Whatever left the imprint had four digits, each ending in a sharp claw that had gouged the soil. Logan couldn't help but picture a dinosaur.

His thoughts drifted to a trip to the Smithsonian with his father. He remembered a particular scene where his father had said, "If our entire family, even your two-year-old nephew, got thrown back into the prehistoric times, you'd probably be the first to die, wouldn't you?"

His dad hadn't relented until Logan agreed, at which point he laughed and shook his head, paused to make a T-rex hand and lunge at him, then laughed again.

Well, you know what? I didn't die against the Devouring Coil.

Yeah, screw him.

Something roared in the distance, further solidifying the mental image of a dinosaur.

"Shall we?" Logan said.

During their run, they encountered another combat wombat wandering solo, and then a group of three. They took them down easily, bringing their total collected cores to 9 and netting Nugget another level, now at level 4. The big tracks were more numerous here, too.

Unrelenting hunt.

The angle of the left print's claw marks in the soil suggested to Logan that a single animal, not a group, was responsible for all the tracks. Assuming the thing roaring was the same thing that left these prints, it had ventured further out. The tracks led closer to the edges of Kalashi Citadel, which they were headed toward anyway.

They led to a crude nest pressed against one of the castle's ramparts. Bones and scraps of fur littered the ground, along with a mostly-eaten carcass. Judging by the scattered remains, whatever made its home here hunted regularly and dragged its kills back to feed in private. Given the absence of any fresh kill, it was probably out hunting now.

The roar came again, this time closer. Whatever it was, it was covering ground fast.

"All right, time to go."

Together, they followed the castle's perimeter until Gnashridge Heights came into view through a gap between cliff walls. The glimpse was fleeting, like catching sight of something at the far end of a grocery aisle, but it was still reassuring to see something familiar. Finally, they reached the Boundary.

Logan let Alden and Cassandra pass through first so he could make sure nothing snagged them while they moved through it in slow motion. Then he jogged ahead to the break in the bluffs, and finally Gnashridge Heights came into his full, unobstructed view.

Two things struck Logan, neither of them good.

First off, clouds of billowing black smoke rose from the town as a massive fire spread unchecked.

Second, and somehow even more concerting, the sun was back to its peak in the sky. He checked the desserts in his inventory, having thought they might come in handy. Not a single one still had a timer. It was just unenchanted food now. How long had they spent in there? It had felt like minutes, not hours.

Logan shared his observations with Alden and Cassandra, who were already staring at the sky in confusion.

"I don't know how that's possible to have lost an entire day," said Cassandra. Then she looked at the town. "I guess it's too late to save the inn."

The roof of the inn had caved in, and even the visible portion of the upper floor showed glowing embers around the edges, like a giant had smashed a cigarette butt into the building as an ashtray.

Nugget nudged Logan and chuffed, shaking his head.

"Actually, not yet," Logan said as he pulled up his quest board. It labeled the building in critical condition with the quest on the cusp of failure, but it was still available.

"I don't think we can make it in time. The entrance gate is blocked with burning debris."

Logan saw that Cassandra was right, but he tapped his chin. "Maybe… Think you can do me a favor?"

After a quick explanation, Alden nodded and jogged over to a nearby boulder, his hands beginning to glow with the haze of brown earth mana. Cassandra looked worried, but Logan grabbed her wrist and squeezed it with reassurance. Then he dropped one knee and a palm to the ground and angled himself atop the slope toward the town.

Null Pulse!

The mana roiled as it gathered at his feet, but he didn't release it. Instead, the tension built for a solid five seconds. This was by far his most mana-intensive skill, and it drained a quarter of his total reserves before he finally released.

He shot Cassandra a thumbs up even while midair when he heard her small, worried squeak. Wind whipped his hair in his face, and for a moment it was as if he was flying.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Back home on earth, whenever anyone asked what superpower he would choose if he had his pick, he never understood why so many people chose flying. From his perspective, humanity already had that with airplanes and skydiving. And whenever anyone countered with but think how easy it would be to travel, he would just ask why they wouldn't choose teleportation instead.

That was a life before he actually could earn superpowers. And even though flying wasn't really one of them, he certainly understood the appeal now.

As gravity took over and pulled him downward, Logan tucked his arms in to reduce drag and keep his trajectory steady.

Aetherlens!

Despite Cassandra's worries that she couldn't do this from such a distance, Logan had seen her do some pretty powerful things. Plus, she had an attunement charm that amplified her radiant casting. Logan suspected the real reason holding her back was herself, and the moment he convinced her he trusted her, she relented.

It was working now, and he aimed for the forming web of radiant mana.

Aetherlens is level 24!

It was a good 20 feet off the ground, and once Logan hit it, it buckled inward like a pillow, but gradually. It slowed him down without harming him, and when he landed, the pressure on his heels was nothing thanks to his Pain Resistance.

Before he even landed, though, he already had both palms raised. He was fifteen feet away from the fire and the heat of it crisped his nose.

CryoPyre!

He hadn't turned off his Aetherlens, and he focused on drawing as much fire mana from the roaring flames as he could, using that to form the icy blasts, which in turn melted into water. He was doing double duty of extinguishing the flames by not only drawing the heat out, but dousing them too.

CryoPyre is level 19! CryoPyre is level 20!

He focused on the greatest flames, running around the corner of the inn to get to the side, all without dropping the icy cones extending from his palms.

Quest updated! Additional objective discovered: Save the cat inside the inn! Tomtom the cat is one small child's last companion in this world, and she would be so heartbroken without him. Make sure Tomtom gets safely back to his owner. Hint: It's on the other side of the inn. The side about to cave in. Reward: Cat food

If his palms weren't blasting ice, he would have slapped one to his forehead.

Why is there a cat up there?

He couldn't just not save the cat without being an asshole. He didn't even like cats, but that didn't matter. Just as he turned his CryoPyre attention to the rising fire on the other side of the inn, a plume of smoke and embers blasted at the current side, which held the structural supports.

It was a crappy situation. Saving the cat would cost the inn quest, and vice versa. Heck, if he didn't complete the inn quest, he probably wouldn't be able to save the cat anyway. It was a chicken-and-egg situation, which unfortunately reminded him of the chicken coop quest too.

And where were Alden and Cassandra? They ought to be here by now.

He glanced behind him and sighed with relief.

Alden had formed a toboggan out of stone, wide enough to hold him and Cassandra. He also created 45-degree angle earth spikes along the slope, which acted as ramps to launch over irregular bumpouts that would otherwise stop their momentum. Right now, he was at the last ramp, and as the stone flew over the palisade pillar, Cassandra created another ward for them this time, and they bounced off it, landing beside Logan.

"Perfect. Alden, think you can—"

"Yes, ice. Done."

"Thanks."

A benefit of Logan's CryoPyre was that it converted some of the expended fire mana into ice mana, making ice-based attacks more potent. Despite the fact he generated ice with the skill, it was still considered a fire-based attack, so that didn't matter much for him. But Alden, who could only create one patch of ice at a time, would benefit more.

Cassandra didn't wait, either, containing patches of the fire in wards to snuff them out.

Logan crouched, which made Cassandra frown.

"Where are you—"

Null Pulse!

"Logan!"

"I'll be fast!"

The roar of flame drowned out the sounds of the mewling cat.

Unrelenting Hunt.

Much of the debris strewn across the burning plank floor had blown in the thermal gusts created by the flames. But one area of upset soot was smeared by pressure contact. That had to be the cat.

Unrelenting Hunt is level 23!

Nugget glided in behind Logan, but just before Logan darted under a burning triangle of a fallen doorpost, the dragon's scales reflected light—or else created a light—and Nugget let out a small cry. He flapped his wings once in front of that entry point, shaking his head, and instead flew over the low-point of the triangle where the doorpost met the ground.

Logan trusted him and followed. Just as he jumped, the pressure he put on the plank of wood made it collapse, and the flaming arch he would have climbed under moments ago collapsed.

"Okay, fine. You're lucky."

With Nugget's help, they lifted a flipped table that partially covered the sooty markings Logan had seen.

Logan's heart dropped when he saw an unconscious girl, maybe seven or eight years old, laying beneath it.

Hidden objective discovered! Save the cat's owner, too! Reward: Variable

Without thinking, Logan hoisted the kid onto his shoulder. Cassandra would be better suited to healing her. But if he didn't find this cat soon, he would have to jump out with just the girl and leave her cat behind.

That pulled on his heartstrings because the cat was apparently her only companion left.

Meeowwww.

He exhaled with relief. The cat was in just the other room. The doorpost had already disintegrated here, reduced to a mere patch of flame rising from the planks. He blasted it with ice and ran through.

CryoPyre is level 21!

Cat in hand, he launched through the air with a Null Pulse, aiming straight for Cassandra. He hugged the child and her cat in tight as he tucked into a roll and landed in a somersault.

"Can you help her? I'll take over with Alden."

As Cassandra tended to the girl, even with the roaring fire, he couldn't help but smile at the care and determination in her face. He only watched for a second before helping Alden, and although the latter half of the structure with the cat had fallen in, the main frame of the inn still stood.

"Nice work," Logan said to Alden, who just gave him a flat nod. He was sure Alden had warmed up to him, but he guessed he shouldn't ever expect anything warm and fuzzy from the guy.

"Tomtom!"

The cat purred as the little girl hugged it tightly while Cassandra used the hem of her dress to wipe the soot from the child's face.

Quest complete! Save Tomtom the cat and his owner.

Quest complete! Save the inn!

Everyone, even the cat, went rigid at the thunderous roar that crashed from behind the inn.

Immediately after it, a pillar of fire and electric blue light rose so high, the heat made them flinch.

The pillar started falling sideways. And it was poised to land right on them.

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