COCA COLA ESPUMA

"Man, this is some hard training!" I complained as I caught my breath after finishing off another sparring session against Steve, who was one of the best fighters at our dojo. "I still can't beat him."

The guy had been practicing martial arts for years now and was starting to become quite adept at them, even if he wasn't much stronger than your average person. Still, when we sparred, he usually managed to win by either overpowering me or using superior technique. I couldn't help but feel a little frustrated; I could never seem to beat him no matter how hard I tried.

"You got better every time you fight him," Galena remarked from behind me, her arms crossed. "He may not be very strong, but he has good stamina."

"Yeah, I know, but-"

"Plus, he's also been training non-stop since we got here, so don't give up on him just yet."

That's true. Steve has been working really hard lately since he left the military and became a blacksmith. In fact, he practically spends every waking moment in the smithy. But that won't stop me from trying to beat him though. He might be skilled, but he isn't unbeatable. After all, I'm pretty good myself.

"Alright, alright, I'll try harder."

It was almost six months ago when I first met Steve during a sparring match. Ever since then, we've been training together regularly ever since. It's nice having him around; he's always upbeat and cheerful, which helps lift my spirits whenever I need it.

Galena, the witch of the tower. Galena's eyes are obscured by a translucent ribbon that drapes across her face like a veil and is braided into her long, luscious hair. The religious sect of Simja used to keep Galena confined to the tower for her whole life until her marriage to the king. Once free, Galena discovered her magical powers she employs to protect the kingdom from all types of magical enemies.

The religion of Simja is a mighty entity with a firm hold over their own military. Strange history led to a custom of raising witches in the mighty tower structure of a sprawling religious stronghold, Simja. The witch of the tower is forbidden to ever leave the stronghold and forbidden all outside contact until their weddings to whichever king can convince them to provide fortitude and advancements to their creed. The women raised within the stronghold of Simja are infused with magical powers.

Steve, the human warrior. Steve was once a member of the United States Air Force, but left the service after losing his leg while on duty. He continued to train with us though, and made a name for himself among the other fighters. He's a very good fighter, but he's not nearly as skilled as Galena.

***

"AHHHHHH!!"

As I ran, I felt pain run through my body. I heard a loud crack coming from behind me, and I turned to see the dragon's head was right in front of me. Its jaws opened wide as it prepared to attack, leaving me no choice but to block its attack with my shield. I did so without hesitation, sending a massive shockwave through my arm when I blocked the blow.

The dragon was stunned, but it quickly regained itself and lunged toward me again. This time, I wasn't going to let it get close enough to attack. I quickly switched sides to avoid the beast's claws, and then jumped back further away from where I stood before.

I looked around me, and saw that I was surrounded. There were two more dragons circling around me, each one ready to strike. The third dragon had moved closer to me, and was preparing to pounce on me. I activated my defensive magic to protect myself from the onslaught, and began casting a spell.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

I cast a spell that sent a powerful blast of lightning towards one of the dragons, causing it to explode. The explosion caused a chain reaction and spread to the other two, who couldn't withstand the impact and exploded as well.

"How did you do that?!" I exclaimed in awe. "I thought that was impossible to use against dragons!"

"Don't worry about it; it's nothing special. Just a standard magic spell."

"But how?! You must be really strong if you can defeat three dragons on your own! Are you sure you aren't from the royal family?"

"Well... I used to be a princess, but..."

Oh. That explains why she's so strong then; I guess she didn't inherit any magical powers from her parents. Well, that's fine. Even if she's not a witch, I'm glad to have her as my friend. She's always there to cheer me up whenever I need it, and she's a great fighter too.

"You're pretty skilled yourself, you know that?"

"Thanks. Do you think I look nice today?"

"You always look amazing to me."

"Aw, thanks. So what are you doing here? I thought you'd be at the castle."

"I had to go pick up something from the smithy, so I figured I'd come check on you."

"Ah, okay. Thanks for helping me out."

"No problem. I'm always happy to help you."

She's been training with me for over a year now, and since we arrived in this world, she hasn't stopped working. She's dedicated to protecting this country from anything that might threaten it, and she's become a much better fighter than she used to be. Her skills are quite impressive, even if she doesn't possess any magical powers.

Galena, the witch of the tower. Galena's eyes are obscured by a translucent ribbon that drapes across her face like a veil and is braided into her long, luscious hair. The religious sect of Simja used to keep Galena confined to the tower for her whole life until her marriage to the king. Once free, Galena discovered her magical powers she employs to protect the kingdom from all types of magical enemies.

The religion of Simja is a mighty entity with a firm hold over their own military. Strange history led to a custom of raising witches in the mighty tower structure of a sprawling religious stronghold, Simja. The witch of the tower is forbidden to ever leave the stronghold and forbidden all outside contact until their weddings to whichever king can convince them to provide fortitude and advancements to their creed. The women raised within the stronghold of Simja are infused with magical powers.

Steve, the human warrior. Steve was once a member of the United States Air Force, but left the service after losing his leg while on duty. He continued to train with us though, and made a name for himself among the other fighters. He's a very good fighter, but he's not nearly as skilled as Galena.

***

The ground shook beneath my feet as I dodged the dragon's attack. I kept running down the street, desperately trying to avoid getting hit by another attack from the beast. With every step I took, I felt another jolt pass through my body.

I can't believe I'm having to run from a freaking dragon. At least, I hope it's just a dragon. I mean, it certainly looks like one, but it might actually be a monster from another dimension, or something. Either way, I'm going to get killed if I stay around here for too long.

Suddenly, I noticed a small opening in the wall nearby. I quickly turned around and looked at it, wondering if it was a trap for attacking monsters. However, after looking through the hole, I saw it was just an open space with no cover, save for the roof of a building. It appeared that the area was uninhabited, so I decided to enter it and hide from the monster.

I came to a halt before the door leading to the inside of the building. I glanced around me to make sure there weren't any monsters lurking in the shadows, then opened the door and stepped inside.

"Ugh, what is this stench?" I asked myself as I closed the door behind me.

What was that scent? I had smelled the same smell recently, but from where?

I slowly walked forward and looked around me. As I did so, my eyes went wide with surprise.

What am I seeing...?

There were three crystal dragons standing guard in front of me, each one holding an orb in its claws. The orbs glowed with magic, and they seemed to be preparing to launch an attack at me.

"H-Hey! What's going on here!?"

One of them suddenly turned toward me, and I immediately threw my shield in front of me to block a blow from its claw.

"Gah! What the hell?!"

The next attack from another crystal dragon caught my shield, causing it to shatter and break apart. It hurt a bit, but I managed to survive the attack. I tried to cast a healing spell on my injuries, but it wasn't working. A deep pain ran through my arm, and I could feel blood dripping down from where it was damaged.

"This thing's stronger than I remember," I muttered to myself.

"Come on Steve, don't give up yet!"

Galena was fighting alongside me. She's been training with me for over a year now, and since we arrived in this world, she hasn't stopped working. She's dedicated to protecting this country from anything that might threaten it, and she's become a much better fighter than she used to be. Her skills are quite impressive, even if she doesn't possess any magical powers.

I looked up and saw that the crystal dragon I was battling was starting to weaken. I knew it wouldn't last forever, so I decided to end it as quickly as possible.

"I'm going to finish this thing off!" I shouted.

I raised my sword high above my head, and brought it down hard on the creature's head. The attack slammed into the crystal dragon's head, and sent a massive shockwave throughout my entire body. After the shockwave subsided, I realized that the dragon was dead.

"Ow... Damn! I've never seen a crystal dragon move that fast before! I didn't think one would even have the capacity to fight back like that!"

"You should be careful, you know that?" Galena replied. "Just because it's dead doesn't mean it won't revive and come after us again."

"I suppose so. But at least we got rid of it for the moment. We can go home now."

"That depends on whether you're injured or not."

I looked down at my arm. There was still a deep wound there, but it wasn't bleeding anymore.