After resting, I went to Gwen's room.
"Knock, knock. Room service"
The door open itself.
"My~ I never thought that it would be the hero who would be cleaning my room"
After I went in, the door close itself and multiple magic circles form.
"After the fight tomorrow, can you go to [Hel's Labyrinth] and pick up my dog?"
I don't want anyone knowing that Alfred is from the black wolf clan, but knowing Gwen, she won't tell a soul about this.
"The exchange material is?"
"Two kilograms worth of frost magi stones"
She stop stirring her tea.
"You mean the frost magi stones from the frost wyvern's territory?"
"Former territory. Right now, its mine though the people don't know about that yet. More importantly, the wyverns won't attack anyone unless I told them to, so that is that"
They are extremely valuable but she can't get any since the mine there including the territory of the wyverns are within the jurisdiction of the kingdom of Astel. But for me who can go anywhere I want, owning it in secret would be easy. No one is strong enough in the northern continent to challenge the frost wyverns anyway.
"So you are saying that you are now monopolizing the frost magi stones?"
"Exactly"
"Hmm, make it five kilos and I will give you a special item"
"Deal!"
"You won't ask me on what the special item is?"
"No need to. You're not the type who would pull off something petty as that. You already gave me two artifacts that can store things as well, so yes I do trust you"
I am curious what is so special that it would be worth more though.
"How are you planning to win against that guy? He may look the upright naive type but his power should be at least one tenth of Troy's"
"That is a bit terrifying. Not the envoy but Troy. Well, I have already made a plan for that so it should be okay"
Things would go even smoother if I can just use martial arts! I don't want them finding out what I can do as much as I can since I don't know if some of them will turn against me as well.
"Do you know anything about the gambler king, Gwen"
"No. As far as I know, only the sky king ever talk with him. If you do want to know more about him then go ask Hasshule. As the oldest among the seven kings she should know something, no?"
The sorcerer king should be in the capital right now finding the lost princess so I won't be able to ask her in the meantime since I also have to finish my quest regarding about the sirens.
I said my goodbyes and went out.
After a whole day, the king have prepared a suitable fighting ground for us. With four powerful mages including the tower master, the barrier would be unbreakable.
I don't think the both of us who is weaker than any of them can break through something as powerful as that.
Since the safety is guaranteed, many envoys from their respective kingdom who hasn't left yet will be watching us from a safe place. The spectators include some high ranking nobles and high ranking holy knights from Aigreos.
I am now ready to face that guy, Adaron. Spending so much time in the dueling grounds to learn water spells was no joke. Udo was such a terrible teacher. How can he expect for me to get his vague lessons in one go if he ain't even taking things seriously to begin with!
We took our positions. We were inside of drawn circle using runes so that it won't get destroyed so easily. The circle had a diameter of two metres. Based on the theme, this is typical fighting grounds for mages.
"We will now begin the friendly match. Know that any killing moves are prohibited. Time limit is twenty minutes. If you want to concede, simply say 'I surrender'. Both you two are also not allowed to go out of the circle. That is all"
The spectators cheered.
I look at them and saw that Gwen was starting some kind of bet on who will win. She has so much time in her hands, huh.
"BEGIN!"
The buzzer echoed and the fight begins.
I wonder how a true dragon will fight.
Adaron raise his hands and heat accumulated.
"Firestorm!"
An intermediate spell?
The snake on my right shoulder spoke.
"Water elemental: Undine"
The water elemental shot waves of water extinguishing the flames. Why did he even use a weak spell when he is so much stronger?
Letting Udo to take care of the offense and defense is my plan. If I have to, I will also be using Udo's power using spirit synchronization. The only downfall about this is that it drains my mana.
"Bursting flames!"
So he can use bursting flames even in his human form.
-You better give me something worth it later!
-Yes, yes. So long as you can win against him on your own that is.
-Hah?! How do you expect me to win against a true dragon?!
-It's fine, you have your dual class.
"Berserking wave"
Fire and water clash creating a hot steam. Thanks to the ones who are putting up the barrier they remove the steam via magic to let the spectators have a clearer view.
It may be a mock to Adaron, but I have no choice but to let Udo take care of him. I don't want them to see what I can actually do. Letting them know that I am strong is good and beneficial but I can't let them know what exactly it is that I can do because I Aira told me that there is a rat. And I can't let them finding out the weakness of my powers now can I.
"Inferno"
I just noticed something. Why does he keep on using flashy moves when his control is poor? The power itself is strong but his control is quite lacking. Hate to admit but his mana pool is something else. The perks of being a dragon.
If he wants to be flashy, count me in! Just because I don't want them to know what I can do doesn't mean that they would actually understand the mechanics and foundations of it.
-Let me take care of this one.
-Gladly!
"Cancel elemental"
Undine disappeared. Focusing my aura in my hand,
"Phantom world: Void"
As he spread black flames all over the dueling grounds they were all suck by the pseudo black hole. In less than five seconds all the fire vanish and was sent to nothingness.
The spectators eyes widened as they didn't felt an ounce of mana when I created the black hole. It would be impossible for them to feel aura if they can't even feel it to begin with.
Adaron seems to be getting impatient... No, is he excited? The way he smiles from excitement reminds me of Nunu when I told him that princesses loves strong knights back in the labyrinth.
"I can finally go all out!" He scream merrily.
What does he mean by that?
-Udo, get ready. I think he is planning to do something big.
-I know.
His words are getting ruder by the minute.
"Forbidden magic: Infernal breath"
I knew he was the type who likes using flashy moves but using forbidden magic seems to be a bit... over the top?
"Stop you are not allowed to-"
I raise my hand, saying that "It's okay. I will handle it"
Still, his mana is a few more times higher than mine so trying to cancel it off or trying to defend against it would be suicide. If it wasn't me that is.
-I will give you some of mine so do please counter it.
-I'm not getting paid enough for my work!
-Stop complaining, will you. This is your first day and you're already complaining. The other spirits weren't this disrespectful, you know.
I pass some of my mana to him and he invoke two grand magic at the same time.
"Grand magic: Devouring wave"
"Grand magic: Wrath of the water guardian"
The entire field was covered with water, but the temperature rise as Adaron release his own spell. Due to the barrier the evaporated water from the heat of Adaron's spell had nowhere to go.
Honestly, this is my first time seeing a raging fire while underwater.
"Spirit synchronization: Fegonia"
"Grand magic: Frozen heart"
The burning temperature of the water became freezing and the water became ice. The transition of the extreme heat to bitter coldness is giving me a headache.
-Udo, devour all the ice.
-Yes yes.
Udo started to devour the ice.
By absorbing the ice that was made with magic, Udo was able to regain his mana. And I ordered him to pass it onto me until my mana pool is back to being full again. After all the ice was absorbed, everyone was speechless.
The perks of having a dual class legendary beast as your pet. Oops, He'll get mad at me if I accidentally say it to him.
Adaron once again showed a devilish smile. Unable to hide his excitement he gathered mana once again.
"Forbidden magic: Blazing sun"
Again, what is up with the forbidden magic?! Now that my mana is restored, I don't have any problems intercepting it.
.Come back quickly Udo, focus your mana on protecting me from the recoil.
-Roger that.
"Spirit synchronization: Witrudo"
I already know the molecular structure, so it should be fine. The headaches are not fine!
"Grand magic: Liquid helium wave"
Ugh. Simultaneous synchronization of two spirits is quite nauseating.
[The Gods are questioning why of all original grand magic to create, why choose something that]
That's not my problem anymore.
The sphere of focus fire that looks like the sun and the wave of liquid helium clash which cause a massive explosion. Two of the four layered barrier got destroyed.
I never thought that it would actually be possible to destroy it. And to think that not one but two got destroyed instantly means the clashing of my and Adaron's spell is no laughing matter.
The powerful mages remove the smoke from the explosion just now so that they can see what happened. I don't how they do it but it sure is 'magical'.
The smoke is now gone and it was clear to see that I won. Adaron got blasted off and is knock unconscious from the recoil while I was still in the circle. Udo is extremely exhausted because of protecting me. I will make sure to give him something satisfying him later on.
After things have settled down, the girl who is with Adaron came to me to apologize.
"Make sure to go easy on scolding him. Even though he use forbidden magic back there while his control in magic is somewhat lacking, he did control his mana output to keep things barely passable"
"I am very thankful for your kindness. And I do promise that this won't happen again next time we meet"
"Okay"
I went back to my room with my grumpy familiar(pet). After going in I pulled some really sweet dishes and snacks.
"This is for your hard work"
Snatching the pouch from me, Udo started to eat the biscuits. He ate the biscuits like a hungry wolf that was served high class meat who haven't ate for days.
"Y-you! Where the hell did you get such delicacy?!"
"I 'personally' made all of those. Meaning, I'm the only who can make something like that, it is a family recipe so I am confident no one would know how to make it other than yours truly"
He sniff the empty pouch and then look at me with doubt.
"You? Made this?"
"Yes. The next time you don't do good things like the one earlier I won't feed you special biscuits like that"
To begin with, those biscuits were meant to be snacks for Layla and Nunu's honeymoon. I'm not sure when but if it's Nunu then it will be sooner that I think it will be. Which is why I took three whole days and nights just to make them since it was for my son. I still have some but I don't think it will be enough.
"If you can promise me that you will give me these heavenly and delicious goods then I will be your lapdog"
"Deal"
I left Udo with Max so that the two can get closer together.
I'm going to have to mass producing the biscuits now.
A notification that I have been waiting pop up.
[The Gods are starting to ask why you are creating a weapon that shouldn't even exist in this world]
"They are saying "Why the hell are you making a nuke"" (Loki)
"Hahaha. I thought that I was distracting you guys enough that you won't notice it. I guess I should have gone with a more flashy plan, huh"
"They thought that the cautious and tactical you suddenly became a daredevil. Which made you really suspicious. And they found out that you are ordering your spirit, Inosi, to make it"
"I can do anything I want, right? Surely none of you would oppose that"
[The God of Oaths, Sancus would like to have a talk with you]
And they have taken the bait.
"Is there anything wrong? As I remember, the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena said that I am allowed to do anything I want. Of course excluding the oath I swore when I made the contract with the Master of the Souls, nothing else is restraining me in any way.
Are you going to tell me that additional restrictions will be made even though you all swore not to intervene?" I said as politely as I can.
My words may be sharp but my tone was filled with respect. I don't want to die just because I disrespected a God.
[In exchange of not allowing you to create any more technologies that is beyond what you gave Guinevere Maigrema, what kind of compensation do you want?]
So he chose the word 'compensation', huh.
"A page of Solomon's forbidden grimoire. Is that acceptable?"
[Which page?]
Did he by any chance already knew that would be what I'd demand?
"Page 052. The skill
[Do sign the contract]
I reread the contract five times to make sure that they aren't going to scam me.
-Inosi, cancel 'Project N'. Instead proceed with 'Project H'.
-Understood.
After signing the contract, the skill page that I ask for appeared right before me. I absorb it.
[Skill information]
Abyssal world: Null- By activating this skill, all mana, natural or environmental within a kilometre will be sealed making all skills, spells, curses, and etc. that needs mana to operate will be useless. This can only be used by individuals who possess mana that exceeds 100,000.
-Does not need any mana to activate or deactivate.
-Time limit of skill usage: None
+
I really need this when it comes to fighting mages. I can't believe that it actually exist after reading it in Gwen's personal library.
With this skill anyone that relies on their mana will be an easy opponent to me. The only problem would be the ones who uses physical strength like Alfred.
-Zoe, later there will be someone to pick you guys up. Make sure to make Alfred wear his cloak to hide his tail when you go to the surface.
-As you wish, master.
A few hours later, the envoys who've stayed to watch the match began to go back to their countries.
When I heard a knock I let the people in.
"Hope you are doing well"
"Of course, master! I have grown stronger compared to the me that have not entered the labyrinth"
Alfred's speech is different now.
I turn to Zoe and she gave me a "You are welcome, master" expression. So it was her, huh.
"You must be tired, go rest first"
"Okay!"
I canceled Zoe's summoning. Maximos and Alfred are both sleeping, leaving me and the tower master in the room.
"Here is the special item that I was talking about"
She gave me... a clam?
I look at her curious to what I am holding. I look at the clam from different angles and tried opening it before asking Gwen.
"Communication device?"
"Yes. That is a special communication device. Using that as the receiver, I would be able to teleport to your coordinates. Special isn't it? The work will cost you of course"
"This is even more special than I thought it would be. It's the same thing as saying that the tower master is now a mercenary"
"So long as you pay the right amount and I don't have any things to do, being a mercenary or whatever it is, if it means that I'd be able to advance my research I would be willing to do it"
"I hope Troy won't get mad at me"
"Don't worry, for some reason he started to see your son as his little brother. I honestly don't know why he suddenly claim that"
It must be when I told him to tell Troy about his love life.
"I'll be going back to my kingdom now. What will you be doing?"
"I am planning to hunt some big fish in the ocean. A very expensive fish"
She laugh. Understanding my words, she gave a good luck sign with her hand before leaving.
Before dawn, I requested an audience with the pope since the king is busy. I told him that I would need to go somewhere else as it is part of my missions. Going to the underwater city without telling them would be rude so I inform the pope.
We departed riding Nia. When we were outside of their detection I canceled Nia's summoning and pull out the car from my inventory.
I told Alfred the story of Max being my servant so he has no need to kill him now.
"Alfred, you drive. You kept wagging your tail for some time now"
"T-thank you, master!"
Such a simpleton.
"Max, your specialty is getting information, right?
"Yes. As an assassin one must be able to know how to collect valuable and trustworthy information"
I honestly want to send him to the western continent for reconnaissance but I need his speed here.
After two days, we arrive at a small village near the seashore on the outskirts of Aigreos.
-Nunu, where are you guys?
-We are in an abandoned castle behind the hills, master.
-Okay, wait for us we will be there.
We arrive at the abandoned castle where they were staying at.
Princess Layla gave me quite the glare.
After praising my familiars for doing such a good job I had a talk with her in private.
"Why are you angry at me?"
"Isn't that obvious already, you basically kidnap me!"
"But you yourself wants to get out and go as far away as you can, right. You don't want anyone else other than my son after all"
"H-how did you know?"
So it is because of that. This girl happens to be also simple which is truly unexpected.
"How did you knew that I was going to get engage to the duke's son?!"
"You told me. Just now"
She stared at me for a while and understood the meaning of my words. She facepalmed herself and laugh a bit.
"Putting that matter aside, where are we?"
How impressive. She cast aside her flustered expression in a moment.
"I have some errands to do so that is why I am here. The ones who will be staying here is Max to keep outsiders from entering and to capture any possible escapees"
"I'm sorry but what exactly will happen?"
"An underwater war, I suppose"
"And you are going to bring me with you guys?"
"That is because I need your power. Not to mention you have a dragon protecting you so I don't see anything wrong with this"
Defeated, the princess who doesn't know my identity conceded and agreed to come with us on our 'errand'.
After putting the runes overnight we are now ready to go.
"Spirit summoning: Witrudo"
"Do I have something to do?! That means I will get more biscuits, right?!"
He sure is excited.
"Yes. I want you to locate where the sirens are living. You have until dawn to do so. After that you will be guiding us there using your powers. In return I will give you two bags. Sounds good?"
"Very!"
Without further delay Udo started to command the water spirits with absolute concentration to quickly locate the location of the sirens.
Leaving him there, I went back in to get the others.
"You want us to walk on the water?!" (Layla)
"Yes. You'll understand later on"
Leaving Maximos behind the rest went to the shore.
"Be attentive. There will be someone or something that will escape from the fight underwater and you will be the one who will be taking care of any of those that will take care of them. Ensuring the lives of the villagers nearby is top priority. Will you follow my orders?"
"You don't need to order me to save people"
He scoff and I left.
With the purity of his soul, he is not the type that would abandon civilians in a situation like this.
"Udo, how is it going on your end?"
"I have found their lair. Approximately fifty kilometers from here at two'o clock"
"Then go lead the way"
"Don't forget the biscuits, okay"
I nodded.
"Nunu, transform so that you'd be little enough to go to Layla's head" I whispered.
He immediately turn himself smaller and went on top of Layla's head. It was okay for Layla since she is enjoying the cute little dragon laying on top of her head but for Nunu, it was a paradise.
We started our venture.
Layla's telekinesis allows her to walk on water. Alfred and my aura also allow us to walk on water. As a water spirit, Udo can also walk with no problems.
Slowly going to the bottom of the sea to rescue the sirens.