Chapter 198 - 188

It was deep into the night by the time they arrived at the village. Nick could have probably cut the travel time by at least half if he'd just grabbed everyone with telekinesis and used his wind magic to have them jump. However, considering how spooked the poor men were by a simple display of magic, he refrained. I know that mages are quite rare, especially in rural communities, but you'd think they would see one now and then. The grassland is filled with monsters that must attract some adventurers. "You can stay with Joe here. I doubt the adventurer will still be up at this hour, but tomorrow you'll be able to meet her." The old scout said, gesturing to one of the men, who grimaced but didn't deny them shelter. Sleeping with a roof over their head for once would be nice, but before he could accept it, Nick noticed a very familiar presence, and he got confirmation of his previous suspicions. Next to him, Elia shifted, having sensed something as well. "Ah, I think that might not be necessary. She's here," he said instead, gesturing to the dark village ahead of them with a grin. She really likes her dramatic entrances. The men looked around confusedly, until a figure emerged into the moonlight. "Well, well, well. Little Nick and his girlfriends. What are you kids doing so far from home?" The rumble in her tone would have been enough to identify her, even if Akari didn't already have such a recognizable figure. With long, shaggy dark hair, glittering amber eyes, and filed teeth, standing at six feet tall, there were very few people it could have been. However, what sealed the deal was that Nick still couldn't feel her in the wind. And yet, he could sense her all the same, thanks to his newfound affinity for spiritual matters. Whereas regular people felt like blobs moving about in the ether, and Elia, who held more spiritual weight than most, could be described as a roaring bonfire, Akari was a large shadow, padding softly around, not disturbing her surroundings while still commanding them. "It's been a while," he smiled at his mother's old friend. "We've come across the remains of your battle at the nearby temple, and since we cleaned it up, these gentlemen agreed to host us for the night." Akari grinned, displaying her sharp teeth and causing Elia to take a subconscious step back. "Look at that, you learned some manners while I was away." With that, she turned around and gestured for them to follow. "No need to bother these guys any longer, you can stay with me." Nick smiled apologetically at the villagers and followed, soon joined by the girls. "How do you know her?" Rhea hissed under her breath. "She's a friend of my mom," he replied. "A formidable adventurer. I'm not surprised she could take on all the mercenaries by herself." They walked through the silent village while Nick quickly checked each house for potential enemies hiding within. It wasn't that he expected anyone to attack, but he had developed the habit, especially after being ambushed so many times, and did it automatically. Finally, they arrived at a wooden cottage with a neat garden in the front and a cultivated field in the back. Inside, Nick sensed a single presence waiting for them behind the front door. Akari opened it, letting the torchlight spill out, and grinned as a woman was revealed. "Already missing me?" Nick tilted his head slightly, assessing their host. She was a young woman, sporting a long braid and a pretty face in a girl-next-door kind of way. Not what he had anticipated Akari would be attracted to, but then again, he wasn't particularly knowledgeable in such matters. "I woke up and you weren't there," their host replied, focusing her gaze solely on Akari. "I was afraid you might have left." "Oh, sweetheart. You know I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye," the adventurer murmured, bending down as if to kiss her, before stopping. "Ah, there was a reason I left in the middle of the night. Meet the sprogs." She pulled back, gesturing with her hand to the trio, who were politely waiting in silence. "Good evening," Nick smiled, ignoring the awkwardness of the situation. "Good evening," the girls echoed, looking increasingly confused. "Ah, hello." She replied, turning back to Akari with a questioning gaze. "I didn't know the kids would be coming, but the broody one over there is the son of my oldest friend and the grandson of the woman who taught me everything I know. We could put them in the living room for the night if you don't mind." By now, the woman appeared thoroughly flummoxed, but she didn't refuse them. "Alright, I guess. Please come in. My name is Tilly; I am the local herbalist. I'm afraid I don't have more than a single bed, but if the couch is fine with you, you are welcome to it, and there are some leftovers in the icebox." If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. The next morning, Nick woke with the dawn. He would have much preferred to sleep a little longer, given that he doubted they'd have such comfortable bedding again for a while, but he sensed Akari moving around, and he knew they had to talk. Elia also woke up with him, but he shook his head and gestured for her to go back to sleep. She shot him a look that told him he would have to explain later, then turned over and snuggled into her tails. Ensuring that a bubble of wind kept any noise he made from reaching Rhea, who was deep in sleep's embrace, he followed Akari, who was now waiting for him in the field behind the cottage. As the sun cast its first, timid rays over the village, Nick could see it had a certain rustic charm. Most houses were made of bricks, likely reinforced clay, but occasionally there was a wooden cottage. Considering the grassland lacked trees, he wondered how costly it had been to import so many logs, but eventually shrugged it off. It was possible that a passing merchant had a load he wanted to get rid of, or even that there was a thicket not too far from here. "You've grown." Akari finally said as he joined her. She sat on the bare ground without her shoes, keeping her eyes closed as she enjoyed the morning breeze. "I have. A lot has happened since you left," he confirmed. The dungeon raid felt like a lifetime ago, even though it was just over a month ago. "I bet." She hummed. "It's good to see that you aren't wasting your talent. Your mother never had the drive to push herself to the limits of what she could have been, but neither you nor your brother seem to be so limited. He's been pushing himself hard." Momentarily thrown off by the comment about his mother, Nick blinked when he realized what she'd implied. "You've seen Devon recently, then?" Akari nodded, a grin of amusement spreading across her face. "About two weeks ago, I saw him sneak around Alluria's seedier neighborhoods with a girl. He had to handle a couple of thugs when they tried to rob them, but didn't even need to take out his sword. He's growing well." Nick smiled, amused that once again, his brother seemed driven mostly by his desire to meet more girls. "I'm glad. I was worried when Dad explained how harsh his teacher is, but if he has the time to sneak around, he's probably fine." "Ha! Yes, that old monster Xander is a strict teacher, but he knows when to let his apprentices off the leash. Gaining actual experience in fighting, rather than just sparring, is what sets apart spoiled nobles who are handed all their skills from true fighters." Nick nodded. While it wasn't exactly possible to transfer skills from one person to another, it was still much easier for those with dedicated teachers to pick them up, and their growth would soar compared to those who were on their own. I'm probably the exception that confirms the rule. But then again, my growth was only possible because I possess so much otherworldly knowledge. If I hadn't known how to set up a sacrificial ritual to grant myself an affinity, I might have still been stuck on the basics, trying to glean any hint from whatever magical tome I could find. Or worse, he would have had to seek help from the only other person who dabbled in real magic. A flash of what his future might have been like if he had bowed down to Marthas that day he offered to teach him more than just force magic made Nick curl his lips. "You should look into it yourself," Akari cut in. "Look into what?" "Getting an actual master. You clearly have some talent, considering how far you've managed to go on your own. I know the mages of Alluria's Tower would fight to the death to have you as their apprentice." Nick wrinkled his nose. He wasn't exactly against getting himself a teacher, but he felt like he still had a lot he could do on his own, and having to put up an even stricter facade for months, if not years, would probably be very annoying. "I can tell it doesn't entice you, but you should think about it. The biggest dividing factor between those who are stuck in the middle levels and those who manage to keep climbing, even when the Exp requirements become intensive, is having a master who can teach you advanced techniques. And it helps that Alluria's Tower has the largest library of magic in the west." Sighing, Nick concluded that it wasn't worth arguing. He had already decided to check the place out anyway. "I'll think about it." Akari side-eyed him but didn't push further. "Alright, it's your life, and you're doing well by yourself anyway, if you've managed to cross the grassland on your own. Actually, what are you kids even doing around these parts? Knowing Elena, I doubt she would have let you go easily." "Yeah, Mom was reluctant, but she agreed eventually. We've been traveling through the grassland to help Elia check on the ruins of the beastmen temples. She's something of a priestess herself, so she wanted to ensure they weren't being desecrated," he admitted. Typically, he wouldn't have been this open, but he trusted Akari and genuinely doubted she would cause them any trouble. "Ah, I see. So you found something, I take it?" Nick nodded. "I imagine much of what you found yourself. Groups of mercenaries led by dark dwarves have been taking over just about every defensible location, which often means the ruins of the temples. The Royal Knights are chasing after them, but they can't be everywhere." Akari nodded, "Yeah, I saw them myself. It's why I've been hanging around longer than normal. Tilly is sweet, to be sure, but I would have long since left if there were nothing else." "Does that mean you are hunting them down?" He asked, leaning forward. "Why, interested?" She grinned toothily. "I might be," Nick replied pensively. Personally, he didn't really care; but he knew Elia would want to make sure that no more groups reached the temples. And Rhea's been too quiet these past few days. She's probably plotting something. Akari shook her head and reached over to pat him on the head. "So cute. But no, I'm not here to hunt more dwarves down. They aren't sending their best anyway, and it'd be a drop in the bucket compared to what the Royal Knights are doing. What I'm here for is related, though. You must have noticed that this part of the grassland has been surprisingly quiet, right?" Nick nodded, narrowing his eyes. "The dwarves are not capable of doing more than just raiding the local villages on their own. While that certainly disrupts the locals' lives, it wouldn't be enough to warrant such a response on its own. No, what they are doing is trying to draw the attention of something much more dangerous." Nick leaned in, fully invested. He had observed several inconsistencies in the dwarves' behavior, and killing so many monsters might only appear to be a good idea at first glance. But if they were attempting to disrupt the environment enough to summon something… then it suddenly made sense. "What is it?" He asked with bated breath. "They are trying to wake a dragon." "I think we should leave," Rhea grumbled. Her mysterious silence had quickly faded when confronted with the prospect of facing a real dragon. Not a wyvern, like what Nick had encountered in the Green Ocean, nor a drake, whose heart Eugene had used to fuel his class change ritual, but a genuine dragon. For ordinary people, the difference may not have seemed significant. Facing either one meant death from above, and it didn't really matter whether it came by fire or wind. But Akari had explained that this was not the case. In fact, she had gone so far as to say that comparing an actual dragon to a lesser draconic creature was equivalent to comparing an apprentice mage to an Archmage. Dragons could apparently sleep for centuries if undisturbed, and there was one resting somewhere in the grassland that the dwarves were trying to wake. "It's one thing to go into a temple thinking we might find some possessed spirits. But an actual dragon? No, that is so far beyond us it's not even funny." Rhea was making a valid point. Nick was all for adventure, but he recognized his limits and preferred not to face certain death. In contrast, Akari appeared unfazed. "Even if you were to depart now, you wouldn't find much safety in Floria. A dragon is not just a formidable creature, you know? It is a manifestation of nature's fury, a personification of death itself. They can elude mortal perception even when they are right under your nose, and you'd remain oblivious. They are referred to as Heaven's favorite children, true masters of their magic, all of them." Now, why does that sound so familiar?