I wake with the rising of the sun and yawn, rolling out of bed and rubbing my eyes as I open the curtains to see first few people begin to walk about at these morning hours. I sit down at th desk and pull out my journal, adding a new entry.

Yesterday was pretty crazy, but not in a bad way. I defeated 4 whole spiked boars with the new Halberd I got from Bydel, not without taking a few hits though, and managed to get my guild card without arising suspicion. My body seems much more durable now, and I am starting to get the hang of buff magic. I still don't know where my mana pool ends though, getting an appraiser to look at me would be nice. I also met this amazingly nice guy Zyfer and tried allsugar in roundcake for the first time too! Maybe this hero thing is a better gig than I thought, but I still could never face something like the Spectral Dragon Emperor yet. Some training and a teacher would be nice. Not sure what I'll do today but I'll write again tomorrow.

I smile and close the notebook, putting it in one of the leather pouches on my armor. I don my armor as well, putting my helmet on last and placing my shortened halberd on my back. I hear a knock at the door and smile, Aluli probably is making sure I'm awake and ready for another day. I make sure I have everything and walk towards the door, opening it. I look down for Aluli's head and begin to say, "Hey Alu-" but stop myself as a fitted set of red and purple armor with blue scales underneath greets my eyes.

I slowly look up and am surprised to see a tall female dragonite standing there and staring down at me with sharp and generally emotionless eyes with a hint of distrust. I've heard about their race before, they generally stay in their large dragon forms but have innate magic that allows them to morph their size and appearance to fit in the cities of other races and interact with them, but I've never seen one before. She has her arms behind her back and her heavy scales cover her entire body, reducing the need for armor, but she is still wearing some on her chest, waist, and shoulders, and her clawed feet are bare on the oken floor. There is a large battleaxe and longsword on her back between her massive leathery wings.

Anything I am hoping to say gets stuck in my throat as I look up at her through my visor at this towering creature, stepping back subconsciously. Suddenly I am bombarded with a wave of bloodlust, so strong I can practically feel a knife at my throat despite the dragonite female not having moved.

The pressure is overwhelming, but I have a feeling if I retreat or do anything other than take it head on I might not live to hear what she has to say. I straighten my back despite my body protesting against me and let off a little pressure of my own with my magic to combat hers. If you could see each, hers would be purple while mine would be white. Unintentionally my magic is stronger than I realize and it overwhelms her bloodlust to the point where it is forcibly dissipated and she flashes a short look of surprise before regaining her composure.

I withdraw my own quickly and we stand there a moment longer, after which her expression seems to change subtly to one of reluctant acknowledgement. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and resist wiping the sweat that has gathered on my face as she finally speaks.

"Hero, the Magistrate has requested your presence at the capital. Your ride is waiting outside." She says with a gravely undertone. This must be their innate translation magic, the growling and rumbling guttural tones underneath her words is what she is actually saying. As the Hero all languages are automatically translated for me, but it must be habit to do so by now. She turns down the hallway and begins walking away, "Follow me. We will leave at once."

I sit there for a moment trying to process her words before running after her, "Wait- the Magistrate? Why? And right away? I haven't had a chance to say goodbye or grab provisions yet." She continues walking, her long dragonite legs carrying her faster than I can walk, responding without looking back, "You'll know when we arrive. All provisions are already prepared."

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I continue to run after her as we head outside. I stop as I leave the building as to my surprise there is an extravagantly-decorated autobox waiting for me. It has a covered cabin but unlike other autoboxes this one has a seat on the outside. The dragonite women walks down the stairs to where the Overseer is also waiting for me. Aluli flies down to me from one of the building's upper decks and lands with a worried and confused expression on her face, "Great Hero, what is happening?" She asks.

I shake my head, "I wish I knew, something about the Magistrate requesting my presence?"

Aluli looks down in contemplation for a moment and I look up as I hear the dragonite woman call, "Hero, we don't have all day." I look back towards Aluli and kneel down next to her. "Even though it was only for a day, I really appreciate your help and concern for me. If I ever get the chance again, I'll come back and visit." I say softly. She smiles and nods. I walk down the steps where the Overseer and dragonite are waiting for me. The dragonite woman promptly hops on the rear seat, weighing the autobox down significantly, and crosses her arms, refusing to look at us as the Overseer greets me.

"Great Hero, I regret that your stay was so short and we couldn't do more for you, but I'm sure the Magistrate has something of great importance and urgency to discuss with you. You are the Geat Hero after all. As few of my knights and Shyvea who sent by the Magistrate and Dragon Emperor will accompany you to the capital." He says, gesturing towards the guards next to the autobox and the dragonite woman. She looks away. "I've also prepared some snowfelt bread for your enjoyment during the long trip to the capital." He smiles and presents a small bundle wrapped in a cloth. I take it and nod, "Many thanks for the hospitality, I'll try to visit again soon." I say. The Overseer bows and I bow back.

I enter the autobox at the indication of one of the knights and we prepare to leave. The autobox is a bit roomier than I expected but still awkward with the three knights sitting in there with me. The roof is also a bit low for my height in the armor so I have to slouch a bit to avoid hitting it with my helmet. I place my collapsed halberd under my seat so I'm not stabbing the knight next to me. I brace myself a bit as we begin to move, amazed at the innovation that allows this to travel without anything pulling it.

I look out the window as we begin to move faster along the main road and see Aluli flying after us. She shouts something at me as we exit the gate and I can barely make out a few words, "I think.. Magistrate wants... Sprectral Dragon.."

The autobox moves farther away and she lands just outside the gate, waving as we leave. I lean out to wave back and sit back down as we move out of sight.

She probably was referring to the Spectral Dragon Emperor. The magistrate probably wants to talk about Levi's team's deaths, my memory, and probably about the Spectral Sorcerer's movements. I've been kind of putting off thinking about the Spectral Sorcerer topic. I don't know a lot about them except that they can raise people from the dead, and the Spectrals are as strong as they were when they were alive in their prime, as evidenced by the Dragon Emperor's attacks on the Hero's party. They also retain combat knowledge and tactics. I think they don't feel pain either, but I'm not sure about that. Fighting those things would be way different than animals or even a normal human being. It could be anyone from knights to powerful mages to, heaven forbid, commanders. I grimace, seems kind of overpowered if you ask me. Maybe there's a fatal flaw or something that balances it out that I don't know about yet.

I look up at the knights around me who are all looking out the windows as we travel along the bumpy road. I hesitantly ask, "How long until we reach the capital?"

Without looking at me, the oldest across from me answers curtly, "2 days. We will stop at a city on the way to rest and refuel."

I say, "Thanks" and think about saying something more but none of them will even look at me. I keep forgetting that 'I' have a reputation. I decide to not force them to talk to me and make me seem like even worse of a person as I sigh and lean my chin on my hand as I also look out the window. This is going to be a long and boring trip. I hope not everyone is going to treat me this way. Just what the heck did the last Hero do to make everyone avoid and dislike him so much?!