The dragon's harem

As they walked inside, Arad noticed that the stairs room was a bit bigger than the one at the first layer. “This looks nice,” He smiled.

“It’s not like we’re staying here,” Amber looked around, “Should we get moving?”

“A moment,” Arad walked out and brought the firewood for the fire, “I’m ready. Let’s head out,”

They slowly climbed the stairs, resting every few minutes so Arad wouldn’t get too exhausted.

“Arad, we carry a bit. Give us some branches,” Amber stared at him.

Arad looked back at her, “You’re lifting your knees slowly. You’re too exhausted to carry anything,”

“I can work,” She glared at him.

“You can’t mean you can’t,” Arad sighed, “I know you two don’t like seeing me being the only one carrying things, but this is for the best,”

Merlin shook her shoulders, tapping Amber’s back, “Drop it, he won’t let us carry anything,”

“He’s our front liner,”

“We’re going to rest at the end. It won’t matter,” Arad stared at them.

“It matters,” Amber stared at him.

“I said drop it,” Merlin looked at her, “He won’t listen, you’re just wasting energy,”

****

A few minutes later they reached the top, and Merlin and Amber fell on their butts, panting. “My legs hurt!” Amber cried.

“I can’t,” Merlin sighed, “My thighs are stinging, and my feet are numb,” She was walking barefoot on the cold stairs all this time.

CRACK! Arad dropped the firewood and leaned on the wall, “We’re finally up,” He approached the door, “I’m taking a look outside.”

“Don’t go, just look,” Merlin said, waving her hand. .

Arad pushed the door slightly open and looked. He paused for a second, “What?”

“What did you see?” Amber stared at him.

“It’s,” Arad opened the door wide open, “Alina’s front gate,”

Right in front of the stairs stood a large gate similar to Alina’s front gate. And with a single glance from Merlin, that was confirmed, “This layer has a replica of Alina. I bet my tower would contain the stairs to the next layer,”

As Arad lifted his eyes he could see two guards standing above the wall, staring at him with empty glares. “Those aren’t humans,” Click! He closed the door.

“Of course, they aren’t,” Merlin stared at him, “Probably magic projections. One hit, and they would disappear.”

“I heard of those layers before,” Amber looked at them, “It’s what adventurers call the emotional damage layer,”

Merlin nodded, “Those people would act, cry, and beg like humans but stab you in the back the moment you stop attacking. This place mainly drains people’s mentality and exhausts them psychologically.”

“That won’t work with me,” Arad looked at the door, “Let me mow them down,”

“Don’t say that,” Amber stared at him, “Their cries would get into your head,”

Merlin stared at Amber. ^She doesn’t know that Arad is a human-eating dragon. He can speak with animals and monsters, yet he still kills and eats them like nothing. What difference are humans to him in that regard? Nothing,^ She stared at Arad.

^He only cares about people since he takes his mates from them. This labyrinth might be smart, but it’s in for a nasty surprise as it doesn’t seem to understand how dragons see us humans.^ Merlin smiled.

“I will take the front,” Arad looked at Amber, “Leave the killing to me,”

^Humans are to dragons like ants are to humans. They build colonies in your backyard. You actively avoid stepping on their nests, might occasionally drop them some breadcrumbs, and shield them from the rain if you’re compassionate enough. But, you aren’t trying to avoid stepping on individual ants. You won’t even notice killing them. And if the colony happened to get in your way, won’t even think twice about bringing a shovel and removing them.^ Merlin sat down.

^That’s even more true when we’re talking about children like Arad, the young dragon. An old man might sit in the backyard watching ants reminisce on his passing life, but a child would most probably piss on them for fun.^

“Whatever it is,” Arad looked a them, “Let’s rest first, take some sleep, and we deal with them afterward,” He sat leaning his back on the wall.

“Where should we make the fireplace?” Amber asked.

“I don’t know,” Merlin replied, “The city gate is right outside the door. We can’t camp there, so our wood is pretty much useless,”

Amber sat on the ground, “This is bad. I don’t want to take on a whole city while sleeping and exhausted.” She sighed, “My legs hurt, I want to sleep,”

Merlin looked at her, “Then get to stripping. Your robe is our only cover from the cold,”

“I don’t want to…” Amber cried.

Arad waved his hand, [Barrier] Creating a large platform, “You should be able to sleep on this, but you still have to use Amber’s robe as a cover. I will create a small fire and stand as a guard,”

“No,” Merlin looked at him, “You’re our most valuable asset here. If any of us need to rest it’s you.”

“She’s right,” Amber looked at him, “Right now you’re the only one who has been taking down bosses and powerful monsters. Your well-being and rest are our survival thread. We can’t let you go without sleep,”

“Fine,” Arad looked at them, “I can keep one magic up while being asleep. I can’t focus,”

Merlin nodded, “Barrier magic is easy to control after being cast. It’s like trying to wake up at a specific time without alarm magic. You just happen to wake on your own.”

“I don’t think it’s like that,” Arad looked at her, “It doesn’t require any input from me after being cast beside the occasional mana drain and the order to dispel it. He explained,”

“Fine,” Amber sighed, taking her hat off and staring at Arad, “You better remember this. I will never forget it,” She grunted.

“Shouldn’t you be hoping he forgets it?” Merlin stared at her with a wry smile. .

Amber pulled her robe off her head. She stood there wearing a grey short shirt above her chest and really short silk beige pants.

“Ho!” Merlin looked at her, “So you were still wearing something beneath that robe,”

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