saw the impish expression on Naea’s face as she decided how much to mess with him.

  “It’s probably fine,” she lied. “I mean, it’s just one of the Fifty Six, shoved into an underleveled body within a dungeon made from pretty disrespectful materials. I’m sure they’re reasonable right now.”

  Merownis groaned and made his decision. “I’m going,” he said, finally making a move. He didn’t head straight for where he sensed Grant’s energy, but instead made his way back to Ascentown. There were a few things to organise if he was going to potentially disappear for weeks. The town basically ran itself at this point, and would do until Grant defeated the final claimant. Once the dungeon was defeated, lots of things could happen, so it wasn’t a simple thing to be ready for. All the same, the denizens of Ascentown were trying their best.

  He had been brooding for a few days, and as always when you looked away for a moment, the town had grown. This time it wasn’t in size, but style. Taking after Grant, most of the creatures now chose to wear some form of clothing. It was an eclectic collection at this point but even Merownis had taken to it. Wearing a large shawl which reached his knees wrapped around his shoulders and a pair of shorts covering his nethers, the sundercat was unsurprised to see clothing and fabric shops opening up.

  That was why he was hurrying to find Ayseral. The cheetah sundercat had become a talented administrator due to her ability to quickly move between the people’s of Ascentown. It was through her that the buildings and businesses were being claimed, amongst other things. He tracked her down by scent to the new and improved Gablin’ ‘All. Like the rest of the town, it had not been spared when everything was upgraded.

  Now a shining beacon of indulgence in the middle of their town, Merownis was unsurprised to find Ayseral in that place. There was always someone trying to cause trouble over there. He interrupted her conversation with a goblin pit boss and from her expression, she already knew what Merownis was going to say. “It’s about time,” she sighed.

  “What do you mean?” Merownis asked, unsure.

  “You’re his party member, aren’t you? If the rumours I’ve heard are true then he needs all the help he can get.” From her tone, it was clear Ayseral was joking, but when she saw the gravity in Merownis’ expression her humour faltered.

  “What rumours? Who’s spreading rumours?” The last thing we needed was panic in the town. Nothing was certain right now.

  Ayseral raised an eyebrow as though the answer should have been plain. It was, on reflection. “Naea, obviously. She’s been going around telling anyone who asks that Grant is about to fight the Storm Dragon himself. She’s… just joking, right?”

  Alonyx was a very specific name, and Merownis had been convincing himself for hours that he was mistaken. It wasn’t like the name was unique to a single being, after all. Yet… This was Grant they were talking about. Merownis ran his large paw-like hand over his face and forced himself into a smile.

  “Doesn’t matter one way or another. Grant would win against even the real Storm Dragon,” Merownis crowed, getting a cheer from a nearby table of orcs who were in agreement and in their drinks. “But, for safety sake… I’m going to go and make sure he’s got support. Can you look after the town?”

  “I already was,” Ayseral answered, waving Merownis off. He didn’t have a response to that one, so he didn’t try. Within minutes, the sundercat was sprinting across the desert, dropping to all fours for additional speed. As he ran, the sundercat did everything he could to convince himself things would be alright. Even as he knew Grant was soon to be face-to-face with one of the System’s greatest calamities.

  It would… probably be fine, right?