- 4 -

I squeezed the water as best I could from my shirt. With a sigh, I looked up at the distant clouds drifting across the wide expanse of blue.

“The second player is trying to kill me…” Oof.

Surviving until the solstice hadn’t seemed like too difficult a task, especially now that I could turn into a massive dragon whenever I wanted. But being hunted changed the situation dramatically.

Hang on.

“System,” I asked, as a tingle of anxiety settled in the pit of my stomach, “you said these powers were rare, right?”

System: Correct. Dragon Shifter is an S Rank ability.

“And are there a lot of dragons in this world?”

System: Negative. True dragons went extinct in the Dawn Age. Dragon decedents, although much smaller, still exist. They currently have the status: rare.

“But that means…” I trailed off, looking at the deep indents my dragon feet had left in the sand. I wasn’t sure what other creatures could be roaming the forest, but it would be too risky to assume there was something else these prints could be mistaken for.

If I can shift into a dragon in a world where dragons are extinct, isn’t that a dead giveaway to the second player? And they’re trying to kill me...

Cursing my terrible luck—what’s the point of getting the best power if I can’t use it?!—I climbed the bank and searched the bushes. After a few minutes, I found a fallen branch stuck in a particularly stubborn tangle of briars. Ignoring the sting of thorns on my skin, I got to work sweeping away the footprints as best I could.

“Hey, System?” I called as I swept sand and rocks into the deep gouges in the earth. “It wouldn’t be possible to change my powers to something else, would it? Like, shooting fireballs or something?”

System: Correct. It is not possible to change abilities once they have been assigned.

Should have figured.

I stood back to assess my work. The riverbank was a mess of scratched lines, but the pits where my dragon feet had been were mostly indistinguishable. At the very least, they looked less like footprints and more like someone had moved some rocks around. It should cover me if anyone happens to come by.

No choice, then. I’ll need to be very careful about when and where I use my abilities going forward.

Giving a final squeeze to my drying clothes, I turned away from the river.

It’s not ideal, but what choice do I have? Until the solstice comes and I can go home, I’ll need to survive. If I can’t risk using my powers, my best chance is in a town or city.

“System?” I said as I ducked beneath a branch and slipped into the shadow of the woods. “Remind me—which direction is northeast?”

---

The coolness of the shade and my damp clothes were a nice reprieve from the warm day, but it didn’t last long. After a few minutes of trailblazing through the undergrowth, the water on my skin had been replaced with sweat.

“System,” I said as I huffed, “How much further to the town?”

System: Calculating. Approximately ten minutes at your current walking speed.

That long? The town was only supposed to be two miles or so from the field where I had started, and that felt like forever ago.

“Are you sure?” I asked as I swung my leg over a fallen tree. Up ahead, I could see light spilling through the branches. “Because I—”

A beeping noise cut me off.

System: Alert: Training Mode is active. Danger approaches. Difficulty rank: 3.

Darn! I scrambled over the tree and braced myself, looking in every direction for whatever had triggered the System’s alert.

Calm down, Kass, I thought as I tried to quiet my breathing. It’s probably just more forest beasts. I’m still a ways from town, so I can use my powers if I have to.

From up ahead, I heard voices.

People?

A wave of relief settled over me. I took a step forward toward the light. The forest had been cleared up ahead, it looked like a trail through the woods. I stepped beneath a low branch and onto the edge of a dirt path. In the distance, I could see what looked like an ox pulling a covered wagon.

I was already lifting my hand and preparing to call out a greeting—only to remember the System’s robotic voice a moment before.

Would the System have alerted me if they weren’t dangerous?

Doubt sunk into me like thorns. Biting my lip, I stepped back into the shadows, hoping no one saw me.

“Whoa!” A woman called. The ox snorted as the sound of the wagon rumbled to a halt. “Did you see that? It looked like someone was on the path.”

Damn it.

I glanced back into the woods. I could make a run for it—or I could transform. The System labeled this person dangerous, but they were only level 3. The wolves at level 2 had turned tail and run. Assuming I was understanding things correctly, most low-level creatures wouldn’t stand a chance against a dragon, even a dragon at level one.

Still… I tugged my lip with my teeth. On the path, the voices had dropped to a whisper. I had to make my mind up quickly. What if it’s the second player?

I spawned here, so it’s not unreasonable to think that the other player might have, too. And if their win condition was killing me, they could go home and reap their rewards as soon as they had completed their task. That was a pretty strong incentive to chase me down as quickly as possible.

But the other player wouldn’t know I’m their target until I use my powers, right? In that case it would be safer to stay human, at least until I had no other choice.

“Who’s there?” The woman called. There was a heavy thump as she disembarked from the wagon.

Fight or flee? Or...

Dirt crunched as the woman came into view on the path. She walked carefully, holding a small crossbow leveled into the shadows. While the loaded weapon was intimidating, the woman herself was not—she was a smaller lady, probably around my age. Her striking orange hair was tied up in a ponytail and a smattering of freckles decorated her cheeks.

...or maybe there’s a third option.

I weighed the odds for another second—reassuring myself that I could shift anytime I needed to—before taking a deep breath. As I stepped forward onto the path, I called back, “Don’t shoot, please!”

The woman swung her crossbow in my direction. “Step into the middle of the road.”

Keeping my hands up, I stepped where she directed. Her brown eyes scanned me up and down. Behind her, the wagon was parked in the road. Its ox snorted tiredly.

System: Alert: Training Mode is active. Danger approaches. Difficulty rank: 2.

What? I couldn’t look around to check for anything dangerous with the woman and her weapon staring me down.

The curtain behind the driver’s seat of the wagon lifted. A man, probably a few years younger than the woman, stuck his head out of the caravan. He had the same tousled orange hair and freckles. “Who is it, sis?”

Is the System alerting me about him? He didn’t seem scary—even less so than the woman. He didn’t even have a weapon.

“No idea.” The woman lowered her crossbow slightly. She gave me a tense stare and said, “State your name.”

“I’m, uh...” Should I risk giving them my name? Considering this isn’t Earth, I guess it doesn’t really matter.

A child popped out from behind the curtain, clinging to the man. “Uncle? Mum?”

System: Alert. Training mode is active. Danger app—

“Stop!” I ordered the System. I can already see them and it's literally a child, and I can’t think with that stupid voice ringing in my ears! “Training mode off.”

The woman flinched, jerking the crossbow back up to level at my throat.

I froze. The System was in my head—I had thought that, since no one could hear the System talking, they couldn’t hear me when I talked back. Isn’t that how it works in anime!?

Apparently not.

“What did you say?” The woman snapped. “Who are you talking to?”

“No one,” I urged. “Please lower your weapon. I’m not here to hurt you.”

System: Please confirm the cancellation of training mode.

Ignoring the System for now, I pulled my shoulders closer, trying to look as small and nonthreatening as I could. “I’m a traveler, I got lost in the woods.”

System: Please confirm the cancellation of training mode.

Feeling a headache coming on, I focused on the woman. “I was just trying to get to town.”

Her brown eyes swept over me once again. I got the intense feeling she was sizing me up—but I couldn’t tell whether it was for truth or for how easy of a target I would be.

System: Please confirm the cancellation of training mode.

This stupid thing!

Under my breath, I hissed as quietly as I could, “Yes, turn it off!”

The woman paused. After a moment, she lifted her hand. On the wagon, the man quietly ushered the child back behind the curtain. He swung onto the driver’s seat, his brows cinched in worry. In his hand was a small blade.

This is going badly.

“Sorry!” I said, lifting my hands up and praying it means the same thing in this world that it does in mine. “I really didn’t mean to bother you, I’ll just go—”

I took a step to the side, intending to flee into the woods.

“Wait!” The woman called. She lowered her crossbow. “Hold on.”

She looked back at the man, who climbed down from the driver’s seat but kept a wary distance.

With a sigh, the woman looked back at me. “I won’t shoot you if you don’t do anything suspicious, okay?”

“Okay,” I replied cautiously. Not shooting seemed like the best option for everyone here.

With a nod, she walked back to the wagon. She handed the crossbow to the man. He nearly dropped his knife in his haste to grip the weapon, fumbling as he gripped the handle.

“Sis, what are you—!?”

“Shh,” she hushed him as she reached behind the driver’s bench. A moment later, her hand reemerged with a waterskin.

I licked my lips automatically at the sight. I hadn’t risked the river water and I was thirstier than ever.

The woman dropped back onto the road and walked toward me, uncapping the waterskin as she approached. Keeping her eyes on me, she took a small swig. Then she held it out. “It’s just water. Here.”

The atmosphere was still tense, but she had just shown me it wasn’t poisoned. I was also too thirsty at this point to refuse.

“Thank you,” I said, reaching out to carefully take the pouch from her. Water sloshed inside as I lifted it to my lips. The feeling of clean water against my tongue was the second-best thing I had felt all day—right after turning into a dragon.

I had to force myself not to drink it all. Woefully, after a minute, I pulled it back and returned the waterskin to the woman.

She accepted it with a nod. Although the movements of her body were still tense, the deep lines on her forehead had eased slightly. The man holding the crossbow a few feet away made it impossible to say we were friends, but it looked like these people didn’t actually mean me harm—at least not right now. Why else would they give me water?

“Do you remember where your home is?” the woman asked.

“My home?” It was an odd question, and I, unfortunately, could only give an odd answer. Telling them the truth—that I died and came from another world—wasn’t going to convince them about my sanity. “I, uh…”

There was always the amnesia card.

“I’m not sure?” I said. “I don’t remember.”

She smiled gently, the way one might to a child. “Okay. Well, my name is Arma. That’s my brother Lambert. You look like you need…” her eyes drifted up and down my clothes again. “...help. As long as you don’t cause trouble, you can ride on the back of the wagon. How does that sound?”

“Arma!” The man—Lambert—hissed from the wagon.

She sent him an icy stare. When she turned back to me, her expression was kind again.

“Oh, thank you,” I said, shaking my head. It was clear that, even if Arma had warmed up slightly, her brother was not thrilled about me. “But I don’t want to intrude...”

“It’s okay,” Arma said. She held out the waterskin again. “Take this and hop on the back. It’s just a little ways into town, but you won’t get through the gates lookin—well, on your own. Please…?” She drifted off, and I got the cue.

“Kass,” I said. “My name is Kass.”

“Please, Kass.”

Behind her, Lambert rolled his eyes and climbed back onto the driver’s seat.

I tentatively took the waterskin again. If what Arma said was true, then I might not be able to walk into town like I had thought.

“That’s very nice of you,” I said. “Thank you.”

With a soft smile, Arma escorted me to the back of the wagon. The back opened up slightly, creating a bench-like space. I sat on the edge and let my feet dangle over the road.

With a whistle, the ox snorted and the wagon jerked forward.

I could hear Lambert whispering inside the wagon.

“What are you doing!?! We can't bring a crazy lady from the woods with us—think about Maddie!”

“She's confused, Lambert. Look at her. She's a mess and she doesn't even have a weapon. I bet she wandered off from one of the nearby villages and got lost. Let's just bring her to Borswod, okay?”

There was a pained groan, followed by a loud sigh. 

I kept my head down, savoring the last of the water I had been given.

Calm silence settled over us as the wagon ambled down the path. Birds twittered in the branches over the path, and the occasional squirrel darted over the path behind us. As the wagon rocked beneath me, I let my mind wander.

The System said there were only two people playing this wacky game, and one of them was me. That meant that this traveling trio could be safely checked off my suspect list.

I glanced down at my clothes. They were still damp, and smeared in dirt and leaves. Arma hadn’t been joking—I was a mess.

Draining the waterskin, I brushed off my clothes as best I could. If I was going to survive here—especially if I had to be careful about using my powers—I was going to need some help.

With my thirst quenched and determination settling in my mind, I watched the road stretch out behind the wagon. From where I sat, it looked like the long tail of a dragon.