Florida Man in Magus World: Unleashing Liberty and Freedom

Felix had previously avoided this place, intimidated by the massive highlanders who inhabited it because every one of them over 6'6" with the muscular build of professional bodybuilders. Even the women looked like they belonged in a strongman competition.

From memory, Felix knew there should have been at least 200 villagers here. But now, the wooden houses were missing roofs, some had collapsed entirely, and large footprints had turned into rainwater-filled craters. Scattered luggage and belongings told the story of a hasty departure.

Curious, Felix stepped out of the ATV and approached one of the roofless houses. The structure was missing an entire wall. And in front of it, a metal cooking pot on a campfire stove was still full of soup. When Felix lifted the lid, the rancid smell of rotting vegetables hit him, making his stomach churn. He quickly put the lid back and dispose of it using his system's recycle bin feature.

He moved on, gathering any useful items left behind. The villagers had abandoned clothes and sacks of white aloes, the province's staple food. The clothes were soaked and useless, so Felix discarded them. However, he kept the white aloes, deciding they might come in handy, even though they didn't look particularly appetizing. He chuckled to himself as he checked the item description.

…

Milk Aloe

This strange vegetation of Highland Province reigns supreme as the primary staple food for the highlanders. It yields high protein, carbohydrates, and calcium, making it ideal for growing children. However, overconsumption may lead to mana deficiency, obesity, and liver ailments.

Effects: Contains 30g of protein, 50g of carbohydrates, and 300g of calcium.

…

Felix finally understood why the locals were so huge. He let out a dry laugh, imagining what Earthlings would look like if all they had to eat were these white aloes.

Taking shelter in one of the roofless houses, Felix set up a tent and summoned Jiji for company. The two of them sat around a small campfire, chatting and passing the time before falling asleep.

Unbeknownst to them, the dark cloud that loomed ominously in the north had begun creeping south, slowly making its way toward the crater Felix had visited earlier.

.

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At 4 AM, a colossal figure descended from the dark cloud, shaking the earth with its arrival. A 300-foot-tall Megalith Dragon crash-landed onto the mountain, causing a tremor that echoed for miles. Its face resembled a tyrannosaurus, but its body was armored in black jade scales that shimmered under the faint light.

From the gaps in its scales, a sickly green light pulsed, radiating dangerous energy into the surroundings.

Standing on four massive legs and spreading its four enormous, glowing green wings, the dragon stretched its hulking body and spike tail. Black spikes protruded from its spine, raised like jagged mountains along its back.

The beast sniffed the ground, searching for a familiar scent—the mark it had left days earlier. But the scent was gone, dissipated with time and rain.

Annoyed by the loss of its territorial claim, the Megalith Dragon groaned. To reestablish its presence, it raised its massive hindquarters over the crater and dropped a hard, boulder-like feces. Its diet, consisting of humans, vegetation, and rich minerals from the province, had filled its intestines with fibers.

As the dragon relieved itself, five large green boulders hit the crater floor with heavy thuds, each glowing faintly with the same eerie green light.

Satisfied with its work, the dragon sniffed at its excrement, a twisted grin spreading across its jagged face. Using its front legs, it picked up two of the glowing dung boulders, flapped its enormous wings, and ascended into the sky, surveying the land below.

*SNORT*

The dragon let out a disdainful snort as it gazed south, remembering its recent defeat. A fierce battle with a rival male dragon over a female had ended in its loss, forcing it to migrate to this new, untamed region. This mountain range, however, was full of food and potential for a fresh start. The thought of its rival enraged the beast, but it also triggered a different kind of urge.

Could a female dragon be nearby?

It wanted a mate.

Driven by instinct, the Megalith Dragon flew south, hoping to court a female by marking more territory. It soared above a human settlement, where the remnants of homes and people lay in ruins. With a rumbling growl, it raised its hind legs and sprayed urine across the village, marking its dominance.

It then dropped another dung boulder in the center of the settlement, sending a clear message of power to any creature that might dare challenge its claim.

Without pausing to observe the destruction, the dragon flew further south, searching for more unclaimed land. Its eyes locked onto another ruined village—the same one it had terrorized days earlier. The humans had long since fled, leaving behind empty houses and deserted streets.

The dragon, determined to erase all traces of human presence, hovered above the village, raising its hind legs again. Urine rained down over the ruins, followed by another massive boulder of dung in the village plaza.

Satisfied, the Megalith Dragon flapped its wings and headed back to the crater, planning to collect more of its excrement. It would need plenty to mark this entire territory as its own. With the rival dragon no longer in sight, it was eager to claim everything.

.

.

*BOOM*

The violent tremor jolted Felix and Jiji awake. Jiji immediately darted out of the tent, scanning the area while Felix scrambled to put on his clothes. His adrenaline pumped as he prepared for combat.

Felix quickly summoned his system map and nearly gasped. The previously distant purple mark indicating danger had moved dangerously close. It was now just three miles to the east, and it was speeding toward them.

"I don't think we've been spotted yet," Felix muttered to himself, but he wasn't taking any chances.

He quickly extinguished the campfire and collected all signs of their presence, storing everything into his system inventory. Without hesitation, he commanded Jiji to return to the subspace for safety. Felix then crouched in a shadowy corner of the roofless house, draping a wet cloth over himself as camouflage. His eyes never left the system map, tracking the purple dot.

The dot flew over his location, but to Felix's dismay, it made a sudden U-turn and hovered directly above the village. His heart pounded as he peered through the soaked cloth. He could barely see the silhouette of a massive winged creature before it was swallowed by the approaching thundercloud. Lightning flickered ominously within the cloud, obscuring the moonlight.

'Wow, really? A flying monster?' Felix thought, his pulse racing.

Though the dragon's full form was hidden, Felix knew better than to reveal himself. Instead, he silently browsed the system shop, desperately checking the price of RPGs, anti-air missiles, or any heavy weaponry that could take down the creature. But each was locked behind the Super Democracy Pass of a higher class.

Suddenly, green liquid began to rain from the sky. Felix watched in horror as the corrosive drops splattered on the wooden floor of the ruined house. The sizzling sound echoed as the liquid ate through the planks, melting the wood like hot butter. A drop hit the wet cloth Felix was using for cover, and within seconds, it burned a gaping hole.

"Damn it!" Felix cursed under his breath, tossing the ruined cloth aside. He pulled out his KAR 98k, quickly loading a mana-piercing round and aiming toward the sky, searching for the monster.

Just as Felix had the weapon ready, the creature flew away, spraying more of the green liquid before disappearing into the thundercloud.

*THUD*

Suddenly, a loud crash came from outside. The ground trembled once more as something massive hit the earth nearby. Felix's hands tightened on the rifle as his eyes darted toward the source of the noise. Whatever it was, it wasn't over yet.

Felix took cover behind the frame of a window, cautiously peering out.

A strange, green boulder, standing ten feet tall, sat 200 yards away. He squinted, trying to get a better look. Turning to his system map, Felix frowned when it failed to register the object as an entity. Meanwhile, the purple dot, which had caused his alarm, moved further southwest, away from his position.

The immediate danger had passed. Felix lowered his gun, letting out a deep sigh of relief. However, the mysterious presence of the boulder nagged at him.

"What the hell was that?"

Felix called on Jessica, hoping for answers.

She didn't let him down. A new system screen popped up, showing a recorded video clip of the sky.

Felix's eyes widened as he saw a bird's-eye view of the scene: a massive black jade dragon had flown over the village while he was hiding. The revelation startled him.

Jiji, who was also watching the clip, gasped in recognition. "What's the Jade Dragon doing here?"

Felix turned to her, surprised. "You know that dragon?"

"I'm not personally acquainted with it," Jiji explained, her face serious. "But my mother is. She speaks the dragon language. I think I remember her speaking with this dragon once when I was younger, but I was too small to understand back then."

Felix's curiosity deepened. "Did the dragon come to visit you, or did your mother take you to the dragon's lair?"

Jiji thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up as memories surfaced. "If I remember correctly, the dragon visited our territory. My mother had rescued an earth dragon's egg from humans, and I think he came to retrieve it... Wait, yes! I remember now!"

Her expression brightened as she recalled more details—details that seemed to reveal a closely guarded secret of the Black Forest Lamia Tribe.

"My mother didn't just return the egg. She exchanged it with a bowl of the dragon's seed. She then tried to artificially raise a half-lamia, half-dragon offspring. Out of the 300 eggs she laid... 298 didn't survive. I have no idea what happened to the last two."

.

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Meanwhile, Zhu Xin Ci giggled softly as she carried one of the last two half-dragon eggs and a bowl of Felix's seed. She had escaped from the Black Forest and crossed into the territory of the Solaris Commonwealth Empire. Activating a secret spell, the scales on her skin faded, leaving her looking exactly like a human.

She paused to rest along the roadside. Taking advantage of the break, Zhu Xin Ci injected Felix's fluid into her own belly. Then, with careful precision, she created a small hole in the egg and slowly introduced the remaining liquid, hoping to nourish the half-dragon child growing inside.

Once she used the bowl's contents, she tossed the container aside and plugged herself with a wooden cork she had prepared, preventing the seeds from leaking out. Feeling the subtle movements inside her, Zhu Xin Ci's grin widened with satisfaction.

"It's better to be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon," she thought, her eyes gleaming with ambition. "I'll create my own tribe. Sorry, mother. I've had enough of your so-called 'vision.' I'll rule my tribe, MY WAY!"

With that resolve, Zhu Xin Ci set her plan into motion. She would hide within a human town in the neighboring empire—for now. The future she envisioned was one where she ruled, free from her mother's shadow.