In Loki's Honor

"What's a Dragon?" I mumble at the unspoken question pretending to be playing "Jeopardy!". Big, nasty, toothy, clawy, flighty, scaly, dark red, horned (not horny, please), and nasty. Nasty makes it twice on the list because.

The thing is the size of an airplane? I can't tell which one because I'm not an aviation fanatic and against the backdrop of the sky it is hard to tell. The griffins are all fleeing away into the plains. I think they don't want to lead the dragon to their nest.

But the beast is faster than the griffins. In a few minutes, he'll catch up and chomp up. I urge Sky Lord to turn around and fight but he's too afraid. I hum a song of courage but he's too far gone.

Should I leave the griffins to their fate? Hell, no. I came here to tame griffins and get eggs. This Dragon is going to either leave, agree to stop attacking or die. There's a non-zero chance it is I who's going to kick the bucket, but this Queen has heirs. Sariandi can take care of the People.

"Hey, red dragon!" I shout at him, using wind magic to amplify my reach. "Can you not eat the griffins? I'm kinda trying to tame them!"

The dragon roars. I can swear he's laughing but I might be biased. He picks up speed and approaches even more. My weight is not irrelevant to the griffin. Sky Lord is at the rear of the fleeing beasts.

I hear Weird Al singing in the back of my head. "Bite on more than you can chew! / What can you do? / You can dare to be stupid!"

I stand up and spread my arms. Then I jump toward the dragon as I put a levitation spell on me. "Peace, great one!" I tell him. "Let's be friends!"

He understands and greets me. I was unaware of this custom where dragons greet their friends with their maws open.

Or I misunderstood him and he's coming to bite me. More likely. I feel the heebie-jeebies and my skin gets pocked by goosebumps. I'm so dead. I should've trained a flight spell.

The dragon comes and chomps on me. I'm immaterial and pass through with some scratches because dragon bites are partly magical. The ultimate cheaters. I get out through his neck and touch a scale, latching to it.

Back as a material girl, I'm run down its neck to the back between the wings. If there's one awkward place for a bug to stay is between the wings.

"Let's talk and negotiate, dragon! I'm Queen Alloralla of the elves!"

The dragon roars and turns his neck. He opens his mouth and gives me a scalding reply.

You are hit by Dragon Breath. You are healed for 968 HP. (base 15,000 (-2250) x 2 Attribute x 2 Skill x 0,75 magic resistance x 0,75 affinity x 0.03 fire resistance x 0,5 magic eater)

My perks protect my gear. He stops breathing fire and I am at the same spot.

"You live!" He roared. I shift to his language.

"So you can talk. Can we stop and talk?"

"No talk, elf Queen. I don't talk to food," he chuckled, smoke coming out of his nostrils. I check his level. One hundred and thirty-five.

"So you could understand me! Well, you are not eating this elf."

I duck and dodge a tail slap. The barbed tip of his tail slams on his scales and falls behind as it gets straight again. I hear the dragon chanting. Bindings of force surround me.

"Not fair!" I tell him.

"Now let's see you escape this, ghost woman!" He roared and the tail slapped again. The rings of force are stationary relative to him. The bastard didn't stop chasing the griffins.

You were struck by Tail slap. You lost 13,149 HP. Mana shield burned 4,383 MP. (Base 487 x3 Strength x 2 Skill x 2 perk x10 size x 0.75 favored enemy defense x 0.5 bands of Force x 0,8 armor)

"You live," he growled.

"Last chance. Stop your aggression or I'll make you regret."

"Maybe I should burn your elf forest," the dragon mused.

That's it. Nobody threatens the Forest. I store all my equipment and shift into an Etruscan shrew. Four centimeters long. I slip past the bands of force and move to the wing joint.

"Tricky elf," He said.

He shot force bolts at me. At my size, with my speed and my bonus to evasion relative to size, he might as well be a drunk man attempting to swat a fly with chopsticks. Not a Kung fu master.

His spells flow over his scales like water off a duck's feathers. He shifts the elements and tries a lot of them, including lightning, which I dodge out of principle. He grows bored and turns to chase the griffins. We are well over the plains now. I think I can even see a tribe of centaurs galloping.

Not willing to fully commit to causing harm yet, I start to throw threads from all the claws of my forepaws at the wing. Like a newborn spider trying to ride the wind, these loose sticky threads fly wild and latch on the wing. I keep pouring them at my maximum speed. Some snap, some don't, depending on the position of the wing when they touch but the threads keep accumulating. I try to weave them as they come out two by two in a spiral pattern to increase strength.

"What are you doing?" He asked when he found it hard to beat the wing. The threads that survived were the ones that latched onto the wing when it was almost entirely open. They stuck to each other and the wing, creating a mess. I ran around to the base of the wing and started to do the same.

I feel a huge dump. Like an airplane that hit turbulence, the dragon stalled and lost altitude before he caught up. He cartwheeled and tries to bite the threads off of his wing.

"Curse you, elf Queen!"

"I did no harm to you yet, dragon. There's still time to talk and negotiate!"

Speaking gives him my position. He scratches where I am and plucks a scale, which I bind with the threads. I run underneath another. The scales under the wing are smaller and softer. I can feel his blood pulsing and the warmth of his fire-imbued body.

Then he breathes fire on his wing, burning the threads. Plan B.

The dragon roars in frustration. I come out to see and find that the griffins took his drop as a cue to turn around and return to the mountains. They had quite the head start. I cast my wind magic and shoot offensive words at him.

"Hey, dragon. Did you know that I ... ̴͕̋͌̒̑̿Ҥ̸̖̩̮̅̇̃̅̆̐Д̶̨̼̰̫͇͖͑́Ṽ̴̭͍̭͒̒͒̓Ԑ̷̺̒ ̶̤̄̂͝Ҫ̴̡̘̘̥̏̅Ц̵̱̟̹̖̘͋̓̀͛Я̸̩̎S̶̢̪͇̖̗͂̒͂͝Ԑ̵̹̘͓̑́̕͝S̷͍̖̺͓̽ͅ ̶̩̯͗͒̍Ґ̸̭̇̒̊̕͝Ӊ̷̰̦̤͌̌̎̑̊͘Д̵͓̅̀̍Ґ̷̙͙̦̝͎̬̈́̌̉̆̒̕ ̵̲̞̓͛͋̅̓Ӻ̵̬̳͉̬̆Ф̷̜̖̩̍̈́̓͌̿͝Я̶̻̬̝͕̝̾̎̂Ь̶̱̀̽̊̓̚Ї̷̛̲̐͛͐̈́͝D̷̢͓̫̘̫̔̍̑̓̕͜͝ ̵̰̌̐Ԡ̷̧̧̢̝͙͈̒͒͒͗͝Є̶͙̋͐̓̀̂̀ ̵̖̮͗͑̉͠Ӻ̶͙̟͓͎̦̋Я̷̼͖̼͛͆̕Ф̵͔̒̃ͅԠ̴̜̬͙͋̅ ̴̛̪̂͆͋̂̈́Ҭ̸̙̿Д̷̭͓̠̀L̴̩͔̟̺̫͂̋͋̅̅Ԟ̷̢̩̮̰̓͐͗͆Ї̴̧̛̼̙̮̔́̿̄͝Й̸̝̮̯̑́̓͆̕G̴̬̻̈́͗̋͘̚ ̶̣̰͂Д̵̻̲̹̓̔͗̐͋̾Б̶̡͙̓͑Ф̵̨̩̭̼͌̊̚Џ̶̺̘̐̃̊Ґ̸̝͔̱̮̫́͐̍̀ ̶̨̡̦̯̩̝̂̀̇̇G̴͔̍̇͗Ф̴̨̧̻̪͑̋̈̈́͆́ͅD̴̼̈́S̵̡̺̣̄͑̀̒̒,̶͓̲͙̬̟̇̎ ̶̡͖̱͗͝Ӻ̴̧̛̙̲̭͕͖Я̸̪̯̃Ф̴͍̰̐͘Ԡ̷͓̔̽̅̎̚ ̵̛̭̖̙̗̼͕̎Ң̴̨̗̟̩̻̱͊́Д̷̻̙̜̟͚͂͂̋͜Ṿ̴̍̔͐̌̓̚͜Ї̷̧̭̬̗̬̩̂И̶̹̤̖͇̽̍͋͘G̸̳̮̺̘̒ ̶̝̍́̍̓͒̒Ҫ̴̹͙̺̪͛̿͐Ҥ̴̛̞̰͖͌̐ͅЇ̵͇́̒̾̏͝L̶̨̫̤͉͈̒͛D̵͔̂͂͒̀̏̚Я̶͉̪̞̓̈͜͜ͅЄ̸̨̲̣̭́̚͠Ѝ̵̢͇̃͠,̶̟͔̌̇̔ ̴̞̝͙̟̹̙̓͋̉Д̴̨̡̥̆͂̋̚̚͝Й̷̭̪̙͖̆́͌̌͂D̷͙̺͎͔̓̈́̔̆̍ ̸̩̰͛̀̂̃͝͝Ї̷̠͚̪̄̐Ґ̴̳͚͇͍͖̑̐̍̏ ̷̡̄͌̄̎͘Ӻ̴̡̧̺̅̀̅̕Ц̴̬̮̩̓̋Ҫ̴̝̱͙̻̔Ҝ̴̹̲͒͗̽Ş̵̡͉̻̬̪̎͗͗̚ ̵̠̪͉͖̼̍̓Щ̵̡̤̲̊͂͒̔͠Ї̸̛̞̖͒̊͝Г̵̞̣͗Њ̶̠̪̏̕ ̶͍͔̙̄Ԡ̷̰͕̙̙͋̀̉Ұ̸̧̢̳̯͊̅͋̊̕̚ͅ ̸̖̤̻̤̰̥̈́̐͑Д̵͓͉̼̇̈͝͠Ґ̵̢̧͖͍̗͎͂̇͆Г̷̡̰̖̹̲͚̔̌̑Я̶̗͉̟̠̰̮͑͊̂̓̓Ї̴̘̞̈́̓̓Б̷̻͙̣̣͕̋̈̀̾Ц̶̳̾̈̍̿̓̏Г̵͖̰͇̯͑̓͂͋Є̶͓͠Ş̷́̏͐̃̋͜.̵̻͌́̊̃ ̷̣͔͚͛͊̊͛͐͘Ԡ̶͈̟̈́͗͜͠͝Ч̸̨̤͉̒͜ ̵̡̢̜̜̝̪̃̔Ҫ̷̨̃̾͛̈́̋́Џ̴̨̧̟̋̄̑Я̷̢͇̣̑̓͋Ş̴͔̱̍͑́͐̈́͋Є̷̛̤̝̝̥̱̌̅̑̐S̴̨̹͓̩̣͕̒̚ ̴̹͇̺̣̝̍̋̍͊̔͐Ң̷̢̩̲̌̔͠Д̷͍̤̺̤͙͖̊͆̐̈́V̶̧̧͎͔͉̄̏̕Є̵̛̦͎̒̿̌̚ ̷̲̗̭̗͉̬̌̿̏̈́̒͝Ҫ̵̡͕̑͌̊͂̑Ц̵̩̥͔͌̅̎Я̵̲̠̤̊̅̊̔ͅŞ̷̡̛̱̭̾̅̏Э̸̙͎̎̅͊̚͜Ṣ̴̻̖̻̖̹̾̈́!̶̛̺͉̜͒́̔ - [1]

Weaponized unspeakable curses.

The dragon roars in pain as the gibberish sounds assaults him.

"What hellish language is that!" He asks.

"Want to know? Land and promise to be peaceful!"

"Never!"

I start throwing threads at his wing again. He notices earlier and claws them away. I climb down the thread that's still holding the loose red scale and store my trophy. Not working. Plan C.

I climb up his neck, using my {Surreptitiousness} Skill to sneak without being detected. Then I enter his ear canal.

"Get out of there!" He shouts. "Get out of there now!"

I took a deep breath. " ̴͕̋͌̒̑̿Ҥ̸̖̩̮̅̇̃̅̆̐Д̶̨̼̰̫͇͖͑́Ṽ̴̭͍̭͒̒͒̓Ԑ̷̺̒ ̶̤̄̂͝Ҫ̴̡̘̘̥̏̅Ц̵̱̟̹̖̘͋̓̀͛Я̸̩̎S̶̢̪͇̖̗͂̒͂͝Ԑ̵̹̘͓̑́̕͝S̷͍̖̺͓̽ͅ ̶̩̯͗͒̍Ґ̸̭̇̒̊̕͝Ӊ̷̰̦̤͌̌̎̑̊͘Д̵͓̅̀̍Ґ̷̙͙̦̝͎̬̈́̌̉̆̒̕ ̵̲̞̓͛͋̅̓Ӻ̵̬̳͉̬̆Ф̷̜̖̩̍̈́̓͌̿͝Я̶̻̬̝͕̝̾̎̂Ь̶̱̀̽̊̓̚Ї̷̛̲̐͛͐̈́͝D̷̢͓̫̘̫̔̍̑̓̕͜͝ ̵̰̌̐Ԡ̷̧̧̢̝͙͈̒͒͒͗͝Є̶͙̋͐̓̀̂̀ ̵̖̮͗͑̉͠Ӻ̶͙̟͓͎̦̋Я̷̼͖̼͛͆̕Ф̵͔̒̃ͅԠ̴̜̬͙͋̅ ̴̛̪̂͆͋̂̈́Ҭ̸̙̿Д̷̭͓̠̀L̴̩͔̟̺̫͂̋͋̅̅Ԟ̷̢̩̮̰̓͐͗͆Ї̴̧̛̼̙̮̔́̿̄͝Й̸̝̮̯̑́̓͆̕G̴̬̻̈́͗̋͘̚ ̶̣̰͂Д̵̻̲̹̓̔͗̐͋̾Б̶̡͙̓͑Ф̵̨̩̭̼͌̊̚Џ̶̺̘̐̃̊Ґ̸̝͔̱̮̫́͐̍̀ ̶̨̡̦̯̩̝̂̀̇̇G̴͔̍̇͗Ф̴̨̧̻̪͑̋̈̈́͆́ͅD̴̼̈́S̵̡̺̣̄͑̀̒̒,̶͓̲͙̬̟̇̎ ̶̡͖̱͗͝Ӻ̴̧̛̙̲̭͕͖Я̸̪̯̃Ф̴͍̰̐͘Ԡ̷͓̔̽̅̎̚ ̵̛̭̖̙̗̼͕̎Ң̴̨̗̟̩̻̱͊́Д̷̻̙̜̟͚͂͂̋͜Ṿ̴̍̔͐̌̓̚͜Ї̷̧̭̬̗̬̩̂И̶̹̤̖͇̽̍͋͘G̸̳̮̺̘̒ ̶̝̍́̍̓͒̒Ҫ̴̹͙̺̪͛̿͐Ҥ̴̛̞̰͖͌̐ͅЇ̵͇́̒̾̏͝L̶̨̫̤͉͈̒͛D̵͔̂͂͒̀̏̚Я̶͉̪̞̓̈͜͜ͅЄ̸̨̲̣̭́̚͠Ѝ̵̢͇̃͠,̶̟͔̌̇̔ ̴̞̝͙̟̹̙̓͋̉Д̴̨̡̥̆͂̋̚̚͝Й̷̭̪̙͖̆́͌̌͂D̷͙̺͎͔̓̈́̔̆̍ ̸̩̰͛̀̂̃͝͝Ї̷̠͚̪̄̐Ґ̴̳͚͇͍͖̑̐̍̏ ̷̡̄͌̄̎͘Ӻ̴̡̧̺̅̀̅̕Ц̴̬̮̩̓̋Ҫ̴̝̱͙̻̔Ҝ̴̹̲͒͗̽Ş̵̡͉̻̬̪̎͗͗̚ ̵̠̪͉͖̼̍̓Щ̵̡̤̲̊͂͒̔͠Ї̸̛̞̖͒̊͝Г̵̞̣͗Њ̶̠̪̏̕ ̶͍͔̙̄Ԡ̷̰͕̙̙͋̀̉Ұ̸̧̢̳̯͊̅͋̊̕̚ͅ ̸̖̤̻̤̰̥̈́̐͑Д̵͓͉̼̇̈͝͠Ґ̵̢̧͖͍̗͎͂̇͆Г̷̡̰̖̹̲͚̔̌̑Я̶̗͉̟̠̰̮͑͊̂̓̓Ї̴̘̞̈́̓̓Б̷̻͙̣̣͕̋̈̀̾Ц̶̳̾̈̍̿̓̏Г̵͖̰͇̯͑̓͂͋Є̶͓͠Ş̷́̏͐̃̋͜.̵̻͌́̊̃ ̷̣͔͚͛͊̊͛͐͘Ԡ̶͈̟̈́͗͜͠͝Ч̸̨̤͉̒͜ ̵̡̢̜̜̝̪̃̔Ҫ̷̨̃̾͛̈́̋́Џ̴̨̧̟̋̄̑Я̷̢͇̣̑̓͋Ş̴͔̱̍͑́͐̈́͋Є̷̛̤̝̝̥̱̌̅̑̐S̴̨̹͓̩̣͕̒̚ ̴̹͇̺̣̝̍̋̍͊̔͐Ң̷̢̩̲̌̔͠Д̷͍̤̺̤͙͖̊͆̐̈́V̶̧̧͎͔͉̄̏̕Є̵̛̦͎̒̿̌̚ ̷̲̗̭̗͉̬̌̿̏̈́̒͝Ҫ̵̡͕̑͌̊͂̑Ц̵̩̥͔͌̅̎Я̵̲̠̤̊̅̊̔ͅŞ̷̡̛̱̭̾̅̏Э̸̙͎̎̅͊̚͜Ṣ̴̻̖̻̖̹̾̈́!̶̛̺͉̜͒́̔ " - and shouted the same phrase gain.

"Ahh!" He screamed as we started to fall. He poked his ear with a claw, drawing blood. "Cursed elf, I'm going to kill and eat you! {Repel Vermin}!"

The cheater used a spell that launched me off of him. Like Mr. Parker, I threw threads at him to latch and get back. My luck shone and I scored a hit. I climb the thread and get back on him.

"Cursed elves. I'm going to eat all of them!"

He sets a course for Fulgen. We are so high and fast I can see the Forest in the distance. The gigantic trees of Foresthearth stick out of the canopies like a hand, if hands had seven fingers and they were made of trees.

"Last chance. I let you live if you back down now!" I make a perfectly plausible offer and focus on my {Divine Negotiator}!

"You will watch your people weep and burn, elf Queen!" The dragon chortles.

I climb up his neck and go into the other ear canal. There, I whisper, "You had your chance, dragon. Now, the Death Princess claims your head. May I know the name of my latest victim?"

"The Death Princess is dead for centuries. Humor me, little elf," he said full of mirth. "What is the name of the [Assassin] that passed into history as the 'Death Princess'?"

"Apricot," I repeat even before he finished speaking. "Adopted daughter of a Duke Ackerton, if you care about a House name. She also had a {Heroine} title, just like me."

I changed my titles and shape. I had enough room to shift into a small viper. I just needed the fangs. I throw a loose thread sticky on both ends to latch on the sides of the canal.

"Impressive. You are correct--"

I cut him off, "{Royal Geas}! Stand immobile, dragon."

One hundred and eighty SP were spent. I put a contract on him, at the cost of three hundred SP. A normal [Assassin] my level would've fainted. He struggled. I paid the upkeep at the same time I bit his eardrum. And it was a critical hit. - to me, he was as good as stationary.

Assassination successful. Contract fulfilled.

You killed level 131 dragon. You gained 112 billion Exp. (Base 171,610 x 699,120 multipliers [expand])

I see the head separate from the body as we start to fall. My thread snaps. I store the body and was about to dive for the head when reality churns.

You gained the Dragon Sl ...

A voice out of nowhere proclaims.

"{Reverse Fate}!"

You lost 112 billion Exp.

Cheater! The dragon's body regrows from the head. A thousand-ton dragon butt slammed on me and I was launched away, spinning and free-falling.

"You die now, elf! By the grace of the Brood Mother, I live!"

I was ten centimeters long, snout to tail. The dragon was the size of a passenger plane. I was falling but my current terminal velocity was ridiculous. The dragon was still staring at snake me. I shift into a bumblebee bat to get some maneuverability.

Cheater.

I shout at the sky, "Hey, Brood Mother! Educate your petulant children better!"

****CHOMP****

Normally that would be the sound of me biting heads off. This time it was the dragon's maw closing around me. I flapped my bat-wings to dodge and avoid the teeth. I latched to the side of the dragon's ivory whites.

I shifted back to my shrew form and walked over the teeth. He had no sense of touch on his teeth, right?

From the back teeth, I jump into his gizzard as I shift back into a serpent's form. I was no expert in dragon anatomy. It could be another throaty thing but it looked gizzard-ish. The flesh warbles as the dragon gargled because I was snaking over his sensitive mucous membrane.

Soft too. Fuck you, cheater.

*CHOMP*

Taste the wrath of eight lives collecting critical hit perks.

You killed level 131 dragon. You gained 15.85 billion Exp. (Base 171,610 x 92,354 multipliers [expand] [2] )

He cheated me out of the contract Exp bonus! I store the body and shift into a bumblebee bat. Then I chirp a taunt at the sky. "C'mon. Revert fate it again!"

I felt a silent stare on me. I wait for a while and nothing happened.

I dove and collected the head before it hit the ground, so high we still were. I check my inventory and find out I have two dragon bodies. Still would've preferred the Exp.

My notifications were a mess. I had a perk.

You gained the Dragon Slayer (ultra-rare) perk. You deal 50% more damage to dragons and receive 25% less damage from them.

I applied my Exp. It wasn't enough to reach level 20. I still needed seventy-five billion for that. Guess? The original Exp from assassinating the dragon would've been enough.

You reached Questor level 17

You gained four Questor perks.

You become an Elder High Elf [star] level 16

You gained four Elder High Elf [star] perks.

You become a High Soul Surgeon level 14

You become a High Alchemist level 14

You gained 278 Skill Points.

Attributes above the cap were redistributed.

Excess Attribute Points withheld. 26 / 100 points withheld.

I dumped my social Skills in the blender.

{Combine Skills} activated.

You gained the Social Tract (very rare) Skill. You add the Skill rank to Charisma on all social interactions, including to resist the use of social traits on you.

Your skill level on Social Tract is Master 66.

You gained the Master Social Tract (ultra-rare) Skill. Treat the reaction of all creatures toward you and your associates as one step in your favor.

Strength 21 - Dexterity 24 - Endurance 21

Mind 22 - Willpower 22 - Charisma 24

Magic 110

Ego 110 - Luck 110 - Soul 110

HP 3.836.662

MP 6.297.637

SP 1.070.150

Then the perks.

You gained the Moon Magic (very rare) perk. All magic is 20% stronger and 10% cheaper for each moon in the sky. If the moon is full, the bonus shift to 25% and 15% respectively.

You gained the Fae Ancestry (ultra-rare) perk. You can purchase racial perks from your fae ancestry (water, fire, earth, wood, wind, brownie).

You gained the Corrosion Resistance I (very rare) perk. Corrosive agents deal 50% less damage.

You gained the Corrosion Resistance II (very rare) perk. Corrosive agents deal 75% less damage.

You gained the Dragon Slayer II (ultra-rare) perk. You deal 125% more damage to dragons and receive 43,8% less damage from them.

You gained the Unbound Hero (ultra-rare) perk. Effects that incapacitate or restrain you last 67% less.

You gained the Summon Arms & Armor (very rare) perk. You can summon nearby unattended weapons and armor to your person, equipping them in a few seconds. The range is 2 meters.

You gained the Molding Armor (ultra rare) perk. When you change shapes, your armor shifts to fit your new shape.

I thought about flying back to the mountains when I learned that not only the dragons were cheaters, they were also sore losers. Three dragons, as big as the red one, appeared out of thin air. One was blue, the other black, and the third had silver scales.

"Dragon slaying Queen. Your crime against our kind demands punishment!" The blue one's voice boomed over the entire valley.

"It was your stupid fellow dragon that squandered the chance your Brood Mother gave him by coming at me to get murdered a second time."

"YOU WILL SHOW RESPECT, INSECT!" Black roared.

"Force Cube!" Silver was stealthily casting a spell. I could see the walls of the cube. They looked like they were made of etched glass. Everything beyond them was blurred.

"Seriously? Three to one?" I taunted them.

"We know what you are, Old Soul. The traveler from another world. The anomaly that was sent to destroy creation. By the Brood Mother's decree, you are anathema," blue declared. He seemed the most level-headed of them all.

Silver started to make squeezing movements with his hand. My cage started to shrink. I started to weave my own mana to dispel the cage. I felt I wouldn't have enough time. I looked at the spell and tried to copy it. Another cube, this one mine, appeared inside the other.

"Know this, Old Soul. We will not allow our brethren to strike your forest and your elves. We do not wish conflict against Yznera," Blue explained while Black watched Silver squeeze my cage.

The two effects met and I felt a pressure on my spell. I could only focus on maintaining mine. It was a battle of attrition. My seven million points against the silver dragon's MP pool. I didn't get to see his level but I assumed it was in the hundred-something.

Being a cheater, I knew he was all decked out. The grind of the two spells against one another continued. I tried becoming incorporeal but the force effect blocked ghosts. Even the boggart couldn't do anything.

Night fell. I was on a half-empty tank. I couldn't fucking believe I would die crushed because these dragons decided to take on a task even the gods gave up. Maybe not all gods. This Brood Mother might be deific-like. How powerful someone has to be to reverse time?

I started to feel a throbbing headache.

The sun rose. I had less than a million SP, my MP long gone. I regenerated a few MP and it went right away to pay for my cage.

I sagged and Black started to chortle. "DESPAIR, ELF QUEEN."

Five hundred SP. Silver gave no signs of giving up. I was going to kick the bucket. I pulled up my status and checked my traits. Two entries came to mind.

Slow Learner IV (ultra rare): Your Experience gains are divided by 10,000.

Self-Sacrifice (ultra-rare): You can, at any time, sacrifice your life. Your HP, MP, SP and accumulated Exp can be used to empower one final act, be it an attack, Skill use, Perk use, or spell. You know before you do the sacrifice if your power is enough. Otherwise, you can opt to sacrifice non-curse traits to even the balance.

If I was going to die, I would die on my own terms. And hunt down these cheaters in my next lives.

I used {Self-Sacrifice} to get rid of {Slow Learner IV}. It required all my four billion unspent Exp, all my remaining HP, MP, SP, and one high-rarity perk. I used the stupid {Clay Transmutation} I got from my life as a rabbit. Never used that shit. It was listed as Unique.

A prompt asked if I wanted to confirm. I vowed to murder these dragons and accepted the prompt.

Curse Breaker successful.

Your curse Slow Learner IV was reduced to Slow Learner III (ultra rare): Your Experience gains are divided by 1,000.

You died.

[1] - "... have curses that forbid me from talking about gods, from having children, and it fucks with my attributes. My curses have curses!"

[2] - x10000 perk x0.0001 curse x3.05 exp boost x7,57 favored enemy x20 size x20 rank x10 class rank