Love is Lost

Argriss was with Wisp as he scrolled through his system shop. Suddenly, while making small talk with Argriss and buying more seeds from the store, he reached level 110.

[Level 110 reached. Daily quest unlocked.]

[Complete the different daily quests for different rewards. Would you like to see them?]

"Uh, sure."

[Quest: Land 10 consecutive killer's edges. Reward: 1,849 rogue exp and 100 shop coins.]

[You only have one for right now.]

"Argriss, can you help me with this."

"Of course, my liege."

The two got up and Wisp started trying to land ten killer's edges. However, it caused him a massive strain on his body. He only did this once in the past, and it made him faint after the 38 strikes on the knights. But even then, just getting 5 out was proving to be challenging.

After completing the task, Wisp levels up twice as a rogue.

[Rogue level 112. Cleric level 49. Beast Tamer level 54.]

[100 shop coins earned.]

[New quest: Go to the Sky Kingdom and help Alduin on his quest. Reward. 50,000 exp in every stat and 5,000 shop coins.]

"W-What?"

[You heard me, dummy.]

An anger mark appeared on Wisp's head. It really did seem the system was getting more and more personality as he leveled up. He was still shocked by the reward for this quest.

"Who's Alduin?"

[Go to the wandering marketplace and you'll find him if you leave by tomorrow.]

"Well, that doesn't help at all."

[Quest Requirements. You may only bring 6 beasts.]

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

"My liege, may I come on this... quest?"

"Sure... um..."

Wisp scrolled through his familiar inventory. He had to choose wisely. He ended up selecting Igneous, Argriss, Willow, Dahlia, Sol, and Midro for the quest. He headed off the next day, making Greenwood, Vexotera, and Eclipse in charge of his absence.

Wisp set out, flying on Willow's back to the sky kingdom, the nation that severed itself from the rest of the world. It was a flight that took 2 days, but they eventually got to the borders of it. It was a giant mountain range that spanned the same size as Australia. Inside the mountain range was a bed of clouds. Underneath the clouds seemed to be water.

The gang decided to rest for the night and set up camp since it was night out and Willow was getting sleepy. They put up tents outside of the sea.

Dahlia looked out at the cloudy ocean, watching the clouds move like waves. Argriss came over and sat next to her.

"Beautiful, ain't it?" Argriss said with amazement on his face. "I heard the cloud ocean is one of the five wonders of the world."

"It certainly is beautiful."

"Hey, what was your time like in the demon Lord's army?"

"Painful..."

"I can relate."

"Wisp seems to collect a lot of misfits, doesn't he?"

"People do like to surround themselves with people they can relate to."

The two of them shared many words, growing closer as friends in the process.

The next day, they set out again to the market, where they arrived 36 hours later. It had a docking station, so Wisp parked Willow there. He jumped off her back.

"I won't be long, Willow." he said while patting her head.

He walked into the market. Argriss told him that these people didn't have the same abilities as the Indioral kingdom. Despite the looks of the place, this kingdom would be considered weak with the weakest military in the world. Most of them couldn't even detect monsters, since they didn't have magic... or mana. Most people here were normal people, which was refreshing.

He allowed Dahlia and Sol to roam around since they looked human enough, but they were both forced to wear hoods. As Wisp continued to look for the man named Alduin, a shady man walked up to him.

"Hello, good sir. I couldn't help but notice you had a lovely dragon outside. You wouldn't happen to be an imperial officer, would you?"

"Uh, no. I'm just visiting from outside the country."

"Ah. A businessman, I see. Are you from the Pez kingdom?"

"Uh..."

"How much would you be willing to sell that beast fo-"

Without hesitation, Wisp walked away. He wasn't in the mood for pointless talk. Even for all the money in the world, he wouldn't give up one of his friends.

As Wisp continued looking, he saw a familiar figure walking in the shop. It was the merchant who gave him the ring that saved Dahlia's life. He tried to run after him, but he was blocked off by guards as he walked into the headmaster's room. Wisp sighed and just walked away.

As he walked back into the open market, he saw a boy with green hair and silver-white eyes. Wisp saw an orange diamond with an exclamation mark above his head that seemed to be invisible. He ran up to the man.

"Um, excuse me."

The young man turned to Wisp.

"Can I help you?"

"You wouldn't happen to be Alduin, are you?"

"..."

Alduin caustiously clutched a katana on his waist.

"Wait, I'm not here to fight."

"What do you want?"

Yeah, what did he want? He couldn't just explain the system brought him here on a quest. He needed a different excuse. But he couldn't think of one. Then, out of nowhere, a soft pair of hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who?" A familiar, feminine voice said.

"Dahlia."

The hands left his eyes. Dahlia grabbed his collar to turn him around and make out with him, but Wisp cut it short.

"I thought you were shopping."

"Yeah, but I started to miss you... hmmm, who is this?"

Alduin looked away from the two. He seemed jealous and envious. Wisp whispered into Dahlia's ears, explaining the situation. She nodded and walked up to Alduin, reaching out her hand.

"Hello, my name is Dahlia, and this is my husband, Wisp. We are..."

Dahlia turned back to Wisp and he began to make hand signs that looked like sign language. But as he was in the middle of his hand signs, an explosion occurred in the middle of the market. Wisp saw two figures jump from vendor to vendor, repeatedly clashing in mid-air. One was Sol, whose arms were turned into several long, sharp tendrils. The other was a boy that had chestnut eyes and reddish brown hair, wielding a katana.

The boy tried to take off Sol's head, but he blocked with his knee and used his other leg to kick the boy away. Sol jumped in the air, launching his tendrils down at the boy, trying to impale him.

"Jayden!" Alduin screamed while running to the boy. Though, he wasn't going to make it. Sol was too fast and the tendrils were going to hit him before Alduin even got halfway there.

Then, Wisp blitzed past him. He took out his daggers and countered all thirty of Sol's tendrils, shocking both Alduin and the boy named Jayden. Sol landed on the ground, looking at Wisp confused.

"Sol, what's your problem? You're gonna get us kicked out of this place."

"He attacked me first!"

"Only because of what you said!" The boy retorted.

Dahlia and Alduin both ran up to them. Dahlia pouted while pinching Sol's checks.

"Ow!"

"What's the big deal?" Dahlia said cutely disappointed. "You're gonna get us evicted."

"S-Sorry..."

Alduin helped Jayden up. Wisp looked back at them.

"Why did you help me?" Jayden asked.

Wisp looked around him. Many people had their eyes on them. "Uh... can we find a more reclusive place to talk."