“… For an ice-type dragon, you really like the sun, huh?” I stated to Mother as she lay on a frozen lounge chair, wearing a beach dress and icicle sunglasses. Her elven skin and silver scales were being exposed to the sunlight as she sunbathed in this quiet area of the beach.
“I am a silver dragon, dear. I like feeling warm instead of cold. Oh, Tasianna, while you are here, could you make me another cocktail, please? Uhm, fragassa pina colada, please~ No alcohol, of course.”
My eyes widened at what she said, but what shocked me more was Tasianna agreeing to her wish. “Yes, of course, Empress. Shay. Beth. Lady Hestia. Would you three like something?”
[“Cooled water, please. A lot of ice.”] Shay stated while blowing cold air around himself, looking uncomfortable under the sun.
[“Smoothie, please. Oh, and if Priscilla had made any more ice cream, could you bring some out for us, too?”] Beth replied. Unlike her brother, she was quickly breaking out of her icy imperial guard persona, and simply enjoying things more.
“Oooh, ice cream! Yes, that would be brilliant!” She then turned away from Beth and back to me. “Fragassa ice cream or should we try the fulinoe flavored ones today?”
“…” I stared at everybody before me, feeling incredulous at how my family and friends were enjoying a summer break like this. All whilst I had to deal with politics even! “… Let’s try the fulinoe-tasting one. Tamae said she was experimenting with the taste to make it seem more coffee.”
In the end, I just said “fuck it.” Today was a festival.
Tasianna opened a portal into our subspace while I took out my lounge chair and took off my jacket and robe. While laying on it, I took in a much-needed sunbath, reenergizing my core with fresh solar energy.
“Uwaaaaaaaaa…” I sighed deeply with a smile on my face, while Mother laughed. “The festival in the city is pretty big. Why did you leave it?”
“Waiting for you, dear. This is our first festival! Even if you came here for a Quest, I will not allow it to stop my chance to spend some valuable time with you!” Mother announced with a curled-up fist, looking determined. “Plus, I can only endure those nasty glares when I’m having fun. I don’t think me being angry would be good for the festival.”
“…” I grimaced. “Y-Yeah, good idea.”
Just a bit more and the people who disliked beastmen could have ruined their whole harvest festival. Jeez, I wondered what Yeostar was thinking after he heard that little nugget. Good thing Mother didn’t act as furious as our trip through the Kingdom of Astraford.
I suddenly heard Yeostar’s voice. Like with Aurena and Kargryxmor, my newly formed connection with Yeostar allowed him to look through my eyes and speak with me, although I could always forbid him to with [The Light]. Erithia and Andira could do the same, but they hadn’t spoken with me yet.
[“Master!”] As I enjoyed the sun, a boy’s voice entered my head and I snapped my gaze over to my left, seeing a husky-size white-furred tiger with green stripes. He jumped onto me, purring and rubbing his head against mine, while I was having a hard time controlling him. [“Master! Master! You’re back!”]
“Haha, stop, stop, Rajah!” I stood up and snuggled this giant dog-like cat, rubbing his furry cheeks while he tried to lick me. “Where were you, hiehie? I told you to stick with Mother.”
[“Master, I was hunting down a monster with a hard shell! It was large and had weird, flabby skin! Before I could bite its neck, it retracted its limbs and head into that shell! I used [Dark Tendrils] and got it out, but then I noticed your scent! Like those merfiends, there are so many weird monsters so far away from the forest!”]
So, you let the poor turtle go? Phew.
Rajah was, at the end of the day, a tiger monster and had the mentality of a young teenager. He was still quite childish and excited about anything new that he had never seen in the Belzac forest before. For example, how he “played” with Master Kush and the saurians when they went merfiend hunting. He showed no fear.
Now, after that hunting session, he had evolved into a D rank virigress — a [Young Monochrome Virigress]
Young Monochrome Virigress
An immature virigress whose green fur has turned white from its connection to the Goddess of Light. Its black fur can wave around, looking similar to a shadow due to its connection with the shadow world. With holy and dark elemental magic, this virigress had thrown away its ability to camouflage in forests for more virulent venoms and higher stats. Rank D
As mentioned before, Rajah’s fur lost its iconic green color, having turned completely white and black from his evolution. He had not only grown bulkier, but also some pretty interesting black fur. After he became a member of the shadow pack, he gained black fur around his paws, but somehow they were moving by themselves now.
The interesting part was that his venom mostly excreted from any black spots on his body —. like a poison dart, yuck, frog, in a way. He could even use his holy and dark spells better now after his Intelligence and Wisdom received a huge increase, not to mention his Strength. Compared to before, Rajah was combat-ready now to fight without me having to watch over him.
“Hmm.” I picked him up. Although it was more cumbersome to carry him around all the time, I had enough muscles to heave him up. “I can feel some oils on my skin. Rajah, you still need to learn how to control the poison output through your fur! Until then, you cannot touch anybody who isn’t immune to it, alright?”
[“… Yes, Master. I shall continue practicing.”]
Two days had passed after his evolution and his current focus was to make sure he doesn’t accidentally kill people with his fur. Thankfully, Master Kush’s party and mine were all immune to his toxin, so it wasn’t a problem for us. Still, he had to be careful when he entered the subspace to not hurt Svena or our bistro employees.
After a while longer on the beach, Tasianan returned with our snack. Mother, satisfied with her drink, told me it was time to return to the city so I wasn’t late for my registration. Using [Unheilige Engel], I carried Rajah and Tasianna as us dragonkins flew over to the gate.
Still eating and drinking our cooled snacks, we entered the city and began exploring the extremely crowded festive city. Rajah had to enter my shadow so he wouldn’t hurt people, saddening him as he wanted to spend time with me. Sadly, it was necessary.
“Fresh veggies, ‘resh veggies! Come ‘ere for ya veggies! We ‘ere from Yoktu Village! Bestest toffels ya finding anywhere!”
“Pearls from the underwaters! Ya ground peeps ain’t ever seen these merfiends before! Blessing from the Depth Goddess herself!”
“Oi, fuck off, ya scalies. Watch where ya walking at! Damn lizard sailors, stinking up da place…”
It was the usual Yeos experience, really, but pushed to the extreme with so many more people around to the point it was overcrowded. You couldn’t take three steps without accidentally bumping into somebody. No matter how deftly I moved, my wings would also hit somebody in some way, and they would complain about it.
Eventually, our group decided it was impossible to move around like this, so we took to the sky. Mother, Beth, and I had to manipulate our scales to prevent upskirt moments, but I honestly wondered if Mother was trying to embarrass me here. Instead of her usual clothes, she was still wearing that damn beach dress.
Mother! Wear something that shows less skin!
In any case, the festival of Yeostar was enjoyable. The atmosphere was great and I could excuse people’s behavior purely ‘cause there were fun moments. For example, despite having to go to the arena, I was drawn by Mother’s curiosity to multiple stands and street vendors.
“Yes, yes! Five honey-roasted apples coming up for ya!”
“Grilled squid with fish oil! Orders coming up! Eating ‘ere or to go?”
“Hey, hey, dragonewts! Come here, my scaled beasties! Some fresh catches this morning! Ya can’t have an Elyonda harvest festival without some good ol’ kleesha! Trust! Ya won’t get bad shit, later, ahahaha!”
The merchants were very friendly; at least, most of them were. A few native merchants didn’t want to sell to us but foreign tradesmen and beastmen traders were fully willing to take our money regardless of our gender or race. Then again, unlike the nobles I’d met here, the general populace had no noticeable sexism. The locals just hated beastmen, that was all.
“Mhmm, Hestia. This juice is pretty intriguing. I think they put some honey in it. Very tantalizing.” Mother smiled as she drank a refreshing drink after putting some self-made ice cubes in it.
“Oh, really? That— Hey, Shay, don’t eat it like that!” I called out to Shay as we five sat at a table to eat. “You need to cut it like this and this. Put some of this with it and then mamph! Mrhm!”
Shay nodded and did exactly that, licking his lips clean afterward. [“Delicious. Could use some more pepper, though. The texture is certainly special.”]
[“You say it like you’re still on duty, Brother. Come, come! Her Imperial Highness told us to eat with her! Eat faster!”] Beth devoured the food with her large dragonewt snout, enjoying it very much. Only for her to realize her behavior and jump up a bit in embarrassment. [“It can’t beat Tamae’s food though, I mean! Warrrgh! I should stop eating like a skorr!”]
“Hiehie, that is part of the mood, Beth. Come, let’s enjoy some more,” Tasianna giggled before comforting one of the twins. “Should I order more for you? Our budget is pretty huge so let’s eat a lot!”
[“Hmph.”] Shay shook his head before placing another spoon full of good in his mouth, smiling once again. [“Act properly in the Empress’s presence, Sister.”]
Hiehie, it’s been a while since the last festival.
After we went through the horde of stalls and ate our fill, we eventually made our way to the coliseum where the tournament would be held. It was located right in the middle of the district and had street vendors already covering every side, making it hard to enter it.
“Let’s get this over with and then continue our day. I promise Master Kush to buy some vegetables and fruits for the others,” I told everybody before hanging my pouch of coins back on my belt.
While flying, it couldn’t be stolen, but a few pickpockets had tried their luck on us while we were on the ground, only for Rajah, Beth, or Shay to scare them off. Not like I needed them to, since I couldn’t handle myself nor did we have any money problems from all our investments. Still, it was nice to just spend time with Mother and the others here. It really felt like a family vacation at this point.
“Oh yeah, Tasianna, did you notice those skulkers?” I noted as we walked up the stairs of the arena.
“Of course, my lady. They were eyeing us like hawks from their alleyways. Should I catch them?”
“Nah. Gael is coming over in the evening today, so have him do his job. With how many ships come in and out, we need Shaturein to put up an information network.” I shrugged. “It’s two weeks, don’t forget.”
“Yes, my lady. By your command.”
“Oh, and, Mother, did you smell my sister anywhere?” I turned my attention to Mother biting a piece off her honey-roasted apple.
“Hrmm?” She shook her head. “I was more occupied with spending time with you, my whelpling. I’m sorry.”
“Meh, don’t worry about it. If we can’t find her now, we will find her once the tournament starts.”
Outside of the message Yeostar wanted me to deliver to Prince Markval, he also told me that he noticed my half-sister arriving in Elyonda today. She was somewhere in the city right now, but with how crowded everything was, I told Yeostar to not bother looking for her.
Lesser dragonkins like kirins didn’t exude that sweet fragrance from their bodies like us true dragonkins, but my half-sister was a daughter of Emperor Eltharion. She had the blood of a true dragon running through her vein, making her one, and should be easy to detect through our smell alone. Or, if everything else failed, I knew at least she came to this city for the tournament by Kramps.
Speaking of the tournament, after we entered through a door, all five of us felt a sudden shift in the environment. We looked outside and then back inside, Shay and Beth noting how it had a very [Room]-like feel. However, to Mother, Tasianna, and me, it felt more like this place was a dungeon.
Regardless of that fact, we looked around, noticing how the arena was unsurprisingly full. It wasn’t crowded to the point you couldn’t move, thanks to how huge this place was; shockingly, it was larger than what it looked like from the outside.
We approached the queue where numerous armed and armored people from humans to beastmen could be seen. No elves or dwarves, and the beastmen were mostly the common types you could find everywhere, though. From the looks of it, people of various backgrounds were here; some looked like greenhorns trying their luck while others were scarred veterans.
Since I was the only one who would enter the tournament, Mother and the rest decided to move to the spectator platform to wait for me. I saw them off and then had my parallel minds quickly scan through the room, trying to see if I could find any sketchy people. There were plenty, of course, but I was looking more for demonkins of envy or followers of the Church of the Edjurl.
I was contemplating on playing [My Darkest Thoughts], my anti-demonic power spell song, but found it would be too dangerous to do it here. There were too many people around and if I were to cause a ruckus now, it would probably end with a lot of innocent blood since I couldn’t play [The Heir of Hope] for its barrier. I could only play one spell song at a time, after all.
Anybody who couldn’t hear my songs wouldn’t receive the benefits of them either, and who knew how many people were at the spectator arena right now. No, as I told Tasianna, there were two weeks until the festival would end. Two weeks for me to prevent anybody from stealing the blood of Yeostar.
For now, I had to rely on the royal palace to protect it while I kept an eye out in the city. For the tournament, it probably would be better if we had multiple people enter into it. However, Mother had no interest, and Beth, Shay, and Tasianna wanted me to win. If those latter three entered and we faced each other in a match, they would rather hand me the match. Not like I couldn’t defeat them in a fair fight, but that was beside the point.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Hmm, maybe I should double-check my Profile. Tournament starts tomorrow, so maybe I should double-check my stats. Just in case I have to appraise somebody.
Profile:
Name: Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor
Level: 98
Race: Sunfang Dragonewt
Age: 16 Years
Main Job: Virulent Corrosion Level 0/30
Secondary Job: Healer Level 0/10
Unique Job: Locked
Status:
Health: 8415 (Dragon: 16830 (+316)) Mana: 22436 (Dragon: 44851 (+358)) Strength: 4551 (Dragon: 9102 (+123)) Intelligence: 6491 (Dragon: 12981 (+155)) Vitality: 2434 (Dragon: 4868 (+54)) Wisdom: 3286 (Dragon: 6572 (+71)) Agility: 6200 (Dragon: 12400 (+136)) Stamina: 4551 (Dragon: 9102 (+214)) Effects: [Humanize (Moderate)] Skill Points: 3650 (-9400) Unique Skill:
[Dreadflame Dragon Lv. 5] (+1) [Hellblade Dragon Lv. 5] (+2)
[Solar Core Lv. 3] [Venerated Saintess Lv. 3] [Idol Lv. 4] (+1)
[Volcanic Blaze]
Skill:
Magic skills and related:
[Lightning Magic Lv. 4] (+1) [White Flames Lv. 5] (+1)
[Corrosive Fire Lv. 6] (+3) [Sacred Magic Lv. 7] [Terra Magic Lv. 4] (+1)
[Wind Magic Lv. 10] [Wind Amp] [Wind Magic Efficiency]
[Storm Magic Lv. 4] (+1) [Space-Time Magic Lv. 6]
[Space-Time Magic Efficiency] [True Draconic Lineage]
[Draconic Barrier Lv. 8] (+2) [Silent Casting Lv. 10]
[Magic Power Enhancement Lv. 7] [Mental Stability Lv. 9] (+1)
[Mental Warfare Lv. 6] (+1) [Fluid Cast Lv. 5] (+1)
[Delayed Cast Lv. 5] (+2) [Continuous Cast Lv. 4] (+1) [Mana Eyes Lv. 6] (+1)
Physical skills and related:
[Unarmed Technique Lv. 8] [Unarmed Mastery Lv. 4]
[Sword Technique Lv. 1] [Spear Technique Lv. 9]
[Spear Mastery Lv. 7] (+2)
[Draconic Roar Lv. 6] (+2) [All-Damage Enhancement Lv. 1] (New)
Senses and movement skills:
[Silence Lv. 1] [Accuracy Correction Lv. 8]
[Concentration Lv. 8] (+1) [Foresight Lv. 3]
[Danger Perception Lv. 10] (+3) [Probability Correction Lv. 8]
[Detection Sensor Lv. 3] [Enhanced Olfactory Sense Lv. 6]
[Enhanced Vision Lv. 9] [Tracking Lv. 5] [Night Vision Lv. 8]
[Odorless Lv. 1] [Evasion Lv. 10] [Acrobatic Lv. 10]
[Air Walk Lv. 5] [Terrain Maneuvering Lv. 6]
[Mid-Air Maneuvering Lv. 9] (+1) [Aerial Fighter Lv. 5] (+1)
Resistances:
[Physical Super-Resistance Lv. 6] [Absolute Pain Tolerance]
[Mental Corruption Resistance Lv. 10] (+7) [Mind Protection Lv. 10](+5)
[Mana Leak Resistance Lv. 10] [Abnormal Status Nullification]
[Fear Resistance Lv. 5] [Lightning Resistance Lv. 6]
[Sacred Resistance Lv. 5] (+3) [Storm Resistance Lv. 5] (New)
[Water Resistance Lv. 5] (+2) [Dark Resistance Lv. 4] (+1)
Stat growths and related:
[Speed of Sound Lv. 5] (+4)
Others:
[Stage Fever Lv. 6] (+1) [Handicraft Lv. 6] [Woodworking Lv. 7]
[Stonecrafting Lv. 1]
[Trap Creation Lv. 10] (+1) [Instruction Lv. 2] [Identity Blocker Lv. 10]
[Tranquil Mind Lv. 1] [Cooking Lv. 9] (+1) [Benevolent Aura Lv. 3]
[Draconic Aura Lv. 4] (+1) [Royal Presence Lv. 4] (+1)
[Dismantle Lv. 9] (+1) [Gluttonous] [Thought Acceleration Lv. 4]
[High-Speed Calculation Lv. 2] [Multi-Thought Processing Lv. 3]
[Parallel Thoughts Lv. 10] [Core Regulation]
[Humanize Lv. 10] [Telepathy] [Aerokinesis]
Job:
[Virulent Corrosion]
Ability List:
Dragon:
[Dreadflare Aura] [Hellblade Edge] [Scale-Dust Veil] [Hellflame Breath]
[Solar Beam]
Spear:
[Spiral] [Spark Crescent]
Unarmed:
[Dragoon Jump] [Gale Steps] [Dragoon Dive]
Spell List:
Custom Magic:
[Symphonie des Feuergottes] [Prayer] [Sanctified Blaze]
[Sanctified Blaze: Halo of Consecration] [Ignite] [Panzer] [Unheilge Engel]
[Scorching Sun]
Custom Spell Song:
[The Will to Fight and Survive] [Dragon Fire] [My Darkest Thoughts]
[The Heir of Hope]
Lightning Magic:
[Lightning Bolt] [Purple Flash] [Levin Core] [Overload]
Holy Magic:
[Sacred Smite] [Sacred Veil] [Sacred Field] [Banishment Beam]
[Major Heal] [Omnictus] [Gloria Ascendence]
Earth Magic
[Terra Wall] [Bedrock Blades] [Rumbling Might] [Ruinous Rockfall]
Wind Magic:
[Wind Bullet] [Wind Cutter] [Air Shield] [Wind Slash]
[Swift Winds] [Wind Blast] [Featherfall] [Aerial Blitz]
[Tornado Bullet] [Sylphid’s Cloak] [Tailwind] [Cyclone Madness]
Space-Time Magic:
[Haste] [Storage Magic] [Warp Point: Entry] [Warp Point: Exit] [Room]
The Light Magic:
[Shine] [Sanctuary] [Miraculous Grace]
Titles:
[The Light] [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood] [Divine Inferno]
[Otherworldly Reincarnator] [Princess]
I should be around A rank in strength, or at least, at the precipice of becoming one. Hmm, I really am neglecting my leveling with everything going on. Why can’t it be as simple as my days in the Belzac forest. Just hardcore grinding and so on…
I let out a deep sigh, sad at how life was becoming more complicated. Acting like an adult sucked. But, it was necessary for me to be like this ever since I accepted my princess status. Instead of complaining, I should probably scout out my possible opponents.
Hmm, a few knights and warrior-priests are around. I noted some of the people around me, specifically those with an emblem of the Principality of Yeos or the warrior-priest toga. I even recognized a few of the warrior priests!
Hrmm, nothing noteworthy for now. I concluded my search and returned my head to the queue, all while trying to avoid the stares directed at me. Some lecherous, some curious, and some hostile.
“Hey, ‘ey, kiddo! This ain’t a plac— Woah?!” As expected, somebody did come over but I ignited some scale-dusts, jump scaring the well-armored man before using my wings to block my vision from him.
“Barking up the wrong tree, pal,” I stated without looking at him, causing quite a few people to grip their weapons in response. However, none of them did anything and simply moved away.
Of course, those weren’t the last groups of men trying to approach me, but depending on how they spoke to me, I either scared them away with my scale-dust or politely told them there was nothing to worry about. Well, considering how I was one of the few obvious teenagers around, they thought I was an easy target to chase away. The other teens, all boys, were also being harassed by the older participants.
So, the competition has already begun.
Nothing was fair about this tournament already. With the number of people this event was taking in, you could expect a very, very, very large pool of competitors. No way would they be able to make a tournament with so many people. Jethro hadn’t explained the details of the tournament to me in the past three days, mostly ‘cause he didn’t like speaking with me, so I had no idea what was going on.
In other words, before the main event began, there had to be a way to cull all these participants in tomorrow's matches. However, the culling had already started. People were harassing each other, trying to scare rivals away, while the more violent ones aggravated them into “testing their strength” in the arena. No guards were stepping in to stop all of this madness.
“Hey, lassie, you gonna show what’s underneath your skirt to everybody tomorrow? Haha, I bet ya could sneak yourself a win with a dick in your mouth! Wuaahhahahaha!”
“Or, ya know, we could give her a taste of what the rumble stages have to offer.” One of them licked his knife, smiling like a huge pervert while his eyes wandered up and down my body. “The youngins, heheheh… Hack an arm off and ya can’t give up, hehehehe. All those screams will be fun to hear.”
There were a bunch of lowlives. Like actual people you could find in Shaturein or any underworld. It seemed the tournament was taking in whoever… Well, maybe not women. I could not see a single other girl around.
Looking at the registration desk, they simply took a person’s ID and used their [Crystal of the Divine System] to register them before giving them a bracelet, probably their tournament ID. It was a quick process, making this queue go by very quickly.
“Hey, kid.” While I was looking forward, the guy in front of me turned around. I looked up, only to notice the eyepatch. “You sure you want to keep on going?”
He sounded genuinely worried, so I spoke with him normally. “Sure. I know what I’m getting myself into.”
“That’s what every greenhorn says,” he scoffed at my remark pointing at his eyepatch. “Da tournament uses dungeon mechanics to protect participants from some heavy wounds, but with how this tournament is made for da entertainment of da damn folks, it ain’t perfect on purpose. Ya can still lose limbs and body parts. If ya dueling armlet ain’t giving you the loss, ya need to give up yourself. But—”
He pointed at the previous group of fuckwits. “If they cut ya other arm and also ya leg, they just gotta make sure ya don’t drop down to 20% Health. Can’t give up like that, but ya wish ya could. This tournament ain’t no game for kids.”
No mention of being a girl, huh? Okay.
“Then why are you here, again?” I looked him up and down, noticing his armor wasn’t in the most pristine shape, nor was his spear and shield.
“Davi, of course, why else?” He scowled, flabbergasted I would ask something that obvious. “Ya make it through the royal rumble, get into the 32 top contestants, and you get money. Not a lot, but who cares about da damn Championship, eh? Some fucking hero can swoop in and get it, for all I care. This tournament don’t come around often, but the prizes are always good!”
“Worth it to lose an eye?”
“Pah! Ya asking me that means ya ain’t an adventurer. Some scaly lass, pah!” he scoffed at me before turning around. “Get the hell out of here. Ain’t your place to die, girl. Blood and sweat can make men into monsters.”
Hiehie, cute dude.
But in spite of his warnings, I stuck around. In fact, I lowered my wings and just let everybody see me. I proudly puffed up my chest and stood there, giving anybody being sassy with me the middle finger. This, of course, angered quite a lot of people, but I quickly reminded them what would happen when my scale-dusts spark.
The veteran fighter in front of me shook his head, probably thinking I was an idiot for continuing this, but on the other hand, the younger contestants cheered me on. Probably seeing me acting like this despite everybody's eyes on me, they started to band together against the older, more experienced warriors.
Eventually, I made it to the desk. There, the receptionist looked right at me and said, “No. Get out.”
“Hmm? Why? I know females are allowed to join, too. Just give me the test and everything will work fine,” I countered, remembering what Jethro told me on our first meeting.
“Fucking bollocks, who you heard that shit from? Get the hell out of here! This is a tournament for our God Yeostar! Blood and gore will fill this dungeon’s ground. We don’t need you sullying this holy place!” He kept on shouting, standing up and pointing at the door.
But, I was stubborn. I offered my ID. “I am here to register. Let me enter the tournament. I am not violating any rules.”
“…” He glared at me, provoking the other combatants to support him, telling me to get the hell out of here.
“Register. Me. Or, do I do this in a different way to the point you will regret having spoken to me? How about it?”
However, I stood my ground, and that obviously annoyed him to the point he clicked his tongue. “Tch, fine, scench.”
He swiped my ID away and put it into the crystal to register me without even assessing my Profile. Once it was over, he threw my ID and an armlet at me, before telling me to hand the armlet back after I lose since it was worthless outside this place.
“You want to join the matches, then sure, have a test. If you lose, you’re out. Understood?”
“… Sure, holier-than-thou poser.” I shrugged. I wanted to punch this guy so badly now, but I was keeping my trembling fist in check.
“…” He glared once again before hollering to the ground. “HEY, SWORDCLEANERS! You heard this kid speak! Women need to get tested before joining, so who wants to give this lass a go, huh?”
“Sure!” Two hands rose from the ground. It probably shouldn’t have surprised me that they were the perverted lowlives from before.
“Hmm? Hold on—” I wanted to complain since those were two hands, but the receptionist continued without my say.
“Anybody else?! Who else wants to show this girl what the true world is like?! Ya ain’t gonna get forfeited if you lose! Hahahaha!”
“Hahahaha! As if, you fucker! Sure, sign me up!”
“And me!”
“Down with the bitch! Teach her what's really up!”
One, two, three… 37… 62… 83. What?
85 scarred or otherwise trained men showed up, surrounding me as they glared at me with rather dubious intent. And would you know what was funny? All of them were the people I just flicked the bird at. Two were the perverted lowlives, but out of the 83 people I showed the finger to… Well, it was obvious by now they were all here.
Okay, no wonder that old dude thought I was an idiot.
“Last chance.” The receptionist gloated at me, but I simply snickered.
Appraised, assholes~
“Well, I guess it should have to be some sort of challenge, right?” I released my [Draconic Aura], causing all of them to flinch backward. I put the armlet on with a smirk, signaling my agreement to the test.
Armlet of Yeostar activated. Safety net activated: [Major Heal] [Protection Aura (Dungeon of Yeostar)] [Dungeon Escape]. Tournament competitor 349 is now registered to use the arena’s first floor.
“You kidding me?” The receptionist frowned, showing a mix of confusion and ridiculement. After a moment, he began to laugh, being the only one who hadn’t felt my aura. “Hahaha, so be it! Bloodsport on the first day! Glory to the tournament and festival! Alright, your filthy pieces of shit, get int—”
“Hold it!” Somebody’s rumbling voice suddenly silenced not only the receptionist but also the whole foyer, feeling similar to me using [Draconic Roar].
As I was about to turn my head to the voice’s direction, I noticed a glowing line forming on the ground before it erupted into a wind explosion, blasting a few competitors away. As they yelled and cried out, my nose suddenly picked up on something. Something sweet, something familiar.
While all those sent flying landed on the floor, I could hear the sound of footsteps followed by some rattling. The louder they became, the more my nose felt agitated by the person approaching me. I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I was 100% sure, this was a—
“What?!”
“Yo, longneck!”
— a true dragonkin.
“Sign me up for this tussle! If I have to get through a test, too, then might as well get this over with for the both of us. Should be enough for a little warm-up.”
A dragonewt woman around the size of Saori appeared, wearing a purple-black scaled jacket over an open light-purple yukata with black flame, thunder, and flower designs. Her outfit not only exposed a bit of her cleavage but also almost her entire right leg. A horsetail wiggled around in excitement from her butt.
Her arms and legs were covered in scales while the graves and gauntlets she wore were made from carapace and shell. However, the flashiest part was the single raven-black horn growing from her forehead. Her long black and purple hair flared around her face, framing it a bit like a wild mane.
“Register me as Fargryneill. The future winner of this tournament!”