The dragon's harem

The rescue party formed outside the guild, and Arad didn't want to exhaust his wives right after arriving, the members he hadn't fought much with before. But, due to the composition, Arad was reduced to a mere support.

Frontline charger: Nina Fangborn, the berserker.

Frontline fighter: Alcott Demorian, the dragon slayer.

Backline magic buffer: Merlin, the archmage of Alina.

Backline magic blaster: Ginger(Scarlett) Voi(Voivode). The impaler queen.

Arad Orion: General support and porter.

"We lack a healer," Arad looked around. "Any priest or a paladin willing to come?"

All adventurers looked away. Who could keep up with those monsters?

"Don't bother," Nina tapped Arad's shoulder, "They can't heal us anyway. There is no s-rank healer in this city."

Alcott nodded, "I only remember hearing of that paladin Lydia getting promoted rapidly, but everyone else pales in comparison."

Arad looked back, "I'm sure she would come with us if I asked...But, she would charge forward instead of healing us,"

"If we only need fire to kill the demons then there is no need for holy magic," Merlin looked at Arad, "Did you master fire magic?"

Arad looked away, "Not really, but I can use it."

Merlin giggled, "I'm sure you can use it well. I know how crazy your magic can get," She tapped his back.

"Forget about the mundane fire. Did you learn any interesting magic? Considering the one inside you." Ginger stared at Arad with a grin. She could feel Doma inside him stirring.

"She's been teaching me a certain spell, or should I say, I let her tinker with a part of my body." Arad giggled.

"I wonder what it could be." Ginger smiled.

"Nothing special," Arad walked forward, "Let's go, we can't waste any time."

"We won't take that guy with us?" Alcott asked.

"You mean Gojo?" Nina replied then stared at Arad, "He was here earlier,"

"It's a long story, but he's remaining here to guard the city," Arad replied as they stood before the carriage. ^I don't know if Brother would mind them knowing he's a void dragon. For now, it's just that I know him.^

"If you trust him," Alcott replied, jumping into the driver seat, "It's been a while since we went on a quest together, was it."

"For real," Merlin sighed, "Last time Nina kicked my chest out of my body,"

"You're the one who got in the way. How many times have I said not to try stopping me when I rage?" Nina cried. "And, you're shield is weak."

"You don't expect a prismatic wall to be shattered by a kick, do you?" Merlin glared back at her.

"What are they talking about?" Arad asked Ginger.

"A prismatic wall is a seventh-level light spell that creates a wall of multicolored light. Each color nullifies an element, for example, red nullifies flames, and white nullifies physical attacks." Ginger looked at Merlin and Nina arguing.

"Merlin expected the raging Nina to go around the three-foot wide wall and then fall into a sleeping trap, but she kicked right through it, shattering ten of Merlin's ribs." Ginger said with a scared face, "Apparently, the spell didn't nullify attacks. It just had high resistance to damage, and Nina overpowered that."

Alcott giggled, "That was a surprising magical discovery, but, we're lucky Merlin survived the kick. That spell did its job reducing Nina's kick damage to almost nothing."

Arad looked around. ^I don't feel like I fit here.^ He sighed.

^[I would fit more,]^ Doma giggled.

^True, you're as big of a monster as them.^ He relaxed as the carriage started to move. They would fly on his back as soon as they got into the forest.

Alcott pulled a sword from his magic bag and started sharpening it. With each stroke, it flashed with countless sparks. After each stroke, he stared at the blade to make sure it didn't bend or chip.

Merlin opened her hands, creating a small ball of magic, and started changing its colors, playing with it as a practice to improve her mana control.

Ginger pulled some tools from her pocket and started working on a small project she'd been on for a while. Knitting a scarf.

Nina kept staring around at the building, following each one as they passed by like a dog in a car. 

Arad opened his eyes. He couldn't feel right sitting there in silence doing nothing, so he lifted his hand.

[Barrier]

A crystal sphere appeared floating above his palm, shimmering under the sunlight.

"HO!" Merlin stared at it with a smile, "Barrier magic! It's been a while since I saw one,"

"I've been studying it for a day or two now. How is it looking?" He asked with a proud smile.

She looked away, "Want compliment or truth?"

"Of course, the truth," He replied, and she extended her hand, touching the crystal and causing it to shatter.

"You're bad, a lot to be honest." She lifted her hand, creating a similar crystal ball. "You're merely mimicking the shape. But leaving the internal structure."

Arad pulled the barrier magic tome Gojo gave him and showed it to Merlin, "I only read about a quarter of it,"

Merlin's eyes opened wide as she saw the book, a smile crossing her face. "Of course, you never got past the first chapter." She nodded, and there were still five volumes to it.

Ginger looked at them, "Merlin is the one who wrote that book," She said, pointing at the end of the book where it was signed, [Archmage Merlin Vo1-ver05]

Arad quickly read the last page of the book, "You really wrote this!" He gasped.

"Of course, what did you expect from an archmage?" Merlin stared at him.

"Putting quests to use people as test subjects and turn them into frogs," He stared at her, and she looked away, "Sometimes, you need to test spells on humans."

Alcott glared at her, "Like that one time you gave me that potion?"

"NO! That was a mistake! I didn't know that designing it based on myself could lead to that effect. I already apologized."

"I understand that stuff needs to be tested," Ginger glared at her, "But! Do you know how confused I was when I saw him?"

Aard looked at Alcott, "What's this about?"

"Remember when we first spoke in my bath, and I told you how I became a vampire, werewolf, zombie, and other things?" Alcott whispered.

"Guh!" Arad grunted, "I remember. The only potion you spoke of was the one that turned you into a woman for a month."

"She made it as a full heal potion that works by restoring your body into a registered state." He looked at Merlin, "And since she based it on herself, the registered state was a woman's body."

Arad scratched his head, "But you used it,"

"I got badly injured in a fight and had to use it," He sighed, "Imagin how confused the devil I was fighting was. He thought I ran away and swapped places with a woman."

As the two talked, Merlin extended her hand between her chest and pulled several small bottles. "I did mix a few dozen of it afterward. They work perfectly on me, after all."

CLANG! Alcott pulled his sword, pointing at her neck, "You still had those?"

"They are for me!" Merlin cried, "They get automatically consumed when I receive a fatal injury and restore my full health."

With a sigh, Alcott pulled his sword away and sat down.

Arad looked at him, "How was it being a woman's body?"

"Bad, it is a real transformation and not an illusion. I got a lot weaker since I wasn't used to moving in that body and almost lost the fight against the devil." He scratched his head, "But, I got used to it by the third day and got my full power and range of motion."

"How many stupid items are there in the world?" Arad sighed.

"A lot," Alcott looked at Merlin, "As long as mages as her keep fooling around, useless and weird magic items would never stop flowing,"

"I once saw a ring that plays a song when you pull your weapon," Ginger stared at them, "It was popular with bards as it allowed them to instantly cast a spell upon starting combat,"

^[I did make several cursed items as well,]^ Doma giggled in Arad's head.