Edited by Nimble Llama Prologue: The First Walk

There are five races in this world. There are the Humans, an inventive race that has made advances in many different fields, ranging from magic all the way to agriculture. One of their most notable contributions to the world is ‘Battle Arts’, which allows a person to go beyond the limitations of their body and wield the strength to crush a boulder with a staff or create a typhoon with the flick of a fan.

Magic is divided into 10 levels, Level One being Beginner and Level Ten being Grand master. Battle Arts is divided into four tiers Basic, Intermediate, Advanced and Master. Then further divided into five more tiers Beginning, Knowledge, Understanding, Ending and Mastery.

After the Humans are the Elves similar in appearance to Humans, what distinguishes them are their long, pointy ears. They live alongside nature and have the unique ability to commune with spirits, who will help to the Elves that ask for help. They are also known to live for 200 to 300 years old.

Following the Elves are the Beastkin who are the most diverse in appearance and ability. They to are similar in appearance to Humans but their eyes, ears and tails are specific to the sub-race of Beastkin they are. The sub-race also affects their traits, canine based Beastkin are renowned hunters, feline Beastkin are known for being excellent assassin’s and bovine Beastkin are known to be extremely strong and resilient. But one thing that all Beastkin have in common is a strong familial and community bond with one another, making them united in many causes.

The most recluse race are the Merfolk who live within the depths of the ocean. Because of this little is known about other than that they can live on land.

The fifth and strongest race are the Dragoons. They are known for two things the first being that they are very strong and capable combatants on their own. The second being that they have a symbiotic relationship and bond with the Dragons. Because of their strength and bond with Dragons they carry a lot of political weight and usually decide who wins a battle and even war.

I am a Dragoon, though I have been exiled. Normally this would be considered a terrible fate but because of this I was able to meet the person who would change my life.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Narrator’s POV

Mechius Kingdom

“Father I demand that you cancel the engagement, I refuse to be wed to a stranger.” Princess

A young woman with delicate white hair and contrasting black dress cut a beautiful yet resolved figure before her parents. She had been arguing with them for the last hour, about her engagement to their neighbouring kingdoms prince.

“My dear please understand, this is for the sake of the kingdom.” Queen Her mother gently pleaded. She is the spitting image of the princess just older.

“For the sake of the kingdom or for the sake of fathers pride?! I know father promised this before I was even born!” Princess The princess shouted, whilst glaring at her father.

“Nonsense, this is for the continued friendship between our two kingdoms, as well as for your happiness.” King Her father said calmly.

The princess had only to desires in life, to explore the vast world and to fall in love. She truly cares for her kingdom, but she will not lower herself to be used as a bargaining chip and marry someone she does not love.

“Father I have said before, marrying a stranger will only make me sad not happy.” Princess

“Love will come with time. Now go prepare yourself for your fiancés visit, he will be here before dinner. I will lock you in your room if I must.” King

“Sorry Hikari, please see this from our side.” Queen

The king and queen left the princesses room locking the door as they leave. The princess flopped down onto her bed exhausted from the argument. She knew the real issue was pride.

When a dragon threatened a small village on the outskirts of the Mechius Kingdom, the king refused to send soldiers to fight it, in response the village paid mercenaries to fight it. The soldiers though came and killed the dragon at the last moment and even took the credit for it and hushed the villagers that protested.

“Ugh I hate thinking about that. Anyway I’ve got to prepare for my departure, this will likely be one of the few chances I get.” Hikari

Today is the 17th birthday of Hikari Soreha, Second Princess of the Mechius Kingdom. Because of this there is a party being held in celebration and the guards are very alert to intruders, but not escapees. Which is why this is her only chance to escape.

“I have reached the Sixth Level in Light magic and have achieved Intermediate Understanding in my use of the rapier, so there is little room for me to improve in those areas without gaining real life experience. I can also learn a whole host of life lessons in the outside world.”

The average person usually reaches the Third Level magic in the respective affinity and the average soldier usually reaches Basic Understanding in Battle Arts. This shows that Hikari is a talent in both these fields and capable of fighting off a number of everyday threats along with numerous soldiers or bandits.

“For this fated day I have saved up enough money to last me a year and learnt the necessary skills for wilderness survival, all so I can find my fated one.” Hikari She began to blush as she imagined the meeting between her and her beloved.

“Now I must escape.” Hikari

First she changed into basic travelling clothes with a red waist coat made of Iron Silk, then put on a blue magicians cloak and then strapped her rapier to her waist.

Then she moved to her closet and removed a back panel pulling out a mound of rope, she then hooked one end over her window sill and threw the other end out of the window. Climbing down from the second floor took only a few minutes once down she unhooked her rope and hid it in a bush to hide her escape.

Moving along the shadows of the buildings she eventually reached a side gate to the palace undetected and cast a sleep spell on the two guards, before slipping past and heading down the road with a grin on her face.

“Now I can achieve all of my dreams like swimming with a mermaid, petting catkin, singing with an elf and riding dragons.” Hikari Exclaimed happily.

Whilst humming to herself she bumped into someone and fell to the ground.

“Kyaa, sorry I was caught up in my thoughts.” Hikari

A young man of similar age to Hikari stood up, he had thick black hair and wore a contrasting white vest and cloak and carried seven different weapons on his person. There were a spear, bow, staff, whip, katana, knife and long sword.

“Me to, I was kind of spaced out.” The young man replied, extending a helping hand.

Taking his hand Hikari stood up and looked over the young man and was intrigued by his array of weapons.

“Umm… could you tell me why you carry seven different weapons, aren’t they all cumbersome altogether?” Hikari

“If you place them in the right place, they are barely noticeable. As for why I carry so many, it’s because I like having a choice in weapons.” Young Man

‘Is he mad? At most people carry three weapons and often the third is a knife so it’s not really noticeable. And the amount of time you would have to spend on learning Battle Arts for each weapon would be monstrous.

“Well I’ve got to get going. Take care.” Young Man

“What an odd fellow. Well anyway I should probably get to the Adventures Guild and sign up, then make a quest leaving to another city.” Hikari

Young Man’s POV

This report is so annoying.

“Guild Master, next time don’t make me drag along a burden. Because of them it took me two extra days to complete the quest.” Young Man

“Please understand I was trying to make your life easier.” Guild Master

“I can appreciate that really, but these guys were nobles, you should know how annoying they can be.”

Hello my name is Ezax, no family name. I am a Half Dragoon Half Human and have a dragon link, but their a little annoying, I turned 16 last month. I just returned from a subjugation quest for a Blade Bear. Unfortunately a group of nobles tagged along as well, and none of them had any fighting experience, couldn’t even use their Battle Arts properly, useless.

“Hahaha, that attitude is why I like you Ezax and that you’re a fast learner, I mean to learn seven different weapons and magic, truly incredible.” Guild Master

This isn’t the first time he’s stated this and it’s always a precursor to some annoying quest.

“What do you want Guild Master?” Ezax said dryly.

“Don’t worry, it isn’t anything hard. Just a bodyguard quest for a rich girl. She’s paying 100 gold coins for passage to the next city!” Guild Master

“Why me? If it isn’t hard then why can’t you just throw this to someone else? Surely there are many A rank teams jumping at this.” Ezax

Guild members are divided by rank as well as quests. This is to ensure that a complete beginner doesn’t go off and fight a dragon. The ranks go from Rank H to Rank AA, then it goes Rank S,SS,SSS and ends with Rank X.

The usual payment for an A rank quest is 100 gold coins, this is reflective of how dangerous the quest is. Thing is though the monsters around this area aren’t that strong, at most the are C rank threats.

“Ezax, if you accomplish this you’ll be paid a bonus of 200 gold. There aren’t any A rankers in at the moment and you are the only S rank around at the moment. Plus she is being pursued by an Intermediate Master, none of the other ranks could handle it anyway.” Guild Master

“Well that is a legitimate reason, but what’s the catch?” Ezax

He’s never been so desperate for me to take a quest before, even when he has it’s been for personal reasons. Surprisingly enough he is from a High Noble family himself, he only works for the guild because of the interesting people.

“I can’t tell you Ezax, but this is a matter of life and death as well as my job.” Guild Master

It doesn’t seem like he’s lying and it would be bothersome if he’s replaced with someone else.

“Fine I’ll do it, but I want a month paid leave.” Ezax

“Two weeks.” Guild Master

“One month, I’m not going down.” Ezax

“Fine, a month of paid leave.” Guild Master

Grumbling he hands me the quest contract and tells me to wait in guild room one. This room is for strategising before you head out on a quest, as well as holding sensitive meetings. Now on my own my dragon makes his thoughts known.

‘Master why did you accept this boring quest? You should have found another dragon to fight, something to get my blood going.’ Dragon 1

Indeed get to have this fellow voice his opinion at any time of the day and to top it off there are a further six dragons that reside within me. Unlike other Dragoons who have one link I have seven.

This has only made my life harder, for example each of them have their own preference in weapons, hence why I carry and master seven different weapons at once. The one that just spoke is Tiamat, he‘s a battle maniac and the one who told me to learn the bow.

‘Don’t bother Master, this quest can’t be ignored. If the Guild Master is replaced it will make Masters life harder.’ Dragon 2

This is Brionac, he is a workaholic. The only one of them with a serious attitude for that matter, he chose prefers the whip.

‘Brionac is right, beside what fun is there to be had in fighting? Isn’t peace the best master?’ Dragon 3

This is Typhon, he is the only dragon who loves peace because he holds no interest in fighting. His preference is the spear because if used correctly you can end the fight easily and quickly.

‘Shut up, you Peacepoon! Don’t you know that a man needs a fight every once in a while.’ Tiamat

‘Fighting is for idiots who can’t come to an agreement. You only end up getting hurt’ Typhon

‘You’re just a coward!’ Tiamat

And here we go again, there is at least one argument a day. Thankfully though there is someone who puts a stop to it.

‘Tiamat, stop starting fights! Nee-sans going to be angry.’ Dragon 4

This is Leviathan, the one that thankfully keeps the peace. She was the one who told me to wield a magic staff because of her interest in magic.

‘Sorry…’ Tiamat

With the commotion over they go back to resting, the last quest was rather tiresome as their were close to a hundred Blade Bears.

After an hour of waiting the Guild Master finally shows up, alongside him is the white haired girl from earlier.

“Sorry for the wait Ezax.” Guild Master

“Ah! It’s the odd fellow!” Hikari points at me.

What did she just call me? Our only interaction involved bumping into one another.

‘Master just kick her arse!’ Tiamat

‘You, shut up.’ Ezax

“Hikari, you already know one another?” Guild Master

“No we only met today, when we bumped into one another. Anyway Uncle why did you call a boy like him? I already said I want the strongest escort, he‘s at most C rank.” Hikari

Well she’s blunt. Spending three days escorting her is going to be a pain in the arse.

“He’s the only S rank in the city, Ezax show her your ID.” Guild Master

Taking it, Hikari gives it an odd look then returns it and asks me a question.

“Do you have spatial storage?” Hikari

I nod. Spatial storage is a magic enchantment that can be applied to jewellery, that will allow you to store multiple items within a pocket dimension instead of carrying them out in the open. This enchantment can increase the pieces worth massively, especially if you apply the improved enchantment Time Spatial Storage. Mine is a weak storage enchantment I use to hold potions and food.

“Alright then I will accept him. Thank you Uncle for the help.” Hikari

“Don’t sweat it sweetie, I’d do anything for cute niece.” Guild Master

With that we left the Guild Hall without any further delay and headed for the city gate. As we leave we are asked for our ID, turns out this girl is D rank, which means she has a little bit of skill despite her young age.

As we walk away I notice her looking a little nervous and checking behind us quite often.

“You don’t need to be so worried, until we get away from the presence of the city the monsters will be pretty weak. You should be able to handle most of them.” Ezax

“I know that! I’m worried about pursuers.” Hikari snaps at me.

“I’ve been meaning to ask about that, am I allowed to kill your pursuers or would that only lead to further trouble?” Ezax

After some deep thinking she gives a shallow nod, but doesn’t look to pleased with the idea. It is soon after this that I see an entire regiment of soldiers, lead by general it seems, standing 20 metres before us. Hikari seeing this quickly gets behind me.

‘Tiamat prepare yourself’ Ezax

I prepare my bow as the leader steps forward.

“Please hand her over, if you don’t I can’t guarantee your safety.” The General states calmly.

“Could you tell me why?” Ezax

Goddamn this guy is strong, even I’m hesitant. Why the does he want the girl?

“The girl behind you is the Second Princess of Mechius, Hikari Soreha!” General

…Come again, does he mean to say this bratty girl is royalty. Does that mean the Guild Master is royalty, that bastard! I’ll give him a piece of my mind after this.

“Today is her 17th birthday as well as an engagement party for her and the Prince of Albace.” The General states calmly again.

So she’s running away, that explains why she was so edgy.

“Question, how much compensation do I get for handing her over? I’ve been promised 300 gold coins to escort her away.” Ezax

“The nerve, for a commoner to demand money from us!” The General now yells, he’s clearly a snobbish noble, can’t be trusted.

“We’ll give you 50 gold coins, that’s more than enough.” General

“Please don’t hand me over.” Hikari pleads.

“Wait here.” Ezax

I put away my bow and walk forward and hold out my hand.

“The payment?”

“You’ll get your payment in the afterlife!” The general yells as he draws his sword aiming for my neck. I figured he act like this, hence why I stood in my stance and drew my katana faster than him and cut off his left leg, before backing up.

Everyone here is stunned at what they saw, I take this chance to pull my bow and add a fire enchantment to my arrow.

“Foolish noble, your lie was so predictable.” Ezax

“Everyone ch…” I don’t give the general the chance to finish his command and place my arrow in his forehead, there isn’t any blood though thanks to the enchantment.

“I feel it’s necessary for me to tell you that I can do away with all of you in about five seconds.” Ezax

They seem to pay my warning little attention.

“Everyone form the water fortress formation.” Random officer

As they move about and start casting their spell I fire another of my own into their centre, before they could do anything it exploded in a massive fire ball sending them all flying around.

“Princess let’s go.” Ezax

She like the others were, is stunned so I threw her over my shoulder and ran for the hills. It seems that the alarm was set off sooner than she had hoped, this also means that the cavalry should be along soon, but the Guild Master predicted this and got me rapped up in this, after all a B rank wouldn’t be able to do anything in this situation.

“Princess snap out of it already!” I shout at her.

“It’s pointless the emergency bell has been rung, we’ll never be able to out run them.” She mumbles to herself.

“Are you really so weak willed, why did you ever bother running away in the first place?” I once again shout.

“No I don’t want to marry him.” She weakly says.

I slap her, if she gets caught I’m gonna end up wanted across the kingdom. Still though there is little response.

“Ah come one! What’s your dream, you’ve got to have one?” Ezax

“I want to see the world through my own eyes, not through a book. I want to swim with mermaids. I want to pet a beastkin and sing with an elf! I want to ride a dragon!” Hikari declares.

‘Brionac answer my call!’ I call to Brionac and before us a sky blue dragon with sharp blue eyes appears, this once again shocks Hikari.

“Well you can mark off one of your dreams then. These are the first steps of your new life, you have to decide if you will stumble and not get back up or if you charge forward and claim what you want and move forward!” I tell her.

“A dragon?… You’re a Dragoon?” She asks.

“I am not pure blood, but I’ve still got a link. Now are going to step towards your future or return to your past?” I say. This is likely the most annoying job I’ve taken.

“Please let me ride it!! I’ve wanted to ride a dragon for ages!” She suddenly springs to life. I lift her up in a princess carry and climb on Brionacs back.

“Brionac lets go!” I command.

“Yes master!” With a strong response we lift off.

This is the beginning of our journey, where we will see the world. The moon shines down upon us in a warm embrace, marking the start of our adventure.