“My head is starting to feel funny, guys,” Jye warned, and I swear I heard the creaking of their bones as the dragon began to tighten about them. I made a short memo to myself that Jye had bad lung capacity despite their exercise regime. Though having thought that, I supposed it didn’t matter how much air you could hold if it was squeezed out of you.

  I think I found it! shouted Axel, from who knows where.

  I’d only been vaguely paying attention to the exterior world and was testing my application of Mirror’s [Shockshot] to the meat flap inside the dragon. I think in most animals it’d be considered something like the epiglottis, but given the mythological status of the reptilian beast, I’m not sure there was any point naming names, biological or otherwise.

  Where is it? I asked.

  It was its fifteenth set of legs, on the right. A perfectly circular dark scale, similar to the Minotaur’s marker on it's neck.

  The dragon had finally finished winding about Jye, the loop of its serpentine body twisting upon itself. It was near impossible to tell where one spiral of its form began and where one ended, each coil of itself indistinguishable in order. It could be any pair of legs right now. Knowing where the weak spot was wasn’t going to help if we couldn’t identify it anymore.

  Fucking hell.

  Can you still see it?

  Uh, Axel began. He didn’t need to finish for me to know his answer.

  Gigi said, If Jye remains there much longer, they will be crushed.

  Thank you for the obvious.

  Well, find it, then! I shouted, more irritated by the turn of events than anything else, but my patience had reached its limit somewhere between floating in stomach acid and the self-induced torture. Axel didn’t respond, presumably following my instructions. Maybe I should tag him with [Track] to make sure.

  Taking a breath, I tried to calm myself as I played through every option.

  I was coming up blank.

  Shit.

  With a growl of frustration, unable to think of a solution to the issue going on with the giant, and figuring anything to help them would be better than nothing, I activated [Saintly Intent], warding back the damage they were taking, and then I leapt back into Mirror, keeping a squinted eye open back outside to observe. If Axel was searching for the leg he’d lost, I’d try my luck elsewhere.

  While it looked like the heart wasn’t its actual weak spot, in pretty much any living being it was a weakness, so it was still something of a viable back-up. I slammed another [Shockshot] into the epiglottis-esque muscle and watched as it quivered and twitched. A couple more and maybe it would give way, letting me crawl further up the throat and closer to the dragon’s beating core.

  Thankfully, the [Cloudeath] was beginning to dissipate further up here, the green air growing thinner, and, thinking it through, I dropped [Healing Hand] to activate [Drain], plunging me into darkness that sparked to life as I zapped and zapped and zapped, the muscle shuddering under my shocking touches.

  With a squirt of acid, and the smell of overdone steak not too dissimilar from Phoenix’s barbecue, the sinuous flap finally loosened after three more [Shockshots], slackening and parting. I didn’t even take a second to think. I clawed my way up, glad I wasn’t feeling the lactic acid burn in my limbs that was no doubt building up as a result of holding myself up like this.

  “Little help?” Jye squeaked back outside, their impending doom of constriction drawing nigh.

  Party member Jye at critical health.

  [Saintly Intent] wasn’t doing enough, and neither were the [Shield Walls] Gigi was wedging into gaps that the dragon accidentally loosened in its loops. There wasn’t much else the Linnikian could do given that xe was limited to taking damage. Maybe that ability choice we got in reward from Nabu should go to something to Gigi. Then again, with their odd title, would giving xem an attacking ability mean they wouldn’t be able to level up? The alien had been so picky with what xe shared of xir background, except for drip feeding us practical tidbits, it was difficult to know with full confidence.

  “Wren, heal Jye too!”

  Shouting her understanding, I heard the accompanying hiss and watched as the subtle mossy glow of aura about Jye grew more intense. It was a different color to [Healing Hand], closer to lichen, a golden green, and unlike its lesser tier, it didn’t bubble at use, it crackled, like pop rocks in my veins. That didn’t make the skill uncomfortable to use, though, the weird feeling oddly enjoyable.

  How’s that? I asked the giant.

  “I’m, like, jumping for joy,” they croaked out.

  Hopefully that’d keep them going. I glanced back at where Tam’s unconscious form was lying, the movement of her small cat chest barely perceptible. We’d just have to try and kill a dragon without our full party, then. I’d been really leaning on the idea of her getting back into it, since it’d be nice to get some real crit. Not that my crit was awful, it just wasn’t as good as the cutthroat’s.

  Mirror scaled up the slimy walls of the dragon’s oesophagus, limbs trembling, seeking the beating of its heart. My keen hearing as a creature of the night was something else entirely. Had I known what I was looking for earlier, this would’ve been a lot easier. But, hey, this was my first time climbing up a mythological creature’s throat on the hunt for its core.

  Cut a cat a break.

  Inching closer and closer to the origin of the thrums, hanging on for dear life as the ringlike muscle contracted about me to squeeze me back down every now and again, I approached the right wall of the dragon’s throat about half way back up. Judging by the rumbling, just beyond this flesh lay its heart. I knew the muscle of the throat was much more easily permeated, having clawed my way up it, but to cut through the flesh with my small paws would never work. I’d need something much stronger. But none of us really had attack abilities that fit this situation, and I wouldn’t be able to wield anything as a cat, plus Mirror didn’t have access to my items.

  An idea occurred to me.

  Jye, can you still access your inventory?

  My hands are kinda full right now, they grunted back.

  I need your bow.

  Serious, dude?

  Deadly.

  In my main body, I watched as the redhead struggled to shift a hand free, limbs quivering against the dragon. It snarled at them, trying to snap its jaws, but Jye’s grip hadn’t loosened at all, their genuinely enormous traps and biceps still locking it into place. What parts of them were visible through the coiling dragon were drenched in sweat, their thick brow knotted together in concentration.

  Gigi summoned [Shield Walls] into the dragon's chomping maw, granting the redhead a moment of reprieve. At the very edge of the giant's fingers, their bow apparated into existence, looking like a toy weapon in comparison.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  In a sudden whip back of its head, the dragon smashed its crown against Jye’s jaw, the rough points of its brow ridge scraping their skin raw to reveal the bloodied flesh of their chin. As Jye fought to retain their control, the bow slipped from their hand, tumbling into the writhing coils of the dragon. It was swallowed deeper and deeper into the scaled loops of the dragon while the two of them tussled.

  Of course. That would happen, wouldn’t it?

  I was too far to make it even with [Swift Footed], not to mention with my split attention between Mirror and myself, I’d probably trip and eat shit.

  Axel! I called, the ease of reliance on him surprising me.

  Before I could even finish the “L” consonant, the bow was plucked up and whipped away from the reptilian monster. It hurtled through the air to me. Since I hadn't moved, my position was obvious even if Axel couldn't see me.

  Appreciation flitted through me, and I reached out to snatch the weapon as the invisible Axel darted past my [Cloaked] form. To anyone else watching, it likely appeared as though the bow had ploughed over behind Gigi through sheer force of its own will, only then to hold itself aloft, floating in the air.

  Anything else I can do? Tea?

  I chuckled. Well, if you’re offering. Arrows, please. Good ones.

  You’re so needy.

  Axel couldn’t [Smith] or [Furnace] anything that wasn’t melee-adjacent, as a limitation of the ability. He hadn’t been able to make another bow, and none of us other than Jye had managed to find one, even since Test Name. Even in the loot we’d taken from Damien’s crew, everything had been melee, including bats and iron pipes.

  With his skill upgraded to [Furnace], he could imbue special traits into items so long as he crafted them out of Dungeon material. Given the amount of mordexi bone, hide, and fangs we had access to, that wouldn’t be any problem. Obviously, I could do the same with [Channel], but a decent portion of the item's creation was personal knowledge and imagination. The more you made and the clearer the image, the better you became. Axel had a headstart on me, and I needed the best we could get.

  I heard a hiss and a quiver of arrows popped into view, dropping to my feet.

  Ask and ye shall receive, m’love. He said this in a mockery of a high-class British accent, something like the Queen, but the end of it struck me in the chest. He was so disgustingly sappy. It probably said something about me too that I was so affected.

  Thank you, I replied. It felt flat in comparison.

  The blond brushed past me in his exit, in pursuit of the fifteenth right leg once again, the scent of frangipani left in his wake.

  Taking a breath, I took stock of the situation as it was.

  Jye was suffering almost indescribable pain, their brow crumpled as they struggled against the tightening grip of the dragon. Gigi was trying to anticipate places to intercept and drive the coils of the creature’s body away from Jye with [Shield Walls]. Wren was still healing Jye, and Tam was out for the count.

  We really needed to do some damage while it was distracted like this.

  I crept into range of the dragon, readying one of the arrows, my arms trembling at the resistance of the string. Bloody hell, what was the draw strength required for this? I hadn’t realised how insanely strong the redhead had to be to pull back. Perhaps I had to add weights into my exercise regime since I was working up a sweat simply trying to pull a bow string.

  Even despite all our progress, I was still so damn weak.

  Biceps and shoulders burning with effort, my fingers all but cramping, I was finally able to pull an arrow to a decent tautness on the bow, running through my plan in my head. Well. It was nothing complex. More like brute force than anything intellectual, really.

  Inside the dragon, I popped [Echolate] once more for placement, letting the hairs in my ears help catch the deep, rhythmic thrumming. A trickle of sweat dripped down my real forehead as I held the shot, then as Mirror I activated [Displaced Volley], brain blurring with the double focus input, the several ethereal bow duplicates hissing alongside my cat form, staggered up and down the dragon’s gullet, all aimed in the direction of its heart, points pressed flush to its flesh.

  I released my hold, the lost tension granting immediate relief, but the string thwacked back against the wrist of my main grip, stinging sharply. Punishment for bad form, no doubt.

  As one could guess, I was a poor shot. But that didn't matter.

  While outside the singular real arrow bit deep into the ground by the dragon’s feet, inside, the instant after the original arrow left its bow, its clones thudded into the tender flesh of the dragon’s throat.

  The point of release was when an arrow had the most force, after all.

  A flood of black blood gushed about Mirror, joining the other lovely liquids inside the beast around me, and through the deluge, I peered at the damage, switching [Drain] for [Healing Hand] to see. The green glow illuminated arrows that had pierced into the muscle, some stuck in half deep. But there was no way through. Not yet.

  Again, damnit!

  I nocked another arrow, fingers stinging on the string.

  Unfortunately, my first attack didn’t have zero consequences.

  The dragon’s body stiffened, a ripple of tension rocking through the coils of the large beast, a guttural roar escaping its mouth. Then it wound even tighter about Jye, a knot pulled taut. They let out a choked gasp, the movement too abrupt, too strong, and their death grip on the dragon finally caved.

  Its head was free.

  The beast turned on Jye, their green eyes wide in horror, and their hands, flailing, came up to defend themself, but they were too late.

  Gaping jaw split open, it jutted its head toward them, whipping razor teeth at their face, ready to puncture through their skull. Before I could open my own mouth to warn them, or even do anything, there was a resounding crack. The dragon’s snout had snapped shut, mandible crunching into Jye’s head.

  It ate empty air.

  The giant wasn’t there anymore.

  They were gone.

  There was no time to worry about them. If there was no system alert, there was no problem. At least, that’s how I was justifying not allowing it to distract me. Jye was alive and fine. I was sure we’d get a notification if one of our party members perished. Not that I was looking forward to that. I had to assume the redhead had deactivated their Hulk, and they’d be back into the fray soon.

  The coils of the dragon collapsed without the structure to wind about, loops lazily sinking into the central empty cylinder where Jye had once been, their stability wobbling as the dragon’s blood blackened eyes narrowed in confused anger. Its legs floundered for purchase on its own body, the forest floor, trees, anything, trying to right itself.

  Finally! Axel said, presumably having spotted its weak spot.

  The dragon’s gaze hammered down to the only other visible opponents in the forest.

  Gigi and Wren.

  Our vanguard was up.

  Take cover, Wren! Gigi, you got this?

  Xir grip tightened on the aegis xe held, and xir knees bowed, xir shoulders squaring. I believe I am prepared. Xe was readying xemself to take the brunt of the huge creature’s attack, and the ten-year-old dived behind xem, terror etched into her features.

  Still [Cloaked], I loosed my second arrow, the arrow sailing into the air, and inside the throat of the dragon, its doppelgangers breached through the wall of muscle, puncturing the flesh, black blood rushing toward me, a small jagged tunnel torn into the damaged organ. The pulsing of its heart grew louder, and the flesh about Mirror convulsed, a flush of saliva coursing past me, trying to swallow me back down.

  I wouldn’t budge. Not when I was so close to its core now.

  Outside, the dragon faltered momentarily, necking arching in pain, before corkscrewing toward Gigi, its whiskered reptilian face barreling in closer at the Linnikian, ready to finally release its pent up bevy of negative emotions. The vanguard dotted in several [Shield Walls] to slow its approach, but the dragon weaved about closest ones, hurtling onward on skittering limbs, its body unknotting as it slithered forward.

  More, Gigi. I need platforms! called Axel.

  Anticipating the direction and speed of the unseeable combatant through [Locate], there was spray of hisses as the Linnikian layered down another handful of the shields alongside the path of the dragon while it closed in on xem.

  Though the rip the arrows had torn was small, it would have to be enough for Mirror. Still clutching to the walls of the dragon’s throat with extended and tensed claws, I pawed closer, pressing my snout into the gaping mushy hole, pushing and stretching to make headway. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I’d once read that most of the stuff inside a human was just empty space.

  I guess it was true for dragons too.

  Other than the tunnel of its throat and the cavern of its stomach, resting directly outside this was nothing apart from the large throbbing form of its heart, and beyond that, lungs inflating and deflating. The heart wasn’t difficult to recognise, the continuous pumping of its movement and tubes running from it pulsing with blood. Unfortunately, it was at least ten times my size. It would have to be, with the scale of the dragon, to keep oxygen-enriched cells running through it (if it needed air like us).

  The next step was to figure out how to damage it enough to make it matter.

  I’m alive, dudes, by the way. If you even care, Jye said.