Neither of them knew how long the battle had lasted. Only when the entire Bone Burial Snow Mountain region had been pounded into a massive crater did the girl and the dragon finally stop. Not because either had won, of course. They’d both simply run out of steam.
“I have to say, you can really take a beating.”
Alina lay on the ground, looking a little worse for wear. Her sleek silver hair, usually tied in a ponytail, was strewn messily across the ground. Her pure-white light armor and thigh-high socks were in tatters, and somehow, all the damage only served to show off her lovely figure even more, making her look especially alluring.
During their fight, Alina had used all sorts of things, including—but not limited to—various high-tier skills and spells. None of them had done much to the enemy in front of her, while she’d taken plenty of hits herself.
Lamia wasn’t doing any better. She was already trapped inside a sealing barrier, which limited her strength, and then she’d suddenly run into an opponent like this. She lay sprawled nearby, breathing heavily. Her brilliant golden hair spilled down her back without a hint of grace, while her well-endowed chest rose and fell dramatically.
If you asked her, the girl in front of her barely seemed human. Her swordsmanship, magic, and even hand-to-hand combat were all top-notch—and mastering just one of those abilities would take an ordinary person a lifetime.
“Lamia, give it to me straight. Are you surrendering or not?”
Alina pushed herself upright and tried her best to look ferocious. In truth, her magic was spent, and she was exhausted.
“You’re only a human, and yet you managed to fight me this far.”
Seeing Alina struggle to her feet, Lamia got up too. As a proud Doragon, she couldn’t let herself lie there looking so pathetic in front of her enemy.
“So that means we keep fighting, then.”
Alina raised an eyebrow and reached out with one hand. Her one-handed sword, which had flown away earlier, shot back into her grasp. The cracks in it vanished in an instant, though the hand gripping its hilt was unmistakably trembling.
“Sure, let’s keep going. We don’t stop until one of us wins.”
Lamia chuckled, though her legs were unsteady beneath her.
“Then let’s go!”
“Come on! Make a move already!”
“You make a move first!”
“Heh, I’m not falling for that. The one who strikes first always gets the short end of the stick! If you’ve got the guts, you go first!”
“If you’ve got the guts, come over here!”
“If you’ve got the guts, come over here!”
They kept arguing, each daring the other to come closer, but neither budged from their safe distance. Not one of them made a move.
They both knew they were completely out of stamina.
“Grrrrooowl.”
What finally broke that ridiculous stalemate was the sound of Alina’s stomach growling. No matter how strong she was, she was still human—and humans had to eat.
“Uh…”
Hearing her own stomach growl, Alina was left awkwardly sporting a dark, comic-style stress mark. Lamia, meanwhile, rolled around laughing.
“Hahahaha! So you’re just a human after all! You’re hungry, huh? Your mom’s calling you home for dinner!”
“Aaaah! You jerk!”
Alina gripped her sword hilt tightly, wishing she could take a swing at Lamia. She knew it wouldn’t do much, but Lamia was having so much fun that it was infuriating.
“Hmph! I’ll let you off for today. I’ll come settle the score after I get back and eat!”
Alina put away her one-handed sword and turned around, fuming as she prepared to leave.
“Good luck! I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow. Remember to bring something to eat next time!”
Lamia’s taunting voice came from behind her. Keeping the peace for a moment only made Alina angrier the longer she thought about it, so she picked up a rock and threw it at Lamia.
Lamia dodged the rock as it came flying toward her with a sonic boom, making an exaggerated show of it. Then she chirped, “Hehe! You missed me!”
“Hmph!”
When she saw that she’d missed, Alina snorted and turned to leave. If she stayed much longer, she was afraid this girl would drive her to an early grave.
“Tch. You can’t beat me.”
Only after Alina’s silhouette had disappeared completely into the blizzard did Lamia sit cross-legged, relieved, and begin restoring her magic and stamina.
Alina was just too strong. Lamia couldn’t quite relax until she was completely out of sight.
Meanwhile, Alina was having a serious headache as she made her way back. The village chief’s test was to defeat a Doragon, but judging by how their fight had gone, beating Lamia would be incredibly difficult.
She could keep getting stronger, but Lamia’s strength was recovering all the time too.
Doragons were basically a walking collection of bugs. If this world had been written by a programmer, that programmer had to be a total idiot.
“If I can’t find her weakness, beating her is basically a pipe dream.”
Alina walked along, thinking about how to deal with the Doragon. Before she knew it, she’d been walking for a long time.
“Come to think of it, isn’t the Bone Burial Snow Mountain region way too big?”
Alina rubbed her stomach and complained. She’d been walking for ages, but the scenery around her hadn’t changed at all. It was still the same endless white, unique to Bone Burial Snow Mountain.
“Wait. At a normal pace, I should’ve been out of here ages ago. And with all that racket we made, there’s no way the people in the village wouldn’t have noticed. Something’s definitely wrong!”
The more Alina thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. She’d been so caught up in trading blows with Lamia that she’d completely forgotten about it. Now that she thought about it, something was definitely off.
“Oh no!”
Alina cursed under her breath and picked up her pace, but no matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t get out of the Bone Burial Snow Mountain region.
“Does this creepy place have some kind of special barrier?”
The longer it went on, the more anxious Alina became. She didn’t want to be trapped in this awful place.
After who knew how long, a small flame finally appeared before Alina. She raced toward it as if she’d found hope. But when she reached the fire, her face darkened. The person sitting beneath it was none other than Lamia, the opponent she’d just fought.
And Lamia was squatting there, happily roasting meat.
Alina had no idea where the meat had come from, but the moment she saw it, she charged straight over.
“Hehe, it’s ready! Time to dig in!”
Lamia lifted the roasted meat with a happy smile and opened her “huge maw.” She took a bite—and got nothing but air. When she looked again, she realized Alina, who’d left earlier, had snatched it away.
Most people stole food from right under someone’s nose. Alina had stolen it right out of a dragon’s mouth.
Lamia stared blankly at Alina, who had suddenly appeared right in front of her. Then came a heart-wrenching scream.
“Aaaah! I took such good care of that for so long!”
“Tell me! Is this some kind of trap?!”
Alina ignored Lamia’s wailing. She chewed on the meat, cheeks puffed out, glaring at Lamia. She looked furious.
Yes, she was getting angry. This Doragon was actually trying to play dirty with her?
Unfortunately, Alina’s angry expression only made her look cuter. It had absolutely no intimidating effect.
“You didn’t leave through the [Gate]?” Lamia asked, confused by Alina’s words.
“What [Gate]?”
Alina asked with her cheeks still puffed out.
“Then how did you get in?” Lamia asked.
“I just walked in.”
“Huh?” Lamia was dumbfounded.
“Huh?” Alina was dumbfounded too.
