"We're cooked!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Oh, c'mon," Nathan replied, far too relaxed for someone who had just been informed of their imminent demise. "This valley is massive. I doubt any dragon would notice a couple of missing trees."
"That's the problem!" Natsu shot back, clearly exasperated. "It's not just the trees — you're clearing the entire area like some kind of mad lumberjack! You're making it obvious! The Supreme Dragon could find us in seconds at this rate!"
Nathan waved a hand dismissively. "Nah. The dragon's probably asleep anyway."
From Nathan's extensive experience with fantasy tropes — also known as watching too many shows and reading too many novels — dragons had a very predictable behavior pattern: sleep, hoard gold, occasionally wake up for plot relevance, then go back to sleep.
Honestly, if it's not a boss fight, they're usually AFK.
And considering he had already been blasting gunshots all night long — loud enough to wake the dead, literally — if the dragon hadn't shown up then, it probably wasn't that sensitive.
Right?
…Right?
"You don't understand," Natsu said, pressing her fingers to her forehead like she was physically holding back a headache. "Ironwood trees takes centuries to mature before they start enriching the mana around them. You didn't just cut down trees — you disrupted something incredibly valuable."
She looked down, thinking fast.
"…We should leave. Immediately."
Nathan sighed. "You're clearly overthinkin—"
He stopped mid-sentence, because suddenly—
He felt it.
A presence — heavy and oppressive.
Like the air itself had gained weight.
And then—
A low, distant growl rolled across the valley.
It wasn't loud.
Because it didn't need to be.
Even from afar, every instinct inside Nathan told him exactly one thing: Run.
Natsu's face went pale instantly.
"…She's here," she whispered.
Nathan stared blankly for half a second.
Then—
"You've got to be kidding me!" he snapped. "What kind of story development is this?! I just recently unlocked crafting!"
"I know I said I'd be forever indebted to you," Natsu said grimly, "but if I die… I'm haunting you for the rest of your life."
Nathan let out a dry, humorless laugh, sweat already forming at his temples. "Hahaha… wow, that's hilarious. Because if you die, I'm definitely dying alongside you."
He glanced around quickly. "Can we just run, though?"
Natsu gave him a look.
"…Can you outrun a flying dragon?"
Nathan didn't even hesitate. "Hell no. I'm not even confident I can outrun a Runner. That dragon thing is basically a living fighter jet."
He paused.
"…Wait," he added, blinking. "You called the dragon 'she.' So she's sentient, right? Can we just… talk it out? Apologize maybe? Bow respectfully? Maybe throw in a heartfelt speech about personal growth?"
Natsu stared at him like he had just volunteered them both for execution.
"You want to reason with a dragon that destroyed an entire kingdom that worshipped her… over a few trees?"
"…The same trees you just cut down?" she added helpfully.
Nathan opened his mouth — then closed it again.
Then nodded slowly.
"…Yeah. We're cooked."
"From the very beginning," Natsu agreed.
Nathan looked up at the sky.
"O mighty Lunarinas," he muttered dramatically under his breath, "please help us."
I really should've prayed before getting into life-threatening situations. I'm such a leecher of an apostle…
And then — a voice answered.
"Use my blessing…"
Nathan's thought process stopped.
"…Wait."
The voice was calm. Gentle.
And gone as quickly as it came.
"…Blessing?" he muttered.
Oh, right…
He had one of those.
Nathan immediately opened his status window, scanning through it rapidly.
Come on… come on…
There.
"…This could work," he whispered. "Probably…"
At that exact moment — he saw it.
A massive figure slicing through the sky.
Way too fast.
Without thinking, Nathan grabbed Natsu's wrist.
"Come with me!"
"H-hey—!"
He dragged her toward a nearby cluster of dense bushes and low-hanging branches, practically throwing both of them into cover.
Then, barely above a whisper—
"Divine Blessing of Lunarinas — Lunar Veil Protocol."
Holy Cow! this skill name is way too long… and very cringy.
The skill activated instantly.
The world didn't change visually — but something shifted. Like they had been… erased from existence itself.
—————————————
Divine Blessing of Lunarinas — Lunar Veil Protocol
Enters an undetectable state.
• Erases mana signature, smell, heat, and sound produced by the host and those of who in contact with him.
• Movement reduces the effectiveness of the aforementioned effects.
• Mana Cost: 1/sec
—————————————
Annoyingly, each one of his skills required a verbal trigger. So no cool, silent activation.
Great. Someday I'm going to die because this skill needs a voice command that's also a full paragraph long.
Nathan clicked his tongue in mild irritation — but didn't hesitate.
He immediately dumped hiw two remaining SP into his Magic stat.
A faint surge pulsed through him as his mana pool expanded.
[Mana: 13/14 → 31/34]
Not a lot… but it'll buy me more time. Glad I didn't immediately spend them.
Without wasting another second, he pulled Natsu down with him into a dense patch of foliage nearby, dropping his body against the base of a tree. Leaves and branches concealed them just enough — barely.
Nathan exhaled slowly, then tightened his grip around Natsu's body, pulling her closer to minimize any unnecessary movement.
Unfortunately—
That positioning led to a very specific problem.
Namely — Natsu was now seated between his legs, her back pressed against his chest, his arms wrapped around her stomach to keep her still.
"Na-Nathan!" she whispered sharply, her entire body tensing. "W-What are you doing?!"
"I-I'm sorry," he whispered back urgently, keeping his voice low. "Please just — stay still for a second."
Her ears twitched violently.
Her face burned.
But she didn't resist.
Because right behind them—
*Thoom… Thoom… Thoom…*
The heavy, rhythmic beating of wings filled the air.
Each impact pressed against Nathan's chest like a physical force.
Slow.
Massive.
Unmistakable.
Nathan carefully leaned his head slightly to the side, peeking through a narrow gap in the foliage.
And then—
He saw it.
…Holy shit!
His heart spiked from pure horror — but also something else…
Excitement.
Because there it was.
A dragon.
A real, living, breathing dragon.
Not from a movie, game, or some CGI nonsense.
A genuine, massive creature flying through the sky like it owned the world — because it probably did.
Its body was enormous — easily over ten meters (33 ft) long from head to tail. Its wings stretched wide, each beat displacing air with terrifying force. Obsidian-black scales covered its entire body, reflecting faint light like polished armor.
It hovered in the air.
Right above his improvised base.
That is… so unbelievably cool…
…and also the reason I'm about to die.
Nathan barely resisted the urge to grin like an idiot.
Priorities. Focus.
The dragon angled its body slightly, its back turned toward them, its gaze locked onto Nathan's wooden structure.
Then it pulled its head back.
Oh no…
A low, rumbling growl vibrated through the air—
Before long — a torrent of blazing destruction erupted from its mouth, crashing down onto Nathan's carefully built defenses.
The heat hit instantly.
Even from that distance, Nathan could feel it licking against his skin — suffocating and dry, like standing inside a furnace.
"…That's illegal," he muttered under his breath.
The flames lasted less than two seconds. That was all it needed.
When the fire vanished—
So did everything else.
Nathan's base… was gone.
Completely.
No burning wreckage.
Not even half-charred wood remained.
Just a massive crater — like a meteorite had punched the earth itself.
…My hard work…
Nathan stared, deeply offended on a spiritual level.
I spent hours on that.
The dragon hovered silently for a moment, then began scanning the surrounding area slowly.
Nathan immediately pulled his head back, pressing himself against the tree as he held his breath.
Please don't look here.
His eyes flicked to the System.
[Mana: 11… 10… 9…]
Each second ticked down like a countdown to death.
The dragon shifted slightly.
For a brief moment, Nathan caught a glimpse of its face. Black horns curved backward from its head — sharp, elegant, terrifying.
Its nostrils released faint streams of smoke with each breath, as if even its idle state was dangerous.
Nathan froze completely.
Even his thoughts felt like they might make noise.
Don't move. Don't breathe.
…Don't exist.
Seconds stretched as his mana continued to drop.
[Mana: 7… 6… 5…]
Then the dragon paused.
Its head tilted slightly, as if listening.
Nathan's heartbeat slammed against his ribs.
It knows.
It definitely knows.
A tense silence followed.
But then, with a powerful beat of its wings — the dragon shot into the sky.
Gone.
Just like that.
Nathan didn't move immediately.
Didn't speak.
Didn't even breathe properly… he just waited.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then—
[Mana: 2… 1… 0]
The skill canceled itself.
The sensation vanished instantly, like reality snapping back into place.
Nathan sagged against the tree, finally exhaling.
"…Finally," he muttered weakly. "It's gone… and we're alive. We're actually alive."
That was… way too close.
He let his head fall back slightly, staring up through the leaves.
Then he noticed something—
Natsu was… very quiet.
"…Um," Nathan said slowly. "Natsu?"
She didn't respond immediately, which was a little concerning.
He glanced down.
Her ears—
Bright red.
Her neck—
Also red.
Her cheeks—
Definitely red.
"…Natsu?" he repeated.
Slowly — very slowly — she turned her head to look at him.
Her expression was a mix of embarrassment, irritation, and something dangerously close to violence.
"…Can you," she said, voice tight, "move your hand. Please."
Nathan blinked.
"…My hand?"
He looked down—
His soul left his body.
His left hand was—
Firmly—
Placed on her moderately sized chest.
…Ah.
There was a brief moment of silence.
A fragile, delicate moment—
Where Nathan's brain had the opportunity to handle this situation correctly.
But it did not.
Because instead of immediately pulling away—
He instinctively squeezed. Just a little.
As if confirming.
Yes. That is indeed what I think it is.
"—Hya?!"
Natsu let out a sharp, unmistakably feminine shriek, her entire body jolting in shock.
Nathan snapped back to reality instantly.
"I-I'M SORRY—!"
He recoiled so fast he nearly headbutted the tree behind him, yanking his hand away like it had just committed a crime — because it had.
"I didn't mean to—! I swear that was—! I wasn't—!"
Words failed him spectacularly.
Natsu turned fully toward him, eyes narrowed, face still burning red.
She didn't say anything — which somehow made it worse.
So much worse.
Because that look—
Oh… that look—
Was a direct threat to his continued survival.
I survived the dragon…
…just to die like this?
Nathan swallowed hard.
…What kind of ecchi anime scenario am I currently in?