Wynne stood before the cave entrance as he was mentally preparing himself to enter and meet with the wind dragon.
'Is she injured? But she wasn't that injured at this point in the story. Such a strong smell of blood… She must be on the brink of death. Is that why I got this mission? Then it does make sense… Without her, many catastrophes wouldn't be avoided. Many events and disasters were taken care of only because she was there to help Kyros. If she does die… Yes. It would be extremely troublesome.'
He took a small breath in before stepping inside the cave. Using Alvis' night vision feature, he slowly made his way further into the cave. He could hear heavy and loud breathing. The smell of blood was getting stronger with each step the white haired youth took.
The cave was wide and tall, big enough for a full grown dragon to fit inside.
Neoma's heart was pounding in his chest. He raised his left hand up and placed it on top of his chest, right where his heart was. He could even hear it beating.
The wind dragon, Anemone, wasn't a dragon known for particularly hating humans. However, she was a dragon nonetheless, and dragons were known for being arrogant. They were full of themselves and they had all of the rights for that. They were more powerful than anyone else. The only beings who were more powerful than them were gods.
Thus, Neoma was quite nervous and scared to meet the wind dragon. He was worried that she'll see him as an annoying little bug and just squash him.
Neoma soon turned a corner and his eyes landed on the majestic creature laying on cold hard ground. The dragon's body had many burns. In some areas, her scales were missing and her flesh was showing. A few spears and arrows had pierced into her body where there were no more scales. She wasn't able to reach them to take them out unless she were to change into her human-like form; however, she had used up too much energy to escape and didn't have any to spare to shapeshift.
Anemone's emerald coloured eyes landed on the human. She was an incredibly beautiful dragon. Her scales were white with a lime green undertone. Her wings were long and her tail was spiked with a few scars covering her entire body.
Neoma slowly approached the dragon.
"I'm not going to hurt you… Let me just help you, okay? See? I don't even have any magic in me. What harm can I do?"
The human laughed nervously as he spoke to the dragon.
Anemone didn't say anything and just closed her eyes. She didn't have the energy to even give a response to the human who suddenly appeared in front of her. She was too exhausted and in too much pain to even care.
Neoma glanced over at the spears and arrows stuck in her wounds. He stepped closer to the majestic dragon and grabbed onto one of the weapon's, quickly pulling it out. Seeing that there was no response from the dragon, he continued to pull them out. They looked like twigs compared to the dragon's size.
Once Neoma had to pull out the spears, he had to use a bit more strength compared to the arrows.
'Jeez… This is quite the workout… I wonder how long it'll take for me to take out all of them.'
A small sigh escaped past his lips. Without waiting for anything, he proceeded with pulling out the rest of the spears out of Anemone's wounds.
After a good half an hour, all of the spears were out of the dragon's body and were tossed to the side by Neoma. The human was breathing heavily once again. He could feel that most of his energy was gone now.
He knew that just by pulling the spears and arrows out of Anemone, she wouldn't be able to heal and survive. Many of her wounds were still bleeding and she had numerous burns over her entire body.
"Alvis, is there anything I could do to help her survive?"
╭────── • ◆ • ──────╮
Of course!
Alvis has many goodies in his "Antique and Boutique" Shop!
However, everything costs points, which you have none of!
╰────── • ◆ • ──────╯
Neoma read the text on the blue screen and glanced over at the wind dragon. Her eyes were still closed and her breathing had steadied; however, it was very shallow. It was evident that she was dying and won't last much longer without any help.
"Okay… Can I just get something and then pay it back later? I found the dragon anyways, so shouldn't I already receive the rewards?"
╭────── • ◆ • ──────╮
You must help her first!
And of course!
Alvis will let you pay the points back once you'll receive them!
╰────── • ◆ • ──────╯
'I'm pretty sure that the mission only required me to find her… That sly bastard.'
Neoma grumbled inwardly as he began to explore the shopping window for the first time. He hummed softly as he set the filter to only show him healing items.
'Ah! Found it! A healing potion. Let's see… How much does it cost… 75 points!? Well… At least I will have some points left over…'
He sighed once again as he was about to press a button which had the word 'purchase' written on it. However, the familiar blue screen with white text appeared right before his eyes once again.
╭────── • ◆ • ──────╮
This healing potion is awesome!
It can bring anyone from the brink of death back to state when they were in their best condition!
However, dragons are mighty creatures!
The wind dragon will need two of these to fully recover!
╰────── • ◆ • ──────╯
'What a total douche…'
Neoma's eyelid twitched after he finished reading the text and just purchased the two bottles of the healing potion without any further questions. He held both of his hands out and watched as his newly purchased goodies materialised in his palms. A small sigh escaped past his lips as he glanced over at Anemone.
'Damnit. I could've used those 150 points to level up my stats… 15 levels wasted on saving a dragon. Wait a second… Was the difficulty higher than the last mission because I have to deal with a dying dragon or because I'm broke and now in debt?'
He grumbled inwardly as he walked closer to Anemone. He bit onto the corks, which were used to close the bottles of the healing potions, and pulled them out. He froze as he had realised something he completely forgot to do.
'Wait, do I have to pour them on the wounds and make her drink them? Aagghhh!!! Why didn't I read the description!!!'
Alvis, as if he knew what the human was exactly thinking of, sent him a message.
╭────── • ◆ • ──────╮
These potions must be ingested!
╰────── • ◆ • ──────╯
Neoma glanced over at the mouth of the dragon. He gulped before approaching her closer.
'Don't eat me, don't eat me… I swear I'm not that tasty… I do eat a lot of sweets, though. Would that make me tasty to a dragon?'
He wondered as he got down on his knees before the dragon's mouth. He let out a shaky breath to ease his nervousness before beginning to slowly pour the healing potion onto her tongue.
After Neoma had used up both of the bottles of the potion, he stood up and quickly backed away from the wind dragon. He saw the wounds closing up and the burns healing right before his eyes. Even her scales had regenerated. However, her old scars were unaffected.
╭────── • ◆ • ──────╮
150 points received!
What are you planning on doing with them?
Investing or paying off your debt?
╰────── • ◆ • ──────╯
Neoma read the white text on the blue screen and immediately answered. He didn't have to think too long about it.
"I'll invest them to level up my stats, but not right now. First, I need to get back to the palace."
Neoma's thought process was very simple. Alvis didn't specify when he should pay back the points and currently he was prioritising his own growth. Of course, he wasn't planning on being indebted to his system buddy for too long. Who knows, maybe after a few months of waiting he will get mad at him. The human didn't wish to test Alvis' strength and how much he can interfere into the physical world.
Anemone was still asleep. Her breathing had become stable and she looked like a very healthy dragon who was peacefully sleeping in her lair.
Neoma didn't stay in the cave any longer. He turned around and quickly walked out of it, making sure not to cause any loud noises on his way out.
'It's for the best if she doesn't remember me. She still has a chance to meet Kyros. All I needed to do was save her life. That's it. Hmm… But how will she meet him? Will she get attacked again? Agh, whatever. As long as she's alive and will help Kyros, there's nothing else I care about.'
With those thoughts, Neoma walked back down the same little pathway with Alvis' help and headed back towards the palace. It was around 3 in the morning and all he wished to do at that moment was sleep.