The Sand Dragon flew towards Brand at a very high speed and let out an earth-shattering roar. He felt the earth beneath him tremble following the dragon's roar.
Fear coursed through his veins, and he found his leg began to grow numb.
"The dragon is using the Dragon Roar." Seraphine was hovering around him, acting as a live commentator, describing the skills the dragon used.
"If the target fears the dragon, they will become paralyzed."
"The best counter to this skill is to 'not be afraid'!" Seraphine exclaimed.
"You crazy…" He was running for his life now, as the dragon charged at him as if it wanted to crush him to death.
'Not to be afraid?! I think I will die with a mere finger flick!'
The dragon leaped towards him, snapping its jaw tight.
Even though it narrowly missed him, the dragon's bite still affected him. There were lightning sparks emitted from the snap that constantly zapped him.
He must escape quickly, even though he was paralyzed!
"That's Lightning Snap," Seraphine whispered to Brand.
"Can you cut it out? I'm focusing here!" Brand yelled, unable to shake the absurdity of this situation. He was trying to escape with all his might.
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." Seraphine fought back. "Why do you only run? This is a combat tutorial, remember?"
While running ahead, Brand took a moment to contemplate his options before deciding. The angel probably wouldn't give him an impossible trial, considering that she mentioned that this was a 'tutorial.'
If so, the task must still be manageable. But how?
As Brand sprinted through the scorching sands, he started to memorize the terrain around him. He also recalls the tutorial earlier; there were skills he could use.
"Use those stat enhancement skills!" Seraphine hinted at him.
He took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and channeled his mana within his body. He could feel the mana running through his veins and started to guide the flow of mana into his legs.
He felt a surge of strength in his calf muscle, and the sand beneath his feet started to sink deeper. Strangely, he thought he could control his body better now.
He pivoted his foot and turned around at a sharp angle while running. The dragon, which was heavier and had higher inertia, couldn't make its maneuver in time, resulting in a bigger gap between them.
"Haste."
[Haste – Increase AGI by 25% for 3 minutes.]
Seraphine looked like she was enjoying the chase between him and the dragon, and started to make her own commentary.
Behind him was the dragon, snarling, baring its teeth, displaying an immense rage.
'Does it feel heated and see me as challenging it?'
"In the dragon's eyes, humans are deemed as a lower species," Serqohine explained.
Brand saw the dragon charging in his direction after shaking off the sands on its body. Its scales were glowing with sparks dancing on their surface.
"Brand, you're doing great!" Seraphine cheered. "Remember to throw some debuff cubes as well!"
Brand grunted at Seraphine's lighthearted tone even though he was on a run, trying to survive. But he took her advice seriously.
'I mean, how can I not?'
He extended his hands and conjured mana on top of them. Light cubes began to manifest and hover in the air.
"Debuff cubes." This time, he took the initiative and stole Seraphine's line. He felt oddly satisfied, as the little angel was making some scoffing sound.
"Come, dragon." He waged a war with the baby dragon in front of him. "You need discipline."
He threw the debuff cubes onto the dragon, and they attached to it. The dragon tried to shake it off, but was unable to. After more cubes were attached, the dragon started to feel the effect.
The dragon's movement started swaying and crashed into the sand dunes.
"Did it lose balance because of the sudden loss of stats?" Brand asked the angel beside him.
"Probably, it is still a baby dragon, after all," Seraphine replied. "You're such a bully, Brand."
Brand ignored her and prepared his next course of action.
"Might."
[Might - Increase STR by 25% for 3 minutes.]
He felt strength surge in his body. His blood was pumping with energy.
With his still enhanced speed, he dashed toward the dragon and punched its nose. The dragon felt a sudden irritation and sneezed involuntarily.
"Wow…" Seraphine gasped, looking surprised.
"You wanted to end your life so badly?" She teased.
Luckily, the dragon's sneeze caused sand to fly up and drift around the air, creating a sand veil that inhibited the dragon's vision. The dragon thrashed around, but it didn't reach Brand.
Brand still had his vision intact as GHOST started to overlay his sight, filtering out the sand from it.
'It's like some AI filter…'
Nevertheless, he was heading to his predetermined route of escape, which he had memorized when he gazed around the desert earlier.
Brand's gaze landed on a cluster of rocks, as big as three-story buildings. That was the route he picked.
He began to rush towards the rock formation. This was his last chance to ditch the dragon.
The dragon's furious roar echoed behind him, and Brand felt the rush of wind as it lunged. It was now just inches behind his back.
"Just a little more!" Seraphine shouted excitedly.
"GHOST Mode." Brand muttered.
[GHOST Mode – Increase all stats by 25% and activate stealth for 10 seconds.]
After activating GHOST Mode, he again used Haste to further boost his speed.
He had stealth and an enhanced AGI of over 50% when both abilities were combined!
He only had ten seconds to escape and needed to hide his presence afterward.
He narrowly dodged the dragon's grasp and dove into the gap in the rock formation.
He nervously checked the dragon from the small gap within the rock formation, while praying for the dragon to fly away.
The dragon would crush him unknowingly if it vented its anger on the giant rocks.
Luckily, the sand dragon lost interest in him, scoffed before flying away.