The dragon's harem

Panting, Merlin’s eyes shifted to the side, seeing Arad standing in the tavern with Alcott. “ARAD! You’re back!” She cried.

Nina walked out of her desk, “What did you find?”

“AH!… She looked at Kayden. What did you say?” Merlin looked at Kayden after realizing he must have said something important before she arrived.

Arad was the one to reply, “It works like an infection. We can’t fight with open eyes or ears. We can’t breathe it, and we need to use fire to burn them.”

Kayden smiled, “So you were listening,”

Arad giggled. ^You stopped a dragon army, of course, I would listen.^

“Master, should we deal with them?” Agnar asked, and Arad stared at him, “You won’t,” He can’t fight blindfolded or without breathing. He also had no fire attacks, making him useless.

“Rely on mana sense to fight. That would be hard while flinging fire spells,” Merlin scratched her chin, “But it’s doable.”

With a smile, Arad looked at the guild receptionists, “Register him for me,” He pushed Agnar forward, “Let him train here for a while as we deal with this,”

Alcott tapped Agnar’s shoulder, “You can’t start at the top. Get stronger so next time you will fight with us,”

Arad looked at Alcott, “Can you fight? I don’t remember you having fire attacks, and how are your legs?”

Alcott giggled, “I’ve recovered from the injuries, and thanks to some medications, my aliment seems stable.” He smiled, flexing his right arm, “Few fungi aren’t going to harm me,”

“Before that,” Nina stared at them, “Arad, there are a few things we need to talk about,”

Arad went with Nina to the private room while Agnar went to register at the desk.

Nina sat on the couch, pondering how she should explain what happened. “You know I’m not good with words, so this might seem confusing,” She said.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.” Arad smiled.

“Well, Merida’s father…” She looked away, “He was killed by a bunch of noble servants from a nearby city.”

SWOHS! At that moment, everyone in the guild could feel it. A surge of heavy magic, a terrifying presence in the guild.

“What’s this,” One of the adventurers cried, and Agnar smiled in the back, “Master is angry,”

Nina gulped down. That look in Arad’s eyes. The moment he gets a name or a location. He’s going to burn it down. “Who and where?” He growled.

“They are already dead. We took care of it.” Nina made sure to explain the results first before giving Arad any lead to start killing.

“To be exact, the two who caused that ended up summoning a devil and a demon, resulting in their death. Cain was able to confirm that.” She looked at Arad, “Don’t go around killing anyone.”

Arad sighed, “You sure about that?” He remembered when Cain and his maid glared back at them from Gojo’s spell. ^He’s stronger than he looks. Those two might not have been killed by their summon but by him.^

“Where is Merida? How is she doing?” Arad asked.

“She went to her grandparent’s house on the western side of the city to rest. But I haven’t seen her in a while,” Nina replied, relieved that Arad wasn’t thinking about blowing anything up.

Arad stood, “Is that all? I should pay her a visit.”

“Wait,” Nina stood, “She asked to be left alone for a while,”

“Did she?” Arad stared back at Nina, thinking, “I’m visiting her anyway. It doesn’t sit well with me not to say anything.”

He walked out of the room, seeing Agnar heading to take a physical test.

Nina approached the receptionist, “I can sense he’s a warlock from the magic. Why a fighter test?”

“He said his primary weapon is the sword, and that he barely uses his warlock powers.” The receptionist replied, “Don’t worry, he’s against an F-rank newbie, the rank he would get if his performance was decent.”

F-rank are the newbie adventurers who just joined, all the guild asks from Agnar is to do well against someone of the rank he would get. Winning isn’t necessary, only showing competence.

“Hum,” Alcott snorted in the back, “That’s unfair,”

“For real,” Even Kayden scoffed at it.

“Come on, he’s a kid, how are we going to make it easier?” The receptionist replied.

“I don’t think that’s what they mean,” Nina stared at her, scratching her cheek.

“It isn’t fair for the F-rank,” Arad added.

****

Outside in the training ground, Agnar and the F-rank Gabin faced each other.

Gabin pulled his long sword and dagger, taking a stance. “Don’t worry, kid…” CLAP!

Before Gabin could finish speaking, Agnar blitzed him with a strike to the face, knocking him down, then kicking his head for good measure.

Everyone fell silent, “That isn’t fair! The fight didn’t start yet!” The other adventurers complained.

“See? Unfair,” Alcott sighed, staring at the guild receptionist.

“That kid might lack skills, speed, and power, but he has seen death. He fought for his life, for other lives. His only care is eliminating the threat.” Kayden smiled, “Of course, the F-rank would lose, he’s only been seeking to finish quests and get paid.”

Nina giggled, “He didn’t waste time speaking, instead he saw it as a weakness in his opponent and struck immediately. He even kicked him to make sure he won’t stand again.”

Arad looked at Alcott, “I’m going to visit Merida, can you take care of Agnar?”

“So Nina told you,” Alcott nodded, “Don’t worry, I will play with him a bit till you come back,” He smiled.

Arad walked out of the guild and headed to the western side of the city, seeking Merida’s grandparent’s house.

Knock! Knock! After knocking, an old lady opened the door and looked at Arad. “A fine young man,” She smiled.

“Grandma, is Merida here?” He asked.

“Merida? You came looking for her?” She replied.

“Yes, is she inside?”

“No, she left a week ago, saying that someone needs to take care of the shop.” The old lady replied, “Even so, my son had only died recently,”

“My condolences. I came looking for her for that reason. I was out on a quest and had just returned to the city.” He bowed gently.

“Don’t worry about me. You should find her at their house,” Merida’s grandma replied, “She needs you more than me,” She looked back at her husband, rocking on his chair.

“Thank you,” Arad headed to Merida’s house, but he found it closed. The shop is empty.

He stood outside for a second, pondering it. “Did she go out…” He immediately lifted his hand, extending his senses across the whole area. ^Find Merida!^

Loci and all the animals in the city panicked, scrambling to find her.

“Nothing, she isn’t anywhere in a four-kilometer radius.

^Loci! When was the last time you saw Merida?^ Arad called.

^One week ago when she left her grandma’s house,^

****

At the mountaintop of Bubosh near Riverside City, the door of the Flash sword school burst open, scaring all the students inside.

A woman stood at the door in a black coat, her face slashed across her left eye, leaving that blinded. Her right palm had been crushed, only gripping her rushed sword thanks to the countless bandages tying it to her wrist.

The countless scars and wounds on her body had tints of crimson fungi in them, as her only functioning eyes stared forward, burning with flames. “My blade, where is it?” She growled. The sword in her hand had rusted and started to crumble. She needed a better one.

“You dare come back?” One of the swordmasters growled, pulling his sword.

CLANG! In the blink of an eye, Merida sliced his head in half, walking toward the extremely long sword displayed in the back of the dojo.