Chapter 102

After their meal, the Yetis guided Naell and Owly alongside the scholars. By then they were on their way to the forest of Alawenta; the place wherein they claimed to have encountered the pieces of Lucile.

“It is nowhere that they came out of... and everyone they thought strong was subdued,” Said the one they referred to as Husby.

His crude speech was compensated by his warm uncle-like voice. Yet as he was hairier than Wifey, when it came to their build the two yetis were on equal footing.

“Luckily, able to escape— we hid, and our presence we erase along in the snow.” Added Wifey.

For both the massive and intimidating Yetis, the turn of events that fateful day was a memory they wished to bury. Just seeing the forest— the so-called home they abandoned, made them revisit their dreary past.

Not long after, they encountered some monsters, yet their aura and mana alone were enough for the weak ones to scurry away.

Even so, some were still brave enough to lunge into their party mindlessly. However, much to the monsters’ dismay, any and all who tried to approach were repelled by a relentless and ever-turning wind magic.

Thus the forest’s ambiance was met with the occasional loud shwoof of wind, and the squeals of monsters being hurled away. The one behind it all was none other than Naell, who by now had a much better grasp of his mana. Much to Owly’s dismay, he could now use magic lazier than ever.

Currently, he had imbued the exterior of his magic shield with repulsive air similar to that of a reverse tornado or drill-shaped leaf blower.

Visibly, it was quite hard to see. Further, the activation was also innovative as it would only be triggered when Naell would feel a murderous aura or magic around them.

That was why, in the very forest of Alawenta, watchful foes and allies alike were mesmerized and terrified by his prowess.

“Truly a dragon...” Said Wifey while seeing a foe of theirs- a cyclops, bounce off and get thrown into the distant mountaintop.

Ignoring the cyclops’ yelp, Naell squirmed upon hearing Wifey’s words. Besides the embarrassment of being revered, the frightening image of the powerful dragons seeped into Naell’s mind.

He didn’t know for certain if those beings would take kindly to hearing a mere mortal be called one of them.

‘Dragons are prideful beings, and I really don’t want to become dragon fodder…’ He thought to himself before saying aloud,

“Uhm… if you look closely I’m no dragon.” Said Naell.

Still, his words were quickly rebuked by the two Yetis, [ Not one you are yet, so to speak. Your appearance is human, but your mana is of dragon’s. ]

“...”

[ And your eyes, same with the dragon we saw back then… terrifying and cold. ]

The seemingly wordy praises of torture Naell had to endure lasted for a moment. After walking for a while, they arrived in the middle of the forest that had traces of varying inhabitants.

Although appearance-wise, desolated was a fitting word to describe the place; burnt trees wrecked shelters, and cracked lands beheld their sight.

“Sire drag— Naell sire, is this place where they try to capture us before?” Said Husby with pained eyes while glancing around anxiously.

While Naell was distracted thinking of ways to differentiate Husby and Wifey, Owly began his investigation.

Plucking out a feather from his flabby body, he then let it fly into the air, letting a trace of his mana flow from its tip.

The mystical sight caught Naell’s attention and fortunately awoke his senses. Moments like that reminded him that Owly was becoming more proficient with his magic. Not to mention, his mana was becoming paler and almost as red as his mother, Athena’s.

“Welp, the one called Reyna must have erased their presence, HOOT.”

Drhys and Sajae nodded as Wifey hugged Husby fearfully. They were still traumatized thinking about how they were almost turned into slaves by the pieces of Lucile.

“Have you reported this to the guild?” Asked Naell as he then activated his detection magic, but to no avail as not one trace appeared.

‘I might as well use it till we go back.’ Naell thought as he waited for them to answer.

Yet the subtle change between Drhys and Sajae’s behavior caught his eye.

They went quiet for a while and tried to change the topic. Yet they were immediately silenced by Owly who understood what they didn’t do, “I knew it! You guys are good for nothing, HOOT!”

“Hmph. I kinda preferred you when you were just hooting.” Muttered Sajae silently which earned him several pecks from the owl.

Seeing them being chastised, the two Yetis then began apologizing as they said, [ Sorry we the ones who told them not to report it! ]

Naell could only sigh seeing how the mission became more complicated. He then with his cold eyes asked, “Explain.”

There they began stating that the Guildhall in that village would surely, if not kill them, forbid the two Yetis from staying.

“As you might have seen, the guild leader and the people there are good, but they have an unfortunate animosity towards monsters.” The one who spoke was Sajae while Drhys only nodded.

The forest’s solemn ambiance took hold of the party. At that moment Naell and Owly recalled how their first impression of the two was rushed and problematic, yet now, it appeared that they really were just scholars with good hearts.

In a sense, Naell empathized with their desire to help the Yetis, as he himself would not be comfortable killing the two furry beings.

“So Dragon Sir—”

Yet before Husby could continue his words, he gazed in confusion at what he was now seeing.

Wifey too tilted her head and asked, “Sire Owly and great Dragon are you guys crying?”

[ ... ]

“Ah no, dust caught in my eyes, and this bird ate a lot of meat so he is teary from overeating.” Replied Naell who couldn’t stop himself from getting emotional.

“Ahm, but… Dragon sire’s eyes are flowing—”

Once again, before Husby could finish his words, Naell waved his hands in a disregarding manner.

Upon finally wiping his definitely-not-tears away, Naell then turned his gaze elsewhere.

With his eyes landing on the place not far from the reported sighting of the pieces, he then flashed a smile that seemed to scare both the Yetis as he spoke, “I assure you, nothing was flowing! And please, do not call me a dragon. Just Naell.”

“...”

.

.

.

Upon their swift arrival at their intended destination, what they saw was just the normal scenery found in any common forest. The trees paired with the overgrown vines and plants were certainly nothing out of the ordinary, yet upon closer inspection, Owly felt and realized something was amiss.

The same could be said of the scholars and the yetis. Although they failed to notice sooner, the lingering mana and aura were now subtly noticeable with their concentration.

Hence, they immediately pushed aside plants obstructing their view, and soon, a clearing filled with large mossy boulders and stones stood before them.

[ Woahh… ] said the scholars collectively as they both admired the arcane view.

Familiar with the structure, Owly quickly flew ahead. He extended his wings and flew over the cluster of rocks, observing how it was all unusually yet very clearly grouped together.

Upon reaching greater heights to scan the entire area, he stopped midair and began to emit a faint yet fearsome glow of red.

Particles of mana then began to rush around him, all the while sunlight peeked through the trees and further illuminated his pristine feathers.

Without warning the strong flap of his wings caused several of his feathers to be hurled at the rocks, all of which were emitting the fierce essence of his dark magic.

Upon impact, the sound of a hundred whispers filled the air, and a powerful gale shot from the center and spread in all directions.

As fallen leaves and dust rushed past their bodies, the illusion of boulders was removed, and it finally revealed itself.

“Behold! A hidden dungeon, HOOT!”

The two scholars' faces brightened up, and alongside Naell they gawked at the menacing rocky opening before them.

It was reminiscent of a large tomb with its round roof and many surrounding pillars. Its entrance was barred with a wall of dark stones and curious engravings were plastered across it.

Naell slowly approached the structure and brushed his hand against the foreign writings not on the entrance but on the ruined pillars.

In truth, this was unlike the first dungeon he had seen, which he deemed rather basic in appearance.

Upon taking a step back, he then sighed, regretting what he had found as he had an inkling of what was to come.

“Welp, let’s go then!” Said Drhys as he hummed together with Sajae. The latter then whistled and foolishly poked a hole with fire magic that admittedly piqued Naell and Owly’s interest.

It was large enough for them to enter, yet immediately, they all felt an aura that was concentrated and heavy.

The two Yetis then grew pale and jumped backward, as they silently said in a shrieking voice, [ That them, that them! ]

Luckily, before anyone could even detect or rush onto them, Naell used his magic to freeze the hole Sajae procured and Owly used his dark magic to reseal the dungeon’s opening. Both of them then shot glares at the hasty scholars.

The two culprits then raised their palms and claimed innocence.

“If you guys want to die, don’t make us join you, HOOT!” With a flurry of pecks, Owly said, causing both Sajae and Drhys to admit their mistake.

Naell on the other hand remained silent. He stared at the dungeon entrance and rubbed his arm as he felt a chill.

That was the very first time he truly felt sweat just from feeling someone's aura.

‘Whoever that was, I really hope it didn’t notice us.’ Thought Naell who immediately used his teleportation magic on all of them.

As they were [ POOF ] out and sent to the place where they originally met, all of them except Owly were bewildered by what Naell had done.

“We knew you could copy teleportation magic but we never thought to this extent.” Said Sajae wryly.

Since Naell had more access to his mana and time, he had completed the magic he called “Logic Gate”.

To use the said magic was simple, he would just have to place a “gate” wherein he wanted to return, and as long as that magic was there and within the scope of his mana, he could teleport right away.

Although in a battle, it would be deemed to be ineffective at the moment. However, for the likes of the lazy young master, this was certainly must-have magic.

Going back, Naell only shrugged and immediately erased the magical “gate’ he placed while saying, “I think it is better to report it to the guild, and as for the two of you.”

When his eyes wandered around the Yetis, both were terrified as they were still shocked at the complex teleportation magic. He smiled coldly, furthering the misunderstanding, “Don’t worry, you’ll love the place.”

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The post is titled "Character Portraits WiP" Under the "Arts" tag at patreon.com/nezothecat . It's free for public viewing and is a work in progress that will soon have every character we've introduced in TNBS thus far!

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