I sat in my bed that night, looking up at the ceiling. My room didn't have a clock, so I had no idea what time it was. Dad had already tucked me into bed earlier, and he usually wouldn't return after he did that.

I waited for a familiar sound. Not so far from my room, the door to my parents' bedroom opened and closed with a click. I knew it was time.

Sorry, the demon king wouldn't wait.

I got out of my room and sneaked to the living room. In the living room was a small cupboard. Mom’s wands, a nature wand and a fire wand, were inside. I used the fire wand for my adventure the previous night, so I decided to use the nature wand this time.

As I picked up my wand, I heard faint footsteps coming toward the living room. I hadn't heard my parents' bedroom door opening, so this might be…

“... Fortis? What are you doing?” Maya asked, looking a bit sleepy. I brought my index finger to my mouth.

“Shh! They might wake up.”

Maya tilted her head. “Your parents?”

I nodded. She inched closer.

“Why are you keeping this a secret?”

“My parents never allowed me to go out during the night.”

It was a complete one-eighty from my previous life. Back then, I could disappear one night and my parents would never go looking for me. Back then, I longed for the warmth of my parents. Now, I miss that freedom.

I still loved my parents though, but yeah, sorry Mom and Dad.

Maya's eyes went down to the nature wand I held.

“You're going out to fight monsters?”

“Yeah.”

“I want to come.”

“Are you sure?”

Maya nodded resolutely. “I don't need a wand to use magic.”

Maya, being a fire dragon, could use a variety of fire attacks without needing a wand. That said…

“You can do that in your human form?”

“I'll change into a dragon.”

“Don't do that.”

“Why?”

What do you mean, why? I'm still a young man! And you're a cute girl!

The process of the transformation itself aside, Maya being in her dragon form would catch a lot of attention. I couldn't risk her being caught.

“Is there anything you can do in your human form?”

“... I can punch, strongly.” She did some shadow boxing in the air.

Being a dragon, her human form was stronger than us regular humans. Still…

“Are you sure?”

“I'll be fine.”

“If you say so.”

We sneaked out of the house. I breathed the outside air in relief after we left the building. The cold air tickled my skin, so I decided to move as fast as possible to counter it. Maya followed behind me.

We sneaked past the village guards and headed straight for the forest.

“So this is what a night in a human village feels like.”

“Do your parents not let you go out at nights?”

“They're not as strict, but other than getting drunk, there's nothing we can do in our village.”

“... You're allowed to drink?”

She tilted her head. “Is that bad?”

It had been several years, but the memory of my death was still fresh in my mind.

“Please don't get drunk.”

“... Why?”

“Just… just don't.”

I really don't want to deal with drunkards.

Maya didn't pursue it any further. Well, luckily for me, her human form looked a lot like a regular child, so I doubt people would let her drink. I could only hope that she wouldn't throw a tantrum over it.

We headed deeper into the thick trees that covered the land. We ran into a monster in the shape of a deer not long after we entered. Unfortunately for that deer, I need my magic energy.

I painted a symbol Thorns in my vision. Sharp thorns stabbed right through the unsuspecting deer’s body, killing it.

“... You're ruthless.”

“I don't want to hear that from the dragon that almost burned our village.”

“That was an accident.”

“Why did you come here with me in the first place?”

“I want to fight monsters. Fight, not murder in cold blood.”

I couldn't believe a dragon was saying that to me.

“They end up dead, anyway.”

“At least they had a chance to fight.”

“Well, how about you show me what you're capable of, then?”

I pointed toward a black tiger roaming in between the trees. The tiger had already noticed us. I could sense its gaze at me.

Gaze sensing is a high-level ability, though. I wonder how high I am now.

In this world, magic irregularities formed copies of living animals. These monsters are more aggressive and stronger when compared to their regular counterparts. The magic irregularities could also make some differences in size and shape.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

From the pitch black aura emanating from the tiger, I could tell this wasn't a regular enemy.

Maya didn't seem the slightest bit fazed, though. She stepped forward with confidence. I sensed the weight of the tiger’s gaze shifted toward her. The tiger readied its fang, while Maya prepared her fists.

The tiger rushed forward, sprinting above the foliage. The sudden attack would take a regular person off guard, but neither of us was regular. A single punch from Maya sent it flying toward a tree, its back smacking the trunk. Maya rushed forward in a follow-up attack, pummeling it with punches.

The speed and weight of her attacks pinned the tiger down, and the tiger couldn't react. It died not long after, its body dissipating into the air, leaving nothing but a magic stone.

Maya returned to me. Even with her flat expression, I could she felt proud of her triumphant victory. “Now it's your turn. Show me a proper fight.”

Unlike other games, Mimosa Online has a cooldown for regions. After a player defeats all the monsters in a region or dungeon, it takes time before the monsters gather again.

This applied to this world as well. I had to keep changing locations to find new enemies.

“Well, today's our lucky day.”

I pushed up a tree branch, revealing an empty patch in the center of the forest. Sitting on it was a single bull, but no ordinary bull. Lion Cape Bull, a bull with thick hair around its neck, pretty much like a lion.

I stepped into the empty patch, and the bull stood up. We had a little stare down. The bull prepared to attack me, but before it could step forward,

Vines appeared from the ground, capturing its feet. It kicked around in an attempt to escape, but before it could, I stabbed it with the vines. It died right after. I turned to Maya with a confident smirk.

“So, how was it-”

Maya stared at me with a flat expression on her face, which turned into a frown.

“Boring. Boo…”

“Wh- What? What do you mean, boring?”

Had this been my past life, people would be calling me a cheater by now.

“Fighting is about the flair, not about winning.”

“Umm… no? Fighting is about winning.”

Maya shook her head in disapproval.

“If you kill your enemy as soon as you see them, the fight ends too quickly.”

“Isn’t that the goal in the first place?”

“That’s boring.”

I honestly had no idea how dragons saw things.

After that, Maya led us deeper into the forest. Despite all the things she said about flair and whatnot, she ended up killing all the monsters with several quick punches. We trained until early in the morning, before coming back home.

* ••

“Let’s go somewhere farther,” Maya suggested. We were out in our house’s front yard. I and Maya were helping Mom with hanging our clothes.

“Where do you want to go?”

“The neighboring town?”

“Ah, I think we need to ask my parents for that.”

It had been six months since she entered our household. She was probably bored from being in this village for so long.

If we were going to a neighboring town, that meant by flight, as there was no town close enough for us to reach and return within a day on a carriage. I didn’t know just how familiar people of other towns were with dragons. It may spell some trouble.

“Fidus! Lucens!" came a voice from outside the fence. I put down the basket and went to open it.

"Ah, Fortisbel and Maya. Good day.” Baron Kurstov greeted.

“Good day,” I replied. “Is there something you need with my parents?”

“Yes. This got something to do with you two, actually.”

“Baron Kurstov. Good day.” Mom came out and invited him inside. Dad was still in the fields, so the meeting began with just the three of us.

“I decided to write a letter of recommendation for Fortisbel and Maya.” The baron set down a piece of letter on the table. “I asked the King’s Academy if there’s any chance of getting the two of you in.”

“Aren’t I too young for the King’s Academy?”

The King’s Academy was a school set in the capital of this country, Syla. It served as a sort of high school for the country. In this world, people only began attending school around the age of thirteen, and sixteen for ‘high school’. The high school’s curriculum felt more like middle school, though.

I knew because in the game, we would occasionally take on the quests of training the students, and they would sometimes tell us about their school life.

“You can join the local school in the capital, then leap a year into the King’s Academy.”

That’s a pain. The stuff I learn from school would be no different from the things I learn by reading books. Studying would suck the hours I could spend grinding.

“I’m not interested,” I stated honestly.

“But why? This is a golden opportunity.”

I couldn’t say I have the knowledge from my past life, so I looked for a different excuse. “I can study using normal books.”

“I can’t deny that you are certainly smart for someone of your age.”

“Why do you not want to attend school?” Maya asked.

“It’s just… I feel like I can do other stuff with the time.”

“But I want to attend school.”

Well… now you pushed me to a corner.

“I guess I don’t mind spending three years of my life on education…”

The baron’s eyes lit up. “Yes. How about that? We just have you enter the King’s Academy when you’re sixteen. I’m confident you can learn everything the local school can offer by then.”

I think I already learned everything they can offer.

“How about that, Maya?”

Maya nodded in agreement. “That is fine.”

“I shall write a letter to the King’s Academy immediately, to ensure that you have your place by the time you grow up!” the baron said with excitement. We weren’t even his children. Mom also looked happy, so all good, I guess.

The happiest was Dad, who couldn’t stop crying when he heard about the offer later in the day. It seemed that I had made his dream come through, one way or another.

Guess I have no choice. I have to give it my best.

* ••

The day after the meeting with the baron, Maya brought me to see her parents. The mountain where her family lived was a two-hour flight away. For comparison, a carriage ride to the foot of the mountain would take twenty hours or more.

I flew on Maya before, so this wasn't something new for me. Despite that, It was still a bit weird to think that she was naked (in dragon form) while I wore a thick, multi-layered jacket.

The dragon village soon came into view.

It had many differences from a human village. Most of the homes in the village were constructed with stone, and gold was used as decoration here and there. We made our way down the roads. The village was massive. Its road sizes resembled the large highways found in Earth's cities.

I began hearing various whispers from the dragons looking at us. I had come here several times before, and the dragons had gradually warmed up to my presence. Some greeted us when we arrived.

Maya led the way. A dragon appeared from one of the buildings.

“Mayadokeuasnfeniskeos, welcome home. You brought Fortisbel again.”

“Yes, Noaismejisexukanfe.”

I called him Noa, by the way. Just Noa. Now usually spoke in dragon language with the other dragons. He probably spoke in Syilaian, the native language of Syla, out of consideration for me.

"Enjoy your visit, you two."

"Thank you."

We made our way to Maya’s home. Her parents greeted us with delight. After handing me a cup, or rather, a barrel of wine (Not that I drank it, I gave it to Maya instead), I began telling them about the offer the two of us received.

“Is that so? I never heard of such a school,” Father said.

“We dragons do not have school systems, but I often hear humans look back fondly on their experiences in them,” Mother said. Until now, I still didn’t know their names and opted to call them Father and Mother instead.

“Have you lived in human cities before?” I asked. The two nodded.

“Actually, we met in a human city,” Mother said.

“I still remember how beautiful her human form was. When I saw her dragon form, my heart was captured.”

“And he was so handsome, and so kind.”

Great, these two started flirting.

“I see. Is there anything you dislike about human cities?”

I wanted to make sure Maya’s time in school was as great as it could be. Her parents looked like they could give us some pointers.

“Human cities are cramped and hot. Other than that…” Mother mused.

“And humans think it's inappropriate to walk around naked,” Father said.

“Even after living with Fortis for so long, I still fail to understand why humans think it’s inappropriate to do so.”

Yeah, I wonder why...

“Is that so? I guess there’s nothing to be worried about.”

“Are you worried about her?”

“A bit.”

“What a kind young boy. Please take care of our daughter from now on.”

“I- I will.” I nodded. We had some more talk for the afternoon. After that, we returned to the village, carrying a massive basket full of fruits and veggies, as usual. They always gave me a lot of stuff when I came to visit.