“Phew… another good session of writing,” Nobina told herself as she put down the pen. It was late at night, and she was beside herself with how much progress she had made for the night. She had completed the chapter for Harton to review when he got back. Not only that but since she didn’t want to write the following chapter, she wrote down a few pages of notes and an outline. Normally, such progress would have her concern for resources, but a gift she received from the Gaze included as many pages as she could need. Combined with her pen from her ability Pen Blade, it allowed her to write without worry.


    “It is fascinating though,” said Nobina, twirling her pen in her fingers for a bit. “I feel more… in tune the longer I use you. Even if it’s not in sword form, it just feels… right to have you out.”


    It sounded a bit silly, but Nobina considered the pen an extension of herself. After all, it was made through her ability and allowed her to put her thoughts on paper. With each pen stroke she made, a sense of unity grew stronger between her and the pen. However, at the end of the day, it was merely a pen.


    “Man… it must be late,” told Nobina to herself, feeling the urge to sleep grow. She made her way to the nearby window, looking outside of it to see the moonlight shine beautifully towards the inn she was staying at. She could look towards the northern forest and see the trees sway left and right to a nighttime breeze. It made her wonder if Fay was keeping warm, considering she was still out in the field for her quest.


    “Hopefully things are going good for you,” smiled Nobina, having full faith in Fay to handle her mission.


    Fay was an S-Rank for a reason. She also had a unique path, the Path of the Cosplayer, which allowed her to advance up the guild ranks fast. Not only that, but she had gone on far more adventures than her. Nobina could only imagine what Arrin was like, considering it was the nation of monsters. There had to be tons of cool yet scary things to find.


    “I wonder if I’d be fine though,” she thought to herself, thinking about some of the threats Fay mentioned. All it took was something fast or range to target her while she was alone without protection to do her in.


    It had been a while since Nobina had worried about death, but it was thanks to always being around so many strong individuals. Her individual power was much weaker, yet she had grown to accept it was nothing to brush off either. She had the items from the Gaze, her own abilities, and the Gaze itself. In her head, it would protect her in the worst case, but there was a small doubt in her mind telling her not to lean on it too much. The Gaze was still an unpredictable entity.


    Another yawn overcame Nobina, snapping her out of her senses.


    “Bedtime for now,” she smiled as she stepped away from the window.


    As she lay down in bed, she smiled as she saw her companions already resting on their side of the bed. They had already made themselves at home when she started her writing session, which made Nobina happy. Having all of them in her special bag made her worried about how they were feeling, but they always seemed happy. The only time she’d see any other expression was if they were communicating with each other or towards others in a serious matter. At the moment though, they were enjoying the nice embrace of sleep.


    “Time to join you guys,” she chuckled, closing her eyes. Soon, her mind began to drift off as the embrace of sleep took over.


    The following morning, Nobina gave a slight stretch as she slowly got out of bed. Her companions were already enjoying the morning, playing with each other as they entertained themselves. Something Nobina noticed is how Pausers acted as the lead and elder of the group, talking a lot to both Hammy and Spot with their squeaks. It was fascinating since it helped her understand more about how Pausers and the others operated amongst themselves.


    Not wanting to waste any more days, she packed her things up, her companions included and headed off to the guild.


    At the guild, Nobina was greeted immediately by Tia, who asked her how she was doing.


    “Pretty good,” nodded Nobina, heading behind the desk where Tia was. “Got a lot of writing done, so happy I’m making progress with that.”


    Tia smiled, making a nod.


    “I didn’t know you were a writer Nobina. Do you have a book?” she asked.


    Nobina shook her head.


    “Unfortunately not,” she sighed. “I’ve still been working on my first one. I’ve made some good headway into writing it, but I’m not halfway done with it. I want this first one to be a good piece of information, as it is going to be a book about adventurers.”


    “That’s so fitting for you,” Tia chuckled. “If you need help, just remember you’re in a guild of adventurers. We’ll do our best to help you fill in the blanks.”


    “Appreciated,” she responded. “For now though, I’d be content with helping around. Need help with anything?”


    “Nothing at the moment. Perhaps you should get some physical training in while you have some downtime,” responded Tia. “Never know when you’ll be off again on your journey.”


    “Good idea,” smiled Nobina.


    Nobina headed out of the guild to its backside. Like Agora, the guild at Tugan also had a field where adventurers could practice and train. It was one of the many benefits of being a part of the guild since this area was pretty much only for adventurers to practice unless they had special permission.


    When she got back, she noticed three familiar faces sparing.


    Wendy was lashing out her whip left and right, trying to hit both Joey and Ganore as they dodged and attacked each other.


    “You’re totally going to get hit first,” laughed Joey as he dodged another whip hit.


    Ganore, who blocked a hit with his shield, laughed back.


    “I’m the primary defender for a reason,” he responded back.


    In between them dodging the whip, both engaged each other, trying to land a decent hit.


    Nobina could only be impressed as she saw the level of concentration on all three of them. Wendy was doing her best to predict where each was going to go, making small adjustments to her hit locations. On the flip side, both Joey and Ganore were displaying how in sync they were with Wendy’s weapon and how it worked. Despite her best efforts, they were managing to dodge or block the hits. It was a nice display of the skills of a B rank, all things considered.


    After ten more minutes, Joey fell to his knees in defeat, panting hard as he rubbed the spot Wendy hit with her whip.


    “Told you,” chuckled Ganore as he stood there, panting as well. “You’re buying dinner today.”


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Wendy sighed, shaking her head as she took a few breaths.


    “Should have known I was going to strike there. It’s like you’ve never seen me use a whip before,” she smiled.


    “Listen you two,” said Joey, slowly getting up. “Twenty minutes of this is tiring. Don’t act like you weren’t close to getting hit as well Ganore. Also, you’re up next Wendy. Let’s see you land a hit on Ganore as I chase you done.”


    Wendy raised her hands up, excited for the challenge.


    “Even if you target me, I’ll still take you two on one-on-one. Remember who you’re talking to,” she smirked, drawing a fire out of the two of them.


    As Nobina gave her own smile, Wendy’s gaze fell onto her.


    “Nobina! How’s it going?” she asked, motioning for her to come over.


    “Things are going great,” she responded back, joining the three as they continued to recover. “Training going well, it seems.”


    “Oh yeah,” nodded Wendy. “We are trying to prepare for the next tough quest. Never know when our skills will be needed as one of the higher ranks of this guild.”


    “Arrin normally has a few A ranks here to cover the toughest of missions, but all the adventurers have been withdrawn on some mission,” responded Joey. “Makes you wonder what’s going on there.”


    “Something serious I’d imagine,” nodded Ganore.


    As all of them thought a bit about what the reason could be, Wendy interrupted them with an idea.


    “Say Nobina. Want to join us a bit for training?” she asked.


    “Hm?” responded Nobina with a curious look. “What did you have in mind?”


    “We’ll be sparing more between the three of us to see who can avoid getting hit the most. Currently, it’s me and Ganore’s turn to fight, while Joey tries to land a hit. Considering how Joey is targeting me, I want you to try to land a hit on Ganore. Feel free to use your main weapon but avoid any seriously damaging skills if you have any,” said Wendy.


    There was a bit of concern on Nobina’s face, but Ganore merely laughed.


    “Don’t worry too much about me,” said Ganore. “I’m mostly focus on defense, so I can take a low rank direct hit with a steel sword.”


    “And I’ll be fine on my end,” responded Wendy. “A part of this training is having the desire not to get hit to avoid getting hurt. I’m probably the best at avoiding hits of the group as well.”


    “Won’t stop me from landing a hit,” said Joey, his staff ready to go.


    “And if you feel tired, feel free to step out,” said Wendy. “This is mostly our training. We just wanted you to get a bit of practice in yourself.”


    Nobina gave a nod. The three of them got into position, with Nobina preparing herself as well. She started to do a few stretches as she watched the three of them start to go at each other. Like earlier, none of them were giving each other an opening as they tried to land a hit on each other. Nobina could tell that Wendy was having an easy time dodging the two of them. She was clearly one of the most agile members of the group, while the other two were more tired, thanks to the earlier match.


    Not wanting to leave this as a two-on-one affair any longer, Nobina summoned her Pen Blade, drawing the eyes of the other three as they continued to fight.


    “A swordsmen, eh?” said Ganore, blocking one of Wendy’s hits. “I’ll show you that I can handle a two on one as well.”


    “I’ll try to get you an opening,” said Wendy to Nobina, dodging another hit from Joey.


    “Not if I have anything to say about it,” responded Joey, going even more aggressive in trying to hit Wendy.


    Sensing the pressure, Nobina took a deep breath and began making her move. She had gotten close to Ganore yet was having trouble trying to find a spot to attack. It was only when she was next to him, she decided to go for a combo attack.


    Her initial combo was easily dodged as Ganore focused on blocking Wendy’s hit. It definitely was putting more pressure on him to defend, but not enough to draw his primary attention away from Wendy.


    As she withdrew and prepared for another attack, all of them stopped immediately when a purple portal appeared nearby. On top of it was the Gaze, which was radiating a sheer amount of power.


    Before long, the portal began to close, spitting out a single individual. They had long, red hair and a proud demeanor about them. Her red eyes shined beautifully as they focused on the spot next to Nobina. Besides that, she had slightly tan skin and wore a nice red and silver dress.


    “Why have you brought me here Divine Entity,” responded the woman towards the Gaze.


    Nobina and the rest of them merely looked at her confusingly, trying to understand what happened. However, once again, Nobina instantly recognized this as the Gaze at work. She didn’t know who it was, but they appeared powerful.


    The woman paid them no mind, but it seemed her patience was running thin. She then turned to Nobina, who felt an insane amount of pressure hit her. It was as if she was staring at death itself, making her fear for her life.


    “Squeak!” came Pausers, stepping out and drawing the woman’s attention.


    “Tsch,” she responded, withdrawing her intense aura.


    Nobina noticed how everyone else was breathing heavily as they slowly got up.


    “Girl,” said the red-haired woman. “I see you are clearly involved with these two. Come with me.”


    The red-haired woman made her way towards the forest, drawing a quick nod from Nobina as she ran after her. Pausers followed suit, keeping their eye on the red-haired woman as they left the rest of them to chat amongst themselves.


    Once they were in the forest alone, she turned to Nobina, no longer showing any of her aura.


    “What is your name girl?” asked the red-haired woman.


    “Uh… Nobina… What’s your name?”, Nobina asked back.


    “My name is Misana. I am the Queen of the Dragons,” she replied back proudly.


    Immediately, Nobina found herself unable to comprehend what had just happened. Did the Gaze bring Misana directly to her? If so, what was its purpose? Were they taking too long on their journey to reach her?


    “Now tell me Nobina. Why did that Divine Entity summon me? What purpose would you need to use a god on me.”


    The last part of what she said revealed a slight frustration from Misana, making Nobina worried again. However, Pausers squeaked a few times towards her.


    “I hold no qualms with your guardian,” replied Misana back to Pausers. “How on earth do you have someone so weak as your master? Is it because she has some sort of divine power I’m unaware of?”


    Pausers squeaked back a few times, drawing a sigh from Misana.


    “Really… Well… It is of no concern to me. My kind has no qualms with humanity, so…”


    As she said that, Misana’s eyes widened a bit.


    “Huh… I take that back. Are you… the one who threatened one of my kin Pausers?” asked Misana, waiting for their answer.


    “Squeak,” Pausers responded back.


    Immediately, Nobina sensed Misana’s aura radiating once again. Nobina was barely able not to faint as she took the brunt of the aura directly. Seconds later, a familiar figure appeared before Nobina, blocking all of the aura. Nobina breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the Gaze glow once more before returning to normal.


    In front of Nobina was a figure wearing the same armor she had on when she stopped Sina earlier. A figure that would not be stopped by another stood between Nobina and Misana, causing her to recall her aura once again.


    “I should have figured a god capable of summoning me could pull out someone like this,” said Misana, her eyes on the Nameless Knight. “Fine. I’ll hear you out Nobina. Explain to me what exactly is going on.”


    Nobina took a deep breath, explaining the situation that happened back in Wistern. As she finished up, Misana merely gave a nod.


    “While I dislike the idea of allowing a few dragons to do as they please, they do not threaten me enough to warrant me making an enemy of you Nobina,” said Misana. “It is your responsibility though if they end up threatening your kind. We will not assist unless you specifically request it.”


    “Me?” asked Nobina, confused as to why she had the ultimate say.


    “You’re the only reason I’m not hunting them down myself at this point,” said Misana, looking at both Pausers and the Nameless Knight. “I swear… do you not see how this looks? An Alpha Death Hare as a companion and the Nameless Knight to protect you. There is few if anyone who can stand in your way.”


    Nobina wasn’t sure about that. The Gaze had brought out a protector for her, yet it wasn’t her power once again. She was improving thanks to her writing, but a sheer bulk of her current power was thanks to what she had.


    “Perhaps, but I personally wish to get stronger myself,” responded Nobina.


    Misana gave a nod, giving a slight smile.


    “What purpose do you seek power yourself Nobina?” asked Misana. “Do you wish to conquer? Take on the strongest of opponents? What pushes you forward?”


    Nobina shook her head.


    “Truthfully, I merely wish to write my book,” she said. “It’s my dream to release it and I’ll be content afterwards.”


    What started as a small chuckle turned into the strongest laugh imaginable as Misana reacted to what she was hearing. Nobina couldn’t help but start laughing as well, thinking about the absurdity of the situation. She merely wanted to write, yet she was right now negotiating with the Queen of the Dragons, a figure well-known around the world. Nobina hoped whoever was making this all happen would get a laugh out of this situation, as she couldn’t think of any other reason why they’d bring about it.


    “Nobina,” said Misana, finally getting control of yourself. “I’ve changed my opinion of you. I like you and wish to help you accomplish your dream.”


    Hearing that brought a sparkle into Nobina’s eye. Having Misana herself assist her seemed like a guaranteed way to grant her the time to write. All she had to do was make the most of it. However, a part of her began to wonder what consequences or conditions would be imposed with Misana here. There surely had to be something she was missing.