Chapter 436 In The Crater



(AN: Sorry about the previous chapter. I took on your complaints and rewritten it. The changes are from the start of Vesuvius's POV. It is also longer now, so you have got a free bonus :D)

The dragon's eyes snapped open. As far as he could see, everything was replaced by a massive smoldering crater burned to black. The molten stone flowed in rivers, and clouds of ash swirled.

Instantly the purple flames and black frost exploded from his body, clearing all the dust blocking his vision.

His body still hurt while the dense swarms of glowing and glittering microscopic machines consumed the nearby stone and air. His flesh knitted back while his scales slowly regrew to replace the destroyed ones.

Even with it, the regeneration was much, much slower than he would expect. He closed his eyes as he focused on his wounds, directing the life force into them, only to frown.

'There are still lingering effects of the divine energy contained within the lightning.'

His frown only deepened as he realized he made a big mistake with his last metamorphosis.

'The nerves, I was adding more of them over the many evolutions. No, wonder that every injury hurts so much.' He was a dragon, yet he was forced to growl out of pain like some weakling.

'How could I overlook this?' The regret worsened as he knew it would have been a simple fix if he could access his metamorphosis again.

He slightly moved his tail while he waited for his body to regenerate, with the swarms of nanites consuming all the matter around him like starving locusts.

'Damn the god who dared to strike me like this... just wait, my revenge will be sweet.' The regret slowly turned into burning anger. He believed in his strength, yet he was now struck down by someone he couldn't see.

He trusted his barrier, yet it failed under the onslaught of the lightning attack.

'How can I prevent this from happening ever again? More importantly, what is preventing the gods from simply striking me again.'

He didn't know what, but he was sure there had to be some price to pay for something like that. Otherwise, he would see the gods intervening more often in the physical world.

'Such a shame...' He wanted to show his resistance against the gods, yet he only ended up injured, showing his weakness to the world around him.

He moved his legs as he raised from the crater, his wounds already healed enough for him to move. The gaps between his scales were almost gone, and the new armor was reforming, all the lost gold reappearing.

With a flap of his wings, he raised into the air. For the first time, he saw the full scale of the crater. From one horizon to the other one, everything was burned black. The smoke and dust still filled the air, only a few rays of red light passing through.

Ding!

//

Quest accomplished!

Rating: None

Reward: Instant Level UP X 5, Title: [Defyier of Gods]

//

Ding!

//

You gained a title: [Defyier of Gods]

Lore: Only a few beings can survive the anger of the storm god. You are one of them, forever becoming a part of legends.

Conditions: Survive the divine retribution of a god

Effects: +3 DIV; Reduces the damage from divine energy attacks by 15%; Increased affinity with unholy

//

'Maybe it isn't as bad as I thought... I survived the attack of a real god. Who can say that?' His feeling of weakness quickly turned into pride. He was scared that he would have to show his face to his minions after getting struck from the sky, destroying the image of his absolute power.

However, now, he would do it with pride. He angered the gods enough to attack him directly, but he still exists and lives, turning them into a joke.

He could already feel dozens, no hundreds, of lifeforms gathering and moving in the distance around the crater.

He raised high into the sky with a powerful flap of his ginormous wings. His injured and tattered form was revealed to the world amidst the purple flames and pitch-black frost.

"I, Vesuvius have survived the anger of gods! Kneel before my power!" His voice sent all the onlookers to the ground. Their fear and terror made his heart pound with new vigor.

'They truly are scared of me and I was afraid of turning into a joke. Instead, the gods became the joke. So in the end, my goal was acomplished even though I was injured.'

"Grraaaah!" His victorious roar bent the trees, cracked the stones, and made all the mortals and immortals shiver in terror and awe.

POV Brown:

The player in brown kneeled on the edge of the massive crater, the unimaginably powerful force of the roar pressing him to the ground. He couldn't even move, only watching the terrifying dragon in the sky with wide eyes.

The injuries and scars only added to its already awe aspiring form. The shattered horns, and the tattered armor, were all scars proving the force of the lightning strike.

His hands trembled as he recorded the crater easily big enough to swallow an entire city. He couldn't even see to its other edge.

'This is madness. This is too scary.' Until now, he believed the players could still affect the world and change it. However, after seeing the dragon survive an attack of such a magnitude, he lost it.

"Hahaha, doesn't this mean the world's top powers can survive nuclear attacks?" He wasn't the only one, as he saw the terror in the eyes of the players around him.

Until now, they thought their world was stronger and more powerful and that they could just nuke any monster that would invade them.

'Hahaha, there is no hope. We are nothing but cosmic dust to the gods and the four balance races.' He fell on his knees again, staring at the dragon, knowing his home was defenseless.

Then a new hope resurfaced from the murky waters of despair, 'No, there is still hope. We can find a protector. No, we don't have to find a protector. One is right before us.'