With the bandits gone and loot collected, Drake led his friends down the road. Up ahead loomed the giant mountain that looked like a dragon's head.
Although they had been in the game-like dimension for one full day, none of the friends were tired. Being in an unfamiliar dimension, they were on edge. Every shadow made them jump, afraid they would be attacked at any moment.
It was still unclear what would happen if they died in this game-like dimension. Would they die for real, or would they be transported out of the dimension as particles of light and back home? They didn't know, and they were afraid to test it to find out.
As they followed the dirt road toward the mountain, they went around a bend. A small village was seen in the distance. Drake stopped, then looked down at his clothes, a frown on his thin face.
"I wonder if we can blend in. After seeing the bandits, I know we look out of place," Drake commented. Worried that their appearance would cause problems.
The boys stood in the middle of the road. Their eyes were glued to the village. The three boys weren't sure if they should proceed to the town or come up with a plan before they went any further.
"I don't think we have much of a choice. The mountain is on the other side of the village. We need to get to it so we can complete the quest. We could always go around it, but I think there are fewer beasts if we pass through the village," Mike stated, his eyes still on the village up ahead.
Drake looked back at his friends. He had been thinking of the possible reaction of the villagers. Then he remembered the bandits. "I don't think it's going to be a problem. The bandits we fought didn't seem to notice we were dressed differently. We should pass through the village. Maybe we can learn something about this place. There are a lot of people who live in a village. We can gather information while we pass through."
"We need to be careful, though," Mike stated. "We don't know if we will have to fight off the villagers. For all we know, it could be a village infested with goblins or something like that."
Chad and Drake nodded as the group of boys continued slowly toward the small village.
Taking only a couple of steps, loud growls sounded from the side of the road.
Drake stiffened, looking toward the direction of the sound. He was worried about what he might find.
It was one of the wolf beasts. The wolf had a long, thin tail that resembled that of a rat. The glowing yellow orbs of its eyes were fixed on Drake as it slowly stalked forward. Glowing yellow saliva dripped from its long fangs.
"I guess it's time to test out my new skills," Drake smirked.
Holding up his hand, Drake focused on the wolf beast in front of him. "Plasma ball!" he screamed. A ball of green plasma formed in his hand, then shot toward the beast. It landed in the beast's face, producing a burst of green light. There was little to no effect of the beast. "Damn it," he grumbled. "Nothing!"
Mike pulled out his new sword, ready to defend his friend. He wanted to test out his sword's skills, too. Chad had his bow raised; he was preparing to shoot.
"Don't shoot unless you have to," Drake shouted to his friend. "I want to try to kill this thing myself," he added as he lifted his hand again. "Energy Beam!" he yelled, focusing on the beast. A long beam of green energy shot from his hand, hitting the beast.
The beast screamed in pain. Blood dripped from the beast's head. The beast growled louder, its yellow eyes narrowed in anger. It leaped toward Drake, its claws extending.
Drake rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the beast.
The beast turned quickly, focusing again on Drake. Leaned back, then it prepared to pounce.
Drake extended his hand once again. "Fireball!" Drake yelled, using his final skill. The fire hit the beast, flames exploding. Flames burst around the beast, causing small explosions each time the hot flames touched the glowing yellow fur that traveled along the beast's body.
The beast roared. It leaped again, claws extended; it trailed flames behind it as it leaped toward Drake.
"Energy Beam!" he yelled, aiming another beam at the beast's head. The wolf was only a foot away.
The energy beam mixed with the fire, turning it green, and ignited an explosion of green flames and light. The beast's head exploded. Bursting into a cloud of energy particles, the beast vanished. There was a pile of green fabric in its place.
A soft voice floated through Drake's head.
{You have slain a Level 1 Beast}
{You have received "mage robe"}
{Manna +1}
Drake grinned widely before picking up the soft green fabric. This was the first time he received something that wasn't a skill.
Chad lowered his bow, Mike replacing his sword. They waited for Drake to explain what the fabric was. It was lumped in a pile. A band of leather was attached. Etchings of vines and runes could be seen. There was a shining clasp attached that glistened in the light of the twin suns. The intricate detail made the two boys curious about what Drake had received.
Drake shook the fabric out, then slid the robe over his head. There was a belt attached that he clasped closed. He looked down at himself, inspecting his new robe before looking at his friends. "I got a mage robe," He smiled. "I can only guess I got it for killing the beast with my skills. It makes sense; they kind of look like magic to me. I didn't even use that arrow as a weapon like last time." He looked over at Mike. "I think you should try to kill the next beast so you can figure out your sword's skills. We can back you up. We won't intervene unless we have to."
Mike nodded, liking this idea. He was itching to try his magical sword out. "That's okay with me," he said, grinning widely. His hand was resting on the hilt.
Chad looked between his friends, studying their attire. His eyes rested on Drake. "At least one of us looks like we belong here. I'm hoping the people in the village don't notice that two of us look out of place." He paused for a second, then continued. "I had another thought. What if we need gold or coins of some kind? We haven't received anything like that yet."
Mike shrugged, "Maybe we have to sell something we receive when we fight beasts. Right now, though. Everything we received so far, we need."
The other two boys nodded in agreement.
"We should also figure out how and where to make camp. It's going to get dark soon. We don't have coins for an inn, if that's needed. The place we find needs to be safe. We don't want to be attacked by beasts while we sleep," Chad stated. It was clear he had been worrying about somewhere to rest for a while now.
Drake gritted his teeth; he didn't know how he could have forgotten that they needed to find a place to camp. "Great, just another problem to add to the list." His tone was sarcastic, similar to Mike's when he had commented on the current problems.
Continuing down the dirt road to the village, Drake thought about what Mike had said. There was always some random treasure dropped or found in his games. It was usually in the form of coins or jewels. Treasure was either dropped by his foes or found throughout the landscape of the game. He hadn't gotten any yet. None had been dropped with the beasts or the bandits, and they hadn't found any random chests of gold anywhere. What if they needed coins to stay at an inn somewhere? That would be the safest choice. They didn't have anything yet that they could sell.
Thinking about it further, he figured that Mike could be right. If they needed coins, they would have to sell something that they received while slaying beasts, assuming they found something that they didn't actually need too badly not to sell it. There was a large possibility that they would have to hunt beasts intentionally to gather items to sell. They would deal with that issue after they determined coins were required in this place. He didn't want to sell anything if there was no reason for it.
After a while, they entered the town, and a small sign declared that it was the town of Draco. They stopped at the sign, staring at it for a moment.
"Fitting," Drake laughed. "I guess if you have a town near a mountain that looks like the head of a dragon, you call the town Draco."