The dragon's harem

“What was that?” Jasmile put the mug back down, and Arad reached forward once more. This time, turning the vinegar back to wine. “I’m still working on it… No, that’s a lie. This is the first time I used this power, and I don’t even know what I can achieve with it.”

Arad would need several days to get used to his body and power. Even the system didn’t seem to just show him a spread of all his powers, he instead needed to concentrate on a single power, isolate it from his soul, and inspect it. Aria would then give him an explanation or a description if one existed.

That meant two things: the first is that she doesn’t have access to freely see his powers, and the second is that all of his powers were strange, not common.

“Now that’s impressive. Do you know how much money you’ll make?” Jasmine sighed, “Well, that won’t matter to you anyway.” She looked at Cerilla with a large smile on her face.

Cerilla noticed the dark queen’s gaze and sighed, “Jasmine… fine.” She then looked at Arad, “I hope you didn’t forget, you’ll need to fly me to the top branches of the world tree.”

“I didn’t forget. You’ll expect to hear the elf goddess’s voice there.” Arad could remember her request, but Cerilla shook her head, “I suspect that we’ll meet the goddess herself.” She then leaned back on her chair. “Only she can help.”

“What’s the problem?” Arad asked, and Cerilla looked at everyone, then said with a grim face. “The tree’s Miko saw her death a year from now. When that happens, the current ruler of the elves needs to climb the tree to get the new fruit. From that fruit, a new Miko would be born.”

Jasmine sighed, “The trip is harrowing and exhausting. All rulers who attempted it returned, but all of them died weeks after from their wounds and exhaustion.” Jasmile’s gaze shifted to Arad, “But those rules didn’t have a dragon capable of burning the world down.”

Cerilla nodded, and Arad knew what she needed from him. She needed him to take her up the tree and protect her from whatever terror guarded the upper branches. “Did those rulers say anything about what they faced?”

“No, the records say they collapsed right after their return. They remained bedridden in the short days they remained alive after their return.” Cerilla sighed, “I asked the goddess, and she said that it’s a trial of a ruler’s might, resources, and intelligence.”

Cerilla asked if Arad would count as a resource, and the goddess approved. There were no rules about that; some kings before her even took several parties of powerful adventurers with them.

Arad’s eyes shifted to another person that he hadn’t seen in a while, Amber, who was still drinking at his side. “Amber, I’ve got some news.”

She looked at him, drunk.

“Kussuth, the Goddess of Fire, wants me to take you to the elemental plane of fire to visit her priests. Apparently, your family, Burnhill, are their descendants.”

The drunkard’s smile quickly faded away as the flames in her body burned the toxin away. “Wait…” She almost immediately returned to her senses. Just hearing the goddess’s name made her fire grow a bit stronger and shook her conscious from the hallucination of the alcohol.

Merlin looked at him with a worried face. “There is no air there, only fire instead of it. Not to mention, the heat.”

“I can make my own air.” Arad replied with a calm face and looked at Zephyr, “I’ll also take her with me if I can.”

Zephyr, who had just defeated Lunara in flew toward and shrank back to her small fairy size. She flew around his head like an excited bee, “The elemental plane of fire? I haven’t visited it in a long time.”

Everyone except Arad gasped, “Wait?! You went there?”

Zephyr, who had already started drinking the mug of wine that Arad made, looked at them. “It was a long time ago. Don’t worry about it.” She turned toward Merlin, “Instead of thinking about me, shouldn’t you be telling him about Nina?”

Hearing those words and feeling a sense of urgency from Zephyr, a wave of magic rushed out of Arad’s body. Everyone felt it, and Dalla was harmed the most as she was the weakest in the room. She felt weak and dizzy, leaning on the table to support herself, and a low groan escaped her lips.

“Calm down, I’ll explain in detail.” She gave Zephyr a sharp glare and then started explaining everything that happened to Nina. The hunger, how she asked to be chained there, her strange body, and her ever-growing power. With each word, Arad seemed to be getting more and more worried.

After Merlin finished her explanation, Arad stood, muscles rolling beneath his skin like worms. Just being close to him, everyone felt like their faces were right beside a powerful, loaded spring that’s about to explode and rip them apart. Whatever the problem was, Arad was going to punch it away.

Seeing that Claug seemed to get a bit excited and she pulled her chair close to him. She reached up with her hand and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Sit down. This would have to wait until the morning.”

His eyes shifted toward her with rage. “I’m not letting Nina sit chained down there any longer.”

Claug giggled, “Don’t look at me like that, I might start stripping.” She shook her head, “Anyway, Merlin’s magic is the only thing we’re sure can contain her. And she doesn’t have enough mana or energy to create those chains again.”

“Merlin is the second plan to whatever you’re thinking. Without her, you’ll have to kill Nina if your plan fails.” Claug watched as Arad sat down. She smiled, “You know, the beard looks good on you. Especially when you’re angry, it makes you more menacing.”

Arad sighed, pushing all worry to the back of his head. “Fine… But I need more details about the chains and the situation.”

Merlin went into detail about her chains, and Arad listened with a focused stare that looked so terrifying that Merlin found it hard to focus. Meanwhile, Claug spends her time caressing his arms and chest, checking the new and sprawling muscular structure beneath his skin.