Dragon's Tale 17

“Marcus!” exclaimed both girls at the same time in exaggerated happiness the moment I walked into the opening, before throwing each other angry glares, like they were accusing each other of stealing their ‘brilliant’ idea. I smiled as I walked close, acting oblivious to the tension. 

“Ready to move, girls?” I asked. “I have found an excellent camping spot, warm, concealed enough to set a fire as long as we get rid of the smoke, and best of all, with a small river next to it so we can fish and bathe.” 

“Bathing, that sounds lovely, let’s move,” Lillian jumped immediately as she fluttered her eyes alluringly, pushing her chest out to display it  the best way possible. Only then I noticed that while fixing her clothes, she had applied some critical alterations to her top. It was tighter, for one, and its cleavage ran much deeper. 

I gazed at Astrid as well as we started walking, examining the changes in her clothes. Unlike Lillian, her top was looser, and covered more area. For a moment, I was confused, as the changes contrasted greatly with her argument with Lillian, but then I remembered that it was Lillian that was responsible for fixing her clothes. Clever, I thought, even though it was rather pointless. With the amount of fabric that was available, even Lillian’s best efforts failed to make Astrid’s spectacular cleavage disappear. 

And soon, Astrid decided to fight back. Lillian was walking next to me, rubbing her breasts into my arm at every opportunity. Astrid advanced a couple of steps extra, and started swaying her hips with a level of lewdness that would blend in perfectly in a brothel. Admittedly, her movements weren’t as smooth as I would have liked —but understandable considering until recently, she was a sexy, nubile priestess in a barbarian tribe that did her best to avoid unwanted attention. 

Still, I let my gaze stay fixed on her hips as they danced aggressively with each step, and not just because doing so galvanized Lillian to an absurd degree. Astrid might not be perfectly smooth in her seduction game, but then again she didn’t have to be, not when she had a  derriere with perfect curvature, beautiful enough to warm the blood of the coldest man. 

From the way Lillian harrumphed in dissatisfaction, she seemed to be well aware of that fact, no doubt lamenting her childish idea to mess with her by forcing her into such a sexy dress. But she was not a quitter, so rather than accepting defeat, she grabbed my hand, pulling it dangerously close to her body, my fingers brushing against her thighs at each step. It was a good choice, I had to admit, as even after everything, touching her skin excited me. 

Watching the most popular girl back in school, famous for being untouchable, doing her best to debase herself just for my fleeting attention was an incredible boost to my pride. 

I couldn’t help but send my thanks to that idiot pirate who decided to force me onto their ship. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to save Lillian, acquire the Dragon’s Heart, and somehow managed to break through the barrier between the realms of Mage and Sorcerer. 

If it wasn’t for that, I probably would have found myself as a mercenary, listening to an overgrown noble or a wannabe warlord’s annoying wishes just to get a living wage. Or I would have found a little town no better than an overgrown village and began trying to establish myself without drawing too much attention. Trying to establish a powerbase alone was almost impossible to do, even for an extraordinary mage. 

Things were different for a Sorcerer, of course. Even the weakest Sorcerer represented a dangerous weapon that threatened to ruin the balance everywhere except the biggest cities. An unknown mage would have been accepted grudgingly under the best of circumstances. An unknown Sorcerer, on the other hand, would have been recruited with the best benefits the organization could provide. Understandably, considering most Sorcerers worked for the government. 

The impeccable discipline of the infantry wasn’t the biggest reason for the Roman Legion’s scary reputation. No, that honor went to Legates, every single one of them a Sorcerer with great accomplishment in battle magic, and they usually converted their battle honors into election materials, gaining themselves a senate seat, even gaining a Praetor seat if they were charismatic enough. 

With the possibility of a Senate seat —a lifelong position of riches, comfort, and unbelievable political power as a part of the ruling mechanism of one of the top countries in the world— not many Sorcerers considered taking roles in other organizations. Not when even the mediocre Legates received a retirement package that ensured a comfortable living in Rome itself. For the foreign Sorcerers, joining auxiliary legions was even more tempting, because completing their service came with citizenship, something that was reserved for only the luckiest ones that were born in Italy itself. 

I had no intention of joining the military, of course. Spending twenty-five years risking my life for the whims of the Republic, or struggling through yet another pointless battle with the Eastern Roman Empire trying to tweak the nose of whomever that was holding the throne in Constantinople didn’t appeal to me. Especially since the latter meant fighting against other Sorcerers, backed by the impeccable Gryffon Cavalry, famous for their lightning strikes. 

The sudden wetness I felt on top of my fingertips distracted me from my musings. I turned to my left, surprised to see my hand disappearing under the thin strap of cloth Lillian called a skirt, forced into intimacy. Lillian gave me an annoyed huff, and only then I realized that while I was musing distractedly, my eyes were stuck on the show Astrid was providing. 

Lillian took it personally, and since I had no problems playing with her as we walked, I slipped my fingers inside. Lillian moaned immediately, quite a bit louder than necessary, enough to make Astrid turn. However, her face was alight with determination rather than frustration. 

Astrid slowed down until she was on my right side. “What’s our plan for tomorrow’s journey,” she asked. It wasn’t an urgent discussion, but when she grabbed my hand, I could easily see that it was an excuse to force intimacy. 

Since I wasn’t an idiot or eunuch, I played along, curious just how far they would push with a bit of competition. “Nothing should change from my perspective. With all the false trails we laid, there’s no way for our enemies to catch up with us. So, we’ll continue to travel, but at a more comfortable pace.” 

“Praise Saturn,” Lillian exclaimed even as her grip around my hand tightened, forcing my fingers deeper into her. “I appreciate the chance to sleep.” 

Astrid said nothing, but I felt her body begin to pull away from me. I was surprised by that, as I hadn’t expected her to be dissuaded that easily. Then, I felt a pair of hot, round objects pressing against my biceps, familiar with their presence. I hadn’t had to turn to see Astrid once again free of her top, but I did anyway, mostly for my viewing pleasure. “Yes, sleep well,” Astrid said smugly. “I’m sure we can find something to do to fill the time.” 

Lillian chose to say nothing but glare instead. Astrid turned to me once again. “There’s a small trading outpost just half a day’s walk away from here. Maybe we can hunt something on the way, and use it to exchange for resources, and maybe to rest as well.” 

“Wouldn’t that give our followers a clue?” I replied.

“We can always disguise ourselves,” she answered immediately, like that answer was already prepared. And while pressing her naked tits into my arm was a good way to distract me, it also allowed me to feel her heartbeat, which increased immediately after my rejection. She wanted to go there for more than convenience and supplies. The question was for what? 

I decided to play along. The sooner I understood what really drove her, the better. “In that case, it might work, assuming we can take down some decent hunt, of course.”

“I’m sure you can handle it easily,” she answered even as she rubbed herself along my arm. “I have seen you take down a thunder bear without breaking a sweat.” 

I could feel Lillian getting restless —her nails sinking into my arm was very clear— but I didn’t want her to distract us right now, so I quickened my fingers, forcing a moan out of her. Meanwhile, I continued talking with Astrid. “So, tell me about this trading post more,” I said. 

“I don’t know much, I only accompanied Matron Helena a couple of times when she went there to manage the trade,” she answered. “It’s a small place that was set up by a couple of Veteran Gauls. They buy fur and semi-precious materials…” she started, and in the next five minutes, she gave me the breakdown of the camp. I noticed that she was very careful glossing over the negative aspects and exalting its positives. She really wanted to go there, the question was why. 

“That seems like a good strategy, and I appreciate the opportunity of sleeping in a bed after a long while,” I said, accepting the suggestion. It was better to see what she was trying to do rather than harboring suspicions. I might have been more suspicious if our meeting was anything other than complete coincidence, but under the circumstances, I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. 

Though, just to be honest with me, if she hadn’t been a voluptuous redhead with tits beautiful enough to browse the dead, I doubted I would have taken the risk. 

When we arrived at the camp location, Lillian was having trouble standing straight after ten minutes of uninterrupted fingering and an orgasm. She collapsed on the nearest flat space, breathing hard, while Astrid looked at her with a mixture of grudge and amusement. 

“Lillian clearly needs to catch her breath, and I’m feeling exhausted,” I said. “Astrid, why don’t you fish for a bit while I take a bath,” I ordered before I walked toward the small alcove where the river created a calm spot, perfect for washing. After walking around the whole day without a shirt, in a forest, I really needed a bath. 

I shivered as I stepped into the water, wishing that I had regained enough control to use runes. A cold bath was definitely not ideal, though I still sank down, enjoying the soak with my eyes closed. Without any soap, I needed to soak for a while to feel clean, so I started circulating my mana to multitask. 

The flow was much smoother, I realized with satisfaction even as I forced it to move faster and faster. My new core started thumping faster and faster, following the rhythm of the flow, and warmth spread through my body, negating the cold. Too much warmth, even, as I could suddenly feel water bubbling around myself, and suddenly, I was glad for the chilly water. My body was burning, my bones replaced with cinders, and my blood with magma. 

At least, that was what it felt like. 

Even then, I only forced my mana to flow faster, because I could feel that the mysterious sensation of fire was forcing my body to renew. My muscles felt like fire, but with each passing second, they felt stronger. I didn’t know what was going on within my body, whether it was helpful or harmful, but it felt natural. It was something that was supposed to happen. 

That feeling didn’t help the pain. 

The burning sensation was unbearable enough, but soon, it was replaced by a stabbing sensation, radiating from my bones, like someone had stabbed a dagger, hard enough to break through. A distant cry reached my ear, and with the distracting pain, it took awhile for me to realize that it was the echo of my own cry. I bit my lips, trying to contain my voice. 

Soon, the sound of my cries was replaced by the bubbling of boiling water, violent steam covering my surroundings. Soon, the wind picked up, circling me, no less wild than a tornado, while the boiling water circled the other way. I stumbled despite my best effort to stand up. For a fleeting moment, I was afraid that my legs lost their ability to keep me upright. It would have been an ignoble death, if I lost my balance and drowned in waist-deep water. Then, I realized that it wasn’t my legs that were shaking, but the earth itself. 

Earth, water, fire, air… The fundamental elements were raging around me in discord, forced into a state of chaos, all triggered by my mana flow. I didn’t know whether to resist it or try to stop it, as I never had any access to material about sorcerers. My family hadn’t had one in centuries —there was a reason that my family was in Britanium, exiled from Rome proper despite carrying the name of one of the biggest heroes of the republic. 

I didn’t even know if what I had been experiencing was a part of breaking through the barrier, or it was an aberrant reaction from the dragon heart I had absorbed. After all, I had never heard anything close to it. Maybe I didn’t, because it was impossible.

Maybe I was about to die, split between the elements. 

I could feel the chaos around me getting stronger and stronger, the pain from the elements that surrounded me surpassed the internal pain I had been going through, so much so that death was looking like the better choice. The rage of the elements was picking up speed, threatening to drown me, like the world itself wanted to destroy me. I was being burned, flailed, suppressed, and shaken. Death was only a matter of time. 

Then, the lightning struck, bright enough to sear my eyes despite my closed eyelids, bathing my body under it. 

I didn’t know if it fell from the sky, or it escaped from my body and cut through the sky. Maybe both. But whatever it was, I could feel the skin of my body breaking down. Then, another lightning bolt fell, then another, and another… 

Ultimately, I lost count, the pain becoming the only constant, but somehow, not only was I alive, I could feel my vitality increasing. My arms felt stronger, my breath deeper, my heart stronger.

When the last bolt of lightning hit my body, I collapsed onto the floor, taking the deepest, most delicious breath I had ever taken. I was exhausted, about to collapse. Falling asleep never sounded more appealing, but I forced my eyes open. The water in the natural pool I had been bathing in had evaporated, but I could still feel wetness around my feet, meaning it was slowly filling up. Drowning after surviving that disaster would have been a ridiculous thing to do. 

But when I felt familiar hands grabbing at each of my arms and dragging me forward, I decided to let myself go, surrendering my fate to my two lady friends. 

The last thing I noticed before I fell into unconsciousness was that the dragon heart that had been accompanying me for the last few days had disappeared, replaced by a genuine magical core —or what I assumed to be what a genuine magical core looked like— though it still felt eerily similar to the dragon’s heart. 

I had a feeling that, when I woke up, my life was going to get even more complicated…