?129 The Dragon''s First Step Into His Lair


    "Heh?" the mage gasped, seeing the woman''s sword approach his face at a tremendous speed.


    [Shield] In an instant, a semi-transparent blueish shield covered the mage, blocking the sh. CLANG! "Who are you?" The mage screamed his lungs out.


    BAM! The woman jumped back, pulling her sword back and running forward with her legs slipping on the ground.


    SWOSH! SWOSH! SWOSH! SWOSH! SWOSH! She rushed forward, swinging her sword like a massive spinning de.


    "OIOI!"The mage cried, lifting his wand and casting a spell [Fly]. He wanted to escape as quickly as possible.


    CLANG! CLANG! CRACK! When the woman''s sword connected to his shield, it only took two strikes to break it, and the mage fell to the ground. His [Fly] failed as he panicked.


    [Action surge] The woman grabbed her sword with two hands, keeping her eyes on the mage. ZAN! Six shes rushed at the mage simultaneously.


    CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! Three men rushed in, deflecting three hits but getting shed by the rest.


    SWOSH! The woman''s body raced above the mage,nding a few meters back with her left hand touching the ground as she stopped.


    Clench! The mage bit the inside of his cheek and tongue, ring at the woman. ^Keep calm! Don''t panic!^ He lifted his wand, ^Magic needs concentration. Even hesitating for a moment can lead to a significant drop in power and speed,^


    "I don''t care who you are, but you picked the wrong opponent," The mage''s wand shed with a blue light, [Forced Cube Teleportation] sh!


    In a bright light, the woman and everything surrounding her in a three-meter cube disappeared.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The mage stood, gasping with shaking hands, "Who was that?" He looked at the three dead men, "Those were six shes with [Action surge], I presume, must be at least a twelve-level fighter." With a snap of his fingers, the bodies disappeared.


    The guards rushed in as they saw the brief exchange from the walls. But when they arrived, no one was there. Not a single drop of blood was left.


    CLACK! Merida fell inside a room, ring at multiple pots and vases, "Where am I?" she sat, looking around.


    "I saw you flung inside a teleportation spell. Are you all right?" When she looked behind her, "The owner of Lisworth''s greenhouse, Cain?" Merida said, and Cain coughed the blood, leaning on his cane.


    "Are you all right?" Merida looked at him.


    "Yeah," Cain replied, "I just exhausted myself a bit,"


    "You shouldn''t be using magic," Merida stood, ring at Cain with a worried face.


    "We''re business partners, aren''t we?" Cain smiled, "You sell clothes to nobles, and I sell them nts. I can''t have you die," He replied.


    Merida smiled, "Thank you for saving me," she bowed slightly, "If only you weren''t injured in your days of adventure, you might have been a living legend like Alcott or Merlin,"


    "Don''t think about it, girl," Cain walked back to his desk, sipping water from his old cup.


    ***


    Arad and Ae split with Jack and headed to their house. To their luck, the workers had left for the day.


    Arad walked inside the house, looking at the uplete frame with a smile, "It seems bigger than we expected,"


    Ae looked away, "I hope the price isn''t as big," Sheughed.


    "We still haven''t checked with the city lord yet. And we still could take more lucrative jobs. Paying won''t be an issue." Arad replied with a smile.


    "I hope you know how to manage money," Ae looked down, sighing, "I''ve seen many people''s lives get ruined because they can''t control their spending." She added with a pained smile.


    "I''m not the one to speak, but I think a house is a solid investment," Arad replied, knocking on the wooden frame, "We will need a base, and I need air. Soon this ce would be filled with gold and gems!"


    "I would haveughed at you if you weren''t a dragon," Ae giggled.


    "You didugh," Arad replied, "Did you ever see a dragon without a hoard?"


    "Yes, you." Ae giggled, looking at Arad with a teasing smile.


    "I didn''t have much time to gather it! And I can''t just steal people''s money." Arad looked at the basement door, "Let''s imnt the dungeon core. I want to sleep,"


    "Do you have enough food? You might hibernate for days," Ae said, poking Arad in the stomach.


    "I have enough for months. I should be fine," Arad replied, poking Ae''s stomach.


    "What are you doing?" She looked at him, poking her stomach multiple times.


    "You''re soft on the outside, but the moment I push a bit, I feel something rock solid under your skin," Arad asked.


    "You''re tickling me. So my muscles tightened," Ae replied, turning Arad toward the basement door, "Get to hibernating so you can give us a ride across the clouds."


    Arad smiled, opening the basement door and walking down the flimsy-lookingdder. The thing was built from slightly thick sticks gathered from the forest. A makeshiftdder is a generous description.


    Arad pulled the dungeon core from his stomach andid it on the ground. Light shed momentarily as it sunk to the ground, and a gate opened.


    "Let''s hope the monsters aren''t hostile. Otherwise, I would cry," Arad looked at Ae.


    "I don''t want to face the ants again," She looked worried, but the moment they walked inside, something was different.


    "This ce doesn''t stink!" Ae smiled, looking around.


    "I mean, I bet the goblins had enough time to start shitting all around the ce," Arad replied without a moment''s hesitation.


    Just a few steps in, Arad spotted the first goblin walking across a corner. He lifted his palm and conjured a fireball, "Damn, they appeared again!" He growled.


    The goblin turned toward Arad with a scared face, rushing to bow, "Master, please have mercy. Gob was behaving well!"


    Arad and Ae stopped, looking at the strange goblin, "You can speak?" Arad asked.


    The goblin nodded as strongly as he could. "Gob can speak. Indeed, Gob knows words!"


    "Is there a reason for us to fight?" Arad asked, pointing the me at Gob.


    Gob stepped back, scared, "No, please. Gob doesn''t want to fight his Master. Gob will die again." He crawled like a scared cat.


    "We won''t hurt you. Where are the rest?" Arad asked.


    "And did you say, die again?" Ae looked at Gob with a puzzled face.


    "Ah! Yes, we''re born with the dungeon and live with it. You killed Gob before, an arrow to the throat." Gob waved his hand as if Ae is supposed to remember him. Sadly, she can''t tell goblins apart.


    "Yeah, I remember you. The one I shot with an arrow." Ae said, just to save herself.


    "I asked you where are the others?" Arad red at Gob.


    "GIH! Please don''t be mad at Gob. Gob only has one mouth to reply." Gob stepped a bit away from Arad with his knees shaking.


    "Then how about you answer my questions?" Arad red at the poor goblin, igniting a me in his palm.


    "Yes! Gob will reply! Gob wakes early. The others sleep longer than Gob." Gob pointed at the back of the tunnel, "Gob was going to wake them up,"


    Arad nodded, "I assume everyone is as obedient as you?"


    "Gob think they are," Gob replied with a smile on his green, blister-filled face, "Gob doesn''t want to die again. They don''t want to die either."


    Arad and Ae followed Gob to the other room, where all the goblinsy on the ground, unconscious. "Wake up! Gob is telling you to wake up!" Gob shouted, and the goblins slowly jerked to life.


    After just a moment, All the goblins bowed to Arad and Ae, "Please don''t kill us again. We promise to serve you," The hobgoblin said with a deep growl.


    Ae looked at them with a smile. But she then asked, "How about your food?"


    "We eat people other than Master whoe inside. If no one came, we go out and hunt," The hobgoblin replied.


    "I can''t have you do that," Ae scratched her chin, "Leave it to me. I will make sure you have a source of food from the forest," The guild would send a hunting party if goblins start appearing in the forest, so she needs to keep them hidden.


    "Who is your leader?" Arad asked, and the Gob walked forward, "Hob is the strongest and the leader," He pointed toward the hobgoblin.


    Arad looked at them, "I hope you can behave for a week. I need to take a nap,"


    "You can nap for a week? Gob is jealous, all the dreams!" Gob looked at Arad with a smile. "Can Gob do that?"


    Arad shook his head, "No, look," Arad shifted into his draconic form, and the goblins panicked.


    "A dragon!" Hob gasped, falling on his back.


    "Calm down, he doesn''t bite," Ae waved her hand, patting Arad''s back, "See?"


    Arad shifted back to his humanoid form, "So, please follow all of her orders while I''m sleeping in the lower levels. Otherwise I will eat you,"