Huh? That surname...
Anyway, I got 3 points in DEX and 1 point in SPI for this level. I think I've cast too many complex spell that my DEX is eating up my Stat Limit too fast. The maximum possible STR for my current level is just 17 now. And where is that SPI come from? I don't remember dealing any magic damage.
As I check my status panel in front of me, the garden reaches the corner of my right eye. I dismiss the panel then jump down and find a shade in the garden. A line of trees along the stone-paved road would do. Because they aren't taller than me, I have to crawl close to the ground so my wings could avoid the canopy. My scales return to black but my belly is probably brown by now. Ah, it's so much better staying in the shade.
Some guards run into the garden, pointing their spears at me.
"What is that?" A voice is calling over from a far.
"A black dragon is in the royal garden!" A guard immediately reports back.
"Non sense! No dragon could fly into the capital unnoticed!" The voice pauses for a moment. "Could it be?"
A man in decorated armor run into garden then stare at me who is laying on my belly. To avoid unnecessary problem, I move my tail to under the Sunlight without looking back.
"Yo. Origo the Origin Dragon. Your king is coming to talk.. business with me, so scram." I say then shoo them away with my hand motion.
The guards seem to be flabbergasted by the sudden event. Their king comes before they could fall back. I look at the three men group from before, behind them is a single Holy Knight. I thought they wouldn't let someone so powerful like those Lv60 into their castle, but it seems the priest managed to have one of his knight get in. Well, in front of the crowd, they're MY knights, but they don't act like that when we're alone.
"Prepare a table and four seat!" Water orders the guard.
"I don't need a seat." The knight says and walks over to stand next to my right claws. He secretly throws a glare at me then bows. "Your Holiness." He could act like that right away, how annoying!
I look down on the king's group as they have their seat. The king signals and dismiss all the guards. The guards glance at me before leaving. I wonder if it was a concerned or regretted glance.
After settling down on their seat, the king and the man in blue look up at me while the man in green stares at the knight.
"So.." The king tries to start the conversation again. Well, he seems to be a decent guy, so I won't make things hard for him.
"I don't like going around leaking people secret, so my condition is 'relatively' simple." I stress at the word 'relatively'. "You probably understood my current situation too." I grab my right wrist with my left claw, hinting at the cuff on the platform.
"That.." The king frowns.
"We've got it." The man in blue says with a slight bow. Ah, this man is smart.
I throw a glance at the knight, he doesn't have any strange action, it means he didn't understand my hint. That's good.
"Other than helping me solving that situation, I want to learn about this World. History is too boring, so start with Geography." I say then nod. "That's all."
The king is still frowning, but soon as he notices the man in blue's nod, he ceases his confused look and also nods.
"Understood, Sir." The king says.
"Okay. I don't like small talk, so if you don't have anything else to say, you can scra.. leave." I say with a sleepy voice, even pretending to yawn but I soon notice that a dragon's yawn isn't as comfortable as a human's.
----------------------------------------
Outside the royal castle. On the street of the capital.
The group of nine knights with a priest in front is walking down the street. After the parade, the street has returned to its usual robustness. It's time of the biggest festival of the year; further more, He also came this year.
The crowd split to let the knights walk through. Their eyes filled with envy and respect to the knights. They knew about the "Blessing", but only people with Holy as their highest aptitude could join the Origin Temple.
The priest's face has a hint of anger. He has never thought that Origo could manage a deal with the king to escape.. No, that's not right. 'Escape' makes it sound like they are imprisoning Him. 'Stray' would be the right word.
The nine knights walk down the street with a solemn face. They couldn't read Origo's mind or intention, and they have public image to maintain. The platform was returned to the air so they could travel light with only their equipment.
The priest glances at the twin-bladed pole. After Origo hides himself in the castle, the only thing they could use for their advantage right now is the wolf spirit...
The group soon reaches the Inn prepared for them. They wanted to stay close to Origo, but the best they could do is regulating one knight to 'protect' Him.
A soldier and a kid, both have brown hair, are standing on the side of the Inn's entrance, seemingly wait for something. As the group comes close, the soldier steps forward, looking at the knights left and right like searching for something.
"Felix! Is Felix here?" That soldier suddenly calls after searching for a few second.
The knights talk among themselves. The priest frowns. Why do more troubles come knocking at him at this moment?
"Why are you looking for Felix?" One of the knight steps over and asks.
"I am Ligurrito, his brother. I and his son here, Bened, are looking for him. He is in your squad right? Where is he?"
The knight looks at the priest and receives permission from a nod. He drags the soldier away from the kid and whispers to him something. Ligurrito's eyes flash with a hint of sadness as he looks back at the kid.
The priest, after thinking for a moment, bends down and gently rubs the boy's head.
"Young child, do you want to meet the Origin Dragon?" He says with a gentle tone...
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
----------------------------------------
Aurora's South Gate.
A group of two lizards and a human is casually walking toward the gate. The city guards look at them curiously. It's the Origin Festival, and intelligent beings of various races regularly come and go. However, this is the first time they see human and scaled folks in a group. Human and other furred beastmen, yes. But scaled folks tend to travel in their own group. The reason could be traced to the bandits who hunt scaled folks for their scales. Although only Dragon Scale could be used as currency, there are still counterfeit moneys.
----------------------------------------
Ever since their spectacular failure in rescuing the Origin/Genesis Dragon; Rector, Neon and Argon have been moving at their own pace toward the capital. Rushing in was no longer an option as the difference in power was still too great. They decided to simply join the festival and look for another chance.
Argon is now a [Lv32 Lacertian]; Neon is still Lv32 and Rector, with the help of the two lizards, is now a [Lv24 Human]. Their level could be considered the upper tier of average, but in this city, they could easily blend in.
"I've told you, that monster was too much for us to handle." It's Rector.
"I said that Wind Walk would dismiss if you attack, but you still initialized your attack skill at meters away from it." Argon complains.
"Ini..init..." Neon is still practicing pronouncing any strange words he heard.
As their group passes by the gate, they look no different than a group of adventurer just came back from hunting monsters, so the guards pay them no more attention.
After getting into the city, they ask for the current situation. The Origin Dragon is now in the royal castle and the holy knights have to stay in an inn. Without the knights, their 'mission' would be more easy; but sneaking into the royal castle where royal guards are everywhere, it's not easy.
"Let's just stay at the same inn as them." Rector suggests and Argon nods.
"In?" Neon innocently asks. Rector has learned to ignore the older lizard's poor vocabulary.
----------------------------------------
Aurora's Royal Castle.
"Your Majesty, I believe the Origin Dragon is being.. protected against his own will." Vafer was confused when he saw the cuff on the platform, and Origo's words bring him the truth.
"Protected? I'm sure those bastard is using that dragon to gain 'Blessing'. Look at them, Lv60! How is that even possible?" Ingen who didn't believe in Gods, Blessing nor Lv60, has seen reality in front of him.
The king is back to his study room with his trusted minister. He is thinking about what Origo and Vafer said.
"Despite how simple it sounds, his condition is.. troublesome." The king frowns.
"But doesn't that also help our first objective?" Vafer says in low voice. "We planned to start the rumor after they left, but now I believe we should push the plan forward. Archiving our objective and gaining His favor at the same time..."
----------------------------------------
I simply laid down and pretended to sleep, yet why I get to this realm again? An endless space of blackness, these deities really want to isolate me, huh? Anyway, how to wake up?
"I'm going to kill myself." I say then open my eyes. That's weird. Even without her, I would still wake up when I say something dangerous.
"I'm not going to let you do that." A voice travels from my right. It's not the high priest but rather one of the knights. Is he a different one from last time?
Ignoring the knight, I look around the garden. Judging by the sun position, it's going to be night soon. That's weird, I didn't stay in Origin Realm for that long. I think I should avoid sleeping from now on.
"Are you ignoring me?" The knight seems to be annoyed.
"Oh, so you talk like that when we are alone."
"Huh?" The knight seems to be confused. So it's a different knight from the noon. I really couldn't care to remember their names nor faces.
Ignoring him again, I roll onto my wings. The trees are on my left and the knight is on my right, so I decide to roll onto him. However he swiftly steps backward to avoid me huge form. It's not like my puny 6 Atk could do much damage.
"What are you doing? I've got dirt all over your body!"
"Am I all brown now?" I ask in a playful voice.
"No, dirt doesn't have enough energy to change your color."
"Oh..? That reminds me, I want to experiment with my scale." I say then reach out my arm at him. "Could you snap a scale out for me? My Def (9) is higher than my Atk."
"I.. I wouldn't dare." The knight frantically says. So the rule of not hurting me extend this far. "If you want, we could lend you the one of your Temple."
"The Temple has my scale?" I ask confusedly. "How did they get it?"
"You shred a scale every millennium. Further more, there were circumstance when you get hurt in the past. The total amount of Origin Scale not on your body is about twenty."
"Silly human... Anyway, do my scales still retain their property without me?" This is the one I'm most curious about. I want to see if I could use my scale as money. Priceless is pretty much worthless if no one dare to receive it.
"Yes. It's the only tool to tell one element's Aptitude. Sometime hair and eyes's color could tell it, but.. Look at me. I'm Holy but my hair and eyes are light blue."
"I see." I couldn't see his eyes, but his hair is indeed light blue. I want to touch him to confirm but I refrain myself from doing so.
"Two or three others and the priest have white hair, while the rest have colorful hair... Oh right, the son of Felix, the white haired knight you killed a few days ago, is coming to see you."
"WHAT?!" I suddenly feel a stomachache listening to that.