The breath was knocked out of Julien as the Draconian's tail tightened around his chest. The scales felt like knives against his skin, and he struggled to get free as he processed what had happened to him.
It's got me, just like it did to Mina!
He didn't have any weapons on him, and he couldn't move his arms to cast spells. All he had to rely on was his skills.
"LET HIM GO!" Haley shrieked, unleashing a barrage of icy projectiles at it.
[Skill List]!
Julien hadn't used skills much in the time he'd spent as Ian. He'd focused more on spells, because they were just more vital to master.
He had checked the skill list before, but he didn't really remember anything that would be particularly useful.
Wait… didn't I use a mobility skill before?
When he had gone to find Ray and his group, he'd used one that let him essentially teleport short distances. He hadn't really read the skill description too deeply, but he would need it now.
[Currently Equipped Skills: 10 (MAX)]
[Flickerfade Lvl.71]
[Description: Mobility-type skill. Allows the user to disappear and reappear within a radius of 10 meters from the point of activation.]
Perfect.
Julien tried activating the skill. [Flickerfade]!
Nothing happened.
W-what?!
[This skill cannot be used while bound.]
Well, that's just great!
Now, he could hardly breathe. Pressure was building in his body, and he had to come up with a new plan quickly.
What could he possibly do? Could he use [Conjuring]? Would it be worth the enormous mana cost?
The Draconian flicked its tail--with him still held in it--closer to its torso. Close enough that Julien could sense its core pulsing beneath its flesh.
All around it, the others were trying their hardest to get it to let go of him. Ray sent several long, sharp shards of metal flying at it. A few of them lodged into the monster's side, and it hissed in pain.
Katie dashed forward, viciously spiked green vines bursting forth from the tip of her sword. The vines wrapped around the Draconian's back leg--but it tore free easily.
The instructors went in, aiming for its underbelly while it stood on all fours. Julien's stomach dropped as it shifted its tail, so he was in their line of fire.
"Damn it--!" Jules snarled as they were forced to pull back at the last second.
Julien realised with sharp clarity: it's using me as a shield to protect itself.
The pressure increased. Somewhere in his ribcage, he heard a sickening crunch. He couldn't even make a cry of pain.
[Warning: User has taken serious damage.]
[Health Points: 5504/6300]
[Active Debuffs: Internal Bleeding]
Julien felt a jumble of dizziness and severe pain. For a few moments, he couldn't even think.
He forced his head up, blinking through the darkness that edged its way into his vision.
The Draconian's laughter echoed through the cavern. "Did I break something? I must say, you're quite the fragile little doll."
Without his old pain suppression skill, Julien found the pain excruciating, but he hung on to his wit. There's no more time to hesitate. I have to use another skill, even if it has a high cost.
He took in his position through the blur. He was somewhere even closer to the core--a prime position that suggested the Draconian was still confident he could do nothing to it.
For the most part, it was true. He was rather weak physically--he'd never be able to use a sword in a real battle. And fire would do nothing to it--but fire wasn't the only thing his skills could do.
There was one he hadn't used yet, simply because it had never seemed fitting. An explosive skill, one he'd seen Inferno use once or twice, but it must've been quite mana heavy, as despite its power, the villain hadn't used it in many situations it would've come in useful.
[Mana Ignition].
There was no time to read the description--he just had to hope it wouldn't run his mana reserves dry. He still had about half left… enough for more shots of [Burning Star Marble], which was a pretty strong skill. Surely it wouldn't be too bad.
As he focused on the point and direction he'd need to try and send it at, he felt the Draconian's hot breath wash over him. It was still smug, and it had no idea what this scrawny little human was about to do.
I have just to not blow myself or anyone else up. That's all I need to do, and hopefully, it will let go of me.
[Mana Ignition Activated]
In an instant, he felt a large amount of mana leave his own core, flying in the direction of the Draconian's. Surprisingly, the explosion was pure energy and force, not an ember to be found. Not that it mattered--the point was for it to create an impact jarring enough for the tail around him to loosen.
He heard the deafening screech of the monster above him. It must've hit--just as he thought, the stifling pressure vanished as it released him.
Suddenly, he was falling. But the Draconian had held him high above the ground--more than enough time to quickly use [Flickerflame] and reappear on the ground.
He staggered on his feet, lungs burning. But Little Julien was already there, assisting with relief in his eyes. However, there wasn't any time for words as the Draconian slipped back into rage.
"So," it hissed. "You don't want to play? That's fine. I won't mess around either."
It moved its head close to the ground, amber eyes glowing and staring right at them both. From afar, Julien heard Wells yell out.
"It's about to breathe fire! IAN! SHIELD!"
Julien scrambled to move, activating his [Flame Shield] just in time. A torrent of red and orange streamed past. At this distance, it was far from pleasant for him.
It must be incredibly uncomfortable for Little Julien, if I'm feeling it.
In his peripheral vision, he saw Little Julien covering his face, bracing against the heat. The shield shimmered, and Julien struggled to keep it from shattering. His strength was sapped, his head hurt from all the blinding lights and pressure--but it barely held.
At last, the Draconian's breath sputtered out, and smoke rose. The shield skill's duration ended, and it vanished just a few moments later.
"Thanks," Little Julien coughed, voice hoarse from the smoke.
Julien nodded his head. He was worried about how much longer this fight would drag on--it seemed like the Draconian had all the time in the world, and theirs was clearly limited.
[Mana:14560/31000]
This isn't looking good for us.
Nobody was really injured that badly, other than him. But they were growing increasingly fatigued from the efforts.
Instructors at Asanel Academy were among the best of the best--but even they had rarely faced more than one S-tier monster in a single gate, and it showed. They were slowing down, just by fractions of a second, but in battles, milliseconds could stand between victory or defeat.
Not to mention the other fifth years. Though they were all strong and knew many fighting techniques and tricks, they weren't as experienced.
An old saying flashed across his mind, If you can't win by sheer force alone, outsmart your enemy.
Are there any landform features we can use?
Julien glanced across the massive cavern. It was bare--no rocks or boulders to be found. The mana haze still shone, but by now, the Draconian knew about the plan.
Then he looked up. There, far above them in the high ceiling, he saw massive cracks splintered across on one side. The other side was untouched and smooth. Another idea began forming in his mind.
Could we collapse the roof? If we bring it down on the Draconian, we could trap it in the rubble and destroy its core easily.
His thoughts raced. The cracked ceiling wasn't stable. Julien could sense tremors--each time the monster stomped around or hit the ground, it shook, and dust fell.
He backed away, chest still burning, while the others kept it busy. With every spell, sword strike and skill--the cracks grew larger in response.
It would be simple in theory. In a single unified attack, everyone would send their attacks upwards. The ceiling would break.
Wait, Linda's element is earth. He came to the sudden realization as he saw her bring up jagged stalagmites from the ground.
If she were to hold up the ceiling above us, and guide the falling rock towards it, then maybe…
There was a rumble from above. The monster tilted its head up slightly, as if sensing his idea.
He looked at the group again. Fortunately, Linda was close enough to him she would hear what he had to say, but the Draconian wouldn't.
"Instructor Linda," he called. The woman looked over sharply, breathing heavily.
"Ma'am, how much mana do you have left?"
"...About a third," she said quietly. "Why? Do you have another idea?"
"Yeah. I want to collapse the roof on the Draconian. And I need you to direct the broken rock away from the roof to it."
Her eyes widened. "...You're sure?"
"Yeah."
She sighed. "This better work."
Julien took in a deep breath. He would need to say it loudly and clearly for the others to hear him, but that would alert the Draconian to what they were about to do. They needed to react fast enough, before the monster could stop them.
Ray and Katie were crouched low, each dodging and counterattacking near the Draconian. From where they were, they would be able to hit the roof with ranged attacks easily. Wells, Jules, Amara and Haley were all scattered in a broken circle. They would probably hear him better--but they were right in front of it. If it was faster, it could swipe them all away in one fell swoop.
Of course, Linda and Little Julien were the closest to him. The easiest to protect, if things went wrong.
There are always too many variables in a battle. Things rarely go the way you expect them to.
But that was no reason to give up before trying. If this worked, they would have a real, fighting chance at winning.
Julien yelled with everything he had left. "Everyone!!! HIT THE ROOF! TRUST ME!"