My eyes snapped open. I gasped in shock and reached over for my rifle but found nothing. I reflexively scanned my surroundings for any sign of the skeletal dragons. A high ceiling with Magic Crystals mounted on several chandeliers greeted my murky vision. Pain assaulted me next, but I grit my teeth and endured in order to ensure I wasn’t on a battlefield of some kind. Each heartbeat sent molten iron through my body. The agony reminded me I was still alive. I forced air deep into my lungs and pushed aside the pain and delirium.

I sat up slowly and grunted when a pair of stiff arms kept me pinned to the bed.

"Remain still," ordered a white-haired woman with deep, blue eyes in a swan-like gown adorned with armor. She spoke like a general to a soldier and I instinctively obeyed out of sheer force of habit. Warmth enveloped me and I realized what was draped over me wasn't a blanket, but two angelic wings.

"Be at ease. You are safe under my charge. I am Svalinn Hildr, and I have come to deliver you from death. Though my power was unnecessary. I've mended your broken body."

"Why?" I croaked. My throat was dry and tight.

"Your unique circumstances resonated with my true nature. I sensed your death approaching and made haste. There are a scant few from Midgard and it is my duty to guide all of you into the Great Hall after you fall in battle."

"V-Valkyrie!?" My tired eyes widened.

"Indeed. I must now, away. We shall meet again."

Svalinn placed a hand over my eyes. Her touch cooled my boiling blood and the pain gradually receded like the ocean from a beach. My mind drifted into the sea and vanished over the horizon. High above, I saw a familiar shadow flying down toward me, highlighted by the moon glowing behind her. Renala dived into my arms. I laughed and inhaled a mouthful of when she collided with my chest and pushed me below the surface. She nuzzled into my neck and I affectionately scratched her belly. We floated deep into the ocean until the twilight gave way to full dawn.

Rebecca's silhouette stood before the sun, eclipsing it behind her. She was saying something, but there was no sound in this place. I desperately swam toward her but I was forced to look away when the glare grew too bright.

"Renala you're too heavy," I shifted my legs that were tucked tightly beneath Renala's head. I kept my eyes shut, trying to wander back into that peaceful dream, but Renala's passive heat and the sound of her scales grinding against the floor dragged me out of sleep inertia. She slid her chin off my legs and settled on the floor at my bedside instead. I turned a bit to gaze straight into one of her huge, emerald eyes and reached out to poke it. She closed it right before I touched it and snorted a large cloud of steam at me.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm still alive. Have you been behaving, young lady?"

Renala huffed and it was my turn to blink in annoyance.

"If I hear Balin complaining, no bath scrubbies for a week."

Renala sat up and wailed in despair.

"What did you do?" I glared at her with suspicion when Balin and a dozen guards burst into the room with their weapons drawn and magical circles hovering around them.

"Lady Renala?! Ranger Levin?!"

"As you were, Archbishop. I was just talking to Renala. She hasn't been misbehaving while I was out, was she?"

"Heavens, no! The kitchen staff were a bit flustered after she ate all of their stock, but that was all."

"Hm. I'll teach her the meaning of moderation later. Tell the cooks I'm sorry. Renala, you hunt outside until I say otherwise."

Renala relaxed while Balin chuckled. He waved his guards away and came to my side.

"Situation report," I demanded. Balin nodded. He stroked his beard once and appraised me.

"You give orders like a commander of men. Cleric Svalinn came to the Peak riding upon a pegasus two nights ago, right after Lady Renala carried you out of the tomb. Cleric Svalinn left after restoring your Health."

"And my spine?"

"So long as the body part remains attached, restoring your Health will slowly heal your wounds assuming they are not fatal."

I closed my eyes. "How long have I been out?"

"Three days. You were not but a dried, broken husk. How did you survive?"

I almost told Balin about how Renala and I could now share HP, but it was a powerful secret. So I simply shrugged. The Archibishop didn't press and continued with the report instead.

"While you were indisposed, Lady Renala went back and forth from the tomb and collected a mountain of Magic Crystals and dragon scales. They are as numerous as sand in a desert! I believe the Kingdom can subsist on them for at least a decade. We should discuss how to use the scales, however."

Renala preened. "Fetch! Fetch! Fetch!"

It was Renala's first word in the common tongue. This should have been one of my proud dad moments, but all I saw was Lydia's future face twisted in draconic fury. Suddenly, death by spectral skeleton dragons wasn't so bad.

I'm so fucking dead.

I spent the next two days bedridden. It gave me a chance to update my character sheet. I had to comb through 168 hours of prompts and text to identify how the major changes occurred. My Dexterity reached 18 from the sheer volume of arrows I fired. I never had that much access to Magic Crystals, so I could never properly abuse my Quiver of Infinite Arrows until now. The targets themselves were draconic skeletal demigods, so they were extraordinarily fast. Overall, the ordeal refined my target acquisition, aiming, and firing speeds to superhuman levels. I was fairly sure I could even curve bullets.

But what increased most was my Constitution. It climbed from 16 to 18.

Objectively speaking, I understood why: I was driven to the very brink of death.

Death was so close that a Valkyrie sensed my inevitable demise and was about to carry my soul into Valhalla as soon as I died. But I wasn’t shaken. My first death was brutal. My second was to be long and excruciating, but I no longer felt fear over it. I wasn’t sure if it was my Skill or if I was growing more and more desensitized to my own mortality.

I took a lengthy, meditative breath then continued perusing through the Menu log. My lovers sent me messages during the week, but I was either too focused on the battle or too far gone to muster a response.

“I’m alive.”

I practically felt three sighs of relief against my face. I narrated a summary of what happened and omitted how close I had come to death. There was no point in giving them more to worry about.

“Renala gained the Legacy of Gold Dragonfire. What does that mean?”

“It means Renala is now Goldfire Renala’s true heir,” Lydia chimed in. I sensed the awe through our link. “If there was any doubt before, there should be none now: Renala is a demigod, Levin. She has inherited the strength of one of the most powerful beings in all of Valerian history. There is only one female dragon who surpassed my ancestor: Einphel, the Demon Goddess of Corrupted Dragons.”

I mentally hummed. In my heart, I already knew Renala was extraordinary, so I wasn’t moved by Lydia’s praise. What I wanted to know was how it affected her growth.

“This is treading upon the unknown and forbidden, Levin,” Lydia warned. “Precious few ever attain transcendence and those that do carefully guard such knowledge in order to preserve their power and hide their weaknesses. You journey into the deepest secrets of the world and touch upon the realm of gods.”

I needed more time to process that, so I set aside the min-maxing for a moment and reported on the dwarves’ progress. Balin was already procuring the materials necessary to start on the railroads and prototypes on the steam engine were coming along. I ordered Balin to keep me abreast of the project since I had nothing better to do besides eat, sleep, and heal.

Lydia was ecstatic. The monumental transformation her kingdom was going through would be historic in scope and scale. She and Idyia finally conquered the Altanovan coastline and took control of the ports. The new golden age she promised her people was finally dawning. With a Hero and the vast bounty of the sea, Renalis was now an international superpower.

Now that her conquest was complete, Lydia returned to Veles with Anna so she could prepare for our trip to Avalon. She left General Belmond in charge of Calais and the Altanovan territory. Idyia switched from killing demons and cultists to eliminating slavers and pirates. She led a detachment of Dark Elves and the 100 champions I dubbed to purge the criminality out of the coast. Thaysil was particularly grateful for all the kidnapped Elves Renalis rescued.

Anna actually asked for a vacation so she could inform her family about our engagement before we all left for Avalon. She also wanted time to focus on her tailoring business.

After spending hours catching up, the conversations died down. I told them all good night so I could switch back to my Menu.

«Marksmanship has increased to B-Rank. You may choose one Marksmanship Skill Upgrade, gain a new Skill, or Synthesize a Skill.»

Finally, after all this time, I chose a Skill with more AoE options.

«You gain Grenadier.»

I exhaled in relief at the description.

My inner pyromaniac danced with glee. I couldn’t wait to test this one.