When Lucian and Glacielle broke through the trees, they saw something that looked like a nightmare.
Things were crazy in the village. Buildings were burning, and thick black smoke was rising into the sky.
People were running in all directions, screaming, and trying to grab what they could. A dragon sat atop the old town hall in the center of it all.
It wasn't a cute dragon from a storybook either. This thing was huge, at least as big as a house, and its red scales shone like fresh blood in the firelight.
Its wings, folded against its body, were so large that a single flap could create a windstorm. The yellow eyes looked down at the village with a predatory intelligence, and smoke came out of its nose with every breath.
[Emergency Quest Activated!]
[Quest: Village Under Siege]
[Objective: Defeat the Crimson Drake attacking the village]
[Rewards: Beginner's Longsword (Rare Quality), 500 Gold, 3 Equipment Gacha Tickets, 2 Outfit Gacha Tickets, 1000 EXP]
[Failure Penalty: Village destruction, civilian casualties, reputation loss]
[Accept Quest? Y/N]
"That's not even a question to ask! Of course, I'll fucking take it!" Lucian yelled at the window in the system.
His hands were shaking, but not because he was scared. It was the adrenaline that hasn't been filtered pumping through his veins.
[Quest Accepted! Good luck, Gacha Master!]
The dragon roared at that moment, a sound so loud and primal that Lucian could feel it in his chest. The beast opened its mouth and shot out a stream of fire that burned down three houses in seconds.
The screams of the people who were running away while saving themselves got louder.
"Can you handle that thing, Glacielle?" Lucian asked, even though he knew it was a dumb question, because he needed to hear her answer.
As Glacielle looked at the dragon, her face stayed calm. "It's a mid-level drake, about level 40."
"Its fire breath is dangerous, but it looks like it moves slowly..."
"Victory is possible."
"Go now! I'll do my best to help get people out!"
"Got it, Master."
Glacielle's frost fans appeared in her hands, and she launched forward at an impossible speed. With each step, ice formed under her feet, making a path that let her run straight up the side of a burning building.
The dragon saw her right away. It saw the small figure running toward it and got ready to shoot another blast of fire.
Glacielle leaped.
She flew through the air, spinning gracefully, and threw both fans in a circle. The weapons cut through the air, leaving a trail of frost behind them, and hit the dragon's snout with two cracks that could be heard all over the village.
The dragon roared in pain and anger and shook its head. As she landed on a rooftop, the fans came back to Glacielle's hands like boomerangs.
"Ice Lance Formation!" she called out, her voice cutting through the chaos.
The air around her froze, making dozens of ice spears that hung in the air. She waved her hand, and they all flew at the dragon.
The drake's scales were tough, and most of the lances broke when they hit, but some of them found weak spots between the scales and drew blood.
The dragon roared and flew into the air. Its wings made a wind that was as strong as a hurricane, which knocked Glacielle off the roof.
She turned in the air and landed on the street in a crouch. The dragon flew in circles above, getting ready to dive down and attack.
While trying to help an old man get to safety, Lucian saw all of this. His heart was racing.
Glacielle's strength was impressive, yet he sensed the dragon was not suffering significant damage. It was going to be a long fight.
"Hey, young man!" A woman took hold of his arm. "Please, my daughter is still at the house...!"
"The one that has a blue door!"
"Alright, get to safety. I'll try to get her," Lucian promised as he ran toward the house.
But he couldn't help but notice something strange as he ran. Some people weren't running away.
Some of the villagers, mostly the men, had stopped to look. And they weren't looking at the dragon.
They were looking at Glacielle in her ice bikini armor.
"By the gods, look at that warrior!"
"Is it okay to wear that in battle?!"
"I can see all of her stomach, which is very distracting!"
"I don't care about the dragon, but I want to know where she's from!"
Lucian's eye twitched. The village was on fire, a dragon was trying to kill everyone, and these idiots were staring at his summon like it was a fashion show.
"Will you morons focus on not dying?!" he yelled at them as he ran past.
And then he found the house that had a blue door. The fire had already spread to the first floor, but he could hear crying from the second floor.
Lucian took a deep breath, kicked the door open, and started coughing right away because of the smoke.
"Hello?! Anyone in here?!" Lucian shouted as loud as he could so that the daughter could hear him. "I'm here to save you!"
"H-Help...! I'm upstairs...! Please come fast...!"
Lucian put his sleeve over his mouth and climbed the stairs. He saw a little girl, maybe seven or eight years old, huddled up in the corner of a bedroom.
Her face was streaked with tears and soot. "Don't worry, you're safe now!"
Lucian picked her up and said, "It's okay, I've got you."
She held on to him like a lifeline. "Thank... you..."
"I can't believe my second life could lead to this already... maybe becoming better than your previous self was something I wanted this whole time." Lucian said in his mind.
When he was about to leave, Lucian knew it was harder to get back down than to go up. The fire had spread, and some of the ceiling was beginning to fall down.
Lucian had to avoid falling beams twice, and by the time he got out the front door, his lungs felt like they were full of acid.
He gave the girl to her crying mother and then quickly looked for Glacielle.
The fight had gotten worse. The dragon had landed again and was trying to bite Glacielle with teeth that could eat a horse.
She was frantically dodging, her movements fluid yet unmistakably defensive. Ice crystals formed around her, making walls that the dragon broke through with brute force.
With her fans, Glacielle cut the dragon's face, covering it in layers of frost. The dragon shook its head hard, broke free, and swung its huge tail.
The impact hit Glacielle in the middle and sent her flying. She crashed through the wall of a building and was gone in a cloud of dust and debris.
"Glacielle!" Lucian's blood turned cold.
The dragon roared in victory and started to lumber toward where she had fallen, clearly planning to kill her.
Glacielle came out of the rubble with one hand on her side. There were cracks in the ice on her bikini armor, and she was breathing hard.
Lucian saw pain in her face for the first time since he had called her. "Are you okay?!"
"Master," she said through clenched teeth. "The drake's strength is greater than what I can do right now..."
"I require assistance."
[Alert! Glacielle's HP at 60%]
[Recommendation: Master should engage cooperation mode]
"What the fuck is that...?!" Lucian asked.
[SSS Gacha System Feature: Master-Warrior Synchronization]
[When a Master enters combat alongside their warrior, they can activate synchronization mode. This temporarily grants the Master a copy of the warrior's stats, abilities, and equipment.]
[Duration: Until combat ends or synchronization is manually cancelled.]
[Warning: Master will also share damage with the warrior during synchronization. Use with caution.]
[Additionally, Master requires a weapon to engage in combat effectively. Quest reward can be claimed early as emergency equipment.]
[Claim Beginner's Longsword now? Y/N]
Lucian didn't think twice. "Yes, faster!"
"Give me the sword and turn on synchronization RIGHT NOWWW!" Lucian was panicking seeing Glacielle was injured.
[Claiming reward!]
A weapon materialized in Lucian's hand. The longsword was unadorned.
Its straight blade gleamed silver, and the handle was wrapped in leather. As soon as he grasped the grip, he sensed power coursing through his body.
[Synchronization Activated!]
[Copying stats from Glacielle...]
[STR: 15 → 45]
[AGI: 12 → 52]
[VIT: 14 → 38]
[INT: 16 → 41]
[Abilities Acquired: Ice Manipulation (Basic), Enhanced Agility, Frost Aura]
The world suddenly felt clearer, sharper. Lucian noticed details he had previously overlooked.
He sensed the magical energy flowing through the air around him. And most importantly, he could feel how Glacielle was doing through their connection.
Ice started to form around his body, making a thin layer of frost armor over his clothes. It wasn't as fancy as Glacielle's bikini armor, but it would keep him safe.
The dragon had reached Glacielle and was rearing back for a killing blow.
"Oh no, you fucking don't!"
Lucian moved.