12. The "Real" Dragon's Roar Mission (Part 2)

Looking at her somewhat disdainfully, the elf spoke with a venomous tone.

"I am lighter than you might expect, human. You either carry me, or we both die."

Remembering that this was a game and that her character strength didn't necessarily correlate with real life, Claire quickly got underneath her and began to hoist the woman onto her shoulders, almost looking like someone letting another ride on them. 

With that in mind, she quickly began descending the stairs, testing a few items to see if they could be placed in the player's inventory, but unfortunately, they seemed unobtainable.

As they got to the ground floor, more instructions came to her.

"Head to the east, and there should be a path towards the servant's area where we will find the stables."

As she got out of the tower, Claire began looking around to find a path before looking at the sun to figure out which way was east; after a full minute, she was about to pick a direction when her luggage spoke again, exasperatedly.

"It's to the left, just keep going left." 

Once again embarrassed, Claire ran off in the direction she was told.

Before long, they reached what looked like a small village in shambles.

As they got closer, small creatures that looked like frogs were everywhere; seeing this, Eilantha cursed before giving more instructions.

"Head to the right side around the servant's area, and you should find a training ground with amateur-level weapons. You can find one and use it to clear a path to the stables."

Walking around the outskirts while trying to remain outside of the frog's vision, she soon found a yard with various basic targets for archery, sword puppets, and magic targets.

Looking around the area, she found a sword, a staff, a shield, and a spear.

"Pick what you are proficient with and make your way to the largest building here, the stable."

Following what she was told again, she picked up the staff and walked towards a large wooden building to one side of the servant's area.

While making her way toward the stable, many frogs were in front of her.

Holding the staff out and trying to figure out how to attack, a small flame appeared at the staff's tip. She envisioned aiming it at a frog and instantly shooting the small ball of fire. Afterward, a fist-sized fire hit the frog, reaping half its health.

Checking her mana, it had dropped by 20, meaning she could shoot 50 fireballs before running out of mana.

Excited that she had figured it out, she began shooting fireballs at the frogs one at a time, clearing a path to the stables.

After running out of mana, Clarie hid to recover and tried to see if there was an easier way. There were many frogs, and it would take a while to do it like she was.

Opening up her ability book, she looked at the abilities she could learn, instantly finding one that would have made the fighting much more accessible.

Searing Expanse: A powerful area control spell that conjures a wide swath of blazing terrain, engulfing the ground in relentless flames. When cast, the mage summons a continuous, slow-burning inferno that spreads across a designated area.

Duration: 6 Seconds

Cost: 460 mana

Although the ability took up almost half her mana, it would allow her to deal with large areas of effect damage to the frogs. 

After choosing it and waiting a minute to regenerate mana, she again went out with the elf sitting on her shoulders. She began going toward the stables, quickly realizing that the frogs only needed to be in the searing expanse for 4 out of the 6 seconds to die.

After five minutes of fighting and walking, they reached the sealed door of the stables; thankfully, Eilantha opened the door with some spell, and they quickly entered and found a horse.

Finding a saddle was not hard, and before long, the two were sat on a horse, Claire in the front to hold the reins and Eilantha behind, holding on to her waist to stay secure.

"Alright, now ride southwest; there is a town not far from here that should be safe."

Before Claire could even do anything, she quickly changed her mind.

"Actually, I will point, and you just go the way I'm pointing."

Feeling somewhat insulted, they set off from the stable southwest.

Riding a horse was surprisingly easy; she had to sit there and pull the left rein to make the turn left a little and right the same way. 

As they road, they saw the destruction of the entire area, landscapes completely annihilated. 

After traveling for a little over 5 minutes on horseback, a strong wind suddenly fell upon them, and a lizard the size of a single-family home came barreling out of the woods in front of them. 

 "What the hell is that thing?"

"That is a drake; it should be here to finish me off. I can take care of it, but then I will fall unconscious again."

After saying her piece, Eilantha released a surge of power before a large wind blade shot toward the drake at shocking speeds.

Unable to move its large body in time, the drake was struck on its two front legs, one being cut off instantly while the other one stopped after slicing through bone.

A loud roar sounded as the backseat passenger slumped against Claire's back. 

"Hurry, it will recover in a few minutes."

Shocked that an injury like that could be recovered from so quickly, she quickly grabbed the reins, and the horse took off in the direction they had been heading in, going around the wailing drake.

Finally, after a few more minutes, the mission finally ended, and a new cutscene started.

Instantly, the scene changed from a dirt path to outside a small cathedral, with Claire helping the now-conscious elf walk inside before she turned to her and spoke in a gentler voice.

"Thank you for saving my life, human; the surviving dragon has marked me, and I must flee quickly. You have my utmost gratitude, and if fate allows it, we will meet again in the future. I hope you are smarter by then." 

With that, the scene ended, and Claire found herself in a town.

Quickly looking to see if the mission gave her any loot, she found a place to sit and started sifting through menus.

After getting to the inventory section, she found the mission staff and the low-quality clothes she wore; additionally, there was one more item. 

Pioneer's Sigil of Mastery

A small golden ring with the power to record your most outstanding achievements. 

Receive more detailed directions when doing quests.

Gilded Achievements:

Hazard Risk: Die to environmental damage within a safe zone. 

Progress to item evolution 1/10