[Alkelios’ point of view]

 Leveder City, as impressive and beautiful some might claim it to be, in the end, it was a just another mining city. The Leveder Lone Peak was a tall mountain with a dense forest covering it and rich mineral nodes hidden beneath its thick layers of stone. The human settlements were spread around it, drawing resources from within the forest and staying clear of the more dangerous monster nest spread across it.

From a distance, the defensive walls of the city were like tall giants that stood proudly in front of their enemies. They were built to last against siege and raging behemoth monsters. The aerial defense, however, was terribly lacking. The humans did not seem to care about an attack from the sky, which was the area of expertise of the draconian species.

It was like they were waiting to be conquered by us dragons.

As we drew close to the gates, we saw a line of people who were trying to get in. From what I could tell, the guards were checking all those who wanted to enter the city for contraband goods and if they were wanted or not. The merchants were the only ones who paid a higher tax, which included merchandise they were bringing in. Adventurers who used Leveder City as their base were excluded from the tax because they had to make numerous trips to the nearby forest in order to gather the items for their quests.

While our group had in its composition, three adventurers and one cat, we did not have Leveder City as our base, thus, we had to pay the same tax as any other weary traveler. That was five copper coins, enough for a meal at an average inn and was more or less seen as maintenance money for the big walls that protected the people inside.

At one point, one of the adventurers walked up to the guards and greeted him in a friendly way. They talked about some trivial things for a few minutes, to the annoyance of the people waiting in line, but then the adventurer said something that caught my interest.

“Man, I miss playing computer games, especially mmorpg.”

“What are you talking about man? Aren’t you living in a mmorpg world right now?” the guard said with a laugh.

“Bah, I meant one in which I could feel really OP, not this.” he shook his head.

“Get to level 1000 and you might feel like one.” he said.

“Only broken cheat users can get to that level of power. Anyway, see you later at the pub, man. I’m heading back to the guild to drop off some herbs!” he walked past him.

“Alright, see ya later, man!” the guard wave at him and then went back to doing his job.

So, these two are Human Heroes like me and Kalderan, huh? I thought as I looked at them from a distance.

They didn’t give off the pressure of a powerful individual and if they didn’t mention something that didn’t exist in this world, I would have taken them as your average human beings. Actually, with the exception of having some wacky skill given by the God-like and the ability to see their own status window, the Human Heroes were no different from the Humans of this world. They could look, talk, and even behave almost the same.

Three years was enough time for anyone to change, especially in this harsh world where monsters roamed the plains and gods ruled the skies. We had to either adapt to this new life style or risk finding ourselves at the rope’s end.

“How many earthlings do you think survived of the 10 million from three years ago?” I asked Kalderan.

“Hm? I do not know, maybe half maybe more? There were definitely a good number of casualties along the years. Not all of us were blessed with luck and good skills.” he shrugged and took a step forward.

There were two more people to go before it was our turn.

“Yeah, true.” I nodded.

It’s unfortunate that along with some of our memories, we brought back our bad manners too. Just because you know the guard doesn’t mean you can just go around and cut in line. I grumbled in my mind, but Kalderan did not appear to have been bothered by this.

I never liked those people who cut in line just because they thought they could, especially at fast food restaurants, at the supermarket, or at the movie theater. The only acceptable situation where you could do that would be at the paid toilet and only if you had a MAJOR emergency to take care of. Cutting in line at the train station to get your ticket was also acceptable if your train was leaving in the next fifteen minutes and the rest of us were waiting to get a ticket for tomorrow.

What this Human Hero adventurer did, however, was NOT OK. Even so, I gracefully restrained myself from wishing him to slip in monster poo next time he went out.

Once we entered Leveder City, I saw a LOT of miners walking around. They were the real deal. They had big pickaxes with them, yellow helmets with a magic crystal attached to it for light, dirty clothes, and a sailor’s attitude.

There were also quite a lot of ore shops set up along the main road. Their target customers were mostly merchants, but they didn’t hesitate to sell their good to the many adventurers who were looking for the raw materials needed to either repair or make new gear. There were also a couple of stands that sold crystals that could be used for enchanting, but I highly doubted they had the knowledge and skills needed to process them like that.

As we walked past these shops looking for a inn to spend the night at, I noticed that almost none of them had Dregaryum, Celestium, or Draconitium. I saw few pieces of Zaradin, but that was about it when it came to special materials like that. It made me curious about their price though. If I could find out for how much a piece of Celestium went on the market, then I could estimate the price for a sword or piece of armor made from that stuff.

“How about we go and look around the shops after we pay for our rooms at the inn?” I asked.

“Go ahead, I have something to report to the guild.” said Kalderan.

“Is it about the Black Company?” asked Risha.

“Nah, there’s no need to mention about that. I am going to report that the escort of the mission was a failure. A natural disaster struck us.” he narrowed his eyes and looked at me as he said those last words.

“Huh?” I blinked surprised.

“I better come with you.” Risha offered.

“What about Tamara?” I asked as I pointed at the curious feline who was perking up her ears and looking around at everything with big eyes.

“Erm... I’ll take her with me.” Kalderan let out a sigh.

“Hm? You buy Tamara good fishy?” she asked with a gleam in her eyes.

“Er... sure.” said the brave warrior who lost the battle against those cute pearls.

“Here. For the snacks.” I tossed him a gold coin.

“Really? We’re not going to buy all the food in a restaurant.” he raised an eyebrow at me.

I shrugged “Better safe than sorry.” I smirked.

“Can we first go and buy Tamara some better clothes?” asked Risha.

“Clothes? What for?” both me and Kalderan asked at the same time.

The only woman in our group let out a disappointed sigh and shook her head.

“Really? Are you two going to make a cute child like Tamara walk around in rags with no shoes one?” she asked as she pointed at the little relliar.

“Tamara likes the fluffy rocks!” she said with a smile.

All three of us looked at her with dead fish eyes, and in that moment, I could swear my wife was narrowing her eyes at me for across the ocean, judging with her stare.

“Here. Buy something for yourself too.” I said and gave her ten gold coins.

“Good.” she nodded and took my money. “Come on, Tamara, let’s go make you cute!” she said with a smile as she took the little girl’s hand.

“Nya~!” she replied and followed her with a gleaming smile.

A few moments later, after the two left, we were still staying here in the middle of the street.

“She doesn’t know where we’re going to stay, does she?” I asked Kalderan.

“Nope.” he shook his head.

“Ah, blasted eagles on a stick!” I cursed and then started running after them.

We found them just as they were about to enter a tailor’s shop. If they went inside, we would have been forced to wait outside until they were done shopping because that, my friends, was a women-only shop.

After we made it clear that we first had to book our rooms at an inn before going off on a sightseeing tour, we went straight to the nearest inn. As luck would have it, a good one happened to be right across the street. It was called ‘The drunkard’s lullaby’, a three-star hotel if I were to make a comparison to the modern-day star rating system.

We booked two rooms, one for the guys and one for the girls, last ones too, so we had to pay an extra silver to keep the innkeeper from overbooking us. I personally didn’t mind if that happened, but it didn’t sit well for me to let Tamara experience sleeping in the same room with random strangers.

Just like we agreed, I went to look at ore shops, the girls went to buy clothes, and Kalderan went to settle things with the Adventurers Guild as well as buy some fishy snacks for Tamara, probably something dried and salted.

Fridges did not exist on the Human Continent, but the dragons had something similar by enchanting metal boxes with ice magic on the inside. They were not that expensive to buy, but I made my own back at our home in Drakaria.

Speaking of which, I’ll need to dust off my workshops when I return. Maybe I’ll get the chance to play with Seryanna’s pet squirrel. I wonder what that furball’s doing? I thought.

As I was being consumed by nostalgia and a longing for my wife and family, I entered one of the more fancy-looking shops. The two big guards at the entrance gave me a mean look. They probably thought I was some worthless bum who didn’t even have enough money to pay for a rusty sword let alone the ores in this place.

To be honest, I did look kind of poor. I didn’t have time to clean my armor, it was dusty.

“May I help you?” the clerk asked from across the counter.

He was a man in his late thirties and gave a look from the top to bottom, appraising my possible worth.

“Hm? Yes. I’m interest in knowing if you also buy ores?” I asked.

“Ores?” he raised an eyebrow and then shook his head “No, we have our special suppliers, so we don’t need to buy ores from... random people.” he said.

I guess I came out looking as some poor chap. I thought, but I didn’t sketch any emotion.

“I see. Then is it possible to appraise the value of an ore?” I asked.

“Hm? Yes. That would depend on the type of ore. The prices are: 1 copper for a piece of copper; 5 coppers for a piece of iron; 10 coppers for a piece of tin; and anything else is 1 silver. We only accept batches usually, but you are in luck since you are the only customer right now. What do you want me to appraise?” he asked.

“Huh? Really? That’s good. Well, I want you to appraise this piece of Celestium.” I said and took out the metal from my pocket.

The silver shine and concentrated Magic Energy within it was what made it different from the rest of the metals, but it was also incredibly hard and insanely difficult to process without the right tools. It was dug up by me on in the Northern Desert on the Dragon Continent, so I knew it was the real thing, but I wanted to know the price.

When the clerk heard what I had and then saw it, his mouth opened wide in shock. I was expecting him to be surprised, but not go full blue screen on me.

“Erm? Hello?” I asked as I waved my hand in front of him.

“T-That... i-it’s not possible.” he said as he pointed at it.

“Why?” I asked furrowing my brow.

“What do you mean why?! Celestium is one of the most valued metals of the human species! There’s no way someone like you could have a piece of it!” he retorted or rather he accused me of being dishonest.

“What are you implying, sir?” I asked.

“You definitely stole that! Yes, that’s the only explanation! You stole it! You are a thief!” he declared and pointed at me.

“Huh?” I raised an eyebrow at him as this was starting to get ridiculous.

“If you hand it over now and run away, I will be kind enough not to give you to the authorities!” he declared with a confident smile on his face.

It appeared as though I was confused for a mere thief, but it never occurred to him that I might have actually found or mined it. Worse even, I could have been the messenger of a possible new supplier sent to test him out. With this outrageous accusation, this store just failed the test.

On the other hand, I now understood a little better just how priceless the rarer metals were on the Human Continent, or at the very least here, in the Ten Swords Kingdom.

“Sigh. How about no? I mined this honestly on the Dragon Continent, so seeing how I’m not welcomed here, I’ll take my leave now.” I said and then dropped the piece Celestium in my right pocket.

“Wait! What makes you think you have the right to leave with that piece of Celestium? Leave it here while you still have the chance, you scoundrel!” he declared.

I looked back at him and raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t get it do you?” I asked.

“Huh? Get what?” he asked furrowing his brow.

“I said I mined this on the Dragon Continent.” I repeated myself.

“You are obviously lying. Now, thief, leave the Celestium here. My guards will show you the way out!” he declared and then took a small bell from under the desk and rang it twice.

In the next moment, the two guards who were outside make their way to me while trying to look as menacing as possible.

I looked at the two and then at the clerk. Letting out a sigh, I dashed towards the nearest guards, a big man-bear for lack of description, and punched him in the stomach. It was a very weak blow because I did not want him to explode all over the place.

The man-bear slid across the floor three meters and then looked back at me with a smirk.

“I have the [Rough Back] skill, mate. Ya’ll need a lot more than that to take me down.” he said an Australian accent of all things.

“Hah, a Human Hero. Now that’s interesting.” I said and then kicked the other guard with my foot, sending him flying across the room and into a bunch of a crates.

He was knocked out, leaving me with only this Australian man-bear to fight.

“You... You’re strong.” he said.

“Yeah, cricket.” I replied with a smile.

“Cricket?” he furrowed his brow.

“Erm, I mean crangy... creaky, cramky?” I scratched the back of my head.

“You mean crikey?” he asked.

“Yes! That!” I struck my palm with the bottom of my fist.

With a smile on my lips, I then punched him in the face and knocked him out cold. Since he had some sort of body-strengthening skill, I could not afford to go easy on him, so I put a bit more strength into my punch, just enough crush stones.

Once I was done, I turned around and showed the clerk a smile.

“I’ll take my leave now. As you can see, you just lost a good business opportunity.” I told him and then in my mind I added If by chance he’s planning to come after me after this, I wish his business will give him enough problems to forget about that.

With this, I walked out of the store, and then slammed hard the door behind, enough to cause a bit of damage to it.

That caught the attention of those around me, so I released a bit of the authority pressure I had as an owner of the golden scale. It was enough to make those who looked at me doubt the idea that I was a simple adventurer or even a peasant.

“The nerve of this store! He dared accuse me, an adventurer who walked on the Dragon Continent, of being a mere thief just because I had a good piece of ore?! He should be glad I’m not going to straight to this town’s lord to complain about his pathetic business! Bah! This is the last time the great me will walk in a random store like this! I’ll let all of my noble friends know not to take a step here too!” I declared out loud and then stormed out of there.

Once I was out of sight, I burst out into a loud laughter.

I was not the greatest actor out there, but I knew I had a bit of skill. Besides, the authority pressure made it possible for them to take my words seriously and not just he rant of a mad adventurer. To be honest, I could keep make that lie into a truth by telling Brekkar and company back in Albeyater not to set foot in this shop. They were nobles, after all, just not from Ten Swords.

With a smile on my lips, I made my way out of there, and slipped into the back alleys, where I wanted to see if there was anything interesting happening there.

I wonder what surprises lay in wait here? I wondered as I looked around, eager for a bit of adventure.

Knowing the way my luck worked, I could have forced the fate a bit by making a wish, but where was the fun in that?

Thus, I began to wonder around the back alleys. I did so for about half an hour before I came across a peculiar scene. A teenager of around 15 years old with dirty blonde hair and ragged clothes was running away from some mean-looking men while holding a piece of bread in her hands.

It’s HERO time! I thought, but it felt a bit empty without a powerful alien watch to change me into another species.

Stepping in front of the girl, I made her stop.

With frightened clear-blue eyes she looked up at me and begged me to help her.

“Alright!” I said with a smile and then looked back at the three men who stopped at about four meters away from us. “What are you all doing running after a cute young girl like her?” I asked.

“Huh? You blind in the head? We’re just chasing after a dirty thief who dared steal bread from my shop!” the man on the left growled in anger.

“You have a bakery?” I asked appearing surprised.

“Huh? Yah. And that dirty runt dared to steal from me! I don’t like thieves, so me and my brothers here are going to hand her over to the guards to cut off her hands as punishment!” he declared.

The girl shrieked in fear and hid behind me.

“That’s harsh, you know. How about I pay for what she stole?” I asked.

“Huh? Nah! She needs to pay!” he declared.

“What if I buy more than what she stole?” I asked.

The man stopped and thought for a few seconds... actually, scratch that, the thought about it for a whole minute while holding his weapon, a roller pin, above his head.

Did he break? I wondered.

“Yah, that’s good. You buy from me five breads on top of what she stole, and we won’t go after her anymore!” he declared with a smile while pointing the roller pin at me.

“Sure. Do you sell other things as well?” I asked.

“Yeah, a variety of baked goods. My specialty are fish cupcakes!” he declared as he puffed up his chest with pride.

“Great! I’ll buy all of those!” I said with a smile.

Tamara is bound to appreciate anything with ‘fish’ in the name. I thought.

“A wealthy customer! How luck smiles upon me! Very well, follow us!” he said with a joyful smile.

How fast a human could change his expressions from rage, anger, and then to joy.

“Come now, you’ll be safe with me.” I told the girl.

“T-Thank you.” she nodded and then walked close to me.

Her stomach made a very loud growl after a few steps.

Hearing her, the baker said “Lass, if you had just asked for something to work instead of stealing from me, I’m sure I could have found something for you. I’m not a monster.”

“Yet, you were about to toss her to the guards to cut off her hands?” I asked.

“That’s the rule of the city. As cruel and harsh as it is, I can’t change it.” he shrugged.

The teenager nodded in understanding, while blushing strongly, or rather, I thought she was blushing. It was a bit hard to see with all that dirt on her cheeks.

After we bought the baked goods from the store, I tossed them in my [Black Hole] to keep them fresh. Seeing the impressive magic, the girl made big eyes.

“Are you a Human Hero or a famous adventurer?” she asked me.

“Yes and probably yes.” I nodded and then laughed.

“Humu~” she smiled “Allow me to present myself then. My name is Ildeanussi Vermida. I’m but a poor girl who had fate smile unfavorably upon her.” she made a gracious bow, but from her movements, I couldn’t see her as a simple peasant.

This girl must have an interesting story to her. I thought.

“Two names... Are you a noble?” I asked.

“Yes... maybe, I don’t know.” she shook her head and then looked down, there was a deep sadness expressed on her clear-blue eyes.

“Well, if you met, maybe fate chose to smile upon you. I’m guessing you don’t have anywhere to sleep tonight, right?” I asked.

The girl looked at me for a minute, unsure what to change. It was then when I realized that given the situation the words I chose to use may have come out as inappropriate.

“Wait! I’m not asking that with any ulterior reasons. I’m just asking strictly out of concern for you.” I said quickly, hoping that I managed to clear my blunder.

Ildeanussi showed me a cute smile and let out a charming giggle.

“Very well, I’ll trust you. The answer to your question, kind gentleman, is no. I’m currently copperless and without a roof above my head. I was planning on sleeping in one of the abandoned buildings in the slums, if I was lucky to fight off the rats.” she showed me a wry smile.

“Sounds tough. Alright, come with me. I’ll let you have a good meal and a nice bath, then I can listen to your story, what do you say?” I asked her.

Looking up at me, she showed me a smile and then nodded.

“By the way, you can call me Ildea, but what may I call you, kind gentleman?”

“Hm? My name’s Alkelios Yatagai Draketerus.” I replied.

“Draketerus?” she was surprised when she heard the name,

“Hm?” I tilted my head to the left.

“Nothing, I just think I heard that name somewhere, but I can’t put my finger on it.” she said and shook her head.

I shrugged. “Who knows? Let’s go.”

The most famous member of my family was without a doubt Brekkar but considering that he last fought against the human armies almost 41 years ago, there was a low chance that any of the survivors were still alive to tell his tale. Humans weren’t too keen on having stories with the dragons as heroes and that battle on the Scar Battlefield was definitely a major loss for the Human Continent.

After we arrived at the inn, I brought her to my room, where I pulled a bathtub out of my [Black Hole] and filled it with lukewarm water. I also left a bottle of shampoo and piece of soap for her to use to clean her body. For changing clothes, I only had a pair of simple linen pants and one of my older shirts.

“If you need anything, I’ll be outside.” I told her.

Before I could leave the room, she turned towards me and asked “Why are you doing this?”

“Hm?” I looked back at her and scratched my beard “I don’t know, I just feel like it.” I replied and then left her to bathe alone.

There were no ulterior motives behind what I was doing, but the way she acted earlier, so unlike a typical peasant or beggar, surprised me and also made me curious about her origin. I figured that after I gave her bath, something good to eat, she would then open up to tell us a little bit about herself.

That wasn’t manipulation, right? If she didn’t want to tell me anything, she could choose so.

As I waited outside, I found myself wondering about this little dilemma of mine. Sometimes acts of kindness could be seen as intrusive and inappropriate. She was technically still a teenager, s minor according to the laws on Earth and an adult according to the laws of this kingdom. On the other hand, it wasn’t as though I was far older than her.

I think I’m going to be twenty this year... maybe? Or am I twenty-two? Ugh, time skipping doesn’t count, right? I thought as I began to worry about another problem.

Soon enough, I forgot about the previous matter of how appropriate or not me offering her a helping hand was.

After Ildea was done bathing, she came out wearing the clothes I gave her. They were a bit big, and her chest wasn’t completely shielded from someone’s imagination. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any spare bras on me, but as someone with a basic tailoring skill, I could make it for her.

This gives me an idea! I thought and then pulled her back inside the room.

“So, let me get your sizes.” I said as I pulled out a measuring tape.

“Huh?” she was a bit confused, but I took that as a ‘yes’.

Five minutes later, I knew how big I should make her clothes from head to toe. The poor girl, however, was blushing struggling and sitting on the bed with her knees at her chest.

“I thought you said you don’t have any ulterior motives.” she complained while pouting cutely.

“I don’t. Now, let me work. I’ll fix you up with some good clothes right away!” I said with a smile as I pulled my sewing kit, some leather, and a bunch of cloth from my [Black Hole].

My [Rock Hard!] skill was technically more aimed at blacksmithing and leather crafting, but some of the perks shared among all crafting skills was the fact that I could take measurements, while sewing ended up being as a must-have when living alone in the Seculiar Forest. Gaining [Tailoring] as a result of trying to repair my ripped-up clothes was a given.

The difference between someone with a skill similar to [Rock Hard!] and my skill was the complexity and uniqueness of tailored clothes. I could not make fancy dresses, but if I added some pieces of leather and metal on them, thus turning them into an armor, I could turn them into masterpieces!

Well, anyway, using leather, some cotton padding, and metal clip, I made her a bra with just the right size. I also added in a pair of panties, a blouse I saw the women around the city wore and finished the work by making a simple yellow dress. When I was done, I looked over the stats.

 

(Bikini Armor Mark 1): Made by a Godlike Blacksmith. This item grants the user increased defense and great comfort. [Passive: Auto-Cleaning when taken off][+1 to Fluffiness][Increases all stats by 5%][Magic Energy Regeneration: +20][Passive: Absorption of Magic from Magic Attacks: 10%], [Passive: Protection Buff (Absorbs Damage 10%)]

 

I looked with dead fish eyes at the description.

Did I shout Pony Power at any given time when I was making this? How focused was I on making a simple bra? And what’s with that name?! I wondered.

Letting out a sigh in complete defeat, I turned around and gave her the clothes. I didn’t have the courage to look at the stats of the other pieces.

“You enchanted them?” she asked me.

“Erm... maybe?” I replied with a wry smile.

“Yes... I sensed a lot of Magic Energy flowing into them when you shouted ‘Pony Power!’ earlier.” she nodded.

“Ugh... just... just forget that. I was too focused on crafting.” I covered my face with my palm, trying to drown the shame.

“You are rather innocent, aren’t you?” she smiled and took the clothes from me.

Innocent... yes... The half-dragon with the skill [Senilicus Perveticus] is innocent... I thought to myself.

I turned around and waited for her to change.

“I’m done!” she let me know.

When I looked at her, I was surprised by how much she had changed. Rather than a simple poor peasant girl, she definitely looked more like a proper noble lady. She gave off the feeling that she was born to live like a noble. The clothes suited her perfectly, and the presence around her was royal.

When I looked at her hair, I saw that it had more volume than before.

“You look wonderful.” I said with a smile, to which she blushed in reply “By the way, did you do something to your hair?” I asked.

“No. When you gave me this strange corset, it suddenly turned like this.” she replied.

“Corset? You mean the bra? Wait! That’s the [+1 Fluffiness] enchants... if I make a ring with it, or scarf and give it to Tamara...” I said as I began pondering.

Fluffy Heaven, here I COME! I thought as a big grin formed on my lips.

“You are a strange fellow, aren’t you?” she asked with a giggle.

“Huh? Yes, I am, Princess!” I said as a joke.

“Huh? How did you...” she furrowed her brow and took a step back.

Surprise was written on her face, but I for one had NO idea why reacted like that.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her, tilting my head to the left.

“You... how did you know I am Ten Sword Kingdom’s First Princess?” she asked.

“Huh? I... didn’t?” I replied blinking a few times.

Remember that earlier moment when I thought about bumping into something interesting? I never thought this would happen. What were the odds of meeting the First Princess in a place like that? Then again, HOW did she end up in that situation? Wasn’t she supposed to be a princess?!

“Wait, what?! You are actually a Princess?!” I asked in surprise.

“Yes... you... you didn’t know?” she asked, and I shook my head left and right really fast.

“Oops... that’s awkward and weird.” she said.

“Hah, you don’t say...” I said.

“Why is there a princess in our room?” Kalderan asked who just so happened to have returned a moment ago.

“What did you do, Alkelios?” asked Risha as she furrowed her brow.

“Nya~! She’s pwetty!” Tamara said innocently as she poked her head out from behind the woman.

“Well... I should I explain this?” I said as I scratched behind my right ear with my left hand.

Kalderan let out a sigh and after urging the other two to enter, he closed the door. With a stern look on his face and arms crossed at his chest, he asked:

“So tell me, oh great dragon, why did you go and kidnap a Princess from her castle?”

“Dragon?” Ildea asked as she looked at me.

“Erm... About that.” I said and raised a finger up.

“Nya~! Story time! Story time!” Tamara said innocently as she jumped in my lap to pet her.