Fighting the Dragon

A series of roars echoed through the empty valley.

A crimson dragon hugged the ground, spewing Dragonfire from its maw at a figure frantically fleeing ahead.

The dragon spat another stream of Dragonfire. The figure barely dodged, shouting toward a nearby mountaintop: "Help! Why are you all just watching?!"

That figure was Erik.

Back when the group had finalized the materials for the magic book, Erik had boasted loudly, claiming he would personally slay a dragon to prove his strength.

That didn't sit well with Miss Serie.

After all, even she wasn't confident she could kill a dragon. What made a mere magic apprentice so sure of himself?

So Serie led the group to the territory of this rather famous dragon.

Giving Erik a perfect chance to show off.

But from the looks of it now, he was making a complete fool of himself.

"Is this really okay?" Norn asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

As the one who had spent the most time with Erik among the group, he naturally feared for his friend's safety.

After all, this dragon, as massive as a small mountain, was terrifying just from its aura alone, and its Dragonfire could melt even solid rock.

He seriously doubted whether his friend's frail body could withstand it.

"Don't worry." Serie glanced over, speaking lightly. "Mr. Rhode is here. That guy won't die."

It turned out that Rhode was holding a small Magic Circle in his hand. If Erik looked closely, he would notice a nearly transparent magical barrier covering his body.

This was Rhode's improved version of Elven Defense Magic.

It fixed the bug of only defending the front, added the function of casting it on others, and enhanced its defensive power.

The cost was double the mana consumption.

After hearing Rhode's explanation, Norn's tense mood eased, and he even found time to start giving Erik pointers.

"Hey! Erik, Dragonfire's coming again! Don't get burned!"

Seeing the dragon about to spew Dragonfire once more, Norn shouted at him. Their distance was just right for Erik to hear.

"You bastard! Why don't you try it yourself?!"

Erik dodged another blast of Dragonfire on instinct, not forgetting to turn his head and curse Norn.

"He can still talk. Looks like he hasn't hit his limit yet."

Seeing Norn's gleeful expression, Rhode silently mourned for the stubborn Erik.

"By the way, why is that dragon only chasing Erik?" the Dwarf Som asked, puzzled.

They weren't standing far apart. The dragon could clearly sense their presence too. He had even prepared for battle, but for some reason, the dragon didn't spare them a single glance.

"Because dragons are creatures highly sensitive to aura," Serie explained, invisible mana coalescing around her. "One is an ordinary, weak being; the other is a threat that could cost it its life. Naturally, it chooses the former."

"So whose aura is the dragon afraid of?" Som posed an obvious question.

After all, among those present, Serie was by far the strongest.

And at this moment, she wasn't even bothering to hide her mana output. It was clear at a glance who the dragon was wary of.

But before Rhode could answer, Erik's cries for help came again from not far away.

"Mr. Rhode! Save me!"

Since he had called him out by name, Rhode was ready to act, but Serie stopped him.

"Why isn't he begging me for help?"

Good grief, were you jealous of that too?

Rhode was dumbfounded.

Serie didn't intend for Rhode to stand idly by; she planned to act herself.

The mana around her began to condense into a tangible form. The powerful mana fluctuation made the others instinctively step back a few paces.

She raised her hand and unleashed a big move.

A Light Pillar began to coalesce in the air. It wasn't like Rhode's magic that could devour light itself—that spell required charging time. Serie preferred spells that didn't need such a long charge.

The Crimson Dragon, which had been relentlessly chasing Erik, suddenly skidded to a halt. Its massive head turned toward the mountaintop where the group stood, sensing a dangerous aura from them.

"ROAR!!!"

The dragon let out a low, rumbling roar, abandoning its pursuit of Erik. Instead, it spread its wings and launched into the air, its yellow dragon eyes fixed intently on Serie.

"See," Serie smiled. "That wasn't a wise choice."

Seeing the dragon finally stop chasing him, Erik collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

He would never brag recklessly again.

On the other side, seeing the dragon charging at them, Rhode quickly told the others to fall back, leaving only himself and Serie to face the beast.

Mainly because that thing's Dragonfire was too terrifying. Among their group, only he and Serie knew defensive magic capable of withstanding its attacks.

"Here it comes!"

Serie murmured as the Crimson Dragon above unfurled its wings that blotted out the sky, dragonfire churning in its throat. In the blink of an eye, a stream of dragonfire spewed forth.

Facing Serie's magical attack—one capable of harming it—this dragon chose to strike first.

After all, this was its own territory. No matter what race set foot here, it would not let them go.

The reason it had chased Erik first was merely instinct—starting with the weakest prey.

Dragonfire collided with the Light Pillar Serie had unleashed, erupting in blinding flames. The next second, the Light Pillar pierced straight through the entire stream of dragonfire, shooting toward the dragon.

The dragon beat its wings, barely dodging the strike, then spat another blast of dragonfire.

As a fire-attribute dragon, dragonfire was its magic—not only could it be unleashed repeatedly, but its power was also astonishingly immense.

Even its casting speed was faster than Serie's ultimate move.

But it had clearly overlooked one thing: Serie was not fighting alone.

Rhode swiftly cast his magic, and three overlapping Defense Magic barriers rose before the two of them.

Som hefted his Battle Axe, while Norn drew his longsword. His magic was still not proficient enough to cast on a whim like Rhode and Serie, but he could fight as a warrior.

The triple Defense Magic barriers withstood several bursts of the dragon's breath. Seizing this opportunity, Serie pushed the number of Light Arrows to its limit.

Hundreds of golden arrows, with a light tap of her fingertip, rained down upon the dragon like a storm.

The dragon roared and spewed dragonfire—not a single blast this time, but a sustained stream, forming a blazing red Fire Pillar midair.

The Fire Pillar clashed with the golden Arrow Rain in the sky, erupting in a dazzling burst of light.

The dragonfire knocked down by the Arrow Rain fell to the ground, melting the surrounding rocks into liquid. Erik scrambled and crawled away from the center of the battle.

"Isn't this a bit too insane!?" He wiped the ash off his face, his clothes soaked through with cold sweat.

Still, he stood up and hurried over.

With such a spectacular scene unfolding, he had to lend a hand.