"Ah, my Songbird, good evening" Orethon says when he sees me and gestures towards the single remaining chair in the room, the one standing right opposite of him. As I make my way towards the chair Rowan dashes forward and pulls the chair out for me. How fancy.

When I'm seated Orethon starts to talk.

"I am honored you decided to join me for the evening" he says. "I was worried that you would ignore my invite because of how things have gone so far".

"While I'm still annoyed at what happened at Ozlem, I can't be unreasonable" I answer, trying to sound as dignified as possible. I can't tell him that I'm mostly came because I'm hungry. "I wish to continue discussing matters more throughly and ask a few questions if that's alright for you".

"Of course" Orethon responds, nodding his head. "It's understandable that you still have questions. Then, what do you wish to discuss?"

I stare off into the distance, thinking for a second before deciding my first question.

"First off all, explain what happened at Ozlem" I say, remembering the death and destruction around me. "I understand that you wanted to get to me as soon as possible but to bring an entire army with you seems as a serious overkill".

"I know and I apologize. I originally wanted to approach you more subtly but because of certain events that could not be done".

"What kind of events?" I ask, having a vauge idea about what caused it.

"I sent a group of wraith dames to a dungeon nearby" he answers. Their mission was to set up a temporary base nearby your location. I ordered them to set up an illusion around them that would make them invisible to regular humans. But I could never imagine an A-rank adventurer would enter". Ah, he's talking about Philomena. "She had enough strength to see through their illusions..."

"... which in turn caused the confrontation" I conclude. "But if you sent them out then why did they attack me? I may have attacked them first but why did they try to kill me?"

Orethon suddenly slams his forehead and hands into the table, causing it to shake.

"I am so sorry about that my Songbird!" he exclaims, shouting out the apology. "I should have chosen someone else! They simply can't resist battle and when fighting they can't control themselves!".

"It's ok, just... stop shouting" I say, waving my hands. Orethon lifts his head, staring at me before he slams it into the table once again. What now?

"Thank you my Songbird, but I am not worthy of your kindness!" Orethon exclaims, still shouting. "Please, feel free to punish me however you like!"

N-no thank you, I'm fine, I'm not into that kind of stuff please stop shouting this is making me feel very uncomfortable. I glance at Rowan, sending him a pleading glance. Noticing this he takes a step forward.

"Excuse me... lord Orethon, but may I suggest something?" he says, using a surprisingly polite tone. He usually nerver talks like that with anyone else other than me. I am proud of you Rowan, finally you learned some manne-

"How about we pour oil over your body and put it on fire?".

"Rowan-!" I exclaim.

"Hmm, sounds fitting..." Orethon mumbles.

"Don't encourage him!" I shout, trying to stop them before the whole thing escalates. "No one is going to put anyone on fire!"

"Aww..." Rowan mutters. Stop that! After this we are gonna have a reeeaaally long talk about things! I turn towards Orethon, staring him dead into the eyes.

"Please undestand. I do not wish to punish you. It was not your fault it happened, you couldn't have known so please stop blaming yourself".

For a second no one says anything but suddenly Orethon puts his hands against his cheeks.

"My Songbird, no, lady Ruth, despite making such an error you forgive me? Your kindness is divine! I promise to follow you no matter what!". T-there's no need for that, I don't need your devotion, just... don't kill me. But before I have the chance to tell him my thoughts a loud voice can suddenly be heard.

"ORE YOU IDIOOOOOOOOOOT!!!". Something then hits one off the large windows, causing it to shatter. It's a dragon!!! No wait, it's got wings instead of frontlegs so it s wyvern?...

It's a wyvern!!! God it's huge, at least 15 meters from nose to tail and with wings reaching the width of 25 meters. It's bright yellow scales shine like gold and the blue Eyes are similar to saphires. Despite it's terrifying form it still holds a subtle beauty. It's flying on the place, sligthly above us. The wind originating from it's wings causes everything not anchored to the ground to fly away.

Hmm? But what's that black figure standing on it's back? I strain my eyes in order to see. It's a... It's a woman! Suddenly the woman jumps of the wyvern and lands on the table while the wyvern flies away (through Another window!?).

The woman, dressed in an all black dress, stands on the wyverns body . A slender yet curvy body is adorning it. Her pale skin almost seems to glow and red long hair flows behind her. And those lavender eyes... She's truly beautiful. If only her face wasn't twisted in anger.

She turns towards Orethon.

"Oh hi Erica-" he says before the woman suddenly grabs his collar, lifting him up so that their eyes are on the same level. She's surprisingly strong.

"DON'T "HI ERICA" ME YA NUMBSKULL!" the woman called Erica shouts, causing the entire room to shake. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, ATTACKING OZLEM LIKE THAT!?". I-I think I will just stay out of this one, I think, shrinking in my chair.

"Well you see-" Orethon tries to say but is interupted.

"I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT!!" B-but you asked... "WE WERE SUPPOSED TO MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION AND THEN YOU JUST GO TO WAR WITH AN ENTIRE CITY!? NOW SHE'LL THINK THAT WE ARE A BUNCH OF BRAINLESS WARMONGERS!! AND WHY DIDN'T YOU INVITE MEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Maybe I should just go... I signal towards Rowan and start moving away from the table when something falls down. Erica turns around and when she sees me her jaw drops and she drops Orethon on the floor.

"I-I-Is that... "her"?" she asks Orethon pointing towards me. Orethon nods.

"Ah, yes, that is lady Ruth" he says with a slightly dumbfounded voice. "Lady Ruth, this is Erica. She's the one in charge of logistics and diplomacy". She's in charge of diplomacy!? She!? The first thing she did was attacking Orethon without letting him explain! And I thought Philomena was thickheaded...

"Ah-ahh-a..." Erica stutter before cleansing her throat. "Uhum! Sorry for my... inappropriate introduction, my lady. My name is Erica von Seigehall, leader of clan Seigehall, duchess of the Tolarian Forest, third child of king Ethan, the king of vampires, wielder of the Widowmaker and one of Azmiels five generals. Nice to meet you" she says, ending with a deep curtsy bow.

That was... one long introduction. Did she even breath during that sentence.. She's a princess? Well, she sure looks like one... Wait, a vampire!? Like a real, genuine, blood-sucking vampire? Th-that's cool I guess? Uhm, please don't eat me, I don't taste that good. And I'm only skin and bones! No fat.

Vampires are... something I feel very conflicted about. I mean, they are cool and stuff and I always loved them in games but I always thought that I was lucky that they didn't excist in real life. I mean, let's say you walk home from school or work one day and then BAM! Vampire food. Or what it you accidentaly left your window open and then a vampire decides to have a midnight snack? VAMPIRE FOOD.

Otherwise I love vampires! They are cool! Blood-sucking creatures of the night, cursed to die in light!

But how did she survive the sun? Shouldn't she like, burn or something? Or is she perhaps one of the dreaded... sparkling vampires!? Oh god no. I don't mind being vampire food, just no sparkling vampires!

Expressionless, moody teenage vampires...

"But Orethon, why didn't you invite the generals" Erica suddenly asks, giving him a meancing glare, which in turn causes me to snap out of my thoughts. The generals... She mentioned them before when she introduced herself. They must be powerful if they are called generals.

"Well uhm, you see..." Orethon says, becoming flustered all of a sudden. "I thought that having a regular... uhm, casual conversation... would be nice..."

"You just wanted to have her for herself, didn't you?" Erica says. H-huh?! I stare at Orethon. He isn't denying it. What the hell!? "Well, I guess because this dining hall is wrecked, we should continue it somewhere else. Oh, and don't forget to invite the rest of the generals now!

"O-of course... I will send an invite right away..." Orethon mutters before turning towards me. "I'm sorry but we have to continue our discussion elsewhere. For now, please feel free to stroll around the castle. I will send message when dinner is ready".

... I don't really care I just wanna eat.

After the failed dinner I asked Miriam if this place had a garden. When she said yes I asked her to lead me there and so she did.

We are walking deeper and deeper into the castle in silence. She seems afraid to say something inappropriate. When she thought I was a fellow maid she was more friendly but I guess that's only natural. I am kind of her boss now I guess and who wouldn't be walking on eggshells when around ones boss. But this silence is kinda awkward...

"We have arrived my lady" Miriam suddenly says, makes a curtsy and gestures towards a large wooden door. Just like at the dining room door two dullahans stand guarding in front of it.

"MY LADY!" they shout when they see me as they go down on their knees.

"Please rise, there is no need to act so formal" I say, once again trying to sound dignified and like an adult. "I wish for us to become comrades so please, let's be friends".

"M-my lady..." the dullahans sniffle. Time for the final strike.

"Please, call me Ruth" I say, giving them my brightest smile. They suddenly grab their chests and start shaking.

"Ah-a-ha-aa! PLEASE TAKE CARE OF US RUTH-SAMA!!" they shout before standing up, saluting. Sigh, I told them to not act so formal but I guess this is better than before. The dullahans opens the doors and I enter.

I am met by a bright light, blinding me for a second. When I open my eyes I see a giant garden. H-How big is this thing!? I cannot even see the end! But it's so god damn pretty.

The grass is the same color as emeralds and the flowers are in every possible color imaginable.

I thank Miriam and the dullahan guards for their help and head into the garden. There's something I want to do. When I find a suitable spot I summon out all the golems, plus Babbit. I had nearly forgot about him. After I discovered that he could be put in the storage we really didn't see each other much. I didn't even bring him out for the bath... I hope he doesn't hate me now.

"Mama!" Zar exclaims and rubs his head against my arm. Wait, is that Babbit on his head? Morgana, noticing me staring at Babbit, starts to laugh.

"They ssseem to have developed quite the bond boss" she says. "I think it'ssss becaussse their mental age are about the sssame". Ah I see. Well, I 'm glad Zar have gotten a new friend.

"Hey Zar" I say, looking into his eyes, "do you want to evolve?"

"Huh???" Morgana and Rowan exclaims at the same time. Meanwhile, Zar happily jumps up into the air.

"Y-you mean it mama!?" he asks with glittering eyes. Babbit is also jumping, even thou he doesn't know what's going on. But before he can say anything else Rowan takes a step forward.

"But mistress, how are you going to do that?"

"Hehehe, with Mana Transference!". During the bath I remembered that I had leveled up plenty of times so I figured that I had earned some new skills. So I checked it out and this is what I saw.

Swordsmanship Lv.1

Allows the user to handle a sword. The higher the skill level the higher the mastery of said art.

Flame Wall Lv. 1

Allows the user to summon a wall made out of fire in front of them to shield them from opponents. The higher the spell level the larger the fire wall and the more damage it makes.

Mana Transference Lv. 1

Allows the user to transfer their mana into another being/object. This allows the receiver to use more man. One can also turn the mana into EXP. so that the reciever can level up faster. This does NOT work on the user.

Twisted Minds Lv. 1

Allows the user to manipulate the mind of the target, this includes their perception, senses and memories. The higher the level the stronger the effect. Does NOT work on higher level individuals.

Wisdom of the Sage Lv. 1

Received after reaching the max level of Appraisal. Includes all abilities of Appraisal plus additional ones. Allows the user to immediately know the opponents strength and their mood plus additional status, such as injuries and weaknesses. Makes one recognize a lie, no matter how believable it is.

... AND MORE! But I'm to lazy to explain them all. Huh? You mad? Then go complain at the author, not me. I'm just a victim of lazy writing. Go ahead, spam the comments.

But worry not! The skills will be explained in due time but for now; DID YOU SEE THOSE MAD SKILLS!? I am no longer that poor little bullied bird, I AM A PHOENI- ok, I'm not but hey, with this I am one step closer. Don't let your dreams stay dreams. Kill a bunch of monsters, gain EXP. and level up. It works surprisingly well.

Either way, after explaining the effect of Mana Transference to the gang Zar couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Am I really going to evolve mama? Am I gonna become stronger?"

"That's right Zar, you are about to grow up" I say, patting his head gently. "But when you get older you need to take more responsibility for your actions, understood?"

"Yep! I understand! Gihihihi! I am gonna be a big boy!" he exclaims, giggling. Babbit lets out a ute "pyuuuh!". I sit down and cross my legs as I take a deep breath.

"Are you ready Zar?" I ask.

"Yes mama!" he answers. I start pouring my mana into Zar. Because he's going to evolve I need to give him a lot of mana but thankfully he doesn't need that much yet. I can feel my MP draining. This is kinda tiring... I don't know for how long I sit like this before a blue screen finally appears in front of me.

//Balthazar have reached maximum level and can now evolve! Please choose from following evolutions!//

Peryton

A holy being famous for its influence on elven culture. With the body of a deer and wings of a bird it can both run and fly in the skies. It is amongst one of the purest beings in this world, only outmatched by the legendary unicorn.

Starlight Deer

This being is commonly found deep in the forest and is a very shy creature. With their stealth abilities and heightened senses it takes great skill to find one. It's seen as a sign of good luck seeing one.