Hitman with a Badass System

After killing the skeletal dragon and teleporting it to the dark forest, Michael, Gaya, and Nightmare resumed their journey without a destination. They roamed around the misty island aimlessly, killing whatever comes in their way. Unfortunately for Michael, he didn't get to kill anything stronger than a Core Strengthening stage being. He didn't even bother to raise a finger as he let Nightmare get some battle experience. It was time Nightmare forged his own path under Michael's watchful eyes. After all, Nightmare was no longer a child that needed to be taken care of. He had reached the Core Strengthening stage/ The only weakness Michael saw in Nightmare was his kindness. Unfortunately, it often made Nightmare look weak rather than kind. Although Nightmare seemed to be supporting Michael in his thoughts to destroy Thusia, Michael knew Nightmare wanted to avoid all the bloodshed.

He wasn't wrong though. If it were any other situation, Michael would have wanted the same.  He himself wasn't a big fan of wars. But Thusia must be destroyed. Michael was not a saint to return an evil act with kindness. He would do anything to see Victoria and her family suffer. Through the mist, Michael led Gaya and Nightmare forward. His senses were heightened to detect any threats nearby. Suddenly, Michael stopped flying.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Gaya.

"The drones were destroyed," said Michael. A moment ago, he felt the connection between him and a few drones suddenly severed. He closed his eyes briefly for a moment, ordering the system to locate the destroyed drones.

"I hope it's the Wise Dragon," Gaya nervously smiled.

Without wasting any time, Michael grabbed Gaya's hand and cast the Ignitia to reach the destination as fast as he could.  The scenery around them did not change. Everyone was still covered in mist. He triggered a couple of illusion arrays but destroyed them all within a few seconds. They weren't strong enough to pose a threat to Michael anymore.

In a couple of minutes, they traveled quite a long distance. To their surprise, the mist suddenly disappeared. Instead, they were stuck in a dome made of bone-chilling ice.

"What is this place?" asked Gaya. She rubbed her shoulders to create some much-needed warmth.  Nightmare tried to breathe fire, but he simply couldn't. The coldness affected Nightmare's ability to breathe fire. Gaya looked around the dome to see an entrance. She couldn't even find out how she entered the dome when she turned back. It was obvious that ice closed the gap they entered.

Several questions emerged in their minds. First of them was, where were they? As they were looking around, Michael sensed a powerful being in the area with them.

"Something's here," said Michael. According to his senses and the Environmental Scanning, the being was a Fusion Stage being. Although he sensed the being, he couldn't see it.  He quickly used his thermal vision, looking at his surroundings once again. Shock and surprise welcomed Michael. An invisible foe slowly approached them. Judging by the silhouette, it was definitely a colossal dragon. Regardless of the dragon's size, it moved like a ninja, making no sound. Unlike Michael, Gaya couldn't see the dragon.

"Are we playing hide and seek?" asked Michael.

The dragon stopped moving.

"I can see you," said Michael.

The dragon stared at Michael for a few moments. They could have seen the surprise in the dragon's eyes if the dragon wasn't invisible. Finally, the dragon revealed itself by dispelling the invisibility spell around it. Michael raised his brows as he stood before a towering colossal dragon. It was just as big as the skeletal dragon but more powerful and terrifying.

Large emerald eyes sat concealed within the dragon's rounded, narrow skull, giving the dragon a rather menacing appearance. Several enormous horns sit atop its head, just above its wide, cat-like ears. Large fan-like skin and bone structures ran down the sides of each of its jaw lines. Its nose was small and had two short, pointy nostrils. There was a small horn on its chin. Several rows of large teeth poked out from the side of its mouth and gave a slight hint of the terror hiding inside.

The dragon's thick neck ran down from its head and into a long body. The top was covered in curved icy blue scales, and a row of small fan-like growths ran down its spine. Its bottom was covered in small scales and was colored much lighter than the rest of its body. Four muscular limbs carried its body, allowing the creature to stand towering and proud. Each limb had four digits, each of which ended in thick claws seemingly made of silver. Horrendous wings grew, starting from its shoulders and ending at the middle of its back. The wings were bat-like, with a specialized layer of skin and armor-like scales growing on top of the wing's primary bones. Its graceful tail ended in a fan-like tip, covered in the same curved scales as its body.

"Hrggm," a puff of chill smoke puffed out of its nostrils as the dragon moved its head down. The dragon slowly moved its long neck around Michael.

"A human, a naga, and a forest dragon. Quiet a strange party," The Dragon spoke in a gruff beastly voice. The voice was both terrifying and soothing at the same time. Michael couldn't help but feel a wise man vibe from the dragon. It had a certain wise old grandpa aura around it.

"Do you happen to be the Wise Dragon by any chance?" asked Gaya.

The dragon stood tall. A glint of pride emerged in its obsidian eyes.

"I am known by many names. And yes, Wise Dragon is indeed one of them and the most befitting name of them all," said the dragon. Gaya's heart trembled. She couldn't believe her luck. She had found the Wise Dragon just as the vampire instructed her to.

"Adelia, Adelia Ashton. What do you know about her?" Gaya didn't beat around the bush. She immediately questioned the Wise Dragon.

To their surprise, the dragon burst into laughter.

"You are a courageous one. Many would have wet their pants. But you, you have the galls to question me. Is it why you are here? Searching for this Adelia?" the dragon asked. It seemed amused by Gaya's question. Michael remained silent, letting Gaya question the dragon. Since the dragon was at the Fusion Stage 10, Michael didn't have a need to be afraid. If push comes to shove, Michael could turn into the Dark Lord and kill the dragon unless the dragon was stronger than it seemed.

"Why else would someone come to this death trap? Please, Wise Dragon, I must find her," Gaya sounded desperate.

The dragon grinned, revealing its razor-sharp teeth. It somewhat looked like an oldy cunning fox in Michael's eyes.

"If you survived this far and reached me without dying, that means you three are anything but ordinary. And Wise Dragon likes to deal with beings like you. So yes, I will tell you about the one you asked about. However," The dragon paused, lowering its head. They all felt the bone chilling cold radiating from the dragon. As the dragon moved closer to them, the cold temperature became colder.

"Nothing is free in this world. You need to give Wise Dragon something to get something," said the Wise Dragon.

"Name your price. Gold, artifacts, gems, anything," said Gaya. The Wise Dragon snickered.

"Do I look ordinary to you Naga? I am the proudest dragon of them all. I collect something far more valuable than all the things you named,"

"You collect knowledge," Michael interjected the Wise Dragon.

"Knowledge is wealth," he said. The Dragon nodded.

"Knowledge is what I seek," said the Wise Dragon.

Gaya quickly looked at Michael. When it comes to knowledge, there was no one better than Michael. He performed countless miracles and hoped he would perform another one with the Wise Dragon.

"Do you accept blueprints of contraptions and legendary alchemy recipes?" asked Michael.

"It depends on how heaven-defying they are. You should know that I have lived for thousands of years, hoarding knowledge. There is a little among of blueprints and recipes that I don't know,"

"They are my own. So you can't find them anywhere," said Michael. The Wise Dragon noticed the confidence in his eyes. As a Royal Dragon who hoarded knowledge, the Wise Dragon had the ability to judge people. The human before it was anything but normal. So the Wise Dragon decided to give the human a chance.

"So be it. Let me see what you have," The Wise Dragon said.

Michael simply flicked his wrist, taking out the blueprint to build Spyders and the recipe for Molten plague. The two golden parchments slowly floated toward the Wise Dragon. When the parchments reached its eye line, two round mirrors materialized before its eyes. It made the dragon look like he was wearing glasses.

The Wise Dragon studied the parchments cautiously without missing a single letter. They all wondered how the Wise Dragon planned to evaluate the authenticity of the parchments. After all, one could easily write a fake recipe and blueprint to fool someone. But deep down, they felt it was near impossible to fool a powerful being that literally calls itself the Wise Dragon.

To their surprise, a copper cauldron along with a purple flame appeared before the dragon. Following the appearance of the cauldron and the fire, several ingredients named in the recipe materialized above the cauldron and the fire. The Wise Dragon began to brew the potion, but it lacked one ingredient, a blood sample of a molten plague's victim. So instead of the blood, the dragon added a green liquid. If Michael was right, that green liquid would simulate the characteristic of the molten plague blood.

Finally, a purplish glistening liquid floated out of the cauldron. The Wise Dragon whiffed the air.

"This is indeed a rare potion, as you've claimed. I lack the real plague strain, but your recipe is legit," The Dragon's eyes sparkled. Gaya sighed. The Dragon's greedy look in his eyes was evident in its acceptance.

Michael wondered how the Wise Dragon was planning to validate the blueprint. Could the dragon build  Spyder using the blueprint? Michael felt curious.