Magma Dragon Cultivation

42nd of Season of Air, 57th year of the 32nd cycle

Blue rivulets, their color as deep as an ocean, veined the ankylosaurus’s carapace. The beast’s armor was in tatters, clawed and pried opened by a powerful beast, several times larger than a velociraptor. Thin patterns of blood danced in foot-wide bubbles of water, which covered the three deepest gashes while caked blood covered the rest of the giant’s wounds.

The dinosaur itself was roughly the regular size for its species, nearly twenty-five feet long, seven feet tall, and wider than it stood. It hissed at the pack of velociraptors darting in and out, often feinting, but still striking every so often.

Newt observed the scene from fifty-odd yards away. He sat on a branch twelve feet off the ground, analyzing the combat, and drew certain conclusions.

The fire-attributed velociraptors were obviously not the ones who originally wounded the ankylosaurus. The wounds beneath the water burst the bubbles from time to time in powerful sprays, hinting at the air nature of the wound and the spirit beast which had inflicted it. A huge air-attributed predator, but one not powerful enough to overwhelm the ankylosaurus immediately, in fact, it might have fallen in the attempt. Otherwise, it should have finished the job and eaten its meal.

Velociraptors lashed out again and again, whipped into a frenzy by the higher realm spirit beast’s wounds. All of them would greatly benefit from the kill, but devouring the ankylosaurus’s core would help their pack leader advance.

And Newt had an easy enough time spotting the leaders. Two human-sized velociraptors with fiery-red crests and wicked talons observed their spawn run in, claw at the ankylosaurus’s water bubbles and soft belly, and return before the fatigued beast retaliated.

Newt focused on the leaders and estimated them at the third realm, but he was not certain. The glow of spiritual energy was faint fifty yards away, and the miniature storm of clashing fire and water obscured it even further.

Newt focused on the lone giant. Its aura was thicker, but it seemed its reserve of spiritual energy was running low. Newt believed the ankylosaurus was near death when one of the velociraptors proved too slow. Ankylosaurus’s tail mace screamed through the air and smashed into the attacker’s chest. Spiritual energy flared, and the beast’s torso folded, its bones crunched before the velociraptor rocketed into the bushes.

The beast was dead before it fell. The origin of the battered bodies Newt had encountered along the way was revealed in a single careless moment and a brutal flick of a tail, which almost certainly destroyed the velociraptor’s core.

I’m lucky I found three.

Newt kept watching the battle as the number of second realm velociraptors dwindled from nine to eight to seven. Half a day passed, and the ankylosaurus had given up on healing itself, focusing all its energy on defense. But as its energy gave out, so did the relentless raptors.

Of the original pack, which must have numbered several dozen, only the two alphas remained. The ankylosaurus’s bellows of what Newt recognized as indignant rage had turned into fatigued hisses. Newt could almost hear it trying to dissuade the velociraptors from a mutually assured destruction, but greed blinded the predators.

They simultaneously leaped at the ankylosaurus, aiming for the gaping wounds. The lethal tail mace smashed one, and spiritual energy flared from it, momentarily blinding Newt’s third eye. The other velociraptor reached the wound. Its powerful talons dug into the flesh, and it sank its head deep into the gash to feast on the still living herbivore.

Ankylosaurus trashed and fell, its whines begging, but the predator was merciless. As was Newt. With blasts of hot air, he charged. The ankylosaurus lay immobilized on the ground, no longer a threat while the velociraptor was too absorbed in its meal.

The voracious predator raised its head and looked towards the sudden sound, but it was too late. Newt’s spear found its throat, and the last surviving velociraptor jumped away, tearing open the already mortal wound. The dinosaur fell the moment it freed itself, its dead body twitching on the ground.

I reaped the fisherman’s benefit. The young man smiled, recalling all the stories in which the cunning hero observed and waited until landing the critical blow which ended the battle and brought them fame and fortune.

After enjoying his moment of triumph, Newt got to the ghastly work of checking the bodies. He rushed to the ankylosaurus, the most powerful and most valuable prize. He used the wound as an entry point, slashing and parting flesh, but just like his third eye had indicated, the core was gone, destroyed in the heat of battle or collapsed from overexertion. Its spiritual energy had dispersed into the flesh and slowly dissipated into the air.

Newt stared at the giant corpse, he wanted to give that core to Borhem, to reward the servant for his loyalty, but fate would not have it.

Maybe it’s a blessing? What would he do with a water-aligned spirit root?

Newt used that thought to suppress his disappointment and moved to the third realm velociraptors. The one he had slain had an intact core, while the other’s was shattered, along with its bones and organs. Newt then went through the second realm spirit beasts, but just as his third eye had suggested, the furious ankylosaurus had destroyed all their cores.

Newt sighed, fishing out all four cores he had scavenged. Three were plum sized and shrinking as their spiritual energy slowly dissipated. The process would last several weeks until they shrunk to the size of an olive, at which point the cores would stabilize or collapse.

There’s no need to wait until then. We should have more than four promising candidates at the clanhold. Newt reserved the fist-sized third realm core for Borhem, while elders could distribute the remaining three as they saw fit.

And what do I do with this? Newt gazed at the ankylosaurus’s corpse. The flesh could be used for alchemy, the carapace to make armor, while the tail was a natural mace, and a passing merchant should be interested in the bones as well. The body alone was enough to support the clan for a long time, if Newt could immediately return with it, or at least stop its energy from leaking.

He lifted the ankylosaurus’s tail and pulled, but despite his enhanced strength, the body did not budge.

Newt sighed, picked up the velociraptor, which was not turned into a meat patty, and carried it as he made his way towards the inn.

I hope the turbulent spiritual energy will keep normal dinosaurs away. Newt worried scavengers and predators might eat his prize before he organized the villagers to help him transport it.

Even with the body of a velociraptor slung across Newt’s back, Fire Burst turned the several-hours-long trek into a ten-minute dash. He reached the inn shortly before sunset.

Newt opened the door, and all eyes of the crowded common room turned to him. A woman shrieked, the bloodied maw of a human-sized velociraptor causing her to faint, while the rest murmured and gasped.

“I got rid of your problem,” Newt said before the room burst into murmurs. “But I need help.”

The last sentence splashed drowned the hushed conversation in the room, replacing it with absolute silence.

“I need five to ten gastonias to pull a corpse out of the woods and haul it to the Blazing Salamander clan.”

“Lord Cultivator,” the innkeeper protested, “entering the forest is dangerous even without slow-moving gastonias. What if allosauruses attack?”

“I will protect everyone who follows me, and I will pay for the work, the money will be good enough to make up for your losses. Also, I will head to the Blazing Salamander clan and recruit one of their elders to help.”

“I will come,” the cabbage transporter said, “I have bought four gassies this morning, and I owe you a debt larger than life.”

Following his lead, two other villagers offered a pair each, and Newt made an agreement to meet them at the forest’s edge at sunrise the next day.

Newt bade the locals a good night and rushed towards the clanhold. The two days of leisurely walk would have taken less than an hour of Fire Burst empowered sprint, had Newt not noticed his spiritual energy running low. At half capacity, he stopped using the technique and ran normally.

Despite relying on nothing but his body, Newt crossed the distance in two and a half hours.

The sun had long since set when he reached the gate, which was well lit and guarded by two elderly clansmen at the first realm.

“Patriarch,” they exclaimed when they saw Newt, wincing when they realized what he was carrying.

“Hello,” Newt greeted with a smile, the dead velociraptor still slung across his shoulders. “I ran into an opportunity, and I need to speak with the elders.”

One of the guards led Newt in, and the young man realized with a pang of shame that he did not even know the man’s name.

I need to learn all my clansmen’s names, or at least the names of those who started practicing cultivation.

Newt and the unknown guard reached Elder Stronggrow’s abode and knocked on the door. Ten heartbeats later, the white-haired man opened the door. His face revealed concern, replaced by confusion and shock when he recognized Newt, who said he would be away for a long time, not five days ago.

“Newstar! What are you doing here? Why are you carrying an evolved velociraptor’s corpse?”

“Teacher, I have had a fortunate encounter, one which will benefit the clan, if only slightly. May I come in?”