He was shocked when she took the initiative in the conversation. There wasn’t really a voice associated with the thoughts, and it reminded him of his first uses of the technique. Still, it was clear that it originated from her, and he wondered how she was replicating it. He was tempted to ask, but he was asked to stay quiet. She was clearly deliberating with someone, so he just told his friends of the situation. He spoke the words aloud so they would understand.

“I think she figured out how I was doing the magic. She just copied it and told me to be quiet.”

His friends stepped from the tree, but they were holding their hands up in a mock gesture of surrender. The natives obviously knew of them and didn’t react at all when they stepped out. Luke’s appearance seemed to surprise them, and he guessed that beastmen didn’t exist. Which seemed ironic as they would probably be considered a type of beastmen back home. His friends didn’t say anything, and it took a few seconds for him to receive a message.

[ You may refer to me as Aifell. Mash, I would like some proof of your intentions. Give me a rundown of your abilities.”

Hearing the response, Mash nodded. Red had expected something along these lines, but at the same time, Aifell hadn’t asked about the others.

[I can tell you my abilities freely, but what about the others?]

The subdued response seemed to ease some of the tension in the air, and he thought it was a good idea to mention the others. He didn’t have much time to think, as he received a response immediately.

[First, give me yours, we can discuss the others afterward.]

Well, that sounded fine. Red had wanted him to hide some things, but Mash got the feeling that that would be a mistake. They acted too trusting, and he guessed they had a method to tell if he was lying or hiding something.

The description Mash gave them was fairly detailed, and he went over his skills and affinities. He even mentioned how eating things let him again a fraction of their powers and abilities. He mentioned hunt and his domain, as well as his transformations. It took a while to explain some things, but he thought he managed well enough.

[Give me a display of your strongest transformation and let me see your domain.]

Not having a tone to her message made it impossible to figure out her intentions, but he obliged all the same. He sent another message before transforming though. His domain became harsher when he used his dragon form, and the form itself was quite horrifying.

[Just be aware that the transformation is quite scary. Also, my domain is mostly undetectable, but you can feel it if you walk inside. Sorry, I don’t know of any other way.]

Mash was trying to be as sincere as possible and hoped that his honesty would work. He honestly didn’t mind these displays or even revealing the information. Even with them outside of his domain, he had a good idea of how strong they could be. They were obviously skilled when it came to magic, but he was still confident that his dragon form would be enough to handle them. Knowing about it wouldn’t change anything.

[Fine I shall step forward. Begin your transformation.]

Mash did so still a little worried as there were still children outside. Well, hiding it at this point would only cause more issues. As he began his transformation, thick scales formed over his body. Wings expanded outwards to make him seem as formidable as he felt. He immediately withdrew his wings, realizing that he had let his pride get the better of him. The form seemed to make him want to display his strength.

As his transformation finished, Mash felt his stomach drop as the people in front of him dropped to one knee. Some began muttering something, Aifell included. Even the children had taken up the position, their parents had likely forced them to do so. Even without much knowledge, he understood prayer when he saw it. He had an inkling of what was going on but still hesitated in sending the message.

[What are you doing?]

Mash was able to convey tone in his messages and didn’t hide his exasperation from it. Aifell twitched upon receiving the message but didn’t move from her position. If anything, she seemed even more reverent as she replied.

[I apologize for not recognizing one such as you. To be graced by the presence of one of the lords. I have acted foolishly and beg you to spare these unknowing people.]

Mash had an idea of what she was talking about, and it annoyed him. He wanted to ease their tension but also confirm his suspicions.

He wanted to make sure that she was referring to that being, and not something that literally looked like he did now. While he was dragon-like, he was still humanoid in shape. A true dragon was less humanoid and more monstrous.

[Is this what you refer to as a lord? And please rise, I will not harm anyone. I was genuine in my intentions.]

There was almost no delay in her response. She rose quickly, commanding those behind them while sending him a message at the same time. It was obviously overzealous, and he had to contain his sigh. He did dismiss his transformation, and that seemed to let some people relax.

[Yes, that is one of the lords. My Lord, may I inquire into your goals here?]

Mash took a while to respond to her. He was considering what her reply meant with his greater understanding of dungeons. Her confirmation indicated that dragons were beings beyond a single world. It should’ve been obvious. They were all-powerful beings that flew above the realms of man. He should have assumed that they would be able to go between worlds, but he didn’t know why they would. He doubted these people would know, but he would look into their religion when he had the opportunity.

The question he was considering, was how to deal with the situation. He didn’t want to be treated like this. However, he realized that he probably could talk to the others without any worry. It didn’t seem like these people would attack them. He turned to his friends, realizing that they were looking at him with unhidden annoyance.

“Look, I had no idea this would happen. Rather than glaring at me do you have an idea of what I should do?”

This whole situation was bothering him, and it would only get worse. Mash looked towards Red as her plan had basically been ruined. Hopefully, she could come up with something else.

“Well, just tell them the truth. We are looking for a dungeon exit and wanted to learn about their people since they had the chance. Maybe see their inventions and magics. Oh, and see if they have something to let us communicate.”

Jill was the one to speak up, stopping Red from giving her advice. Mash thought that was good enough and sent a message to Aifell. Hopefully, she would have something so that Red could take over the conversation. He wasn’t designed to handle a situation like this and would be glad to push the responsibility to someone else.

[We just want to learn about your people and magics and find a way out of your world. Also, do you have anything that can let my friends communicate with you guys as well.]

Aifell rubbed her chin in contemplation. She seemed eager to fulfill his demands, and it made him feel incredibly uncomfortable. At least, it didn’t look like there would be a fight with these people.

[Yes, I believe I can manage something. If you follow me, it should only take a few moments.]

Curious more than anything else, Mash started walking towards Aifell. He motioned to the others, and they followed him. In his mind, he couldn’t help but consider if this was all an act, and they were walking into a trap. He couldn’t help but feel a little distrustful after recent events. However, his experiences had shown him that the people of other worlds tended to be better than his own.

They followed Aifell, surprised to see that nobody else was coming. He expected her to have the guards from earlier following them, but she seemed confident in what she was doing. After passing a bit away from the tree, Mash felt a barrier appear at the edge of his domain. Once they walked through it, he realized that it was an illusion.

It had hidden the city that surrounded the tree. It was filled with large wooden structures, and Mash wondered how the clouds could support such structures. The buildings were tall, dozens of windows scaling the front of the building. How many floors did these buildings have? They were built tall and squished tightly together. The buildings seemed impossible and highly risky. What happened if one of them got destroyed? Hundreds would die from something like that.

At first, he believed that there couldn’t possibly be that many people here, but the streets were crowded and many of the windows were open with people looking down at them. Everyone seemed like they were trying to catch a glimpse of Mash which made his skin crawl. He tried his best to follow Aifell while ignoring the stares and focusing on the incredible design of the city. The others were just as amazed, and he was certain that they would have some unique things that would be worth taking back.

Aifell eventually stopped in front of one of the large buildings and led them inside. The inside of the building was a mostly empty space with a large spiraling staircase in the center. Rather than taking the stairs, she led them around the nearest corner into a much smaller room. The main entrance let them look up and see the incredible wooden structure for what it was. It wasn’t as big as the trees but was around half as tall. The staircase obviously climbed up the whole structure, and he saw another of the moving platforms at the center of the staircase. He didn’t bother counting the floors but knew it was a lot. The ceiling was covered in the same green lights that had been used in the tree.

Her workroom was fairly large, and there were a countless number of small instruments spread across the walls. Hung on small hooks as if they were on display. However, she grabbed none of those, instead just grabbing a sheet of paper, and what looked like a black stone. With the way she held it, he could tell that it was used for writing.

[This is my workstation. I should be able to manage something. However, I will need some help from you, Lord Mash.]

That address made him wince. He decided he never wanted to be called Lord Mash ever again. The very thought of it caused his body to tense up. He would have yelled his response if he could but just sent her a message.

[Please just call me Mash, and yes. I will be glad to help with whatever.]

What happened after that, was rather mundane. She asked him about how his language worked. He explained the letters and word construction, sounding out some words when she asked for them. The whole process probably took a half-hour at most. By the time he finished, Aifell had managed to speak the language. It wasn’t perfect but was still an incredible display of her understanding.

“You learned that quickly. Is that something all of your people can do? Is that how you replicated my magic?”