//------------------------------//
// L61 
// Story: A little loopy. 
// by FaelaArts 
//------------------------------//

Sweetie leapt, dodging the bite aimed directly at her, sending a torrent of water in front of her into the mouth of the Chimera. Teleporting, she appeared behind the pack of Timberwolves as they dived for her, and right into the path of a furious Chimera. Roaring, the Chimera tried to breathe fire again, but only manage to breathe out smoke.

The Timberwolves turned, and once more tried to attack Sweetie. Sweetie turned and ran, teleporting up a tree and breathing in. The Timberwolves growled, unaware of the spell she was casting. Lowering her horn, she also prepared herself to immediately cast a water spell immediately after. Her horn began to glow red, and some of the smarter wolves leapt out of the way.

A torrent of fire blasted out of her horn, followed by a torrent of water. Those caught in it got badly burned, before the cooling water used their new injuries to instil a sense of panic. Realising their prey was not prey, the Timberwolves quickly scattered, leaving just one angry Chimera for Sweetie to deal with.

Teleporting down, she called upon her magic to summon a white bolt of magic energy. It was shaky, and close to dissipating, but as it sped toward the Chimera, whom leapt out of the way, it curved and hit the beast in the side. The attack did little to no damage, but the Chimera now knew his opponent was not a simple Timberwolf.

Sweetie breathed out, closing her eyes and squaring her shoulders as she poured all her magic into her horn. Breathing in, an icy light glowed around her, and the Chimera took a step back. Temperature dropping, the Chimera began to run forward, trying to stop Sweetie’s spell. But it was too late, and Sweetie opened her eyes, glowing with energy, and cast the spell.

Ice formed around her in large sheets, and began to dive toward the Chimera in spikes, splitting up into thousands of tiny ones in the span of a second. The Chimera called upon its breath, and flame burst out of its mouth, protecting it from the brunt of the attack. However one leg was not protected, and the Chimera roared in pain.

Sweetie forced herself to stay standing, everything spinning around her. Three Chimeras roared softly in her direction, all limping toward her. As her vision began to clear, the three slowly formed into one, and she noticed it lean back. Mind still dazed, she wondered if it was going to breathe fire. A phantom image of her roasting on a spit appeared in her head.

’Wait a second. Chimeras breathe fire!’ Sweetie’s mind snapped back into focus just as her body was bathed in flame. Cringing, she sighed in relief as her shield spell absorbed it, and quickly leapt out of the flames. Magic flickering, she reinforced the shield quickly, watching her vision swim slightly.

‘I need to work more on my endurance. My magic feels like it’s all spent.’ Sweetie looked to the Chimera, and forced her brain to buzz back to life, considering her array of spells. Sweetie had just about enough magic for one, maybe two more spells, and then she would need to rest. Calling once more upon her magic, Sweetie formed the spell on her head, and began to run toward the Chimera. The Chimera breathed in, and fire formed around her. Leaping up, Sweetie spun in the air, landing on top of the Chimera. Pointing her horn directly at its head, she cast the spell twice in quick succession, and leapt off the Chimera.

One knockout spell might have done it, but two definitely did the trick. The Chimera flinched, and slumped, unconscious. Sweetie collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath as her vision danced across her. After a moment, a feral grin appeared on her face. She had done it! Not only had she defeated Timberwolves, but a fire-breathing Manticore too! After she took a few loops to recover her magic, Sweetie was feeling confident in her ability to finally do her dream.

Sweetie was going to take on a dragon.

’Well, after I get a bit more practice in,’ she thought to herself scathingly.