Under the pitch-black, star-dotted night sky, a massive shadow flashed past.
"Waaah!!! Amazing! So fast!!!"
High in the sky, Raize and Kobayashi sat on Tohru's back, looking down at the tiny city below as Kobayashi shouted excitedly.
"Don't talk so much at this speed! You'll bite your tongue!" Raize warned her.
Crack…
Misfortune never comes alone. Kobayashi's face instantly stiffened and turned pale. She stopped shouting—her back really couldn't handle it.
At this speed, Raize was fine, but Kobayashi definitely wasn't.
Thankfully, Tohru flew fast and soon arrived at Kobayashi's home.
With helpless Raize and an apologetic, worried Tohru supporting her, they escorted Kobayashi home. Along the way, Tohru kept apologizing, thinking she'd hurt Kobayashi by flying too fast.
After carrying Kobayashi inside, they opened her bedroom door and gently placed her on the bed. Having drunk a lot, Kobayashi fell asleep instantly.
"Hmm…"
Watching Kobayashi frown in her sleep from lingering back pain, Raize placed a hand on her waist and channeled healing energy into her. Her tense brow slowly relaxed.
Seeing this scene, Tohru wasn't surprised at all. When Kobayashi and Raize first appeared before her together, she had already sensed the energy inside Raize's body.
Tohru and Raize, one dragon and one human, quietly walked out of Kobayashi's room. Tohru gently closed the door behind them.
Seeing how concerned Tohru was about Kobayashi despite having only met her not long ago, Raize felt quite satisfied with her. He took two green mushrooms with white spots out of his storage space and handed them to Tohru.
"Tohru, this is for you."
"Eh? What is this, a mushroom?"
Tohru took the green, white-spotted mushroom with a puzzled expression and looked at Raize in confusion.
"This mushroom can heal injuries. I'm giving it to you so you can recover," Raize explained, pointing at the mushroom in her hand.
In the Super Mario world, this green mushroom with white spots gave an extra life. But once manifested in reality, eating it didn't give you an extra life.
Instead, it was more like a senzu bean from the Dragon Ball world, restoring the body to peak condition. Calling it a life-saving mushroom wasn't an exaggeration.
"Is it really that amazing…?"
Trusting Raize, Tohru looked skeptically at the two mushrooms in her hand, then casually tossed one into her mouth and swallowed it without even chewing.
The next second, the doubt on Tohru's face vanished as her beautiful dragon eyes widened in shock. The severe injuries she could still feel inside her body began healing at an unbelievable speed the moment she swallowed the mushroom.
A gentle yet massive surge of energy rapidly repaired her wounds, restoring her directly to her peak condition from before she was injured.
"Th-this…"
Tohru found it unbelievable. She reached out and touched her lower back, her emerald-green tail swaying happily behind her.
After carefully confirming that all her internal injuries were completely healed, she stared at the small mushroom in her hand in amazement.
She never imagined that such a tiny mushroom could so quickly heal injuries inflicted by a god, and even restore her to her prime.
Feeling as lively and energetic as ever, if not for her memory, she would have thought she had never been injured at all.
"Thank you so much, Raize. This mushroom must be extremely precious, right?"
Tohru looked at Raize with deep gratitude. She hadn't expected him to give her something so miraculous. A mushroom capable of healing a dragon's wounds could already be considered a priceless treasure.
And Raize had given her one to heal herself, while leaving another for backup. How could she not be grateful?
Today was truly the happiest day she'd had in a long time. She had met two people who cared about her, and she now had a place to go.
Kobayashi pulling out the divine sword had saved her life. Raize giving her such a precious mushroom healed her injuries. To Tohru, both of them were her benefactors.
"It really is precious. You could say this mushroom is a life. Even if you're on the brink of death, eating it will restore you immediately," Raize said honestly, not hiding its value. He didn't have many of these senzu-bean-like lifesaving items in his storage space either.
He gave it to Tohru partly to befriend her, and partly because he wanted to make something clear.
"I gave you this mushroom for two reasons. First, in case enemies from your side come after you while you're staying at Kobayashi's place, so you'll still have the ability to fight back."
"Second, you said you would repay me. I hope you'll use your power to protect Kobayashi. Our world isn't exactly safe either."
Raize spoke softly, his expression serious. Hearing this, Tohru looked at him in disbelief.
"That's all? No other conditions?"
To Tohru, Raize's actions felt foolish and unfair to himself. Every condition benefited her.
He gave her a lifesaving mushroom capable of healing fatal injuries, and in return only asked her to protect Kobayashi and ensure her own safety so Kobayashi wouldn't be dragged into danger.
Raize didn't ask anything for himself. He even used her promised repayment on Kobayashi instead.
In Tohru's experience, most humans were no better than pests—greedy and disgusting.
That was the impression a fellow dragon had once told her about humans. During her travels, she had seen countless reckless humans try to slay dragons for glory, only to be reduced to ashes before her.
She had met a few friendly, communicative humans before, but they were extremely rare.
Yet today, she encountered two humans who treated her so kindly. Tohru felt she was incredibly lucky—today had to be her lucky day.
Seeing Tohru staring at him with teary, moved eyes, Raize felt a little uncomfortable. He lightly patted her shoulder.
"From the moment we first met, I could tell you were somewhat hostile toward humans. But I want you to know that among humans, there are good and bad ones. Kobayashi is a soft-hearted person who worries people."
"Our world has ghouls hiding among humans, creatures that eat people. She often comes home late because of drinking. You saw her condition earlier—it's really hard to feel at ease."
Tohru's expression turned serious. Raize wasn't wrong—Kobayashi's earlier state really was worrying.
"Rest assured. On my life and my true name as a dragon, I swear I will never let Kobayashi come to harm!"
Tohru made a solemn, oath-like declaration, staking her life and true name on protecting Kobayashi.
In her heart, Raize was included as well. Both of them were her lifesavers. Without meeting Kobayashi and Raize, she might have died alone long ago.
She certainly wouldn't be standing here now, full of life.
"Then I'll leave Kobayashi in your care from now on. Oh, and she drank quite a lot. When she wakes up tomorrow, she might think our encounter was just a dream. Please explain it to her properly."
"I'll be heading out."
Raize was satisfied with Tohru's response and bid her farewell with a smile. It was time for him to go home.
"Eh! Then let me fly you back! I'm really fast!"
Though reluctant, Tohru offered to escort him. Raize politely declined, reminding her that taking care of Kobayashi was more important.
If she wanted to see him again, Kobayashi could contact him.
In the end, Tohru stood downstairs at Kobayashi's place, watching Raize leave. With her magic senses extended, she kept her attention on him the whole way to ensure he got home safely.
Raize, reminded by Sei inside him, knew Tohru was still watching over him. He smiled faintly at the thought of the warm, attentive dragon girl.
After Raize arrived home, Tohru confirmed his residence and safety from afar. Once she could no longer sense inside his home, she withdrew her awareness and returned to carefully look after Kobayashi.
As soon as Raize got home, particles of light suddenly appeared around his body, gathering into the beautiful figure of Sei before him.
"Aize, dinner!!!"
Sei pointed at the kitchen with shining eyes.
Despite being just a soul, Raize couldn't understand why this Biblical loli God even needed to eat.
When he asked her, her answer was simple—she just wanted to eat. After all, she'd never tasted Raize's cooking or fantasy ingredients before.
[ Ding. New game "Dig Dug" loaded. Please clear the game. ]
At that moment, the system's familiar prompt sounded. Raize glanced at the newly appeared game and calmly nodded.
This newly loaded game was just a small one, with low combat power and a mining theme.
Clearing it would grant plenty of materials and items, but likely wouldn't boost his personal strength much.
Raize had played this game in his childhood. It was a classic, with simple controls.
You just kept digging, collecting minerals, upgrading equipment, and defeating the boss monster king.
However, to achieve a perfect clear, you had to collect three special ores.
Only then could you reach the perfect ending.
After making dinner and eating with Sei, Raize locked himself in his room and quickly cleared the game.
It took him several hours. Just past midnight, he finally achieved a perfect clear.
The rewards filled his storage space with minerals: black ore, copper ore, silver ore, gold ore, triangular silver crystal, purple round stone, orange round stone, green octagonal stone, diamonds.
Every mineral available in the game piled up in his inventory.
Originally, he played the game just for nostalgia and to clear it quickly, but this childhood game gave him a pleasant surprise.
Along with the minerals, the Book of Revival from the in-game shop also appeared in his hands.
"So lucky. Even small games shouldn't be underestimated…"
Raize looked down excitedly at the thin piece of paper in his hand, which bore a chibi miner illustration.
Despite its unassuming appearance, it could revive a recently deceased being as long as the body remained intact.
Before learning its limitations, his first thought was his family. But after seeing those limits, his excitement cooled immediately.
"One day, we will meet again."
Raize tightened his grip on the Book of Revival.
He believed that as long as he kept growing stronger, that day would come.