《The Demon's Domain》


 1. Strange new world

    In the old forest, it was an idyllic day. With the sun hanging high in the sky and a pleasant breeze in the air. In the distance the was a large pond, with a deep blue hue. It was truly another pleasant peaceful day on the continent of Elaris. That was until a young man seemed to appear quite literally out of thin air near the overhead canopy of the trees.


    BANG!


    ¡°Ow Ow Ow. That hurts so fucking much!¡±, said the young man known as Tyler.


    He very slowly got to his feet, rubbing his back where he landed. Tyler had been walking to his job like any other day when he suddenly felt a strong gust of wind and then everything went black.


    ¡°Huh¡­ what the hell is happening?¡± He slowly looked around and took in his new surroundings.


    The first thing to draw his eyes were trees so large that even 3 of himself couldn¡¯t encircle one with arms outstretched. The limbs that stretched overhead were so large, he imagined he could walk on them without fear of losing his balance. The massive sea of dark, regal green leaves overhead blocked out much of the harsh rays of sun, leaving the forest floor comfortably warm.


    Lowering his head down the dark deep brown trunks of the wooden giants to the forest floor below, Tyler¡¯s attention was drawn to the sparse bushes with some sort of red berry growing plentifully spotting the mostly empty ground. As far as Tyler could see in every direction was an empty sea of leaves in different stages of decomposition with no sign of local wildlife in the area, to Tyler¡¯s great relief.


    Deciding he was probably safe for a few minutes, Tyler took just a moment to think about what had happened to him just moments ago. No matter how he thought about it, it was still the same. A sudden gust of wind and then he was thrown into the middle of a God damn forest who knows where, who knows how high up.


    Panicking at the thought of the fall, he started to check himself for injuries again but everything felt fine no matter how long he waited, expecting sudden and debilitating pain. All that he could find however was what felt like light , albeit large, bruising on his back.


    ¡°Am I actually fine?¡± he murmured to himself, still afraid of making too much noise and attracting the attention of whatever animal might be lurking. Looking around he searched for signs of somebody, anybody. Whether they were responsible for this, or just someone to help, he was desperate for something to help make his situation make sense.


    Scouring all directions, he thought he saw something gleaming in the distance to the left of him. It was at the base of a distant tree, and something seemed to have caught the light just right from a gap in the crown of the trees above. Thinking that it all made sense now and he was on some sort of extreme show. He was desperate for any explanation, no matter how outlandish.


    Running to his salvation, and forgetting any semblance of the caution he had only moments ago, he soon closed in. Out of breath and nearing the camera he expected(hoped) would be there, but he slowed while letting loose a saddened and confused ¡°What¡­¡±


    Tyler saw that the gleam he chased was a golden trinket that was growing into the tree. Panicking, he grabbed and tugged at it mumbling that it was a such a good hidden camera. He grabbed and pulled hard as he could and the chain snapped, sending Tyler flying onto his back, landing painfully for the second time today.


    Not letting that stop him, Tyler got back to standing and after quickly surveying his surroundings he opened his left hand to see the jewelry he had wrenched free. It certainly looked like something intentionally left there as there was not a speck of dirt on the golden, glittery, surface of what upon closer look seemed like a pocket watch.


    On the front of the trinket was 8 gleaming gems that in his eyes looked like rubies, they were spread evenly on the edges of the top and had some sort of similarly blood red metal going from point to point, forming an elaborate eight sided star. It looked beautiful and in Tyler''s amateur eyes it looked and ¡°felt¡± real. There was serious weight for something so small in his hand.


    Hoping for the impossible and to see a note from his imagined kidnappers, maybe a video recording from his friends yelling that it was all an elaborate prank, he slowly pressed down on the button at the base of the watch. With a distinct click he saw the lid swing open and he saw a simple, but elegant ivory watch face and gold numbers inlaid, with the arms of the watch being made of seemingly the same metal as on the watch¡¯s lid.


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    Stunned by the beauty of the watch and the oddity of it being in the middle of nowhere, he just sat sunned and stared at it.


    Breaking his focus with a shake of his head, he noticed an inscription in the golden underside of the top lid. Bringing it closer to his face and tilting it to see from a better angle, he slowly pieced together what it said ¡°For my loyal servant Adrest. May we build our dreams and country together.¡±


    ¡°Adrest huh, must¡¯ve been a pretty important guy to get a gift like this. Wonder how it got out here? Is this the start of some weird reality show scavenger hunt?¡± Tyler sat there continuing to grasp to the ever decreasingly likely hope he had. He moved his hand and began to close the pocket watch.


    That was when he saw something in the glimmering, and slightly reflective surface. It wasn¡¯t clear, but something big and black was slowly moving towards him low to the ground, presumably to avoid catching his attention. He stiffened and horribly failed at not panicking as he could feel the cold sweat and his jaw was clattering lightly.


    He ever so slowly turned his head just enough to see what was behind him out of the corner of his eyes. He couldn¡¯t make out too many details, but it looked like a huge black tiger. However, huge only barely began to describe it, larger than any big cat he had ever heard of, and the color was all wrong, and why the FUCK were its eyes literally glowing red.


    It was still a distance away but closing in steadily. Terrified because he knew sudden movements would set off its prey drive, assuming it''s like its feline counterparts he knew. But he also knew staying still was just waiting for death. He didn¡¯t get a clear look but just assuming from the sheer size of the rest of it, one paw swipe and he was deader than dead.


    Eyes darting from place to place in front of him, a few bushes, more huge trees, and a whole bunch of nothing else. Tyler knew he didn¡¯t have time to stand still, as the cat could decide to pounce at any moment and end him, he decided if he could use the trees to break its line of sight, maybe, just maybe, he could get away.


    Putting his plan into action, he sprinted full speed ahead to the nearest trees not paying attention to anything around himself, Tyler gave it even more than he thought possible when he heard a light but so, so loud to him swoosh from behind. Knowing it was do or die he just focused on running and zigzagging from tree to tree.


    As he was dashing to the third tree, he felt something graze him from the top right shoulder to the bottom left of his back he heard tearing and fearing to even acknowledge what happened he kept running, simply waiting for the debilitating pain that he knew would set in any moment now.


    He focused there was nothing in head other than moving his legs ever faster, his vision turned into a narrow tunnel leading him to the distance ahead, Even Tyler himself didn¡¯t know why he was still trying. He felt something wet on his back and knew he would feel the pain as soon as his body stopped feeding itself an absolutely insane amount of adrenaline.


    For what felt like both seconds and hours of torture, he moved forward. Not stopping, too terrified to even properly think. He knew even thinking would kill him, so he ran. And ran until he lost control of his legs and rolled violently forward. On the bright side, the pain of his back wound also chose that time to register, as it was irritated scraping across the ground, and that completely blocked out any other pain he could have possibly felt at that time.


    ¡°AHHH! FUCK SHIT!¡±


    Tyler screamed in pain laying on his stomach waiting to die, hoping to, as it would be preferable to the hell that was the sensation across the whole of his back. It completely eclipsed any other injury he had ever suffered, even the time Tyler had broken his arm playing basketball with friends at the park as a teenager, and the bone was sticking out.


    He waited, for minutes, and lay there motionless. With blood slowly leaking onto the ground around him making a small pool, surely making an appetizing sight to any nearby monster. But luckily or not, there was no reaper''s scythe of a claw coming for him.


    ¡°Just do it already.¡±


    Tyler muttered weakly as he shakily lifted his head and turned his body to one side as best he could in his severely weakened state. Even that action was a herculean effort, and he looked in all directions for the monster cat, but there was nothing. No claws, no haunting blood red eyes, just a light breeze through the trees. But he did see the reason he fell just moments ago; a dirty gray stone was poking out from the shed leaves making up the majority of the ground. And as he looked, he saw more gray stone, and what looked like remains of walls and buildings spotted here and there.


    ¡°What the¡­¡± he mumbled to himself more than anyone, and turned yet again to look ahead of him, there was a large black stone pillar, roughly the same diameter as Tyler himself and nearly as tall. There was something about the way the pillar sat in the twilight evening, it looked warm, inviting, and seemed to call out to Tyler.


    Tyler reached forward, bloodied hand over hand and slowly crawled, he didn''t know why he was spending his last moments crawling towards a ruin, but he did it with conviction. Something in him was screaming that he had to get to the mysterious object even if it cost him his life. His little remaining blood seemed to burn for it, his eyes glinted with madness. Maybe it was fate, but he reached the pillar and rested his hand on it as he lost the last bits of consciousness, closing his eyes for the last time and never even getting to know why he had to be sent to this hell just to die miserably.

 2. Waking up

    There was a light buzz in the air after the bloodied appendage made contact, then a shimmer as a faint near black purple haze appeared all around and seemed to coalesce on the very near dead Tyler. It seeped into him, through his nose as he breathed, through the horrible wound on his back, through every pore of his body. His entire being was changed as it happened. Not only did he heal at a pace visible to the naked eye, his muscle and skeletal structure seemed to shift and change, adjusting and becoming ever closer to perfection.


    It was unknown how much time had passed, but eventually Tyler began to stir and with a groan he gingerly propped himself up. He was still groggy from the combination of adrenaline wearing off and blood loss, but he was still distinctly alive. Slowly feeling his body and extremities, trying to take inventory of his situation starting with his legs.


    ¡°Huh, my pants are torn all over, but there¡¯s no cuts or scrapes.¡±


    Then he moved to his arms and the same thing, no injuries to speak of. Noticing the blood-stained hand, he was reminded of the wound that he had previously been certain would kill him. He tenderly held the same hand to his back and inspected for damage as best he could. But no matter where his fingers roamed there was no evidence of the life-threatening injuries he expected.


    ¡°Why¡­¡± no matter how he thought about it, this made no sense. He should have died from the wound on his back, even if the tiger had decided to leave him for some reason. That was another weird thing, how had he outrun that thing? why had it stopped chasing? When? But thinking harder left him with no answers and Tyler decided to just think of it as another unexplainable miracle, as he had been through a surprising amount of seeming miracles today.


    Looking around he noticed the black pillar still in front of him. The pillar only reached slightly higher than Tyler himself and had bits and pieces missing from it''s sides and the top seemed to be a jagged mess. Slightly glittering in the dimming sun, he also saw a bloody hand print, the one he vaguely remembered leaving shortly before passing out, not even able to remember why he had focused so intently on the stone. Going up to it to inspect closer, he slowly grazed his fingers across the surprisingly cold pillar. While the perfectly comfortable evening air enveloped him, the pillar seemed to defy its surroundings and was cold to the touch. Not just slightly cooler than the surroundings, it was near uncomfortably so.


    After getting over his surprise at the odd pillar, he took in his surroundings and the more he looked in the dimming sun, the more evidence of civilization he found. From the brown, grey chunks of stone in varying sizes strewn across the ground, to the now obvious remains of walls from grandiose buildings long past.


    ¡°Where the hell am I? This makes no sense, is this part of the country the watch mentioned?¡±


    Seeing that the sun was setting lazily under the horizon, the reality sank in and he realized that it doesn¡¯t matter what happened to him. That pain and fear he felt while running for his life was real enough for him to take this seriously. Without a doubt, he could die here, and if this forest was like any of the ones he knew, the real danger was at night, when the predators thrived in the dark, unlike him.


    Getting to his feet, Tyler dusted off the tattered remains of his favorite black shirt and grey pants. It didn¡¯t really do all that much but it was the thought that counts, or so Tyler mumbled to himself while doing the act. He could tell what parts of him had been injured from the chase just by the feeling of sticky, near dried, blood.


    Tyler felt ever so slightly better and started looking for some sort of kindling for a fire. Luckily, he noticed that it was easy to find felled branches from the heights above, and they seemed to have been there for quite a while seeing as they were bone dry. Even the smallest of these branches were six times longer than he was tall, and he would just barely be able to wrap his arms around it.


    Not even thinking in his exhaustion, slightly delirious from the near-death experience, he yanked on a limb to break it off, but he actually somehow managed to move the whole thing.


    ¡°What? Is it a super soft wood tree, and it¡¯s just bone dry and super light now? Some type of tree I¡¯ve never even heard of before. That has to be it.¡±


    Tyler nodded to himself in obvious denial as there was no way in hell that a normal human being could move something that size on their own so easily no matter the type of tree it had come from. But our self-doubting protagonist just got a better grip on a sturdy looking branch and dragged it back to a clear spot a few dozen feet from the pillar. The place he decided to make base camp as it had already given him a miracle once, why not hope for a second time?


    After going overboard and dragging several such branches to his new camp, he snapped off several small offshoots and cleared a pit several feet in all directions of where he planned to set the fire. While clearing the debris away he made an interesting discovery. Under the dirt and many multiple inches of leaves, there was a floor. In that same now off-white stone he saw elsewhere, getting on all fours to inspect this ever present stone, he noticed it looked like some sort of marble, just very old and very dirty. It was really no surprise after being left out in the elements here for who knows how long.


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    "Looks like this was somebody¡¯s house, and judging by how far the bits of marble go, it was a fucking mansion!¡± Tyler was a little stunned by this discovery, wondering what kind of important ruins he stumbled into. But that was not important now, fire was.


    After getting his fire pit and kindling prepared, he did something he tried as a kid for fun, like most other kids, and found an appropriately sized stick and a nice piece of bark to act as a base. Even though he hadn¡¯t ever gotten close as a child, he focused intently on it, determined to get it right as he spun the stick in hand like his life depended on it, because it very well could.


    After only a few minutes of trying there was a little trail of smoke coming from the base of the stick.


    ¡°HELL YEAH! I''M THE BEST¡± Tyler exclaimed in excitement as finally something seemed to be going right for him.


    In his excitement though, our easily excitable survivor let the ember smolder out as he forgot to help it catch fully into a flame. Ready to cry, he took hold of his sticks and succeeded for the second time in his life just minutes later.


    A half hour later, he had a roaring fire and collected some water using some of the fresh fallen leaves and a bucket that was less a bucket and more a chunk of wood with a large depression in it. In his investigating the new temporary home base he found an ornate sword when he somehow tripped over that as well. He¡¯d originally been livid until he found and inspected the weapon. It was an ornately carved black faded leather lacing a now dull gold handle, with a matching dull silver blade nearly four feet long and though its color had been dimmed, by no means did its edge. Testing it on his own arm rather stupidly, Tyler cut himself by using just the slightest pressure not expecting it to have any sort of edge and wincing in pain he pulled it away from his arm and sighed, thankful that it was only a slight cut to show for it.


    Satisfied with having something to defend himself with, he then hacked out a chunk of wood and made his bowl, and coated it with fresh leaves, filling it and himself at a river he found only a 10 or so minutes¡¯ walk from base. He found the water source after wandering in the woods and heard the water flowing faintly. Since the area was mostly flat and the trees were sparsely spread, he decided that if he was careful and marked his way by moving leaves as he walked, he could find his way back. Lo and behold, a fast-moving river that was close to 50 feet across and seemed to run deep. While observing the river, he also found some of the local wildlife and didn¡¯t know what to think as he looked on. There were moose-like creatures that were bulking with muscle and their large antlers were sure to break the bodies of anything that got near them, and unlike normal moose, they had razor sharp antlers that made Tyler afraid even on the other side of the river and hidden.


    He also saw squirrels that were black and the size of medium dogs and gleaming fangs the length of his fingers, brown rabbits that didn¡¯t seem intimidating at first glance, but moved faster than he could register when startled, as he got to see when a grey wolf tried stalking one that was drinking. The wolf that lost its prey was twice the size of a normal one, and while closer to what he was familiar with, it was still more than a little scary to him, knowing even a normal wolf would be able to kill a human if they were determined.


    He sat stock still until the most intimidating of the group left and made sure there was still nothing near him on his side of the river and filled both his stomach and his dish with water. He deeply drank, it was delicious, pure and clean, cold and refreshing. Tyler felt revitalized and more energetic than he had all day. With new vigor he quickly and quietly went back to camp where his small fire welcomed him back.


    It was far too late for our hero to notice but looking up after sitting on a small branch from a limb he had moved over for some make-shift seating, he saw the unbelievable through one of the many large gaps in the canopy. There were three bright moons in the sky. The topmost one was a brilliant deep purple with only half of it being visible. The middle most one was a bright, distinct, red and was nearly full. The last and bottom most moon was just a sliver, but the little Tyler could see was a deep and dark green, foreboding in the depth of it''s color.


    Surrounding the three resplendent jewels in the sky were a multitude of shining ribbons with small shimmering lights implanted in them. These were the surrounding galaxies, consisting of all sorts of shapes and colors, creating an unmatched masterpiece of a painting. It was something that no mortal could ever hope to capture with ink or paint and made Tyler feel both awe and amazement at the foreign sight that was the new sky above.


    Tyler could not believe what he was seeing, there was most certainly only one moon, it was the moon for fuck''s sake, and now there¡¯s three and not even one was the right color. There was also something he belatedly realized, the moons were fully out and while they did reflect some light for him to see, the surroundings, even when looking away from his fire fully, were far too bright. It was not a midday bright, but more of a natural, dim haze let him see the nearby trees and bushes easily, nearly as good as during the day.


    ¡°I¡¯m positive that I couldn¡¯t do that that before. Sure, my eyesight was decent before, but this is just superhuman.¡±


    Tyler sat stunned while he scanned the familiar but still very foreign surroundings looking for signs of any movement, thankful for his newfound night vision. Noticing nothing, he drank from his bowl and stoked the fire before crawling under one of the larger limbs that still had some leaves on top for cover, and tried to sleep no matter how tense his nerves were. He knew he would need what rest he could get for the days to come, finally starting to come to terms with the fact that he wasn¡¯t in any place that existed on Earth.

 3. Huh?

    Waking up the next day, Tyler felt more refreshed than he expected and was quite thankful he hadn¡¯t become a snack for a wandering animal. He looked towards his fire pit and was happily surprised to see there were still some smoldering ashes left to start a new one easily enough.


    Standing up and stretching out the kinks in his back from sleeping on leaves and hard marble. He was in a hurry to get his fire going as there was still that distinct early morning chill in the air and some drops of dew on both the ground and himself. Soon enough though Tyler had a small but roaring fire and had warmed himself and gotten his brain out of that early morning fog.


    ¡°I guess this really isn¡¯t a dream. I¡¯m still here in this hell hole vacation. guess I have to be ready for the long haul.¡±


    Sighing, Tyler checked the time on the watch that had saved him from that giant tiger, after checking it last night and to his best guess it was at least mostly accurate, giving him at least something to gauge the amount of time he had in his day.


    Seeing that it read a little after 6, he found that he had more energy than he would have thought for only getting about 5 hours of nervous sleep on the ground. Distracted, he sat there watching the second hand tick by and listening to the quiet roar of the fire, remembering his now past life.


    He had lived for 27 years and was going nowhere. He thought of his job, a dead-end cook in a dingy tiny kitchen he hated. Friends who dwindled by the day, and would only remember him when they needed something, to his distant little brother and now deceased parents. Tyler had never had much luck with romance either, the longest relationship he had was a mere few months. Tyler never had enough free time, as he needed the hours at work to make ends meet, and when he was home he was exhausted. He couldn¡¯t blame them for not wanting to be with someone who didn¡¯t have enough time or energy to keep the relationship going.


    He hoped he could live a happier life here, if he ever made it out of this forest and made it to whatever kind of civilization was near if there even were any. He was terrified of just how much was unknown. For all he knew the entire world was like this, after all, all he had found so far was ruins. There could be no humans left, if there were any to begin with. What kind of races could be here, they must be monstrous in their own ways to contend with the creatures he had seen yesterday.


    But he was determined to live and live well here, he wouldn¡¯t be led into a living hell of monotony again, he would do whatever he wanted, and if there were humans here, he would find the love of his life and they would live free of worry exploring the world to their hearts content.


    One of his few hobbies in his little free time was reading, Tyler devoured books of all genres, but had an clear favorite of fantasy. He felt that reading was the best escape from the humdrum of life. He felt his heart speed up thinking of how similar it was to many of the stories he had read and let himself dream that maybe, just maybe, he could be in a world of fantasy and adventure.


    Taking a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment and seeming to come to a decision his eyes focused of the engraved message on the pocket watch and nodded to himself, ¡°Since I¡¯m in a whole new world and want to live a great new life, I¡¯m done being ¡°Tyler¡± he won¡¯t be remembered, nor missed, he lived and died quietly.¡±


    Eyeing the name inscribed, he played around with it in his mouth, feeling it.


    ¡°Adrest, huh? I like it, it¡¯s different, it¡¯s interesting. It¡¯s decided! From now on I¡¯ll go by Adrest.¡±


    Adrest felt his heart heat up at the prospect of a new life, but reality doused him with cold water in the form of his stomach mightily rumbling. He groaned and rubbed his torso in an effort to appease it. Sighing, he grabbed his sword and decided he would wander near the river to try his luck and see if he couldn¡¯t survive his first hunting trip.


    After walking heel to toe quietly as possible to avoid startling any nearby creatures, he and his weapon walked to the river and waited. Eventually he got lucky, what looked like a cross between a deer and zebra came out only a dozen or so feet from his hiding spot in a bush with the unknown berries growing on it. He had momentarily considered trying the tempting fruit, but common sense prevailed and didn¡¯t try the unknown fruit, waiting for meat was his safest option.


    The zebra slowly but surely lowered its head to the water for a drink. It was the size of a horse, and had zebra stripes, but the colors were wrong. It was brown and white fur like a deer¡¯s, hence Adrest was unsure of what to call it, other than a potential dinner.


    Seconds ticked by and the zebra lowered its eyes fully to the water, seeming to enjoy the flavor as much as he himself had yesterday. That was the moment he decided to strike, knowing that it was now or never. He charged as fast as his legs would move, wanting to kill it in one strike.


    The head came up, just in time to see the blade come down, it sank into the animal¡¯s neck with surprising ease, far more than he had prepared for. The deer, with its neck cut opened turned and sped off, but with so much blood gushing from the severed arteries, Adrest knew that it there was no way it could get far and there would be a very obvious trail to follow. He thought it would be prudent to clean up first before he became a walking target. It was a messy job trying to decapitate the deer, and it had splattered blood all over his tattered shirt and coated his face nearly entirely. He bent down and washed his tattered shirt as best he could in the fast-flowing cold water, then used it as a towel to clean himself.


    After making sure he was as clean as he could get, Adrest decided he should find his lunch as soon as possible now. He followed the trail for a few hundred feet and found the now deceased creature lying on its side. While feeling melancholy for taking an animal¡¯s life so personally for the first time, he also knew that this forest, maybe even this world, was eat or be eaten and he wanted to survive.


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    Taking a moment to thank the animal for the food, he took the sword that he had carefully cleaned in the river as best he could and then gutted and bled the deer creature that was actually quite imposing up close. He kept a very careful eye on his surroundings, working as fast as he could while also safely doing this unfamiliar task.


    Minutes passed and Adrest did the best he could, and eventually deemed it as good as he could get. He grabbed its front legs to see exactly how heavy it was. Giving it a tug, he was surprised to find he could drag it with little effort. Confused, he looked closely at his now clean arms for the first time and noticed defined muscles that he was sure he didn¡¯t have just a few days ago. He hesitated for just a moment before chalking it up just another thing that would only bother him if he thought about it, which was a quickly growing pile.


    He decided to embrace his newfound strength and quickly ran with the two front legs propped over his shoulders with the bottom legs dragging behind his own, impeding him only a little as he moved. Adrest soon found himself back in front of his favorite river, and while he saw some monsters in the distance on the other side, in the entire time he spent near the river, he had never seen anything crossing it, so he deemed it probably safe to carefully get in the shallows and wash his prey.


    After cleaning himself and the meat again, he quickly propped the deer over his shoulders and ran to his base camp. He made it back in record time and was happy to not find anything following him back, or investigating his home. Adrest sat on his tree branch bench and got to skinning and preparing a leg to roast over the open fire.


    Adrest prepared the meat and snapped off some appropriately shaped branches to create a makeshift spit. He stabbed the limb through the center of the spear and set it over the fire and slowly rotated the spear. He kept the fire low and cooked it slowly to avoid burning the meat while still killing any potential parasites. He turned and turned, switching arms in shifts as even with his strength the monotonous work got tiring. But his hard work was rewarded with a soon glistening hunk of meat smoking attractively in the air and dripping with fat, making a steady light sizzling noise as it dropped to the flame below.


    Deeming it done, he carefully pulled up the home-made spit away from the fire and quickly transferred it to another set he had made in advance to let it cool. While he waited, Adrest took the chance to move the skin and bone that he cut out while preparing the feast and threw it to the side for now, towards the direction of the black pillar, taking note to throw it in the river later.


    After doing so he turned his sword to the cooked leg after passing the blade through the fire to sterilize it, cutting off small sections and using cleaned leaves to hold them while eating. It was delicious, not nearly as gamey as he expected, the was also more juices and flavor than something with no seasoning had any right to be, it made no sense, and he just chalked it up to being a particularly good type of meat and looked forward to trying the other cuts over the next day. He was determined to eat as much as possible before it spoiled.


    After eating nearly the entire thigh himself he sighed contentedly and just sat in bliss, enjoying the hard earned peace. Having his fill of both food and tranquility, he grabbed the leftover bone and scraps of meat and went over to the distinct marker of a pillar to grab the other scraps, but Adrest quickly went on guard when he noticed that the remains were missing.


    Cautiously he approached to investigate but he saw nothing. There were no scraps left, and disturbances in the leaves near him, and he didn¡¯t see anything nearby. But thinking of the rabbits from yesterday and their speed, he knew that there were things that could easily run by without him being any the wiser. But minutes passed and Adrest didn¡¯t see anything. Shoulders slacking in relief, Adrest came up with an idea and left the cooked scraps in the same exact spot before ran back to his fire and hid to observe.


    Nothing happened at first, but then he saw the strangest sight. The scraps just turned to dust, instantly they just fell apart. The tiniest speck of light that he saw moving from the now vanished remains, towards the black pillar that still bore his handprint. It collided and seemed to sink in the black mystery, before the while thing faintly radiated a thrum of violet light up and down itself once.


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Adrest stared slack jawed at the scene and then quickly moved over to the pillar and tried touching it to see what would happen, still in slight disbelief as the spectacle. Then something even stranger appeared, and it was a slightly transparent purple screen. At the top it clearly said lodestone management.


    Below that was a variety of options, from repair, to items, to a section called building plans and many more options that were blurred and slightly darker than the others. It also said Lodestone points (lp) 5. Deciding to just roll with it and leaving it to his inner fantasy nerd, Adrest decided to click build and a few options popped up and previews were available with the sections title being ¡°Previously Scanned¡± it ranged from simple hut and commoners thatch cottage to the ridiculously expensive ¡°Demon Lord Abode¡± being the most expensive at 5.4 million (lp). Shaking his head at the price, he went back to the beginning and saw that a simple hut was a reasonable 15 (lp).


    Coming to a decision, Adrest ran back to the deer carcass and cut off two more legs knowing that he couldn¡¯t hope to eat the whole animal on his own anyway. Running back, he threw them at the apparent lodestones base and waited until the same thing happened and opened the menu once again, going to the hut option and with his now (20) lp he spent 15 on it. A map of what seemed to be his surroundings popped up with the pillar at the center. It seemed to show only a few hundred feet in any direction, so Adrest placed it near his fire pit, but far enough away to be safe from stray sparks. With a tap, the menu blinked back the list, and set heard a soft rumbling.


    Looking back, he saw a mass of black slowly rising approximately where he clicked just a second ago. It rose higher and higher until it seemed to reach its zenith, before sinking back towards the ground, leaving the signature yellow of a straw roof behind, leading into light brown wooden walls, and one window with wooden shutters instead of glass panes and a sturdy wooden door at the entrance. The shadow blended into the ground until it was as if it had never been and all that was left was Adrest¡¯s new humble home.


    Adrest walked towards his new potential home with a spring in his step and hope in his heart. He got to the door and there was no handle, so he simply pushed inwards to reveal the interior. At first glance, it looked simple but study. The floor was packed dirt, with sturdy hard wood on all sides and a thick straw roof that would surely keep all but the most stubborn water out. Continuing, he saw that there was a spot on the walks to either side of the door to insert a slat of wood as a makeshift lock at night, with something similar at the window as well.


    Nodding in satisfaction, he threw how this happened onto the pile of stuff that he didn¡¯t want to think about in the far corner of his mind, and walked back out going back to the pillar and looked through the build menu, he soon found a straw stuffed bed to put on the floor of his new home and a make shift pillow of the same material for another 5 (lp).


    Knowing what he needed to do to thrive, or at least survive, he walked back to his hiding spot near the river to try his luck again.

 4. New Normal

    Adrest¡¯s prey this time was one of those black squirrels, it''s twitchy nature made it tough to sneak up on but similar to the deer creature, Adrest took advantage of the time it took to drink. With nearly no hesitation Adrest sprang to action and leapt towards the oversized black squirrel.


    It had fast reflexes and raised its head just before the sword came down towards its head, the squirrel charged forward with its vicious teeth gleaming in the light and dark claws outstretched. The sword, with little resistance, went into the animal¡¯s head. Adrest got a terrible scare when for just a second after entering the head, the beast''s claw continued moving and ran a gash up his forearm.


    Near screaming at the unexpected pain, he used his good arm to pull the sword out and pickled up the bounty with some difficulty. What surprised Adrest was that even though his arm was in pain, it wasn¡¯t nearly as much as he expected for such a large cut, and it wasn''t bleeding nearly as badly as he would''ve expected. But right now, it was just another question for the pile. Adrest had to quickly get back to relative safety before something found him with his sword arm injured.


    Getting back, he tossed the carcass to the pillar and waited impatiently bouncing on his feet. Sure enough, when ashes rode the wind into the air he gained 30 (lp). Adrest opened the Lodestone and selected the repair option. The sub menu contained different choices such as armor, weapon, vassals, and most importantly, self. He selected that god-sent option and it said calculating for just a moment before saying ¡°Heal to full health for 12 (lp)?¡±


    Selecting yes, that same inky blackness as before came out of his own shadow and enveloped the injured arm for just a moment before falling away and revealing pristine skin below. Amazed, Adrest turned his arm slowly in the light still not quite believing what he saw, but soon shook it off and continued to explore the menu.


    The next thing of interest he found was near the bottom of the screen, a small option called inspect. Clicking, it had several options such as blueprint, equipment, self, and other. Curiously, Adrest clicked on the self option, and it read, ¡°Inspect yourself for current status, conditions, race, boons, etc.¡±


    Curious, and his previous world¡¯s game sense, started racing and argued with himself that it must be fate, since it costs 5(lp) for a self-inspection, and that was all he had left. And with that being all the push he needed, he clicked. A new window popped up after a slight delay reading:


    Name- Adrest


    Age- 28


    Status-normal


    Rank- E-


    Race- Demon


    Boons- Lodestone''s blessing (more easily evolve and grow in power, scaling to the size of your domain)


    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that interesting, haha...ha.¡±


    It seems our very dependable protagonist is dissociating from the current situation, quickly leaving that screen to forget for now. Perhaps wanting to distance himself for just a bit longer before facing the obvious reality.


    After spending the better part of an hour, Adrest found that the menu seemed to work like a sort of city planner, with different buildings and utilities and basic items for sale. Most options were still blacked out and when trying to click one such item, it gave no response, so he assumed that as he gained more points, he would unlock more functions.


    Since he had ran out of thing to explore, and had no points remaining anyway, Adrest decided that it was a good time to stop as the sun was just setting and the twilight shimmering rays peeking through the lines of trees indicated that he should get ready to hunker down for the night near his home and fire.


    Sitting on his now familiar bench and his comforting warm fire, Adrest felt it was time to think about what it would mean if the inspection results were real, and so far he had no reason to believe otherwise. It would explain some things. For example, it said his race was demon, and if that had happened when he passed out in front of the so called ¡°lodestone¡± it might be related to why he survived all the small injuries and that giant gash across his back.


    It really said that his race was demon. Not human, but fucking demon. He didn''t know how to feel about it, but it would certainly explain the newfound super strength he had embraced, alongside his much-improved night vision. And another thing that caught his eye was that the way the boon he had was worded, it might not be his last evolution.


    Thinking about what it changed if this was true, he belatedly realized he hadn¡¯t seen his reflection once since arriving here and had an idea. He took his lucky charm of a pocket watch out and opened the lid. He turned himself away from the fire and took his time fiddling with the angle of the backside of the watch lid until he got a reflection that was more than a very blurry abstract image.


    While the proportions were still off a bit, he was stunned by what he saw staring back at him. Tyler had brown hair and light blue eyes, but the reflections staring back at him didn¡¯t. Adrest was captivated by the resplendent orange eyes that seemed to luminescence in the low light. Adrest sat stunned for a moment, having an impromptu staring contest. After blinking his eyes free of tears, staring longer than he should have, he was just as confused when he saw horns. Two small black horns, symmetrically poking out on either side of his forehead. As if trying to hide them, his familiar brown hair was also replaced by black hair that seemed silky and resplendent in the way it reflected the bouncing firelight.


    The longer Adrest stared and took in the new visage, the more details he noticed. For example, the face was so pale in the areas not being lit by the fire, it could be called porcelain. And while not able to make out perfect detail in the makeshift mirror, overall, the face looked at least a full ten years younger than he had been, like a teenager just out of school. He also happened to notice that his horns were in fact, not black, they were a deep dark purple that only made itself known when the light shone just right. He even felt himself subconsciously feel they were beautiful.


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    Near thirty minutes passed before Adrest snapped the watch closed and signed, hunching his shoulders in reprieve before raising his head with a tired smile.


    ¡°Well, I already said I wanted a new life and new name, in a way this couldn¡¯t be any better!¡± Adrest spoke quietly and let loose a sigh filled with a mix of complex emotions.


    Sitting back down in his comforting seat near the fire, he reflected on the last 2 days and what he had faced and truly came to terms with the world he had been sent to. The dangers he seemed to be constantly facing here, while sometimes terrifying, he still felt truly alive for the first time he could remember, he hunted his own food, he made shelter, he survived apex predators. This is how he was meant to live, to find the excitement in life and do as he pleased. He felt that today was a step in the right direction. He also had a feeling that his newfound race and Lodestone would be a key factor to living an exciting and comfortable life.


    The next two weeks were a blur for Adrest and a balm to taking in the reality of everything about his new life and surroundings. He strictly kept to a schedule of waking as the sun rose, to make the most of each day, and at night he thoroughly enjoyed the slight sense of safety and warmth his new bedding and hut provided. After getting a roaring fire going each morning, he used his set off to find breakfast or used what was left from the night prior.


    After a filling breakfast, and offering the scraps to the pillar, Adrest would find a spot to hide out and hunt whatever wandered nearby that he didn¡¯t think could easily kill him. Whether it was coincidence or not, Adrest didn¡¯t run into any real predators such as the wolf or tiger on this side of the river. He had also never seen anything cross from one side to the other either. He reasoned that the center of the river became prohibitively deep, there existed predators that the other animals feared in the water, or both. The last seemed the most likely to Adrest as he surveyed the monsters scattered far in the surroundings. But to Adrest, it was one more thing he didn¡¯t waste too much effort thinking about it as it made no difference to him. He didn¡¯t have the want, nor ability, to cross anyway.


    After finding and killing his prey with the old sword so often, Adrest noticed how high its quality must¡¯ve been. Through all this use, the blade had yet to show any damage or signs of dulling. He was also becoming more skilled in using it, albeit slowly. But nevertheless, it made him at least able to reliably kill the zebra-deer, the squirrels, and even once a young elk looking monster that had seemed to wander from a different section of the forest as it was the only one he had seen.


    Though the elk was young, Adrest had nearly lost an arm. The elk managed to graze his upper arm, but a graze with antlers so sharp and so much force behind it, turned into a gaping wound that cut into the bone. Adrest¡¯s left arm was crippled and he was in insane amounts of pain but thinking back to the chase on his first day, he found that same focus and gritted his teeth before stabbing the sword into the now dead elk and using his good arm to grab the elk and dragged it back to the pillar as fast as he could, feeling vulnerable as hurt as he was.


    Letting the lodestone eat its fill, he saw the elk was worth a whopping 50(lp) and smiled as he selected the heal option and happily paid the 20(lp) for being fully healed. It seemed to scale for the amount of damage repaired as his cut on his second day only cost 15(lp) to restore.


    Flexing his good as new arm and taking a mental note to always keep some points set aside for healing as Adrest would definitely need it often in the future. He nodded to himself and looked at his total (lp) that was sitting at 630 thanks to his diligent hunting and feeding. With a good stock, he decided to test something that had floated in his mind for several days.


    Adrest went to the repair section and selected the equipment tab, it prompted him to offer an item. This was as far as Adrest had gotten because he was afraid of losing this item, but he steeled his resolve thinking he finally had enough.


    Taking a deep breath, he set the ornate sword on the ground in front of the lodestone and waited as it slowly faded into the shadows on the ground below. The icon lit up and he pressed the now flashing icon. After a short delay, Adrest took a sharp breath of air.


    The price was a ridiculous 4800(lp) to repair what was, as far he could see, surface damage and a lost shine to the metal. However, it made sense when he saw the name that came up,


    Demon Lords Ceremonial Sword- Rank B


    On second thought, 4800 points to repair this godsend was a steal, Adrest gleefully thought to himself. He finally realized just how amazing his trusty weapon was. He nodded to himself that it really made sense as no ordinary weapon would keep an edge for the long time it had been laying here, and after the heavy, amateur. use he had put the poor thing through the last half month most blades would¡¯ve at least chipped, if not shattered. There were also the masterful carvings on the hilt that were now faded and dirtied, but Adrest still knew that it would take a master artisan to craft this by hand, and even then it wouldn¡¯t be an easy task.


    He also panicked as his fear of not being able to get his sword back from the pillar surged from his heart after basking in his swords stats but was relieved to see in the bottom left corner a back symbol that he pressed. Just a moment later the ground darkened and spat out his treasure.


    With the sword safe and back in hand, Adrest went to the build section and decided on getting other upgrades he had been eyeing instead, such as stone floors in his hut for 30 (lp). He also upgraded the roof to solid lumber shingles for another 40(lp). And finally, he got a cast iron woodstove for 80(lp), it also included the chimney and made a perfect seal where it intersected with the roof.


    Happy that he had gotten that much closer to living in luxury and thriving in the remote forest, Adrest closely examined the returned swords and checked its edge. Seeing nothing wrong he relaxed a bit of stress Adrest himself hadn¡¯t known he was carrying, and went back to his now much more comfortable seat.


    In the days prior, Adrest decided living in isolation was no reason to be uncomfortable, he had cut a section of the largest limb he could find. With that limb, he hacked with his sword some more and carved into it, until it resembled a little alcove with high walls on three sides that went higher than himself when sitting and an opening at the front to enter. He then got a bunch of the cheap pillows, and a wool blanket that was available for 7(lp) and made a very cozy chair to lounge in during the evening and into the night, admiring the beautiful and mysterious night sky.


    It was a night like any other, crisp and cool, but not uncomfortable and not a cloud in the sky. Sitting in the picturesque night was Adrest, who had come to realize that he was starting to get lonely after weeks of living here, but while dealing with the solitude, he was still quite pleased with himself. Adrest had come to build himself a comfortable little life all through his own work. And he could feel that he was growing stronger each day. So, while it was a little quiet for Adrest, he wouldn¡¯t let it slow him down. While he was feeling introspective, his hands were idly tossing some of the berries from the nearby bushes in the air before accurately falling into his waiting mouth. They tasted like strawberries but looked closer to a red blueberry. He was feeling at peace.


    Our hero, or rather demon, didn¡¯t decide to poison himself to test this temptation, he had analyzed it with the lodestone for a small cost. It identified them as Bloodberries and were rank C. Scary name but they were safe to eat so Adrest and tried one, and quickly got addicted to the taste, eating them as a treat every night.


    Adrest he went to bed in his shoddy mattress, feeling more comfortable than in any bed he had slept in on Earth and slept peacefully, dreaming of the days to come.

 5. Visitor?

    The next day started as any other, Adrest woke up just as the purple moon faded below the horizon and the air took on that grey pre-light shade.. He opened the shutters to air out the hut and got a hunk of meat from his kill yesterday. Adrest sliced the meat open and stuffed it with berries. Adrest found that the sweetness of the berries complimented the pork like flavor of the meat. It was fast becoming a favorite meal of his.


    Adrest had just pulled off the speared meat, letting it cool, when he felt a strong breeze above. There were a myriad of leaves falling to the ground slowly, dancing in the wind. He heard faint gusts of wind above the canopy seeming to get louder. Curious, he looked up and listened keenly, hoping it wasn¡¯t a monster.


    Soon he was able to confirm that the wind was slowly getting louder, and more leaves flew. Adrest didn¡¯t have to wait long for the next development to take place, as soon entire limbs snapped, and he saw a dark something in the distance stirring in the leaves. Realizing that this is probably the reason for the abundance of firewood, he took up a defensive stance with his sword, knowing that in a sparse forest such as this, he couldn¡¯t escape a flying enemy determined to get him.


    Tensely, he waited until the shadow turned into a distinguishable shape, and unbelievably, the first thing he thought of when seeing it was a dragon. It was huge, as large a 2-story building, and had 4 massive legs and imposing claws glittering. It was a deep purple on most of its body, regal and illustrious in the early morning glow. But on its chest, he noticed a more lavender shade of scale coating the area.


    The face of the ¡°dragon¡± that was coming closer to him and looking his way terrified him. He felt a primal fear that was absent in other fights, even when he was running for his life, Adrest had still been able to try to live, no matter how futile it seemed. But now, with those glowing bright yellow, reptilian eyes locked on to him, and the dagger-like teeth that glittered with saliva, he was unable to muster any kind of resistance, simply staring at the end approaching.


    As he waited for the end, Adrest noticed lightning. It was irregularly arcing between the dragon¡¯s deep rich purple horns that each curved outwards and tapered to a lethal end.


    He couldn¡¯t move, couldn¡¯t fight, and it was taking all he had to stay standing and holding his sword. Adrest nearly crumpled in on himself with the pressure surrounding him, but defiantly remained standing, wanting to die on his feet.


    The dragon moved closer with each flap of its large and leathery wings, they were the same deep purple as its scales and had a bright white membrane stretching across each appendage. It moved closer, death approached, 500 feet, 300, 100.


    Then, the dragon did the unexpected and slowed rather than staying on course to turn him into meat paste with the impact of its weight alone. The dragon stopped roughly 30 feet away and lowered its head to be even with himself, before letting loose an ear-shaking roar.


    At that, Adrest dropped to the ground and clutched his ears as the sword clattered beside him. Vaguely behind the roar, he seemed to hear someone say something. Rather than hearing, it was more like a feeling in his mind, that someone had imperiously said ¡°Demon! What are you doing in you doing in MY territory. Why should I not reduce you to ash here and now?¡±


    The roaring stopped and feeling like his brain had been slightly shaken, Adrest bowed in subservience to the mighty foe saying,


    ¡°Please forgive the intrusion, I did not know this place was claimed! I am happy to leave if you would give me the chance!¡±


    Adrest had no idea if the dragon could understand him, but Adrest had a feeling it could, knowing how weird this world seemed to be, he really wouldn¡¯t be that surprised to find talking dragons, and it seemed better to hope than wait for death.


    The dragon let out a huff of steaming air through its nostrils, and roared again, albeit quieter, this time interpreting it as ¡°Hmmp, This one can clearly see that you have claimed the lodestone as your own, hence claiming this, my, territory!¡±


    Adrest went pale in fright as he realized the predicament and how badly he fucked up. He was sure his already pale face became the exact same shade as a corpses¡¯ at that point and decided there was only one way out. His ultimate weapon that he had picked up from many hours of games and fantasy novels.


    ¡°Please forgive me. I am ashamed and did not realize the error of my ways until your erudite self explained. I had no idea a presence as mighty as yourself was occupying the area.¡±


    Yes, the pinnacle fantasy techniques, compliment the old master respectfully and go full ass kissing mode, it was the only route available now.


    With another roar, still scary, but not as intimidating as the first it said, ¡°Oh? This insect knows its place. Very well! As your new lord you shall offer that meat as tribute.¡± It pointed its snout towards the deer hind that was resting and still steaming on the cooling spit off to the side of the fire.


    Standing stock still for a moment, Adrest stumbled over the words just spoken, wondering if he heard right, but when he saw the gleam in the lizard¡¯s eye as it looked at the meal and huffed steam out its maw he complied, still getting over the nerved from the encounter, he shakily grabbed the meat and presented the offering to his new self-imposed ruler.


    It quickly devoured the meat, bone and all, in one mighty chomp. Its eyes widened seconds after. And a delighted thrum passed through its throat, vibrating the air around it.


    Basking in the flavor for a few more moments, the dragon soon found its dignity again and cleared its throat before roaring, ¡°Yes, this is a good start of your payment, but I require more.¡±


    Not even waiting for a reply, the cocky dragon moved over to the fire and curled in on itself facing the fire and Adrest, with impatient eyes that seemed to scream ¡°I¡¯m waiting!¡±


    His brain returning to him, Adrest moved to his remaining meat and propped it up before quickly picking a full bush worth of Bloodberries and stuffing them into the empty stomach cavity, sealing it with skewers and placing it over the fire.


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    In no time, Adrest was tirelessly rotating a huge deer creature over a fire for the rest of the morning. The scent of roasting meat and the undertone of sweet fruit cooking and caramelizing as it leaked out suffused the air and the dragon was literally drooling at the corners of its mouth as it waited.


    Several times it told him to hurry and that it was a sin to make a superior being wait. But Adrest insisted it had to be cooked slowly to be as flavorful as the leg, making it give a snort and mumbling that he should be thankful to have such a patient ruler before going back to silently observing.


    After several hours, the dragon¡¯s meal was ready, and while the front of him was warmed from the fire, his back was coated in cold sweat from being looked at with those golden reptilian eyes filled with hunger. As soon as he voiced that it was done the dragon swooped over with more speed than Adrest though a large body possible, it pulled the whole roast off the spit, and devoured it, skewers and all.


    Out of reflex Adrest yelled ¡°Oi, don¡¯t eat the skewers, I needed those still, they¡¯re fucking WOOD!¡± Adrest realized he fucked up when the dragon looked at him with cold eyes, there was a tense stare down for several moments.


    It soon let out a snort and turned its head. Saying in its language ¡°To dare yell at your overlord, you must have a death wish. Be that as it may, I am gracious enough to admit that i may have been overzealous and ate in a manner unbecoming.¡±


    Adrest swore this fucking dragon was blushing slightly when it said the last part. While Adrest pondered the blushing dragon, the culprit cleared its throat.


    ¡°And that is why this lord will allow you to cook in apology to me, you may express your thanks.¡±


    Thanking her mechanically, just doing whatever the shy dragon wanted at this point, Adrest sighed and raised his voice,


    ¡°But gracious noble, that was the last of the meat.¡±


    The dragon lifted its head with a shitty confident snort, ¡°That is no problem, you simply need more Idren correct? I shall return momentarily, hahaha!¡± With a laugh it rushed off, in its own little world happy to prove its place as the lord again after eating wood in front of its new minion.


    Adrest watched the mighty dragon crash through the leaves above and offhandedly noted that the zebra deer were apparently called Idren. Adrest figured this was his new life for the foreseeable future so in defeat he got to stoking the fire in preparation for the next hunk of meat to show up. He gathered an ample number of berries since the dragon seemed to have a soft spot for them.


    Minutes later, while Adrest was sitting in his chair, trying to get some sort of normalcy in his abnormal new life, he heard the now recognizable beat of wings and soon saw the dragon with 3 Idrens hanging limply in its claws. Seeing it fly in midair once again, now in the midday sun, Adrest realized just how beautiful those purple scales were, they seemed to glitter and endlessly shifted color as the sun reflected beautifully off them. The majesty of the apex existence in any world, demanded his full attention.


    Soon, there were loud thumps as the Idrens landed near him onto the leaves, close enough he could hear loud cracks as the each landed. He saw the dragon land back into its resting spot and give him a toothy grim that screamed ¡°praise me¡± so he did as silently told and woodenly praised how mighty they were and how beautiful their scales were.


    At the praise, the dragon huffed in satisfaction and turned its head shyly at the complements of its appearance. Now he was positive, this dragon was actually really simple, it wanted to be praised, fed, and didn¡¯t handle complements well.


    Sighing, not even surprised anymore, he got his sword out to prepare the animals, and made replacement skewers before getting it on a spit and roasting for the third time today.


    Many hours later and with 3 less Idrens, Adrest finally had a content dragon laying curled in on itself, watching the fire with a content look in its eyes. Adrest was finally able to sit down and think about some of the information he had gotten out of the dragon.


    The first thing was obvious, they were in a massive forest. That forest spanned the lower eastern side of the continent and was separated from the rest of the world by the sea to one side, and a mountain range encircling all but the north most part of it. It was home to all manner of strong monsters, and as he could see by the debris around him, there once was a fledgling nation here. Only a few hundred miles from the mountains that separated the land. It was called Mountains Reach, and was led by a demon lord, said to be born from the mountains themselves. Unfortunately, not being human and trying to control the many natural resources in the forest, he was marked as an enemy of the nations just on the other side of the divide. One was the Holy Empire of Itola, the other being the merchant Nation Radagon, respectively to the north and south of here.


    Adrest had tried to ask about what they nations were like, and what kind of people lived there, but the dragon just shrugged and said that it has never had a reason to enter their borders. But they did say both nations should primarily be humans. The biggest difference being, Radagon should be quite diverse because they were a nation of merchants, and only cared about benefits. Whereas Itola would be almost entirely humans as the god of light and the sun, Ifreit, favored humans and to protect them, intervenes from time to time. Such as divine intervention, miracles, holy cures, and heroes in times of strife.


    As it turned out, Gods were quite real. Each nation worshiped a different god, and the gods offer some degree of protection in return, although some were more hands off than others. Speaking of hands on, the god of humans, Sun God Ifreit, was said to literally touch those deemed worthy and they were granted evolved bodies with infinite potential, just as Adrest was changed into a demon by touching the lodestone, a relic left by the Demon God Beel.


    Onto ranks, the dragon explained that it went from F for the most basic of species, all the way to SSS rank which were considered demi-gods, with a + or - to used to denote strength within a rank. They themselves were happy to show off that they were already A- rank. They also said that as a dragon they could forcefully shed their skin to grow stronger when they reached their natural limits.


    Between the endless cooking and the surprisingly easy conversation with the dragon, the day had about passed, and it was nearly dark. The surroundings taking on a deep purple hue as the first moon rose, adding an air of mystery to this odd dragon.


    It seemed to have fallen asleep after eating three whole Idrens, so sitting down on his chair and munching on the last of the berries as dinner, Adrest sighed and didn¡¯t know how to feel about his sudden neighbor.


    As he lounged there and took comfort in the shifting, but familiar, starry sky that he had come to love. He also noticed with a wry smile that there were several new holes on the crown of the trees above to look through.


    Some hours later, he slowly stood up from his chair after having nearly fallen asleep. He stretched his whole body and started sleepily headed to his wooden hut when he heard the dragon stir and quietly let out a growl that said, ¡°Where is my underling going?¡±


    He sighed and put on a smile before answering he was simply headed to sleep and opened the door to his small and cozy home. The dragon lumbered over and looked inside to see the small cottage¡¯s interior, with a comfortable-looking bed and a soon to be warm woodstove to keep the chill out of the smooth grey rock floor.


    The Dragon looked for a moment and then nodded before looking over to Adrest roaring to him ¡°Very well, quite a comfortable dwelling indeed. This should do for now.¡±


    He just stood there confused by what it meant but was mostly focused on the lightning arcing off its horns sparking dangerously close to the wooden walls of his home.


    Adrest¡¯s eyes jumped to a bright white light that came from all over the dragon¡¯s body, first expanding and brightening until he had to close his eyes. But it quickly dimmed, and standing in the dragon¡¯s place was a beautiful woman who looked to be about the same age as his new self.

 6. Alissa

    Adrest stood still in shocked silence. Staring back at him was a young woman with long, amethyst-like hair flowing in the light breeze.


    almost camouflaging themselves in the hair, were twin long, curved horns, still letting off occasional shocks into the air. The intimidating weapons did not detract from her beauty in the least, instead it added an air of power and mysticism to her presence and seemed to elevate the rest of her features.


    Her face was perfect, without the slightest blemish. Her ever so slightly tanned skin and her lips that seemed to be perpetually turned upwards in a mischievous grin while staring back at him.


    Her eyes were now identical to a human, albeit purple in color. Just as before her eyes told exactly what she was thinking, and currently they shone with amusement. She seemed to be relishing his stunned expression.


    She was wearing a pure white one-piece dress, with a few pieces of gold jewelry that were subdued and tasteful, a ring here, a bracelet there. The gold matched her olive skin and stark white dress. She seemed to have stepped out of a painting, Adrest had never seen anyone comparable to her in his entire life on earth.


    But it wasn¡¯t just her beauty that made her outclass every woman he had seen; it was something more intangible. There seemed to be a sort of aura around her, it drew in his eye, and made him instinctively want to trust her. She exuded an absolute confidence that others couldn¡¯t help but go along with.


    Adrest stood there gaping at the scene that seemed to be straight out of his imagination. All the while, she stood with hands on her hips and bathed in the admiration of her new minion. Eventually Adrest snapped out of it.


    ¡°Uh. Nice to meet you?¡±


    The painting came to life, and she opened her mouth and spoke with a voice that seemed to dance like the wind, with a pitch and timbre that he was sure he would never tire of hearing, like a symphony just for him.


    ¡°Hello indeed, you may address me as your excellency, the great and unsurpassed, Alissa Covenscar!¡±


    As she said that with a haughty smile, Adrest could now confirm that this was the same overly cocky dragon that had pestered him all day. So just as he had done all day, he ignored 90% of what she said. ¡°Soo¡­ Alissa what did you need?¡±


    If Adrest were to be honest with himself, the amount of weird bullshit he had seen in the last few weeks had completely broken his sense of surprise over these things. He had gotten so good at rolling with the constant punches of this world he surprised even himself.


    Completely glossing over that her very first, and therefore number one minion, had brazenly called her by name with no honorifics attached, she smugly answered ¡°Its only natural that your lord inspects the worth of your dwelling and ensure my minion lives up to my standards.¡±


    Alissa convinced no one with the blatant excitement in her eyes as she looked around the bare but cozy home.


    Knowing he had no real choice in the matter, Adrest¡¯s shoulders shrugged in all too familiar defeat and welcomed the curious girl to his home to explore while he got his woodstove stoked for the night.


    She ran from place to place, bouncing around the small but not yet cramped living space and had to touch everything from the simple utensils and other items bought from the lodestone, such as his bench and table at the shuttered window, with dishes set for a meal unknown. To his small table and chest in the corner, with a long tallow candle sitting ready to illuminate the simple wooden objects that he had taken to carving at night with a small dagger he found in the corner of the build catalog.


    Adrest had gotten fairly proficient too. Whether it was from evolution granting him better dexterity or simply practice, he could now make simple items. Things such as a cartoonish duck, a half-finished board for chess, and a very roughly shaped wolf, like the ones he occasionally saw at the river.


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    Alissa, of course, had to pick up and ask about each and every thing to sate her endless curiosity. Her eyes quite literally started glowing when Adrest explained the concept of checkers and she started pestering him to finish the board this instant. And as commanded he started carving, knowing it would only take an hour at most and it was easier to go in whatever direction the rambunctious dragon wished.


    While he was carving away, Alissa found herself sitting on his mattress that he had just added a whole stack of cotton blankets to. Soon Adrest heard vaguely, as he was focused on his board,


    ¡°Huh? There''s nothing this comfortable in MY nest!? Why does he get to have so many fun things¡± she grumbled to herself.


    Adrest¡¯s work slowed down as he tried not to laugh and didn¡¯t want to lose a finger to the sharp dagger. He really didn¡¯t feel like learning how many (lp) replacing a lost finger was worth.


    He focused on his work again and realized that his image of this dragon was quickly crumbling to nothing. Considering it, he figured that it wasn¡¯t a bad thing, and quickly finished the last line of the board.


    Now feeling a bit excited himself, Adrest set the board. One side was lined with pieces the light brown of natural wood, the other had a light red tint. A few days prior Adrest had used the Bloodberries and water to make a pseudo-stain on half the pieces.


    Seeing the finished product, Adrest felt proud of himself. The lines that divided each individual square were perfectly straight and uniform. Each checker was thick and square looking identical to each other aside from color.


    Happily, he turned around and got as far as saying ¡°Ali-¡° before noticing the dragon had taken over his bed, quietly snoring away. She had completely buried herself in his blankets leaving only her face exposed. As he stared dumbfounded, Adrest noticed she still had that same smile on even while asleep.


    Sighing yet again, Adrest quietly rose from the work bench and managed to get outside the cabin without much noise and didn¡¯t see her move when he looked on his way out.


    Outside, he made his way over to the lodestone in the cool night air, and quickly purchased another straw bed, more blankets, and a pillow. He grabbed his haul and made his way back inside, making another bed for himself in front of the work bench, working as quietly as possible to avoid waking his guest.


    Soon enough and with fuzzy eyes, Adrest made his way into the new bed and nearly immediately fell asleep, looking forward to what tomorrow held.


    With sleep still heavy in his eyes, Adrest rose with a satisfying series of satisfying pops running down his back. After standing and taking a moment to wake up fully, Adrest carefully opened the woodstove and threw just a few more logs on the embers to keep the morning chill out.


    Finished with the first task of the day, Adrest headed out the door silently and got to work like any other day, starting with the fire pit.


    After yesterday¡¯s fiasco, Adrest spent more time than usual cleaning the ashes and setting up everything for what he was sure would be another busy day. He then prepared more wood for later, using the sword to effortlessly chop the wood into manageable sizes. Then, he was off the river for water and was lucky enough to see a black squirrel drinking on his side of the river.


    With breakfast and water in tow, he found that the camp was still silent and was relieved that Alissa hadn¡¯t destroyed everything. With a lighter step, he prepped and started cooking breakfast, Adrest had no idea when she would wake up, but Adrest was really hoping he would be able to eat some before then.


    An hour later and with the sun now full and bright in the sky, Adrest was greedily chewing on steaming hot thigh meat tasting like heaven after being starved the day prior.


    With his meal out of the way, he felt that it was safe to wake the literal sleeping dragon. He made his way to the cabin, opening it just in time to see a half awake, still very sleepy looking Alissa sitting up in the bed yawning.


    With eyes mostly closed still, and hair out of place and messy, she mumbled to Adrest ¡°Ish time to eat?¡±


    He had no idea that there could be something so cute in this world, Adrest nearly clutched his heart in response to the fatal attack.


    ¡°Yep, still steaming and waiting for you.¡± He said after recovering and pointed his arm towards the plate of meat sitting on a table near the blazing fires. That seemed to be all it took to perk the girl up and she finally opened her eyes.


    After nearly getting pushed over by the now energetic dragon that rushed out the door towards the promised meal, Adrest made his way over as well to sit relax.


    Alissa stayed as a human to eat, and with a natural grace Adrest knew he would never achieve, ripped off an arm and quickly devoured it, cleaning it to the bone and repeated the feat another 2 times.


    After cheering and clapping like a child when the lodestone devoured the left-over bones Alissa declared she would spend the day mastering this ¡°checkers¡± and that Adrest would have the honor of teaching her.

 7. Magic?

    Adrest and Alissa spent the remainder of the day and most of the evening playing, only taking occasional breaks to eat and for Adrest to stretch his limbs. Something the girl across himself seemed to have no concern over. She never even gave a hint that she was uncomfortable sitting on the hard bench, hunched over the board in concentration for hours at a time.


    Quite some time into their marathon, Adrest had fully let his guard down against the girl, leading to this exchange:


    ¡°This is so much fun! It won¡¯t be long until I master this as well!¡±


    ¡°Yes yes, that nice. How many gods are there?¡±


    ¡°Nine major and countless minor and unknown gods! When were you brought to this world?¡±


    ¡°Oh, just a few wee-!¡±


    Realizing what the question was only after mostly answering, he panicked and looked at Alissa to see what kind of expression she was wearing.


    He stiffly stared at her until Alissa finally realized he wasn¡¯t playing anymore and raised her head to see Adrest staring wide-eyed and scared. She giggled at the sight, and eventually explained.


    ¡°Everything you asked, even a child on the streets would know! You asked a lot of questions like that too. You simply can¡¯t live to be 18 and not know these things.¡±


    She had a note of self-satisfaction in her tone, happy she had seen through him, but Adrest focused on a specific part of that explanation, feeling completely seen through.


    ¡°How the hell did you know my age?!¡±


    She doubled over laughing at Adrest¡¯s face, laughing so hard there were tears in the corners of her eyes. After wiping them away and settling down Alissa said, ¡°It was a magic skill a tutor taught me.¡±


    That phrase ¡°magic skill¡± had opened a whole new world and confirmed hopes he had been keeping close to his heart. Adrest then barraged the poor girl with questions non-stop about how magic works, forgetting his fear.


    Infected by Adrest¡¯s zeal, Alissa patiently explained that there were the five most common schools of magic, being Earth, Fire, Wind, water, and body.


    Beyond that however, there were a myriad of other, more specialized and rare categories such as light, dark, gravity, utility, and her own lightning magic. All were with different specializations and uses.


    What magic you use depends on your innate affinities. While mostly random, genetics seemed to play a significant role. An example being if a human had two fire magi parents, there were very good odds the child would inherit that talent.


    Also, it was apparently common to have multiple affinities, needing at least 3 before it became anything of note. For reference, the heroes of an era will be extremely talented in at least 5 different schools, and dragons all had at least 3 affinities.


    Soaking in the revelations of magic, Adrest suddenly remembered how the conversation started and broached the subject with Alissa, not knowing what would happen now that his biggest secret was out.


    With an excited smile she simply waved off his worry, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, it actually isn¡¯t as much of a deal as you may think. People like you have always popped up. According to my history tutor, it happens roughly every hundred years and something interesting almost always occurs!¡±


    Noting the suspicious gleam in her eyes as she said the last part, Adrest asked for clarification on what exactly interesting entailed and Alissa to gleefully answered.


    ¡°Well, when an otherworlder does something notable enough to become known on a national scale, it¡¯s always one of three things. Most commonly, they gain absurd wealth or power and do something utterly ridiculous with it like establishing city-schools or taking over nations.¡±


    Adrest nodded to show he followed before she continued, ¡°The other two ways are straightforward; they become either heroes sang about for generations, or powerful villains that would do anything for more chaos. Either bringing the people hope against terrible existences, or becoming the disaster itself, sacrificing millions for strength.¡±


    Stunned by the frank attitude in which she mentioned the death of entire populations, he could only ask ¡°Why?¡±


    Whether not noticing or caring about the new gloom overtaking his features, she cheerily answered.


    ¡°Right!? Why do they all end up freakishly strong? I asked my tutor the same thing! He said that it was the natural order of things. We don¡¯t exactly know why people get transported here, but we do know that Gods pay special attention to them.¡±


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    ¡°For example, I¡¯d guess that the Dark God gave you their blessing! Think about it, what are the odds that you just happen to find a Lodestone, unclaimed and unguarded?¡±


    The dragon raised a good point. If she was telling the truth, that was the best explanation of why he lived past his first day. Hell, maybe that was the reason he was attacked in the first place, forcing him to where the gods above wanted him.


    Shaking his head to forget that chilling line of thought, he changed the subject.


    ¡°So what, you''re following me to watch a show?¡± Having a good idea of Alissa¡¯s character now, he asked incredulously. Getting himself a bright smile and nod in return.


    Well at least she¡¯s honest, he thought, deciding to once again just roll with it, satisfied with the knowledge that he wasn¡¯t in immediate danger. He relaxed a bit and continued to play with the odd dragon into the late night.


    While Adrest practiced with Alissa she answered a lot of questions he had, as well as asking some of her own. Mostly on what a different world was like, she scrunched her nose trying to imagine technology such as planes and skyscrapers without magic. It was a very informative and memorable night for both, staying up until the early morning fighting on the board fiercely.


    Time was a blur for Adrest, it was a constant learning experience for Adrest, with Alissa having moved in on her own, Adrest was absorbing the common knowledge of this world such as the common currency, coins called the trevil and their relative worth. It went from iron, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum, with each being a worth 100 of the prior.


    He also learned about other far-off nations. And she even told some stories she had heard of exotic lands whose people very rarely came to the continent.


    He also began learning the basics of magic after literally begging Alissa until she agreed. It began with her taking his outstretched hand and her telling him, ¡°Stay still and keep your mind and body relaxed.¡±


    Doing as told, Adrest took a deep breath and tried to not pay attention to the beautiful girl holding his hand. It became very easy when he felt a weird sensation, akin to a shock running up his arm, and towards his heart.


    Despite the warning, he still jumped as it moved, only staying still because of the iron vice grip on his hand. After staying there for a full minute the vice loosened, and he regained his freedom staring in anticipation.


    Alissa opened her eyes, her smile increasing ever so slightly.


    ¡°You¡¯re almost as amazing as me! You have a full 5 affinities, darkness, fire, space, body, and metal. We even have a few in common!¡±


    Adrest stared wide-eyed at Alissa for a moment and jumped up cheering, ¡°I¡¯m fucking awesome!¡±


    And with the basics out of the way, he could now start Alissa¡¯s brutal training.


    It started with the most basic of abilities for dragons and demons alike, summoning and controlling their wings. According to Alissa, they were essentially non-existent unless you were actively cycling mana through them, making for a great introduction.


    It took some explaining and more than a few attempts for Adrest who had never come into contact with magic before, but he soon could feel a sort of warm energy move from near his heart, through his back and then past it. With a sudden whoosh, a set of raven feathered pitch black wings unfurled behind Adrest, giving him a devilish appearance.


    Excitement flowed through every inch of Adrest¡¯s body with the unfamiliar appendage, and he almost couldn¡¯t believe it when he focused on them and they twitched in response.


    Alissa was smiling happily at him, knowing the feeling as she had to adjust to a human body when she first became able to transform. She took out her own wings so she could show him how exactly to move them. They were a smaller version of the wings he had seen the day before, just as beautiful in the sun.


    She was a brutal teacher, giving Adrest just a few more moments of self-admiration, before tightly grabbing him by the shoulders and shooting upward.


    Before Adrest realized what was happening, they were already above the tree line, and going higher still. Unable to appreciate the scenery, as he was terrified for his life, he screamed at Alissa for an explanation, but she just soared ever higher.


    Finally reaching a ridiculous height of at least a thousand feet in the air, Alissa finally opened her mouth.


    ¡°My father always said necessity is the best teacher. I¡¯m going to let go, and you¡¯ll have to save yourself, okay?¡± finishing with a wink and fun filled smile that didn¡¯t match the situation.


    ¡°Wha-¡° was all he managed to get out before the air rushing around him covered his words.


    Adrest was panicking, flailing his limbs in vain and all that was reflected in his eyes were the treetops below that got closer every second. All he could hear was his heart violently beating, deafening even the wind surrounding him. He tried desperately to make his wings move, to save himself, but all Adrest¡¯s struggle got him were slight twitches here and there.


    Getting ever closer to his death, Adrest desperately cursed that stupid dragon for getting him killed, all he wanted was to learn magic and have fun. But now he was dying, not even a month into his second chance.


    So close, all he could see was a sea of deep green that was about to envelop him, hiding the promise of death just below the surface. And he rebelled with every fiber of his being.


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± he screamed hoarsely against the air, and just as he was about to be swallowed by the trees, Adrest felt his mana move and flow in a way he had no control over. It spread through his wings, that he now had an instinctive feel for where they were, exactly how far they stretched. It felt no different from any other limb.


    Fully saturated with his magic, the wings moved. Not small twitches like before, but great bellowing flaps that fought against the natural order.


    In that moment Adrest was actually flying, granted he wasn¡¯t moving, just hovering in the air barely above the forest, and was lost for a moment. He was still feeling the shadow of death. But then he realized he was floating, looking over his shoulders to see the new muscles at work.


    Sadly for Adrest however, it seemed being able to avoid a messy death was the extent of his flying abilities. As soon as he actually tried to think about controlling the appendages, the mana sputtered and stopped, sending him back into free fall and landing painfully on the ground.

 8. Survival

    Feeling d¨¦j¨¤ vu, Adrest rubbed his back tenderly and looked around to see Alissa standing with a proud smile in front of him, as if everything went according to her plan.


    Staying on the ground, Adrest said nothing to the hellish instructor and stared into her judgingly, anger bubbling under the surface.


    The standoff continued for minutes, with the cocky sure grin slowly wilting from her face under Adrest¡¯s gaze and losing any semblance of authority, she pouted, ¡°What!?¡±


    Almost too calmly, Adrest stated, ¡°You grabbed me, took me up who knows how high, then dropped me with no warning. You were expecting me to know how to USE A BODY PART I DIDN¡¯T HAVE UNTIL 5 DAMN MINUTES BEFORE!¡± his anger taking over towards the end and Alissa who was bearing it, shrank in on herself. Both seeming to forget she was the mighty A rank dragon.


    In response Alissa said quietly ¡°But¡­ but that¡¯s how I was taught. And besides I was watching you the whole time, ready to catch you!¡±


    Regaining her confidence, she continued ¡°I was just about to swoop down and grab you after a few branches swatted you.¡±


    ¡°So you were still going to let me get hurt?¡±


    Turning red she mumbled ¡°only a little¡± and something about dragons being tougher before quickly trying to shift the subject back to Adrest.


    ¡°Think you can do it yourself now?¡± She asked Adrest.


    He decided to drop it for now, nodding before closing his eyes and focusing on that feeling of the mana circulating out from his core, and through the wings.


    Time passed, and suddenly the large raven wings started flapping, slowly at first, then picking up momentum. Adrest was still a mask of concentration even after raising himself a few feet off the ground.


    As Alissa clapped, he opened his eyes and smiled at the encouragement.


    "Does it always take so much focus?"


    As he levitated mere feet off the ground, Adrest was using almost all of his focus on keeping the wings moving.


    Giggling at the sight, Alissa responded, ¡°They¡¯re the same as any other muscle, the more you use them, the easier it becomes. And after I¡¯m done, people will think you were born with them!¡±


    Seeming to fire herself up, poor Adrest faced the consequences in the form of brutal flight training for the rest of the day and into the night.


    That night, worn out both physically and mentally from being forced to fly away from the purple haired monster slashing at him whenever he slowed, he loathed to admit it, but the spartan training was effective. By the end of the first day, he could at least comfortably fly in a straight line without needing to be constantly thinking about it.


    Now that Adrest could find and manipulate his mana, the next part of his crash course to power was learning the basic spells of each of his affinities. Alissa had managed to teach him the basics of fire with ease, hurling fireballs in no time. The same was true of body strengthening, the most basic application of the body path of magic.


    Even metal, though it was a tough school of magic to learn, she was able to teach Adrest how to reinforce his sword using metal magic as she had that element as well.


    However, Alissa could only give him introductory lessons, explaining the basic abilities and strengths of the darkness and space elements as Alissa possessed neither, and couldn¡¯t clearly explain how the magic should flow. But she did encourage Adrest to play with the darkness mana in him and experiment.


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    Alissa explained, "Darkness magic was auxiliary, whether it''s manipulating the shadows to bind someone, hiding oneself, or even condensing the darkness and using it as weapon and armor; it all was all the same in that it does directly cause damage, unlike, say a wind arrow, or fireball. Overall, practicing it should be safe."


    The opposite was true of his spacial affinity, according to the twin horned teacher, it was very rare and just as dangerous. Alissa told him stories of others using it to sever limbs, transport someone to the center of a volcano, or to send someone¡¯s attack back at them. In short, it had the potential to be incredibly useful, but Adrest would sooner kill himself or lose an arm than be able to control it by himself right now.


    He felt cold sweat on his back at that and nodded in agreement, imagining how many ways practice could go wrong.


    Alissa also didn¡¯t slack on his physical abilities and fighting prowess. Every day she would force him to fight increasingly dangerous monsters. It started with her dropping a fully grown, enraged elk monster that she called Enreiner into his campsite with no warning.


    While Adrest had nearly been gored and trampled, he overcame the shock and managed to slice his sword into it after letting the animals¡¯ horns get close enough to grab and force its head down and pin it, slicing his palms nearly to the bone in the process.


    After the confusion and adrenaline of having a half ton of anger dropped on him from above wore off, Adrest finally saw the culprit. A purple haired girl floating in the sky with a wide smile.


    ¡°You passed! Now the real training can start.¡±


    Adding a cheeky wink, she grabbed Adrest who was still trying to figure out what happened, and flew to the skies, this time throwing him at an unsuspecting black wolf prowling below.


    That fight had been tougher for Adrest. While he had seen the beasts from afar before, he could only now see just how menacing its claws were. Each was razor sharp and glinted in the midday light. Now that its attention was fully on Adrest and was snarling in anger at the sudden assault he could see a mouth full of long, jagged teeth that could without a doubt tear through Adrest like a hot knife through butter.


    Their standoff lasted only for a scant few seconds before the fiend pounced, legs extended to paw through Adrest.


    In nothing but reflex and luck the stunned managed to raise his trusty sword to take the blow aimed for his throat and parried the paws to his side. However, the beast moved too fast for him to properly retaliate so the deadlock continued. Pacing each other, they were in a circle, waiting for the first sign of an opening.


    Suddenly Adrest lunged forward throbbing with mana enhanced muscles, his silver sword wreathed in flame, putting the magic he¡¯d been taught to good use.


    The beast was undeterred by the assault and opened its maw wide, teeth gleaming with wild saliva spraying outwards, intending to rip Adrest¡¯s throat out. It happened in an instant, Adrest with a pounding heart and his brain screaming to run, he ignored the warning and pushed forward, his blade met flesh.


    Adrest felt more resistance than he expected, like trying to punch through tough leather. The blade went in nonetheless, piercing the wolfs chest landing through its heart. While the blow was fatal, it didn¡¯t stop the monster¡¯s momentum. The body crashed into Adrest knocking him off his feet, and the wind out of his chest.


    Panicking for a moment, not yet positive the beast was dead, Adrest shoved the beast off himself with abandon but relaxed when it showed no movement.


    With not even a moment to bask in the achievement, Alissa¡¯s voice sounded from above, where she was watching on a tree branch up high.


    ¡°Congratulations! You just killed a lone direwolf. They¡¯re pretty weak, around D rank on their own, but the annoying thing is that they always live in groups of up to dozens.¡± As if to prove a point, in the distance he heard howls accompanied by the shifting leaves growing closer.


    That day Adrest learned the difference between combat and survival, in this case, running for your life. As Alissa had departed into the leaves after saying,


    ¡°Now get back home as fast as you can, and NO flying, that¡¯d be cheating.¡±


    And so he ran. Adrest knew roughly where they had come from and thought he could find his way back but was unsure if he could do it with a dozen or so angry large wolves on his heels.


    For some reason, the thought of disobeying Alissa¡¯s rule on flying never occurred to him. While brutal, Adrest had come to trust her teaching style as he couldn¡¯t argue with the results. Plus, she might be brutal, but it was always for his own growth.


    So he literally ran for his life, weaving around tree after tree, desperate for the wolves to give up. While they were too close for comfort, Adrest was just barely able to keep them from catching up by hurling balls of fire behind himself, he had tried to use darkness magic to trip the pursuers, but they tore the shadows apart without pause.


    Finally, over an hour later Adrest saw his salvation. Ahead of him was the river that seemed to mark the start of Alissa¡¯s, and now his, territory.


    Gasping, exhausted, and unsure of just how much time had passed, Adrest knew that this was the home stretch, so he gathered the last bit of his strength and started sprinting towards the river.

 9. Training

    Just before he reached the shallows Adrest¡¯s mana surged through his legs, reinforcing and enhancing them. Then he jumped.


    Adrest learned jumping high into the air was a vastly different feeling from freely flying in the sky. He felt his stomach start to drop as he reached his zenith many tens of feet above the ground. As he started falling he failed both arms desperate to keep balanced and upright. Adrest landed roughly in the water on the other side and rolled back to his feet, not wanting to find out what lived in the deeper sections.


    Had he landed even a few feet further back, Adrest was sure he would¡¯ve been dragged away by either the current, or the other unknowns lurking in the white frothing water. He had to admit however, the cool water made the walk back to camp more enjoyable than he expected.


    As he left the river, Adrest saw the pack of wolves emerge from the treeline and pace their side of the river for a time before retreating into the trees.


    On the walk back, Adrest thought about what exactly Alissa wanted him to learn from that, but all he got out of it was more practice on how to run for his life. Something he already had more experience with than he wished.


    Eventually, when the sun was fully set and the forest turned dark and eerie, Adrest was greeted by a warm glowing fire and a purple haired adolescent doing her best to slowly turn a large spit of meat, giving it her full concentration.


    Alissa actually jumped when Adrest broke a branch underfoot a dozen or so feet away. Eyes darting to the unexpected noise, she gave a huge grin as she saw who it was.


    ¡°Welcome home! You¡¯re just in time for dinner.¡± She greeted Adrest happily, as if she wasn¡¯t the one responsible for Adrest spending the day running for his life.


    Adrest had a scowl on his face and was about to yell at the dragon, but at the mention of food and the mouth-watering aroma in the air, his stomach growled loudly, and decided to take things one step at a time.


    With his stomach full near to bursting, Adrest was in a much better mood and he calmly asked Alissa,


    ¡°What the hell was that about? If you wanted to kill me, you don¡¯t need to throw me into a wolf pack do you?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh, that¡¯s easy, but first; When you were running back, did you notice anything weird? Was your body twitching? was it harder to make decisions, to clearly plan ahead?¡±


    Adrest paused for a long moment, reflecting on the questions.


    ¡°Actually, yeah my body was twitching constantly, and I nearly tripped a few times because I didn¡¯t even notice what was in front of me.¡± He admitted to his teacher, starting to understand the lesson.


    ¡°Exactly! Everyone and everything will panic in new, dangerous situations. Even us dragons are not immune to fear. Father says that the most important skill one can have is the ability to think rationally under stress, and to always plan for the worst!¡±


    Alissa was a bit overexcited now that she got to play teacher to her would be minion once again and continued.


    ¡°When I was just a few years old, barely able to maintain my human body, father sealed me like this, and threw me into the middle of a den of Razorback Bears to teach me. So, I did the same to you!¡±


    Through these stories, Adrest became ever more scared of Alissa¡¯s father. Just by the name Razorback Bear, Adrest knew that thing was no joke. And this guy through his own daughter, half-crippled and still a child, into a mob of them?


    Alissa started to blush and wriggle uncomfortably under the compassionate gaze Adrest was giving her after thinking about the different stories she had told so far about her father''s ¡°teaching¡±.


    ¡°Sto-stop that, why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    Blinking away the thoughts that had turned in an unexpected direction and the pity in his eyes, he decided to let her off without chiding this time.


    Changing the subject abruptly, Adrest asked "So, what exactly did you make?"


    ¡°It¡¯s the biggest Enreiner I could find, we have to celebrate after working hard, right?¡± She answered cheerily, obviously proud of cleaning and cooking it by herself.


    Adrest looked at the cooling mountain of meat and could see parts where she had cut too deep while skinning, and parts were burned black here and there. But he could literally feel the pride radiating off Alissa¡¯s small form. He was starving anyway so he wasn¡¯t feeling particularly picky, Adrest decided to just call it even and dig in with his friend.


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    The next few months were a blur for both Adrest and Alissa. They had gotten into a busy daily routine that pushed Adrest to near exhaustion at the end of each night.


    He would usually be the first to wake, as soon as dawn broke the night sky. Then, he would prepare breakfast and wash at the river while he waited for the slothful dragon to get up.


    After the morning meal, the two would fly wherever Alissa willed. Sometimes it was for hours to find a beast that was roughly D+ rank, letting Adrest become accustomed to fighting beasts stronger than himself. Or he would have to run from whatever hornets¡¯ nest Alissa kicked up for him, leading to Adrest paying far more attention to his surroundings than he had been.


    In the early evenings, Alissa would instruct him on fire, body, or metal magic, which he soaked up like a sponge. Or she would have him practice his shadow magic into the night, learning how to cloak himself in it. He was even able to make a semi-solid hand out of it now, making it one of his favorite spells because of the sheer utility.


    Alisa also started teaching him general use magic that she said everyone should know. From appraisal, which let someone know the very basic information of whatever the user was looking at, to simple spells that let the user find water, see which cardinal direction they were traveling in, and even one to make the body feel rested and not require as much sleep. He had been using the last one as much as possible to keep up with Alissa¡¯s training and still have free time.


    After magic training, the two would play a game, it ranged from checkers, which was still Alissa¡¯s favorite, to new ones such as chess and connect 4. Adrest even made rudimentary cards from thick paper bought from the Lodestone.


    Speaking of the Lodestone, Adrest had spent a lot of time in the late evenings and early mornings searching through its many menus and choices. He had come to learn that if an object was given to the lodestone, it could analyze it, adding it to the list of buy options. The downside was that the original was lost in the process. Apparently, he could even add more buildings by simply having detailed enough drafts and designs made and given to the lodestone.


    With a steady supply of points coming in from his hunts and training, Adrest had accrued well over 10,000 and was happy to let the number keep growing for now, planning to dip into his savings once he had a real reason to.


    After playing with the Lodestone, Adrest would return to the cabin every night, making sure the wood stove is stocked and slipping into what was now his bed near his workbench, peacefully dreaming for a few hours every night.


    Finally, Adrest was starting to feel like he understood how to use a sword. The grip and stances feeling natural, and strikes flowing like water from one to the next. He was also quickly building muscle through the intense routine, not getting larger, but his frame was being filled out with the beginnings of abs being carved in his stomach and arms feeling like tense cord when flexed.


    Adrest loved the feeling of growth and accomplishment this time had given him. He was now able to shake off even some C rank monsters with nearly no injuries and could kill any D rank monsters one on one, even versus two if he was careful.


    However, any sense of newfound pride he had was demolished with one sentence from Alissa.


    "Congratulations! You have enough of the basics down to spar with me."


    They used sticks as practice swords to avoid any messy accidents, and before Adrest knew what happened, he was flying through the air, confused, then roughly landed on his back with the air knocked out of him.


    Coughing he got back to his feet, although slightly hunched, and looked curiously at Alissa not quite understanding what happened.


    With laughter like chimes in the wind, she wiped a tear from her eye and explained, ¡°You weren''t prepared. You¡¯re not used to fighting anything other than beasts. Your legs were wide open and your balance was all off. Again?¡±


    With understanding in his eyes, Adrest nodded and sank into a defensive position. Sadly for Adrest, this didn¡¯t help in the least.


    This time Alissa rushed in and just before their "swords" clashed, Alissa moved out and behind Adrest''s sword arm. She rested the stick against his neck.


    ¡°You have to expect enemies to feint, not even just humans, but some of the smarter monsters will strategize, hoping to throw you off and go for the kill. Again?¡±


    That was effectively the rest of Adrest¡¯s day, correcting one issue Alissa pointed out, just for her to find another.


    He realized just how outclassed he was compared to her that day. While in his mind Adrest knew she was the same monstrous purple dragon that descended in a rage, he had a hard time bringing the image of the effervescent beauty that was sometimes gluttonous, sometimes stayed up far too late playing games, and always had a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, together with the fearsome apex of beast.


    The difference wasn¡¯t just strength or speed either, but perfect technique. Adrest had never even come close to touching her dress, let alone having a strike land. Roughly two hours later, they stopped and Adrest was feeling like he had learned a lot, but also realized just how far he had to go,


    Adrest followed Alissa back to the fire before sitting at his chair and sulked a bit as he felt like he''d been put back to square one.


    Alissa of course noticed his pouting and went over, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°You should be proud of yourself! You¡¯ve improved so much every day, not to mention the difference between now and when I first met you. Besides if you managed to get one over on me already, wouldn¡¯t that make the last 25 years of my life spent training a waste?¡±


    Adrest appreciated the gesture, knowing he was acting immature. Still in a bit of a slump but perking up slightly, he jumped on the last part of her statement ¡°twenty years?¡±


    Nodding and smiling at her more cheerful friend, ¡°Yep, basically a few months after I was born, to last year, father has been training me in all sorts of things. He taught me survival and fighting himself, we spent a LONG time together in the middle of nowhere with strong monsters everywhere. Then he hired a bunch of people to teach me about the world, about government, and about etiquette. Everything together, it took about 25 years just to get him to let me go out alone.¡±


    Adrest was stunned, learning more about the girls¡¯ past. But staring at Alissa he asked a question that was now burning in his mind.


    ¡°How old are you actually?¡±

 10. Fun

    Adrest didn''t hear her response, so much as felt. A palm smacked him straight on the back of his head. Thankfully Alissa hadn¡¯t put real strength behind it, but it still stung.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know anything! Don¡¯t ask a beautiful young woman her age! And I¡¯ll have you know I¡¯m only 26 this year.¡±


    Shocked, Adrest blurted out the first thing that came to mind.


    ¡°So old?¡± As soon as the words came out Adrest felt a palm hit his head again, this time harder than the last. He clutched the back of his head, and looked up to see Alissa half glaring at him with an icy cold smile.


    ¡°You idiot! Dragons live for well over a thousand years with extremely powerful bodies, we mature slower than the other races! I¡¯m still really young for a dragon!¡±


    Understanding dawned on Adrest, and he hastily apologized and promised to play games as long as she wanted tonight, anything to get that scary not-smile off her face.


    Small interactions like these marked the passage of days for the odd pair, happy to live completely isolated from the rest of the world. Adrest was happy to learn as much as he could from Alissa, and she was happy to teach someone for the first time. Not to mention the comforts and games that Adrest had were unique in this empty forest.


    Adrest noticed that it was getting warmer day by day. After asking Alissa, he learned that they were reaching the peak of summer, it was apparently similar to his previous world in that there were twelve months in a year, but each had 30 days. We were currently in the seventh month of the year, but Alissa did not know the exact day.


    Worried about the coming months, Adrest also asked how cold it would get here, and was relieved to hear that they were towards the southern side of the continent, and it didn¡¯t get cold enough to affect a dragon and demon who had naturally tough bodies.


    It was also around that time that Adrest sighed yet again over the lack of entertainment and luxuries available in the lodestone. It seemed most items were the essentials for survival, fighting, shelter, and not much else.


    Adrest was lost in his thoughts wishing he could get spices or more interesting ingredients to change up their meals more. He was also growing a little curious about what the people of this world were like. While Alissa had repeated what she¡¯d been taught about the different races in general, she also admitted she didn¡¯t really get to meet many others growing up.


    After Adrest explained his current thoughts to her, Alissa nodded in understanding


    ¡°I¡¯m also curious now. I wonder what kind of games we could find in a town?¡±


    Perking up she nearly yelled, ¡°I remember! I saw it on a map before I left, there¡¯s a small outpost town belonging to Radagon near the base of the mountains a little over a thousand miles away. I think.¡±


    ¡°You think?¡±


    ¡°I was a long time ago, and I know it¡¯s near the mountain, I just can¡¯t remember exactly where, I¡¯ll find it in no time!¡± Alissa jumped to her feet in defense and sprouted her gem-like wings, seemingly intent on leaving that instant.


    ¡°Hold on! it¡¯ll be dark in a few hours, if you really want to go, we can tomorrow, okay?¡±


    Alissa¡¯s wings drooped, then disappeared as she nodded. Adrest packed the two of them simple rucksacks he had found in the Lodestone, they contained some Bloodberries, a sac of water, and some dried meat he had finally figured out how to prepare without burning over the fire.


    The two woke early the next day, which was rare for Alissa who always slept in as late as possible. They made sure both the fires were completely smothered, the cabin securely shut, and were soon flying through the sky towards imposing mountains that were barely visible in the distance.


    The two flew for hours and hours, watching the mountains slowly become bigger on the horizon, until eventually the pair came to about a hundred miles away from the mountain¡¯s base.


    Alissa came to a sudden stop, with Adrest flying more than a hundred feet ahead before quickly doing the same and going back to the focused girl floating in the sky.


    Alissa looked from left to right, inspecting the range of forest ahead of the odd pair, before focusing in on a direction to the right of them beyond what Adrest could see.


    ¡°It¡¯s there!¡±


    The dragon darted off without the slightest care for the demon she was supposed to be guiding, making Adrest rush off at top speed to keep her in sight.


    The chase only lasted another half hour or so before she abruptly stopped and waited for Adrest to catch up.


    As he approached, Alissa pointed off into the distance, following that direction Adrest could see a town in the far distance, it didn¡¯t seem large by any means, but there was a fair area of forest cleared out, with many wooden buildings filling the space. As Adrest looked further, he also saw a large street in the center with brightly colored vendor carts lining the sides, though as small as ants in the distance, Adrest could also see many people wandering about, running from place to place. In Adrest¡¯s opinion, it looked like a stereotypical fantasy town, and he felt his blood pumping in excitement.


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    Looking back to his guide, Adrest saw the Alissa had a wide grin and flushed cheeks while inspecting the town. Thinking back to what she said about not meeting many people growing up Adrest asked, ¡°Is this your first time visiting a town too?¡±


    ¡°Mhh-hmm! In the first place, dragons are very independent so it¡¯s rare for very many to be in the same place, and father never let me leave the country be myself, so I¡¯ve only seen some cities and town in passing while traveling with him.¡±


    Feeling sorry for the sheltered girl, who seemed more excited than Adrest, he smiled, ¡°Then let¡¯s have fun!¡±


    They dropped to the ground below and made their way to the village on foot, deciding on it beforehand to avoid scaring the townspeople and alerting the guards.


    He heard an excited ¡°Yep!¡± and wind rushing behind him as he made his way to the nearby town, only needing to walk for an hour or so before seeing a gate with a guard on lookout above, scanning the surroundings and quickly seeing the odd-looking pair of horned youths walking out of the trees.


    ¡°You two there! I don¡¯t remember your faces before. Why are you entering from that direction?¡± The man in armor atop the gate yelled, making the pair pause for a moment to look at each other with the girl shrugging and the boy sighing.


    The pair walked closer with the boy yelling, ¡°We crossed the mountains to look for rare herbs and ingredients, but we got a little lost and just found our way out haha¡­¡±


    Knowing that a village at the border of a country attracted a lot of strange groups, the guards didn¡¯t think too much about it and replied when they got close to the closed gate.


    ¡°Right, well as long as you have the money for a temporary ID you can enter with no problem.¡±


    The boy pulled out a leather bag full of Trevil, ¡°No problem there.¡±


    With that, the gate opened and they were asked some basic questions by a government employee in a booth on the other side. Questions such as name, age, and identifying features before getting a small card with a copy of that information.


    Alissa was walking along Adrest with a happy smile while looking at her ID. She also took time to take in her surroundings after entering the town proper. All around them were stone and wood buildings on either side, with cobbled streets connecting them. There were signs for all the different establishments hanging off buildings. From bars and inns to restaurants and clothing stores. The two took their time taking in all the new sights and sounds.


    They found an inn for the night called the Home and Hearth. It was in the middle of town and had large doors sitting wide open letting them see the inside. There were large kegs stacked behind the bar, where a pretty redheaded girl was tending to the patrons sitting sporadically through the room.


    Adrest and Alissa approached the bar and got the attention of the girl. As they talked, they learned the bartender¡¯s name was Rose. She was a nice girl who was taking over the business for her mother now that she was seventeen. She had pale skin and a few freckles on her nose. Her eyes were a deep emerald green. Rose was wearing a bright smile as she chatted with Adrest and Alissa, who were eating lunch after they dropped off their things in their room upstairs.


    Adrest had wanted to get two rooms, but Alissa cut in and asked for a single room with two beds. Rose smiled at the pair who she now assumed were dating and spent most of her time with them.


    As the pair returned to their seats, Rose paid special attention to them as she hadn¡¯t seen many other races before and was very curious.The assumed couple in turn asked questions about where they should visit and what they should do while visiting. Armed with their new information, Adrest and Alissa left the Inn for the day and decided to explore the market square first.


    Wandering the long rows of vendors, Adrest bought a variety of spices and cooking equipment that he saw, while Alissa grabbed any interesting trinket, puzzle, or game she could find, she was still buzzing with happiness about her haul.


    ¡°Hey, hey Adrest promise me you¡¯ll teach me to play with these cards tonight okay! And you have to show me this dice game too, alright?¡±


    Alissa began pestering him as soon she had new games in a leather backpack Adrest had bought for each of them. They were taking a break from shopping and eating dinner at an outdoor table near some food vendors enjoying the city dyed in sunset rays.


    Adrest was eating a meat skewer with a type of chicken, covered in a sweet tangy sauce while slowly taking in his surroundings with his enhanced eyesight, his attention was grabbed by a commotion in the distance. A young man, maybe twenty years of age was shouting at a rabbit eared girl in her early teenage years who was crying on the ground. The boy seemed to be influential in some way judging by the quality of his clothes, and Adrest had a good grasp of the situation as he saw a metal collar around the poor girl¡¯s neck.


    He took in the situation and felt his heartbeat quicken in anger. His mana stirred in response to the rising emotions. Alissa, sitting next to him noticed his flux in emotion and looked at the direction his eyes were pointing at before letting out a sad sigh.


    ¡°That poor girl. I¡¯ve heard slaves aren¡¯t uncommon in most places, whether they¡¯re sold to pay off debts or criminals serving their sentence. Though some countries and cities are better than others at ensuring a certain degree of slave¡¯s rights, they almost never have an easy life.¡±


    Alissa continued,


    ¡°I can''t imagine what that child''s had to endure to end up a slave so young. And she¡¯s from the Spirit Rabbit race, they¡¯re supposed to be quite lucky so that makes it even more strange.¡±


    Adrest pulled his gaze off the girl and wealthy man, looking at Alissa with curiosity.


    Alissa turned away from the scene as well explaining, ¡°Remember when I said that Gods give gifts to their followers? Well, the Spirit Rabbits are favored by the Goddess of life, Nina. All living things will have positive feelings towards them, and they''re usually blessed with quiet lives.¡±


    Understanding, Adrest nodded and looked back at the pair who were now hidden behind a carriage with a crest on the side. It was a shield with what looked like a bear in the center.


    Adrest made sure to remember the insignia to ask about it later, and tried to distract himself with the food in front of him and switched the topic. He asked Alissa who was back to eating her last skewer.


    ¡°What do you think of your first real town so far?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very loud, but also a lot of fun!¡± Alissa answered excitedly, with her lustrous hair bouncing as she spoke.


    ¡°Haha, I can¡¯t really argue with that. I guess I got used to the peace and quiet too. But this will be a lot of fun every now and then.¡± As he replied Alissa nodded agreeing that the forest really was the best.

 11. Drinking

    With their conversation and food finished, Adrest and Alissa got up and walked under the glow of the magic lamps that lined the streets, giving everything a warm yellow glow. They walked back to Home and Hearth, both greeting Rose as they walked in and took a seat at the bar.


    Rose greeted the interesting duo with a bright smile and brought two ales. Alissa had never tried anything other than wine in her etiquette classes, and was curious about what normal people drank. Adrest was also curious about the alcohol of this world.


    They found the warm, slightly carbonated ale a little bitter, but refreshing in its own way and they had a few more mugs getting slightly rosy cheeks. The pair sat at the near empty bar chatting with Rose about what they had done throughout the day. From the outdoor markets to browsing food stalls, with Alissa showing off her new games excitedly and bragged about Adrest teaching her all of them later.


    Rose was giggling at the rambunctious demi-human across from her, who was slightly drunk having a great night. Eventually, Adrest became less animated and described the noble they had seen abusing and berating a slave and the crest across the carriage.


    Rose¡¯s eyes widened in surprise on hearing the insignia, ¡°Huh? The Randier merchant group?¡±


    Adrest and Alissa perked up.


    Rose explained, ¡°They¡¯re a fairly famous middling group of merchants in the Radagon Empire. They make most of their money on exotic slave trade and other questionable goods. If you say it was a rare species of Demi-human, I¡¯d guess that they are being entered into the auction that is coming up in a about a week?¡±


    ¡°Auction?¡± Echoed Adrest and Alissa.


    ¡°Yes, every year the town of Forest''s Edge holds an auction for all sorts of goods that can only be found in this forest and rarely seen treasures before they are brought back to the nearest city on the other side of the mountain range to be distributed through the rest of the country. You will see all sorts of different group¡¯s representatives filtering in to participate in the auction soon, either to buy or sell.¡±


    They both thanked Rose for the information and asked if they would be able to participate in the auction too. Adrest was relieved to hear that they would only need to pay an entry fee of twenty Gold Trevil. While this number would scare a normal family, who could live for a year off such an amount, it wasn¡¯t much for Adrest, who could abuse the power of his lodestone to create more when needed.


    The two friends and new acquaintance chatted in between Rose running to serve other customers, always making sure the pair had full glasses and were happy. Overall, it was a great night for Alissa and Adrest who had both drank far more than expected, getting lost in the friendly mood and warm atmosphere of the bar room.Adrest and Alissa eventually stumbled up the steps, Adrest had a hand on Alissa who was stumbling to support her. She was giggling and slurring through her plans to stay up all night with Adrest playing cards.


    Her body had other plans though, as soon as Alissa got into their room, she sat on a chair at the table. As Adrest drunkenly shuffled the cards and tried his best to remember the rules to the game, he heard a hard thunk.


    Looking up, he saw Alissa with her head lying on its side on the tabletop. Even sleeping she had a large grin on her rosy face, and Adrest was happy that he could give his first friend in this world a good memory.


    With his eyes getting heavy in the low light of the inn room, Adrest pushed himself up and away from the table, taking a minute to get his balance before making his way over to the sleeping girl on the other side.


    Gently, he shook Alissa¡¯s shoulder trying to coax her into a bed, but no matter what he tried she wouldn¡¯t budge. After a few more tries, he gave up and decided to go with the backup plan.


    Taking a breath and sobering up for a moment, Adrest carefully picked the tired dragon up in his arms and slowly made his way over to her bed. Thankfully Alissa made his life easier by wrapping her arms around his chest as she slept, keeping a tight hold.


    That also worked against Adrest as he spent quite a while getting the stuck girl off of him and comfortable in her own bed. Eventually Adrest had her sleeping on her and tucked in comfortably.


    With a tried yawn, he blew out the candle and turned off the mana light on the wall, sinking the room into a comfortable grey for the demon. Adrest made his way to his bed, thinking about how much fun the day had been, and thankful to the dragon that was always making life more exciting.


    Happy and warm, he fell asleep to the soothing quiet snore coming from Alissa that he had unknowingly become so used to in the last months.


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    The next morning Adrest awoke to a strange feeling. With his eyes still closed and barely conscious, he felt an odd warmth on a slightly numb right arm. There was also something tickling his nose lightly brushing against it, probably what had woken him up in the first place.


    Confused, Adrest opened his eyes slowly to see just the barest rays of dawn filtering in through the window, and a mere few inches from his face was a sleeping beauty.


    Alissa was fast asleep on his arm, with her nose nearly touching his cheek, purple hair everywhere and resting soundly. She still had a tiny grin and looked completely at peace.


    Adrest just stared at the angelic face next to his, feeling completely at peace. He wished they could stay like this forever. While Adrest had never really given a relationship much thought as he had been so focused on survival, he had to admit Alissa was perfect. So much so that it had taken a weeks to get used to seeing such a flawless face up close every day. Even now, he was still entranced by the innocent, playful woman that rested next to him.


    Enjoying the scene thoroughly and deciding to not question why she was in his bed after he remembered putting Alissa in her own last night. Adrest eventually, slowly, freed his arm from under Alissa¡¯s head and carefully got up to avoid disturbing her as she was sure to be tired still. As he moved from the bed, she turned over to where he had been, and pulled the blankets closer to herself.


    Creeping out of the room, and with a slight headache Adrest made his way downstairs to the bar room to see a yawning Rose making herself this world¡¯s version of coffee behind the bar.


    Seeing Adrest make his way over, Rose perked up and greeted him happily. Adrest was surprised to see her up so early, especially since they had stayed up with her fairly late into the night just yesterday.


    ¡°You¡¯re up awful early Rose, did you get enough sleep last night, you worked the whole day yesterday too right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling great! After all, I¡¯ve got to work hard if I want to succeed, right?¡± She replied cheerily and explained that while there were a few cooks and cleaners, to keep costs low, she is usually the only one to work the bar and reception.


    ¡°Huh, you¡¯ve got it tough too, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Adrest said with new respect for the dedicated inn keeper, meanwhile she just laughed and offered him a cup of coffee and a breakfast tray, which was eggs, a large slice of brown bread and warm butter, along with a side of fresh vegetables. It Adrest accepted gratefully and felt the remnants of last night¡¯s drinking go away in minutes.


    Now full of energy, Adrest thanked Rose for the meal and asked about what kind of clothing shops were in town. Getting a few recommendations, he got a second breakfast platter to go, and made his way back to his room where he was not in the least surprised to see the dragon blissfully asleep, now having taken over his bed completely, yet again.


    Going near the bed snatching dragon, he set the tray of food and mug of coffee down and knowingly waited for just a few moments before Alissa¡¯s nose twitched slightly in her sleep, slowly cracking open her eyes and groaning slightly as she sat up in bed.


    ¡°Adrest? Ish breakfash ready? Ugh, my head.¡± Alissa groaned with her forehead in one hand.


    Laughing at the suffering girl, he got up, handed her the mug, and told her to drink. She grabbed the drink and unquestioningly downed the hot beverage, drinking half of it before putting it down and scrunching her nose ¡°Bitter¡­¡±


    ¡°Ha! Yeah, it takes some getting used to, but your head feels better right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right!¡±


    Alissa sounded more energetic and more like her usual self. It also seemed that that was the moment she realized she wasn¡¯t in her bed and seemed to remember last night.


    Blushing and looking at the mug in her head she shyly said ¡°Umm... sorry, I think I drank too much, I just remember how warm it was when you picked me up. I must¡¯ve crawled over here¡­¡±


    Barely able to finish, the embarrassed dragon was beet red and Adrest felt his own cheeks heat up slightly before rubbing his head saying, ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say it really bothered me, after all you have a cute sleeping face.¡±


    Realizing what he had just accidentally said, Adrest panicked, and his face turned as red as the dragon¡¯s, who might actually have steam coming from her ears after hearing that with her face hidden in her hands. It was too bad for Adrest, those hands blocked him from seeing the grin that had appeared after he said the word cute.


    One slightly awkward meal later in their room, and they seemed to be back to normal, both deciding to write off last night. They headed downstairs and walked out, saying goodbye to Rose as they left and discussed the plans for the day. Neither saw the big grin on her face as she misunderstood the flushed, slightly blushing faces of the duo.


    Adrest and Alissa wandered through the streets, slowly making their way to a clothing store that Rose had recommended for formal and semi formal wear, something the two needed to fit in at the auction house.


    An employee, a woman who seemed to be in her thirties and had long, slender ears and green hair helped them. As it turned out, it was an eleven-owned establishment, using materials unique to the forests they guard and inhabit. They employed nearly exclusively demi-humans of all creeds to give them more opportunities for employment.


    The store was called Leaf of the Great Tree, and the woman who greeted them was named Mure. She was soft spoken and respectful to the pair as they asked for help and recommendations from the elf.


    The two bought many items, from causal silk buttoned shirts and slacks for Adrest and causal dresses in different colors for Alissa, to formal gowns and custom fit suits for the soon to be auction.


    Today¡¯s shopping had been quite expensive as the store had carried high quality items at an equivalent price. They were almost out of money but they¡¯d already planned to make a quick return trip to the camp that night anyway so they could get more. In the late of night when all the townsfolk were asleep, the pair quietly opened their window on the second floor of the inn and flew into the dark cloudy night.


    In just a few hours, Adrest and Alissa made it home and offloaded everything they had picked up in the last few days. While he was there, Adrest spent all but a few thousand (lp) and exchanged them for slightly more than 10,000 gold Trevil, wanting to be as prepared as possible. With their two packs loaded with gold, they made their way back to the town just before the sun started to rise and sneaked back to their room, everyone none the wiser.

 12. Auction

    The tired pair slept in until the sun was high in the sky and glaring into the room. Groggily, Adrest woke up and stretched his cramped muscles before making his way to the sleeping Alissa. Crouching down he gently nudged her shoulder while speaking softly, ¡°Alissa, Alissa, its time to get up.¡±


    It took nearly thirty minutes of prodding before Alissa was able to keep her eyes open. With many yawns and half lidded eyes, Alissa eventually forced herself away from her bed and half-asleep, followed Adrest down the stairs for breakfast.


    After a warm meal, the pair were fully awake and enjoyed the day to their limits. They ran around to different cafes and had a picnic at a small park. The two also stopped at the local adventurer Guild house to sign up for fun. A short form and a few silver Trevil later, the pair were certified F rank adventurers.


    Alissa was the one who recommended they sign up. There were many benefits, and it easy to get started. One benefit to adventuring being they could get travel visa¡¯s to many countries with the Guild acting as their guarantor. Another reason for signing up was to make money and build connections with other strong adventurers. Plus, the higher ranks would naturally meet important people. However, for Adrest the most important reason was that they also doubled as a bank for their members. With branches and wealth spread through nearly every inch of the entire continent, they were the best creditors.


    With guild ID in hand, Adrest asked the receptionist, ¡°By the way, now that we¡¯re adventurers we can use set up a bank account, right?¡±


    The guild employee nodded and handed Adrest a few more papers to fill out before saying, ¡°Great! Now how much would you like to deposit, there is a 3-gold minimum.¡±


    Adrest tried to act casually as he and Alissa both set down large leather bags filled to the brim with gold Trevis. At the sight the poor receptionist¡¯s eyes bulged and she lightly coughed before smiling at the pair trying to brush off the incident.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you the account details as soon as some other employee¡¯s and I finish verifying the amount. Please have a seat and I¡¯ll return shortly.¡± She set the two heavy sacks on a cart before taking them around a corner behind the counter.


    Not even five minutes later she returned with a shiny metal card. On one side was Adrest¡¯s name and a long string of numbers along with a seal at the bottom corner and a pale blue gem at the center. He and Alissa admired the card for a moment before thanking the woman and quietly leaving back to the inn now that they had done all they planned to for the day.


    The days passed like that, enjoying the peaceful life of the small town, Adrest and Alissa quickly becoming good friends with Rose. They would keep her company every night for at least a drink or two, though they hadn¡¯t gotten nearly as drunk as the first night again. They also accepted a few of the rank F and E quests that sounded interesting. One was finding herbs in the outskirts of the forest, another was killing giant ants that can be found nearby, and so on. Naturally they were quickly turned in, getting promoted to E rank.


    Soon enough, the day of the auction arrived. The town was especially busy as Adrest and Alissa exited the inn, having changed into their brand new, best clothes and headed for the auction house.


    Adrest wore pitch black suit jacket, a red silk undershirt, and a gray tie with matching black pants and pointed leather shoes. The dark outfit contrasted his bright orange eyes greatly, drawing people into the fires that seemed to blaze eternally behind them. He truly embodied the word ¡°devilish¡± in the outfit, drawing many gazes, especially Rose, who paid even more attention to him than usual and the blush was obvious on her pale face.


    In contrast was Alissa, who drew even more attention than Adrest. With a slim and elegant light purple dress that drew one¡¯s eyes to her perfect proportions, a slight cut in the top, revealing just a hint of the slightly lighter skin underneath. Both her regal violet hair curled and running down her back like a waterfall, and her faceted horns seemed to glow and contrast with the dress perfectly. She had a dusting of a blush when first showing off the dress to Adrest in their room and smiled when he nearly tripped over himself when he saw her.


    The pair approached the auction house arm in arm as Alissa said it was propriety to lead the woman in high class social settings such as these. They looked like a match made in heaven, or hell depending on how you looked at it as they both had devilish characteristics, and one actually was a demon after all.


    The pair took in the sight of many luxury carriages at a different entrance. People in elaborate and bright clothing were filtering in, all seeming to compete in showing off their wealth. The wealthy were greeted by sharply dressed employees of the auction house and shown to private booths on the upper floors.


    As they waited, Adrest noticed the Randier Crest on a carriage, and saw the youth from before emerging alone before being led inside.


    Eventually, Adrest and Alissa made their way to the front of the line and handed over the required twenty gold Trevil and headed to their seats inside. By luck they got good seats, in the middle and towards the front of the auditorium like arrangement. They could perfectly see the raised platform in the middle and curtains covering the entire display still.


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    Getting comfortable and watching the seats fill, Adrest and Alissa made small talk as they waited for the auction to begin. Quickly, nearly every seat was filled and the lighting dimmed before the red curtains slowly raised far above the stage.


    Lights were turned on above and directed at the stage. There was a middle-aged man in a perfectly tailored black suit standing in the middle of the stage.


    "Good evening ladies and gentlemen! i humbly welcome all of our guests back for another year, and hope you enjoy the goods we have prepared for tonight. We have everything from rarely seen ingredients found only in the depths of the Great Forest, pills freshly concocted from master alchemists, skills, artifacts, and our highest quality slaves."


    He paused for a moment to take a breath, "Now! For our first item, i present a verdant awakening pill. It''s high grade and has a 60% chance of increase a nature element user''s talent by a grade."


    Adrest was amazed at the pills effect, after all, talent was set in stone from birth for the vast majority of people. a chance to increase your talent is a once in a lifetime chance, and here was a pill that did exactly that.


    As he was thinking that Alissa scoffed quietly. "What a scam. For 99% of people the only thing nature affinity can do is help to grow and identify plants. Even most alchemists barely touch it, why should anyone care about upgrading it."


    Most of the remaining items didn¡¯t interest Adrest nor Alissa in the least. Alissa herself was a weapon, while Adrest didn¡¯t see anything better than the sword he already had. They had no need for rare materials as Adrest didn¡¯t have the slightest clue on how to use them and nothing could grab the picky dragon¡¯s eye.


    They watched and waited, listening to the sporadic bids sounding around them, just enjoying the new experience. They didn¡¯t have to wait long to see the first slave, a middle-aged man with dark skin and wolf ears on his head. He had scars all over his body and was apparently a famous mercenary from a neighboring country that was caught in battle, forced into slavery for a minimum of 10 years. He was a rank C dark wolf-kin and was being advertised as an extraordinary guard. He sold for over four thousand gold Trevil to a private box above.


    More time passed by and it was nearing the end of the event. Finally, the moment the pair had been hoping for arrived as the while haired, seemingly albino rabbit-kin was pulled on stage. She had tears in her eyes and wouldn¡¯t move her head up to face the audience until the auctioneer made her. The poor girl¡¯s face was visibly thin and gaunt, her cheap cotton gown worn and dirty and her bare feet below raw and covered in dirt.


    Adrest gripped one of his chair¡¯s arms, which started emitting low creaks as the wood warped in his hand. He took in the little girl¡¯s sorrowful appearance, what could a child have possibly done to deserve such treatment. He could accept criminals being indentured for their crimes, but there were limits and this was far past his bottom line.


    Alissa too, lost her usual grin after taking in the girl¡¯s appearance under the light and put her hand on Adrest¡¯s, giving it a light squeeze to get his attention. At the reminder Adrest calmed down and listened to the auctioneer introduce her.


    ¡°This is one of our final items of the night. A little girl of the Spirit Rabbit race. She will bring good luck to whichever house she is bought by and would be a great addition to any savvy collector out there. She¡¯s both rare and a young beauty, so there¡¯s plenty of time to train her into the perfect servant!¡±


    The auctioneer¡¯s words made very faint sparks tick off Alissa¡¯s horns, something that barely ever happened lately. Adrest¡¯s eyes seemed to take on a red glow in the dim lighting as he waited for the bidding to begin.


    ¡°We¡¯ll start the price at 1000 gold. Please raise your bids by at least 100.¡±


    Adrest raised his number in the air ¡°2000.¡±


    This got the attention of the surrounding people looking at him with an eyebrow raised. Two thousand gold trevil was no small amount, it was more than some would make in their lifetimes.


    ¡°2100.¡± A deep male voice echoed from a booth on an upper floor.


    ¡°3000.¡± Adrest didn¡¯t hesitate.


    This repeated twice more before the girl was sold to Adrest for 5000 gold, and a female attendant came over to arrange payment. Since the pair had already done what they came to do, they followed the attendant to the main hall outside where they used a guild representative counter to fill out a bond for the 5000 gold Trevil. Soon after they handed over the bond, a downtrodden and scared bunny girl was led out of a side door to meet them.


    Adrest signed some documents essentially providing legal documentation of the transaction, and of the slave¡¯s ownership. As required, he put a drop of his blood on the metal collar around the girl¡¯s neck, who flinched in fright as he touched her.


    They were quickly on their way, with the dragon and demon quiet until they were a good distance from the auction house. They slowed as they reached the dimly lit streets that were still active even though it was the evening.


    Adrest spoke first, disappointedly pointing out ¡°It¡¯s too late to stop by a clothing store, huh?¡±


    Alissa nodded in response ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure they all closed hours ago. Let¡¯s just go back to the inn, it was a long day.¡±


    The two walked for a few more minutes before the girl that was too afraid to speak, yelped and fell onto the street below. Adrest and Alissa belatedly remembered that she had been given no shoes. The little girl¡¯s feet were cut, and blisters were forming. Alissa gave her a pitiful look as she saw the girl quickly try to get back to her feet, trembling. Alissa made her way over while motioning to Adrest to help, and she crouched over, her back in front of the girl who was too preoccupied with trying to stand to notice. Adrest quickly understood seeing Alissa crouch and gave a small smile as he picked the girl up gently but swiftly, who let out a high-pitched scream in surprise, tensing up.


    She was surprised feeling a gentle warmth under her and a soothing voice whispering ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, we¡¯ll carry you the rest of the way, okay?¡±


    Opening her eyes, the girl found the beautiful demi-human looking at her out of the corner of her eyes with a warm smile on her face. The girl was confused and scared, but feeling the gentle heat under her and hearing the soothing words, for the first time in what felt like forever, the little girl felt safe. She wrapped her arms around the shoulders of the big sister carrying her and started weeping softly into Alissa''s back.


    Like that, they silently made their way back to the Home and Hearth and saw Rose sleepily manning the empty bar room. Her eyes opened wide when she saw the pair return, now carrying a sleeping frail looking rabbit girl.

 13. Isabelle

    Adrest split from the others and walked up to Rose, greeting her quietly before asking, ¡°Is there anyone using the communal bath right now? And if not, could we rent it out for an hour or so? We need to get this girl cleaned up, but she probably wouldn¡¯t do well with any strangers right now.¡±


    Thinking about it for a second, Rose answered while matching her voice to Adrest¡¯s own low tone. ¡°It¡¯s been empty for a few hours now, so don¡¯t worry about it and take as long as you like. Would you all like a light late dinner? I can make something in the back while you''re all getting cleaned up.¡±


    With a big grin Adrest replied, ¡°That would be amazing, thanks for always taking such great care of us Rose!¡±


    happy at the compliment, Rose answered, "Don¡¯t worry about it, I love having you and Alissa here, plus there¡¯s no way my conscience would let me say no to such a poor girl, she looks absolutely exhausted.¡±


    Adrest sat at the bar as Alissa had gone to the bath, and sipped on his honey mead alone, enjoying the silence since Rose had gone in the back to the kitchen. He reflected on today and his time in the town. While he was happy for all the new ingredients and enjoyed the sightseeing and shopping with Alissa, Adrest was still looking forward to heading back to their hidden home far away from trouble and unpleasant people.


    Just as Adrest could smell their dinner wafting from the back, he was greeted by a flushed Alissa with her hair still damp, dressed in some light pink silk pajamas she had bought at Leaves of the World Tree. Holding Alissa¡¯s hand was a half-awake albino rabbit girl with her bright red eyes barely visible. Her hair was now pure snow white instead of a dirty grey. She was wearing an extra of Alissa¡¯s button up tops, hers a dark red. The bottom of which came down to below her knees and while they had been unable to get her shoes, at least she now had a pair of thick wool socks to serve as some kind of barrier between her feet and the ground and to keep warm.


    Alissa guided the girl to a seat at a table near the bar, sitting down to the side of her. Adrest moved himself and a second mug that he ordered earlier to the table. She sipped on the new alcohol curiously before her eyes lit up at the subtle sweetness and her lips curled up in delight.


    Interrupting the near perfect silence, their new rabbit said in a near inaudible voice ¡°He-hello, my name is Isabelle, ni-nice to meet you, master.¡±


    Adrest took a second to understand what she had said as she had been so quiet. Parsing it out, he smiled and tried to look as friendly as possible.


    ¡°Nice to meet you Isabelle. And don¡¯t call me master, my name is Adrest. Are you hungry?¡±


    Isabelle looked up in surprise at the man in front of her, who was acting as nice as the purple haired sister Alissa said he would. She gave him a small smile ¡°Nice to meet you, Big brother Ady.¡±


    Adrest nearly choked on his mead when he heard his new nickname, and Alissa broke out in laughter. Isabelle, not understanding what was funny, hesitantly asked ¡°Did I say something wrong, Big sister Ali?¡±


    It was Adrest¡¯s turn to laugh and Alissa to blush at the new nickname. Knowing both of them were in the same boat Adrest accepted his new name and asked Isabelle some easy questions to get the girl to open up about herself a little. they learned her favorite color was green, and she loved reading, but hadn''t been able to in years. She started tearing up a little at that question so it was a good thing when the door to the kitchen opened.


    Rose came over to the table holding a large platter with one hand and set it in the center of the table. She gently introduced herself to Isabelle before going behind the bar filling a cup with fruit juice. Isabelle took a sip and her eyes opened wide while she let out a soft squeal saying, ¡°Thank you!¡± to Rose who was feeling refreshed after seeing Isabelle¡¯s cute reaction.


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    As Rose refilled drinks and went back to clean the kitchen, the trio dug into dinner of beef stew with generous portions of tender meat, a variety of perfectly cooked vegetables in the rich brown sauce and a nice dense pieces of brown bread to dip. It was a warm, hearty, and filling meal for a cool autumn night. Adrest and Alissa chose not to say anything when they noticed Isabelle eating quickly with tears in the corners of her eyes.


    Soon the meal was done and Adrest carried the platter of empty dishes to Rose, thanking her once again for everything before the ladies headed upstairs and he went to bathe before going to bed.


    Feeling refreshed and also a little drowsy from the warm water, Adrest opened the door to the dim, candle lit room where Isabelle was sleeping peacefully on Alissa¡¯s bed, while she was sitting at the table looking into the flickering candle with a distant expression.


    She looked deep in thought as Adrest took a seat across from her.


    "What has you so distracted?"


    ¡°It¡¯s Isabelle. She has a marking on her stomach, just above her navel. It¡¯s a large blue spider lily.¡±


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s weird, but is it really something to get so worked up over?¡± Adrest asked in confusion.


    ¡°Unfortunately, yes. Major gods each have a symbol representing them, and this is the mark of the Goddess of Life, Nina. This mark appearing on her means Isabelle is essentially a saintess of the Goddess of life, and uou know what kind of power a God''s blessing has. Isabelle is especially valuable because Spirit Rabbits are already known to be lucky, and the blessing will amplify it manifold. Whoever gets a hold of her will be guaranteed an easy life."


    The gravity of Isabelle''s situation settled in for Adrest, but he had soon questioned one part of the story.


    "Well if she''s so lucky, why was she a slave?"


    Alissa got sad at the question, "She''s had a rough life. Her parents died when she was young, and when she moved in with her aunt and uncle, the entire family was unlucky. their businesses failed, got sick more often, and after a few years kept her as arms length, basically ignoring her. She was out in the forest a few miles away from her home passing time since no one wanted to be near her after rumors spread about what happened to her family, when a band of illegal slave traders found and stole her away a year or so ago. I guess it was too much even for a Goddess because according to Isabelle, the mark only appeared a few days ago."


    Nodding along and feeling even worse for the poor girl sleeping across the room Adrest asked ¡°So there¡¯s a chance no one else saw it?¡±


    ¡°I think it appeared after they inspected her for the auction. If they had seen and researched it, there¡¯s not a chance they would have sold Isabelle off.¡±


    Adrest relaxed his shoulders, agreeing with the logic. ¡°So, what now? I guess she doesn¡¯t want to go back to her hometown, did she want to go to a church? I¡¯d bet they¡¯d be thrilled to take care of her.¡±


    Alissa shrugged whispering ¡°I don¡¯t know, I didn¡¯t want to push her too far, and she was about to cry explaining how she got here already.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, she¡¯s still just a kid after all, let¡¯s just keep her comfortable for now.¡± Adrest said. Internally wondering how he wound up with an impromptu little sister in just a week of visiting his first bit of civilization, but also knowing he would do the same thing over again without hesitation.


    Alissa cleared her throat, drawing Adrest''s attention back to her and noticing the slight blush on her face as she started saying, ¡°Well, Isabelle is exhausted, and I want her to have a bed to herself for the night. Cou-could I sleep with you again tonight?¡±


    By the end of the question, she was near inaudible, and her face was as red as could be with the orange candlelight highlighting it. Heart beating fast at the sight, Adrest cleared his throat slightly before answering ¡°Yea-yeah no problem.¡± With a blush and small awkward smile.


    There was a slight tension in the silence that followed, before Adrest sighed and said, ¡°We should get to sleep, tomorrow¡¯s going to be busy.¡± Still blushing, Alissa nodded and Adrest blew out the candle and made his way to the far side of his bed before getting in.


    The pair lay back-to-back under the single blanket and in the quiet dark where the only noise was the quiet ticking of his pocket watch on the stand next to his head. While lying there, focusing on his own heartbeat to fall asleep, he heard Alissa whisper ¡°Goodnight Adrest.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight Alissa.¡± He similarly whispered back and before he knew it, he was sound asleep.

 14. Heading back

    The next morning Adrest felt a familiar warmth on his side. He slowly opened his eyes to a sight he was always happy to wake up to. Alissa was firmly hugging his arm, with a leg haphazardly thrown over his own. Her sleeping face was touching his shoulder, her mouth open and seemed to be laughing about something in a dream.


    Adrest just lay in his bed until the sun was fully up, enjoying Alissa¡¯s unguarded range of expressions. Eventually, he decided to wiggle himself free and immediately after getting up Alissa rolled over to the warm space he had just been laying in, going back to sleep.


    On the other side of the room, he saw the little girl still deep asleep in Alissa¡¯s bed and quietly opened the heavy wooden door going into the hall. He headed downstairs and greeted Rose before stepping out for a bit, quickly making his way to a merchant he remembered seeing through the last week.


    He soon found the woman selling leather sandals that he had passed countless times the last few days. He looked through the stock before settling on a small pair of sandals that looked to be about the right size.


    Happy with the purchase, Adrest made his way back to his room with a large platter of food and drink in hand, he fiddled with the door making it to the table and setting the tray down. As usual, the smell of breakfast alone was enough to get the sleeping dragon¡¯s attention, slowly making her way out of bed.


    As Alissa woke up on her own, Adrest went over to Isabelle, softly putting his hand on her shoulder. He patted her while softly speaking, ¡°Isabelle, it¡¯s time to wake up. Breakfast is waiting.¡±


    With gentle coaxing Isabelle slowly opened her eyes and jumped upon seeing someone so close to her. But she seemed to soon remember where she was, greeting Adrest with a toothy smile and a small yawn saying, ¡°Good morning Big brother Ady, Big sister Ali!¡±


    The two smiled at the scene and returned the greeting. Adrest coaxed her over to the table of food, then poured her a cup of water, and himself and Alissa coffee. The trio ate their breakfast in peace. Finishing the meal, Adrest pulled out something wrapped in cloth he had stuffed in a vest pocket.


    ¡°I went out and bought these for you. I had to guess, so they might not fit quite right, but we¡¯ll get you a proper pair later today.¡±


    She hesitantly took the package and unwrapped it. When she saw the simple leather sandals, Isabelle''s eyes turned glassy and Adrest was a little unsure of what to do.


    Thankfully, Alissa moved over and put an arm around her girl while saying, "Let''s see if this idiot got the right size.¡± With a teasing smile on her face and a wink, which made the child smile, Alissa took the shoes and gently helped her slip them on.


    Isabelle got up and walked around the room with a huge smile on her face, before running up to Adrest and giving him a tight hug, burying her face in his stomach.


    ¡°Thank you, Big bro Ady!¡±


    He patted her head in between her rabbit ears that were twitching as he rubbed her head reassuringly. And looked at Alissa for help but she was just sitting at the table, propping her head up with her hand and enjoying the scene in front of her.


    Soon Isabelle let go of him and sat back down smiling. Adrest told her what their plans were for the day. She became nervous when Adrest said that they would have a very busy day, with a lot of stops to make, as they had to head out before curfew that evening.


    The two adults packed the room, leaving everything by the door, and brought the dishes down to Rose who was sitting behind the bar as the breakfast rush was finally over with. She gave a warm smile when Isabelle in her oversized red shirt greeted her happily. However, she was disappointed to hear that this would be their last day here, it had been a lot had been very fun getting to know them every night.


    Adrest noticed that Rose¡¯s smile became noticeably brighter when they promised to stay and visit again soon. Like that, they walked out the door to begin running about the entire city.


    First, they stopped by the Leaves store to buy an entire wardrobe for Isabelle. A few different types of shoes, a few casual tops, along with several pairs of pants, shorts, and a few styles of dresses for formal occasions.


    Isabelle was true to her words last night, almost everything she picked were different shades of green, from most of her tops, to both dresses they''d helped pick out.


    Isabelle was over the moon with her many bags of clothes that Adrest was carrying, but they didn¡¯t stop there.


    Then it was on to the blacksmiths shop buying some light leather armor that was still big for her now, but they agreed she would fill it out after a few weeks¡¯ worth of decent meals.


    Finally, it was on to a bookshop to buy whatever looked the least bit interesting to the tiny rabbit, leading to a small pile that had to be carefully arranged into an additional 2 bags for Adrest to carry.


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    Before they knew it, it was late in the day. They headed back to Home and Hearth to collect the rest of their things before heading out. They stayed long enough to eat one last meal with Rose chatting with them, settled their bill, and headed back out the door.


    They exited through the gate leading to the mountain path and walked for a while under the dimming sun and the rising purple moon. As they walked, Isabelle kept looking down over her new clothes, between the other two. She was holding one of their hands in each of hers.


    They passed the time chatting about nothing, mostly Adrest and Alissa taking turns telling stories they remembered from childhood. Eventually though, the three moons were fully in the sky, and there was no one on this section of road as far as they could see in either direction.


    Alissa brought the group to a stop, and she crouched down and looked at Isabelle at her level saying, ¡°Now Isabelle, we¡¯re going to go to a secret place for just the three of us. It¡¯s reeeally far away so to get there quick, Adrest and I are going to fly. It might be a little scary at first, but you¡¯re as safe as can be with me carrying you.¡±


    Eyes opening wide at the sudden announcement, all Isabelle could do was silently nod and then stare at the pairs of wings that her two new guardians sprouted. Both uniquely beautiful, one regal and imposing, the other dark and mysterious.


    The pair got her ready for the trip home by throwing a thick jacket over the girl, along with a hat with slits for her ears, finally placing her on Alissa¡¯s back. They double checked that Isabelle was okay with this and felt safe. Getting approval, they took off into the sky and Isabelle kept her arms wrapped around Alissa as tightly as possible, squeezing her eyes closed.


    They took off towards the endless forest and home. Isabelle expected bitter cold in the night air, but with the extra layers of clothes, and a heat coming from Alissa¡¯s back, she felt comfortable and was able to peek at their surroundings quickly flying by.


    Over the sound of the wind Isabelle heard Alissa, ¡°Are you okay Isabelle, is the wind too much?¡±


    Looking at Alissa over her shoulder, Isabelle shook her head before speaking in her ear, ¡°No, it¡¯s really comfortable Big sis Ali. The forest is so pretty up here!¡±


    Chuckling, Alissa looked around their surroundings, dyed in multi-colored glows from the three moons hanging in the sky and found herself agreeing with the child, it felt like home.


    Hours passed, and after Isabelle had fallen asleep, they made it back to the near pitch-dark camp. The leaves had started retaking the fire pits again, and the paths he had cleared from place to place had been lost already.


    Adrest got to work in the cool dead of night, opening the cabin and getting the woodstove burning to chase the dampness from the cabin. Quickly, it was roaring as they had two excellent fire mages available and put the dead tired rabbit girl in Allisa¡¯s bed to sleep for the night.


    Adrest had been about to get another bed but realized that there was genuinely no room. He was thinking about what to do when Alissa, done with tucking in Isabelle, came over and saw he was glancing around the cabin, she figured out his problem quickly.


    ¡°Umm¡­. If you want i can sleep with you for tonight, and we can do something about it tomorrow. It¡¯s been a long day for us too, right?¡± Alissa said shyly in the warmly lit small room not looking directly at Adrest.


    Thinking back on everything they had done today, he realized that he was actually pretty tired, and her suggestion sounded nice to his worn-out body. He smiled thanking her before they climbed into the slightly cramped bed. Saying goodnight in the not uncomfortably full bed, the pair fell asleep, happy to be home.


    In the evening at the inn Nobles Rest, a group of guards were off shift and drinking while gambling at the bar, celebrating the fact that the auction run was officially complete. Beer after beer ran through the crowd and they were exchanging stories quietly about some of the rarer ¡°goods¡± their various groups brought in.


    ¡°It¡¯s true what they say, the beast tribes really are barbarians, they even tattoo their children. A little rabbit girl our group guarded had a massive blue flower tattoo on her stomach. I can¡¯t believe they put their children through something like that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s messed up, but it makes sense. Some of the big warriors we bring in are covered head to toe in tattoos, guess sometimes they start early.¡±


    As the two discussed the oddest things they¡¯d seen this season, there was a cloaked blonde man drinking in a private corner of the room, using his enhanced hearing to listen in on the latest gossip of the worker drones.


    When he heard the one guard mention a tattooed small rabbit-kin, the man was interested, knowing that usually only the war tribes would tattoo themselves as the other man described, not the meek rabbitkin.


    He rose to his feet, making his way to the table where the two straightened up upon seeing the man¡¯s face and one shot to his feet.


    ¡°Mr. Zurk, what can I help you with sir?¡±


    The man smiled to get the man to relax, ¡°I overheard you saying a young rabbit beastkin had a flower tattoo, could you describe it?¡±


    The man still stiff, replied ¡°Yes sir! It was a blue flower with long, thin petals spreading in all directions.¡±


    Mr. Zurk smiled at the answer and thanked the men, leaving a gold coin on the table as he went to his room with detailed files on all slaves they had brought with them.


    After opening the chest and leafing through the files for a few moments, he found the one. On it was a description of a 13 year old rabbit kin they had bought from some shady characters on the way here. There were no outstanding features about her, and fetched an average price for her kind. He did not believe that the inspector¡¯s would have missed the obvious marking, so she must¡¯ve been blessed on the trip.


    ¡°Haha, interesting! We¡¯ll need to get our inventory back.¡±


    He headed a few rooms down to his assistant, knocked once and entered. There was a man sitting at a chair doing paper work who stood up as he saw who entered.


    ¡°Hello sir, how may I help you?¡±


    ¡°Alexander, I need you to take the slave contract for the beastkin Isabelle to the Dark Monastery pay for them to track her location. After that, go to the mercenary guild and hire a group to bring her back. C rank should be fine.


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± Alexander left the room with the sheet to follow his orders. Mr. Zurk was left alone to smile to himself at the massive profits this would bring. This might even be what cements their family alone as the head of the Randier group.

 15. Belles First Day

    Adrest slept late that day with the sun bright when he woke up. As soon as he woke up, he felt a warm, comfortable weight on top of him, opening his eyes already sure of what it was. He confirmed it when he saw a head of purple hair sleeping soundly on his chest, with the odd cool feeling of a horn resting against him as well. Alissa was holding him tightly with one arm and seemed to still be asleep as she gently rose and fell to his breath.


    Surprised by the sight, he couldn¡¯t help himself from using a free hand to gently stroke the head in front of him. He was surprised when Alissa pushed back against his head lightly, and he heard Alissa make satisfied sounds as she was slowly woken up.


    This continued, both somewhat in a trance, until Alissa seemed to fully wake up. She turned her head up to look at him and with eyes still near fully closed saying with a big yawn ¡°Mornin¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Good morning¡± Adrest answered, with a hand still on her head. Slowly, Alissa¡¯s eyes opened as she realized that she was actually laying on Adrest, hugging him like a stuffed toy. As she sat there, her cheeks became more and more red until she mechanically let him go and rolled out of the bed and on her feet.


    She mumbled something about cleaning the fire pit and ran out of the cabin before Adrest could say anything further. He chuckled to himself, realizing it was the first time she woke up with him still in the bed.


    He got dressed for the day and slipped out of the cabin to let the rabbit girl get a bit more sleep.


    At the blazing fire, sat Alissa stood with a now dead and skinned meal, which Adrest helped butcher for their breakfast and made steaks for everyone. Adrest then sent Alissa to wake Isabelle, it would be her first day here, and they had a lot to discuss with the girl.


    Minutes passed and soon a pair of women came out, with Alissa back in her usual white sundress, and Isabelle in a green short sleeve shirt and tan pants that paired nicely with her snow-white complexion. She saw the outdoor table loaded with food, ran over to it and said, ¡°Good morning Big bro Ady¡± with a bright smile.


    He replied and soon the three of them sat down to eat in the sunny idyllic forest. They all dug in and soon there was nothing but scraps left. With full stomachs they relaxed for a time before Adrest straightened up and looked towards Isabelle, who looked at him curiously seeing the change.


    ¡°Alissa told me about the mark you have and what it means. What do you want to do in the future? No matter what you choose, the two of us will help as much as we can.¡±


    He finished and waited for an answer. Unexpectedly, she didn¡¯t take long to respond, ¡°I¡­ I want to stay here with big bro and sis, you¡¯re both so nice to someone like me and it¡¯s so pretty here!¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? You could be someone important someday. If you stay here, there won¡¯t be anyone besides us to spend time with, and it might get boring out here.¡± Adrest reminded her, knowing this lifestyle would be difficult for children her age.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure! Unless you two don¡¯t want me¡­¡± Isabelle got sad and spoke quietly by the end of her sentence.


    Adrest and Alissa both went up to her in a flash seeing her look so pitiful, hugging her from either side and Adrest said to her, ¡°Welcome home Belle.¡±


    Hearing the pet name that her big bro Ady called her, Belle buried her face in his chest and sniffled quietly as the two of them hugged the small frame, letting her know the nightmare was really over. For the first time in years, somebody wanted her.


    Later Belle calmed down, albeit with red and swollen eyes, "So, what now?¡±


    Alissa took the chance to answer saying, ¡°Well, that depends on you, what do you want to do? I¡¯m just finishing up teaching your brother here the basic history of the continent, we¡¯ve also been working on survival skills, and etiquette. Then there¡¯s sword skills and unarmed combat, not to mention magic training. I don¡¯t have a good understanding of what you know so you need to help me, okay?¡±


    Belle¡¯s eyes widened and she stared at Adrest, who sounded amazing, wanting to learn to many things, not to mention her sister Ali who was the one teaching him so many things.


    Nodding she answered, ¡°Well, I learned a bit of history at school, but it was only about the nearby areas and the king¡¯s history. And I¡¯m not very good at fighting, but I¡¯m fast! Oh, but I was never allowed to get tested for magic, aunt and uncle said it was too much money to spend on someone like me.¡±


    Seeing the small rabbit become sad, the pair were once again getting an understanding of how her life had been to this point. The dragon and demon pair swore to themselves to do better for her.


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    ¡°That helps a lot, Belle. We can start with history tomorrow; it¡¯ll be a good refresher for Adrest. Then, while he is off doing his own training for the day, we can work on building your foundations up slowly and finding what you¡¯re good at!¡± Alissa finished with a bright smile, seeming to have taken a liking to her role of teacher, already coming up with a new lesson plan.


    Alissa crouched in front of Belle going to her eye level, and said ¡°Belle, can I have your hand for a second? I need to see something, promise to stay still?¡±


    Belle was curious about what was happening but extended her hand and nodded her head. When Alissa took the hand in both of her own, Belle felt something weird travel up her arm and into her chest. It wasn¡¯t unpleasant, but wasn¡¯t a good feeling either, maybe itchy was the best way for Belle to describe it. But she did as asked and stayed still.


    Soon the feeling went away and when Alissa opened her eyes, they were glowing with a bright purple radiance which surprised Belle, but she found them very beautiful.


    Not paying any attention to Belle¡¯s staring, Alissa told her ¡°Congratulations, you have the affinity for life, body, and a bit of earth magic! We can make you into something terrifying.¡± Alissa¡¯s eyes glowed excitedly thinking of the possibilities.


    ¡°Wow, you can really sense it!? But I was taught that only things called colorless orbs or really powerful mages can?¡± Alissa asked in amazement at her big sister doing something amazing.


    Patting Belle¡¯s head, Alissa was obviously pleased with the compliment saying ¡°That¡¯s right, colorless orbs are naturally clear balls and they''ll display the elements detected in any mana that is injected. They¡¯re expensive but useful because anyone can control it. The other way is indeed to have a powerful mage inspect the mana in your body. To do so, they need really good control of their own mana to both not harm the tested, and for it to be sensitive enough to pick out the affinities. You usually need to be at least the C rank with magic control to learn how to do it.¡±


    ¡°Wow, big sis is amazing! She knows so much and is really good at magic!¡± Belle praised her more, saying what was on her mind and Alissa nodded in agreement, happy that the young girl understood just how amazing she was.


    ¡°I hate to interrupt you two, but I had a question teacher Alissa.¡±


    Adrest said off to the side, getting a glare from her and an exasperated ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Well, I was wondering. Can you break a slave¡¯s collar?¡± Adrest said what had been on his mind after hearing Alissa bragging about her magic skill once again.


    ¡°Of course! I was going to in a bit, Belle can¡¯t really do much with that thing in the way.¡± Alissa raised her head proudly and her horns started to arc with purple lightning as they so rarely did.


    She then looked down to Belle ¡°I need you to stay still again for me. It might tingle a bit on your neck, but I¡¯ll go as fast as I can.¡± Alissa stretched her hand out, gently stroking the gaudy metal collar in several places before sending powerful, but small arcs of lightning to several spots on the collar. It broke apart into many small fragments and fell to the ground.


    ¡°First lesson Belle, lightning is a very rare affinity, but it is also the best for destroying curses and dark magic.¡± She showed off the purple lightning shooting from her fingertips to Belle¡¯s enjoyment.


    Realizing the collar was truly gone, not scrap of the ground around her feet, Belle ran up to Alissa and hugged her tightly thanking her, while Alissa just gently stroked the head of white, silky smooth hair in front of her.


    Belle¡¯s first lesson with her new sister turned teacher was an introduction to the current nations spread through the continent, an overview of what they excelled at, what they were infamous for, and what types of people made each up. While Belle indeed understood the small nation where she grew up, Delinare, and knew a little history, that was essentially where her education stopped. Belle had basically only known the names of some nearby countries, and nothing beyond that.


    Hearing that there were so many different places and people in the continent had Belle excited. she soaked up what Alissa said like a sponge, when she had questions Adrest would answer, Alissa using it as a quiz for Adrest. Or they would both listen to an explanation from Alissa who always knew the answer and was happy to elaborate.


    From there, they took a short break to eat a light snack, and the older duo had sweet smiles when Belle tried a bloodberry and her eyes bulged at the unexpectedly sweet and juicy fruit. With the Belle feeling refreshed from a bit of sugar, physical training started.


    Belle waved Adrest and Alissa off as the pair flew above the trees, Alissa said that she needed to find something for Adrest to fight. Only a few minutes passed before she thought she heard a scream in some far-off section of the forest but didn¡¯t think anything more of it as a bit later Alissa appeared in front of her.


    Belle started her first day of conditioning by running, her and Alissa side by side for as long as she possibly could, which wasn¡¯t all that long.


    Forty minutes later, Belle was sitting on the ground, with her back against a tree, panting for her life. Alissa sat down to the side of her, letting the little girl catch her breath before saying,


    ¡°That was good for your first try! You kept the same steady pace the entire time instead of trying to go as fast as possible, and you kept pushing to go just a little bit farther. That tells me two things I was already pretty sure of.¡±


    Curiosity in the eyes of the girl, still panting, looking up at her, Alissa giggled. She put her arm around Belle¡¯s shoulders pulling her into a half hug.


    ¡°It tells me that you¡¯re smart, thinking ahead instead of in the moment. And that you are trying the best you can. If you do that, I¡¯ll do my best to teach you everything I can, sounds good?¡± Alissa said to Belle, who was wearing a bright smile at the praise and strongly nodded her head with a fire burning in her eyes.


    After the light run Alissa and Belle returned to the empty camp and after going into the cabin, Alissa returned with an armful of different sized objects wrapped in thick cloth.


    As she set the load on the outdoor table, there was a distinct clattering of metal and Belle¡¯s eyes glued to them in curiosity.


    ¡°Adrest and I bought a bunch of different types of weapons at the town for practice, and while we need to work on your body before real training with them, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to learn how to hold each one and to see what¡¯s comfortable right?¡± Alissa told the girl who was thoroughly excited hearing the next lesson.

 16. The power of (lp)

    While Belle had seen soldiers and adventurers with swords, knives, and bows before, it was never up close. And there were so many different kinds displayed, more than Belle knew existed. She listened intently to each weapon''s introduction. From an odd, curved sword that could be used to easily disarm most opponents. One sword that was thin and pointed wickedly. Knives that were small and to be hidden on the body to throw at unsuspecting enemies. There were even crossbows that were small enough to be hidden on the wrist and loose sleeves, and a fan with hidden but dangerously sharp edges.


    Alissa demonstrated each weapon, from the proper grip and stance, to showing how they''d be used in battle, before having Belle try all of them herself. Swords were too heavy and awkward with her small build, she wasn¡¯t strong enough to pull back a bow, she also didn¡¯t like the way the fans felt.


    However, Belle thought that a pair of daggers, each with a slightly curved double-edged blade and sturdy leather grips that felt natural in her small hands felt good as she sliced at the air with them like Alissa had shown.


    She also took a liking to throwing knives. Belle liked how small and light they were, as well as how it was like a game to get them to hit the tree trunk target Alissa pointed to.


    Alissa put the rejected weapons away and soon returned, helping Belle practice while waiting for Adrest to return.


    The sun was now hanging low in the sky, casting everything in a golden glow when Adrest finally got back to the camp. He was wet, cuts and scrapes marred his entire body, and he had a scowl aimed at the purple haired devil playing darts with throwing knives with the rabbit girl.


    Adrest said nothing as he stalked in front of Alissa staring dead in her eyes. He let the uncomfortable silence hang for a moment before saying with no emotion, ¡°Very big, very angry, chimeras. An entire pride of them. And you threw me into the BIGGEST ONE, right after breaking my sword arm.¡±


    Hearing the statement Belle was confused but noticed that Adrest¡¯s right arm was sitting a little unnaturally stiff at his side, his fingers occasionally twitching.


    Eyes growing wide, Belle ran up to Adrest who was still having a staring contest to the death with Alissa, and grabbed his unbroken arm¡¯s sleeve gently pulling, ¡°Are you okay big bro Ady?¡±


    He broke eye contact by looking down at the bunny girl who was obviously very concerned. He smiled ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, I¡¯ll be fine by tomorrow. I¡¯m just a little annoyed with Bis sis Ali right now.¡±


    Adrest gave her head a ruffle to reassure her, but her eyes were focused on his arm that sat unaturally at his side.


    ¡°Liar.¡± She said, not giving up an inch, still gripping his sleeve in her hand.


    Alissa cleared her throat to speak, but now there were two pairs of eyes glaring at her, she found one significantly more adorable than the other however.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Belle, Like Ady said he¡¯ll be fine in just a few minutes. Wanna see a really fun trick?¡±


    Belle still looked wary, but there was now curiosity tinging her gaze, she looked back and forth between the two and Adrest sighed, saying, ¡°Come over here Belle, I¡¯ll show you something neat.¡±


    Adrest led the rabbit who still refused to let go of him, and the dragon trailed them over to the large pitch-black pillar a distance from the fire pit and cabin.


    Belle waited curiously staring at Adrest who tapped the air a few times, and then all the injured areas of his body were covered in shadows for a moment before clearing to pristine skin. He lifted the previously broken arm and clenched his hand into a fist a few times to show the wide-eyed Belle.


    ¡°See, good as new.¡±


    ¡°I told you; he was just being a little cranky earlier.¡±


    ¡°One more word that isn¡¯t sorry from your mouth and I¡¯m not playing with you for a week. That still hurt a lot ya¡¯know? And I seriously thought I was going to die. Those bastards were literally on my heels the entire time.


    The pitiful purple dragon nearly bawled right there, ¡°Bu¡­But..But you asked me to train you. You have to be prepared to fight even if it''s an inconvenient time, right? I even made sure it was a clean break in an easy to set position for you. I knew you could get away from almost anything within a full rank of you. I have to push you to catch up¡­¡±


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    Alissa was near inaudible by the end and was looking sadly at the ground with tears in her eyes. He had a feeling his feelings were being manipulated, but still didn¡¯t like seeing her face without her trademark smile so he broke.


    ¡°Fine, I forgive you Alissa, but please just say something before you do it again, okay?¡±


    The instant he spoke, she regained her smile and stuck her tongue out, ¡°Nope, it isn¡¯t as effective if you know it¡¯s coming.¡±


    Out of reflex, Adrest hit the sassy girl on the top of the head, but all that did was bruise his newly healed hand. Alissa started laughing, saying ¡°Serves you right for being so mean, idiot.¡±


    While the demon and dragon were in the middle of a two man show, they were interrupted by Belle¡¯s giggling from the side. The two looked at each other, smiled, and looked at Belle whose ears bounced as her chimelike giggles echoed through the trees.


    After dinner, which Adrest made Alissa cook as punishment, the fireside was quiet. Belle was exhausted from today and was currently sleeping in Alissa¡¯s chair. Her ears drooped on her head and let out slow and shallow breaths as she soaked in the heat of the fire and the peaceful air gently blowing through the trees.


    As Belle slept, Adrest got up from his seat and decided to set up a new house with the Lodestone. He had a budget for the building of around 3000(lp) and had his eyes on a two-story stone building that cost just under that.


    According to the description, the first floor consisted of a large open space with a fireplace on one wall. There were large glass windows to let in as much light as possible. There was a set of stairs in the back of the building, that led up to the next floor that consisted of a hall and 4 bedrooms and one medium sized room at the end.


    The layout was perfect and looking at his remaining balance of 3245(lp) after budgeting in the house, he excitedly scrolled to a hidden corner of a sub-section of the menu and found it. For a whopping 3150(lp) was a bathroom kit, it includes a large wash basin, big enough to lay in comfortably, with a water magic tool that poured out infinite water at the temperature of your choosing. The tub was also equipped with magic that slowly drained the water that sat inside of it.


    Most interesting to Adrest however, was the toilet that rounded out the bundle, that apparently worked similarly to the bathtub. He clicked buy after reading it over one more time and designated his new bathroom in his silently constructed stone house that sat to the side of the cabin.


    With Alissa already standing next to him watching the strange magic at work, they excitedly went to check out the foreign building. Adrest pushed open their new wooden and metal reinforced door to the wide-open room inside.


    In the currently pitch black building, the two with superior eyes could see everything perfectly. The floors were a light brown series of wood planks that ran from one end of stone to the other. There was a large simple fireplace as promised with a chimney running up the wall. After taking in the empty space, they made their way upstairs.


    Looking in each room in curiosity, they were pretty much identical. They finally got to the room Adrest was most excited about, the bathroom was revealed with a large, dark mahogany wood basin to one side with a bright blue stone sitting on the floor next to it. On the other side was a dark gray, stone toilet and Adrest nearly cried at the modern comfort he missed most.


    Alissa was not really surprised by the items she saw but was still not used to seeing how easily a lodestone can recreate such items. Even in large cities, these magic items weren¡¯t exactly cheap and here Adrest was, making then appear with a flick of his wrist.


    After Adrest was done playing with his new fully equipped bathroom, the pair moved what little they had in the cabin to the living room of their new home and woke Belle up as they finished.


    She was incredibly surprised to see the new looming structure, but under encouragement from the older demi-humans, Belle approached the building and swung open the front door, she gasped seeing the room that was at least double the size of the previous and ran around in curiosity.


    ¡°Make sure to go upstairs and choose which room you like best.¡± Adrest had a grin watching the girl look at everything in amazement and run up the stairs and followed suit.


    Getting to the last step he saw Belle inspecting each room through the open doors, a serious expression on her face. She continued inspecting while Adrest and Alissa watched from the stairs, until she went to the one whose window overlooks the fire pit.


    ¡°This one please!¡± Her ruby red eyes were upturned towards Adrest with anticipation.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the one you like, it¡¯s yours.¡± Adrest smiled and braced himself as she launched into him for a hug.


    He squeezed the girl tight for a moment and released her saying, ¡°Now, you and Alissa have a magic lesson to start, and I¡¯ll be working on getting everything ready in here, okay?¡±


    Belle unwrapped her arms from his waist and nodded with a bright smile before following Alissa down the stairs, back to the fire pit.


    At the chairs, Alissa started her third class of the day. They talked about the specialties of different affinities and their strengths before moving on to practice with her own.


    They started with body enhancement as it was the easiest for Alissa to demonstrate to the girl. Soon enough there was a small white blur running to and fro, too fast for a normal human to clearly see.


    She ran about on excitement for some minutes before returning and continuing their lesson with the life affinity.


    While Alissa did not possess it herself, her father did, so she had much more than a simple surface level understanding of it. She began explaining as best she could to the eager girl.


    With only the most basic explanation of what to do, Belle excelled. She was quickly able to accelerate a plant¡¯s growth, and though it was tiring, she was able to heal a small self-inflicted cut on her arm.


    With sweat forming on the little girl¡¯s forehead, she gave a bright and pure smile to the big sister she met only recently but already couldn¡¯t imagine life without. To the abused and unwanted rabbit girl, life here in the woods was like a dream she prayed to never wake from.


    With those thoughts in Belle''s mind, they continued the lesson for only another hour before going inside their new house for the night.

 17. Adrests payback

    As the two girls worked on magic craft, Adrest had gone out hunting for (lp). He made his way to the boundary that was the river and looked for a few sacrifices.


    His eyes lit up as he noticed two sets of glimmering golden eyes filled with malice on the other side.


    ¡°Looks like a few of those bastards hold a grudge huh? Well, I¡¯m sure they¡¯re worth a lot!¡± Adrest made up his mind and jumped into the air, wings extending, before shooting off at the figures who were laying low to the ground, using a nearby tree as cover.


    They let out angry yowls as Adrest came soaring down at high speed. Perhaps stunned at the odd sight of their prey flying, the two stood still, only baring their fangs at the figure barreling towards them.


    As their flying prey was about to land, the chimeras tensed to jump and snatch him from the air in their giant maws, but their feet didn¡¯t leave the ground. Around each of the monsters¡¯ legs were long, shadowy tendrils that were as thick as a man¡¯s wrist, each squeezing with as much force as Adrest¡¯s magic could muster to keep the beasts still, if only for a few seconds.


    Taking advantage of the monster¡¯s confusion, Adrest was able to hard land on one¡¯s back with a heavy wet crack ringing out on impact. A roar of pain accompanied it as Adrest used his sword to decapitate the venomous serpent that was the beast¡¯s tail.


    With an inaudible snap, the chimeras¡¯ bindings broke and the uninjured of the pair snapped at where Adrest had been, only to catch air.


    Wanting to be safe as he was still a full grade below each beast individually, his only grace was the difference in intelligence, Adrest retreated tens of feet to prepare for the remaining able bodied chimera¡¯s counterattack and wreathed his sword in orange flames.


    Thanks to the blade¡¯s ridiculously high level and materials, it was a breeze to cast magic through it without fear of damaging it. While Adrest could still only make fireballs that traveled a few dozen feet and were only a little over a foot in diameter, it was no problem to keep feeding the spell enhanced blade in his hand mana indefinitely for a flaming sword.


    With the air warping near his blade, he readied to defend against the ton of muscle and meat charging him at ludicrous speed. He didn¡¯t flinch even as felt the rotten stench emanating from the monster¡¯s mouth hit him like a brick wall.


    As it was about to bite down on Adrest¡¯s neck, he dropped low, swinging the flaming sword up and then outwards.


    The chimera let out an ear-shaking death cry as the sword went through its stomach and up the length of its¡¯ chest with no resistance, falling to the ground lifelessly to his side.


    Looking away from the now dead monster, Adrest looked for the one he¡¯d hurt earlier, however it seemed to be retreating as fast as it¡¯s body would allow, leaving a scarlet trail from its once tail.


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame, I guess one¡¯ll have to do for tonight.¡± Giving up on the idea of a late-night chase with the chimera, Adrest lunged the corpse over his shoulders and made his way home.


    Once at the pillar he set the body down at its base and opened the window to see how much he was going to make off a high D rank monster.


    His eyebrows shot up when his total was already back up to 3000 and some change, and promptly went on a bit of a shopping spree for the second time today to furnish their new home. He bought furniture, a new bed for himself, outfitted a small kitchen with a sink like the bathroom amenities in function and a small brickwork over. Even soaps and other small amenities were included in his shopping list. It felt like Adrest uncovered more of the lodestone¡¯s abilities every day.


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    With his (lp) near depleted again, Adrest walked over to the fire where a magic lesson was just finishing.


    ¡°Now remember, just because life magic comes the easiest for you, you can¡¯t neglect the other two because they¡¯ll be just as important to you.¡±


    ¡°Yes Big Sis!¡±


    Adrest heard the energetic voice sound off in understanding and smiled, thinking about how lively it¡¯s been with Belle.


    ¡°Oi, since you two are done for the day, why don¡¯t you give the new bathroom a try. Alissa, you know how to use everything right? Could you please walk Belle through it?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t just assume I know everything. But yes, I do and yes, I can.¡± Alissa answered grumpily before heading off with Belle in hand and disappearing from view.


    Laughing at this side of the dragon¡¯s attitude that he hadn¡¯t seen much of in a few days, Adrest made his way inside as well to set up the table.


    On the table he arranged a simple board game that Alissa had found in town and had taken a liking to. It was basically Clue but based on tales of adventurers and locations, such as dungeons or famous battlefields.


    Just as he got a fire lit, giving the wide room and bright walls a golden glow, he heard the two ladies coming down the stairs.


    First was the pitter-patter of an extremely energetic little girl, whose eyes were glowing with wonder having experienced many magic tools for the first time, all at once. Belle¡¯s silky white hair was glistening with water, her ears sprayed drops everywhere as she bounded through the house.


    Following her was Alissa, with her face flushed red from the warm bath. Her purple hair was still a little damp, and her blue buttonup pajamas added a casual charm that completed her look.


    The only problem was her expression, it was one of exasperation as she chased after the rabbit girl with a towel.


    ¡°I told you to wait Belle! Your ears are still soaked.¡±


    The mischievous young girl hid behind Adrest, burying her head in his back, from which he could feel water slowly soaking in.


    Face buried, she said ¡°No, Big Sis Ali! It tickles too much when you do it!¡±


    Adrest had a hard time keeping a straight face as he looked at the young dragon stalking towards him menacingly, towel in hand.


    Deciding it was time to step in, he grabbed the towel from Alissa¡¯s hand and crouched down to the timid rabbit.


    ¡°Belle, if your ears aren¡¯t dried you¡¯ll catch a cold. I¡¯ll be gentle. I promise, okay?¡±


    With a timid nod and twitching ears, she acquiesced and lowered her head for Adrest.


    As he slowly and gingerly wiped the long pure white ears, Adrest was inwardly shocked at the softness.


    He was just finishing the task, keeping up with the twitching ears, when Belles voice, coming out as loudly as a mouse¡¯s squeak, reached his ears.


    ¡°Umm¡­ I think th-they¡¯re dry now Big Bro Ady.¡±


    Adrest looked down to see a beet red Belle squirming and looking at the ground.


    For some reason Adrest felt a little awkward seeing her like that but shrugged it off. He picked her up, making Belle shriek in surprise and set her on the chair at the table nearest the fireplace.


    She was confused seeing the parchment and board game set up, having not played many in her life. But was soon smiling nonstop as Adrest and Alissa patiently explained the rules as they played a few practice games.


    Belle stayed up as long as she could, happy to savor the new experience of playing games with friends. However, it was a hectic day for her, and sleep soon overtook Belle. In between turns, she had silently slumped over in her chair with her forehead nearly touching the table.


    When the other two players noticed the sleeping child, they looked at each other and shared warm grins. The two put the game on hold, Adrest gently picked the body that was so small and delicate from months of malnutrition he feared she might break if not careful. He carried Belle to her room, tucking her into her new bed before carefully and quietly making his way back to the first level.


    Alissa was waiting for him with two cups and a small wooden keg. From the brand on the face of it, Adrest knew that it was a supposedly high-quality apple brandy type liquor that Alissa had picked up in one of their shopping trips through town.


    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s the occasion?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a real housewarming without a real drink, is it? Besides, I need something appropriate to celebrate with when I finally win.¡± Alissa said smugly, already sipping the golden-brown liquid.


    Accepting the challenge, Adrest slammed his drink in one smooth motion before resetting the board. ¡°Bring it Ali.¡±


    Her eyes lit up and brows narrowed hearing him use the pet name Belle had given her. It took everything Adrest had to duck away from the cup that exploded on the wall behind him in time.


    The two once again drank and played games through the night, Alissa refusing to accept Adrest winning nearly every time.

 18. Students vs Teacher

    ¡°Umm Big bro Ady, Big Sis Ali? Are you two okay¡±


    The first thing that Adrest heard the next day was the too loud sound of his own heartbeat in his ears, with Belle¡¯s voice echoing in his skull.


    With a Herculean effort, Adrest pried his burning eyes open to see a concerned Belle looking at him from the other side of the table.


    Looking around confused; he took the chaos in around the room. There were remnants of what had been a full barrel of alcohol on the floor, dripping the little left onto the wood floor.


    There were several games scattered on the ground and table, and Adrest noticed his right arm was numb.


    Looking to his side, there was a head of purple hair using his upper arm as a pillow while hugging the rest of the limb. She was snoring away blissfully, and Adrest knew there wasn¡¯t much that could wake her up right now.


    Shaking his head at the night that had gotten out of hand, and his new house in disarray, Adrest carefully freed himself of Alissa who woke just enough to move her head atop the table and continue the uncomfortable sleep.


    ¡°Haha, sorry about the mess Belle. Give me a few minutes and we¡¯ll make breakfast together, okay?¡± Adrest placated the girl who was still looking slightly concerned for the two ¡°adults¡± who couldn¡¯t even make it back to their own beds last night.


    Soon enough though, the spilled drink and scattered game pieces were cleaned. The oven was being put to good use, and Alissa finally stirred with a groan.


    ¡°Urgh¡­ breakfast?¡± Her eyes were just barely cracked open, and she teetered back and forth, seeming ready to fall back asleep any second.


    The plate put in front of the barely conscious woman was Adrest¡¯s answer, and she quickly started devouring it. Soon she was joined by a famished Adrest, and a still recovering and growing Belle. The meal passed in relative silence with only sighs of contentment to be heard.


    The day for the trio was much the same as before, with both Adrest and Belle getting personalized instruction from Alissa. For Belle who was still on the basics of everything, it was still far too soon to spar with Alissa, but she was amazed watching the older two fight so fiercely, she could barely keep up with Alissa¡¯s extended claws, or Adrest¡¯s sword, but the repeated ringing and flashing of sparks was enough for her.


    The two went back and forth in a trance of sorts as they exchanged blows, testing each other¡¯s guards and constantly searching for any weakness to exploit. While Alissa was the superior swordsman, she also wasn¡¯t a complete master as her body itself was an amazing weapon, so very occasionally Adrest was able to break her guard.


    Like all good things though, the fight came to an end. Alissa noticed the building fatigue in Adrest''s thrusts and guards and when he was too slow to in following up an attack, she closed in dlivering a palm to his upper chest with a deep thud as her pale hand landed.


    Adrest coughed up the air in his lungs and couldn¡¯t breathe for a few heart beats as the ache in his chest dulled and spread. While he was still struggling to fill his lungs, Adrest took note of the pair of gentle hands on his upper arms holding him steady.


    As Adrest flashed an exhausted smile at the purple haired demi-human inches away from him, he heard clapping coming from Belle whose thin snow white hair and slender rabbit ears flew erratically in the air as she bounced in her seat and clapped in amazement.


    The pair gave a bow to the audience before walking over to Belle, who was looking at the pair in amazement.


    ¡°Wow! Big bro and Big sis are really good! Will you teach me to do that someday?¡±


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    Having caught his breath, Adrest closed the distance and nodded ¡°Yep! Someday you¡¯ll be as strong as us, especially with Ms. Alissa teaching you.¡±


    Adrest had to dodge the jab that came from his side that came along with the words ¡°Don¡¯t call me Ms. It makes me sound old!¡±


    Having successfully chased off Adrest who had run away chuckling into the house, Alissa went back over to Belle who had just watched the exchange with a big smile.


    ¡°If you work hard, you¡¯ll be just as strong as either of us! You¡¯ll eventually learn how to really use your dual swords. And you¡¯ll be a strong mage with life, body, and even earth magic to power your blades and body.¡±


    As Belle heard what her future entailed, her eyes filled with stars just thinking about how hard it would be and seemed to have grown a little nervous at her big sister¡¯s expectations.


    Alissa saw the faint worry in her eyes and gently smiled and rubbed Belle¡¯s head, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that''s years from now, no one could be expected to learn all that overnight. Plus, you¡¯re a great learner Belle and we¡¯ll be there to help every step of the way!¡±


    Belle focused on what was said and gained a determined expression as nodded at Alissa before giving her a tight hug around her waist, seeming to make up her mind about something.


    The two girls stayed like that for a few moments before Adrest poked his head out of the house, interrupting them saying, ¡°Hey! Go clean up and I¡¯ll make a snack.¡±


    The pair smiled and held hands to the house and quickly cleaned off the sweat and dirt before going back downstairs where a clean Adrest was just taking over 3 small plates of cheese and buttered warm bread to the table and sat down.


    He was quickly joined by the girls who took their seats and ate peacefully before passing the rest of their day training, which soon became a habit for the three of them as the days and weeks blended together.


    Nearly two months had passed now, and instead of Belle watching the other two fight, today Adrest was the spectator for a fight between Belle and Alissa. He hadn¡¯t gotten to see much of her sword training as he was usually sent to do something ridiculous off in the forest by Alissa, so he was quite excited to see and cheer her on.


    The pair stood around ten feet apart, Alissa with a simple blunted sword held lazily to her side. Opposite her was Belle, holding two short swords that were only about as long as her forearm, nearly small enough to be considered daggers. Belle¡¯s face was completely serious, missing her usual cheer, and was wholly focused on the seemingly relaxed Alissa.


    Belle took a deep, slow breath before blurring forward and slashing at Alissa¡¯s throat. When it was easily blocked by a sword that seemed to have come from nowhere, Belle used her other arm to stab toward the side of her opponent, through her ribs. However, as the strike got close, Belle¡¯s arm and whole body came to a sudden stop, before getting sent backwards as she rolled with a kick that Alissa had delivered.


    Undeterred, Belle closed the distance and started wildly slashing at Alissa from all directions, testing Alissa¡¯s reactions and not giving her any room to strike back. All she found however was a wall of steel that was Alissa¡¯s blade, strike after strike was parried, blocked, or evaded with the tiniest fraction of movement. Before long Belle¡¯s breathing was rough and she was starting to slow as the short swords got heavier in her hands.


    Just as Allisa was preparing to end the fight, Belle¡¯s body glowed subtly with life magic and she fought with renewed vigor. In the midst of the onslaught, Belle also started using her earth magic to simultaneously make the dirt below Alissa loosen and act as quicksand, while shooting an angled pillar below herself to act as a springboard and launched into Alissa¡¯s guard, using her swords to keep Alissa from grappling her, Belle head-butted directly into flat stomach across from her.


    There was a dull thud, and a moment of silence quickly turned into Belle loudly crying ¡°Ow! That hurts so much! Why!¡±


    She dropped the swords and grabbed her head with tears welling up in her eyes.


    Adrest chuckled at the semi-comical scene and quickly clapped and cheered for Belle, just as she often would for him. ¡°Good job Belle! You¡¯re amazing, you¡¯re going to beat me soon if you keep working at it!¡±


    Belle partially opened her watery eyes and looked towards Adrest before blushing slightly and smiling back at him through her pain.


    As she was distracted, Alissa gently put her hand over Belle¡¯s and said to her, ¡°For most species, as they climb ranks their body improves at every step. That¡¯s another reason why its so hard to fight above your level.¡±


    As the pain slowly faded under Alissa¡¯s gentle touch, Belle nodded in understanding, but couldn¡¯t help feeling a bit sad at failing at the end though.


    Alissa saw this and quickly added, ¡°The last attack was amazing Belle, it was everything I¡¯ve been teaching you. I cant believe you¡¯ve improved so much in just a few months!¡±


    ¡°I know right? It was amazing to watch her fight like that, it was like a different person compared to our cute and shy Belle, right?¡±


    Adrest said as he approached from where he¡¯d been seated and clapped belle on the shoulder adding ¡°I¡¯m really proud of you Belle.¡±


    Her eyes misted with tears a little more as grabbed both Adrest and Alissa¡¯s hands and gave a big smile and a ¡°Thank you both!¡±

 19. Belles first test

    The three stayed like that for a time before Alissa gave the good news to Belle.


    ¡°Congratulations Belle! I think you¡¯re good enough to give hunting in the forest on your own a try!¡±


    Belle¡¯s face showed a mixture of nervousness, joy, and excitement. Alissa easily read the emotions on the small rabbit¡¯s face and patted her head reassuringly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be right there beside you until you¡¯re confident.¡±


    Hearing the soothing voice, and feeling the warm weight on her head, Belle felt her worry vanish and raised her head to give a firm nod and a cheery ¡°Yep!¡±


    With that, Alissa grinned like a mischievous child and scooped the girl into her arms while extending her wings like carved amethyst before shooting into the sky, all in what felt like an instant to Belle.


    Adrest shook his head and flew above to follow the prankster and the girl who let out a loud startled shriek as they flew into the distance. He followed the pair for only a handful of minutes before they descended to a few dozen feet away from a lone panther-like beast known as a dark cat. They were on the weaker side of feline type monsters in this world, on average in the D rank, but their claws were still lethal and its teeth sharp.


    Alissa waved her hands, and after a light swirl of wind she spoke, ¡°Right now it cant hear or see us, so Belle what beast is that?¡±


    After landing from the embrace Belle had been held in, she looked at the cat in the tree a few dozen paces away answering, ¡°A dark cat, it¡¯s a common D rank monster known for it''s agility and tough hide.¡±


    ¡°All correct, so when you¡¯re fighting remember to go for its weak spots, and a cornered beast is the most dangerous. Good luck!¡±


    With the encouragement and a wave of her hand, the circling wind stopped and Alissa grabbed Adrest before forcing him to ascend with her to the leaves above. Flustered, Belle found herself alone on the forest floor suddenly, and as fast as she could manage, grabbed her twin swords from the sheathes on her belt. Belle warily eyed the cat who was now looking at her because of the noise from the other two taking off.


    It seemed to glare at her with narrowed eyes, its ears tucked back, and she could hear a low snarl escape its muzzle. The standoff continued in a deathly silence, the cat with all of its muscles tensed in anticipation, and Belle who seemed to calm now that she was focused solely on survival. With both blades sitting parallel to her legs in a seemingly lazed manner. It may seem lackadaisical, but Alissa had taught her that it was the best stance for adapting to opponents, and reacting to attacks from odd angles.


    It proved correct as with no warning the large cat pounced, closing the dozen meters in a scant few seconds and clashed claws to sword with a metallic ringing as it gashed at Belle¡¯s throat as well as trying to gore her stomach.


    Belle let her mana flow through her whole body, strengthening it to the extremes of what she could safely handle. She felt inexhaustible energy in every inch of herself, and knew that currently her skin was nearly as hard as stone, though that meant nothing to the black claws currently trying to rake across her chest.


    With a well timed parry, and a quick slash at the limb, the cat retreated a few meters. Belle was thankful for the space as she got her breathing back under control before shooting off, using earth magic to create platforms that push against her feet.


    The cat swung its body to avoid Belle, who tried getting behind it, but still made a small cut on the tough hide, and tried to take some steps back but the small girl would not let up. Quickly small cuts were appearing all over its body as it tried to land even a single claw or bite in return to no avail.


    Minutes passed and under the watchful gaze of her older brother and sister above, Belle soon made dozens of cuts on the cats body, and it was getting slower. Belle wanted to try to impress the two watching and closed in for the kill.


    As if sensing its impending death, the cat did the unexpected. It threw itself onto the oncoming sword sliding straight through, the cat continued forward with death in its eyes but still ferocious as it sent it¡¯s claws reaching, and just barely scratching into the skin of her forearm before a spike of earth shot out of the ground and into the throat of the beast, lifting it''s entire body up and away from her.


    Belle¡¯s heart pounded as she realized just how close it had been, looking at the thin, red lines that streaked halfway from her wrist to her elbow. If she hadn¡¯t used her earth magic, which had been a reflex more than a decision, her left arm would¡¯ve been mangled at best, detached at worst. Belle went a shade paler at the thought, and this time took Alissa¡¯s advice to heart, having learned her lesson.


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    As she was lost in her thoughts a pair of warms hands landed softly on her back, one large and callused, the other slender and soft. She looked up to see Adrest with a smile and traces of worry still present in his face. She looked up to see Adrest with a smile and traces of worry still present on his face. To the other side, was Alissa with an exasperated grin and a vein twitching in her forehead, Belle cowered slightly in reflex.


    Alissa saw the action and sighed before crouching down and giving the girl a warm, reassuring smile saying ¡°You did great Belle. But you made your big bro Ady worry, right after I warned you to be careful.¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Belle said in a near whisper with her head pointed down, avoiding eye contact as much as possible to not show the start of tears in her eyes.


    While Belle was looking down, Alissa wrapped her in a tight hug and rubbed her back saying ¡°I¡¯m not mad, okay? The best way to learn is from mistakes, and you learned your lesson right?¡±


    Seeing Belle look up with glassy eyes and giving a big nod, she felt that looking that cute and pitiful wasn¡¯t fair but put that to the back of her mind before patting the sad rabbit¡¯s head and saying ¡°Good! Now lets go home and eat, and tomorrow you can try all it on your own.¡±


    Adrest chose that time to step up in front of Belle, and said with a stern face ¡°But before you do Belle, you have to promise that you will come back safe and sound. I thought my heart was going to stop when it''s claw hit you.¡±


    Belle hugged Adrest, saying into his stomach, ¡°I promise Big bro Ady, I¡¯ll be more careful next time.¡±


    ¡°I know you will. Now let¡¯s go home.¡±


    With a swoop and a familiar startled shriek, Belle found herself on Adrest¡¯s back, between his large, raven black wings as they sped back home.


    Later that night, long after Belle had gone to bed, Alissa walked up to Adrest who was absorbed in his work, slowly carving out the scales of a fish that they commonly caught. Smiling to herself, she crept up to his defenseless back and suddenly hugged him from behind, eliciting a jolt and a startled half yelp from Adrest.


    As soon as he saw the arms around him, Adrest knew it was Alissa, so he tilted his head back and asked, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    Alissa lifted her head up to make eye contact with Adrest and said, ¡°I need you to do something for me.¡±


    Saying that, she broke the hug and took out two items, a necklace and a ring. They were obviously made to be a pair, both a shining silver and similarly etched designs, with the necklace holding a swirling latticework of silver surrounding a many faceted, deep blue gemstone. The ring on the other hand, was a simple band of silver, with the gem inlaid and what looked to be runes carved around it.


    ¡°The necklace is for Belle, it already had an enchantment to sense a fatal attack before it lands, and summons a barrier of wind around the wearer for about 20 minutes. I also added the runes for it to send a signal to this ring when the barrier is activated.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing! Sounds like it''s really hard to make.¡± Adrest said in awe of the artifacts that were taken out and modified so casually by Alissa.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t finished, the necklace can even fend off A rank monsters for at least a few minutes. Kings wouldn¡¯t hesitate to send thousands to their death to acquire one for themselves. The ring will also be able to sense and track the location of the necklace, but that¡¯s where I need you.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like way too much for me, you haven¡¯t even taught me much about runes and enchanting other than the absolute basics and what to watch out for when buying artifacts.¡± Adrest said, wondering where she was going with this, as he couldn¡¯t think of anything that he could do that the woman in front of him couldn¡¯t.


    She said with a chuckle and smile ¡°I don¡¯t need you specifically, I need your mana. To make the location runes sync to one another, I need to borrow some of your spacial mana.¡±


    Adrest nodded, as that made sense to his limited understanding of magic concepts and asked, ¡°What do I need to do?¡±


    Alissa was happy to see Adrest ready to help and grabbed one of his hands in hers.


    ¡°You¡¯re still not very good at using your spacial mana, so you just need to completely relax and not fight me.¡±


    After Adrest nodded, she sent her own mana into Adrest and sent it to his core in the center of his chest and gently tugged at the nearly invisible, shifting section of mana, pulling out enough for the enhancements. She was happy with how much trust Adrest had shown her through the process. Alissa knew how much trust was needed to open yourself up in this way, all it would take was a thought and she could cripple him.


    Soon enough, she had the spacial mana in hand, sending it into the accessories to her side. They seemed to hum to life afterwards and looked to glow slightly in the low light.


    After inspecting the two accessories carefully, Alissa put them in her bag satisfied. ¡°Good, now I don¡¯t have to worry as much tomorrow. Thanks Ady!¡±


    Adrest flicked the cheeky dragon¡¯s forehead, hurting his finger while she stuck her tongue out in victory.


    ¡°Serves you right, hitting a beauty like me.¡±


    Adrest worked the pain out of his finger, and gave Alissa a look, ¡°If that¡¯s all you needed, shoo. I¡¯m almost done with my fish.¡¯


    Adrest went right back to carving the last of the scales and did appear to almost be finished with the life-like wooden sculpture. Alissa just stood with a smile on her face as she leaned over Adrest¡¯s shoulder contentedly watching each individual scale take shape.


    They stayed like that for a time, happily listening to the crackle of fire and slightest scraping from the knife carving off the smallest bits of wood. They stayed like that until the fire burned low and Adrest set down the knife yawning as he stretched.


    ¡°Uhhg, Its getting late, and I¡¯m sure Belle will want to get started early. Have a good night, Ali.¡± Adrest teased as he walked to the stairs.


    As he turned towards the stairs, he suddenly felt a stinging pain on his forehead and groaned in pain.


    As he massaged his forehead, he heard Alissa say as she went up the stairs ¡°Goodnight, Adrest.¡±

 20. Party Prep

    As Adrest predicted, the next morning Belle made sure to wake him up early. Belle hadn¡¯t even bothered going to the dragons den as she knew her Big brother was the only one who could deal with a sleeping Alissa.


    With the sun just barely over the horizon, giving everything a purple, gray hue, the two got to work making a simple fruit porridge and fresh grilled fish.


    As everything was just being put on the table, Adrest and Belle both turned their heads towards the stairs. They both saw a very sleepy Alissa slowly making her way to them, or more specifically the food near them.


    ¡°¡±Morning¡±¡± the two by the table said to the girl shambling towards them.


    ¡°Goodmowning¡±


    Alissa responded with a cute slur to her words as she sat down and grabbed her bowl that had been filled already. The audience smiled at each other before sitting down as well and digging in.


    After the meal, and everyone completed their morning routines, Alissa had new life in her eyes and her eyes were glittering as she grinned widely and pulled out a purple bag with a red ribbon tied into a bow sealing it.


    ¡°Belle, come here we have a gift for you!¡±


    ¡°We?¡± Adrest asked


    ¡°We. I couldn¡¯t have finished it without your spacial mana after all.¡± Alissa said with a smile. Adrest was about to argue but was cut off by Belle speeding out of the house.


    Belle went up to Alissa who told the brightly smiling girl to hold out her hands. As she did as told, Alissa set the bag into the small hands and said ¡°This is a gift from Ady and I, you have to promise to never take it off, unless you¡¯re with one of us. Do you think you can do that?¡±


    Belle was confused at the statement but after just a seconds delay, she fiercely nodded her head, sending her ears flopping every which way, which made Adrest choke back laughter from the funny but endearing scene.


    ¡°Good, then lets see how it looks on you!¡± Alissa said, satisfied with the girls response.


    Belle slowly untied the lacy patterned red ribbon, that Adrest was sure would be prohibitively expensive, and was sure it could only be found in the wealthiest cities and capitals of nearby nations.


    Soon Belle carefully fished out the pendant, and the silver chain glittered brilliantly in the sun. she looked lost as she stared at the deep blue gem with its many facets, each with a reflection of Belle staring back.


    After nearly a minute of staring, she looked up slowly, not quite meeting Alissa¡¯s eyes above and said in a quiet voice, ¡°it looks so expensive, is it really okay for to give something like this, to someone like me...¡±


    The adults shared a troubled look before Alissa crouched down and pulled the girl into a tight hug.


    ¡°I¡¯ll say it as many times as you need Belle. You are family, and deserve every bit of pampering we can give you. After all, it makes us as happy as you to do things like this.¡±


    Belle hugged Alissa tightly and repeatedly said thank you into her shoulder and Adrest enjoyed spectating the sweet scene until before they separated. Adrest decided it was a good time to step in, saying, ¡°Would you like help putting it on? I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll look beautiful on you Belle.¡±


    She blushed slightly at the compliment, but Adrest didn¡¯t even notice as he unclasped the complicated lock on the thin chain and put it gingerly around Belle¡¯s neck as Alissa moved the white hair out of the way for him. Soon the chain was secured, and it adjusted itself to sit firmly around Belle¡¯s neck.


    Alissa stood up and pulled a hand mirror from who knows where and held it in front of belle, who was speechless as she stared at the reflection. Belle stood motionless for a time before looking up at Alissa and Adrest with glassy eyes, filled with unshed tears and gave a brilliant smile ¡°Thank you big sis, big bro. I love you!¡±


    At the unexpected words from the little rabbit, Alissa felt her heart pound and she grabbed the girl in a hug and lifted her over a foot in the air swinging her around. ¡°I love you too Belle! You¡¯re my precious little sister and I¡¯ll pamper you forever!¡±


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    Adrest didn¡¯t have the chance to say anything with the overly energetic dragon doing as she pleased, so he just enjoyed the sight of a purple haired flawless beauty with her signature purple hair and sun kissed skin, contrasting starkly with the delicate albino rabbit girl in her arms. Adrest also laughed to himself seeing Belle¡¯s pure white ears flicking around every which way as she became more flustered.


    Eventually Alissa let the poor girl go and they set off walking, rather than flying, to help familiarize Belle with her way back. That didn¡¯t mean the group moved slowly however, they raced through the flat forest floor, kicking up leaves and dirt in their wake, and it continued for nearly 6 hours, until they were about a third of the way to the outpost village they had visited, since monsters in the area got weaker the closer to the base of the mountain range it was an appropriate challenge for Belle.


    Eventually, Alissa stopped, making the other two halt as well. They were in a section of woods that looked like any other, with just trees as far as the eyes could see in any direction.


    ¡°On the way here, I scared off any monsters near us, but once I¡¯m gone some of the braver ones will be back to investigate. Do your best and remember to always pay attention to your surroundings.¡¯ Alissa warned her seriously before giving the girl one last quick hug, changing her tune completely.


    ¡°I know you¡¯ll do great Belle; Big sis believes in you!¡± she quickly set down the girl who looked up to her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back before you know it! And I promise I¡¯ll be extra careful.¡±


    Adrest nodded saying, ¡°If you see something that you aren¡¯t positive you can handle, don¡¯t risk it.¡± As Belle nodded, he seemed to think of something and added.


    ¡°By the way Belle, how does a party sound when you get back? We can celebrate and have whatever you want, and we¡¯ll stay up all night playing games.¡±


    Alissa¡¯s eyes lit up at the last part of the statement and nodded energetically. Belle¡¯s eyes shone with happiness, and she asked, ¡°Can we have Idren stew, with extra vegetables?¡±


    Adrest nodded saying ¡°We¡¯ll get everything ready and waiting for you to come home.¡±


    With one last exchange of goodbyes, the pair flew off and left the white-haired girl alone to find her way home by herself.


    The two quickly made their way back to the house, and both grew a little somber at how quiet it felt. Belle had only been with them for a short time, but she quickly became an irreplaceable part of their life.


    Sighing, not feeling like doing any training today and seeing it was already near evening, Adrest made his way to his room and got into his secret stash of good liquor he bought in town. He quickly learned he had to hide his good alcohol, or Alissa would get into it and force him to drink as well, else she would simply finish it all herself.


    He returned to the moping dragon sitting outside near a newly burning fire and passed her the bottle he had just taken a swig from.


    ¡°She¡¯ll probably be back tomorrow evening or early the day after, we might as well take a day to stop acting like responsible role models, right?¡±


    Alissa grabbed the offered drink and snorted ¡°As if you ever act like a role model. Belle is more responsible than you.¡±


    As she took a deep drink, Adrest laughed at the comeback and sat next to her. They sat and passed the bottle back and forth, enjoying the crackling fire and the busy sounds of nature around them.


    By the time the moons were fully in the sky, the two were nearly done with the first bottle and both had a red flush on their faces with a comfortable slight numbness through their bodies. They moved inside and sat at the table playing 21 as Adrest had taught Alissa and she thoroughly enjoyed.


    ¡°Hit. By the way Ady did you know I¡¯m the youngest of my siblings? Dragons live for a super long time, my oldest brother is already well over five hundred years old, and my sister who is closest to my age, is already over one hundred. I¡¯ve always been the fragile youngest that¡¯s been doted on when they were around. I¡¯ve always wanted a little sister to spoil, so today made me really happy.¡±


    Alissa confessed out of nowhere, but Adrest could understand that it must¡¯ve felt lonely being the only sibling that was still a child. ¡°It made me really happy hearing her today too, let¡¯s throw her the best party ever when she gets back!¡±


    Alissa nodded and her face turned serious as she closed her eyes in thought.


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to figure out a present for her when she gets back.¡±


    Adrest broke into drunk laughter at the dragon already thinking of more gifts for the girl, and suddenly had an idea, slamming the table and getting the dragon to jump in surprise. ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the outpost town and buy as many sweets as we can carry. Remember the look on her face when Belle tried that cinnamon pie?¡±


    Alissa rose from her seat, adding ¡°And we can get her new armor, the set she has now is getting tight and we can go all out!¡±


    The drunken Adrest nodded along and took one last long drink from the bottle before handing it to Alissa to finish. His wings shot out while he said, ¡°If we leave now, we can sneak in just before the sun comes up.¡±


    Gulping the last mouthfuls of liquor, Alissa¡¯s wing shot outwards as well, and the inebriated pair shot off into the sky with perfect accuracy.


    Just as planned, the pair reached the town just before the very first rays of sun peeked over the horizon. They were starting to yawn, but they were on a mission so as the town just started to wake up, the two found a food cart that had just finished setting up and got two meat skewers to stave off the coming headache.


    They ate their skewers and drank some hot tea in peace, watching the early morning people shoot up and down the street. Soon enough, the sun was fully in the sky and shining brightly and the two split up. Adrest to put in a large custom order at a caf¨¦ they had visited before, and Alissa to go order the armor as she knew what modifications would need to be made.


    The two killed time after putting in both orders by meeting at the Home and Hearth to catch up with Rose.

 21. Early Morning Surprise

    Adrest and Alissa were both sober by now and since neither of them were human, they were only feeling a little tired rather than exhausted after staying up all night and flying all the way here.


    Rose loved the stories about Belle coming out of her shell, and they in turn learned what had happened around the town since they¡¯d been gone. It was now the slow season since the auction had ended but there was still a consistent stream of new faces showing up every day. The only thing of note was that there was a sudden influx of monsters in the area, enough so that a big shot was supposedly coming over to investigate and cull the population.


    Nearly 4 hours passed before they left the inn and said their goodbyes to Rose. They picked up the newly fitted black leather armor and accessories and got their large pile of sweets from the caf¨¦. The two found a spot to covertly place it all in Alissa¡¯s storage bag before leaving from the opposite gate they had come in, just like last time.


    When the town was barely visible in the distance, Adrest and Alissa spread their wings and sped back home. Wondering if Belle would make it back tonight or tomorrow afternoon, they found themselves excited and cleared the whole first floor of the house, making room for over a dozen games that either Adrest had made, or they had bought from the market square. There was everything, from a simplistic version of Connect 4 he had made. A warfare simulation game taking up a whole table itself, that was a little too complicated for Belle at the moment, but she loved alternating between the two adults helping each side. There were also decks of cards ready to go, and boards set for both chess and checkers.


    They took in the room, satisfied, and set about killing time while they waited for their newest family member to return. Adrest thought this was as good a time as any and set to ask Alissa a question that he had for a while now but didn¡¯t have an opportunity to ask.


    ¡°Hey Alissa, what is your home country like? It¡¯s Illerg, isn''t it? You¡¯ve never outright said it, but you¡¯re obviously from an important family, and dragons are the rulers of the beast nation, right?¡±


    She was momentarily stunned at the sudden and personal question, but smiled and answered, ¡°You¡¯re technically correct, but also a little wrong. I am from a ruling clan of Illerg. And most dragons live in the misted forests in the center of the nation, they''re for all intents and purposes a different county compared to the rest of Illerg.¡±


    ¡°The misted forests? And there are multiple clans in charge?¡± Adrest asked, now even more curious.


    ¡°It¡¯s a nearly endless stretch of mountainous rainforest, it has countless crystal-clear lakes and rivers feeding into one another. Each tree that grows there is at least the size of 3 of the ones here combined, with crowns miles long, the size makes it easy for us to fly through the area, without having to go above the treetops. It¡¯s a paradise fit for even gods.¡±


    She seemed to get lost in her memories and trailed off for only a heartbeat before clearing her throat and continuing her explanation.


    ¡°And yes, there are 5 ruling dragon clans at any time to ensure equality. The clans in charge change frequently however, as it is based solely on strength. Right now it is ruled by the storm clan, darkness clan, holy clan, earth clan, and finally the spirit clan.¡±


    Digesting the information, Adrest thought he followed, except for one thing. ¡°I think I understand the rest of the clans, but what is a spirit dragon exactly?¡±


    Now absorbed back into her teaching role, Alissa quickly and concisely explained, ¡°They¡¯re extremely rare, and they directly attack the soul and consciousness. They were reclusive and kept to themselves until the current clan head took over. From a young age she was particularly gifted at manipulating souls and forcefully brought the whole clan to a new level.¡±


    Adrest could hear the admiration in Alissa¡¯s voice as she explained and thought it made sense, even he was in awe at the mysterious dragon¡¯s deeds, and he felt it likely Alissa had met her.


    ¡°You really admire her huh?¡±


    Smiling, Alissa answered ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s also known as the most beautiful dragon, she¡¯s incredibly strong but doesn¡¯t rely on her brute strength. Father has always said that she is the only one of the other old-timers that could match him in wit. She is an idol to nearly every female dragon.¡±


    She spoke with a pride that made Adrest sigh in admiration, wishing he had someone so perfect to look up to. Since Alissa seemed to be in a good mood and was happy to share more of her past, he asked a final question.


    ¡°You clearly love your home, it''s written on your face when you talk about it. How did you end up all the way over here?¡±


    Alissa shrugged helplessly and seemed to pout, ¡°Father threw me out and said I couldn¡¯t return until was strong enough to kill S rank monsters with ease.¡±


    Adrest was shocked to hear the cruel requirements, the difference between ranks had been drilled into him by Alissa herself after all, she stressed how much of a gap each letter was, and it only increased exponentially as you went higher. He was about to ask why he would do such a thing, but she seemed to read his mind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look, he did it for me after all. When dragons reach maturity, the women and men fight separately, then the top one hundred of each side will fight to determine the generational rankings, the prizes top placing individuals get are amazing! And if you score in the top ten, you earn the title dragon scion, get to enter super secret places, and even get taught by dragons that have ascended to godhood!¡±


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    Adrest had a feeling she had just told him secrets of the dragon race, but it was overshadowed by amazement for just how strong her country was, and her drive to be the best among them.


    ¡°So how long do you have until that starts, is it okay to spend so much time helping Belle and I?¡± He was suddenly worried his training the last few months had endangered her dreams.


    She smiled sweetly at his concern saying ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s still a few years away and if I go all out I¡¯m pretty sure I can kill something S rank already. Plus, I¡¯m having too much fun here!¡±


    She grabbed his hand in both of hers at the last part and showed a smile that made the very world around her dull in comparison. At that moment Adrest felt her tanned skin looked far more precious than any gold and her eyes carried a joy that would stay with Adrest forever.


    He carved the scene in his memories, unwilling to forget the slightest detail of the picturesque moment in front of him and squeezed her hand back gently, smiling back at her. The two stood for a time together, comfortable in the silence before going back to playing cards to wait for Belle¡¯s homecoming.


    Knowing that Belle should be back tomorrow. It was a quiet evening, with the two bathing and only having a few drinks together to help sleep come faster. They both slipped to sleep quickly, still feeling the slight effects of missing a night¡¯s sleep.


    While Adrest would normally be up with the sun, his body demanded rest after the busy day, and thus was surprised when he awoke to the sound of his door being knocked off its hinges as Alissa charged in.


    The sun was shining bright in his panicked eyes, and he immediately woke up seeing the look of worry on Alissa¡¯s face. The other thing he noticed was the ring on her finger was brightly glowing with a deep blue and the air around it was vibrating strongly. The hand the ring was on was clenched in a white-knuckle grip and he noticed a slight tremor to it.


    As he jumped out of his bed, Adrest asked ¡°What direction do we go?¡±


    He threw on a black robe that had been tossed to the side, as he didn¡¯t want to waste time changing, and tied his sword to his side. With his pitch black, raven wings extended he truly looked like a prince of darkness as he exuded a murderous aura at the thought of their Belle being in mortal danger.


    ¡°It¡¯s to the southeast, she shouldn¡¯t be too far away. There shouldn¡¯t be anything that could corner belle around here though. I just checked and scared everything off a few days ago.¡±


    The two raced off at full speed, Adrest being dragged by the arm as Alissa was still much faster than him. They appeared to be a purple bolt of lightning shooting horizontally through the sky.


    The two followed the signal the ring produced, Alissa sending her mana into it constantly to check. In a scant few minutes, as they arrived above a clearing Adrest felt his blood boil, and veins through his body throb in unison at the scene below. He stood there in a shocked rage, unable to comprehend why there would be such a large band of humans so deep in the forest.


    A group of humans surrounded the barrier. Maybe 20 or so of them, with three quarters of them in heavy metal plate armor, like knights. And the remaining in cloaks and light armor, all holding staffs and wands betraying their magic professions. The magicians were sending spell after spell into the winds swirling around Belle, with the knights swinging glowing swords with loud clangs.


    What the two floating above focused on however, was the crumpled form of a small girl in the eye of the windstorm. She was covered in scrapes and cuts, like she had been focused on escaping. Several of those cuts were deep and leaked a constant stream of blood. Even her face wasn¡¯t spared, as she had a gash across her forehead, she seemed to have the start of a black eye as well as a crooked nose slowly dripping blood.


    Belle was in truly terrible condition, her unconscious expression one of pain. Adrest¡¯s heartbeat grew louder, louder than should be possible. The noise even drew Alissa out of her stupor and as she unclenched her fist, and dug out her nails that had buried themselves in her palm. She gasped as she looked over to see Adrest¡¯s usually bright orange eyes turn a deep, ominous red. Blood streaked down his face as the black horns that normally barely poked out of his matching hair elongated and curved outwards. They formed needle sharp points, sticking out menacingly from his head in front of him. His nails grew four inches and turned into the same black chitin as his horns, as well as spikes extending from his wings and coating his newly formed tails tip, sharp as a knife.


    The heartbeat grew only louder, a heavy bass that the people below missed due to their unending volley of attacks on the barrier. But Alissa as heard the heartbeat, she knew what was happening and what that sound heralded. The people below really had no way out now.


    She had been taught it was called the Drum of War. The brutal magic triggered when a demon¡¯s rage was pushed to an absolute. A pureblooded demon can overcharge their body and mana paths, transforming the body to perfectly suit the individual and forcibly widening and overflowing mana paths through the body for more overwhelming power. When used by the strongest of demons, even gods trembled in fear, or at least her father had said as such.


    Alissa knew that there was nothing she could say to wake Adrest up at the moment, and she felt nothing for the group below that would be his sacrifice. She watched him finish the transformation, and his heartbeat was loud enough to vibrate the very air near him.


    He flashed down in a black blur, letting loose an inhuman roar that sounded of grief and rage, a mix of negative emotions that dragged the listener into the icy depths and made all those below look up in unison. Some dropped their weapons at the mere sight of the demon flying towards them.


    As he arrived in the center of the crowd, Adrest didn¡¯t even draw his weapon, instinctually his new appendage and nails to decimate those around him. He sent swords off course with a flash of sparks, then would sink his nails or tail into even the smallest chink in their heavy armor.


    He danced through the crowd, never staying in one spot long enough to be completely surrounded, and was making quick work of the humans, who now ignored Belle as they fought for their lives.


    Alissa took this as her cue and used the ring to go inside the wind barrier and took out a small bottle that fit comfortably in the palm of her hand. It held a bright golden liquid that seemed to emit its own light. With no hesitation, Alissa opened the bottle and as gingerly as she could manage, tilted Belle¡¯s head up.


    She poured some of the thick liquid into the unconscious girl''s mouth, but Belle appeared too weak to swallow it without choking. Nearly breaking her teeth from grinding them in fury, Alissa brought the bottle to her mouth and took a small mouthful, locking lips with the dying girl she considered a sister, and forcing the medicine down.


    This repeated several times before the elixir was gone, and Belle was already looking completely healed but still unconscious. Alissa sighed in relief seeing the girls healed form and pulled a pillow out of nowhere to set under Belle¡¯s head before getting up to inspect the scene outside.

 22. Cleaning up The Aftermath

    She saw that there were only 10 or so left. The man that appeared to be their leader was fighting Adrest on his own, desperately blocking stabs from every angle, while the last of the mages were healing the few remaining knights and slinging spells at the demon.


    Happy to see Adrest fine, Alissa left the barrier to the astonishment of the mages who hadn¡¯t seen her enter.


    They quickly aimed their magic circles towards her, who simply flicked her finger at them with cold, imperious eyes. All in front of her were reduced to ash. This mighty display distracted the captain who then lost his life to one of Adrest¡¯s talons slipping into his neck through a gap, making blood shoot out from the armor and his body slumping forward.


    Seeing another figure, his instincts wanted to attack the challenger, but he paused and struggled to not injure the woman in front of him. Alissa ignored the man fighting himself to avoid hurting her and hugged him. Alissa whispered into his ear.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay now. Belle is safe and the people who hurt her are gone. It¡¯s time to sleep.¡±


    The rampaging Adrest fought for a second more under her iron grip, but soon his heartbeat slowed and quieted, his appearance returned to normal, the chitin and horns sinking back inside his body, soon all that was left in Alissa¡¯s arms was a passed out, bloodied Adrest.


    Alissa¡¯s lips formed a gentle smile as she let the unconscious man fall into her and she gently set him down on his back, giving him a pillow from nowhere too. Sitting up and looking at the scene around her Alissa¡¯s smile disappeared entirely, replaced by an icy placid mask. She waved her hand, and the gore surrounding her turned to ash. The only evidence she left was the chest plate of the leader, a black bat in the center of a red circle.


    Sending the sigil to her spacial bag, she carved a complex rune in the air, and the barrier of wind instantly died down and revealed a weary and confused Belle who was sitting up and looking around wildly.


    When she locked eyes with Alissa, Belle sprung up and sprinted into her as fast as her legs would carry her. The two embraced, with Belle crying into her sister¡¯s dress.


    Alissa tightly hugged the girls back, while stroking her head softly saying ¡°Its okay, Big sister is here. You¡¯re safe now.¡±


    They stayed like that until the crying sounds came to an end, and a bloodshot and slightly puffy eyed Belle looked up to Alissa, ¡°Thank you big sis Ali.¡±


    Alissa smiled at the cute girl and patted her head replying ¡°I¡¯ll always be there to save you Belle. And don¡¯t forget to thank big bro Ady whenever he wakes up, he worked hard.¡± She pointed to the blood soaked Adrest peacefully sleeping behind her.


    Seeing the dreadful looking Adrest, Belle paled and was about to rush over to check on him but was grabbed by Alissa who told her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s just sleeping. Ady did something stupid and tired himself out in the process, I¡¯ll tell you all about it later. But first, how about I keep you company and we head back to the cabin, you¡¯re starting to feel jittery right?¡±


    Alissa asked the question with a grin, she had seen the young girl¡¯s hands start to twitch and she was bouncing around on her heels. The elixir Alissa had taken out earlier was made with a variety of high-level ingredients, it was something that could heal even A rank dragons like herself after all. It was only natural for a barely D rank rabbit girl to have an excess of energy after drinking it.


    ¡°Because of the medicine I gave you, you¡¯ll be full of energy for a day or so. I¡¯ll be carrying Adrest back, he won¡¯t wake up for anything anytime soon, so we can take our time. I¡¯ll make sure nothing comes near us, run around as much as you like and burn off some of that energy.¡±


    Belle smiled and began sprinting to the nearest tree and used its trunk as a base to springboard from one to another. Alissa smiled at the obedient rabbit and effortlessly lifted Adrest onto her back and began the hour or so walk home.


    It was peaceful as Alissa had said it would be, and Belle ran circles around the older two the entire time, trying to no avail to burn off energy. They arrived back to the house and Alissa had Belle wait outside as she tucked Adrest in and left him a note with instructions for when he woke up.


    She stepped back outside and sat down at a bench that had popped up a few days prior. Patting the seat next to her, Belle obediently sat as directed.


    ¡°What happened Belle?¡±


    Upon hearing the gentle question, Belle took time to organize her thoughts. And started from the beginning.


    ¡°The first day was fun. I had to fight a few things, but nothing that scared me. I got up super early the next day, and took my time going back like you taught me and set up a small fire at the base of a hill to stay the second night. It was quiet almost all night, but just before the sun came up and i was getting ready to leave, I heard them coming from the other side of the hill.¡±


    She took a nervous breath remembering the experience, and Alissa took the delicate hand in hers to reassure the young girl. Belle relaxed somewhat with the gesture and continued her tale.


    ¡°When they saw me running, they shouted at me to stop but they looked scary so I ran as fast as I could. But they didn¡¯t stop chasing me, some of them were fast, so they would catch up and attack me trying to slow me down while the others caught up. I was scared and they kept hurting me. I ran for hours and they wouldn''t stop trying to get me, so I had to, I ki-killed some of them. Then the big really strong guy got really mad and said that it didn¡¯t matter how much I worth, the buyer would have to settle for a body. I was so scared, then everything went black, and you saved me.¡±


    Alissa knew that Belle was only just processing the fact that she had killed a person for the first time. The poor girl looked pale, her skin, normally a glowing porcelain was now a waxy white, like a corpse. She had a lot of guilt and helplessness in her red eyes trying to hide behind a smile.


    Pulling the girl to her side and stroking her shoulder comfortingly Alissa said, ¡°Its normal. Just let it out, there was nothing you could do. They came for you, and you fought back. It hurts to admit, but I can¡¯t promise you¡¯ll never need to do that again. But I can promise that you can always come to me for help afterward.¡±


    Belle grasped the older sister who had easily broken through the fa?ade, her face crumpled into the pure white dress in front of her, and began silently weeping. Slowly working through her sorrow, guilt, and fear.


    Later, after Belle had calmed down, the two played physical games like catch and kicked around a sturdy leather ball Adrest had sewn together. Four hours of this, and Belle was finally able to settle down in the same spot for more than a few minutes.


    As luck would have it, Adrest came out of the house shortly after they had finished and Belle realized how hungry she had gotten,now that the effects of the potion were mostly gone. Adrest was dressed in his everyday white linen shirt, and tan pants. If Belle had not seen his state just several hours ago, she would have never known he was injured.


    ¡°Welcome back Belle!¡± Adrest came over and scooped up a blushing Belle in a hug before spinning her in circles with her feet well over a foot off the ground. After a few rotations he set the red and slightly dizzy bunny girl on her feet.


    ¡°You really made me worry Belle, are you okay? Was Alissa mean to you?¡± The latter question earned himself a fierce swing from Alissa, which he just barely managed to dodge. The exchange made Belle giggle, feeling like she was truly back home.


    Once Alissa stopped her assault, Adrest said to Belle, ¡°Now, we got a little sidetracked and it wasn¡¯t exactly what we planned, but why don¡¯t we have dinner?¡±


    Belle¡¯s stomach answered for her, as she had not eaten since that morning, and it was well into night now. Her face turned nearly as red as her irises, and she refused to look away from the ground as Adrest laughed and Alissa giggled.


    They got either side of the blushing rabbit and grabbed a hand, before leading her to the stone house. While she didn¡¯t feel ready to look up, neither adult missed the smile on Belle¡¯s face.


    Coming to the door, Adrest had Alissa go in first as he covered Belle¡¯s eyes. She went in and set up both the table of desserts Adrest had bought and set another with the armor and weapons she bought, covering it with a white cloth. After making sure everything looked perfect, she let the two waiting at the door inside and Adrest let Belle open her eyes.


    She looked around in curiosity and wonder while Adrest explained ¡°We wanted to do something special, so we went to town and got some desserts we thought you¡¯d like and Alissa picked out the other gift.¡±


    He gestured to the dragon waiting by the white cloth covered table, and with a flourish, she pulled the cloth off without disturbing the items below. Belle gasped as she saw the pitch-black armor, adorned with some fine silver lotuses sewn in with the same silver thread used to stitch the leather together. The decoration was not eye-catching, but enough to make the armor look fashionable. With it, was matching black leather bracers and flexible looking gloves, a matching set of pants with built in armoring at the thighs and calves. Also, there was a pair of brown leather boots and an assortment of sheathed weapons.


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    Belle was stunned and Alissa smiled brightly saying ¡°Surprise! Although it feels a little late now, we got a new set of armor, and a set of swords perfect for you.¡±


    Belle had walked up to the table and seeing the flawless beast leather and stitching, she couldn¡¯t imagine how much it had cost, and nearly started crying, but Alissa interrupted her by grabbing her cheeks and insisting that she would spoil her little sister.


    With that, Belle gave a radiant smile, ¡°Thank you Big sis Ali!¡± and gave Alissa another hug.


    Smiling, Alissa continued ¡°That¡¯s more like it. I¡¯ll help you try it on tomorrow and make sure it fits right. But for now let¡¯s eat!¡±


    Adrest nodded, adding ¡°I was a little short on time, so it isn''t exactly as planned, but close. I made some chicken soup and bread.¡± As he spoke, he also skillfully balanced a large pot on one hand. In the pot was a golden liquid filled with an assortment of vegetables and herbs swirling around large juicy chunks of chicken. On his other hand, was a platter of light brown bread sliced generously, each with a shell of crispy crust.


    Before he could even set the food down, Belle was at her spot and looking on with anticipation clear in her eyes. Adrest decided to generously ignore the hint of drool at the corner of her lips and spooned out a portion for her quickly. While she dug into the hearty soup, Adrest generously butted two slices of bread and set the plate to the left of Belle¡¯s soup.


    Now that Belle was happily devouring her meal, Adrest and Alissa ate as well, with Adrest eating with nearly as much gusto as Belle. After all, his transformation and healing earlier had taken a lot out of him and he was feeling famished. Alissa as well, though in a polite and perfect style, still ate hers nearly as fast as the other two.


    Before long the soup was completely gone, and the only evidence of the fresh bread was a few crumbs on the plate that had carried it. Everyone let out a collective sigh of satisfaction at the end, and after sitting and enjoying the warm and happy atmosphere, Alissa stood up abruptly and made her way over to the dessert table.


    She carefully loaded up a plate with a little bit of everything, from the buttermilk frosted cake, pies with different berries and spices, several kinds of cookies, and a few varieties of pastry. She walked the mountain of sweets over to the wide-eyed girl.


    ¡°We know you like sweets, but neither of us knew your favorite so we got you a little bit of everything to try.¡± Alissa explained as she set the plate down before grabbing a slice of the cake for herself. Adrest also grabbed a cookie for himself before sitting down.


    Belle looked a little overwhelmed by the choices, Adrest saw and said, ¡°Try the small white round one.¡± And pointed at a circular pastry at the edge of the plate.


    He was told that they were the caf¨¦¡¯s specialty, and they were miniature cakes with a sweet and slightly tart berry filling and covered in sugar.


    Hearing the suggestion, Belle picked up the pastry and split it in half with a bite, surprise on her expression as the filling burst out, some getting on her face. The older two laughed loudly at the scene, and even though Belle¡¯s face flushed scarlet, it didn¡¯t stop her eyes from lighting up as she ate the unknown dessert. She happily ate the other half after fiercely wiping her lips and cheeks with a cloth.


    Belle was in her own world as she sampled each delicious morsel. The pair watched on basking in the happy glow and waited until Belle was completely full before asking,


    ¡°So, what do you like best?¡±


    Belle sat seriously thinking before answering, ¡°I like the cr¨¨me filled one a lot, and the one filled with fruit was really yummy too.¡±


    Adrest smiled at his little sister ¡°I¡¯m happy we were able to find your favorite for next time.¡±


    He paused and rubbed the back of his head with a smile, ¡°We set up everything to play every game we had all night together too, but you must be exhausted right Belle?¡±


    Before Belle could answer herself, Alissa started laughing.


    Eventually she explained, ¡°She¡¯ll be lucky if she starts getting tired tomorrow afternoon. I only had healing potions that work on me. They can basically revive the dead, let alone heal a D-rank. It¡¯ll be in her system for a while and she''ll be full of energy the whole time.¡±


    Belle nodded to emphasize that she was still wide awake, and her body that was leaning forward with excitement showed how eager she was. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯ll go crazy sitting still anymore, but I¡¯m not getting tired at all either. Can we please play Big bro Ady?¡±


    Adrest instantly melted under the puppy, or rather, rabbit eyes she was expertly giving, and rushed off to the table with the cards. With Alissa in her seat shortly after, and Belle bringing up the rear. Soon the cards were shuffled and sounds of cheer and defeat rang out through the empty forest surrounding them.


    It was as Alissa said, they played and snacked on their buffet of treats all night and well into the next day before Belle finally began to feel the effects of the potion wear off and began to get tired. However, it seemed that she wanted the moment to last forever as she fought exhaustion off for as long as she could, with Adrest and Alissa happy to indulge her. She finally succumbed to sleep in the very early evening, right on the bench, with cards still in her hands.


    Alissa smiled; happy the little girl was finally back to herself. She stood, deftly plucked the cards from Belle¡¯s hands, and gently carried Belle to her bed for a proper rest.


    As she descended back down the stairs, she found Adrest straightening up the first floor with nearly everything back in its place. She came up to the side of him as he was sweeping the floor, and put her hand on his to get his attention.


    ¡°We need to talk.¡±


    Pausing his work, Adrest looked over to Alissa and fixed his posture as he saw the serious and viscous look in her eyes. ¡°About the small army all the way out here?¡±


    She nodded and explained what she had learned, including a retelling of Belle¡¯s experience, showing him the insignia she had saved, and her thoughts on who was behind them.


    ¡°From what he said to Belle, we can assume these guys were mercenaries. They were well trained, and by human standards were a little above average. It would have cost quite a bit to hire them.¡±


    Adrest nodded faintly remembering his fight with the man, knowing that without that transformation he would have lost. The man had to have been high C rank, maybe even at the peak of it. Alissa had explained the secret of his transformation and the history of the skill and Adrest was very disappointed to hear he couldn¡¯t train to use that form on command.


    Adrest added, ¡°They said they were specifically here for Belle, but no one should know who we really are, let alone where we live. And who would want to steal a little girl anyway?¡±


    Alissa answered with a question of her own ¡°Did you know that there¡¯s a very rare spell available to dark mages? It allows the caster to track the exact location of a blood sample''s owner for just a few minutes before the blood immolates. Also, when a slave is first contracted, they must sign a contract in blood.¡±


    Adrest processed the impromptu lesson. He turned a shade paler at the thought of such a spell and that their private world in the trees was no longer a secret.


    Alissa however, calmed him saying, ¡°It¡¯s not as if it''s omnipotent, the spell can¡¯t tell the exact location, just direction and rough distance. And if the target is in an anti magic or spying barrier it would be ineffective. I didn¡¯t think something like this would happen, but I¡¯ll fix that oversight, I just need to find something with a core strong enough to handle the runes.¡±


    She finished with a predatory grin that sent a shiver up his spine and tried to distract Alissa with a question.


    ¡°But why would the auction house track us, then try to steal Belle? As disgusting as it is to say, they could get as many demi-human slaves as they wanted with a tenth of the effort and money.¡±


    Alissa sighed before saying ¡°I know it doesn¡¯t mean much to you, since everyone you know has one God¡¯s blessing or another, but did you forget Belle is the favored child of Nina? The boons she would bring to wherever she ends up are inestimable, not to mention the sick pleasure they would take in bragging to their friends about have a chosen as a slave.¡±


    Adrest realized that he had indeed forgotten about Belle¡¯s blessing as it barely meant anything to him. Both he and Alissa had some type of God¡¯s blessing, so he had no real sense for how rare it was. He also knew the type of people Alissa had meant in the last part of her explanation and felt a hot rage as he knew how realistic a view it was, and the terrible fate Belle would suffer under them.


    Alissa added, ¡°There is another group to keep in mind as well actually. Who were the ones who that brought Belle to the village in the first place?¡±


    ¡°Randier? But if they wanted her, why put her in the auction?¡±


    Alissa shrugged ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe they didn¡¯t realize who Belle is, or maybe they got an extravagant order for slaves matching Belle¡¯s description. It¡¯s just another option.¡±


    Adrest sighed, ¡°So, even if we have two suspects, questioning the higher ups in the auction house might not be that hard, but tracking the Randier group members responsible for this will be difficult won¡¯t it?¡±


    Alissa¡¯s eyes took on a predatory light, ¡°Oh no, it¡¯ll be easy. Within the next week, the one responsible will send people to investigate when there is no response from those bastards. I will just pay attention to a little more of the forest than usual.¡±


    She spoke as if it were no big deal to monitor dozens of square miles of forest for a week straight, but to the A rank dragon, maybe it really wasn¡¯t.


    Adrest was happy to hear the sound plan and decided to temporarily put the matter to an end, ¡°Until then we¡¯ll just wait patiently. I¡¯ll be relying on you.¡±


    On the inside Adrest also firmed his resolve to have Alissa push his training further, he could exploit the lodestone all he wanted anyway, as long as he eventually made it back, it was only pain. He couldn''t continue feeling so weak.


    On the eastern gate of the outpost town, it was another sunny day. Walking down the path was a girl, or perhaps young woman. She was walking casually towards town, her chestnut brown hair that barely dangled to her shoulders was blowing in the light breeze. With her matching brown eyes half closed in a crescent from a perpetual bright smile, she trotted along at a relaced pace soaking in the tranquility. Her white shirt was firmly covered in  dark grey leather armor, with small sections incorporating a dull black metal. Oddly though, she only had armor on the upper half of her, opting instead to wear shorts. She had daggers strapped to her exposed legs, as well as two long thin blades to either side of her hips.


    Before the girl knew it, she was before the town entrance and an older guard said in a bored tone, ¡°Identification please. Or you can pay a fee of two silver for a day pass if you are unable to provide one.


    The girl cheerily pulled out her guild card, with a ¡°Here you are Mr. Guard!¡±


    The girl¡¯s energy was infectious, and the guard seemed to be standing straighter and gave her a small smile as he checked card given, gasping when he saw it was an Adventurers Guild card and her ranking. Instead of the normal F-S rankings, hers said SC. If he were a newbie, the guard would¡¯ve thought the card was fake, but originally being from a large city the man knew what it represented.


    SC stood for special class; it was only given to those who were trusted completely by the guild. They had preferential treatment in all things and were the golden children of the guild. They were trained from a young age as soon as their unique or strong abilities manifested and were trained to be heroes. The strongest humanity had to offer, More than ten real true heroes had been born from this training.


    He respectfully handed the card back saying, ¡°All set! Enjoy your stay ma¡¯am!¡±


    She let out a light, airy giggle, ¡°Have a good shift Mr. Guard, thank you for the hard work.¡±


    Smiling at the compliment from the young woman he snapped her a salute, appearing to take some pride in his position and career again..


    With that, the kind girl walked into the village square to start her first solo mission, to investigate the surge in monster numbers near the village.

 23. Return to Routine

    Adrest and Belle were currently standing in their yard, staring in disbelief at the spectacle in front of them.


    There lay a dead fiery red bear, nearly the size of their house casting a shadow over the building. It had cuts and burns all over its body. One leg was missing, and what appeared to be the finishing blow was a large chunk of the bear¡¯s throat ripped out violently.


    Adrest recognized it as an A rank monster known as a Scarlet Rent. They were rare since each roamed a huge territory and would kill each other on sight. They were one of the hegemons of local beasts, each had the potential to reach the very ceiling of A rank, but as their bloodline was still too ordinary, they would never be able to take the step into S rank and above.


    The most gruesome part of this ruler¡¯s corpse, however, was a gaping hole in the middle of its chest large enough for him to be able to walk into, not that he particularly wanted to. He quickly found both the culprit and the reason for violence as Alissa came swooping down through the trees as a terrifying and majestic dragon, carrying a gory and glimmering round jewel a few feet in diameter.


    She released the core mid-air which landed with a hard crash, then she shone too brightly to look at directly. The light faded to reveal the impish beauty who lightly landed along side her prize.


    ¡°Ta-da! Meet the kind beast that loaned us his core for our anti-spy formation. He took a little convincing, but saw it was for the greater good in the end.¡±


    Adrest felt that if this guy had a grave, he¡¯d be rolling in it after hearing Alissa¡¯s summary of the fight. He was also once again amazed at the woman in front of him. Since she rarely transformed, he tended to forget that she was a beast that could tear him to shreds with a single claw.


    The beast in question trotted up to Adrest, ¡°Well Adrest, are you properly awed?¡±


    Nodding he replied, ¡°Because of how you always act, I forget just how amazing you are.¡±


    ¡°Is that a complement or insult!?¡±


    Adrest had to dodge several blows for that, but felt it was worth it. All the while, Belle stood back enjoying the everyday scene and curiously taking in the deep red core that was glowing a bright red half stuck in the ground.


    Alissa, seeing the girl stare at the prize, stopped her assault and sent out a long arc of lightning that vaporized the viscera and blood that still clung to it. Leaving behind a bright nearly perfect sphere that pulsed red. The core radiated power into its surroundings, sending a shiver up Belle¡¯s spine. As a demihuman, and a rabbit one at that, she was particularly sensitive to auras from apex monsters like the Scarlet Rent.


    Alissa waved her hand, and a slight wind blew around the gem, isolating the aura from the rest of the world.


    ¡°Now after dinner, I¡¯ll be busy for the rest of the night and some of tomorrow. Big Bro Ady, I¡¯ll need you for a few hours towards the end so sleep in my room tonight while I¡¯m etching the circuits and runes.¡±


    ¡°You got it.¡±


    At this point they had ended up sleeping in the same bed more than a handful of times, so sleeping in her bed while she worked wasn¡¯t anything he felt awkward about.


    While Alissa headed inside to work, Belle helped Adrest drag the huge corpse near the pillar. While the shadows were slowly enveloping the giant carcass, Adrest was fantasizing about the amount an A rank monster was worth, it had to be over a hundred thousand (lp) right?


    Quickly, the body sank into the ground completely and Adrest excitedly walked over to the Lodestone with Belle following curiously. Opening the menu, Adrest¡¯s eyes went wide not with happiness but disbelief.


    Adrest had been saving up more (lp) since his spending spree with the house, and had managed to get back to a little over 12,000, but after devouring the Scarlet Rent his points were only sitting at 35,517. There was no way an A rank monster was worth a measly 22,000 or so.


    His face went dark as the likely reason came to mind. Alissa had taken out the core of the Rent. It made sense, the Lodestone is a magic artifact after all, so it must prioritize mana rather than the body itself.


    Belle saw his face but had no way to know what he was looking at, as the menu only appeared in Adrest¡¯s mind.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong Big bro Ady?¡±


    Adrest snapped out of his thoughts at the questions and turned off the menu before explaining the situation to Belle, she had already been taught about Lodestones and their abilities so she generally understood what he was saying.


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    ¡°At least you still got a bunch of points for doing nothing big bro.¡±


    Adrest laughed at the frankness of the doll of a rabbit and agreed, he didn¡¯t lift a finger and still got weeks¡¯ worth of points.


    ¡°As usual, you¡¯re right Belle. Since it¡¯s just you and me for the rest of the night, how about you choose dinner?¡± Adrest was not very picky about what he ate, so it was usually up to the gluttonous dragon or the rabbit to decide.


    ¡°hmm. Can we have steak and eggs?¡±


    Adrest considered the suggestion, not a very healthy meal but Belle was growing like grass after a rainstorm, her unhealthy frame now completely filled out with thin but defined muscle. It was completely normal for her to nearly always be hungry, so Adrest shrugged.


    ¡°That sounds good to me, think you¡¯re up to finding an Idren alone or do you want me to go with you?¡±


    Belle gave off a slight shiver, but steeled herself, ¡°I¡¯ll go alone Big bro Ady, It¡¯s still a little scary, but Big sis would¡¯ve shot off already if there was anything near us. She also said that I had to push myself if I wanted to get over the fear.¡±


    Adrest patted the girl atop her silky and thin snow white hair. Belle smiled at the contact and pushed into his hand slightly.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be just fine Belle, but if you cant do it yet, come right back and I¡¯ll be happy to go with you, or just yell as loudly as you can, I¡¯m sure Ali is still paying constant attention to the forest and would love to come swoop you up.¡±


    Belle blushed at the last comment, thinking of how many times she had been grabbed by Alissa and screamed at the sudden shift, even Adrest had bullied her a few times doing it.


    Belle half glared up to the older brother ¡°Meanie. I¡¯ll be back with a big Idren soon.¡±


    He watched Belle shoot off through the trees and sighed when she was out of sight. He clenched his fist until his sharp nails pierced his palm, letting the blood drip on the leaves below.


    Adrest was livid. It had taken months for Belle to fully come out of her shell, to gain the confidence a girl her age should have. The older pair had spent many, many days helping Belle work through her past traumas, and those bastards undid months of progress.


    He could have accepted it if a beast had forced Belle into such a state, after all, there was a certain amount of risk in traveling alone through this forest and beasts can¡¯t be blamed for their nature. Even then, while they had acknowledged the risk, they had thought the chances of it happening were in the single digits percent with Alissa basically clearing the way for Belle.


    His heart calmed only after taking a few deep, slow breaths. Adrest looked down at his bloody hands and slowly pulled the sharpened nails out of his flesh, shaking off the excess blood.


    With that, he headed back inside to prepare dinner, and to see if he could scrounge up a dessert for Belle since she was trying so hard today.


    Only an hour later Belle returned dragging a large Idren through the leaves behind her. She wore a proud smile, a spitting image of her Big sis after bringing back the Rent. Adrest made sure to praise her and helped pull it the rest of the way to a table where they butchered their dinner.


    Going inside with a huge stack of bloody steaks, Adrest had a large griddle piping hot and dinner was quickly ready. It was quiet as with just the two of them, but Belle was happy to spend time just with Adrest, especially when he pulled out a chilled vanilla pudding.


    "Big Bro Ady this is amazing! Can we have this again during the summer?¡±


    Adrest liked where the girl¡¯s head went, and decided to secretly study different chilled desserts he could wow her with.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make it for you when ever you want, just ask.¡±


    The two spent the rest of the night reading and with Adrest telling Belle stories he remembered from earth, she particularly liked the superhero stories he changed around to fit this worlds common sense.


    ¡°Yaaawn, I¡¯m really tired Big bro Ady, I¡¯m going to bed. Goodnight, and tell Big sis goodnight for me.¡±


    ¡°Will do. Night Belle, see you bright and early.¡±


    After she had headed to her room, Adrest got up and cleaned the room, stoked the fire as the nights were getting colder, and headed up to Alissa¡¯s room.


    Not bothering to knock, Adrest walked into the dimly lit room. The only light came from the open window with three moons shining in the shy, a half burnt candle, and a faint purple glow coming from the complicated patterns and symbols Alissa was carving into the core, sitting in an overstuffed leather chair and looking away from it to greet Adrest, not stopping the carving process.


    ¡°Hi Ady! How was the rest of the day?¡±


    Not being shy about it, Adrest sat on Alissa¡¯s bed and half laid comfortably before answering, ¡°Really good, Belle went out to find an Idren all on her own. And I found out she has a soft spot for cold desserts.¡±


    Alissa¡¯s eyes lit up at the mention of dessert and she batted her eye¡¯s at Adrest, ¡°I¡¯m so exhausted staying cooped up here all day, hunched over this core, if only I had something to refresh me, to help me get through the rest of the night.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I get the hint. Can you even stop halfway through to eat?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s no problem, I can start and stop as I like for most of this, it¡¯s only a problem if I mess up the carving itself.¡±


    Grunting, Adrest pushed himself up and off the comfortable bed before going back to the first floor and taking ten minutes to make Alissa the last of the steaks and a few eggs, as well as a dish of pudding.


    When he reentered the room, Alissa had already set the core down and was sitting at a small table expectantly. She devoured the meal greedily, but never getting even a stray speck of food on herself. When the time came for the pudding, she squealed in delight at the cold new treat.


    Seeing the strong reaction, Adrest decided to double down on his plan of making all the frozen treats he could remember.


    Adrest lay back down on the bed, with Alissa toying with the giant stone as if it weighed nothing, spinning it on her finger. Adrest clapped at the display, and Alissa gave a mock bow.


    ¡°I¡¯ll need you in 6 or so hours, so get comfortable and I¡¯ll wake you up when I get close. Sweet dreams Ady.¡±


    ¡°See you soon Ali.¡± He teased the girl back, earning a mock glare as the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes to sleep.

 24. Ali is Working Hard

    It felt like Adrest had only just closed his eyes, then Alissa was gently shaking his shoulder and in a singsong voice trying to wake him up.


    ¡°Adrest wake up, Aaadddyy, if you don¡¯t get up soon, I¡¯ll give you a little shock.¡±


    Adrest sat up quickly at the threat and waved the troublemaker off.


    ¡°I¡¯m up, I¡¯m up.¡±


    Alissa giggled while taking a seat on the bed near against the still half laying down Adrest.


    ¡°Now that the hard part¡¯s done and the runes are carved out, I just need your spacial mana again. It¡¯ll be a lot more than last time and might feel uncomfortable, but bear with it.¡±


    She brought the core to Adrest¡¯s view, and every square inch was covered in small flowing script that made his head hurt when he tried studying it for too long.


    As his head started to pound, Alissa seemed to sense it because a small, warm hand covered his eyes at that same moment and Adrest could hear Alissa on the other side.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough for now, these circles are still too high level for even a peak C rank, let alone a peak D rank.¡±


    She paused as Adrest felt the weight shifting on the mattress and was startled to hear her voice so close to his ear. She gently continued,


    ¡°There are five circles intertwined around the core, with another four supplemental circles for support. I¡¯m not bragging when I say it¡¯ll be S rank when I activate it. Only those who have gone past the S rank will be able to peak here again.¡±


    Adrest got chills at the implication of her words, being able to keep out even S rank senses was incredible. It had to be known that there were only a few thousand of those known in the current continent and nearby islands. Adrest knew that Alissa had put a lot more into this than she made it seem.


    ¡°Thank you, Alissa.¡±


    Holding her position, she whispered, ¡°Wait until it¡¯s done to thank me. I lied a little earlier. Because the core is at such a high level, I¡¯ll need to use every last drop of spacial mana you have and then some. And I¡¯ll ignite some of your blood to raise its level as its leaving you.¡±


    Adrest felt the warm breath in his ear, but still went cold at the description.


    ¡°Burn my blood?¡±


    Alissa used her other hand to stroke his head reassuringly, like she often did for Belle.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a pill that will leave you weak for a few days, you will grow by a full rank for 3 or so hours. Then, as the mana is being guided out of your body, I¡¯ll wrap it in your blood and use lightning magic to burn your blood fusing the pure essence from it into the strand of spacial mana to forcefully raise its power. I¡¯m sorry but high-level sources of spacial mana are really really rare, I don¡¯t have any here, and I can¡¯t go home to get any.¡±


    Adrest shivered at the painful sounding process but knew that it had to be done, especially as Alissa had already done the hard work and all he had to do was sit there and grit his teeth for a few hours.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine Alissa, I¡¯m not afraid of a little pain, if I were you¡¯d have killed me by now.¡±


    There was light again as Alissa shifted her target to his nose, which she pinched and shook mercilessly.


    Happy with her revenge, Alissa brought the large core closer to the bed and sat up straight before turning to him. She waved a purple and black speckled pill appeared in her hand.


    ¡°This is a Rampaging Lily pill. It strengthens you by a full rank temporarily and provides a boost up to A rank. It was a gift from a senior I met years ago. It¡¯s not helpful to me anymore but perfect for you.¡±


    Adrest took the offered pill and looked closely at its shell, taking in a calming earthy scent, that vitalized his whole body. At Alissa¡¯s instruction he popped it in his mouth and swallowed it whole. As soon as it fell in his stomach, dark purple veins slowly spread out from near his navel. To Adrest they felt icy cold but the areas they covered became invigorated and many times stronger.


    ¡°Good. Now put your hands on the core and put this in your mouth.¡±


    Alissa waved a familiar wind barrier around the bed and handed Adrest a slab of black leather. He was confused and looked to her for an explanation.


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    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to accidentally bite a chunk of your tongue off later, and it will help you stay focused on your mana. You''re technically at peak C rank, so use your senses to learn more about your spacial mana, maybe it¡¯ll even help you learn how to use it.¡±


    It made sense to Adrest, so he did as instructed and soon nodded to Alissa. They waited for the spiderwebs of black veins to fully cover his body and felt Adrest was feeling unstoppable. Sadly, his thoughts of power were soon stopped when a warm and comfortable weight settled in his lap. He saw the girl on him was blushing even on the back of her neck.


    Shyly, she explained, ¡°I¡¯ll have to keep my hands on yours and the crystal the whole time, and I can¡¯t let your hands shift either. I¡¯m really sorry about this next part Ady, but I can¡¯t stop once we start, or it¡¯ll explode. So, no matter what you say I¡¯ll have to keep going to the end.¡±


    Adrest took the leather from his mouth and gave the woman on him a quick hug, ¡°I¡¯ll be alright, take as much as you need.¡±


    He was soon in position and Alissa¡¯s hands interlocked with his on the core, not allowing them to shift even a millimeter. Then, he felt a small shock at Alissa¡¯s mana entering his body and surrounding his core as he lowered any and all resistance to her.


    A large bundle of near-invisible strands of mana were taken from his enlarged core, and soon entered his right arm towards the floating gem. He saw deep purple mana surround it with a thick layer of blood before his mind went blank. Adrest made a deep imprint of his teeth in the leather, thankful for its existence now. It felt like his arm had been blown up from the inside out, and an uncomfortable stinging through his entire arm.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll work as fast as I can.¡± Alissa promised him, not taking any joy in this task.


    The next 3 hours were a losing battle for Adrest, he had been able to focus through the pain for the first hour and learn more about his own mana, feeling like he was close to being able to manipulate it on his own. But the other two had been a fight just to stay conscious. Every time his blood was used as fuel, the stinging and stabbing pain in his arms got worse. It currently felt like they were burning in an icy hot hell.


    But soon, the large core lit up with deep blue intertwined with black, purple, red, and even some green bits of script rotating endlessly through the core, taking on a life of their own. The might it now radiated intimidated the near delirious Adrest, sending a shiver down his spine.


    He couldn¡¯t look away from the light, too intimidated and it was like staring into the sun, and again as his eyes started stinging Adrest was pushed over on his back with a small hand covering his eyes, the warm sensation and darkness slowly relaxing him.


    As hair draped on Adrest¡¯s nose, he felt soft lips, just barely tickling his ear as Alissa sweetly whispered. ¡°You really don¡¯t learn, do you? I¡¯ll let it go this time since you did so well. It¡¯s time for you to sleep for a bit now though, the pill is wearing off and I used almost half your blood. Thank you Ady, here¡¯s a little reward.¡±


    He felt a comfortable heat spread from the fair hand on his eyes, and was quickly slipping off to sleep. But before he succumbed, Adrest felt a pair of incredibly soft lips kiss his cheek.


    Making sure Adrest was completely asleep, Alissa carefully maneuvered off the bed and her cheeks were dusted pink as she watched the young man rest, his chest rising slowly and evenly. She smiled and used a finger to touch the lips that had just given away her first kiss. It was an impulse, but Alissa didn¡¯t regret it. Adrest had done very well, and she wanted to give him something for it.


    She pulled out a green paste and red bottle. She gently spread the salve on Adrest¡¯s arms and face. It would heal the damage done to his muscle and bones, as well as re-energize him. The red tonic, she carefully poured a bit at a time into his mouth and massaged his throat to help him swallow. That would replace all the blood he had lost, as well as burn any remaining impurities in the blood that she had left behind. His strength would be at a new level when Adrest woke up, after all Alissa couldn¡¯t let him suffer for nothing, could she?


    Grinning happily and lightly humming, Alissa waved her hand and the large two feet wide core floated behind Alissa as she made her way outside and a few miles away from the stone house. Finding a suitable location, she used magic to clear away leaves and dug out a deep and wide pit. A bottle was uncorked and an impossible amount of crystal clear water flowed out, quickly filling the new large pond.


    Then, she sent out hundreds of multicolored stones, mana stones of basically every type and grade filled the sky before sinking to the bottom of the body of water. She threw a large seed in the perfect center of the pond, and let it land on the surface before grinding up a few bright green and blue pills, as well as letting out three drops of dark red blood from her finger.


    Alissa sent the paste to envelop the seed and in minutes a huge white, water lily many meters wide, sprouted on the water and emitted a mist of mana in the surroundings. Alissa sent eight capstones to activate a barrier to entrap the mana in the area, and lastly had the Core take its place overtop the lily floating a few feet above the flower''s pistil.


    At the same time an invisible ripple spread out through the forest for hundreds upon hundreds of miles in every direction. Alissa was aware of every monster and beast where the barrier encompassed. Now to outsiders it would be like this section of forest didn¡¯t exist and any intruders would lose their sense of direction, eventually being guided out.


    If Adrest was here, he would have fainted from the amount of wealth that had just been used. The stones alone would have been enough to buy a city or two, not to mention the water lily and pills. Purification treasures like that were extraordinarily rare, and even more sought after. They could become the foundation what ever power found one. Even monarchs would have their eyes go mad with greed at the high rank natural treasure Alissa had taken out. But no one could argue with its effect.


    She made a few final adjustments and finally, Alissa was satisfied with the pseudo sacred land and let the fatigue show on her face for just a moment before heading back to the house with her little family.

 25. Adrests Evolution

    It was the evening of the next day before Adrest groggily woke up, his head was heavy and eyes burned in the bright afternoon light. He was confused at the unfamiliar surroundings, but quickly realized that he was in Alissa¡¯s room still.


    He slowly got out of the bed and changed in his own room before going down the stairs. Seeing the main room was quiet and empty, Adrest headed outside. There he followed the sound of Alissa explaining how to efficiently use mana when reinforcing the body.


    He walked around to the large open field behind the house, where Alissa was showing the bare minimum amount of support her arms needed to become stronger, focusing on individual fibers of muscle. It would be a long time before Adrest and Belle were at that level, but being able to examine a technique at such high level was very beneficial to the two.


    Alissa smiled, like a flower coming into bloom when she saw Adrest approach and Belle bounded over when she saw who was nearing. She tightly hugged the still tired Adrest and smiled up at him.


    ¡°Thank you for the hard work Big bro Ady. Alissa said that because of you, we¡¯re safe now.¡±


    He patted the girl on the back saying, ¡°Alissa did almost everything, I just sat there and stayed still.¡±


    The woman in question walked over adding, ¡°I couldn¡¯t have done it without you. How is your body?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still tired but my body feels great actually.¡±


    Alissa nodded, happy that the medicine had worked as intended, she inspected him, and was happy to see everything had gone as planned and gave the good news to Adrest.


    ¡°Congratulations Ady. You¡¯re a little above average now, Mr. C rank. But don¡¯t get cocky, from here on out it gets exponentially harder and harder to grow.¡±


    Adrest was shocked at the news. He had presumably been F rank when brought here, only a handful of months ago. While his speed of progress was not unheard of, it was still extraordinary even compared to the whole of the continent.


    But it also made sense to Adrest. He had a Blessing, the best teacher available for thousands upon thousands of miles, and all the medicines and advantages he could ask for. If he weren¡¯t advancing fast, something would be wrong.


    He smiled at Alissa and Belle who seemed as happy as himself at the news.


    ¡°Thank you Alissa, I¡¯m sure you helped somehow. At this rate I¡¯ll only need a few more years to be catch up to you.¡±


    Alissa laughed like Adrest was telling a joke, explaining, ¡°I¡¯ll force you into A rank within 3 years whether you want to or not, but by then I¡¯ll already be S rank myself. You need to work hard Ady if you want to close the gap. But don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get there eventually.


    Adrest took the challenge in her words, knowing that with as long as high ranked individuals lived and doubly so for beings like demons and dragons, he would be on the same level as Alissa someday.


    ¡°Normally I¡¯d make you fight me a few times to get a sense of the changes in your body, but you should rest for today, just sit down and watch the rest of the lesson. Then Belle and I will handle dinner.¡±


    Adrest did as ordered, happy to listen in on the peaceful tutoring for another thirty minutes or so, before Alissa sent Belle off for some fish. Headed inside, Alissa set some root vegetables to boiling, and soon Belle returned with a large basket of cleaned fish.


    Adrest was soon devouring plates as fast as they were given, not realizing how hungry the ordeal made him. The other two were happy to let Adrest eat as much as he could before tending to themselves, and soon Adrest was stuffed full.


    Feeling like a new man, Adrest was wide awake and playing games by the fire with the other two late into the night. Belle was exhausted around midnight and barely made it up to her room before falling asleep.


    Seeing Belle sound asleep, Alissa pulled out a green bottle of wine and two glasses.


    ¡°It¡¯s a big occasion to jump into C rank, congratulations again Adrest!¡±


    She handed the half-filled glass to Adrest, who lightly tapped his to her own drink, before taking a large mouthful. It tasted like blueberries and vanilla. Dangerously delicious.


    Alissa seemed to have come to the same conclusion as she finished her own glass, before refilling both.


    ¡°We also have to celebrate that everything for hundreds of miles around is officially ours now. Here we make the rules, it¡¯s the same even if an S rank shows up!¡±


    Adrest was in awe and didn¡¯t hold back his compliments. They quickly finished the first bottle and popped open the second.


    This bottle tasted of tart cherry and cinnamon. Adrest had to admit, Alissa really had an eye for alcohol, if dragons were known for hoarding wealth, then she would be known for hoarding alcohol.


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    They played a few rounds of cards before Alissa lost focus and they started telling each other stories. Alissa wanted to hear more of the books Adrest had read in his previous life. She found them really entertaining and was happy to tell Adrest about places she had been to while traveling with her father, and some of the places he¡¯d sent her to train.


    They spoke and drank until the sun rose and emptied several more bottles before headed up stairs to sleep. Adrest making sure not to leave a mess for Belle in the morning, as she would surely be the first to wake.


    Alissa pouted as she waited swaying at the top of the stairs.


    ¡°Adyyy, hurry up.¡±


    Adrest stumbled around cleaning the last of the mess and climbed up the stairs where at the top Alissa pounced on his back, sending him stumbling forward to regain balance.


    ¡°I¡¯m tired, carry me the rest of the way.¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡±


    Adrest got his ear twisted painfully for that one, trying extra hard to not yelp and wake up Belle.


    He got to Alissa¡¯s room and sat her down on her bed, as he was standing up to leave, a pair of thin, tanned arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him back.


    ¡°Ady sleep here, you¡¯re so warm and comfy.¡±


    Adrest was happy to accept the force pulling him back and rested comfortably with Alissa hugging him from behind tightly. Thinking he could get used to this, Adrest was drifting off to a comfortable sleep when Alissa whispered into his neck.


    ¡°Goodnight Adrest. I¡¯m happy I found you.¡±


    Feeling touched, Adrest answered, ¡°I¡¯m really glad you found me Ali.¡±


    The arms hugging his torso tightened comfortably around him in response. They only loosened a bit even when Alissa¡¯s breath was slow and shallow, sound asleep. Adrest enjoyed the silky hair tickling his neck, and the light flowery perfume Alissa always wore before falling deeply asleep.


    It was around noon before Adrest woke up with a headache from the bright light leaking in from the window. His slight shifting was enough to wake the dragon that still hugged him tightly just long enough to say a sentence.


    ¡°Yaa-wn, morin¡¯ Adrest. I¡¯m hungry¡­¡±


    Smiling, surprised that Alissa was not embarrassed, he patted the small hand on his chest, ¡°I¡¯ll go make something, go back to sleep and I¡¯ll wake you up when it¡¯s done.¡±


    The hands locking him down released. As Adrest got up, Alissa yawned one more time and moved over to the warm spot Adrest had been laying on, falling asleep yet again.


    Adrest smiled at the beautiful scene taking it in for a few seconds before going to make something.


    Once down the stairs, he saw Belle sitting on a chair reading. She saw him and smiled, ¡°Good afternoon Big bro.¡±


    ¡°Hi Belle, what¡¯ve you been up to today?¡±


    ¡°I woke up a few hours ago and have just been reading this book on history Big sis gave to me, waiting for someone else to wake up.¡±


    Adrest made bacon and egg sandwiches for the three of them, as it was quick and delicious, and gave two to Belle before grabbing a stack for the surely starving dragon.


    ¡°If you¡¯re still hungry I can make more, I¡¯m sure Alissa will work us hard today too.¡±


    Belle nodded, ¡°Thanks Big bro, tell Big sis I said good morning.¡±


    ¡°You got it.¡±


    He waved at Belle who was eating at the table and headed back upstairs.


    Adrest opened the door to see Alissa still sound asleep, and he set down the food before gently waking her.


    ¡°Time to get up Ali, breakfast will get cold.¡±


    The sleeping beauty slowly opened her eyes and flashed Adrest a bright unguarded smile, looking like an innocent fae in that moment.


    ¡°Good morning Ady. I¡¯m starving.¡±


    He pointed to the three sandwiches on the table, and she took a long moment to stretch before hopping out of bed and bouncing over to the table picking up the plate and a sandwich.


    Taking a bite, Alissa ¡°So good! Thank you Adrest. Now shoo, I have to get ready.¡±


    Shaking his head with a smile at being dismissed just like that, Adrest left and went to eat with Belle who was still nibbling on her first sandwich, seeming to have been waiting for Adrest to eat.


    As the pair finished eating together, Alissa came down the stairs empty plate in hand.


    ¡°Morning Belle!¡± Alissa ran over to hug the albino rabbit before sitting down across from Adrest.


    ¡°Today is going to be fun. First, Adrest is going to be sparing with me for a few hours to completely adjust to his body, and you¡¯re going to be taking notes on how we strengthen our bodies throughout Belle.¡±


    Seeing the two nod Alissa continued, ¡°Then this evening, Belle, you¡¯re going to be hunting a Steel Rat that is just barely C- rank. I¡¯ll only give you a general location, it¡¯s up to you to remember how to track or lure it. And Adrest, yours is going to be a surprise.¡±


    Adrest got chills at the way she said the last sentence but tried to not focus on the unavoidable. Instead thinking of how he was going to survive the next few hours.


    As Adrest predicted, the next 3 hours were filled with pain, he was more bruised than not, with a few cracked bones and plenty of scrapes. Alissa had been happy to hit him harder to match his new strength, and she seemed as zealous as ever to strengthen him.


    He sighed in relief at the pillar as the cool shadows healed his injuries, as if they never existed. While he was there, Adrest took the time to see if anything had changed in the Lodestone since he reached C rank. He was pleasantly surprised to see the area under the stone¡¯s control had increased two-fold, now about ten miles in diameter.


    He also saw a new tab labeled Vassals. Clicking, revealed three grey rectangles and a blinking 0/3 across the screen. Curious what it meant, Adrest wandered over to his infinite source of knowledge.


    Said purple haired source was sitting on a boulder kicking her feet while waiting for him. Alissa lit up seeing him come back, excited about her surprise, but Adrest asked first.


    ¡°Hey Ms. Alissa, the Lodestone says I can select up to three vassals now, what exactly does that mean?¡±


    Adrest had to duck back from a flurry of fists, which he knew he¡¯d get by calling her Ms.


    The two done with banter, Alissa answered, ¡°Every Demon King needs strong underlings, right? Those are Vassals, they are chosen by the Lodestone¡¯s ruler and through the stone the King can give out all sorts of Blessings.¡±


    An idea of a super powered guard dragon popped into mind and Adrest asked, ¡°Could I choose you to make you stronger?¡±


    The dragon tilted her head in thought for a few seconds before answering.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be able to afford any Blessings that could affect me, and that¡¯s assuming the stone right now could handle a Blessing that strong transferring through it.¡±


    The logic made sense to Adrest, so his short lived dreams were dashed cruelly. Before he had time to dwell on it, Alissa grabbed his arm happily.


    ¡°Your surprise is starting to run around, so we have to move quick.¡±


    That was all the warning he got before they shot off in a direction with Adrest flying in the air behind Alissa. When Adrest was able to get his legs under him once again, he froze up seeing a giant black and white bat resting nearby. It was easily the size of Adrest and the power coming off it intimidated him greatly.


    ¡°That¡¯s a Zen Bat, they¡¯re rare and really fast, be careful and have fun!¡±

 26. Big Plans

    Adrest was still taking in the powerful monster as Alissa vanished and the foe took note of Adrest. the oversized bat rushed from it''s perch towards Adrest while shrieking. It felt like the noise was drilling into his brain and Adrest''s eyes shook, but he stayed steady for the incoming attack.


    From there it became a drawn out, defensive battle for Adrest. He was much slower and less agile than the enemy, as the bat darted from every angle to take swipes at Adrest he protected his vitals and lunged his sword whenever there was a chance.


    For over an hour, the two exchanged injuries, the bat intent on killing the challenger. Finally, the bat slowed just enough for Adrest¡¯s sword to slide in between the bat¡¯s claws, easily sliding entirely through the bat¡¯s chest, ending the fight.


    From there, Adrest flew into the air and headed in the direction he could sense the Lodestone. Eventually, he tiredly made his way back home, dragging the dead bat behind him.


    Belle was already back, sitting on Alissa¡¯s lap with a few scratches on her body and a deeper cut in her shoulder staining her shirt, but that didn¡¯t dim the smile on her face.


    ¡°Welcome back Big Bro Ady! Did you have fun?¡±


    ¡°Fun isn¡¯t the word I¡¯d use, but it was interesting at least, you?¡±


    Belle¡¯s ears were sent flopping as she vigorously nodded her head, ¡°Yep! I had to hunt down a big rat, it was really tricky and kept digging to run away. It even snuck up on me once.¡±


    She pointed to the deep cut that was slowly knitting itself closed as she talked. The two made their way over to where Alissa had been left behind. She gave Adrest a bright smile.


    ¡°Welcome back Ady, you did great!¡±


    Adrest¡¯s smile twitched at the vicious dragon and threw the few hundred pound bat at her, who effortlessly caught it with one hand.


    ¡°Easy with that! Zen bat meat is a delicacy, now get cleaned up and I¡¯ll help you with dinner.¡±


    Adrest snorted and gave Alissa a wave as he headed off to heal at the Lodestone and get cleaned up.


    In contrast to the cold near freezing air outside, the stone house was warm and alive. Alissa and Belle helped Adrest make dinner, this of course ended in the older duo acting childish, leaving Belle to make sure the supposedly delicious stew didn¡¯t burn.


    As the family ate and fought deep in the forest, a top level meeting was going on at the top floor of the Guild house in the outpost. Taking part in the meeting was naturally Gerard Ness, the Guild Master and retired A rank adventurer. He was fairly famous in the larger cities across Radagon 50 years ago, but after an incident nearly killed him on a quest, Gerard stepped back into a managerial role, eventually getting sent to the edge of the Empire. A town near the unknown that was the Great Forest needed someone strong to hold down the fort after all.


    Across from the Guild Master was a young woman. She had medium length brown hair, shining blue eyes, and a bright smile on her face as she reported to Gerard.


    ¡°I¡¯ve scoured every inch of the forest within a dozen or so miles of here, but I haven¡¯t found anything out of the ordinary. The worst I came across was a few groups of C rank monsters, but that doesn¡¯t make a crisis like the guards reported.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, we can handle the odd C rank with ease, but it doesn¡¯t make sense. Just a few weeks ago wee were getting dozens of C rank sightings, even evidence of multiple B ranks beasts was found.¡±


    Sighing at the vanished beast crisis, he continued, ¡°Well, we¡¯d be happy to host you for as long as you want to stay here Ms. Rin, We¡¯d all feel better knowing that someone like you is here if the high ranked monsters venture too close again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d be happy to stay through the winter at least. I really don¡¯t want to travel back through the mountains when it¡¯s so cold. Plus, everyone is so nice, it¡¯s a nice change from the larger cities.¡±


    Gerard smiled at the last comment, knowing exactly how the young hero felt. In his youth he had net his fair share of nobles and wealthy families. They were always two faced and weighed the benefits in every sentence. Compared to always being on your toes and verbally sparring, the relaxed and kind nature of the people here was much better.


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    ¡°Great! We¡¯ll host you for as long as you wish. And please enjoy the few amenities we can offer all the way out here.¡±


    Rin said her goodbyes and was soon back at the Home and Hearth, sitting at the bar and chatting with Rose.


    ¡°How was your day Rin?¡±.


    Giving a big grin at her new friend Rin replied, ¡°It was great! I got to explore the town more after a quick meeting at the guild house. There¡¯s so many interesting shops and stalls!¡±


    Rin¡¯s eyes were shining as she went talked about her adventures today, Rose had learned just a few days a go that her newest customer was actually from the Capital''s Guild Academy. Despite her high standing, Rose found Rin very approachable and with Rose''s own bubbly personality, the two became fast friends and had learned all about Rin.


    She was a commoner like Rose, and she grew up in an orphanage. After being tested and her talent was noticed, she had to pack up her few belongings and moved thousands of miles from everything she grew up with, whisked into training at the capital cities¡¯ Headquarters. In her many years of school, this was actually her first unsupervised quest, and the first one more than a few days from the capital.


    ¡°And then I went to that really cute little caf¨¦ by the auction house and had a parfait made with fresh fruit gathered exclusively in this forest. It was amazing!¡±


    Rose nodded along as the girl finished her story and asked, ¡°Have the monsters given you any trouble? I¡¯ve heard from the guards that there have even been a few B ranks spotted nearby.¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°I¡¯ve looked but haven¡¯t found anything, that¡¯s what I was talking to the Guild about today actually. But honestly, I¡¯m just happy to be away from the instructors and school for as long as possible.¡±


    Rose lightly laughed at the hero acting like a delinquent, enjoying her happy go lucky attitude. She had been in town for a few days and had been a nice distraction for Rose as she worked through the slow season as winter was fast approaching.


    Rin was treating her time here as a vacation, taking a few hours a day to patrol the surrounding forest and cull the monsters, then spending the rest of her day getting to know everyone in town. Though incomparable in size and scope to the Capital Aleria, the outpost had a charm that Rin loved, and she felt free without having each and every minute planned by her teachers.


    Time went by and Rin made herself at home in town, quickly getting to know all the locals and exploring every nook and cranny. In the entire time she spent here, the monsters seemed completely normal.


    With a light dusting of snow on the ground, Belle was sent flying through the air from a still in air leg belonging to Alissa. Belle landed squarely on her butt and rubbed her stomach in discomfort.


    ¡°Oww, I think something cracked Big Sis.¡±


    Despite the pain in her ribs as she breathed, Belle stayed completely calm as she had dealt with worse through her many months of training with Alissa.


    ¡°Oops, looks like I pushed a little too hard.¡±


    With a step Alissa was crouched in front of the sitting rabbit, pulling her head into a hug with one hand and the other fished out a white pill from nowhere putting it in front of the girls mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little crack, so just stay still for about five minutes. Now say Ahh.¡±


    Obediently, the small lips opened and the pill was swallowed. With that, Belle was up and running around again just fine.


    Happy, Alissa gave Belle a mysterious smile, ¡°Belle, it¡¯s been awhile since we¡¯ve spent a day having fun hasn¡¯t it. How would you like to go play in Forest¡¯s Edge for a little while?¡±


    Belle¡¯s eye¡¯s lit up at the suggestion and excitedly said, ¡°Can we visit the bakery you ordered everything from last time Big Sis Ali?¡±


    Laughing at her fellow glutton, Alissa easily agreed, ¡°We can go wherever you want.¡±


    Excited for the upcoming trip, Belle was happy to head inside as Alissa followed. They ate the stew Adrest had prepared earlier and stayed inside through the evening as it was empty and cold out.


    Belle went to sleep early as they would be heading out first thing in the morning. As Belle was fast asleep, the older pair talked casually by the fire.


    ¡°Are you sure we should go into town. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to handle everything just fine, but won¡¯t the problem just keep getting bigger like this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Since no one had bothered us after so long they¡¯re either busy with other things or not in the area anymore. Either way, if we walk around with Belle in town, someone should report it back to who ever is so interested. We just need a fish to take the bait so we can fish for something even bigger. When doing these things, you have to be decisive and thorough.¡±


    Adrest thought he was used to the occasional glimpse of the bestial cruelty from the dragon across from him, but still got shivers at the girls¡¯ attitude.


    As he was sitting silently and dwelling at the dark words she¡¯d said, all thought slid from his mind when Alissa stood up, walked over to the sitting Adrest and bravely gave Adrest¡¯s cheek a light kiss.


    Backing up a step and blushing adorably, Alissa said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much. As long as I¡¯m around nothing can happen to you. Even if the King of Radagon or the Saints of Ifreit come to our doorstep personally, they¡¯d have to leave empty handed.¡±


    Seeing the serious look in her eyes and understanding that she was completely serious, Adrest was moved and stood up, embracing the blushing beauty. Surprisingly, Alissa tightly hugged him back for a few seconds before escaping his arms and turning around to hide her red face.


    As Alissa darted towards the stairs, she didn¡¯t forget to say behind her, ¡°Goodnight Adrest, let¡¯s have fun tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Definitely, sweet dreams Alissa.¡±

 27. First Day of Vacation

    The next day started early for the three, Belle made sure to be the first one up, before the sun had even fully risen. She wisely woke Adrest up first, shyly and quietly whispering repeatedly to the sleeping young man.


    ¡°Big bro, can you wake up. Big bro it¡¯s time to get up.¡±


    Slowly, Adrest peacefully emerged from his dreams because of the soft spoken words. With a yawn and smile at the girl crouched down by the bedside to his level, he greeted Belle.


    ¡°Morning Belle, looks like you¡¯re excited for the trip. Just give me a few minutes and I¡¯ll head down to make something, then I¡¯ll try getting Big sis Ali up and around.¡±


    After Belle bounced out of the room, Adrest quickly got around and managed to wake Alissa up without much difficulty. In just under an hour, they were dressed and packed and the three went around and made sure all the doors and windows were firmly shut, as well as all the fires were out.


    ¡°Well lets get going, the sooner we get to town, the sooner you two can eat all the bakeries clean.¡±


    Belle blushed at Adrest¡¯s little jab, while Alissa smiled excitedly not bothering to argue with what he said. Alissa scooped up Belle who barely even jumped at the sudden shift, having gotten used to it through the months of the older two doing it to get a scream out of her.


    With a tightly bundled Belle in her arms, Alissa led the way through the grey skies and in just a few hours, they were touching down on the lightly snow-covered forest a few dozen miles away from the town.


    It was still an hour or so before midday when the three approached the gate near the mountains and entered easily enough by showing their IDs, with Belle getting her own once inside. She hadn¡¯t needed one before as she was a slave and considered the Randolph Groups property. Now, she was thrilled to have the new card in hand, looking at the simple document with a proud expression.


    The first stop for the family, now that they were back in the small town, was a walk through the food carts for an early lunch eventually deciding on a lamb type meat completely covered in a blend of green and yellow spices. They ate as they browsed the various stalls manned by merchants bundled in many layers to keep the winter chill at bay.


    They would occasionally stop at a stand for Alissa and Belle to look through jewelry and other accessories. Alissa bought a few pieces that Belle liked. They also stopped at a man selling bright scarves and mittens, along with some other winter necessities. Alissa ended up picking out a red set for Adrest, green for Belle, and purple one for herself.


    Cozy and warm, the picturesque family finally made their way into the barroom of the Home and Hearth where Rose was sitting behind the empty bar. Her face immediately lit up seeing the familiar faces and rushed up to greet them.


    ¡°Adrest, Alissa, Belle! I¡¯ve missed you. It feels so quiet without you all staying here.¡±


    Alissa grabbed Rose¡¯s hand, having taken a liking to the kindhearted inn owner, ¡°We¡¯ve missed you too Rose! Half the reason we came back was just to spend time with you every evening.¡±


    ¡°So sweet, that¡¯s why you¡¯re my favorite customer!¡±


    Rose gave a big smile and led Alissa back to the bar where in one smooth motion Rose tapped and poured a mug of a mead she had been saving just for Alissa.


    As the two were already chatting and catching up, Adrest got the key with the room number tied to it and had Belle help him drop some of their things off.


    Belle flopped onto the bed she had picked for herself and rolled around the now messy blankets, ¡°It¡¯s so comfy!¡±


    Looking at Belle making herself at home Adrest smiled, he also noticed that the blankets were different than the ones from the last time they¡¯d stayed. They had been switched to much thicker blue comforter. The beds looked so warm and inviting during the cold midwinter day, Adrest was tempted to lay down then and there.


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    Fighting the urge, Adrest said, ¡°Well, we should go back downstairs to see what Alissa wants to do next.¡±


    As he finished the sentence and looked to Belle, he was surprised to see Belle completely curled up in her bed with only her eyes and rabbit ears poking out.


    Laughing at the scene, he noticed the small parts of Belle he could see were turning red and a small voice reached his ears.


    ¡°It just looked so warm, and we¡¯ve been outside all day¡­¡±


    Still chuckling, Adrest said, ¡°I¡¯m sure Alissa will want to talk for a bit before we go anywhere. So why don¡¯t we go downstairs, get two big cups of warm cider and warm up by the fire. Rose said it¡¯s basically empty this time of year so we can find something to play for a bit too.¡±


    Belle jumped out of the bed and was pulling Adrest¡¯s hand towards the door. Adrest followed the rabbit¡¯s whims out the door, she only let go of him when they reached the stairs which she raced down and over to the sitting Alissa who was still at the bar with Rose.


    As Adrest made his way over he heard Rose finishing venting about how her parents are pushing her to hire more people so she can meet someone. As she spoke Adrest noted the hints of annoyance threatening to break through her normally bright smile.


    Alissa was curious and was about to continue but paused as Adrest joined them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, Belle and I were just hoping we could get some cider to warm us up, Alissa here forced us into the cold all day without a single break.¡±


    Adrest had to dodge the barrage of insults and fists that came from the angered Alissa. Rose and Belle both had the same peaceful smile looking at the scene. By the time Rose set down two streaming mugs of brown liquid, Alissa had stopped hitting Adrest, whose hair and clothes were now disheveled. He ran over to the bar before running off with Belle in one arm and a deck of cards in his other hand that he must¡¯ve extorted from Alissa earlier.


    As the two played war, Alissa and Rose were talking about the monster problem and the big shot the guild sent over.


    ¡°I really can¡¯t believe they sent out someone from that school all the way out here, it¡¯s almost a month of travelling on a fast carriage to get to the capital from here after all. You¡¯ll probably see her tonight actually. Since coming to town, Rin is the one who has been keeping me company at the end of the night.¡±


    Eyes sparkling with curiosity, ¡°They really sent an SC here? I can¡¯t wait to meet her! I¡¯ve heard a few stories from people as I¡¯ve travelled.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get along great! Rin is such a nice girl, and always so happy.¡±


    Adrest overheard the conversation and was as curious as Alissa. She had mentioned in class that every county nurtures the most talented to prop up their nation. They went by different names, heroes, saints, blood-heirs, ect. They all meant the same thing, they were the supremes among their generation, they all had rare and strange affinities and were absurdly strong. In Radagon they were heroes, and children with the potential to become heroes are enrolled in a academy in the capital,


    While that might seem intimidating to most, Adrest was used constantly being near an absurdly strong dragon. He recognized his thinking might be warped, but he didn¡¯t really feel any pressure or fear at the imagined strength of this mystery hero, just curiosity and excitement at getting to see what a hero of the fantasy world was like. He just couldn¡¯t see how she could possibly be more freakish than that dragon always lurking near.


    In the middle of Rose speaking Alissa suddenly sent a glare towards Adrest out of nowhere and Adrest felt cold sweat on his back. ¡°A woman¡¯s intuition is terrifying.¡±


    They ended up staying downstairs as the only customers for a few more hours until people slowly trickled in for dinner. Seeing Rose become busy Alissa gathered the two children still sitting at the table, now playing old maid, and they left to go see if there was any interesting quests available from the Guild Hall.


    As they entered the spacious reception area, Adrest noted that it seemed just as busy as always with a steady flow of people coming and going. They made their way over to the quest board, and ended up getting several rank D and a single C rank mission to push toward the party recognized as C rank.


    The D rank missions were all simple gathering ingredients in an area with weak monsters that Adrest and Belle had long gotten too strong to properly fight against.


    The C rank mission was more difficult as it required hunting down a roaming C rank venomous python, they were large but agile and were able to kill D rank adventurers in only a few seconds after being bitten. Due to it¡¯s size however, it could just as easily crush a man in it¡¯s coils. It¡¯s leather was highly prized though for armor, and the venom was used in several recipes by local alchemists so it was a walking goldmine, and one had been reported a week ago in the south-east of town, about 15 miles away. It would be a great warm up for Belle tomorrow morning.


    They got several warnings form the clerk who accepted their requests to be extremely careful hunting the python. With gracious nods the three headed out and found a nice food stall for dinner. They were soon wondering the cool late day walk with a seasoned fried dough containing large melted chunks of cheese.


    The trio found that this late into winter most of the entertainment industry of the town was shut down, which was expected but still disappointing. Instead, they killed time by finding a few new outfits for each of them.


    It was close to 9 in the evening when they finally returned, Belle¡¯s nose was red from the chill but looked quite happy at spending the day together.

 28. Meeting the Hero

    Rose was alone, just sitting on a stool behind the bar and reading a book. Looking up at the door opening, she brightened after seeing who had returned. ¡°Welcome back! Looks like everyone is staying out late tonight.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Normally the girl I was telling you about this morning, Rin, is back around 7 or 8, but she¡¯s running quite late tonight.¡±


    Alissa was happy to have her curiosity sated and shrugged, ¡°Well, I hope she comes back soon. I¡¯ve been looking forward to seeing the lauded Hero up close.¡±


    Rose laughed, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fast friends. Would you all like anything to eat? Maybe a drink, Alissa and Adrest?¡±


    It was Adrest¡¯s turn to smile and ordered two orange beers, another special barrel Rose had saved with them in mind.


    The family rushed off to clean up in the baths before taking theirs seats at the bar across Rose, the two oldest with large frothy mugs of beer, and the youngest with juice pouting at them.


    ¡°But I want to drink what you guys do too, you always act like it¡¯s so delicious, and you two are always so excited about it. You¡¯re leaving me out.¡± Belle gave them the best sad puppy eyes Adrest had ever seen, but he couldn¡¯t give in this time, shaking his head at the pitiable figure.


    It was Alissa who couldn¡¯t take it anymore, ¡°Fine, it¡¯s pretty common for noble children grow up trying various wines occasionally. Let¡¯s treat it as that, but just this once. After, you¡¯ll either have to wait two years or get to C rank.¡±


    ¡°Yay! Thank you Big sis Ali! You¡¯re the best!¡± Belle took Alissa¡¯s offered mug taking a big sip from it, as if before Alissa could change her mind, and scrunched up her face.


    ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s bitter...¡±


    Laughing, Alissa took her mug back and patted Belle on her head, ¡°It¡¯s something you get a taste for, and there¡¯s all sorts of different kinds and flavors of alcohol. As soon as your body grows a bit more I¡¯ll teach you all about it and we''ll find something you like.¡±


    Belle had recovered from the drink¡¯s unexpected flavor and took a sip of her juice, seeming to enjoy that far more. Rose smiled warmly at the entire exchange, it brought her back to memories of her own childhood. As her parents had owned an inn her entire life, Rose had been as curious as Belle. She seemed to remember reacting the same way Belle had as well.


    It was nearly 11 in the evening and just as Rose was becoming worried for her new friend and considering going to the guild house to report it, the heavy doors creaked open and a girl on the small side of average walked in looking completely exhausted, with small cuts and scrapes in her clothing. Her medium brown hair was in disarray and she was dragging her feet looking half ready to collapse.


    However the bedraggled woman perked up and bounced over as she saw Rose and her eyes brimmed in curiosity at the three strangers sitting in front of her.


    Going right up to the bar to join the little group, She introduced herself, ¡°Hello! My name is Rin, it¡¯s nice to meet all of you.¡±


    She had a quality to her voice that soothed the listener and bright, clear eyes without any ulterior motives or lies behind them. It made Adrest immediately trust Rin, and started their side of introductions, ¡°Nice to meet you Rin, my name¡¯s Adrest, this is Alissa, and she¡¯s Belle.¡±


    Alissa walked right up to the girl and took her hand in both her own, ¡°Are you okay Rin? You¡¯re cut all over the place.¡±


    Rin squeezed the hands back and smiled at her new friend, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. There was just a Venom Shredder out today so I had to take care of it. It was tougher than it looked.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, you must be pretty strong Even in B rank, those are near the top, right?¡±


    Rin looked at Alissa with admiration for her knowledge, ¡°That¡¯s right! Their shells are really hard, and they have a really nasty poison. I had to be really careful and slowly whittle away at it all day and most of the night.¡±


    ¡°That sounds exciting, I¡¯d love to hear the story sometime. But, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re exhausted-¡° Alissa couldn¡¯t finish her words before Rin Jumped in.


    ¡°No! Just give me a few minutes to clean up, and I¡¯d love to tell you all about it, but you have to tell me more about yourself too Alissa.¡±


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    With both girls now wearing identical smiles, Alissa replied, ¡°Perfect, we¡¯ll be waiting then.¡±


    Rin rushed off to bathe and change, while Rose went to the back to make something for the hero to eat. Alissa¡¯s eyes lit up as she spoke to Adrest and Belle, ¡°She¡¯s strong! Not even close to me obviously, but by most races standards, she¡¯d probably be in the top 20% or so.¡±


    Adrest¡¯s eyes opened in surprise, ¡°Really? That¡¯s amazing from someone so young.¡±


    Belle¡¯s eyes also shone in awe, and Alissa continued quietly, ¡°I get the feeling she could kill an A rank if she needed to, make sure you pay attention to the way she fights if you get a chance Belle, she is a little similar to you and you might get some inspiration.¡±


    Belle nodded, ¡°Do you really think I¡¯ll be that strong someday Big Sis?¡±


    Patting the younger sister on her head, Alissa grinned viciously ¡°Belle, you¡¯re aiming too low. When I¡¯m done with the two of you, even the dragons back home will tremble.¡±


    Adrest sighed at her lofty goals, and could only imagine the spartan training ahead of them in the coming years.


    As they waited for Rin to return, Belle decided to get some sleep as the excitement and cold had worn her out.


    ¡°Tell Rose I said goodnight, and promise to tell me all about Rin in the morning.¡±


    ¡°We can talk all about it while we¡¯re out tomorrow, see you in a bit Belle.¡±


    A while after Belle walked up to their room, a freshly cleaned Rin returned from the bath.


    Her chestnut brown hair was glittering with unshed water, and without the layer of the days grime and blood, Adrest could now see the pale and flawless skin below. There was no longer a single cut that he could see, not even a scar. That paired with her thin build, which was even more obvious in her plain white sleeveless shirt and black shorts, made it impossible for him to imagine how she could kill something in the C rank, let alone A.


    ¡°I¡¯m back! Huh, where¡¯d Belle go?¡± Rin approached excitedly while noticing the absent figure.


    Adrest answered for the pair, ¡°Oh, it was a really long day for her so Belle went to sleep first.¡±


    Rin was a little disappointed but cheered back up as Adrest pushed a mug towards her, it was the special brew opened today. Taking a small curious sip, Rin was amazed and downed half the drink while taking a seat beside Alissa who was just observing.


    ¡°Ahh that¡¯s so good! I¡¯ve been trying to get Rose to open that for days now. It was worth the wait.¡±


    Alissa was always happy to hear someone agreeing with her taste, ¡°If I¡¯d known this was waiting for me, we would¡¯ve come back sooner.¡±


    Adrest jumped in, ¡°Feeling better Rin?¡±


    ¡°Much! I feel like a new person! I¡¯m starving though, I haven¡¯t eaten since this morning.¡±


    As if on cue, Rose came in with a tray filled to the brim with eggs sausage and buttered bread. Rose explained, ¡°There wasn¡¯t much left from dinner, so I dipped into tomorrow¡¯s breakfast.¡±


    Rin¡¯s eye¡¯s sparkled seeing the hill of food coming her way, and Adrest politely pretended to not notice the bit of drool at the corners of her mouth.


    They waited for Rin to finish devouring her meal before continuing their small talk, learning more about her as it got later in the night.


    ¡°I mostly grew up in a little orphanage in little town a day or so ride from the capital, it¡¯s a really pretty town nestled in a bunch of hills and a huge waterfall of the outskirts of the city.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t go to the capital until I was 12. Because the orphanage got some of it¡¯s funding from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, everyone has to get their talents tested. When the employee saw that I had a blessing from Blade Lord Xyleth he almost tripped over himself running to get a manager. From there, it was a lot of smiling strangers and congratulations from the sisters and kids from the orphanage, and the next thing I know I¡¯m moving into a room at the Adventure¡¯s Academy.¡±


    ¡°I honestly haven¡¯t seen much of Rylith, I¡¯ve been there for 4 years, but I almost never get to leave the school grounds, especially alone. It might be huge, but it got really boring after so long, I felt like i was starting to go crazy.¡±


    At this, Alissa felt a sense of camaraderie, ¡°Tell me about it. My father wouldn¡¯t let me leave his side for 20 years!¡±


    Rin with her thoughts dulled a little from the drinks, was confused, the girl in front of her looked at most a year or two older than herself. Then, belatedly, her eyes landed on the pair of deep purple horns half-hidden in the lavender hair.


    ¡°Ohhh. Dragonkin live a really really long time right?¡±


    Deciding to not correct the girls assumption, Alissa complained, ¡°But that¡¯s not the point! It was the first 20 years of my life, how can it not feel like an eternity, plus how can I meet people like you and Rose if I¡¯m cooped up at home with no one but my father and some tutors?¡±


    Rin put her arm around the girl¡¯s shoulders in a placating half hug, and they drained their drinks together. Adrest stuck to himself as he had a pretty average childhood with no woes to relate to the girls¡¯ struggle.


    Late into the night they drank, even getting Rose to join in, to the point her cream pale skin was bright red and she regularly tripped over her words. They swapped stories, though mostly Alissa and Rin talking about trips they¡¯d been forced to go on.


    It was irresponsibly late into the night before the three customers stumbled around and helped Rose clean up the room and headed to their respective rooms. As Adrest and Alissa entered the doorway to the pitch-black room, they could see Belle¡¯s small form breathing steadily under her thick blanket with just her ears slightly poking out. Adrest made his way over to his own bed and to no one¡¯s surprise he was tackled from behind silently by an affectionate Alissa. Now that it had become somewhat of a habit, after a few drinks she wasn¡¯t shy in the least anymore.


    She whispered into the dark, ¡°Ady, get under the blanket. It¡¯s cold and I¡¯m tired.¡±


    Adrest was happy to oblige as he noticed he always got the best sleep with Alissa by his side. As he took his place laying his head into the soft and thick pillows, Alissa nearly climbed on top of him and settled into a comforting weight and warmth. Resting her head on his chest and leaning her entire body into him, Alissa seemed to have been lulled into sleep by the beat of his heart as she didn¡¯t respond when he said goodnight.

 29. Going For a Walk

    That morning they sat for breakfast with a very exhausted looking Rin nursing a cup of tea. Alissa energetically greeted the hero which earned her a groan for her troubles.


    ¡°Have a little hangover? The way you were drinking last night, I¡¯d thought you were used to it.¡±


    Quietly and with a bitter smile, Rin answered, ¡°I got used to having a few drinks now that no one from school is looking over my shoulder, but I¡¯ve never had so much.¡±


    Feeling a little sympathy for the girl, Alissa wrapped an arm around her in a light half hug. As Rin in her half dead state leaned into the embrace and rested her head against the bar, Alissa asked Rose who looked as chipper and neat as ever despite drinking with them late into the night.


    ¡°Morning Rose, what¡¯s the breakfast today?¡±


    ¡°Well I figured as least a few of us wouldn¡¯t be feeling well so I changed the menu a little to sausage, eggs, hashbrowns, and just for you, I made some pancake batter and found some syrup in the back.¡±


    It took all Alissa had to stay quiet in consideration for Rin, but she still flung herself halfway over the bar to hug the blushing redhead. Alissa only let her go quickly because Rose would be the one making their food. But before going Alissa did ask for one thing, ¡°Rose could we get three shots of that cinnamon liquor?¡±


    As Rin gagged at just the words, Rose nodded in sympathy. ¡°It won¡¯t be fun, but a little hair of the beast that bit you will help a lot. Just push through it Rin and you¡¯ll feel better by the time you¡¯re done eating.¡±


    Groaning from her position on the bar, Rin only sat up after some more encouragement from Adrest and Alissa. With a bright red forehead and bloodshot eyes, Rin had tears forming just looking at the small glass of light brown liquid in her hand.


    Rose, Alissa, and Adrest clinked their glasses against Rin¡¯s and downed theirs smoothly. They all stared the worn down Rin, and under the power of peer pressure she downed the drink as fast as she could manage trying to avoid tasting it completely. Sadly, she seemed to have failed as her face turned green as soon as the audience heard her gulp, Rose traded the empty glass in Rin¡¯s hand for a cup of a red fruit juice, which was quickly emptied. Alissa patted the poor girls back as her stomach settled and Rose went to make their meal.


    As fast as she could, Rose came back out with large plates filled with over easy eggs, long links of sausage, and thick, fluffy pancakes drenched in a light red syrup.


    The four gave their thanks to Rose who had made today¡¯s menu with them in mind, and had stacked the plates until they were towering with food for their breakfasts alone. It really showed how much she liked this group in particular.


    After digging in, the three adults had gained new life, Rin¡¯s face now had color, she could sit up straight and talk again, filled with energy.


    ¡°I feel alive. Thank you so much Rose, Alissa. Now, I have to get going. I want to get my walk through done early so we can eat together tonight if you didn¡¯t have any plans.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d love to!¡± Alissa agreed as everyone wished Rin luck and to stay safe as she walked off, stopping occasionally to greet the locals she knew on the way.


    ¡°So, what should we do today?¡± Alissa asked to Adrest and Belle, looking for ideas.


    Rose who overheard it, added her opinion, ¡°If you¡¯re interested, A small caravan from Everflow City should¡¯ve arrived today. There won¡¯t be anything very exotic this time of year but maybe they¡¯ll have one or two interesting things.¡±


    Alissa showed clear interest, always happy to shop, and looked towards her companions.


    With nothing better to do, the pair agreed to check it out. With everyone¡¯s plans in place, the 4 young adults were all out the door, leaving Rose alone to run her business while they explored.


    The demi-human family walked along the main street for a time with Rin as they easily caught up to her, before separating as she took a turn towards the gate facing the forest.


    The three continued on their way, Belle in the middle and swinging her hands that held the older pair¡¯s.


    ¡°Big Bro, Big Sis, what do you think of Rin? Did you have fun last night? Rin seems nice, but I didn¡¯t get to talk to her last night, or during much breakfast.¡±


    Adrest started, ¡°Hmm, she seems like a good girl. She¡¯s honest and happy to be here helping the people. She seems like a simple teenager, but my intuition is telling me I wouldn¡¯t stand a chance if we fought. What about you, Ali?¡±


    ¡°I like her. She doesn¡¯t have a dishonest bone in her body, and you¡¯re right Ady. If the two had to fight seriously, she¡¯d probably kill you in under 30 seconds. She¡¯s completely ambidextrous and no matter how much she drank last night, she stayed perfectly balanced. She''s a prodigy and practice has been her life since she entered that Academy. Overall, she¡¯s a perfect hero in training.¡±


    Eyes sparkling Belle said, ¡°Then could she fight you Big Sis?¡±


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    Even Adrest¡¯s curiosity was peaked and looked at the purple haired girl who was considering her answer.


    ¡°Well, she could probably fight with me for a bit at least? She seems to focus on speed and a never ending stream of attacks, but that¡¯s not enough to fight a dragon. Its really hard for me to say anything else until I see her fight.¡±


    ¡°Wow, if she can fight with you even just a little, that¡¯s amazing isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Alissa preened under the compliments, and made sure to pull pull out a candy from thin air for her admirer.


    As Belle ate the sweet they found the caravan Rose had told them about, but the travelers seemed to be in rough shape. All their wagons were scratched and burned, some half destroyed and it was a miracle they made it to the city without falling apart.


    The merchants dressed in thick fur coats were talking to some people easily identified as adventurers by the thick leather and metallic armor they were wearing, and by the large weapons sitting across their backs.


    As the three neared they could hear one of the merchants say in a low and raspy voice, as if he¡¯d just shouted for several hours. ¡°It was the biggest wyvern I¡¯d ever seen, and I¡¯ve seen the ones the imperial guards use in Dorm. Big, green, and vicious. The only reason so many of us made it back was because it ate 3 carts filled to the brim with meat and fruits we just got from the southern nations.¡±


    The man had a bitter look on his face thinking about how much they¡¯d lost today. Seeing the grieving caravan was in no shape to sell their goods, Alissa guided them down a few side streets and Adrest soon realized what direction they were heading.


    As he put the dots together, Alissa spoke, ¡°Wanna go on a walk and stretch your legs a bit Belle?¡±


    Belle having now figured out what she was planning, got excited and bounced on her feet ¡°Aren¡¯t wyverns around C or B rank? It sounds like a little too fun much for me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not expecting you to hunt it down by yourself, Adrest will do most of the work. I just want you to learn more about how to deal with flying opponents, and get an idea of how tough B ranks are.¡±


    Adrest was surprised to hear he had volunteered to fight the wyvern, but didn¡¯t argue as it sounded fun and he felt sympathy for the merchants. It was a cruel world, and while Adrest couldn¡¯t change that, he could at least make sure the wyvern wouldn¡¯t attack anymore innocent travelers.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with giving it a try, but will I even be able to handle it? The lead merchant back there made it sound big and strong, even for a B rank wyvern. And aren¡¯t most wyverns blue, not green?¡±


    Alissa was happy to hear the two agree and explained to Adrest, ¡°That¡¯s the fun part! You remember that dragons can molt when they meet certain conditions? Well since wyverns descended from dragons in ancient times, technically they a chance to do the same. The difference being, while dragons shed their scales nearly every breakthrough, for wyverns it¡¯s a one in ten thousand opportunity.¡±


    While Adrest¡¯s eyes grew wide and he suddenly felt regret at agreeing to Alissa¡¯s whims so easily, she said what he¡¯d already figured out.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably in the middle of transforming into a drake right now! Since its bloodline is so weak it needs immense amounts of mana and nutrients to finish. I can¡¯t be sure until I¡¯ve seen it personally, but I¡¯m pretty sure it has a half foot in the A rank! It¡¯ll be a lot of fun Ady!¡±


    Adrest coldly glared at the witch who set him up but knew there was only one way for it to go when Alissa wanted something. He resigned himself to fate and followed the purple haired menace out of the back gate, waving to a guard that reminded them to stay safe and vigilant due to the increase in monsters.


    Belle seemed to have something on her mind as she followed alongside the older pair through the trees and bushes. Adrest could easily see the inner conflict playing out on the young rabbit''s face as she walked and if he could notice it, obviously Alissa would too, so she stopped and crouched down to be level with her.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter Belle? Don¡¯t feel well? Want to go back to the town? You know you can always say what¡¯s on your mind.¡±


    Belle blushed as she became the center of attention and struggled to make eye contact with the bright purple eyes less that a foot away from her own.


    ¡°it¡­ It¡¯s just, didn¡¯t you say that wyverns are related to dragons? And in class I remember you mentioned drakes once, they¡¯re just a step away from becoming real dragons too. So is it okay for us to be chasing it down if it¡¯s like you Big sis Ali?¡±


    Belle was feeling shy and her bright crimson eyes were rooted to a particularly interesting rock by her feet. That lasted until Alissa¡¯s loud Belle like laughter resounded through the forest and she swooped Belle into a tight hug.


    As Belle squealed at the unexpected attack, Alissa reassured the teen, ¡°It¡¯s fine Belle, when I say they descended from dragons, it was millions of years ago and good job remembering that lesson! It¡¯s true that you could say that drakes are very nearly dragons, with hard work and a lot of luck, when they reach S rank they can become true dragons. But that¡¯s where the relation stops, dragons born like that are still different from us raised in the clans. They are almost always bloodthirsty, vicious creatures that kill first, question later. They were raised in the wild and it¡¯s all they know. For the most part, it is actually mostly the clans that have to hunt down the strays when they go too far.¡±


    Belle seemed to feel better, and now was curious, ¡°But if you both end up dragons, why are you so different?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because of how we¡¯re raised, this is a concept hundreds of years too early for you, but consciousness can be divided into three categories. Humanity, Bestial, and Godliness. Humanity is what drives emotions, creativity, and growth. Bestial governs survival, base instinct, and violence. Godliness governs the increased perception of fate and the inner workings of everything."


    Alissa paused and waved her hand, putting up her silencing barrier and taking out an ornate music box that started playing a melody that Adrest couldn''t quite understand. He could hear it, but not remember. He knew it was beautiful, but couldn''t place a single note. His mind was buzzing lightly when Alissa''s voice focused him again.


    "Best to be safe, those old fossils don''t like it when some secrets spread. To ascend to Godhood is to change a grand fate. There are many ways to do this, but they almost all require ascending and evolving your mind, that means embracing the purest form of yourself. The dragon clans have developed for countless millennia in the direction of embracing all three paths, allowing us to come up with amazing techniques and arts for every type of talent and dragon, It¡¯s what allows us to grow generation from generation. Wyverns, drakes, and wild dragons on the other hand, walk the bestial path alone, focusing on strength and survival above all, it¡¯s also the reason S rank and higher wild dragons are almost always so violent and destructive.¡±


    The explanation seemed to partially go over the girl¡¯s head, but the doubt in her eyes was gone and it was replaced with a bright smile. Seeing that, Alissa patted her head and they walked towards the mountains in the cold winter day.

 30. Tossed to The Wolves

    It only took a few hours for the party to find the wreckage that was the missing caravans. There were bits and pieces of wood scattered everywhere, with scorched earth dotting the light layering of snow. Adding some color to the scene was crimson blood, splattered violently across the white ground.


    Belle went a shade paler than her usual white, shifting into a waxy grey. Adrest¡¯s brow furrowed at the display of violence, meanwhile Alissa¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change even slightly. Her violent and dragon''s nature showing itself again.


    Adrest pulled Belle closer to himself and asked the casual Alissa, ¡°Any idea where it is now? Doesn¡¯t seem like it''s anywhere nearby.¡±


    Almost absentmindedly Alissa answered, ¡°It¡¯s a few miles ahead of us, at the base of the mountain in a cave. Looks like I was right, you won''t be able to kill it Adrest, but fighting with it for a while shouldn¡¯t be a problem if you¡¯re careful,"


    Rolling his eyes at the disregard for his opinion in fighting something that was a half step into A rank, he started trudging in the direction she pointed. Belle was about to follow along, but jerked back in place when a hand grabbed the scarf around her neck.


    ¡°Big bro has to go on his own from here, he can¡¯t get distracted for this one. Just stick with me and we can watch from the air, okay?¡±


    Seeing the girl sad that she couldn¡¯t follow along with Adrest anymore, Alissa gave her a piece of candy before wrapping Belle up in her arms and taking off.


    They shot ahead of Adrest and landed on the branch of a tree a few hundred feet from the cave entrance. From it, one could hear loud and deep breathing. The ground nearby seemed to vibrate and Belle could feel an unpleasant aura emanating from it, smothering her and making it difficult to breathe.


    With a simple wave, Alissa dispersed the aura and explained, ¡°When someone is strong enough, their bodies naturally give off pressure from the sheer amount of compressed mana inside of them. There¡¯s other ways to create an aura such as killing so much that the dead¡¯s resentment form a shroud, or when a monsters body gets strong enough to warp the air and space around itself, but this is the most common.¡±


    As Belle recovered from the pressure, Adrest finally appeared through the trees below, buckling under the pressure for a moment before steadying and drawing his sword.


    He extended his raven wings in preparation and carefully made his way towards the thundering breathing. Before he got even got within two hundred feet of the entrance a loud snarl rang through the air and a huge, green reptilian head emerged. As it made eye contact with Adrest, his entire body reflected in the blue serpent eyes.


    Adrest was trembling and every part of his body was telling him to run, but he rejected it and charged forward aiming at the exposed eye. As he closed in a long and thick blue limb charged out of the shadows and made contact with his sword. It let out a loud clang and a series of creaks at the long impact.


    Adrest¡¯s eyes shot up in shock and back away. A cursory glance didn¡¯t show any damage but he didn¡¯t want to make that gamble too many more times. That was all he had time to think before a huge green monster charged him. The drake was over a story tall, and body nearly as wide. Its green scales covered thick muscle and sinew. the large reptilian head charging at him, mouth filled with many rows of sharp teeth was an imposing sight.


    If Adrest hadn¡¯t seen a real dragon charge at him, this would have petrified him, but after Alissa ¡°welcoming¡± him back then, he could only see this drake as a shoddy imitation. It was just too small, too ugly, compared to the regal purple giant that had been nearly the size of Rose¡¯s inn.


    That being said, either could kill him with ease so it didn¡¯t help Adrest much. He flew straight up as the mouth closed in, trying to get behind the drake, but a muscular and spiked tail flung out and into Adrest¡¯s side. He took the impact with his arm, and went with the force to make some distance.


    The drake pressed forward slashing at Adrest¡¯s figure with a set of giant claws. The hand raked the air as Adrest just barely dodged. They went back and forth, Adrest always putting his safety first. As the dance went on for a few dozen more seconds, it suddenly seemed to reach a critical moment as Adrest sacrificed his arm, with it getting clipped by a passing claw to close in and stab into an eye. One of Adrest¡¯s arm hung limply at his side as he retreated, everything below the elbow a pulpy mess. Adrest felt the cold sweat rolling down his face, but felt like it was worth it hearing the pained roars of the drake.


    It had been a risk, but after fighting with it, Adrest got a feel for how the beast fought, while Adrest was no match for it in pure strength or stamina and he would die in one hit if it landed or he was just slightly too slow. However, the beast acted on instinct alone. It had no skill technique behind the power, it really highlighted what Alissa had said earlier about how the two species were so different.


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    As Adrest madly retreated, taking advantage of the beast¡¯s now huge blindspot, he loudly begged for help, not daring to close in on the angered drake again.


    ¡°Alissa! If you don¡¯t help out soon your oldest student will die. Think of all the rumors that would spread if I died so early.¡±


    There was an annoyed snort and Alissa came out of nowhere, she actually punched the ragged and retreating Adrest directly in the face, sending the already injured and one armed man into a tree in the distance. But oddly enough, he seemed to slow down just before impact.


    As Adrest used his good arm to massage his bruised jaw, Belle appeared next to him with tear in her eyes. Belle had screamed when she saw Adrest¡¯s arm essentially explode and begged Alissa to help, she just shook her head saying he could keep going a little longer.


    ¡°Big bro Ady, are you okay? Why¡¯d you have to do that, I thought it was going to kill you!¡± Belle was crying again at the end and tightly hugging his less injured side.


    Adrest tried to pat the rabbit''s head to reassure her, but his remaining arm wasn''t cooperating. Sighing, he settled for just saying, ¡°It was the only thing I could think of, after all even my sword couldn¡¯t get through the scales. It was worth it though, do you think I impressed Big sis Ali?¡±


    Belle looked up to his eyes surprised at what she heard. ¡°She did smile when you got the drake¡¯s eye. I think Ali likes violence and fighting a lot.¡±


    Adrest laughed heartily though it hurt to do so at Belle¡¯s frankness, eventually managing to say, ¡°It¡¯s just how she was raised, it¡¯s in her blood so don¡¯t hold it against Ali, okay?¡±


    Smiling and blushing embarrassed, she stammered, ¡°N..No, I just meant with how Big sis Ali looks and acts most of the time, you wouldn¡¯t expect it from her.¡±


    Enjoying the flustered girl''s reaction, Adrest just sat back onto the tree Alissa had set him at and focused on Alissa crushing the drake, anything to distract from the explosion of pain that was his mangled arm.


    She was violently imposing, forcing the beast to kneel into the snow and dirt as soon as she let out her roiling aura. Though her two family members couldn¡¯t feel it, it was truly terrible for any living being unfortunate enough to be caught in such a pressure. It worse still for the drake as there was an amplification of suppression from it¡¯s weak bloodline relation.


    That''s not to say that others would feel nothing under Alissa''s intent, Alissa was trained brutally even by dragon standards and developed every aspect of herself to it''s peak in each realm. The pressure she put off was the cumulation of over two decades of violent life or death training. Not only was the dragon the king of all beasts, able to intimidate all under it. Not only was Alissa¡¯s body the pinnacle of perfection in the A rank realm, making even the air tremble according to her will. Not only was she supremely talented in magic, with her many talents all at the peak of the peak under S rank, allowing her to let out a violent storm of pressure from the unfathomable sea of mana in her soul. But her murderous aura gave the air an ice cold edge. It would cause a primal fear in anyone caught in her gaze. This intent could only be built upon thousands of corpses and rivers of blood.


    Under the very real pressure, as if heaven and earth itself was rejecting the drake¡¯s existence, it could only tremble helplessly as Alissa lengthened her perfectly manicured nails into lethally sharp daggers.


    As she neared step by step, the drakes trembling intensified, cracks rang out from its scales that Adrest couldn¡¯t even scratch. At the last moment it seemed to have gathered it¡¯s will as it took a single step forward in defiance.


    Alissa¡¯s eyes lit up in praise for the beast¡¯s final stand, but it did nothing to change the inevitable. With a harsh cracking and shrill scratching sound, her arm went entirely inside the chest that had been charging her. The Drake¡¯s large blue eyes opened fully in pain and shock, before dimming.


    Near death, it let loose a final weak roar before there was a wet ripping sound as Alissa pulled out a blue gem that was nearly as big as Adrest. It was gruesomely still connected to the drake via several long strings of what looked like muscle and cartilage.


    Under the eyes of the pale Belle, Alissa waved her hand, sending out bolts of purple lightning to clean the gem. Now free of gore and viscera, the gem sparkles beautifully, deep and mysteriously as if someone crystalized an ocean.


    Alissa waved her hand and the profoundly powerful crystal core disappeared into her storage crystal. With her business done, Alissa turned to her audience giving a mock bow and showstopping smile. The only problem with the picturesque image was the mountain of dead drake behind her, only now falling to the ground, and the blood that lightly splattered her face.


    Belle still wasn¡¯t used to the bloodthirsty side of Alissa as she hadn¡¯t seen what happend after Alissa saved her, and since then there¡¯s been no reason for Alissa to let loose. Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, Adrest leaned in to speak as it was getting more difficult due to blood loss.


    ¡°It¡¯s still Big Sis Ali, I¡¯m pretty the only reason she was so brutal this time was because it tore through my arm.¡±


    Belle snapped out of her trance and hurriedly shook her head to deny. ¡°Its not that, I just didn¡¯t know Ali was so strong. I guess it didn¡¯t feel real when she dropped that Scarlet Rent in the yard back then. I¡¯m just not used to seeing Ali like this after how she usually acts.¡±


    Adrest could understand as Alissa was always gentle to her little sister. To the little rabbit Alissa was her silly, smart, and slightly lazy big sister. Sure she could be brutal in training, but most of the time Alissa spoiled the girl with whatever she wanted.


    Adrest put his hand on her head reassuringly, ¡°She really is amazing, it¡¯s like a completely different person when she¡¯s fighting, but you¡¯ll get used to it soon Belle.¡±


    As Adrest comforted the girl who seemed to still be having trouble putting the two images of the dragon she¡¯d come to view as family, said woman approached.


    Alissa stood in front of the two with a huge grin, and preened in front of Belle, ¡°Did you see your Big sis? Wasn¡¯t I cool? Much better than that idiot that¡¯s bleeding all over everything.¡±


    Adrest was feeling too weak to talk, the cause obvious as there was a not small puddle of blood under him now, he was extremely pale, and most of his vision was obscured with black tendrils slowly encroaching. But this didn¡¯t stop him from raising his remaining hand and shakily raising his middle finger at the dragon being an ass.

 31. Checking in at The Guild

    Seeing the rude gesture, Alissa stopped performing for Belle''s attention and crouched down beside the near unconscious Adrest. She tenderly held onto his hand while quietly whispering in his ear, ¡°Would you like to lose both arms today Ady?¡±


    Even in his state, Adrest still managed to go colder hearing the words. Seeing his expression change, Alissa giggled and patted the hand she still held before adjusting to be closer to his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough teasing I guess. Take this so I don¡¯t have to fly you back to the house.¡± She put a small bottle about the size of her palm against Adrest¡¯s lips.


    As he slowly sipped the viscous liquid as to not choke on it in his weakened state, he noticed that the chalky white elixir tasted spicy, like peppercorns and allspice. Not only was the taste good, so were the effects.


    Before Adrest even finished drinking, small cuts and gashes sewed themselves together, bruises faded, and most amazingly his arm started to regrow. It was actually quite a gruesome sight, especially compared to the Lodestone¡¯s shadow healing that was more like reversing time around the injury.


    First to regrow were the bones, from the remaining bits jutting out at the elbow, slowly his radius and ulna pushed out, like long white flowers emerging from the soil. After his skeleton down to the fingers were regrown came the muscle. Quickly muscle wrapped around the limb like a spider wrapping a web. Finally came flawless and soft white skin, with a noticeable line where the old flesh started and his new flesh began.


    Adrest went from feeling like he was at death¡¯s door, to feeling like he¡¯d just woken up from a great nights rest. He sat and tested the new arm, squeezing it into a fist and wriggling the fingers.


    Satisfied, Adrest accepted Alissa¡¯s outstretched hand and pulled himself back to his feet. ¡°Thanks Ali. I feel brand new.¡±


    Belle made sure to go up and inspect the new arm in curiosity, meanwhile Alissa gave Adrest¡¯s shoulder a hard pat. While Adrest was pretending it didn¡¯t hurt, she spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯m taking points off for begging me for help at the end, but good job going for it¡¯s eye. In a life or death fight you wouldn¡¯t have been able to run away from it normally, so if you have to sacrifice a limb for chance it¡¯s worthwhile.¡±


    "Wow Big sis Ali, you talk like that''s happened to you before.¡± Belle seemed to have overcome her feelings on the new side of Alissa and her curiosity took over.


    Alissa out of habit gave Belle a piece of candy, nodding her head. ¡°I¡¯ve had to a few times, one time I lost a wing, leg, and half my ribs were just splinters. Father tossed me into a very territorial A rank Iron Titan when I¡¯d just advanced to B rank.¡±


    Belle and Adrest had no idea what an Iron Titan was But as Alissa told the story they understood just what a horror it was.


    ¡°Even after transforming back to my real body, from its perspective I was still just a slightly bigger ant. It was only a little smaller than the mountain ahead of us.¡±


    Alissa gave the two time to turn around and stare at the huge mountain ahead, while not reaching the clouds, it was still at least 10,000 feet tall, the two made audible gulps imaging being in Alissa¡¯s place.


    ¡°I tried running as soon as it woke up, but I was too late. Arms extended from every inch of the mountain around me, and before I could fly, one grabbed my leg, a second one swung it¡¯s giant metal fist in my side and sent me flying. That¡¯s how my ribs cracked. Then, I managed to fly away for a bit, but the mountain cracked open and screeched. The sound felt like my head would break in two and it made me crash into the ground. Giant iron golems surrounded me, and I had to do something quickly to get away. I picked one and charged right at it to push through and escape, but at the last moment it managed to grab my wing. I couldn¡¯t stop to break free. Running as fast as my legs would carry me, I made it a few hundred more meters, almost off the mountain body. My last hurdle was when my front right claw sunk halfway into a pool of liquid metal, I did what was necessary and bit the leg off at the joint. It was a bad day, but I made it out alive at least!¡±


    Hearing the horror story that was Alissa¡¯s training, Adrest felt like giving his saint of a teacher a hug. When he did so though, the purple haired maiden stiffened up like a startled cat and was even more confused when she looked down to see an outright bawling Belle hugging her other side.


    ¡°What are you two doing!? Belle can hug me whenever she wants, but why are you doing it Adrest? Knock it off!¡± The dragon blushed and became increasingly flustered under the affection of her two family members. It was a precious sight that was completely incongruous with the blood bath just minutes ago.


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    Letting go of the furiously blushing dragon, Adrest laughed, ¡®Let¡¯s go back to the Home and Hearth, I¡¯ve had enough of you adventures for one day, and we can take our time to make it back just in time for dinner.¡±


    As they made their way through the forest, by luck they also ran into a C rank Poison Crawler. Adrest thought it looked like an oversized dark grey weasel with glowing green eyes and long sharp fangs, dripping with a purple gooey poison.


    Belle got to fight this time, and expertly dodged each bite and lunge. Belle was being extra careful as she had to look out flying drops of the venom, splashing everywhere as they fought.


    Belle relied on her incredible speed to always be slightly faster than the Crawler and eventually tired it out, which was moving noticeably slower than at the start of the fight.


    To end it, Belle shot forward faster than she¡¯d been the entire fight, throwing the Crawler off by the shocking movement. She managed to close in on the side on the weasel¡¯s side, and sank one of her blades into it¡¯s organs, slipping right through the ribs.


    Knowing how tenacious monsters are, Belle didn¡¯t let her guard down as she used the stabbed blade as a step, leaping directly on the back of the weasel that was only just yowling in pain.


    As the beast tried to angle it¡¯s head to bite the unwelcome passenger on it¡¯s back, Belle used her other blade to stab directly into the back of the head, right above the neck. It instantly fell silent and slumped to the ground.


    Maybe Belle was trying to understand or embrace the side of her sister she¡¯d seen today, but Belle seemed especially excited as she sat on top of her kill, smiling at her siblings. Her pure snow white hair, that was growing in nicely now that it¡¯s had many months to grow, contrasted beautifully with the blood that marred her face her top.


    Alissa helped collect the body by storing it as she¡¯d done with the drake and they moved onward, the only sound was Alissa giving tips to Belle on how to move mana more efficiently when shifting directions constantly like she¡¯d been, or how else she could¡¯ve fought the Dark Crawler, ending the fight faster if she¡¯d needed to hurry.


    Before getting to the gate in the late afternoon sun of the forest, the three cleaned themselves as best they could, Adrest thankful Alissa had some spare outfits for everyone as his was shredded and covered in blood.


    In fact, Alissa was the only one who didn¡¯t need to change as she¡¯d just gotten a few drops of blood on her face.


    Clean enough, they waved to the guard in greeting and walked inside with no obstructions. As they meandered down the streets they found themselves in front of the Adventurer¡¯s Guildhall.


    Adrest led the way, opening the thick wooden double doors with an obnoxious creak. Inside, it was the same as ever. All kinds of men and women sitting around tables, each dressed in different styles of armor and most had intimidating weapons strewn across their back or side.


    Even though Adrest and Alissa had joined the guild many months ago and were C rank certified, everyone in the crowd was a stranger to the two of them as they didn''t spend much time here socializing outside of turning in contracts.


    The strangers stared at the family for a few breaths before losing interest and going back to what they had been doing before. As they lost interest, the three got into the line for the guild clerk.


    Today it was just a smartly dressed young man, around Adrest¡¯s age with a tucked in black tailored shirt, glasses, and slicked back hair.


    ¡°Hi there, I¡¯m Reed. How can I help you today?¡±


    Adrest did the talking about handed the fangs of the Dark Crawler Belle had killed earlier.


    ¡°Hi Reed, the name¡¯s Adrest. We were looking for rare ingredients by the mountain today and we ran into a Dark Crawler. We handled it fine but we definitely weren¡¯t expecting to run into a C rank, especially one so vicious.¡±


    Reed was shocked to hear where they¡¯d decided to travel today, as a clerk for the guild he¡¯d naturally been warned about the wyvern presence reported. He was also surprised to see fangs from a Dark Crawler.


    The guild ranked Dark Crawlers as one of the top 5 most dangerous creatures to new parties. It wasn¡¯t that they were overwhelmingly powerful, but their underwhelming appearance for a C rank combined with their fast acting and lethal poison was a deadly combination for inexperienced groups of adventurers.


    Seeing the unassuming young group was able to kill one with seemingly no injuries, Reed was impressed.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the trouble Adrest and companions, but lately the monsters in the nearby forest have been unpredictable. These days, C ranks are springing up everywhere with no rhyme nor reason. Even B ranks have been spotted, though thankfully they¡¯re far more rare. Speaking of, may I ask while you were out today, did you see anything unusual in the sky? Maybe hear something strange?¡±


    Adrest didn¡¯t realize how bad the problem with monsters has become for the isolated outpost town. The last questions however, Adrest was prepared for.


    "Then i guess we can count ourselves lucky to say that other than the Crawler, it was an ordinary day. Did either of you notice anything?¡±


    Adrest turned his head towards his companions who were mirrors of each other with neutral expressions, shaking their heads and answering, ¡°No¡± ¡°Nope¡±


    Reed shrugged, ¡°Well, since you¡¯re all here and fine I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d ran into it, but thought I¡¯d better be safe. Let¡¯s see, normally a dark crawler kill and fangs are worth about 2 Gold Trevil, but the boss recently sent down the order to incentivize kills for C and above. Let¡¯s call it an even 3 gold since this guy can be tricky for rookie C ranks.¡±


    Adrest and Alissa¡¯s eyes shot up at the number. While a single gold difference wasn¡¯t anything to either of them at this point, it was about what it represented. It was a fifty percent hike from what one¡¯d normally get, the so called ¡°boss¡± was serious about keeping the new monster problem in check.


    With bright smiles, the team took the offered gold, and while they were there, handed in some random herbs they had found while out today.

 32. Private Talk

    Adrest was happy to see the achievements recorded for their team, they were one step closer to ranking up in the guild. While it wasn¡¯t what decided their livelihood like most adventurers, it would still be very useful later for all sorts of things. Whether that be passports for various countries, extra gold for high-level quests, or protection. All were offered here if you were worth it.


    While Adrest didn¡¯t necessarily fear other nations as long as he had the little dragon clan princess by his side, she couldn¡¯t stay with him forever, as much as he hoped. Alissa was a free spirit with grand ambitions, she also had her own troubles and responsibilities.


    This is why Alissa suggested joining the guild, as long as she could get the two to a high enough rank, the guild would go out of their way to offer protection. From keeping an ear out for rumors in the underworld of society, to specifically vetting quests they accept, the guild was happy to help as long as they continued to clear high difficulty quests.


    At the end of the day, it was a simple relationship of give and take, the guild didn¡¯t have enough adventurers that could takes on quests from B rank up, there was a constant demand in this wild monster infested continent, but almost no supply of parties actually able to clear them. So it has quickly become known to every high ranking official in every place the guild operated that once a party proved themselves at the B rank, it was a horrible idea to openly plot against them. Worst case would be the guild blacklisting an entire county, Alissa has told her that it had actually happened in the past, and cost the nations army millions in Trevil to fill their place.


    While Adrest was distractedly off on his own train of thought, Alissa thanked the man and they went on their way to the Inn where they¡¯d made plans to eat with Rin. There was nothing too interesting along the way, so it was only a brisk 10 minute walk before in the cold before they were back inside and Belle ran over to the large fire, only waving at Rose in greeting.


    Adrest and Alissa however felt fine so they sat down to say their hellos and relax a little before changing for dinner.


    Right now the three were wearing thick parkas lined with beast fur, and were soaked just from the few hours they''d been used. Taking care to not wet the table, they gladly accepted the mulled wine Rose had been keeping warm behind the bar, and after their first sip, Adrest and Alissa felt revitalized.


    ¡°Keep treating us like this Rose, and we won¡¯t know what to do without you. Has Rin made it back yet? Its around the time she told us.¡±


    Rose was exceptionally happy with the compliment, but showed a little worry at the question Adrest finished with.


    ¡°No, not yet. And I heard there¡¯s a huge wyvern loose nearby, I hope she¡¯s okay out there.¡± Rose had a worried look to her eyes, but Alissa spoke up with comforting words.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she might not look it, but Rin is a hero after all. A little snow and an overgrown lizard aren¡¯t anything she needs to worry about.¡±


    Alissa and Adrest were curious where the girl had gone, but as Alissa said there really wasn¡¯t a reason to worry. The drake would¡¯ve been a messy fight since Rin would¡¯ve been expecting a wyvern, but Alissa earlier said that she could kill it in an hour or so, or at least that was what her instincts were telling her. So, with assumedly the only A rank in the area, excluding a moody dragon, gone Rin should be back any minute now.


    The pair finished the drinks before dragging their rabbit into the baths to clean up and properly dry off, much to the comfortable girl¡¯s protest.


    Rose felt better after watching the family comedy play out and she watched them walk off. Too quickly the bar was empty and seemed colder to Rose. She had always hated this part of the year. Growing up, when the town was still developing, it meant their family would have to cut back on about everything as there were no savings left after moving here, and it was common to go two months without a customer.


    It was better now that the rest of the country had realized how many materials came through the outpost, and Rose had learned from a lean youth to save as much as she could. Even now that the town was much bigger, there were a scant 6 people staying at the Home and Hearth, and three of them had just walked off to the bath.


    Not wanting to think about her childhood anymore, Rose sat up and went to the back, with so few people Rose made diners herself. She was soon humming through the wide and surprisingly clean kitchen, she wouldn¡¯t start dinner until Rin was back, but a little appetizer should be fine, right?


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    As the fiery red hair whipped around the kitchen, tied back in a simple ponytail. Adrest and Alissa were sitting outside the changing room, waiting for Belle, Alissa told her to take her time and completely warm up.


    ¡°By the way, do you know what¡¯s causing the beasts to move so far from their usual spots?¡±


    Alissa nodded smiling, ¡°I was waiting for my oldest student to ask. It¡¯s going to be interesting around here for the next few weeks. Rin is really lucky we showed up when we did and that she¡¯s such a nice girl.¡±


    She was obviously baiting Adrest, and as much as he loathe to admit it, he was firmly hooked.


    ¡°Would the kind, smart, and beautiful Alissa Covenscar be so kind as to enlighten your student?¡± Adrest knew by now how to get his way.


    Alissa who was indeed fishing for compliments still blushed when Adrest used her full name, it was the first time he¡¯d said it and thinking back she found it amazing he remembered it at all.


    ¡°We¡­well, I guess I can slowly explain it to you since we haven¡¯t covered it in class yet. When a new overlord of an area is in the process of being born, beasts nearby instinctively sense it and gather to defend it, an offer obeisance.¡±


    Adrest blanched at what the dragon had just said, and interrupted the impromptu lesson ¡°An S rank? So close to the border?¡±


    You had to keep in mind, beasts and monsters naturally tried to go closer to the northern edge of the forest, Where the real nation of beasts hid. Alissa had told him that on the northern border, near the nations dragons ruled, there was a city state made from the beast clans with the best bloodlines.


    If they were strong or intelligent enough, the strays would be allowed entrance into the city, and could even be adopted into a family to learn their techniques and earn their backing. It made no sense for what had once been an A rank to hide in a mountain where the highest rank was usually the rare C.


    Alissa, in her teaching mode, sent Adrest a withering glare before continuing, ¡°Whatever is breaking through is smart, it''s hiding somewhere deep in the mountain and using the entire range to disperse their excess energy, masking their presence. It¡¯s nearly impossible for a human to sense it, maybe demi-humans can if their ancestral blood is strong enough, but they wouldn¡¯t know what it means other than an overwhelming reverence and anxiety echoing nonstop in their mind.¡±


    Waiting to make sure she was finished, Adrest asked, ¡°Do you have any idea what kind of monster it is? Will we be okay? I know you¡¯ve said before you could probably kill an S rank, but this is serious Alissa.¡±


    Alissa was happy to answer, if only to express her greatness, ¡°I have no idea other than it¡¯s good with earth magic. As for if I can kill it, definitely. It¡¯s been a while since I bragged like that Ady. Now I have a few new tricks up my sleeve. And don¡¯t forget, this is a newly ascended S rank, it¡¯ll have the power but not the control.¡±


    Adrest was relieved seeing the completely confidence in her sparkling purple eyes. But he had one last question, ¡°What happens if Rin tries to fight that thing? She¡¯s a hero after all, it wouldn¡¯t be weird for her to run right for that thing the second it comes outside.¡±


    "That depends a lot on Rin and the monster. I can¡¯t imagine she¡¯ll be able to handle it if it¡¯s any of the ones I have in my head, so I¡¯ll let her have some fun then give her a hand. The only issue is dragons and demons aren¡¯t viewed kindly by most of the churches through humans, and to play with an S rank I¡¯ll have to be serious.¡±


    Adrest didn¡¯t like the sound of that, knowing Rin¡¯s origins. But they could only cross that bridge when they got to it, and the girl that would be in the middle of it seemed more excited than concerned.


    Confirming his thoughts she lost the professional teacher persona and she grabbed Adrest¡¯s arm with both her own.


    ¡°Just think of how much fun it¡¯ll be Ady! I haven¡¯t been able to stretch properly for ages. A genuine overlord on one side, and a righteous, dazzling hero on the other. I¡¯ll be able to brag about it for centuries.¡±


    Alissa¡¯s eyes grew a bit sad adding, ¡°I just hope Rin doesn¡¯t hate us, I don¡¯t have many friends, and she¡¯s such a good girl.¡±


    Adrest gave the moping dragon a tight hug, getting a yelp in exchange. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Rin likes us and I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll remember that if the time comes.¡±


    Getting a glare in return for the sneak attack, Adrest clapped her on the shoulder with a goofy grin, ¡®Besides, if she doesn¡¯t listen to reason, you can always beat it into her and take your time talking later, right?¡±


    Alissa giggled like he¡¯d just told a joke and nodded, ¡°Right!¡±


    What neither of them realized through this entire conversation was that Adrest was slowly taking on more and more of a dragon¡¯s sensibilities. But he is a demon after all, so maybe they just have an affinity for each other¡¯s thoughts.


    They had only just finished their talk before a flushed and still damp Belle came out, now in a long-sleeved green shirt Adrest had bought her the previous day. It was made from a special material found in the South that was known for its insulating properties, while there were no decorations or frills, it would keep the little rabbit cozy as long as she wasn¡¯t standing outside in the cold for hours.


    She was also wearing a pair of white pants Alissa picked out that were fashionable with a wildflower design in a shimmering silver running down one leg. As she approached, Adrest couldn¡¯t help but stare at the girl he couldn¡¯t recognize when thinking back to when they¡¯d first brought her back to the Inn. He¡¯d not really noticed until now because they had been sucked into routine alone in their forest getaway, but Belle had sprouted at least 3 inches since they¡¯d found her, her head now up to nearly his chest. What¡¯s more, her body was no longer unhealthily thin and weak, she looked like a teenager in the prime of her youth.

 33. Dinner Talk and Plans

    Said teenager had no idea of Adrest¡¯s inner ramblings, and ran up to the older two taking their arms in her own. Trying to lead them towards the barroom, or as Adrest suspected, dinner and a large fire.


    Before she managed to get two steps, Alissa stopped her with a reprimanding look, ¡°Belle what have I told you? You have to dry properly or you¡¯ll get sick.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ll dry off in no time in the barroom, and its uncomfortable.¡±


    Shaking her head at the spoiled rabbit, Alissa took out a cloth from her storage and handed it to Adrest.


    ¡°You¡¯re the only one Belle doesn¡¯t mind drying her ears, so get to it Ady.¡±


    Adrest pretended to not hear the jealousy in Alissa¡¯s voice as he directed Belle by the shoulders to stand directly in front of himself. She was scarlet, and was stiffly staring at the ground, her ears twitching and a few times tickling his nose.


    With a sigh, he got to work while admonishing his little sister, ¡°I¡¯m always happy to help Belle, but you really should start doing this yourself soon, you''re almost an adult after all.¡±


    Belle just ignored the admonishment and enjoyed the warm, soothing sensation of Ady carefully drying her off. Belle always felt safe and comfortable when he did it, She actually didn¡¯t mind when Alissa did it, she''d gotten much more gentle but for this at least, Adrest was her favorite.


    Now with everyone happy, they headed back out to the dimly lit bar, and were surprised to see Rin back already. She was donning brown leather pants and a thin jacket that clung to her soaked form. The first thing Adrest thought of seeing her was a half drowned cat. Rin even had the same pitiable expression as one as she was being held at arms length by Rose as she complained.


    ¡°It¡¯s so cold today and they let me spend all morning in the trudging through snow in the middle of the forest before sending me all the way to the mountains in the opposite direction. And then when I get there, there¡¯s not even a trace of the wyvern I was supposed to find. Now I have to spend my mornings alone in a freezing forest, and my afternoons on an even colder mountain.¡±


    Adrest felt sorry for the poor hero, her nose was bright red, and Adrest could see on the hands that held Rose, each fingertip stiff and pale. Alissa went over to help Rose comfort the not so awe-inspiring hero.


    ¡°Oh my Rin! That sounds horrible. Let¡¯s get you cleaned and warm and you can tell us all about it over dinner.¡± Alissa put her hand over the near frozen Rin¡¯s and used her unusually warm body temperature to help the girl get feeling in them again.


    Rin nearly started crying right there, but got herself under control and obediently followed Alissa back to where they had just emerged from.


    Rose gave Alissa a smile and silent ¡°thank you¡± as they walked off, which made Adrest chuckle.


    With a playful glare Rose said, ¡°What, is something funny Adrest? Think before you answer.¡°


    As she spoke, Rose pulled out a plate of cheese and herb rolls that were his favorite and tilted the plate as if she would let them simply fall to the floor.


    In mock horror Adrest gasped saying, ¡°Now Rose let¡¯s not do anything extreme. The best and most beautiful Inn-keeper this side of the mountains wouldn¡¯t play with a customers heart like that, would she?¡±


    With the low light and warm glow of fire and mage light keeping the warm blush on Rose¡¯s pale face hidden she released the hostage. As the plate was set down on to the table, she also deftly arranged four steaming mugs in the empty seats in front of her.


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Now sit down and eat one before you annoy me again.¡± Belle¡¯s chime like giggling rang out as she skipped over to the same seat she had last night and grabbed a doughy treat.


    Adrest took his seat directly by Belle¡¯s and sniffed his mug curiously.


    ¡°Cider?¡± Adrest took a healthy swig and grunted in an effort to not cough at the unexpected harsh finish.


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    ¡°Mmph. Boozey cider. Belle isn''t drinking this is she?¡±


    Rose was satisfied seeing her little surprise had gotten Adrest, and giggled at the idea of a drunken Belle snoring on the bar. ¡°Hehe, no I warmed up Belle¡¯s separately. How is it? I got a bought some brandy produced in the beastkin area. I thought it¡¯d match the cider we make in town.¡±


    Adrest nodded along, ¡°It¡¯s really good, I¡¯m sure the girls will love it too.¡±


    It only took another five or so minutes before a now much happier Rin walked back in, followed by Alissa.


    ¡°Hello Adrest! Hello Belle!¡± Rin cheerily greeted, as she got over to the bar she pulled a bag out of a pocket and stopped at Belle.


    ¡°Belle! I saw these before I went out today, and thought they¡¯d suit you.¡± Rin handed the bag to Belle, who opened it with plain curiosity. She pulled out a red and white hat, it even had holes made with beast-kin in mind.


    Belle blinked as she took in the cute red pattern, she put it on before giving Rin a big childlike grin, ¡°Thank you Rin.¡±


    Rin rubbed the back of her head, messing up the dark mahogany hair that has just been put back into order.


    ¡°Hehe, don¡¯t worry about it Belle, and if you want you can call me Big sis, it¡¯s what all the kids at the orphanage did.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Big sis Rin!¡±


    Rin seemed to become distracted as Belle addressed her, staring into middle space for a few seconds before returning. Putting a hand on the rabbit-kin¡¯s head that now has a yarn spun hat over it, she patted with a toothy smile, ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±


    Adrest looked to Alissa, half expecting the dragon to become jealous now that her Big sis title was being encroached upon, but she was simply looking over the cute exchange with a palm supporting her head and a little grin.


    Rin took the remaining seat near Alissa and the group talked about nothing for the next hour, slowly enjoying the dinner of steaks and mixed vegetables that was served tonight. Rose made sure each one was cooked exactly how they wanted it, with Alissa¡¯s being the trickiest, as she liked it so rare Rose was almost positive it was still cold in the middle.


    ¡°If it isn''t for anything important, don¡¯t go outside the village for the next few days, its been getting more and more dangerous lately.¡± Rin warned Alissa and Adrest.


    Pretending to be confused Adrest asked, ¡°Why? Is it because of the wyvern sighting you mentioned earlier? They¡¯re strong if they get to B rank but they aren¡¯t enough to intimidate us.¡±


    Shaking her head Rin said, ¡°No, it¡¯s not just that. The last few days, more and more monsters keep appearing, from Rank C Crawlers, Dark Rodents, Racids, and a whole onslaught of other ones. Even multiple B ranks are showing up now, Including the mystery wyvern I¡¯m looking for, that¡¯s 3 B ranks in the last week. If we were a few thousand miles deeper in the forest I could understand it, but they have no reason to gather so close to the border. Something doesn¡¯t feel right, just promise me you¡¯ll stay inside. Or if there¡¯s something you really need, I can travel with you. At least then I can keep everyone safe.¡±


    Seeing the genuine concern for their safety in Rin¡¯s eyes, Adrest could understand why Alissa took such an instant liking to the girl. Rin already considered the three good friends and she truly cared for their safety, going as far to offer to guard them if needed. As far as Rin knew, Adrest and Alissa were around C rank and Belle was in D, just a slightly above average group but nothing that a passer by would look twice at, and she was bending over backwards to keep them safe. Adrest also admired the hero''s instincts, with nearly nothing to go on, she still felt something was very wrong with the area.


    ¡°Well we..¡±


    Adrest was going to refuse the offer, since they technically didn¡¯t need to leave the town as they¡¯d killed the drake for Rin already, and the point of the trip was to flaunt Belle until someone took action. But was interrupted by Alissa who kicked him under the table at an angle Rin couldn¡¯t see.


    ¡°We¡¯re looking for some herbs and materials to make a bit of money now that a lot of the traveling adventurers already left for the season. It¡¯s the best time of year to find what they missed. Are you sure it¡¯d be okay to stay with us outside though? Don¡¯t you have to lookout for monsters?¡±


    Adrest didn¡¯t know what Alissa was planning but like most things, he could only follow Alissa¡¯s whims. As he was trying to figure out where this was going, Rin cutely put a finger on her lips.


    ¡°It can be our little secret, I¡¯m sure the guild master would chew me out of he found out. But it¡¯s not like I won¡¯t be doing my job, I can still keep an eye out for monsters as we walk. It¡¯ll be fine. Besides, you said you¡¯re mostly staying by the mountains, right? That¡¯s where I was planning on spending most of my time anyway.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll take you up on the offer, thank you so much, Rin.¡± As finished giving thanks, Alissa leaned over to Belle past Adrest.


    ¡°Hear that Belle? You¡¯ll get to see a real life hero in action tomorrow make sure you pay attention. It''ll be a once in a lifetime learning experience.¡±


    ¡°Yes Big Sis Ali.¡± Belle didn¡¯t know why Alissa said that, as far as she was concerned there could be one hundred Rins and they still wouldn¡¯t be able to fight her Big sis Ali. The image of her forcing the drake to a stand still from her presence alone was still fresh in Belle¡¯s mind after all.


    Now much more excited to patrol than she¡¯d been this morning Rin lit up at the idea of showing off in front of the cute little sister. ¡°Just ask me anything tomorrow while we¡¯re walking. I¡¯m not good at much of anything, but all the teachers say I¡¯m a prodigy with dual swords and body enhancing magic.¡±


    Belle was curious learning the girl¡¯s fighting style was so similar to her own and gave a warm, ¡°I can¡¯t wait Big sis Rin.¡±

 34. Busy Night

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to help! It will be like I''m back at school helping with the new students.¡± Rin seemed genuinely excited to get the chance to help Belle and the mention of school sparked a question from Adrest.


    ¡°You mentioned it a few times now, but what is the school you go to exactly? I¡¯ve never been anywhere near the capital so all I hear are the exaggerated rumors.¡±


    Rin thought for a second before answering, ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s a giant fortress on the edge of the city. And the area owned by the school is absolutely massive, maybe 4 or 5 or these towns put together? There are only a handful of ten to twenty or so people brought in each year so it feels really empty most of the time. Mostly everyone that works there are retired adventurers or knights so they¡¯re really strict about rules and punishment. In the mornings they cram your head full of any and every bit of knowledge they can. Then, until well past sundown we¡¯re divided up and drilled based on our specialties. For example, I¡¯m really good at close and personal fighting, but not very good at long range spells so most of my time is spent doing drills and sparring against instructors while others might practice hitting targets with magic in various situations.¡±


    Rin paused to take a sip of her cider, ¡°There are also days where they bring in monsters from who knows where and all the students have to take turns fighting. Those are the best, you get to show off in front of everyone. Overall, it¡¯s strict but only because the teachers don¡¯t want to lose any more students.¡±


    Adrest wasn¡¯t expecting such a somber ending, but it made sense. Heroes were the ones sent to do impossible tasks, a last resort, it was natural not all of them made it back.


    Adrest and Rose were lost on what to say to that, especially since they could see the sorrow in Rin¡¯s always sunny eyes. Belle was awkwardly inspecting the wood grain on her mug, so it came to Alissa to break the mood. She clapped Rin on the shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.


    ¡°Sounds hard but rewarding. This round goes to the ones who didn¡¯t make it back.¡±


    Rin tried to stealthily wipe away a tear that had formed in the corner on her eye as she put her trademark goofy smile back on, ¡°Thanks Alissa, cheers!¡±


    The group didn¡¯t stay up late, just sitting around for a few hours and getting to know each other better. Though Alissa had some trouble dodging questions about her family, and had to be careful about how she told some stories from her past, she was enjoying herself.


    Belle was once again the first to go to sleep, exhausted from the days excitement. Once she was gone, Rin¡¯s eyes filled with mischief, ¡°So, how long have you two been together?¡±


    With the still slightly socially inept dragon taking it literally, she remembered back to the day she¡¯d found Adrest in her forest.


    ¡°Around nine months I think? It gets hard to keep track of the days when you''re away from civilization.¡±


    She looked at Adrest for confirmation, who decided he¡¯d be better off explaining it now, than risk getting assaulted by a raging dragon later when she gets embarrassed.


    He gave her a deadpan look, as if explaining to a particularly slow student, ¡°She meant dating, idiot.¡±


    Alissa¡¯s eye brows shot up and her face turned even more rosy than it had been from the drinks. In a quiet voice she let out a simple ¡°Oh.¡±


    She shyly looked at Adrest¡¯s eyes, looking for help as she wasn¡¯t sure how to answer. It was Adrest that took over and leaned forward to make eye contact with Rin.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t really dating, it¡¯s hard to explain I guess? But Alissa was right that we met each other around nine months ago.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Adrest was surprised to hear two voices echo their disbelief, but realized they had never explicitly told Rose they weren¡¯t a couple, and he could certainly see how she¡¯d come to the conclusion.


    ¡°Yes, really. We happened to meet each other while traveling and after moving together for a week or so, we realized we got along really well and just kind of stayed together since.¡±


    ¡°Then whose sister is Belle¡¯s? She seems so close to both of you, if you¡¯d said all three of you grew up together I¡¯d believe it.¡±


    Seeing her chance to get back in the conversation, Alissa decided to take over the explanation for this.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only had Belle with us for a few months, but I already can¡¯t imagine my life without my cute little sister.¡±


    Alissa gave a slightly altered version of how they¡¯d bought Belle at the auction and gave her back her freedom. They couldn¡¯t just say Belle was blessed or Alissa could casually break slave contracts as they were still under the cover of being simple traveling adventurers so they explained it as traveling to a large city to pay to have the contract broken.


    ¡°Rin was outright bawling at the little girls story and threw herself at Alissa, ¡°Ughh¡­ You¡¯re such a good person.¡±


    With Rin an emotional mess, they decided to pack it in for the night and go to sleep. Everyone wanted to be well rested for their trip tomorrow.


    As the party enjoyed each other¡¯s company and stayed warm by the fire, a single man was running through the frigid night without pause on the back of a black horse. He had icicles forming on his red exposed nose, and the left a trail of steam behind lingering in the air, showing how hard he was working to keep his body warm.


    As the man was just thinking about giving the horse a break before it collapsed, a giant wall came into view from a bend in the trail. It was at least four stories high, and impossibly grand as it quickly swelled the man¡¯s entire view.


    As the approached the end of the trail, it led him to an iron gate and 2 guards inside a tent with an opened flap. ¡°Halt! It¡¯s an hour past curfew, please return and camp for the night, the gate will be opened tomorrow.¡±


    Knowing this would happen, and ever so thankful for the letter in his saddlebag, he pulled out the off-white envelope and large red seal, and slowly approached the guards with his hands raised non-threateningly, bringing it to their attention and to show he wasn¡¯t a threat.


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    ¡°Please sirs, I¡¯ve been tasked with delivering urgent news to Sir Zurk, I was told to personally put it in his hands as soon as possible.¡±


    One roughly grabbed the envelope to closely examine the seal. Turning it in his hand a few times before handing it to the other one.


    ¡°Looks real to me, should we let him in?¡±


    As the older of the two finishing examining it, he shrugged, ¡°Looks real enough to me, I say we let him in and let him be the patrol''s problem.¡±


    Getting confirmation, the younger of the 2 guards muttered under his breath that he¡¯d just gotten warm as he went back into the snow and wind towards a thick iron chain on the side of the metal gate.


    With a grunt of effort, the chain made a groan and lazily moved down as the man used all his strength and even some mana. 30 seconds of the man pulling with everything he had and the gate was partially opened enough for the messenger to duck under.


    As he passed inside he said, ¡°Thank you sirs, Randier is sure to appreciate it.¡±


    The now cold guard massaged his hands to work out the pain and stiffness, ¡°Yeah, yeah, get going and don¡¯t cause any trouble.¡±


    As the messenger walked the midnight streets, he was happy to feel like he was in civilization again. The streets were flat and wide, and if you looked under the snow you¡¯d be able to see light grey bricks, neat and orderly.


    The buildings that surrounded him were made of wood and stone. The manmade monsters towered over the street, all multiple stories tall. The difference between the outpost town and here couldn¡¯t be put into words. Here, all the materials that made it out of the forest were funneled here before getting sold and shipped to the various clans and groups across the nation. That plus the constant flow of young nobles and adventurers that came in to explore the great forest resulted in an explosion of profit for the town that had been once been basically just a fortress to defend against beast tides from the forest.


    Beast tides were horrible things that effected virtually every kingdom and country, the world was just too big and the humans and intelligent races not plentiful enough. Even now, scholars theorized that they were out numbered 1000-1 to beasts, and that was very conservative. While F and D rank beasts made up a large share of the 1000, their claws and teeth still had no problem going through the average human a rank higher.


    When large unpopulated areas such as the endless forest neighbored a country every 20-50 years, tens of thousands or more, of low level monsters are chased out of their territory by the strongest monsters and bombard their surroundings.


    It was a battle of survival for both sides, the monsters trying to escape the forest lords deep in the unexplored lands behind, and the people ahead trying to force them back so they can continue to live in peace. Beast tides were natural disasters, and over the millenia it has become a part of people¡¯s lives and they¡¯ve adjusted to it, every developed county prepares and builds against tides well in advance.


    This city fortress was a great example of this, they could defend against as many monsters as the forest could spit out while keeping their own men safe. The walls weren''t just decoration being many feet thick and there were a myriad of traps and hidden paths behind the wall, waiting for soldiers to use during wartime.


    As the man admired the militarized city, forgetting the bitter cold for a moment, he found himself outside an extravagant mansion. The white marble structure seemed to go out of its way to show the wealth contained. The huge double doors with their dark wood grain stood out in stark contrast to the structure. Seeming to guide the eye to the entrance were enormous columns that would take several men to encompass one with their arms out.


    As the man cautiously ascended the steps, he noticed on close inspection, each column was decorated with elaborate designs and patterns. Some were precise line work that spread around the stone in sharp angles and straight grooves. Others were works of art, with images painstakingly dug out in perfect detail. It was too dark for the man to see perfectly, but he could still pick out some such as the Randier crest, dragons, Phoenixes, kelpies, swords, and armored men that had a heroic aura even though it was just a relief.


    The man didn¡¯t have long to admire the display of wealth though, as soon as he climbed the last step an old man seemed to appear from the shadows themselves scaring the semi experienced adventurer greatly.


    The elderly man ignored the started yelp he let out, simply saying, ¡°May I know the purpose for your visit, sir?¡±


    ¡°uh.. Oh yes! I was given a letter by the branch leader in the outpost town, all he told me was that it was urgent and I must deliver it to Mr. Zurk personally.


    The old man raised a grey eyebrow hearing the reason, but nodded and waved a hand. The doors silently swung open to reveal an entryway.


    ¡°Follow me Sir, I will tell my Lord.¡±


    The little messenger audibly as he stay a few steps behind the old man. Going inside, it only took a few turns to enter a large sitting room with a roaring fireplace. The servant led the man to a red beast leather chair, ¡°Please sit, I will return shortly.¡±


    Doing as instructed, the messenger sank into the chair and was finally able to take in the room now that the old man had left.


    Lining the walls were many bookcases fulled with thick leather texts and scrolls neatly arranged. The floors were a deep brown wood that shone like a mirror. Inside that mirror the man saw what was giving this room such bright light, high above was a large mana light chandelier. The clear crystals adorning it gave off a gentle white light.


    He suddenly found it hard to even breathe, he was surrounded by more wealth than he had ever seen in his entire life. His entire net worth could probably only buy three or four of the hundreds of crystals that made up the light hanging from above.


    As the seconds dragged by for the man, growing ever more nervous so far out of his depth, he could only listen to his fast beating heart and the roar of the fire. It felt like an eternity before he could finally hear the hear steps on wood coming from the hall the old man had left.


    The door silently swung open and was held by the servant. Who walked in was a handsome middle-aged man. His blonde hair and blue eyes gave a youthful charm to his features. He would be a popular figure if his eyes weren¡¯t so cold. The deep blue irises held a cold and calculating malice that couldn¡¯t be contained.


    Shivering and scared for his life, the messenger jumped to his feet in a formal bow.


    ¡°Mr. Zurk. It¡¯s an honor to meet you.¡±


    Mr. Zurk coldly snorted and waved his hands, ¡°Where¡¯s the letter?¡±


    With trembling hands he held out the thick envelope that he¡¯d been guarding for days through the treacherous mountains. When he¡¯d been traveling through the mountains the adventurer thought he¡¯d rather be anywhere but out in the cold. Suddenly though, he wished so badly to be back up in the mountain, anywhere but here.


    Giving the scared man a contemptuous glance, he grabbed the offered letter and took a small knife out from a hidden pocket in his suit. He neatly sliced and retrieved the paper inside.


    As his eyes quickly scanned the neat writing, his irritated aura receded and his thinned lips turned upwards a tick.


    ¡°Haha, very good news indeed.¡± Mr. Zurk walked over to a nearby desk and quickly arranged paper and ink. He efficiently wrote out a reply and put a small metal container on his palms. The air around his fist shimmered for a heartbeat and he tilted it to the side. As he did, wax flowed out, forming a small perfect circle on the center of the new envelope.


    Mr. Zurk stamped it with his personal seal and returned to the messenger.


    ¡°Take this and return to the village outpost immediately.


    ¡°Sir? I cant leave the city until dawn, and my supplies are emptied. Plus my horse is exhausted from the journey here, it would die under me before I could get back to the base of the mountain.¡±


    The man didn¡¯t want to talk back to his employer¡¯s employer, but he really had no way to get back to the outpost right now.


    Giving the man an annoyed huff, ¡°Fine, follow Quin. He will arrange everything.¡±


    Like that Mr. Zurk walked off, done with the conversation. The adventurer gave Quin the servant a glance.


    Quin nodded, ¡°Come along, we have a horse stocked with a weeks of rations and cold weather gear waiting. Go to the gate and give whichever guard is on duty this letter.¡±


    he handed the man a second smaller envelope before he started walking.


    Like that the Adventurer sped back off into the freedom of the forests that he now found less intimidating, heading towards the branch manager with new instructions.


    Meanwhile, Mr. Zurk had donned a heavy black cloak and walked off through the night to quiet shop tucked in a back corner alley of the merchants quarter.

 35. Morning Adventure Prep

    As he entered a small shop at the back end of an alley, near invisible in the night painted black with the darkest purple accents as it was. Swinging open the silent door, the smell of incense hit Mr. Zurk in the face and his notoriously bad temper flared. Sadly, he had to tamp it out as he knew that even the Head of the entire merchant group couldn¡¯t act out here. He neared the counter where an old man was sitting and smoking a pipe. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    Mr Zurk ignored the tone speaking, ¡°I¡¯d like a private consultation.¡±


    The old man sat up and gestured with his pipe to the hall next to him. ¡°Second door on the right.¡±


    He did as instructed and opened a sliding door to a small room with only a table and two chairs. Taking a seat, he only had to wait a scant few minutes before a black cloaked figure came in. The swooping irregular shape hid all detail of their body, even their gender. The hood seemed to contain endless darkness as not even the slightest detail of the face beneath could be seen, not even by someone as strong as Mr. Zurk.


    A male voice sounded from the black shape standing in front of the table, ¡°Mr. Theon Zurk, it¡¯s a pleasure to do business. May I know what brings you in today.¡±


    ¡°I need a slave brought back.¡±


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s all? Why come to us and our steep fees?¡±


    ¡°I need discretion, and the last group of idiots I sent were a full C rank party and they went missing months ago.¡±


    A chuckle escaped from under the cloak, ¡°That¡¯s what happens when you cut corners.¡±


    Theon¡¯s eyebrow twitched in anger but pushed it back down, regaining his composure.


    ¡°Yes, I hope I''m making the correct choice this time. Here¡¯s all the information I have on the owners of the target.¡±


    Looking through the files, the cloaked figure betrayed nothing until he spoke up, ¡°Down payment of 50,000 gold, then another 40,000 on live delivery.¡±


    Angered by the sky high price, but expecting it he agreed, ¡°Deal. Go to the Randier branch in the outpost for current information on them, I¡¯ve been told that they¡¯re staying there right now and enter regularly.¡±


    The next morning, Adrest woke early as usually and left to drink some tea and let the girls sleep in a little longer. It was just barely dawn with the little light coming in through the windows being a muted purple grey. It was no problem for Adrest and his demonic eyes to navigate as his kind were naturally attuned to darkness and the dead of night.


    Silently he made his way downstairs and spotted a sleeping Rose. Her freckled face being supported by an arm propped up on the bar. As she evenly took slow breaths Adrest took a second to admire her beauty. With her thin eyebrows, sculpted face, and full lips, Rose could pass as a hometown beauty on Earth. Adrest had to admit, in terms of looks the only ones that could beat out Rose were Alissa and Rin. Which wasn¡¯t really a fair comparison considering one was an actual dragon and the other was a hero blessed by a God.


    Seeing her like this, mischief wormed its way into Adrest¡¯s heart and he couldn¡¯t stop himself. Balancing on the balls of his feet Adrest carefully walked over to the sleeping redhead.


    Adrest¡¯s heart skipped faster as he stood across the innocent and defenseless young woman. He really didn¡¯t know what a woman like her was doing out in the middle of nowhere, Adrest was confident Rose would succeed anywhere she went, even in the capital.


    He couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and before Adrest could stop himself his hand was moving of its own accord. In Adrest¡¯s eyes all he could do was watch it sailed through the air towards it¡¯s destination.


    Boop. He poked the fair freckle covered cheek. Roses eyes shot open and her blue irises met Adrest¡¯s orange. He saw that for a moment they were filled with fear and confusion, but as she took in who it was and her surroundings they calmed and simply seemed to be asking, ¡°Why?¡±


    Adrest was embarrassed by his own immaturity and brought back the finger that was still poking into the surprisingly soft cheek. He tried to brush it off.


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    ¡°Morning. didn¡¯t sleep well last night?¡±


    Rose was so embarrassed she wished she could crawl under the bar and hide, but had to fight through the fire that was her blushing face, now entirely red as a tomato and stretching down her exposed neckline.


    ¡°M-morning Adrest. It¡¯s just because the days are so slow, s-sometimes I get a little sleepy.¡±


    Adrest couldn¡¯t help but think how cute Rose was when she was embarrassed, normally she was calm and cool behind the bar, but this was a brand new side of her for Adrest.


    Trying to get past his little prank Adrest cleared his throat, ¡°Well, could I have some tea, and in a little while some breakfast for everyone. I¡¯ll wake them up when Rin comes downstairs.¡±


    Still blushing furiously, Rose nodded her head repeatedly like a chicken and ran off to the bar. Adrest sighed hoping he hadn¡¯t messed up their friendship. If she complained to Alissa, Belle might end up with only one sibling.


    With nothing else to do, Adrest sat on the stool overthinking while he waited for Rose to come back. Eventually, far longer that it should have taken to boil water for tea, Rose returned, with her hair cutely and neatly braided bouncing as she walked. There was no trace of a blush on her face, but Adrest did notice a little pout.


    ¡°Alissa always says you¡¯re a troublemaker, but I never believed her. Turns out you like to prank sleeping girls. Hmph.¡±


    Adrest felt his cheeks burn, when she put like that, it really sounded bad, huh?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Rose, I couldn¡¯t stop myself when I saw you snoring on the job.¡±


    Adrest let the small pale fist land against his shoulder, ¡°I don¡¯t snore! Just you wait Adrest, I¡¯ll return the favor. Now drink your tea.¡±


    Happy that Rose didn¡¯t get offended and went along with his joking. Relieved, he sank back into the stool and sipped on the floral and lightly bitter tea. He didn¡¯t even need to add honey as Rose added exactly how much he liked.


    They sat in a comfortable silence for only another ten or so minutes before a still very much sleepy Rin trotted downstairs. With her short hair frazzled and locks out of place she stumbled to the bar and took the seat nearest Adrest.


    ¡°Ya-awn. Good morning Adrest, good morning Rose.¡±


    Rin took a sip from the tea Rose had prepared as soon as she saw the hero make her way downstairs. Rin only took a sip before scrunching her nose at it and mumbling under her breath, ¡°Bitter~¡±


    She grabbed a dish of honey and loaded four large spoons into the black liquid before she was satisfied.


    ¡°Ah, Much better.¡±


    Adrest looked on, still having a hard time putting this innocent sweet toothed teenager together with the word hero.


    ¡°Morning Rin. Still want to go out with us today?¡± Adrest asked as he didn¡¯t want to hold Rin to what she¡¯d said in the spur of the moment while drinking if she wasn¡¯t willing.


    Contrary to his expectations, Rin seemed to find her usual energy and her eyes lit up. ¡°I can¡¯t wait! It¡¯ll be so much more fun searching for monsters if I''m traveling with you guys. I just have one rule, if we run into a B rank or higher, you all have to do as I say and run. I''ll be fine alone, but I won¡¯t be if I¡¯m worrying about you.¡±


    Adrest could agree with that point; as far as Rin was aware they were just a few traveling adventurers with the 2 strongest both at C rank.


    Rose grew a little nervous hearing the serious talk, but she didn¡¯t want to overstep, besides Rose knew Alissa was a smart girl, if she agreed to go they¡¯ll be fine.


    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable, we¡¯ll do as told if the situation arises Rin, please take good care of us today.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a deal! I¡¯m really skilled at finding the good stuff so just follow me and we¡¯ll make a fortune.¡±


    Rin let out a goofy laugh and her eyes were filled with the images of gold Trevil, Adrest didn¡¯t think a hero would need to worry about money but apparently he was mistaken.


    ¡°Just give me a minute to wake up Belle and drag Alissa from bed. Then we can eat together and head out.¡± Now that the sun was fully risen and glaring more brightly in the sky than the cold weather would suggest, he¡¯d actually be able to get Alissa up and ready.


    Rose went to the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone while Adrest walked back up the stairs and to his room. In it, the girls were exactly as he¡¯d left them. Belle buried under the thick blankets, curled up and leaving on her snow white ears exposed. Meanwhile, a sloppy dragon had taken over where Adrest had been sleeping and tossed around so much the blanket only half covered her leaving her honey tanned skin exposed. As Alissa was wearing a light and thin black tanktop with matching pair of shorts, more of her was exposed than Adrest was used to.


    However, Adrest had built up some level of resistance to the flawless beauty, the drool slowly escaping her mouth also helped. Adrest poked and prodded the violet beauty until she reluctantly cooperated.


    Belle was much easier as he just had to gently talk into the exposed ears before the mound of blankets shifted and a sleepy eyed pale rabbit popped out.


    Before leaving so the girls could change, Adrest stage whispered to Belle, ¡°Don¡¯t let Ali fall asleep again or we¡¯ll have to leave her behind.¡±


    Adrest had to duck out the door to dodge the heavy pillow sent his way and returned to the less violent crowd on the first floor. Rin was devouring a tall stack on pancakes drenched in a red syrup and Rose was making trips to set up Adrest¡¯s and the others breakfast.


    Adrest just sipped on his tea waiting for the other two to make it down. Just as Rose finished placing everything on the bar top the missing members marched down the stairs and joined the sitting pair.


    Now that everyone was awake, it only took a further ten or so minutes to eat and make sure everyone was ready before they were ready to head outside the town.


    They said their goodbyes to Rose and left through the gate nearest the mountains with Rin in the lead skipping with a big smile on her face.

 36. Rin Showing Off

    ¡°So, anything in particular we¡¯re looking for, or direction to go?¡± Rin asked her group with a carefree tone as she skipped along ahead.


    Alissa was the one to answer, ¡°Hmm, we¡¯re pretty much just trying our luck so we¡¯d be happy to hear any suggestions.¡±


    ¡°How about that way then? I have a good feeling.¡± Rin pointed towards a patch of forest that looked the same as any other, seemingly without thought or purpose.


    Adrest was skeptical, but Alissa just shrugged, ¡°It''s as good a place to start as any.¡±


    With that decided, the party marched through the snow towards the unknown. Only a few minutes into their walk off path they ran into a D rank Rending Ant. It was about the size of a housecat, maybe a little smaller. And as the name implies, the creature''s main weapons were a set of razor sharp mandibles constantly snapping and clamping the air as its grotesque head moved.


    One D rank was no problem, but like normal ants, they lived in giant hives and had queens constantly laying eggs. A normal hive would contain at most a few hundred ants which though annoying still wouldn''t be anything to fret over. However, queen rending ants had the potential to reach B rank They were categorically different from the rank and file and would be a tedious fight even ignoring the hundreds of drones.


    Thankfully, the ant was alone which meant one of two things. Either the ant was exiled from its original hive, or it was a scout. Both were manageable, but one meant far fewer problems later. Stopping a few dozen feet away and crouching to stay hidden, Rin whispered to Belle.


    ¡°How about we start by you showing me how you usually fight, think you can handle it?¡±


    Belle casually nodded, having already fought these several times. She stood up from the hiding spot and walked quickly towards the ant. As she charged over two swords, fitted specifically for her, came out of their sheathes.


    The Rending Ant saw the bundled up Belle approaching and a hissing growl escaped the creature¡¯s mouth. Its six legs scurried and stabbed through the leaves and dirt charging towards Belle. As it closed in to only a dozen or so feet away, its limbs tensed and released as it propelled itself through the air.


    The large knife-like mandibles closed in on Belle¡¯s face, but she wasn¡¯t the slightest bit flustered and raised her swords in an ¡°X¡± towards the incoming hazard.


    ¡°Clang¡± ¡°Clang¡±


    The sound of metal on metal rang out in the collision, Belle taking a half step back to steady herself through the impact. She only stilled for a second though, as she tightened the grip on her twin blades and pushed forward.


    The ant was on the receiving of a bite for the first time as it was unable to escape the blades forcing open its trusty weapon and was thrown onto it¡¯s back and pinned there. Rin was about to cheer for the girl and help her kill it before Belle got herself stabbed or cut finishing it, but before she could act she saw Belle take a step back while maintaining her blade''s position.


    Belle took a breath of preparation and threw her foot back before flinging forward right into the ant''s head, sitting between her blades. With a series of deep cracking noises that even the three in the back could hear, there was only a fraction of a second''s worth of resistance before the entire thing came clean off and went crashing through the trees.


    Belle cleaned and sheathed her swords, smiling back at Adrest and Alissa who were clapping at her performance and the half standing Rin who was shocked by the brutality displayed by the little white rabbit.


    Sure, Rin knew this was the best way to take care of monsters like that, but how many teenage girls can actually do it, whether its raw strength or the mental fortitude, even a lot of D rank Adventurers couldn¡¯t do it. Yet, here was a 14 year old little girl that kicked a monster''s head off then bowed to her guardians like she¡¯d put on a show.


    Belle walked back over to the group saying, ¡°How was that? I did it just like you taught me Big sis Ali.¡±


    Rin finally recovered and stood up straight trying hide her shock. Inside though she was even more surprised to hear Alissa had bee the one to teach her that. Her impression was a kind older sister, Alissa knew she was somewhat capable since she had a C rank at the guild, but Rin didn¡¯t think she would be up close and personal when fighting.


    Alissa patted the rabbit¡¯s head, ¡°Very well done, however you lose a few points for getting blood on your boot.¡±


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    Adrest couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at the harsh critic, and Belle pouted to her teacher who relented under the pressure of it in just a few seconds.


    ¡°Fine, sometime I¡¯ll show you the trick to it.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Bis sis!¡±


    Rin was a little disturbed hearing the morbid conversation, but was also feeling particularly useless at this moment and desperately wanted to show off to the trio. As Rin stayed silent and was lost in her own thoughts, Adrest asked, ¡°Is everything okay Rin?¡±


    Rin¡¯s instincts told her to head to her left and she¡¯d have her chance, so she replied, ¡°Everything¡¯s great! Good job Belle, that was really smooth. Lets try over here next.¡±


    Rin charged off in the direction her instincts were telling her. Adrest and company were wondering why she was in such a hurry but followed along. They walked for another hour or so with nothing happening, not seeing a single other monster. Until they reached a small clearing and they were stopped by Rin in the lead, who shushed them.


    As they got to where she saw standing, they could see what Rin had found. It was a a lumbering grey giant. The thing appeared humanoid in shape, but was about 4 times larger, and it appeared to be carved from stone.


    Rin was excited in her heart, a Stone Crusher is a perfect chance to show off. It might C rank, but it¡¯s toughness was on another level, unfortunately for it, Rin could be considered it¡¯s natural enemy though.


    Rin turned around and said, ¡°I¡¯ll handle this big guy, pay attention to how I move Belle. Normal swordsmen couldn¡¯t even leave a mark on his skin, but my swords specialize in cutting.¡±


    All three of the group were curious hearing this, wondering how the small girl was planning to cut through the tough hide. They didn¡¯t have to wait long as Rin pulled out her two swords that were twice the length of Belle¡¯s and she stepped so hard the ground under her feet deformed as she shot off towards the lumbering giant. It didn¡¯t even notice her until Rin was a few feet away and she sliced into the monster¡¯s shoulder, driving deep into the flesh.


    The way Rin moved and handled her weapon was expert, Belle was having a hard time figuring it out, but Alissa could clearly see Rin was moving the air around the blade itself, removing all resistance. She also enhanced her body to an unnatural level leading to a startlingly powerful blade.


    The giant roared in pain and swung an arm towards the annoying bug. Rin pulled out her blade and ducked below the incoming fist. Taking advantage of it¡¯s slow nature, Rin closed into the guard of the stone man and stabbed both of her blades up through it¡¯s chest with no resistance, completely sheathing the twin swords in the body of the monster.


    It could only give a short final roar of pain before slumping forward and crashing into Rin. She let out a startled ¡°Ah!¡± and quickly pushed the huge corpse, where it crashed loudly to her side rumbling the nearby ground.


    Rin felt she¡¯d sufficiently showed off and ran back to the group, ¡°Did you see Belle? Was I cool?¡±


    Belle¡¯s eye¡¯s were lit up seeing what Alissa meant now, Rin really was the ideal future of her fighting style, the pinnacle to aim for.


    ¡°It was super cool! Can you teach me how to move like that when you have time Big sis Rin?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, I¡¯d be happy to. We¡¯ll walk around some more and I¡¯ll explain the tricks.¡±


    Adrest and Alissa were silent and followed along as the two in the front talked. They spent the rest of the morning and some of the afternoon wandering and Belle learning from Rin. Adrest was a little bored with nothing to do, but he was happy to sit back and watch Belle make a new friend.


    It was well past noon when it happened. They were walking along the mountain side and out of nowhere, Alissa tugged on Adrest¡¯s coat and motioned with her eyes that something was about to happen.


    Just a dozen or so seconds later, Rin¡¯s eyes grew wide and she stared at a section of mountain that a crack running through it. Rin stopped and stared at it, her jovial attitude disappearing. As the others stopped alongside Rin, Belle asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong Big sis Rin? Is there something hiding over there?¡±


    Rin slowly looked away from the large crack and put her hand on Belle¡¯s head, ¡°Remember how you promised to listen to me if we run into trouble? Well Belle, I need you to stay here for a bit.¡±


    Moving her attention from the rabbit who still wasn¡¯t quite sure what was going on, Rin focuses on Adrest and Alissa who looked calm as ever.


    ¡°You two can handle a few D and C ranks for a while, right? If you taught Belle how to fight like that, you should be fine holding your own.¡±


    Adrest didn¡¯t have to fake his confusion as he had no idea the details of what was actually inside the large crevice. ¡°What do you mean Rin? What''s hiding over there?¡±


    She nodded looking annoyed, ¡°It''s hard to make out details from here but I see a huge spider web deep inside and some movements dashing around. I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯re dealing with a Mantula, and to make that big of a web, it has to be an established colony.¡±


    Adrest matched Rin¡¯s annoyed expression. Mantulas were black and white spider-like monsters. Their bodies grew as large as a warhorse and their legs were each razor sharp and devilishly barbed to inflict the most possible pain, fully grown the colony leader will be around B rank and start to develop intelligence unlike it¡¯s smaller drones which Rin had most likely seen moving.


    The only saving grace was that Mantulas were not venomous, but still they were nauseating to look at, a pain to fight, and there could be dozens of the little bastards. For a moment Adrest considered pleading with Alissa to forget about their cover and blow the entire thing up, consequences be damned, but common sense won in the end.


    ¡°A few won¡¯t be a problem, but you¡¯ll still have one hell of a time finding the big one even with us to distract the drones.¡± Adrest reminded her, even if they weren¡¯t acting Adrest was still only C rank himself, there¡¯s a limit to what he could do.


    Rin was happy that her friends agreed so easily and brushed off the concern, ¡°Just take what you can handle and I¡¯ll do the rest. Just keeping a few more of those little bastards will help, its not like they could stop me but those damned barbs hurt too much!¡±

 37. Into the Cave

    Rin continued pouting, ¡°Those old men made me clear out a nest a few years ago. No one warned me how fast they are on their webs. I¡¯ve still got scars all over from that.¡±


    She shuddered a little, but calmed and her eyes carried an intense desire for revenge. ¡°We can start whenever you two are ready, if something happens and you need to, don¡¯t be afraid to run. I¡®ll be fine no matter what.¡±


    Adrest looked to Alissa as she¡¯d been silent the whole conversation, what he saw was a passive face with her trademark grin and eyes filled with excitement. He sighed, her love in life truly was chaos.


    ¡°Well, no time like the present. We¡¯ll follow you. You can watch from a distance Belle, you haven¡¯t fought these guys before and there¡¯s some things you can learn to watch out for.¡± Adrest pulled out his trusty ceremonial sword and nodded to Rin. Alissa pulled out two large knives with heavy knuckle guards excitedly.


    After leaving Belle at the treeline the team approached the inky black opening. Already from a distance Adrest could hear sharp clacking on stone and quiet scurrying. As Adrest¡¯s eye were naturally attuned for the dark, it did not take long for him to make out thick, white-grey webs like pulled cotton taking up much of the interior. He could also see the basketball sized spiders deftly maneuvering every which way, just the ones Adrest could see numbered over a dozen.


    Strangely, even though the trio were just a few dozen feet from the entrance, the spiders didn¡¯t seem to react, as if they were ignoring the approaching meals. This wasn¡¯t normal, Mantulas and insect type monsters were notoriously simple-minded. They should have attacked as soon as the three were noticed.


    Rin seemed to think the same as the twin swords in her hand were poised in anticipation but seeing them continue dashing around the cave, she shot questioning glances at Adrest and Alissa, as if one of them had any idea what was happening. Seeing the two shake their heads, she did a very Rin thing and decided to stop thinking so hard.


    Rin threw herself into the den, blades twirling as they sliced open a path through the spiders and web, Rin not slowing even a fraction or she''d be surrounded.


    As soon as Rin entered it was as if a switch had been flipped, so many of the Mantulas hissed at the intruder the mountain vibrated with pebbles rolling down the incline. Adrest and Alissa weren¡¯t fazed however, and walked just past the cave mouth to serve as distractions. It seemed they were great bait as no sooner than their feet landed on the stone floor did nearly two dozen of them come running at the new invaders. Thick spears of chitin came at Adrest¡¯s legs and stomach while some used the web remains to rush open mouthed at Adrest¡¯s throat. He thought that even their teeth are fucking mean-spirited, they weren¡¯t designed for efficient kills or to defend themselves better. No, they just had to be serrated with sharp ¡°j¡± like spikes running up the side and the same texture to them as sandpaper.


    If they dug in, there¡¯s no way to nicely get it out, flesh would be caught and ripped out along with it. These things seemed more like sadists than predators in Adrest¡¯s mind, but looking at it another way he could see it falling under self defence as no same predator would bother messing with the vindictive little things.


    With too many teeth and spears coming towards him, Adrest had no choice but to drop that train of thought. He ducked, sidestepped, and parried a whirlwind of spiders. Thankfully for Adrest they were still weak enough that his sword could slice right through them with no resistance, leaving a slowly growing pile of gore at his feet.


    This wasn¡¯t his first time dealing with being besieged on all sides in tight spaces, Alissa¡¯s hell training made sure of that, so even with the little room to maneuver and growing hazards of his own making Adrest stayed in generally the same space at the cave entrance, doing his job of a distraction quite well.


    When he had a spare fraction of a second, he would occasionally glance towards Alissa, not out of concern, but curiosity. She held her Bowie knives in a reverse grip, slicing anything that got close to her into little piles. She swiped at legs and through fangs, and if the occasional one slipped through her defense, she would use the heavy knuckle guards as a weapon, blowing the head sized spiders into a painting on the webs and walls.


    Adrest couldn¡¯t believe the footwork at play, he knew the distance between them, but it always stung a bit when he directly compared himself to Alissa. Where he was dodging, ducking, and slicing his way around the spiders frantically, Alissa moved like she was dancing to music only she could hear. Her every step and twirl skating right through the mess of fangs and limbs by the narrowest of margins. Her actions flowed from one to another so smoothly Adrest had trouble predicting what she would do next.


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    Alissa seemed to be enjoying her time with the playmates, making sure to not do more than an extraordinary C rank could, catching Adrest looking her way, she gave a sweet smile that had no place in such a bloody scene, but somehow Adrest still found it enchanting.


    Shaking him from his distractions was a loud rumble from farther back in the cave, even with Adrest¡¯s eyesight, he couldn¡¯t see through all the webs and dust obscuring his vision.


    He said loudly to his teacher a few meters away, ¡°Will Rin be okay? Sounds like a big one.¡±


    Alissa let out a giggle at the concern, and instead of answering she just lightly shook her head saying, ¡°Wait and see for yourself.¡±


    They continued the impromptu dodging drill for almost a half an hour, marked intermittently with loud crashing, the ground shaking and shrill inhuman shrieks. Adrest had accumulated a few trophies from the fight, a bit of a leg stuck firmly in his calf, a new tooth protruding from his shoulder, and small hairs stuck in his arms, among others. Adrest really REALLY hated Mantulas now. He swore he would just burn the entire mountain next time.


    In contrast, Alissa was nearly spotless, still dancing around the enemies and killing them when she felt like it. The only difference between now and before the fight was Alissa now had blood and ichor all over her very light purple jacket and white pants, her smile never faded, even as she slaughtered and played with her prey.


    Finally, blissfully, there was a loud and sudden shriek that seemed to have been cut off partway through, and the last of the spiders scattered out of the cave and into the walls. Now that their leader was killed the more mindless drones acted on the instinct of survival.


    Adrest was taking heavy breaths and leaned on his blade to rest for a bit. While he wasn''t physically exhausted from the last 30 minutes, it was still mentally taxing to keep hyper-focused on so many dangers for so long, it would have only taken one mistake for the spiders to pile on Adrest.


    Alissa, with her breathing not even slightly disturbed, walked up to the tired Adrest and in Alissa fashion had to poke a six inch section of fang that was sticking out of his upper arm.


    The pain had Adrest hiss through gritted teeth and then glare at the dragon, ¡°And may I ask, what the hell that¡¯s for?¡±


    Alissa stopped playing with the tooth and shrugged, ¡°I just felt like it.¡±


    ¡°Well stop it, I don¡¯t want it dug in anymore than it al- AHH¡° That was as far as he got before being forced to let out a short and sharp yelp of pain.


    Looking over at the culprit, Alissa was holding a long fang that has half covered in blood and flesh. His shoulder was on fire and leaking blood, but Adrest knew that she¡¯d done it for his own good. It would¡¯ve been much more painful if he¡¯d waited until the arm swelled and became inflamed around it.


    Gritting his teeth as he adjusted to the new pain he said to the dragon still holding a significant amount of his body attached to a fang, ¡°We might as well do the other ones too, do it quickly Alissa?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing! Don¡¯t crack a tooth Ady.¡± Alissa never missed a chance to tease Adrest, but he still took the advice as he didn¡¯t want to deal with a broken tooth too, even if it would be temporary. He bit down on a scrap of leather, and in the blink of an eye he saw Alissa standing back in front of him with 7 new objects in hand, all leaking crimson blood down her arm though she seemed undisturbed.


    As soon as Adrest registered what he was seeing, the pain came in and he made a perfect indent of his teeth in the leather and choked back a scream. It was an excruciating 30 or so seconds before Alissa came over and handed him a blue bottle, ¡°Drink.¡±


    Doing as told, the blue beverage tasted bitter like grass but he forced it down. Afterward a surging wave of relief flooded his beaten body. The wounds scabbed over and started to heal and Adrest was steady on his feet once again.


    He had only just stood up before he heard a loud rumbling coming towards them from deeper in the cave. It was like something huge was rushing this way, and it was confirmed when he could just barely make out a large shadow approaching rapidly.


    Adrenaline surged and he was ready for a fight, but seeing Alissa so calm he settled down as well.


    As usual Alissa was right. When the looming shape closed in Adrest saw the small figure of a girl underneath, propping the entire thing up. The two figures got closer and Adrest could now clearly see the details.


    The Mantula was enormous, each leg was as thick around as Adrest and the main body was hulking. All over the figure were shockingly deep cuts, each one leaving a sharp edge on the thick chitin before decimating any organs underneath. Almost half of the legs were either missing or mangled and the head was missing a large chunk.


    The hero that killed the beast wasn¡¯t quite unscathed either. Her hair was in disarray, patted down with light sweat. There was dust and grime marring her outfit and even a few spots of red that were slowly growing. Though nothing serious, she certainly was not unscathed.


    With a crash, Rin threw the carcass down and had a panicked look as she took in her friends. She had been in a hurry to kill the leader as soon as possible so she could scare off the rest from Adrest and Alissa. Though Rin knew they weren¡¯t incapable, there were a lot more Mantula here than she thought. The idea of some of her first friends outside the school dying in a wave of tooth and claw filled her mind the entire fight. In the end Rin was happy to trade injury for injury with the big bastard in front of her to get back to the cave entrance a bit sooner to be safe.


    Rin scanned the two bodies for injuries, but she was surprised when she only found a few wounds on Adrest and some blood on Alissa¡¯s clothes. Rin cutely tilted her head to the side confused, and let out an ¡°Eh?¡±


    Alissa walked over and gave the injured hero a quick hug, ¡°I¡¯ve said we aren¡¯t pushovers before Rin, you have to be tough to wander around like us. Even Belle could¡¯ve played with one or two at a time.¡±


    Rin gave an embarrassed laugh and rubbed her already messy hair, ¡°Well, that¡¯s perfect actually. I think there¡¯s something I¡¯d like your guys help with.¡±

 38. Dungeon?

    It was Alissa¡¯s turn to cutely tilt her head which got a giggle out of Rin who said, ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it later, lets head back to town first though.¡±


    Rin sighed, knowing the trip back was going to be a pain and hefted up the giant carcass, prepared to lug it back to town.


    It was then Alissa walked over, ¡°Doesn¡¯t the guild give you any storage treasures? Just throw it in that.¡±


    Rin shot her a questioning gaze, ¡°One that could fit this would cost at least a few hundred thousand gold, they don¡¯t just hand those out to every student. Mine is only large enough to fit around five of the normal sized one.¡±


    ¡°The guild is so cheap? Then let me, you can rest a bit and treat those cuts.¡± Alissa put a hand the huge corpse and it disappeared into her storage. Rin was looking at her with her mouth open in an ¡°O¡±.


    Adrest patted the shocked girls shoulders, ¡°Ali is full of surprises, you get used to it eventually. Let¡¯s head back.¡±


    Under Adrest¡¯s guidance, the two girls followed him out and back to the trees where they met a pouting Belle.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong Belle, did something happen while we were inside?¡± Adrest asked a little worried.


    ¡°Hmmp, you left me out. I watched you and Ali the entire time and I could¡¯ve helped.¡±


    Ah, she was feeling a little useless and hated standing to the side, Adrest thought. He laughed and pointed to Rin, ¡°Blame it on Big sis Rin here, Ali even said you could¡¯ve helped up.¡±


    Rin balked at being so quickly given up, and blushed under the little rabbit¡¯s half glare, half pout.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m sorry Belle. You¡¯re just so young I was worried something would happen. Next time I¡¯ll do better, okay?¡±


    Belle dropped the pout and smiled like the sun after a storm, ¡°It¡¯s a deal Big sis Rin.¡±


    Now that one problem had been dealt with, they briskly walked towards the town. Along the way there were a few D rank monsters, which Belle quickly dispatched as she was still upset about feeling useless. It took a little less than an hour before they were back facing the guard that had been standing when they¡¯d left.


    The man was surprised to see the girl back so early as it was only mid afternoon, but he noticed the blood and remnants of a fight of their outfits and quickly let them through as something definitely had to be reported.


    Rin led the way through the slow streets, going to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Before opening the door and going inside she turned around and grabbed Alissa¡¯s hand in both her own.


    ¡°Would you mind dropping off the Mantula at the stables and waiting for me at the inn? This¡¯ll be a long and boring meeting and there¡¯s no need for all of us to suffer. I¡¯ll tell you about what I¡¯m planning tonight.¡±


    Rin asked with a pleading tone, Alissa couldn¡¯t resist and gave the little hero a pat on the head, ¡°Take your time and don¡¯t worry. See you tonight, Rin.¡±


    Rin waved the three of her friends off and sighed as she now had to deal with another angry old man.


    Several hours later, when the sun had long set and the wind howled, sending snow flurries everywhere. Inside the Hearth and Home, Adrest, Alissa, and Belle were sat across Rose. They¡¯d cleaned up and have been patiently waiting for Rin, and finally she burst in through the thick doors, still wearing the same outfit as when they separated.


    Rose had heard they ran into a monster but she didn¡¯t expect Rin to be so bloodied. Rin looked absolute exhausted, falling into the stool and laying on the cool table to relieve her aching head.


    ¡°The old man wouldn¡¯t stop talking the entire time, just on and on about safety and protocol. It was only a Mantula colony, I could¡¯ve cleared it alone but I even had help this time, what''s the big deal?¡± Rin¡¯s complaints flew out as soon as she was seated.


    It seemed Rin got lectured for impulsively going after a B rank monster without informing anyone. Adrest could see where the Guild was coming from, but in his limited experience, Rin was smart and strong enough to handle herself. A little na?ve at times, but reliable under pressure. To her, it must feel like they¡¯re smothering her, especially since this was the first bit of freedom she¡¯s had since joining the academy.


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    Adrest put a warm hand on her shoulder and squeezed comfortingly, ¡°Sometimes the easiest thing to do is just nod and agree. Just forget about him and his lecture now that you¡¯re back.¡±


    Rin finally raised her head from the bar, a huge red mark on her forehead, ¡°That¡¯s right! Now that I¡¯m free I can talk about the big plan I have. The bastard Guild Master doesn¡¯t deserve to know.¡±


    Speaking like he did to Alissa when pacifying her, ¡°Yeah, yeah I can¡¯t wait to hear it. But first, go get changed before you leak drip and water onto poor Rose¡¯s floor.¡±


    Rin looked down to see some snow on her jacket starting to melt and dashed off while yelling and apology behind her, ¡°Hehe. Sorry Rose!¡±


    Adrest just shook his head at their little hero friend, for how strong Alissa said she was, Rin really acted her age most of the time. Adrest was nervous when he¡¯d heard about a hero showing up in town, after all he read dozens of stories where the hero takes off the big bad demon¡¯s head and saves the day. Now that Adrest had gotten to know the teenager and his head was still firmly attached, he hoped that more of humanity here was like her.


    As Adrest was busy with introspection, Alissa and Belle played word games with each other, and Rose was busily finishing up her chores for the night so she could relax near her favorite customers.


    It didn¡¯t take long for a damp and red tinged Rin to come back from the baths. There was no longer a trace of battle left on her thin frame, and she had her goofy smile back in place.


    Back in her spot, the first thing she did was take back a large mouthful of the drink waiting for her, then turned to face the small family of three to her side.


    ¡°So, about the thing I said I might need help with¡­¡±


    This got everyone¡¯s attention and she had four pairs of eyes staring her down. Of course hearing this, Rose couldn¡¯t be left out or her curiosity might kill her.


    ¡°Well, when I was in the back fighting the Mantula, the cave opened up into a huge cavern with paths carved going different directions. I think we might¡¯ve found a dungeon.¡±


    Adrest¡¯s eyes flickered with surprise. Alissa had of course covered what a dungeon was and how they formed, so he certainly did not expect one so close to his home.


    Dungeons were natural things that had a chance to form if a sufficiently powerful being died, their body and mana being the nutrients. They also form when a treasure suffuses the area surrounding it for a long period of time. Only the top of the top A ranks and above had a chance to form a dungeon and its shape, complexity, and difficulty were all based on the creator and mana it was fed.


    Weaker beings formed smaller dungeons as there were fewer nutrients. Also the nature of the dungeon would change with their attachment. If it was anger and hate, there would be more ferocious beasts and insidious traps. On the other side, if a master wished to pass on their legacy or was benevolent, the dungeon would have less dangerous monsters patrolling it, instead having tests and trials for those entering.


    There was no way to know what kind of dungeon it was without entering, but with a B Rank Mantula guarding the door, odds were it wouldn¡¯t be welcoming or weak.


    Letting the group take in the information, Rin continued, ¡°I couldn¡¯t see anything down the paths, but my instincts were telling me there¡¯s some good things in there. I¡¯m hoping you all could come with me, at least for part of the trip, to help clear out pests.¡±


    Adrest didn¡¯t understand, ¡°Why us? Alissa and I are only C rank, and Belle is still in D. If you told the guild they¡¯d be able to put together some B ranks into a party to accompany you right?¡±


    ¡°Well, if I told the Guild master, he¡¯d tell me to forget about it for now, there¡¯s too many problems around the village, never mind going under the mountains to find more to pile on. And this way, we won¡¯t have to share what we find.¡±


    Adrest couldn¡¯t believe how irresponsible the hero he had been admiring earlier was acting. She was like a hooligan child trying to sneak away to a party. Adrest was even starting to suspect Alissa was influencing the girl, but a few days probably wasn¡¯t enough for that, no matter how willful Alissa always acted.


    Before he could give an answer of his own, Alissa jumped in, ¡°We¡¯d love to go. I have a bit of experience with dungeons so we can be a little help at least. And it¡¯ll be good training for everyone.¡±


    Rin jumped past Adrest and into Alissa¡¯s arms wrapping the dragon in a tight hug.


    ¡°Thank you Alissa! I¡¯ll do everything to keep you all safe, if it gets too dangerous I promise I¡¯ll get you all out safe and sound.¡±


    Alissa simply smiled and squeezed the girl back. Belle was standing in her stool with excitement shooting like sparks in her eyes. ¡°I''m going too right? I can help too!¡±


    Adrest was now certain that the dragon¡¯s attitude has started to influence his innocent Belle. Rabbit-kin were supposed to be peaceful and dexterous makers, now he has a bloodthirsty albino rabbit hopping next to him excited about the thought of a dark and dangerous cave.


    Sadly, he couldn¡¯t deny that there was anticipation inside himself as well, who didn¡¯t want to explore an authentic fantasy world dungeon at least once? Oh well, with Alissa around, Belle will be fine no matter what. He chuckled thinking he couldn¡¯t say the same about himself, their teacher Ms. Alissa had an obvious favorite.


    Alissa patted the excited rabbit, ¡°Of course you¡¯re coming with us, we cant just leave you out of the fun.¡±


    Rin looked like she wanted to say something but quickly gave up, assuming that Alissa knew what she was doing. Thinking back, she was around Belle¡¯s age when she first went into a dungeon, she¡¯d just put in some extra working making sure nothing happens.


    With that in mind, Rin cheered, ¡°Then it¡¯s settled! Let¡¯s get up early to get supplies and we can start on exploring.¡±


    Rose looked at the group concerned, ¡°Will it be okay? I know you¡¯re strong Rin, but I¡¯ve heard a lot of horror stories about uncharted dungeons.¡±


    It was Alissa who reassured the anxious bar owner, ¡°I promise we will all come back safe and sound. Then we¡¯ll tell you all about it over a night of drinks. Just don¡¯t worry if it takes us a few days to make our way back.¡±


    Rin nodded along showing her approval, remembering Alissa was the only one of the three to not have even a single cut from their fight today.

 39. First Layer of The Dungeon

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I can stop you even if I¡¯m worried for you. Just remember that if you don¡¯t come back, you¡¯ll leave behind a very lonely bartender.¡±


    Adrest laughed at the threat, ¡°We could never do that to you Rose, just wait a few days for the good news. Who knows, maybe a certain inn-keeper will get a huge tip for her worries after some brave explorers hit it big.¡±


    Rose just pouted in response, ¡°The best tip you all could give me is coming back safe and sound."


    ¡°I can¡¯t speak for Rin, but the three of us will be coming back here until you''re tired of us. This is just a short trip and we''ll be back before you realize.¡± Adrest reassured Rose, with Belle and Alissa nodding in agreement.


    Rin spoke up, ¡°I¡¯ll come over as much as I can. I love how free I feel here, plus I¡¯ve made my first real friends.¡±


    Though she became quieter as she spoke, everyone present could still hear Rin¡¯s heartfelt words.


    Going to sleep early in preparation for another busy day, Adrest woke up at the crack of dawn as promised. He had a much easier time today getting the other two up and around, Belle helping to drag Big sis Ali up and out of bed.


    After a quick meal and a round of hugs from the still worried Rose, they headed out to buy supplies. There were many stops to make, Alissa and Rin seemed to know exactly what was needed and first bought rations to last them a week, a large handful of water skins to fill later, miscellaneous camping gear, they thought of it all.


    Adrest was just thankful he didn¡¯t have to carry the hundreds of pounds of supplies as he watched it disappear in the storage devices of Alissa and Rin. They had just made their last stop and were ready for an adventure.


    It was an uneventful walk back to the Mantula lair, just some small fry that Belle enthusiastically cleared for them. Once again in front of the dark entrance Rin took a breath and seriously looked to the group.


    ¡°I just want to ask again, are you all really comfortable going into a dungeon with me? As much as I like to brag, it¡¯s a real possibility that we all die without knowing how. I wouldn¡¯t be able to live with myself if I got any of you hurt or killed.¡±


    The family waved off the concern, Alissa once again assuring her, ¡°I promise we¡¯ll be fine. We can all take care of ourselves to an extent, and I have a few surprises ready to go if need be. Trust us Rin.¡±


    Rin smiled brilliantly at the girl, feeling a sense of safety at the young purple haired demi-human¡¯s words.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll lead the way.¡±


    Rin walked into the dark cave, and as Adrest followed he was very thankful for the cold weather. The remains of yesterday¡¯s battle was still splattered everywhere, now frozen where it¡¯d landed. They had to walk for a quarter of an hour before getting to where Rin¡¯s battle had taken place. There were large chucks and cuts of stone taken out of the walls and floor showing the story of a devastating fight.


    Beyond the destruction on the far half of the circular room was four large paths leading into the dark. As far as their magic tools could light, each path looked identical with no obvious traps.


    Rin looked at the group, ¡°Anyone have a favorite? If not, my intuition is usually right.¡±


    Adrest looked incredulous, ¡°And how much is ¡°Usually¡±?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ 8/10 times maybe?¡±


    Adrest shrugged, not expecting an actual answer and looked at the other two party members.


    Belle just looked to Alissa who shrugged, not giving any hint she knew where to go. With that, they went with Rin''s choice, leading down the first one on their left. The path was large enough that if the party wanted to they could walk side by side and still not fill half the space, and just as tall.


    They casually walked with the darkness engulfing them to the front and back, Adrest, Belle, and Alissa were feeling pretty relaxed, their races all had excellent night vision so this environment suited them fine. If the dark bothered Rin, she didn¡¯t let it show as she walked as casually as the others while scanning the trail ahead for threats.


    No one talked much on the walk, just because they could see a hundred meters or so into didn¡¯t mean things further up couldn¡¯t hear them. Sounds echoed loudly due to the bare rock floors and round shape of the tunnels. The only thing to mark their passing were muted footsteps tapping on rock.


    The march continued for nearly two hours before they found the first trap. Rin had stopped a few paces behind it and had Belle come over as she knew it was her first time in a dungeon, Adrest came over as well to see.


    ¡°Its hard to notice, but it you look closely, there¡¯s a thin outline here.¡± Rin pointed to a hair thin outline of an oval-ish shape. If it had just been Adrest, he wasn¡¯t sure he would have caught it.


    ¡°When you find traps like this take a look around, it¡¯s never just one.¡±


    Doing as their new teacher instructed, Adrest and Belle carefully inspected the walls around them and the path ahead. As promised, in just a few minutes Adrest Had spotted several more ahead.


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    They carefully maneuvered around the landmines and made it to the end of this hall, sharply turning ninety degrees to a new direction. It was quiet and Adrest was curious why there¡¯s been no more traps yet when a yellow light suddenly shine from above Rin in the lead.


    There has been a magic circle hidden under the years of dust built up on the ceiling, now slowly a dark yellow and pulsing. The same instant the light went off, Rin jumped back and put from under it, drawing her weapons.


    They were prepared for anything, from the walls collapsing on them, to poison spikes jutting out from the walls, but the circle simply flashed silently in the low light.


    Alissa took a second to study the circle and the same time she spoke, Rin put down her weapons appearing to came to the same conclusion.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about right now, it¡¯s just an alert magic, but be ready for an ambush. Something knows we¡¯re here now.¡± Alissa took out her new favorite toys, the large Bowie knives with oversized hand guards and took her place at the back of the group. Anything that tried to sneak up on them would be in for a nasty surprise.


    It was miles and miles of twisting and turning tunnels. Adrest got a chill when he noticed that sporadically spaced through the cave system were holes just too small for a human to comfortably walk through, though they hadn¡¯t seen whatever used them yet.


    After hours of walking, besides the occasional trap like collapsing floors, more pressure plates, and a particularly mean-spirited fire spell that shot at Rin just as she turned a corner, whose fast swords were the only thing that kept her hair safe and only a slightly singed.


    The change happens fast however, they were walking through the underground maze, when in front and behind the party, the walls collapsed revealing large passageways that a hoard of slimy oversized worm monsters were squirming out of. Rin clicked her tongue in disgust at the pink waves of wriggling teeth coming from both directions.


    ¡°Why!? Why are there only gross monsters here!? Ugh, Can you three handle the back wave for a bit while I clear out the ones in the front?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Yep!¡± ¡°No problem.¡±


    Adrest, Belle, and Alissa answered with no hesitation, ready to stretch after just walking and being on guard for hours on end. Alissa was the first to meet the wave, acrobatically jumping, weaving, and sidestepping both through and on the wave. She looked like a human shaped blender as anything that even grazed her blades were minced to shreds.


    Behind was Adrest who caught most of what Alissa let through with his own frantic dance of dodging and jumping to not be overrun. His sword was going through droves of the worms with no resistance and a small smile was on his lips, happy to fight anything other than the spiders that¡¯s been at the door to this place.


    Lastly, staying near where they¡¯d been standing a few moments ago was Belle. The albino rabbit girl¡¯s red eyes shone menacingly in the dark as she hopped around the monsters swiftly using her short swords to pick out the last of the Worms that Adrest wasn¡¯t able to stop. Though only a few at a time, the maneuvering was impressive, Belle¡¯s body twisting and contorting in ways that shouldn¡¯t be possible, swinging from angles that should¡¯ve been outside her range.


    As Belle excelled far beyond the norm in both nature and body magic, she could abuse her body and take it to new heights in combat. It was something she only learned in the last month or so as she needed a firm grasp on the basics to keep her overcharged body under control and not do more damage than she could heal.


    It had been a very painful few weeks for Belle as she learned this, bones cracked from excess force, joints popping out of sockets, skin and muscle bursting. Adrest had been on the verge of asking Alissa to go a little slower, feeling sorry for the poor girl, but Belle was the one who insisted on continuing, her near death experience apparently firming her resolve to become stronger.


    Though a style brutal to herself, it was just as brutal towards her opponents, the little rabbit was a growing into a little terror, and when she started to get the hang of it, Alissa couldn¡¯t stop smiling at her creation, even now Adrest could clearly see the damn dragon barely paying attention to her fight as she watched Belle¡¯s movement.


    Just as they were clearing out the last of their wave, Rin came over and helped, now even a speck of blood was on her, but where she¡¯s been Adrest saw a small hill of dead worms. With Rin added to their side, it only took another minute to clear out the last of the creatures and they grouped up again.


    ¡°Well that was fun. What should we do now?¡± Adrest asked their nominal leader.


    ¡°If you¡¯re up for it we can keep walking until we find a good breakpoint, looks like this place is huge so we should pace ourselves.¡±


    And so further into the darkness they went, walking with the occasional D or C rank ambush which was quickly taken care of. They eventually came to a bend with solid walls and decided to set up camp there. While Rin could go a week without sleep, she assumed the rest of her party was starting to get worn down after all the walking and constant tension.


    ¡°After we eat, you all can get some rest and I¡¯ll take first guard watch, we can do three three hour shifts, who wants to be second and third?¡±


    Adrest volunteered himself for second shift as he knew it was the position that got the least rest, ¡°Wake me up when it¡¯s time to switch, Ali can go last since I¡¯ll be the one who has to get her out of her bed roll anyway.¡±


    Belle wanted to say she could take a shift, but she really was exhausted. For all the training and exercise the last few months had done, she was still a D rank and required rest, especially with her fighting techniques, her body was tired.


    So with guard duty decided, Alissa pulled out dried meat, fruit, bread, and cheese for everyone. They were too far underground and there were too many unknowns to light a fire and prepare food, but as they¡¯d just bought everything that day, it tasted fresh and was still satisfying, if a little boring.


    The three that would be sleeping first rolled out bed mats and bundled indise, thankfully being so far into the earth, it was actually a comfortable temperature now. Side by side the three lay just a dozen or so paces from Rin who was vigilantly scanning the surroundings.


    Adrest had been about to fall asleep after a long day, but he could hear Belle¡¯s bedroll constantly shifting on the other side of Alissa. He opened his eyes to see Belle nervously moving her head scanning the dark. Alissa must¡¯ve noticed too as she propped herself up a little, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Belle?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ I¡¯m a little scared. This is really different from sleeping outside. What if the roof falls down or more monsters come pouring out of the walls while I¡¯m sleeping?¡±


    Alissa had a doting smile as she stroked the Rabbit¡¯s soft white hair, ¡°If the roof collapses I¡¯ll be here to hold it up, if monster¡¯s come, I¡¯ll rip them apart. Sit up for a bit.¡±


    Belle¡¯s eye¡¯s said she was confused, but did as instructed. Alissa stood up as well and picked Belle up, setting her down on the bag Alissa had been using in the middle.


    ¡°You can sleep between Ady and I, just try to relax and close your eyes, you need your sleep still.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Big sis Ali.¡± Belle blushed a bit and did as told laying down next to Adrest who was propped up on one elbow watching.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Belle, I might not be very reliable, but Ali would turn this section of the mountain range to rubble before she let anything happen you.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, thank you Big bro Ady. Goodnight.¡±

 40. Night talk and Rin Stretches

    As the three fell asleep, Belle calm in her new spot, Rin had a sweet smile. The private conversation has brought her back to the orphanage. The way Alissa comforted the scared girl was just like the nuns comforting a child who¡¯d had a bad dream. Of course Rin thought what Alissa and Adrest had said was just boasting to a child, even if they¡®d truly met every word.


    It was a quiet three hours for Rin who was stuck reminiscing about before she¡¯d been tested and torn away from everyone she knew. She thought about the kind nuns who raised her and shaped her into what kind of person she was today, about the kids who were clinging to her, crying for their sister to stay one more day.


    By the time it was time to switch Rin was feeling very tired.


    She gently shook Adrest awake who opened his bright orange eyes with a start, but calmed down seeing the familiar face above his own.


    With a wide, silent yawn he whispered, ¡°That time already? Just give me a minute to wake up and move around.¡±


    Adrest hopped up and stretched out his tight muscles and stiff bones. Now more aware, Adrest spoke, ¡°Feel free to just sleep in my bed, I¡¯ll sleep in Alissa¡¯s when we switch, that way she can¡¯t think about sneaking back to bed.¡±


    Rin smiled and nodded, "I think I¡¯ll take you up on that then Adrest, thank you.¡±


    She crawled into the roll and felt more comfortable surrounded by lingering warmth, more than she thought possible while sleeping on rocks.


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m more tired than I thought.¡± Was the last thing Rin thought before drifting off to sleep.


    Adrest passed the time by pacing around slowly, patrolling in the pitch dark with ease. Adrest was wondering what was going on, he truly had no idea if they were going in the right direction or not, or what they were walking towards as Alissa hadn¡¯t given any hints all day, just silently agreeing with the group and taking chances to teach her two students.


    Adrest was lost in his thoughts, passing the three hours quickly and began trying to wake Alissa up. He was mentally preparing for the herculean task, but before Adrest¡¯s hand could tussle the sleeping form, a pair of glowing violet eyes opened, he pulled his hand back in surprise, but Alissa was faster and grabbed the retreating appendage.


    Alissa pulled the crouched Adrest into her, with him falling forward and his head stopping directly in front of Alissa¡¯s. The pair of eyes that were vibrant in the black stared into each other for a long second before Alissa moved her lips to her ear.


    ¡°We have to be really quiet so we don¡¯t wake up Rin, but this will be the only time we can talk in peace for the day. Did you have fun exploring Ady?¡±


    Adrest rolled his eyes at the flippant tone but answered, ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s exciting and fun. I¡¯m worried about what¡¯s waiting for us at the end of these tunnels though. It¡¯s the monster you said was breaking through to S rank, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Alissa¡¯s eye widened, ¡°And how did you guess that?¡±


    ¡°Well, you said earlier they were using the mountains to mask the breakthrough, so either It¡¯s the one in control of the dungeon, or this mountain is a deathtrap which even you probably wouldn¡¯t bring us into.¡±


    Alissa glared at Adrest for thinking she would try to kill them like that, even she knew when to not play with fire. In retaliation, she used her free hand to pinch Adrest¡¯s nose and pulled his head as she pleased.


    ¡°Good job my darling little student. It¡¯s like you guessed, the monster breaking through is the ruler of this pile of dirt. It¡¯s still a good way¡¯s down, but we¡¯re on the right path.¡±


    Adrest narrowed his eyes, and with his squished nose it was quite the sight, ¡°Will Belle and I be okay? Alissa, a serious attack from either of you could kill Belle or I instantly."


    Seeing the concern on Adrest¡¯s face, Alissa released the hostaged nose and wrapped her hand on the back of his head pulling him into a hug and combing his black hair with her slender fingers.


    With her lips brushing against his ear she reassuringly whispered, ¡°I promise you and Belle will be just fine, just like I said to Belle, If monsters come, I¡¯ll kill the monsters. If the mountain falls, I¡¯ll prop them up. But this won''t be as dire as you''re imagining. You¡¯ll find out when we get there, all you and Belle have to do is watch and try to remember every detail, it¡¯ll be invaluable later.¡±


    Adrest actually was blushing at the unexpected intimacy and was speechless. They just stayed like that for several minutes, Alissa enjoying playing with Adrest¡¯s thick and curly hair.


    It came to an end when Adrest returned to reality and propped himself up, dragging Alissa up with him as she still had an arm looped behind his neck. She stuck her tongue out teasing him, ¡°Thanks for the ride.¡±


    Adrest flicked her forehead, hiding the sharp pain running down his finger, ¡°Goodnight Ali, I trust you.¡±


    ¡°Sweet dreams Ady.¡± Alissa walked away and sat on a stool she pulled out of the air. She sat and pulled out a book. It would be a comical sight if anyone could see it, a young woman sitting in the pitch black dark trying to read, but to her it made no difference. She was reading through a bestiary she¡¯d bought years ago, it came from the monster city and contained nearly every notable monster and beast bloodline on this half of the continent.


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    For a monster to achieve S rank, it wasn¡¯t just about comprehension or accumulation, the limiting factor is almost always bloodline. To achieve S rank is the peak of mortality, only when a body is perfect in every way can a monster or beast break through to the peak.


    Therefore, She was carefully reading through and making sure she completely memorized every monster and their details if they controlled at least the earth element, the list was hundreds, over a thousand, long, but there was no way around it. Plus, with her A rank memory, it wasn¡¯t too tall of a task.


    The time passed quickly and not a single monster wound up attacking through the night. As her three hours ran up, Alissa looked up from her book and stood to wake everyone. Looking over, she paused and smiled at the scene.


    Sometime in the last few hours Belle had rolled over and hugged the persons roll beside her. The only issue is, she had probably done it in her sleep thinking it was Adrest who had initially gone to sleep there. Belle had an arm thrown over the sleeping Rin and was resting her head against Rin¡¯s shoulder. Because of how she way laying, one of Belle¡¯s ears had ended up being used as a pillow for the hero who was sound asleep.


    It was so cute Alissa couldn¡¯t be the only one to see this, using all of her A rank skill to not wake the pair she crept over to Adrest.


    Alissa gently tapped his exposed cheeks a few times until he stubbornly woke up. He was about to speak but Alissa put a finger to his mouth silencing him. Looking at her in confusion, she pointed to his side.


    Adrest looked where instructed and couldn¡¯t help but smile at the scene. It was like a little sister had sneaked into her older sisters bed in the middle of the night. Adrest and Alissa silently giggled at the scene.


    Eventually their fun has to come to an end and Adrest whispered, ¡°Who do you want to wake up first?¡±


    She simply shrugged, ¡°Same time? I¡¯ll wake up Rin and you Belle?¡±


    Adrest went with the suggestion and rolled over so he was facing Belle¡¯s back and waiting for Alissa to get near Rin. At the same time they nudged the sleeping girls who woke up at the same time.


    Rin¡¯s eyes were still sleepy and feeling the soft object under her face, she stretched and rubbed into it. Then, she looked down to see a head of white hair under and halfway on top of her. She was confused but soon had a doting smile.


    Belle on the other hand opened her eyes and was confused about how she¡¯d wound up in such an odd position. She tried to sit up, but there was a weight on her ear, looking up to investigate she saw a happy looking Rin looking down at her.


    As the two made eye contact, Belle turned the same shade of red as her eyes. For a second Adrest thought he¡¯d see steam coming from her ears, especially when Rin stroked her head saying, ¡°Good morning Belle. Did you sleep well?¡±


    Adrest couldn¡¯t hold it anymore and laughed at the poor girl who was still frozen. Alissa chuckled as well then deciding Belle had suffered enough, reached over Rin and picked Belle up setting her on her feet.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it too much, it was really cute and I don¡¯t think Rin minds too much.¡± Alissa comforted.


    Belle refused to look up from the ground so Alissa let her be and offered a hand to the still tired Rin. Taking the outstretched hand, Rin got to her feet and patted down her clothes.


    They ate and packed up, getting ready to continue through the labyrinth of tunnels. Their "morning" started off peaceful, with only a few stray monster and traps. But, as Rin made it to the end of a downward sloping tunnel, she came to a stop. When the rest caught up they could see why.


    In front of them, the passageway opened into a wide open cavern. There was so much moisture in the now warm air, Adrest could feel it sticking to his skin. There were stalactites and stalagmites littered everywhere, and Adrest heard drops of water hitting the ground, ever so slowly forming more.


    Even though Adrest couldn¡¯t spot any threats in the open space he knew there was much more space he couldn''t see than he could, the hair on his neck was standing straight up. There was just something intangible that warned him. It was saying he would die if he casually walked in. As he was contemplating what threat was hiding, Belle quietly said the question he was thinking.


    ¡°What¡¯s inside?¡±


    Rin shook her head, ¡°No idea, but it¡¯s strong. For now, the three of you stay back here and I¡¯ll try going in.¡±


    Rin slowly stalked forward with her weapons drawn. The only noise was the tiniest crackling of stone underfoot and Adrest was on high alert for any sign of movement on the cavern.


    Step. Step. Step.


    Rin made it to nearly the center of the cavern with nothing out of the ordinary. Her ears and eyes were straining for the tiniest hint of an attack, and her heart still felt uncomfortable, like she was being watched.


    Step.


    It happens in an instant, a sickly green light surged towards Rin from the side. A harsh clang of metal on metal rang out. Adrest couldn¡¯t just barely see the outline of what at a glance looked human.


    That was all he could make out in the brief second it paused. After that, a cacophony of ringing echoed off the stone walls as Rin and the attacker moved back and forth at a speed Adrest couldn¡¯t quite keep up with.


    Alissa let out a low whistle at the fight getting her students¡¯ attention, once they were looking at them she explained for them.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Groenn. They¡¯re pretty rare because to see because of their habitat,¡± She gestured at the deep and dark cave they were currently in.


    ¡°They''re actually nearly blind, when Rin is finished I¡¯ll show you, but their eyes are a milky white and about half the size of a human¡¯s. They rely on hearing and vibration to hunt, and have bone scythes growing from their elbows. In their own environment, they¡¯re just about at the peak of what B rank can get, excluding the really special ones and the ancient bloodlines.¡±


    Adrest was enjoying the lesson, but couldn¡¯t take off his eyes off the fight, worried for Rin. Alissa saw this and pouted before pinching him.


    As Adrest yelped she said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Rin. She¡¯s just stretching, it¡¯s a fun opponent for her because they¡¯re so similar in how they fight.¡±


    Adrest glared at the purple haired abuser but had to play nice as he couldn¡¯t get beaten up here, it was one thing for Belle to see it, but his image in Rin¡¯s eyes would be ruined.


    Just as she said, the clanging and blurred shapes came to a sudden stop after just a few more minutes. Rin¡¯s figure was now visible with not even a cut in her clothing. She was breathing harder than before, but seemed perfectly at ease.


    Opposite her a few meters was the Groenn, now that it had stilled Adrest could make out the details, a dirty grey skin wrapped around a stick thin frame. The figure was human-ish, but wrong as it was crouched to all fours and its jointed contorted. It was completely hairless and looked feral with a snarling face revealing it¡¯s 2 rows of yellowed sharp teeth.


    Adrest had just enough time to take in the figure before a spray of blood erupted from it¡¯s neck as it¡¯s head slid off. It fell over in a pool of it¡¯s own dark yellow blood with a loud this and splash.


    Rin was all smiles as she came back to the waiting party. ¡°Did you see? That was a Groenn, I haven¡¯t been able to fight with one before, but it was pretty fun. There was an entire class about a horde of these things nearly destroyed an entire city before the imperial forces were able to put them down a few hundred years ago.¡±

 41. Boss Spotted!

    The three appeared suitably impressed at the feat and Rin''s smile grew even brighter, looking like a child proudly showing off to her friends.


    ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll show you the weak points and what to watch out for while we have some free time.¡±


    After the impromptu lesson on monster anatomy and self defense, the group packed up the bone blades from Rin¡¯s kill and approached the back of the cavern. This time, there was only one exit and it was a tunnel that led nearly straight down for as far as Adrest could see.


    In curiosity, Adrest retrieved an extra magic light he had strapped to his waist and just tossed it down. Rin looked incredulous at the few dozen gold he¡¯d just thrown into a pit but didn¡¯t say anything as she watched the light get smaller and smaller. After twenty or so seconds, the light seemed to stopped falling, now only a small dot of light in the pit.


    Armed with new information Adrest asked, ¡°Think it goes anywhere? And could you climb out if you needed to, Rin?¡±


    ¡°It wont be a problem!¡± was all Rin said before taking as step onto air and disappearing from everyone¡¯s sight. The three still up top had to admire the hero¡¯s attitude towards danger and the unknown, she fit right in with the group.


    A few seconds of waiting and Adrest could barely hear a muted thunk as Rin landed below. He saw the tiny dot of light shift, the disappear entirely. They waited for nearly ten minutes before the light came back into view.


    Then, it started to grow larger while bouncing from wall to wall. Before Adrest knew it, a brightly lit Rin was standing in front of them again.


    ¡°Good news! It looks like it¡¯s the right way, after you fall down there¡¯s a straight path forward like before. Now how do you all want to get down?¡±


    Adrest sighed dramatically, ¡°Not all of us are as amazing as you, I¡¯ll just tie some rope to something up here and we can rappel down.¡±


    At the same time Alissa and Rin said in a pouting tone, ¡°Boring.¡±


    They looked at each other and giggled, while Adrest rolled his eyes and looked for a suitable tie off. Thankfully, he quickly found a thick and sturdy stalagmite that would do the trick.


    Coming back, he grabbed the huge pile of rope at his feet and tossed it down the hole, then motioned to Alissa, ¡°Ladies first.¡±


    Alissa playful glared at him, ¡°You just want to see if everything will hold, fine I¡¯ll be the test subject. So brave of you Ady.¡±


    She walked to the edge, got a good grip on the rope and effortlessly shimmied down relying on her monstrous strength to control her descent. Quickly at the bottom, she yelled up, ¡°I¡¯m all set down here, send Belle down next.¡±


    Nodding he looked to Belle who appeared nervous, it made sense it was a long ways down after all, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Ali is at the bottom and Rin is at the top in case anything happens.¡±


    Belle quietly asked, ¡°Big bro Ady, do I have use the rope? Can I just go down myself?¡±


    Adrest was confused for a second, but soon remembered Belle was getting pretty skilled with earth magic, so he just shrugged and agreed, not like anything could go wrong with Alissa ready to catch her.


    ¡°Go for it, just be careful and yell if you need help.¡±


    Rin was concerned about letting the rabbit climb down herself, especially without the rope, and was about to offer to piggyback Belle down herself, but Belle started climbing down and Rin could see what her plan was.


    The edges of the tunnel were fairly even with nearly no handholds, but that wasn¡¯t a problem for Belle. Rin could feel magic being formed in the air and saw holes perfectly fitted for Belle appearing wherever her feet and hands touched. Though a little inefficient in terms of mana cost, it probably was easier for the small girl to do this than rely on just strength to move slowly down a rope.


    As Belle was just a few meters away from the bottom a smiling Alissa was waiting with outstretched arms and said brightly, ¡°Jump Belle!¡±


    Looking down over her shoulder Belle was confused on why she couldn¡¯t just go the last few feet, she jumped off the wall where she was and caught by Alissa.


    It was as if she¡¯d absorbed all the impact as Belle didn¡¯t feel any sort of jolt form the sudden stop, just gentle hands under her arms that of course had to wrap her in a hug and spin a few times. Only after was she set back on the ground and Alissa rubbed the snow white hair as she spoke.


    ¡°Good girl, don¡¯t be afraid to do something differently than everyone else, we all have our own specialties.¡±


    Belle was blushing at the intimacy, pretty sure Rin could see the entire scene with her superhuman eyes. But soon Alissa shifted her attention and shouted for Adrest to climb down.


    Adrest had to use the conventional way as he had no affinity for earth magic and like Alissa couldn¡¯t use his wings in front of Rin. He was steadily climbing down the rope relying on his arms and easily supporting himself, not for the first time he was inwardly shocked by his own strength. Just a single year ago, he could¡¯ve never imagined how easily he could support his own body with just grip strength alone. Adrest was pretty sure he could hang around on here for hours if needed and still not be sore.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Going fast down the rope, Adrest made it down to meet his waiting friends and at Rin¡¯s urging, they all moved a bit further back into the tunnel.


    With an acrobatic flip at the end that Adrest was almost positive was totally unnecessary, Rin joined them too and they took in the new but very familiar walls, looking for any new traps or spots for hordes of monsters to come flooding from.


    Finding nothing of note after a full hour of slow and tense walking, they soon started to relax, thinking it was going to be similar to the previous floor. This proved true for another 5 hours of walking, they were starting to consider taking a break before getting a few more hours in, but as they walked through a section of tunnel the same as any other, there was a sudden rumbling. It seemed to came from all around them as a few hundred feet on either side the walls collapsed.


    The party were tensed with weapons drawn as they waited for an ambush but nothing came even after the dust had long settled. Alissa was the first to relax, "It doesn''t look like anything is coming for us, for now lets figure out what to do."


    Seeing it was her time to shine, Rin had just the trick, "Leave it to me, I''ll get us out in just a minute!"


    Rin ran up to the the wall where they''d been heading and started slowly breathing in through her nose, then exhaling. She was carefully relaxing and preparing every muscle to bear the strain, she''ll wind up little sore, but she''d be fine in just minutes. Feeling confident, Rin adjusted her feet, grasped her twin swords with a death grip, and quickly "cut" the obstacle. There was a bright flash of blinding white light and a deafening explosion.


    Adrest tucked Belle into himself and turned her away from the danger. It was seemingly unnecessary though as not even dust spread past Rin. They were amazed to see in the hundreds of tons of rubble in their way, there was now a clean cut opening in the center for dozens of feet, revealing the intact portion of the dungeon ahead. Rin motioned to the others to hurry forward and as they made their way through the once wall, she explained.


    "A part of my Blessing is that I can cut whatever i can imagine myself cutting, it doesn''t work on everything, but it''s really convenient for a lot more than people would guess."


    Adrest let out a whistle of appreciation saying, "I can see why you were sent off to the Capital to train, that''s an amazing skill."


    "It''s really nothing special, you should see what some of the other students can do, let alone the records of the really reclusive God''s Blessings. I''m really not allowed to say much, but some of them are bizarre, like summoning unheard of creatures from rifts, being able to regenerate from even a speck of dust, even reviving the dead is pretty common. But i do think this Blessing is perfectly suited for me. Or maybe I''m perfect for it?"


    Rin was soaking up the attention and they continued chatting quietly for what felt like another three hours and decided to settle for the "night". All three guard shifts were quiet and the adventurers felt pretty rested for the dark road ahead.


    It was another day of mostly silence, and many miles of endless twisting tunnels, finally there was a change. The tunnel suddenly came to an end and opened to a hallowed out section of mountain that dwarfed anything they¡¯d seen before. The strangest part was a fog that was contained to the cavern, shrouding everything inside with a grey curtain.


    Same as before, Rin traveled ahead to scout, and after disappearing into the mist she soon returned with a grave expression. She signaled them to follow her back a few hundred paces.


    When she finally stopped she said in a near whisper, ¡°That should be the dungeon¡¯s ruler up ahead. I couldn¡¯t get a good look, but I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s an A rank Resha, and a massive one.¡±


    Adrest inhaled at the revelation as he knew there was a quasi S rank lurking somewhere, but it shouldn¡¯t be what Rin had seen. There was such a huge gap between A and S that even something approaching that gap was innately different from one that wasn¡¯t. To showcase this difference, Alissa had previously made both Adrest and Belle face her full aura for just a scant few seconds and even that left the two of them shaking and Belle¡¯s nose started trickling a small trail of blood. To contrast it was an old necklace that one of her older sisters had given her. That sibling had been in the S rank for many, many years and wore the jewelry constantly. When Alissa had gotten it, it had been thoroughly imbued with her sister¡¯s aura of an apex existence.


    As Alissa pulled out the silver necklace, immediately the two were forced to the ground so violently the earth beneath was caving in and fracturing. At the same time, they both had blood freely flowing from their seven orifices and their minds were shaking as all they could hear was a roar that tore through the very atoms that made up their existence.


    Then, it was gone. As fast as it appeared Alissa waved and the two who were straining on all fours collapsed on the cool ground. As they tried to remember how to breathe, Belle and Adrest could hear Alissa¡¯s voice, same as ever, apparently not affected by her sister¡¯s aura.


    "Do you understand the difference now? A rank, even at the peak is still just a more powerful mortal. On the other hand, even if something just starts to see the path to S rank, their bodies will start to emit that same overwhelming oppression. It¡¯s the difference between ordinary and perfection, S rank represents an absolute pinnacle of mortality, perfection while anything under it is just an imperfect insect. It¡¯s a completely different realm because while it is the end of mortality, it¡¯s also the very first step towards Godhood.¡±


    If Adrest could sit up he¡¯d look very interested, but he was having trouble remembering how to use his muscles, as was poor Belle. But, at least now they wouldn¡¯t underestimate that one letter difference.


    Adrest felt a shiver remembering that day¡¯s lesson even now, he was sure Rin should¡¯ve been made aware of the qualitative difference during her years of training as well, but an A rank Resha was still a really bad sign.


    Resha were strange things, They weren¡¯t technically born. When there was both enough mana and high quality bone around, they will form and fuse the skeletons in their surroundings. Because of their unusual birth, they were never the same shape and they were hard to deal with as they had no vital or weak spots to speak of, they inhabited the bones they were made of evenly.


    It being in the A rank meant it would be a long drawn out fight, and they¡¯d be completely and utterly exhausted afterword. Well, Rin would be anyway.


    Rin looked worried, ¡°If we fight that thing, I¡¯ll be trying my best to not get crushed. I won¡¯t be able to help you if something happens, and if everything goes perfectly it would take me at least 2 hours to kill it. What if something that you three can¡¯t handle gets drawn over from the commotion?¡±


    Adrest raised an eyebrow, ¡®Do you really want to give up right at the end? Even if a stray B rank shows up, if we can¡¯t kill it, buying time won''t be a problem. We trust you to kill the Resha, so trust us to handle ourselves for a few hours. Just stay safe Rin.¡±


    Rin seemed to be looking for something, staring deep into Adrest¡¯s eyes. She held his gaze for a full ten heartbeats, then apparently found her answer as she gave him a big grin.


    ¡°Do your best, I¡¯ll be back in two hours on the dot.¡± And she rushed off back to the misty cave, where upon a huge rattling roar rang out and several earth-shaking bangs were felt.

 42. The Fighting Begins

    Belle looked worriedly at the cave ahead, then to Alissa, ¡°Will Rin be okay?¡±


    Alissa half hugged the rabbit, guiding her a little closer to the cave, just enough that Belle vaguely see the figures inside. Adrest followed, curious about the fight as well.


    Coming closer he could see two figures, one human sized, the other an amalgamation of shapes larger than Rose¡¯s Inn back in town. It was like a wave of bones slowly crushing towards the lone Rin.


    The fight was the complete opposite of the Rin¡¯s warm up this morning. Then, she¡¯d fought at a blinding speed, poking through the monster¡¯s defense and accumulating small wounds. Each second they¡¯d clash a dozen times, but now each attack was methodical and slow like both sides were winding up for each encounter.


    Every time bone and blade met in the open cave swathes on the bones would fracture or outright shatter to dust. Rin was forced a half step back each time from the sheer force at meeting the bone, sometimes forced to dodge through the air rather than meet it head on, otherwise she¡¯d have been surrounded in a sea of bone.


    The three demi-humans watched in silence for a full ten minutes, the hero and A rank seemed to be in a stalemate with both sides still going as fiercely as at the beginning. The only difference was Rin¡¯s chest was rising ever so slightly faster than before, but still seemed relaxed. But if she said it would take her at least two hours, she must be pacing herself for a battle of attrition rather than focusing on dealing damage.


    As they watched, Alisa took the time to explain to Belle, ¡°Rin has a complete advantage against a Resha that was made with quantity over quality like this. In fact, I¡¯d go as far to say Rin is this monster¡¯s natural enemy, Rin has trained to cut through anything, let alone some strengthened but still ordinary bone. And where the Resha is a lumbering giant, Rin is dexterous and nimble enough to dodge anything it can throw. It¡¯s actually quite lucky for her, fighting any other almost any other A rank would involve her paying a price to kill it.¡±


    Belle was still nervously watching as Alissa continued, ¡°Pay close attention to her blades. Rin is constantly using wind magic to remove all air resistance on the surface of her swords. Though you can''t use wind magic, the way I taught you to move can achieve something similar. One is just removing the problem of resistance while the other is overpowering it, both reach the same goal eventually. Rin also uses acrobatics in her fighting which is perfect for you, just try to remember as much as you can.¡±


    Belle absent-mindedly nodded along and Alissa moved on to the entranced Adrest, the fight was really incredible to watch. Alissa grabbed his hand and dragged Adrest back a few dozen feet, Alissa wasn''t worried about leaving Belle alone, the coming monsters were still a dozen of so minutes away.


    She spoke to the curious Adrest, who had no idea why she¡¯d pulled him away, ¡°Ady I need you to listen carefully.¡±


    With such a serious expression, Adrest gave Alissa his full attention nodding for her to continue.


    ¡°The S rank is close, there is a false wall at the back of the cavern, I can feel it watching. But now, I also know for sure what kind of monster it is.¡±


    Adrest was nervous hearing an S rank was so close and felt his hair standing up. ¡°So what is it?¡±


    Alissa grinned and brought out her book, opening it to a page she¡¯d marked in the middle. Adrest instantly hated what he saw. The first thing to draw his eye was a half-page illustration of something that looked like a cross between a centipede, a slug, and monstrous pangolin. The creature was a dark phlegmy yellow, and each of its dozens of thick and muscular appendages was covered in jagged armor. Its upper body was similar to a bear and ferocious, he could even see saliva dripping through its jagged teeth, matting the dirty brown fur below.


    Looking down, he could see the description, It was named an Earthen Titan. They were well known for the trace of ancient Black Tortoise bloodline they possessed, giving them immense strength and near impenetrable defenses. They were rare and almost never seen as they spend almost their entire lives underground, ruling metropolises of stone and dirt.


    They excelled at all kinds of earth magic and most could use water as well thanks to its Bloodline, in rare cases it had a command over metal as well. Those were the most dangerous as it enhanced their already earth-crumbling strength and brought it to a whole new level.


    Adrest was unnerved after seeing the book, a killing machine dozens of meters in length with tens of legs to tear him apart. Thinking back to how big Alissa was when they first met, he thought she might be a little outsized for once.


    With those thoughts swirling in his head, ¡°Will you really be okay Alissa? You won¡¯t just have the Titan in front of you, you yourself said there¡¯s a good chance Rin will try to fight you too right?¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Alissa slammed the book shut and patted Adrest¡¯s head, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯ll let Rin play with it first to tire herself out, then I¡¯ll step in.¡±


    She paused then seemed to remember something, ¡°Oh right! Here, keep this on you and stay near Belle later, open it when the real fighting starts. As long as you stay still it¡¯ll keep you safe.¡±


    Alissa handed him a simple black wooden box. Of course Adrest had to shake it, ¡°What is it?¡±


    Alissa smacked his hand, ¡°Knock it off. When I shout later, open the box and don¡¯t look directly at it, or you¡¯ll get to learn what it feels like to have your eyes reconstructed.¡±


    Adrest immediately stopped playing with the box and carefully tucked it inside a pocket.


    ¡°Good boy. Now grab Belle. We only have a few minutes left.¡±


    At the cryptic message, Adrest tilted his head. Didn¡¯t Rin say it would take her a few hours to kill that Resha? Why would we need to get ready so early?


    Then just barely, in a far off section of tunnel, Adrest could hear it. He didn¡¯t even notice it previously as between the talking and huge active warzone behind him, it settled into the background. But now, he could hear a continuous low thunder, ever so slowly coming towards them and gradually becoming louder.


    Realizing a wave of unknown monsters were rushing towards them, he ran over and scooped up Belle who was still engrossed in the fight. She let out a cute yelp but relaxed seeing Adrest¡¯s face just above her own.


    ¡°Oh hi Big bro. What are we doing?¡±


    Quick as a flash, Adrest deposited the young teen in front of Alissa then answered, ¡°We are going to have a fight of our own, it¡¯ll be the perfect chance to put what you just learned from Rin to use.


    Excitedly, Belle pulled out her twin blades and started twirling them around her hands, warming up. Seeing the battle hardened rabbit, Adrest was once again amazed at a dragon¡¯s training regime. It turned a small, frail, and timid girl into a battle hardened pro that is excited for an oncoming wave of monsters.


    Well he couldn¡¯t judge too much, the damn dragon¡¯s attitude had gotten to him too, Adrest noted as he pulled out his sword and felt the twinges of a smile fighting to appear on his face.


    As they quietly waited for the coming siege, Alissa took a few steps back and rested again the wall, ¡°The two of you should be able to handle everything that¡¯s coming, I¡¯ll stick back this time and get anything that sneaks through. I¡¯ll be around if anything goes wrong but do your best to handle it yourselves. Think of it like a test.¡±


    What kind of bastard teacher springs a test on their students when a literal tsunami of monsters were crashing in from the front, and behind them were an enraged A-rank and a carefully hidden quasi-S rank. This damn school was ridiculous.


    As Adrest complained in his mind, the first of the beasts finally came. There were dozens upon dozens of spiders, ants, and worms making up the vanguard. It was everything they¡¯d fought on the way here so it was quick to cut through the familiar targets.


    Afterwards it was wave after wave of different varieties, from trolls and ogres, small beasts like the black squirrels and ferocious rabbits, and the occasional large predator in B rank that Adrest had to handle himself as fast as possible to get back to helping Belle with the fodder.


    It seemed like every monster in every tunnel was slowly converging here, even with every stroke cutting through ten D and C ranks at a time, twenty arrived to take their place. It was as if they were in a furor as they didn¡¯t even flinch at being extremities being cut off, just mindlessly charging forward towards the intruders.


    Adrest took dozens of cuts everywhere, and just as many bruises slowly formed all over his body as he acted as the first line of defense, moving as little as possible to keep Belle from being overwhelmed. After only twenty or so minutes his breathing was becoming ragged and he couldn¡¯t tell how much of the blood that completely drenched him was the beast¡¯s or his own.


    Behind him, Belle was facing mostly D ranks with several C rank monsters sprinkled in the crowd. She was constantly dodging, shifting, and spinning both on the ground and occasionally through the air, apparently trying to learn from Rin and move more three dimensionally. Her thin outline constantly winding and cracking like a contortionist¡¯s to move in strange directions and deliver blows from stranger angles. Belle¡¯s pure snowy hair and pale white skin was covered in so many different colors of blood they mixed to a muddy brown on her bruised and beaten body. All that could still be seen clearly were her red eyes, near glowing in the low light, and flashes of snow white teeth in a twisted smile when the rabbit did something she was particularly proud of .


    Even ignoring the damage Belle caused herself, Belle was quickly racking up more and more injuries as she wasn¡¯t quite as skilled as even Adrest yet, and was struggling with so many attackers. But she was undaunted as there was a constant stream of pure green energy flowing through her body repairing wounds nearly as fast as she accumulated them.


    The seconds dragged by as Adrest and Belle fought with everything they had, seconds turned to minutes and they lost count of how many monsters they¡¯d killed. The bodies were piling into mounds at their feet with blood pooling into a stream flowing down the smooth tunnel floor. With the new and growing hazards they had to be even more careful to avoid loosing their footing and being overrun.


    While they were fighting with no end in sight, Alissa was still relaxed and leaning a few meters behind Belle, occasionally pointing a finger at a beast that managed to slip through the other two to have it burn to a crisp. As she was carefully watching Adrest and Belle, she was also keeping an eye on Rin behind them too. About half of the bones that made up the Resha were destroyed and little more than powder at her feet, but the monster was still resisting fiercely, letting out sharp grinding roars of anger.


    Satisfied, Alissa went back to her students whom she was actually quite impressed with. Sure, the two carried a God¡¯s Blessing so they weren''t allowed to be ordinary, but without hard work, persistence, and a lot of blood they couldn¡¯t jump across levels and fight hoards like her students. This was the accumulation of months of brutal work and training.


    Alissa spent the next hour observing her little monsters, proud of her own work. Eventually the impossible rush of monsters slowed to a steady stream, to a trickle, and finally, mercifully, the final D rank was cut down.

 43. The True Boss Stirs

    Adrest collapsed to one knee, every muscle in his body exhausted and shaking. Wounds he didn¡¯t know he received were starting to burn and throb with the lack of adrenaline, he tried bringing a potion to his mouth but dropped it as he curled his fingers around the neck. Every muscle in his body was exhausted.


    He laughed at the mistake and was attempting to pick the bottle up to try again when Alissa came over and picked it up, fiddling with it.


    ¡°Hey Ali, could I have that? Everything¡¯s starting to hurt.¡± Adrest gave no excuse for the sadistic dragon to kick him while he was down. He really wanted the little vial of green medicine she was currently spinning between her fingers.


    Adrest was about to ask again, afraid of whatever game she was thinking up. But before he could speak, Alissa removed the stopper, put the bottle to her cherry pink lips, and emptied it.


    Alissa took a glance over to Belle and Rin, happy that one was half collapsed on the bloody floor, too busy healing herself to pay attention, and the other was cornering the Resha, Alissa walked to the sitting Adrest and tipped his head up a little more.


    As Adrest was still confused by what Alissa was up to, his head was nudged up and his eyes were just a few inches from her own. As they made eye contact, Alissa moved closer. When their lips touched, Adrest was surprised by the softness, it was like kissing two supple clouds, it was made even better for Adrest as he felt the potion flow into his own mouth and his injuries stopped throbbing, quickly stitching together.


    Adrest thought he was in heaven as he saw the blushing purple haired beauty and the blush painting her tanned skin. Just as Adrest was enjoying the sensation, it parted far too soon. Alissa was a deep red but talked through it.


    ¡°You did great Ady, that was five B ranks and almost one thousand C and D ranks. Now when you heal a little, stay over by Belle and remember what I told you. I¡¯ll see you in just a bit.¡±


    Alissa bounced off while Adrest was still in a stupor, he could still feel a lingering warmth on his lips. Alissa bent down to the dead tired Belle and whispered a few words in her ears before gently kissing the top of her head and walking to the entrance of the cavern Rin was currently in.


    Adrest finally felt like he could stand without falling over and walked over to Belle. As he helped her up, she half collapsed into his arms, so he wrapped an arm around her for support and kept her on her feet.


    ¡°What did Alissa say to you Belle?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh, Big sis Ali said to do whatever you say.¡± Belle cheerily answered.


    ¡°Oh, well just stay here and rest for a bit. It¡¯s going to be a stressful few hours.¡± Adrest switched between staring at the epic fight that was nearing it¡¯s end and the beautiful dragon who was taking long, deep breaths with her eyes closed.


    While Adrest was nervous, he knew there was nothing he could do to stop what was happening, If he tried anything now, it would actually be detrimental to Alissa.


    A long, mournful wail ringing against the bare stone shook Adrest from his thoughts. He brought Rin back into focus to could see her standing over a mountain of broken bones, smiling triumphantly back at them.


    Rin was in an exceptionally good mood seeing her friends alive and well, just a little dirtier than she¡¯d left them. With a light hop, Rin flipped off the pile and landed smoothly on the ground. Overall, the fight had gone as well as she could¡¯ve hoped fighting an A rank. Only some gouges and a few fractures that were already mending didn¡¯t count as anything serious to her, and in return she had gotten the essence of a Resha. She thought as she patted a bottle filled with what looked like a bottle of dark tar.


    Rin only took a single step towards her friends, ready to hunt for anything valuable and find a way out of the cleared dungeon. With her as a voucher, she could get the three promoted to low B rank at least, then they could do more contracts together officially.


    Her happy daydreams were interrupted with the sound of the mountains themselves screaming. It was mind-numbing, blood rupturing, grinding that brought Adrest and Belle to their knees, covering their ears in pain. Rin could barely form thoughts under the noise and looked for the source.


    Looking behind herself, Rin saw that the entire back wall that made up the huge cavern was collapsing in on itself. In shock, Rin watched the thousands of tons of near solid stone crush and grind into smaller and smaller pieces. In only minutes in the vast walls place was a hill of fine dust.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Rin¡¯s hands were shaking and her breath was shallow, she focused in on the figure that was now exposed to the four invaders. Behind the wall was another cavern that dwarfed the one Rin was in. Multiple miles wide and just as tall, the difference being this walls and floor were all perfectly flat and smooth.


    Sitting in the center of the empty cave was a gigantic thing. It was like someone had taken the top half of a Minotaur and stuck it to a snake''s body, but with many legs like a centipede¡¯s. It was as long as a city street many dozen feet across. It had so many shining arm-like limbs growing from its long body that she got dizzy looking at them all.


    The upper body was just as monstrous, covered in thick cords of muscle as hard as any stone, fists that could squeeze a human to a pulp between fingers with ease. The head was like a bull¡¯s, hot steam rushing out of the trembling nose, and the strange square pupils radiated a madness and rage that bordered on obsession.


    Rin was scared under those eyes, she couldn¡¯t understand what something like that was doing here. What was an S rank doing on the border? Why couldn¡¯t she sense a trace of it until now? Why had she brought her friends with her to an unknown dungeon? All she wanted to do was impress and help them out a bit, she knew D and C rank parties didn¡¯t earn much and thought she could help them get a little boost.


    The shaking stopped, the only sound was a deep rumbling caused by the unknown beast breathing. Then, it spoke in a deep and throaty voice that was closer to a growl than speech.


    ¡°YoU RuInEd EvErYtHiNg!¡±


    Rin was terrified and knew she was out of her league. She looked back to the three behind her and gripped the blades in her hands until her knuckles turned white.


    ¡°Adrest! Alissa! Take Belle and run. Run as fast as you can and get back to the surface. I¡¯ll keep it busy for as long as I can, don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    Without waiting for a response, Rin swallowed down rainbow of over ten different pills and elixirs. Her body throbbed and thrummed with rampaging mana and overwhelming blood energy. her skin split and healed with even the slightest movement, thin lines of blood dripping out as she grabbed the crystal she always kept around her neck. It was a muted orange, but as the blood on her hand made contact, it seemed to come alive and became vibrant.


    Rin crushed the gem to powder in one hand and the dust flowed into her body, her presence went to a new level. Every motion was filled with overwhelming power, only Rin knew that the price was the burning of her vitality itself to keep her body together.


    Rin took a step forward. She disappeared.


    Next to the bull¡¯s head, Rin¡¯s sword flashed and clanged into the ear that was larger than herself. The sword actually cut through the fur with some resistance and dug into the flesh below, but stopped just a few inches in.


    The beast roared in annoyance and shook the fly off. Rin dodged back hundreds of feet and watched the monster come to a full standing height, its many legs clattering against the floor as they oscillated. It raised an arm coated in thick stone and sent a punch towards Rin. She easily dodged and tried sneak-attacking again, to no avail with a limb from the bottom of the body meeting her with deadly force.


    From there a life and death stalemate kicked off, Rin focusing to the utmost to keep track of the dozens of steely limbs attacking at all angles, and the earthen fists that slammed towards her from above like a meteorite constantly.


    The only thing saving Rin was the near dozen different life saving treasures she used at once boosting her strength, and the fact that she has always specialized in speed and dodging blows. She fought fiercely for every extra second for the others, she might have to die down here, but she prayed earnestly for them to get out alive at least, though she knew it was unlikely.


    Rin held on for nearly 3 minutes before making a mistake. She got just barely clipped by a leg and was sent flying like a kite with its string cut. She crashed into a far wall and tried her best to get up, she hadn¡¯t bought nearly enough time.


    She was trying to force her broken arm to hold her other sword, but it wouldn¡¯t listen. As she saw the lumbering giant slowly take step after step towards her, rapidly closing the distance, She was shocked and enraged to see a figure appear in front of her.


    Alissa was actually standing in front of Rin, after Rin had all but sacrificed her life to buy them time. What could a C rank do, even if they were pretty skilled, against an almighty S rank. It was no different than coming here to die with her, wasting everything Rin fought for.


    As Rin was confused and seething at the idiot standing in front of her smiling, Alissa spoke, ¡°Just sit there for awhile Rin. You did your best so I¡¯ll handle it from here. I hope you¡¯ll still be our friend after this though.¡±


    Rin had no idea what Alissa was talking about, did she go insane from the aura exuded from S ranks? Before she could ask the person in question, Alissa walked off towards the hulking monstrosity.


    She wanted to get up and stop the woman, to yell at Alissa to run and leave. But all she could do was stand there confused and shocked. Every step Alissa took the aura she exuded became multiplicatively stronger. It broke the stone into nothing under each dainty foot and it alone echoed through the enormous cave. As if announcing that she was the sole authority in the area now, it was her domain and everything within was lucky to exist because she deigned it so.


    Then Alissa spoke to the Earthen Titan, ¡°Are you finished picking on a little B rank? Is it fun to throw a temper tantrum like a spoiled child?¡±


    Everyone was stunned, even the Titan himself, who the hell would talk to an S rank overlord like they were a misbehaving child?


    Alissa did not raise her voice but her words dominated the space imposing themselves on those who heard. Adrest knew that he it was time and took out the wood case, set it on the ground and said to Belle, ¡°Close your eyes and stay right beside me.¡±


    Seeing she did as instructed, Adrest put his hands against the lid and closed his own eyes, lifting open the box lid.


    Even through his eyelids Adrest could see a blindingly bright blue light and a dragon¡¯s roar caused intense pressure on everyone present, even the Earthen Titan felt a twinge of primal fear.

 44. Alissa Goes All Out

    Rin looked over and immediately, her eyes were burning as she saw a dark blue light gush from the small case by Adrest¡¯s feet. She gasped as the light formed the shape of an illusory dragon. It was only slightly smaller than the Titan, but far more imposing, with regal blue scales and bright yellow eyes that looked like they could pierce through any deceit or illusion.


    As the form fully coalesced, it looked around intelligently before settling its golden eyes on Alissa. She looked back and they seemed to communicate for a few heartbeats before the illusion snorted and turned almost completely illusory as it settled on and around the figures of Adrest and Belle.


    Alissa smiled and waved at the two before taking another step, she vanished. In her place was a hulking purple dragon, It was the size of a two story building and scales that resembled gems arced wildly with purple electricity. Each tree trunk sized leg ended with five glittering claws as long as Adrest¡¯s torso and ended at impossibly sharp points.


    The aura she emanated wasn¡¯t as strong as the Earthen Titan, but there was something regal and magnetic about it, drawing the observer in and wanting to bow in obedience.


    It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, Rin was in shock and horrified at the transition. The kind girl she¡¯d been spending so much time with was actually a dirty dragon? How was that possible? She always assumed she had some sort of reptilian blood, but there were so many kinds of demi-humans that Alissa could¡¯ve passed for over ten species.


    As Rin took in the majestic image, a war was raging in her mind. On one side were the looping memories of the last few days together and their time in town. How Alissa was always so kind and had a warm smile, the way she would comfort Rin, and how much Alissa doted on Adrest and Belle.


    On the other side was all the stories she¡¯d grown up with, both in the orphanage and in the Adventurer¡¯s School. Dragons were strong, violent, greedy monsters that would wipe out cities for fun, end countries for their treasure, and took pleasure in watching the lives burn beneath their flame.


    She''d seen teachers with horrific burns that even the highest grade potions couldn¡¯t heal because of dragon fire, limbs roughly cut short from their gaping maws. One teacher had even told a story about how their entire hometown was wiped out just because one wanted to turn it into a place to rest before moving on. Rin had been taught that dragons were a mortal enemy and by killing one she could save thousands.


    Rin had no idea what to do, she just sat there oppressed under two maddeningly powerful auras battle for domination. She watched as the dragon opened its maw and every hair on Rin¡¯s body stood on end. Out of nothing but reflex, Rin pulled out every last protective item she had. The last of the glittering barriers was erected just before everything went white.


    Opening his eyes, Adrest was amazed to see a thin blue fog engulfing himself and Belle, he nearly screamed as when looking around, he found a pair of golden reptilian eyes observing him curiously.


    ¡°Ah.. Hello.¡±


    The dragon let out an inaudible huff of air and went back to observing Alissa. Adrest did the same and saw a brilliant ball of purple light briefly gather at her mouth, then his vision was flooded mercilessly by a violent purple light for a split second.


    Relief came from the illusory dragon, who used its misty form to filter the amount of coming light through. Blinking away the tears forming in his eyes, Adrest looked down to Belle making sure she was fine.


    She was rubbing at her eyes for a few seconds before opening them. Looking up at him with bloodshot eyes Belle opened her mouth.


    ¡°Big Bro Ady?¡±


    "What¡¯s wrong Belle?¡±


    ¡°Will Big sis be okay? That thing is really scary.¡± Belle asked with a tinge of fear in her voice.


    Adrest comforted the fearful rabbit, ¡°Ali might get some new bumps and bruises but she¡¯ll be strong-arming us into trying some bull meat before you know it.¡±


    Belle seemed to find the idea funny and let out a few little chuckles, missing the nails biting into a clenched first behind his back.


    ¡°Now remember what Alissa said and observe as much as you can, this kind of fight doesn¡¯t happen often.¡±


    At the chiding, Belle just nodded and gave the display her full attention. Through the active filtering of the mist dragon, Adrest could clearly see where Alissa¡¯s attack has landed. The monster¡¯s shoulder was black and smoking, but didn¡¯t seem to be impaired in anyway.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Then Alissa charged ahead, diving and ducking through the air like a falcon through trees as she dodged many sets of limbs stabbing towards her in all directions. She wasn¡¯t passive though as her jaws clamped down on legs, snapping them in half through awesome force, and her claws left a trail of deep gouges on steely limbs too slow in retreating.


    All the while, Alissa would shoot off lightning And release roars of fire. Giant blazing cyclones would form in her wake, then move towards the Titan, attempting to engulf it. Alissa even let out crackling growls that almost sounded like chanting to Adrest, then giant magic circles would appear in the space around her, letting out terrifying magics that produced colors Adrest hadn''t ever seen before, the power was so great that Adrest was afraid she would collapse the entire space.


    The Titan wasn¡¯t passive though, with its many metal legs constantly attacking, its upper body was coated in an Earthen and semi-sparkling armor, even harder than the yellow chitin that already covered most of its weak points. The Giant also formed huge magic circles in its hands that let loose an ominous black torrent of water. It was like a river appeared from thin air, Alissa was careful to give the rapids a wide berth as it dissolved whatever section of cave it came into contact with.


    The two fought viciously, exchanging blow for blow, injury for injury. Alissa was bleeding from several stab wounds and one leg was hanging limp and distorted in the air. Though hurt, the dragon seemed to become even more reckless with every scale that was broken, attacking in a bloodthirsty frenzy that put even a being that was essentially in the S rank on the back foot.


    In exchange for her battered body, the Titan was also looking increasingly rough. Almost a third of the many appendages were cut off, sharply angled, or outright shattered. The Minotaur portion of the body was constantly smoldering and crumbling, the armor unable to keep up with the incredible temperature of dragon fire, its bull like head was missing half an ear and its eyes were completely bloodshot without a hint of sanity.


    The battle raged on and the cave was showing signs of destruction as awesome strength and magic collided. The hardened stone was littered with cracks and boulders were constantly being sent flying through the air. The only safe spaces in the area were the spot Adrest and Belle were standing, where oncoming rubble was stopped mid-air and the area surrounding them showed no signs of damage whatsoever. The other area was an opalescent shield that was just big enough for Rin to stand in, it would let out loud thunks whenever debris was sent flying towards her, but seemed sturdy enough.


    The battle raged on, one side using fire and lightning and teeth. The other legs and earth and overwhelming force. Alissa was quickly accumulating more serious injuries, especially when a stone coated arm hit her side, sending her flying like an insect.


    She didn¡¯t slow down though. Through the pain Alissa used all of her power, flying back in and determined to kill the beast. The Titan roared in pain as yet more of its legs were ripped and torn and wanted nothing more than to kill this pest.


    Finally, after nearly two hours of struggling, Alissa found an opportunity. The Titan was becoming tired and left a gap in its defenses near the throat. She rushed in and the Titan tried his best to stop Alissa, about to catch her within gigantic hands and crush her to bits.


    Just as the hand was about to wrap her up, lightning crackled and the incoming hand swept through an afterimage, scattering it. At the same time a series of huge booms rang out from where she¡¯d been, the air catching up with her. Adrest had no idea what just happened, Alissa simply vanished.


    Then, he saw it. Alissa was making contact with the titan¡¯s throat. Alissa savagely used her claws and mouth to tear open the skin and Adrest balked when his friend disappeared inside the wound.


    The Titan let out the loudest screams to date. If it weren¡¯t for the barrier, Adrest eardrums would¡¯ve been blown out. The Titan screamed and started hitting itself. Carefully looking, Adrest could see where ever the hand landed, the skin on the monster was slightly raised like it¡¯d been irritated.


    Alissa wreaked havoc on the beast¡¯s giant frame. Skin split and blood leaked through the fur, chitin, and Earthen armor. It¡¯s resistance became weaker and weaker until the bloodshot eyes as large as a house became dull and dim.


    Shortly after the beast stilled, A lump grew on its forehead. Everyone watched as it slowly expanded, until finally in a rain of blood and viscera, a majestic red-purple figure appeared.


    In the open and victorious, Alissa let loose a roar that vibrated the air. It was deep and long, filled with pride and a primal joy at her victory. Then, she staggered and nearly collapsed.


    Not thinking about whether it was safe, Adrest ran straight out of the misty blue dragon¡¯s protection and towards the slumped figure on the mountain of a corpse. Not caring that Rin would see, Adrest let his raven black wings spread out around himself and he took to the air.


    Quickly he was at Alissa¡¯s side worriedly looking over her battered and beaten body. There was blood everywhere, only a scant few scales that were still intact, a huge depression marred the right side of her body, and an arm was barely still attached by a single cord of sinew. Alissa looked absolutely horrible and Adrest hesitated to even touch her in fear of making unseen wounds worse.


    Alissa was huffing shallowly, with blood leaking out the side of her maw. She looked triumphantly at Adrest from where she was crumpled down. Seeing the plain worry and fear on his face as he checked her over, Alissa¡¯s heart felt warm and she used that last bit of her mana to transform back to a demi-human.


    In the dragon¡¯s place was a young woman, a horn was cracked and broken to a jagged edge, her originally purple shirt was dark and wet, she could only half kneel as too many bones were broken, and an arm dangled freely at her side.


    ¡°Haha, I did it Ady *cough* *cough*¡± Adrest could hear a wheeze as she spoke, it wasn''t hard to guess what had gotten hit when half her rib cage was shattered.


    Adrest walked up to the small form and crouched in front of her, ¡°You really did it Ali.¡±


    Adrest stroked the purple hair carefully straightening it for the injured woman who leaned into the warm hand, ¡°Don¡¯t cut it so close next time, for me?¡±


    Alissa giggled, but was cut off from a coughing fit and wheezing.

 45. Escape The Collapse

    Getting her breathing back under control, Alissa took the chance to tease Adrest as she pulled out a small and shimmering crystal vial.


    ¡°Ady, I can¡¯t control my arm very well, could you help me?¡±


    Adrest took the bottle and easily cracked the top open, instantly the surroundings were bathed in a sweet medicinal scent. He tried guiding it to her waiting mouth, but Alissa actually wouldn¡¯t open it, just going ¡°mphh mphh.¡± while shaking her head.


    Adrest was trying to figure out what he was doing wrong, when he thought of a similar situation a few hours ago and understood the hint.


    Adrest emptied the contents of the bottle into his mouth with one gulp ignoring the anxiety building in his chest, wondering if he should be doing this, he darted in, his lips to Alissa¡¯s.


    The nervousness disappeared as he opened his eyes to see Alissa¡¯s own staring back at him happily. The contents of Adrest¡¯s mouth was quickly transferred but they didn¡¯t separate.


    Adrest hugged the frail body gently as she was healing. Alissa also brought an arm around Adrest¡¯s wide back and squeezed.


    They would have continued, but just seconds after the potion was finished, they were interrupted by a loud but short snort. Adrest jumped back at the unexpected noise, leaving a trail of iridescent saliva between the two briefly.


    Adrest was blushing madly and looked for the source of the intrusion, landing on the phantom dragon which was slowly becoming more and more transparent. Alissa was better, she stared at Adrest¡¯s lips for just a second while a blush crept up her neck, then looked at the one who¡¯d broke them up.


    Seeing the dragon had Alissa¡¯s attention, they appeared to have a mental conversation as they stared at each other. The dragon finally let out a dissatisfied chuff, then fully transformed into smoke, rushing towards the black box that closed on its own.


    ¡°What was that? You two talked, right?¡± Adrest tried to find something to fill the awkward silence.


    Alissa slowly stood to her full height, already looking miles better than just minutes ago. With some stiffness, Alissa dusted off her dirty shirt and leather pants, answering as she worked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about her later Ady, but right now we should get out of here. I honestly don¡¯t know how long this place is going to hold together.¡± Alissa took Adrest¡¯s offered hand and he floated to the floor with her in tow.


    Alissa was mentally and physically exhausted, even with all her planning and the fact that the Earthen Titan hadn¡¯t finished that final step into S rank, it was too close. To her credit, it was a terrible matchup for her, and this one had been abnormally strong for its kind. But now she already had to walk towards another battle.


    Alissa tugged Adrest¡¯s sleeve pulling him to the prismatic bubble off to the side. Rin was standing inside looking lost, but soon became vigilant as they approached. Seeing Adrest¡¯s wings Rin was afraid she knew what race he belonged to now as well.


    Adrest had been smiling as he led the way, but it turned into a concerned frown.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter Rin? Alissa killed the S rank, lets go back to town.¡± Adrest tried to coax her and glide over the fact that Alissa¡¯s race was exposed.


    Rin didn¡¯t move but was carefully looking at Adrest, then quietly spoke, ¡°Adrest with those wings, you¡¯re a demon, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Adrest wasn¡¯t surprised to hear her question, but really had been hoping they could pretend everything was as it had been just that morning. Adrest sighed and was about to explain himself, when Alissa¡¯s small hand rested on his chest and she stepped in front of him.


    Rin was instantly on guard from the action and took a step back in her bubble. Alissa looked hurt seeing that.


    ¡°I really meant what I said earlier Rin, I know you probably hate Adrest and I right now, but this section of the dungeon system could collapse any second. Please come with us back to town. Then maybe we could sit down and explain ourselves?¡±


    Alissa genuinely appealed to the innocent teenager. She really took a liking to the young hero, she reminded Alissa of herself in a lot of ways and wanted to continue getting to know the lonely little hero.


    Rin had tears in the corners of her eyes and was about to say something, but a huge grating noise emitted from the ceiling. Rin went pale and collapsed the barriers around her.


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave together, but after that I want to be alone for awhile.¡± Rin said tersely and running off towards the exit where Belle was looking at the high up roof scared.


    Alissa looked sadly at the small back walking off, but Adrest put a hand on her shoulder, ¡°Rin¡¯s a smart girl, she¡¯s probably just confused right now.¡±


    She nodded and they both walked to the exit, no time to strip any valuables from the huge body, and even the princess of a world power didn''t have access to anything that could carry it whole. They met up with the others, where Belle ran directly into Alissa¡¯s stomach embracing her, and Adrest could see Alissa actually flinch when the girl made contact. Internally, Adrest took just a little pleasure in seeing karma come for the girl who constantly broke his bones then poked the injuries.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Rin was standing off to the side uncomfortably and followed along as they ran at a casual pace.


    ¡°You know the way back right Alissa? I tried keeping track the first day but couldn¡¯t keep up after that.¡±


    She gave a light nod, ¡°I have it all memorized, the way is cleared so we should be out in just a few hours. The important thing is getting away from the central area as fast as we can, the upper levels shouldn¡¯t be affected too badly.¡±


    They sped up and followed Alissa through the maze and up the mountain. Some hours into the run and making it back up to the second level, without warning the entire earth quaked dramatically. They protected their heads and stayed together in case the tunnel they were in showed signs of collapse, but thankfully other than some new cracks, the place stuck together.


    Just a half day later, the party emerged from the cave that the Mantula colony was inhabiting at a little after midday. As they got out and everyone dusted off the spiderwebs, dirt, and dust, Rin spoke up.


    ¡°I¡¯m heading into town alone. I don¡¯t feel like talking to the Guild so I¡¯ll be sneaking in."


    She left without waiting for a response, the only trace of her was some snow sent flying and a small depression.


    Belle looked at where Rin had been then to Alissa and Adrest, ¡°Is Rin okay? Why was she so quiet?¡±


    Alissa rubbed the rabbit¡¯s head, ¡°Rin¡¯s just going through a lot right now, humans don¡¯t look at dragons and demons the same way the beast-kin like you do. From toddlers they¡¯re told bedtime stories about the righteous hero killing the evil dragon, or saving the world from the fearsome Demon Lord.¡±


    Belle tilted her head thinking back to the one¡¯s she¡¯d heard, the memories were fuzzy but she remembered a lot about brave warriors fighting invading humans. Or champions chosen to fight and train alongside dragons.


    Alissa continued, ¡°Then as they grow up, demons and dragons and other monsters are used as threats to misbehaving children. In Rin¡¯s case, I can only imagine how many stories she¡¯s heard going to an Adventurer¡¯s School, they are the ones that have to deal with stray and wild ones after all.¡±


    Belle looked sad hearing how humans viewed her Ali and Ady. But Adrest scooped her up and set her on his shoulders as they walked back to town.


    ¡°You can¡¯t make everyone in the world like you, Belle. All that matters is finding the people that know who and what you are, and they accept it anyway.¡±


    Alissa made a face of mock surprise, ¡°Big bro Ady actually has good advice? Did a rock hit your head earlier? Let me take a look.¡±


    Adrest swatted away Alissa who was poking him all over and further messing up his already disheveled hair.


    ¡°Knock it off. Shoo!¡±


    Seeing how Adrest and Alissa were acting as usual, Belle relaxed and put the matter of Rin to the back of her mind, sure her older brother and sister would figure it out.


    The next question she had sent Adrest stumbling over his own feet though.


    ¡°Big bro Ady, why did you and Ali kiss when you ran up to her earlier?¡±


    ¡°wha-! Where did that come from Belle?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve seen people kissing before, but whenever I asked my aunt and uncle about it, they¡¯d just say that it¡¯s called kissing and I¡¯ll learn when I¡¯m older.¡±


    Belle grew a little dour remembering her past, and Adrest was stumbling over his own tongue trying to think of something to say. He never had to give that sort of talk once in his almost thirty years of life. He was beyond out of his depth trying to explain it to the fourteen year old demi-human he viewed as a little sister.


    Alissa was greatly enjoying the show, laughing and pointing at Adrest¡¯s scrunched up, beet red face. Thankfully, after getting her fill of the flustered Adrest she walked next to them and had to reach up to pat the girl¡¯s back.


    ¡°Tonight I¡¯ll explain and answer any questions like that you have before bed, don¡¯t embarrass your Big bro any more.¡±


    Belle tilted her head, flopping an ear past her eye, and bent down over Adrest¡¯s head to look at his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong Ady? Why are you so red?¡±


    Adrest was beginning to feel like she was doing it on purpose and an eye twitched.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, just let Ali explain later. For now let¡¯s get back to town, I need a drink or three after today.¡±


    ¡°Haha! You said it Ady! I can¡¯t wait to get back to Rose and our beds, let''s get going.¡±


    Alissa roughly clapped him on the back, trotting off ahead. Adrest couldn¡¯t understand where she got her energy after being half crippled just a few hours ago, but just shifted Belle on his shoulders a bit and picked up the pace.


    It was a brisk hour or so walk in the snow before the town gates came into view and other than an extra glance from the guard at their bedraggled appearance, they got in just fine and were on their way home when Adrest could smell a food cart selling fresh, extra seasoned skewers.


    As Adrest¡¯s mouth was watering at the thought of hot food and was debating on turning, he heard a loud rumbling right by his head. Looking up, he could just barely see a blushing Belle hiding under her ears.


    With the decision made, he let out a short and sharp whistle for Alissa a few meters ahead, and tilted his head in the direction of the cart.


    Adrest set Belle down when they got near and went to stand in the short line alone while Alissa and her found a spot to sit and eat. Handing the single silver Trevil over Adrest¡¯ got enough skewers to fill both hands and quickly made his way back, wanting to eat them while they were still warm.


    ¡°¡±Thanks Ady¡±¡±


    Adrest was a little annoyed that Alissa echoed Belle, with the same innocent tone and everything, but just ignored the troublemaker to eat his own skewers.


    With filled bellies, the three were soon walking in from the cold when Adrest and Alissa were nearly tackled into a hug from a wet eyed Rose.


    ¡°I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re back safe. It¡¯s been three days and I was starting to get worried.¡±


    Adrest patted the bartender¡¯s back and realized just how small she felt up close like this. ¡°We¡¯re back safe and sound Rose, Rin didn¡¯t tell you? She should¡¯ve gotten back before us.¡±


    Rose let the two go and looked at them confused, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen her yet, maybe she stopped at the guild first like usual?¡±


    They knew the odds of that being the case were low but nodded, ¡°Yeah that¡¯s probably it.¡±


    Rose with a warm smile grabbed the three of them and pulled them to the bathhouse.


    ¡°It¡¯s completely empty. Go get cleaned up and I¡¯ll have ice cold drinks and piping hot food waiting for you. I want you to tell me all about the last few days.¡±


    Unable to argue with the redhead, they did as instructed and went into their separate changing rooms. As it was so quiet and only a single wall separated the men¡¯s and women¡¯s rooms, Adrest could vaguely hear a loud gasp in the middle of him taking off his shirt.


    Curious, he paused and focused. Just barely he could hear Belle on the other side.


    ¡°Gasp! Big Sis Ali are you okay? That looks like it hurts a lot.¡±


    ¡°It''s fine Belle, it¡¯s just leftover from the one good hit the Titan got on me, dragon bones take longer to heal than flesh and blood, my ribcage will be bruised like this for a few more hours before it fades.¡±


    Adrest had no idea she was still injured, he¡¯d assumed whatever potion she took out instantly fixed everything. Looks like she was good at putting on a mask for everyone else. He¡¯d make sure to praise her more later, the dragon loved hearing how amazing she was.


    Nodding to himself, Adrest thoroughly scrubbed the days of grease grime and dirt off his skin. Garbed in a clean set of clothes and feeling refreshed, Adrest walked out to the bar. There, he saw Rin speaking quietly to Rose at the bar but as soon as she saw Adrest she said a quick goodbye and ran up to her room.

 46. Belle To The Rescue

    Adrest felt a little twinge of pain in his heart, but knew Rin needed space to process, so he forced a smile back on and grabbed an empty stool in front of Rose.


    ¡°Rin really is amazing, guiding all of you through a dungeon and fighting an A rank Resha by herself. I guess she really is our little hero.¡±


    Adrest could guess Rin left a lot out and was thankful as he really didn¡¯t want Rose scared of them.


    ¡°Yeah, Rin was a real lifesaver a few times. If all heroes are like her, the country is in good hands.¡±


    Rose agreed and set a mug filled to the brim in front of Adrest.  Adrest downed the entire thing. It turned out to be a honey beer that was in fact delicious.


    He was only a bit into his second drink when Alissa and Belle came out in tee-shirts and baggy pants, looking refreshed and exhausted. They took a seat to either side of Adrest and gratefully took the offered mugs from Rose.


    Alissa got a berry mead Rose knew she was particularly fond of, while Belle got a fresh squeezed fruit juice which was hard to come by this deep into the winter but Belle earned it.


    For the first time in days Adrest felt completely relaxed, muscles that he didn¡¯t even realize were tensed relaxed and it felt like his mind was slowing down. He enjoyed listening to Alissa and Rose catch up and playing cards with Belle to keep her entertained.


    After an amazing dinner as usual and several hours of drinks at the bar, Rose looked to the stairs worriedly before looking back to the trio.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late and Rin still hasn¡¯t come back down, she has to be as hungry as you were. Could I bother someone to take her up something?¡±


    She looked to each for volunteers, but the older two didn¡¯t feel comfortable with the task, afraid it would do more harm than good. Belle saw the problem and was happy to raise an arm, ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much Belle, I¡¯ll be right back with it.¡± Rose smiled sweetly before running off to the kitchen to make something for Rin.


    Soon Belle was walking up the stairs balancing a large tray of pancakes, eggs, and fried potatoes for Rin, her favorite meal. Belle made it up to the next floor with no incidents and was knocking on the door that belonged to the hero.


    ¡°Knock knock.¡± No answer.


    ¡°Knock knock.¡± No answer.


    ¡°knock kn-¡°


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to you Al-! Oh Belle?¡± Rin flung open the door and started in a rage, but calmed when she realized it was Belle.


    ¡°Rose was worried since you haven¡¯t been downstairs for dinner yet, so she made this for you.¡± Belle explained sweetly.


    Rin was thinking about rejecting her as Belle was so close to the dragon and demon, but that cute innocence and the smell of her favorite food teasing her empty stomach overrode that. Rin opened the door and gestured Belle inside.


    Belle obliged, set the tray down on a small table and turned to Rin.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you like Big bro and Big sis anymore?¡± Belle just came out and asked it with a childlike look that she may or may not be abusing.


    Rin looked like the breath had been knocked out of her by the blunt question. She thought for a long second before sitting on her bed and gestured for Belle to do the same.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like them anymore Belle. It¡¯s more I feel like they¡¯re dangerous strangers now. It feels like this whole time they¡¯ve just been playing a game, hell Alissa could¡¯ve torn though that dungeon alone if she wanted. I can¡¯t even count how many stories I¡¯ve heard in school about the lying and deceitful demon tricking and killing seniors, or dragons razing cities because they liked the landscape. But then I think of the last week together and I don¡¯t want to hate them. But I just don¡¯t know what to believe right now.¡± By the end Rin was nearly in tears.


    In the orphanage Rin had plenty of friends in the other children and nuns, but after moving to the capital she found she never fit in. Not educated enough, not skilled enough, just not enough in the eyes of children who grew up training specially for this since birth, given the best medicines and educations available. The people who attended were extraordinarily talented, usually coming from well-known families and famous Adventurers themselves. There were only a small handful of people like her who came from common backgrounds, and they saw her as competition so their encounters were lukewarm at best. Their tuition and expenses were all paid for as they came from no money, and they were given many opportunities to earn more, but there were only so many good jobs to go around, and it was strictly merit based.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    The little traveling family of Alissa, Adrest, and Belle were the first friends around her age she¡¯d made in years, excluding Rose, and she had been looking forward to all the places they¡¯d visit once they were promoted and all the exciting things they¡¯d do. But now it all went up in smoke.


    Belle tilted her head so that one ear flipped down, making the teary eyed teen unwittingly chuckle through the tears.


    ¡°But it¡¯s not like Ady and Ali were acting any different from usual? They love to drink, eat, and play. Ali is always teasing Ady, and Ady is getting beat up for annoying her. If Ali isn¡¯t teaching or training us, she¡¯s telling me stories or playing whatever I want. They¡¯re the family I always wanted, and I¡¯ve thanked Nina everyday for them being the ones to buy me.¡±


    Belle just said what came to mind as she compared how they¡¯d acted since arriving at town and how they acted at home, and Rin listened, slowly hoping.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t lie about that?¡± Rin asked moving her head towards Belle.


    Shaking her head Belle said, ¡°Nope, it happened just on the other side of town, you can ask Rose, we came here right after, Ali even carried me the whole way because my feet were hurt.¡±


    Seeing Belle had her attention she continued, ¡°Big sis Rin, I¡¯ve heard a lot of stories about dragons and demons when I was a kid too. They were about how strong and smart the dragons are and how the best beast-kin would get to meet and even learn from them. I¡¯ve heard about really old demon Kingdoms too, with Lords that sacrificed themselves to kill evil Gods.¡±


    Rin listened intently as Belle added, ¡°And compared to every human I¡¯ve met, Ady is nicer. He makes whatever I want, he teaches me a lot, tells me stories, and he even got really hurt to save me.¡±


    Belle grew less energetic at the last bit, but was happy to answer when Rin asked, ¡°He saved you?¡±


    Belle smile was tinged with some sadness, ¡°I was a few hours away from home and some bad guys tried to kidnap me, a treasure from Big sis Ali kept me safe. Even though he was still D rank like me Ady attacked the group. He ended up covered in a lot of cuts and burns and broke a few bones, he looked like Ali earlier.¡±


    Rin was smiling as she could imagine him doing that with the way they doted on Belle.


    ¡°Thanks Belle, I have a lot to think about I hope you don¡¯t mind if I eat alone?¡±


    She shook her head and hopped up, as she was at the doorway Belle looked back to Rin, ¡°Goodnight Big sis Rin.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight Belle.¡±


    Belle made her way back downstairs where Alissa was in some sort of fight with Adrest, jabbing her finger at him to dodge. Rose was wiping down the bar and cleaning for the night and Belle thanked the Goddess Nina once again.


    Later that night, after Alissa answered all of Belle¡¯s questions while Adrest helped Rose finish cleaning downstairs and she drifted off to sleep. Adrest walked in and took a seat across Alissa at their small table.


    ¡°It¡¯s a damn shame we couldn¡¯t process that Earthen Titan, we could¡¯ve bought a town or two.¡± Adrest was lamenting their rushed exit of the dungeon when Alissa tapped his shoulder and showed a sly grin.


    ¡°I picked this up on my way through.¡± Alissa raised her hand and a blue and subtly glowing crystal covered in glowing purple script appeared, floating on it. It was almost twice the size of Adrest and took up most of their free space.


    ¡°I already sealed it so it isn¡¯t emitting any power, but it¡¯s about 20 times stronger than the Scarlet Rent core we used a few months ago. I¡¯m not sure what yet, but we can find a use for it eventually.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing you were able to still grab that after the fight you had. Speaking of, what exactly was it that protected Belle and I? It acted alive.¡± Adrest asked the question he had wanted to ask for a few hours now.


    Alissa giggled, ¡°That¡¯s a special mirror my oldest sister gave me before I left. It holds a projection of her that holds a tenth of her strength. She said I had to open it my first time fighting an S rank, it¡¯s an important moment in the family. Even though that ass hadn''t taken the last step he could''ve matched one, his bloodline was a bit special even among other Earthen Titans. He could control metal and his control over water was almost better than earth. If I had to guess, he was either lucky or talented and his bloodline achieved partial atavism and gained more traits of the Black Tortoise. So, I asked her to protect the two of you while she watched.¡±


    Adrest thought of how the misty blue dragon looked at him a few times and his faced went to pale as a corpse then red as a tomato. That means she saw that.


    Alissa had to cover her mouth to keep from waking up Belle while leaning back in her seat cackling madly, knowing what he was thinking.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! If it makes you feel better, Zoya said you weren¡¯t that bad. And I liked it too Ady¡­¡±


    Alissa got quiet towards the end, but Adrest could still clearly hear her words, he looked out of his hands. Alissa was blushing but still meeting his gaze through the gaps in his fingers.


    Adrest leaned over the table slowly and seeing a shy smile greeting him, he moved with confidence. Their lips locked for the second time.


    Alissa wrapped her slim and tanned arms around Adrest¡¯s wide shoulders and pulled him closer, savoring this new experience. She felt her face burning both from embarrassment and excitement, her heart fluttering, and her mind filled with every side of Adrest she¡¯d seen over the past half year. From the weak and pathetic newborn groveling at her feet, to when he¡¯d cook for her, his face when he gently wakes her up every morning, and his cool side when he is fully immersed in a tough fight. She loved it all, every part of Adrest, and she wanted their idyllic days hidden away to continue forever.


    They finally separated, and a bridge of saliva still connected them. Seeing it, Adrest blushed and swatted it away, looking back at Alissa who was flushed and smiling giddily.


    ¡°Hehe-. Let¡¯s go to sleep Ady, sweet dreams.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight Ali.¡±

 47. Meeting With The Guildhead

    The next morning as usual the three ate breakfast with Rose, as they were deciding what to do today, Rin came down the stairs and couldn¡¯t quite look at them as she said, ¡°Can we talk in my room for a bit?¡±


    Adrest and Co. followed Rin back up the stairs and crammed into her single person room, Rin and Belle on the bed with Adrest and Alissa sitting at the small table.


    ¡°Why are you two pretending to be weak traveling adventurers in a tiny town like this?¡± Rin opened the conversation with a fairly easy to answer question.


    Alissa gave the truth, ¡°We live in the complete middle of nowhere, this is the only place for thousands of miles around, so we come here for commodities and to relax when we¡¯re bored.¡±


    Adrest nodded along, ¡°I can only take so many months of being trapped with Alissa at a time.¡±


    Rin looked oddly at the demon who was trying not to yelp from his side being pinched.


    ¡°¡­You know what will happen, why do you still open your mouth every time?¡±


    Alissa released him and as Adrest rubbed the tender spot, he shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s fun, and it¡¯s how I¡¯ve always talked to Ali, even when I thought she was just a dragon.¡±


    Raising an eyebrow, ¡°You ran into a mature dragon and the first thing you do is talk back to it?¡±


    ¡°Well yeah. She ate all of my food, skewers too.¡±


    Rin was getting a headache as she tried to keep up with this conversation, but she was having a harder and harder time equating the two to the images of dragons and bloodthirsty demons she¡¯d seen in books.


    ¡°It might sound rude, but you two are nothing like what I¡¯ve been warned about all my life. Are you just outliers ?¡±


    Contrary to her expectations, the two weren¡¯t insulted in the least, Alissa answered for them.


    ¡°Well, I do like to think I¡¯m unique, and a dragon¡¯s general attitude varies depending on what clan they¡¯re born into. But generally, we prefer to stick to our own territories. If I had to guess, what you¡¯ve heard about are mostly the wild dragons, but comparing us to them is like comparing you to an ape. You look and act a little similarly, but that¡¯s where the relation ends. Wild dragons are brainless, angry, muscle headed animals that the clans end up having to chase down more often than not.¡±


    Rin was learning something new, she didn¡¯t know there was such a distinction between the two. She knew some dragons were born and some evolved from scattered bloodlines but to think the wild born were looked down on so harshly by the natural born dragons was a shock.


    ¡°And in my case, I was actually human before I found a Lodestone, the thing saved my life.¡±


    Rin¡¯s eyes went wide. She¡¯d heard about Lodestones in class before. Only those The Demon God approved of could control them and they were a prerequisite for becoming a true Demon Lord.


    ¡°A regular human got Baal¡¯s blessing? It that even possible?¡±


    Adrest awkwardly scratched the back of his head, ¡°Well, there¡¯s a bit more to it, but that¡¯s a story for another time.¡±


    Rin looked closely into the eyes of Adrest and Alissa for several heartbeats, looking for any trace of deceit, any reason to doubt herself. Failing to find any Rin came to a decision.


    She stood up and grabbed the two sitting at the table into a hug. ¡°The three of you are the first friends I¡¯ve had in years, I¡¯ll trust you.¡±


    Alissa and Adrest stood and each used an arm to embrace the small girl, only coming up a little over their chests. It brought back some precious memories as she felt warm and safe surrounded by the pair. Belle had to run over, feeling left out.


    When they separated, Rin looked happier with her warm and genuine grin back in place. She spoke to the group, ¡°Now we have to figure out what to tell the Guildhead, we obviously can¡¯t tell him about you or your strength Alissa, but I wanted to use the dungeon as a shortcut to getting you three promotions to B rank.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯d you want to do that?¡± Adrest had to ask.


    Rin blushed a little while speaking toward the floor, ¡°If you reached B rank, I¡¯d be able to specifically request to work with you officially while I¡¯m here. And I thought maybe we could use the excuse of a high level mission to travel together sometime¡­¡±


    Alissa couldn¡¯t fight the urge and picked up Rin, spinning around like she often did to Belle. Rin was starting to feel a little dizzy when she was set down.


    ¡°Sorry Rin, but that was just too cute, you tried really hard for us, huh? Well we¡¯d love to spend more time with you. We¡¯ll just agree with whatever you say.¡±


    Rin really couldn¡¯t believe this bubbly young woman who looked just a year or two older than herself was a dragon strong enough to kill an S rank giant.


    ¡°If you¡¯re sure, then could you three follow me to the Guild later? Just leave out everything after the Resha and agree with me, and you¡¯ll be walking out with shiny new Guild cards.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in your hands Rin.¡± Adrest agreed easily, with the other two nodding like chickens.


    To get the annoying work done early they decided to get it out of the way. On the walk over Rin talked a little about what the local Guild master was like.


    ¡°Well, his name is Gerard and he''s a retired A rank. Back in the day he was known as the Iron Slab, but after an accident, he and their healer were the only survivors. It was only a decade later, when they were deciding to build this place that they were able to drag him out of the house and get him to take charge of the administration here.¡±


    ¡°Is he dependable?¡±


    Rin thought for a moment, the verdict a wobbling gesture with her hand, ¡°Eh, mostly? I¡¯d say his biggest fault is he''s too cautious. There''s no way he would¡¯ve let me or anyone near the cave dungeon before he spent a week studying and surveying it. It¡¯s a good thing and a bad thing, normal adventurers would¡¯ve died in those tunnels, but that S rank would¡¯ve finished its breakthrough and flattened the town by the time he got to the last layer.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Adrest and Alissa nodded, Rin wasn¡¯t saying the man¡¯s steadfast and careful approach was wrong, in fact, for most cases he would be in the right. But there would always be exceptions and luckily, Rin was the one to find the unusual case.


    They walked into the Guild house that had a midday buzz as people sat at the tables or waited in line. As soon as a receptionist spotted the little hero. She said something to the person she was waiting on and rushed over.


    ¡°Ms.Rin, the Guildhead wants to see you immediately.¡±


    Rin gave a light nod and motioned for the others to follow her up the stairs. The receptionist looked as if she wanted to stop them, but gave up before words came out. Instead, she shook her head and went back to the man still waiting at the counter, finishing their exchange.


    The group ascended two flights of stairs and were led to a door made of thick and dark wood. Rin lightly knocked and heard a deep gravelly voice respond, ¡°Enter.¡±


    Rin pushed open the door, Adrest got a sense for just how heavy it must be seeing Rin have to put some effort into it. Walking in, the office was crammed with paperwork on every available space making the large office look feel much smaller than it really was.


    In the far center of the room was a large but simple dark brown desk with files, folders, and books piled a few feet high across except for the center. Through the opening of papertowers was an older middle-aged man that made even the oversized executive desk look small.


    He had salt and peppered black hair that was kept short and a stern expression on his face that must be his default as the wrinkles emphasized the features as if he¡¯d been frowning for years straight. He was clean shaven and Adrest could clearly see an old scar going diagonally across his face, one of his eyes, a milky grey, in the path.


    Leading the way, Rin stood in front of the dark and deep grained wood desktop with the others standing behind her. Rin just stood awkwardly as she waited for the man to speak. The silence lingered for a near minute before the Guildhead spoke.


    ¡°How nice of you to grace me with your presence Rin. Would you be kind enough to enlighten me to your whereabouts for the past 4 days?¡±


    Adrest could nearly see the sarcasm dripping from the man¡¯s words. Rin could feel it too as she straightened up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Stammering she spoke up, ¡°N..nno problem Sir. I had been escorting and helping train the group behind me in the forest when we found a Mantula nest in a cave on the mountain base. But after clearing it out, we noticed that the cave seemed to go especially far, and I made the decision to come back after preparing to make sure it was empty.¡±


    Gerard remained stone faced as Rin spoke, but his eyebrows did furrow further. Not being interrupted to this point, Rin continued the story she¡¯d rehearsed many times last night and this morning.


    ¡°I knew it could have been a new dungeon so I weighed the risks before agreeing to take in the group behind me as they proved as strong as a B rank party while fighting the Mantula.¡±


    That was the first time Gerard looked at the three standing behind the supposed Hero. He saw a young man standing straight and stiff, but calm as they made eye contact. Passable and plausible that he was of use. He moved to his attention to the strikingly pale girl in the middle that was over a head shorter than the rest.


    Her thin body was tense and her eyes were darting every which way except for his direction. She didn¡¯t look like anything special, but could see the results of early training developing.


    Gerard looked to the last of the party, a tanned young woman who was confidently smiling back at him without the slightest nervousness. Her body was completely relaxed as if in her own home and Gerard¡¯s many years honed instincts were vaguely giving him warnings as he sized her up. Underneath that innocent exterior was something lurking.


    Gerard was the first to look away, nodding for Rin to continue. ¡°We spent several days mapping out what turned out to in fact be an undiscovered dungeon. In that time, Adrest, Alissa, and Belle were each indispensable and I feel they are far above the abilities of a C rank group. In our search, we discovered the leader that was an A rank Resha. It was controlling at least a hundred thousand bones, I barely managed to kill it after a long battle. And the entire time, the others were fighting off hordes of D, C, and even two B ranks.¡±


    Gerard¡¯s face turned incredibly sour after hearing about the strong Resha and Rin noticed after she finished the story, ¡°Sir?¡±


    Sighing, he relaxed and said, ¡°It¡¯s not really a secret, when the Great Joint War was carried out many years ago, there were too many bodies from both sides and too much destruction. Most of the fighting happened at a mountain stronghold just a few miles away. The military higher ups decided to have their mages bury the entire plot deep into the earth as a mass grave and memorial to the lost.¡±


    The ridiculous mass of bones suddenly made much more sense to the group, Rin felt a bit of sadness knowing she destroyed so many heroic senior¡¯s bodies. She knew it couldn¡¯t be helped but it was still too much of a pity they couldn¡¯t rest even after giving their lives.


    On the other hand, The three demi-humans didn¡¯t feel much. Belle couldn¡¯t really comprehend how many people that was and that each one was a real person. Adrest felt it was a shame but they were just bones at the end of the day. Alissa couldn¡¯t care less and just thought of it as an interesting fact.


    ¡°So that¡¯s it then? You led a group of C rank adventurers into an unknown and uncharted dungeon, spent multiple days in said dungeon without informing anyone beforehand, then fought a peak A rank Resha in its own territory without support?¡±


    Rin shrunk in on herself at each point listed, it sounded worse when he put it that way.


    ¡°Sir, we were always cautious and followed protocol when inside the dungeon and we were sure about every fight we started. We may not have sent word to the Guild, but, and I¡¯m sorry to say this, unless you were able to escort us yourself, anyone still in town would¡¯ve been dead weight and a detriment to our team.¡±


    Though Rin¡¯s voice still had a slight shake to it, she held her ground and stood tall under Gerard¡¯s intense gaze. The standoff continued until too tired to continue, Gerard broke off first while sighing.


    ¡°Despite my looks, I was a young rising star once too. What you did was stupid and irresponsible, but you all came back fine and cleared a dungeon that could¡¯ve wiped out the town if left alone. Every young adventurer is entitled to a few stupid heroics, just don¡¯t do it again.¡±


    Rin was elated and she regained her usual carefree demeanor. Gerard¡¯s brow twitched in annoyance at her lackadaisical expression as soon as she got her way. But he managed to switch his focus to the party behind her.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m to understand Rin was speaking truthfully and a C rank 3 man group helped clear an A rank dungeon? And you all even killed some B ranks?¡±


    Adrest started to explain as Rin had told them, but Alissa took over the conversation for their party.


    ¡°When Rin told us it might be a dungeon, I volunteered us to go as I have a lot of experience in them. My father made it a habit to have me train in every city that had one. Additionally, I just recently broke through to B rank and Adrest here can just barely hold one off so I thought we¡¯d do what we could to help.¡±


    Inside Gerard was struggling to not retort when the young woman said she just recently advanced to B rank. Bullshit, there¡¯s no novice B rank out there that could make him feel uneasy. Additionally, it may have been his imagination, but Gerard could swear he saw a twinkle of excitement in her deep purple eyes that dared him to question her story.


    Gerard had been around adventurers for decades and he knew that there were plenty of eccentrics in the bunch, in fact the higher one climbed the more oddballs they see. In this business, you only get to the top by risking life and limb every day, some people were born for it and others broke on the journey. He wasn¡¯t sure which category Alissa fit into, but he felt it wouldn¡¯t hurt to go along with it, so after weighing the risks, Gerard spoke out.


    ¡°In light of your contributions and Rin¡¯s endorsement, I will promote your group directly to B rank, additionally upon our team verifying the details of the dungeon, we will send an additional reward fit for the task.¡±


    Adrest tried to hide the surprise on his face, he hadn¡¯t had high hopes for this meeting. At best, he thought they¡¯d be lectured for an hour before being able to leave, but the Guildhead was directly giving them exactly what Rin had been hoping for.

 48. Homesick

    The four lightly bowed towards Gerard expressing their thanks, but the old man waved them away, done with the headache of a discussion. Rin brought up the rear and ushered everyone down to the counter where they saw Reed once again.


    He seemed a little star struck as Rin was the one up front to do the talking.


    ¡°Hey Reed! We just finished up a meeting with the Guild head and he¡¯s approved bumping these guys up to B rank. Could you adjust their cards, and take care of some of the materials we brought back?¡±


    ¡°S-sure, but I¡¯d need confir-¡± Before Reed could finish his sentence, a strict middle-aged woman with a blonde bun so tight Adrest wondered how she stood it appeared to the side of him. The severe woman handed a paper to Reed who seemed to be standing as straight as his spine would allow.


    ¡°Sir Gerard has personally confirmed their abilities, adjust their rankings to B and issue them an official Guild endorsement.¡±


    ¡°Right away, Ma¡¯am!¡±


    Reed slumped as soon as the woman was up the stairs and let out a deep breath.


    Adrest had seem this act play out hundreds of times before on Earth so he sympathetically said, ¡°Demanding job, huh?¡±


    Reed looked up from the letter and sheepishly smiled, ¡°Every job has its troubles, just have to take what you can.¡±


    Adrest admired Reed¡¯s attitude and stepped back to let him finish looking over the document.


    Just a few minutes later, Adrest and his party were admiring their shiny new IDs. The metallic plate was about as thick as a few pieces of velveteen paper and about the size of a deck of cards. The bronze-like material was much tougher than one would think and Adrest felt he would have to seriously try with magic to bend it.


    The cards were much the same, the exceptions being their strength was updated, the cards now had a photo of each individual taking up nearly a quarter of the space, and there was now a very obvious golden sword stamped on it denouncing that the guild has sponsored them, a guarantee for foreign countries and faraway cities to give them entry with no hassle.


    It was essentially VIP treatment for an adventure, Adrest was shocked it came so easily. Starting out, one of his goals had been to get this symbol for when Alissa and himself explored the continent, but he had prepared to take years getting it. Most recipients only earned it at the peak of B rank and after proving themselves capable and trustworthy several times over.


    Truly, the power of connections was amazing. Thanks to Rin, all it took was a few days camping, a quick talk with the Guildhead, and boom! The three had cards that allowed them to travel almost anywhere they desired with ease. Adrest made up his mind to slip out and find a gift for Rin as thanks for the huge help.


    As Belle was still gawking at the piece of metal, Adrest guided her a few feet away from the counter and waved to get Alissa¡¯s attention.


    She knew what Adrest wanted so she saved a hand to unload the first and most mundane batch of trophies they¡¯d collected over the previous few days. Out popped fangs from the Mantula, their poison was an expensive alchemy ingredient. Next was the still bloody pelts from various D and C ranks, some had cuts and holes from where someone inexperienced had harvested it.


    Some vials of multicolored blood, each clearly labeled and dated, teeth, and a few heads that completely took over the dwindling surface area. Blood still dribbled from the severed necks and as it trickled over the other items, it made a macabre scene.


    Reed was in wide-eyed shock at some of the items casually taken out, and the overall quantity was astounding. As a fairly seasoned Guild worker Reed quickly calculated that there were at least 2 dozen different monsters here, ranging from D-B rank. On average in a monster rich area such as this, a C rank group would still only kill maybe 10 or so beasts a month. Reed was staring at an average group¡¯s half years work.


    He wasn¡¯t the only one surprised by the sight as the few adventurers populating the space looked over at the commotion. One even let out a low whistle of astonishment, focused on the head at the top of the pile.


    ¡°Is that a mature Sturge? Can¡¯t believe you all are in one piece. I ran into one during a routine merchant group commission and half the guards were put out of commission before we finally took the bastard down.¡±


    Adrest grinned, a feeling of pride coming over him as it was one he had fought with and killed himself.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! A real nasty piece of work, but we handled it pretty well.¡± Adrest reached his hand out towards the mountain of a man who¡¯d walked over to get a closer look at the head. The man reciprocated and covered Adrest¡¯s hand with his own callused club of a fist.


    ¡°Haha, I¡¯d say so looking at the four of you. Name¡¯s Cress, good to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Adrest. We ran into a few tough guys but it¡¯d say it was worth it.¡± He gestured to Reed calculating the worth of everything.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    The man laughed and left after saying, ¡°If you ever need a hand I¡¯m happy to join for a Guild Quest or two.¡±


    As he finished the small talk Reed was getting around to counting out their profit and filling out a transfer receipt to show it was added to their funds. Alissa was signing it as he came back to the group.


    ¡°You¡¯re all set. Have a great day, and congratulations again on the promotion!¡± Reed cheerily sent the group off who regrouped at the inn.


    As usual, Rose was behind the bar, and being dinner time actually had a few group scattered around. The four took a table close to the bar and Alissa went up to order for the table and get drinks. The meal passed quickly and as Rin kept drinking, feeling especially good as she¡¯d started to resolve her feeling towards Adrest and Alissa, and got the meeting with Gerard out of the way.


    Naturally, Adrest and Alissa had to accompany her and before they knew, the three were rosy and feeling like they¡¯d really relaxed for the first time since returning from the dungeon, taking turns playing a tumbling tower game with Belle now that it¡¯d mostly emptied out. Rin and Alissa took turns regaling Rose with stories form their little adventure, and before anyone knew it, it was already well past midnight.


    The group except Rose headed up together and Rin drunkenly asked Alissa whom she was leaning on. ¡°How much longer are you staying here? Where are you going after this? I don¡¯t want to have to make new friends again so soon.¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re staying for another day or two, then going home.¡±


    Rin was tearing up and clung to Alissa like a child begging, ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me?¡±


    Alissa longed to be an older sister like nothing else, Rin had attacked her weak spot unknowingly. Alissa patted the girls head that rested just above her chest. Before even consulting Adrest she said, ¡°Of course we can¡¯t abandon you Rin, just come live with us, though Rose might get lonely again.¡±


    Rin stopped the tears that had started leaking and looked up surprised, ¡°Really? Are you sure? What about the monsters and the school?¡±


    Alissa waved the concerns away, ¡°It¡¯s not so far away that you can''t check in when you want, and the monsters should start dying down soon, but the school doesn¡¯t need to know that right?¡±


    Rin¡¯s eye¡¯s lit up in delight, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right! Are you really okay with me staying with you?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d love to have you Rin, as long as you don¡¯t mind helping us with training.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to! Thank you so much!¡±


    Adrest was silently standing behind Alissa, pondering who¡¯s name it was on the Lodestone exactly, but he didn¡¯t really care. Adrest liked Rin well enough, it was a little sudden, but he was happy to spend more time with Rin and learn how Heroes fight.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it more tomorrow, Belle¡¯s about to fall asleep in the hall.¡± Alissa gestured to Belle who was in her pajamas and had her eyes closed, not even realizing what Alissa had said. Adrest squeezed her shoulder and she jolted awake, blushing at the attention.


    Inside the room Alissa sat on her bed, and said to Belle on her own, ¡°What would you think of Rin staying with us for a while?¡±


    Belle who was ready to go back to sleep perked up excitedly, ¡°That wasn¡¯t a dream? Is she really? It¡¯ll be so much fun!¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s settled! We¡¯ll all head back the day after tomorrow.¡±


    The excitement from the news quickly wore off the exhausted teen, and sleep overtook her again in just minutes, still smiling in her dreams. Seeing this, Alissa turned a teasing smile to Adrest who was propped up beside her.


    ¡°Well Ady, are you excited to have another beautiful young girl move in with you?¡±


    As Alissa spoke with a teasing tone and a cat¡¯s smile on her lips, Adrest spoke with a dramatic sigh.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be done about it now. I guess I¡¯ll just have to suffer another cute housemate. Looks like I¡¯ll need to upgrade the bath again though.¡±


    As he feigned sadness, inside he was giddy at the thought of a blueprint he¡¯d found in the lodestone a month or so back. It was exorbitantly expensive, but would turn a plain square room into a fully equipped bath house. There would be a small room to change before and after, a wall with faucets overhead that poured down as much water as you wanted. Adjacent was a thick and smooth stone tub that could fit 6 people, on the last wall was a row of stone sinks and a long mirror running atop them, though still expensive to make, with magic mirrors weren¡¯t as rare as Adrest may have guessed in this world. The best part was how easy it¡¯d be to clean with a small grated hole in the center of the sealed floor so he could just scrub it out and flush all the water down. It also happened to be the perfect size for their current bathroom.


    The only downside was the price. For the bath house renovation, Adrest would have to spend over 30,000 (lp). He hadn¡¯t been able to justify it, but Alissa gave him the perfect excuse to splurge.


    ¡°Ady?¡± Alissa saw he wasn¡¯t paying much attention to her, so she started poking his face.


    Swatting at the immature dragon, ¡°What? What!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been almost a week, and no one has tried touching Belle. I think it¡¯s safe to assume Randier was the one behind the mercenaries and they¡¯ve already left like every other merchant here. We can go fishing again, but I¡¯m starting to miss our little home.¡±


    As Alissa pouted at the end, Adrest found he too had a fatal weakness. Alissa in the low light, with her perfect face occasionally being lit up by sparks surging inside her horns, and her full lips stuck in a pout like a spoiled child trying to get her way, she could¡¯ve asked for anything and he¡¯d be unable to refuse.


    Not even thinking, Adrest leaned in for a kiss. Alissa¡¯s eyes went wide and she stiffened like she was attacked. But quickly Adrest felt her relax and her pout turned into something else as the corners of her lips twitched up.


    Adrest was just realizing what he¡¯d done and opened his eyes to see if Alissa was angry. He was stunned to see a beautifully flushed maiden staring back at him with wet eyes. Alissa winked as she noticed him staring and Adrest jumped when her tongue forced its way past his defenses, the velvet soft tip exploring the unknown and finding his own.


    It was the start of long battle for Adrest, their tongues clumsily striking at each other, occasionally bumping teeth from the exchange. Each time that happened, there would be a muffled laugh and their efforts redoubled.


    Soon, Alissa released her hostage and Adrest leaned back gulping down air. Even at C rank he still needed to breathe, and he felt he¡¯d been at his absolute limit. Giddy and nervous, Adrest said somewhat lamely, ¡°Any longer and you might¡¯ve killed me Ali.¡±


    Alissa batted her lashes at him, ¡°Just another thing to work on then, right?¡±


    Adrest was sure Rose could hear the gulp he took on the floor below him. Alissa, having found a new and exciting way to tease Adrest was thrilled. She giggled, gave him a kiss on the cheek as he was still stunned, and said, ¡°Goodnight Ady, sweet dreams.¡±


    Coming out of his stupor, Adrest laid down as well, putting an arm under Alissa¡¯s head as usual, ¡°Goodnight Ali, I¡¯ll see you in the morning.¡±

 49. Ambush!

    The next day came fast, the sun over the horizon when Adrest woke. As usual he had to carefully maneuver around the still sleeping dragon. Making his way downstairs to enjoy a quiet cup of tea with Rose, he was surprised to see Rin already up and dressed for the day in a think black shirt and pants.


    Seeing who¡¯d descended the stairs, Rin hopped up excitedly, ¡°Hi Adrest!¡±


    ¡°Uhh, morning Rin. What woke you up so early today?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, I was so excited I just woke up.¡±


    As they greeted each other, Rose was giving Adrest a glare with no anger behind it. Adrest truly had no idea what he¡¯d done wrong this time.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all you have to say? Not only are you leaving again so soon, you¡¯re stealing my little Rin too?¡±


    Ahh, that makes sense. ¡°Don¡¯t blame me, that one was all Alissa. Plus we¡¯ll still be over often. You¡¯ll just have one less troublemaker staying up and getting drunk every night.¡±


    Adrest magically turned a single glaring woman into two. Putting his hands up in mock surrender under the weight, Rose snorted and went off to start breakfast for everyone.


    As he took a seat beside Rin, Adrest was feeling more exhausted than he should for having gotten up less than a quarter of an hour ago. Rin, a cause of his exhaustion, was giggling to herself as she sipped her tea. He was considering getting a glass of water himself as it wasn¡¯t uncommon for them to wind up behind the bar late at night. However, as if she could read his mind Rose came out from the kitchen with a cup in hand.


    She set it down and ran back off to the kitchen before Adrest could get a word out, much to Rin¡¯s amusement. Ignoring her, he took a sip and didn¡¯t think Rose could be that upset since she added exactly the right amount of honey.


    Rin¡¯s eyes bounced from her tea, to Adrest, to the stairs, to him. Her fingers were rapping against the cup and Adrest couldn¡¯t take it anymore.


    ¡°Something on your mind Rin?¡±


    It was like a dam broke as she excitedly turned to Adrest, ¡°What¡¯s your house like? What do you all usually do? Do you need me to get anything?¡±


    Adrest was still waking up, and trying to keep up with the rapid fire questioning, ¡°Uh, it¡¯s pretty basic but spacious, you¡¯ll have your own room if you¡¯re worried about that. Most days are pretty repetitive, Ali spends the mornings and afternoons teaching Belle and I, and after dinner we¡¯ll usually read or play inside. And don¡¯t worry about a thing Rin, we should have everything you¡¯d want.¡±


    Rin was about to continue questioning Adrest but he interrupted, ¡°I have to go wake Ali up, we can talk more after.¡±


    He walked up the stairs before she could respond and Rin couldn¡¯t help but giggle at how easy it could be to overwhelm the little demon.


    After getting the others around and gathering for breakfast, Adrest was relieved to see Rose was mostly back to her normal self. They were out the door soon after, Rin had to stop at the Guildhouse and they would all need to do some last minute shopping.


    As they ran from merchant to merchant, inspecting goods and comparing prices, little did they realize they were being observed. As they passed a caf¨¦, an average man in a button up white top and glasses was reading a spread of articles on the tabletop, just as he had been all day. As the party walked by the window, the man carefully observed from the corners of his eyes.


    Taking notes, he made no obvious movements, ¡°Target found. Owners as described, no obvious strength or skills. Caution advised.¡±


    Long after they passed, the man was still sipping his tea and watching the papers. A quarter hour later, shockingly, words appeared by themselves. ¡°Targets observed. New member joined and is following them. From reports, she seems to be from the Adventurer¡¯s Academy. Maximum caution advised on further intelligence gathering.¡±


    The man didn¡¯t let even a trace of shock show. They had been briefed beforehand that the last group sent disappeared, but those guys were so weak they figured a random beast cleared them out before even making contact. Now though, he had a different idea of what happened, if they tried anything in front of one of the freaks from the Academy, it was no wonder they were never heard from.


    Calmly, he packed up his various goods and paid his tab. Once outside, he tightened his jacket to shield from the chill, though it wasn¡¯t something that effected him much anymore, his body still remembered what cold should feel like and phantom chills were the worst.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Walking as fast as he could without standing out, he was soon back inside a nondescript building in the wealthier area of town. This time of year, a little over half the houses were kept empty so it was no issue for them to find a suitably located one for use as a hideout.


    It was eerily silent once inside, like all noise had been sucked out of the premise. Even as he walked, the man made no noise on the hard stone surface underfoot. Every window was covered with a black paper that kept out all light, in case some curious children tried peeking in.


    As he made his way through cold and eerie hallways, he soon found himself in a dining room large enough for 20 people to comfortably eat and socialize. Behind the ornately carved tables taking up nearly half the room was a figure sitting near a fire. It was not possible to make out many details as they wore a heavy black cloak even indoors. The shape was so still as it sat, the man nearly jumped when he heard a wiry and grating voice.


    ¡°Our job just got interesting, looks like we¡¯ll be able to squeeze Randier for every bronze they¡¯re worth after this."


    Contrary to the excitement in the shape¡¯s voice, the observer was feeling irritated and fearful. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with one of those little freaks. While the group might not be afraid of a Hero that still hasn¡¯t matured, they would still be a pain and they hadn¡¯t prepared for dealing with one this time.


    As the man lamented their new troubles, he was forced away from his thoughts. Though he couldn¡¯t see under the black that submerged the cloaked figure''s face, he could feel eyes boring into him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look so down. Still the same plan as before as long as we¡¯re careful, and if you¡¯re lucky we won¡¯t even have to deal with that one. Be grateful, this is a good opportunity to earn a nice long break, well over one thousand platinum Trevil will make a nice cut for everyone.¡±


    Knowing he couldn¡¯t go against whatever the monster in front of him wanted regardless, the man let out a breath and nodded.


    ¡°Haha that¡¯s the spirit! Now go send word to the others to return. We have our information, there¡¯s no need to risk our cover further.¡±


    Biting his tongue at the fact he¡¯d just returned, and the man could just as easily gather the others right from that chair, he turned around to follow the new orders.


    He spread out a blank lambskin paper on an empty table, then wrote as the boss said. Within just minutes more average looking townsfolk appeared stealthily from windows and dark corners. Within just a quarter hour all three dozen of the group were gathered, where they¡¯d stay until ready to launch the attack.


    Three days passed peacefully in the sleepy little town. Adrest and Alissa comfortably bored as there was little to do, but still enjoyed the quaintness. Belle was having an absolute blast on their vacation, since returning from the dungeon basically all she''d done was play games with whoever was free and spend time shopping with Adrest or Alissa. Rin was the most busy of the group, she was out from sunrise to set hunting down any straggler monsters, getting on Gerald¡¯s good side as she¡¯d need his help to keep the lie going, and help guide other groups through the dungeon remains. She was going crazy as she was so exhausted, but the thought of complete freedom kept her motivated.


    Rin was laying her head on the cool counter, her face flushed from running all day. She was exhausted, but she could finally sit down and relax for an hour or two.


    ¡°Big bro Ady, can we go to the bookstore? They said they were getting new ones in soon.¡±


    Adrest looked up from his hand of cards he was playing with Alissa.


    ¡°No problem Belle, just let me finish this game and we can head out. You want to go Alissa?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I want to chat a bit more with Rose while we¡¯re here. You two have fun though.¡±


    As promised, just a few minutes later the pair were out the door into the fading light. As it was early evening everything was still a dark gray, but it would be pitch black soon.


    As the two walked outside, just like she¡¯s seen a dozen times, Rin¡¯s stomach tightened. It was just a twinge but annoying enough she sat up. At first she thought it was simply because she hadn¡¯t eaten since sunrise, but even after having a few of the appetizers Rose had put out while Rin was wallowing on the bar, she still felt it.


    As she sat, the feeling got stronger, her limbs were starting to twitch and her heart was pounding in her ears.


    Unable to stand it, she abruptly stood up, causing the two women to look over, ¡°I need some fresh air, I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    Alissa was curious, but didn¡¯t think much about it as she took another sip of wine.


    Just ten or so minutes into their trip to the store, Adrest felt the hairs on his neck stand in unison. They were walking down a particularly empty section of town with virtually no one near. He pulled Belle closer to himself, whispering, ¡°If anything happens, go get Ali. Don¡¯t stop, help, or think, just run until you¡¯re back with her. I¡¯ll be right behind you.


    Belle¡¯s face went even paler than her usual at the ominous words.


    ¡°What do you mea-¡°


    Adrest shoved her to the side as hard as he could, sending the small figure through the air and a dozen meters away, though she stumbled, Belle managed to land on her feet.


    The same instant she was sent flying through the air, over twenty men in black cloaks appeared surrounding Adrest and cut off any means of escape. He managed to avoid most blows of the initial blows but still earned a few particularly deep cuts.


    Adrest unsheathed his blade and glared daggers at the figures, ¡°Couldn¡¯t wait any longer? You rat bastards are all the same, ganging up to kidnap a little girl. Well, I have news for you. You¡¯re all going to die just as miserably as the first group.¡±


    Adrest didn¡¯t even give the group or its ringleader a chance to retort before he was on them, going for the strongest one first. There was a rapid series of clashes, and sparks lit the abandoned road as he fought with a rage that fueled every move. Adrest was pissed, they had given up on dragging out whomever hired the first group and nearly forgot about it with the other drama. His guard was lowered as they were going to leave tomorrow morning, what dog shit luck.

 50. All Kinds of Aftermath

    What was her Big bro talking about? What could happen in the middle of a town and so early into the night?


    As Belle was about to protest, she was flying backwards, stunned and solely by reflex she caught her balance. She was terrified to see people surrounding where she¡¯d been just a second ago. She wanted to help Adrest, wanted to rush in and finally be useful, but she could feel it. She knew she¡¯d be like an anchor dragging down Adrest if she stayed, but Alissa could blow them away in a breath though.


    Belle took off sprinting as fast as she ever had, faster than when she¡¯d been running for her own life. She knew she could get back to Ali in less than three minutes, then everything would be okay.


    She had only made it a street or two when she noticed a score of figures chasing her, only just barely faster than her. She was panicking, knowing she would only make it halfway before they caught up. She was giving it everything she had, earth magic propelling her steps, body magic to move faster, and life magic to support the muscles. It just wasn¡¯t enough.


    Belle knew she was just seconds away from being taken, and resolved to pull out her dagger to fight. Just before that though, a pair of arms wrapped around Belle¡¯s waist, pulling her to the side and into someone. Belle was terrified and thought to bite whoever grabbed her, but calmed seeing the familiar clothing.


    Bawling she turned into the abductor, ¡°Big sis Rin! Please go help Ady! He stayed behind with most of them, one of them scared me a lot.¡±


    Rin, who had just walked out a few minutes ago and was jogging to catch up, had never been more thankful for her instincts as she embraced the crying child. ¡°Everything¡¯s okay Belle, just keep your eyes closed for a second.¡±


    Belle obeyed and buried herself in the chest of Rin while she sobbed. Rin¡¯s heart thrummed with a righteous fury as the pitiful little beast-kin cried. The group had just started retreating as they realized who¡¯d interfered. Rin closed her eyes and focused solely on the image of the group of 6 running, then she pictured her blade swinging right through each of them in a line.


    Rin hugged the rabbit¡¯s head tight as she drew a blade casually into the air. From it was a breeze that scattered the nearby snow, but for the running figures, it was the reaper¡¯s scythe.


    Their legs were still running as the group simultaneously fell over, their bodies separated at the abdomen. Picking Belle up, Rin asked, ¡°Ady is just a few streets ahead, right?¡±


    Belle opened her eyes and nodded, ¡°He¡¯s near the theaters. Please hurry.¡±


    Rin did as she was commanded and took off sprinting, not even using the ground, running on pads of air under her feet to remove any would be obstacles. In just under 15 seconds she found Adrest who was looking rough.


    Adrest couldn¡¯t see where his attacks were landing exactly, the large billowing cloaks each wore made it impossible. He could still feel his sword going through flesh though, and soon 3 of the group lay on the ground dead. The attackers hadn¡¯t been expecting this level of resistance, even with the news of their rushed promotion.


    The leader was getting frustrated. The plan had been to grab the girl from the weakling and run, but after the man threw their target, he was like a rabid dog and wouldn¡¯t let him break away to chase her.


    The leader gave a distracted glance down the street, waiting for the others to return with their prize, but the moment of distraction cost him dearly as Adrest allowed a knife to dig deep into his stomach in exchange for taking the leader¡¯s right arm.


    Adrest used his free hand to hold the attacker near, and after dealing a blow to the strongest, he spun ninety degrees to his stabber and pulled as hard as he could manage, slamming his head into the others¡¯.


    There was a sickeningly loud squelch and Adrest felt warmth spread as his horns penetrated the other man¡¯s head. He felt a little nauseous, never taking a man¡¯s life so personally, so close. He didn¡¯t count the last time as he had almost no memory after they reached the clearing.


    As Adrest pulled his head back the grinding resistance and suction that he could feel just out of eyesight made him a little nautious.


    There were only half the original attackers left, they kept their distance now, observing the beast. And that¡¯s what Adrest looked like at the moment, blood rolling down his face, his jacket dyed in blood, both his own and theirs, and that grin. They couldn¡¯t get that grin out of their minds, it was sickening, it didn¡¯t match, it had no place here.


    The leader had had enough and ordered the remaining, ¡°Charge him! Buy as much time as possible.¡±


    Adrest was focused on cutting down the men in his way and getting to the leader struggling to keep all of them busy here. Adrest wasn¡¯t sure how long the fight had been going, and he couldn¡¯t risk the man catching up with Belle.


    He was slightly too slow though as the leader was able to get some distance, now he just had to meet up with the other team and run. He was just a few paces away when he saw a figure rushing towards them.


    As he saw who was carrying his prize, the man cursed. The last person he wanted to see had arrived and looked ready to kill. He made a snap decision and ran.


    Rin sighed at the running figure. The trickiest thing about a blessing that cuts everything imagined is that if she had adequate mana and a vivid imagination, space was irrelevant. She simply stabbed through the air in front of her, at the same time a cry of pain sounded as the leader collapsed in a heap on the cobbled ground.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Rin shook her head as she approached thinking Adrest had really gone all out, a peak B rank looked like he was mauled by a wild animal, even with it being over a dozen to one. Rin¡¯s heart hurt seeing the price Adrest paid though, he had fought like a cornered animal, desperate and furious. He was happy to take a stab for a head, lose a finger to take an arm. He was practically suicidal in this fight, until he happened to see Rin and Belle standing down the street as he was on the second to last one.


    Because of that, Adrest was happy to slow down and knocked down the last one after crippling his legs. Finally. Adrest allowed the exhaustion to come. Injuries he¡¯d been desperately suppressing leaked streams of blood, one large patch on his stomach looked particularly dark.


    Adrest leaned on his blade dug into the ground with his right hand that still had most of it''s fingers, and laughed, ¡°Haha, that¡¯s probably not good!¡±


    Adrest took a deep breath, which he desperately regretted as it irritated his wounds. He shakily stood up on his own, pulled the blade up enough to drag it behind himself and wanted to walk over to the others and pretend everything was fine, but Rin panicked when she saw and rushed to meet him.


    She set Belle on the ground and put her hands on Adrest¡¯s shoulders firmly. ¡°No moving! Take this for now.¡±


    Rin shoved a blue pill in his mouth without waiting for an answer and glared at him until she heard him swallow. Instantly, his stomach felt better, and the bleeding slowed to an irregular drip.


    ¡°It won¡¯t fix everything right away, but by tomorrow morning you¡¯ll be good as new!¡±


    Before Rin could say anything else, Belle interrupted hugging Adrest¡¯s side, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Big bro Ady. This was all my fault again. You keep getting hurt because of someone worthless like me.¡±


    Adrest felt he was more injured now than at any point in the fight. ¡°Belle, never say that again. I got hurt because I¡¯m weak, and this happened because Ali and I let our guards down, we were leaving soon and didn¡¯t think anyone we were looking for were around.¡±


    ¡°You were looking for someone?¡±


    Adrest looked over to the confused Rin and felt guilty but incredibly thankful for dragging her into this. ¡°We came to town for a visit to see if we could bait out whoever paid to have Belle tracked and taken. The goal was that they¡¯d attack directly, or bargain for Belle. It¡¯d been a week, and with how empty the town is, Alissa and I thought it was safe.¡±


    Rin felt sick knowing it was a fellow human of her country that would try so desperately to steal a little girl.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Adrest, Belle. Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll bring this guy to Gerard and report what happened. I¡¯ll leave him with the Guild and by tomorrow morning we¡¯ll know everything about your attackers and hopefully who hired them.¡±


    Adrest was tired and happy to agree, ¡°Sorry to force the annoying part on you Rin, I¡¯ll pay you back sometime.¡±


    Rin nodded as she lifted up the trussed up man with a single hand, ¡°It¡¯s no problem at all, I wish I could do more actually. Now go back to the Inn and don¡¯t leave Alissa¡¯s side until we know if there are more. Actually, no. I¡¯m walking you back.¡±


    Rin wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer, and truthfully he was still feeling weak, so he was happy to have an escort back. Rin split up as they got to the front door of the Inn, wanting to get answers as soon as she could.


    As soon as Adrest walked in he could actually hear the sound drain away, as if silenced. All that existed was a wide-eyed and horrified Rose, she was trembling and tearing up, springing to action rushing out from the bar.


    Opposite her was Alissa, who upon turning around to face the pair went from a healthy wheat shade, to a muted yellow as color drained. Lightning furiously arced off her twin horns, and for just a fraction of a second, Adrest felt a truly horrible killing intent leak from her, Adrest could see the skies raining ash, blood leaking from the ground. Then it was gone. Rose hadn¡¯t even felt it from her own shock.


    Rose rushed up, ¡°OH God! Adrest are you okay!? What happened? Don¡¯t move, I¡¯ll go get help!¡±


    Rose was panicking, not even letting Adrest Explain himself, fluttering all around him and Belle, looking for damage. She was about to run out the door, in search of every potion and healer in town. Adrest had to grab her arms before she snuck past him.


    Finally getting her attention as Rose looked him in the eyes for the first time since he returned. Calmly he reassured their loving bartender, ¡°I¡¯m mostly fine Rose, I was attacked earlier on the way to the bookshop, Rin caught up and helped me take care of them thankfully. She also treated me and said I¡¯ll be brand new by tomorrow. Just take a deep breath and relax.¡±


    Rose calmed hearing his explanation, and was thankful for Rin yet again. She took some seconds to stop shaking and calm her heart, but when she noticed Adrest holding both her shoulders and staring so intently at her, Rose¡¯s heart started fluttering again, and this time her face took on a rosy hue. ¡°I-I¡¯m fine now, but if you need anything, please let me know.¡±


    Adrest released his grip and was about to make his way to the bar, when he was nearly tackled to the floor by Alissa. She didn¡¯t even give Adrest a chance to speak before a sparkling pill was forced into his mouth for the second time today. Adrest had no way of knowing how strong it was, but his remaining cuts and bruises were instantly healed, and his missing fingers came back in a dazzling flash.


    Alissa was glaring at him, but Adrest tried to get her to relax, patting her head. ¡°Relax, we¡¯re all fine and Rin is cleaning everything up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Adrest, I didn¡¯t think anything would happen and I haven¡¯t noticed anyone particularly strong. I should have just gone with you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault Ali, I let my guard down and I learned my lesson. Let¡¯s just forget about it for now, I just want to take a long hot bath and unwind.¡±


    Not quite satisfied, Alissa accepted the answer, knowing the conversation wasn¡¯t finished. She turned to the downcast Belle to Adrest¡¯s side and crouched over to carefully inspect the rabbit. Belle didn¡¯t want to lift her head and meet Alissa¡¯s eyes, so Alissa gave some encouragement in the form of lifting her chin up.


    Concern painted Alissa¡¯s face as she inspected for injuries, ¡°Did anyone touch you Belle? Does it hurt anywhere?¡±


    Still sad and replaying the earlier incident on loop in her head Belle almost whispered, ¡°I¡¯m fine, Big bro Ady kept me safe from most of them.¡±


    Alissa had a good idea of what was going on, but knew it wouldn¡¯t do any good talking about it right now.


    ¡°Alright then! We¡¯ll let Ady get cleaned up, and in the meantime, I¡¯ll read you something at the bar.¡±


    Not taking no for answer, Alissa scooped the dejected teen up, then sat her on the same stool she¡¯d been using earlier. Alissa pulled out a book at random and held Belle close to her. Alissa couldn¡¯t alleviate all of Belle¡¯s guilt and self-loathing, but she would do her best to show Belle that nothing¡¯s changed and no one blames her.


    Rose, finally calm after the roller coaster Adrest had sent her on, was returning from the kitchen. In her hand was a piping hot mug that was gently placed in front of Belle who was starting to settle.


    ¡°Brave girls deserve a treat, it isn¡¯t easy to get chocolate so far east this time of year but I¡¯m happy to dip into my stash for you.¡±


    Belles dour look was muffled as she sniffed the air, the sweet scent of chocolate wafting from the piping hot mug. Belle took a sip and her mind was blown at the flavor.


    It was creamy and rich, sweet and decadent. It was like she was drinking a cake as the flavors completely coated her tongue, demanding her attention. Belle temporarily forgot her troubles as she was carefully sipping the hot brew while Alissa and Rose looked on like doting aunts.

 51. Guilt and Grief

    Adrest came out shortly after, he was flushed from the bath and looked like a new man compared to the bedraggled and injured beggar that had walked in. Adrest was making his way through the barroom and wanted to greet everyone now that he was in a much better mood, but was shushed by both of the older women, with Alissa also motioning for him to sneak over.


    Doing as bade, he carefully balanced on his heels creeping to his earlier seat, he leaned over to see what the big deal was.


    He instantly understood as he saw Belle, finishing off the last of her treat with a look of bliss. Her sparkling red eyes opened wide and a huge smile on her face that suited her age.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Belle noticed the women staring, but was startled to see Adrest, having no idea he was back already.


    Nearly dropping the empty mug, Belle put it down in front of herself as fast as she could, running over and jumping into Adrest who was prepared to catch her this time.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re all better Ady.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t get rid of me that easily Belle, we still have to survive and graduate Ms. Alissa¡¯s class together.¡±


    Alissa was thinking about fussing over his wording, she decided to let him off for the day since this was also her fault. If she bothered to thoroughly scan every inch of this town today, she would¡¯ve found the bugs and gone straight to them. She was admonishing herself for being overconfident, Adrest¡¯s state before Rin treated him was easy to imagine with the stains and cuts.


    Alissa decided to double Adrest¡¯s training, which was perfect since they were gaining a training partner in the form of a Hero. Adrest was chatting away with Rose and Belle when he felt a chill go down his entire back. It went away as suddenly as it appeared, so he shrugged it off as a side effect of the medicines.


    When Rin finally came back, it was late in the night and there was a drunk Adrest and Alissa, along with a very rosy faced Rose behind the bar freely pouring refills whenever either got low. It was actually Alissa who noticed first, turning around as soon as the door opened and charged towards her.


    Rin felt an impulse of fear, but forgot it as Alissa hugged her so tight, her back released some relaxing pops. Rin tapped on the slim back and whispered out, ¡°I can¡¯t breathe.¡±


    Alissa let out a dissatisfied snort, ¡°You can hold your breath for at least half an hour, you¡¯d be fine for a little longer.¡±


    Though complaining, Alissa still complied and loosened her embrace, ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough Rin, I¡¯m afraid to think of what would have happened if you weren¡¯t around. If there¡¯s ever anything you want or need, just ask.¡±


    Alissa finally released the Hero and held her hand as they returned to the bar. Rin was feeling overwhelmed by the drunk and affectionate Alissa, all she could do is passively follow, sitting at the spot she was guided to.


    Rose was the first one to greet her, throwing a drink in front of her, ¡°Drink as much as you want tonight Rin, it¡¯s on me.¡±


    Rin blushed under the grateful and passionate gaze of Rose, taking the offered drink and nodding meekly.


    Adrest raised an eyebrow, ¡°A hero that isn¡¯t good with compliments?¡±


    Alissa took a close look at the blushing Rin, who hurriedly tried waving it off, ¡°N-nno, I¡¯m just not used to it.¡±


    Adrest clapped the shy hero on the back, ¡°I guess we¡¯ll need to start complimenting you more often then, huh?¡±


    Red faced Rin stayed silent as she drank from her glass, not her chipper, normal self.


    Adrest picked up on it quickly, ¡°Is everything okay Rin? You¡¯re never so quiet.¡±


    Rin tiredly shrugged and curled in on herself a bit. ¡°Do you know what one of the very first lessons at the Academy is Adrest?¡±


    He had no way of knowing and said as much, ¡°No idea.¡±


    ¡°In your very first class, the instructor makes it clear we will have to kill nearly as many people as monsters. There''s no shortage of bandits and war in Radagon.¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Alissa had come over at this as Rin quieted down, embracing the numb girl.


    Rin finding her voice again continued, ¡°That was the first time I¡¯ve ever had to do that, I don¡¯t know how to feel. I know they were bad, Gerald told me a bit of what he knew, and they tried to kill Adrest while kidnapping Belle. But I can¡¯t get them out of my mind.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry we put you in that position Rin.¡± Adrest felt ashamed for making an innocent teenager do something so cruel.


    A bit of the usual Rin came out as she fumbled over herself to comfort Adrest, ¡°No! If I had to do it over again, I would! It just hasn¡¯t quite set in yet, you know?¡±


    Adrest could vaguely understand her feelings, he didn¡¯t enjoy what he¡¯d done, but he would happily do it again if it meant protecting his friends and family. It also helped that he had a filtered first experience to prepare him.


    Adrest put a large hand overtop Rin¡¯s head. He lightly ruffled her silky smooth hair, which he earned a pout for, ¡°We¡¯ll always be around if you need to talk, you¡¯ll feel just like yourself again in a few days.¡±


    Belle ran over to give the guilty Big sis a hug, the three jumped as Rose pulled out a crate of dark purple bottles and slammed it against the counter.


    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine how you feel right now Rin, but I can help you feel a bit better tonight at least. We¡¯ll drink until all of you are sleeping by the hearth!¡±


    Alissa was the first over as new liquor was involved. She picked up an offered bottle and closely looked at the sloshing fluid as Rose explained.


    ¡°I managed to get it sent from a friend who lives on the western side of Radagon, they are friends with some of the spirit clans. They produce wines and liquor with spirit fruits and herbs they gather themselves with secret brewing techniques. It¡¯s impossible to get this far east so I was going to sell it in the spring. But! This is a special occasion, so let¡¯s go all out.¡±


    Alissa was hugging Rose after she said what it was, making her face nearly steam. Alissa soon released her victim, turning back to Rin who looked excited, with some spark back in her eyes.


    ¡°What does it taste like?¡±


    Rose shrugged as she screwed and popped the cork in one smooth motion.


    ¡°No idea, I asked for something a little stronger, but I haven¡¯t tasted any yet. But I have heard most of their spirits have special effects depending on the ingredients they find that season.¡±


    Rose poured the four adults a small glass, as they clinked together in excitement and threw back the liquid, they were all stunned. It was like an explosion of cold mint in their mouth, the refreshing cool bordered on overpowering. Then, as it traveled down their throats, a cinnamon spice flavor spread over their entire mouths, and a comfortable heat sank in their stomachs and traveled through every inch of their body. They could feel their muscles relaxing, they melted into chairs as they felt the day''s stress was washed away.


    After a few heartbeats everyone sobered up and stared at the bottle sitting next to Rose in shock. It was amazing, the group was stunned silent when Belle spoke, ¡°Are you guys¡¯ okay? Does it taste bad?¡±


    Alissa answered, ¡°No it¡¯s just really amazing stuff, I¡¯ll have to head west sometime.¡±


    Belle scrunched up her nose as she looked at the bottle, remembering what passed for good alcohol the last time she asked.


    They all laughed at the cute display as Rose poured more drinks, this time a half glass for each.


    The cycle continued until it was past midnight and Belle had fallen asleep, her white hair and ears spread across the bar top.


    Adrest noticed with a smile and hopped to his feet to carry her to bed. Alissa saw the scene and decided to follow, leaving Rose and Rin temporarily alone.


    As Adrest made his way up the stairs, Belle grabbed onto him, refusing to let go even after they arrived in front of her bed. Adrest carefully set the bundle down, but the small hands refused to loosen their grip on his shirt.


    Belle opened her eyes, glowing red in the dark, ¡°I¡¯m a little scared. Please don¡¯t leave me alone?¡±


    Adrest and Alissa instantly felt even worse for slacking, Belle¡¯s quiet voice digging the knife deeper. Adrest put his hand over hers. ¡°I¡¯m pretty exhausted anyway, I¡¯ll just stay up here.¡±


    Alissa sat down on the bed as well, now feeling a little crowded. ¡°I promise it won¡¯t happen again Belle, I even know where every fly in this town is right now. There¡¯s not a single one left. But how about I give you the best night of sleep you¡¯ve ever had?¡±


    Belle¡¯s eyes lit up, Adrest wasn¡¯t sure how Alissa was going to get her back to sleep now.


    Alissa pulled out a coin, it wasn¡¯t a Trevil, a little larger. It wasn¡¯t the right color either, the coin was a smokey gray and there was a perfect relief of a beautiful woman sleeping, her head resting on her arms. Adrest could see each individual strand of hair of the coin, he wasn¡¯t sure how metalwork could be so incredibly detailed, he was sure it he looked closely enough, he would see the very pores on her face.


    Alissa¡¯s gaze stayed on the coin for a few seconds too long before continuing, ¡°It¡¯s a token of the Dreaming Goddess Astraea, if you hold it when you sleep, you¡¯ll have the best dreams of your life and wake up feeling great. It was a gift from my mother before she left.¡±


    Alissa became uncharacteristically somber at the end, Adrest had to ask, ¡°She left?¡±


    Nodding with a sad and happy grin she said, ¡°My mom couldn¡¯t put off ascending any longer, never bring it up in front of her, but she is a few hundred years older than Father and as talented. So she broke her bindings that much earlier.¡±


    Adrest couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing, ¡°Your mother''s a God?¡±


    nonchalantly Alissa nodded, ¡°Yep! It¡¯s not that hard for the most talented dragons, even some of the ordinary geniuses ascend with luck. She gave me it as a parting gift, so I could always dream about her while I can¡¯t see her.¡±


    Alissa put the coin in the rabbit¡¯s small hands, then waved her hands pulling out a book, laying down next to Belle, practically kicking Adrest to the floor.


    ¡°Ady can go help the other two clean up, I¡¯ll stay here until you fall asleep Rin.¡±


    Rubbing his back where Alissa kicked him, he waved to Belle who was giggling at the show, ¡°Goodnight Belle, sweet dreams. See you in a bit Ali.¡±


    ¡°Night Ady!¡± ¡°Night Ady!¡±

 52. Home again

    Rin and Rose were very understanding when Adrest returned alone. They had a few more rounds as they cleaned, Rin was dancing around happily humming an off-note tune as she swept. When they finished the large room was completely spotless, Rose was thankful as always. Adrest thought it was the least they could do after she generously handed out dozens of Gold worth of spirit liquor.


    Adrest and Rin carefully walked up the stairs, job well done. As they got to Rin¡¯s room, she stopped to face Adrest, then jumped into him chest, hugging him, ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay Adrest.¡±


    She was off him in just a second and making her way through her door before he had a chance to say, ¡°It was all thanks to you Rin, see you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Night..¡±


    Adrest stepped inside the pitch black room where he was Alissa and Belle in the same position he¡¯d left them, Belle now fast asleep.


    Alissa looked up from her book, ¡°Welcome back Ady¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m back. Are you sleeping there tonight?¡±


    Alissa set the book down and rubbed the small head buried in her side, ¡°Looks like I¡¯m stuck here. Think you¡¯ll be okay by yourself ?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just happy I won¡¯t be getting punched in the face or kicked tonight.¡±


    ¡°I Do Not!¡± Alissa said in a whispering growl.


    Shrugging, Adrest crawled into his own bed tired as soon as his head hit the pillow. ¡°I guess you¡¯ll never know, will you? I¡¯m going to sleep Ali, today was exhausting in a lot of ways.¡±


    Alissa gave a comforting smile to the boy a few feet away, ¡°You did a good job Ady, you just need a little more time. In twent-, no ten years I¡¯ll have you fighting Earthen Titans as a warm up.


    He shuddered, wishing Alissa had a second token.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best Ali, just don¡¯t leave me too far behind.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, you¡¯ll catch up soon.¡±


    Adrest woke with a fright, his heart pounding and leg twitching. He had dreamed of being chased and eventually trampled by a herd of Titans. Adrest cursed his overzealous teacher as he stood up to shake out his limbs and go downstairs. It was already mid-morning but the room was basically empty with one person slowly eating at a table in a far corner.


    Adrest chatted with Rose to pass the time, eventually joined by a chipper Rin and shockingly Alissa was up with Belle in tow. They ate with Rose and were out the door, wanting to hear what the Guild had found so they could leave this evening.


    They were quickly escorted to the top floor once again standing in front of the large desk, Gerard hunched over it, leaning on his hands troubled.


    ¡°I had a feeling as soon as i saw their eyes, but confirmed it was a mercenary group from the Warring States, they were hired to kidnap Ms. Isabelle, and take her back to Everflow City. This didn¡¯t know who hired them or why. They were just contacted via a broker in the city. Be careful after this, they¡¯re an arrogant bunch and won¡¯t be happy about this.¡±


    Adrest looked troubled hearing that the Warring States were involved. Under the Holy Emperor they had once unified over half the continent. It might not sound impressive, but Adrest had been given some sense of scale from Alissa¡¯s lessons and maps. Adrest felt confident in saying just this continent was the size of at least four Pangea¡¯s of Earth, or all seven continents together four times over. There were easily over a thousand races, dozens of empires, millions of small kingdoms and tribes. Aside from a few exceptions, the Emperor would¡¯ve probably managed to unify the entire continent if he hadn¡¯t been assassinated. At the peak of his glory, his trusted retainers cut him down from behind.


    ¡°The good news is they¡¯re too busy always plotting against themselves they won¡¯t pay you much attention. And since everyone saw a certain someone dragging around one of the attackers, they¡¯ll assume it was her. They aren¡¯t stupid enough to pick a fight with the entire Guild. Just be on your guard and alert.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Gerard wasn¡¯t particularly worried, with both Alissa and Rin traveling together an S rank would have to show up to suppress them. The group was sent off and assured the Guild would take care of the rest.


    The four passed the day quickly doing any last minute shopping and spending their last few hours with Rose. It was just after another wonderful dinner that the four were packed up, with Rose ready to cry that they were all leaving together. It would be a long two months until business started to pick back up.


    ¡°We¡¯ll come back before you know it Rose, and Rin¡¯ll be stopping by every few weeks too.¡± Alissa had to console the innkeeper before they could leave, but with some promises and a bottle of Spirit liquor forced into their hands, Rose let them leave. They were easily let out of town and walking the trail towards the mountain.


    ¡°So where are we going?¡± Rin followed the older two as she skipped along.


    ¡°We just needed to get a little further away from the town. From here, we¡¯ll be flying back. It¡¯s a few hours away, need one of us to carry you?¡± As Adrest spoke, both his and Alissa¡¯s wings shot out, one sleek and raven black, the other a crystalline purple.


    Rin jumped at the sudden motion, but then closely inspected both wings, eyes glowing. ¡°So pretty, I didn¡¯t get a good look last time, but they really suit you.¡±


    She had to touch the wings to sate her curiosity, Alissa¡¯s a hard but unnaturally warm stone, Adrest¡¯s a cool but not cold, and soft layers of feathers hiding hard as metal black chitin.


    Curiosity satisfied, she said, ¡°I should be fine, I can use wind magic to run on the air.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get going. I miss my forest.¡± Alissa grabbed Belle and shot off, with Adrest right behind. Rin smiled and took a second to stretch, then started sprinting on the snow. She was already moving faster than even the fastest of C ranks, then one foot stopped some inches above the ground, the next slightly higher.


    She rose into the air, high above the trees to match Adrest and Alissa a few hundred feet ahead, The wind was now raging against her, so she used the same magic normally used on her sword stilling the air to something almost comfortable around her.


    With nearly no resistance and support magics, she ran even faster than should be possible, a blur slowly catching up the speeding pair who saw the racing Rin as a challenge and sped off.


    That was the start of a multi-hour race that left Adrest and Rin exhausted when they landed at virtually the same time. Alissa was patiently waiting for them with a roaring fire in the large outdoor pit, as if she had all the time in the world waiting for them.


    Rin took in the surroundings, the large stone house looking out of place in the middle of the wilderness. The snow covered tables and benches strewn across the open landscape. With fresh snow coating everything, it looked like an untouched wonderland. She couldn¡¯t believe how quiet it was, she¡¯d gotten used to the busy nature of cities, and even the town still had animals and drunks making noise all hours of the nights. But here, there was nothing but the sounds of nature.


    ¡°It¡¯s so pretty.¡± The sun was long set and the three moons were casting a tri-colored symphony of light across the undisturbed snowscape.


    Alissa interrupted her daydreams by grabbing her hand and leading her to the house. ¡°I¡¯ll give you the tour!¡±


    Swinging open the thick door and strutting inside, Alissa waved her hand to light the fireplace and turn on the magic lights scattered through the house. ¡°The first floor¡­¡±


    As Alissa was walking Rin through the house, Adrest snuck off to give them a little surprise on the second floor. He ran over to the Lodestone and used a significant amount of his hard earned savings to purchase the bathroom remodel, the change silently taking place before the two had even made it to the stairs.


    As Alissa opened the door to the bathroom, she was stunned by what she was. It was nothing like what she¡¯d remembered. The large wooden tub transformed into a solid stone rectangular bath big enough for 4. Along the wall on one side to it was a set of four showers with magic drains built into the floor below, the other wall had another set of four sinks and a mirror that stretched across the wall above them.


    Alissa whistled at the upgrade, their bathroom now looking closer to a resort than a home''s.


    ¡°And this is something Ady has been dying to get for a while, he must''ve used you as an excuse to do so just now. I¡¯m guessing you had something similar in the Capital but if you need any help just ask.¡±


    Rin was stunned, not expecting this level of comfort in the forest and was even more excited to stay here through the winter. so far, this house was better than some of the Inns she''d had to stay at on the trip over.


    ¡°This is amazing Alissa! Staying here will be so much fun!¡±


    ¡°Wait a few days to say that, you aren¡¯t staying here for free. I¡¯ll be running you just as ragged as Adrest and Belle.¡±


    Rin laughed it off, thinking it couldn¡¯t be any worse than some of her past instructors.


    ¡°Now let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll help you unpack if you¡¯ve picked out your room.¡±


    Rin was rushed off to her new room, next to Belle¡¯s, where Alissa was helping her put away most of the things in her storage that were non-essential, mostly clothes.


    Belle rushed in, excited to see her new neighbor with Adrest right behind.


    He spoke first, ¡°Like my surprise Ali?¡±


    ¡°It looks amazing, and it¡¯ll be nice for you to have something to look forward to after your new and improved training every day.¡±


    Adrest blanched at the threat in her words, thinking his training was already life-threatening enough, but knew better than to fight it.


    Rin laughed as she folded away clothes, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to spar with you Adrest, Alissa already told me I don¡¯t have to hold back with the Lodestone so close by.¡±


    Adrest was scared for his life in the coming days.

 53. Magic training

    Adrest was terrified, fighting for his life. He was frantically dodging swipes to his chest and arms while jumping over attacks sweeping at his legs and ankles, trying to off balance him. He resisted as best he could, but Adrest was completely outclassed. Every move read; every trick seen through before he even tried. Mad blades came from every angle, not hesitating to take try to take off limbs, as seen by the gash on his shoulder that cut into bone.


    As he tried desperately to gain distance and take advantage of his magics, the opponent was locked in step with him, even in air he was at a disadvantage, losing the tip of a wing to learn. Adrest desperately fought for every extra second as his injuries accumulated, waiting for help.


    Struggling to keep up, Adrest froze when a blade slipped through his guard and dug just a millimeter into his neck, blood slowly dripping down his throat. He dropped his sword in surrender, holding still as possible.


    ¡°Your win again Rin, could you put that down now?¡± As Adrest spoke, the sword at his throat dropped and Rin gave a goofy smile that didn¡¯t suit the monster trying to kill him just moments ago.


    ¡°You¡¯re getting better Adrest, you¡¯re even trying to fight back now.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re really not afraid to maim anymore, are you?¡± Adrest looked at the cuts and his missing finger somewhat at a loss. While it still hurt, at C rank he had much more control over his body and considered it a somewhat minor wound compared to what Alissa had put him through lately.


    She had been pushing him deeper into the forest, fighting stronger monsters and beasts. On top of that, their magic lesson¡¯s had gotten harder, learning to control larger areas of natural mana with his own.


    Rin apologetically rubbed the back of her head, ¡°Alissa really insisted, and you always fix it.¡±


    As if summoning her, Alissa descended from the air clapping, ¡°Good job Rin! You really should take an arm if he leaves it open though, it¡¯s the fastest way to learn.¡±


    Both Adrest and Rin cringed at the thought as Alissa continued, ¡°Now go get fixed up Ady, you have magic training. Rin can you help Belle for an hour or so?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to!¡± Rin skipped off to find the little rabbit while Adrest groaned and dragged himself to the Lodestone. Just a few dozen (lp) later, he felt good as new. Meeting back up with Alissa, they took a seat at a bench enjoying the rare comfortable day. Now that it was early spring, the last of the snow had just melted and the sun felt especially warm.


    As Alissa lounged like a cat in the warm glow, she gave a sly grin, ¡°Let¡¯s get today¡¯s lesson started. Cast and maintain a fireball as far away as possible, we¡¯re doing something a little different.¡±


    The further someone casts magic from their body, the harder to control and maintain it becomes. To cast magic is to use mana as fuel to get a desired effect. And like fuel, mana has different degrees of efficiency depending on how it is used and the surroundings. It¡¯s easier for an earth magic user to use earth magic on land than at sea, easier for dark magic users at night. Though the surroundings may limit the caster somewhat, there are also ways to work around it.


    The first lesson Alissa taught Adrest was that magic is based in imagination and desire. While there were plenty of standard magics and chants that would achieve the desired outcome every time, Alissa disdained that method even for children. It creates a mental wall for them later, limiting their magic to the mundane and established. She always prodded Adrest to try, even if it shouldn¡¯t be possible, as long as it wasn¡¯t something too dangerous. Shockingly, half the time his ideas worked with a little time and effort, even if he thought it shouldn¡¯t.


    Adrest cleared his mind of everything expect the patch of forest indicated. Then, with a shaky start, Adrest could feel his soul and mind expand outwards. The world took on a grainy hue as millions of colorless grey flakes as small as dust particles floated endlessly through the air. Mixed sporadically through the grey were bits of other colors, green, blue, red, purple, yellow, black, and so so many more.


    Adrest knew this was how the world really looked, all around was a constant storm of mana moving all across the world. Most of it was neutral, waiting for a cause natural or otherwise to ignite, temporarily converting them to whatever mana was needed. If there were a fire the neutral mana near it would be converted to fire mana, same with rain, thunder, and all other phenomenon natural or otherwise.


    It was only after many hours of training was Adrest just barely able to exert control over the surrounding mana with his own. As practiced, he used a little of his fire mana, glowing like embers as they flowed from his soul into his hands, then as commanded rode against the wind to burst with all their latent energy. As the mana burned, the grey particles nearby took on a red hue as they were charged and Adrest took control, adding fuel to the flames.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    It was vastly different from controlling his own, one a perfectly trained dog on a lead, the other like wrangling eels underwater. Under all the might his mind and soul could muster, willing the world to bend to his command, Adrest maintained the fireball without a stream of his own mana.


    As the flame stabilized a hundred feet from himself, he gave Alissa a satisfied smile. He was becoming faster and more proficient as the training continued, just a month ago he would¡¯ve taken five minutes of complete silence to pull off such a feat.


    Slowly clapping Alissa teased, ¡°Congratulations Ady, you are as good as a newborn dragon now.¡±


    ¡°I technically am a newborn, you old woman.¡± Adrest let the flame go out as he fled backwards from a ball of fire as large as him.


    After waiting for Alissa to calm down, Adrest once again cast his magic in the distance.


    ¡°Good, now start dodging and don¡¯t let the flame go out.¡±


    Adrest spent the next three hours frantically dodging through an array of multicolored spells and attacks, every time his concentration lapsed he would have to start from square one. She demanded perfection for an hour straight before she allowed him to stop for more than having a medicine shoved down his throat. Finally, as Adrest¡¯s legs were shaking and cramped, his shirt was dripping in sweat, he couldn¡¯t take it anymore and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, passing out.


    Before his body could land on the leaf covered ground, Alissa was behind him. She propped the limp form, supporting the near 200 pounds of deadweight effortlessly. Alissa found herself complimenting Adrest in her mind again. The pain he experienced before passing out was that of complete exhaustion of the soul.


    The soul controlled magic, and to control mana outside the body was incredibly taxing to it, so much so that if one looked at Adrest¡¯s right now they¡¯d see the edges of it frayed, ribbons of light fluttering off the tightly wound source.


    As each bit of himself frayed away, Adrest felt an all-encompassing pain wrack his mind, unable to shut it out. But still, he preserved until his body gave out from under him. For normal people, this would be reckless at best and suicidal at worst, soul injuries were hard to heal, but for Alissa it would be a breeze.


    She carefully leaned Adrest against her back as she took off to the center of their little world. In just seconds, they were miles from their home and approaching a hidden paradise.


    In a little depression in the land, there was a pool of water somewhere between a pond and lake. The water was sparkling and pure, clean enough drinking from it seemed like a sin. Hidden under the surface, one could see thousands of sparkling gems littering the floor many meters below. Each one releasing a slow stream of mana into the water.


    In the direct center of the pool was a white lily larger than Alissa herself floating just over the water¡¯s surface. Occasionally the holy flower would shoot out puffs of thick white mist that spread through the surroundings. As each bit of mist merged with the air, Alissa could feel the mana become richer, but at the same time gentler.


    As the lily absorbed mana, it was purified and refined. The main function of this was to power the crystal formation core hovering above it, but as it drew very little power most of the time, mana accumulated in the air so much, drops of sparkling white liquid began to accumulate of the plants and trees, changing them.


    This was the perfect environment for most life, and especially healing for soul injuries. With the gentle mana, the soul could incorporate it with ease, building back its foundation and expanding. The power of wealth was once again rearing its head as only the very top powers of each region had something similar, and only the most monstrous geniuses would be able to use it.


    Adrest was blissfully unaware of this as he slept on the soft grass, Alissa resting his head on her thighs as she stroked his hair. Each second that passed she could see the thinnest strands of Adrest¡¯s soul grow and thread around themselves, slowly forming back into a tight weave.


    Time passed, and eventually Adrest felt his mind returning, a dull haze fogging his mind. Feeling tired, but alright Adrest opened his eyes and wasn¡¯t expecting to see Alissa staring down back at him.


    ¡°Good morning Ady! Feeling better?¡±


    ¡°Morning Ali, I¡¯m still feeling a little sore but I¡¯ll live.¡± Adrest in his half-conscious state tried going back to sleep, turning to get more comfortable but woke up as his cheeks were pinched and twisted.


    ¡°Ah! Fine! I¡¯m awake¡± Adrest sat up to get away from the pest, and was about to argue more when he was stunned by his surroundings. It was like he¡¯d stepped into a real life garden of Eden. The plants and grass shimmered and looked like it was the middle of summer with everything in full bloom. A few feet to his right was a lake with some sort of giant flower hovering over it, Adrest could even see multicolored shimmers of light reflecting from the bottom of the lake when the sun shone just right. He figured out where they were the second he saw a giant fiery red crystal sitting atop the flower but had no time to dwell on it.


    The mana in the air was so thick, Adrest¡¯s skin prickled and he felt short of breath choking on it, hyperventilating.


    Alissa gently stroked his back, ¡°Your body is just overstimulated, you¡¯re a C rank Ady, just hold your breath and focus on me until we walk out, you need to slowly adjust.¡±


    Adrest did as told, fighting his thirty years of instincts, putting all his attention into the young woman¡¯s back just ahead of himself. As they walked Adrest felt his heart slowly start to regulate itself, the static feeling on his skin dampening. After just five minutes of walking and Adrest passed a shimmering field in the air, he felt normal and took a deep breath.


    Getting himself under control he raised an eyebrow at his roommate, ¡°Ali, that looked like you had to use a lot more than just an A rank core for your formation. Like a lot more. Like buy a large fiefdom in the country of your choice more.¡±


    Alissa brushed him off, not caring in the slightest about the hundreds of thousands of platinum Trevil worth of materials she¡¯d used.

 54. Official Introduction

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much Ady, most of the mana stones and crystals I used were trash I picked up in dungeons, ruins, and the like. As for the White Calla, it was a gift from one of my older brothers, he said he hoped I could remain as pure and carefree as it has. And the formation was just something I took before I left, just in case.¡±


    Adrest still felt guilty, and even worse hearing the name of the flower. They covered it a few months ago in class, and from what he remembered it was rare and highly sought after because they have countless uses in alchemy, and their ancestry can be traced back to the age of the ancients, unchanging and as pure as it was at the start of the world.


    Alissa smacked his back, sending him stumbling forward. ¡°If I say not to worry, then don¡¯t worry. This is something absolutely vital if you want to catch up with the real freaks, the best of the best all have similar areas. But don¡¯t worry Ady, I can ensure you and Belle have every advantage and more even compared to The Holy Sun Sanctum, The Beast Bloodlines, and the Violet Royals. Even compared to the children of the dragon clans I won¡¯t let you lose out.¡±


    Adrest was touched hearing Alissa, she decided to use every resource at her disposal to pull Belle and himself up. To raise two people¡¯s strength to the level Alissa had in mind was an unobtainable amount of wealth to Adrest, he was unable to completely imagine the wealth. Numbers weren¡¯t enough at that level, they traded and bartered in elixirs, miracle pills, near extinct herbs, and the like. He and Belle were only D and C rank respectively but taking into consideration the formation and the various pills and medicines she was always buying and forcing them to take, she must¡¯ve spent close to three hundred thousand platinum already.


    Sure, two thirds of that was from the formation, and it would be useful for many years, but Adrest felt that this was only the tip of the iceberg for her perfecting every aspect of himself and Belle.


    ¡°Are you sure you can spare all this on us Ali? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be strengthening yourself before that tournament?¡±


    Laughing at Adrest¡¯s naivety she spoke, ¡°Don¡¯t worry over that Ady, I¡¯ve been soaking in and drinking the best the world has to offer since before I was out of my own shell, at this stage my body can¡¯t improve unless I get very lucky. All that¡¯s left for me to do is polish my techniques and magic, which is a very slow process now.¡±


    Adrest was relieved and went along with Alissa back to the house where they found Rin guiding Belle through an acrobatics routine they¡¯d slowly been building on. Belle was somersaulting through the air, landing on just her toes on single pole tops, then jumping to the next. The top heavy and thin wooden poles barely shifting.


    As she reached the next phase, Belle jumped towards a swinging knotted rope, grabbing confidently with one hand and followed with the momentum, letting go as they reached their zenith. Belle flew through the air and landed gracefully on a branch way up a nearby tree.


    Her audience clapped, Belle was thrilled to see Ali and Ady had gotten to see her first successful run of this course.


    ¡°Great job Belle, just a few more of these and we can really start the fun part!¡± Her new teacher complimented.


    ¡°Start? This already looks a lot more fun than anything a certain other teacher does.¡±


    Adrest would have some new bruising to heal later, but Rin was happy to watch the usual two man show, explaining when they calmed.


    ¡°This part is alright, but isn¡¯t it way more fun when you can start making your own rules? When we start sparring, Belle will have to take what I taught her and make it her own. And I can¡¯t wait to see what she comes up with, especially with what you¡¯ve taught her Alissa!¡±


    Alissa as always loved compliments wrapping an arm around their new Hero, ¡°You¡¯re an amazing teacher too Rin, and an even better student!¡±


    Rin blushed at the string of embarrassing memories that triggered, images of herself ragged and bleeding, Alissa across from her still in perfect shape. It made her realize just how far she had to go, in just swordsmanship she was actually a little better than Alissa, but her unnatural strength and reflexes more than made up for it.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    It was Adrest to Rin¡¯s rescue as he snapped her out of it, ¡°It¡¯s getting late, anyone mind if we take a break for dinner?¡±


    Belle jumped down, doing several flips in midair and landing soundlessly on her feet, ¡°I¡¯m starving!¡±


    Alissa and Rin joined in, nodding like chickens. But it was nothing new, Belle was in a growth spurt, Alissa had the appetite to match her dragon form. And Rin looked tiny, only a bit taller than Belle, but she could somehow keep pace with the dragon fitting right in.


    It was once again proven as they sat for dinner and between the four of them, the tower of steaks at the center of the table disappeared twice before everyone was satisfied and leaning back in their chairs.


    ¡°Thank you for the meal Adrest, it was amazing.¡±


    ¡°You really don¡¯t need to say that every time Rin. I wouldn¡¯t mind it if you were a bit more like the rude one over there.¡± Adrest pointed directly at the sprawled-out Alissa, her face of contentment instantly changing to a glare.


    ¡°What was that Ady?¡±


    ¡°See? I don¡¯t mind it at all.¡±


    Rin rubbed the back of her head, ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s how we were raised at the church, it¡¯s hard to change old habits.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it then, I¡¯m always happy to hear it,¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m going back to town tomorrow, Gerard said that the Academy is starting to question why I¡¯m still here, I¡¯m sure I have a pile of letters waiting.¡±


    ¡°Will you be okay? When do you have to head back?¡± Adrest was curious, it¡¯d been around three months since she¡¯d moved in, and she was originally scheduled to leave the outpost town well over a month ago.


    ¡°Well¡­ I honestly don¡¯t really want to go back. Not so soon. I finally feel like I¡¯m welcome somewhere and I''m learning so much. But I think the latest I can get away with is another month or so.¡±


    Adrest felt more pain in his heart than he thought he would at the statement. From the beginning, the three had gotten along great with Rin, perfectly blending in like she¡¯d always been around. Though it¡¯s only been a few months he had trouble imagining the house without her smiling face.


    Belle was already tearing up and hugging the sitting Rin who was reassuringly rubbing her back. Alissa must¡¯ve felt similar because she was the one to speak up, ¡°I said it before, if you want anything just ask. If you¡¯re sure you don¡¯t want to go back, just ask and I¡¯ll make it happen. I¡¯ll just need some help from you.¡±


    Rin¡¯s eyes went wide. She knew Alissa was a strong dragon, but stepping on the Guild¡¯s tail like that was bad for any power. ¡°I really appreciate the thought Alissa, but I couldn¡¯t put you in that position, I¡¯ll just sneak away and visit again as soon as I can. Worst case, I can graduate as soon as I hit A rank so I can come back in just a few years.¡±


    Alissa scoffed, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be too much trouble at all, compared saving these two it''s nothing. I¡¯d just need to ask my brother Kestra to say he took a liking to your sword skills. He¡¯s on a similar path, so if I use his aura in the letter they can¡¯t argue, and they won¡¯t dare. Then you just need to record that you¡¯re willing and happy, and get Gerard to vouch for your safety and you have an airtight escape for years to come.¡±


    Rin was stunned at the show of force suggested, hinting that she¡¯d simply threaten a continental force, ¡°Umm, Alissa? If you don¡¯t mind me asking, how strong is your brother?¡±


    ¡°No problem at all, He¡¯s only at the Peak of the Demi-god Realm, but he¡¯s nearly killed Half-step Gods before, they¡¯re just too good at running at that stage. You should¡¯ve seen his face haha!¡±


    Rin felt like the temperature dropped 20 degrees. A Demi-God was the first step to immorality, while a half-step God was just as the name implied. They were just a half step from Godhood, just waiting for an opportunity to break free. For Alissa to have a brother that can fight and even win above his level at that stage showed the sheer majesty of the power behind her, but it still wasn¡¯t enough to shield her from the Guild.


    ¡°Alissa, your brother sounds amazing, but the Guild has more than a few peak half-step Gods, if they send one after your brother it would be the same as me killing him.¡±


    Adrest and Belle were lost at the new terminology, but Adrest could roughly guess they were the realms after S rank and Adrest could only imagine the gulf in power between early and late stage Half-step Gods.


    Alissa just waved the worries off, Rin at this point who turned to Adrest for support. He just shrugged.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know what the stages you two are talking about, but don¡¯t sweat it Rin. Our little princess here has nothing to worry about when it comes to backing, am I right Ali?¡±


    ¡°For once you are Ady! Rin, I never got around to telling you, but my full name is Alissa Covenscar. My Father leads the Storm Dragon Clan, one of the five current leaders of the Clans. Father is an Earthly Immortal and the Guild won¡¯t touch you if you¡¯re with one of his line.¡±


    It was a lot for Rin to take in, not expecting the laid back dragon was actually royalty, so far above her own station Rin normally wouldn¡¯t even be able to see her heels above.


    Stunned, Rin answered, ¡°That¡¯s not what I expected, I¡¯ll think about it more tomorrow on the way to town, not like there¡¯s a rush.¡±


    Alissa nodded cheerily, ¡°Just say the words Rin. But enough about that for now, let¡¯s play some dice.¡±


    Adrest really had corrupted the royal, who was now addicted to gambling in particular. She enjoyed the stakes, even if they only played with bronze Trevil, which Adrest basically printed out for nothing, getting one hundred per (lp).

 55. The Demons Vassals

    It was an early morning for Rin, who was up and out the door before even Adrest so she could be back as early as possible. She skipped running on the ground, opting for above the tree line like Adrest and Alissa, and in just hours, though a little cold, she still arrived just outside town.


    Once inside with no issues, now a regular, Rin found herself inside the Guildhouse and at the top floor. As she pushed in the ridiculously heavy doors, a frowning older man¡¯s face greeted her, framed by stacks of papers.


    ¡°Good morning Sir.¡± Rin¡¯s back was pushed as straight as she could manage.


    Gerard just sighed at the girl and pushed over a small pile of nearly two dozen letters.


    ¡°They¡¯ve been arriving nearly everyday Rin, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing out there, but you can¡¯t keep it up much longer.¡±


    Rin dejectedly nodded as she scooped up the many letters, ¡°I¡¯ll read these over and let you know my decision sir.¡±


    Gerard nodded and Rin scampered away like a mouse. Once she was downstairs, she found a private corner table and started going through the letters one by one, starting with the oldest.


    Most were inquiries to what she was doing here still, some were scolding her for not taking her duties seriously. Once she got to the last few in the pile, they changed. One saying that she didn¡¯t have to return to the Academy right away, now she had to head to the northwest and participate in a joint tournament.


    The letter detailed it was a ¡°friendly¡± a sparring tournament for the younger generation of Itola and Radagon, but Rin had a feeling it was a show of power on both sides. There would be geniuse from both powers coming out and warned Rin to take it seriously. The other letters were maps and information about some of the participants. Rin was feeling lost as she made her way home.


    It was mid-afternoon when Rin got back, greeted by the sight of Adrest being sent flying from Alissa¡¯s kick. As he smacked into a tree and sat remembering how to breathe, Alissa came in for a hug from Rin.


    ¡°How¡¯d it go? Are they still trying to make you go back?¡±


    ¡°Well, not exactly? Do you want to finish training and we can talk about it over dinner? I bought a cake in town for dessert tonight too.¡±


    Alissa smiled brightly, ¡°You could pass for my sister Rin! You heard her Ady, we can get a few more hours in!¡±


    Adrest gave an apathetic ¡°Yayyy.¡± As he brushed himself off and spit up a little blood. That was all the time he got before the beautiful dragon pounced at him once more, sending him in full retreat to ready his defenses.


    ¡°Never let your guard down in a fight! If I catch you unprepared again, I¡¯m adding an hour to training.¡±


    As Adrest fought for his life for hours on end, Rin and Belle made dinner, Rin buying everything they¡¯d need for it in town. The church where she grew up also ran a small plot of farmland, complete with animals. One of the very few things she knew how to cook was a dish the nuns called an egg pie. With a coop full of healthy hens, they¡¯d always had a surplus of eggs so this was a staple of her childhood. She took out the flour, water, oil, and all the other ingredients they¡¯d need for the crust, along with the eggs, herbs, and cheese for the filling.


    Just as Adrest was about to die from exhaustion, Rin came out. ¡°Dinner¡¯s ready if you are.¡±


    Not giving Alissa a chance to refuse, he ran to the safety of their house, running up the stairs to wipe down before eating. When he returned, looking good as new, Adrest saw everyone was patiently waiting for him, a huge slice already waiting steaming on a plate.


    Adrest took an extra second as his surroundings dawned on him. He was surrounded by people who loved him for the first time in almost a decade. He had his now precious Ali, their adorable little sister Belle, and the goofy and cheery Rin. His heart felt full and had to sit down before he started crying at the table.


    Clearing his throat, Adrest said ¡°It looks amazing Rin, thank you for cooking.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem at all, I just wanted to show you a bit of how I grew up since I got to learn so much about Alissa yesterday.¡±


    They quickly dug in, not wanting Rin¡¯s efforts to get cold. The four passed the meal in blissful silence, near bursting after Rin brought out the two layer cake decorated with a medley of fruits.


    After the meal as everyone was relaxed, Alissa once again brought up the topic. ¡°So Rin, what did you find out today?¡±


    Rin shifted uncomfortably in her seat, ¡°Well, they changed their minds suddenly and now I have to head to a city at the border of Radagon and Itola for a tournament.¡±


    Alissa raised her eyebrows at the sudden request, ¡°Is this something that happens regularly?¡±


    ¡°No, but Itola¡¯s been on the rise since the newest Holy Saint took over, this was probably started by him, to show off their holy children.¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Alissa scrunched her nose in thought, ¡°When does it start?¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s still a bit of time, it¡¯s the main attraction of a festival they¡¯re hosting and it starts on the summer solstice. It would only take me six weeks of casual running or so to get there, so I still have a little over a month before I should leave.¡±


    Adrest was sad to hear she was going, even though almost five months together sounded like plenty, he felt the house would soon be too quiet soon.


    Alissa slapped the table, getting a jump out of everyone present. ¡°It¡¯s decided. For the next month I¡¯ll do everything in my power to make you the strongest one in the tournament.¡±


    Adrest feared for Rin¡¯s life hearing this, and was about to try calming the dragon, but Rin grabbed Alissa¡¯s hands in her own, ¡°Thank you so much Alissa, I¡¯d love to learn more from you.¡±


    Like a proud peacock Alissa nodded along, ¡°Then do you completely trust me Rin? Do you completely trust Adrest?¡±


    Without hesitation Rin nodded her head vigorously, ¡°Completely and utterly.¡±


    As Adrest was touched, Alissa pointed to him, getting 3 pairs of eyes aimed his way.


    ¡°First things first, Let¡¯s see if we can tie a hero to the Lodestone!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Huh?¡±


    The owner of said lodestone had no idea what that was supposed to mean, it couldn¡¯t be literal right? As he shook such stupid thoughts out of his mind Alissa looked at Adrest like he was an idiot.


    ¡°Have you forgotten Ady? You can select vassals now. And you can help those lucky few out in all sorts of ways.¡±


    Adrest, the Demon Lord controlling the Lodestone had forgotten a key functionality, one could argue the most important function. With no room to retort, he led the others to the dark grey pillar that towered over them. Over the many months, the cracks and pitting had slowly started to heal, no longer looking ready to crumble in the breeze.


    Adrest gave a mental command, and the vassal tab opened on the screen only he could see. Clicking further on one of the four blank spaces, a pop up appeared.


    Adrest read it out loud for the group.  ¡°It says to cut your palm and willingly place it one the stone.¡±


    Rin was a little scared at the macabre ceremony, and wasn¡¯t starting to doubt if she should go through with it so impulsively, when Alissa stepped in for her.


    ¡°When you say it like you have no idea what¡¯s happening, of course she would be nervous! Belle sweetie, do you think you could go first to show Rin there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of?¡±


    Her eyes shined with anticipation, ¡°I get to become a ¡°vassal¡± too? And what¡¯s a vassal?¡±


    Alissa laughed and explained, ¡°A Demon¡¯s vassal is someone who directly serves and protects him. They are his last line of defense and sturdiest shield. In return, the demon grants them power far beyond what they were originally allowed.¡±


    ¡°So cool?¡± Belle took out a knife and happily sliced a thin cut across her palm and ran up to the column. As she pressed it against the cool stone, a screen appeared right in front of her eyes, startling her. Upon reading it though, she happily accepted. As she did, a warmth spread from her arm and through the rest of her body, filling her with energy.


    As she broke away, Adrest saw a new name taking up a space on his screen. It also gave details such as her age, rank, and blessing, now blessings. Right beside the blessing of the Goddess of Life was a minor blessing of Baal.


    ¡°Hey Alissa, people can really have two blessings?¡±


    Her eyes lit up as her guess hadn¡¯t been wrong. ¡°It isn¡¯t unheard of, some of the really strong heroes had three or more back in the day.¡±


    Adrest clicked on the name, and found a list of purchasable upgrades for Belle, from easier magical comprehension, improving the body as it had done for him, at the bottom was a greyed out option that cost nearly one million (lp). Achieve bloodline atavism and activate the Moon rabbit¡¯s inheritance.


    Adrest was stunned silent by the sheer amount of strength he could buy, but also by the prices for even small help.


    ¡°Is everything okay Adrest?¡±


    Looking to Rin he said, ¡°I¡¯m great! You should see the stuff I can get Belle if I had enough points."


    At the words a prompt appeared, ¡°Do you wish to share screen with ¡°Belle¡±?¡±


    Selecting yes, Belle was startled seeing the screen appear once again but was soon entranced by the many options she saw for herself. Soon finding the bottom most option, she couldn¡¯t help but ask their fountain of knowledge.


    ¡°Big sis Ali, what¡¯s a Moon Rabbit?¡±


    Alissa¡¯s brows shot up, ¡°That¡¯s a very old story Belle, back when the world was still young. You see back then, there were 5 moons and 3 suns. As life started emerging, the four primordial beasts, the human ancestors, sacred spirits, so too emerged a race of pure white rabbits. They grew monstrously strong and lived life with ease mostly staying on their pure white moon, blessed and protected by the heavens themselves. Even our ancestor, the Creation dragon didn¡¯t think to harm them because the consequences would be dire. However, as tensions were rising between the newly emerged factions at the peak of their strength, things suddenly changed.¡±


    ¡°An invasion took place, they tore through the barriers separating our systems. Their first target was the White Moon, wanting to grievously damage the heavens. It succeeded too, as the Moon was destroyed they say that every living being on every sun, moon, and planet heard a shrill screeching in their minds, feeling like their own mother had just been slaughtered. It¡¯s what caused the other forces to work together and reinforce the barriers after a long war and chasing off the bastards to the heart of their own worlds.¡±


    ¡°But how would I be related to them then?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not impossible that a few were down here at the time and stayed in hiding.¡± Alissa answered while putting a finger to her cheek.


    ¡°So that means I could become as strong as them someday thanks to Big bro Ady?¡± Belle innocently asked, but Adrest was pretty sure she was trying to spell it out for the hero.


    Playing along Alissa nodded, ¡°Yep it¡¯s all because of Adrest that you¡¯ll get to become a primordial species someday Belle, make sure to thank him when that day comes.¡±


    ¡°Fine! I get it, me too, okay?¡± Rin sliced her palm and put her hand to the stone before she could reconsider, jumping at the warm current running up her arm. She was interested in the page that came into existence in front of her eyes, but quickly accepted, and Adrest was happy to see her name be added as well.


    He was happy to let Rin look through the options even though they were ludicrously expensive, the cheapest over a hundred thousand.


    Rin was happily looking through her options, finding her own atavism option missing. She pouted saying, ¡°I feel like I was robbed. How come Belle gets a cool ancestor and I don¡¯t?¡±


    Alissa had to comfort the pouting teen, rubbing her arm, ¡°It¡¯s not like it matters that much Rin, you can still get a new God¡¯s blessing, and just think of all the other things you can get for just the price of what atavism would¡¯ve cost.¡±


    Rin took in the consolation as they made their way home. Once again inside, Alissa said to Adrest and Belle, ¡°You two have fun for a few hours, We¡¯ll be right back after we do a little training.¡±


    The two nodded along and waved the girls off, playing checkers by a toasty fire and enjoying the peace after a busy day.

 56. Training and News

    Outside, Alissa led Rin to the center of the formation. Once inside the barrier and at the shore of the lake, Rin actually did faint from the sheer wealth Alissa flaunted. When she woke up a very embarrassed Alissa was holding her head on her lap and looked apologetic.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I thought you¡¯d be used to the mana here since the academy has to have something similar.¡±


    Rin couldn¡¯t believe this airhead was so powerful as she felt the mana in the air around her. It was like Rin was soaking in a hot tub and every muscle in her screamed to just relax and go limp as comfortable electric currents shot through her body. ¡°We do, but it costs hundreds of merit points to use just for a day, and even more to get in the core area like this.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well no need to be shy here, you¡¯ll be able to enter the barrier as you please. From now on, I thought we could start sparring here. From what I¡¯ve seen your biggest weakness is your soul. This¡¯ll help it catch up to your body in no time, but it¡¯ll also hurt a lot.¡±


    Rin knew this was a once in a lifetime chance and couldn¡¯t let it go. ¡°Please help me, Big sis.¡±


    Alissa grinned at her newest little sibling, ¡°That¡¯s the spirit! All you have to do is hold on as long as you can.¡±


    They sparred for nearly three hours, Rin completely exhausted fighting in the mana dense environment, overstimulating her soul. As her body fell forward, she was happy to feel a familiar frame gently catch her.


    Walking back through the door, Alissa had a sleeping Rin on back.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t go too hard on her, did you? I like Rin.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re that worried Ady, I¡¯ll give you the exact same lesson tomorrow so you can see for yourself.¡± As Alissa smiled sweetly at Adrest, he couldn¡¯t help but curse his damn mouth.


    Successfully shutting Adrest up, Alissa set the sleeping girl on their couch and threw a blanket over her. ¡°She should wake up in an hour or two, I¡¯m going to take a shower first if you don¡¯t mind. Belle, want to join me?¡±


    Belle got up from the bench and ran off with the purple haired menace up the flight of stairs leaving Adrest alone. He stood up and decided to see if he couldn¡¯t throw something together as a nice surprise for their hardworking hero.


    As Rin came to, she felt incredibly comfortable. The soft heat of a fire, the warm weight of a blanket over her, and above the small cracks of firewood, she could hear the din of quiet conversation. Rin opened her eyes slowly to see a familiar wood ceiling above.


    She stood up, a little wobbly at first and greeted the three sitting at the table, everyone already cleaned and in pajamas. They paused the card game seeing Rin awake.


    ¡°Welcome back Rin!¡± Adrest spoke for the group as he stood and offered her an arm while guiding her to an awaiting seat, ¡°Training with Ali will do that, maybe this¡¯ll help though.¡±


    It was finally warming up and with it being a nice evening, Adrest used science to make his own ice-cream, using the same method he¡¯d learned as a kid. He already had cream and sugar they¡¯d asked Rin to pick up, and the rune in their refrigerator went well below freezing. It was only when the girls were back downstairs and watching him in curiosity, was Adrest finished mixing the cream, happy with the consistency and putting it in the now freezer for later.


    As Adrest scooped out bowls for everyone the girl¡¯s looked on in anticipation, no one having any since the previous summer. Rin felt a comfortable cool feeling settle in her stomach after her first bite, and she felt her exhaustion slipping away, her heart healing.


    Adrest felt the extra work was worth the effort as he ate in silence, enjoying the view as each young woman showed her enjoyment in different ways. Belle was sweetly grinning as she nibbled on tiny spoonfuls. Rin was eating with a big goofy smile and sparkling eyes that thanked him. Alissa on the other hand was already done and holding her bowl towards him for more.


    The next month was the harshest period of their life for both Adrest and Rin. They were pushed to the very brink by Alissa every day, sparring, endurance training, harsh tasks, Alissa threw it all at them.


    Multiple times a day Adrest had to drag himself to the Lodestone to heal while clinging to consciousness, Rin and Belle now given the same luxury. The first time she was healed, Rin stared at the shadows on the ground in wonder. ¡°It¡¯s like it never even happened.¡±


    Adrest had also started training in the formation core, now that he adjusted to it somewhat. Though it still felt like trying to move through tar and trying to breathe on a mountain peak. In such conditions he couldn¡¯t last as long before passing out as outside, but Alissa insisted it was more efficient as each time he fainted, his soul was almost instantly repaired and ready for another round. The best motivation for Adrest though was seeing Rin¡¯s efforts beside him each day.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Comparing himself to Rin, Adrest still felt it wasn¡¯t good enough and strove to last longer and fight harder every time. He wanted to stand alongside the two of them someday, not just hide behind their backs.


    In this style a month passed. The group was gathered around the remains of a dinner and Rin looked nervously around gathering the courage to speak.


    ¡°I think I have to leave I the next few days if I want to make it to Reish for the tournament in time.¡±


    Adrest and Belle became visibly sad, Alissa looked contemplatively at Rin eventually saying, ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯ve been meaning to talk about too. Do you three remember Zoya from when I fought the Earthen Titan? Well, at the end of that she invited me to her territory, to help me train a bit before a very important tournament.¡±


    ¡°Well, you have to go don¡¯t you Ali? Being more prepared is never a bad thing.¡± Adrest could see where this was going.


    Alissa nodded, ¡°I need to get at least the top ten, but ideally first or second. I¡¯m not completely confident of that right now, but With Zoya helping me for a few months I should be fully prepared to take first.¡±


    Belle started to cry at the thought of being without her Big sis Ali for many months, but wiped them away, knowing that this was important for her.


    Alissa saw the act and gently smiled at the girl she considered her precious little sister, ¡°I¡¯ll be back before you know it. You¡¯ll be so busy, you won¡¯t even have time to think about me.¡±


    Ignoring the questioning faces, Alissa turned to Rin and said, looking apologetic, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to spring this on you, but I¡¯ve been going back and forth on the idea for a week now. What would you think of taking Adrest and Belle along to watch the tournament, they both need experience beyond the forest and a small town. And I¡¯d feel completely safe knowing they¡¯re in your hands Rin.¡±


    Rin was stunned nervous under the weight of her friend¡¯s trust. Alissa interrupted her before she could reply, ¡°I won¡¯t let you do it for free though. I¡¯m still a little scared you¡¯ll run into something that you can¡¯t reason with or intimidate with the Guild, so I¡¯ll give all of you a blessing.¡±


    ¡°A blessing? Like a god¡¯s?¡± Adrest asked.


    ¡°Kind of. It¡¯s called the Dragon¡¯s Reverse Scale. It¡¯s hard to explain how it works but in times of life-threatening danger, my visage will appear along with our clan¡¯s insignia and bloodline. Any creature, human or otherwise will back off and scurry as far away from you as possible seeing it.¡±


    With such an intimidating name, reminding Adrest of similar stories he¡¯d read on Earth he had to ask, ¡°What happens if someone blessed dies anyway?¡±


    Stone faced Alissa coldly answered, ¡°The one who gave the blessing is immediately alerted when it is activated. If an attacker kills the owner of the Blessing, their bloodline, aura, and soul are recorded in the bloodline memory of every dragon in every clan. We will feel an instinctual hatred for all those connected to the killer for generations until they¡¯ve been wiped out, hunted to extinction.¡±


    Switching back to her cheerful self, Alissa waved them over, ¡°Now line up, I need to do each of you separately.¡±


    Rin had no reason to say no seeing Alissa go so far, and felt safer knowing they had the greatest insurance policy in the continent behind them, and got in line.


    Adrest was first. Alissa, making the taller boy kneel in front of her, used a claw to prick her thumb, a glittering and multicolored drop of blood was squeezed out. She took the drop and carefully marked the center of Adrest¡¯s forehead.


    He was feeling nervous below, never seeing this pious, regal side of Alissa before as she muttered under her breath and held his cheeks in her hands. She slowly leaned forward and gently placed her lips on the circle of blood she placed, leaving an imprint of her lips.As her lips left the frozen Adrest, the blood glowed, taking on life as it reshaped and hardened itself. As the light died, they could now see a near invisible scale take its place, with just the tiniest suggestion of purple hidden in the edges.


    Adrest didn¡¯t know what to say with the others staring at him so intensely. ¡°How do I look?¡±


    Alissa handed him a small mirror and he inspected the new scale, it took him a few seconds to even notice it, that was how transparent it was.


    ¡°Okay, you¡¯re next Belle!¡±


    The process was repeated two more times, and at the end Adrest could see Alissa looked visibly tired, he wrapped an arm around her after, letting her lean into him.


    ¡°Thanks Ady, using three drops of essence blood isn¡¯t a big deal, but it¡¯s really tiring.¡±


    Adrest and Rin¡¯s eyes grew hearing that, ¡°Essence blood!?¡±


    Rin grabbed Alissa¡¯s other side helping her to the couch. As they sat down, Alissa was happy to lean on Adrest as she closed her eyes, ¡°It¡¯s no big deal, I¡¯ll recover it completely in a week, and feel mostly fine by tomorrow. Just do me a favor and make a big breakfast Ady?¡±


    ¡°You earned it Ali. I¡¯ll carry to you bed later, so just go to sleep if you¡¯re tired.¡±


    Alissa was asleep before he finished the sentence, earning warm smiles from the other two on the couch.


    ¡°Mind if we stay like this for a while Rin? I don¡¯t want to wake her up.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, no problem. But if I fall asleep, you have to carry me to bed too.¡±


    Adrest nodded along to the nonsense, and leaned his head back to find the rabbit somewhere behind him, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to leave it to you Belle, but do you think you can clean up the table, I¡¯ll wash everything in the morning.¡±


    ¡°I can do it!¡± Belle was always happy to help and rushed off to clean. Adrest was going to pass the time quietly chatting with Rin, but looking over he saw the teen had her eyes closed, head leaning into Alissa under her,


    Adrest was speechless how she¡¯d fallen asleep so fast, but shook his head, it was only one extra trip. He passed the time by watching the fire until a happy Belle trotted in front of him whispering, ¡°Everything¡¯s cleaned and locked up. Big bro Ady, could you read me something since everyone else is asleep.¡±


    Adrest made room for Belle on the armrest, which she excitedly jumped into with a book in hand, as Adrest narrated an old historical romantic they¡¯d picked up, he looked over when a small weight hit his shoulder.


    He sighed as it looked like he had three trips up the stairs to make. He waited another half hour or so, not wanting to wake anyone from moving them before he got to work, saving Alissa for last as they usually slept together in one another¡¯s room.

 57. Entering the Big City

    Adrest woke even earlier than normal as he prepared almost double what they normally would for breakfast. Which turned out to be just barely enough to satisfy Alissa''s endless stomach, devouring plate after plate. Only after the last steak was finished did Alissa lean back and let out a content sigh.


    ¡°I feel like myself again. Now if everyone¡¯s about ready, what would you say to visiting Rose and the Hearth and Home. We won¡¯t be able to see her for probably around half a year, so I¡¯d love to spend a night there and then we can visit Everflow City, and then you guys can go towards the tournament while I go to Zoya¡¯s island.¡±


    Getting nods of approval, they were soon in the air headed towards the town. As they made their way inside, Adrest was surprised to see the Hearth and Home so busy, nearly packed for a lunch rush. As an unfamiliar serving girl rushed around, the three got the VIP treatment and sat right across from the busy Rose.


    They had wanted to just get a room and return when it was quieter, but Rose wouldn¡¯t have any of it, insisting they have a nice meal after a long trip. Rose still found some time in between pouring drinks and grabbing orders to catch up and talk.


    After it slowed down late in the evening, Rose kept handing out drinks nonstop as they caught up, trying to get the four to stay up for as long as she could. It worked too, the three adults stayed up with Rose until nearly the next morning, chatting about all sorts of things and gossiping about the latest rumors from distant lands.


    It was late morning before everyone was ready to leave. Rose was pouting, ¡°Do you really have to leave so soon? It¡¯ll already be summer by the time you¡¯ll be back.¡±


    Once again shooting down the bartender, Rin shook her head, ¡°Sorry Rose but we have to leave early just in case we get delayed.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I can¡¯t keep you here for myself. Just promise me you¡¯ll all be careful and take care of each other.¡± Rose went down the line and tightly hugged the four, hesitating for a second as she reached Adrest. Alissa gave Adrest a shove into Rose and he took the hint, helping Rose make up her mind.


    She went red as Adrest¡¯s thin but sturdy arms, like corded steel, wrapped around her but hugged the leaving friend as tight as her E rank body would allow. ¡°If you come back injured again Adrest, I¡¯ll never let you drink another drop under my roof.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can, see you soon Rose.¡±


    Rose waved the group off, feeling more lonely than she had in a long time. Maybe she¡¯d have someone come in for a few weeks so she could visit her family in Everflow, it¡¯d been well over a year at this point.


    In the early morning sun and cool breeze, Adrest, Alissa, Rin, and Belle walked off towards the mountains like they usually would. This time though they would actually cross the mountain range.


    Rin was leading the way, most familiar with the path they¡¯d be using. ¡°If we walk, it¡¯s three days up, two days down, and another half a day to get to Everflow City.¡±


    ¡°But since everyone here can fly, we can get over the mountain sometime tonight, then run the last portion just in case any guards are watching the skies.¡±


    Seeing everyone nodding in agreement, and they were sufficiently far from the village, Rin led everyone a few miles off trail and started ascending. Adrest¡¯s raven black wings unfurled with a deep whoosh. Alissa¡¯s masterfully carved purple wings silently expanded as if they¡¯d always been there. Belle hopped on Alissa¡¯s back, now used to it and they followed their guide.


    In just an hour, they were a third of the way up the mountain side, showing how truly massive the entire range was. The saving grace for the weaker members of the group was that even D and C rank bodies can easily adjust to the increasingly thin air.


    Adrest was buzzing through the bitter cold wind to keep up with a sprinting Rin, running through the air like a gazelle. His heart was pounding but his breathing was still even, able to keep pace with the other two after months of endurance training.


    They finally took a break at the summit, admiring the view. Many, many miles above, they could see an endless sea of clouds below, stretching to the horizon. All around them was ice and snow, not making it the most comfortable viewing space, but the feeling of majesty conquering such a mountain made up for it.


    ¡°I think I want a house on the top of a mountain someday.¡± Adrest said his daydreams out loud, which made Alissa excited.


    ¡°I¡¯d love that! The house I grew up in was at the top of one of the largest mountains on the continent, and Father always had lightning streaking around the clouds below and around us. I loved to sit and just watch it trail and arc while I worked on my studies.¡±


    Adrest felt like he was always learning more about Alissa, but in hindsight it made sense the lightning dragon liked lightning and heights.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll ever find anything that can compare to what you grew up in, but I¡¯ll try my best.¡±


    Alissa gave her Ady a hug, already anticipating what he would come up with. ¡°I already know I¡¯ll love it.¡±


    Rin was feeling a little hint of jealousy at the display, wishing she had someone to dream about their future with.


    Alissa somehow sensed this and smiled at Rin behind her, ¡°You¡¯ll be there too, right Rin?¡±


    Forcing back blush on her face at being seen through, Rin couldn¡¯t hide the smile as she vigorously nodded. ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡±


    They only took a short break to catch their breath and for Belle to move her muscles a bit after laying still on Alissa for so long. Going down was much faster than up, just two hours later they touched down on the other side. Adrest couldn¡¯t tell the difference, the landscape looking identical.


    Rin pointed to an opening in the trees near her, ¡°Now we just have to walk a few miles to join up with the main trail.¡±


    As they walked, Adrest started to notice small differences, there were far fewer old trees on this side, and there were many open patches of land.


    ¡°What happened to the plant life?¡±


    Rin, remembering it from a class answered, ¡°It¡¯s because whenever there are signs of a Beast Tide, the army destroys and levels all the terrain in the area. It makes long distance magic easier for the mages, and it¡¯s safer for the soldiers to have an open battlefield.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d be fine if a Beast Tide happened while we¡¯re in the forest, right?¡± Adrest asked, seeing how much of the landscape had already grown back.


    Alissa patted his shoulder, ¡°If I¡¯m around, they¡¯ll run the other way. If it¡¯s just the formation, a few would wander in, but they wouldn¡¯t make it anywhere near the core area.¡±


    Adrest breathed a sigh of relief with one less natural disaster to worry about in the future, thankful once again for Alissa¡¯s extravagance.


    ¡°So, did you get to see much of the city the last time you were here Rin?¡±


    Alissa was excited to see what a trade hub human city would look like, sadly Rin couldn¡¯t give her much.


    ¡°I was just passing through on my way to the outpost and didn¡¯t get to see much, but I can tell you it¡¯s massive. The walls around the city are amazing, they¡¯re over five stories tall! They had all sorts of shops, but I was in a rush so I couldn¡¯t try many.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s explore for a few days. I¡¯ll buy anything you want while we¡¯re here.¡± Alissa nonchalantly promised as they walked, Rin awkwardly nodding, feeling a little more comfortable with the idea of taking money from her very rich friend.


    Just as the sun was hanging low in the sky, they finally made it to the large front gates of Everflow City, having been walking towards the distant sight for over an hour.


    Greeting them was two guards, both in full shining metal plate and looked exceptionally fit as they stood ramrod straight. A deep monotone voice came from the one on their left, a middle-aged man with blonde hair buzzed short and a severe look on his face. "Identification and purpose for your visit."


    Their nominal guide Rin stepped out with a collection of guild cards in her hands, ¡°Here you are sir, we¡¯re just resting for a few days before setting back off for a task from the Guild.¡±


    The guard raised his eyebrows at the quick and nondescript explanation, especially as he saw the group of demi-humans following the young girl. They were rare so far from the Beast Nations. The older guard was planning to more closely question the strange group, but upon seeing the SC on the brunette¡¯s card, and the shining golden swords on each of the others¡¯, he decided it was too big to be his problem and let them through.


    ¡°Everything looks to be in order, enjoy your stay.¡±


    ¡°Have a nice day, Mr. Guard!¡±


    Rin waved the others through, who were in awe of the city waiting on the other side of the thick walls. As far as the eye could see were streets of massive buildings, towering over the people below, a few even taller than the watch towers along the walls.


    Dragging the group along, Rin excitedly toured the many busy streets. As the sun drifted downward, the many mana lights lining the streets turned on, giving everything a magical multi-colored glow. Finally, they walked by a small open booth style restaurant on a quiet street corner.


    The air nearby was saturated with exotic spices and the heat of peppers and oils. Serenading the hungry adventurers was the sizzle of marinaded pork, chicken, and other ingredients and the laughs of the few customers sitting at the bar.


    Drooling, Rin led the group to a table next to the bar. She gave the saddest eye¡¯s she could, taking notes from Belle, and asked, ¡°Could we eat dinner here, then worry about finding a place to stay?¡±


    Adrest¡¯s stomach answered for himself, a little embarrassed at his lack of control but it really did smell divine now that they were so close. He took a seat and the other two followed his lead, Alissa and Belle always happy to try something new.


    Looking over the menu hanging on the wall behind the older man cooking, They didn¡¯t recognize any of the names, so everyone just ordered something different, figuring they could swap around later.


    As the smell suggested, the restaurant used a lot of spice and very intense flavors. Most of it was a little too much for Belle, but by luck Adrest ordered a thick braised beef stew that Belle loved.


    The other three sampled a little from each dish, slowly cleaning the remaining plates. Adrest savored the lingering sweet spice of their meal, Alissa and Rin sipping on a fresh squeezed juice that was lightly bubbling. It was the gimmick of the restaurant to drop a piece of ice charged with air magic to the bottom of the cup, releasing a stream of carbonation until the ice melted.


    Alissa saw Adrest looking her way and shoved the cup in his face, he swore he almost chipped a tooth, ¡°Try it Ady, it¡¯s like sweet champagne without the alcohol.¡±


    As Adrest was being force fed some of Alissa drink, Belle grew curious hearing it was like alcohol but wasn¡¯t, ¡°Could I try some?¡±


    Rin happily handed over her glass, ¡°Feel free to have it Belle, I¡¯m stuffed.¡±


    Belle took a small sip, her ears wagging at the flavor, ¡°Thank you Big sis Rin!¡±


    Adrest sighed that Belle really knew her sisters¡¯ weaknesses, seeing Rin practically melt whenever Belle called her Big sis. But Alissa was right, it wasn¡¯t too sweet, and the acidity of the fruit made it delicious to sip on as she finally let him come up for air.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Alissa smiled sweetly after nearly drowning him.


    ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± Adrest sighed that maybe Belle learned it from Alissa because she always seemed to know the right look to make him deflate.


    Their stomachs were full, Adrest got information from the kind store owner that was happy to point them in the direction of a nice hotel. Just a few streets over they found the hotel they¡¯d been pointed towards, a large stone building with a wooden sign that read Stoneworth Inn.

 58. Big Spender

    Going inside Adrest was surprised to see what looked like a stereotypical dwarf behind the bar. As they walked inside the surprisingly warmly decorated space, the man behind the bar noticed them, speaking behind a long and thick dark brown beard, ¡°Welcome to the Stoneworth Inn! You look like new faces, need a room?¡±


    Adrest took a step forward to speak for everyone, ¡°Good eye! We just came in today. How much is two rooms with meals for let''s say, five days?¡±


    ¡°Fifteen gold Trevil per room, per night, meals and drinks are included.¡±


    Adrest flinched a bit at the price, but pulled out a platinum trevil, along with some gold. In return for the pile of coins he got two sets of keys and the Muscular dwarf said, "Rooms 211 and 212. Second floor, turn right and go to the end on the hall.¡±


    ¡°Thank you sir.¡± Adrest always tried to be polite, but the older man waved it away.


    ¡°Enough with the thanks and the sirs, my father wasn¡¯t a sir and neither was his. Just call me Ron and I¡¯ll be happy.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you Ron. My name¡¯s Adrest.¡±


    The two shook hands, and Adrest¡¯s pale soft hand was nearly crushed under the vice grip of a callused and sandpaper fist over his own. Adrest twitched, feeling like his almost year of training amounted to nothing, it wasn¡¯t his fault the Lodestone was always removing calluses as he fixed himself.


    Trying to hide the pain radiating up his arm, Adrest ushered the group up the wide staircase to find their rooms. As they ascended, he handed Rin her room key, ¡°Let¡¯s drop off our stuff, and I think we can walk around for another hour or so if you want.¡±


    Rin was happy to come along, and nodded to show as such. She skipped to her room and quickly unloaded everything she could, meeting back up with the others as they opened their door.


    An hour wasn¡¯t enough time to see much more than a few streets, and other than a few clothing stores and more inns. The only thing of interest they found was a sign taking up an entire wall of a building, advertising a huge trade show to celebrate trade opening back up for the year. It was due to start the day after tomorrow. For a sky-high price anyone could set up a booth to sell whatever exotic goods they¡¯d found.


    They were all excited to explore the show in a few days but decided to go back to their hotel rather than wander an unfamiliar city late into the night. Adrest could see the reason for the sky high price as they looked over a dinner menu, there were all kinds of beasts and mana rich meat, each meal would cost a few gold just for the meat alone.


    Everyone was feeling tired after the long day, Alissa still not having completely recovered, and decided to sleep early, planning to find out more about the city in the morning.


    The first thing they did after an early breakfast the next morning was find the local Guildhall, nearly an hour¡¯s walk away. There, after a short wait, they were given a complementary map with all sorts of shops and attractions labeled, Alissa chatting with the worker at the counter while Adrest and the others looked over the available missions.


    Alissa was in charge today, her curiosity in overdrive as she led them out of the massive hall. They stopped at several famous bakeries with huge, chilled displays showcasing their signature desserts. After several such stops, everyone was feeling lethargic as they marched on behind Alissa. Feeling bad for the light eaters, Alissa switched it up and they made their way to the merchant district, their first stop at a high-end magic artifact shop.


    The beautiful blonde sitting behind the counter smiled at the group, ¡°Welcome to The Artifact Repository, may I help you find anything today?¡±


    Alissa glanced around, looking slightly disappointed, ¡°I was looking to buy a few spacial storage artifacts, but I don¡¯t see any large enough here.¡±


    Alissa turned around disappointedly and started walking out the door. The woman who looked to be in her late twenties didn¡¯t want this huge paycheck to get away. ¡°Please wait! We don¡¯t keep the expensive products on the first floor, please follow me to the private collection.¡±


    Alissa gave a huge smile as she turned around and gestured to the rest of her party to go up the carpeted staircase. The thick carpeting led them directly to a huge open room with heavy wood and glass cases displaying all manner of trinkets. The woman hurriedly guided Alissa to a case off to the left, in it were a few dozen rings, pendants, necklaces, and even earrings.


    ¡°Now what size and shape are you looking for exactly, miss?¡±


    Alissa carefully inspected each row of items and eventually settled on three, pointing to a green jade crystal embedded into a gold necklace, a small circular black disk with a dark metal fine chain, and finally an orange pair of earrings. ¡°The three of those please.¡±


    The shopkeeper¡¯s eyebrows shot up at the choices, three of the most expensive items in the store, she praised, ¡°You have a great eye miss. The jade was produced in a cold mist cavern, making a great spiritual material base, the gold holding it is Deep Sea gold, making it difficult for those under S tier to break. The black metal is actually Stained Silver, it sat submerged in dark mana for thousands of years and can repair any damage on their own. And the earrings are more like a pair than a set, they were forged together before being separated so you only need one to access your storage, we recommend leaving the spare in a safe space as a backup.¡±


    Alissa nodded along like she already knew this, but the woman noticed her friends looked dumbstruck, she wasn¡¯t so sure about the sale, especially seeing how impatient the violet haired woman was acting tapping a foot on the ground.


    ¡°I¡¯m honored you chose to do business with us, now there¡¯s just the matter of payment. Since you¡¯re buying so much, I can give you a 15% discount. Let¡¯s say 34,500 platinum Trevil.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t keep the doubt out of her eyes as she said the ridiculous number. It was a little more than a week¡¯s income for the entire store, on just three items. She also made sure their security was nearby, making eye contact with a man in a suit sitting in a leather chair reading a thick leather bound book.


    Alissa either ignorant of their doubt, or just didn¡¯t care, pulled out simple spacial bag of glimmering cores, ¡°This is 40,000 Platinum worth of beast and monster cores, is that a fair trade?¡±


    The seller took the bag and carefully inspected a handful of crystals, feeling increasingly giddy inside. While normally it might be a bit annoying to offload the cores and turn a profit, they¡¯d do it for an extra few thousand. But, it just so happened that since it¡¯d been so long since a beast tide in the south of Radagon, cores were getting increasingly high prices. She could earn an extra 8-10,000 platinum easily if she slowly sold them in batches.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Haha, we¡¯d be happy to!¡± She carefully bagged up each item individually and handed the ornate boxes to her favorite customer, bowing respectfully, ¡°Please come back if you need anything else!¡±


    Alissa nodded and waved everyone out and back into the street. Once outside, she handed the containers to the stunned group. Belle with the green jade, Adrest the black silver, and Rin the orange earrings.


    Adrest felt a little awkward accepting such a gift, but remembering what kind of support Alissa dreamed of giving them, he knew this was just the start and put a drop of blood on the cold metal. Able to see the space inside his mind, Adrest was stunned to see it was about as big as the entire barroom in the hotel they were staying at, close to three of their living rooms at home. Now he knew why the gift was so expensive, especially as he thought about putting it on and a link in the chain melted, allowing him to put wrap it around his neck before it fixed itself, adjust to sit just under his shirt perfectly.


    Belle followed suit under the encouraging gaze of Alissa, accepting her help with undoing the complex lock and putting it on her neck. Belle looked herself over in a mirror Alissa had taken out and couldn¡¯t believe how nice it looked, she tightly hugged Alissa for such an extravagant gift, which was all Alissa could ever want from the rabbit in return.


    Rin simply stared at the earrings in shock, going from Alissa to the box, and back again. Adrest just put a hand on her shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it, I¡¯m pretty sure this is just the start of it. Just think of it as payment for looking after Belle and I.¡±


    Rin gave up and nodded, then looked from the small but beautifully carved orange gemstones to Adrest. ¡°Umm¡­ could you do it? It¡¯s the same gold as belle¡¯s necklace so it shouldn¡¯t have a problem going through but I¡¯m still a little nervous about doing it myself.¡±


    ¡°No problem, which ear do you want it on?¡± Adrest grabbed one of the set and undid the backing, revealing a fine point.


    Rin brushed aside her chestnut hair, revealing a small pink ear below. ¡°This one please.¡±


    Leaning in closer to get a better angle, Adrest measured several times to make sure it would be centered, ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°Ready!¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll do it on three. One, tw-!¡± Adrest shoved the needle through the skin on two, getting all the way through before Rin could twitch. As she heard a loud ¡°Pop!¡± in her right ear, she jumped, but Adrest¡¯s hand kept her still. He locked the back securely and turned Rin by the shoulders a little to get a better look at the ear.


    Satisfied with the placement he nodded, proud of his work. ¡°Looks great on you Rin!¡±


    Rin blushed at the compliment and brushed back her hair nervously, ¡°Th-Thank you Adrest. Alissa always has great taste.¡±


    As if on cue, Alissa arrived to break any sort of atmosphere, wrapping a tight arm around the flustered Rin. ¡°He¡¯s right Rin. You are cute with earrings, and my taste is pretty great.¡±


    Adrest laughed and saved poor Rin by giving the dragon something new to latch onto. ¡°Where to next boss? I¡¯m sure you have a full day planned.¡±


    Alissa swung from one person to another as she forced Adrest to walk with her pace, ¡°You¡¯re right Ady! The next store should be just up ahead and to the left.¡±


    This time, they walked into a small and cramped blacksmith shop set in front of a large smithy. The back was open so walking in the constant clang of metal on metal was all the group could hear. Belle pulled her rabbit ears down uncomfortably. Adrest stepped behind her and put his hands over her ears as she leaned back comfortably to smile at him.


    Alissa ignored the noise and walked to the counter. A large, hulking man sat behind the desk. The oversized wooden chair under him squeaking as he shifted. He raised an eyebrow at the young woman standing across the counter, at first he assumed the group came in to sightsee.


    ¡°Can I help you with anything?¡± A deep voice echoed out, a bravado that rippled into the listener.


    Alissa unperturbed said, ¡°I saw this was the best place to order magic weapons in the city, I¡¯d like to put in a few orders if I can see some of your best work first.¡±


    A vein throbbed across the huge man¡¯s bald head, now sure the young woman was just here to sight see. But, remembering the beatings from the old man he¡¯d gotten for being rude before, he sighed and pulled out a sword they kept at the counter for exactly these occasions.


    The sword was crafted from a light blue metal, the three-foot blade ran down into a black leather hilt. Adrest could feel a bitter cold chill as the blade came into the open. ¡°It¡¯s something the owner made a few years ago for fun, but should be enough for you right?¡±


    The man¡¯s voice was colder, but still not rude. Alissa carefully inspected the metal looking for the slightest defects and seeing how the materials were used. While not an expert in forging by any means, she had learned the basics and what to look for.


    After a minute passed in silence, the man about to put the blade back and shoo them away, Alissa sighed, ¡°It will just barely do. I need three weapons made for them.¡±


    She pointed to the teens behind her, ¡°I¡¯m hoping for A rank. Use the best materials, I¡¯ll pay up front.¡±


    She placed several bags in front of the man, who was happy to accept them, the shop could use them and sold high this year. ¡°Come back here, I¡¯ll grab the old man. He¡¯ll get the measurements, and then we can get an idea of what you want.¡±


    They took a seat, filling a padded bench off to the side of the many furnaces. They passed the time watching the busy apprentices hone their craft, eventually the man running the counter returned with an older man half the size of himself.


    Though over 2 heads shorter and well past 20 years older than the hulking man, the old blacksmith had an air of intensity about him, like a white-hot furnace. He stared the group of four up and down, spending a long time eyeing up Alissa who sat back relaxed, as if she were at home.


    ¡°I heard you¡¯re hoping to have some weapons made. A rank might be a little much for your group though. Too good of a weapon can be as worthless as a bad one. I¡¯ve seen over a hundred noble children come in, buy the most expensive sword and armor, then die a few miles into the Beast Forest.¡±


    Alissa nodded along, not offended at his genuine warning. ¡°They¡¯ll grow into it; I¡¯m just making sure they have something reliable when they really need it.¡±


    The man nodded along, already speaking his part. ¡°Very well. You three, get over here!¡±


    He barked at the three closest apprentices and pointed at Adrest, Belle, and Rin.


    ¡°Get their measurements while we discuss what specifically we¡¯ll be making.¡±


    As the three were turned and pulled every which way as the apprentices ran around them with a fabric tape measure in one hand and a paper in the other.


    Alissa helped Belle and Adrest with their orders saying, ¡°She needs twin swords, on the lighter side and won¡¯t break under harsh impacts and force. She¡¯s good with nature, body, and earth magic if you have anything relevant. He¡¯s easier, just make a better and less gaudy version of this.¡±


    Alissa stole the sword buckled at his hip and threw it hilt first to the wiry grey-haired man, who caught it from the air with ease.


    He pulled the ceremonial blade from its sheathe and looked over the intricate carvings and etchings on the blade before sneering, ¡°Always hated smiths that think form over function. It won¡¯t be a problem, and I can give it a similar enhancement to this ones¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Perfect! Rin, I don¡¯t know exactly what you want, so just let him know your dream weapon. I have plenty of cores so don¡¯t be shy.¡±


    Rin had been nervous to accept the generosity but couldn¡¯t help feeling excitement at the thought of new swords. While the ones she had were just barely qualified as A rank and forged by masters hired by the Guild. They were still very much a one size fits all weapon with no frills, just made sturdy and to match her general physique.


    ¡°Umm, could I get a set of twin swords similar to what you¡¯ll be making her. But for mine, I need them as study as possible, don¡¯t worry about weight. And I mainly use body and wind magic if that helps.¡±


    The old man nodded along, letting the young men around him take notes. ¡°We aren¡¯t particularly busy right now, and I have some good things sitting around that will be a perfect fit. Let¡¯s say a week and a half to pick all three up?¡±


    Alissa hefted yet another full bag of cores out, holding it out to the blacksmith, ¡°Unfortunately, we¡¯re on a tight schedule. Is there any way we could arrange a rush order?¡±


    Fighting the grin off his face, the old man pocketed the cores while nodding, ¡°They¡¯ll be ready in 5 days, that¡¯s the fastest I can go with the quality of materials you want.¡±


    ¡°Sounds great! We¡¯ll see you then.¡±

 59. First Bazaar of The Year

    Alissa¡¯s final shop she was set on visiting was an herbal and alchemical store. Going inside the pure white brick building, everyone was hit in the face by an overwhelming medicinal smell.


    On the nearly arranged shelves and cases were all manner of potions, salves, pills, and pastes. While Adrest had no idea what each product did, he was sure they weren¡¯t cheap. Alissa again did all the talking as she walked up to the counter headed by an old woman, her face and figure showing how beautiful she¡¯d once been in her youth.


    ¡°I want 3 sets of everything an A rank party would buy when preparing for a dungeon, and add an extra set of medicines suited to healing per a person.¡±


    The old woman raised her eyebrows, but didn¡¯t have much of a reaction to the ridiculous order. ¡°5,000 Platinum each, and I¡¯ll throw in some extras as a gift.¡±


    Happy to find a shop that didn¡¯t waste time, Alissa shook the older woman¡¯s hand, noting the surprising strength hidden in the old bones.


    ¡°Any problem exchanging for these instead of Trevil? I added a few for the trouble.¡±


    The old woman just grabbed the bag and hefted it up and down a few times, gauging the contents. ¡°Come back any time tomorrow and I¡¯ll have it all packed, would you like me to label and write instructions for the materials?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be great, thanks! We¡¯ll be back tomorrow then!¡±


    As they hit the cobbled street, filled with hundreds of people orderly rushing to their destination. Finding a quiet spot to stop, Adrest asked, ¡°That¡¯s it for shopping today, right Ali? I don¡¯t think Rin can take much more.¡±


    Rin was just following along, not really looking at anything. After the spacial artifact that was around ten times larger than the one she¡¯d been given at the academy, Rin didn¡¯t know how to repay her, and swore to do her absolute best on the remainder of the trip. After the blacksmith visit Rin wanted to tell Alissa she really had done enough, but there hadn¡¯t been a chance in the busy streets, finding herself watching the same scene play out with medicines that cost as much as she¡¯d make in an entire year.


    ¡°Alissa is this much really okay? Won¡¯t you spend everything in your storage bag at this rate? At least, you don¡¯t have to go so far for me.¡±


    Alissa walked back to the hero, linking her arm in Rin¡¯s, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯d be more comfortable knowing I sent you all off with the best I could find. Besides, all these cores have just been collecting dust and taking up space. You wouldn¡¯t believe how much training I had to do as a child, I collected them out of habit, but have never had a reason to use them.¡±


    Rin was wondering more and more just what kind of life Alissa had led before they met. Rin decided to stop thinking so much. Her face relaxed, and her usual goofy grin crept up as she hugged the woman by her side.


    ¡°Thank Big sis Ali!¡± Alissa stumbled at the sneak attack, then giggled as she picked the smaller hero up and spun her around in the air, getting the attention of the few people passing by the side small street.


    Rin was bright red and swore she¡¯d never say that in public again. Refusing to speak until they were inside a small caf¨¦ and Alissa was prodding her with a spoon for a large parfait she¡¯d bought to share with the table.


    Rin couldn¡¯t resist, taking the peace offering and a bite of the treat. They relaxed before setting off again, this time walking for well over an hour, Alissa insisting she wasn¡¯t lost, Adrest getting hit for insisting she was. Finally, they arrived in front of a beautifully simple storefront, the deep blue stone so seamless it looked like the entire building was carved from a single piece. Huge windows allowed them to see the many fabrics, the formal and intricate clothes looked far better than what they¡¯d been able to find in the Outpost town.


    Almost two hours later and the sun starting to set, they walked out, everyone looking exhausted except Alissa. ¡°It was almost like being fitted and dressed for ceremonies back home!¡±


    ¡°You have ceremonies in human form?¡± Adrest raised an eyebrow, it didn¡¯t seem like a very dragon thing to do.


    ¡°Mm-hm! Not all of us like staying in such a large form all the time, while others hate feeling so small and weak. But when entire clans gather, we''re required to be in demi-human form. There''s not enough space otherwise, and it makes the events much smoother."


    ¡°Neat. Then if I grew my horns a little and you covered for me, I could see a real dragon ceremony in person?¡± Adrest joked, the idea seeming impossible but the epitome of fantasy.


    He was a little scared when Alissa¡¯s eyes sparkled in that so dangerous way, ¡°Do you really want to!? It¡¯d be so much fun! Just give me some time to prepare and they¡¯ll never even know you don¡¯t belong.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Adrest mourned his new life ending so soon. This time, he really would die because of his mouth.


    ¡°N-N-No! I mean I wouldn¡¯t want to cause problems if something happened. If I¡¯m found, you¡¯d be responsible too.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it! I¡¯ll just need to grab a few things on my trip to Zoya¡¯s.¡±


    Rin put a hand on Adrest¡¯s shoulder, ¡°It was nice knowing you Ady. I¡¯ll always tell Belle stories about you.¡±


    Adrest could only nod, unable to speak with Belle¡¯s eyes also drilling into him clearly saying, ¡°You did this to yourself Big bro.¡±


    At the start of another early day, the party was excited to wander the first bazaar of the year. It took a bit to find, the city using some warehouses to house the thousands of vendors. Along the many rows of people with carts, stalls, mats, and even miniature store fronts. Everything someone could ever want was present, from rare herbs only the spirit races scattered to the east could find, to the latest fashion and entertainment from Radagon¡¯s bursting capital.


    Belle was stunned at just how many people were gathered, probably close to ten thousand in this warehouse alone. It was an overwhelming din of conversation as everyone walked the merchants. Belle¡¯s ears were curled in on themselves in displeasure of the noise, but she¡¯d quickly adjust, especially as she dragged Adrest to a stall selling exotic clothing. It looked similar to old Indian and middle-eastern garb. Many layers of transparently thin silk in every color Adrest could imagine wrapped the mannequin displays. There were many different designs, from ones that covered nearly the entire body, leaving only the eyes exposed, to ones that left little to the imagination; sleeveless and leaving the midriff completely open and framed in bright colors that drew the eye.


    One of the women working the stall walked over slowly, letting the silk she was wearing dance in the wind.


    Her outfit was on the more exposed side, the warehouse warm with so many people. The bright blue-green highlighted her bronze skin. All across her body were small but intricate ornaments and shimmering gold jewelry.


    As the exotic beauty got close, Adrest could see thick black makeup highlighting her beautiful golden eyes. Her small mouth parted as she smiled while greeting them, ¡°Hello. Interested in our wares? You won¡¯t find better quality on the continent, but we are quite expensive with such a long journey.¡±


    The young woman had an accent Adrest couldn¡¯t quite place, something like a cross between Persian and Indian. Adrest looked at Belle who was looking at the unfamiliar clothing excitedly and asked, ¡°What do you have in her size?¡±


    Belle eagerly followed the woman further into the display, where the children¡¯s sizes were. After Belle was led off, Alissa and Rin finally made their way over, Rin¡¯s eyes wide as she took in the various styles she¡¯d not seen before.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting to see any Children of The Sun so far east, they hate leaving their peninsula. But they really do have great fashion sense.¡± Alissa nonchalantly commented as she was feeling the quality of a dress in front of her.


    ¡°Thank you for the compliment my friend. I must admit we tend to stay to ourselves though, we aren¡¯t good with the cold.¡±


    The same woman that¡¯s been guiding Belle returned, Belle now carrying two dresses, one many shades of green, The other a crimson red with white accents.


    Adrest took out some gold Trevil to pay Belle¡¯s bill but halfway he looked to the other two women. ¡°Do either of you want a few, my treat.¡±


    Rin was about to refuse, insisting she could at least pay for this herself, but was dragged off by Alissa to the depths of the rows upon rows of silk.


    Adrest and Belle found a nice spot to wait, Belle excitedly showing Adrest her new dresses, thanking him again. It didn¡¯t take long for Alissa and Rin to return to the counter with an arm full of dresses each. Adrest paid with a few platinum coins and gave a quick farewell to the woman that¡¯d been helping the girls out so much.


    As they meandered through row after row, most vendors had nothing Adrest was interested in, but he would occasionally find new kitchen tools and cookware to pick up. Belle was happy with her new dresses but would sometimes pick something out if Alissa pushed her. Rin followed along, nothing much catching her eyes, whereas Alissa grabbed anything that she thought was interesting or looked fun.


    Eventually, as they were through three quarters of the first warehouse, Alissa stopped. She dragged the three to a small stall with a few irritated men watching over the many goods. They seemed to specialize in formations and rune-carving, all kinds of densely carved items sitting on the shelves.


    As Alissa tried picking one item up, a hand quickly snatched the item back. Following the pasty appendage, Adrest saw it was one of the shopkeepers, a middle-aged man with black hair kept so short Adrest could mistake him as bald. His face looked carved from stone, set in a permanent scowl nearly hiding his violet eyes.


    ¡°No touching unless you plan to buy.¡±


    Alissa scowled at the man, his deep violet eyes meeting her shimmering purple. Neither was willing to back down until finally Alissa snorted and threw a storage bag at the man, ¡°I¡¯ll take it then.¡±


    The man inspected the contents of the storage bag, happy he tossed the spherical artifact to her, then turned away completely ignoring the group. Alissa sneered as she led the group off, deciding to head back to the hotel since it was already late into the night. Under the mage light and the three brilliant moons, they walked back to their hotel.


    ¡°What was special about that artifact you bought Ali. I thought you were going beat that guy right there.¡±


    Alissa gave a devilish smile, ¡°I¡¯m just being safe, did you happen to notice what color their eyes were my slow little student.¡±


    Ignoring the bait, he answered confidently, ¡°A very dark purple. So what?¡±


    Alissa signed, making a note to redouble their classroom time when everything slowed down. ¡°The Warring States are known for their violet eyes and adept mana control. Now think about what they were selling.¡±


    Being led this far Adrest could easily put together the pieces. ¡°Then why buy something from them?¡±


    Alissa felt her genius was wasted on Adrest, ¡°I hid a mark on the bag and him. I can even hear what is happening near him.¡±


    Adrest¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Really? How?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really easy, you just need a strong soul and wind magic. Or you could do something similar with your spatial magic eventually.¡±


    Rin looked dead as she took in the monster ahead of her. Rin might not be as good as some freaks in the Academy, but she was still first rate in wind magic. She couldn¡¯t figure out how Alissa was hiding the mana, let alone transferring the sound discreetly.

 60. Alissas Long Night

    Alissa felt eyes drilling into her back and turned to the jealous hero, pulling Rin under her arm Alissa spoke, ¡°It¡¯s easier at A rank but I think you can pull it off Rin with some work. You just have to let the mana communicate what it senses to your soul, different types of mana see and sense things differently. Wind and space are good for sound. Water and space for images, earth for location. Each one is different, but as long as you can learn to communicate with the mana you¡¯ll find something out.¡±


    Rin was completely lost, ¡°You can communicate with mana?¡±


    Alissa¡¯s hand waffled in the air before answering, ¡°Kind of, it¡¯s hard to explain and everyone has a different way of doing it once they start to reach the barrier in S rank, I¡¯ve just been focusing on it for a lot longer.¡±


    Rin realized once again what kind of monster her friend was as she allowed herself to be dragged away by an excited Alissa.


    After finishing dinner at the bustling bar, the group convened in Adrest¡¯s room for some peace and quiet. Rin helping set up a convoluted board game Alissa found.


    Rin asked something that stumped her as she saw more of Alissa¡¯s potential, ¡°I know you said you can get top 10 in the tournament you¡¯re training for easily Alissa, but are there really dragons your age that you can¡¯t beat? I can¡¯t think of a single student or recent graduate that could last more than a few minutes with you, let alone have an advantage.¡±


    Alissa graciously took the compliment, ¡°You just haven¡¯t seen enough Rin. Every child of a clan head is amazing, I¡¯m just a little better than most of them. But, there¡¯s still a few that are as talented as me. The second youngest of the Soul dragon''s Head is just as good with magic as I am, and she can control the soul in ways I can¡¯t. The darkness dragon¡¯s most recent prince is said to be a demon born for battle, he¡¯s been raised in war since he came out the egg, fighting thousands to one. There¡¯s at least a dozen more like that, I know I can trounce some of them, but others are a complete toss up right now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing, I¡¯d love to see two dragons fight.¡±


    Alissa gave a toothy grin, ¡°Maybe someday I can make that dream come true, I¡¯d love to have my little family cheer me on.¡±


    Rin grew bright red at the sudden intimacy, ¡±F-Family?¡±


    ¡°You already called me Big sis, you don¡¯t get to take it back now!¡±


    Defeated, Rin gave in to the dragon¡¯s whims. Adrest put an arm on her shoulder, ¡°Welcome to the family lil Rin.¡±


    Adrest learned Rin didn¡¯t like being called little, as shown by the bright red mark on his side he was rubbing gently.


    Alissa was cackling the entire time, ¡°See, you¡¯re already taking after your older sister.¡±


    Adrest was sure steam would shoot from the poor girl¡¯s ears, but she fought through it and finished assembling the game, knowing it would be the best distraction for Alissa.


    ¡°Big sis Ali, are there any prizes for winning?¡± Belle who¡¯d been silent as she was watching the older party members squabble asked.


    ¡°Lots and lots! I can¡¯t talk about many specifics right now, but I can tell you just for the top twenty you¡¯d get hundreds of A rank cores of your choosing, at least five S rank cores, specialized training by the clan head or elder of your choice, and an opportunity that is almost impossible to find on the continent these days.¡±


    Being so cryptic of course the three others had to badger her until the mischievous princess mouthed the words ¡°Other worlds¡± silently. Refusing to budge another inch after.


    It was the middle of the night, Adrest under her lightly snoring with an arm wrapped tight around her waist.


    Alissa wanted desperately to snuggle back into his chest and return to sleep, but she couldn¡¯t. She''d had been woken by the traces of mana she¡¯d left for the Warring States caravan. She heard the same man¡¯s voice as earlier that day, and an older voice.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°You mentioned someone was looking for a certain demi-human, right? An albino rabbitkin girl?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t mention that again. The last group managed to piss off a little ¡°hero¡± and got themselves killed. It wouldn¡¯t be too bad if that were it, but now the Guild is breathing down our necks waiting for an excuse to storm the place. Why bring that up now?¡±


    I happened to run into a rabbitkin that matched the description, I was just wondering if you thought the buyer would be interested in her instead.¡±


    Alissa tuned out the rest of the conversation and she didn¡¯t know to laugh or be enraged. The idiots failed at stealing Belle, and now they want to steal the same girl as a consolation prize?


    She carefully got out of Adrest¡¯s arms, making sure not to wake him. Standing in the quiet and pitch-black room, Alissa took another look at her little Belle¡¯s and Ady¡¯s sleeping faces. And with a muted purple light, she was dressed in cheap black pants and matching shirt.


    As Alissa made her way through the dead Hotel, every step was completely silent as if she were a ghost patrolling the halls. She casually walked past a dozing night watch who didn¡¯t stir as she walked right out the door, as if she was never there.


    The quiet streets were different from what Alissa had come to know during her stay in Everflow City. From bustling and loud, filled with happy people running to their destinations, it was now dead silent except for a light breeze shifting debris. The few mage lights still on cast long shadows that crept in towards her, the alleys pitch black and foreboding.


    It was a bit of a walk to her destination, passing multiple guards who didn¡¯t even glance at her as she strolled by with a neutral expression. She found herself in a poorer area of the merchant district, the wood buildings old and weathered, streets not cleaned and swept regularly. Turning down a particularly dark alley, she was soon face to face with a building painted in a faded black and purple. The only thing denoting what kind of store she was looking at was a small wooden sign above the door, an artful rendition of a crawling purple lily.


    Inside an old man was half asleep at the cheap wooden counter. Nearly dropping his pipe at the unexpected guest, he was shocked to see who it was. It was one of the owners of that slave girl. He was about to activate a magic circuit under the desk that would alert the entire shop when Alissa spoke.


    ¡°No need for that. I just want a meeting with whoever is in charge here.¡± As Alissa spoke the circuit crumbled to dust and stray mana leaving the old man feeling helpless.


    He slowly nodded, ¡°And how can I address you when summoning them?¡±


    Alissa held out and opened palm facing the air. In it, she coalesced the symbol all clans used when traveling, a ferocious golden dragon¡¯s head, roaring in defiance at the heavens. The old man blanched and immediately used the highest-level distress token he had to reach her.


    In just under ten seconds a teleportation circle lit up in a back room, Alissa didn¡¯t seem concerned and stood impatiently tapping one foot. A woman in a tight black button up and black dress pants strode in, heels clicking on the wood floors, her face strict and set wrinkles only made her expression more severe.


    She gave Alissa a bow saying, ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet you Miss, would you like to follow me to a more comfortable room to discuss what brings you here?¡±


    Alissa waved the woman off impatiently; the leader of this shop was only A rank and she already saw through all the tricks in the house.


    ¡°No need, I won¡¯t be here long. First, I know you accepted a request to kidnap a little rabbitkin slave, no need to deny it. You will destroy any evidence of her you have, recordings, images, descriptions, and you¡¯ll forget she ever existed. Next, you¡¯ll make sure every one of your little worker drones knows that if they touch a rabbitkin, anyone looking like her, or anyone related to me, I will personally tear up every inch of land from here to the heart of your little playground you call a homeland searching for you. Lastly, you¡¯ll tell me exactly who hired you and give me every bit of information you have on them, and we¡¯ll call this settled.¡±


    Alissa let the murderous aura she was always suppressing loose in the small shop, the two in front of her having to withstand the full force. They were no longer in the shop. It was dark, they were stranded in a marsh of dead blackened trees soaking in thick blood up to their chest. They saw all sorts of creatures decorating the blackened and dead trees and ravens pecked at decaying bodies scattered through the hell. The black sky overhead sent down a blizzard of ash and sulfur, choking them. Burning their lungs and throat with each breath as they forgot they were in the A and B rank, not needing to breathe for hours. Before this force they were mortals, ants.


    In the center of the swamp was a dragon sitting majestically on a mountain of her defeated foes, the regal purple scales glittering red as they reflected their surroundings. The dragon noticed them as it slowly turned its fearsome maw their way. Inhaling a mighty breath, the dragon let loose a roar that shook their very soul, drowned their minds, and reverberated through their bodies.


    The old man collapsed, but the A rank woman was better off, just kneeling on the wood floor, blood leaking from her nose and ears. She didn¡¯t dare to fight back, especially as she noticed every single formation on her and the building had been destroyed just now, like the mana had been ripped right from under her grasp.


    Not daring to oppose the woman in front of her, and even less willing to offend those behind her, the woman weakly handed over a file and spoke, ¡°I solemnly swear on my very soul that by tomorrow everything will be destroyed and you¡¯ll never see us again. The man who hired us is Theon Zurk, the leader of a family in the Randier Merchant Group. Happy hunting my lady.¡±


    She deeply bowed to Alissa and dragged the old man away to recover, it would be a long night.

 61. Night on The Town

    Alissa nodded at the retreating figures without paying attention as she read the file. It had a few images of Theon, all of him scowling or berating someone. The file mentioned he was only B rank thanks to endless pills and treasures being poured into him, and lived in his own mansion separate from the rest of the Zurk family. He was cautious, hiring groups from the Warring states to set up many formations around his property and mansion. He was also a deeply private and distrusting man, at home he only has his C rank servant near, with guards in a separate house nearby.


    Alissa sighed as she looked at a map to see where it was, then at the moons already sinking slowly towards the horizon. Whistling a tune only she could hear, Alissa trotted to her next target quickly so she could at least go back to bed for a few hours.


    Theon Zurk was peacefully resting in the center of his mansion in a bed fit for a king. It was so large, there could be five people on either side of Theon and still sleep comfortably. He slept at peace knowing he¡¯d spent tens of thousands of Platinum for the best formations money could buy, and had half a battalion of trusted guards on property in case of emergency, though he¡¯d been considering increasing it as a beast tide was due.


    This was a first, he thought scowling at the curved knife point resting on his throat, a single drop of blood leaking where it sat.


    ¡°Oh good, you¡¯re up! You¡¯ve really pissed me off Theon. Normally I¡¯d just burn you and your mansion to the ground and be done with it, but I read about you on the walk over. Very impressive for a tiny fifth son of the leader of a no name merchant group to elevate your entire clan to such a level in under a hundred years. I like smart people Theon, so I¡¯ll give you two choices. First, you can sign an unbreakable servant contract with me and starting in one year I will help you take over and expand Randier. You¡¯ll be the group head and make all your wildest dreams come true. In return, you will do everything I say without question, I will have complete access to all Randier funds, and you will source rare materials and information for me. The second option is a lot simpler, I take the same fire magic you¡¯re so good at and burn this house down until not even ash is left, it¡¯ll be like you never existed, forgotten to mediocrity like the little fifth son Theon once again.¡±


    It was a day of firsts for Theon, he¡¯d never been stunned speechless before. There wasn¡¯t really a choice, was there? Gulping, trying to wet his dry mouth to speak, the blade dug a little deeper into skin.


    ¡°I¡¯d be happy to serve you ma¡¯am.¡±


    Alissa frowned at hearing ma¡¯am but pulled back her dagger and took out a radiant blue gem. Inside was a complicated formation with concentric circles that spun opposite each other. Alissa tossed it on Theon¡¯s chest hard enough to make him wince, sure something cracked.


    ¡°Hold that and repeat what I say exactly. I hereby swear I shall willingly and wholeheartedly serve Alissa Covenscar without pause, question, or doubt. I will not attempt to harm or mislead her or those near her in any way, shape, or form. Any thoughts of rebellion or violence will be met with soul tearing pain. I swear it on my very essence.¡±


    As soon as Theon said the last words the stone emitted a strong suction, he felt a heart piercing pain as a quarter of his soul was forcefully ripped and twisted off, placed in the center of the stone¡¯s formation. It was like thousands of needles stabbed him simultaneously, so bad his entire body tensed hard as a rock and he couldn''t even scream to vent the pain.


    ¡°Good! Now I can know everything you¡¯re thinking whenever I want. And if you aren¡¯t useful, with just a thought I can get rid of you without leaving a trace. I¡¯ll be back in a year so be prepared. Oh, and Theon? If you ever so much as look at a rabbitkin again I¡¯ll show you exactly how much a soul can withstand before crumbling.¡±


    Nodding vigorously, the middle-aged man losing all his usual imposing aura in front of the young demi-human. ¡°That¡¯s what I like to see. Have a good night Little Fifth.¡±


    Alissa strutted out of the mansion the way she came, only one other knowing she was ever there.


    The first of the moons was dipping under the skyline when Alissa made it back to their room, she wasn¡¯t particularly tired, at her rank she only needed a few hours of rest a month. But, Adrest was waiting there so with a low flash of violet light, Alissa was ducking back into bed. As she got near him, Adrest seemed to notice and pulled her close once more, Alissa closed her eyes to enjoy the warmth.


    Adrest got up and around, having a drink at the bar with the same dwarven man who¡¯d sold them their rooms, Ron. He and his family moved to Radagon from the Crimson Mountains many decades ago, they found they were better at earning gold than mining it. He was a rough man all around, but honest and kind.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    When Adrest decided to wake the group, he had to take more time than normal to rouse the dragon, she simply kept burying herself under the blankets. Adrest had to pick her up sheets and all before she would open her eyes. Finally, after much delay, they were able to eat breakfast, where Ron brought plate after plate out, making sure they couldn¡¯t eat another bite.


    After somehow climbing out of their chairs, the party made their way out the double doors, they walked out their breakfasts on the way to the other warehouse they weren¡¯t able to explore yesterday. Once inside, they saw it was just as hectic as yesterday, Adrest and the group being pulled along with the flow of people, only breaking out when they spotted something interesting.


    ¡°Ady! Can I have this?¡± ¡°Big bro could we stop there?¡±


    It was played on loop from the girls surrounding Adrest, as they bounced between the many tents and stalls. Alissa was delighted to find a small booth with many ceramic bottles on display and a fox-eared, three tailed woman manning it. Both her hair and tails were a deep blue and they waved happily as the four walked up.


    Alissa excitedly leaned forward on the counter and asked the fox woman, ¡°You¡¯re a water spirit, right? Is this all spirit liquor and wines?¡±


    The woman took a small step back at the over excited woman getting too close to her. Nervously she laughed, ¡°You have a good eye! Most people think I¡¯m a beastkin. My name is Lila and yes, our village produced everything you see here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it!¡±


    Lila nodded her head, ¡°One bottle will be 2 platinum, It¡¯s a long and dangerous trip, not to mention all the herbs and treasures that go into it.¡±


    Lila was quickly explaining the reason for its price and the many benefits, trying to keep the customers from just walking away after hearing a ridiculous price like so many had already done today. She was happy and forgot her previous fear as Alissa brought out a cheap spacial bag filled with a few cores and tossed it to her.


    Lila tilted her head seeing what was inside, she was happy to take the cores as they were used in some brewing recipes, but why were there so many?


    ¡°That¡¯s enough for all of them, right? Can I start putting them away?¡±


    Alissa grabbed one of the bottles near the counter as Lila caught on, shocked at the big spender. ¡°Of course! It¡¯s all yours! If you¡¯re ever near Tearmoon Lake, I will make sure to show you the wines our village really treasures. Thank you so much!¡±


    A few other minor stops and the gang were done with the second warehouse of vendors, not much standing out to them. As for their evening, the party watched a high quality play in the entertainment district, the girls using it as an opportunity to wear their new dresses and Adrest to try his new suit.


    Adrest slipped on the perfect wrinkle-free black jacket and did a single button, pulling a hand back through his hair to push the few stray locks back into place. He fiddled with the muted red tie¡¯s knot one last time as he knocked on Rin¡¯s door where the girls were changing.


    ¡°Wait one more minute Adrest.¡± Rin¡¯s voice answered from inside.


    It was in fact closer to fifteen before the door swung open and Adrest was stunned still by the three inside. Alissa was just putting the finishing touches on Belle¡¯s makeup, carefully lining her eyes with the smallest bit of a blue green that created a striking backdrop for Belle¡¯s crimson irises. She was wearing a similar blue-green dress, it came down to her knees and fully covered one arm in a tight sleeve, whereas the other arm and shoulder were left exposed.


    Alissa herself had a bit of gold streaking her eyes, blending in with her tanned skin and shining in the right light, drawing the eye. She was wearing a black sleeveless dress that looped around her neck and fully exposed her slightly paler shoulders. Alissa was feeling quite happy with Adrest¡¯s reaction, now sure the makeup she¡¯d bought a few days ago was worth it.


    Rin was looking at the ground under Adrest¡¯s gaze as she wore a modest short sleeved orange dress that showed off her well trained figure underneath. The makeup Alissa helped her carefully apply was hidden by the intense blush.


    Finally finished with Belle¡¯s makeup, Alissa¡¯s heels clicked as she walked over to Adrest and linked her arm in his, leading him to the others, ¡°Well Ady, anything to say?¡±


    As Alissa elbowed his side, Adrest cleared his throat, ¡°Hm! I can¡¯t believe I get to spend the evening with the three most beautiful women in the city tonight.¡±


    Rin was steaming and Belle was quite happy with the compliment, coming over and giving the handsome young man a hug, ¡°Thanks Big bro Ady, you look really nice tonight too!¡±


    Adrest let Belle take his other arm, and Rin followed along, near steaming and unable to speak. Adrest led the women out the door, every man in the bar going silent and staring at the three, some getting hit by their wives for being so obvious, while the other wives were busy staring just as intently at Adrest. Under the attention and a low whistle from Ron, the walked out the door and into a high-end carriage they rented for the night.


    Adrest stood to the side and helped each one walk the steps leading to the spacious sitting area inside. Last one in, Adrest took a seat near Alissa, opposite Belle and Rin. Adrest noticed Rin still looked quite stiff, ¡°Not used to the clothes or the attention?¡±


    Rin jumped out of her thoughts and looked at Adrest embarrassed, ¡°Both. I don¡¯t really know what to do with so many people staring at me. And I had a few classes on etiquette and dancing, but it just feels weird, this doesn¡¯t really suit me.¡±


    ¡°I think you look even prettier than normal Big sis Rin.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right Rin, we really need to work on your confidence when I get back, huh?¡± Alissa reached across to pat Rin¡¯s leg as she teased the little hero.


    It was a fast ride to the huge multistory theater, where well dressed workers were waiting at the entrance to greet them, assisting the passengers down and leading them to their seating.

 62. New Weapons

    Adrest went all out and rented out a semiprivate booth on the balcony overlooking the large stage below. After taking their seats on thick and soft leather chairs, they were left waiting and curious as they couldn¡¯t make out any details behind the thick red curtains raised all around the stage below.


    ¡°Big bro Ady, what kind of play are we watching?¡± Adrest had insisted on keeping it a secret from all but Alissa who joined him to buy the tickets.


    ¡°All I know is that it¡¯s a pretty famous story about an old Empire¡¯s princess and her lover, and that this is the only theater in the city that uses magic in their plays. It¡¯s supposed to be amazing.¡±


    Belle excitedly looked back to the thick curtains, the group patiently watching the many rows of seats fill up below until the lighting far above dimmed and spotlights were aimed at the hidden stage.


    As the lights dimmed the room fell silent, there was a deep whoosh as the many hundreds of pounds of fabric were suddenly dropped to beneath the stage. Adrest heard Belle let out an ¡°Ooh¡± in amazement as the hidden scenery was revealed.


    There was a beautiful young blonde in an exquisite and shimmering royal blue dress. She had a sword at her side, the sheathe a fine silver and inlaid with many glittering jewels.


    As the play started, they learned the woman was the third royal princess Isla, of the long past Emberlight Kingdom. She was supremely talented in combat, but in the end she was still born a princess to a massive kingdom. She was to be married off to an old man of some far off place, used to broker a period of peace between the empires.


    During an outing, Isla ran into a young master of a supremely strong sect. It was love at first sight; a match made in heaven. They met in secret as best they could, but nothing could be kept from such powers when they wanted to know something. The Emperor, furious his peace deal was endangered, and the sect not wanting to damage their relationship with the empire, tried to separate the two lovers. But, thanks to help from their friends and some seniors who didn¡¯t agree with the decision. The couple managed to escape, running far enough away to escape the eyes of their pursuers, hiding and training, pushing each other to reach further heights.


    And only under such hardships the most powerful are born. Sure enough, the pair were unstoppable when together once they had time to mature. They founded a sect but were suppressed at every turn by the much older and larger forces they had been chased from even so far away. They had wanted to completely sever the past and set new, forgetting grudges, but they were unable to endure any longer. In a show of force they wiped out over half the upper echelon of the young man¡¯s previous sect. The next day it was announced that the Emperor was abdicating and the third princesses¡¯ maternal sister, the seventh princess would ascend the throne as Empress.


    Each scene was prepared and enhanced with magic, elaborate backdrops forming in instants, huge light shows and fantastic looking magic to immerse the audience in fights, everyone holding their breath.


    The final scene was of the two, old and in their final moments together, passing away during cultivation hand in hand. Rin and Belle were outright bawling at the end of the nearly five hour experience. Alissa looked fine, but when the lovers passed, her hand found Adrest¡¯s, squeezing it tightly.


    Adrest was blinking away the glassiness in his eyes and comforting poor Belle to his other side, Alissa doing the same to Rin. They were in no hurry to leave as Alissa carefully dabbed at Rin¡¯s face, fixing her makeup bleeding down her face, Adrest using his handkerchief to do the same for Belle.


    Slowly, the sea of well-dressed men and women slowly trickled out in a neat and orderly fashion. Rin and Belle were in top shape again and they were finally able to squeeze into the aisle to exit. As they were escorted to their carriage a suited young man bowed deeply to them, ¡°We hope you enjoyed our performance.¡±


    Their next stop was a high-end restaurant nearby in the noble district. After Adrest escorted the women inside, an older gentleman with silver grey hair greeted the group and took them to a private corner in the back of the dining area. They were served wine produced in the Beastkin nations with the highest quality produce. Belle¡¯s was watered down, but she enjoyed the flavor nonetheless.


    Men and woman carried out plate after plate, appetizer, salad, soup, entr¨¦e, desserts, palate cleansers. Everything served was amazing and cooked to perfection, some of the best food the ever had.


    It was amazingly expensive, costing Adrest just over one hundred platinum for everyone, but he felt it was worth every bit seeing the content smiles on the girls across from him.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    It was nearly midnight when the group returned to the hotel, exhausted and ready for bed where everyone slept soundly. Every day was packed with fun events and new experiences for everyone, until their weapons were finally finished. Alissa dragging the group along, the most excited of the four.


    The hulk of a man was sitting lazily behind the desk once again, but threw on a smile when he saw who had walked in.


    ¡°Perfect timing! The boss just finished the last one this morning. Let me get him.¡±


    They found their seats on a couch once again, being served some tea from an apprentice on break. They had only taken a few sips before the intense old man made his appearance. Behind him were three men, each carrying one of their commissions.


    ¡°First, let me just thank you again for the order, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve gotten to have so much fun at the forge. Let me show you what I came up with.¡±


    He motioned for the first apprentice to step forward with the smaller of the two sets of twin blades. They were tucked in twin steely blue sheathes with fine silver runes across the entire body.


    The old man looked at his work one more time as the apprentice pulled one from its cage. ¡°I used powdered earth crystal and windsteel as the base. It will amplify and synergize with the earth magic of whoever is holding them. The windsteel keeps the blade light and as strong as any other A rank metal out there. If you do manage to damage them though, just leave them in the sheathes and they should repair themselves in a few hours or so.¡±


    Belle excitedly took the offered weapons and adjusted the belt to fit her narrow waist. Drawing both swords and couldn¡¯t believe how light they were, almost like the was nothing in her hands. She looked a little doubtful at the blades, how could something so light be any good?


    The boss saw the look and didn¡¯t seem offended as he laughed and clapped, a thick steel plate was set standing on a table in front of them. ¡°Go ahead and try cutting this steel.¡±


    Belle was dubious but did as instructed and wound up with her inhumanly flexible joints, making the eyes of the workers bulge. Belle slammed down, the perfect edge meeting the top of the steel, slicing straight through and halfway into the table under.


    The men nearby were stunned, letting their projects cool as they lost focus, until the old man barked, "Get back to work you idiots!¡±


    Belle was bright red as she tried to pull the blade out, stuck between the wood, she had to get both hands on the grip, and leveraged her foot against the table to finally get it out.


    The old man cleared his throat and tried to move on, ¡°See, it won¡¯t lose to anything ordinary. The next one I¡¯m pretty proud of too. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve gotten to focus on such a simple enchantment, most people want something big and flashy.¡±


    The next worker walked forward with a pitch-black sheathe, thin gold engravings of abstract flowers decorated the surface. He pulled out a blade almost identical to Adrest¡¯s old sword, just a little longer to fit him better. The only difference was layers of gold flowing through the steel.


    ¡°This one was easy; I used layers of unbreaking gold in the forging process. The body is mostly mana-soaked steel and I added some crystalized metal cores in the process. It can cut through pretty much anything under S rank like it¡¯s not even there.¡°


    Adrest nodded as he hefted the blade along and did a few practice swings, the blade feeling perfect as he sliced the air.


    Finally, it was Rin¡¯s turn as the last man showed off the longer and slightly thicker version of Belle''s blades, the only difference was the color of the sheathes, these ones being a muted and almost grey blue.


    ¡°These are the real stars of today though. I used a little bit of windsteel for wind magic conductivity, but most of it is a combination of the hardest stuff I had laying around, you can go head on against an S rank artifact and not have to worry.¡±


    Rin was in love as soon as the comfortable weight extended beyond her arm. They were many times heavier than the ones she was used to using, and if the blacksmith wasn¡¯t just bragging, they were many times tougher. It was all she needed, Rin already packed a punch but weapons endured just as much abuse in the process. She needed to have her weapons serviced a few times a year just so they wouldn¡¯t shatter on her.


    ¡°Those beauties will last you many, many decades. If you¡¯re all satisfied, I¡¯d like to thank you for the request once again.¡± The old man gave them a light but sincere bow.


    They also stopped by the old woman¡¯s shop and collected three spacial bags filled to the brim with plants, pills, tonics, and salves. On each was a small card with neatly written cursive explaining dosage and how to use the medicines.


    It was a busy day for the young group, Alissa dragging them to a dozen shops to make sure they had everything the party might need on their trip. Clothes, supplies, medicines, maps. Alissa bought it all in abundance, not taking no for an answer.


    They didn''t even get a break that night, sitting in Adrest¡¯s room drinking at the spacious table. It just wasn¡¯t the same drinking with Ron at such a busy hotel, as it was at The Hearth and Home. Belle was sipping on very, very, diluted spirit wine mainly for the flavor, but it''s also good for developing her body, while everyone else was enjoying the crazy strong base.


    ¡°Make sure you keep a close eye on Adrest for me Rin. Adrest likes to act like he¡¯s the reasonable one, but the second he wanders off he finds trouble. And don¡¯t forget to check Belle¡¯s ears every night. She¡¯ll catch a cold if they aren¡¯t dried.¡±


    The two children who were called out protested with bright red faces, not all from the alcohol. ¡°I do not!¡± ¡°I can do it myself.¡±


    Alissa grabbed the two into a hug so tight they could barely breathe, ¡°It¡¯s going to be the longest six months of my life, I have to make sure you¡¯ll be happy and healthy when I find you.¡±


    Rin seeing Adrest¡¯s face starting to turn an interesting shade of purple, interrupted the overprotective dragon. ¡°Alissa! You said your sister lives on an island before, what¡¯s it like?¡±

 63. First stop on The Roadtrip

    Alissa released her prisoners, attention back on Rin, ¡°It¡¯s amazing! There¡¯s so much water mana in the air it¡¯s always raining with lightning racing over the skies! She bought a mansion from the dwarves that¡¯s so much bigger than it looks. When I was a hatchling and got to visit I¡¯d spend days exploring all the rooms and floors.¡±


    ¡°The best part is the garden courtyard though. Miles and miles of exotic flowers in every shade of every color. She keeps everything in full bloom and is always finding more and changing the layout.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like paradise, do you think we¡¯d be able to see it someday?¡±


    Alissa looked up in surprise at Rin, ¡°Well, it depends. There are tens of thousands of islands around the edges of our forests, and that¡¯s where most dragons live after reaching S rank. There are a lot of crotchety old fossils from the other clans that wouldn¡¯t let you anywhere near it, but¡­¡±


    Alissa leaned into Rin¡¯s ear to speak so quietly the other two couldn¡¯t hear, as she spoke Rin¡¯s face took on a deeper hue of red eventually making a tomato look pale in comparison and grew silent, looking flustered at the table.


    Alissa laughed and brought the younger human into a one-armed embrace, ¡°It¡¯ll be fine Rin, just trust yourself more.¡±


    Adrest and Belle were dying to know what the two women were discussing but were cut off by a look from Alissa. Shutting up, Adrest went back to playing with Belle, the nice one.


    Several more bottles were passed around, until everyone was sufficiently red and stumbling. Adrest and Alissa escorting Rin to her room a few feet over.


    ¡°Night Ady, Night Ali.¡±


    ¡°Have a good night, Rin.¡± ¡°Sweet dreams.¡±


    Getting back to their own room, Belle had already passed out into her bundle of blankets leaving only her snow-white ears peeking out.


    Alissa giggled as she wrapped her arms around Adrest¡¯s neck and brought him tumbling down into their bed. She brought her cherry red lips closer to start her barrage, smothering every inch of his face.


    Adrest chuckled and allowed the willful drunk to do as she wished. When she was finally satisfied, she brought her face away from his to look into the burning orange eyes bright in the dark room.


    She whispered, ¡°Help Rin while I¡¯m gone. She¡¯s a smart kid, but she¡¯ll try to do everything herself while she¡¯s the leader. And make sure she gets to sightsee as you make your way north, drag her if you have to. She needs to see more just as much as the two of you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine Ali. It¡¯s only six months or so. In no time at all I¡¯ll be telling you all about how I embarrassed Rin and Belle in every town we stop at.¡±


    Alissa giggled at the stories she was sure would happen, ¡°I¡¯m holding you to that. I¡¯m just a little anxious. Before, a few months of training would pass in a blink of an eye, but now I can already feel how slow each day is going to go.¡±


    Adrest tried to reassure the girl, ¡°If your sister is anything like you, you won¡¯t even have time to think about us. We¡¯ll be back together and terrorizing entire forests again before you know it.¡±


    Alissa giggled at the lighthearted take, ¡°If you think I¡¯m bad, just wait until you train with Zoya or my father. I¡¯m a saint in comparison!¡±


    Adrest legitimately couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of training that would entail, but made him latch onto something else.


    ¡°Ali, what¡¯s your father like? Does being so strong change your personality?¡±


    Alissa widened her eyes at the sudden and personal question. She silently thought about her childhood for a long moment, ¡°Well, Father is very strict, but also kind in his own way. He made sure I had every advantage from the very start and has looked over every aspect of each of my siblings and I personally, helping us go as far as we can on our paths. He lets me use the treasury as I please, and if I wanted to see or get something he would make it happen for the most part. I never got to interact with many people and races, but I think that¡¯s because Father is scared to lose any of his own, so he¡¯s done everything possible to ensure we can ascend. As for his personality, Zoya said he was the exact same in her training and that was back when he had just broken past S rank. Why do you ask?¡±


    Alissa had a sweet smile on her face as she talked more about her Father, putting it into words helped her sort and think about her own feelings for the man.


    Adrest awkwardly rubbed his head, ¡°Well I¡¯ve been thinking about the future you want a lot Ali, and it might just be a holdover from my last life, but when I hear Gods I imagine a different species from us entirely. Would we be the same after ascending, or does it change you and who you are?¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Alissa kissed the nervous demon¡¯s forehead, and was relieved that was all he was worried about. ¡°With the way we¡¯ll be ascending there¡¯s nothing to worry about, we¡¯ll focus on our own power and forcefully ascend, you might change a little through the years,  but that''s just time. At most you¡¯ll just be a slightly different you. But, there is a different method that does change you like you''re afraid of. I¡¯m not allowed to say too much, but it¡¯s called the path of a Living God, you gain strength and spread word of your deeds to create a religion or massive following behind you. With enough people believing you¡¯re a god for a long enough time, it will eventually come true. The disadvantage is you become tied to the myths and what your followers believe and change with it, taking on new personalities and attributes as the stories change.¡±


    Adrest felt better and more nervous at her answer and wanted to ask more questions but Alissa cut him off with her lips, only parting after some seconds, ¡°No more questions. Let¡¯s go to sleep, it¡¯ll be awhile before we can do this again.¡±


    Adrest woke at his usual time, barely able to breathe with how hard his ribs were being squeezed by Alissa¡¯s iron grip. Completely unable to break free, Adrest was left with no choice but to spend the next hour trying his best to wake the sleeping beauty. Mercifully she roused with a long yawn, and kissed Adrest¡¯s cheek that was above her.


    It was a whirlwind of a morning as Alissa fussed over each member of her party before squeezing everyone near to death as they said their temporary goodbyes. She waved and refused to look away from them until the doors of the Inn closed, cutting off her view.


    The now three left Everflow headed deeper into Radagon, Belle¡¯s eyes still glassy. They spent the first few hours of the trip in relative silence, except for Rin pointing out landmarks in the surroundings and where they correspond on a map.


    Adrest was feeling more like himself after a short lunch break and asked their new leader, ¡°Where¡¯s our first stop?¡±


    They were briskly walking a well-maintained wide path, very occasionally passing others going in either direction. As Rin led their way she turned around to walk backwards while answering, ¡°Tonight we¡¯ll be camping a bit off the trail, but tomorrow around lunch we should arrive in a little town. We can eat there and take an hour or two to tour around, then be back on the trail. Are the two of you fine with that?¡±


    Adrest and Belle both nodded along, they were taking this trip to learn more about the adventuring life, so camping was a must. Rin gave them a goofy grin, ¡°Great! Our first stop is still a week or so out, but I¡¯m really excited to show you my surprise!¡±


    Belle¡¯s attention was grabbed by the magical word surprise and hopped up to Rin¡¯s side, ¡°Surprise?¡±


    Rin put a hand through Belle¡¯s white hair, laughing, ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there, but I¡¯ll give you a hint, one of the most beautiful places in Radagon is nearby.¡±


    Belle was tilting her head in thought, but had no idea where Rin was thinking and just pouted at the hero.


    ¡°It¡¯s only a week, you¡¯ll be fine. Plus, it¡¯s fun watching you sulk!¡± Rin stuck her tongue out at the rabbit and Adrest laughed as he agreed with Rin on this one.


    The first night was completely uneventful, the army kept this high traffic path clear for over a mile on either side. Their first stop the next day was a small and ordinary town named Ralph, the caf¨¦ they ate an early lunch at was bland compared to the ones they¡¯d found in Everflow City. Rin made a stop inside the small Guildhall in the center of town, and they did a fast walk-through of the market street which was only half the size of the one in the outpost town. Finding a few interesting items, but nothing more.


    From the small town of Ralph, the party had another five full days of marching and camping off trail each night. The nights cool but not uncomfortably cold, made the tents and pile of sleeping bags cozy. A scant few D rank monsters showed up, and Belle was more than happy to take care of them, dispatching each with a single strike with her new blades.


    Each time, she looked at the silver-blue blades in awe. Belle could barely feel the weapon in her hands yet it went through bone and chitin like water. Adrest felt the same way about his own new blade, when adjusting to it in a fight, Adrest had missed his target and sliced straight through a tree that would need 6 of him to encircle. He sent a huge tree nearly tumbling down on himself, it was only thanks to his superhuman reflexes that he was able to narrowly able to dodge out of the way.


    On the evening of their sixth day into the trip, they came upon a large town painted in the golden light of late afternoon. Rin broke into the biggest smile he¡¯d ever seen on the girl as she got closer to the gates.


    As they were only a hundred feet away from the entrance, Rin grabbed their hands as she led them up, ¡°Welcome to my hometown Raille! It was a little out of the way, but I haven¡¯t gotten to see it since I left, and I really wanted to show you a bit more about me.¡±


    Rin was blushing as she the last part, releasing them as they reaching the yawning guardsman. Getting in was of course a breeze with their IDs. The man did straighten up and looked shocked as he read the name and rank on Rin¡¯s card however.


    ¡°You¡¯re little Rin? The orphanage will be excited you¡¯re back. You¡¯re still the pride and joy of the town!¡±


    Rin blushed at the man¡¯s excitement, and stammered out a ¡°Thank you.¡± As she collected the cards and quickly led the others away.


    Adrest, having found a new target now that Alissa was away raised an eyebrow, ¡°Little Rin? It suits you!¡±


    Rin¡¯s face grew redder and she jammed a finger into his side, quieting him for now. Belle giggled at the scene, she¡¯d been seeing it more often and it felt a bit like home again.


    Still though, Rin explained while pouting, ¡°I was a small kid and caretakers sent me to go shopping a lot, they just gave me the nickname on their own.¡±


    ¡°Well little Rin, what do you have planned for your first stop? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been looking forward to this for a long time, right?¡±


    Rin ignored the overgrown child and nodded vigorously, ¡°We made it a half day earlier than I planned, so it¡¯s too late to do much. Let¡¯s find an Inn and get some dinner? If we have some time I can give you a small tour, then tomorrow I¡¯ll really show you two around, if you wanted?¡±