Her wings beat against the wind. The giant lizard did not notice her at all as she rushed toward it at full speed. The village was in flames. Dancing fire devoured the cloud ground more and more. Selin drew her sword before reaching her target. The moment the blade was in her hand, she shot forward even faster than before and was about to collide with the dragon.

Only now did the red dragon notice her.

Mike watched the dragon closely. It was red, covered in scales, and had a long scar across its right eye, a deep, stretched wound.

"We will see what happens. If she needs help, we will…" Mike stopped.

They were about to collide.

The dragon beat its massive wings. Selin did the same. The dragon now rushed forward at full speed as well. Selin had to dodge in midair. She flew upward just in time, the huge body of the dragon narrowly missing her. Selin gripped her sword tightly and shot downward at the exact moment the dragon passed beneath her.

Was she insane?

She landed on the dragon's back. She had thrown herself onto it. She searched for balance and found it. Standing upright, Selin raised her sword and plunged it into the back of the massive winged beast. A loud roar echoed through the burning village. Blood flowed down the dragon's back. But the attack was only extremely painful, not nearly fatal.

The dragon twisted violently to the side. Selin slid down, quickly grabbed her sword, ripped it free, and jumped off the dragon's back. She landed in front of it as the dragon straightened again. The beast made itself look larger, rising up, then swung its massive claw at Selin.

She reacted instantly and pushed her sword between herself and the claw. The dragon's claw slammed against the blade. Selin forced the sword forward and the claw was knocked away. She leaped forward and slashed through the air, cutting a deep wound into the dragon's skin near the head. The dragon was now furious. It still had not managed to hurt Selin even once.

Now the beast became serious.

Selin stood behind the dragon and waited for the next attack. Suddenly the dragon spread its enormous wings. It twisted its body in the air to face her. Its expression looked strange. Selin raised her sword defensively, but it would not help.

Mike realized instantly what was about to happen.

He shouted in realization, "Hero, use the golden shield now!"

Hero startled. He had been completely absorbed in the fight. Everything seemed fine, so why help now?

"Uh okay? I will see if I can do it!"

It had not been long since Hero last used his ability. It drained a lot of strength from him. But maybe he could manage it for a moment. Hero raised his hands. They cramped and trembled, but a golden glow formed between his fingers. Golden particles shot toward Selin.

The dragon was now ready. A red glow filled its mouth. Fire. In moments, Selin would be nothing but burned flesh.

The dragon opened its jaws slightly. Fire burst forward and downward. Selin clearly did not expect this. She did not move. The flames were too fast.

Then the fire crashed against a golden shield that had formed around Selin in the last possible second.

Mike let out a breath. That was close.

The dragon continued breathing fire for a moment, but soon realized nothing could pass through the golden shield. Selin stood beneath it and did nothing. She studied the dragon, likely searching for a weak point.

She noticed something.

The dragon's eyes were damaged. Torn. It was blind?

Then how did it see her?

Selin did not hesitate. She whispered to herself, already prepared to act.

"I will go for its eyes."

She prepared to leap out of the shield. At that moment, the dragon raised its claw and slammed it down with full force onto the shield. Cracks spread instantly when the blow landed, and then the shield shattered into thousands of golden fragments.

This moment was perfect.

Selin could reach its eye.

The golden shards of the broken shield rained down, completely covering Selin. She used this moment and sprinted forward. When she became visible again, she already had the advantage. If the dragon dodged now, everything would be lost.

Selin was already halfway to the dragon. She jumped, covering even more distance. She pulled her sword back to gather momentum. In midair, she noticed the dragon was struggling to locate her. It moved its head in panic.

Selin knew she had won.

She flew straight toward its head.

"Hey you winged lizard!" she shouted.

The dragon turned toward her voice. Selin drove her sword into its already ruined right eye. She pushed it deeper. The dragon jerked once and collapsed. There was no pool of blood, only a quiet end. The dragon did not even roar. It was as if it had accepted its defeat.

Selin descended from the dragon and landed on the ground with both feet. The dragon's body crashed heavily beside her.

Selin did not celebrate.

She looked around.

The burning village was silent.

She felt hope, but no one came.

The village, now dead, was still burning, but as if summoned, rain began to fall. The rain was cold and colorless. It extinguished the smaller flames, though the larger ones continued to burn for a while longer. Selin looked away from the village she stood in and gazed at the dragon's body.

(You have slain a dragon. Obtained Fire Dragon Scale.)

Selin received the scale in her hand. She looked at it briefly, then turned her gaze toward the three of them, who were standing in front of her.

Ice spoke first. "T the whole village… burned down."

Then Hero spoke. "You fought really well."

Mike remained silent. Just like Selin. Both of them said nothing for a moment. Finally, Selin spoke.

"I do not need this scale."

Hero reacted immediately. "Well then, can you give it to me?" He grinned.

Selin nodded in response and handed him the scale. Hero instantly checked the description.

(Can be used to craft Dragon Slayer armor and weapons.)

"A crafting material," Hero said to the group.

Mike nodded, then finally spoke as well. "Selin… will we still fight this cloud?"

Selin did not even look at Mike. She stared over the burning village with a determined expression. "Yes. They would want us to."

Mike smiled faintly. "Good. But let us leave at dawn."

The sky was dark and colorless. The moon shone, but not as brightly as before. Something else filled the area with light. The dancing flames. After a few minutes of silence, the last house finally stopped burning. Many of the homes were half destroyed by fire.

"Let us go. I do not want to be here anymore," Selin said. She stepped forward and began moving toward the cave.

Mike and Hero walked beside her. Mike began to ask, "We are leaving now?"

Selin nodded. "Then we will arrive in the morning."

Mike did not answer. Instead, he stopped and looked back at Ice. She hesitated.

"Why are you not coming?" he asked.

An uneasy feeling swept through the air. Suddenly, a drop of blood fell from Ice's lip. Mike looked closely. His eyes widened. He stood frozen in shock.

A sword was protruding through Ice's body.

It was pulled out.

Ice collapsed to the ground.

It was a surviving goblin. So small and weak.

It killed Ice.

No.

Mike charged forward in rage, faster than the goblin could even realize what was happening. Mike slammed both hands into the kobold and it burst apart within seconds.

Mike turned around and shouted, "Hero!"

"Selin!"

Both of them turned and ran toward Mike as fast as they could.

Ice lay on the ground. Her white jacket was soaked in blood, pouring out in streams.

"M-Mike w-wait I ca" she was interrupted by coughing. After the coughing fit, she continued, "I can try to heal myself!"

Hero and Selin stood behind Mike as he rushed forward. Hero asked urgently, "How did this happen?"

Mike looked up at Hero. "A goblin stabbed her."

Selin looked at Ice and spoke quietly. "This looks bad."

Yes. It really looked very bad.

It was confirmed how serious the attack was when Ice spoke again, her voice trembling. "My HP dropped to five."

Mike flinched. "We have to do something. Please."

Ice tried to lift her hand but failed. It fell back down. On her second attempt, her hand rose slightly. It moved toward her stomach, and green lights appeared in the palm of her hand. They were weak, but still helpful. The lights shot into the wound and it began to heal, slowly and faintly.

Ice looked completely strained. She wanted to let go, but if she did, she would die.

Mike saw the struggle within Ice's face, the battle against herself. He tried to motivate her. "You can do this, Ice. Close the wound!"

Ice screamed softly from exhaustion and pain. The wound closed, but her eyes closed as well.

Ice had done it.

Her wound was sealed. Her HP increased.

But she lost consciousness.

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