Overlord: Welcome the Birth of the King

The air boiled with heat.

A massive shadow loomed over Lyle as the colossal frame of an Ancient Red Dragon descended upon him, blotting out the molten-red sky. Its crimson scales, each the size of a washbasin, glistened like burnished steel under the fiery glow of the nearby lava sea.

A crushing pressure filled the air. Even breathing felt like an offense.

'Magical treasures? What the hell is it talking about?'

Lyle instinctively took a step back, frowning.

This region was known to be the territory of a La-Angler - a creature he had planned for. But the sudden appearance of a true dragon? That was not part of the schedule.

'Did it show up because I was casting Fifth-Tier magic for too long just now?'

That was the only explanation that made sense, and Lyle cursed his luck under his breath. He had no idea what magical item the dragon was ranting about, and now wasn't the time to start figuring it out.

A quick scan of the area revealed no good escape routes. The terrain was too open, too exposed - and now it was blocked by a dragon.

A dragon.

Sure, he had always expected he'd encounter a real dragon someday. But he'd hoped it would happen after his stats were high enough to not die in the first five seconds.

The La-Angler was roughly level 47. The beast in front of him? Definitely stronger. It was a trueborn dragon, the apex of all magical creatures. Even at the same level, a dragon's base stats were insane.

"This is just great," Lyle muttered, his body tense.

His mana was spent. He couldn't cast anything significant. Even Flight would just make him an airborne target. Against a dragon? That was suicide.

"Foolish insect," the Ancient Fire Dragon sneered, nostrils flaring as a blast of hot wind erupted from its snout. Its golden-red eyes locked onto Lyle, narrowing in disdain. "To gaze upon my glorious form should be honor enough for your pitiful kind. I do not repeat myself."

"In the name of that mercy," the dragon continued, its deep voice echoing off the charred cliffs, "offer up your magical artifacts, and I shall allow you to crawl away with your life."

The contempt in its voice was almost tangible.

The dragon was already growing impatient. Its expression, or what passed for one on such a monstrous face, showed irritation that it even had to speak to a mortal. Usually, it would've just crushed the poor fool.

But something… strange lingered around this human.

There was a peculiar, faint magical presence clinging to him, subtle enough that only a creature with extremely acute magical senses could notice. Not dangerous. Not threatening. But… odd.

The dragon's age-long instincts whispered caution.

Lyle lowered his gaze slightly. Escape was off the table. He'd never get past a dragon, let alone one this close. And from its tone, it wasn't truly offering a deal.

It doesn't plan to let me walk away. So let's make this mutual.

He ran a few quick calculations in his head.

Dark Wave?

Not a chance. Dragons had absurd resistance to negative status effects.

Fine, then.

Without hesitation, Lyle pressed his legs into the ground. A burst of black energy surged as a magical greatsword appeared in his hands.

The moment he summoned his weapon, the dragon's pupils shrank.

In that instant, it felt… fear.

'Did I just get chills?'

'Impossible.'

The dragon's breath caught in its throat. It hadn't felt anything close to fear in centuries. But something about this puny creature? something buried beneath the surface - made its ancient instincts scream danger.

"HOW DARE YOU DEFY A TRUE DRAGON!"

Fury exploded from its throat as its long neck arched back. Then, with a roar, the beast opened its jaws, light blazing within.

"Flame Breath!"

A massive wave of fire surged forward, flooding the battlefield with molten death. The very air turned to ash as the torrent of dragonfire hurtled toward Lyle.

He didn't flinch.

No dodging. No running.

"Negative Impact Shield!" he bellowed.

BOOM!

A red-black shockwave erupted from Lyle's body, expanding outward just in time to meet the flame breath.

The expected explosion didn't come.

Instead, the hellfire fizzled and evaporated, like snow melting on sun-scorched stone.

The dragon blinked, stunned. "What… what is that?!"

But Lyle was already in motion. He surged forward, a black blur streaking through the smoke. His leap carried him high, up to the dragon's broad chest, but not quite to its head.

The beast flapped its wings in panic, kicking up gales that sent embers flying.

Lyle's eyes narrowed.

'This is the best angle I'll get. Time to make it count.'

"Quick Slash!"

With both hands gripping the cursed greatsword, he brought it down in a deadly arc. A shadowy curse coiled around the blade, and three effects activated in tandem:

[Aura of Courage: First hit on contact is a guaranteed crit.]

[Weapon Expertise: +110% to slash damage, +50% to area effect.]

[Quick Slash Skill Bonus: +10% attack damage.]

The result?

A strike more than three times stronger than normal.

CRUNCH!

The dragon's armor-like scales shredded like parchment. The blade drove deep into the creature's chest, black energy writhing through the wound.

Lyle gritted his teeth, dragging the sword downward in a vicious attempt to split the dragon's chest wide open.

"RRAARGH! Get OFF me, HUMAN!"

The dragon shrieked in agony, massive wings flailing. Its clawed forelimb swung down, smashing Lyle midair with the force of a falling meteor.

'Oh, crap—'

He barely had time to lift his sword overhead before the blow landed.

WHAM!

Lyle crashed into the ground, creating a man-shaped crater in the rocky surface.

"Gaaah—!"

He dragged himself out, coughing up blood. His arms trembled from the impact, struggling to grip the sword.

Crack!

A thin fracture spidered across the sword's surface.

"It's not just the curse…" he rasped, wiping blood from his mouth. "The force of that hit… this sword's barely holding together."

High above, the dragon howled in pain, blood gushing from the massive gash in its chest.

"You FILTHY LOWBORN—!"

"Still flying, huh?" Lyle muttered, his tone dry. "Tough bastard. Took a triple-damage crit and still won't fall."

But as he spoke, the dragon faltered.

Its wings beat erratically, its flight path dipped.

Then came a final groan… and the great beast began to fall - toward the lava sea.

"Wait… no, you don't," Lyle growled. "Don't you dare die offscreen!"

But the dragon kept twisting its flight, steering itself toward the lava below.

"Damn it! Lava isn't even dangerous for you types, is it?"

Then he paused, eyes narrowing.

Isn't that the Lava Angler's territory?

He didn't linger.

Grimacing, Lyle turned and limped away, clutching his ribs.

He was out of mana. His body was battered. He couldn't risk staying any longer, not with the threat of the Slane Theocracy still looming.

BOOOOM!

Suddenly, the air behind him twisted.

A massive suction force exploded out of the lava sea, followed by a furious, blood-choked dragon's roar.

"DIE, HUMAN!"

Before he could react, Lyle's feet left the ground.

He was being dragged back - straight toward the molten sea.

Too fast!

He could already feel the heat searing his skin. Blisters formed. His armor sizzled.

"DAMN YOU!"

"Negative Impact Shield!"

Another explosion of red-black energy erupted, halting his momentum mid-air.

"Purging Javelin!"

He flung the holy spear toward the sea as he struggled to escape.

SPLASH!

From the lava burst a monstrous silhouette, a La-Angler, red eyes glowing, tentacle-like limbs writhing like molten whips.

The sheer pressure of the heat bent the air as one of its massive feelers lashed out.

Lyle heard the sound. Turned.

And paled.

'Great. Now I've got two problems.'

One-on-one with either of these monsters? Maybe doable.

But both?

And in this hellish terrain?

He was in trouble.

"No more shields left!" he hissed.

Both casts of Negative Impact were spent. His best defense was gone.

"Spirit—Manifest!"

A ghostly white figure erupted from his chest, a summoned soul-warrior. It leapt to intercept the angler's tentacle.

One hit.

One sacrifice.

The spirit was grabbed and yanked into the lava.

Then—SPLASH!

A tiny fish-like creature, red and glowing with heat, was flung out of the lava alongside the tentacle.

A baby La-Angler?

Lyle barely processed the thought as he resumed his retreat.

BOOM!

Behind him, the dragon's roar turned shrill.

"DIE! DIE!"

The suction returned, stronger this time. He couldn't resist.

His feet left the ground again.

And as he flew backward toward the sea of fire, Lyle made a split-second choice.

He reached out…

…and grabbed the baby angler.