As we rushed back towards town, I was at least grateful we were following a road. It didn't take us long to see the town in the distance, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Even though the roar had come from a different direction, I wasn't sure I could handle another town being destroyed by that dragon.

What I did notice—despite having travelled for nearly an hour—was the number of worried faces still lingering in the streets. And I didn't blame them. After seeing the destruction in Boltron, I couldn't say I didn't feel the same.

"We'll check in with Micca, then head straight to the guild," Hari called from the front. He hadn't slowed down, even after confirming the town was safe.

"Should we be worried about an attack?" I asked, raising my voice over the sounds of the horses.

"Maybe. I hope not, though. It's even possible the roar spooked a lot of the forest creatures, causing a kind of stampede," Jen replied. "Either way, if there is a stampede of monsters, we don't want to be outside for it."

As we approached the town, the guards made no effort to stop us. Clearly, they were distracted too. But I noticed that no one was being kept outside the walls, so maybe it was a precaution—keeping everyone within for safety?

We made our way to the house, where Micca was waiting inside.

"You're back already? That roar…" she began.

Hari spoke first. "Ah good, you're alright. Yeah, that's why we rushed back. We're heading straight to the guild. We'll leave the horses tied out front for now, but listen—especially in this chaos, be careful. If there were ever a time to strike, now would be it."

Micca just nodded.

I waved goodbye as we left the house and made our way to the guild. I had to jog occasionally to keep up, and for a moment I wondered if I had anything in my storage that boosted speed—or if any of my old buffs would still work.

That train of thought didn't last long, though—because I noticed I was falling behind again.

As we entered the Guild, there was both order and chaos. It was a strange sight. Clearly, all the adventurers in town had gathered here in case they were needed, so the guild hall was practically full. Nathan was near the counters, raised above the crowd on something, and appeared to be answering questions.

Hari started pushing forward, parting the crowd with surprising ease while the rest of us followed in his wake. We hadn't even made it halfway towards Nathan when it hit—the ominous pressure. The room froze. Clearly, everyone felt it.

"Really now?" Hari muttered, barely moving as he looked around.

"Should we try to get outside?" I asked, turning slightly—only to see the culprit appear.

The cat emerged from the shadows in the middle of the crowd. The look of terror on everyone's faces was very real, with most people going completely pale.

Then I remembered—I still had the second Drake steak I'd prepared. I pulled it out and placed it on the ground in front of me.

Looking around, I was shocked. No one moved. No one even tried to shift out of the way. Was the pressure really that strong for them?

The cat approached the steak, gave it a short sniff, then ate it whole. But this time… it didn't vanish.

It just stood there.

Staring at me.

"Uh, I don't have any more cooked. I'm sorry," I tried to explain—only to feel it appear behind me a moment later.

Crisplet immediately flared into a volatile red in his brazier, but the Cat didn't attack. Instead, it nudged me gently with its head, pushing me towards the door.

Panic rose in my chest. I looked to my party for help, but they were all frozen, wide-eyed. The cat nudged me again.

It was Jen who managed to move first—giving me a subtle hand gesture that I think meant I should go with it.

So, with hesitant steps, I walked in the direction I was being nudged. The Cat followed close behind, herding me to the door and eventually out into the street.

Behind me, I heard the guild hall erupt into noise the moment I stepped outside. But it wasn't any better out here.

People were everywhere—frozen in place, all eyes locked on the Cat and me. No one dared move. I was being guided gently but firmly down the street, step by step.

Where did it want me to go?

Moments later, Hari, Milo, Jen, and Liane appeared behind us. They kept their distance, following at a careful pace as I was led further down the road.

All eyes remained on me.

So much for a low profile.

I realised it looked like the Cat was pushing me out of town. I was being directed towards the gates. As I got closer, I saw all the gate guards quickly move out of my way—before they, too, were caught in the aura of the Cat as it continued to push me forward. My party wasn't far behind; I looked over my shoulder as we left the town behind.

Where was the Cat taking me? Surely not into the forest?

We continued for a while—longer than I expected—until we reached the treeline itself. That's where the cat finally stopped. It moved to sit beside me, staring into the forest.

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I was confused, glancing between the looming trees, my party behind me, and—further back—a gathering crowd of adventurers. They were clearly curious but didn't dare come closer.

Turning my attention back to the forest, I froze.

There was a figure.

A human?

No... not a human. A humanoid figure, semi-transparent, with a soft green ethereal glow. It walked casually out of the forest towards me, draped in what looked like white or green cloth. Its features were blurred, hard to read, and yet somehow commanding.

Then it spoke.

A feminine voice—though it didn't sound like it came from her mouth. It echoed inside my head.

"Ah. So you must be the human child that Lily has spoken of. My name is Sylverith, and I have dominion over this forest. She has spoken of many things that took place over the past cycle. Some very strange... but one thing in particular—she said you make wonderful snacks."

Her voice was cool and detached, almost indifferent.

"Uh... Lily?" I asked dumbly, glancing at the cat.

She nudged my side in response.

"Oh, you're Lily?" I asked, almost shocked. "Uh, yes, sorry. I've prepared some food for the ca—err, Lily."

"Very well. I don't usually partake in eating my own kin, however... after having my slumber rudely cut short, I find myself rather hungry—and in possession of something I wish to try cooked." Sylverith's tone didn't change. Still cold. Still calm.

"Your own kin?" I asked, frowning. I wasn't sure why I was questioning anything right now—the power coming off her made Lily's aura feel like nothing in comparison.

"Yes. Dragon-kin. That oaf from the mountain blames me, you see, for actions taken by its patron. I don't know." She sounded almost bored.

I couldn't help myself. "You're a dragon? You can turn human? Is he dead?" I blurted out—all in one breath.

There was a deep chuckle, though it didn't seem to be coming from the figure ahead.

"No, child. He's not dead. But he'll be licking his wounds for a few centuries yet, I'd say. And yes, I am a dragon. No, I cannot turn human—this is just an illusion. Lily felt it might be easier to communicate with you in this form," Sylverith said.

Again, the distant chuckle echoed around me.

"So, err... you want me to cook you some drake as well?" I asked, confused.

"Drake? No, child. I wish for you to cook dragon for me," the voice replied.

Then, without warning, the figure faded away.

A moment later, I saw an absolute behemoth rise above the trees.

A massive green dragon appeared—far thinner than the Storm Dragon, but with scales that looked like polished emeralds. It was stunning. Terrifying. Beautiful. It towered over the forest as it moved forward, light shimmering across its scales.

I heard screams from behind me, though they sounded distant. I could barely move. The pressure in the air was suffocating, rooting me to the spot.

Then, in front of me, a large, dark blue-scaled... tail? Dropped heavily to the ground.

"Was this—?" I started to ask.

The voice returned to my mind.

"Yes, child. The coward fled after losing half his tail. I wish for you to cook this for me. I trust you'll be able to do that? Lily mentioned something about three days... but I am patient."

I just nodded. What else could I do?

"Excellent. Just let Lily know when it's ready, and I shall come to collect it."

And with that, Sylverith took off.

The gust from her wings was so strong it knocked me to the ground. Then she soared north, deeper into the forest, vanishing from sight.

Leaving me sitting in the dirt, with Lily the Cat still beside me.

A moment passed. I tried to pull myself together, only to feel Lily nudge me again—this time hard enough to sprawl me back onto the ground.

"I don't have any more food! I'll cook some more, I promise!" I said quickly.

A moment later, as if satisfied, Lily vanished too—leaving me there, alone.

Sitting on the road.

Staring at the severed tail of a dragon.

It was huge. And clearly ripped off. I could see massive puncture wounds along its side, as though Sylverith had a hold of it with her jaws and torn it free.

As I sat there stunned, it seemed my party were the first to recover, with Liane appearing beside me.

"Trev, are you okay? Can you store that... before everyone gets close enough to see it?" she asked, pointing at the tail.

I looked up to see Milo already raising massive stone walls to hide us from view. I just nodded, getting to my feet and walking over to the tail.

Would you like to store [Legendary] Ancient Tempest Dragon (Partial) x1 for 5 mana? Yes/No

"Legendary…" I muttered, as the tail vanished. It wasn't the whole thing—but it was very large.

A moment later, everyone was surrounding me.

"Trev, we won't speak of anything out here," Hari said quickly. "I'm sure half the town is approaching us right now, so let's get back to the house straight away."

And he was right. As we turned back, and Milo brought down the walls, it looked like every adventurer in the city was approaching—Nathan at the front. I was surrounded by my party now, with Hari leading the way.

As we made our way back towards town, I couldn't help but notice how the crowd parted for us. Nathan tried his best to speak, but Hari immediately shut him down.

"Not here. Take it private—you know where," he said firmly.

That seemed to be enough. A moment later, I heard Nathan's voice echo out over the crowd.

"Everyone—be on the lookout for stray beasts approaching town. Let's make sure everything stays safe. Do not approach the forest itself. Keep a safe distance," Nathan commanded.

And orders from the guild leader were rarely ignored. Despite every eye glued to us, the adventurers began breaking off into groups, following instructions.

As we slowly made our way back into the city, nobody spoke. Nobody broke the protective circle around me.

And yet... I felt every eye watching.

It felt like an eternity before we reached the house and stepped inside. Micca, who was initially happy to see us, immediately paused. Her face fell.

"What happened?" she asked.

Liane snorted, dropping into a chair. "Oh, not much—just Trevor being taken from the Guild Hall to outside the city by the shadow cat, for a rendezvous with an ancient green dragon."

Then, with a small laugh, she added, "Oh, and given the tail of another ancient dragon for some reason by that same green dragon!"

"What?" Micca blinked, looking around at everyone as if checking to see if this was some kind of joke.

"Didn't you hear the conversation?" I asked, a bit surprised.

"Conversation? No, no, we didn't," Milo replied. The others all shook their heads.

"You saw the humanoid figure I was speaking to, though?" I tried again. Again, they shook their heads.

"Well… the dragon—err, Sylverith, she said her name was—had a humanoid form she was using to speak to me. Lily, the cat, apparently told her that I make good snacks. So after defeating the Storm... no, Tempest Dragon, and making it flee to lick its wounds for a few centuries, Lily decided to convince Sylverith to come to me and request a dragon tail snack."

I paused, realising just how absolutely insane that sounded. No one would believe it—if they hadn't all just seen it happen.

"Well, hell..." Milo said, before bursting into laughter.

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