Andreas had a very deep impression of the Blue Dragon Kalecgos... though most of it was negative.
The bottom of the barrel, the dragon disgrace who got shot down by a zeppelin, a victim of demonic mind control, the undisputed weakest Dragon King in history, the "mighty" Sunwell-dating man, and a professional "widow successor."
Although he was hailed as the chosen one of the Dragonflight, Kalecgos' strength and narrative performance had never quite met people's expectations. His various comical mishaps had solidified his reputation as the "weakest link" of the dragons.
Andreas' inherent impressions of Kalecgos were all from his adulthood; as for a teenage version of this "bottom-tier combatant"... he really didn't have a clue.
Receiving Kalecgos' enthusiastic challenge, Andreas tilted his head and remained dazed for a good while.
"You said... you want to challenge me?"
"That's right! You have defiled the dignity of the Dragonflight. I challenge you on behalf of the Protector Dragons!"
"Emmm..."
Andreas turned awkwardly toward the amused Alexstrasza. "Dragon Queen, Your Majesty, look at this..."
"Sigh~" Eranikus slapped his hand against his forehead, looking like he couldn't bear to face anyone. "...I take back my earlier words. These runts truly are all in need of a good thrashing."
Chromie held her small head high with pride. "Hmph hmph~ See? I was right after all, wasn't I?"
Alexstrasza rubbed her temples. After a moment of troubled hesitation, she said, "Andreas, just play with him for a bit. This child is, for better or worse, a rising star of the Blue Dragonflight."
'For better or worse'... The Blue Dragons really are suffering from a talent gap.
Andreas let his shoulders slump and said helplessly, "Fine then. Kalecgos, let's head outside."
"Hmph!"
The hotheaded Blue Dragon said proudly, "Mortal, hop on. I'll give you a ri—Eh?"
Before Kalecgos could finish his sentence, Andreas had already stepped onto the edge of the tower, stretched his body, and leaped outward.
During the descent, the biting cold wind made Andreas' fur coat flap loudly. Just as he was about to free-fall into the snowfields, Andreas' body suddenly became as light as a feather, floating gently downward.
Tap~
Standing steadily in the center of the snow, Andreas brushed the snowflakes off his coat, dispelled the Levitate spell, and looked up toward the center of the tower.
"Come down. Didn't you want to teach me a lesson? Hurry up; Arygos could return at any moment."
"Ah? Oh, right. Coming!"
Only then did the whelp Kalecgos flap his wings and descend into the snowfields.
The dragons Andreas had offended by angering Soridormi earlier were definitely not limited to Kalecgos. Seeing a good show about to start, the bored dragons poked their heads out from Wyrmrest Temple one by one.
Although Kalecgos talked big, he behaved quite cautiously once he entered a combat state.
Andreas casually planted his staff in the snow. Watching this "bratty dragon" circle around him incessantly, he couldn't help but roll his eyes and provoke him: "Are you planning to win by making me dizzy? If you don't make a move soon, don't blame me for striking first."
"Insolent mortal! Take this—Arcane Barrage!"
Being underestimated infuriated Kalecgos. Having achieved fame at a young age, his ego was quite high. He spat a series of blue-purple Arcane energy orbs from his mouth, perfectly covering the area where Andreas stood.
"Now this is getting interesting."
"Power Word: Shield."
A colorless, transparent shield blocked most of the Arcane Barrage aimed at Andreas. Ripples spread across the energy-based shield; the whelp's spell output was temporarily unable to break through Andreas' solid defense.
During his 1,000 years of having his Shadow spells sealed within the Emerald Dream, Andreas had taken the opportunity to research a portion of Discipline spells, in addition to using his only remaining Nature power.
Although Light and Shadow can be transformed into one another, the two powers are extremes. Attempting to use them simultaneously is nearly impossible.
Discipline magic was researched under this context—it exists between Light and Shadow, interfering with neither.
Andreas had tried to call upon the power of the Light during his 1,000 years in the Emerald Dream, but perhaps due to his long-term use of Shadow energy, his mastery of the Light was very, very slow.
As the saying goes, "Haste makes waste." Since he couldn't master the Light in a short time, he could only settle for the next best thing: researching Discipline magic as a medium between Light and Shadow.
Strictly speaking, Discipline magic had existed in an incomplete, embryonic form among the Priests of Elune long ago.
The most typical example was Power Word: Shield.
The strength of Discipline magic lies neither in healing nor in damage; its greatest feature is mitigating the damage the user takes from enemy attacks, providing outstanding auxiliary effects.
After blocking Kalecgos' first wave of attacks with Power Word: Shield, Andreas followed up by casting Power Word: Fortitude on himself to enhance his resilience.
Although Kalecgos' Arcane Barrage looked overwhelming and had impressive visual effects, Andreas could likely stand still and let him attack without his defense being broken.
Kalecgos was called a rising star of the Blue Dragonflight for a reason. Although he had some personality issues during his "adolescence," he was no fool.
Seeing that his sustained area-of-effect attacks couldn't breach Andreas' defense, he quickly shifted his strategy.
The Arcane Barrage vanished, followed immediately by extremely fast, sharp ice blades.
"Ice Lance!"
Due to the environment of Dragonblight, the activity level of Water elements far exceeded that of Fire. Kalecgos' choice to use frost spells by adapting to the situation was correct.
The frigid, sharp ice spears grazed the edges of the Power Word: Shield, triggering bursts of ripples. Andreas was, after all, not a nimble Rogue or Ranger; he couldn't completely evade the ultra-high-speed ice spears.
However, he was not a pure spellcasting class. Seeing Kalecgos getting more and more excited as the fight went on, Andreas gave a light chuckle and reapplied a layer of shield. Then, he stretched his body in mid-air and transformed into a silver wolf with fur color close to the snow.
Since learning the wolf form transformation, Andreas rarely used other feral forms.
Because of Goldrinn's connection to the moon, Andreas could establish a slight link with the White Lady hanging in the sky through this form, which helped him comprehend the power of the Light to some extent.
However, it was still daytime. Although the moon was present, the boosting effect was much lower than at night.
With the help of thick paw pads, the silver wolf sprinted rapidly across the soft snowfields. Kalecgos' ice spears were completely unable to keep up with the speed at which Andreas changed directions, with almost every shot landing behind him.
Seeing Andreas gradually closing in, a cunning smile appeared on the face of Kalecgos, who was intentionally feigning panic.
"Frost Nova!"
A ring of blue ice shards expanded outward with Kalecgos at the center. Seeing that the silver wolf was about to be hit by the frost ring, a triumphant expression couldn't help but surface on Kalecgos' face.
"Hmph~ You talk big, but a mortal is ultimately just a mortal."
Andreas did not slow down while sprinting. A strange glint flashed in the wolf's eyes as he opened his jaws to reveal sharp fangs.
"Awoo!"
A stream of moonlight-colored energy surged out with the wolf's howl, colliding head-on with the Frost Nova released by Kalecgos.
The seemingly thin but concentrated energy soundwave blasted a gap in the previously intact Frost Nova. Kalecgos' smile instantly froze on his face.
Just as he intended to shield himself with Ice Barrier and engage the silver wolf in melee combat, Andreas erupted again, fully revealing the speed he had previously hidden. In the next second, he appeared at Kalecgos' side.
Nimbly climbing up the whelp's body to his neck, he placed his left front paw on the young dragon's head, with moonlight radiance ready to strike his brain at any moment.
"You lose."