Living as I please, 67: I want to live

It took

2 weeks to reach the border of the Great Desert. I don't have much ti left. To be honest, I was just riding randomly. I didn't know what I was supposed to look for in the first place. The nights were really harsh. I heard that nights get cold, but I didn't actually wanted to believe it. And sleeping on the ground is… well let's just say my back is killing . I wish I had a tent and a modern sleeping bag. Or at least a futon.

"Why am I going deeper into this place? If everyone that cos here never returns, am I going in to die? Is there any point to going further? If everyone says it's dangerous, wouldn’t I be marching to my death?" I wondered.

I was desperate due to my condition and resorting to whatever ans. I had no basis, but I had to believe in Odin. If she says Milla's father was here and survived, then there might be a way for

to live too.

Days passed one after another. At one point I lost track. I saw lots of interesting creatures. Surprisingly this place is pretty lively. I managed to avoid a pack of weird looking wolves… but at this rate I think I am walking in circles. My provisions are on the lower side and my body starts to feel weaker and weaker with each passing day. I didn’t want to waste a single mont. I didn’t know how much longer I needed. I didn’t want to die on the way. But I couldn't just march endlessly either. And then like out of nowhere, I saw sothing that looked like an oasis. At first I thought it's a mirage, but it was the real deal.

"Let's rest here a bit!"

I often ended up talking to my horse. It's better than talking to myself I guess. I let my horse drink it's fill and I also ate my share but… at this rate I won't have any food left. As I was getting so rest the earth started to shake. It wasn't a huge shake, but it could ss up your balance.

"Are there earthquakes around here?"

As I said those words, my horse who was just drinking a mont ago… got swallowed by a huge worm. The so called oasis was it's mouth. It was a trap. A bait to lure prey closer for it to feed. I couldn't believe it. It was as big as Fenrir, just that it was longer. Wait… was that actual water in there or was it just it's saliva. Eww… I don't even want to think about it. Anyway I got bigger problems now. The worm was aiming for .

There was no way I could defeat this thing. I don't even think my body can last if I tried to run for it. But I gave my word so I can't give up this easy. I reached for my pouch and grabbed a magic gem. I trew it at the worm.

"[Fla Javelin]!"

The gem turned into a flaming spear and hit the sand worm straight in its mouth. This wasn't my magic. These jewels were sealing gems. They could seal low level spells and just by calling the na, they could release them. I prepared them with Grace to have so sort of protection with . But I doubt that this will stop the worm, I turned around and ran as fast as I could.

The worm got rid of the flas in it's mouth pretty fast, by shoving it's head in the sand and started to chase . Dang. That didn't buy

much ti. Maybe if I can get to that boulder over there and get away from the sand it will leave

alone. In the anti…

"[Freezing Ground]!"

Another small gem that I used to freeze a big chunk of ice behind . It worked as the worm didn't go through it. It circled around. But it was still too fast. By the ti I reached the boulder, the worm raised itself again and was aiming for . I didn't have ti to climb it. And it was too huge to dodge. Think Milla. Is there anything I can use to distract it? I can't die! This isn't how it's supposed to end…

But as the worm was lunging at , just a few inches before it was about to eat … it stopped. It quickly turned around, buried itself in sand and vanished. What the hell? What was that all about!? That's not a normal reaction. Why would you chase

if you didn't eat ? Why did it run away? But soon I understood why. A huge shadow covered

and the ground. When I turned around, I saw it, sitting on the boulder. Dragon.

I thought I was a goner for sure now. Anybody would consider themselves done for if they saw the huge creature before them. The ancient and majestic creature should only exist on worn out leather parchnts and in exaggerated stories of poets… yet one stood before

now. The worm fled for it's life. As for … I was petrified. Even if I can't see it's stats, I knew this was sothing I couldn't manage. If it wants

dead, I'm dead. Escaping isn't an option. I am at it's rcy.

The dragon raised its long neck and roared as if it was venting the fact that the sand was blowing in the air. It stared at the

below with her erald green eyes. It leapt off the boulder with its ivory claws. The sand on the ground reacted as if it was fleeing for dear life. The ground quaked and strong gales blew toward , sending

rolling across the ground a few feet.

I quickly got on my feet again, but I didn't try to run. Honestly, even if I had my powers… even for … defeating this monster is impossible. How did these creatures go extinct in the first place? How could anyone kill them? Still it’s gaze took my breath right out of . Looking at the pair of eyes felt the sa as having a gun pointed at the back of my head.

It lowered its long neck and leaned in toward

in a similar fashion to a snake. Its huge wings on its back shined through the dust as if it was tal. Its ginormous body was akin to an aircraft carrier on the ground. I’d only ever seen such a ginormous beast in movies. I had a mixture of feelings running through my

mind. But, there was only one fact true. I was a dead; dying from lack of mana and dying to a dragon… I wonder which one hurts less.

The dragon hung its neck down and slowly approached . I stood in place without moving. I could feel the moist hot air it breathed out of its nose. If you ask , I’d say the force of its breath wasn’t much gentler than the wild winds around. It opened its mouth, allowing

to see its saliva dripping down from its sharp row of teeth that also carried the scent of blood. So this was the end, huh? It's gonna eat . I really thought… I could make. But… it did sothing unexpected.

The dragon licked my face. Its weight almost brought

to my knees. It licked

from head to toe with its sticky tongue and drooled all over . What the… !? Why is it acting like Fenrir? A drool bath is the last thing I need. I thought I was gonna puke, but surprisingly it's saliva didn't sll at all. The dragon then spoke. Its tone ca from a dignified, archaic style. Honestly it feels like dieval tis speech. Its voice contained an imposing aura that wasn’t to be questioned as well as pride.

"Thou are the first mortal to not flee in fear in hundreds of years."

"That's because I've been through many frightening experiences in the past. Fleeing would be pointless."

The dragon didn’t seem to have any interest in my past; it was more interested in . She scanned

with her snake-like eyes.

I felt as though she wanted to play with

as a puppet for a while. Hey, I might look as cute as a doll, but I'm not gonna beco a toy for you.

"Such a strange creature. Thou doesn't have mana circuits. What are thou here to seek?"

I took in a deep breath and gave a honest answer: "I want to live."

Its eyes hinted at bafflent. A mont later, it continued:

"If thou wish to live, why co here? There are only the dead here. There is nothing living here."

"Aren’t you alive, though? A long ti ago my father ca to this desert and managed to escape it. He might have left sothing behind for . I want to live, and I also want to find what my father did here."

It froze up when it heard my response. It curled its body up as if it was in pain. It didn’t speak for a long ti, and neither did I.

"Thou are… The scent thou carry… Co with ."

It grabbed

with it's mouth and placed

gently on its back.

"I can grant thy request."