First Engagement

The peace and quiet have returned to the forest. Trees rapidly pass by me in a blur as I pick up my speed toward to battlefield.

When the smell of burning ashes assaults my nose, I realize I am getting close. Past the thick pines in front of me, I can see the land begin to incline sharply.

Cisca stops writing stuff down and looks over at my screen and says, "That must be the cliff overlooking the dragon. Climb onto it. You will gain some high ground."

"Already on it," I say.

I leap up the moss-covered rocks and swiftly ascend the hill, the peak of which extends past the top of the trees. With the lower gravity and the powerful grip at the bottom of my boots, I get my way up easily.

Soon, I reach the top of the cliff. Even from here, vegetation densely packs the terrain. The dark cloud is gone now. I slowly walk to the edge of the cliff and look down at the aftermath.

Cisca inhales sharply as she sees through my view.

The silence did not come without a price. Crackling flames are starting to burn out. An entire patch of the forest below the cliff is wiped out. Charred pieces of trees are everywhere. Dozens of corpses of soldiers scatter around the ashen field, some of them are high up in the branches, others not even intact. Pools of blood and unrecognizable body parts are littered beside them.

I don't see a single knight alive. The dragon, on the other hand, curled itself up beside the rocky cliffside, like it just finished a hearty meal. Apart from a few arrows shallowly caught in the dragon's thick, dark red scales, it doesn't look to be injured at all.

Its size is even more astonishing to see with my own eyes. Even when lying down, it's almost as tall as the pine trees around it. White smoke shoots out of its nostrils as it breathes.

"Wow…" I can hear Cisca whisper into the microphone.

I gently put the little girl down beside me away from the edge of the cliff and pull out the pulse pistol from my belt.

"I am going to kill that thing," I say.

"What? Why?"

As I had expected, Cisca does not like the sound of my idea.

"To prove that humans are on the top of the food chain no matter which world we live in."

"The dragon isn't even eating the humans- No! That's a terrible idea!"

I press the button on the pistol. It makes a whirring sound and lights up.

"Kris," Cisca says, "Listen to me. We don't know anything about this world. You just saw the dragon slaughter a group of what seems to be trained combatants."

"So? That doesn't mean anything. I am centuries ahead of those helpless knights."

"One of those 'helpless knights' literally summoned lightning! As your chief adviser, I am telling you to not engage and observe from a safe distance."

"I do not like your condescending tone, Cisca. I am your boss, don't forget that."

"What? That's irrelevant-"

My voice must have been too loud because the dragon is now raising its head and looking directly at me. Its purplish eyes have strong killing intent behind them. The dragon makes a deep hissing sound from its half-opened jaw.

"It sees you, Kris! Run!" Cisca yells.

Staring right into the dragon's death glare has made me lose all sense of reason.

"Don't ever tell me to run!"

With the pistol loaded in my hands, I jump down the cliff. While I am falling through the air, I realize that I could have just shot at it from above, but it's too late now.

I land on the smoldering undergrowth between the cliff and the dragon, which stands up from its rest and shakes the ground with every movement.

Before it can completely get on its feet, I point and aim my pistol at its head.

PEW! PEW! With two pulls of the trigger and flashing lights from the end of the barrel, beams of energy head straight for between the dragon's eyes.

Even though I stopped my marksman training a couple of years ago, it doesn't look like my skills have gotten any rusty.

The bullets hit right on target, causing small explosions on the dragon's scale. It rocks its head back in recoil and yelps.

"Did you hurt it?" Cisca asks.

"I am not sure."

I take my finger off the trigger and wait for the clouds of smoke to clear.

Not a single scratch.

The pulse bullets didn't do much more visible damage than drops of water would.

It does look pissed, though. The dragon snarls and shoots fire out of its nose.

"Oh, shit," I curse as I watch the dragon leap toward me.

I try to back up and run out of the way, but earthquakes caused by the dragon's stomps are not making it any easy for me.

Before I knew it, the dragon is right up in front of me and whips its truck-sized tail at me.

As I watch the dark red rapidly approach me, I realize there is nowhere to run now. I hold up my arms and hope that its tail whip has less force than a maglev train.

"Press the button on your chest! Quick!" Cisca yells.

Without looking for it, I slap my palm on my chest. A beep sound comes out and the neck of the Exosuit extends up and wraps around my head, creating a helmet.

BAM!

A strong impact connects directly to my chest and sends me flying backward. I must have gone more than ten meters.

BAM! Another impact hits my back as I crash into what I assume to be the side of the rocky cliff.

I cough and fall onto the ground. It really felt like I was going to die right there, but the two crashes didn't do much more than knock the wind out of me.

"Are you okay? Kris?" Cisca asks.

"Y-Yep. Your Exosuit is really working its wonders," I say with a hoarse voice as pieces of rocks fall down beside me.

"Good. I don't see any internal injuries," Cisca says, "Stay still for now. It looks like the dragon thinks you are dead."

"A-Alright."

The dragon glances at me briefly and turns away to its original resting place. If I were any other creature, that hit would have killed me instantly before I even had the chance to hit the wall.

"So, the pistol doesn't seem to work. Try something with a bit more firepower," Cisca says.

"The grenade launcher?"

"I think it's your only choice."

I press the button again to turn the pistol off and put it back into my belt. I wrap my hands around the handle beside it.

"Keep in mind, you only have six shots," Cisca warns.

"Got it," I say and discreetly raise the barrel at the dragon while still lying on the ground.

KTCH. I cock the hammer and press my finger up against the trigger.