Chapter 46 – Earth Drake Against Elepharak

It was the 4th day since Kieran had arrived on the island.

It had already been more than 1,000 meters since he had reached the level of the clouds. He was now climbing the part of the mountain which rose above the clouds. He could see that he was finally approaching the top of the mountain.

Ever since he had passed through the clouds, all the crystal beasts he encountered had a strength superior to the middle stage Bronze rank, making him shiver every time one of them entered the range of his crystal sense.

If the crystal beasts of this island were not so slow, he would have already turned around to flee from this place.

As he approached the top of the mountain, he heard a deep roar followed by the sound of an explosion that shook the entire top of the mountain.

A thick crystal essence emerged from his claws before he dug them deep into the rock to avoid falling from the tremors.

He shifted his gaze to the top of the mountain.

"What kind of beast can create such powerful earthquakes?"

"It must be a beast at the peak stage of the Silver rank."

"The peak stage of the Silver Rank... Won't it detect my presence if I reach the top of the mountain?"

"You don't have to worry as I told you, few crystal beasts know how to use crystal sense before reaching the Gold rank. Moreover, according to the roars we heard and the tremors of the ground, it seems that the beast at the top is in the middle of a fight. Even if it could use crystal sense, it would not have time to deal with a simple Iron rank like you."

Kieran was relieved by Runihoril's words, but as he held on not to fall, the tremors kept coming one after another.

'If I stay here, I'll eventually use up all my crystal essence. I have to keep climbing between each tremor,' Kieran thought.

It took him more than an hour to reach the top under the constant pressure of earthquakes that threatened to bring him down.

As he landed on top of the mountain, a breathtaking sight appeared before him.

He could see the whole island from where he stood, as well as the other islands of the archipelago that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Turning back, he was again surprised by the sight. The top of the mountain was hollow. An immense valley extended in front of him.

He stared at the sight in front of him when an explosion caught his eye.

A massive beast moved through the valley, tearing up every tree that had the misfortune to be in its path.

"What kind of beast is it?"

"It's an Earth Drake."

"A drake? That's impossible, I've faced a lightning drake before, and it wasn't nearly as big as this one."

"What you faced must have been a young drake. Drakes possess powerful physiques. Even though they only have a small amount of dragon blood inside their body, it's enough to make their race powerful. They can even go against beasts above their rank."

"I don't see what beast he is fighting."

The moment Kieran finished his words, a black crystal beast jumped in front of the earth drake's head.

The beast had a humanoid appearance, measuring 2 meters. It seemed insignificant against the Earth Drake and its imposing size.

The beast had a slender silhouette. Its head was covered by what appeared to be a black helmet made of extremely thin rock with two spikes on each side of its head rising upwards, resembling two horns, a white light that had the shape of an inverted cross with a vertical line on each side of the cross where the eyes of a human were supposed to be was engraved on the helmet, a black and gray fur covers the entire body of the beast, a gray mane decorated his neck, his forearms which were as thick as his torso seemed powerful with small claws at the end of each of its fingers and between his phalanges three bones in the shape of a spade stood out, its legs were thin being as wide as two of his fingers but seemed extremely agile, a long thick tail larger than him stretched along its back with three black spikes at its extremities.
The beast held in its hands a primitive-looking scythe made of a black rock that seemed sturdy.

As the beast had reached the earth drake's head, it spun around, swinging its tail in the direction of the earth drake's head.

To Kieran's great shock, who expected the earth drake to finish the beast in one bite, a loud explosion sounded as the earth drake was pushed back. Three deep gashes were on the side of his head.

The earth drake's furious roar resonated once more.

"What... What is it exactly?" asked Kieran, dumbfounded, while looking at Runihoril.

"It's a rare crystal beast. They are called Elepharak. They have great agility and have a rock in their body called a black heart. As they grow, this black heart allows them to construct organic armor and weapons perfectly compatible with their bodies."

"Organic armor and weapon?"

"The black heart is part of the Elepharak. Even if it looks like a black rock, it is an organ that is entirely part of them. Thanks to this organ that they have and their cells, they can form armor and weapons. That is why we call it organic. Armor and weapons created from the black heart will be fully compatible with them and will grow along with them. To simplify things, this Elepharak is at the peak stage of the Silver rank, his helmet and scythe are of the same rank too."

"I see. It's the first time I've heard of such a beast."

While talking with Runihoril, the fight between the two beasts didn't stop for a second.

After being pushed back by the Elepharak, the Earth Drake formed spikes of earth all around its body, destroying everything within a fifty-meter radius.

The Elepharak dodged most of the earth spikes, and his scythe destroyed any he couldn't dodge.

Seeing that the Elepharak had still suffered no damage, the Earth Drake felt indignant and began to inhale the crystal essence in his surroundings.

"It will launch a breath attack," said Runihoril.

As if able to hear Runihoril, the Earth Drake opened its mouth wide before releasing its breath.

A cloud of dust and stone fragments escaped from the Earth Drake's mouth, razing everything in its path.

The Elepharak leaped into the air dodging the Earth Drake's breath.

The Earth Drake quickly raised its mouth and, with it, its breath, trying to hit the Elepharak, who now had nowhere to go.

As the breath approached it, a small platform made of stone formed next to the Elepharak. Using it as support, it jumped, dodging the Earth Drake's breath.

"It can do that?!"

Kieran's jaw threatened to fall in front of the Elepharak's agile movement that resembled his own.

"Do you think you're the only one using support to move around in an area?"

"..."

Kieran didn't know what to answer, so he preferred to shut up and continue to watch the fight between the two Silver rank beasts.

As he was lost in their fight, Runihoril's voice woke him up.

"Didn't you come to collect an earth elemental stone?"

"It's true!"

"You should take advantage while they're fighting. You won't have a better moment than this."

He looked away from the fight and began to search for a place where the earth elemental stone might have appeared.

"I'll save you some time. The Earth Drake surely collected every earth elemental stone that could have formed here. It's one of the evil inclinations of dragons transmitted through their blood, collecting everything they find valuable. You will find your earth elemental stone in its nest."

His face suddenly went pale.

"If I go to its nest, won't I die from the Earth Drake?"

"It will depend your prudence and it not noticing you."

Kieran swallowed his saliva.

"You can always turn back if you don't feel up to it. You will have another opportunity to get your earth elemental stone. You can even buy it directly once you are back in your city."

"Won't that mean I'm just scared?"

"Fear is not a flaw. It is proof that you know your weaknesses."

Kieran remained silent for several seconds, watching the two beasts clash with each other, his heart beating hard inside his chest as he shifted his gaze to Runihoril with a resolute look in his eyes.

"If I want to be able to explore the universe one day, I can't be scared away by a simple lizard."

"Hahaha, well said!"


Author's Note: You can find the Illustrations for some characters and beasts in the Pinterest link or in my profile, inside the gallery.