Age of Dragons Online

Chapter 21: The Key

Chapter 21

The Key

Nadran walked through the grassy hills with the rest of his party, the mountain drawing closer with every step. It looks so close that I feel like I could reach out and touch it, he thought. Of course, it was still miles away.

Shaking his head at his ridiculous thought, he looked around at the others. Aledro and Korath were talking animatedly, original animosity from the way Korath joined fading away as they fought and traveled together. Well, hardships and shared experiences have a way of bringing people together, Nadran thought, suppressing a grin.

Lunalia was walking a little farther away, lost in thought, and Nadran understood why. Earlier that day, he had asked Lunalia if she knew of any way to dispel the barrier that he believed was inhibiting his powers. After consulting her spellbook, she had tried a spell, but had been unsuccessful. She had, however, said that when she tried casting the spell, she sensed something similar to what Nadran was describing. This reinforced Nadran's suspicions about the nature of the white "cage" that seemed to be suppressing his powers, and Lunalia said that she would try to figure out a way to successfully remove the block on his "Lord of Darkness" skillset. She was evidently still thinking, and Nadran marveled at her transformation from hating him to trying to help him. Well, I guess this proves my point that hardships bring people together... unless she's just faking it and still hates me. I don't really think that's the case anymore, though.

Nadran stretched, relieved that his wound seemed to be completely healed. He didn't even feel any soreness from it anymore. I guess the healing speed in this world really is enhanced. He pulled a water bottle out of the pack he was carrying on his back, taking a drink of some water from the last river they had crossed. It's amazing how well this game can recreate hunger and thirst, he thought as he quenched his thirst. Oh, and how refreshing water can be after walking for hours and having your mouth feel as dry as a piece of parchment.

As he was replacing the bottle in his bag, a dark hissing noise caused him to freeze and almost drop the water. His head turned slowly to see a four-armed woman with the lower body of a snake. Her entire body was covered in silver scales, and a red forked tongue darted out of her vaguely reptilian mouth. Her eyes were a steely gray, and filled with a rage that showed there would be no room for negotiation. Held in her arms were four deadly looking scimitars, swaying dangerously with the wind. Nadran recognized this creature. It was a Naga, a warlike race of humanoid monsters that were as deadly as the poisonous snakes they resembled. Like their serpentine counterparts on Earth, they often used deadly poisons on their blades to paralyze and injure their foes.

Nadran's attention was next drawn to the identifying bar floating above her head. It read [Lo'kar, the Exile] [Lv. 18] [Boss]. Nadran paled. That's even stronger that Golkav, he thought, remembering the dark creature that he had fought atop the tower, a battle he barely won even with his newly awakened powers. And I don't even have those powers with me this time, he thought grimly. Well, this time I have other people to help me at least. He looked around to judge the group's battle strength.

He was the highest level, at level 10. Solo killing Golkav probably helped, he thought dryly. Lunalia and Aledro were level 8, and Korath was level 7. Oh yeah, I haven't been getting notifications for leveling up lately. I guess it doesn't show a big popup box anymore when we level up. And... getting off track.

As they silently prepared for battle, Nadran grimly calculated the odds. I don't know if we can win this fight, but I highly doubt we could escape. Nagas are known to be very fast, and this one doesn't look like it's about to let us go. It's been exiled, and is far from the coastal regions of its kind. It's probably bitter, and needs a good target to vent on. I'm surprised the game would go so far as to make exiles from the clans of monsters in this world. The complexity of this game never ceases to amaze me... and I'm getting off track again.