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Rosen Flame B1 — 1. Monarch of the Rosen Flame
🕑 Added 2023-09-14 07:25:57 +0000 UTCPoV:
1. Malik (Our MC and Humanity's Hero!)
Author Note: What does High Goddess Titania have in store for our hero this time?
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A wry smile lifted Malik’s somber green eyes as he delved further into the cooler depths of the Darkvein. Rich veins of mana cast a dim glow over the black stone, the crystallized energy pulsing up from deep within the otherworldly underbelly of the planet. It didn’t take long until he came to an opening, making him chuckle and take his hand off his sword hilt.
Pink rays lit the heavens, just the same as the valley he’d entered from, yet this wasn’t the terrifying, gloomy fake skies of the Darkvein. The caverns he’d traversed had turned into an open field of colorful fire; the entire back half of the mountain was blown away, and far in the distance was a colossal figure sitting in the calamitous hellscape:
A dragon came into focus, pink and black scales gleaming with a luster that could outshine any gemstone and glowed hotter than Hell itself. Practically a mountain, The Monarch of Rosen Flame sat in a deep crater, bathing in the radiant red light of a prime ley line that it had uncovered beneath the surface and Darkvein.
Malik resigned himself to his fate as the demigod’s slim, massive head turned to observe the colorful heavens, the nine moons of the High Deities spread out across the sky in the last night of the Veil of Chaos. It wasn’t like the dragon didn’t know where he was, and only his very high passive Fire Resistance and the wealth of high-tier gear he wore protected him from the inferno. He was just that insignificant.
Protected by providence, he’d found his way through the flaming maze of fire that could scar even the gods, yet, as weak as he was, Malik was the strongest person on at least half the planet. He had to face this threat.
A lump formed in his already dry throat as the dragon demigod’s elegant and regal head turned to look at him. It might as well be a god; he tried to use [FF-tier Appraise], but The System’s response put ice in his veins as it fritzed and glitched.
[Unable to identify]
If even his higher-tier Appraisal wouldn’t identify it these flames, then he was in real trouble. F-tier to S-tier only went up to roughly Level 38; that was as hard as it generally got on the planet’s surface. Few non-reincarnators got beyond Level 10 to 15, much less getting into the Darvein’s Shadow Pit dungeons, where FF-tier to SS-tier took effect; where he was at, not that it would help him here.
Malik locked eyes with sky-blue draconic orbs in the distance, like the untouchable celestial spheres illuminating space, this ancient creature was so far above him, he felt less than an ant in its presence. Not even a Level 100 could contend with this colossal dragon, much less someone half that. And in that deathly stillness, shades of pink flames a writhing ocean within the valley, the previous, stupid words of his High Goddess poked at Malik’s brain.
Remember your previous life and be chaotic… Great advice for a loser, Titania. A decade of solid words of wisdom, and this is how we end this little campaign? Light novel nerd activate…
Clearing his throat, he spoke aloud, figuring such an insanely powerful entity would be able to hear him. “I, uh… understand you like to challenge the strong. Haha… Care to chat about it?”
Malik’s mind blanked as a heated, feminine chuckle carried along the whirlwind and swept the melted valley that met him. The demigod turned her colossal body, wings blowing away the fire her presence generated, and was on top of him before he could even blink.
Her control over the flames was supernatural, and Malik now knew how it was to feel like less than a germ as she loomed over him. Her vast wings like the sky itself, blotting out the nine celestial spheres that were nearly below the horizon in their respective directions.
The demigod’s entertained voice was like bubbling magma mixed with deceptively sweet nectar as she lowered her unimaginably large head to squint at him. “And what do you know about the strong? I have killed kings of Hell and battled eldritch fiends of the Dark Cosmos.” Her booming laugh escaped, and, despite being totally overwhelmed, Malik couldn’t help but think it held a nice note. “What are you? Is this all that humanity has to offer in this day and age?” she mused, hurricane winds threatening to cut past his items and throw him into the sky.
Dry eyes snapping shut in a panic, he threw up his arm out of reflex, only for her booming voice to soon quiet with the gale. He didn’t even know what to say in return, but he babbled nonetheless.
“H-Hold on—” Malik coughed and blinked, trying to wet his eyes, yet when he lowered his arms and tried to clear his watering vision, he didn’t find the dragon.
A grinning, very beautiful pink-haired woman, clothed in a cute black, gray, and white dress, stood in front of him as if tossed out of an anime scene.
“What challenges would you pose to me, Malik Tasnia, Level 49 Fireblade Fighter?” she mocked, showing she had a higher Appraisal Feat than [B-tier System Block], but he was beginning to think this dragon was outside The System.
Shimmering horns exited above her elf-like ears, and exiting out the back portion of her dress was a sleek, black-to-rose gradient tail with a v-shaped, star ruby-colored fin. The long weapon flicked to the side before weaving behind her, and the transformed she-dragon’s entertained, sky-blue eyes appraised him like a piece of meat to soften up for the taste.
She fixed her accessories, the woman’s booted feet clicking against the glowing stone while circling him like the predator she was. In the heat of the firestorm and demigod that circled, Malik asked himself how he’d gotten to this point, and the last twenty-four hours flashed before his eyes.
* — * — *
Malik crested a tall mountain, a heated breeze swept back his black hair; he’d left the last camp of living souls in these snow-filled badlands days ago, but there was no longer ice here.
The [S-tier Cloak of the Crimson Flame] he wore activated with a host of other items, encircling him with a shimmering blue aura as the scorching atmosphere almost broke past the barriers he was using; these dozens of items only just barely protected him, but the sight that met him below chilled his blood.
It galled him to admit, but for the first time in a decade, the fire in his heart wavered. Below was a valley he’d become quite familiar with over the years; now, it was a rose-pink molten hellscape that would make an Archdevil quake in terror.
A bitter taste entered his mouth at what he’d agreed to do, the vigor pumping through Malik’s veins quelling as he stumbled to a stop. His gaze passed over the apocalyptic rain descending upon the burning landscape.
Unable to proceed, he stopped to pray, observing in stunned disbelief; he’d expected an impossible fight but not this.
Titania, give me patience, give me grace, steal my doubt… I miss my faith. I can’t do this anymore…
Malik let out a self-deprecating chuckle as he stumbled to a nearby flat rock. The scent of sulfur and melting flesh filled his dry nose. Below him was a seemingly endless sea of Elite, insectoid monsters, ranging from Level 40 to Level 45. A Max S-tier Dungeon Break that should have spelled yet another surface-ending calamity for the world of Felthran. The familiar sight evoked memories of the Hell Portal, the gateway to the First Circle of Baailor, which had consumed his homeland.
His eyes were pulled heaven-bound as a shadow and wave of rhodonite-pink flames erupted in the distance. There she was, the demigod. Malik sat forward, unsure what he was even doing here anymore.
Unfortunately for the Level 45 elite monstrous lurkers that had plagued the Republic of Rashguard since the very day he’d been born into this land as a reincarnator, these insects stood no chance against the being that had only just awoken six days prior.
Littered amongst the melting insect armies were entities so powerful that if he were to see one living, and outside of the harder content of the FF to SS-tier Shadow Pits, he’d consider his life forfeit on sight. Only, they were dead as much as the F-tier Snow Rabbit in this former arctic wasteland.
It wasn’t only the S-tier Dungeon elites that had tried to escape, abandoning all hope in their untimely break into freedom. He scanned the blazing valley, spotting torched nightmarish fiends of the world’s dark underbelly, ranging from FF-tier to SS-tier threats that were so disastrous, a single one would spell humanity’s doom. Only, from their point of view, their sudden freedom from the Darkvein underworld had been met with horror rather than triumph.
How much more am I supposed to shoulder? Malik thought, tears gathering in his eyes only to evaporate before they ever had the chance to fall. What am I supposed to do here, Titania? Why would you send me here if I can’t win—to buy time?
Not even those nightmarish, trapped denizens of the Darkvein, the dreadful underworld of Felthran, could stand in defiance; the very barrier that separated the Darkvein underworld to the surface was disrupted in the fuchsia-colored flames raining down from the pastel clouds, painting the world with a pink aurora.
It was even worse for Malik, considering that he knew the Darkvein and had traversed parts of it, with its harrowing Shadow Pit Dungeons, ranging from Level 35 to 70. If the Darkvein’s terrifying inhabitants, with its cruel and powerful dark elf kingdoms or mind-bending fiends, abandoned their underground cities to flee into other obscure territories below the planet’s surface, then what shot did he have?
These roseate flames cast judgment on all, weak and strong, be it the surface F-tier monsters or the SS-tier extreme-super-monsters within the depths of the Darkvein, all melted before the Monarch of the Rosen Flame.
His opponent was a dragon so disastrous, so impossible, not even the mythical sun elves had an answer when she broke through the ocean floor. Instead, they’d closed off their isolated island into an entirely different dimension. What was he supposed to do as a Level 49 Fireblade Fighter that could only barely scrape by the DD-tier Shadow Pits in the Darkvein?
Sitting on his rock, Malik shook his head, unable to find the strength to stand; his tale was one of pain, unyielding drive, and blood. He had never stopped, not until now, at least.
At ten years old, his Earth memories awakened in the recurring, week-long event that happened every decade, known as the Veil of Chaos. A time when the nine High Deities replaced their fallen reincarnate champions. Malik was one of the seventeen possible reincarnators of his Chaotic-Good whimsical fae goddess; for some reason, The Nine were only allowed one slot in each of the seventeen classes, and he was the Fighter for Titania. Truly, after his meeting with the divine woman, he hadn’t doubted her wisdom for a moment.
And since day one of his awakening at ten years old, he’d pushed as hard as he could to help everyone to the best of his ability. In his moral crisis, memories of the event sprang forth, bringing him back to the traumatic start of his journey, holding the hand of his best friend. He’d failed her, yet she hadn’t failed him.
All he had experienced—all the good he’d done—what did it matter? His decade-long journey was finished, but not by his hand, and death stared him in the face. There was no shot of getting out of this, yet the world was over if he failed. The smarter decision was probably just to run, as he’d done when he was ten, and maybe this was just him coping right now, but one face in his memories forced his gaze back to the melting valley.
In contrast to the paltry and putrid black fires of Hell, these rhodonite, shimmering flames were playing a whole different game. The raining fuschia-colored meteors, cataclysmic coral eruptions, and spewing jets of pink-tinted, liquified earth across all he could see, held a majesty he couldn’t deny. She would have loved it. Fire gathered to bloom into towering roses, releasing a fragrant scent that followed the initial sulfur clouds. It was… magnificent. Awe-striking, even.
It was this flowery infernal fire that had made him initially lose heart, and now the image brought him back to his feet. No, she wouldn’t run. These flames could scar even the gods, yet he found the courage within to observe the demigod’s energy spread across dirt, stone, and water.
After a time, he pulled his weary gaze from the destruction hell envied to catch a glimpse of the greenish moon of his goddess through the pink haze, the bright orb tainted with black spots. The Veil of Chaos was about to end: the week-long event where all the moons shared the same sky brought uncertainty to even the high deities.
He had to get answers. Why had no one stepped up like him? Why was he the only one here? He could do it; after all, he always rose to the challenge. But it would be nice to have someone with him.
The Nine—three good, three neutral, and three evil—battled it out for their own agendas, roping in up to seventeen reincarnates, each to act as their hands. Naturally, because of the connection between reincarnators and their high deities, this planet’s inhabitants had a very polarized view of his kind, yet he’d done well in changing that opinion.
Sadly, his fellow reincarnates had been unable to keep up with his dogged work ethic, so he had little to no support at his level. The closest reincarnate he knew that was near him was around Level 38, and an eleven-level difference was massive; they were only just now stepping foot in the harder content, struggling as a full party in the Darkvein FF-tier Shadow Pit Dungeons.
Where was he? Malik was preparing to enter CC-tier... alone. Of course, he had a lot of leftover gear from the previous generations that had mysteriously vanished the year he was born, unnatural even for the Veil of Chaos, and hadn’t happened in seven hundred years of recorded history. Then again, the trust of kingdom resources came with the territory when you were the only one making any headway; nations bet on the winners.
A Level 38 had 14 million total EXP, while he was sitting at 45 million, more than three times their effort in grinding through ten ruthless years, but it came at a price.
A few moons from the other high deities poked through the clouds with the heavy infernal winds that the super-heated air generated. He drew in his breath, a small smile coming on from the unusually pleasant after-smell the rosy flames left, and he sat for a time, taking in the unbelievable majesty that stretched out as far as he could see. He wouldn’t run. He could never run again. But no mortal should be forced to enter such a beautiful nightmare; there was no one else capable or willing, though.
Again, I am pushed to embrace the weight of a world that refuses to rise up and make the necessary sacrifices to combat the evils that threaten it… I can’t survive here alone… Is all of this to test when I’ll break? Do you need proof of when I’ll give up? I won’t. But I don’t even know if I can find a path across this hellscape, let alone look at the Monarch of the Rosen Flames—a demigod…
He looked back at his life, studying this once death-caked valley riddled with the signs of the decade-long struggle to suppress the S-Tier insectoid dungeon. And now, all his tireless work to put them down had been turned into a humorous joke; monsters he risked his life against—died once fighting, only to be resurrected, losing months of EXP—reduced to less than fodder. The elites were practically nonexistent to the ancient demigod dragon.
This was something no one could look at without laughing at the pure insanity that would prompt anyone to willingly enter it. He was humanity’s greatest hero, a Level 49 Fireblade Fighter. Yeah, it wasn’t the best of confidence builders, given the situation. Whose bright idea was it to send a Fireblade to fight the draken Monarch of the Rosen Flames?!
His hopes burning low, he took one last breath, pulling in the pleasant burning cinders floating on the wind. He had to acknowledge he did have a lot of natural fire resistance.
Who else was there to send? It’s not like all the strongest reincarnates vanished the year I got sent to this world without rhyme or reason… The damn Veil of Chaos, forcing a first-time, random, half-assed reset! And all the current reincarnators are so weak and slow at leveling that I could solo them all. Great.
The high deities, in their wars in the higher planes, brought blessings and curses across this planet, and even Titania was silent on that cataclysmic act; not even half of those Classes that vanished returned as reincarnates in Malik’s generation, which likely meant they were still alive somewhere. Now, with all known reincarnators as newbies, fresh Level 1s, it was easy for people to lose hope. And him being one of the few that broke out of the pack, the rest of the world put an unbelievable amount of stress right on his shoulders.
Only, this time, what joys did the deities’ playful matches bring him on this Veil of Chaos? Oh, just awakening this monstrous demigod of a dragon, and practically dooming this forsaken, isekai-obsessed world to an armageddon.
Draken gods! Slap the evil ones every once in a while because this is getting ridiculous! he growled internally, trying to avoid a mouth full of sulfur. I’ve been carrying everything! I could use a break, Titania! I know you can hear me, so give me something to work with!
No, Malik was here to save the world! Getting up, he studied the sea of bubbling pink molten pools, tainted by the rosen flame. All there was before him was despair, yet he continued his journey, finding patches where no fire or corrupting liquid earth ran. Even then, his magic shield flared; he could hardly handle the radial heat alone.
There was so little known about the Monarch of the Rosen Flame due to her length of hibernation, that Malik was only told she burned things really well. Yeah, that was it. She slept a lot, was invincible, and spat really hot loogies. Surely, he was good to go with that awesome intel.
No, instead of useful things, he was given stuff like… Maybe the monarch would go back to sleep? What if at least one of the high deities sent down a miracle? All nine of them—evil to good, lawful to chaotic—should be against this terrifying dragon, which said a lot. Who knew? So, what was the end of such a productive united kingdom strategy meeting? Throw the reincarnates at the problem and see what sticks! The tried and true…
Malik joked and laughed at himself to keep sane on the maze-like path he took through the heat, flaming roses, and pitfalls, eating through the Darkvein barrier to the shadow realms underneath. The rose petal storms could be pretty when not coming toward him.
No, I’m definitely going to die, he thought to himself, but, hey, you only live once… was what I’d say if I didn’t already live another life on Earth and died twice here. So, maybe my next life will be less stressful than the weight everyone throws on me in this one. Maybe I won’t be a virgin, again, in the next life. Well, I can hope…
Trepidation pressed his lungs into his gut, the sensation escalating with each step he took while staring into the bright heavens.
He stumbled, almost falling into a molten pit, as the smirking, mischievous face of a glorious woman flashed across his vision, his goddess’ lustrous voice overshadowing his mind.
“Your rest has come, Malik… Everything you have done is for this moment. Do not falter, and embrace the maddening life you’d thrown off when being reborn into this world. Your reward is here; one does not fight with a demigod… one finds a way to achieve their goal while obtaining your own. Be clever, Malik. Hehe. Be chaotic!”
Righting himself, Malik glared at Titania’s moon as it was overcast again, carrying her voice away.
You know, for bumping my Worship to A-tier in order to have these conversations, you are the most infuriating conversationalist! Ugh… Be chaotic. Be clever. Embrace the otaku! You’re the worst of the high deities at advice, I swear.
He could practically hear the fae goddess’ giggles as he trudged onward. The Veil of Chaos happened once a decade, meaning he had a fellow greenie reincarnate probably being sent down right now that would receive such awe-inspiring advice from their goddess in the future.
Of course, they’d probably be stoked to learn there were Corrupting Seeds from space that would pepper this wartorn planet during this event, providing dungeons to crawl through. Only, when they learned how insidious they were, he wouldn’t be so cheery to keep them open for long. They fed on the places they settled on, twisting the life there.
Meeting undead people you knew and cared for could take on a whole different meaning when not fantasy, especially when they were people you previously saved. Yet, the dungeons also acted as a machine to create magical items. It was a complicated political mess for the world’s inhabitants.
“Damn, how is it so cold?” he jokingly laughed, his throat dry.
“How did my second life turn out like this… All I’ve done is break my back for others… Hey, at least I get money, right? Oh wait, I can’t even use it because I’m so overworked,” he dully complained, not meaning it but needing to somehow release the pressure compressing his chest.
Ruefully shaking his head at all the cash he had in one of his Bags of Holding that he’d never use, he touched the hilt of his [EE-tier Abalak’s Flame-Tongued Greatsword] for comfort, the weapon resting on his back. He’d gotten it from a Darkvein dungeon; it was far stronger than the surface dungeon’s S-tier artifacts and was completely useless in this situation.
Malik bolstered his courage with another somber prayer, drawing on the strength of his decade’s worth of experience, cultivated Feats, and the sober hope this would be the last pound of flesh he would need to give.
He took one last breath, kissed the amulet his foster mother had given him just before being gutted by demons, and stared into the shimmering rhodonite fissure that split the mountain face. Flames hotter than Hell itself licked out of similar crevasses within sight.
“YOLO. Hahaha! What a way to die…”
* — * — *
That was his day, a battle of regret and resigned determination for his fate filling his soul, but above all, he survived—he had to—and Titania’s suggestion rose to the surface of his mind.
Suddenly, all of his previous light novels, manga, anime, and internet-animated comedy skits flashed across Malik’s mind. And promptly, he started to panic under the very suppressed aura of destruction this demigod of a she-dragon began to release. Thoughts he’d never had in all the time he’d been in this world came crashing down against his chest.
Now, standing in front of a giant lizard demigod, the last ten years of blood, struggle, and life-threatening experiences washed away in an instant at the beautiful draconic woman that appeared before him.
In the face of her mocking his strength, and rightly so, Malik blurted out something he knew he would regret only moments after saying it, pulling from the roots of his previous otaku lifestyle; in other words, bullshit your way through excuses to buy time.
“I, uh… can make someone that could probably beat the ever-living tail off you…”
Shit. Dammit! Why did ‘that’ light novel come out—did my brain short-circuit? She’s a demigod dragon, not your typical lizard! It’s the stupidest plot!
“Hmm?” A dubious smirk lifted the side of the girl’s mouth as she brushed back her wild locks, causing them to shift against her lower back. “You… can create something that could pose a challenge to me? Oddly, you seem to believe it to be true,” she hummed, intimidating, glowing eyes studying him as if he were a gnat.
“Umm, well—it’s complicated,” he muttered, cursing the light novel now playing out in his mind; sure, it was true, but the premise made him want to punch himself. He had to recover. “Do you have a name? I, uh, only know you as the Monarch of the Rosen Flame.”
“A reincarnator of Titania,” she whispered, not immediately answering his question, and he kept perfectly still as her circled him. “Perhaps you are one of the interesting ones… What world are you from? There are many the High Gods pluck from.”
“Well, uh, that’s news to me,” Malik muttered, now understanding why some of the reincarnates he’d met were so odd. “Have you heard of Earth?”
“Ah. The weird one,” she nodded with entertainment and making him squirm. “What knowledge are you relying on? I have observed humans from afar for many millennia, not that I see anything all that noteworthy. At least the sun elves can come up with a few amusing concepts, but generally, lesser beings bore me, and just I use them to help me sleep.
“I’ve met one or two that caught my notice, several ranging between Level 94 to 100, coming from various worlds who have tried to challenge me between my sleep cycles. Unfortunately, all but the first reincarnator of Baal were quite disappointing; although, I suppose I was only Level 92 when I fought the First Demon Lord… Heh, before breaking the Level System myself.”
“Broke it…” he repeated, now knowing what it meant to be a demigod.
A smile brightened her casual cadence. “You may call me Rose, as he did. Enlighten me with your otherworldly and bizarre Earth knowledge,” she giggled, using her tail to sit and cross her legs; all of the flames had retreated to give him breathing room.
I’m screwed.
There was no other option than to go forward with the insane, chaotic plot of what he thought was a possible solution to her problem. He had to commit. But why, of all unholy plots, was it this path in the face of a demigod dragon who had literally fought the first Demon Lord?
Great, my first attempt at picking up a girl in this world. Stupid light novel degeneracy! It’s a transformed demigod dragon, for Titania’s sake… he internally groaned. I’m a slashy-slash Fighter, not a smooth-talking Bard! No, let’s not go that route.
Now, he was wondering what his goddess was thinking when contacting him earlier. This couldn’t be the path she wanted him to take. Then again, it certainly was chaotic, as it was the fae woman’s nature to be so, but this was not his area of expertise.
Light novels, help me!
“Umm… right.”
Squinting, he tossed his weapons away, excluding the ones in his Bag of Holding, to give the impression he wasn’t trying to play a trick. Yet, the moment the last one left his grip, he knew Rose really could care less; it wasn’t like he was a threat. But, it was what the heroine in the light novel did for the male dragon she’d charmed, so it made him feel better.
“Have you ever tried… making a kid that was stronger than you?”
The woman’s left eye creased with a look that asked if he was joking. Sweat broke out across his body at her judging eyes. This was a stupid idea, and what if she went on an indignant rampage now or vowed to kill all of humanity due to his disrespect?
“A kid,” she slowly repeated. “I have had eggs in the past, but it is very rare for a creature to be able to fertilize them, and all those I have… My children had been killed by the time I awoke again; therefore, I can’t say. But can they be all that powerful if they are dead? So, yes, I have tried. What is your next bright idea to survive, Malik Tasnia?”
His mind blanked for a second as it clicked in his mind. She was a lizard at her base; her concept of sex was plopping out a fertilized egg, and getting something up that giant draconic, flame-embraced body would certainly be a tall order for any guy.
A lizard, demigod, world-destroyer… Damn. How do I get her hooked up to someone to try this? Or… is this just a desperate attempt to shoot above my belt—below the belt? Titania! No. I’ll recommend… someone else… something else?
Drawing in his mouth while glancing around the rhodonite hellscape for bright ideas, Malik swallowed and sent his next shot that hopefully wouldn’t get him incinerated. His next thought came from rescuing all the pregnant women he’d saved from various villages that were attacked by demons; for obvious reasons, they lagged behind.
“Have you tried… creating a kid more as, say… the mammals do it? You like challenges. Well, I guarantee it will be a challenge!”
“Having a child… like the mammals?” she mumbled, her unimpressed gaze fixating on his lower half before rising to his face again. “Do you really believe giving birth as a mammal is that… challenging? It passes in the blink of an eye to me. Human women are weak and cry at the smallest thing.”
“Ho-ho! Yikes, uh—yes! It really is!” Malik hastily nodded, giving a dry laugh and knowing his statement was as close to a fact as you could get without experiencing it himself. “I’d go so far as to say it would be the most challenging thing you’d ever do!”
The woman’s penetrating, doubtful gaze lingered on him for a second before her lips turned into a curious smile.
“I must admit that though my experience extends to the vastness of the cosmos and its secrets, I have never found an interest in the reproductive cycles or the way of life of lesser beings, much less humans, to explore such a topic. Mammals generally give birth too quickly for me to think much about it,” she debated.
Rising to her feet to walk around him, her tail swayed behind her as the breeze ruffled the folds in her dress, and she laughed. “Very well, Malik, the Fireblade Fighter, I will give you this opportunity to prove to me how challenging it will be or that I can create a child stronger than I in this… mammal way.”
“Huh?” Malik’s body tingled at her troubled, side-long stare upon seemingly thinking about something else. “Come again? You… want to try it… I’m positive there are some reincarnators I can find to—”
“No.” Rose flatly denied, serpent-like eyes and draconic features enhancing as she glared at him.
“No?” Malik choked, taking a step back as flames spontaneously encircled him. “No, no, no! W-With me?!”
“Of course, you tiny dolt,” Rose grunted, rolling her eyes. “Do you have someone else more suited?”
“Uh-no… actually,” he muttered, brain checking out upon realizing he was the strongest known human on the parts of the world he’d traveled. “Can we tal—”
“Then it is settled,” she stated, completely shutting him down before glancing away with a short sigh. “If I retain this form, in theory, it is possible…
“Although, it is a tad annoying that the possibility of destroying the child can come from returning to my true, magnificent figure, which means I am confined to this… horrendous state,” she huffed, holding up her hands to examine her perfect fingernails with a frown. “How ugly, but it is the best way I’ve found to communicate with humans.”
His mind was still spinning after she actually said yes to his Hail Mary pass, but then flipping it on him and forcing him into the role… Malik scratched his neck, trying to catch up. He could still salvage this; he had to buy time.
“So, Rose… there’s this kind of… ritual, I guess you could call it.”
“Yes, yes,” Rose sniffed. “Just because I have not had an interest in the way mammals procreate does not mean I am ignorant of their practices. Still, I am… inexperienced,” she muttered, arms crossing under her bust as she looked away. “Take me through this process.”
Thoughts reeling for answers, Malik’s time amongst the wood elves and their insanely long courtship practices gave him a breath of fresh air and solution. Mix that with his Psych 101 class on Earth—which was a miracle he remembered since he’d skipped more than half the classes due to work—and he had an idea. What if he could get her to see ‘lesser beings’ or humans, at the very least, in a more positive light?
“No, no—what you’re thinking of comes later—much later! We… should go on a date first,” he squeaked out with a nervous cough. “It’s, umm, a part of the ritual. Courtship! Is, eh… that okay?” he tentatively asked, now in a totally new world from the gore and dungeons he’d lived for the past ten years.
If this were Titania’s idea of giving him a reward for his service, his opinion of the high goddess would change drastically. And to his absolute astonishment, Rose gave him a look as if he was the most stupid, pathetic, little man on Felthran before returning his question with another one.
“Is it a part of the ritual?”
“…Yyyes—most of the time for a successful courtship?”
“Then we go on a date!” she growled, her narrowed, glowing sky-blue eyes drilling into him. “Where must we go?”
Floundering for an answer, he went back to a nice coastal town he’d visited in Tenebrin two years ago on an extremely high-value bank escort mission that let him multitask a few other bigger quests. It allowed him some company and companions, which he was missing at the time.
“We need to travel to a town called… Emisberg, in Tenebrin—umm, it’s a bit of a journey, but maybe we can…”
He trailed off as the haughty dragon’s gaze darted to the left, where a holographic map of the entire world appeared out of nowhere before zooming in on a specific location.
“Hmm… Emisberg of Tenebrin? The planet has changed so much since the last time I woke up… Ah, here it is.”
“Hey, wha—”
She reached out and grabbed his wrist, the pressure making him wince, and that was all it took before the rush of waves suddenly met his ears. The flaming hellscape they’d just been in was gone. Now, they stood on a secluded part of a white, sandy beach of a nice coastal town, away from most conflicts.
“Okay. What next?” Rose expectantly asked, the world map vanishing as her tail impatiently swayed behind her. “C’mon! I thought you humans were supposed to be the ones that rushed things due to your insignificant lives?”
“Eh-heheh… We need to work on a few things first,” he said with a stressed smile, trying to reorientate himself. “Have you eaten anything?”
The question elicited another ‘are you stupid?’ look from the pink-haired dragon. “I don’t need to eat. I gain my sustenance from the natural Aether of my surroundings that you humans call mana… which, admittedly, is in short supply on the surface,” she grumbled.
Nodding and needing a drink, he pointed toward the town. “Well… I need to eat. So, let’s go to an inn, and I’ll show you the magic of food… hopefully.”
Arms crossing impatiently again, she flicked her tail toward the town with an agitated grunt. “Fine. We’ll go stuff your tiny little mouth, and get on with this date ritual.”
“Oh, no,” he chuckled. “We’ve already started that.”
Rose’s expression brightened. “Oh, we have? Wonderful! Lead the way then, little man human.”
He tentatively took her hand, cursing at his lost greatsword, but this was worth it if he could get this titanic demigod dragon on his side; plus, there did seem to be benefits attached. Of course, there was the possibility they weren’t compatible; spikes might even meet his vulnerable bits. Only time would tell. But, as one great man said on Earth, ‘Fortune favors the brave.’
“Right this way, Lady Rose,” he said with a forced smile. “I hope you’re not an angry drunk.”
“Drunk? I do not even know what that word means,” she said, giving him a suspicious stare. “A toxin—funny. As for anger… I can get quite angry at times.”
He tried to force a laugh, which withered into reluctant acceptance under her imperious stare. “I’ll… try to treat you with all the respect you deserve.”
“Excellent,” she smiled, taking his hand to seemingly pull him toward the nearest town.
“Ack! Softer—softer…”
“Oh, umm… Humans are so fragile,” she grumbled, easing up a little and looking away in the first act of cute embarrassment he’d seen.
Maybe… this won’t be that bad. How to court a demigod dragon… and hopefully live? Who am I kidding? This can only end in disaster! Right now, this quest is taking a deadly turn. The goal: not to get my rod melted… or any other part, for that matter. Titania, help me!
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