Ancient Dragon

Linden waited inside the spore-filled Cave for the unwelcome guest to arrive.

New changes occurred on the Fifth Floor.

The Rift that had produced the Dragonkin and Giant Rats had not spawned any Monsters for quite some time.

Now, it was becoming unstable.

The space around the Rift warped slightly, as though it were expanding.

The change made Linden's heart race.

He knew nothing about spatial phenomena, but this was definitely dangerous.

He did not want his Fifth Floor to become a death zone of shattered space.

Or to gain several permanent Rifts that anyone could casually enter through.

Wanting it or not, Linden was helpless against these changes.

Besides, dealing with the Dragonkin was the priority right now.

It was here!

Through Linden's Mana Perception, the Dragonkin had already dug its way to the edge.

Crack, crack—

A section of rock wall slowly split open...

The next second, a pair of sharp claws burst through the stone.

The Dragonkin's head followed, drilling out as its blazing golden dragon eyes swept across the Cave.

Waiting before it were Knight Puji and six Tentacle Mushroom Cannons, fully charged and poised to fire.

Surprised?

Six Mushroom Cannon shots at triple power all struck the stunned Dragonkin square in the face.

Headshots!

The deafening explosions mixed with violent tremors, blasting apart the entire rock wall.

The Cave ceiling collapsed amid the shaking, huge chunks of rubble falling one after another and burying the Dragonkin.

The Cave only barely stabilized after a third of it had caved in.

Linden had no choice. Against the Dragonkin, worrying about whether the Cave would collapse was no longer an option.

But it was not over yet.

The pile of rubble suddenly exploded apart. The Dragonkin rushed out, but did not charge straight at Knight Puji.

Instead, it darted around the Cave at incredible speed before finally stopping in a corner.

The Dragonkin looked utterly miserable now.

Its head was covered in blood, more than half the scales on its face had shattered away, and one of its horns had broken off.

Perhaps the Heavy Strike had rattled it badly. It curled up in the corner, growling low and not daring to approach carelessly.

The Dragonkin's current appearance surprised Linden a little.

Originally, its features had been hidden beneath thick scales, and with its horns, it looked more like a Dragon.

Now that most of its scales had fallen off and its features were exposed, it actually looked more human.

Of course, none of that mattered.

Being able to remain in a standoff with the Dragonkin suited Linden perfectly.

The six Mycelium Tentacle Mushroom Cannons on his body were all single-use. After firing just now, the recoil had shattered their tentacles.

Even if they could still be used, they probably could not hit a Dragonkin whose movements were unrestricted.

Linden's true trump card had always been the Hallucinogenic Spores filling the air.

Anything related to Dragons would have high resistance, but high resistance did not mean immunity. Given enough time...

Unfortunately, the Dragonkin moved again.

Its body turned into an afterimage as it circled Linden, gradually closing in.

It was obvious it had been hurt badly. It no longer had the reckless, straightforward ferocity it had shown while fighting the Giant Rats.

But Linden preferred it this way. If it came straight at him, he might not even be able to react.

Once the Dragonkin came close enough, the Knight trembled slightly.

[Infrasonic Attack LV6]

The Dragonkin's internal organs were struck, and its movements abruptly halted. Before it could turn, inertia carried it headfirst into the rock wall again.

Without hesitation, Linden fired another Mushroom Cannon shot at it. Another section of the Cave collapsed, burying the Dragonkin.

The power of Infrasonic Attack was far inferior to a Mushroom Cannon of the same level.

But its advantage was that it ignored defense and dealt damage directly to the inside of the body!

Even though Linden's Infrasonic Attack was only Level 6, in the enclosed space of the Cave and amplified by the Symbiotic Crystal, it was enough to injure the Dragonkin and disrupt its rhythm.

The rubble was shoved aside. When the Dragonkin crawled out this time, it was clearly less spirited.

But it did not hesitate. It charged over, charging straight at him.

[Infrasonic Attack LV6]

[Evasion LV7]

By interrupting its movement, Linden avoided the direct attack.

But the Dragonkin had learned its lesson. It had not used its full strength in this Charge.

After being disrupted, it adjusted its posture in time, circled around, and charged again through the gap between Linden's Infrasonic Attacks.

What sharp combat instincts!

Facing the Dragonkin's swinging claws, Knight Puji lowered itself slightly at the critical moment... then sprang up!

[Assault Ejection LV5]

The claws passed by the Knight.

It dodged, but not completely.

A claw mark was left on the Knight's shell. It had come within a hair's breadth of damaging the inside.

The situation seemed to be worsening.

What about the Hallucinogenic Spores?

It had inhaled so many, yet they still had not taken effect?

The Dragonkin seemed to realize it was gradually gaining the upper hand. It grinned excitedly, revealing two rows of shark-like teeth.

It adjusted its stance and pounced again.

This time, however, the Dragonkin had barely reached halfway when its limbs lost coordination, sending it tumbling into a ball across the ground.

This time, Linden had done nothing. His Infrasonic Attack was still a little while from being ready.

In fact, Linden himself felt weak all over, his Mycelium going limp.

A new status had appeared on the Panel:

[Dragon Might (All attributes reduced by 50%)]

!!!

What the hell!?

Linden quickly scanned the Fifth Floor.

The unstable spatial Rift had somehow expanded by an entire circle!

A massive claw five meters long gripped the edge of the Rift, causing the surrounding space to shake violently!

"GROOOOARRR—"

A terrifying roar from within the Rift echoed throughout the entire Fifth Floor.

Only because Linden's true body was buried underground did he fail to hear it immediately.

But not hearing it did not mean he was unaffected.

The Dragon Might status was the best proof.

That meant the owner of that claw was a Dragon?

Not a Dragon Beast or a Sub-Dragon, but a true Dragon!?

Judging by the size of the claw, that Dragon definitely could not fit through the Rift unless it tore the Rift wider...

Don't!

Could every bit of bad luck really happen to me?

Linden trembled beneath the Dragon Might, while the Dragonkin across from him fared even worse.

It actually dug a hole on the spot and buried its upper body inside, pretending to be an ostrich...

The dragon claw seemed to want to keep tearing open the Rift, but countless Electric Arcs suddenly flashed through the air.

The Electric Arcs struck the dragon claw one after another, blasting away a patch of Dragon Scales.

The Dragon recoiled in pain and actually released its grip.

Before withdrawing, though, it let out another furious roar in this direction.

Then the Electric Arcs wrapped around the Rift, causing it to shrink smaller and smaller until it vanished.

After the Rift disappeared, that spot returned to the staircase connecting the Fourth and Fifth Floors.

The staircase was so clean, as though nothing had happened at all...

Only long after the Rift vanished did the negative status on Linden finally disappear.

The Dragonkin remained half-buried in the dirt, completely motionless.

The Knight raised its tiny short leg and kicked it out.

The Dragonkin slammed into the rock wall behind it and collapsed there.

The Hallucinogenic Spores had finally taken effect.

Who would have thought?

The Dragon Might had actually helped him out!

The Knight came to the Dragonkin's side and began violently stomping on that little face.

This was no ordinary stomp. This was:

[Trample LV3]

Deadly Thirty-Hit Stomp finally pushed down its Blood Thread, after which Linden elegantly scattered Parasitic Spores over it.

Before long, he would have his strongest Puppet!

Finally able to relax, Linden had time to examine the Dragonkin's Panel in detail.

Before, he had either been commanding the battle, setting traps, or fighting this Dragonkin head-on.

He had only managed to glance at its basic attributes.

Now that he looked carefully, the rows of LV8 and LV9 made Linden thrilled.

But that excitement soon faded.

Among the vast amount of information, Linden picked out three entries with the same beginning.

[Racial Talent: Ancient Dragon Blood (All attributes increased by 20%)]

[Fixed Status: Ancient Dragon Protection (Killing a protected target will cause you to be marked by an Ancient Dragon)]

[Title: Ancient Dragon Scion (Primary attributes increased by 50%)]

Thinking of that dragon claw from before...

Was there any way to cancel Fusion Parasitism?