Second World

"Do you know Broidrireg?" Peniel asked.

"Hmph! Not only do I know the great dragon, but I am also under his protection," Darmos said proudly. "How do you think an old weak draconian like me managed to live here? Oh, and do not call him by his name like you are worthy of it. You should call him the exalted Briodrireg, or the magnificent one."

"That's great. You should take me to him," Jack said.

"Nah, I can't."

"Why not?"

"Hmph! Do you think he is a being who you can meet just because you want to? If he doesn't want to meet you, you can forget about ever meeting him."

"But you do meet him, don't you? How about you put in a good word for me?" Jack asked.

"Hm… That will still have to be seen. If I find you worthy enough or not," Darmos replied.

"Hey, I piggyback you so far, that should count for something, right?" Jack exclaimed.

"Carry me nicely to my house and I will think about it," Darmos said. He then noticed Peniel's stare. "What is it, young high fairy?"

"Are you sure you are on good terms with Briodrireg?" Peniel asked.

"Of course! Are you calling me a liar? And you should refer to him as the incredible Briodrireg!"

"I find it hard to believe that an aloof dragon at his stature will associate with a weak draconian like you. Isn't his kind looking down on your race?"

"He looks down on everything! Except for me. Yeah, we are tight."

"Hah, empty words," Peniel taunted.

"High fairy, are you looking for a quarrel?" Darmos uttered.

"If you are close with him as you say you are, then prove it! Arrange for us to meet with him."

"What's so difficult about arranging a meeting? It will be as simple as… Ah… I see what you are doing. You are one naughty little fairy, aren't you? Don't think you can trick me into it!"

"But that means you can help us, don't you?" Jack said. "Name your price, old man. We need an audience with Brio… I mean, the high-and-mighty Briodrireg."

"I am not for sale, young human," Darmos said. "Anyway, why do you want to meet him?"

"I want to undertake the dragonification trial," Jack said.

"You? A human? Haha. Are you drunk or something?" Darmos mocked.

"He is serious," Peniel said.

"Well, I can't blame the outworlder, but you should know that the trial is only available for one with draconic blood, don't you? Only those from the draconian race can undertake the trials."

"He has draconic blood in him, a much purer one compare to normal draconian even," Peniel informed.

"He does?" Darmos' face came next to Jack's neck and he sniffed it.

"Hey, dude. That's gross!" Jack uttered and moved his head away when he felt Darmos sniffing him.

"You do have a draconic scent. Hm… Perhaps you are not lying. But not any draconic bloodline is enough, how about you let me taste a drop of your blood to find out?"

<br/>"Don't be ridiculous, that is even grosser," Jack uttered.

"We are not lying, why do you think we come all this way here for?" Peniel said.

"Hm… Still, I can't guarantee that he will grant you the trial. It is already a tall order for him to accept a draconian, much else a human, much else an outworlder. I suggest you don't put much expectation in this endeavor of yours."

"I still want to try. If you can just help me get an audience, that is all we ask," Jack said.

"I can't promise anything, kid. We'll see. But I'm impressed an outworlder such as you know about this dragonification trial so early. Your kind just arrived in this world eight months ago, right? You are the first outworlder to come for this trial."

They continued to chat while walking, this Darmos was a rather talkative fellow. Jack didn't mind. In fact, due to the chat, his Diplomacy skill had increased to Basic Expert.

"Hey, hey! Where are you heading? You have to go that way?" Darmos said while pointing in a direction.

"Is there any other way? Probably a detour?" Jack asked.

"Hmph! No detour. To reach my house we have to pass through there. Other places were blocked by high cliffs. Don't ask me to ride you piggyback while you climb a wall. What if you fall? I will not have only one sprain ankle if that happens."

'I will prefer not piggybacking anything at all,' Jack uttered inwardly. Outward, he said, "There are lots of monsters on that path."

"Oh? You can sense monsters' existences?" Darmos asked with a surprised expression. "No wonder you walked like a drunk person. I thought you are truly drunk. So, you have been avoiding monsters all this time?"

"Yeah," Jack answered. "Well, if we have to pass that place, then I have to put you down and eradicate those monsters first."

"Halt! If you put me down, I will consider you failing the quest," Darmos warned.

"What? Why is that? All you need is just to get home, right? What's the difference if you wait here for a bit while I take care of those monsters?"

"Hmph! The task is to bring me back unharmed. What if another monster comes and attacks me while you are fighting the monsters over there?"

"Don't worry. You see already that I can detect monsters, right? I will know if there is any monster coming near you."

"I don't care. You put me down. You fail the quest," Darmos was uncompromising.

"The hell, dude? Why are you being so unreasonable?" Jack complained.

"I am," Darmos said unwaveringly.

'Perhaps this is a test?' Peniel's voice was heard in Jack's mind. 'He can arrange a meeting with Briodrireg, which means we need his favor.'

Jack agreed with Peniel. This was probably the starting quest designed for anyone that came here to meet Briodrireg.

"All right. Let's go together then," Jack relented and proceeded forward.

"Remember, I can't be harmed. If any monster hit me. You fail," Darmos warned.

"Didn't you say you are protected by Briodrireg? Why would the monsters attack you then?" Jack asked.

"The protection is only limited to the area around my house."

"Then what are you doing venturing so far away?"

Darmos shrugged. "I'm bored," he said simply.

Jack decided to not argue further. He was thinking about how to get through the monsters. The monsters came into view now. There were eighteen of them. Three Spiked Wyrms, four Drackatrice, and eleven Gilas.

It's a piece of cake, Jack thought. Let's just call out Arlcard, Therras, and his Spirit Weapon.

However, before he could do it, Darmos said, "Ah, I almost forgot. No summoning and no tools."

Jack almost doubled over. "What the f*ck, man! Do you want to get home or not?" He uttered.

"Do you want the quest reward or not?" Darmos returned.

"I can't put you down, I can't use summons and tools. So, you want me to fight that horde while carrying you on my back? To top it off, I can't allow you to get hit even once? Is that all for your quest requirements?"

"That's about sum it up. Oh, I might want to make a correction. Not only am I not allowed to be hit, but I am also not allowed to be touched by any of those monsters."

Jack's eye twitched. Killing these monsters would be no problem for him, even if he wasn't allowed to call his summons. However, to make sure that none of these monsters touch the annoying old dude on his back. Now, that's an entirely different matter. No wonder the quest difficulty was S. Normally, dealing with these monsters here would just be considered A-difficulty.

"Come on, the sun is about to set already. I still have to make dinner back home," Darmos said.

Jack gave him an exasperated look. He then said, "Are you going to tell me that I'm not allowed to use any skills and my equipment's ability is not allowed as well?"

"Of course not, I can't be asking you to fight naked and only use standard attacks, right? That will be unreasonable of me. I am a very sensible person," Darmos replied.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked again.

Hearing that, Darmos paused for a bit. He thought for a little bit before saying again, "Yeah, using skill and your equipment is fine. But no summon! Even if it is an ability from equipment, summoning is still not allowed."

"All right, don't back out on your words," Jack said.

After finished speaking, a green and soothing aura radiated out from Jack. He then walked forward.

"This…" Darmos felt the unusualness in the aura.

When Jack came near the group of monsters, they didn't give any response. They just did as if Jack wasn't there, even when Jack passed by them. It was the ability of his Amulet of Summoning, Calming Wave. For five minutes, it kept all monsters of special elite grade or below and a maximum of ten levels above Jack to not turn hostile.

"That's… That's cheating!" Darmos uttered.

"No, no. You are not allowed to take back your words," Jack replied with a grin.