Systie glared at the fourth iteration of her new body.

Too feminine, she declared, atomizing it. No one likes an oversized chest. Why did you even make that one? She grumbled, glaring at her Manager again.

“I’m sure some men would disagree with that statement. Plus, why do you want a new body already?” the Manager asked with a groan. “My creativity juices are low!”

There’s no such a thing.

“Yeah there is.”

No, there’s not. I’ve created millions of worlds. I understand the concept of creativity, Systie said. Now, quit thinking with your genitals and think with that oh, so creative mind of yours.

The Manager groaned.

***

I quickly realized that fighting a Dragon was another experience entirely. Here’s the thing: I understand the concept of fighting intelligent beings, but this Dragon seemed to know what I was going to do before I made the move.

Frustrated, I growled and ducked under his talons (paw?) and immedietly jumped to dodge the next attack. I Wreathed my sword in Abyss (Which was, for some reason, really effective against Demons, so I made an assumption) and sliced through it’s stomach with terrifing ease. The Dragon roared, completely forgetting about Mia and shooting a super pressured beam of water that ripped through the floor that I barely dodged.

“ABYSS DAMAGE? HOW?!” The Dragon roared, spinning towards me.

“Uh…” I got a signal from Mia and instantly jumped back a scalding hot gyeser bursting from the ground that I was just standing on. “Yeowch!”

Before the Dragon could complain to me again, Mia took the distraction and wrapped her Serpentine body around his lizard one and supercooled hers while constricting his. Based on Mia’s familiarity of this position-

Oh, I thought. This must be how she hunts bigger prey.

Missing only a single beat for this thought, I launched myself at the Dragon and positioned my sword over his eye as Mia charged up lightning, causing my hair to stand on end.

In my best deep voice, I demanded, “Do you yield?”

The Dragon struggled for a moment before letting out a sigh and nodding. Annoyed, Mia launched her bolt of lightning that she’d charged up into the ground nearby, causing more damage than his pressured water and unraveled from him, instead coiling around me, who’d dropped to the ground, and let out a series of growls and hisses.

The Dragon shook himself out before listening to Mia intently. He responded with his own series of growls and hissing and the two of them seemed to come to some sort of agreement of peace.

“You must be an Abyssal,” the Dragon grumbled, water flowing over his wound as he winced. “Of course. My Bond always says I pick fights with the wrong people. I’m Level 60 and a mere Level… wait, what Level are you?”

Getting a growing sense of amusement, I responded with, “Not even Level 50 yet.”

He roared and I felt some sort of barrier fall as the entire hall repaired itself and lights turned on. Looking around again, I noticed the indentions on the walls were now able to be deciphered as carvings of Dragons in metal walls.

“And you’re not going to have someone kill me because of what I am? ‘Cause I foresee a long life filled with Levels and food-” I looked over to Mia disdainfully. She gave me an innocent look, as if she didn’t just push the idea of food into my head. “Levels and my Dragon being behaved and not pushing the thoughts of food in my head,” I corrected.

Mia shifted back to her Humanoid Form and glared at me, not happy with my statement. The Dragon looked down at Mia curiously before shaking his head and looking back at me, giving me the same glare. Shrugging, I lifted Mia off the ground and looked back to the Dragon who loomed over us.

“No, I’m not going to kill you. Unlike those stupid Humans, us Dragons don’t hold grudges over generations,” he said proudly, puffing up his chest. “Anyways, you should probably go and meet the Guildmasters. They’ll want to meet you, since you’ll be a special case.”

I shrugged. “Let’s go then, my large Dragon friend.”

He snorted, spun around far quicker than one would think a Dragon his size should and stomped off, lifting his wings to catch the light.

“Don’t become like that, my Mia,” I said, shaking my head.

Mia nudged my cheek with her nose and I smiled.

“Yes, yes, you did very well,” I praised her, getting a happy yip in response.

~~~

It turned out that the Guildmasters were a husband and wife, which, based on the evidence, I should’ve realized.

When the leading Dragon stormed through a pair of doors, I realized that he must have no clue what the word “knocking” meant. Shrugging, I sat down on a bench next to the door, Mia on my lap. She poked my horn and I poked hers back, causing her to giggle. We engaged in a poking war until the door opened again, Mia in the middle of poking my horn.

We both looked over and I frowned as a man with pointed ears, more pointed than mine, walked out of the room and looked over to us with a suspicious look on his face. He took in me and Mia, Mia’s finger an inch away from my horn. After a moment of staring at one another, I waved.

“Heya,” I said, grinning. “I’m going to assume that you’re one of the Guildmasters?”

He simply stared at me for another few seconds. I eyed Mia, who was looking at him, confused at his lack of response. I waved again, trying to get his attention, he didn’t react except for narrowing his eyes. Sighing, I just waited patiently for him to respond. Nearly five minutes later, I could feel Mia wanting to pounce at him, but I calmed her down with a little bit of sharing of emotions. Eventually, she settled down in my lap and began to grow comfortable.

Then he nodded. “Good. Your Dragon has good discipline, something that all must have to be a part of the Guild.”

This can’t be a test. This must be some sort of review- hold up. Doesn’t he have a-

Getting a very clear sense of danger, I kicked off the bench and as high as I could into the air, barely dodging the ball of flame that blew up the bench we were just sitting on. I hit the wall on the other side and immediately kicked off, Mario style, as another firebolt blasted at us. Mia summoned an icy shield to block the next and I swallowed the last one with Void, something that I had come up with on a whim and was now regretting as it tanked my Mana immensely.

Rolling, I slid quickly, Mia throwing a sheet of ice below me, allowing me to slide faster, barely getting past the next. As I stood, I unsheathed my sword and stabbed it into the ground, breaking chunks of ice and letting Mia shoot them at the next fireball while I dashed forward at the woman and cutting another in half.

When I cut the ball of flame in half, her face took an expression of utter surprise and she seemed to nearly teleport away, moving at such speed that I only saw a faint blur. However, that blur was enough for me to predict where she was going and I swung my leg under her as her fist barely flew over my head and I hit her shins, which she was still adjusting, causing her to trip. Mia froze her into the ground and I was about to hit her when someone roared.

“ENOUGH!”

Immediately, I fell to my knees as a pressure bore on what I could only describe as my soul. As I began to black out, I heard Mia scream. Not screech, roar, or hiss. An actual scream, like a very pissed off person.

***

Mia screamed as she felt her Bond start to experience immense Soul Damage. She spun over to the man, who gave her a confused look before his eyes widened and his mouth opened in a silent scream as the full force of Mia’s soul bore upon him.

Mia remembered that when she was Bonded, everything about her seemed to deteriorate. Everything except her Soul. Because of this, she had the Soul of a Level 300 and something being (She couldn’t remember at the moment, but she didn’t care really) in the body of a Level 45.

The man clearly wasn’t even Level 250 yet, seeing as he just fell to his knees and screamed silently. This man had hurt her Bond, and he’d pay for it-

“Mia…” a strained yet familiar voice said from behind her.

Her Bond.

Mia may have not understood much of his language, though she was doing her best to learn, but she knew her name. Feeling the confusion and horror of her Bond, she instantly pulled her Soul from the man and rushed to her Bond, who was beginning to stand and jumped into his arms, trying to not feel guilty.

***

Mia wrapped her arms around me, still partially fuming. Still not understanding what had just happened, I looked between the horned woman and her husband, who she was on her knees next to-

Oh. She's his Dragon Bond. And his wife, I realized. That’s actually quite wholesome-

My train of thought was cut off as the Dragon-wife gave Mia a withering glare and stood, looking ready to attack us again. As she took a step forward, the other Guildmaster stirred, sitting up and waving his hand.

“Don’t fight them, Jen,” he grumbled. “It’s my fault. I should’ve expected she’d be not so happy about me using Soul Pressure on him-”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The Dragon, Jen, who was clearly too pissed to speak English, snarled at her husband. Mia then spun around, looking taken aback as she hissed, causing the broken pieces of the bench to start vibrating on the ground.

Jen’s head swirled back to Mia and she let out a series of hisses and growls, apparently starting an argument with Mia. The two of them went on for about thirty seconds as both me and the Guildmaster recovered before Jen let out an annoyed snarl and looked at her husband.

“He took Soul Damage from your carelessness!” she snapped at him.

He took on an embarrassed look. “Well, I thought he was going to hurt you, so I panicked! Plus, I didn’t expect such a young Dragon to have such a powerful Soul.”

“THAT’S NOT AN EXCUSE!”

The two of them went on as Mia patted my cheeks, trying to make sure I was okay. I gave her a halfhearted grin and patted her cheeks in response, which didn’t help her current state whatsoever. I then sighed and sat still, fighting off Mia’s cheek pats.

~~~

“So. Abyss Prince Jason Andromeda,” Jen grumbled. “Not that I care that you’re an Abyssal, but why exactly are you here?”

“We’re here to join this Guild,” I responded, patting my Draconic Serpent’s horn to emphasize her existence. “Can’t be all that uncommon, right?”

Her left eye twitched as her husband, Ryenald, spoke. “Well, if you consider Abyssals dropping out of the sky and attempting to join the Dragon Keepers Guild, DKG for short, then yes, it would be uncommon.”

“DKG? Why not just call it Drake Guild? Far simpler,” I grumbled, somehow already annoyed. Bad names do that to me. Or was it just the amount of sheer stupidity I’d found in this world.

Jen snorted smoke through her nostrils and then began to cough. Mia yipped at her and Jen scowled, looking away. Once she got a hold of herself, she continued.

“Drakes are stupid things, they’re not full breed Dragons-”

“They’re still Dragons, right?” I asked.

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT!”

Ryenald put his hand on his Dragon’s horn and she quickly shut up, though she did have a scowl on her face. “Why exactly do you want to join this Guild?”

“Because I care both about feeding Mia and my funds,” I grumbled. “She eats enough to be considered a cause for bankruptcy.”

Ryenald looked at me, confused. “You… don’t have any care for advancing her?”

“She can’t advance without food, dimwit,” both Jen and I snapped at the same time. We then looked at one another and snapped again, “What are you looking at?”

Mia giggled while Ryenald just looked mildly embarrassed. “Right…” he muttered. “So, food then-”

I gave him a flat look that shut him up in the middle of his sentence. Jen spoke for him instead.

“My husband here only cares for getting all the Dragons under his care ready for battle, per Kingdom regulations. However, he doesn’t seem to read and has no clue that you have to have the permission of a Bonded Dragon and her or his Bonded partner to make them fight. Speaking of Dragons, would your Bond be comfortable to show her Draconic Form?”

“You-” I stopped and sighed.

After communicating this with a simple series of images, Mia hopped out my lap, dashed back a bit and shifted, coiling up as she did. Within around two seconds, she was coiled up around my chair, her head on top of mine. She eyed Jen as I pet the side of her face, earning a purr from her.

Jen looked at me, gaping. “How in the seven rings of hell did you manage to convince a damned Draconic Serpent to Bond with you?” she asked, eyes wide. “Those things are so proud of themselves that they think they don’t need Bonds.”

“And you do?”

She sputtered out, coughing smoke. “I didn’t say that!”

“You did kinda imply it,” Reynald grumbled. “Can’t say you didn’t.”

She glared at him and back at me. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”

“I didn’t. I simply asked,” I responded, rubbing my Serpent’s snout. “And to how I got her, she chose me. I was against it since it took her down a lot of Levels.”

“How many Levels, exactly?” Reynald asked.

“I think it was like 302? 301?” I mused in response

“3 HUNDRED!?”

“No wait, she was Level 347 and I was Level 43. So that would be three hundred and four Levels.”

The two of them looked at me like I was insane. I shrugged and looked up to Mia, who nuzzled her head closer and looked down at me, not a single bit of regret in her mind.

“I also think she still doesn’t understand what Levels are. Let’s be honest, neither do I.”

They still stared at me, completely speechless. I sighed and began to wait.

~~~

In the end, I was signed up for the Guild alongside Mia, who was probably only in for the food. They also gave me some sort of charm that changed how my horns looked for people who I didn’t whitelist from the effects or were Mia. They said it was strong enough to hide me from people up to Level 400, though they didn’t think I’d meet anyone of that caliber.

We left through another entrance that neither me nor Mia had noticed before, but went directly into the Guild without having to go through the blank hall.

As I walked back towards Treia’s estate with Mia in my arms, I had to dodge many people who clearly wanted a word with me from yesterday’s show. Staying away from them was as simple as jumping roof from roof, above the heads of Humans, Elves, and whatever those people with tails and wolf ears were (Didn’t Treia call them Wolf-kin?).

Once I arrived over the walls, which I easily scaled with Mia on my back, giggling as I raced up the side of the wall like a monkey, a vision of which she got quite the kick out of, I saw that there were a great many trees around the manor, which, when I Eyed it, seemed to be doing better. Taking a closer look, I saw our favorite Tree and Xylophone, both of them commanding Elven workers who were moving more trees around.

When Treia saw me, she put her hands on her hips, glaring at me.

“Took you long enough, idiot!” she snapped. “Come over here and help!”

Xaila gave her sister a smack on the back of her head with a stick before looking over to me. “She’s being rude, but your help would be much appreciated, Jason. Trees are heavy.”

Some of the Elven workers pointed at me and whispered to their co-workers, clearly recognising me from the city.

Ignoring them, I asked, “Well, where do you need the trees? I can plant you in the ground too, Treia, if you keep being rude to me, your Party member.”

“You’re skirting very close to the edge of being inappropriate,” Treia grumbled as she walked off, signaling the workers.

“You better pay me for this!” I shouted.

A Tier 5 Crystal flew at my head and I caught it, grinning. I then walked over to the plot Xaila asked me to fill with trees while Mia decided to follow Treia around and cracked my neck, ready to start transplanting. A few workers began walking over to my area, ready to help, then stopped in their tracks as I picked up two entire trees and walked over to my plot, humming as I planted them.

I worked for nearly three hours, planting trees and filling two entire plots myself as Mia followed Treia around, annoying her for that entire duration. As I was about to start on a third, I saw someone waving at me from a short distance away and I frowned, turning over.

A group of Elves and Humans were trying to get my attention and, for once, I decided to humor them to see what they had to say. I shrugged and walked over to them, raising a brow.

For a moment, they were silent, looking over me. I looked over the seven of them as well. There were five Elves and two Humans, three women and three men. There was also a Human boy who had to be around my age though I couldn’t actually tell how old the two Elven women and the one Elven man were. For all I could know, they were my age, since, according to my [All Seeing Eye of the Abyss], Elves stopped aging at a certain point, from ages 15-23. Though, based on their Level, they were pretty low Level, so they were probably young.

“Heya,” I said, already uncomfortable.

Immediately, one of the Elven girls began to speak. “Did you actually kill a Demon Possessed Prince without even using magic? Also, is it true you have a Dragon Bond? And-”

I waved my hands to silence her. “Woah, kiddo slow down.” Definitely my age, I thought. “For starters, I didn’t kill him, the Princess did that, but I didn’t use any Mana. He was pretty slow, though if he had time to adjust, then that would’ve been a problem,” I said to the girl, who looked up at me expectantly. “And, yes I have a Bond with a Dragon, though she’s probably eating up as much food as she possibly can right now, based on the sense of contentment I’m getting from her.”

The young Elf looked at me, eyes wide. “Do you-”

The other female Elf pulled on the young girl’s ear, causing her to yelp. “That’s enough, Yamada,” she said sternly. “He’s probably tired from moving all those trees around. I’m sorry about her,” she continued, giving me an apologetic look.

“Lemme go, Mom!” Yamada said, trying to dislodge her mother’s fingers from her ear.

I shook my head. “I’m actually not tired at all, unless you count losing about four thousand Health from trying to juggle trees around and dropping them on my head,” I muttered. “Not my brightest moment, I should say. Plus, they were four perfectly good trees.”

The Human man laughed after a short pause. “Well, I guess all people get dumb ideas, eh kid?”

I shrugged as the young Human boy stared at me, confused. “You could say that. I have a whole host of dumb things I’ve done, most ending up with my mother hitting me over the head with a metaphorical brick.” I thought for a moment. “And also dropping an actual brick on my head.”

“Now that’s a story I need to hear,” he said, grinning. “What’s your name, kid?” He stuck out a hand.

I grinned as I shook his hand. “Just call me Jason. None of that Hero stuff I heard from the locals when I passed through the city. I probably will have the attention of the King and Queen by the end of the day, if that keeps up.”

~~~

We spent a good while talking, Yamada shooting random questions at intervals.

“How long have you been traveling?” Lie : nearly two years.

“Have you been to many other cities?” Truth : one other.

“Do you miss people from the places you’ve gone?” Truth : Not really.

“Do you have siblings?” Lie : nope.

This went on for a while before she asked the one question that nearly made me choke on my food.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

I barely stopped myself from choking and swallowed some of the food I’d stored in my Bag. “Nope.”

“You’re not courting the Princess? I find that hard to believe,” Yamada said suspiciously.

I snorted. “I simply like annoying the hells out of her. Plus, it gets some funny reactions depending on what I say.”

“Still don’t believe you,” she grumbled.

“If I was courting the Princess, would I be sitting here right now?”

“Yes.”

I opened my mouth and then closed it. Then I gave her a mock glare. “Well, well, kid. You’ve got me there. Though, if you want to see one of her funny reactions that will most likely convince you that I am courting her when I am definitely not, then here she comes,” I said, waving behind me.

“Wha-” Yamada yelped as Treia walked up behind me, Mia looking detested in her arms.

I turned around and grinned wider. “Grew tired of my adorable Mia?”

“That is an understatement. She somehow got into the kitchens,” Treia hissed, dropping Mia into my lap, where she squirmed around, trying to get in a comfortable position.

I nodded. “I can see how that would be a problem.”

The group of five looked between me and Treia, dumbfounded at our casual conversation. Treia looked over each of them, confused.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asked, quickly changing her posture.

“Definitely, but Yama here has a question for you,” I responded.

“Don’t you dare, Yamanda,” I heard Yamada’s mother Yor, hiss at Yamada under her breath.

Yamada had already collected herself, however, and gave Treia a pensive look before nodding. “Jason is courting you, right?”

For a solid five seconds, Treia processed this question, her face a mask of confusion. Then she realized that Yamada was serious and her face began to grow red and she took half a step back, stuttering.

“W-w-what?” she said, clearly thinking as rapidly as her small amount of Intelligence let her. “Where did you hear that?!”

Yamada shrugged. “Just asking,” she said. “So, he is, right?”

“NO! I mean, no. Not at ALL- STOP LAUGHING, JASON!” Treia yelled at me and Mia as we rolled around, laughing.

Treia kicked my side multiple times, clearly trying not to yell at me again. The group of five stared, confused, before they all started to laugh as well.

“There you have it, boys and girls, he’s not courting her! Definitely!” The human Man, Eron, said loudly.

Treia whimpered, kicking me again. “I hate you so much, Jason.”

I grinned up at her before lightly kicking her shoe, causing her to shriek as she fell on top of me. She flailed on top of me, yelling profanities as the entire group laughed at us.

“GODS DAMN YOU, JASON!” She hissed, hitting my chest with her fist, hurting herself more than me.

I laughed, happier than I had been in a while. I guess that this life was becoming more normal to me. I… like it.