The Border guardian

Kanisk's heart pounded as the drake's claws wrapped around Yuva, lifting her toward its enormous jaws. The heat from its breath made her skin sting and its claw etched into her shoulder. Its golden eyes locked onto her, pupils narrowing to slits.

"Yuva! Listen to me!" Kanisk shouted, sprinting toward the drake. "Use your Freeze spell the moment it brings you close to its face! Just trust me!"

"W-What?!" Yuva stammered, struggling against the beast's iron grip.

"No time to think! Do it exactly when I say!"

The drake's maw opened, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. Yuva could feel its scorching breath as it prepared to devour her.

"NOW!" Kanisk roared.

"FREEZE!" Yuva screamed, her hand outstretched. Frost exploded from her palm, coating the drake's face and partially freezing its eyes and nostrils. The beast roared in shock and agony, loosening its grip. Yuva twisted free, tumbling onto the rooftop.

"Good job!" Kanisk shouted as he threw one of Yuva's alcohol bottles with a burning cloth stuffed into its neck. The bottle smashed against the drake's chest, igniting in a burst of flame. The beast howled, thrashing its wings and smashing the rooftop, blocking their escape route.

"No going back now!" Yuva yelled as she fired arrows, aiming for the drake's eyes. The first arrow missed, the second grazed its cheek, and the third struck the icy patch on its face, cracking the frost and forcing the drake to stagger.

Kanisk dashed forward, slashing at its wings and legs, but his knife barely scratched its thick scales. The drake swiped at him, knocking him sideways into a metal vent with a sickening thud. Pain shot through his ribs, and he coughed up blood.

"Kanisk!" Yuva cried, her eyes wide with terror.

"I'm… fine!" Kanisk gasped, stumbling to his feet. Another claw swipe tore across his arm, leaving a deep gash. Blood soaked his sleeve as he fell back.

**"Do you wish to restore your health using coupon points?"**

the robotic voice asked in Kanisk's mind.

"Yes! Restore me!" Kanisk commanded without hesitation. Golden light swirled around him, sealing his wounds.

"Spend your points to strengthen Freeze!" Kanisk shouted. "We've got no choice!"

"Will it be enough?" Yuva called back, gripping her bow tightly.

"I don't know! Just do it!"

"What if we don't have anymore points left to choose a class?" Yuva wondered aloud.

"Do you really think it'll matter if we don't leave this alive?" Kanisk reasoned.

"Fair enough!"

With a heavy heart Yuva decided to spend all her points which she was really proud of.

** 174 coupon points have been consumed **

**"Skill enhancement: Freeze has been upgraded to intermediate level-Frost Bind."**

** "Frost bind can be transferred to the weapon in use" **

Yuva planted her feet and fired arrows with renewed determination, striking the drake's eyes and wings. Kanisk threw another flaming bottle, igniting the beast's tail.

"Let's end this!" Kanisk shouted. "Freeze its face one more time—I need an opening!"

Yuva sprinted to the side, her breathing ragged from exhaustion. She raised her hands, focusing every ounce of energy into her spell. "FROST BIND!"

Ice erupted from her palms and was channeled to her arrow which hit the drake precisely, encasing the drake's head in thick frost. It staggered, blinded and roaring in agony.

"NOW!" Yuva screamed.

**420 points consumed**

**Basic skill Hunter's instinct has been upgraded to advanced skill Predator's pride**

Kanisk surged forward, spending the remainder of his points mainly focused on raw strength. His muscles swelled with power as he leaped onto the drake's neck, equipping the brass knuckles that he picked it up on his way with all his might into its eye socket. The knuckle smashed through the bone which was already frozen, reaching the beast's brain. With a final, deafening roar, the drake collapsed, shaking the entire rooftop.

Panting and bloodied, Kanisk stumbled off the beast's lifeless body. Yuva rushed to his side, tears in her eyes.

"We did it," she gasped.

"Yeah… somehow." Kanisk managed a weak smile, collapsing onto his back as exhaustion took hold.

"Next time we take the bloody stairs!" Kanisk let out.

As the drake took its final breath, its colossal form collapsed with a thunderous thud, sending tremors through the rooftop. Smoke and embers dissipated into the air, leaving Kanisk and Yuva standing amidst the scorched battleground, battered and breathless.

Suddenly, a flash of azure light illuminated the space before them. A translucent blue panel appeared, hovering mid-air.

**Unprecedented situation has been recorded: Border Guardian defeated.**

**Congratulations!**

**Calculating rewards with respect to individual contribution...**

**Calculation complete.**

"Huh?" Both gasped simultaneously, eyes wide with anticipation. Slowly, their gazes shifted from the panel to each other, and a mischievous glint sparked in their eyes.

Grins stretched across their faces—wide, gleeful, and bordering on sinister—as though they had just stumbled upon a treasure hoard worthy of legends. Their expressions twisted into an uncanny resemblance of greedy goblins, eyes gleaming with excitement at the promise of well-deserved rewards.

"Well... that was worth the trouble," Kanisk said with a breathless chuckle, wiping the sweat and soot from his brow.

"Worth the trouble? Pfft! We just took down a DRAGON!, well, kinda a weak version of it but still I better get something beyond coupon points for this!" Yuva quipped, hands on her hips, though her smirk betrayed her exhaustion.

Suddenly, the panel flickered.

Rewards have been disrupted

Tutorial period ended before the drake was defeated

Rewards of 1500 coupon points cannot be claimed

Reward procurement has been stalled indefinitely

"Whaaaaaaaat?"

Both Yuva and Kanisk were flabbergasted, their excitement crumbling into despair. It felt as though the system had swindled them out of their very last hope.

"Aaaaaaaaah!"

Yuva burst into tears, sniffling and sobbing—a spectacle that wasn't particularly appealing to Kanisk, who could hardly begin to feel sad as her exaggerated emotions seemed to occupy even his own.

"That birdbrain just cost me 1500 coupon points, and she's the one whining more than me?" Kanisk glared at her with a mixture of pity and disdain.

"At least we get to keep our upgraded skills," he mumbled, wiping away a stray tear that had begun to form in his eye.

As the tutorial period is over, all chosen skills will be taken back.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The wailing intensified.

Kanisk's face twisted into a childlike pout as his mind struggled to process the devastating news.

"You bird brain are going to be the death of me!!" I yelled at Yuva as her crying just kept getting intense.