The sand devourers rushed from the desert into the grass plains, eager to attack the caravan. Some of the villagers screamed, while a few others grabbed whatever they could and stood tensely in the monsters’ direction.

I cursed and flew over to intercept the beasts. Without interrupting their charge, the monsters began moving of sand from the desert behind them, which began flying my way like a tidal wave, threatening to swallow me and the sand devourers whole.

Fortunately, I hadn’t spent the last month idling about.

I moved straight at the worms as I released mana from my core and shaped it into a magic circle that I’d practiced for hours on end. With the mana structure in place, I flooded it with mana, and the spell begin glowing.

The sand wave was about to descend on me right as I slammed into the leading worm and activated my spell.

“[Blazing Inferno]!”

In an instant, a sea of flames gushed out from all around me, roasting the monsters and pushing the sand back as it slowly turned it into glass.

This spell was a rather strange one; all it had going for it was creating massive volumes of burning gas, and it was rather mana hungry at that. Mom modified it to be centered around me rather than launched – both to reduce the mana cost and because my scales would protect me from its effects. Still, it gave me a reliable area-of-effect option that wasn’t black hole, and one that I could cast repeatedly at that.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly enough to kill the sand devourers.

The monsters immediately shrugged off the flames and stood back up, or whatever it was that worms did to move upright, then they all attempted to slam into me mouth first, leaving me nowhere to run.

I quickly summoned another magic circle to activate another spell.

“[Earth Spikes]!”

Dozens of earth spikes rose from the ground beneath me, impaling the worms through their bodies and maws before snapping in half at the monsters’ weight. I took the opportunity to fly straight up as the overgrown worms writhed on the ground.

It was time to finish the battle. I cast one more spell, and this time, it was a single target.

That didn’t mean it was cheaper.

Mom said that it was unacceptable for the daughter of the Frost Dragon to be incapable of casting any ice magic, and she made sure to rectify that inadequacy thoroughly.

“[Icicle Bolt]!”

A large, crude javelin of ice slowly formed on top of my head. I raised my hand towards the largest of the sand worms, and the spear tilted to match my will. With a snap, the spear was fired at the monster like it was launched from a siege ballista, slamming into the monster’s head, penetrating its body, and shattering in its innards.

You have killed a [Sand Devourer Lv. 23]!

…

This spell was a pale shadow of the one mom used in the third layer to save me – the elementary-grade version of the intermediate-grade spell, [Tomb of Frost]. Still, it was powerful enough to get the job done.

With a flick of my hand, I cast the spell again and again, until the rest of the worms perished.

I took a deep breath as I finally confirmed something I’d been dying to do. For the first time, I won a battle using the magic that distinguishes the dragons from everyone else.

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I fought and won like a dragon.

With a silly grin, I flew back over the caravan, where most of the villagers stared at the ominous grave in shock. Some of them looked to me in fear, while most of them erupted into cheers.

“What are you guys waiting for?! Keep moving!” I yelled.

The villagers didn’t waste any more time.

***

Every few minutes, monsters would emerge from the river, from the dirt, or from the desert sands in the distance, and I’d take them on before returning to the caravan. Soon, however, we finally reached the spot where the branch river joined with the main one. Waiting for us there was Anbu and the people of the village he went to escort.

“There are so many wounded among you. What happened?” he asked.

I sighed.

“I was a few minutes too late to save everyone; many villagers were killed by monsters, and more were wounded. We need to get to the city to get a healer to look at them as quickly as possible.”

“Well, hopefully I can do something about that.” A voice from behind Anbu said.

An old woman with a walking cane stepped off a wagon and walked towards me.

“My name’s Delondra, and I am the village chief. I also happen to know some healing magic, so take me to those poor sods who need to be seen.”

The villagers made way as the old woman walked straight to the wagon, climbing on top and getting to work.

“We need to get going; we’ve got no time to waste.” Anbu said, and I nodded.

***

The caravans merged, and we began continuing down the road to Kengir city. With Anbu being near the group to guard them, I was free to scout ahead and take out monsters that were in the path to the city.

Monsters were emerging sporadically from the ground or appearing from thin air, though the vast majority of them were mere rank D’s and lower. Only a few rank C monsters were around, and thankfully, it wasn’t too difficult to dispatch them. The desert finally retreated into the distance as we entered verdant, green plains with the occasional hill.

At the rate the caravan was moving, we’d arrive in the city in about two hours. Unfortunately, we encountered our first hurdle.

I descended near Anbu and had him step away from the caravan for a private talk.

“We’ve got a problem. The road leads into a small forest, and there are no alternative routes leading to the city.”

Anbu frowned.

“That’s a problem. We don’t have the time to walk around it, but going in is just asking to be ambushed.”

I looked to the forest in frustration, then shook my head.

“I briefly considered trying to destroy all the trees surrounding the road, but mana’s precious and I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to get rid of them all anyway.”

Anbu looked to the villagers for a moment before turning back to me.

“I’ve got an idea…”

***

“This is insane, Anbu. This is going to get these people killed!” I said nervously.

“We’ve no other choice, Kiara. They need to fend off the monsters themselves until we can come to their aid. We’re going to be putting out fires throughout the whole stretch, and we need every second we could get.” He retorted.

As we walked towards the forest, Anbu had me fly pre-emptively and bring as many branches with me as I could. Those willing among the villagers, which was somehow over three-fourths of the healthy adults, were sharpening them with the few knives that the people from Delondra’s village had brought with them.

“Didn’t these people just get brutalized by monsters? Why are they so willing to throw themselves back into the fray after barely escaping it with their lives?”

“That question is easy to answer, friend.” Inbusha said as he approached us.

The man was holding one of the improvised wooden spears.

“Every one of us remembers the helplessness of standing by as the monsters slaughtered our neighbors. We knew it was only a matter of time before we and our children were next.” he said grimly before shaking his head.

“None of us wish to be helpless again. We’re willing to stand up and fight for our lives. I am sure you can understand, being a powerful individual yourself.”

At his words, I remembered my own survival in the Unfathomable Abyss, and how I’d had to fight tooth and nail just to live another day. How I was determined to make it even against terrifying monsters just to spite the world that was out to get me.

The villagers’ resilience earned my respect, and I felt more determined than ever before to keep them alive through it all.

“If you make it through this, I am certain that those of you who fought will be able to get combat classes. That should earn you a spot in the city permanently, and no longer be treated as disposable chaff.” Anbu said, with a hint of bitterness at the end.

The man laughed.

“Even if we all become classers, we’re all still the same people at heart. Once this all blows over, I am willing to bet everything I own that not one of these people is going to remain in that tyrant’s little town.”

Soon enough, the forest began to appear over the horizon. I turned to Inbusha.

“You should go and get your people ready. We’re starting to approach the forest.”

He nodded and stepped back to the caravan.

“I really hope this works out as you’re hoping, Anbu.” I said, shaking my head.

The man gave me a grim smile.

“Don’t underestimate the grit and tenacity of the common man, Kiara. We’ve never had a god to turn to for help, and we’ve had to get by only with the help of our neighbors. They’ll make it – they have to.”