A Bug

"Ack!"

In but a second after that exclamation, Emre was on his back in the grass. Sweat dripped down his face as he sprawled out his arms with the sun beaming down on his light skin. He laid in an open field just outside the village on the opposite side that the soldiers had set up.

Turning his head he could see Killan and Idris skillfully sparring. Idris was light on his feet but his swings were powerful as he tried to strike in between Killan's defense. To be honest, it was a bad matchup for Killan. He was slower and his greatsword called for slower but more powerful attacks.

Idris was swift and quicker, but Killan's full plate made it harder for him to get through to his weaker spots. Even so, Killan could do little more than defend Idris's quick swipes and dancing movements for now.

"Hey, are you going to get up or what?" Ragan's aged voice reached his ears.

Turning his head, he had to squint as he looked at the older man towering over him with his hands resting on his hips. He was looking at Emre with a cocked brow and little more than a single drop of sweat on his forehead despite the heat.

"Shouldn't the dead stay dead?" Emre asked.

"They should, but you ain't dead. So get up, we're trying again." Ragan gave him a light kick.

With a grunt, he rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself back up onto his feet. His arms ached and his ass hurt from falling on it so many times that morning. They had started his swordplay training and Ragan wasn't giving him any leeway.

He brushed the grass and dirt off him as he picked his sword back up. It was safe to use swords against one another if they channeled mana to dull the edges. It was a handy safeguard so that no one actually got hurt aside from bruising. And Emre definitely felt the bruising…

With a sigh, he turned back to Ragan and took up the battle stance that he had learned. Leaving no openings for a start—it was easy for Emre. He was a faster learner, but once he started moving he barely got a few seconds in before getting whacked by Ragan's brutal strength.

Emre was strong inherently as a dragon, but even then he questioned if Ragan was not a dragon himself with the amount of arm strength he had. Letting out a focused breath, he watched Ragan take up a casual stance.

"Focus on defending this time." He instructed.

Like a flash, even without the help of wind, Ragan was in front of him. He felt his breath catch as he just barely lifted his sword in time to meet Ragan's. While there was no clang of metal, there was the dull thud of mana barriers smashing together. Emre easily felt the strain on his arm muscles as he felt his feet slip, barely readjusting as Ragan pulled back.

In the next second, another swing was coming for him. Quickly repositioning his feet again, he took a small step backward as he met this strike with more ease. It could only be him getting better at reaction time. At least that was what he thought before Ragan pulled back a second time.

He switched the direction and came from underneath. Emre—who wasn't able to move back in time—was promptly smacked under the chin by the tip of Ragan's sword. Emre felt that if his tongue had been in the way, he surely would have bitten it off. His teeth clacked together and a grimace appeared on his face as he stumbled back.

Emre's chin immediately began throbbing as he glared at Ragan. The old man had only taken a few steps back to give Emre time to barely recuperate. Of course, his pause in the onslaught only lasted a few seconds before he started forward once more.

Unable to even complain, he clenched his teeth together despite the ache as he lifted his sword up once more. Ragan was coming in with a jab though. Emre moved, quick on his feet as the mana dulled tip of the blade did not meet its quarry.

His eyes flicking about to see Ragan's next movement, noted his foot that was farther back beginning to move forward. It was either going to be another jab attempt or another underneath swipe. Emre did not hesitate to increase the distance between them with another few backward steps.

He could see the corners of Ragan's mouth beginning to raise in a sly smile. Wary, Emre immediately stopped his movement. His eyes began to dart around once more as Ragan closed the distance.

He was going for a downward strike as Emre lifted his sword to parry. Taking a small step backward, his foot stopped suddenly and his eyes widened in shock. He tore his eyes away from Ragan's blade as he glanced down at his heel that had smacked upon a small sturdy stone that was sticking out of the ground.

With the blades hitting unevenly against one another, Ragan's slid down to Emre's hilt and clipped the crossguard, sending it flying out of Emre's hand. Of course, that was not all as Emre lost his balance and immediately stumbled onto his ass once more.

He realized quickly that the smile that had curled upon Ragan's face was because of the rock. He pointed his sword tip at Emre with a grin.

"Use your surroundings to your advantage." Ragan said before pulling his sword away.

Emre then heard the blessed sound of the blade sliding back into the scabbard and let out a breath of relief. Leaning back on his hands, Emre stayed sitting as he caught his breath. The gross feeling of sweat was itchy underneath his thick leather armor.

"We'll take a break for now." Ragan added.

"Finally." Emre breathed out as he flopped onto his back. "I need shade."

"Ha! Why don't we all go for a cold drink at the inn?" Gerrar suggested from a distance away.

Emre quickly sat up at the idea of relaxing at the inn. A shaded area and a cold drink, what was there not to like? Even Killan and Idris relaxed and sheathed their swords at his word. Pulling himself onto his feet, he put his sword away, and walked over to the group, giving his aching arms a small stretch in the air.

"Sounds like a perfect idea to me." Emre said as he arrived.

"Yeah, I need a break out of this armor after that spar." Killan agreed with a tired exhale.

Gerrar clapped his large hand onto Emre's shoulder, although it was surprisingly gentle despite the movement.

"You're a quick learner, Emre! I was impressed by your speed." He started with a toothy grin. "You should focus on speed-based swordplay. Nalia's the best at it! You should ask her for some pointers."

Emre's brows raised at Gerrar's suggestion and he couldn't help but glance at Nalia who was sitting in the grass beside Conin. She had also looked up and their blue eyes met. Her brows furrowed upward as an awkward smile crossed her features.

"I could." She stated with a small nod.

"Shall we chat over a cold drink then?" Gerrar asked with a hardy laugh.

Emre nodded his agreement as he looked back to Gerrar. He seemed to be quite the energetic and happy man. Even despite being so large, he still manages to be gentle. Surely he could crush Emre with his bare hands.

Even so, Gerrar easily helped both Nalia and Conin up and began to lead the way toward the village. Ragan was waiting ahead of them with his hands placed on his hips and Killan quickly followed after them. Once again, Idris and Emre were left hanging back.

"How was my swordplay?" Emre casually asked.

"Hmm… Mediocre." Idris answered.

"Hah…" Emre let out a sigh. "Well, I guess that's obvious."

"Yes, it's expected when just starting out." Idris kept looking ahead of himself as he paused with hesitance. "But since you're a fast learner, you'll probably get the hang of it quick."

"Ha, you think so?"

"Yeah."

Emre glanced over to him with a small chuckle. Idris spoke as if he was going out of his way to be nice with his words. Even so, Emre only believed him because Idris could not lie to him. Idris's words were actually a nice reassurance in a way.

"Who taught you how to use a sword?" Emre asked, starting to unfasten his bracers.

"My mother." His answer was short.

"Did she also teach you magic?"

"Yes."

To be honest, it was kind of hard to converse with him. His answers were always straight and to the point, not bothering for elaboration. It was good to have short and precise answers, but only if the situation called for it. Getting to know Idris was difficult without having to consistently ask questions.

"Did she teach you most of what you know?" Emre asked another question.

"Yes." Another short answer.

He held back a sigh as he noticed Nalia glancing back at them. Once she realized she was noticed, her head quickly whipped forward. Was she just shy or something? It was hard to not notice that she was trying hard not to get caught. In fact, it was quite obvious.

Emre decided to hold back on the questions for now as they entered the village. They were heading toward the inn but had stopped for a moment as Conin pulled Gerrar off to the bakery. They decided to go on ahead without them and entered the rather lively building.

It was about lunchtime now so townsfolk were enjoying themselves with a mid-day drink and some chatter. One of the adventuring parties that Emre had noticed before was inside as well. It was hard not to notice them when they were all revealing their full auras. It was like they were trying to attract attention.

In fact, as Emre looked over they looked quite sketchy for a group. There were five of them, and while darker clothing and armor were common, these people were all covered in black. Some even had their hoods up to hide their faces while eating. To be honest, Emre thought it was useless to try and hide themselves while they were flaunting off their auras to pressure others.

Even Killan had a small look of distaste on his face as he glanced over. They had to choose a larger table which wasn't too far from the sketchy group, unfortunately. Most of the tables for larger groups were in the middle of the tavern, after all. Idris sat beside Emre while Ragan sat on his other side.

A waitress quickly came to take their orders before zooming off. To be honest, it was quite nice how quick the people were working here. He was sure they were getting even more profit with even the soldiers coming by occasionally for a meal.

It didn't take too long for their meal to come as they started to talk about the specifics of Killan and Idris's spar. It was interesting to listen to the moves and skills they were able to pull off since Emre wasn't actually able to watch the spar while he was getting his own ass beaten.

"Idris is just too quick for me to keep up with." Killan sighed out as he stuffed a potato into his mouth.

He had taken off the top half of his armor and had shoved it under the tables so they could keep their eyes on it. Emre had removed his bracers but found it too much of a hassle to remove more despite how hot it felt. Once he got a drink though, he felt much better.

"I don't think any of us would be able to keep up with him." Gerrar chuckled.

Ragan's brow lifted. "Are you sure about that?"

"Ha! I'd like to see you and Idris spar!" Killan said with a laugh.

Emre nodded with interest. He would definitely want to see something like that. Besides, if Idris and Ragan were sparring then he would get more time to relax rather than getting his ass handed to him.

"What do you say, Idris?" Ragan asked.

"I don't mind." Idris's response was plain as he mostly focused on his food.

"Ooh! I'm looking forward to it." Killan seemed excited as he started to eat faster.

It seemed like Idris hadn't even considered it before he accepted. It made Emre wonder if he was confident or just not listening properly. His aloof nature was so hard to read. But then there was Nalia again, she was staring at Emre, he could feel the gaze boring into him. Looking over to her, her eyes quickly averted. Truly, what was her problem?

"Nalia, how about those sword fighting pointers?" Emre decided to engage.

"A-ah…" She stuttered. "I'm not very good at giving tips, but uh… If you're focusing mainly on speed and less on power, you're going to want to aim for more jabs unless you're parrying. Stay especially light on your feet and don't stop moving." She said with a wary smile.

Emre nodded as he listened. It was actually quite decent advice. If he wasn't putting as much power into slashing, jabbing would be more effective. Of course, he could probably slash as well. He would just have to focus on putting more power into it which was a given. Plus he could add his magic to the blade-like Ragan had done in the cavern with his wind blades.

Staying moving could be a double-edged sword if he wasn't good at it. He'd have to get used to consistent dodging and circling of the enemy without tripping on himself. If he did anything wrong it would surely be the end of him unless he could tuck and roll right away.

Gerrar and Conin then entered the inn to join them. It seemed they had bought fresh bread and also some fruit that Conin was currently enjoying together. They had taken quite a while, so neither of them seemed offended that they had begun eating first.

"What did we miss?" Gerrar asked as he got seated with Conin.

"Idris and Ragan are gonna spar later." Killan explained.

"Oh!"

Emre had stopped paying attention though and let his eyes wander to the other party nearby. When Gerrar and Conin had entered, the other group kept glancing over and snickering. It might not have been noticeable to the rest of them, but with his high perception, it wasn't that hard to miss.

He found himself feeling a growing irritation as he kept coldly glancing toward them. Emre couldn't help but feel that they were no good. Not only were they freely flaunting their strength, but they kept snickering toward them over and over again. It was rather annoying.

The unfortunate part of it was that one of them noticed Emre's glare. Their eyes met, but Emre decided to be the one to pull away first. They seemed to be suddenly talking hush, hush, afterward. Another problem came right after, one had stood up after scoffing at their party members.

Then they began to saunter over as if they had swagger. Emre knew they were coming, but didn't look until they kicked one of the legs to his chair. Everyone at the table seemed surprised that this person had approached.

Looking up, Emre could see dark hair and a scruffy beard under his hood. His cold eyes were a hazel color. Irritation continued to pluck at Emre's heart. He just seemed like some dumbass thug.

"Who do you think you've been glaring at, bastard?" The man asked roughly.

Oh, so they were getting right into it? And an insult right off the bat too, huh.

Emre stood up, and although a bit shorter he kept eye contact. He could tell the table had become uneasy, but Emre wasn't about to let his guy do what he wanted. While an aura like this might pressure someone average, Emre wasn't phased.

He was a dragon, after all. It felt like nothing.

"Who do you think you've been snickering at like children?" Emre shot back with venom in his voice.

"Hah? Are you trying to start a fight?" The man asked in an annoyed tone.

"You're the one who walked up first. Do you need something or are you going to screw off?"

"Emr—" Ragan's voice was cut off.

"So you wanna fight." The man scoffed loudly, glancing back at his party members with a snicker.

Emre's aura right now was just average, this man's aura was just about the same as Killan's. It was pretty strong, so Emre standing up to him probably seemed like a squirrel squaring up to a human. Of course, Emre was just hiding his aura. He was trying to decide whether or not to let some of it show.

He didn't get enough considerations done though before the man's large hand reached forward and grabbed his collar. Emre's glare didn't lessen as the fist pushed into his throat. In fact, it was only a second before the man let out a strained grunt and let go.

Emre took in a breath and looked down to see Idris's long leg stretching past him as his foot lingered at the man's gut. Oh, he had kicked him straight away. Emre looked to the side as Idris stepped up beside him after lowering his foot down with a rather scary look on his face. Idris's aura had also begun to grow in pressure, slowly rising to meet Killan's level.

The benefits of teaming up with another big and scary dragon, huh. Emre didn't even have to do anything. Ha! Seems like Idris wasn't having this man's shit either.

"Get lost, bug." He spat, sounding even more hostile than Emre had.