They ran toward it and saw a four-story building with flames on the ground floor. People were screaming for help, and faces were showing up in windows above. The stairs were completely on fire, so it was impossible to get people out from the inside.
"I can make an ice ramp," Natasha said, out of breath. "But I'll need time."
"I'll buy you time," Carmilla said with a stern look on her face as she stood at the door of the building.
"Rick, please help her."
"Got it."
Rick stood next to Natasha as she started to do the complicated spell work. Ice formed in the air, making a sparkling path from the ground to the windows on the second floor. It was hard work that needed careful control, and Rick could see the stress on Natasha's face.
The dragon roared overhead, swooping back in their direction. Rick's heart raced as he watched the massive creature pivot toward them. It was preparing to attack once more.
"Faster, please," Rick said quietly.
"Shut up... I'm working on it," Natasha said through gritted teeth.
The ice ramp went all the way to the third floor. People began to climb down, being careful on the slippery ground. Rick grabbed hold of an older woman who was teetering on the edge of losing her balance, stabilizing her until she could regain her footing.
[GRACE SILVERWOOD, 56, RESCUED]
[+15 EXP]
More people came down, including a woman who looked to be in her early forties and was carrying a baby. As she went down, she cried and thanked them over and over.
[ANNA BRIGHTWATER AND HER CHILD, 41, RESCUED]
[+30 EXP]
The dragon was getting closer. Rick could feel the pressure in the air change as the huge wings beat above him. The thing opened its mouth, and a deadly light shone in its throat.
"Get everyone out!" Rick yelled. "NOW...!"
The last person, an old shopkeeper, was only halfway down when the dragon let loose its fire. Rick's choice seemed to take a long time.
He ran up the ice ramp toward her, feeling the heat from the sun start to melt it. He grabbed her by the waist and jumped, using his speed to get them both out of the blast.
They fell to the ground hard, and Rick's shoulder hurt, but he had gotten them out of the way. The dragon's flames burned the ice ramp and the top floors of the building, sending superheated steam into the air.
[HELEN COPPERFIELD, 67, RESCUED]
[+35 EXP]
[WARNING: HP AT 145/220]
Carmilla's strong hand on Rick's arm helped him get up. He felt her worry and his own tiredness through the Spirit Bond. They couldn't do the task forever.
"The Academy mages are fighting the dragon," Natasha said as she pointed to the sky.
Rick could see people in robes on buildings casting spells at the beast that was flying around. Fire, ice, and lightning spells hit the dragon's scales, but they didn't seem to do much more than annoy it.
Grand Magister Fredrich appeared on a nearby rooftop, his hands moving in complicated ways as he cast a compelling spell. A giant bolt of pure magical energy shot toward the dragon and hit it right in the chest.
The creature roared in pain, which was the first time it really showed that the attacks were working. But the dragon's answer was quick and scary.
It focused on Fredrich's position and shot a steady stream of dragonfire at him. If the Grand Magister hadn't teleported away at the last second, he would have been burned to death.
"We have to keep moving forward," Carmilla said. "The mages will take care of the dragon. Our job is to take care of the people."
They kept working hard, going from one crisis to the next. Rick lost track of time because each rescue was so similar to the last.
As he helped woman after woman to safety, his experience grew. Each woman was grateful, and each one added to the long list of people who owed him their lives.
A woman in her early fifties who was a baker was pulled out of a shop that had fallen down.
[MARTHA BREADWORTH, 53, +20 EXP]
A merchant's widow in her sixties, led through streets full of smoke.
[ELIZABETH GOLDLEAF, 62 YEARS OLD, +25 EXP]
Rick helped rescue trapped soldiers from a collapsed watchtower, and she was in charge of organizing evacuations.
[CAPTAIN DIANA IRONSHIELD, 44, +40 EXP]
The numbers went up. Fifty from here, thirty from there, and twenty-five from a different rescue. Rick's level bar filled and emptied and filled again while he worked, but he didn't care. The only thing that mattered was the next person and the next life that was saved.
[LEVEL UP! LEVEL 7 TO LEVEL 8]
[LEVEL UP! LEVEL 8 TO LEVEL 9]
The notifications came and went, lost in the chaos. Rick's body moved on its own, using up reserves of strength he didn't know he had.
The Spirit Bonds with Carmilla and Natasha kept him going. Their shared willpower flowed through the connection and kept him moving even when he was too worn out to do so.
They got to the central plaza, which was where the city guard had set up the main place for people to leave. There were hundreds of people in the space, some hurt and all scared. Healers walked through the crowd, and guards tried to keep things in order.
Dressed like a healer, a woman in her late thirties approached them. Upon noticing Rick's burnt hands and tired appearance, she swiftly initiated her healing magic.
As golden light flowed over Rick's wounds, she said, "You're that adventurer everyone is talking about."
"The one who's been saving people from burning buildings all night."
"All night?" Rick blinked in confusion.
"What the fuck...?! Was it really that long?!" Rick himself was shocked hearing it.
"Three hours," Carmilla said, her voice rough from breathing in smoke. "Seems like longer."
The healer was done with Rick and went to see Carmilla and Natasha. "Three hours of nonstop rescues."
The guard says, "You've saved more than forty people. That's more than whole companies of knights could do."
[HEALER SOPHIE LIGHTBRINGER, 36]
[+2 for healing aid]
[+10 EXP]
"I got EXP just because I got healed...?"
"Now... that can be abused."
Rick looked at the people who had to leave. Forty lives that would have ended if they hadn't been there. He felt the weight of it all at once and had to sit on a piece of rubble to think about it.
He could feel Carmilla's pride and Natasha's respect through the Spirit Bond. They had done a fantastic job today. It felt like the work of a real hero.
The fight went on above them. The Ancient Black Dragon was hurt now because several magical attacks had ripped through its wing membranes and broken some of its scales. But it was still fighting, still dangerous, and still able to destroy the whole city if it got the chance.
This time, Grand Magister Fredrich came back with a group of other strong mages. They worked together to cast a spell that turned into a giant cage made of pure magical energy. The dragon saw it coming and tried to fly away, but the cage closed around it, trapping it in midair.
Natasha said, "They've got it under control."
"Now they just need to kill it or get it to leave."