CH.258 Dragon Riding with the Prince

CH.258 Dragon Riding with the Prince

“Good morning, Your Highness.” I greeted the Prince at the door of the guest house he was staying at.

“Didn’t I say you can be more casual while outside of official business? Just call me by my name.” The Prince reminded me.

“Of course, Elias.” I agreed. I honestly just used ‘Your Highness’ to confirm today’s situation.

After breakfast, I had gone separate ways from Alice and Lua. Those two went with Mariina to have some sort of magic test/show/witch exam thingy, while I came to have the promised dragon ride with Elias. Agunan was with me, and I asked Ria to go with Alice and Lua.

All three of us, Agunan, Elias and I, got into the same carriage and headed outside the city.

During our ride, I carefully asked about the Bloggs family and the punishment they got, and the Prince proudly told me.

“I had the head of the house step down, and the first son took his place as Baron Bloggs.” He answered. “The previous Baron was also sent to the capital where he will work with the butchers to collect blood, which will then be sent to the dhampir safe-town closest to the capital. I hope you like what I came up with.”

“... how did you get him to agree to that?” I questioned. I actually kind of like the poetic justice of him collecting blood for the dhampirs he so despises. But to me, that sounds like two punishments. Losing both his position, and being sent into forced labor.

“It was either that or have his entire family executed. He quickly agreed to the terms.” Elias said, smiling.

... I don’t think you should be smiling while you say something like that.

We finally came to a stop about an hour away from the city. ... that is a stupid way to measure things. Measuring with time, our distance would depend on the speed. Well, the horses pulling our carriage belonged to the Royal family, so they were some of the best, and the carriage was high quality as well, so we were 20 kilometers away from the city walls. Perhaps a bit further away than we need, but better safe than sorry.

After confirming the perimeter, the Royal guards allowed for one of Elias’ maids to open the door to our carriage, and we stepped outside.

“Please stay there. I’ll summon the dragon now.” I told Elias. During our ride, we already spoke about which dragon I’d let him ride. He was very interested in my white dragons, but for obvious reasons, that ain’t gonna happen. Instead, I’ll let him ride the golden one. But for that, I’ll need... “I summon three Troop Dragons.”

Spoiler

[collapse]

I need a few tributes. And they have to be dragon-type. Troop Dragon, as a card, summoned two humanoid dragons each, one with a sword and shield, one with a spear. They were just under two meters tall, and unlike Agunan’s humanoid form, they had full lizard faces, and they also could only speak in draconic. But because each card summoned two, and I had summoned three copies worth, six dragonoid warriors were now mine to command. ... or tribute.

“I tribute my three Troop Dragons to summon Victory Dragon.”

Spoiler

[collapse]

Now why would I go with Victory Dragon? Well, that is simple. I didn’t want the Prince to ride anything too strong, but I also didn’t want to give him some disrespectful little shit dragon. Victory Dragon is an alright balance between those two extremes. It has just one problem. Every time I summon it, I’ll have to summon it by tribute summon. No colored sleeve/toploader stuff with this one. Sadly, that will mean that I likely won’t use him much, but for this purpose, Victory Dragon is just fine.

Victory Dragon itself was just shy of 20 meters tall, on my not patented dragon measuring scale. So it was just a bit smaller than a Blue-Eyes, but still larger than most level 8 dragons I have. And thanks to its golden scales, it was perfect for a member of the Royal family to ride. ... it also has quite high defense, so that is a nice plus, not that I’m predicting anything to attack us.

“So, what do you think Elias? Do you like it?” I asked the Prince.

Spoiler[collapse]Spoiler[collapse][Lucia POV]

The three of us sat down behind a deck that had been set out for us beforehand. This was done by the adventurer’s guild to make sure the operation ran smoothly. They had already done a basic selection of the applicants, to at least make sure they could use magic, as to waste as little of the time of the great witch overseeing the exam as possible.

As we were doing our final preparations, I recalled my own exam. I traveled all the way to the capital for it. I thought that what I should do is show off powerful offensive spells, but Mrs. Moon told me that that isn’t how you get recognized. Control is what is important. I showed the examiner both my Water Control and Blood Control spells. After that, he requested that I show an offensive spell, so I used Ice Lance, one of the most powerful spells I could use at the time. I also showed some healing magic, and I was then granted the title of Witch by the Great Wizard representing the Sage’s tower.

And now I was sitting here, assisting someone holding the same exam. I never really thought I would end up in a place like this.

“Thank you. You do not pass. Next.” Mariina called out, after failing the next contender. He had alright ability in magic, but he lacked skill in control-style magic.

The reason control-style magic is important for this test was something I asked Mrs. Moon during our trip to the capital. She explained it to me like this.

“When you chant magic, the chant takes care of most of the control. All you have to do is aim. But with control-style spells, your own imagination and turning that into mana movement are the most important parts. That is why they put such an emphasis on that style of magic. It proves that you understand that magic is more than just chanting words and aiming spells.”

This contender moved on with grace, but not all of them always do that. Sometimes they get a bit ... irritated and try to do something. I think we have it especially bad, because we are three women, and even Ria, our guard, is female. We did also have a few adventurer’s on stand-by, but they might not make it in time if someone really attempts something.

But after the first who attempted something first had their spell blocked by Alice using an Instant Cast Dark Shield and then Ria taking them to the ground, none of the others have been so brave.

By the end of the day, out of the 43 people who came to show their skills, only two were approved by Mariina. There were a few others who Mariina claimed showed promise, but they lacked control of their magic, so they didn’t pass at this time.

[Brian POV]

“So, how was it? Did you enjoy your day?” I asked the girls when they came back. I had returned a little while ago, and while Agunan decided to take a nap, I went to the training grounds for some sword practice, until I got the info that Lua and Alice were returning.

“... it was alright. A bit boring though.” Alice admitted. “I think normal people are boring compared to your monsters. I want them to put on a magic show so I can see a lot of different kinds of magic. I think that might help my unique skill.”

“You can probably ask them and Fantasia to do that.” I told her. I feel like Fantasia would set that up in no time. She gets along with basically all of my monsters. And I know my monsters already have tournaments in the factory anyway, so there might already be some security footage, recorded by Tahlia, of my spellcasters fighting.

“What about you and the Prince?” Lua asked.

“We had our fun. Agunan is nice to ride, because he is so warm.” I admitted, as I looked at the napping dragon. A fire dragon is just better. Like having heated seats on your flying motorcycle.

“Did the Prince ask for any more favors from you?”

“... I don’t think so. He did say he wanted to ride dragons again. He also gave me that Royal order he promised us. You know, the one giving us unlimited access to the dhampir safe towns. In return, I promised I’d take him dragon riding next time we meet. Not that I have any clue if I’ll ever even meet him again. Well, probably in the capital, but we’ll see.”

“... yes. I guess we will.” Lua responded.

Last thing of the day was of course our level ups. I leveled up my Sword Technique, after getting permission for it from today’s teacher, Black Luster Soldier.

Lua leveled up her Magic Boost, while Alice maxed out her Dark Magic. Ria got a level into Flicker Step, because of some small incident that happened during the day.

SpoilerName: Brian WoodRace: Human ✯Level: 99HP: 3520 (+19,400)Mana: 4620 (+17,700)Strength: 1190Defense: 1320 Magic: 1370 Skills: Pack Opener LV.5 (unique)Different Dimension Factory LV.3 (unique)Storage LV.10 (unique)

Space Magic LV.2 (extra)

Telekinesis LV.5 (extra)Summoner’s Unity LV.10 (extra)Dungeon Founder (extra)Summon Water Spirit (extra)Health Conscious (extra) Sword Technique LV.3

Mana Control LV.10 Dragon Life Dedication (Greater True Fire Dragon)

Water Spirit’s Blessing (Greater)Honorary Baron of Ruiso Kingdom

Language Comprehension (humanoid) (draconic)Slave MasterSlaves: Rhianna[collapse]SpoilerName: LuciaRace: Dhampir Monarch !Level: 96HP: 2450Mana: 4565Strength: 895Defense: 1170Magic: 3200 Skills: Dhampir Princess LV.2 (Unique) True Blood Magic LV.8 (Racial) Card Summoner LV.2 (extra) Summon Water Spirit (extra) Water Magic LV.8Light Magic LV.3Mana Control LV.10 Magic Boost LV.8Quick Cast LV.8Fast Mana Recovery LV.10 Knife Technique LV.2Staff Technique LV.6 SaintWater Spirits Blessing (Greater)Blood Sucker (Racial)Lifesaver[collapse]SpoilerName: Alice Mana WatchmanRace: Magical Girl ?Level: 85HP: 1540Mana: 4070Strength: 892Defense: 1242Magic: 3044 Skills: Magical Girl (unique-racial) LV.1 Card Summoner LV.3 (extra)Magician’s Power LV.5 (extra) Multicasting LV.4 (extra)Mana Flight LV.5 (extra)Telekinesis LV.3 (extra)Giant Slayer LV.1 (extra) Dark Magic LV.10Mana Control LV.10Magic Boost LV.7Quick Cast LV.8Instant Cast LV.2Fast Mana Recovery LV.10Magic resistance LV.5Staff Technique LV.3 One with two SoulsOne who defeated the Impossible[collapse]SpoilerName: RhiannaRace: Dhampir BrawlerLevel: 88HP: 2845Mana: 2620Strength: 1865Defense: 1361Magic: 1195 Skills:True Blood Magic LV.5 (Racial)Vampiric Body Modification LV.4 (Racial)

Card Summoner LV.2 (extra)

Fire Magic LV.5Mana Control LV.5Fast Mana Recovery LV.5Internal Magic Technique LV.6Unarmed Combat Technique LV.7Flickering Step LV.5Power Boost LV.5Defense Boost LV.5 Blood Sucker (Racial)Slave. Master: Brian Wood[collapse]

Tomorrow, we will see the Prince off. Then I think I’ll install a few cards into each of us. I’ll have Laura and the other two System Supports confirm how many are safe for each of us, and also she can make a recommended list with the other System Supports. ... Did Alice ever name her System Support? Well, tomorrow.