~ Chapter 33: Marook ~

[Alkelios’ point of view]

Thanks to the hellish training with my beautiful redhead dragoness, I began to wonder if I was heads over heels in love with her or I was slowly starting to turn into a masochist. The latter possibility frightened me...

Still, I wasn’t visibly improving. Without the help of my Luck and constantly wishing in my mind so I wouldn’t get hit by Kataryna’s dangerous attacks, it was incredibly hard to control my enormous strength and speed. Fine-tuned control actions were out of the question. From one point of view, I was nothing more than a rampaging monster unable to stop himself, but if I were to be able to use martial arts at my full speed and strength, then the results could end up being amazing.

Nevertheless, one thing was saying it and the other was experiencing it.

“Ugh... my aching back.” I groaned while leaning on Seryanna’s back.

Being so close to a beautiful woman like her felt like I was one of the luckiest humans alive. Technically speaking... that wasn’t so far off from the truth.

“Does it hurt that bad?” she asked a bit concerned.

“YES!” I complained.

“I apologize, I didn’t think human bodies were so... fragile.” she replied.

To this remark, I could only stare blankly at her. The Khosinni we were riding on nodded as though he could understand her words.

“Cheer up, Alkelios! Even if you break an arm or two, it will grow back!” Kataryna tried to console me.

“I’m not a salamander!” I retorted.

“Well neither are dragons, but there are potions that can help regrow a lost limb.” she shrugged as if it was nothing.

“Really?! Even so... please don’t rip my limbs off! I’m quite fond of them, thank you!” I glared at her.

“Not even one?” she looked at me with a pair of puppy dog eyes.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“No.” I replied like a grumpy cat.

“Don’t worry, Alkelios. I won’t let her rip off your arms.” Seryanna patted me on the head.

“Thank you...” I let out a sigh.

“I’ll just have her beat you senseless until you learned to master your strength and speed.” she continued nonchalantly.

“Are you my girlfriend or torturer?!” I inquired.

“I’m just a cute dragoness who constantly worries for your safety.” she winked at me and then gave me a kiss on the tip of my nose.

I was literally at a loss of words. There was no safe comeback from that. It made me wonder if this was what father was talking about when he said that women are sometimes demons in disguise.

As we talked, we got closer to the outer wall of the Marook city.

Standing at almost ten meters tall, the thing was huge and countless dragons were patrolling it. Armed to the teeth and some of them even had anthropomorphic appearances, they actually had teeth and claws that could be used in combat if there ever was a time when it would come to that.

Because of the height, I wasn’t able to see past it and take a peek at what this imposing wall was protecting, but I could see ahead of us a small line of about four carriages waiting to get past the gate. They were each being pulled by two Khosinni, and the carriages were about two, maybe three times bigger than those I saw back on Earth. While two of them had shabby looking drivers, only the biggest one of the three had an elegant-looking dragon pulling the reins. He was perhaps a merchant or a noble of sorts. Either way, we were dead last in the line.

“Funny... when did a carriage went past us?” I asked as I struggled to remember.

“This is a road that’s tied to various other villages and cities, including the port city Tunberdraken.” explained Seryanna.

“Is that so?” I said as I looked back at the road.

“Yes.” she nodded.

“Oh, that fancy schmancy looking fellow past by us last night while we were training. They camped a bit farther ahead and left earlier than us.” Kataryna pointed out.

“So that guy’s coming from Pertiko?” I asked.

“Probably.” she shrugged.

There was no way she would know something like that, so a guess was the best thing we could all work with right now.

Thus, we waited patiently at the end of the line until our turn finally came.

A big brown-scale dragon with a pair of rather small wings approached us. He was one of the guards placed at this gate.

“State your name and business in Marook!” he demanded from us.

“I am Sir Seryanna Draketerus. These fellow dragons are my companions. We will be staying in Marook for a few days before continuing on with our journey.” she declared calmly.

The dragon looked at her, at the shield, her chest, and then at me. I glared at him for looking at an inappropriate place on my girlfriend.

“Keh, Unawakened youngling. Very well, you may enter.” he nodded.

“Thank you.” Seryanna moved the Khosinni past him and Kataryna with Kleo followed us.

We all simply ignored his rude remark.

The moment we stepped inside, I was surprised to see so many dragons walking about, both Awakened and Unawakened. It looked exactly like a city from one of those Fantasy-themed games, but the architecture was huge, similar to that in Andromeda. The population, however, far surpassed it. To top it off, the women here were beautiful too, but Seryanna and Kataryna were by far priceless gems in a sea of pebbles. Due to her personality, Kleo didn’t count.

“So many people...” I said.

“There are many dragons here. This is an adventurer city where many train and prepare themselves for various quests or incursions into the Seculiar Forest.” my redhead dragoness explained.

“Is that so?” I blinked surprised.

Taking another look at the masses, I noticed that many of them were wearing equipment suitable to be called ‘starter gear’. Most weapons and armors I saw were made out of copper, while some of iron, and very few of steel or other, more expensive, materials. Even so, a quick check with my [Identificus Processus Juridicus] skill revealed that despite what they were made out of, they could easily be classified in games as either Rare or Epic items. While humans might use simple ones, these things were buffed and enchanted to extreme values. One such copper sword had an affix of Elemental Fire, while another could summon Merions.

Looking at them with dead eyes, I began to wonder just what sort of ridiculous power these dragons usually wielded. Well, one look at my girlfriend’s stats, and I could easily tell that she was very powerful. After all, when I was dropped into this world by that no-good God-like, I had what many would call ‘junk value stats’.

“Something the matter?” Kleo asked when she noticed the way I was looking at their gear.

“No... it’s just that those are some rather ridiculous enchants on them.” I replied.

“Those weak things? Any beginner enchanter can do them!” she laughed it off.

“Is it the same on the human continent?” I asked curiously.

“I have no idea. Kataryna?” she looked back at the silver-scaled dragoness.

“Don’t look at me, I never went there myself.” she shrugged.

“Me neither, but grandfather said that most humans are weak. It’s their sheer numbers and cunning strategies that are frightening.” Seryanna said.

“Really?” I was doubtful.

Well, technically speaking, the humans were able to defend their borders and even advance into the Dragon Continent a bit, but that was mostly because the dragons, as far as I heard, never showed any interest towards conquering and subjugating other species.

In order to find our way faster in this city, we decided to pick an inn closer to the inner walls which separated the noble area from the common one. This way, if we ever got lost, and by we, they all meant me, all ‘we’ would need to do was to find the big inner wall and follow it. Sooner or later, we would arrive at the inn. It was simple and efficient.

After we settled in, with Seryanna and me in a room, while the other two in another, we grabbed something quick to eat and then headed off to the Guild Hall. It was finally time for me to register as an Adventurer!

“I was waiting for this day ever since I was sent to this world!” I said excited.

“Hehe! Relax, we’re almost there. Besides, it’s not that big of a deal. Adventurers are sort of like professionals for hire.” Seryanna shrugged.

“Even so, back where I came from there were no such things as Guild Halls... except in stories.”

“Hm, maybe I should register as well. I sort of lost mine several decades ago.” Kataryna let us know as she scratched the back of her head.

“Reissuing a card shouldn’t be that expensive.” Seryanna pointed out.

“True.” the dragoness nodded.

“Are these cards usable on other continents as well?” I asked curiously.

“The guilds are all affiliated with the species that built the dungeons, so the whole system is identical everywhere you go. It’s very convenient like this because Adventurers have no political affiliation. Once you become a knight or accept a noble title in a country, you become eligible only to quests inside that continent or which aren’t politically affiliated in any way or manner.” Seryanna explained with a rather serious tone of voice.

“Sister wanted to go to the Relliar Continent when she was younger, but after she became a knight, she wasn’t able to anymore.” Kleo pointed out with a shrug.

“Is that so?” I said rubbing my chin.

So, my dragoness wanted to visit the Relliar Continent. Hm... I thought to myself.

Leaving that little fact aside, we stepped inside the Guild Hall and were greeted with the curious gazes of the many dragons in there. I gulped and looked around nervously, while the dragonesses around me were mildly impressed.

Some of the more tough-looking fellows made me doubt my own strength, and their piercing glares were certainly not of the friendly type. Kataryna was showered by several leering gazes, while me and Seryanna by mocking ones because we looked like Unawakened dragons. As for Kleo, she received questioning or disapproving gazes from those who didn’t took a liking to her black scales.

“Well, shall we?” asked Kataryna with a smile as she stepped forward.

We walked over to the receptionist’s desk and patiently waited for our turn. An adventurer was keeping the green-scaled dragoness busy with the loot he recovered from his latest quest. I curiously looked in his direction and saw a pile of curved teeth and broken horns on the table. There was a stack of green pointy ears as well, which immediately led me to think of goblins.

After finishing with the adventurer, the receptionist walked over to us. She had long, straight chestnut hair tied up in a ponytail, freckles on her cheeks, and blue slit eyes. Her anthropomorphic characteristics were a long tail, clawed hands covered in green V-shaped scales, and a pair of curved horns on top of her head. She was wearing a simple maid-type outfit, apron and all.

“How may I help you?” she asked with a lovely smile.

“Yes. I would like to reissue my guild card, and this lad wishes to join the guild!” Kataryna declared with a smile as she patted my back.

“Check it out! The mommy brought her kid to register. Pah! This place will turn into a nursery before you know it!” one of the adventurers commented.

We ignored him.

“Of course, but may I ask how long ago did you... misplace your guild card?” she asked as she pulled out a couple of papers from under the desk.

“Erm, several decades ago?” Kataryna replied while showing her a wry smile.

The receptionist narrowed her eyes at her, then offered us two identical forms.

“If that’s the case, then both of you will need to register as new adventurers.” she told us.

“Why?” Kataryna questioned.

With a sigh escaping her lips, the green-scaled dragoness answered “If more than 10 years have passed since you ‘misplaced’ the guild card, your status and rank as an adventurer with the guild is reverted back to Beginner.”

“Oh, is that so? Then I will register as a new adventurer.” Kataryna gave up on the issue with her former card.

“And what about you, miss?” the receptionist looked at Seryanna.

“I am already registered.” she took out her guild card.

Looking at it for the first time, I noticed that she was Master Rank already. We had a lot of work ahead of us if we wanted to catch up with her.

“Is that so? Then, after the two of you complete those forms, we will do a simple strength test. After the test, all you have to do is wait for us to issue your guild cards. If you don’t know how to read and write, I can fill them out for you, but you can always hire someone willing to do it for a few coppers.” she explained politely.

“We know how to read and write, so it won’t be a problem.” Kataryna pointed out.

“I see. Well then, call me once you have finished. The registering fee by the way is two silver coins.” she said.

We handed in four coins and completed the forms. Besides the name, age, political affiliation, and other basic details, there was also a box where we had to fill in the value of our Power Number if we knew it. On the dotted line for species, I filled in ‘human’. I had the feeling that lying to the guild would not have been the wisest move I could make while being in the presence of a Knight and a Breakthrough-er.

“What’s my Power Number, Alkelios?” asked Kataryna at one point.

“Let me check.” I told her, and with this occasion I looked at Seryanna’s and Kleo’s as well.

[Name]: Kataryna Greorg

[Species]: Superior Draconian of the Ice Spark

[Awakened Status]: 6 out of 6 conditions met

[Level]: 1301

[Strength]: 6526+362.9

[Speed]: 8470+398.5

[Dexterity]: 7140+357.95

[Magic]: 2438+268.72

[Luck]: 41

[Magic Excellence]: 30%+4.48%

[Current Buffs]: [Dragon Tamer] <5X Life Force and Magic Energy Absorption from kills/Learning Speed. 10% of hero’s overall stats gained while they are within 100 m of him.>

[Wisdom of the Old One] <Buff acquired through Awakened Breakthrough. It offers the individual a new view of the world. It raised the intuition of the individual. It grants the aura of an wise individual>

[Name]: Seryanna Draketerus

[Species]: Superior Draconian of the High Flame

[Awakened Status]: 2 of 4 Conditions met.

[Level]: 341

[Strength]: 1720+362.9

[Speed]: 1213+398.5

[Dexterity]: 1105+357.95

[Magic]: 946+268.72

[Luck]: 12

[Magic Excellence]: 30%+4.48%

[Current Buffs]: [Dragon Tamer] <5X Life Force and Magic Energy Absorption from kills/Learning Speed. 10% of hero’s overall stats gained while they are within 100 m of him.>

[Current Debuffs]: [Unawakened One] < -60% All Stats; -1000 Magic Energy; Elemental Attacks deal 20% more damage; Dragon Form Sealed; Half-Dragon form Sealed; 40% Less appealing to the opposite sex;> [Unlucky One] < -50% Luck>

[Name]: Thraherkleyoseya Draketerus

[Species]: Superior Draconian of Darkness

[Awakened Status]: 3 of 3 Conditions met.

[Level]: 232

[Strength]: 720+362.9

[Speed]: 812+398.5

[Dexterity]: 401+357.95

[Magic]: 3620+268.72

[Luck]: 34

[Magic Excellence]: 46%+4.48%

[Current Buffs]: [Dragon Tamer] <5X Life Force and Magic Energy Absorption from kills/Learning Speed. 10% of hero’s overall stats gained while they are within 100 m of him.>

As for mine it was as follows:

[Name]: Alkelios Yatagai

[Species]: Human

[Level]: 180

[Strength]: 16+516+803+216+1957.8+120.2

[Speed]: 14+363.9+576.5+243.6+2541+246

[Dexterity]: 20+331.5+ 745+120.3+2142+220.7

[Magic]: 16+283.8+410+1086+731.4+160

[Luck]: 100

[Magic Excellence]: 1%+9%+9%+13.8%+9%+3%

[Skills]: Show? Y/N

[Skill Points]: 40

[Stat Points]: 1790

In the end, my rounded-up values were 3629 points in [Strength], 3985 points in [Speed], 3579.5 points in [Dexterity], 2687.2 points in [Magic], and 44.8% [Magic Excellence]. I was off on the road towards overpowered potential. As for the 10% buff I offered them, it easily increased all of their stats with over 300 points in each category except for those in regard to magic.

Looking at my stats, I could tell that the last batch belonged to a certain dragon Paladin. According to them... he was WEAK!

Seriously though, if he was among the best or even average, then Seryanna was more than enough to beat all of them into the ground. As for Kataryna, she could do it with only 30% of her full power.

Letting out a sigh, I closed the windows.

“Well?” the silver-scaled dragoness asked.

“Your Power Number is 1301. Mine is 180. Seryanna’s number is 341, and Kleo’s number is 232.”

The three of them blinked surprised when they heard the numbers.

“Sister, you’ve grown...” said Kleo.

“You too... but why?” she furrowed her brow.

“My skill, I suppose?” I shrugged.

“I am surprised by my growth as well. In such a short time, I went up a few levels. Normally, such a feat shouldn’t have been possible.” said the dragoness surprised.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter, does it? I’m still the weakest, although, if I were to go by points alone, second strongest in our group.” I narrowed my eyes at the silver-scaled dragoness.

Her stats were two times bigger than mine, buffs and all. I would require at least several friends who reached Breakthrough Awakening to reach that sort of performance. For some reason, being overpowered still looked like a far away dream for me.

“Even so, that is quite a feat... When I met you, you couldn’t even be compared to a Dayuk cub, but now you could fight one on one with several sheep.” Seryanna nodded.

“Huh?” I furrowed my brow for a moment, then I remembered “Oh yeah! Over here, the sheep hunt the wolves, not the other way around.”

“Shall we turn in these forms?” asked Kataryna.

“Yup!” I nodded and smiled.

We called over the receptionist and then handed in the two pieces of paper. She looked at them once, then she gazed at me. She looked back at the paper, then she gazed at Kataryna. This process was repeated several times before she showed us a wry smile and dashed into the room behind the counter.

“What just happened?” I asked surprised.

“I don’t know.” Seryanna furrowed her brow.

Several moments later, the receptionist came back and asked us with a timid smile “Is the information you wrote down true?”

“Yes.” both me and Kataryna replied with a nod at the same time.

The receptionist gulped.

“Then, please follow me... The Guild Master would like to have a word with the two of you.”

For some reason both me and Kataryna looked back at Kleo as if she was to blame for this if something went wrong.

“What?” the necromancer asked raising an eyebrow.

“Nothing...” I said.

We followed the receptionist to the back room, where we were introduced to the Guild Master, Valkos. He was a brawny brown-scaled dragon with lots of scars on his arms and sturdy-looking plate armor. A big axe with a moving red mist around its blade was sitting next to his chair. In front of him were our two forms.

Not knowing why we were called back here, me and Kataryna took it as thought it was normal and sat down in the chairs in front of his desk. Seryanna and Kleo waited at the door, next to the receptionist.

“It says here you are a human, correct?” Valkos asked as he looked through our forms.

“Yes.” I nodded.

“But you didn’t write the kingdom where you come from or the name of your village.” he pointed out.

“Erm... I don’t think I can write one. I have no idea.” I shrugged.

“Memory loss heh? Well, you need to write down at least the name of an acquaintance who has a home somewhere in this kingdom.” Valkos offered the form back.

“Ah... alright. I thought me being a human was the problem.” I shrugged and took the piece of paper.

I wrote down Tomeron and as for acquaintance, I wrote old Brekkar’s name.

“As for you... you wrote that you have a Power Level of 1301. That’s a bit... high. I never heard of you before.” he asked and raised an eyebrow at Kataryna.

“Hm, I could level this city to the ground if that would be proof enough.” she replied with a smile.

A moment of silence fell in the room.

“Oi! Don’t joke like that!” I scolded her.

“Eh? But how am I to prove something like that without showing off my power?” the dragoness was a bit at a loss.

“Ahem! Well... you could use a tool?” Valkos asked, then added in a barely audible whisper “Destroying the city is a bit... extreme.”

“Very well! What sort of tool? If it’s a perverted one, I’ll break you in half!” she smiled.

The man stared at her as if he would at a weirdo. I felt sorry for Kataryna, but Kleo seemed to have been a bad influence on her.

“It’s a Magic Tool with the only purpose of increasing its weight. Infuse it with Magic Energy and if you make the number go past 1000, I’ll believe you.” the Guild Master nodded and looked at the receptionist.

The woman bowed once and left the room.

“That’s it?” Kataryna asked.

“Yes.” the dragon nodded.

A moment later, the receptionist returned with a black box. Inside it was a metallic hexagonal bar with a simple counter at one end. It was a curious tool, but I wondered how exactly it worked. The individuals of this world seemed to be familiar with the concept of enchanting items.

I wonder if I can learn that skill? Hm... I’ll just wish for it. God-like, I wish to gain the best enchanting skill from your system. I thought.

“Hm. It’s light. I just need to infuse it with my Magic Energy, right?” she asked.

“Indeed.” the Guild Master nodded.

“Here I go!” she announced and poured her energy into it.

Suddenly the numbers went from 1 to 100, then 500, went past 1000 and stopped around 1500.

“I can go further, but I don’t see the use. This thing did gain a bit of weight.” Kataryna pointed out.

“Really?” I asked curiously.

“Yes. Here.” she gave it to me. “Indeed, it is heavy.”

“See! See! I told you!” she showed me a smile.

Meanwhile the receptionist and the Guild Master were both looking at us with big eyes, while Seryanna let out a sigh.

“Hm? Is something wrong?” I asked surprised.

“No... erm... right now, you two might be considered to be some of our most powerful adventurers. The average dragon can only reach around 700 points. To get over 1500 and consider it as light... well...” he was scratching his cheek.

“It can’t be help, can it? We both are terrible powerful! Hihi!” the silver-scaled dragoness giggled.

“Yes... sort of...” I was reluctant about my own answer because I was aware of the fact that most of my strength was actually a buff from my [Dragon Tamer] skill.

If there was a chance where my friends stopped being friends with me, all of that strength would vanish almost immediately. To be honest, I was a bit horrified of the situation where we would end up either as enemies or just simple acquaintances.

Well, there was no point in worrying about that for now. It was a waste of energy.

“There’s nothing else I would like to ask you at this point, but if anything will come up, I will let you know... or the Guild Master in the respective town or city you are in will do so.” the dragon nodded.

“Thank you. Does this mean we can take quests right away?” I asked a bit excited.

“Despite your incredible strength, you will still need to grow in ranks. They represent both the trust of the guild and your competence in successfully completing the offered requests. It matters not if you can raze the country to the ground if you can’t even walk a noble’s pet down the street.” Valkos explained.

“So we’re starting from Beginner Rank?” I asked.

“Indeed. As a matter of fact, I do believe we have a couple of them you can use to try out the way our system works. Given your current strength, they shouldn’t be a problem.” he smiled.

“I understand. We’ll go and have a look at them, then we’ll think whether we will take one or not.” Kataryna declared while trying not to appear too bored.

“Of course! Once you will receive your Guild Cards tomorrow, you’ll be able to accept any request available for your current rank.” the Guild Master nodded.

“What do we need to advance in rank?” I asked.

“Completing quests of your current rank, earning the trust of high ranked guild members, and participating in group events organized by the Adventurers Guild.” he explained.

“I understand...” I replied.

“If there’s nothing else that we need to be informed about, we will take our leave now.” Kataryna declared.

“That would be all.” he nodded. “May you prosper in your endeavors and bring great fame and fortune to our guild as well!” he said with big smile.

“Likewise. Have a good day, Guild Master Valkos.” said Kataryna.

After we all gave our farewells, we departed from the Adventurers Guild and went back to our inn. We relaxed for a bit and then went outside of the city to train vigorously. In other words, I was pummeled into the ground by a silver-scaled dragoness while running away from curses cast by the black-scaled one...

At least, at the end of the day, I was still alive... sort of...