Rowan didn’t often hear Vulcanus recount his own historic tales, but he always found them extremely entertaining when the dragon did so. Some of the anecdotes that the dragon had recounted were thought provoking and educational, even if the dragon didn't mean to be half the time.

  This time, Vulcanus had recounted one of his past deeds, and it certainly explained a lot about the dragon. Why Vulcanus was so good at teaching.

  You could say a lot about the dragon.

  Haughty, arrogant and prideful. However, he was an excellent teacher for Rowan. His methods may be harsh, but Rowan could feel himself becoming stronger by the day.

  “Enough about me. Let us talk about the reason why I brought you here in the first place. Your new technique.”

  If Vulcanus didn't mention it, Rowan would have forgotten about the newly formed armor he was currently wearing.

  “Since you just invented this technique, there would obviously be flaws. I won't mention them, since you should already be aware of its faults. It is up to you to resolve those issues. How are you currently feeling?”

  Rowan felt suspicious right away when he heard the dragon questioned his well being. Vulcanus had never done so before. “ I’m feeling ….fine?” Rowan answered.

  “Good, then no time like the present for you to work on your new armor.”Vulcanus mouth curved upwards into a grin, a sign for Rowan that knew was never good. A shiver ran down Rowan’s spine as he prepared for Vulcanus to tell him their next plan of action.

  However, those words never came.

  The floor lit up and Rowan felt himself being dragged as his entire vision shifted.

  When Rowan opened his eyes again, there was no sign of the dragon.

  Gone was the crystal lit cave, instead Rowan was faced with an entirely new scenery.

  Rowan had found himself in a snow covered environment with a few trees toughening out the cold. While his brain was slowly adjusting to what had just happened, his body was already feeling the impact of the change. The harsh frigid air could be felt through the armor which caused Rowan’s body to shiver uncontrollably.

  Back in the Forest, Rowan had a wolf pelt to keep him warm, but out here he had no such protection.

  A flaw in his armor that Rowan was unaware of until now.

  However, that did not mean Rowan had no method of protecting himself from the chill. Afterall he hadn't survived five years on his own for nothing. The Forest of Death had harsh winters and he did not have access to wolf pelts until this year.

  Rowan immediately began to circulate his mana throughout his body where he felt the results right away. Warmth seeped through his veins as he observed his surroundings. He raised his right hand to protect himself from the glare of the sun which hung above him in the sky.

  After having been stuck in the cave for so long, Rowan had almost forgotten what the sun felt like. Feeling the rays beaming down on him, he felt invigorated for some reason. It just goes to show one couldn't stay coup up for too long.

  As Rowan looked around, the scenery looked oddly familiar. He was on an uphill slope, devoid of life. He could see the peak wasn't far from his current position and decided that as his next destination. It would give him a good view of his surroundings as he tried to figure out what evil plan Vulcanus had for him.

  When Rowan got to the peak, he realized two things.

  One, the reason why this palace looked so familiar. He had been here before, or at least seen this place in passing while being gripped in Vulcanus claws.

  Two, Rowan wished he had exercised a bit more caution when he walked to the peak. When Vulcanus moved him to a new place, Rowan had thought the dragon had begun some or some magic or illusion training

  That was where he realized he was wrong.

  This was no illusion.

  The dragon had teleported the boy.

  If it had been before Vulcanus revealed himself as a powerful magician, Rowan would have been more surprised. Now he accepted the fact that the dragon could teleport him as there was something much more urgent.

  The location where Vulcanus dwelling’s were on a mountain in the Wyvern’s Pass.

  Emphasis on Wyverns.

  When the dragon had bought Rowan in, all the wyverns cowered before the legendary monster might. However right now, Rowan had no such protection.

  To make things worse, when Rowan had stood at the peak, he had already been spotted.

  SCCRREEECCCCHHH!

  A cacophony of noise made of roars and hissing had already echoed out through the valley as wyverns made their way into the sky after seeing new prey. Wyverns were distant cousins of dragons. They were similar, but instead of four legs, Wyverns had two legs. Rowan watched in horror as hundreds of them began to gather and fly towards him.Their skin came in various of hues. Red, green, white, purple, etc. While the wyverns came in various colors, they were all sickly pale.

  The teenage boy froze in fear momentarily as he tried to figure out the best way out of this crisis. Vulcanus had said that Rowan would be testing out his armor, but Rowan never would have guessed the test was literally throwing him out to experiment.

  Rowan briefly considered shooting arrows at the flock, before giving up that idea. Instead, he turned back the way he came and immediately began running. He wasn't sure how much damage his arrows would do, but against the army of wyverns coming after him, it would be of little help. As Rowan ran, he briefly turned his head to catch a glimpse of how close the wyverns were.

  He instantly regretted it.

  The hundred of wyverns had become thousands.

  Seeing prey on top of the mountain must have driven the wyverns into a wild frenzy. Even if there was not enough food for every wyvern, a tiny bit would be enough in this harsh land of snow and ice.

  As Rowan made his way down the mountain, he could hear the wings of the nearest wyverns closing in on him. Rowan was glad he had given up on staying on the peak as he would have been surrounded immediately with no way to maneuver. At least on the slope it offered more cover.

  It wasn't a lot, but it was better than nothing.

  Roar!

  A harsh guttural noise erupted as a green wyvern swooped down for Rowan. The beast was met with an arrow instead.

  Splak!

  The arrow pierced through the head and the monster continued flying straight until crashing into the ground. This was a result that far exceeded Rowan's expectation as he had hoped that the arrow would lodge into the monster and hinder its movement.

  Instead the wyvern had died immediately from the first arrow.

  Killing it was a welcome surprise as the first arrow was a fluke. However there was no time to celebrate as more wyverns closed in on him.

  They were greeted with arrows created from Rowan's fingers. One lodged into a wyvern’s neck while the other pierced another wyvern’s wings. The wyvern with an arrow in the neck collapsed while the damaged wing wyvern crashed into the ground. Even after having shot down three wyverns, the rest still chased after Rowan. His arrows kept them at bay, but only for a few seconds at most. There were just too many of them coming after him.

  As Rowan ran, he observed that a few wyvern had broken away from the swarm chasing after him. Instead, those wyverns flew for the injured or fallen brethren. Rowan’s eyes widen in horror as those wyvern to rip and tear into their fallen brethren. It did not matter whether the wyvern was alive or dead, they became food for the others in the end.

  However that did not stop the majority of the wyverns who continued to chase what they considered the main menu.

  Rowan.

  When the first wyvern came into arm's reach, Rowan gave up pulling the bowstring. Instead he just punched at the gaping mouth of the monster. The head arched sideways and fangs flew out. Before he could see the rest of the results, the rest of wyverns closed the distance.

  Rowan had not focused on practicing his close combat ability over the years, mainly concentrating on archery. Archery advantage laid in distance where he could defeat most monsters from afar. After all, most of the monsters were above his level in the Forest of Death. He stood no chance at close combat with the forest monster as they were naturally strengthened and stronger than him.

  No amount of training could prepare him to be swarmed by a numerous wyverns.

  The wyverns swooped in with their claws slashing at Rowan. Their fangs bit down, hungry for human flesh. The wyverns were doing everything in their power to bring down their next meal.

  Fortunately, Rowan's armor survived all the punishment. No fangs or claws were able to break through his armor. That gave Rowan a chance as he tried to beat every wyvern that came after him. His bow became a beating stick in his right hand that knocked away a wyvern with each swing. It did not matter if he knocked away one wyvern as three more would take its place. Every time a wyvern landed a blow on him, Rowan would return it in an equally fatal manner.

  No wyvern was able to touch him more than once. Rowan made sure of that as his blows were damaging enough to push the monster back. Those injured became food for others. However even if a few wyvern broke away, that did not stop the majority of wyverns from rushing at Rowan as they had no idea of comradeship, they only cared about the rare delicacy that had appeared.

  The only silver lining was that no wyvern was dragging him into the sky as they all flocked forward to get a piece of him. The monster held no intelligence nor idea of teamwork. If any had thought of dragging him up and dropping him from high above, then this battle would have ended so much sooner.

  Unfortunately Rowan could already feel the cracks beginning to form in his armor. At this rate, Rowan would be swarmed and his armor broken. He could not think of a way out. He could only endure while pumping his armor with mana. That would strengthen both defense and durability of the armor.

  No matter how fast or how hard he punched, the flock was endless. The wyverns kept coming, trying to claw and bite their way through. Rowan never stopped moving down the mountain, even when surrounded. The progress had slowed down considerably, but Rowan was still making his way down. It was a long shot, but if he made it into the forest, the trees would offer some more cover. The snow and ice did not help as he would suddenly slip thanks to the wyverns blow, only to right himself at the last moment.

  As much as Rowan tried to fend off the swarming wyverns, he only had two hands. One wyvern managed to bite on to his right arm and refused to let go, leaving only his left arm free to defend for himself.

  Then another wyvern chomped on his right arm, chewing on the wood when it found it couldn't tear the limb off.

  From then on the situation only worsen as it did not take long for a different wyvern’s jaws to clamp down on his left arm.

  Rowan knew he was in a terrible situation and made a snap decision. He poured mana into his arms and branches spiked out. The heads of the wyverns that refused to budge were pierced right through, freeing Rowan's arms. In return, his arms had become heavier and larger, hindering his movements.

  It was a tradeoff that Rowan had to give. The extra spiked branches added weight and protection, but Rowan would have preferred his arms remained unchanged as it offered more freedom in movement.

  The transformation in Rowan’s arms had spooked the Wyverns, causing the mob to freeze temporarily.

  This gave Rowan time to observe himself and the current plight.

  Cuts and cracks were everywhere on his armor, but thankfully it still held together. Even until now Rowan had not stopped his mana flowing into the armor, even though it had been an unconscious effort at this point. The damaged parts were slowly growing back, but not fast enough to make a difference in the battle.

  His bow also endured on surprisingly well as it was still intact despite the fact that many wyverns had suffered a beating from it. Despite his armor taking on all the blows, Rowan's body ached all over. He had never realized the pain when he was trying to fend off all the wyverns. There might have been a few internal injuries, but Rowan did not have time to closely inspect himself.

  The wyverns had begun to regain their bravery.

  Perhaps it might be starvation instead. That would would certainly explain the cannibalism amongst them. The group of monsters were beginning to stir and about to make one more charge.

  Armor testing my butt.

  Rowan couldn't help but curse Vulcanus mentally one more time since he wasn't sure how much longer he could last. Being caught by the wyverns' jaws had killed his momentum and now he was surrounded by the monsters. There were so many of them that the wyverns even blocked out the sun.

  Rowan open his mouth to talk, but coughed out blood instead. “Come,” he managed to rasp out, once his throat was cleared, Rowan had lost count how many wyvern he had injured and killed, but it was not enough. He prepared for what seemed to be one final stand.

  The wyverns needed no further encouragement as they all flew at their intended prey.