"We were attacked!" Ice called out from the side. She stepped closer to the other girl, her white swan tail twitching impatiently.

The girl looked at Ice with a neutral expression, but lowered her sword from Hero's throat. She listened carefully while Ice continued."We were attacked by a kind of guardian. We defended ourselves."

The angelic girl stopped and thought for a moment. The three understood immediately that she was a non player character, although she looked so alive with her own will and choices. Ice asked for her name, and it seemed they could freely talk.

"My name is Selin. I am the strongest of this village."

Hero cut in. "Strongest of the village? So it really is a village. Just as I thought." He grinned, finally relaxed, and sat down on the soft ground. He had used much of his strength during the fight, and he was still mourning his broken sword. Not a good day for him, but at least he could rest now.

Mike was also unconscious again after the battle, something that happened more often than expected. Ice, however, was rarely knocked down. She stood alone for a moment, then looked at Selin.

The girl's white wings spread out. Ice thought Selin was about to fly, but it seemed she was only stretching. Ice already knew she was no threat. Maybe even a friend. So Ice continued gently.

"Selin, right?" Ice looked at her. Selin nodded kindly, clearly thinking.

"Alright, I have a question. How did you come to be here, and what is your story as the strongest of the village?" Ice asked with curiosity and a small smile.

Selin stood proudly in front of her, ready for battle at first, but her body language slowly changed. She no longer stood so high and tense. Her posture softened. Ice had no intention of attacking her, and she was glad that trust was slowly growing.

Selin folded her wings completely and looked at Hero, then at Mike lying silently on the ground, and finally back to Ice.

"You are strong. I can feel it. I hope you are not enemies. It would be better if you were allies, because then I could trust you with something."

Selin paused, looking down with slight frustration."Well, several things…"

Ice leaned in a little. Things to trust them with? What did she mean?Ice asked gently, "You can trust us. Mike and Hero are strong fighters with many abilities, and I can use healing magic and more."

Selin nodded. Those words finally broke down the last barrier of doubt."I truly hoped for that." She smiled, sweet and sincere.

"We were created by a powerful being, long ago, at least our ancestors were. We called this being the Golden Cloud. It lived in a huge cave. But at the beginning of this year, the cloud slowly turned greener and greener. We did not know why, and we tried to help. Then suddenly, it attacked us and killed about twenty percent of our people."

Her voice grew heavy, and the wind carried her blond hair to the side.

Now Mike moved on the ground."Did we win…?" he asked shakily as he sat up.

"Yes, you did," Selin answered.

Mike flinched when he saw the girl in front of him. He stared at her, and his face turned red. He was lying at the feet of a beautiful girl. He quickly forced himself to stand."And you are…?" he asked carefully.

"I am Selin. I come from that village over there. I am a warrior, and my task is to gather strong fighters for… well."She hesitated."For something."

Mike repeated, "Something? I think we would be ready."

Selin continued, "The Golden Cloud created our race. Our ancestors. But now it has become corrupted. It lives in a cave not far from here. Tomorrow we will enter that cave and attempt to… you know." She did not even want to say the word.

She waited for their reactions.

Mike was fastest."Yes, we will help," he said with a confident smile.

Selin looked surprised at how easily she had convinced them. But she smiled softly.

From behind, Hero added, "Of course we are in!"He smiled, clearly excited.

"I was destroyed by the guardian. I need a fight where I can actually have the upper hand…" he said, still bent slightly from his defeat. But now he had a chance to redeem himself.

In the distance they could see people rushing through the village. They were in panic, apparently they had witnessed the fight. Yet one of them was ready to approach what had happened. The people looked like ordinary humans, only they had a long white tail and two wings, one on each side. One of them came flying toward them. She was fast. Hero looked at her, she looked back at Hero and pressed a sword to his throat.

"What are you doing here, and what happened?"

Hero stayed silent. He did not understand. Was she an NPC or not? Since he was not allowed to ask directly, he tried to trick the system.

"Are you from here?" Hero asked. The question could not count as a violation, and he received a satisfying answer.

"Yes, I was born here," answered the blonde woman with blue eyes. She had a white sword and held it firmly at Hero's throat. "Now speak. What happened here?"

Ice was the first person Mike had seen when he woke up in the game. She was helpful and the best at healing abilities, though often clumsy in combat. Even when she handled some battles surprisingly well, she never intended to be inside the game at all. Through a misunderstanding caused by her sister, she ended up trapped in Godslayer VR.

Hero, a motivated but sometimes overconfident young man, had been accompanying Mike and Ice since their battle with the Great Titan. He had a natural talent for combat. He helped everyone with his golden aura, a true all purpose user.

Ice looked at Hero. She noticed clearly how embarrassed he was that he had dealt only little damage. Ice thought for a moment and spoke to him.

"Hero, it is fine. Tomorrow you will definitely get your chance."

Ice smiled. Hero looked at her and nodded. Selin added, "Without a doubt. This cloud can create things, and that guardian… I think no, I know it was created by the cloud. It had targeted you as well."

Hero interrupted, "Targeted us… then let us blow that cloud away now!"

Hero was still weakened by the cloud. Selin liked the determination she saw. "If that is the case, the groups are ready."

Mike stretched and asked, "So can we go now?"

Selin answered quickly, "We could, yes." She spread her large white wings and beat them once. Her feet lifted slightly off the ground. She spoke with seriousness.

"Now the question is whether we want to."

But that question had already been answered. Hero looked at the group. Mike and Ice nodded, a clear yes. All three said "Yes" at the same time. Selin nodded as well. She put her sword completely away into her inventory. Since she even had an inventory, the three realized she was not a normal NPC. She was far too advanced. They even doubted she was an NPC at all, but it had to be true, since Mike, Hero, and Ice were the first to reach the fourth world.

sky City was enormous. This was only a side mission, yet it seemed important, so they accepted it. Selin spoke as she hovered slightly above the ground. Her wings cut through the air with a majestic rhythm.

"Good, it is decided. But let me show you my village and the armies first. Then we will leave today and take care of that treacherous cloud."

When Selin mentioned the cloud again, five cloud shaped goblin burst out of the cloudlike ground. They shot upward. Thankfully they were unarmed. They were small, and it did not look as if the cloud intended to kill them with these creatures. But the fact that the cloud sent such small monsters was, if one thought about it, not a good sign.

Selin shot backward and dodged every goblin. With a sweeping strike to the right, she cut three of them in half at once. They burst instantly. Ice struck one with her sword, hitting its back. It exploded into the air. The last kobold still standing trembled, crouched, and begged for mercy. Selin even stopped and seemed to consider sparing it. But suddenly the goblin pulled out a knife and rushed at her. He jumped and…

Mike stepped in front of Selin and cut the goblin from top to bottom with his sword.

"Thank you. I like your sword," Selin said.

Mike smiled. "Thanks. Yes, it is a true treasure."

A true treasure indeed.

The group waited for another attack, but none came. The ground was still. No more threats appeared. They did not sheathe their swords yet and waited several more seconds. Still nothing. So they finally put their weapons away. Hero had already recovered a bit.

Suddenly the silence after the attack was broken by a scream. It filled the air with fear. And who was screaming?

Selin's eyes widened. She shouted, "The village!"

Mike, Hero, and Ice looked toward the village at once. The sight was terrible. A gigantic white dragon was devouring everything it could reach. Now people…

The three froze. Ice covered her mouth. Hero stared at the horrific scene. Mike said nothing as he tried to think.

Ice whispered with trembling voice, "Selin, do not turn around."

But of course she did.

She saw it. Her village was being destroyed. Her wings fell downward. She dropped to the ground, overwhelmed by anger and grief. Then she stood again and shot toward the village. She wanted to face the dragon alone.

She stopped briefly and turned back. Her face was pale, and tears streamed down, yet her voice remained calm and focused.

"Let me fight the creature alone. Help only if it becomes dangerous. Please."

The three nodded. Selin burst forward with growing speed toward the winged lizard. Hero was thrilled for the coming battle that would start in a few seconds.

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