The glow growing in its throat turned into an impossible, vibrant orange as the Ancient Ember Dragon lowered its enormous head. Ethan was immediately surrounded by hot air that smelled like scorched copper and a furnace.
[WARNING: FIRE DAMAGE FIXED. ACTION: IMMEDIATE RETREAT]
Gripping the camera, Ethan froze. He was aware that he only had a split second to live and make the shot.
The Slime was beneath Ethan's arm burst into the enormous, defensive form of Anchor before Ethan could even initiate the order. The slime positioned its enormous body between the dragon and Ethan after instinctively identifying the deadly threat.
The dragon launched its assault. It was a roaring column of molten plasma, a white-hot torrent headed straight for the ridge, not simply fire. Before the fire even reached his chest, the sound was so loud it felt like a physical wave.
"Temporal shutter now!!"
The world vanished into the awful, familiar slow motion. Even though the dragon's plasma beam was still traveling at breakneck speed, Anchor's enormous body was being struck by a visible wave of devastating force.
The System's narrative engine was immediately activated by the great danger of the Ancient Ember Dragon Plasma Dragon breath attack and the unwavering, selfless loyalty of his Guardian.
[THE SYSTEMS WITNESS: ENVIRONMENTAL TRIGGER DETECTED!! UNPARALLELED EMOTIONAL APEX]
[EVENT: THE OBSERVERS TEST-SINGLE CHANCE ACQUISITION]
[Condition: Capturing must occur during the Ancient Ember Dragon Plasma Dragon Breath ( 6 seconds in real time).
New skill unlocked (Temporary): Cinematic mode effect: Deploy the self stabilizing camera module to acquire the dynamic video content of the event.
Single use. Action initiated: Auto capture]
The abrupt order was too much for Ethan's conscious thinking to handle, but his camera and Witness Class responded right away.
The Masterwork Lens separated from the camera body with a gentle electrical hum. Ethan, supported behind Anchor's enormous body, handled the camera itself. Now functioning as a little, clever drone, the lens moved backward and slightly higher to find the ideal, terrifying angle for an amazing photo.
Even as the Plasma Dragon breath blast tore into the slime, Anchor's entire body used the Chaos Lens (Unique Passive) skill to lock the stability to zero, guaranteeing flawless focus. The camera was filming with the enormous plasma stream striking his enormous devoted Guardian in the center of the frame and the terrified Ethan in the foreground.
The dragon's gaping maw, the white-hot plasma, and Anchor's body receiving the full blow were the focal points that Ethan framed with the rest of his slowed time.
SNAP!
He clicked the shutter just as Anchor's body was being torn apart by the plasma beam. The shot was safe.
The impact of Temporal Shutter was stopped. Real time returned to the world.
The ridge was struck by the plasma beam. Anchor was struck.
The slime's body was ripped apart by the enormous, white-hot assault. Anchor released a high-pitched, vibrating cry of pain and it was checking if Ethan was safe.
[ATTACK : CAUSED 3500 DAMAGE ON ANCHOR] [ANCHOR -3500 HP]
Anchor's health fell from 7,865 HP to 4,365 HP. In one catastrophic blow, it lost about half of its body mass and health.
The shockwave propelled Ethan backward, only shielded by his Guardian's enormous size. Coughing up dust and bile, he landed hard on the ground. He felt as though an oven was opening on his face due to the intense, scorching heat.
The dragon briefly halted its attack because it was perplexed and furious that its target was still alive.
"Shrink, anchor! Right now! "Now!"
The massive glowing dark slime immediately started to shrink in excruciating pain. Its enormous dejected eyes focused on the order as they gazed at Ethan.
Before the remaining heat could evaporate the shrinking slime, Ethan raced to his feet and grabbed it. He held the little, pulsating, dark blob in his arms.
He ran. He dove and rolled under a jagged spire of black rock, relying solely on the speed of his Whisper-Step Boots.
His heart pounding, he fell behind the rock. He tucked the little, quivering black slime into his jacket and allowed Anchor to finish shrinking.
[PARTY MEMBER: ANCHOR HP: 4,365/8,000]
It made it. For me, it truly survived a Dragon breath blast.
"I'm grateful, Anchor. I was saved by you, but next time without my command dont jump to save me , your not my shield you are my partner got it".
Anchor nodded with its normal cold eyes.
Without delay, he turned on the camera. The primary file, "Ember Dragon's Plasma Breath: The Sacrifice," was flawless.
[DYNAMIC VIDEO CONTENT ACQUIRED: THE SACRIFICE "SSS-RANK CINEMATIC"]
Ethan immediately uploaded the Video to the Aethelguard form and also to the lore forum.
[MYTHICAL CONTENT CASCADE INITIATED!! GLOBAL EVENT TIER 6 INITIATED]
The PV counter went insane it not just increased it exploded.
[PUBLIC VISIBILITY : +500,000 IN ONE MINUTE]
[PV COUNT: +25,000 PER SECOND]
[VIRAL STATUS: MYTHIC]
The numbers were astronomical and the system immediately initiated the conversion.
[ SSS-RANK CINEMATIC: THE SACRIFICE :- 5,000,000 PV CONVERTED TO 5,000,000 EXP
MYTHICAL ACHIEVEMENT: SHIELDING THE WITNESS:- 10,000,000 PV CONVERTED TO 5,000,000 EXP
BONUS CHAOS LENS STABILIZATION EPIC!!:- 5,000,000 PV CONVERTED TO 5,000,000 PV ]
[TOTAL PV : 20,000,000 PV CONVERTED TO 15,000,000 EXP]
[YOU HAVE LEVELED UP: 20x TIMES]
[YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 33]
[CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE RECEIVED 100 ATTRIBUTE POINTS]
[ANCHOR LEVELED UP 5x TIMES]
[ANCHOR LEVEL REACHED LEVEL 45]
Ethan was trembling from the raw, unstoppable power of the money and the EXP, in addition to the cold and the terror. In a single blast, he had leapt from Level 13 to Level 33. Now that he was in the middle, his debt was going to shrink!!.
The dragon roared with immense rage. With its orange eyes blazing, the enormous creature launched itself into the pitch-black sky and circled the whole valley It was hunting.
Ethan had get off the mountain right away, and figure out what to do next.
A few feet away, he saw a dark, narrow fissure that led to the mountain's base. It was concealed from the dragon's present patrol route, small, and chilly.
Using his Sneak ability, he ran over the open area and vanished into the tunnel's dark, frigid refuge.
Now that he was inside the mountain, he was safe from the flames. However, he was aware that the dragon would ultimately discover the entry.
Ethan looked at the memory card. The PV was still converting, and the money shot was flawless. He was going to be wealthy he was Level 33 and stuck in a cave with a wounded Guardian as the dragon looked for them.
"Anchor, we need a complete plan a way out and a way to escape and complete the task."
He produced several potions of superior healing. Anchor required the health to endure and the mana to shrink.