Chapter 285: Getting a Title
Sevrak’s brows tightened, his eyes thinning to slits. Words slipped out between clenched teeth.
"How is this possible? How did she manage to subdue it?"
The foremost rider was now unmistakable: Liora Virell stood on Collossith’s massive head, hands set at her hips, four figures braced behind her.
"I don’t believe she truly subdued a Rank 4 Spark." Sevrak’s face grew harsher as he burned his energy reserves.
The biggest difference between a subdued Spark and a Wild Spark was this: a Wild Spark could use the surrounding energy to power its skills—virtually without limit—while a subdued Spark had to spend its owner’s energy. As Sevrak prepared a single strike, he was already pouring out a large amount of his own energy.
The Black Dragon drew on its master’s reserves; its jaws opened wide, rows of razor teeth glinting, and in the cavern of its mouth a sphere of lightning gathered. Cracks of blue-white current spidered outward from the core, spitting sparks that snapped against its fangs.
"He is as impatient as ever," Silverlight Zephan observed, calm as Sevrak prepared to strike. He himself made no move.
Brakhtar Gorat showed the same restraint, easing the Giant Eye back a pace and waiting.
Whether they believed it or not, the possibility that Liora Virell had actually subdued Collossith was high. Attacking a titled Practitioner without thought—and earning a needless enemy—would have been foolish for either of them.
Sevrak, however, had never been known for restraint. Dominant by nature and sure of himself, he did not hesitate. The lightning sphere finished charging; the energy it held was astronomical. With a thunderous report, it launched from the Black Dragon’s mouth, ripping the air, pulverizing dirt and stone in its wake as it streaked toward the still-advancing Collossith.
"I will kill you first," Sevrak growled, voice low and full of threat, "then claim Velari territory later."
The words had barely left him before his expression shifted from confident to wary. Collossith did not slow. The behemoth lifted its obsidian-black beak just enough to meet the incoming sphere.
The impact detonated in a single, crushing boom. Lightning burst outward in a ring, raking the plain with claws of blue current. When the glare cleared, the sphere was gone—nothing left but crawling veins of electricity dying along the ground.
Collossith had only staggered, a brief hitch in its charge. In the same breath, a heavy shock wave punched outward from the point of impact on its beak and arrowed straight for the Black Dragon.
Sevrak saw the counterblast coming, and his jaw set hard. "Up—now!" he snapped.
The Black Dragon beat its colossal wings and surged to climb, dust and gravel whipping into a storm beneath it. Speed could not outpace the wave; there was only time to brace.
The dragon snapped its wings forward like shields, interlocking the massive, obsidian membranes over its chest and throat.
The shock wave hit.
BOOM!
The field rang with the strike. The Black Dragon was driven backward several meters, claws furrowing trenches, but it held.
Known for its defense, it absorbed the brunt without faltering. Where the wave had landed full on the wings, patches of hide were skinned in narrow strips, and thin lines of dark red blood seeped, but the damage was superficial. The dragon’s frame stayed steady; its eyes burned cold.
The blast did not end there. Its radius was wide enough to ripple through the ranks behind. Practitioners staggered as the pressure rolled over them—until Brakhtar Souldforge lifted a hand. A transparent plane of energy unfurled across most of the field, catching and dispersing the shock, turning its teeth aside with ease.
Zephan used his own defensive Spark skill in the same instant, a silver veil forming and hardening. It caught the remainder of the force and bled it away, preventing the wave from reaching the great tent behind them.
The ground settled soon. The air still crackled with the tang of ozone. Collossith continued its charge.
"Sevrak, don’t even think about attacking again." Zephan’s voice was calm, yet this time it carried a clear threat.
They had already been forced to waste energy, using their Spark skills just to blunt the shock wave.
By now they were certain: Collossith was truly under Liora Virell’s control. Starting a fight while the Wanderer Merchant was present would be a grave disrespect, and no one was willing to take responsibility for that.
Sevrak did not answer. He only watched with an annoyed look. Even someone as arrogant and overbearing as he was knew when and where to restrain himself.
There was nothing left to do but wait. Collossith’s massive body drew closer and closer until it finally slowed and halted near them.
"Dragon Rider Sevrak. You have a strange way of welcoming guests, I see." Liora’s voice rang out, loud enough for all to hear, a quick laugh on her lips, her eyes locked hard on the man who had tried to kill her seconds ago.
Sevrak regarded her in silence, then a faint smile touched his mouth. His black eyes stayed steady, his tone turning almost friendly. "I did not know Collossith now belongs to you. Can you blame me?"
The explanation sounded plausible enough that no one challenged it, even if all could guess his true intention when he attacked.
While the gathered Practitioners struggled to absorb the shock of a new titled Practitioner appearing in the region, their gazes roamed over the figures standing on Collossith’s huge head.
Unlike the other 3 titled Practitioners, Liora had brought very few companions. There were only 2 Rank 3s—Mirela and Lucen—waiting calmly behind her, and only 2 Rank 2 Practitioners with them, making 5 in total.
Compared to the other kingdoms, Velari had by far the fewest Practitioners on the field.
Who could blame them for being this weak? Everyone knew Velari had lost many Practitioners to Collossith over the years, but now, with the Rank 4 Spark known to be subdued by Liora Virell, that loss suddenly looked like an investment.
Now her personal power had multiplied many times over, and the strength of the entire Velari Kingdom rose with it.
They also understood that, before a Rank 4 Spark, Rank 1s and 2s were little different from ordinary mortals. A single tremor skill from Collossith could rupture their organs in an instant and drop them where they stood, lifeless.
"Lady Liora Virell," Silverlight Zephan said, in a tone that addressed an equal. "Congratulations on your new power."
"I acknowledge your talent, Protector of the Velari," Brakhtar Gorat added, pointedly naming her protector rather than queen, fully aware of their kingdom’s system of rule. "You now have the right to claim a title for yourself."
Sevrak did not lag behind. "Though I do not know how you managed to subdue it, it is clear you are stronger than you look. Congratulations." The words were praise, yet the usual barb lay underneath. "Now tell us—what honorable title do you wish to be addressed by from this day on?"
With only 3—and now 4—titled Practitioners in the entire region, no one else was qualified to bestow titles. By custom, the one who rose would choose a title, submit it to the others for their approval, and, if accepted, bear it as the mark of new power and standing at the apex.