Burns covered his body as the barrier held up flames that felt like a river flowing straight from hell.

Zeke knew that he was biting off more than he can chew. But the moment he saw a literal dragon readying for a breath attack, his mind stopped moving and his body reacted.

Thanks to that, his spell also reacted with him. He poured as much of his recovered mana into his magical shield.

He wasn’t sure how, but now his barrier became as tall as a building and almost as wide, covering the entire room behind him.

Still, that was just the base. He poured most of his mana into its potency. He knew he could make it even bigger, but that would only spread its defensive properties, and this breath attack could demolish it in an instant.

That was the reason he was still alive–well, mostly alive. The feeling of being baked inside an overcharged oven wasn’t the greatest feeling in the world.

He gritted his teeth, feeling like he was getting burned for hours. However, only a moment passed before the flames finally conceded.

His barrier still held, but he was shocked to find scorch marks on some parts. That never happened before, though he never defended against a fiery breath. He only ever defended against sharp or blunt weapons.

Now the barrier barely looked presentable. There were cracks all over as though the flames themselves had a corporeal impact. It already started to dissipate. crumbling apart. Zeke immediately made it disappear, facing the dragon once again.

His own body didn’t come out unscathe either. Despite his barrier protecting him and lasting enough to handle a breath attack, his suit was nearly burnt to smithereens, leaving his upper right torso bare and revealing his neckline and shoulders.

Burns covered every exposed part of his body, and he swore that even his insides were boiling like they were inside a pot of hot water.

But he refused to run. He refused to go the other way and lead the dragon over to where the girls were. He knew that despite his weak body, he could still protect them with his barrier, even if it wasn’t strong enough to defend against the dragon’s breath.

He pulled out the axe from his pack, having it in hand. Perhaps it won’t be as useful compared to his barrier, but he felt safer.

He would definitely prefer some type of magical weapon, but all the knights so far were just meatheads with only weapons to fight. For now, this was the better option.

Once the dragon realized that Zeke wasn’t burnt to a crisp, it actually looked offended. It opened its maw to give a mighty and aggressive roar. Zeke wasn’t akin to dragon speak, but he was pretty sure if he doesn’t do something, he’ll get squashed.

He sensed that his mana was half depleted, but it was recovering quickly. Though it only recovered a quarter of what he lost.

The dragon approached Zeke, each step sounding like a tiny earthquake ensuing across. Zeke tried to keep his balance, but his body was nearly busted and burning thanks to the flames, causing him to kneel instead.

He didn’t even notice that a claw was coming for him, but his instinct called forth his barrier to protect him just in time.

But to his shock, the barrier didn’t stay in place as rather than blocking the attack or even getting destroyed–it was swept up along with the claw, slamming Zeke and chucking him straight towards the piles of gold coins.

When he was a kid, he remembered an old duck character swimming in gold coins, enjoying himself in his wealth. He swore that the pile of gold coins was actually pretty easy to swim through, perhaps even pleasurable.

Apparently that was just fiction. Landing into a pile of coins was inexplicably painful. Something cracked, and a shooting pain traveled across his left arm from landing on it.

He screamed in pain, looking back at the nearby barrier that was somehow still near him. It looked bented, twisted apart like a metal plate gutted by a tow-truck.

It broke apart and disappeared through no fault of Zeke’s own. It was just too weak to even exist anymore. While being able to summon a barrier by instinct was an incredible feat, he should know that it doesn’t exactly make a perfect barrier.

It creates a barrier suited for one single attack, a small attack based on Zeke’s mental fortitude at the time. It wasn’t constructed perfectly, its foundation shaky and unsuited.

He was starting to get a better sense of his barrier skill, but he knew he had pressing matters to deal with. He lifted himself up, his earlier fear coming to life as he saw his left arm.

It was twisted, a bone piercing through the skin. He could still move it, but just the idea of moving it more than an inch worth is enough to send pain across his upper torso, forcing him to stop.

The burns, the broken bone, and other possible broken ‘anything’ that’s happening in his body. The only thing he can focus on now is the approaching dragon coming towards him.

He can’t move, and he certainly can’t attack. The only thing he can do is conjure up his barrier, but then what? It’s not an attacking spell.

He regretted leaving all the attacking to Mikella, despite knowing that the most important thing is to keep Clara safe. At least he could survive long enough and maybe even injure the dragon while the girls ran away.

He was alone. The very idea would’ve been depressing as it is back in his old world. While being alone was something he was used to, he never liked it.

And now, he felt that feeling intensified tenfold after the girls ran. But despite himself, he was happy.

He was finally of use to someone. He did something good. If he would die from facing a goddamn dragon, then he would die with a smile on his face.

In fact, despite how bad things were getting, he grinned. If anyone can survive long enough to write on his tombstone, he would hope that it would read ‘Tried fighting a dragon. Hey, he tried.’

He chuckled at his depressing, almost morbid joke. It actually gave him the courage to keep trying. He slid down the pile of coins, readying his axe, but something surprised him after managing to land on solid ground.

Someone was running towards the dragon at high speed, a sword in hand. She jumped straight upwards, almost several feet high and pierced the dragon right through the toughened muscle and scale.

“Mikella?!” Zeke shouted, unbelieving anything he just saw in those few seconds of combat.

…..

Still, she reveled in it. Being able to swing her sword at her opponent was liberating. She always loved being able to move her body, which is why she practiced gymnastics so fervently.

But if she was honest with herself, she still felt agitated, almost constrained. There were too many rules within the gymnastics sphere, too many do’s and don'ts that she hated. Still, it was the only way to express herself without feeling drained of motivation outside of training.

Now, she has reached the peak of her desires. Her magnificent sword in hand, she jumped up higher than ever thought possible. Not even vault-jumping could do as much as she could just on her own two feet.

It was thanks to her Acrobatics skill. It somehow extended farther than usual, using muscles she didn’t even know she had to enforce her body to do impossible feats. On top of her physical stats, it only became easier. Once she reached the apex of her jump, she fell right on top of the dragon and pierced right through the scales and toughened muscle.

Her arms ached, but her newly evolved body withstood it. Red ichor oozed from the wound, but she knew it was just a scratch. The dragon roared in fury, swinging its scaled arm up and down to bring her to the floor.

Mikella managed to jump away in time, another great benefit of her Acrobatics skill. She spun herself right on top of the wound, using her gyration to pull herself out of the scales and land right on the floor, her sword at the ready as it dripped blood from the blade.

Just that action alone took quite a bit out of her but she knew her body better than anyone else. As long as she steadies herself, she can keep dealing damage like this.

“Mikella?!” Zeke’s voice echoed out, catching her attention. She turned to find him utterly twisted beyond measure.

She almost gaped and almost yelped at the sorry state he’s in. Zeke was burned, open sores and blisters glaring angrily around his body. His suit was torn and his upper right torso was bare, and that looked worse than his actual appearance from his wounds.

His left arm was definitely broken. She swore she saw a bone sticking out of his arm. And yet he looked at her as though he was shocked to find her here at all.

“What are you doing here?! Where’s Clara? I thought you ran away with her!” Zeke shouted, looking back at the dragon that seemed to be standing still at the moment. Was it recovering from its own wound or was it just that shocked that it was hurt at all?

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“I put her away in a safe place,” Mikella said, still sounding disbelieving that Zeke would be this upset. “I’m here to help.”

“You should be hauling ass out of here with your sister!” Zeke shouted, actual rage showing on his face. Now it was clear that he didn’t want her to be here. “I can’t protect you! My barrier’s not strong enough for this thing!”

“Then all the more reason why I’m here!” Mikella countered, stopping Zeke’s outrage. “Do you plan on dying here and leaving us alone? You know well enough we can’t survive without you!”

“But…” Zeke protested, but Mikella glared back at him.

“It’s all of us or none of us,” Mikella said with resolution. “If you’re not here, none of us will be left alive. And… Do you really want to leave Clara? Don’t you care about her?”

“You know that’s not true!” Zeke argued back, but he quickly realized what she meant. His face turned crestfallen as he looked back at himself, at his wretched state.

After a bit of hesitation, the doubt in his eyes cleared. Letting out a defeated breath, he turned back to her.

“I don’t want to leave her, or you. I care a lot, okay? That’s why…”

“Then let me be here,” Mikella said, answering to Zeke’s hesitation with a grin. “There’s nobody I trust more than you at my back. You and me, alright?”

Zeke chortled at that. Mikella was a little miffed about it. She thought what she said sounded pretty confident and cool, like in the movies.

But perhaps that might be the reason. Her cheeks slightly reddened now that she replayed those words in her mind. It was still true… but she still found it a little embarrassing if Zeke laughed at it.

Then to her surprise, his face revealed a lot more life than his wretched state showed. It was such a change that it actually surprised Mikella a little.

“Alright… you and me.”

Those words finally brought something out from Mikella. It was as if those words truly released her. From her worries, her anxieties, her fear of the future.

As long as they are together, they can make it through anything. They don’t have to know each other back in their real world to know that they got each other’s back. Perhaps that might be a superficial thought, but it was enough to drive her forward even as the dragon roared, finally unable to handle the injustice of being ignored.

It was enough to bring her senses back. Her earlier revelry brought her to realize that what she did still wasn’t perfect. It needed to be fixed–to be implemented better than before. But it quickly devolved into panic as the dragon opened its maw again, revealing the fires from within the canals of flesh and destruction within its mouth.

“Zeke!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!”

Zeke shouted, ignoring his broken arm as he lifted his good one and conjured a barrier. But this time, it wasn’t the extremely large barrier from before.

It actually twisted itself, revealing a form that wasn’t a perfect rectangle. As the flames of the dragons ensued forward, the barrier stopped it in its tracks. But rather than it being a completely flat surface like before, it was angled in a way that brought the flames upwards.

The barrier was shaped into a half-cone, the tapered point facing downwards from the dragon’s maw and the flames going up above the slowly expanding barrier upwards.

It was there that Mikella saw the difference immediately. The barrier at the tapered point was stronger than average, noticing the increased density from that part alone. The rest of the barrier was just barely working, almost flashing as though it could disappear at any time.

But the flames were quickly dragged up, the intensity focusing on the strongest part of the barrier while the rest of the flames were escaping outward, straight up as the barrier forced it so.

The air cooked from the heat, forcing Mikella to think she was back at the lava chasm again, but it was bearable. She turned back to find Zeke already paling, his teeth gritting. She had to do something while Zeke had its power in check.

She studied the dragon carefully this time. Unlike any dragons she saw in the movies, this one didn't have any wings. In fact, it looked like a perfect replica of a lizard that gained the size of a damn building with legs. The scales and toughened muscles would easily put her off, but she knew that there was no such thing as a truly invincible creature.

If those knights taught her anything, it’s that there’s a weakness for everything. But she knew that going after the truck-sized neck of the dragon was impossible, and she knew that her earlier attack was just a stab wound, not a fatal blow.

She needs to go after it where it would hurt while it is distracted. Then, she spotted it.

A small, almost fist-sized speck of glittering light flashed on top of the dragon’s forehead, right above its yellowish eyes. She picked up that the strange light was from a gemstone, thanks to the still ensuing flames. That gemstone looked valuable, better than even the gold and jewelry around them.

But rather than being taken by greed, she was taken by bloodlust. If there’s anything she knew from her own experiences in video games, that gemstone is the clear weak spot for that dragon. Who else would be crazy enough to stand in front of a mouth capable of breathing fire? But with Zeke defending her…

She rushed forward, her body acting on her will and her Acrobatics skill in full swing. Each step she took felt calculated, from the way she breathed and the way her muscles flexed beneath.

Even her bones rattled in a way that acted perfectly with her movements, causing not a drop of energy to be wasted. She jumped from one pile of gold coins after another, surprising even herself that she could use them as footholds. She felt if she wanted to, she could stand on the top edge of a coin with ease thanks to her skill and her high Dexterity attribute. She approached the breathing dragon with her sword aimed at it.

But the flames were quickly doused as the dragon noticed her appearance. It roared as it lashed at her with a whip of its tail. The tail was smaller compared to the bulky size of the dragon, but it was enough to be fast and agile, ready to flick her away.

If she was hit with that strike, she would die instantly. Her instincts screamed out in terror as her body was still in mid-air. But then a barrier conjured right in front of it, stopping the tail mid-swing.

The force caused the barrier to break instantly, glass shattering near her ears and making them pop. But the barrier did its job as it stopped the tail from swinging completely, like hitting a steel wall and making it crumble afterward.

She landed on the floor, unable to continue from the force that ensued. The dragon turned around and went after her as she instead ran to the back of the dragon. It swung its claws at her, ready to strike her in a way a simple barrier won’t fix.

But she didn’t have to worry about that. Despite the claw being bigger than any car she saw in her life, it was in slow motion in her eyes. She jumped, missing the entire claw with ease.

The dragon reacted with another swing of its second claw, but Zeke stopped it in its place with a barrier right in front of it. Without it building momentum, the dragon’s claw was stopped without a hitch.

The two fighters and the dragon continued on like this, constantly baiting the attacks and forcing the dragon to stumble and fall with each barrier placement. Were it not for Zeke’s interference, Mikella would’ve run out of stamina by now, unable to keep up with the rampant dragon’s attacks.

Instead, she calculated each step. Just like in gymnastics, every move counts. But rather than to impress some snide judges with some fancy jumps and twirls, she was gauging how many steps it took to deliver the final blow, or else take the blow herself and be squashed outright.

For each step, there was a small chance of failure, equaling death. The chance grows with each growing step. But at the same time, it quickens the progress of her goal.

So instead, she took smaller steps, only decreasing the chance of failure. But there was only so much she could do. Zeke wasn’t a wellspring of Mana. Even now, she feared that his face was growing paler and paler with each barrier he conjured, slowly turning him worse for wear.

She needed to act now, or else Zeke would end up dry. So she studied and observed, finally able to find the path forward with the most progress.

But it still had a high failure rate. But, she wasn’t alone. She just had to trust in that.

She ran with her life towards the path forward. The dragon noticed her and tried everything it could to squash the annoying roach that pestered it. Despite the danger, Mikella actually found herself smiling.

What else could bring her this much joy than the idea of fighting to the death? What else can bring her unlimited rewards for the difficulty she took to pull it off? Wasn’t that why she liked playing video games in her off time? Because unlike in the real world, the games actually reward you for your efforts.

Mikella dashed and dodged every swing of its claws, tail, and even the small streams of flames that tried to burn her alive. Some of the embers grazed by her, taking a chunk of her clothing as her entire left arm and leg was exposed, her skin burning and blistering.

But the pain only reinforced the idea that if she doesn’t act now, something worse will come. She noticed several notifications coming up but ignored them. She can’t make any mistakes now.

The dragon saw her coming and eventually did something that trumped her earlier guesses. It went after her, opening its giant maw to eat her whole.

It wasn’t a breath attack, nor was it a claw or tail. It was utterly different compared to before. While that would’ve been easy to guess at the distance, she was close enough that such an attack would be able to take her down.

But if she stopped now, she knew that she wouldn’t get her chance again. But the giant mouth filled to the brim with sharp fangs capable of rendering buildings in twain brought her feet to halt.

In the end, she was just too afraid to die. Her face paled as she made a horrible mistake right at the very end. But something caught her attention as another roar echoed out.

It wasn’t a dragon roar, nor was it the usual shrill-like screaming from a man desperate to survive.

It was a roar from deep within, something deep and primal. She glanced back to find Zeke glaring hard at the dragon, his hands making a tightening gesture.

Blood seeped from his palms, proof that his nails were digging deep in pure frustration. His eyes were glaring holes at the dragon, gritting his teeth as veins looked ready to pop from his forehead.

“You… can… go to hell!”

He proclaimed. Mikella knew she was tired and exhausted at that point, but she swore she saw the man making an uppercut punch upwards.

Then a barrier suddenly showed up right beneath the dragon’s opening maw and crashed into it. She thought Zeke couldn’t move the barrier, but it looked more like that the barrier extended itself upwards, stopping the jaw from fully opening.

It really did look as though it got an uppercut from a pissed off mage. Its head stood still, leaving Mikella time to breathe.

Time to act.

She jumped without hesitation, flying higher and farther than before. She landed right on the snout of the dragon, unable to act thanks to the obstruction getting in its way.

In just a few feet, the gemstone laid in front of her. She breathed as she angled the sword tip straight at it and rushed in. She poured every single bit of her energy into the rush, landing a powerful stab right at the center of the gem.

It cracked and broke apart, but that wasn’t enough. The sword blade plunged deep within the gem’s socket. Blood, shards, bone and viscera flew everywhere. Some were sharp enough to land right on Mikella, pain filling her from the new wounds made by the sharp body parts. But the dragon reacted with a deep groan of pain.

She ruthlessly pulled the sword out and jumped away from the writhing dragon, falling through the air.

She didn’t even have the energy to make a proper landing and hit the floor with a thud. Pain ensued once again, leaving her to groan from the agony. But she forced herself to look up.

She watched on, pain riddling her body as she saw the dragon squirming from the fatal strike. Blood oozed from the former gem socket on its forehead.

Its yellowish eyes slowly turned blank, and soon it fell to the ground, its giant building-like body causing the entirety of the treasure room to shake from the fall, the gold coins jingling everywhere.

But it was done. The dragon died. And somehow, through some miracle–Mikella and Zeke were still alive.