The dragon moved to attack the team, grossly outnumbered but also grossly more powerful than each of them. Combined, though, their strength was impressive. Wyn knew they had the capability to beat this monster and progress.

  But what would be their cost at victory?

  Wyn was prepared to risk his life to make sure Lucy stayed alive. She was crucial to ensuring Arabelle’s safety after her insanely stupid move of killing her handler Mathias. Wyn couldn’t stomach the thought of the Assembly taking further action against him and his sister. Not when they were so close to ridding themselves of their father’s debt. If Lucy wanted to atone for her actions, then it would have to be outside the tower. Getting her out was going to require some finesse, especially if she wasn’t going to be careful against the dragon.

  The others obviously supported Wyn, but he still didn’t want them to be so brazen with their lives. Their actions weren’t his responsibility, though. If they wanted to push themselves to help defeat the dragon and prove their own strengths, then that was their choice. Daniel had helped Wyn come to the realization that he wasn’t in control of how others acted, which brought him peace. If the roles were reversed he would try his absolute hardest to make sure any of his four friends were successful and push past his own limits if needed. That’s what made the five of them have a special bond. That’s what made them friends.

  Knowing that dynamic didn’t make it any easier watching them fall.

  John moved to defend against the dragon, and he put up a mighty defense. The dragon immediately swiped with a front claw that was the size of a man’s torso, with claws the size of daggers. John raised his shield in front of him, and his multiple layers of magical auras under his Arcane Aura shone like a bright rainbow. He was majestic, powerful, and radiated authority.

  But the dragon was still a dragon.

  As the claw came down in a mighty rush, Wyn put a Shield directly in front of John to help mitigate damage. Though he might as well have put a piece of paper in front of him, because the barrier shattered as the claw pushed through it without so much as slowing down or flinching. The attacked slammed into John’s shield with a boom, and he was knocked back off of his feet, landing on the ground on his back in a heap.

  Fear gripped Wyn, paralysis taking over as though he was magically stunned. All the monster did was swipe at John, and it hit him with enough force to completely knock him off his feet. Anyone else in the group could be killed instantly from an attack like that.

  To his credit, John was on his feet in seconds, yelling a warrior’s cry in retaliation. He met the dragon again, who moved to swipe with its other claw. This time, John ducked the attack, moving his shield over his head in a surprisingly graceful move, allowing the claws to glance off the shield and harmlessly pass over him.

  Wyn willed his body to move. John was prepared to meet an enemy this powerful. His entire climbing style was suited to being a defender, and Wyn needed to trust him to perform. He wouldn’t be able to completely support him as much as he wanted, but once Tasha brought her Calling forth, she could provide the support needed.

  Wyn raced forward to position himself at the dragon’s back left side. Lucy was already on the other side along with the deathhawk, both of them hacking away at the dragon’s haunch. The large black bird both pecked and clawed with its own talons, though the scrapes weren’t nearly as effective against the monster’s scales that were magically harder than stone. Lucy was screaming in rage beside the summoned ally, hacking away at the dragon with her axe while being slightly more successful at hurting it. Each hit caused a shallow cut, but further slashes on the same mark carved chunks of icy scales away. It would be an endurance battle as she continued to chop away at the monster.

  Arrows also plinked off the magical hide with Marcy flying just above the creature. Each one carried a fiery explosive effect, though, as she cast her attacking spells with each projectile. She was able to score hits on the dragon’s head and neck with relative ease as its size made it an easy target, and she tried to time each attack to distract it enough to miss or lose focus by possibly hitting John. She was successful several times, and each hit caused burn marks to score the dragon’s scales.

  On the other side of the dragon, Wyn was repeatedly hitting the same spot on the back leg with a large hammer. He figured the scales would be more resistant to bladed weapons and that the scales could be damaged more from blunt force. The information provided from the guild wasn’t that specific, but Wyn hoped the theory panned out. With his improved speed, he could land three or four tough hits on the dragon before needing to hop back from the monster repositioning itself or swatting at him with its tail. Even minor movements could knock him down, while the tail could easily break bones if it connected. Each time he moved away from his spot, a bolt of lighting crashed into the monster’s side as Cedric attacked it as well. Similar to Marcy’s arrows, each hit blackened a spot of scales but didn’t penetrate much further. Wyn started using the spots as targets, and felt less resistance with each hit but knew it would take some time before he found any soft flesh. If he did at all.

  The one factor that was yet to be displayed was the dragon’s wings that nestled tucked just above its body. They seemed as resilient as its scales, and Wyn knew that a single flap could easily swat him away.

  Baratheon soon lumbered into the fight and helped John take some of the brunt force of the dragon. Its own gigantic body was a good matchup, and a single punch from the Calling knocked the dragon to the side while cracking and even breaking some of its scales. It was resilient, though, and not easily taken down. After the second punch it suffered, the dragon turned and swiped all around it with its tail, trying to clear the Climbers away. Baratheon guarded itself against the monstrous strength, though no one else was that resilient. Wyn jumped back out of the way and both Lucy and John dove backwards to avoid the hit. The deathhawk tried to fly above it though its legs were caught in a grazing hit. It spun head over feet and tumbled away, crashing to the ground away from the melee. The summoned bird rolled around on the ground and fluttered its wings to stand up but was having trouble as one seemed broken.

  Wyn knew it was basically done. Even if it did come back it would likely be taken out. But he never got the chance to find out.

  The dragon immediately unfurled and flapped its wings, causing a small wind gust to kick up around it. Everyone stepped further back to avoid being caught, though took only a few steps before the dragon lifted into the air. Marcy flew back towards Tasha, both staring in amazement at the monster. The Ranger tried to fire an arrow but the projectile was shifted off course by the gust stirred up from the heavily beating wings.

  The dragon craned its neck back as though it was preparing to snap out with a bite, but instead it opened its maw as a runic circle appeared in front of its face. Wyn immediately erected a Shield as the circle was the most complicated formation he had ever seen, and he couldn’t count the number of circles the glyph held in the brief moment he looked. Tasha cast a Shell in front of Wyn’s own barrier, though most of the Climbers were scattered and seemingly out of harm’s way. Wyn was already backpedaling to avoid the breath attack if at all possible.

  Then the monster unleashed its attack in a furious storm of ice and wind that was as deafening as it was fear inducing. The wide attack completely obscured the beast as it focused on John and Baratheon first, then began to turn to try and hit everyone around it. Large crystalline shards of blue ice mixed with foggy grey wind flew in all directions, spewing like a cloud of ice blades that shot with enough speed and force to pierce the stone floor. The magically wide beam didn’t just hit the surrounding area where the melee combatants were, but ran far enough to completely envelope Cedric’s position as well as high enough to possibly hit Marcy and Tasha.

  Wyn could likely avoid the attack if he ran directly away from the dragon far enough. It wouldn’t take much with his improved speed, but what about the others? Were they able to avoid it? Marcy and Tasha had means to avoid being hit, but the others didn’t. They’d have to either try and escape or possibly bear the attack and hope for the best.

  That wasn’t a great option, but Wyn saw no other choice. It would be foolish to stay in the attack’s area and getting out was the obvious move. If the others didn’t escape, he’d do his absolute hardest to make sure he could help as able.

  Both his and Tasha’s spells were broken right away, and cries of fear and pain were drowned out in the room by the spell’s overwhelming and lasting gales. Wyn could still hear them initially, though, and he cursed their luck. He was able to run past the beam’s reach but turned and watched the storm helplessly.

  Wyn’s mind raced faster than his body. He saw firsthand the destructive power of the dragon, and that was before the magical attack. Now, he desperately hoped no one was caught directly in the magical beam and at least mostly escaped. If ot, they might already be dead before he or Tasha could possibly help them. What could he do, then? He could cast Regen after the fact, or quickly give a healing potion if it was worse. Dragging them away from the fight was viable as well, though only John or Lucy possibly had the vitality and defense to survive an attack as powerful as what he just witnessed.

  The lingering storm continued to obfuscate the battlefield as the wing beats began to overtake the storm’s echoes. Wyn saw Tasha and Marcy flying overhead. Marcy had likely used her boot’s ability to teleport away, while Tasha had a circular magical barrier completely enveloping her. It was far denser than her Shell and seemed to work to hold off the storm. Baratheon’s head was poking through the middle of the winds, and Wyn wondered how damaged the angelic Calling was. Hopefully it was healthy enough to continue to hold the dragon’s attention while he checked on the others.

  Cedric stumbled from the storm with chunks of ice coating his body, and he promptly fell to the ground in a heap. Tasha and Marcy flew down, Tasha immediately healing Cedric while Marcy talked to Wyn.

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  “John and Lucy are down,” Marcy said, her voice nearly a yell over the storm. “I can barely see through the storm but they’re both not moving!”

  Wyn cursed. He really wished he had a teleport ability, now.

  “Check on Lucy!” Wyn yelled. “Pull her out while Tasha heals you both! I’ll get John!”

  “He’s close to the edge but still inside! Hurry!”

  Both women flew around the storm, Marcy leading. Cedric was starting to get to his feet, and he pulled out a red vial to drink. Either Tasha’s healing wasn’t enough, or she saved her mana for the others. At least he was out of the storm and alive.

  Moving forward, Wyn had a vague idea of where John was standing before the blast but didn’t know his exact location. Wading into the storm seemed trivial to make sure his friend stayed alive. It would hurt, but he’d experienced pain before. Physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional pain of loss.

  He ran around the storm towards where he assumed John was lying while activating two effects. One was his shield’s Empower ability, which gave it a major resistance to all damage types. He planned to expand the size to completely cover his frame to hide from as much of the icy storm as possible. It would be unwieldy and difficult to maneuver, but he only needed it to both minimize being distracted and hit from the storm and to reduce the healing from Regen, which was his second effect on himself. He was going to be hurt but at least he’d be healed at the same time.

  The dragon roared into the ceiling, beating its wings as it hovered just above the ground. Baratheon was still being pelted by the windstorm but seemed to have some fight left, and punched the dragon hard enough to cause it to twist sideways in the air.

  Holding his large shield in front of him, Wyn focused on his own objective. Once the glow of his healing spell covered his body he pushed into the slowly disappearing storm. Shards of ice pelted the bottom of his boots, but it didn’t stop his advance. The storm seemed to be swirling and only coming from one direction, and his shield blocked nearly all of the ice and wind against him. The gale was strong, though, and he sheathed his weapon to help hold the shield as he leaned into the storm to walk forward.

  Walking was a strong term as Wyn mostly stumbled his way around. The one thing he failed to account for was just how dense the magical attack was, and he found it hard to see further than a few feet around him. He tried to circle around the area to see if he could spot John, all while listening to Baratheon continue to berate the dragon.

  Suddenly he spotted John crawling on the ground only a few feet from the edge of the storm. His auras were completely gone and a small blood trail followed his left leg that was bent awkwardly to the side. Shards of ice protruded from his body, sticking out of his legs, torso, and arms.

  That could be healed. At least he was still alive.

  Wyn ran to him and cast Regen while he knelt down to grab him. He tried to expand his shield wider but found that even the shape changing properties had limits, and instead focused on getting John out of the constant barrage. Lowering his shield, he ignored the stings of piercing ice as he hauled John the final few feet out of the storm.

  Wyn began grabbing and pulling the largest ice chunks that remained as John coughed up more blood. He only paused to give John a healing potion, helping him drink it as his hands and head shook. Instantly his pale face began to regain some color, and some of the smaller ice shards clanged to the ground from being pushed out of his healing body. His left leg was still bent awkwardly.

  John pointed to his leg and nodded in silent agreement. Wyn gritted his teeth, knowing what had to be done. He then straightened his leg as John yelled in pain. The amount of healing coursing through his body would make sure whatever left over damage was improved, though a visit to the infirmary after might be prudent. If they made it out, at least.

  “Thanks,” John said, his voice coarse. “I’ll manage, now. How are the others?”

  Wyn pulled another healing potion and put it in John’s hands. “Just have to check on Lucy. Stay down until you’re healed more.” Wyn gave John one last check, then left once he saw he was at least stable.

  His right leg gave out on a hard step, and he realized a chunk of ice was completely through it. A quick yank and a pained groan later, he continued on around the storm. Regen continued healing him, though he couldn’t tell if anything was majorly injured. The storm was over halfway gone now, and he saw the women on the other side of the dragon.

  Running to them, he saw Lucy on the ground in a pool of blood with Tasha knelt beside her and Marcy standing firing arrow after arrow at the dragon. Lucy wasn’t moving and Tasha looked frightened while frantically adjusting something on or with Lucy.

  Wyn suddenly remembered Daniel’s story about the last time he climbed. How his entire group was killed and he barely made it out. Was this the end? Did his own haste and desire to save his sister cost the rest of his group their lives?

  He saw the fierce determination in Marcy’s eyes with each arrow that she shot. A blast pulled his attention to the dragon and he looked over to see it staggered back as lightning coursed over its body. Cedric was standing near them, funneling lightning into the dragon with a spell Wyn never saw before. Taking a closer look at Tasha, it wasn’t fear in her eyes or on her face. It was resolve. Confidence.

  Wyn swallowed his own self doubt. Daniel had helped him push past his own reservations and grow. He was a better person. He was a better Climber.

  Checking his mark, his mana was low. He pulled a mana potion from his belt and uncorked it, drinking its pungent contents. The dragon was weaker now as Baratheon beat it down, though the Calling looked as though it was ready to disappear any moment with patches of wounds on its body and lethargy settling in. If Cedric and Marcy were slowly whittling away its life, then he could join them.

  Wyn ran over beside Lucy and knelt down beside her and Tasha. Lucy was covered in blood and her stomach had large gashes that seemed to be slowly regrowing as Tasha's healing aura washed over her. It did nothing for her left arm or leg, though, both of which were just... empty. “Fuck,” was all Wyn could muster.

  “She's still breathing,” Tasha said, holding a healing potion. She then uncorked it and poured it over Lucy’s stomach and left side of her body. “This isn’t efficient but I can’t get her to drink anything right now. The potion should help reform her stomach but I can't do anything about her arm or leg.”

  “Good enough. You need to bring another Calling in while I rush the dragon.”

  “I can’t summon Baratheon again so soon after he’s defeated. It’ll have to be Infernadin to try and counter the dragon’s ice element.”

  “No,” Wyn said. “Focus on support and bring out Mongano. If John is able to fight, we’ll both need the help. Marcy and Cedric can keep attacking it while we distract it.”

  Wyn didn’t wait for a confirmation. He changed his weapon to a mace and slowly moved towards the dragon. Baratheon was on one knee and ragged, nearly spent. The dragon whipped its head around and bit on the giant Calling’s torso as it cried and started to vanish.

  Looking over at John, Wyn saw that he was sitting up and was holding another healing potion. He wasn’t quite in the shape to fight just yet. Which meant it was only him to face the massive monster.

  A suit of magical armor formed around him as the dragon changed its focus. Large cat like eyes stared at him, and a fierce growl rumbled through the room. The dragon itself was covered in black spots all over its body, some of which had cracked and splintered scales underneath them. It looked more beastly and spotted rather than magical and radiant. At least its durability was finally weakening.

  This was Wyn’s final test. How long could he hold off a dragon?

  Mentally activating Speed Up, he sprinted to the dragon’s front left side and hit it in a blackened spot that cracked under the hit. It wasn’t as strong as when he was empowered by John’s Squire Aura, but with his enhanced speed there was still an impressive amount of force behind the hit. The dragon moved to try and swipe at Wyn, but he hopped and ran further towards its tail. If he could stay towards its back, maybe he could avoid its front claws and bite. He preferred to try and avoid its tail rather than piercing teeth and sharp claws.

  Another blast echoed through the room as a fiery arrow hit the dragon on the top of the head. Marcy was flying overhead, hitting the dragon with mostly normal arrows but occasionally firing spells with Inferno. Wyn kept his own assault up, hitting the side of the dragon in one particular spot with his mace. After the third hit, scales busted and fell from the hide, revealing a pinkish white bit of flesh underneath. Striking again, the mace hit with much more effectiveness, and the dragon flinched from the hit.

  Unfortunately it also whipped its tail in response, and was far faster than Wyn anticipated. He tried to duck and roll but the tail was huge and still smacked him across the back. Rolling along the floor, he bounced several times before righting himself.

  Silently thanking the gods, Wyn realized nothing was injured as his jacket and armor absorbed the hit.

  Mongano floated beside Lucy who was still on the ground while Tasha was nowhere to be seen. Cedric was near them, now, and aimed his scepter at the dragon. Another large arc of lightning erupted from his scepter and hit the dragon’s front leg where Wyn damaged it, crumpling it further.

  Wyn acted quickly knowing this was their shot. He activated Decay to sap as much life as possible, then imbued his weapon with Silence Attack before hitting it again. The skill worked, knocking off far more scales than a regular attack did as the aura developed the dragon. It was a weak and dull aura, but the monster was huge. It would take more to have a better effect.

  Thankfully, Wyn had plenty more to use.

  He added the skill to his weapon as often as possible, which to his relief was much faster than spells. Every swing was coated in the magically nullifying aura, and the dragon was being weakened considerably. Seeing Wyn’s effectiveness, it again tried to swipe at him, though Wyn lunged under the dragon to avoid the hit and ran across to the other side. The dragon might not have been as fast as he was, but it was still quick, whipping its head around to bite at him. He narrowly hopped out of the way but was a hair too slow as the dragon’s mighty jaw enclosed around his left leg.

  Teeth never made contact as instead of meeting flesh it met two magical barriers. Mongano placed one of the defensive structures while Tasha, flying overhead, placed the other, completely blocking the dragon’s attack.

  That was the turn of the battle as a warrior’s cry nearly as fierce as the dragon’s caught everyone’s attention. Wyn looked over to see John running towards the boss, coated in a similar amount of auras as when he started the fight. He lunged and stabbed at the dragon’s chest, making contact and actually sinking past the scales several inches.

  Seeing his friend gave Wyn the fuel he needed to relentlessly assault the dragon, hitting as fast as possible. Each strike not only chipped away scales but completely cracked and dislodged them, and soon entire patches were gone from the monster.

  The beast furiously whipped around, not taking the damage lightly. John was hit by the tail and flew backwards, landing on the ground with a loud thud. The magical protection around him vanished as white healing light covered him. Wyn learned that the dragon whipped its tail at around his torso’s height, and he simply ducked and put his body on the ground. The move allowed him to completely avoid the hit, but it didn’t allow him to avoid the stomp that came next.

  Trying to roll out of the way, Wyn was still caught by a massive leg though most of the damage was mitigated by his own protections from his gear and support from Tasha and Mongano. He screamed as his left arm was still crushed, feeling like a boulder was dropped onto him.

  When the dragon staggered to the side from a hit, Wyn looked over to see his arm was a bloodied mess. Strangely, he was relieved seeing it. It was still intact, after all, and the healing aura that surrounded him was already healing the injury.

  The dragon bellowed a pained cry and Wyn knew it was nearly dead. Mustering up as much grit as he could, he pushed himself to his feet and changed his weapon to a short sword. His left arm hung at his side, still healing but not fully useful, so he wanted something easily manageable one handed.

  Wyn gave a war cry and stabbed into the dragon’s neck as it toppled fully onto its side. The boss thrashed and kicked on the ground, but he continued stabbing it in places that were devoid of scales.

  After the fifth stab, the dragon tried to stand up, but Wyn stood over it, screaming as he brought down his weapon morphed into an axe. The weapon completely tore through the dragon’s neck, decapitating it in one fell swoop.

  Breathing heavily, Wyn felt the axe clang onto the stone floor and then dropped to a knee. He tried to stabilize himself with his left arm but it was still mostly useless at his side. Flexing his wrist, he smiled before fully falling to the ground. At least he could feel it and move his fingers.

  Looking over to Lucy, he saw her cough as Tasha comforted her.

  They were alive. And that meant he and his sister were free.

  Wyn smiled at their victory, then passed out.

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