(Rudeus POV)
"Okay. You don't move out of this until I come back or give you the signal, you hear?"
In a forest away from the road, I had conjured a hatch for Hiryū to stay in while I went to the city.
He was expressing his dismay at being parted from me, even though he had pledged loyalty.
"Look, after what had happened in Rosenburg, I have to be careful with you. Once things are cleared, I will need you to be at your top best. Replenish your stamina because we will look out for mutations like you soon enough, you understand?"
Growling for a few seconds, he finally obliged and rested down in his whole.
This is actually the first time I've seen him rest. Like, properly. He even closed his eye for the first time I've ever seen.
Usually, he would stay awake and keep his eye open the entire night. I could tell that he wasn't sleeping while having it open because he would direct his attention at me while I was sleeping in my tent.
As he was now asleep, I closed the entrance with Earth Magic and left to reunite with the others.
***
"I still can't believe you took that monster in." Sara scowled as she glared at me from the opposite side of the carriage.
"I told you this already. He may have nearly destroyed Rosenburg, but having his strength on our side is crucial."
Right after the first day, I told Soldat and his team about my hidden motives on this.
He and the others agreed with the fact that they couldn't form the strength to fight against a mutated monster like the Blizzard Dragon alone. But they were all unsure if using another monster against it was a good idea.
"I have to say, though" Timothy said, his hand on his chin. "Seeing this dragon take off on a flat terrain was rather surprising."
"What do you mean? You saw him fly before."
"With that fire enveloping him, yes, but not without it. Red Dragons are said to be terrible flyers. They actually leap off cliffs or run down slopes. Hence, why they live in the mountains."
Ah, so that's how it is. That would indeed be a question to be asked. I remember hearing about that somewhere, actually.
Since that would be the case, then the Red Dragons could be compared to those gliding lizards I heard about in my old world.
Those feathers of his must be what is helping him fly off better than others of his kind.
But there is also another theory that comes to mind.
"Did you guys feel any warm wind get blown to you when he flew above the carriage?"
"Hm? Uh, yes. But, wasn't that from charging his attack?" Timothy replied.
"I think he may have used Fire Magic to create hot air under his wings to lift himself up into the air. Perhaps he even used Gravity Magic to lighten himself. Perhaps the feathers have a mass effect like the Blizzard Dragon's crystals."
"That does sound reasonable. The Dragon race is supposedly the originator of Gravity Magic, and many theorize that dragons use it with their wings instinctively."
Another few things I've heard about for the first time. Having exchanges like these is actually pleasant. You never know whenever you need such information.
"Maybe it could show us where it came from so that we could deal with the probable cause of this monster infestation?" Anastasia speculated.
"I already asked him that with yes or no questions. He doesn't seem to remember where he came out of nor if a person was responsible for making him, only that he just suddenly wanted to get out and ended up somewhere flying up in the sky. His understanding seems to be limited to speech said in Human and Demon God tongue alone, not the map or country names."
"You know Demon God tongue?"
"Yes. Beast God and Fighting God tongue too. I had the materials for it back at Roa before the Metastasis Event, so I learned it for the case I needed it one day."
"And did you ever need it?" Connor asked.
"You bet. I did get teleported to the northeast of the Demon continent after all."
And with that, the others heard another unbelievable fact about me.
I think I'm getting used to them staring at me like this. But, aren't they getting tired of staring at me like that?
"No wonder you are so strong. If you survived that hellish continent, then there is probably nothing you couldn't handle." Sara remarked.
I wanted to correct her there, but I feel like the things about Orsted should stay kept secret.
I also didn't want to seem pushy to remind her that I already had to muster a lot of strength to fight Randolph.
Hopefully, things over at Sharia will stay much more peaceful this time.
***
Once we arrived in the city, we separated with the subordinates.
Soldat needed to look for the meeting places [Thunder Bolt] had decided on, so our two parties each went to different inns.
We actually made it here faster than expected, so we have a few days left before the clan meeting.
So we all got our leisure time to do whatever we wanted.
And boy am I excited about this because this city has a good option variety for Magic Tools in the Workshop District.
I'm still following Randolph's advice on getting myself a weapon best suited to me.
I already have a good sword and ninja tools, but a weapon that can be used from a distance would be great.
I was going through stalls to seek any viable option for me.
Since the making process of Magic Tools isn't easy and costs time and money, they are understandably expensive.
Joan and Marquis were grateful for me saving Verdinant's life, which has led to my robe costing less than it should have. And my extra input of black stone material to Oseye has made the prizing for my weapons a little bit cheaper.
Still, it was a lot of money, but I could get enough back after some Healer work.
At a particular store, I stopped. There were a variety of cheap options on display, some of which piqued my interest.
***
After a bit of customer service on Magic Tools, I have come to the conclusion..... that I need to think of something myself.
The only reason there are so many workshops here is that Sharia is near the border to the Neris Kingdom, the actual country concentrating on the development of Magic Tools.
I had hoped to perhaps find a Magic Tool that could boost my long-range attacks. Just using large area spells uses too much mana and time.
Getting myself a staff would also be an option, but I started getting used to using my magic without one perfectly.
There is the option of getting me a custom-made Magic Tool, but that will cost a lot.
Perhaps I could get myself a pair of gloves that got Magic Crystals integrated into them.
Since that's the case, I could go to the adventurer guild to find some jobs as a Healer.
Monster hunting jobs would also do great as there should be more of them roaming around in Ranoa.
So, off to the adventurer guild it is.
***
Stepping into the guild, all eyes fell on me. But unlike my first time in Rosenburg, they were all looking at me because of the rumored new Great World Power.
I can hear them commenting on how young yet bizarre I look. A significant trait of mine would be my different-colored eyes.
When it came to my hair, there came gossip about another Magician having white hair.
Another white haired person did pique my interest at how they got it.
Since my hair also turns white after deactivating my cursed form, I don't know if it's also near death through mana exhaustion. Then again, it could be just this person's natural hair color.
Walking my way to the billboard, the Armored Dragon King's intel turned out correct. The billboard is packed with monster hunting jobs.
There are more S rank jobs than I have ever seen. It almost feels like I'm back on the Demon continent. There is even a job for killing an insect type monsters on it.
I tried memorizing most of the list of monsters that were described on every A to S rank quest there is.
'Note to self. Buy a notebook with a pen and ink.'
"Hey brat, what are you looking so long for?"
One of the adventurers who had been glaring at me this whole time went over to me.
It was obvious that he was one of the people who didn't believe me to be a Great World Power, but I simply let his threat pass right through me.
"Hey! I am talking to you."
He then grabbed my shoulder and turned me to look at him.
"You think you can handle any of those jobs, twerp? Go back home and let the actual adventurers handle this."
I was feeling like sighing over this dumbass's attempt at acting superior. What good will it bring if you look down at me just because my body is young?
To get this over with quickly and without violence, I used this chance to test out one of my Toxic Magic spells on a living subject.
Filling up my mouth with gas, I exhaled it into his face.
Since he didn't predict this, he accidentally breathed it in and coughed for a few times before experiencing the effects.
After a few seconds, his hand went numb, and so did the rest of his body. As he fell down backwards, I admired the oddly quick results of my training.
His fellow teammates went over to him only to see that he was asleep. Some of them looked at me once they confirmed he was physically alright.
"He is lucky my Toxic Magic worked. If he didn't let go while falling, I would have cut off and incarcerated his hand and only heal him a new one if he sincerely apologized."
They all came to the realization that I was the real deal, regret emitted out of them.
To attempt more important matters with my team, I left things as it is to discuss the situation with them.
I'm contemplating using Hiryū to get to the other places quicker, but that will have to wait as I don't have enough materials to make a saddle safe enough to sit on, or if Hiryū would even allow that.
Now that I think about it, Hiryū's presence would scare all those monsters away. And that would solve nothing and only push the problem away.
And there is the risk of making people aware of him should he act too often.
If there is a threat that is too much for me to handle, I will have to set him out. The power difference between me and him are very diverse if I don't use my techniques.
On my way back to my inn, I could feel how people were avoiding me.
I didn't get bothered by it since that's a sign that my presence in Sharia has been acknowledged.
While that may bring some danger to me, as long as Zenith gets saved, I can handle it.
Reaching back into my inn, I came across Anastasia at the entrance.
"Rudeus, back again?"
"Not much to do until we make some good money here. Speaking of which, there are more than enough monster hunting quests at the guild for us to use on, so I think we should head out tomorrow."
She started to get a bit of a teasing smile on her face.
"Don't you mean test out your weapons on monsters as soon as possible?"
"I didn't command Hiryū to annihilate those monsters we encountered."
At the sound of Hiryū's name, her teasing smile dropped.
"You intend to take him with us?"
"No. If we put any belief in the information I received, then taking him with us may scare all those monsters away from us.
For now, we will keep him as a trump card for any threats that require his immense power."
At my words, she breathed out a sigh of relief. I guess her reaction is normal after the events at Rosenburg.
"Are the others here?"
Anastasia nodded and followed me as I headed with her into our inn to get our group ready for our next job.
But then a thought came up. Something that would easily make me lots of money, and even help the city in terms of prowess.
Next time I go to the guild, I need to post a note on unlocking chantless Magic for adventurer Magicians. Until then, I need to come up with proper pricing and conditioning, as well as discuss this with the higher ups if necessary.
But I don't think it will be much of a problem anyway. I mean, it's a win-win situation for us.
They get to have the start of a better future for magic, and I get money and more fame.
So far, only a few things could ruin this.
'Wait no, don't think that. Murphy's law! MURPHY'S LAW!!!'
I think I may have jinxed myself again.
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