I Only Tame Dragons

Damon's rage flared, but he could do nothing with David's weight pressing him down. His last item was near useless here, his life saving item, only restored half of his HP and mana—barely enough to make a dent in this kind of fight.

Desperation clawed at him as he glanced back at Ford, who was still locked in a defensive stance.

Ford tightened his grip on his weapon, fear mingling with anger as he looked back at Horizon. They were cornered, he knew that much.

Ford struggled to keep his footing as he faced Horizon, a cold dread creeping up his spine. Despite the chaos around them, Horizon's calm, almost dismissive gaze was more unsettling than the undead David himself.

"What . . . what do you want?" Damon stammered, his voice croaked as David's claws were tightening around his neck. "If it's money you're after, Nightshade can provide it. I can get you any amount! Just . . . just let me go, and I swear I'll make sure you have more than you can ever earn!"

Horizon cocked his head, his expression blank but his eyes gleaming with faint amusement. "Money?" he replied, almost as if mulling over the word. "I'm not interested in money." He could earn plenty of it with his forging skills. His tone turned colder. "What I want . . . is your corpses."

Both Damon and Ford felt their blood run cold, the words sinking in slowly, like a poison.

"W-what . . . what are you talking about?" Damon's voice cracked as he struggled to keep the tremor out.

"You two are more valuable to me dead," Horizon said, his voice smooth and eerie. "Your stats are just the kind I need to reach the exit . . . 400 to 500 in range—ideal vessels."

Ford's fury finally overpowering his fear, and he let out a growl and swung his blade toward Horizon. "Over my dead body!" he shouted.

With a mocking smile, Horizon sidestepped the strike, not even phased by Ford's aggression. In his hand appeared the Dragonsong Blade, a weapon pulsing with a dark, intense aura.

Before Ford could blink, Horizon's expression shifted as he activated the blade's skill: [Rising Fury].

The Dragonsong Blade gleamed with a sinister energy as Horizon unleashed a torrent of attacks, his movements becoming a blur. Each consecutive strike accelerated, the power building upon itself, slicing through the air as Horizon gained speed and strength with each hit.

Rising Fury Skill:

For every consecutive strike made with the Dragonsong Blade, Horizon's attack speed and damage increase by 3%, capping at 15%.*

Ford's defenses crumbled under the assault. He tried to raise his weapon, but Horizon's relentless strikes were unstoppable.

Within seconds, Ford's HP bar plummeted to dangerously low levels, each blow shaving off more than he could process.

Damon could only watch in horror as Horizon's sheer force drove Ford's health down to only double digits.

"What . . . what kind of damage is this?" Ford gasped, stumbling backward, his face etched with disbelief. His mind spun, struggling to comprehend the raw power Horizon wielded so effortlessly.

Horizon took a step back. His face calm. His strength was already at 440+ and with the Dragonsong Blade, it rose to another 120.

Ford's health bar was already halved from previous battles against the Roaring Beasts and undead, and now it teetered on the brink of depletion.

Desperation set at him as he lunged forward, aiming a last-ditch attack at Horizon. His weapon met Horizon's blade, but before Ford even registered what happened, a powerful blow struck his sword. The blade shattered in his hand right in front of him.

Ford's face went pale. He stared at his weapon, disbelief flooding his face. "H-how . . . my weapon's durability wasn't that low! It's still have 10 durability! How could you break it with one hit?"

Horizon's expression remained impassive as he twirled his blade, almost bored. "It's simple. My weapon is Gold-tier, which in Eternia it's already in the lower-mythical tier. When a weapon like yours faces another with a full tier above, the durability reduction multiplies by tenfold." He gave a chilling smile. "Not that it'll matter much to you now since you're going to die soon."

Ford's face twisted with a mixture of rage and despair as the realization sank in.

"A . . . mythical-tier weapon?" Damon's voice barely escaped his lips, his mind racing with disbelief.

Mythical weapons were rare beyond imagining, their power only whispered about in legends and rumors. Even as a commander in Nightshade, an assassin guild feared across realms, he had never once laid eyes on one.

The highest he saw so far was a 9-tier Gold Equipment, equipped by their Guild master.

He stole a glance at Horizon's blade, hoping the man was bluffing. But the sight before him told a different story.

The Dragonsong Blade pulsed with an ominous energy, a power so potent that even from a distance Damon could feel its power. The craftsmanship alone was exquisite, far beyond anything he'd ever seen, and the blade radiated an aura that could only come from something forged in the fires of a Master Forger.

Damon's thoughts churned with confusion. How could a "nobody" among independent players wield something so rare?

But as he stared at the weapon, its power became undeniable, a hum in the air that sent chills down his spine.

Horizon was no ordinary opponent—they were up against someone with power leagues beyond theirs.

Just who the hell is he?!n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Damn . . . you . . . ," Ford spat, clutching his broken weapon, his eyes flashing in anger as his body trembled.

But before he could say anything more, Horizon's blade was already slicing through the air. With one swift strike, Ford's HP bar drained completely.

Ford fell, his life flickering out as the final blow sealed his fate. Damon watched in silent horror as he crumpled to the ground, the battlefield around him seeming colder and darker in that instant.

"Ford!" Damon shouted, but there was no answer. Ford lay motionless, his body drained of life.

Horizon didn't hesitate. With a flick of his wrist, he raised Ford's corpse. It jerked, a pale glow filling its eyes as Horizon's dark magic reanimated it, turning him into another one of his undead soldiers.

Horizon considered his limit carefully; he had only one corpse left to raise before his skill [Raise Corpses] would reset tomorrow. Not that it mattered much—he'd already decided to reserve it for Damon's soul.

Damon's heart sank as he watched Ford's lifeless body join Horizon's eerie ranks.

Damon's chances of escape plummeted from slim to nonexistent. He was already struggling against David alone, but with Horizon now in the mix—and both wielding stats in the 400-500+ range—his situation was beyond desperate.

Facing even one opponent of their caliber was daunting; against three, it was utterly hopeless.

"You . . . monster," Damon choked out, anger giving way to a deep, cold fear.

"Monster?" Horizon chuckled, though his laugh was cold and void of any humor. "Maybe I am. But what does that make you? Ganging up on weaker players, then tormenting them when they're defenseless?"

Damon opened his mouth to respond, but no words came.

"It doesn't matter anyway . . . because you'll join him soon."

Damon felt those words settle on him like a shroud. Every instinct screamed at him to run, but his legs felt heavy, frozen by fear and fatigue.

He glanced at his inventory—nearly depleted. His mana reserves were exhausted, his weapon reduced to mere scraps of what he'd started with.

All he had left was a single life-saving elixir, barely enough to fill half his HP and mana.

He looked up, his eyes meeting Horizon's cold gaze. This wasn't just a fight—this was a massacre.

Without thinking, Damon erupted in desperation, his voice shaking. "You bastard! If you kill me, Nightshade will know! They'll hunt you down, they'll go after everything you love! They'll—"

Damon's words were cut short as Horizon's blade plunged through his heart. David's iron grip pinned him down, preventing any chance of escape as Damon writhed in agony, his screams echoing in the clearing. His HP bar dwindled with each struggling breath, his fierce gaze now fading into fear.

Horizon remained cold indifferent, ensuring his strike didn't sever any limbs. He knew that resurrecting an intact corpse required less mana—a precise stab would be easier to manage than repairing major injuries.

As Damon's final breath left him, Horizon watched impassively, already preparing his new undead soldier.

"Well, that all went better than planned," Nyx observed, a smirk forming as she examined the three newly risen undead soldiers, each boasting a stat range of 400-500. "Quite an upgrade from our original crew."

Horizon nodded, adjusting his grip on Damon's life-saving amulet, which he had drained moments ago. His HP and Mana surged to full, revitalized.

"Keeping them bound here will need a steady mana flow," he remarked. "I'll need about 30 mana per second to sustain them, but it shouldn't be a problem."

Thanks to his accessory—the [Mana Regeneration Necklace]—Horizon regenerated 10 mana every second, closing the gap.

And with a single bite of the [Great Harvest Apple] from the Apple Tree Dragon, he could keep both HP and MP maxed out.

The fruit's life-sustaining properties were legendary, capable of keeping his HP and MP full for ten days with three bites every day. He just made sure that the apple would last that long.

Turning to David, Horizon's gaze darkened, a cold smile tugging at his lips as he approached. "Now then," he said, voice low and steady, "it's time for you to tell us how to get out of here."