Chapter 9: Little Azreon

Chris followed the two monsters after they left the cave, keeping his distance as they moved deeper into the forest. He didn’t want to attack them while they were still close to the Dark Spirits lair, so he waited until they were far enough away before making his move.

Once he was certain they were alone, he quickly attacked and killed both of them.

[Received 250 XP.]

[Received 240 XP.]

[Contracted beast’s level increased.]

[Requirements for evolution met.]

[All attributes increased: x1.5.]

Chris immediately looked toward the little dragon sitting on his shoulder.

In that moment, little dragon started floating off his shoulder, and flames suddenly began surrounding his body until a large cocoon of fire was formed around him.

Chris stared at the sight in surprise. He had never heard of a beast evolving like this before.

He started getting worried as well.

"How long will this last?"

The flames were bright enough to be seen from quite a distance, and if any Dark Spirits noticed them, they could be in serious trouble.

Luckily, after only a few moments, the flames began dissipating.

When they completely disappeared, the little dragon was standing where the cocoon had been.

At first glance, he looked almost the same as before, but the difference in his size was obvious.

He was now around Chris’s knee in height and roughly the size of a normal young dog. His wings were much larger than before, and his tail had also grown longer.

The little dragon suddenly started flapping his wings.

At first, he only managed to move slightly off the ground, but after a few more attempts, he slowly lifted himself into the air.

"Buddy, you are amazing! You can already fly!"

Chris was amazed.

Normal beasts would need at least a few more evolutions before they could fly, unless they were of species such as birds, but Chris was pretty sure that the little dragon wasn’t a bird.

The dragon soon landed on the ground and nudged his head against Chris’s leg.

Chris squatted down and rubbed his head.

’With scales this thick, does he even feel my pat?’

The dragon seemed happy enough, so Chris didn’t worry about it.

"I think it’s time we give you a name, little buddy. You can’t stay without a name forever."

Little dragon responded with a small roar.

His voice sounded more mature than before, although it was still far too cute to be intimidating.

"You agree? Let me think..."

Chris had never been particularly good at naming things, but he wanted to give his beast a decent name. The dragon was his first contracted beast and the creature that had changed his life completely.

He began thinking about the ancient texts he had studied before, remembering some of the ancient languages whose words could still be translated.

After thinking for a while, he finally came up with a name.

"What about... Azreon? Az means the first, and Reon means the flame. You are my first contracted beast and possibly the only one, and you are a fire dragon."

The little dragon immediately roared louder and licked Chris’s leg.

"Hahahaha, you seem to like it, buddy? Okay, from now on, your name will be Azreon."

Chris patted him a few more times before standing up and looking toward the direction of the Dark Spirit’s lair.

"Come on, Azreon."

The little dragon followed him.

Although Azreon was still small, he was already too large and heavy for Chris to carry around on his shoulder all the time. Fortunately, he could fly now, so there was no reason for him to slow Chris down.

As they continued walking, Chris suddenly thought of something.

"Little Azreon, how about you go scout?"

Azreon looked up at him.

"Fly in the air and circle the forest. If you notice any Dark Spirits that are alone or in smaller groups, come back and report to me. Be careful and don’t approach too closely under any circumstances."

The little dragon gave a cute roar before spreading his wings.

He flapped them awkwardly at first, but soon managed to take off and fly into the distance.

"I wonder if this was a good idea..."

Chris watched him disappear between the trees.

Azreon had only just learned how to fly, so while this would be good practice for him, it was also somewhat risky. If he flew too close to a Dark Spirit or failed to control himself properly, he could easily put himself in danger.

Chris waited anxiously, keeping his eyes on the direction Azreon had disappeared.

Fortunately, the little dragon returned not long afterward and pointed toward a direction with his head.

"Already found something? Good, buddy, you are amazing!"

Chris immediately followed him.

They soon found a small group of Dark Spirits.

There were only three of them.

Azreon attacked first, covering one of the monsters in flames, while Chris rushed forward and finished it with his sword. The remaining two tried to react, but Chris and Azreon attacked from different directions, giving the monsters little opportunity to defend themselves.

Within a short time, all three were dead.

Once the monsters were gone, Azreon immediately flew into the air again.

It didn’t take long before he found another group.

The same process repeated.

Whenever they found a lone Dark Spirit or a small group of two or three, they would ambush them and kill them before they could call for help. Azreon’s flames were especially effective against the Dark Spirits, while Chris finished them with his sword.

The hunting was much easier than Chris had expected.

Before Azreon had evolved, Chris had needed to carefully plan every encounter and make sure that the Dark Spirits didn’t have the opportunity to surround him. Now, Azreon could attack from the air while Chris fought from the ground, allowing them to deal with their enemies much faster.

More importantly, Azreon could search for their targets without Chris having to wander around the forest for hours.

Every time they finished hunting a group, Azreon would fly up again and search for more.

Sometimes he would return almost immediately, while other times he needed several minutes to find another group hidden between the trees.

They continued for the next couple of hours.

[Received 250 XP.]

[Received 240 XP.]

[Received 230 XP.]

[Received 230 XP.]

Those were only a few of the many notifications that appeared during their hunt.

Chris kept moving through the forest, following Azreon’s scouting and taking advantage of every opportunity to gain experience.

Luckily, most of the monsters they encountered were at most Level 29, allowing Chris to kill them without too much trouble. The stronger Level 29 Dark Spirits could still injure him if he made a mistake, but they weren’t powerful enough to stop him when he fought carefully.

A Level 30 monster, however, was another matter entirely.

Chris wouldn’t be able to fight one at all.

The difference would be too great, especially because Level 30 was the point where a beast reached its third evolution. Even if he managed to survive an encounter with one, fighting it would be extremely dangerous.

Still, their hunting continued successfully.

They moved from one group to another, and the number of Dark Spirits in the surrounding forest slowly decreased.

After several hours, Chris had reached Level 19, while Azreon had reached Level 15.

Chris was ecstatic.

’If we can continue like this, it won’t be long before we’re strong enough to barge into their lair and slaughter all the spirits inside.’

The thought excited him, but he didn’t allow himself to become careless.

He still had no idea how many Dark Spirits were inside the cave, nor did he know if there was a powerful leader among them. They had been fighting small groups outside the lair, but that didn’t mean the monsters inside were equally weak.

If there were dozens or even hundreds of them waiting inside, rushing in could still be suicide. For now, however, they could continue hunting.

After some time, Chris began noticing something strange. Finding Dark Spirits was becoming harder and harder, even with Azreon scouting from the air.

At first, he thought it was simply bad luck. But after several failed scouting attempts, he started thinking about another possibility.

The Dark Spirits had noticed the disappearance of their kin.

If they had realized that something was hunting them, they might have started moving around in larger groups or avoiding the areas where Chris had been hunting.

Chris frowned.

"This is not good... If they start going out in larger groups, I won’t be able to hunt them. Then how would I ever clear this dungeon?"

At that moment, Azreon suddenly flew back from the distance.

The little dragon was moving much faster than usual, roaring in panic as he approached.

"Shit..."

Chris immediately understood. A large group of Dark Spirits was approaching.

He looked through the trees and saw dozens of them moving in his direction. They seemed to have noticed him as well.

The monsters suddenly began chasing him.

"Shit, too many..."

Chris turned around and ran as fast as he could.

He was slower than most of the Dark Spirits, and several of them soon began catching up.

One came close enough for Chris to glance at it while running.

He quickly opened his System.

[Dark Spirit - B-Rank - Level 30.]

"Fuck, not good..."

Level 30.

Chris couldn’t fight these monsters.

They were much stronger than the Level 28 and 29 Dark Spirits he had been hunting, and the fact that they had reached their third evolution made the difference even greater.

He could only run.

The Dark Spirits chased him through the forest, attacking whenever they got close enough. Chris barely managed to dodge their claws, but some attacks still reached him.

His armor was torn in several places, and bloody scratches appeared across his hands and legs.

His lungs were burning, but he continued running. He couldn’t stop.

Then, as he pushed through another group of trees, he suddenly noticed something ahead.

A cliff.

Chris’s expression darkened.

"Fuck... what is with the cliffs these days? Do I need to fall off a cliff every time something chases me?"

He had no choice but to continue toward it.

His only hope was to reach the edge and look down, then decide whether there was any chance of surviving the jump.

But when he got close enough to see the bottom, his heart sank. The cliff was extremely high.

He probably wouldn’t survive the fall. And unlike the previous time, there was no river below.

Chris quickly looked to the side, intending to find another path.

He had barely started turning when two Level 30 Dark Spirits caught up to him, and both attacked at once.

Chris immediately side-stepped to avoid their claws, but his foot slipped on the loose ground near the cliff.

His eyes widened.

"Fuck... not good!"

His body tilted backward.

He tried to regain his balance, but his foot slid over the edge, and he started falling down.

For a moment, he could only stare at the cliff above him as the ground disappeared beneath his feet.

’It’s over...’

Suddenly, a familiar roar came from above.

"ROAR!"

Chris looked up.

Azreon was flying toward him.

The little dragon rushed down and grabbed Chris’s collar with his claws, desperately trying to lift him back up.

"Azreon!"

The dragon flapped his wings as hard as he could, but he was still too small to carry an adult human.

For a brief moment, their fall slowed.

Then Azreon’s wings began struggling under the weight.

He couldn’t lift Chris. The two of them started falling again.

Chris looked at the little dragon still desperately holding onto his collar.

"Azreon..."

The dragon refused to let go. But no matter how hard he tried, his small wings couldn’t carry them.

Together, they continued dropping toward the bottom of the cliff.