The familiar, towering, dense trees blurred past as Skyler sprinted away from the cave at the mountain base, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He ran without direction, his heart pounding in his chest.
Behind him, a tremor shook the mountain, sending rocks tumbling down its slopes.
Zack burst from the cave, gasping as the earth trembled beneath his feet. His eyes widened when a surge of power propelled him forward, obliterating the cave entrance in a blinding flash of energy. From the dust and debris, a familiar blue dragon emerged, its immense wings blotting out the sky.
The dragon let out a roar that sent chills down the spines of all those in the vicinity.
At that instant, the first ray of sunlight from the fractured sun pierced the darkness. The light illuminated the dragon's scales as it soared upward, its eyes burning with fury.
Skyler clenched his jaw as a wave of heavy pressure erupted from the dragon, radiating outward and engulfing the surroundings.
Despite the weight, he pressed forward. He could sense the dragon's gaze was on him.
"505 just had to vanish at such a bad time! It could have at least given me directions!"
He cursed under his breath. Zack's voice echoed behind him, a constant reminder of his predicament. As he moved through the trees, his eyes fell upon several figures clad in the familiar purple uniform in his path.
They seemed to have just finished killing a group of powerful, massive trolls and were now looking at the sky in alert. He leaped over a gnarled root and charged forward.
"Get the hell out of my way!!"
His sudden yell startled the group, who wore solemn expressions as they listened to the dragon's roars. A familiar pair of light blue eyes widened at the sight of him.
"Sky...?"
Hearing Jenny, Max, Austin, and Elana turn to face Skyler's incoming figure, confusion flickered across their faces as they moved out of his path. Skyler saluted them with a grin, and they watched him disappear.
Skyler didn't look back. Not sure why the group was still lingering around this place.
Elena was the first to catch on. A chilling realization washed over her as she pointed to the spot where Skyler had vanished.
"Guys, the storage rings on his fingers...! He's the one who woke up the dragon!"
Her cry pierced the air. Max and his team's faces lost color as the ground beneath their feet shuddered. A yell echoed behind them as a colossal shadow loomed over them.
"Run!!"
Zack's figure burst from the trees as he rushed toward the way Skyler vanished.
Max and the others followed behind. The dragon was zooming toward their location.
Austin yelped as he clenched his javelin.
"How the heck did this happen?!"
A torrent of fiery red flames erupted behind their figures, setting the forest ablaze.
Soon, the air was filled with screams as the contenders in the surroundings, caught in the dragon's path, scattered in a frantic bid to escape the inferno it unleashed.
A message flashed in front of Zack.
#Keeper of Time: I found it! He stole the crimson jewels that were on the platform! The ones keeping the dragon asleep. There were countless treasures in that chamber, Skyler could have taken as much as he wanted, but why those jewels?
Zack cursed and dispersed the screen.
How the hell was he supposed to know?
He also had no idea why that crazy bastard climbed the platform and took the crimson jewels when there were so many treasures!
If only they both knew that the said 'crazy bastard' had not just taken the jewels but had swept the entire chamber clean, they would have choked on their own blood.
Max received a similar message from the Goddess of Compassion. He clenched his jaw as he searched for Skyler. They had to return the dragon's jewels! Only then would the creature fall asleep! After all, there was no way they could defeat such a powerful creature with their current strength.
Due to the sudden chaos, the systems present in the vicinity panicked, and the main system was alerted. It was on the 70th level when a warning alarm blared. It lazily looked to see what the issue was but was startled as it saw the blue dragon awake.
The dragon was banished from the tenth level to the first. There was a reason it, and the many powerful beasts on the first level, were always asleep and never attacked the contenders on their own. Even if disturbed, they only killed those who disrupted them.
The main system hastily checked what had actually happened and was left speechless when it saw the dragon's chamber empty.
Amidst the chaos and raging red flames, a special mission was urgently issued to the contenders in the dragon's vicinity. A similar screen flashed in front of many people.
(Dear Contenders,
A sudden emergency has triggered a special mission for you!
Information: The sleeping blue dragon's Bloodstone Evol Jewels have been stolen by someone. Find the jewels and throw them toward the dragon to calm it down.
Reward: 1,000 points.
Penalty of failure: The Dragon's Wrath.)
Max and Zack, like many others, saw the notification. The mission wasn't issued by their systems but by the main system.
Skyler also received the notification.
His eyes lit up, thinking 505 was back. But he grumbled when he realized the message was different from 505's usual messages.
'Where are you, my dear 505? I miss you already! Who is going to find me a place to hide if not you? Come back!'
His lungs burned, every single breath a struggle as he gasped for air. At this rate, Skyler was sure his Evol would be depleted in no time! His legs were already trembling, threatening to give way beneath him. If only 505 was here, it could have helped him.
'I need to treat the system better! I can't believe its presence was such a help!'
He flinched when Zack shouted at him.
"Skyler, we are going to die because of you! Give back the dragon's jewels, you bastard!"
His voice was loud and desperate, as he dodged a massive claw by a hair's breadth that was attempting to tear his body apart.
"Shit!"
Zack rolled over, dirt filling his mouth and coating his hoodie and sweatpants. He had even lost one of his sneakers. And to think he was the transmigrator—summoned from another universe to change the story!
His earlier words were enough to tell every contender running in the vicinity just which jerk had the Bloodstone Jewels. Many eyes instantly fixed on Skyler, who cursed.
A familiar gray screen, visible only to Zack, flashed in front of his eyes, mocking him.
#Keeper of Time: I told you not to change what has already happened once too much, but you didn't listen. Just don't die; I have invested a lot in you.
A flood of curses surged through Zack's mind as he read the message. This jerk!
When the hell did he even say this??
Zack was the one who didn't want the story to change! The Keeper of Time always told him to do whatever he needed to change it!
"Shut up!"
He snapped. Like every Light running to survive around him, he glared at the youth with ash-brown hair sprinting far ahead.
They were on the brink of death under the dragon's wrath, all because of that bastard who had wiped its treasury clean!
If looks could kill someone, Skyler would have died a thousand times already!
"Damn it! How on earth is he so fast?! Where is Skyler getting so much stamina from? We are clearly stronger than him!"
Another handsome figure opposite Zack shouted at the youth with ash-brown hair.
"For heaven's sake! Stop, Skyler!"
It was Max. He exuded a saintly aura, just like those who want to save the world, as he rescued another from the dragon's fiery breath, sustaining injuries in the process.
He grabbed his injured arm and started running with the person he just saved.
His eyes flashed with relief when Skyler glanced back, but the latter's next words nearly made him want to spit out blood.
"No way. I found the jewels, so they are mine. Why should I give them back?"
Hearing this, Zack felt like shedding tears of blood. He wanted to shout at Max: 'You are the damn protagonist of this story! You can't even catch a weak Light elementist! Who the hell made you the protagonist!'
But he could only swallow his grievance. After all, it was 99.99% his fault that the protagonist was no longer the protagonist and his place had been snatched!
Who the hell said that side characters destined to die in the story would be good companions if you changed their fate?
Right, he was that idiot who said it!
Suddenly, the massive blue dragon, hot on everyone's trail, let out another furious roar, sending chills down everyone's spine.
Its long, elegant horns and sharp fangs glimmered as it swung its lengthy tail to obliterate the towering coniferous trees and structures surrounding it, searching for the rat who had stolen its treasures.
But unfortunately, it was destined to be disappointed until the end because the rat had already escaped, leaving behind the people who were cursing the said 'rat'.
Hiding inside a small structure made of multiple rocks stacked upon one another in the distance amidst the trees, Skyler peeked out with a pair of innocent blue eyes, gently caressing the many rings on his fingers.
"What a bountiful day it is."