Algrodia Village

Walking outside the village I came across Dragonborn who was waiting patiently on my arrival.

They seemed scared—evident by their expression.

He was curled in a sleeping position, akin to a cat, looking back and forth, and hoping to find me. I couldn't help but smile, happy he was okay.

"Cheer up, Dragonborn, I was only gone for a few minutes."

Three minutes in total—that's how long it took for me to take down Yuki.

Maybe this Sage System isn't all that bad; if anything, it's a little too overpowered for my liking.

"Sable has arrived! Dragonborn was worried sick about you!" It lifted its head and ran towards me, leaping onto my shoulder.

"Ehehe, it's no biggie! I was just adjusting to my Gift is all." Dragonborn nuzzled his head into my cheek, adoring me. "I'm just glad you didn't eat any humans." I reached out to pat his head, sighing in relief.

"Where is the attacker, Sable?" It pulled away, glaring at me with curiosity.

"Oh, Yuki? He's unconscious right now." I turned to face the village, watching the smoke rise into the air from the flames. "I took him down pretty easily, but if it wasn't for [Sage], I wouldn't have stood a chance."

"Shall I eat him?" Asked Dragonborn.

"Eh? No no no! I've already told you—no eating humans!"

"But he's a bad man. Dragonborn will consume him!"

I huffed a deep sigh, changing my tone of voice into a more serious manner.

"Just please listen to me."

He lowered his head, pouting.

"I am sorry, Sable… Dragonborn didn't mean to make you mad."

"Aww, it's fine little buddy, I just don't want you to be seen as some monster to the people. If they knew you devoured humans, then you'd be in lots of trouble." I rubbed his head back and forth, "So let's try to change that, okay?"

It nodded.

"Understood! Dragonborn will eat other things from now on!"

I pumped my elbow back, screaming, "Awesome! Now let's go find something for you to eat!"

"But what about the village that's burning down to the ground?"

"Eh—?"

Crap—I almost forgot—this entire village was about to be reduced to ashes.

"Darn it… how are we gonna extinguish the flames? I don't have any gifts that can create water, uhm…" I looked around me, hoping to find a solution, until I laid eyes upon the villagers, staring off into the distance. "Oh, look!" I pointed toward the group of people, catching Dragonborn's attention.

"It's the villagers!"

"Let's go get their help. I'm sure they can figure out something, right?"

"Why don't you ask your Gift for help, Sable?"

"…"

I felt like an idiot.

Dragonborn was right, I had [Sage] at my disposal.

"On second thought, yeah, let's try that." Lifting my hand, I brought forth a magic circle. "[Sage], analyze the village and find a solution to save it!"

A hub appeared in my field of vision as [Sage] began to analyze the village down to every last atom.

I could see everything.

I was given various solutions to saving the village, and each one of them sounded unlikely.

Watching the countless scenarios play out in my head, I could see multiple options of waiting for it to rain, using the village Well, or finding someone with a Gift that could extinguish the fire.

They all had a success rate of 20%.

That wouldn't be enough.

"Excuse me, missus." A voice came from behind me, nulling my concentration.

"Hm?" I turned around, facing the group of villagers who escaped their village after Yuki's massacre. "O-Oh, uhm… hi!" There were so many of them.

"We saw you sprint into Algrodia when we ran for the hills. Are you the one who defeated that tyrant?"

Algrodia? Was that their village name?

"Mm." I nodded my head, stern in my expression. "His name was Yuki. He was pissed off about someone named Alistoria, the Demon Goddess."

The villagers all nodded as the Village head stepped forward.

He was a bearded old man, walking with a cane, and too much white hair.

"Yes… we of Algrodia worship Alistoria; the Demon Goddess with the Divine Gift, Leviathan."

Divine Gift, huh?

There were three evolutions of a Gift.

The first stage was the Common Gift; this is the Gift everyone starts off with. The second stage was a Rare Gift, which can be acquired by intense training or awakening them in near-death situations. The last stage was God Gift.

This was the Gift that this Alistoria person had; which apparently made her some sort of goddess.

Does having any sort of God Gift bring you to the status of a deity? That was insane.

"I never heard of this Alistoria—I come from a land far away from here."

"I see." Said the Village head. "Well, we are in your debt for saving our village. We can't thank you enough."

"Saving your village?" I glanced behind me, cringing as I watched it burn to the ground. "I didn't really save it…"

"You did." Said the old man, smiling. "Do not worry about its aftermath—our goddess Alistoria will restore it back to its prime."

Looking back at the Village head, I lifted my brows in curiosity.

"And how will she do that, exactly?"

"With her Divine Gift, of course!" Another villager stepped forward. He appeared to be a young man, around my age. "All deities with a Divine Gift are capable of altering reality to help their worshipers! Alistoria will definitely restore our home!"

Altering reality? Was she gonna tamper with causality or something?

"Oh, I see."

This was too confusing for me.

I huffed a sigh as Dragonborn did the same, copying me.

"Well, until this goddess of yours shows up, you guys can wait outside the village for now, but I have to get someone."

"Wait, are you going back into the village?" They asked, bewildered at my comment.

"Of course I am! Even though Yuki is a bad guy, I can't just let him burn alive in some village."

They couldn't believe their ears. Some villagers even frowned at me.

"You're gonna save a tyrant like him? You must've been working by his side!"

"You must be his companion, is that it?"

"He nearly killed us, and you're gonna risk your life rescuing him?"

They were all angry—rightfully so—but I couldn't just let someone burn alive in a fire.

That wouldn't sit right on my conscience

"Answer us! Why are you going to save him!"

Dragonborn was getting angry at their comments as I lowered my head and sighed.

"Listen, I know what Yuki did was wrong, and just unforgivable, and if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't forgive him either." They all went quiet, hearing me out. "But he has something I need, and that something is answers."

"Answers?" Asked a villager.

"Yes, he has answers to my questions, so I'm going to keep him alive for now, and once I'm done, you can enact justice on him however you like, is that fair?"

They all glanced at each other, mumbling things I couldn't understand from the multiple conversations happening at once. Meanwhile, the Village head couldn't help but stare and question my intentions.

After some time had passed, they all made up their minds and faced me with stern expressions.

"Very well." Said a villager. "We will let you keep him alive to get your questions answered. It's only fair since you were the one who saved us from his massacre."

I smiled, lowering my head.

"Thank you… that means a lot."

They all nodded in response.

"Now, if you excuse me…"

I faced the village and ran into its burning pits of hell, knowing I didn't have much time before everything was set ablaze.

"Ugh, if I knew how fast fire could spread, I would've saved Yuki long ago from this place…" I covered my mouth, coughing under my shirt as I ran further into the village, finding the unconscious Yuki. "There he is!"

Running towards him, I crouched down to pick up his body, throwing him over my shoulder.

"I got you…!"

He was heavy, but it was nothing I couldn't handle.

"Let's get you out of here, big guy."

I stumbled forward, holding my breath as I jogged towards the exit.

I could feel the flames burning hot behind me, and getting closer by the second, but luckily I outpaced it and approached the exit with haste.

"Almost there!"

Dragonborn stood on my other shoulder, watching the fire spread at an accelerated rate.

"Do not worry, Sable, Dragonborn will take care of this!"

Huh. What was he talking about?

"Perish by my Dragons Breath!"

Dragonborn took a deep breath, puffing out his chest, and bulging up his cheeks. There was a slight delay in his actions until he expelled air from his lungs, blowing out a massive gust of wind.

"Woah!" I looked behind me, watching the fire be pushed back, and halted in place by a wall of air. "Dragonborn, you did it!" I managed to escape the village, unharmed, and falling flat on my face as Yuki fell from my shoulder.

"Aaagh, I made it…" I was panting pretty rough, trying to catch my breath from overheating.

"Mwa Ha Haaa! Dragonborn showed his superiority! No flames shall stand in my way!"