Down there, the battle had turned completely chaotic. The drakes overwhelmed the fighters to the point that they had no time to regroup and form a proper formation. One by one men and women succumbed to the drakes’ relentless assault as they obeyed their mother’s order. The problem was their number. There were at least more than sixty of them, outnumbering the fighters entirely.

“Aaarghhh, just die already, you stupid overgrown lizards!” Marka yelled as she stabbed another drake on its throat. The tigerkin was one of the more capable fighters, able to handle a small number of drakes on her own. Arcturus and Red were the same, with each fighting their own small groups of drakes, unable to come to aid against the others. The drakes knew instinctively that they were high priority targets, and that it would be wise to deal with them right away to minimize their own losses. Such was the intelligence of A-rank monsters.

“Uwaaahh!”

“H-help! Help!”

She cursed inwardly. The situation had gone from excellent to the absolute worst in just mere seconds. How were they supposed to know that there were these many drakes just sleeping underneath the snow like this? And since when do drakes do that anyways? She’d never heard of such behaviour before. It fits more for insects rather than drakes, which are basically miniature dragons. And no dragons would ever do something this clever, like setting up an ambush. They’re proud monsters. They would want to boast their strength as they devour their prey.

“Arcturus! Prioritize our retreat! I’ll draw their attention!” Red yelled.

“G-got it!” Arcturus replied as he slashed another one of the drakes. Three down. But there was still so much to fight. And he was still surrounded by them. Sooner or later, he would run out of stamina and then they would pounce on him for the killing blow.

In all his career as an adventurer, it was the very first time he ended up in a situation as dire as this. If his past self was told to examine the situation they were currently in, he would definitely reply with, “Those guys are dead. No way they can get out of that situation without suffering heavy losses. Well, it’s their own fault though. They didn’t properly scout the enemy and the battlefield first before engaging.” So now, he had no idea what to do. Not in the slightest. He was so preoccupied with his despair that he had forgotten entirely how the other groups that were not with him could be in a similar situation, as there was no one to keep the attention of the dragon now. He even forgot how his elf girlfriend and his gnome teammate were there. All the thoughts in his head right now were a mixture of disbelief and fear—fear for his own life, that is.

Red on the other hand was different. Raised to value honor in high esteem, he knew that it’s his job, no, duty, to ensure the survival of as many people as possible, even if it means his own death, even as his animal instinct screamed at him to flee.

As for Marka, well…

“Gah!”

The rouge screamed in pain as one of the drakes barely managed to swipe at her right leg. Even so, it left a wide bleeding gash, making her momentarily kneel down before moving back up once again. She knew she couldn’t rest. Not when she was still surrounded like this. She had tried many times to escape using her acrobatics, but the drakes were fast and smart enough to block every single one of her attempts.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I’m not going to die here!”

Even so, she knew that her movements were becoming slower, not just from the pain but also from the blood loss she was currently experiencing. There was no cleric nearby that could heal her, and there was no time to put on the healing salve she got on her pocket either.

And then, another blow landed. This time, it was a swing of the tail, landing right on her stomach.

She couldn’t even scream. She was sent flying away from the crowd of drakes that surrounded her, as her body barreled down the snow like a ragdoll. The drakes, naturally, gave chase, knowing that this was the perfect chance for them to kill her.

She couldn’t see. She couldn’t hear. Every inch of her body hurt. She weakly lifted herself with her arms, seeing Arcturus fighting his set of drakes.

“A-Arcturus… h-help…”

Her voice barely came out. Her voice and breath were taken away by the blood that invaded her mouth. If he had panicked less, and thought more about the others over just himself, he might have noticed her laying there. However, as he was now, he had stopped being their leader entirely. He was just another adventurer, fighting to survive another day.

Alas, it was not to be.

She could hear them—the wing flaps of the drakes coming to get her.

H-heh, so this is it, huh? Not a bad way to go, if I do say so myself.

With a bitter grin, she resigned herself to her fate.

Only for the drakes to never come. Instead, she could hear what sounded like muffled explosions, followed by the pained roars of the monsters.

And then, she felt a warm hand embracing her, turning her around to face away from the snow.

A-a fairy? W-why—why is a fairy here? A-am I hallucinating?

The fairy then lifted her up from the snow. She could feel warm liquid covering her entire body. Immediately her pain lessened as her wounds closed. A ball of water also appeared in front of her. She knew what she had to do. She opened her mouth and the ball gently entered, melting inside her mouth, returning back to the texture of normal drinking water. She drank it greedily and immediately she felt her internal injuries heal as well.

This fairy… she's—she's healing me!

It wasn’t just her that was awed by her presence. Everyone, even the drakes, were mesmerized by the sudden appearance of the fairy.

Well, her, and her master.

“Boom Orbit!”

Hugo raised his wand to the air, and immediately, something rapidly circled around him. They couldn’t figure out what that something was, just because they couldn’t keep up with its speed. It spun so fast it was as if he was surrounded by a full circle of it.

The drakes didn't know what the mage was doing. They only knew that it was a spell, and the best way to shut down a spell attack was to kill the caster right away.

And so they did, with some lunging forward with their fangs and others readying their frost breaths.

Only for them to meet their doom.

"Gyaaaahhh!"

Every single drake that charged against the mage was destroyed by the spinning spell, as it tore through their bodies like it was made out of paper. Gory chunks of their flesh flew through the air, but none touched the mage himself.

The other drakes, realizing the danger they were in, immediately opted for a retreat. Only for them to meet the same fate as the spell expanded.

The fairy let the beastgirl down. In time, she would recover on her own. But now, there were others to tend to..

Marka could only watch in disbelief as the mage resumed hunting the drakes one by one as they were nothing. Never before had she encountered a fighter this strong, and this fierce. And he looked like a mere boy too, barely out from the cusp of puberty. How could one be so young yet so talented in magic?

The drakes immediately communicated to their brethren that the mage was their highest priority, and so they stopped fighting the other adventurers and went after him exclusively. This allowed the remaining survivors to watch as the mage slaughtered the drakes as if they were mere E-rank monsters. Both Arcturus and Red were part of that crowd, with the former rendered speechless with his mouth wide open and the latter grinning in awe at the display of strength in front of him.

And so, not before long, there were no drakes left. 

The dragon? She was being kept busy by the mages, who had switched into hit-and-run tactics, barraging the dragon with quick and low-level spells. Thanks to the wounds the mage had inflicted into her, she was far more susceptible to their attacks. As a result, she had no opportunity to help her children from being slaughtered by the mage.

And of course, said mage was going to take care of her as well.

With the fairy left behind, as she went around healing the injured, he charged forward, flying upwards using his wind spell. He then landed on a cliff near the dragon, where he could get a good aim towards the beast. The dragon, of course, noticed him coming. She let out a screech as she changed her course, going straight towards the mage. She lifted her head as she charged a full-power Frost Breath. She was going all out, so it should be able to reach the mage just fine.

Without hesitation, the mage raised his wand and aimed it straight towards the creature before it could fire its attack.

“Boom Spiral!”

Like the spell he used before, he created a cannon-like compressed air in front of him before launching it at great speed. However, instead of going in circles around him, it instead fired off forward towards the dragon. And not on a straight line either. Instead, like its name suggested, it spun like a spiral.

The dragon launched its breath and it met the spell head on. She was going to just let her breath swallow it whole, but she knew better to underestimate the mage. She had experienced just how powerful the spells that impacted her body, and so she knew that there was a high chance his spell would just go through her breath, even a full-power one. And so she cut her breath short and promptly performed an evasive maneuver, by diving downwards in a sharp 90 degrees turn.

Only for the spell to hit her anyways, right at her spine. Thanks to the trajectory of the spell, it had a much higher chance of hitting a moving target than its normal, straight-line counterpart.

“Graaahhhhhgghhh!”

It roared as it fell down from the skies. The mage, who had dodged out of the way of the cold blast using a movement that no mage should be expected to do, followed suit. He aimed his wand at her once again, and barraged her with spells as he fell. This time, it was the straight line version, and having lost control of her flight, she couldn’t dodge a single one of his hits. Pain enveloped her entire body as she felt her very own body filling up with holes.

She had to abandon her pride and run away. This insect… no, this superior creature was too much for her.

The moment she hit the snow, she immediately used every single one of her remaining strength to conjure up the fiercest blizzard that she could. Using it as a cover, she then began burrowing into the snow. She couldn’t escape to the skies. She could only escape to the earth like a lowly worm.

Of course, the mage was not going to let that happen. The level of blizzard that the dragon generated… it couldn’t compare to the blizzard that his nemesis had made that fateful day. And the technique of burrowing into the snow… he was well acquainted with that as well.

And he was not going to make the same mistake.

“Magma Burst!”

He aimed his wand at where the dragon was burrowing, and he hit the jackpot. The dragon screamed as the lava pushed her out of the snow, melting it, turning it into water and then into steam near instantaneously. 

It was time for the finishing blow. Without mercy, he bombarded her with his Boom Rifle, aiming at where her brain should be located. One after one after one after one landed, piercing even her thick hard skull. He didn’t stop until the dragon stopped screaming, and her body turned into an unmoving corpse, not budging even an inch.

And thus, the dragon was dead.

...

At first, silence. The adventurers didn’t know how they should react, with some even thinking that they must have been hallucinating, and that this was all just their mind going crazy from the fear of death. After all, they had just seen a feat  they thought was completely impossible. For starters, one man going against that many drakes and a dragon, and winning without breaking a sweat, that was the stuff of legends—something bards and minstrels would sing and dance to. For some of them who came from the Holy Empire, they might remember the tales of Lord Siegfried Falkenberg, the Dragonslayer. He gained said title from singlehandedly defeating a horde of Fire Dragons that attacked one of the Empire's border cities. He earned his widespread fame from it, and even to this day, traveling performers would still sing and dance to his name. But everyone also knew that he was an Imperial Knight. Those seven were supposed to be insanely strong. One could even say they were this era's heroes, protecting the Empire and its citizens from any evil that might encroach upon it.

But this? He was just a kid! A no-name C-rank adventurer! He should be much weaker than them! And yet, here they are, watching it happen right with their own eyes.

All the drakes were now dead, along with the mother dragon. They were saved. By this young man they knew nothing about.

The blizzard stopped as the influence of the dragon was lifted from the area. And, as if on cue, it snapped them out of their daze as they promptly burst into cheers, laughing and crying for the fact that they had just been saved from the creeping hands of Death.

And of course, for those who could run, they all ran towards the young mage.

“Y-you are amazing, boy! How could you do all that on your own?”

“I’ve never seen a magician fight like that before!”

“Oh thank you! Thank you so much! I’m too young to die! I don’t even have a girlfriend yet!”

The boy broke out into a smile.

-------

Hugo

I-I did it! I actually did it! I can’t believe it! To slay a dragon like that on my own, I thought it was still too much for me! Since when I have gotten this strong?

No. It’s not just me. The dragon was already weakened from all the arrows and magic it had received. That’s why my spells were that effective against it. Its defenses were no longer at 100%. I shouldn’t get too cocky.

Still, with all these praises, it’s hard not to let it get into your head a little.

I could feel my face reddening from all the attention I was receiving. “H-hey, guys, it’s not all me, alright? You guys have weakened the dragon beforehand. That’s why I was able to win so easily.”

None of them really bought that excuse. One by one they thanked me, patting me in the back so many times that it started to hurt. Some of them even decided to lift me up and throw me up on the air (thankfully catching me on the way back). As I flew, I noticed the bearkin from before standing with a wide grin on his face, And Arcturus—he had a large smile of relief on his face.

"WHAT ARE YOU CHEERING HIM FOR?"

And just like that, the festivities ended.

The one who shouted was the tigerkin woman I just saved. In stark contrast with the others, she was furious. Her tail was standing up and her ears were all pointy.

“Look around you! Not all of you finished this battle alive! And you think this is any time for celebration?” The crowd was speechless as their senses returned to them. “And you!” She pointed straight at me as she shouted. “You’re the kid that came with that court mage, right? If you are this strong, then you should’ve joined the fight right away! Then this whole mess wouldn’t happen in the first place!”

She was right. I stood by until things got worse. Only then I moved to act, and by then, I wasn’t fast enough to save every single one of them.

“You’re being quite presumptuous, aren’t you, little kitten?”

The one who spoke was, to my surprise, Flameu. She was walking from the distance where our vantage point had been. I had left her there on her own as I decided to go and help the adventurers. In retrospect though, I don’t believe she joined the battle in the slightest. Or maybe she did, casting her spells from a distance without me noticing. She confidently said before that she could handle a dragon, but maybe she expected me to be on the frontline while she casts her spells or throws her poisons. That’s how alchemists are supposed to fight, right? I haven’t seen one fighting to be honest. She didn’t share the mobility I had, so no wonder she didn’t get a real chance to show off her skills. She would have to slowly descent down the cliffs while I could just jump downwards.

“It was your leader who asked us not to interfere. And so we chose not to. It was only due to the kindness of Lord Pendleton that you and your little band of adventurers were saved from certain death.”

There it is again. Her smug smile.

“Arcturus! Is that true?!” She immediately switched the target of her rage.

“Y-yeah, that’s true,” He sheepishly answered. “They want the dragon’s heart. I can’t just give it to them, can I? You know how valuable it is in the market.”

“You lied! You told me that they didn’t want to fight, that they were relying on us to kill the dragon! You didn’t tell me that they offered to fight.” Her voice only got louder. She wasn’t there when we had our short negotiation with the man. And I assume Arcturus didn’t raise the issue on the strategy meeting they must have before they went here. And the other adventurers who saw it didn’t tell her anything either.

“W-well, it’s because if you know, you’re going to—”

“Because, our dear Arcturus here wants to sleep with Ms. Court Mage. He’ll give her the dragon heart and he told her that she had to offer her body in return.”

The chilling voice belonged to the busty elf—another woman I saved back at the fight. She had descended down the cliff with her remaining forces, and she was pretty much drilling Arcturus’ head just by her stare.

Huh, so she knows. Maybe unlike the tiger lady, she got to learn it from someone. Don’t think she was there as well when we met with the man.

“You!” Without hesitation, the beastkin grabbed Arcturus’ collar. She was shorter than him so instead of lifting him up, she instead pulled him down. “I’ve tolerated your womanizing ways all this time. But now, not only you betrayed my trust and Slyphy’s, but you also endangered the entire clan because of it. You know how many of us have died because of you?” Her hand was shaking at this point, with tears pooling in her eyes. She then pushed him to the ground.

...Ah, I think I get it. She must be his lover or something.

“It was a mistake for me to trust you, Arcturus,” the elf followed the beastkin’s assault. “I’m fine with you frequenting brothels, knowing how lustful human men could be to the point that two women aren’t enough. But this? This is pathetic.”

And the elf is another lover of his too? Holy shit, this lucky bastard. Those two are gorgeous! And they actually let him play around with other women as well?

My dislike towards the man just increased two-fold.

Suddenly, I felt a hand resting on my right shoulder.

“Lord Pendleton. Let’s leave this unsightly quarrel, shall we? We have a cure to synthesize after all.” Flameu said with a smirk.

Oh, that’s right! I almost forgot!

We then slipped out of the crowd as we heard the yelling and shouting continued. The other adventurers seemed to be unhappy with his decision as well, especially since some of them had lost their comrades because of it. Personally though, I wouldn’t blame him entirely for this whole mess. I didn’t have any idea that frost drakes could do that either. Still, I couldn’t help but feel that he deserved it as well, trying to make Flameu sleep with him, using the lives of the infected villagers as a bargaining chip.

Honestly, if adventurers are supposed to be selfish like him, then I would rather stop being one.