The vampire spilled it out, afraid Damian's sword would kill him. All Damian needed was a little pressure to break the vampire.
"What do you know about this place? Also, how did you leave if this is a dragon's lair?" Damian asked as they flew in the direction the man said.
"T-The dragon was asleep, that's why. But the portal was there, I am certain of it! I saw it from afar!"
Damian analyzed the vampire's body language and how he spoke to spot any lies.
'He's telling the truth.'
"But who are you, anyway? Why do you want a portal to leave this dungeon floor?"
Damian stared intensely at the vampire who asked that, making him feel uneasy; scratching his hands and looking to the side to avoid Damian's gaze.
"I am the one asking questions here," Damian said.
"I was just trying to mingle, chill. We both know you are the boss here," the vampire said, rolling his eyes.
He was only trying to make the situation less tense or more friendly between the three. It was better than traveling with a person with murder intent.
"How far is this place, anyway?" Damian said, completely ignoring what the vampire had just said.
"Thirty minutes or so. But are you actually saying you will go there? You might be powerful, but that's a dragon we are talking about!"
"Show me the way, and I will do the rest. You two don't need to know about it."
"Fine, fine." The vampire said, shrugging his shoulders.
If Damian did not want to chat about anything, the two asked nothing and stayed quiet. They passed through many different scenarios: forests, plains, and, finally, mountains.
The dragon was on those mountains, and once Damian was close to it, the two vampires were doing all they could to hide their fears.
'This is a madman! Go up against a dragon? Bullshit.'
The chances of Damian winning against the dragon were slim for them, and all they wished was to leave the area as fast as possible.
"That's the mountain?" Damian asked as he pointed at a tall mountain almost reaching the clouds.
It was so high the temperature up there was lower, turning it into a mountaintop covered by snow, reminding Damian of the last floor of the dungeon he had been in.
"Yes, that's the place. Look, can we go? I don't want to go inside that place!"
"You don't need to go inside, but you two will wait until I return. Understood?"
"Of course."
Damian flew toward the ground with his winged horse, leaving the two vampires on the ground near some trees, then moved toward the mountain where the portal was.
He had no idea if they would stay there, but finding them after dealing with the dragon was no problem. They were in a remote place, and it was not like the two vampires were fast, especially compared to Damian's winged horse.
Once he was far away enough that the vampires could not see him anymore, Damian jumped from his horse, unsummoning it right after. His body floated in the sky, and he vanished.
'It is better to use the invisibility cloak and Telekineses. That horse would catch too much attention.'
The mountain was high, and the path to the top was steep, making it hard for anyone who had to walk to go there. It was easy for Damian, who flew as fast as he could toward the top.
But as he started to get close to the mountaintop, Damian slowed down, staring at the massive cave entrance. He looked around and noticed little to no human activity.
'No one comes here, so why did the vampires come?'
Despite them saying they stumbled on that thing by accident during their explorations, Damian felt it was hard to believe. Why would someone climb all the way up in that specific mountain?
Damian moved forward, despite the thoughts. He wheezed, shrinking his body, 'This place is freaking cold. Maybe I should get something like a fur cloak? It looks silly on Earth but not so much here.'
The wind hit his face, hurting it. His clothes moved with the wind, and even flying became harder. But Damian endured it, entering the massive cave. Once inside, the harsh weather outside was more bearable.
Sure, it was still cold, but the wind was not hitting his face anymore, and that made everything way better than it was. But despite feeling good about it, Damian did not relax.
He looked around, analyzing the cave. There was nothing inside at first glance, but the size of it was gigantic, and the only way to see what was inside was moving forward.
The sound of water dropping from the rocks, or the minor bugs cricking, none of that mattered to Damian. What he was wary of was the dragon.
'The only way to find out is moving forward.'
Damian delved deeper into the cave, still floating to avoid making any walking sounds — he had no idea what was inside; maybe the dragon was not his only enemy.
Although if that place was indeed a dragon's lair, no other beast would be around, only crazy ones who wished to get eaten by the dragon, like Damian.
There weren't many things inside the cave's entrance, but as Damian went deeper into the cave, he saw a lot of bones — presumably from the creatures the dragon ate.
The bones looked old, and Damian did not notice any new bones or traces of the dragon being there.
'Strange.'
He kept going further inside the cave, arriving at an area with many shining crystals as big as massive ordinary rocks.
'What are these crystals? I have never seen these!'
Damian tried to recall everything he had learned in Garmony and outside of it, yet he had never seen something like that before.
The crystals were blue colored, and if Damian stared at them for too long, his eyes would hurt with their brightness.
'At least this is making me see inside this cave.'
He was occupied seeing the crystals, but then, as he stared at the end of the cave, a dragon was lying on the ground.
It was massive and gorgeous, with white scales and… a weakened aura.
'Is it hurt?'
That would explain how the vampires survived the last time inside the cave and why there were no recent carcasses.
But even if it was hurt, it was still a dragon! Damian knew these creatures were beyond their comprehension, and a creature like that one was not supposed to be inside the low levels of the dungeon.
Damian was still floating — meaning he did not make any noise — and was still invisible, yet the moment he tried to approach the laying dragon, it opened up its blizzard eyes, staring at Damian.
"Who are you?" the dragon said.
It was a female voice, and the fact it could speak Damian's language was quite extraordinary, but he expected nothing less from an intelligent creature like a dragon.
"Just a human trying to find a portal to the next level of the dungeon. If you allow me to pass, we don't need to fight," Damian said.
"Portal to the next level? No, there's no such thing inside my lair. The portal here leads to a trial of the legendary Dragoon Knights."
"What? I've never heard of that."
"You are young, that's why," the dragon said, pausing for a second, "Human, you must know how hard it is for us proud dragons to ask something, so hear me out,"
"Can you help me? I've been hurt."
"You want me to heal you? Sorry, I am not adept with this sort of thing."
Damian was not feeling like helping that dragon for nothing. They could speak if it was the passage to the next level of the dungeon, but the portal did not lead to that place, so for him, it was useless.
"If you heal me, I can lead you to the portal you seek. To heal me, you will have to become a Dragoon Knight, meaning I will become your mount."
It caught Damian's attention. If he healed it, not only would the dragon show him the location of the next portal, but he would also have a dragon as a pet? That was more than he requested, but there was still a factor.
"How hard is this trial you talked about? What's in it? Also, you'll become my pet?"
"P-Pet? No, human, I will accompany you in your journey as if we were one."
"Yeah, like a pet."
"…"
"Human, the only problem is that, even if you heal me, I will lose almost all of my powers…."
"So you are basically useless, despite flying? I can fly by myself!" Damian said as he turned around.
"No, wait. I also have knowledge inside my head that will certainly help you! And… and I am the most gorgeous woman you will ever see!"
Well, that caught his attention, more than being a 'Dragoon Knight.'
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