The forest was burning.
Not with flames...
With corrupted breath, a swirling miasma that twisted the air into a nightmare haze.
Yuto wiped blood from his chin, boots digging into the cracked earth. Across from him, the Lesser Corrupted Dragonkin still alive, spread its wings, each beat sending toxic dust blasting outward.
Its thunderous roar shook the entire region..
RRAAAAAAAAAGH!!
" This is a stubborn one"
[Advisor: "Reminder: this is the weak relative of a dragon you're supposed to fight later."]
"If this is the weak one, I want a refund."
Yuto steadied his stance.
Every muscle burned.
His spirit veins ached.
But his eyes were sharp..
glinting like silver fire.
The Dragonkin lowered its head, corrupted flame dripping from its jaw like molten tar.
Then..
It charged.
A mountain of muscle and wings collapsing toward him at breakneck speed.
Yuto inhaled sharply...
Spirit Instinct : FULL SENSE.
Time expanded.
The Dragonkin's charging path lit up in Yuto's mind like a map.
Its claws open.
Its jaw unsteady.
Its wing lagging by half a beat.
A flaw.
Yuto stepped forward...
And vanished.
---
Then suddenly , the Sky Breaks...
He reappeared above the beast, heel descending like a falling star.
BAM!!!
His kick slammed the Dragonkin's skull sideways, the entire creature skidding through the dirt and plowing through several dead trees.
The ground quaked.
Corrupted mist exploded out like black fireworks.
Yuto landed lightly, dust whirling behind him.
"Still alive?"
The ground rumbled.
Still alive.
The Dragonkin staggered up, wings twitching violently. Its roar this time wasn't simply loud, it carried pure killing intent.
Black lightning flickered across its horns.
[ Advisor: "Yuto, it's charging 'Corrupted Dragon Burst'. You have approximately..."]
"...I know."
Yuto flickered again...
Spirit Step (Advanced).
He appeared behind the Dragonkin,
But it was ready.
The tail whipped out..
WHIP-CRACK!!!
It smashed Yuto through a tree.
Air left his lungs.
Pain spiked through his ribs.
He dropped to a knee, gasping.
[Advisor: "You okay?"]
"If I say no, will you heal me?"
[Advisor: "…No."]
"Then yes."
The Dragonkin inhaled...
Black-red light forming in its throat.
A corrupted breath attack...
One that could melt entire stone cliffs.
Yuto grinned despite himself.
"Guess we're doing this the hard way."
His aura surged, blue and silver spiraling around him like a cyclone.
---
The Dragonkin fired...
BWOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
A pillar of corrupted energy blasted forward, annihilating everything in its path.
Yuto sprinted straight into it.
[Advisor: "ARE YOU INSANE.."]
"YES!"
His fist glowed..
Mana condensed inward so sharply that the air itself cracked.
Mana Shaping: BREAK-LINE :FULL FORCE!!
He punched the incoming blast.
A shockwave burst outward,
Light versus corruption..
Power versus death..
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!
The blast split in half.
The entire forest caved from the pressure.
Birds fled for miles.
Even Nerulia Haven felt the tremor.
Yuto pushed through the blast, boots digging trenches into the ground, until...
He broke through.
The Dragonkin's eyes widened.
Too late.
Yuto appeared under its chin...
His fist rising.
"BREAK, LINE !!!"
CRAAAAAACK!!!
His punch pierced through corrupted scales, ripping through the Dragonkin's throat and exiting through the back of its neck.
The beast choked..
Collapsed...
And fell like a crumbling mountain.
Silence.
Only the wind moved.
---
But still it wasn't done.
Its body spasmed.
Corruption fought violently inside it, tendrils of dark mana trying to resurrect the beast.
Yuto wiped sweat, exhausted but defiant.
"Oh shut up,..stay dead."
He pressed his palms together.
Spirit energy surged.
Purification Resonance : MAX BURST.
Blue-white light expanded outward, engulfing the Dragonkin's body.
The corruption screamed.
Yuto stepped forward, pushing harder...
"Dissolve."
The Dragonkin gave one final roar, cracking, distorted..
SHRRRRAAAAAAGGHH..
And burst into purified dust.
The corrupted forest around them brightened, the air snapping back into clarity.
Yuto exhaled, dropping to one knee.
"Why was it so stubborn?"
[ The curroption, controlling the dragonkin was 97% ]
"Still, That… was way too much for a warm-up."
[Advisor: "Well, good news. You survived."]
"Shut up… let me enjoy this moment."
Advisor: "Are you ready for your stats?"
"…Hit me."
The air trembled.
A glowing system window materialized before him..
---
[SYSTEM: STATUS UPDATED]
You have defeated a "Lesser Corrupted Dragonkin."
Massive experience gained.
Purification stat boost granted.
---
⭐ LEVEL:
42→ 50
---
CORE STATS
Strength:
200
Agility:
213
Endurance:
198
Intelligence:
202
Mana Pool:
6000
Spirit Control:
178 → 204 / 230
Purification Power:
61% → 73%
Evolution Progress:
65% → 72%
[Advisor: "You're officially in the range where fighting a real corrupted dragon won't be suicide."]
"Just suicide-adjacent."
Advisor: "Exactly."
Yuto stood up slowly.
His aura burned brighter than ever...
Silver, blue, and faintly gold.
The Dragonkin was gone.
But the real monster still waited somewhere deep in the corrupted lands.
A monster so powerful it could level mountains.
And Yuto's evolution…
Was stirring again.
This was far from the end.
---