Chapter 6 | Expand and Contract

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"A quest? Elaborate."

"I'm looking for a place to call home!" she smiled, showing off her pearly whites. "It's a bit vague I know, but you don't have to know the whole story. But you can tag along if you want. I'm sure it'll be fun!"

I thought about her offer for a bit. It sounded harmless enough, and I did have nowhere to go. Maybe she'd lead me to a village since my luck wasn't exactly the best at the moment.

"What do you mean by home?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Anywhere I can call home," she answered, shrugging. "It could be a castle or a small cottage in the woods, or even a cave."

"Are you running from something?"

She chuckled nervously. "You could say that. But enough of that. Will you join me?"

"I might tag along for now. But I can't guarantee anything."

"Great! My name's Lyra, by the way," she introduced, reaching her hand out. "And you were, uhh, Astralos?"

"Astralos Aeternalis. It's a pleasure."

"So... are we gonna stay here and talk or do something else? I don't wanna stand around, staring at dead bodies," she grimaced.

"You're the one who interrupted me."

"Oh. I'll be cooking these up then. Could you grab some firewood and start a campfire? Some sticks or dry grass could work. I'll get to work as soon as possible."

"Yeah, sure."

I went out to gather some wood and brought it back, laying it in a circle. Then, I grabbed a few branches of wood and began to rub them against each other.

"Wait, I got this," Lyra interrupted, grabbing my arm. She put her fingers on one of the wood chunks and channeled her mana. After a second, the firewood began to rapidly expand and contract until ignition. A flame sparked, and a bright, roaring blaze appeared, its heat searing the air.

"Huh. You're a sorcerer?"

"A lot of people mistake me for one," she shrugged. "To be honest, I don't even know what class I belong in. I'm quite versatile, even though I only have two skills."

"How did you produce the flames?"

"The same way you just tried—through friction!" Lyra exclaimed. "My two innate skills are compression and decompression. As their name may suggest, I can expand and compact anything that comes into touch. Fire can easily be created by applying the two abilities simultaneously."

"Impressive. You seem to be knowledgeable. How high is your level?"

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Uhh, twenty," she answered. "Same for my age. I've just begun my journey and I never really fought anything when I was younger. What about you?"

"Great question. I'm not answering that."

Lyra puffed her cheeks. "Fine, fine, you secretive man."

We chopped the deer's carcass and placed it above the flames to start cooking. A mouth-watering aroma wafted through the air as the fat sizzled, dripping onto the burning logs. My stomach rumbled in anticipation, and Lyra laughed, saying she was feeling the same way.

"It's almost done," she remarked.

The meat slowly turned from red to brown, and its juices trickled down the sides. Lyra reached in and pulled out the meat. Its surface was scorched and covered in soot, but underneath the crust, the meat looked perfectly cooked.

"Oh, you're pretty good at this," I complimented, nodding in approval.

"Thank you. It's something I picked up when I was little."

"I see." I tucked back in and began devouring the deer. "So, do you know where the nearest village is? I'm getting a bit bored here."

"I have some clues. We'll be heading east."

"And where will we arrive?"

"The city of Alacrya. Have you heard of it? It's the capital city of the country Etril. The housing is great, so I'd like to check that out."

"No. That's not really my expertise," I confessed.

"It's quite a popular spot," she replied, taking another bite of the venison. "People love their houses and mansions and stuff. The buildings are really high up and everything. Even the poor can afford semi-decent homes."

"That's not really my thing, but I'll consider it."

"Okay, fair enough," Lyra conceded, shrugging. "So, why were you wandering alone in the forest?"

"I was just taking a stroll."

"Through the forest?" she questioned.

"I was following a trail. It led me there."

"Right... and you ended up here. In the middle of nowhere."

"Yup."

"Okay, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. No need to be stubborn."

"I'm not being stubborn," I denied, raising my hands.

"Yes, you are," Lyra giggled, her cheeks glowing red. "But whatever. Are you gonna come with me to Alacrya, yes or no?"

"I don't have anything better to do, so sure."

"Great! We'll head there first thing in the morning!"

After our meal, Lyra began clearing a patch of the grass for the both of us. She gathered a pile of leaves, twigs, and fallen branches. Then, she took the cloth off her waist, tied it into a knot, and threw it on top of the heap.

"Come," she invited, motioning for me to join her.

"Why do we need so much cushion? Can't we just sleep on the ground?"

"Eh? Don't be such a stick-in-the-mud. That can't be comfortable!"

I shook my head and sat next to her. Lyra patted the space next to her and waited.

"What now?" I asked, staring blankly at the makeshift bed.

"This is where we sleep," Lyra said.

"You huma... I mean, fair enough. Not that I care, but I thought people usually made a bigger deal out of this."

"Nope. Not for me," she explained. "And I'll be going to sleep now. I'm too tired. And don't touch me, alright?"

"Sure."

With that, she wrapped herself up and rolled over, her back facing me.

"Weird stuff," I mumbled to myself as I closed my eyes. Now that I think about it, I haven't really gotten much rest since I left my golden cavern. Sleep would definitely help.

I was about to drift off when I felt a soft touch on my shoulder. I glanced down and noticed that Lyra had snuggled close to me, her body pressing up against mine. A soft breathing sound was coming from her mouth. She was already deep asleep.

I rolled to the side, facing her, and watched her sleep. Her expression was peaceful, and her features were relaxed. I reached over and gently brushed aside a lock of hair that had fallen over her face.

I still don't understand humans well. They're much different from what I had seen with the eyes of a dragon. I guess there was more to learn than just slaying and pillaging.

Then I rolled away, closing my eyes again. She was probably gonna complain if we were too close, but at this point, I couldn't care less. Her innate skill sounded incredible. Compressing and expanding things must be a pretty versatile ability. If used well, it could probably make an admirable combo with me. Perhaps it could be interesting to form an organization for world domination down the line. A dragon's got to dream big, after all.

And with that, sleep finally embraced me.