MTLNOVEL Chapter 02: The Green Dragon (2)
At this moment, the atmosphere inside the house froze.
The green dragon blinked its massive eyes, quietly staring at Andrew.
Andrew stood completely still, his eyes wide open. He felt as if his body no longer obeyed him.
Do you know that feeling? Right within arm's reach stands a colossal green dragon. A single claw is bigger than you, and just one swipe of its tail could knock you unconscious for an entire day. And its tail? It's right at your feet, twitching incessantly. You have no idea what might happen in the next second.
This seemed to be the very same green dragon that attacked the slave traders and knocked itself out. Why was it here?
What about that woman? Was she eaten? Did they fight each other? Why hadn't there been any noise? What was it doing breathing Dragon Breath into the furnace? That woman said the Mercenary Group had saved her, but he hadn't seen the Mercenary Group anywhere. Could it be... the answer was all too obvious...
Apologies, but Andrew hadn't thought that far ahead. Right now, his mind was utterly blank. Let me ask you: if you were standing this close to such a monstrous creature, would you have time to think all that?
Silence. A brief silence. Then Andrew, facing the green dragon, managed to force out what he considered his most polite smile: "S-Sorry, wrong room. My mistake, please carry on."
Then, with his hand still on the door, he slowly, carefully, little by little, began to close it.
The next moment, a hysterical roar erupted: "Fiery Flame Spell—!"
With a deafening "boom," the room Andrew had been in exploded. Yes, it was Andrew who made the first move.
Scarlet light, piercing through the white landscape of the snow-covered town, was blindingly vibrant from afar.
Amidst the billowing smoke, a weakened Andrew shielded himself with a magic barrier, screaming as he was flung high into the air, then hurled far into the distance!
A cold wind blew, extinguishing the magically conjured flames. The green dragon stared at the gaping hole in its house, its jaw nearly hitting the floor, utterly dismayed and at a loss for words.
Still screaming, Andrew landed headfirst into a pile of snow on the open ground, embedding himself firmly.
At this moment, his frail body suddenly surged with newfound vitality.
"Fiery Flame Spell—!" he shouted again. Flames roared outward, instantly melting the surrounding snow and, incidentally, setting several nearby houses ablaze.
The entire town's residents were drawn to the commotion. Some peeked through their windows; others were already stepping outside.
What had been an empty street was now suddenly teeming with people.
Barefoot and dressed in nothing but thin clothes, Andrew dashed through the snow, shouting, "Run! Dragon! There's a dragon!"
The townspeople stared at him in bewilderment.
"Run—! There's a dragon! I swear I'm not lying!"
The townspeople continued to stare at him blankly.
Looking back, Andrew could see the green dragon far off into the distance, flapping its wings as it took to the air. Its massive head slowly turned, its gaze locking onto him. No! To be more precise, the green dragon was now flying straight at him!
"I am Andrew, Chief Mage of the Mage Alliance! There's no way I'll die here—!" Clenching his teeth, Andrew turned fully around. His hands quickly formed a series of casting gestures, gathering every ounce of strength he could muster: "Flame Roar—!"
With a shout, flames materialized instantly in his hands, erupting like a volcanic explosion as they shot towards the dragon in an arc across the sky. He missed the dragon but managed to strike a distant stronghold, blasting off a section of the structure and causing an uproar among the townsfolk.
"Missed..." Andrew muttered, dazed. He stumbled backward a step, looking with horror at the approaching green dragon.
His boots crunched against the snow as he breathed heavily.
"Stay calm! Stay calm! I need to wait for it to get closer before I cast again. Yes... closer, and I definitely won't miss this time." Andrew panted heavily, fixing his gaze on the green dragon as he began silently preparing another spell.
Then he quickly noticed something: the green dragon had no intention of getting closer to him.
It was strange. The green dragon hovered in the air, flapping its wings, quietly watching him without showing any signs of advancing.
"What is it planning?" Andrew's nerves stretched taut. Then... he swiftly realized that the townspeople were all approaching him, visibly angry and armed with all kinds of weapons.
"Finally! You've come to your senses! I mean, it's a dragon, but with numbers on our side, maybe we cou—ow!"
A wooden stick smacked Andrew squarely on the forehead.
"What are you doing? Ow!"
"Stop hitting me!"
"The dragon's over there! Over there! Why are you hitting me? Ow!"
After being solidly struck in the face by a Meteor Hammer, losing two teeth in the process, Andrew, recently conscious, began to black out once again.
In his final moments of clarity, he saw the green dragon flying towards him.
"The... dragon... is over there..."
...
When Andrew woke up again, he found himself back inside the same house as before. Only this time, he was in the main hall. The previous room he had been in was completely obliterated, leaving an enormous hole in the house. The cold wind howled through the opening. Andrew himself was tied firmly to a pillar, with a cloth gag stuffed in his mouth.
Not far away, a group of terrifyingly fierce townspeople had gathered. There were dwarves, beastmen, goblins, wildlings with white hair and pupils, and even a squatting One-eyed Giant towering at least eight meters high. The green-clothed girl from before was bowing and scraping before them.