Leon and the hunters had dug their pit trap less than a mile from the drake's location, close enough to catch the scent of fresh blood and meat but far enough that it would take time to reach us. They had dug the rectangular hole ten feet deep and thirty feet long with steep sides reinforced with wood. While the beast could dig out given time, it would be challenging.

Wooden spikes lined the bottom, each three to four feet long and about as thick as my fist, with brutally sharpened points. Rocks filled in between each, intended to keep them facing upward when the beast fell onto them.

I turned to Simon, who slung the pack from his back and pulled out a handful of glass bottles filled with a muddy red and brown liquid.

"This is the best I could come up with," Simon said, "It's an anti-coagulant made from a few herbs used in some non-magical potions and ointments. I combined them with-sorry. Doesn't matter."

"Remind me to ask about it later," I replied, then turned to the nearby hunters, "Help me get this on as many spears as possible. And keep it off your hands."

It took another half-hour to finish setting the trap. We applied the improvised poison to as many spears as possible, then placed a few freshly butchered animals into the bottom of the pit. The finishing touch was a few vials of blood poured onto the stone and dirt, after which we covered the pit with a net of branches, leaves, and underbrush.

Simon, Amelia, and the various townsfolk that had come to help us left, heading back to our agreed-upon meeting spot. It was further away from the town, and the plan was to meet there after we killed the drake-or if we failed and had to retreat.

Ideally, it would be the former.

Meanwhile, Leon, Sophia, and I took up spots within a cluster of trees and bushes a hundred feet from the pit. I was the closest to the trap and would be responsible for warning Sophia as needed. The lightning mage was a half-dozen steps to my side, crouched but ready to stand and throw her magic.

Leon had insisted on remaining with us despite both our protests. Sophia felt he would get in the way, an opinion I shared if I was honest, but Leon refused to budge.

So, we hid in the underbrush, remaining as still as possible and waiting for the beast to arrive.

The drake slithered out from the tall grass within the hour, moving slowly relative to its size. I wondered for a moment if I could outrun it, though I knew from my readings that the beast could move much faster if needed.

It shuffled forward, tearing up grass and dirt with each lumbering, plodding step. A long pink tongue darted out, tasting the air, and I swore I could see a glint in its tiny, pitch-black eyes as it locked onto the scent of blood and raw flesh.

A dragon would never have made such a mistake. They had the intelligence to examine their surroundings and recognize such an obvious trap. Though Leon and the townsfolk had done an excellent job of hiding the pit, it was still obvious to my eyes.

But instead, the drake shuffled forward without a care in the world. It walked towards the pit and lifted its head to smell once more. I swore I saw a hint of primitive, greedy triumph on its face as it stepped forward and sprung the trap.

Gravity pulled the beast's front through a fragile net of branches and grass. It let out a hiss as it fell, the dragonkin's primitive brain unable to understand what had happened. Its front teetered forward while its back legs scrambled, claws digging into the dirt to find any purchase and stop its fall to no avail.

The drake crashed into the pit with muffled, wet thuds and the crunching and snapping of wood. A moment later, it let out an enraged roar followed by a sharp, echoing crack as something smashed into the side of the pit.

I looked at Sophia, about to give her a command, but she had begun casting her spell the instant the beast stepped into the trap. She held a wand-my wand specifically in her right hand, her eyes closed as she muttered an incantation under her breath.

Sparks crackled across her skin in a dizzying pattern of purple and white, flowing along her arm and gathering at the wand's tip. She packed enough mana into the spell in seconds to shred my defenses, far beyond anything I had seen from her. But still, she pressed on without slowing.

Those tiny sparks grew, forming thin, flickering purple bolts that snaked up and encircled her arm like bracelets. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and there was a loud crackling of lightning accompanied by a sharp, acrid smell that reminded me of thunderstorms.

Sophia kept her eyes closed as she continued to pour more and more strength into the spell, and I felt it beginning to tug at the edge of her will. And even still, she pushed, throwing her entire core into this one attack.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Burning envy shot through me. That spell had been almost useless a week ago. Now, with just five days of focused training, Sophia had made it usable. It was still slow, but I estimated the casting time was at least halved. And it had enough power to level a building.

How long would it take me to make such progress? Weeks? Months?

I did not have much time to be jealous. As I glanced back to the pit, there was the slightest hint of movement from within. One of the wooden boards tore free from the sides of the wall, and something snapped into another, cracking it down the middle. The drake's snout peeked over the edge, jagged teeth glinting in the morning sun.

"Now!" Leon shouted from behind me.

The world turned purple. Arcing amethyst lightning shot out, tearing into the dirt and shredding it in its passing. Rocks shattered, sending fragments in every direction, and the grass burst into flames. A few errant bolts sliced into nearby trees, carving them into multiple, blackened chunks.

I could not see what happened to the drake, but I could certainly imagine. The beast's screeching caught as the first arcs sunk into the pit. While the sound of Sophia's spell drowned out anything else, I could sense the drake falling back into the pit and knew it must have crashed to the bottom again. The entire trap collapsed a moment later as her magic tore apart the dirt and wooden reinforcements.

Sophia's attack lasted only another second or two before it ran out of mana. The dense web of bolts faded into sparse, crackling forks before dying entirely. I turned back to see her wobble and slump against a nearby tree. Sweat poured down her face, her skin was pale with a green tint, and she took sharp, ragged breaths.

Leon stepped towards his sister, but Sophia shook her head and pointed with her open hand towards the pit.

"No...check...it." She forced out from between gasps.

I nodded and threw my senses out towards the buried monster. Its mana signature still shone in my mind's eye, present underneath the mound of dirt but weak.

It was alive, but not for long. Even as I watched, its mana dimmed further, draining away with every passing breath.

"We did it," I muttered, shaking my head with a sharp laugh. I looked over to the Esttons, who stared back at me, and I repeated, "We did it!"

Leon's smile was radiant, and he laughed, "See? See?! I told you we could do it. All we had to do was work together like a team."

"Happy...for...you..." Sophia replied, halfway between a glare and a smile of her own.

"I never doubted us for a moment," I said, lying through my teeth.

Once the drake died, we would regroup with the hunters and our friends before returning for the corpse. Even filled with poison, there were plenty of valuable materials to acquire. Its scales alone could make several high-quality armor sets in the right hands.

I turned back towards the pit just in time to see the drake's head burst free from its earthen tomb.

Our trap, Sophia's magic, and the makeshift burial had left the beast mangled. Wooden spears stuck out from its body, one driven into its shoulder, another impaled through its front leg, and a third sunken halfway into its side. Lightning had cracked and broken scales, leaving behind angry red and black burns, and blood leaked from a hundred cuts and scrapes.

The drake dug razor-sharp claws into the earth and pulled, tearing itself free from the earth's embrace. One leg dragged behind it, white bone sticking out from multiple places. At some point, its tail had been torn off, leaving behind a bleeding stump. Yet, despite all of the wounds, the beast was alive. And those grievous injuries appeared to be...healing?

My blood froze as I realized my mistake. It was so obvious and amateurish that I could not believe I had forgotten to factor it into my planning.

Magical beasts developed abilities related to their species. It did not matter their mana affinity or individual "talent." As long as they reached a certain level of development, they gained these powers.

Typically, a drake had none. They would grow stronger, faster, and tougher, but they had no other magical powers. However, there was one possibility. Magical creatures sometimes gained other talents related to their elemental affinity. It was rare and unpredictable but possible.

Earth mana might grant skin harder than stone. Fire mana often gifted a body immune to heat, and wind mana had manifested as impossible grace and agility.

For wood mana, the most common trait was accelerated and enhanced regeneration.

Blackened burns flaked away to reveal healthy, undamaged tissue. Red faded to pink, and cuts sealed themselves shut. One of the spears, the one sticking from its shoulder, pushed free before falling to the dirt with a dull thud, leaving behind a hole that leaked a thick stream of blood. Soon, even that slowed as the beast's mana worked to repair the sheer damage done to its body.

The healing came at a cost, as I could see and feel. Every burn soothed and cut sealed drew upon its mana, and those reserves had limits. Within my mind's eyes, its signature grew thin and faint. Muscles withered and shrunk as it drew upon its body directly, cannibalizing whatever it could to try and recover.

A part of me wanted to see just how far that healing ability went and if I could learn anything useful. Then, morbid curiosity gave way to fear.

"Leon. Sophia," I murmured, my voice tight.

Neither spoke, and I spared a glance towards them. Leon was halfway to his sister, while Sophia had pushed herself mostly upright, her wand raised as if she intended to cast a spell. But both seemed rooted in place, eyes fixed onto the drake and mouths open.

"Leon!" I whisper-shouted, trying to speak as loudly as possible without attracting the drake's attention. Likely, the only reason it had not attacked us already was that we somehow had remained unnoticed.

Leon jumped, turning towards me, and I said, "We have to retreat."

The noble's eyes flicked towards the drake, then returned to me.

"Help me with Sophia," he ordered. I nodded, but I heard the drake move again before I could move.

I looked back towards it and watched as it reached down to the spear impaled through its leg. Jaws large enough to tear me in half grabbed the wooden spike, crunching it in half with as much effort as I might take to break a dry twig. Both halves fell away as its magic pushed them free, and the beast shook like a dog.

Its limbs were skeletal, and one leg remained broken. Its mana signature had dimmed enough that it threatened to go out entirely. Yet I knew it was still fast enough to catch us—and it would if we revealed ourselves. But we also could not stay here.

"We would never make it," I muttered under my breath, then shook my head as I reached down to my belt and grabbed the hilt of a borrowed dagger.

"What?" Leon asked, though I could not tell if he had sincerely not heard me or if he did not understand.

I half-turned towards him, keeping my eyes on the beast as I repeated, "We would never make it. We need to split up."

"Are you insane?" Leon demanded, and I heard a shuffling as he moved closer to Sophia, "Help me and-"

"Leon," I half-shouted, sparing a glance at the noble, "It is too fast. If we stay together, it will catch us the moment we step out from cover. You need to take Sophia, get to the others, and fall back towards the town."

"What about you?" Leon asked, concern clear in his voice.

I pushed down the surge of rage, both at Leon and at myself, and chuckled humorlessly, "I am going to try and buy you time."

"Buy us time?" Leon repeated, and I heard the concern turn to anger in his voice, "You can't-"

I rounded on him, "If you keep arguing, we all die. Do you want that?"

Leon opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head. He crept the last few steps towards Sophia, taking her arm and helping her straighten up. She examined me, and for once, that icy detachment faded. I had to wonder if her exhaustion played a part in it.

"Once we are out of view, start moving," I said, then pushed down the terror, regret, and self-loathing again before drawing my dagger and stepping into the open.