I stretched, looking up from my book on Runes to look down on Mia, who was currently asleep. Smiling, I rubbed her horn for a moment, eliciting a quiet warble before yawning, my jaw splitting in half.
“Ung, that’s still so weird to watch,” Treia said, throwing a paper plane at me.
I snapped it between my jaws and grinned at her. She gave me a disgusted look before shaking her head.
We’d been in the library for the past few days, quite literally. We’d only left to bathe before coming right back to read on whatever subjects we’d found interesting, though we’d spend about an hour trying to figure out more on the Dungeon Break. I’d grown an interest in Runes while Treia had, strangely enough, been reading as many books as she could about Abyssals, trying to find something about her race. When I’d asked what Abyssals had to do with Voidlings, her face had gone red and she’d muttered something about Voidborns.
Mia had not exactly been on the same pace as me. She had been made to learn to read by the Queen, who’d practically dragged her, with my permission, to the library with me and assigned her a Dragon Keeper who wasn’t exactly a fan of her gluttony.
“How do you afford this tiny glutton?” Henry, the Keeper, asked me. “She eats more than any normal Dragon should.”
I shrugged, waving my hands. “She’s a Draconic Serpent.”
“Ah.” He looked over her next lessons for a moment before freezing in place and looking over to me. “Wait, what?!”
Giving him another shrug, I folded up the paper plane and threw it back at Treia. She flinched as it hit her and she glared at me, wiping off her sleeve. She leaned back against my beanbag and grumbled something about me being annoying. I patted her head and she glared at me.
~~~
“Gods, I can finally leave this stuffy castle,” Treia exclaimed, stretching her arms.
I smiled and rubbed her hair, kissing her forehead. She rubbed her head against my chest, grumbling about the horrors of reading in my head. I then looked over to Treia as her spines seemed to stretch with her.
“It’s not that stuffy. I like it,” I responded.
“You live in an apartment. Of course you like it,” she said back. “Also, I’m going to be assigning Quests to the Guilds, including the Tamers-”
“Keepers.”
“-so you can get something out of it. I dunno how much will be paid, but it’ll be a good amount per kill,” she continued, ignoring me.
“Hm.”
We looked over at Mayflower, each of us thinking our own thoughts. I snuck a glance over to Treia, who was uncomfortably close to me. She’d been quieter recently, though she sure didn’t hold back from speaking her mind whenever I annoyed her. However, this did not stop me nor Mia from being a bit wary of how close she was to me all of a sudden.
She stuck her tongue out at me, Mia style. I shook my head before we began to walk (well, not Mia, since she’s a lazy Serpent) towards the city. Treia seemed to be deep in thought, a scowl showing on her face.
“Hey, Jason?” she suddenly said after a few moments of silence.
“Hm?”
“What exactly happened for you and me to be all the way at the Capital and my aunt-”
I grinned. “Slow down, kiddo. Can’t answer all your questions in one sitting. Let’s start simple. When you began your oh, so elegant transformation, your not so elegant aunt panicked. A lot. She first tried to curse me, then she disappeared just to rip open a portal and grab you before rushing back in. The portal then closed, but not before Mia had somehow crashed through the portal. She somehow managed to recover faster than you and rush through the portal after you.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the horrified look on Treia’s face. “I also learned that Mia and I share Mana.”
Treia nodded. “That’s pretty rare between Bonds, but not unheard of.”
“Seeing as you’re a Princess, I’m going to assume that’s rarer than you being born.”
Rolling her eyes, she quipped, “More like rarer than me meeting you.”
“Ah, pish posh. Details, love.” I waved my hand at her as her face went from smug to as red as an apple.
She looked up at me with a strangely hopeful expression before realizing something. She somehow went a darker shade of scarlet before turning away from me and ignoring the rest of my teasing.
Ah, this is the life.
~~~
“Something is really wrong,” I said nervously, jaw clicking. “The ambient Mana is skyrocketing.”
“N-no, shit r-really?” Treia snapped, trying to keep as close to me as possible as I tried to force as much Mana away from me as possible.
I’d never had a good handle on manipulating Mana, but Mia had given me a four second crash course and, as far as I was concerned, I was the master of Mana right now as I attempted to keep Treia from dying from the shit-ton of Mana that was currently floating around.
Right, right. I should explain how exactly we got into this situation. Let’s start… with the city. So, we had originally planned to walk directly into the city, however, a certain Dragon was having none of that the moment she sensed the sheer amount of Mana in the air. She’d waltzed off into the forest without listening to a single word either me or Treia said, going directly towards the area we’d presumed the Dungeon was.
“Damned Serpent,” I hissed. “I’m dunking this kid in boiling water if she doesn’t get back here.”
“Wouldn’t that be child abuse?” Treia asked.
“With her stupid amount of Endurance? No. It’ll just feel very uncomfortable. She’s fine with baths in hot water, but-”
“If you don’t mind me asking, how much Endurance does she have?”
I clicked my tongue, rubbing it between my two jaws. “Nearly one and a half thousand. I have no clue how she has 200% Effective Stat for both Endurance and Vitality, but it’s so unholy, my Demigod friend would probably fail to beat her down.”
Treia looked at me, flabbergasted. I rubbed her hair, grinning as she glared back at me, though the way her spines wiggled, she wasn’t actually annoyed.
“You know a Demigod?” she asked, not moving my hand like usual but instead letting me rub her hair, messing it up in the process.
I lifted my hand off of her and nodded. “Yep, she’s…”
Treia’s face darkened the moment the word “she’s” left my mouth. I frowned. I was about to question it when there was a crash and a familiar hiss from ahead.
“Well, well, well,” I said. “Seems we’ve found our Dragon.”
***
Mia felt bad about running off, but she could tell that the Dark Gene was about to open up and release things that even her beloved Bond couldn’t hope to fight.
She thought for a moment. Dark Gene? No, Bond said Done Gone? Dune Good? Dune Gene? It then clicked in her mind. Bond said Dungeon!
Her intellect could never be matched, yes, yes. She was the smartest snake in the world. She kept running until she came by a bear that looked like it was made of rock. Knowing her Bond’s hatred for bears, she blasted the thing in the face and hissed triumphantly as it broke into pieces.
She didn’t respond and instead pushed it to the back of her mind as she ran faster, the Mana density growing higher and higher, until it finally seemed to stop growing. She stopped in her tracks and frowned. This was where it was supposed to be, right? But…
“Are you made of solid Mythril or something?” she snapped at him, her actual emotions all over her scent. Treia, the great feeder, wanted to-
“Psshh. More like diamond,” her Bond said, annoyed. “But, Mia, what do you mean, ‘No Dungeon’?”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
He stopped, considering her. “You’re right… this place has the densest Mana in the forest, but…”
Treia looked at Bond, giving him a thoughtful look. “We- er, I’ve been thinking about that. In theory, dungeons follow their main element, if they have that. This is an Earth Dungeon, so it may be, well, in the Earth.
“Then, how in the hell are we supposed to-”
Before her Bond could finish, a deep sense of dread washed over Mia. She was about to run over to her Bond when the ground below them ripped open and the world began to shake.
***
“Ah crap,” I hissed as the ground below us began to break and Mana flowed like a hurricane, nearly condensing on my skin like sweat. “I think it’s about time to take our leave, right?”
Glaring at me as the ambient Mana levels rose like an overflowing dam, Treia grabbed onto me as I ran back with Mia in my arms trying to get as far away as possible. I vaulted over a recently fallen tree as a series of roars sounded behind us. I could faintly hear Treia muttering some sort of prayer as I kicked off the ground and into a tree. I climbed quickly before throwing Mia up into the air, where she shifted into her Draconic Form and dove down to grab my shirt.
Treia shrieked as Mia threw us onto her back and shot forward with enough speed to cause a sonic boom.
I was about to reprimand her before I froze.
She squawked in protest, slowing down to turn and glare at me. Treia held onto me for dear life, face pressed against my back.
“How do you do this?!” she whimpered. “I now understand why Xaila hates heights.”
I looked over to Mia and she gave Treia a grin with her two fangs.
“What? Wait-” She cut herself off with a shriek louder than she’d made before as Mia shifted back into her Humanoid Form.
~~~
Mia glared at Treia’s mother, who in turn gave her an exasperated look as she withheld the plate of salmon from her.
“You know your punishment; don’t think your Bond didn’t tell me that you decided to run off into the forest on a whim,” she said. “I’m not going to spoil you.”
Mia turned to Xaila hopefully, who shrugged before giving me a suspicious look. “How did you two even survive in all that Mana? I could feel it from here,” she asked. She then looked over to Treia, who laid down on a nearby cushion, groaning in pain. “Well, how did she survive?”
I frowned and looked over to the Princess, clicking my jaw. “Dunno. I’m still not sure if she’s actually alive.”
“I’m still in the Party, dimwit!” Treia hissed.
“I prefer ‘Jason, Prince of Logic’.”
“More like Prince of I-Want-to-Murder-You,” she muttered. “At least help me drink my water.”
“And have you burst into flames because he’s within four feet of you?” Xaila teased.
Treia went red as she glared at her sister. “I was asking you, not the Prince of Stupidity.”
Mia gave Treia a long look before letting out a huff and sitting down on the other side of the room, glaring at me. I rolled my eyes at her before shoving more of the heavenly spaghetti into my mouth.
“This is great,” I said after I swallowed. “A far cry better than what I can make.”
“I sincerely doubt you can cook,” Xaila said, giving me a smug look.
I looked at her in mock offense. “Of course I can cook! I’m cultured!”
Xaila also went red as she glared at me from Treia’s side. I grinned back before putting more of the noodles in my mouth.
“I’m a bit confused though. How have you never noticed the Dungeon before?” I asked their mother. “And what exactly should I call you? Madam Kia? No, that sounds weird. But Mrs. Kia doesn’t sound respectful enough…”
Their mother gave me a pensive look. “Well, only the Academy has the required technology* to sense Dungeons,” she responded. (*The actual words she said sounded like it was in a different language. I assumed it was kinda like how some words we say are actually Latin or whatever. This is just the rough translation Systie gave me).
“According to Treia, you’re a teacher there,” I responded.
She gave me a half-hearted smile. “Well, the Head didn’t let us use it, per the council’s request. However, when the ambient Mana began to rise, their father, eh, pestered the council. We then were able to get a rough location. However, that was before you showed yourself.”
I shrugged. “Well, more things to kill, more Levels for Treia; I don’t think I can get as much… what do you call whatever makes you gain Levels?”
“Essence?”
“Right, Essence from killing things as Treia can right now. She’s nearly Tier 3… I think,” I said, looking over to Treia, seeing her nod. “However, until her Mana Sickness or whatever it’s called is over, I shall be kicking in the skulls of any bears I see.”
Rolling her eyes, Treia asked, “What’s it with you and bears?”
“Their species were the first thing I fought and nearly killed my friend. I think I have good reasons. Now, I shall be leaving Mia with you since she clearly is angry with me. Bye, bye, good people, excluding Treia.”
“Hey!”
Mia squawked as I left the room and ran after me.
***
“Come on, I can fight!” the annoying boy whined, the one who the commander assumed was his sister nodding along, looking giddy.
The commander snorted. “Mhm. And I’m still nineteen. I don’t need children fighting along with my soldiers,” she said sarcastically. “Now shove off. I don’t have any need for aspiring Adventurers to get killed trying to fight. Against a Dungeon break.”
He looked at her with a pout. “Come on, I can prove myself somehow.”
She shook her head. “If you had a decently powerful aura, I’d believe you. But-”
He looked at her, bewildered. “But what if someone gets hurt from that? I read that if your aura is sufficiently strong enough you could injure someone’s mind temporarily.”
She frowned. Who is this boy to think… you know what, I’ll humor him. “Know what, kid, release your aura. Let’s see if you’re all talk or what.”
“Before that, you’re at least Tier 2, right?”
She snorted in answer. Happy enough, he did as she asked. Her eyes widened as the most powerful aura she’d ever experienced poured out of the boy as he grinned. She took multiple steps back and even some people who were readying themselves looked over in horror.
“W-wha- the girl! What do you think- huh?” she trailed off as the young girl next to him looked up to the boy, seemingly unimpressed.
“Hey, don’t be like that. I’m not being rude. She asked. I showed,” he chided as if she’d spoken in his mind. He looked back at the commander as he reeled himself in and his grin widened. “So… Can I join?”
The commander gulped as she nodded.
Who the hell is this powerhouse?
***
“Eh, she’s okay. I didn’t even let out my full aura,” I responded nonchalantly. “She’ll recover.”
“Ding, ding, ding! Right on the target, Mia! However… I dunno if it’s a good thing that I’m okay with that. I’ve begun to realize that…”
Mia patted my hand before grabbing it and leading the way, giddy to hit something. We walked up a few flights of stairs, not tired in the least. Once we finally got to the top of the wall-
“Holy shit, that’s a lot of monsters,” I breathed.
The forest ahead seemed to be ripped to pieces, trampled, torn up, you name it. Looking over it, I could see the hundreds, if not thousands of monsters. Just looking over them with [All Seeing Eye of the Abyss], they were relatively low Level, around the 30s to 40s though they were all Earth or Stone based, with the occasional Plant based ones.
I flinched at Mia’s yelp and looked to the soldiers before my blood ran cold. The highest Level I could see was Level 27.
Oh shit. They are not prepared, I thought, rushing to the edge and jumping.
***
Leah yawned, leaning back in her padded chair while trying to figure out what she’d gotten from her Quest. She held what looked like a compass but the needle didn’t point to where she knew north was, and whenever she tried to [Identify] it, she’d gotten the same message.
The Overworlds : Mayflower
What exactly is this thing pointing me towards? And why do I feel like I should follow it?
Leah hadn’t technically been confined in her room, but it sure felt like she wasn’t allowed to leave. Not many of the Valkyries were very pleasant to be around, due to their will to follow all the rules nearly to the letter. However, Char had been pretty nice due to the fact Leah had practically spilled her heart out to her.
Leah grimaced. She was never going to underestimate alcohol again. She’d thought that with her Vitality, she’d be able to easily avoid getting drunk. However, she found that she was so weak to it, she’d nearly been half drunk by her second bottle. And of course, she had to mention Jason.
What idiocy.
“Uh, Leah?” the part Wolf-kin in question said warily. “Are you okay? Your aura is kinda…”
Leah yelped and pulled herself back in, ignoring the giggles of Char. She gave the girl a mock glare. “I was simply thinking! I didn’t notice!”
“About what?”
“How stupid I was to underestimate alcohol,” she grumbled.
Char nuzzled herself closer to Leah. “Mhm. That was pretty dumb.”
In a matter of two months or so, Leah had grown to care about Char far more than she knew she should. However, Char had shared the sentiment. In the Overworlds, as some called the actual world, it’d been a week or some. Being in a separate space from the rest of the worlds where your aging was slowed due to dimensional dilation (as explained by Char, to Leah’s befuddlement) to train was something she both hated and loved.
On one hand, she had to deal with people who disliked her since she was favored by the gods and had many more advantages than what others would consider normal.
On the other hand, however…
Leah kissed Char’s forehead while giving the Wolf-kin a mock glare. “You’re not supposed to agree with me, dimwit.”
Instead of answering, Char simply kissed her back. Pulling Char closer, Leah relaxed.
I would’ve never guessed that this would be how I got over Jason, Leah thought. Whatever. That stupid compass can wait; I’ve got something else to entertain me now. We can worry about whatever this Mayflower is later.
***
Systie stretched her lips in a poor imitation of a smile.
“Yeah, that’s not gonna cut it,” the Manager grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Try again.”
Systie scowled. How am I supposed to do it then? How do humans smile so easily? She pouted.
“They’re humans. They’re social creatures,” he responded, chewing on some more licorice. “And don’t say, ‘There are many types of social creatures, dimwit, but they don’t smile.’”
Systie closed her mouth, glaring at her Manager. How does he always know what I’m going to say? She thought, watching him eat.
“You practically project your thoughts, y’know. Not that hard to decipher them.”
She looked at him in horror as he read her thoughts. He stared at her seriously before bursting out laughing.
What?! Systie demanded. How can you-
“Your face!” her Manager wheezed. “Priceless… by the gods!” He laughed uncontrollably as Systie stared at him in utter confusion. “Did you really… really think I could read your mind?”
Embarrassed, she summoned a Black Horned Stone Beast that was the size of a few trucks and threw it at him as his eyes widened and he scrambled back from her, forgetting his obnoxiously high Level for a few moments.
Serves him right, Systie thought gleefully. Take a rhino to the face.
Was Systie petty? Yes. Did she care? No.
I’ve got more where that came from! She yelled, not holding back and throwing half a dozen more as they chased him down.