The dragon's harem

Amber opened her eyes to a sharp pain radiating from her left arm up to her head. She immediately noticed a numb feeling around her left eye while she could only see from the right one.

She gasped, coughing as the scent of blood and burnt flesh gushed out of her lungs, "I'm still in one piece," She tried to sit, supporting her body with her right hand.

"Don't move," Merlin said, staring at her. "I'm not a healer, so expect the equivalent of sticking paper to the wall with spit,"

Amber smiled, "A shitty job, but it's good enough." She looked at her burned left arm, "I expected to lose everything up to my shoulder."

"The muscles are burned. You might have as well lost the whole arm." Merlin replied, "You might not want to use that again."

"Aren't you the one who urged me to try and control my powers?" Amber giggled. "But I understand what you mean. I should have tried using something smaller,"

Merlin sat beside her, looking around. "It's not like you lack control. The magic you're trying to use isn't compatible with anything water based like flesh,"

"Is Arad okay?" Amber replied, "I'm sure I pulled him out of the boss, but I can't remember much after that."

"He's as healthy as a horse. It didn't take much healing to get him up, and he woke up almost immediately." Merlin smiled, "Those muscles of his protected his organs from the acid long enough."

"Probably I should take his advice and work on getting more muscles on me." Amber giggled, "But that won't work, would it."

"It won't since muscles have water. You will be just adding fuel to the fire."

"So, where is Arad?" Amber looked at her.

"He climbed the stairs to check the fifth layer," Merlin looked up, "We couldn't carry you upstairs in your condition,"

"What do you think he will find?"

Merlin started thinking, scratching her chin, "The first layer was a flat grassland, and the second was a mud swamp. The third is a city that could be turned into a safe layer, and this one is a scorching desert."

"So, the fifth layer could be?" Amber tilted her head.

"Something that contrasts this layer, probably a cold layer with thick trees. We might even find a settlement in the sixth layer to keep the pattern,"

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The two looked up, hearing footsteps trailing down the stairs. "He's coming back,"

As Arad approached, Merlin stood and asked, "What did you find?"

"As you said, it's cold up there," Arad looked down at them, "A snowy jungle filled with giant and white hairy apes,"

Merlin scratched her head, "How did they look? Long legs and large feet, or short legs and bulky torso?"

"I have seen both, and some were six armed small ones that barely reach two meters tall," Arad replied.

"Yeti, bigfoot, and asura baboons." Merlin mumbled, "It isn't getting easier,"

"Amber, how are you feeling?" The moment Arad saw Amber sitting beside Merlin, he rushed toward her.

"I'm fine," She smiled, "Although I need some healing magic once we're out. I don't know if I can afford it though,"

"Don't worry about that. I'm paying for everything. You saved my life," Arad looked at her.

"Well, I'm relying on you for that," She giggled. She touched her satchel with her hand. The teleportation crystal there can only get two people out, and she won't be one of them.

Merlin stood and approached Arad and Amber, "I'm fighting the monsters of the fifth layer. You two can't face them,"

"They are ice monsters," Arad looked at her, "I can use fire, so leave them to me,"

"That would be the case if we're fighting in normal conditions." Merlin looked at him, "Their claws naturally exert cold magic to freeze their targets. In a frozen environment, the effect stacks rapidly, and it's hard to deal with."

Amber blinked, "If their claws have magic, hitting you mean."

"I can absorb that to cast spells," Merlin smiled.

"That won't do," Arad stared at her, "By the time their claws touch you so you can absorb their magic, they would be already tearing into your skin. You cast magic before their claws rip your body in half,"

Merlin smiled, "How fast do you think I can activate magic?" She stared at him. The uncaring confidence in her eyes made it clear, she wasn't joking.

"Those monsters' claws don't have that much magic in them. It's only deadly since it stacks. What could you do with such little mana?" Amber looked at her, "You would get at most fifty,"

Merlin giggled, "It's true that I might not be able to use recycling with it here, but fifty mana is enough to cast that spell,"

Amber blinked with a surprised face, "You aren't talking about that,"

An evil smile crossed Merlin's face, "Physical enchantments. Since I'm a caster, I spent years optimizing the spell for my body that I don't need that much mana to keep it up,"

"How much power could such a spell get you?" Arad stared at her, "And for how long?"

"I can get double your current strength for a minute for just twenty mana. That means I would have around two minutes and a half to clear the layer," Merlin looked down with a grin on her face, "That if they were stupid enough to try hitting me with their claws, but they monkeys, they would do it."

"I would fight with you as well," Arad cracked his neck and stared at Amber, "You rest for this layer. You can't fight in that state,"

"I can still fight," Amber tried to stand, "Those wounds don't make it impossible to cast spells."

Arad looked at Merlin, "What do you say?"

"Casting magic would agitate her wounds. It's like throwing salt on them," She stared at Amber, "Don't cast magic, just sit inside the stairs and wait,"

Arad approached Amber and carried her, "I already ignited a fighter upstairs at the fifth layer. You can rest by it's said to warm up,"

"I want to fight,"

Arad closed his eyes, thinking for a second, "There is a hard line between what you want and what you should do." He opened his eyes, staring at her, "For the party's survival, you must learn that."

"Arad is right," Merlin looked at her, "You must rest for now to fight later."