After leaving the dungeon, the three of us set up our camp just outside of the entrance, though I did not create a proper house for us just yet. Given the amount of time we were going to be staying here, it was likely going to be necessary sooner or later, but it would just be a nuisance to protect it while training.

  For that reason, the three of us just started by sitting in a circle, activating our new auras. I was rather surprised when I saw that both Bella and Diane had chosen the same aura as myself, but they explained it as a good investment, given that I can freely supply them with ki fire to enhance them in battle.

  Once we had all activated the auras, we were wrapped in a sheath of black flames that seemed to roll over our skins. This looked especially ominous on Diane, whose natural color scheme complimented this skill rather well.

  Meanwhile, I summoned my Fire General, who directed the three weaker clones over towards us. Although they couldn’t use my skills, their very bodies were made of ki flames. Thus, the general instructed the clones to stand behind each of us, placing their hands on our shoulders. As soon as they did so, the clones seemed to dissolve into nothing, the auras around us becoming denser.

  The general immediately resummoned the clones and repeated the process, fueling our training. This lasted for about three minutes, before Bella let out a gasp. Immediately, her skill was cancelled, and she began breathing heavily, eyes wide. Diane and I could easily recognize the effects of Mana Burnout, so Diane passed her a potion that she had previously brewed.

  With shaking hands, Bella accepted and drank the potion, allowing herself to recover. At the five minute mark, Diane ended her own skill, though she had clearly not pushed herself to the point of burnout.

  Once their mana circuits had recovered, they immediately resumed training, the fire clones once again feeding themselves to the aura. We maintained this level of training for four full hours, after which we took a chance to rest and eat, before turning in for the night. Only then did I make us a small house to stay in, one small enough to fully fit within my Ghost Zone.

  The next day, we resumed our training for a few hours, before tackling the dungeon again. With the aid of the enchanted pistol and our previous experience, we were able to clear up to the tenth floor in under half an hour. Once we entered the eleventh floor, however, we realized that Diane’s decision to leave early had truly been the correct one.

  On the eleventh floor, two gates opened from totally different directions. From one, there was a group of five monks accompanied by five wizards. From the other, the five monks were joined by five archers.

  To reduce our number of enemies as much as we could, we approached the group with the wizards, those most likely to be able to buff their allies. Once we were only a few meters away, Bella fired a blast that eliminated the entire group. However, because of this, the other team immediately launched themselves into action, with arrows of black flame being fired towards us, alongside five speeding monks.

  Diane, together with both of our summons, immediately rushed towards the back to kill off the archers, while I grabbed Bella and teleported us to a different part of the arena. As soon as I did so, an eruption of stone and dust could be seen from our previous location, the monks having struck the ground where we stood.

  When they realized that we had moved, they assumed a defensive formation and began to carefully scan the arena. One of them looked in our direction, seeming to notice something. My eyes widened when I realized that he had managed to see through my Ghost Zone. Although it was a master level skill, it was not one that had been manually evolved from the beginning tier. While it made sense for monsters to be able to find clues if they were actively looking, we had never encountered such a situation yet.

  Still, we had to act fast. Diane and the summoned troops quickly killed off the archers, but she was too far away to immediately join our battle. Or, at least, that was my initial assumption. Diane quickly entered her shadow dragon form, her claws digging into her own shadow.

  With a snarl, she released black threads, almost like wires that shot out towards the monks. The monks, which had already begun to move, were briefly bound in place by the threads. Bella took advantage of the situation to fire off another shot to kill the bound targets.

  The next thing I knew, we were back in the waiting room. I let out a deep breath of relief, looking at a message that Bella quickly typed out.

  How did you manage to bind those guys like that, Diane?

  I used my Shadow Dragon Transformation to activate Dark Intent, Shadow Bind, and Binding Lines together. Figured that I could hold them in place for at least a few seconds if I combined all of that together. When I read that message, I nodded my head in understanding.

  We should probably pull out here, I messaged them both. At most, we might be able to take on one more wave if I stay mobile with Bella. Otherwise, I don’t think it’s a good idea to go past the eleventh floor before you two can individually handle entire groups like that on your own.

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  The other two quickly agreed with me, and we left without aiming for another reward. For the rest of the day, we just kept farming the sixth through tenth levels.

  On our third day, we each managed to evolve Black Flame Aura into Black Flame Mantle. The auras of dark flames around us condensed into black capes. With these mantles active, the fire clones dissolved as soon as they approached us. Even the main body of the Fire General itself could only last a dozen seconds before dissolving.

  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to launch another raid on the dungeon after advancing our skills. Just as we were gathering up the remains of our camp, Bella’s eyes narrowed, looking into the sky in the south. “Drake, get the car, now!” She said, her eyes wide in shock.

  Diane and I turned to follow her gaze, spotting a dozen shadows flying through the sky in the distance. They were rapidly approaching, and I could easily make out their draconic outlines.

  “Car’s not fast enough, if they brought an elite,” Diane grit her teeth, looking meaningfully at me.

  I nodded my head, striking the ground hard to recover the respawn anchor buried near the entrance. Then, without hesitation, I assumed a draconic form, my scales sleek and silver. Although the other two weren’t entirely sure at first which of my forms I had taken, they climbed onto my back immediately.

  Taking a deep breath, I kept us wrapped in Ghost Zone, and flapped my wings sharply. Immediately, the three of us were in the air, far on the other side of the dragons that had been approaching the dungeon.

  Most of the dragons continued on their way, led by the familiar black-scaled Drake. However, one of the larger dragons with blue scales turned, its head whipping around to scan the area before spotting us. It let out a roar, signalling for the others to return, and then turned to chase us.

  Seeing its speed, my eyes widened further, and I flapped my wings again, teleporting to the horizon. This was my dragon form fueled by Glancing Steps-X, where every flap of my wings could carry me to any point I saw. Even so, two among the dragons were able to follow us, leaving behind the others to zoom ahead. The air seemed to buckle under their sheer speed.

  Every time I teleported, they only looked around for a moment before the blue dragon spotted me again. Whether I continued in a straight line or changed directions, it didn’t seem to make any difference.

  As I was trying to decide my next plan, Bella sent a message that appeared in front of me. Head for the rift. Depending on where it’s connected to, we might be able to lose them. Otherwise, just keep going south.

  I grit my teeth at this suggestion. Going south to the rift meant that we’d have to fly over the draconic city that we saw being built previously. Our pursuers would no doubt realize this and have their strongest fighters prepare to ‘welcome’ us.

  While I was debating whether to accept the instruction, another message came from Diane. Fly up.

  My eyes turned skyward at that, before widening as I saw the giant cloud of flames gathering above. It looked like a storm was brewing, one that would seem apocalyptic in any other realm. Instinctively, I wanted to deny this suggestion, before I felt a stinging on my back. Diane had activated her Black Flame Mantle, and I immediately knew what her plan was.

  This is probably going to hurt, you two! I messaged them as fast as I could, before teleporting myself up to the cloud and diving inside. My own mantle activated, as did Bella’s. However, even with this, we were not entirely protected from the dense flame cloud. It scorched my scales, as well as the clothes of the other two.

  Thankfully, these were natural flames. Even as we were being cooked alive by the flaming cloud, we were being healed. Diane hurriedly handed Bella a potion to keep her mana in check.

  In such a situation, we were unable to track the dragons following us. However, I was also unable to teleport, given that I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of myself. Red lightning streaked through the cloud, charring one of my wings and earning a pained hiss.

  Still, our pursuers hadn’t caught up with us, even after we entered the cloud. Either they were wary of the cloud itself, or they were unable to track us within it. In any case, I kept flying upwards, until my body emerged through the top of the cloud. Upon doing so, I was able to see a vast sea of flames stretched out before me, rolling and shifting in various weather patterns.

  Unfortunately, the air was incredibly thin at this height, so I did not dare to remain for long. With a flap of my wings, I teleported us far into the distance, beyond the draconic city. And with another, I brought us to the edge of the rift, which had a deep, serene blue coloring.

  Our pursuers would surely know that we were heading for the gate, so I sent us through the rift. According to the time, it was only two minutes until the next change. Hopefully, that would be too fast for the dragons to catch up with us.

  On the other side of the portal, we found ourselves in a giant bubble, a small island constructed at the base of the rift. Beyond the bubble was a realm of endless water, stars seeming to flutter around in all directions, no doubt belonging to marine predators.

  I waited anxiously, worried that dragons would fly through the portal at any moment. None of us spoke, ready to escape at any time. Once the portal shifted to various foggy greys and streaks of blue and yellow, we dove through again. This time, we were in a metallic landscape, the ground made of humming iron and the sky filled with storm clouds. Whenever the lightning struck, the clap of thunder was accompanied by the ringing of metal.

  “Diane, can you log out and find the schedule?” I asked with a sigh. “I don’t know where we are, or how long before the portal aligns with Chimeris.”

  Diane agreed readily, the brand on her forehead fading as she logged out. Meanwhile, Bella grunted. “It’s a shame that we had to let the dragons take that dungeon from us,” she muttered under her breath. “With the black flame skills it offers, that will let them dominate Pyrrhos’s natural residents.”

  I grit my teeth, acknowledging this fact as well. I sent a message to Ella, warning her about the dragons, as well as the skill that they had obtained. Although her nation was quite far from the dragons, it was not far enough to consider her safe from it. Especially when her specialty made her a prime target for them to attack.