By sunset, I have assembled my party and am waiting by the foot of the mountain. The party consists of a dozen of the strongest Dragonbrood warriors who are both physically strong, with some talents with magic. In comparison with Elysium Online, I'd say that they're something of a Warrior/Enchanter hybrid, with some Cleric and Sorcerer mixed in. With myself included, this makes a party of thirteen members. That being said, we're not yet complete. Right now, we're awaiting the fourteenth member, the Shaman that the Keeper had promised. I was told to meet her at the foot of the mountain, but having waited for about twenty minutes, I have yet to see her.

"A rather insolent one isn't she, to keep the Champion waiting."

"Now, now, I'm sure she has her reasons. I only hope she hadn't run into some trouble along the way."

It isn't till the passing of another ten minutes that she eventually arrives, the priestess of the Holy Serpent. I had a feeling it was her, even though there are several others walking down that mountain path. She alone, waked separate from the rest, sticking out like the sorest of thumb dipped in juices of a freshly squeezed lemon. Why? Because she looked almost human, a human with scales spotted here and there on her skin, a human with a pair of unevenly sized horns growing out of her head. Looking at her, it makes me question if she' even a Dragonbrood at all.

"Oh no, it's her! Of all the people to send..."

For some reason, the Dragonbrood warriors with me begin freaking out when they see her. Out of curiosity, and also sensing that this may cause a problem in the near future, I pull over a nearby warrior to question.

"What's so wrong with her, Nibal?"

"Simply observe, and you'll soon see the problem."

From how he worded it, I doubt he's talking about her appearance. If it is about how she looks, rather than soon, I'd immediately notice it right? And I did, in fact, notice it the moment I laid my eyes on her, so it must be something else.

Attentively, I watch the girl as she approaches with a painfully slow gait, taking note of how her body lazily sways from side to side as she walks with a slight slouch. Her raven black hair, while tied into a bun behind her head, is sloppily done, with strands and lock sticking out here and there, as if she had just woken up not long ago but couldn't be bothered to brush her bed head before tying it up.

"Okay, I am starting to see the problem, but she can't be that bad, right?"

"An optimistic take, sir, though I suggest you best be prepared for some trouble.."

Another of the Dragonbrood warriors, Seif, he was called, chimes in with bemusement, behaving as if this has nothing to do with him. Seeing as he is the leanest of Dragonbroods and is trained as an Assassin, I'll bet he's going to just stay out of her sight.

By the time the priestess gets here, and it took quite a while, the warriors have already hushed themselves. As she nears us, she straightens her posture and begins to walk in a more dignified manner that is a bit more suitable for a priestess representing the Holy Serpent. However, just when I thought that she was going to be more serious, she holds out her hand in front of her face and starts to yawn without restraint, the tension of the mission at hand here seems to have escaped her completely. Well, maybe that's just the impression that I am getting after hearing what the warriors had to say. This is the person I am meeting for the first time, I can't be biased.

Once she arrives in front of me, she looks over me with her sleepy, garnet-like, eyes before releasing another yawn, this time only remembering to cover her mouth halfway through the yawning.

"So, you must be the vegetal I am to look after."

"V-vegetal?"

"Yes, that is what you are, is that not correct? What with your chronic comas."

"That's true I suppose..."

Well, this is odd. The guys behind me are being strangely quiet. Usually, if someone were to speak to me in such a condescending tone, they'd be all in an uproar about it, even if it's something I find rather insignificant. Had it been as always, right about now I'd have my hands full trying to calm them all down.

Curious, I turn around for a bit to take a peek, only to find them avoiding my gaze with nervousness in their eyes. And of course, Seif had already slipped away somewhere.

I turn back to the girl. She looks like she's sizing up the party, and after a brief moment ends her observation with a sigh aimed at the rest of the warriors.

"So, no carriage, not even a palanquin. Did you expect me to walk all the way across the continent?"

Her tone is not only harsh but also heavy with the sense of belittlement. I am starting to see the problem the others have with her.

"W-we didn't know it was you who will be coming with us, Lady Asha."

"Oh?"

All of a sudden her sleepy eyes turn sharp with scorn, causing the young warrior who dared to talk back to her to quiver.

"Well, that explains why no one came to get me. I got so tired of waiting I went back to sleep, or I would have, if not for that old hag at the top of the mountain nagging at me in my head."

However, her disrespectful words did not go unchallenged as Nibal goes up to her with his large frame that dwarfs all warriors present, least of all the unruly priestess, and stares right down at her with eyes filled with righteous fury.

"Lady Asha! You may be a priestess, but I will not tolerate insults towards the Keeper!"

After being yelled at, the priestess had been acting rather arrogantly till now goes completely silent and begins to shake. Seeing this, I can't help but reach out towards Nibal. I know she's a bit of a spoiled brat, well, maybe a lot more than a bit, but still, we'll be working together from here on out. I seriously don't want to wake up from my coma to find our camping grounds on fire. Besides, if she's shaking that much, I'm sure she has learned her lesson by now.

"Now, now, Nibal, I know she's rather rude, but she's just a kid and now is hardly the time to-"

I froze, the moment I realize that the girl is shaking not out of fear, but with a fury I've not felt before, my body can't help but freeze. It feels as if a giant serpent is staring down at me, and I am but a frog, frozen in place, hoping that she wouldn't notice me if I just stay still.

With a swift movement, the girl's hand reaches up to Nibal, grabbing onto one of his bull-like horns, and in one motion, she pulls him downward, slamming his lower jaw into the ground. However, being a warrior, Nibal is not one to go down so easily, and he quickly recovers from the impact and picks himself off the ground, only to be stopped by Asha's foot. The upper body strength of a heavyweight Dragonbrood warrior could not stand up to a single dainty foot of this violent lady.

"Good, just stay in that posture, on your all fours for the entirety of this journey. Why? Because you'll be my personal mount of course. Be sure to be on your best behavior while you act as my transport, you are not the only mount I've roasted and eaten on the spot."

In Nibal's eyes, rather than the look of defeat as I have expected, I see the gaze of a man- err, lizard, in absolute terror. He knows that this girl isn't joking, and from the horrified looks of the onlooking warriors surrounding us, none of them seem to be under the impression that she is being particularly humorous either. Looks like Nibal is just going to go on all fours till we get to our destination... As if.

"Alright, that's enough!"

Shaking off my initial terror, I step forward and tear Asha off Nibal. Though she is indeed powerful and rather intimidating, I am still the Champion. Even if I'm in this condition, I should still be the strongest here. That being said, the moment I pushed her away, I can distinctively feel it, the sensation of the air turning cold, though I am not sure if it's due to the weather or my own nerves.

"What's this? Does the vegetable wishes to pick a fight too?"

"No one is picking a fight, missy, and no one is going to be your personal ride either."

"Oh, is that so? Well, then I-"

Suddenly, Asha turns towards the mountain, gazing towards the peak. She frowns at first, before beginning to look rather frustrated. After a while, she turns back towards us, though not without clicking her tongue.

"Fine, I'll walk, and I'll forgive your transgressions just this once. I am not so small-hearted as to keep a grudge during such trying times."

Or so she says, but I am rather sure that the last part did not come from the bottom of her heart. In fact, from the way she glares at me, I'd say if there's anything under there, it'd be flames hot enough to melt steel. Something tells me we're not going to be friends, but surely, surely, it not too much to hope that there'll be no more trouble from her for the rest of the trip, right?

***

The Dragonbroods do not traditionally have mounts, unlike humans, they never had a need to use other creatures for labor. Instead, they pride themselves of their own superior strength, in their belief that they, the Dragonbroods, are the strongest of all creatures that roam this world and therefore have no need to have another creature do what they can do better. And so, rather than relying on some other beasts, they rely on their own two feet, and though I have never ridden on horses before and had to take their words for it, even the slowest of them is faster than any beast in the world, free or ridden. Again, I do not know how true it is, this is only what they claimed before me.

Alongside the Dragonbroods, I sprint across the open fields. Being a Warrior/Knight character, this body is rather sturdy. With it, I can easily keep up with the Dragonbroods at their maximum speed, and not due to any skills or abilities, but by pure vitality and strength. Corona though, isn't so lucky. Her character was built towards magical damage, and so couldn't keep up with this speed for more than a full minute, and even that is her on her best days. For her, the Dragonbrood warriors would gladly give a ride, because she is one of their two precious Champions, and also because she asked nicely, not quite the same with the little lady currently accompanying us.

While on the move, I turn to check behind me, to make sure everyone is present and accounted for in case someone falls behind or, in the worst case scenario, attacked. This time, to my relief, all is present and keeping up, even the one making a fuss about having to use her legs, Lady Asha. Well, with the strength she had displayed, I am certainly not surprised, but I do have to wonder: Why does she look so much more human than the rest of them? Perhaps Seif would have the answer. Speaking of Seif, though he had disappeared by the time Asha arrived, he was properly close by the whole time, even now, he's following from a distance behind, just out of range to remain unnoticed should we be ambushed or attacked.

As we had set out during the afternoon, the sunset arrives in what feels to be no time at all. By the time the sun had sunk beyond the horizon, we arrived at the outskirts of the forest surrounding the fields. Here, we decide to take a break.

Usually, the Dragonbroods do not start campfires while out in the wild. True to the 'dragon' part of their name, they have a high body heat and most are capable of breathing fire. However, for this Champion who has the body heat of a regular human being, and with it being rather cold here around the northern edge of Elgardia, they went ahead and built a campfire for me anyways and then another one for Lady Asha, who apparently has a rather low body temperature as well, but also prefers to stay away from me for the time being. I thought she's supposed to be looking after me. This makes me worry about whether she'll actually do her job or not.

"Curious about our priestess here?"

From above the tree I am sitting under, hanging from one of the branches with his tail, Seif descends upon me. With one eye, he looks at me as he speaks, with the other, he uses to keep watch over the camp. Like the eyes of a chameleon, Seif's as well can look in two directions at once.

"By the-! I almost elbowed you there!"

"As a Champion, you should be aware of your surroundings."

"How nice of you to care, but I am still quite strong, being the Champion and whatnot. A hit from me is going to do some damage."

"Do not worry, even if you did attack, I would have dodged."

"Rather confident aren't we?"

"I am. Anyhow, about the priestess, I catch you staring at her, are you curious?"

"Me, curious about the person that is to take care of my very serious condition which renders me comatose whenever I go to sleep? No way!"

"Excellent sarcasm, sir."

"Don't patronize me, Seif. But yes, it would be helpful to know more about her. Everyone else appears to have a hard time dealing with her too. I can't help but have ill forebodings for the future of this journey."

"Do you want the short version or the long version?"

"What's the short version?"

"Lady Asha is powerful from birth, born from a powerful bloodline. The Dragonbroods revere power, and so they have revered her from birth as well. The reverence made her what she is today."

"Okay, that was no help. Give me the long version then. It'll help pass the time till the others return from their hunt at least. I hope they find something big."

"Surely they will, this forest is known for its mighty beasts, and they taste especially well after a good roasting."

"Stop, you're making me hungry, just tell me the story."

"Very well. Now, where should I begin..."

***

End of Chapter 53