?Aethion’s words drew their attention back to the scene before them. The lake was still calm, but they were able to sense that something was coming from deep below it.

The water suddenly started rippling and then waves started forming before a powerful blast took place in the center of the lake as a giant figure came out of the water. The dark blue scales became visible as they all stared at the dragon that had come out of its lair.

The flood dragon had indeed noticed their presence, its gaze fixed on Beast with a mixture of curiosity and hostility.

It was looking at them and seemingly thinking of something, something it was trying to remember.

“I recognize you.”

A loud voice reverberated through the lake and the forest surrounding it.

The water rippled, the trees shook and a blast of wind hit everything around the dragon as it spoke, slightly shocking Reign and the others.

It was not capable of human speech in the past, they knew that, and yet, it now was, which meant it had evolved, but it didn’t evolve into a higher tier, it was a racial evolution, the dragon had become more powerful than before and gained more intelligence.

“You … I can sense the same mark that I possess on you, I recognize you from that day, the Mistress had blessed you, just like it had blessed me.” The dragon spoke as it stared at Wolf, their marks shining for an instant before once again going dormant.

What the dragon said was true as Wolf was also able to sense the dragon’s mark. They were both marked by the same being, and they had a connection between them.

“You, I cannot fight against, nor can you battle me, we are not allowed to do so, we are marked by her, and she will be displeased if we were to do such a thing.”

The dragon continued as its eyes swept over Reign and the others.

It stayed on Reign a bit longer than the others before it finally stared into Beast’s resolute eyes.

“I can sense your powers, I can see the ones you have beaten into submission.”

“Are you here to try and take me as well, human?”

“Yes, I would much rather we not fight, but I know that a being like you will not submit to anyone who doesn’t prove himself worthy, right?”

“Humph, a being that needs to fight me with so many others even when it is an entire realm above me will never be worthy, if you are serious, and if you truly wish to fight me, you are better off trying to kill me.”

“I will not fight you with the others, only me and you, that will be the battle,” Beast said as he took a step forward.

“And of course, the beasts that I have, they are a part of my powers, I doubt you have any objections to them, right?”

The dragon stopped and stared into Beast’s eyes before it lifted its head, and laughed.

Its laughter was akin to a disaster.

The wind blew strong, some trees bent all the way down, some breaking in half, others falling down as their roots came out of the ground, and the lake became restless as large waves appeared on its surfaces, crushing down at the beach as all the monsters that were present had long since fled the area.

“You can sense my power, you know how powerful I am, you know what role I was given by the system, and yet, you wish to fight me alone?”

“You are interesting, for a human, I will give you that much.”

Beast stood firm, undeterred by the dragon’s laughter and the display of its power. He knew that facing the flood dragon alone would be a daunting task, but he was determined to prove himself worthy of taming such a formidable beast.

He had to, that was the challenge he had given himself, the only way for him to finally prove himself worthy enough of being a part of the team, and the only way he could finally feel as if he truly belonged there, that he was not there by luck.

The flood dragon regarded Beast with a mixture of skepticism and curiosity, its gaze piercing through him as if searching for any hint of weakness. After a moment of silence, it spoke again, its voice echoing through the forest.

“Very well, human, I will not deny you the challenge you seek.”

“If you truly wish to face me alone, then I shall grant your request, but know this: I will not hold back, and I will not show mercy.” .𝒎

“I will not bow down to anybody, and I will face you with the full power I possess, there is a high chance that you will die, are you certain you wish to challenge me, even after knowing that?”

Beast nodded, his resolve unwavering. “I understand, and I accept those terms, let us settle this honorably, beast to man.”

“Hahahahah, what an interesting human, I might even feel sorry for breaking and killing you today.”

With that, Beast stepped forward, his gaze locked with the flood dragon’s as they prepared to engage in battle. The others watched from a safe distance, their hearts filled with a mixture of apprehension and admiration for Beast’s courage.

Beast moved first.

His bow appeared in his hands as he quickly notched five arrows on it, all filled with mana to the brim, before launching them at the dragon.

The arrows appeared in front of the dragon in an instant, all of them breaking the sound barrier, reaching Mach 4.

The dragon simply growled as a blast of water was expelled out of its body, blocking the arrows that proved not powerful enough to break through the water barrier it had created.

But Beast … he was not finished yet with his attack.

The arrows were blocked, but they were not broken, and the mana inside of them was still present.

Seemingly on accident, they all fell around the dragon, forming a circle around him before a green ray connected them.

Wind Array, Heaven’s Punishment

Beast had placed his hands on the floor and channeled his mana as the clouds above the dragon suddenly split open as a spear of wind fell down on it.

Beast didn’t only manage to evolve his ability during the challenge, he had also managed to gain a new innate ability.

It was the wind manipulation he had learned long ago and used often.

It was no longer a learned ability, but one that was fused with his flesh and soul, and an innate ability that was now more powerful than ever, and Beast was not going to let it simply rot in him.

The spear moved with incredible speed, but the dragon was not alarmed or concerned by it.

It opened its mouth as a ton of mana was suddenly concentrated on it before firing a blue ray from it.

One could even see water spilling out of the ray as it struck the spear, and after only 3 seconds of clashing, the spear was destroyed.

‘Facing a raid boss is difficult not only because it has incredibly high stats, but because a raid boss is always in an area that suits him the most.’

‘This dragon can control water, and he has more than enough of it present in this lake that is deceptively deep, much deeper than one would imagine.’

‘It doesn’t need to use its mana to create the water needed for its ability as it is already there, which means that it will be using much less mana than you will.”

Aethion’s voice suddenly echoed in Beast’s head, making him flinch for a moment before he relaxed.

He did say he didn’t want help, but simply getting more information from Aethion, who was using Reign’s powers to communicate telepathically with him, was fine by him.

“Not bad, but not nearly enough to threaten me.” The dragon said in a calm voice as it stared at Beast once again.

“Human, I have still not been forced to even move, if this is all you have, I would recommend you leave and run far away from this place, otherwise you will end up dying in this battle.”

Beast simply grabbed his bow again before pulling the bowstring, to which the dragon said nothing at.

He held that position for an entire minute, which confused the dragon that was still not moving or doing a thing.

The dragon couldn’t sense any mana being poured into the bow, and for a couple of seconds, he believed that Beast had seemingly lost it, that he was truly contemplating whether or not to escape, and that this was his way of buying some time to think.

“Human, if you do n-”

Before the dragon was able to finish speaking, Beast let go of the bowstring.

There was still nothing there, no arrow, no mana that had been channeled, nothing, and yet, the dragon suddenly sensed danger.

It quickly dove into the water, which proved to be the right choice as something did pass above its head, and the sky several hundred meters behind it changed as all the clouds in a circle of 200 meters were blasted away.

𝑖𝘦.𝑐𝘰𝘮