I enter a ruined building, letting the wyvern fly over me before sprinting back in the direction I came from, forcing it to change its trajectory and thus lose speed.
For a while, that's my strategy. Or at least, it feels like a while, but I'm aware we haven't even been doing this for a minute yet, and I can tell it's growing wiser to my little tricks.
I expect it's going to take between 4 and 5 minutes for the rest of the party to leave the dungeon. I have to hold out until then. If this thing manages to kill me, it will undoubtedly go after the others next.
I enter a ruined building once more, but instead of flying over it like usual, the wyvern flies into it, creating a large hole in the wall and ceiling and revealing me in the process.
Fuck.
I manage to dodge a bite, then another one. On the third bite, I use its head as a platform from which to push myself out of the building. It doesn't seem to appreciate me having done so, as it immediately moves out while trying to snap at my leg, causing what's left of the walls to collapse.
We're both on the ground. I don't know how long it takes for a wyvern to get airborne, but it doesn't look like it intends on giving me an answer: it's following me by running.
While a wyvern's body doesn't seem all that adapted to running on the ground, and while it certainly is slower like this than when it was flying around, it's still catching up to me!
I manage to dodge a few more attempts at biting me by suddenly changing direction when I hear it opening its mouth. Eventually, it grows tired and starts charging magical power in its throat.
That's probably bad news for me.
I quickly stop and put a hand on the ground, allowing me to channel my magic into it faster, creating an earth wall as thick as I can manage between me and the wyvern's mouth.
However, even that is not enough. The magic blast goes right through my wall and hits me square on. This would probably have killed me if I hadn't put that barrier up, but thanks to it I only have some shallow burns. My clothes got vaporized, so I'll be fighting the rest of this battle in my underwear, but such is one of the risks of being an adventurer. I don't really have time to worry about it right now.
Seeing that a magic blast wasn't enough to take me down, the wyvern resumes its attempts at eating me. After dodging a few more bites, I manage to slide under its belly. I shove my sword upward as hard as I can, sending extra power to my arm to increase my strength, but its body is covered in scales that are too strong, preventing any damage.
In response, the wyvern simply lets itself fall down on me.
I'm laying down on the floor. I don't have time to get up or crawl out of here. That's not a hit I can avoid.
I raise my arms in an attempt to absorb some of the shock, but I find myself crushed under the weight of the monster. I can feel the cobblestones I'm laying on crack as I'm pushed down on them.
I can't move at all, and I have a hard time breathing. Fortunately, I don't seem to have been seriously injured by the attack. I'm just stuck here.
The beast's body eventually rises up, but before I have time to react, it slams down on me again. And again. And again. It looks like it's trying to make sure I'm dead.
My body hurts more and more with every hit. Something's probably going to break if I don't find a way out.
And then, it hits me: at this distance, there's no way it can dodge one of my projectiles, especially since it won't see it coming.
I let it crush me one more time, and then immediately fire a small crystal as supersonic speed directly towards its belly. Blood splashes over me as the wyvern screams in pain. I can tell this didn't deal any serious damage, but it's enough to get my opponent to move away from me. I get back up, grab my sword, and prepare to dodge whatever else is coming my way.
However, the wyvern is simply growling at me, wary of my own movements. That's actually good for me. The longer we stay like this, the more time the rest of the party will have had to escape.
And so, I avoid making any sudden moves, and I simply start walking slowly around it. In response, it also starts walking slowly, keeping its eyes on me. I can spot a small trail of blood on the ground left by the monster.
After a bit, I figure it's time for me to make my way to the barrier. I fire a projectile in the wyvern's direction, causing it to jump back to avoid it. That's exactly the reaction I wanted. With the distance between us greater than before, I put everything I can in my legs and sprint as fast as I can manage in the direction of the party. The monster seems to understand my intention, because it screams angrily before taking to the skies.
I'm surprised by my ability to recognize that scream specifically as anger. I might have been able to guess as much before, but I'm getting the same kind of impression I got when that orc talked to me or when I understood the party's hand symbols. I guess my translation abilities extend to the screams and noises of feral monsters and animals. I'll have to find a cat or a dog to converse with when I make it back home to test the limits of that power.
The wyvern starts throwing magic blasts towards me, so I routinely have to dodge them, making me lose some of my distance. On top of that, it's simply faster than me, so I can feel it catching up. If I make it to the barrier before it does, I'll be safe. The hole is going to be too small for it to cross.
In the distance, I see it. A small dark spot on the large red wall that serves as this dungeon's limit. I dodge another beam, jump over some rubble and avoid an angry bite from the monster that just caught up to me. My destination is within reach. I jump forward, letting my momentum carry me. The wyvern panics and extends its neck as much as possible. In the distance, I can see the large beam of light indicating that the disruptor has been activated and that the dungeon will soon close.
Right in front of me, I can see the panicked expressions of the adventurers I helped escape, who can see the large teeth closing in on me. As I feel the longer ones just starting to touch my skin, I pass through the barrier's hole. Behind me, the wyvern crashes loudly as the barrier closes in front of it.
A few seconds later, the barrier collapses, indicating that the dungeon has been cleared. The party's healer immediately runs to me and starts healing my wounds.
As I'm laying flat on my back, looking up to the night sky, I feel glad that I was granted the power to protect others, and the luck to make it out of this alive.
