The term ‘wyvern’ originated from the Anglo-French term ‘wivre,’ which was also taken from the Latin word for snake; ‘vipera.’ In most folklore across the world, distinctions between wyverns and dragons are very slim, and many consider them one and the same. Only some cultures in Europe actually have distinctions between the two. And that's totally understandable.

   But let me tell you this: The wyverns here flip my world's descriptions all flat on their asses.

   “H-Holy shit!” I holler as an incredibly elongated serpentine creature practically dive-bombs me, crashing into the side of the mountain with a force that could easily turn my whole body to mash. These so called ‘wyverns’ are all no shorter than twenty-feet long, with snakelike heads and feathers instead of scales. They bear the wings of crows, but if crows were as tall as a building, and they also have a pair of talons that seem to just dangle behind them as they fly through the air. At first we only saw about three of them, but as soon as we charged in a whole swarm of them suddenly swept out from behind the mountains.

   “Cyr, over here!” I hear Nora shout. I scan the area to find her waving frantically at me from a nook in the rocky terrain. I dodge a wyvern that sweeps low and barely scrapes its belly on the ground where I’d stood before launching itself into a rapid ascent. I hurry off towards Nora and duck into the nook before I can be targeted by another.

   “These things’re creepy,” I huff, turning to face her. “How many do you think are out there?”

   “Over a hundred,” Nora replies, peeking her head out just a bit from behind a boulder. “I never thought such a relentless beast could even exist.”

   “Do you think that’s the difference between monsters and animals?” I ask. “Like... that they’re—“

   “Unfeeling killers. They lack a soul, therefore lack any form of empathy,” she says. She turns back to me. I almost do a double-take. I guess I’m still not used to the older Nora.

   “O-Oh, y-yeah. I see,” I nod slowly. “But jeez, I don’t know how we’re going to get out of this. I mean— those things are like kamikaze fighters... but if kamikaze fighters were able to get back up and have another go at it.”

   “Kami...kaze?”

   “Hm—? O-Oh, never mind,” I mutter. “H-Hey, did you see where Lasphalia charged off to when we first got here? I hope she’s alright.”

   “No, I didn’t. But we must focus on ourselves for now, not her.”

   “Y-Yeah, you’re probably r—“

   An explosion rocks the floor, sending a light peppering of dust into the air from off the nook’s rocky walls. I look out just in time to see Lasphalia shooting past with blue luminescent circles around each of her ankles and wrists. A wyvern dives towards her, and just as it comes within range she leaps into the air. As the wyvern touches down, what looks like a green pentagram appears midair, which Lasphalia then leaps off of to redirect her momentum. She does one, two, three flips before bringing a powered-up fist straight down over the beast’s skull. I catch a split second of the beast’s eyes popping from their sockets and its horrifying brain matter promptly following, leading the beast as a whole to disappear into a cloud of ash.

   “She’s... She’s so strong,” I awe, finding myself leaning out of the nook to see her better.

   “Th-That’s nothing,” mutters Nora. “J-Just watch, I’ll do the same th—“

   “Like hell you will,” I say, grabbing her arm as she tries to step out. “I’m not about to let you go fight something that crazy strong. I might not understand all this ‘rival’ shit or whatever’s going on between you two, but you gotta understand when you’re out of your league, kid.”

   “...Don’t call me a kid.”

   “Then stop acting like one. Ever since you met Lasphalia, it’s like you’ve had something to prove to me. That’s dangerous thinking, Nora.”

   “I’m... not—“

   I put my hand on her head. She jolts in surprise, but soon settles into it.

   “You’ve been forced to pretend to be a child for so long... So I understand if you can’t change your mindset in just a day,” I say. “But even so, it’s my job to make sure you don’t do anything idiotic until you can. Just... stay here, please. I’ll see if I can make an opening.”

   “...Okay.”

   I nod. I take my hand off her head and rush out into impending doom.

   “Alright boss,” I huff, sliding up beside Lasphalia. It took me a moment to reach her, narrowly evading six or seven of their attacks. “What’s the deal here? This ain’t normal, right?”

   “How perceptive of you,” she mutters. “No, they are supposed to be solitary creatures. Even during mating season, which should have already passed, you can only find six or eight together at once. Certainly not— Move!” She shoves me aside as a wyvern splits the ground between us with a whip of its mighty wings. But between the sound of rock-crushing and serpentine screams comes something I hadn’t really noticed before. It’s the sound of thin metallic items, like thousands of tiny forks lightly clinking together.

   “Holy shit,” I say, stumbling on the recover. “L-Lasphalia— are their feathers made outta metal?!”

   “If they are what I think they are, then yes,” she huffs. “Razorbeak mountain wyverns. They dwell in the northernmost mountains, and feed on the iron ore that is plentiful there which they absorb into their bodily structures. As such— their power exceeds the ones found here almost trifold.”

   “So... that’s bad, right?”

   “The common wyvern— those normally around here, are generally of equal match with a Rank D adventurer,” she says. “And while the Razorbeaks have only a fraction of their relative’s brain functions, it is safe to say you would need to be Rank C at the very least to even survive a direct confrontation.”

   “Have a plan?” I mutter.

   “Keep them at bay, or die trying,” she replies. Without another word, she starts forward with a burst of speed, the circles around her ankles growing from blue to green to red.

   “N-No, I meant for our escape—!”

   A wyvern swoops in from the side, but is blasted away with a single blow from Lasphalia’s fist. Another dives for her, but is also swiftly crushed by her sheer strength. She suddenly stops, and turns to me. It’s here that I notice the damage she’s sustained. Her knuckles are nearly torn to shreds, and she bears cuts all across her arms and abdomen. Even so, her official stature, the way she carries herself, stays completely the same. She’s quite far away now, but I can clearly hear her voice.

   “There is no escape,” she says. The rings around her wrists turn a bright white, and blood begins to trickle from her nose. “With them so close to the Capital, this matter is now greater than our lives.”

   My heart sinks. What has abruptly settled over me can only be described as the physical incarnate of despair. The fear of death has gripped me harder than ever before. The feelings I must’ve been holding back no longer have their floodgates and are spilling out into the limelight. The sky, blackened by beasts of hell’s creation seem to mirror themselves on my soul, like the swarm has formed a barrier between me and the courage I’d once had. And it again is made painfully clear that I’m not the hero of this story, instead I’m just an accidental projection— an artist with so little knowledge of even his own home world, plugged in to this world for the kicks and given just a sliver of hope only to show him that it means nothing at all.

   A voice in my head tells me to fight.

   I don’t really get it, but my instincts have me reach out into nothingness with one hand and draw Kenkui with the other. Time slows to a near stop.

   “A true ordeal lies before you,” says the voice. “It’s time to make this borrowed power your own.”

   “Alright... But how?” I mutter.

   “Your blood spilled fuels your power. I told you this once.”

   “Sure thing, my blood... Listen, I just need to get out of here right now. I can’t go worrying about some kind of... blood pledge where I sell my soul to Mr. S to get a shred of power.”

   Suddenly, several green gemlike objects appear in front of me.

   “Put in a way you would understand... these are what you might consider ‘hit markers.’ Injuries and blood spilt fill these—“

   “Hold on, hold on— I’m getting some kinda alert. Are you using video game vocabulary? Do I really look that   stupid to you?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

   “Look behind you.”

   “Well fine, but I still... H-Holy fuck—!!!”

   I stumble to my knees in surprise. I find myself staring down the throat of a gape-mouthed wyvern, a large one that’s no less than an arm’s reach from me. Its teeth are truly horrific, like a hundred individual daggers— though that makes sense, since they are actually made of metal. Its entire body is in a twist, with one of its wings tucked in and another splayed into the air. Each individual feather is also made of metal, like Lasphalia said. It’s a thin metal, though, kinda like slightly thicker and stronger aluminum foil. Regardless, it’s moments from biting me in half, the time stop being the only thing keeping it at bay.

   “Do you understand now?”

   “Can’t say I appreciate the ‘supreme being’ kinda tone you’re giving me. Wanna try that one again?”

   “Does death not faze you?”

   “Actually, I just pissed myself a little,” I reply. No, I wasn’t joking, either. “Alright, tell me what I have to do. You’re obviously hinting that you want me to fight, and you also seem to be the only thing keeping that metal-feathered freak from making me his lunch. So, uh— George... I’m calling you George now, by the way. What’s with the hit markers?”

   “Pain must be endured to secure power. The greater the suffering, the greater the power.”

   “Not sure that’s how the saying goes, but keep talking.”

   “These markers are added to your ‘power’ as they are filled. Or so they will be as soon as you touch any one of them.”

   “Woah woah, you’re telling me I’ve gotta get my ass handed to me just to get these things?”

   “Immeasurable power for immeasurable suffering. Such is the gift bestowed upon you.”

   “Gift? Is that what this is? Why the hell am I here? How did I get here? At least answer me that!”

   “Or a curse. Such are one and the same.”

   “You aren’t answering me! Who even are you?!”

   “...George, as you called me.”

   “Bullshit, you celestial-ass voice in my head!”

   “Indeed. That is all I am. I am no more than imaginary. Now that my wisdom is told, you may treat me as such.”

   “Just tell me what the fuck is going on!”

   “A moment in time.”

   “...What?”

   “In an infinite scroll, spanning both directions further than the eye can see. You are but a speck in this breath that the universe inhales. Everything that now exists— exists only in that same speck, that same fraction of a moment in the story of the universe. However... this story is not yet fully written. It is a universe without an author, and unless one claims ownership, nothing will change. It will remain stagnant on said scroll for all of eternity.”

   “I... don’t think I can be this universe’s author, if that’s what you’re saying.”

   “As it takes but a spark to ignite a blaze, it takes only one soul to move the universe into the future. Be it peace or war, the seemingly insignificant moment in time always marks the beginning... or the end.”

   I suddenly feel a tightness in my chest, as if a malignant force had just passed through my heart. The hairs on the back of my neck seem to stand on edge. But I realize it’s the added weight that’s just now been put on my shoulders. It’s no wonder I can’t help but feel shaken. Even so, I push these feelings aside.

   “Alright, George— how do I kill this thing?” I say, raising my posture and pointing to the sky.

   As time slowly begins to move forward again, I can’t help but smirk. Even though I’m moments from death, I can’t help but feel so very alive. My mind is flowing with knowledge I’ve never learned, instincts I’ve never experienced. In comparison, the power I felt before was shallow, just barely skin-deep. But this time, the feeling emanates from deep within me, from my very center of being. It’s warm, giving off an almost protective aura around me. I can’t hope to explain it any better than this, but I know whatever I said is just scratching the surface.

   The wyvern closes in. I wait for it. The world has climbed to nearly quarter-speed. I remain standing before it. The world is at half speed. It’s almost on top of me. By the time it reaches full speed, I shift my body in a way I’d never though possible to sidestep the oncoming beast. As I do, it’s as if my body raises Kenkui and uses the wyvern’s momentum to pierce its metal scales and sever its left wing. Wailing, the wyvern sails onward before crashing into the mountainside. It takes a second for the shockwave of my attack to even catch up with me.

   “...C-Cyrus Avette...” gasps Lasphalia. “How did you... I’m not sure what power you possess, but I don’t intend to fall behind. I will dominate this fight yet!”

   Lasphalia’s hand lights up with a warm green glow, which she presses against herself. Moments later, all the injuries she’s sustained are completely gone, leaving nothing but her shining elegance and raw ability. She looks to me, and I give a quick nod of assurance. We face the wyvern menace, and push through with a cry for victory.

   After three hours of fighting, the last wyvern falls. I’m so exhausted at this point that my legs can no longer support the weight of my body, and I collapse. Kenkui clatters onto a pile of rocks at my side. Even so, my hands are stuck in the gripping motion as if I were still holding it. Now that the adrenaline is starting to fade, I find I can no longer move at all.

   “C-Cyr—!” exclaims Nora. I see her appear from the corner of my eye. She crouches down beside me and takes my hand, massaging it to loosen it up again.

   “How’d I do?” I huff, chuckling dryly. “Heh, those things’re pushovers, no sweat.”

   “Nora dear, get your boyfriend to his feet, please,” I hear Lasphalia say.

   “B-B-Boyfriend—?!” Nora sputters.

   “Get him up.”

   Nora takes my arm and tries to help me stand, but with me unable to move my legs I instead bring her toppling down with me. Lasphalia is in my line of sight now, and I see her shake her head disappointedly. Even in the denouement of battle with scrapes and bruises, she’s a pretty powerful-looking figure. And... a bit hot, if I’m being honest.

   “Where did all that overwhelming energy go, Cyrus Avette?” she mutters.

   “E-Excuse me for saving your ass,” I huff.

   “My barrier magic would have shielded me from most damage,” she says. “And I ended up defeating the most wyverns regardless.”

   “A-Alright, fine. I’ll give you that one,” I breathe. “But not bad for a rookie, yeah?”

   “Sufficiently... adequate,” she replies. She pivots a half step away from me. “But do not let it get to your head. I sense a foreboding conflict in the near future.”

   “...Huh? And that wasn’t foreboding enough for you?”

   “There is always a prelude to grand battle. This instance just happened to be one such time.”

   “It really is strange though,” says Nora, picking herself up. “You said that this type of wyvern only lives high in the mountains, correct?”

   “A worrisome premonition, this,” Lasphalia nods. “In any case— Girl, help collect item drops with me until your partner is able to stand again.”

   “O-Oh, of course,” Nora nods hesitantly. She turns to me. “Cyr, please rest for now.”

   “Like I have a choice,” I mutter stiffly. “Go bring home the bacon, girls.”

   “There is no bacon here, only wyvern teeth and entrails,” says Lasphalia. “Though male wyverns do have a low chance of dropping their genitals on death. I suppose you could try making—“

   “I’m gonna stop you right there,” I say. “It’s just a saying... from where I’m from. Don’t think too hard on it.”

   “Well if I find any wyvern testicles, I will be sure to save them for you regardless,” she replies.

   “Enough about dragon bal— Enough about that,” I mutter. “Hop to it, I think I might keel over if I hear another crude sentence come out of your mouth.”

   “Yes yes, I suppose break time is over. We are on the clock, of course.” Lasphalia brushes her hands against her pants and motions for Nora to follow. They disappear beyond my peripherals, leaving me to stare blankly up at a gloomy sky.

   “A moment in time.”

   Time, in this case, is paused once again.

   “Been a while, George,” I mutter. “How long’s it been, three, four hours?”

   “You may be but a moment in time, but the actions you take in life echo endlessly through the cosmos. Every entity leaves its mark in the universe, and everything they accomplished remains no matter what the future holds. The most insignificant grains of sand, so long as they existed, will live on in the scroll that is the universe. What you have done has already found its way into said infinite storybook, and what you continue to do will only add levels to this mark. What will happen as you strengthen your body to fully utilize the gift you have been granted?”

  “Strengthen? Fully utilize? What, I’ve gotta work out or something? I mean, I felt pretty damn strong as I was.”

   “You collapsed exhausted from six percent of your full power.”

   “Six percent?!”

   “In order to further solidify your mark as a being of this universe, you must first strengthen your mind as well as your body. Do this, and one day this power can truly become yours.”

   “So don’t be a weakling, don’t be a dumbass, and I just might be able to use my full power?” I ask.

   “Perhaps. But that much is in your hands.”

   “Anything else you wanna swing by me in a sorta cryptic way?” I mutter.

   “What else? Train yourself.”

   “Okay... But how?”

   “How indeed. But that is not for me to decide.”

   “Figures. And you were so helpful up till now,” I sigh. “Well that’s fine, I guess. Just means I’ve gotta challenge one of those nobodies from the guild. First one that pisses me off.”

   “Are you sure you are prioritizing the correct topic?”

   “Huh? What do you mean?”

   The voice says nothing more.

   “Cyr? Cyr, it’s time to wake up.”

   I open my eyes. Nora kneels just above me with her hands in her lap.

   “Morning already?” I chuckle. “Just kidding. I think I’m good to stand, so let’s get going soon.”

   She nods and takes my arm. As I get to my feet, I look off into the near distance. To my surprise, I notice a swirling mass of bluish fog concentrated in a three-dimensional oval shape. Lasphalia stands just beside it, visibly impatient to my slow recovery. I give a weak wave of my hand, and she makes a hand gesture to direct to the mass beside her.

   “This is a rift; for emergency use only,” she says.

   “So... like a portal? And what’s the emergency?” I ask.

   “Step inside, and we will convene,” she replies.

   I’m in no place to refuse. I approach the mass and hold my breath as I step through the mist. There’s a cold, prickly sensation on my skin, but it only lasts for a moment before I’m through. When I open my eyes, I find myself in a room with distinctive walls made of the same smoke as the rift. Lasphalia stands in the center. More mist collects at her feet, swirling in unnatural patterns around her.

   “Alright... what is this...?” I mutter. I hear Nora step in from behind me.

   “A rift. As I said earlier,” she replies. “It is currently transporting us through time-space. When we arrive, the time we will have been absent from the world is zero.”

   “Awesome.”

   “Indeed. Now on to more pressing matters,” she says. “Why do you feel the wyverns were all where they were today?”

   “They left the mountains,” says Nora.

   “But for what reason?”

   “I’m... unsure.”

   “Because they were driven out,” Lasphalia replies. “With Class B monsters in a zone for intermediates, we are putting many hundreds of lives at stake. This is where my job as a field reporter comes into play.”

   “Field reporter? How many jobs do you have?” I mutter.

   Lasphalia ignores me. “This is a Class S we could be dealing with. A city destroyer, at the least, that drove them here. That is why I must promptly return to the Admiral.”

   “Class S? Isn’t that for adventurers?”

   “You might be thinking of ranks, Cyr,” says Nora.

   “Really? You people should really think up a better classification method,” I say idly.

   “Cyrus Avette... I would appreciate it if you would take this seriously. As an aid in this discovery, I will be calling upon you to help slay whatever beast now resides in the mountains.”

   “Sure, s— Wait, what...? Y-You mean those already freakishly strong monsters might’ve been chased out by something even bigger!?”

   “Almost certainly.” Lasphalia waits for a moment. Beside her, a column of smoke begins to rise. When she notices it, Lasphalia directs us to it with a hand. “The other side of the rift is open. You will find yourselves in the entry hall of the guild building once you pass through it.”

   “Good,” I nod while sighing. “Don’t worry about calling me up. I’ll—“

   “But of course. At your power, you should be able to sense it when the time has come,” Lasphalia replies.

   “S-Sure, yeah. See ya later, err, and may the gods be... benevolent, or whatever.”

   I signal Nora to follow, and we both pass through the swirling blue smoke without another word.

   ‘I’m fucked,’ I think to myself.