The bike couldn’t move that fast with them on, but the road ahead was fairly well-maintained, so it was fine. At the same time, Terry realized that Vanessa didn’t have any real magic item with her aside from a few rings; she could become a lot better if she were to increase her magic power.

"I left the wand behind since I could only carry so many things with me, so this is a pity," Terry thought.

Although he said that, his bow also could do the trick, but then again... that probably would reveal more than Terry wanted, and he didn’t trust Vanessa that much yet; she was naive beyond reason, and even though she knew that there were things suspicious, she avoided confrontation with those that had the answers.

As the sun began its descent, casting a warm golden glow across the horizon, Terry and Vanessa embarked on their journey south. The engine of their motorcycle roared to life, the rhythmic hum resonating in harmony with their racing hearts.

With determination etched on their faces, they rode through the desolate landscape, their eyes scanning the skies for any signs of danger. The wind whipped through their hair, carrying with it a sense of urgency as if urging them to hasten their pace.

But just as the fiery hues of the sunset painted the sky, a shadow loomed overhead. The unmistakable silhouette of several fire drakes, their massive wings outstretched, closed in on them with frightening speed. Their scaly hide glowed with an otherworldly radiance, an ominous sign of the danger that pursued them.

"Do you want to give them a hitchhike?" Terry asked.

"Can you deal with them?" Vanessa asked.

"We don’t have time to waste, so I must," Terry said, and then he got up on the seat of the bike. "Try to keep it steady, okay?"

Terry unsheathed his icicle bow and unleashed a flurry of icy arrows toward the pursuing fire drakes. The frozen projectiles sailed through the air, leaving behind a trail of shimmering frost.

With uncanny accuracy, the arrows found their targets, piercing the scales of the fire drakes with a resounding impact. The creatures roared in pain and fury, momentarily thrown off balance by the unexpected assault. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Still, soon enough, they recovered from the attacks and then began to use Fireballs to repel them. It didn’t work completely, but it decreased their speed and power, making them unable to pierce their scales.

"Now that I think about it, do you think that they are tasty?" Terry asked.

Vanessa couldn’t help but feel a mixture of relief and exasperation. Her eyes met Terry’s, and she sensed a mischievous glint in them, even amidst the chaos of their escape.

A faint sigh escaped Vanessa’s lips as she caught Terry’s lighthearted demeanor in the midst of their life-and-death struggle. She knew his jesting was his way of coping with the intensity of the situation, a means to alleviate the tension that threatened to overwhelm them. But she couldn’t help but wonder how he managed to maintain his composure with such ease.

Her mind replayed the harrowing moments, the fierce pursuit, and the sheer audacity of their escape. Every fiber of her being had been on high alert, her instincts screaming for caution and focus. And yet, Terry had found the space to crack a joke, to inject a moment of levity into the midst of their battle.

"He must be crazy..." Vanessa thought.

Despite his actions, Terry managed to stop the monsters from approaching and attacking them. It was only a small group, but one had to have steel nerves to be able to pull that off while standing on a moving bike.

"It seems that driving is a lot easier than I thought; I can do that as well," Terry said. "We can’t risk giving the enemies a chance to hit us at night, so you will defend us since my bow is out of charge, but it should prove useful to you."

Vanessa doubted that, but that could help her understand Terry’s power... once they changed seats, and she put the bow on her back, she felt herself filled with power. Out of curiosity, she tried to use a small lightning bolt at a boulder on the side of the road, and it was split in half.

"I have a copy of this bow, and it isn’t like this at all... your trait... you can make weapons stronger," Vanessa said.

"You think so?" Terry asked while feeling like that didn’t matter at all. "No one could find ways to disarm him with that armor of his, and since he was faster, no one would be fast enough to even try.

"Your power really agrees well with you and your policy to help those without power," Vanessa said. "Still, to think that a support trait like this could be useful to you and others... it is quite surprising. I never heard of anything like this."

Vanessa probably never will, there were some traits that multiple people had, but it seemed that those people had a shared background and worldview; Terry was pretty sure that no one was as crazy as him.

In the cover of the enveloping darkness, Vanessa unleashed the full potential of her enhanced lightning bolts. With each strike, crackling energy arced from her fingertips, illuminating the night with dazzling flashes. The enemies, caught off guard by the sudden surge of power, were thrown into disarray and killed instantly.

Bolts of lightning leaped from Vanessa’s hands, surging through the air with precision and ferocity. They found their targets with unerring accuracy, sizzling through the ranks of their pursuers. The crackling energy danced across the bodies of their assailants, filling the night with bursts of blinding light.

In the midst of the electrified chaos, Vanessa’s resolve remained unwavering. Her focus was laser-sharp as she navigated the night, striking down one enemy after another. With each bolt of lightning, she carved a path of safety for herself and Terry, allowing them to press onward through the encroaching darkness.