“Wha… what the he-all….?”

“Hello! Are you ready to take us back?”

Paul could sense she’s the energetic type who would never run out of stamina even after an entire day of running and fighting.

“Oh crap, I fell asleep. Wait, lemme get my barings first. Give me five minutes.”

A light punch then comes from Paul’s behind, hitting him straight to his forehead. He looks up while resting on the bench, seeing Escobar in his USMC General Service Uniform. Not like his Green General uniform, only the shiny badges he wore reflected upon the sunroof's rays. With a more annoyed posture, he stands up with Bahamut already flying around him. The Dragon then lands on the airport bench to sit down with the adventurers waiting on the General to prepare.

“Was the punch really needed?”

“Pendejo, every time you say extra 5 minutes you just slip back to sleep.”

“Well fuck you, because I like to sleep, though I think sleeping on that bench destroyed either my neck or spine.”

“Don’t mess this up. You’ll be the first of our kind to make contact with the natives of this land. Look human and look good. Like going to a job interview.”

The young Grifvet tilts his head, never having encountered the word before.

“What’s a job interview?”

“Wha- ah… It’s nothing. Ugh, Esco, help me up.”

Grunting like an old man who just awakened from a long night's sleep, Escobar helps him up and Paul immediately starts thinking on how to spawn his outfits and weapons. He first tries to make a small cross and opens his player tab. The Adventurers were amazed by this but nonetheless stayed quiet as the two men tried to figure out how to get clothes.

“Okay, stop. I know you're thinking of testing things and creating chaos while you're at it but save that later. Simply think about the uniform or weapon you want and cast spatial teleportation. It takes Mana so if you're gonna summon a Horse or some Legendary level weapon, be sure you have the juice for it. Francis who first tested this told me that after you bring out an item from your inventory, you may never return it. So best have a room to place all the shit you have in one place.”

“How do I know if I’m low on Mana? It’s not like I have a meter on my top left anymore.”

“Never tried it myself but I’m guessing you’d be sleepy? Tired?”

A tall woman in mage robes butts in the conversation of the two. Her voice immediately allures the two. It was Eattare and she crossed her arms, ready to lecture the two.

“If you run low on Mana, You’ll indeed get sleepy, but try too hard you might get internal damage and even sudden death if you were to try to cast magic way out of your league, this is why the Adventurers Guild with the Ministry of Magic created the leveling system.”

“So you people created leveling in this world?”

“Mhm. I don’t know how it is back in your land but this is the way here.”

Escobar, who is looking at her very sexy robes, showing her curves, snaps back and gets Paul to prepare.

“Mamacita, I’d like to explain this, but it will take long and hard. Paul, get going and prepare. Good luck, I still have to do some stuff here. Goodbye for now.”

Paul who’s now fully awake, walks to the comfort room below the stairs that leads to the Terminals second floor. As he’s inside it, sparks of light could be seen flying out the door and metal clanking the tiles of the comfort room is heard.

“Uhhh… Escobar! Call some soldiers to get these things into my carriage! It's located near the Police Station!”

“Si!” He gestures to some of the skeleton soldiers that were loitering around, the two jumps seeing the General point at them. “What, the. You two are players?” the two nod. “You heard the General, go pick up his shit.” They ran to the comfort room and started collecting the things Paul was spawning and loading them up on an MTVR truck outside.

After a bit more ruckus and what could be sounds of a sword being recklessly swung, Paul emerges from the comfort room in his Eldwood Knight Armor. The intimidating jet black armor immediately stood out, it's scary and powerful look was out of place in the entire lobby of skeleton men in modern combat uniforms and equipment. The helmet covered his entire face and had two metallic horns reminiscent of a Dragon or Vampires wing. Grifvet and Pierence are immediately stoked seeing it, reminding them of the stories they once heard.

“By the Gods.”

“Not gonna lie, having that as our escort back home seems like an awesome deal.”

Paul’s voice was muffled but could still clearly be heard through the heavy helmet and armor.

“I don’t remember this armor being this heavy. And that’s from someone who wore this almost everyday back then.”

“Just like old times M’Lord.”

“It’s only been a year. Well technically going by in game days, it might have been long, either way, everyone to the tarmac.”

Grifvet then tilts his head “What’s a tarmac?”

On the airport's lively tarmac, with Helicopters and fighter planes getting maintained while some are on quick response, engines on and armed. Ready for what could be the largest combined arms assault that’ll happen against the Knights of Eldwood. Bahamut was already in her larger form, able to ferry the five passengers. Her size was higher than the Apaches around her and the tail of the massive Dragon could easily crush the planes behind her.

After some effort, everyone was loaded in and strapped to the Dragon’s spine this time. Though Paul was just standing on top of her head. Her immense downwash from her wings violently rattled the tied down helicopters around her.

She heads West of the city, avoiding the gathering army and going around them through the longer way, near a large river that’s known to be the landing spot for the soldiers of the Demon Lord. After gaining some altitude, F-16s sent from the Airbase escorted them till they reached territory far into the Kingdom of Meilurious.

Some hours have passed and the Sun slowly shows itself above the sky. Bahamut slowly descends and below the clouds, a dense forest appears.

“If those Drone operators were correct, there should be a town somewhere up here. Bahamut, if you ever smell a body of water, stop and land.”

“Of course M’Lord.”

“And just call me Paul or something lighter. It's weird getting called Lord. B-but not that I’m against it if you want to call me that, just… do as you will…”

“As you wish.”

“And promise me one thing, you won’t be going all out. I want us to keep a low profile, I don’t want to attract any unwanted attention from the bigger factions that might be vying for power or something.”

“That… should be easy M’Lord. I promise.”

In a few minutes, Bahamut lands. Crushing some trees, her scales were able to tank the damage and land safely. The forest was extremely dense and the air was cold. The Sun was high up in the sky. The Adventurers with the Knight jumped down from Bahamut’s back as she lowered herself enough for everyone to exit out without having to do much effort.

“Okay, where to?”

“Head North M’Lord. I saw some smoke from that direction.”

“Okay, you go back into a smaller form. I’ll take you with me.”

“Mhm.” Bahamut transforms into her smaller version and lands on Paul’s shoulder armor.

“Okay, Grifvet, Eattare, Pierence and Ingraine. I’m at your service. Please don’t do anything that would make a large ruckus.”

Ingraine and Pierence look at him with confident smiles, assuring him that everything will be dandy.

“Ah-a! We’ll try our best but I can’t promise anything!”

“Ingraine’s courageous personality tends to get us into trouble.”

The Dark Knight facepalms. Realizing these are still technically teenagers. Ignoring his brain and the countless scenarios of his imagination, he faces the young swordsman in light armor with chainmail underneath. The entire time, the young man has been staring at his armor.

“So I’ve heard. Grifvet, if you want to ask anything about my Armor just say so. Your mouths’ starting to water.”

The group laughs off Paul’s jab at Grifvet’s curiosity about his armor and weapon. They then head North. Going through the dense forest. The heavy knight armor Paul’s wearing could be heard clanking as he makes some complex movements to go around some obstacles. The Cape of his armor flaps as strong wind comes from the North. In a few minutes, they hit a dirt road which leads to the Port Town. Following it, they converse with one another to make the walk a bit more livelier.

“Also, who is this Demon Lord you guys speak of?”

“He was formerly known as one of the greatest Kings of the Continent of Schon. Even the leaders of our Continent recognize him and his might. King Gunther the First but they say that he’s been dead for decades and now King Nergal commands the Legions of the Undead.”

“I see, what’s his story?”

Pierence, having read many books about the old ancient King of the Kingdom of the dead opens up, the tall young lad was vigorous and full of energy and his face was that of a young man who has a lot to look forward to in life.

“He was an ancient Noble. They say he was one of the first ones, and was visited by a God from a world full of fire and suffering. It is said that he got talked into going into a strange place where he fought many things and came out a very powerful and smart person, having suddenly mastered the dark arts and smarter than anyone who has ever stepped foot in this world.”

“I get the feeling that guy is gonna be one Hell of a fighter. I might need to take some time and prepare before taking someone like that on. So how was he stopped?”

“The combined efforts of the Kingdoms of Dragovh, hundreds of years ago, fought a massive war against him. He almost took all of the land till James the Conqueror and many others rose against him from the dark and pushed him back to the Continent of Schon. You should read the books, tales of their exploits are known throughout the land.”

Pierence then inserted his own comment.

“And now, it is said that he’s making friends with the Vampires and Dragons to once again try to take on the Continent of Dragovh.”

“Wait, he’s still alive?”

Eattare, with all her elegance, crossed her arms and lectured the Knight in basic magic.

“The dark arts of magic have things to it that’re unnatural to man. It is said that whatever he learned in the Underworld gave him the ability to not age like a Vampire. But rumors have said, King Nergal has taken over his steed as he’s dead.”

“Huh, looks like my type of magic is not well accepted here.”

“It's because it can cause so much harm to innocents. Dark magic has been used for good before, but too much of it also leads those to ruin. If maybe you could teach us how you managed to get so powerful with dark magic without losing your humanity, maybe we could use it again to benefit the many.”

“That’s the thing though, I don’t know. Like, down from my armor to my longsword. All of it is imbued with dark arts as it's the one that has the biggest output of raw damage and defense. Though things might be different here. I don’t feel anything other than me wanting to eat Beef. The Rations we have back at the airport aren't really good.”

Ingraine, touting her homebrewed cooking skills

“Ahahaha! You have to taste my cooking then!”

“Some other time. I get the feeling this is one of those tropes I’ve seen before which I should absolutely avoid since I need a good toilet to dump my bombs properly.”

“You say a lot of strange words, strange Knight! I like it!”

“Ugh…”

As the group was walking along the dirt road, a carriage hurriedly passed by them. Nearly hitting Ingraine who was tip-toeing near the middle. Paul senses a strange rumbling, as if he hears multiple other horses coming from behind. He immediately goes to the middle of the road and looks back, he could see masked and cloaked men on horseback. Armed with swords and bows. He unsheathes his Longsword, its shiny blade could reflect the Sun’s bright rays. Many things are running through his mind, he knows he can save those on the carriage but he’ll have to intimidate these bandits if he was ever gonna walk out of it without hurting anyone.

“Looks like it's time to cast some magic. I’d recommend you guys to hide behind me.”

“Be careful Sir Paul. One of them is different, Knight I think.”

Just like that, he casts Great Fear Resistance on himself. It instantly activates, giving him resistance to fear for two minutes while giving him an intimidating aura that could strike the hearts of people that would look at him, basically stunning them. The Adventurers hide behind his cape, Grifvet with his shortsword out and Pierence ready with his bow.

As the bandits get near, he drills his longsword into the dirt and with shaky hands, he tries to give him his best impression of an Evil Knight. The horses instantly feel the aura as they get close and violently stop, throwing some people on horseback to his front.

“Wait, this spell never affected Horses before.”

The bandits were in awe of the massive figure in armor in front of them. As they stood up, swords came out. Some who were able to stay on their horse fire arrows at him. It bounces from his armor and does no harm to it. As the Fear magic slowly gets to them, many start running but one bandit stood right in front of him even though visibly shaken. He notices Paul’s shaking hands as he holds the Pommel.

“Y-you… think you're some hotshot dark knight?”

“Just go home. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Heh, this might be your territory, but we’ll report you to the Kingdom.”

Ingraine teases the Bandit with her tongue out like a child.

“Who do you think you are bandit!”

“Looks like Sir Knight here has an Elven friend. Your type could sell good in the Slave Market.”

Paul suddenly felt a pulse of anger course through his veins. He lifts his sword and points it to the bandit. Inches from his chin. The bandit was frozen at the instantaneous action, he didn’t even have the chance to pull out the Knife on his back.

“I won’t ask this again. Get back on your horse and go. I’m not playing this time.”

His hands this time were as solid as a rock, there was no shaking as his adrenaline took over. On the back of his head, he wanted to run as far as possible but at the same time had to stand his position. After a few seconds, the Bandit accepts defeat, raising his hands to show his unarmed. He takes off his mask, it shows a well built face with lots of scars.

“Remember this face Knight. As it’ll be the last thing you’ll see.”

“Remember this helmet, it’ll be hunting you tonight when you go to sleep.”

The bandit slowly walks backward till he hits the body of one of the horses. He got on it and shouted to the ones that hadn’t run yet to follow him. Paul was still as hard as a statue even though the Bandits were no longer in sight. Ingraine taps his shoulder lightly. The knight just deflates like a balloon. With his knees on the ground.

“What the Hell is up with this place?”

Ingraine was disappointed there wasn’t any big show of power while Grifvet could see that he wasn’t ready yet to kill or harm.

“Ehhh, I thought you were going to do something fancy.”

“Ingraine, let him rest. He’s shaken. Sir Paul, I suggest you breathe in and out. Don’t think about the situation too much.”

Collecting himself, the Knight stands up. Breathing in and out. Pierence raises an eyebrow, curious of the man's ability to fight.

“Okay, okay. Thank you.”

“Are you sure you're a trained Knight?”

“Trained? Nope. Virtually? Yes. I’m also the farthest from someone as honorable as a Knight to. I’m a businessman for Christsake.”

Grifvet and Eattare on the other hand could notice that he was experienced to a degree and knew how to react to situations. Commenting that he was still professional to a degree.

“But the way you instantly felt the danger coming from behind us was not something an inexperienced person would do.”

“And the way you held your sword. You did it all correctly though. Maybe you meant you're independently trained?”

“I’ve told you. I’ve never been trained in reality, just virtually which is two different things. I just felt it, as if something angry was coming from my back and the sword? How do I know? I have my own style and everything since I had no one to teach me proper sword fighting.”

“Strange, you did show good swordsmanship there. I’m sure you already have it in you to use a sword.”

After a few minutes and drinking some water, Paul managed to get back on his feet and back on their journey to the town. The Sun was slowly setting when they could see the grey stone walls of the Town on the horizon. The town had a quiet and sad atmosphere to it, the Sun was just above it as the group saw its Main Entrance. Bored, Ingraine who was curious about Bahamut turns to the Knight.

“So, how did you and Miss Bahamut meet?”

“It’s… uhhh complicated. Let’s just say I completed a quest which required me to collect one point five million dragon scales within a year and I guess that summoned her?”

Bahamut switches from his Left to Right Shoulder, being closer to Ingraine who was strutting along next to him.

“I met him after a great calling came after me, after centuries of isolation on a plane above the living. I simply rested. Many great and worthy Heroes came after me, but I’ve bested them all. I simply wanted to find a human worthy of my time and go back to the existing world. I left my isolation and came to the world and put up a special quest on my behalf and the Dragons of the world.”

“Uhhh… what she said.”

“Wow~! That must be one heck of a story you could recall to your Knight friends.”

“Told you before. Ain’t a Knight. Just a man trying to get home. I got Bahamut since I needed a Dragon friend to help me out. Simple as that. She’s my longtime Companion and partner in crime”

“But it seems that you two have been through a lot.”

“Yea, Miss Bahamut has told us a lot of stories.”

“Yea, many failures and many bad days. Though I guess it's all worth it seeing how she is now.”

Underneath his helmet. The Knight smiles seeing Bahamut truly alive and talking, happy and satisfied that his Dragon companion has turned out to not only be his best companion but also protector and translator.

“Through the rain, the scorching heat and the raging seas. Me and my Lord had traveled through it all.”

The group lines up to the entrance of the walled Port Town named “Kustline”. Though the queue was short, just a few humans and Reptilians with Elves, the guards were taking their time checking the Documents of the people entering.

“Uhhh… I might’ve made a short oversight. I do not have any papers on me.”

“Just say you're a Knight. You have the look, and with armor like that. They won’t ask questions.”

“Okay, I guess. But if anything happens Grifvet, you just bullshit your way out of it. What’s the letters on the sign say anyways? What town is this?”

As his turn comes up. The guard was just quiet at the man. After a few awkward seconds, one of them steps up and speaks.

“Sir, what affiliations do you have?”

Paul looks at the guard to his left and straight in the eyes he says:

“Knights of Eldwood. Knight General.”

“Heinz, do you know that?”

The Guard on the right awkwardly looks back at him. Signalling that man is no one you should fuck with.

“Don’t look at me. Just let him in, we don’t want trouble.”

“-of course sir. Please, check the Adventurers building.”

“Uhhh… will do, thanks.”

The others went through the gate without a hitch. The town was very lively inside, though the light fog gave the streets an eerie vibe, the people were still lingering about and children were playing on the old stone sidewalks where grass could be seen growing from the soil below it. The Knight quickly smells the stench of the horse's manure on the street and the dilapidated buildings weren’t inviting at all and one could hear the rattling of the boats on its badly maintained Pier. “Lively place. This is exactly how I imagined Medieval life would be.” The Knight wishes he could transform to his skeletal form and not smell it but Ingraine looked as energetic as ever.

“You should see the Capital. It's way better than this.”

“I’ll keep my hopes up then. Okay, first things first. Let’s find a place to eat so that we can get out of here fast. The smell is killing me.”

He feels that he could vomit from the smell but the people were surprisingly washed with well ironed clothes.

“I’ve heard some people say there’s one near the center of the town. I’m not the Ranger for no reason ya’ know Sir Knight?”

“I heard it too. Should we go? Casting magic yesterday really drained me.”

The party heads off to the center, they find the Tavern just when the sun is about to go down and disappear in the horizon. Inside, the place was well lit and various humanoids were littered amongst the crowd. Though the Humans outnumber them, their unique features make them stand out. Paul immediately stood out when he entered the Tavern, being the only heavily armored person in the entire city, everyone looked at the unique bunch. In obvious distress with how people are looking at them, the Knight couldn’t be happier with his helmet covering his entire face.

They sat down on the far left corner. The Elven waitress approached the party cordially and asked them for what they’d want. Totally clueless, Paul raises his hand and asks if there’s beef. The party laughs as it's such an obvious answer but yet, with an absolutely serious tone Paul asks if Beef exists in their world.

“So, Sir Paul. What’s your training like?”

“Grifvet, I gotta tell you man. I’m self taught and I did it with very specific swords. Aka my Arming Sword. It got replaced with one from a Demon King.”

“WOAH!”

Ingraine nearly pukes her drink from hearing it. Standing up and pointing her finger at him in a childlike manner.

“WAIT! REALLY?! YOU KILLED A DEMON KING?!”

Everyone in the tavern looks at the group and then to the armored Knight in jet black armor. To deescalate the situation, he calmly tells her to sit down. The Elven girl complied and sat down with her face full of curiosity and excitement.

“Yes I did, but…” he thinks how he could explain that it was not a real Demon King but one from a full dive video game. After some seconds he gave up. “It took me a while. Many long days of planning and preparing.” he recalls watching videos on the Internet on how to cheese the Demon King Paimon and skimming through multiple Walkthroughs and Guides. But the entire group of adventurers was stoked and their eyes full of wonder.

“Sir Paul, do you have it on you right now?”

“Oh no. I’m currently using the Longsword of King Belial. Another Demon King, the Arming Sword is sadly damaged and I was planning on gathering items to repair it but this happened.”

“WOAH! May I see it?”

He looked around and could see how tightly packed the tavern is.

“Later, not here. Swinging a sword around a place like this is dangerous.”

“Oh of course but what do you even need to wield such a weapon?”

“One day Grifvet, you’ll also wield such a weapon.”

Paul could strangely see himself in the young man when he was starting in Dark World VR, with a pair of friends and some hope, a few years later, only he remained playing and became a Knight General for a Knight Order. After an hour of eating and chatting, the party leaves the lively Tavern, the Sun was already down and the Moon with the Stars could be visibly seen.

The town’s spooky vibe just went up by the hundred, Paul’s head couldn’t stop thinking about getting out of the Port Town, he looks back and sees the old Church in the middle of the city is giving off an atmosphere of death and solemnity. It leaves chills to his spine but the adventurers seemed calm and fine with it, casually chatting with one another.

Walking after some few minutes of walking, the hair on the Knights back suddenly awakened as if a ghost just touched him. Swooosh, as the flow of air is suddenly redirected. He stops at his feet and violently looks around, knowing what creature could send him such fear.

“Don’t be scared, but right now. I get the feeling that someone’s watching us and it's not the good type. Didn’t you guys tell me this Port is used by the Kingdoms on the Demon Continent?”

As soon as he said this, the adventurers unsheathed their weapons and prepared to fight on with the unknown enemy lurking in the shadows. In a few seconds, on a tall four story building, a woman appears in a red gown. Her piercing golden eyes shine through the night’s sky.

“Holy… shiiiit…. It’s a real fucking Vampire. A freaking real one!”

“First time?”

“No, yes. Technically, no. But in this context, yes.”

Eattare quickly holds her staff high, already casting multiple spells without speaking.

“Just keep calm, don’t let it bite you and cover your surroundings!”

“I don’t know what you call those types here, but to me, that’s absolutely a Countess or a Lady just by looking at her. We have to ru-”

As Paul was about to say run, the Vampire’s voice struck through the quiet street, her beautiful gown flapping at the roof as the Moon flew over her.

“Knight, I can see that you're afraid of me. Have thou been captivated by my aura? If so, feast thy eyes on the Countess of Manor Chaîne de Montagnes. Impressive how you have not yet run in absolute fear or cowered as you see the one that’ll end thine life.”

“Jokes on you. I’m into that shit!”

The intimidatingly beautiful Vampire smirked at the Knight’s joke even though he’s visibly afraid of her.

“I hope thou can keep up one's humor in battle.”

In a blink of an eye, the Vampire suddenly disappears from the Adventurer’s sight. Paul on the other hand is having a sensory overload as he could feel the rapid speed of the Vampire going around them.

“Damn It! She’s scoping out our formation! If we don’t do something, she’ll take us out one by one.”

Bahamut was calm the entire time, as if to think of when the Vampire’s gonna appear. All of the sudden, the Dragon speaks.

“Mi Lord! On your right!”

And just like that, Paul swings his sword to his right. An irritating clang was made as the blade hit the Vampire's hand. Her red gloves were gripping the blade tightly as Paul tried to continue its swing. Out of nowhere, Grifvet attempts to strike the Vampire from the left, she swiftly disappears before being stabbed. The group was then toyed by the Vampire, appearing from behind and surprising them by appearing in front of them and then disappearing.

Annoyed, Paul casts “Immense Speed.” a high level spell used to increase movement by twenty, though he doesn’t know the effects of it in the new world, at least he could see the Vampire rapidly moving around. The magic worked so well he could hear her high heels as it touched the stone street.

*Click clack*

All of the sudden, he senses her right behind him. The Vampire embraces him from behind. Trailing her nails at his armor and visibly scratching it, Bahamut was moving, but was just staring at the Vampire in absolute anger.

“I’m Countess Alana from the Continent of the Dead. Known as Schon. I’ve cometh here on the Lord’s behalf. My people need their blood. Knight, would you be a gentleman and introduce yourself to this maiden?”

“Hello, I’m the motherfucker that’ll scrape your face on the Sun’s ray.”

“Ara, feisty one aren’t we? Well, since you’ve made me laugh, I’ll entertain you. The Sun does not affect me like those lowly Vampires. If thou wants to end thee, one must have a blade that God itself made.”

“Oh yea? I got something better. It’s an express ticket to Hell.”

“Eheheh, thou truly is entertaining. Thou might be able to give lonely me some fun. I’ll let you go today. I’d like to see where your story would go. Would you be a sweetie and tell me thy name?”

“It’s Paul. Paul Jackson, Knight General of Eldwood. When we meet again next time, I’ll make sure you won’t heal from what I’m about to do to you.”

“Even though you're shaken and afraid? Sir Paul. I can smell the great fear in your words.”

The last words she spoke sent immense chills to his back. It was so scary if it weren’t for his helmet, everyone would see the tears in his eyes. The Countess simply disappears and reappears at the roof. This time, she had Knights with her. All in dark red demonic armor, she simply disappears right as she appears. Gone with the wind.

Shaken, Paul’s grip on his sword was stone cold and hard. It didn’t move an inch the entire time, he was getting used to it, but still needed a lot more experience in self control. Ingraine was checking each one of her members for bites while Grifvet and Pierence was still high on their toes ready to fight. Eattare was shaken but also prepared to fight the Vampire head on.

“That was not what I expected it to be.”

“Sir Paul, are you alright? It looks like she went after you.”

“Of course she would. She sensed I’m the most powerful one. Her intimidation tactic didn’t work the way she intended it to be but I’m very shaken and I think I need a toilet.”

“The entire time, she was aiming for you. Looks like you're on her list now.”

“Great, just what I need. A freaking Countess wants my blood and head. C’mon, I really need a toilet too.”

After gaining their barings, the group once again moves to the outside of the town. Leaving behind the scary encounter. Everyone was asleep behind Bahamut’s back as she soars high up in the sky. Paul was wide awake, thinking about the encounter.

“Bahamut, how powerful was that Vampire?”

“Extremely powerful. She was able to even catch me off guard. If I was able to spot her, I would’ve been able to move. She took advantage of my concern for you and caught me when I had my guard down. Her magic was not strong enough to override mine, but her gesture of scratching your armor was to warn me that she could easily slice you open if she so desired.”

“Damn it. She’s smart. Very smart. Next time, even if my life is in danger, go for it. I’d rather die than have my blood sucked by a creature of the night.”

“I apologize, Master. I wasn’t able to transform.”

“No need to apologize. It’s not like you could’ve done anything, if you were to transform. We would’ve damaged the already worn town and even hurt innocents. She knew what she was doing and caught us at the best time and moment.”

“Wouldn’t you want to sleep?”

“I might just.”

He removes his Helmet and sits down on Bahamut's head. Grabbing her spine to prevent himself from slipping. He silently takes in the fresh air of the sky. As the Moon appears and disappears over the gigantic clouds. He looks back and sees the Adventurers were sleeping and Grifvet and Ingraine were snoring loudly.

“The people here are really something. The fact that they could still sleep after witnessing something like that.”

“This is how their life is, always facing danger and seeing death. It’s not surprising they would sleep so neatly.”

“I kinda miss my pampered life in an advanced society now. Though the food at the Tavern was good. Whatever cows they had were pretty well taken care of.”

“I had to savour it a bit. It was very good indeed.”

“I wonder, will we be able to go back?”

“I’m sure we will. If I’ve ever learned anything from you, it’s that if there’s a way in, there’s a way out.”

“Ahahaha, I can see you’ve picked one of my quotes. Also, can you turn into a human? The others told me that their Dragon Gods here are all in human form.”

“I can, but I chose not to. Thou would not shed these scales for the feeble body of a human.”

“But it can help a lot, I’m sure you’d blend in nicely with us.”

“… I’d rather not. I’m a proud Dragon. I shalt not betray my kin and turn into anything else.”

“I see, well. I’m not gonna dig further as I feel like there’s history to this so I apologize if I have any bad memories.”

“It’s fine. I’ve lived for thousands of years. Some words can’t hurt me. It is a long story Master, one that sent me into isolation for thousands of years.”

“I guess so. Have a good night Bahamut. And truly, thank you for helping me all throughout these past days. You might not be as good as a companion back then since you were nerfed, but now that you’ve been free. You’ve been flying higher and happier.”

“Hmph. It’s only natural I’d give my all to my Master. It’s not everyday I get to be under someone. I’m also quite content with how you treat me. Not as an animal or a beast you ride on… but as a friend and a companion.”

“Of course, I always treat those who treat me nicely as friends. Nothing more, nothing less and you Bahamut, my first Dragon companion. Of course you’d have a special place in my heart. I didn’t go through all the trouble of leveling you because I needed a powerful ally. I have more than enough of that, you're simply a cute dragon with a lot of personality that I wished to keep by my side.”

“Heehee. Maybe one day M’Lord. I shall show you my human form.”

Paul slowly shuts his eyes and sleeps. Though not obvious, Bahamut’s mouth is smiling after the conversation. She continues on to fly, dodging clouds and maintaining her speed. He later awakens after a few hours, he could hear Ingraine’s usual loud voice as she excitedly chats with Grifvet while Pierence and Eattare are eating breakfast. He sees this and groggily stands up, Bahamut notices this and straightens her neck for him to pass.

He joins in on the adventurers having a good time. He eats some bread from Eattare and then some water from Pierence’s canteen. After some time of chatting and laughing, Bahamut starts to slow down. Descending as she nears the Capital city. Paul was a bit shy as he was about to be the first of the Knights of Eldwood to visit the city. The Dragon lowers herself below the clouds, over the horizon he could spot a gleaming city, with its castle and upper district’s shine reflecting the Sun’s ray and blinding him a bit even at such a distance.

“Dang, look at that place. If this far, I could see that massive Castle and those large white walls. I wonder how it’ll be up close.”

“Well look no further! I also recommend you to change into something less intimidating.”

“Heh, good thing I packed some extra clothing.”

Using Teleportation magic, Paul teleports a Combat Pack to him.

“Wow, I’ve never seen high level Teleportation Magic before.”

“I only really used it to teleport around when sword fighting, but now, I guess it has its other uses now.”

After a while,they land and the adventurers once again disembark the large beast. Paul hides behind the large wing. Using it as a cover as he changes his outfit. Ingraine tried peeking but got scared off by Bahamut after a few attempts. After changing, he teleports his armor and combat pack away. The Dragon lifts her wing and the Knight emerges wearing his old disguise. Black suit with a trenchcoat and fedora. Eattare is immediately reminded of her fathers clothing, as it resembles the ones worn by Nobles.

“You look good.”

“I guess maybe here, but I kinda overdone it with this one. But it’s one of the only outfits I have that doesn’t have armor on it.”

Pierence on the other hand sees his guns, holstered at his hip. Tilting his head at the strange metallic objects.

“What’re those metal things on your hip?”

“Ah these? Point Forty Five Glock Seventeens.” He opens his trench coat and blazer revealing two more guns on his chest. “These two here are Colt Pythons. Point Forty four and here on my right is my good ole’ Scabbard for my Longsword.”

Ingraine hops around, remembering the guns used by pirates.

“Oh! Just like those flintlock things I’ve heard pirates have been using!”

“Ehhh… something like that but way more worse or more effective you should say.”

After some more lighthearted talk, the party moves into the forest. Walking towards the big city. Bahamut transforms into her smaller form and flies into Paul’s trench coat. Comfily resting inside its inner pocket.