The dragon, which had circled the mine a few tis, finally settled into its nest. Even though its body was curled up in a nest taller than two people, more than half of its body still protruded from the nest.
It's big.
No, it's enormous.
It's the size of a cargo ship loaded with goods, yet it’s alive and moving.
Viretta and Iola crouched silently outside the nest, motionless like corpses. Fortunately, the dragon hadn't noticed them yet.
“......”
“......”
Although they knew the dragon didn't harbor hostility toward humans, they couldn't predict what would happen if they made a sound.
Viretta felt a strong sense of despair at having once been disappointed that the dragon wasn't there.
But unexpectedly, she didn’t feel fear. With the dragon so close, there was no ti for fear or tears.
The most important thing now was survival—first, survival; second, survival.
“......Shh.”
“......”
Viretta nodded silently.
As the two exchanged quiet glances, a horse, having lost its master, struggled to climb the slope with a distressed whinny.
But even though it was a stepped slope, this was a mine. Each step was two to three tis the height of Viretta.
Normally, ladders or other tools would be used to climb.
Going down was easy, but going up was extrely difficult.
The horse, with a sprained ankle, made a pitiful cry and tried to drag itself along the slope.
Then, a gust of warm wind flew toward the horse.
The unfortunate horse, hit by the hot wind, bucked wildly and cried out.
"It looks like the dragon exhaled through its nostrils. It must have reacted to the noise."
"Goodness."
Iola whispered, lowering his voice as much as possible.
The horse's cries were nearly inaudible, but from the shape of his mouth, Viretta could roughly guess what he was saying.
Viretta strained her eyes to catch every detail of his lips.
“Still, it doesn’t seem like it’ll bite or throw us away imdiately. The horse doesn’t seem to bother it that much. But it doesn’t seem generous enough to allow it to keep circling. Or maybe, dragons are even more rciless toward humans. Given the many decaying or burnt bodies near the nest, we shouldn’t feel relieved—”
“Please save the less important details for later. It’s hard to keep up with you.”
Viretta’s eyes, which had been staring hard to follow his lips, now ached from the effort.
Iola smiled softly, realizing sothing, and gave a kind wink.
“I like how you’re so clear in what you say.”
“I’m happy you like it… but, aren’t we in a dangerous situation right now?”
The sound of the dragon's tail swinging could be heard. It sounded ominous, more like a heavily laden ship listing than anything else, and Viretta’s anxiety grew considerably.
Her heart was pounding, its beat now sounding like a heavy thud in her ears. As she tried to hold her racing heart in check, she glanced at Iola, and her face flushed.
The awkward knowledge Viretta had gathered fluttered into her mind with a sharp sound.
It’s the "stepping stone effect." In dangerous situations, one can end up mistakenly thinking they like the other person.
"Maybe it’s fine. While it’s unsettling to move while the dragon’s in its nest, if it flies off again, we’ll escape when the ti’s right."
"Do you think we can climb that high?"
"I can manipulate the ground. I’ll create stairs so we can climb."
"I see. I thought so too. You must have beco a wizard specializing in land manipulation just for today."
Luckily, Iola, who had co down to the bottom of the mine with her, was a wizard who could manipulate the land.
If he used his abilities, he could make stairs or ledges, even on steep walls.
For today, Viretta couldn’t help but feel a flutter in her chest at his competence. This was probably, nine tis out of ten, due to the "stepping stone effect."
Viretta cald her heart and spun her wrist. She needed sothing to lighten her mood.
“When I jumped in earlier, I didn’t think at all, and now I’m glad I’m here. I couldn’t just leisurely request a rescue and wait.”
With Iola, she could escape on her own, albeit with difficulty. If the dragon left its nest or fell asleep at night, she could attempt an escape.
If she didn’t pass out from the dragon’s pressure or scream, there might still be hope.
“Right. Anyway, we’re not dead yet… huh?”
Viretta, nervously scanning the surroundings and looking upward, furrowed her brow.
At the far, high point of the mine, she noticed a small flicker of light.
Even though it was dayti, the light shone brightly.
“What’s that? Sothing’s glinting up there.”
This mine wasn’t large compared to others, but as a mine, it was still deep.
Looking up, the faces of people at the very top appeared as tiny as a fingernail. It was a deep and distant place.
Yet, even from the bottom of the mine, the light was visible and vivid.
“Light? Oh, yes, I see.”
Iola followed Viretta’s finger and squinted his eyes at the light.
He, too, narrowed and widened his eyes repeatedly, staring at the light.
The small, fingernail-sized light flickered and shimred like the sun. It was so bright it could hardly be described as anything less than sun-like.
“It’s lightning.”
“That’s pretty small for lightning.”
“It looks like they’re gearing up to cast lightning magic. Haven’t you seen strong lightning magic before? It starts small like that, but it gets bigger over ti.”
Lightning magic is a type of accumulation spell, where lightning is gathered little by little until it bursts in a single powerful strike.
It’s different from spells that are cast all at once once the chant is complete.
“Can you see it all?”
"That's the effect of it. When soone’s casting a spell, others can see them chanting, even though they can’t fully understand it. Lightning magic just tends to show more of its visible side.”
“It seems dangerous.”
“There are more effective uses for it. Since lightning is bright, everyone knows the caster is preparing. But if you can’t stop it, it’s over. Most lightning mages are highly skilled.”
Essentially, lightning magic is an advanced magic. A mage who can’t even protect themselves won’t be casting such magic carelessly on the battlefield.
“And the act of gathering lightning can also be used as a threat. As the lightning grows, it creates a real sense of danger.”
“Then, that’s your brother’s magic.”
Though she couldn’t confirm his face from her position, below the light, Moslin was likely there.
“I see. He’s probably using magic to save us.”
“Save us?”
With lightning? How?
Viretta’s voice grew louder without her realizing it. Iola pulled her close, pressing his hand gently over her mouth to muffle her voice.
“…We have to be careful. We don’t know how the dragon might react.”
“Ah.”
Just as humans chase away barking dogs, the dragon might try to eliminate the noisy humans.
Even though they were small and hard to see, don’t they kill bugs after observing them?
Viretta, whose mouth had been covered, stomped her feet in frustration, but then she beca calm. When Iola’s hand fell away from her mouth, she muttered quietly.
“Too close…”
“No, it’s not. We’re far enough from the lightning.”
“No, I an, it’s you, Iola.”
“If we fall, we’ll have no way to handle it. Viretta, do you feel uncomfortable with
so close?”
“My ribs and intestines hurt.”
Viretta rubbed her chest and stomach. Every ti Iola ca closer, her bones and insides ached.
“You’re very specific.”
Iola tilted his head slightly, unsure whether it was a good or bad thing, and moved a little farther away. Viretta’s face was filled with a mixture of regret and longing.
“Does it still hurt?”
“…No. Now, I think my cardiovascular system hurts.”
In other words, her chest felt slightly sore.
Iola hesitated for a mont but then closed the distance between them again.
When comparing the pain in her ribs and intestines to the pain in her cardiovascular system, the latter seed more dangerous. With a practical judgnt in mind, Iola pressed his shoulder against hers.
“It’s too close.”
Viretta said that again. Iola turned his head to look at her.
“I understand your feelings, but Viretta, if it’s your cardiovascular system that’s hurting—”
“No. It’s the lightning. It feels closer than I thought.”
Hearing Viretta’s words, Iola quickly looked up.
The tiny light, once as small as a fingernail, had grown to the size of a finger.
Looking up from below, it seed like the sphere’s diater exceeded 2 ters.
Viretta’s face turned pale, like soone who hadn’t left their house for three years. Her hair, damp with cold sweat, clung ssily to her forehead and neck.
“...It’s going to strike, isn’t it?”
“Ah, yes, it seems like it.”
“It’s going to strike the dragon?”
“If they’ve grown it to that size, yes. That’s probably the plan.”
“We’re right under the dragon, aren’t we?”
“Yes.”
There was no ill intent from Moslin.
From a distance, it was hard to tell, but she must have made the decision to save them from above.
The lightning had grown that large because she intended to strike the dragon with it.
The biggest problem with this plan was that Viretta and Iola were hiding directly beneath the dragon’s nest.
At this rate, they could either be burned by the high-powered lightning or crushed by the shattered and scorched fragnts of the nest.
“We’re dood…”
Viretta’s back and shoulders were damp with cold sweat.
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