I blinked surprised, then asked her. “What's your current number?”
“Last time I checked, it was 1290, I think.”
Holy Pancake on a Rainbow Unicorn! She's talking about levels! That idiotic god lied to us! He told us that only we, the heroes, can see levels, but from what Kataryna just told me, everyone who goes to a temple can find out. The only difference is that they call them power. Well… technically it would be power level or level of power, but still… WOW! I thought as I blinked surprised.
“It's 1294 actually…” I mumbled in my amazement.
“You can see the power of an individual?” she asked squinting her eyes at me.
I messed up.
“Maaaybe?” I smiled foolishly.
“Never mention this to a priest, they will think you are a blasphemer or some sort of devil.” she warned me and shook her head.
“Thank you?” I was getting more and more confused.
Why would they believe that? I wondered.
A moment ago, we were fighting to the death, but now she was explaining stuff to me and giving me survival lessons? Was this a dream? Did I die? What just happened?
“What's your power, young one?” she asked me.
I gulped. “Erm… didn't check, let me see. Status.” I said and looked at the screen.
[Name]: Alkelios Yatagai
[Species]: Human
[Level]: 141
[Strength]: 16+342+607.5+140.5
[Speed]: 14+256+452.5+178.5
[Dexterity]: 20+257.5+527+77.5
[Magic]: 16+200.5+251+832.5
[Luck]: 100
[Magic Excellence]: 1%+7%+8.5%+11.5%
[Skills]: Show? Y/N
[Skill Points]: 80
[Stat Points]: 1400
Well… those are a lot of skill and stat points! At least, I can cure Brekkar now, but… wow, just WOW! I thought as I looked a the numbers, and to think I had yet to even add any of my Stat Points.
“141” I told Kataryna.
Hearing the number, she burst out into a loud laughter, holding her stomach while her voice echoed on the walls. I felt like I wanted to dig a hole and hide in it.
“BWAHAHAHA! To think I, a dragon with a power of over 1290, was defeated by one with a power of 141! Hahaha! How is this even possible?” she asked me with tears in her eyes.
“Erm, luck I guess?” I shrugged.
“Luck?! For something like this, you would need to have the blessing of all the gods put together! Well, it does explain why you were able to skillfully dodge my attacks like that. Even Brekkar wasn't able to dodge like you, and he is a master at it!” she said with tears in her eyes.
“And dying…” I added squinting my eyes at her.
“Dying? I didn't attack him that hard!” she furrowed her brow.
“Well, it's not you… “ I shook my head.
All of a sudden, the air around me began to change. The temperature dropped, and I could feel a strange pressure on my shoulders. Kataryna looked upset.
“What happened? Did someone else attack the old man?” she asked me.
“Erm, don't you know?” I asked raising an eyebrow.
“Know what?” she knitted her brow.
“Isn't the reason why you attacked the mansion like that because of Brekkar's weakness?” I asked.
“No!” she retorted, her tail whipping the air behind her “My subordinates said his granddaughter double-crossed us and stole something from us! When I got there, the house was already on fire… and…” she stopped and closed her eyes. “Did Seryanna mention anything about a [Purse] ring?” she asked looking back at me.
“Yeah… She went and returned it, then she was with me until later today. I got the armor you completely destroyed with one punch.” I told her the truth.
Her tail whipped the air and smashed into the ground behind her, causing a big crack. This dragoness was in a bad mood.
“That bastard! He tricked me!” she growled.
“Can someone actually trick you?” I asked a bit disbelieving, she was the top dog… well dragon around here, after all.
“Sigh… Yes, it's possible…” she said scratching the back of her head.
“So, I'm starting to guess you weren't the one who planned the attack?” I asked.
“As I said before, I reached there AFTER the attack began. Brekkar attacked me, I defended myself, then I left. When I got back here, I was about to take a bath, when all of a sudden, my subordinates reported an attack from the knights. I thought they came to exterminate us, so I went out and found you two… Then, you know the rest.” she shrugged as she explained the course of events, but something was wrong here.
“Wait, so you aren't the one who actually controls everything from the shadows?” I asked.
“Sort of. I can move the entire group and do as I please with it. They will follow my orders, but I do have some subordinates who deal with those sort of meddlesome stuff. This time, it was one of them who ordered the attack.” she explained.
In other words, she was there as a leader in name only. She had the strength to back it up, but she wasn't 100% focused on this, if she was, she could have expanded her influence and power to unparalleled levels. Getting enough bandits to even take over a small town was entirely possible, but she had no such intentions, which made me wonder just what exactly was she planning to do by becoming the bandit leader in the first place?
“Why so?” I asked.
“When a dragon or any other individual reaches power 1000, they go through what can be called as an Awakened Breakthrough. When this happens, you undergo a certain change…” she then looked into my eyes, and it felt like a wise god was looking back at me. A shiver went down my spine, and I gulped. “You see the world differently. You feel different. You are immortal and more powerful than before. It's amazing, but at the same time… a curse.” she closed her eyes.
“A curse?” I asked a bit confused.
This Awakened Breakthrough thing she spoke about was a bit curious for me. I couldn't imagine that reaching level 1000 you would gain so many things, but I certainly didn't see it as a curse. On another note, the idea of becoming immortal was news to me. With that, I could actually compensate for the age difference between me and Seryanna. Well, the idea was nice, but I had the feeling there was more to it than just that.
“You lose something…” she looked down at her hand. “You don't feel the need to advance and grow in power anymore. There's a lack of ambition, of emotion in your soul. Everyone around you sees you as something great, you can live for as long as you wish, and there are very few who can stop you. Upon reaching this sort of state…” she then looked back into my eyes. “there was nothing to catch my attention, nothing interesting… until you came along.” she smirked.
Gulping, I asked her “How am I interesting?” I asked.
“You feel different from the others… There's something pulling me towards you. To be honest, every time I wanted to initiate an attack capable of killing you, I hesitated. When I thought you were going to get hit and die because of my strike, I worried, but then you dodged or returned alive.” she told me as she looked into my eyes, her tail swaying left and right behind her.
“What about that first strike?” I asked.
“I tested you… I could have killed you if I wanted to, but something told me not to… it was strange…” she smiled and then reached out her clawed hand towards me. I froze and watched her as she touched my cheek. “You are just a fragile human, so why are you so… interesting?” she asked me.
“I dodge well?” I asked with an awkward smile.
“Yes, you are quite lucky… I don't know, but there's a mysterious aura around you. The more I focus upon it, the more I wish to get close to you…” she smiled and then looked down at her chest “I'm a bit old, but even I can still lay an egg…” she then looked into my eyes. “You do find me attractive, don't you?” she asked.
I gulped.
She's not thinking what
I think she's thinking, is she? I wondered.
“I'm joking.” she giggled and pulled back, causing me to blink surprised.
This woman is toying with me! I complained in my mind.
“But tell me, human, what did you mean when you said that Brekkar is dying?” she asked squinting her eyes at me.
Suddenly, she turned serious.
“He's ill… That's why his granddaughter needed your ring to go to the Seculiar Forest in the first place.” I told her.
At this point, telling a lie seemed to be a bit useless, but then again, there was also a certain thought in the back of my mind which told me she was telling me all of this because she was able to easily kill me whenever she wanted to. Barely having any Magic Energy left and without much space here for me to move, I certainly couldn't dodge or summon Jophiel as I pleased. Kataryna was aware of this, I could bet my Luck on it.
“Once more, this is news to me.” she squinted her eyes at me and rubbed her chin. “My lack of desire to involve myself in the matters of those lower than me seems to have led to this unfortunate situation.” she shook her head “I should have killed that bastard when I had the chance, but I highly doubt he escaped the cave in.” she let out a sigh and then looked back at me.
“Why did you become a bandit, anyway?” I asked.
“Because I wanted to see how it is. Because I was bored. Because I didn't really care what I did. Because I simply saw time passing by me without anything interesting happening. Basically… because I felt empty inside.” she tilted her head and then touched my cheek “Until you came along. Maybe I should seriously think about making an egg with you.” she smirked.
I gulped.
“I…” before I could say anything she pushed me back and kissed me roughly.
The dragoness slipped her tongue in my mouth and pressed her upper body onto mine, unfortunately, the armor didn't allow me to feel the suppleness of her breasts. She was a damn fine kisser too.
“Puha~!” she licked her lips after the kiss was over and showed me a seductive smile. “Never kissed a human before. I think I like it.”
“Huh? What just happened?” I asked a bit surprised and dumbfounded, but I was already missing the soft sensation of her lips pressing onto mine.
“I got a taste of you…” she pulled back and then got up, stretching her body.
“Huh?”
“From now on, I won't be a bandit anymore, I'll follow you around and see what interesting things you can show me…” she then looked back at me “To miss an opportunity like this, it would be such a shame!” she smiled.
“Huh? Can you do that?” I asked surprised.
“Why not? I never actually killed anyone just for the heck of it. Stealing was never my thing either, even though my skills belong mostly to an assassin, and I can easily sneak into anyone's house.” she shrugged.
“You are an assassin?” I blinked surprised.
Wait a second! Aren't they supposed to have like very low HP and can only do shadow magic? She's a boss level character, she can't be an assassin! I immediately complained in my mind as the things I knew about the assassin class collided with the reality of my current situation.
“I said they belong mostly to an assassin, not that I am one. I think my former rank was Grand Knight of Zerudan, but after the collapse of the kingdom, I was returned to commoner status. Well, it doesn't really matter for me.” she shrugged as if it was nothing.
Getting off the ground, I let out a sigh and tried to wrap my head around the entire line of events. Basically, Kataryna was a former Grand Knight who reached level 1000, also known as Awakened Breakthrough. This gave her a strange state of mind that made her indifferent towards many things around her, including personal boundaries, but she was one hell of a kisser. She also had no idea Brekkar was ill. Apparently, someone else pulled the strings behind the attack, but with the cave in earlier, it's likely that he was killed and if not, he would have a hard time launching any sort of counter attack.
And now, I am stuck with her in this cave, and I sort of feel like my virginity is in danger, but that part isn't entirely a bad thing… I mean, Kataryna looks hot, but… yeah… Seryanna. I thought and then sighed.
Well, if we reached this point, and she didn't kill me, there was no point in actually not doing this, so…
“Kataryna, do you want to be my friend?” I asked her.
The dragoness blinked surprised when I asked her.
“A friend? Nobody asked me to be their friend in a very very long time…” she smiled and nodded. “I will be your friend.”
[DING!]
[You have made a new friend: Kataryna Greorg]
“What's this?” she asked me and pointed her hand at the invisible message in front of her. “Ah! It vanished! Alkelios? You are Alkelios Yatagai?” she asked tilting her head.
“Yup! Nice to meet you too, Kataryna Greorg, I hope we can be good friends from now on!” I smiled at her.
“Me too.” she nodded.
“Now, how do we get out of this hole?” I asked.
“A good question…” she laughed.
“You don't know?” I blinked surprised.
“I don't, but I can find out.” she smiled.
“How?” I squinted my eyes at her.
“We follow the path through there.” she pointed at something behind me.
“That… I can't see anything there.”
“Maybe it's a bit hard for normal human eyes?” she scratched her cheek.
“Maybe… [Kitty Eyes].” I activated this skill.
The Magic Energy drain using the skill wasn't felt at all, so maybe I gained a few points from Kataryna's stats. Thanks to this, I was able to see perfectly in the dark, although, technically speaking, the iris of the feline wasn't what granted the animal the ability to see in the dark in the first place, but meh… details.
“That is a strange ability you have, and your aura seems to have gotten stronger from a moment ago. Interesting…” she said with a smile, while her tail waved left and right.
“Well, my eyes are changed because of the skill. It allows me to see in the dark and around me. The aura probably changed because of my [Dragon Tamer] ability.” I told her and started walking in the direction of the semi-dark corridor.
There were a few fluorescent crystals here and there, which lit up the place a bit, but most of them were on the ceiling behind us. That was the light I saw when I was underwater.
“What does that skill do?” she asked me tilting her head to the left.
“Can you promise not to tell anyone about this?” I stopped and looked back at her.
“You can always seal my lips with a kiss, but I will keep it a secret. You have my word as Kataryna Greorg, a former knight.” she nodded and made a small bow.
“Alright, well… it basically allows me to become friends with dragons and in exchange for that friendship, I gain strength, speed, dexterity, Magic Energy, and Magic Energy Excellence, while the dragons gain the ability to grow faster in power. Well, I call it level… So the correct term is maybe Power Level?” I explained.
“Hm, a useful ability for you, but the advantages I get are rather minimal. I have no interest in becoming stronger, but then again… being your friend just got a whole lot more interesting.” she smirked and waved her tail a bit faster.
“As long as you don't kill me or betray me, I'm cool with it.” I told her.
“I never betray my friends. That is a given.” she nodded. “Hm, now that I look at you better, I think the reason why I feel attracted to you and find you interesting is because of this [Dragon Tamer] skill.”
Her words surprised me a bit.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, many skills in this world aren't exactly as they are described in the textbooks. It's possible that your ability is selective about who is allowed to become your friend, and at the same time, it subtly attracts them to you. The feeling I get from you might be the one emanated thank
s to this peculiar trait of your ability. You truly are a fascinating and interesting fellow!” she giggled.
“I never thought of it that way… Heh, you learn something new every day.” I said.
After our small talk, we continued on our way through the tunnel. Kataryna took the lead as she could read the winds and figure out the exit faster than I could. While we did so, we didn't talk about much, we just quietly searched for the way out.
Meanwhile, I was a bit curious about something, so I called out my status and her's.
At this point, these were our current stats:
[Name]: Alkelios Yatagai
[Species]: Human
[Level]: 141
[Strength]: 16+342+607.5+140.5+1605
[Speed]: 14+256+452.5+178.5+2111
[Dexterity]: 20+257.5+527+77.5+1778
[Magic]: 16+200.5+251+832.5+602.5
[Luck]: 100
[Magic Excellence]: 1%+7%+8.5%+11.5%+7.5%
[Skills]: Show? Y/N
[Skill Points]: 80
[Stat Points]: 1400
In other words, the values for those stats were:
[Strength]: 2711
[Speed]: 3012
Dexterity]: 2660
[Magic]: 1902.5
[Luck]: 100
Magic Excellence]: 35.5%
Talk about an overpowered level 141, but even so, my original stats were pathetic. As for the silver-scaled dragoness, her stats were even more ridiculous:
[Name]: Kataryna Greorg
[Species]: Superior Draconian of the Ice Spark
[Awakened Status]: 6 out of 6 conditions met
[Level]: 1294
[Strength]: 6420
[Speed]: 8444
[Dexterity]: 7112
[Magic]: 2410
Dragons Can Be Cute Too Page 22