After a grueling day of tortu- training, I mean, I retired to my room, Mia already sleeping in my arms. I listened to her breath for a little while before I sighed and decided to open up the Rune journal and study for a little while.
I tested out small Scripts, seeing how some runes interacted with one another. I found that the Combustion Script, when tethered to an Air Collection Script with a Filter tether set to oxygen, would cause the thing to spit fire like a damned dragon. It took me all of four seconds to light my hair on fire before I turned it off and I patted my head and horns in fear of accidentally burning my hair off.
While this happened, Mia, who was laid on the bed, hardly reacted, probably since I used to do things like this all the time, therefore, she probably wouldn’t wake unless I was genuinely in danger of getting hurt.
After testing out a few more scripts, I leaned back in my chair and looked at Mia.
Huh. She’s still sleeping. I don’t really get why she sleeps so much, though. She’s adorable, though. Can’t lie about that.
As if sensing my thoughts, Mia rolled over and let out a pleased hiss in her sleep. I shook my head and walked over to rub her horn. She rolled around, pressing her horn against my hand, lightning crackling in my hand.
Suddenly, I felt the need to look at something.
Race : Abyss Blizzard Serpent
An evolved (???) form of the Lightning-Ice Draconic Serpent, with far more latent power. Along with greater control over Ice, they can also use Abyss, giving them a host of different abilities to be learned. Normally, Draconic Serpents do not Bond due to prejudice against other beings, who hunt them for their body parts, but, in the rare case that one does, they will protect that Bond with every fiber of their being. One should not underestimate the lengths a Draconic Serpent will go for their Bond.
I smiled, most of this being expected. However, the last part seemed to be… a warning. Why would the System itself warn people of the dangers of a Draconic Serpent? And, more importantly, what did it mean to protect with “every fiber of their being”? It specifically mentioned that. Not with their life. But with their very being.
I shook myself out of my thoughts and settled myself next to Mia, pulling her on top of me, where she usually slept.
Before I went to bed, I had the thought that it was strange that Systie wasn’t here as well…
***
Julia frowned at the paper, the words seeming to walk across the paper and jump off. How did I ever manage this?! This is so boring! I don’t wanna read any more!
Internally, something tried to stop the tantrum from forming, but she couldn’t keep herself from punching the desk and causing a crack to go from the bottom to the top of the table.
She stared at the cracked table before stifling a giggle and hopping from her chair and jumping onto one of her pillows and rolled over her bed a few times. She eventually stopped and looked up at the ceiling in thought.
I feel like I constantly shift from a child’s mind to a Queen’s mind depending on what I’m currently doing. Also, how are they still allowing me to be Queen? I’m a little girl who throws temper tantrums when I don’t wanna do something that overloads my brain. Is this why children are so unruly? Huh…
Now I’m hungry, even though I just ate.
Julia sighed and sat up, looking around to the door, wondering if she should go over to the kitchen for a snack. After debating it for a very long half second, she hopped over to the door and opened it to see Maya, who was clearly about to knock on the door standing there. Maya looked down to the Queen and suddenly took on a frown.
“Y-your Majesty? You’re awake…” she said, sounding slightly nervous.
“Yep! I wanted to go get a snack! Preferably something sweet and sugary!” she said proudly, her mind already thinking of the snacks she could eat.
Maya took a step back before clearing her throat. “About that…”
***
“You can’t be serious,” I mumbled.
General Maya sighed. “I am dead serious. The sugar exports from the southern Wolfkin Kingdom have completely stopped.”
I stifled a mock gasp. Maya, obviously noticing this, bonked me on the head with her sword sheath.
Ignoring this, I said, “So the little Julia had a tantrum and ordered you to find people to figure out what happened to the sugar. Typical. She sure loves her snacks, huh?” I shook my head. “For the sake of Julia’s snacks, I guess I’ll help.”
“Don’t be weird about it, Jason,” Triea grumbled. “You sound like… actually, I won’t finish that thought.”
She was probably about to say that you sound like you’re grooming her, Systie said for her, dodging a slap.
I cringed. “Right. That is probably what it looks like. I should probably spend less time around her.”
Maya shook her head. “She may have a slight point here, but Queen Julia actually enjoys spending time with you, which is a first for her. I’ve never seen her enjoy being around people, even back when she was a child long ago…”
“How long has she been Queen, exactly?” I asked.
Maya seemed to be confused as she counted on her fingers. After a moment, she nodded.
“About four hundred or so years.”
“Huh. I don’t know if that’s a while or not,” I responded, tilting my head.
“Four hundred?” Treia gasped. “Auntie and Uncle haven’t even ruled a hundred!”
I kept back a snort. Whenever Treia was surprised and the subject had anything to do with her aunt and uncle, she’d call them Auntie and Uncle. It was honestly a bit cute. However, I should probably pay more attention-
“You called, my little niece?”
I forced myself not to flinch as I gave the Queen a flat look as she suddenly appeared behind Treia. However, Treia didn’t have any chance and shrieked, jumping away and falling onto the floor.
“No? I swear I heard my Princess say Auntie…”
Treia rolled over and glared at the Queen (Okay, I really need her name). “Wha- what are you even-!”
The Queen simply said, “You’re not going on any little Quest, okay? I know you were going to request to go.”
Treia sat up, bewildered. “What!? Why?”
“You spend too much time with this boy already. I think you need a slight break. You never know when you’ll need it.”
I watched the two of them argue for a moment before looking back at Maya. “I’m assuming that I’ll be working with a team, correct, General?” I asked her.
She nodded. “I’ve already made your team, so you’ll go meet them after this. You’ll find them waiting for you by the barracks. Before that, however, I’ll tell you this: They are each as strong, or stronger than you, so don’t fool around. The shipments of sugar and co. are suspected to have been done by a large-scale thieving Guild, called Gustav’s Vagrants. They’re known for having some very dangerous people on their side. You need to be coordinated with them and not go off and do your own thing, got it?”
I nodded.
“When do we leave?”
“Now.”
New Quest - The Missing Snacks!
Imports of sugar and snacks have been suspiciously absent recently, causing the distress of the now child Queen of Elves. It is suspected that a Thieving Guild by the name of Gustav’s Vagrants (Yeah, I know, a stupid name) is behind this. They are widely known as cowards, though they have many powerful people on their side.
Requirements :
Find the missing shipment (Incomplete)
Deal with the Guild (Incomplete)
Return the sugar to Julia (Incomplete)
Rewards:
Julia’s favor
10 Tier 5 Crystals
Before I could say anything, Treia poked my cheek. I looked at her, trying not to grin at her defeated expression. “Yes?”
“Don’t be stupid, like she said,” she ordered, glowering at me. “Work with people. Not against them.”
I sighed. “Riiiiight. I would never-”
She interrupted me by pressing her lips against mine for a few moments. When she pulled back, she whispered, “I mean it, Jason. Don’t do something dumb again, like you did at the Mayflower Dungeon.”
I blinked, quiet for a few moments while remembering how I almost let Mia die. I sighed after a second. “Right. Understood.”
General Maya slapped the back of my head. “So you listen to her! Not me? You’re a terrible soldier.”
I frowned at her. “Since when was I your soldier?”
She looked at me with a strange expression. “Since when were you not?”
~~~
Mia and I made it to the barracks, looking for our team. When I’d arrived here, I had realized that I never got any description for our team except for that they were waiting for us.
Looking up at Mia, who was on my shoulders, I asked, “What do you think our team’s gonna be like?”
Mia pulled lightly on my ears.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Yeah, I should have expected that. She’s so damned attached to me that she refuses to let anyone get near me.
“Hey, Mia?”
“There’s no need to be so hostile to people around me, y’know. Not everyone is like you-”
“Hey! You!” A loud voice yelled.
I blinked and looked down from Mia to see what looked like a teenage Elf glaring at me from a few meters away. I looked left and right before looking at the girl again.
“Me?” I asked.
Undoubtedly annoyed, she snapped, “Yes! You! You’re Jason, right?”
I shrugged, looked her over for a moment.
She had short blond hair, with a scar going from above her right eye to her chin. She had different colored eyes, one being light blue and the other brown almost like some dogs. She was pretty short, nearly 2/3s my height of something, but I got the feeling she was as or more feisty than Mia.
“Oi! You checking me out?” she snapped. “I’ll let you know-”
“I’m not interested in you, so shove off. Tell me what you want, tiny,” I interrupted, annoyed already.
She took a few steps towards me, clearly trying to be menacing, but with her as short as she was, it wasn’t scary in the slightest.
“Really? You know I’m your senior, right? And your squadmate?” she said, glaring at me.
“Couldn’t care- wait what?” Confused, I looked her over again. “You? Tiny girl? With me? Is this what I get for being unable to not accept Julia’s ‘request?’”
“Hey! Respect the Queen! Don’t act all familiar with her, using her name and all-”
“Merry! Who are you harassing now?” an unfamiliar voice called.
A boy, with dirty blonde hair, glasses, and nearly shining blue eyes came from a corner, wearing light armor and had a sword sheathed at his hip. He saw me and the girl, apparently called Merry, practically toe to toe and chuckled.
“Ah. You must be Jason. And that little girl on your shoulders… is she your daughter?”
I blinked. “Nope, not a chance. This is Miana Andromeda, my Bond. I’m Jason Andromeda. She just decided that my name is hers.”
The boy nodded as he walked over to Merry and lifted her up by the shirt and turned her to face him.
“Hey!” she yelled. “Lemme down! I need to teach him a lesson about respecting your superiors!”
“I’m sorry ‘bout Merry. She’s a bit… competitive, to say the least.” He chuckled again. “Anyways, I’m Henry. This is Merry, my squadmate. You’re new here, so you don’t know how Merry works yet.”
“Whaddya mean ‘how I work’?! I’m a completely normal person, unlike Sir Bozo here!” Merry growled, flailing around.
“Who’re you calling Sir Bozo, Madam Pint?” I grumbled, looking back up at Mia, who was simply watching in interest.
Shaking my head, I looked at Henry. “Anyways, are you the only people on the team? Or is there someone else?”
He shrugged. “We have another member, but she’s gonna meet us later, at the gates.”
I nodded, letting go of one of Mia’s legs to pull on my ear before grabbing it again as she leaned back to watch a bird fly over us.
she said.
I looked up and pointed at the bird. “Strange question, but what is that?” I asked.
Henry looked up and shrugged. “A giant falcon. They’re all over the place lately. It tastes a bit like turkey. I think it’s a wild one.”
I nodded. “Go ahead, Mia.”
Mia hugged my head before jumping off my shoulders and, very unnecessarily, shifting into her full-size Draconic Form to snap the bird up. She floated above for a few seconds, chewing on the bird while giving me a good idea of her current size.
“Jesus Christ, Mia. You’re like the size of two blue whales,” I muttered.
Mia swallowed and flew back down, shifting back into her Humanoid form and landing on my shoulders, clearly satisfied. Merry stared in horror at the sight she’d just witnessed while Henry simply went silent.
~~~
“I heard you loud and clear, Julia,” I grumbled, trying to extract the small Queen from me while Maya watched in exasperation. “Now get off if you want your sugar so badly.”
Julia was on my shoulders pulling on my ears as if that’d do something. “I’m making sure you don’t do something dumb, like go off on your own! You’d do that, according to the Princess.”
“Pish posh. Don’t listen to everything Treia says,” I said. “And- OW! Let go already before I throw you over to the palace, you demon! I’ll get your damn sugar while staying with them! Ow!”
After pulling on my ear one last time, Julia hopped off my shoulders and glared up at me.
“You better. Now go get my snacks, Jason. Shoo!” She waved her hands as if telling off a dog.
I stared at her before pulling on her ear, eliciting a yelp. “I’m not some sort of pet. Now how about you go annoy Treia’s aunt. I’m sure she’ll spoil you anyways.”
With a “Hmph”, Julia stomped off towards the palace as I rubbed my ear, groaning. “Why’d you let her do that, Mia?”
Mia, who was playing around with my cloak, shrugged.
I cringed, knowing that it would’ve been far more painful if Treia had been the one pulling on my ears.
“Sure-”
“The hell was all that?!” Merry interrupted, launching herself onto my back and knocking me to the ground before I could react. “What the hell’s going on between you and the Queen, you-”
I pushed her off me and into a portal, dropping her onto her head next to Maya, who was clearly not willing to do any more than necessary. Merry seemed dazed for a moment before flipping herself over and continuing to glare at me. I shrugged.
“Honestly, I have no idea. But even if I did, why would I tell you of all people?” I snapped back, snorting.
She crossed her arms. “The Queen was on your shoulders! I have a right to know.”
“...How does that give you a right to know?”
Instead of answering, Merry threw herself at me again, but I was ready for it and redirected her into the ground. However, she used her hands to flip up and crashed into my chest, legs first. We rolled across the ground for about three meters before I threw her off me again and jumped onto my feet.
She also landed back on her feet and we glared at one another for a few moments before-
“What the hell is happening here?”
We both looked towards the direction of the voice to see a cloaked figure standing nearby, not even ten feet away where no one had been previously. I froze in place, not letting my face betray my thoughts.
What. The fuck. Where did this person come from and why didn’t I notice them?
Mia was also baffled.
Systie was also mildly surprised.
…Her?
I frowned at the girl, noticing that she almost had no presence. Normally, I could sense people around me, but this girl was almost non-existent. But more importantly-
“Why the hell do you look like you just came back from a damned funeral?” I muttered.
The girl froze in place, seemingly studying me. She then looked at Maya.
“General… is this the person we’re supposed to work with?” she asked.
I took the moment to look over what little I could see of her. She wore a cloak almost like mine with a scarf around her mouth and nose, all of them black. Her eyes were a strange pink, nearly red. From what little I could see of her hair, it was either dyed black or naturally dark.
Systie immediately responded with,
I scrunched up my face and looked slightly away from the two.
I looked at my arms that, indeed, had dark markings on them as Systie grumbled,
“Yes, he is,” Maya sighed. “You’ll have to get used to him. And his Bond is participating in this as well.”
Merry chipped in with, “That tiny girl! Don’t let her size fool you though, she’s a gigantic Dragon-snake thing- Ow! What was that for!?”
Mia had smacked Merry’s arm and yipped something loudly. Henry let out his signature chuckle. “She probably is saying that calling her ‘Dragon-snake thing’ is disrespectful. She’s a Draconic Serpent, right?”
Mia nodded vigorously, glaring at Merry. I looked at Mia and called, “Want a muffin?”
She bounded over to me and snatched the muffin that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere out of my hand and stuffed the entire thing down her throat by unhinging her jaw, which I still hadn’t gotten over how creepy it was.
Spitting out the wrap, she pressed her horn against my hand and purred slightly. I rolled my eyes and lifted the troublemaker up, carrying her with one arm. I looked back to the cloaked girl, who, even while covering up most of her face, was giving me a disdainful look.
“Didn’t need to tell me-”
“Oi! Idiot!” Maya called me. “Where’s the eyeball?”
“...Asleep.”
“Uh huh. Get out here, stupid eye. No need to hide yourself from the team.”
“Seriously, she’s sleeping. Leave Systie be for once,” I snapped, throwing a small ball of platinum at her head.
It bounced off with a bong! and she hissed in pain. “Hey! You know what-”
She appeared before me and was about to hit me over the head, but I kicked her feet out from below her and pulled her arm behind her back, using her own move against her, with a tinge of [Abyss Touch] channeling to keep her from getting up too easily.\
~~~
Ten minutes and some wrestling later, Maya and I were finally done “goofing around”, as Systie said, though Merry had tried to pin me down in the middle of it and-
You know what, I’ll just skip to the important bits.
Anyways, Maya was basically giving us a lecture that she’d clearly recited a thousand times before.
“-and come back with the carts, you damned idiots. Now shoo. I’m annoyed,” Maya dismissed us before walking back to the gates. She stopped after a moment and glared back at me. “And try to do something productive, trainee.”
“Yeah, yeah, mom.”
She snorted and disappeared.
It was quiet for a few moments before Henry cleared his throat. “Right! We should introduce ourselves before we go on! I’ll start! I’m Henry, a Bladescout! I excel in Wind Magic and usually focus on scouting out areas and, when in battle, debuffing enemies!”
Merry snorted. “I’m a Flamepreist, clearly-” She pulled a very spear-like staff decorated with what I assumed was ruby out of thin air that was taller than her. “-and the strongest. I heal people with flames and buff them as well. I can also fight the best, by burning people to the ground.”
I frowned at her. “You? A Priest?”
She stuck her tongue out. “It’s basically a title. I don’t heal with Divinity or whatever.”
“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes.
I took about two seconds, and when the third person didn’t say anything, I shrugged. “I’m Jason, a-”
“-Void Battlemage,” I copied. “I get up close and personal with opponents and wear them down by draining their Mana and slightly debuffing them. I have pretty high defensive capabilities and can resist most things, like poison and venom. I’m susceptible to Divine Mana for some reason though.”
Henry nodded. “Void Battlemage, huh? Can you make portals?”
I nodded. “I can make long distance ones as well. However, I have to both be able to vividly remember the places I’m going though, and have to Mana to even open it. I don’t think I’ll remember this place too well though. I’ve spent most of my Time in the Palace, and you can’t make portals going directly into it.”
“Useful, huh?”
I then pointed up at Mia, who was on my shoulders again. “This is Mia, a Lightning-Ice Draconic Serpent. She can put up some pretty big debuffs with her Skills, like increasing their damage taken and slowing people down by a considerable amount. She doesn’t have too many Skills, but they all hit pretty hard and debuff well. How much can you increase their Damage Taken multiplier again?”
Mia thought for a moment.
“Oh, wow, 0.48? Between the two of us, we can almost make people take twice the damage. Wait, what does your Lightning do?”
She frowned. “Increases Damage Taken and decreases Damage Dealt, huh? Fun.” Henry seemed to hold back a laugh. “You seem to like the idea of Debuffs, huh? Well, then, I should probably tell you about mine. I have one called Gash, that slows people down by 10% and increases their Damage Taken by 0.3. I also have another called Interrupt, which increases Spell Casting time by nearly a second. I have a stackable debuff as well, Blindness, with ten stacks that decreases a person’s visibility by 4% per stack.” Merry seemed to be hooked on the conversation. “My buffs are cool as well, dimwits! I can decrease your Damage taken by 0.3 and increase your Damage dealt by 0.5! I also have another that, when you hit people, you regain 0.5% of your Max Health, which doesn’t sound like a lot on paper, but it also applies to Damage Dealt over time, which is why I synergize well with Amy!” The other girl flinched and looked away. “R-right… I’m Amy. I do Damage Over Time with Poison or Venom, depending on the situation. I only really decrease a person’s poison resistance. Nothing spectacular. I can do more, but none of it’s important.” I held back a frown and shrugged instead. “Sure. Now, we should probably get going.” Merry hmphed and began marching down the path I was told was supposed to be the import and export carriages. “I’ll lead! Let’s go, you bozos!” I shook my head. This was going to be a long few days, huh?