Eni continued on her way, feeling a new, not-yet-fully-tamed power pulsing inside her. The air in this part of the foothills grew heavy and smelled of sulfur. She felt him before she saw him: heat so intense it made the horizon tremble. A Red Dragon. A massive beast whose wingspan could cover a small village, landed three hundred meters from her. Without wasting time on a warning roar, the monster spewed a torrent of raging flame.

  Eni barely managed to dive into the narrow opening of a nearby cave. The fire licked the rocks at the entrance, turning them into glowing rubble. In her head, the Voice's insidious whisper immediately sounded.

  "Eni, you're strong enough to fight him. Why not give it a try?" The Voice sounded surprisingly calm, almost encouraging. "And knowing you... I'll stay silent while you fight. I don't want to be the thing that distracts you at the crucial moment."

  Eni just nodded briefly, not taking her eyes off the exit. She waited. When the roar of the flames died down and she heard the beat of wings, she cautiously peeked out. The dragon hadn't flown far—he had risen to the top of a flat mountain towering over the valley, as if inviting her onto his territory.

  "Finally..." Eni whispered, feeling excitement push out fear. "Now I'm strong enough to fight you, damn lizards."

  She lunged forward. Using double jumps, Eni literally flew up the steep slope, ignoring the laws of gravity. Every movement was sharp and precise. When she reached the summit, the dragon was already waiting for her, jaws wide in anticipation of another dose of fire for Eni.

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  The bloody dance began. The dragon continuously spat flames, trying to turn the peak into a branch of hell, but Eni, performing a series of double jumps, dodged the deadly streams in midair. The fire still reached her: the heat burned her face, leaving burns on her delicate skin, and the fabric of her uniform charred and tore away in places, exposing her body.

  Catching the moment when the dragon paused for a second to inhale, Eni jumped as high as she could and threw her whole weight onto the enemy, driving the blade into the flesh between the scales with a crunch. The dragon howled so loudly the mountain shook. He sharply soared into the sky, trying to throw her off. They circled over the abyss: the dragon writhed and spat fire, while Eni, using double jumps right in the air, attacked him again and again, inflicting quick, jagged wounds.

  Realizing he was losing the advantage in the air, the lizard dove toward the cliff and switched to a physical attack. He tried to crush her with his powerful wing-arms, but Eni was faster. She jumped over his head and again plunged her sword into his scaly back. The dragon threw her off with a powerful tail strike, and Eni flew toward the abyss. The huge beast was already celebrating victory, but he didn't know that her stockings completely absorbed damage from any fall. Eni landed on a ledge and instantly returned to battle with another high jump.

  The dragon's despair reached its limit. He rushed at her, trying to bite her in half, but Eni, performing her signature double jump, ended up right above his wide-open maw. Throwing her whole body into it, she drove the sword up to the hilt into the monster's throat. The last scream choked on blood. The huge carcass heavily crashed onto the rocks and lay still.

  Eni fell to one knee beside the defeated enemy. She was completely black with soot and ash, her skin covered with burns, bones visible in places, but thanks to regeneration and life energy, the wounds closed before her eyes. A few minutes later, when her body had returned to its former, sexy beauty and her clothes had mended, Eni rose.

  She walked up to the dragon's head and with a precise strike cut it off, taking it as a trophy and hiding it under her uniform.

  "Victory, Eni!" The Voice burst with joyful delight. "You defeated an adult dragon! Congratulations! And without using scrolls like with Quivertertar!"

  Eni said nothing. Her gaze was cold and determined. She continued on her way, and along the road, as if in passing, stopped by a bandit camp where, leaving no witnesses, she took a valuable Life Artifact.