Continue? Chapter 1.2 : Peaceful

Finally, they reach a clearing in the Trees, and enter the Village in the Middle of the Forest.

'This place looks cool.' Quin looked around.

Walking into the Village, there were hardly any people outside.

"A Human?"

"Why is there a Human with that Failed Breed?"

"That Human won't last even a day with her."

With his enhanced hearing, he could hear all of the gossip from the other Villagers.

'She doesn't seem to be welcomed very much. And, is it me, or are there barely any people living here?'

Looking around, the Village was built in a Circular Shape, with a Fire Pit in the center.

There were 2 Empty Spaces, which was for entering and exiting the Village.

'This place feels... Ominous. The tension around here is pretty heavy.'

Quin and the Dragon, who was taking the lead, continued walking.

Listening closely, he could hear someone pick up an object from the ground.

Looking in the direction of the noise, he saw a stone being thrown from the trees.

Moving his hand, he blocked the stone from hitting the Dragon.

'Why would someone...?'

He heard the sound of someone clicking their tongue from the same tree.

'... There may be a story behind this.'

Eventually, they made it to the opposite side of the Village, and exited through the other passage.

'Hm? Didn't she say we would go to her... House...'

As they walked a little further, he saw a small building in the Forest.

There was a small path made with Stones in the ground that lead from the Village Path to the Small House.

"Here we are. You wait here. I'm gonna go get you some supplies, and maybe something to cover you with."

"Alright. I'll just explore the surroundings to find anything new."

"Don't run off. I can track your scent from quite the distance."

"I won't run off. I've been through one too many traumas in one day. It's tiring."

With a confused face, she walked down the Stone Path.

'Hmm, now what should I do first?'

Surveying the surrounding area, there wasn't much to find.

There were no Bugs, Insects or Animals in the vicinity.

'Where the hell even is this place?'

[Would you like to acquire the Skill {Appraisal}?]

'Sure.'

[Acquiring...]

Looking down at the Leaves on his waist, he tested out his Skill.

[Appraising...]

[Appraisal Complete]

[Brandill Plant]

{A Heavily Poisonous Plant that has enough strength to slay Dragons if consumed. If processed, the Poison can become more Effective}

{Poison Effect IV}

'This is some pretty dangerous stuff. I'll use it later... maybe.'

Looking around, he began appraising everything around him, checking for Poison or other effects.

[Petil Flower]

{No Effect}

[Sting Betty]

{Paralysis Effect II}

[Drip Sillim]

{Poison Effect I}

'There's a lot more, but I don't think they have too much significance for now.'

Looking around some more, he found a smooth stone laying on the floor.

'It's a really Red Stone. Is this a stone?'

[Red Dragon Scale]

{Fire Resistance III}

'Dragon... must be her Scale if it's near here.'

Suddenly, he heard a soft sound coming from behind.

Turning around, the sound came from the Small House.

'This sound...'

Walking closer, he could make out the condition of the Wooden Structure.

'This... is a House? It doesn't even look like a proper building.'

There were loose boards and scratch marks all over the outer walls.

Standing at the door, he could hear it clearly...

A light sobbing.

Opening the door, he understood the problem.

The place was ransacked.

Shelves were broken, there was a broken Crate, and the Bed was torn to shreds.

At the center of it all sat the Crying Girl.

"This... isn't fair..." She whispered.

'... I know...' Quin thought.

"I didn't deserve this..."

'I know...'

"I... just want this to end..."

"I know..." He said it out loud.

Turning around, she saw Quin standing in the doorway.

"What... do you mean by that? How could you..."

Taking a step forward, Quin kneeled down.

"I... know it all too well. The Hate of others. It hurts me even more to know that they would go this far."

They both sat in silence.

Quin had his head down, while "She" had her head up, looking at him.

"We haven't known eachother for even an hour, but... do you trust me?"

She stayed silent.

Looking up, he could see the despair in her eyes.

'I see... She lost her Trust a long time ago...'

Sitting in silence, he makes a difficult decision.

"If... If I help you, will you tell me your name?"

Without a word, she thinks to herself.

"I..."

The silence continued.

"... Fine. You don't have to tell me. However, you should hear my side of the story."

Not knowing what else to do, she nods, and sits in a more comfortable position.

"Okay. Just be aware, I have no attachment to anybody in the past."

. . .

"Summoned here from another World..."

The Dragon stared at him with a sad look in her eyes.

"It hurt, you know? Being stabbed, burning alive... after that... I haven't felt any pain."

'Although, I did leave my Cheat Abilities out of this.'

"...Trayfi." She said.

"Hm? Trayfi?"

"My name... Trayfi. It was my Mothers Choice."

"Trayfi... That's quite an interesting name."

Standing up, Quin takes another look around the room.

"By the way, do you hold any attachment to this place?"

"Of course! This was my Mothers Home! I would never abandon it!"

Taking a look at the Bed, he saw a small Blue Scale sitting on the bed.

"Hey, you have a good sense of smell, right?"

"Huh? Yes, why?"

Quin turns around, and shows her the Scale.

"Do you wanna get back at those who did this?"

"Get... back..."

She hesitated, and didn't answer.

Before he continued, he heard a twig snap.

'Someone's here.'

This time, a different sound was heard.

A small hissing, along with a very hard to hear chime.

'This sounds like Snow in movies... wait a se-'

Turning towards the sound, he saw a blue shine through a small hole in the wall.

"Get down!"

He tackled Trayfi to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, a blast of Cold Wind and Ice was shot through the Wall.

Protecting Trayfi, Quin had to let his back be blasted with Ice.

'It's cold! I mean, it doesn't hurt, but still!'

[Would you like to acquire the Skill {Freeze Immunity}?]

'That would be very helpful, thank you!'

[Acquiring...]

The chill was gone.

However, his back was still frozen from the earlier blast.

"Quin! Are you okay!?"

"Don't worry. For now, sit tight."

With some difficulty, Quin gets onto his feet.

'No Pain, No Gain... wait that doesn't work here.'

Looking through the now enlarged hole in the wall, he saw a Blue Scaled Female Dragon with Silver Hair.

"Man, that was a 'Blast'. Get it?"

The Dragon stepped in through the hole.

"With a Human and a Failure in one place, this place deserves to be taken down."

Another hissing could be heard.

"Now hold on! What exactly are you doing!?" Quin asked.

"Oh? I guess you really wouldn't know. That 'Dragon' over there is a massive Failure. In our long lineage of Dragon Kin, we have never had any Failures who can't even use their Attribute correctly. Hahaha!"

"Attribute... Smoke that wasn't hot..."

"Oh? So you do know?"

'I didn't notice at the time, but when she blew smoke in my face, it wasn't warm, but cool.'

Looking back at Trayfi, she had her head down, not showing any signs of movement.

"She is a Failure who can't even use Fire. All she's good for is being a living smokescreen! Ain't that just hilarious!?"

The Blue Dragon began laughing, and didn't show any signs of stopping.

'So, that's why they treated her like that...'

"So, human, what are you gonna do now? Dump her? Leave her?"

She gave a big grin, bearing her sharp teeth.

"Are you gonna kill he-"

"Hey..."

Interrupting her, Quin looked her straight in the eyes.

"Can you leave? You're kinda being hella annoying, so just beat it."

Everyone was struck with silence.

Then, with her rage clearly showing, the Blue Dragon began making an extremely loud hissing noise.

'I just struck the final Nail in the Coffin, didn't I?'

With a blast of pure White and Blue, Quin was struck with great force.

'Thanks to my Anti-Freeze Skill, I won't freeze... but...'

As he blocked it with his hands, he realized that the force alone was making his skin and bones tear.

'That's not good. I might die... again.'

As the force kept pushing, it eventually reached his body.

The force to his head killed him instantly.

. . .

. . .

. . .

[Would you like to acquire the Skill {Ice Magic I} and Continue?]

Ice Magic... I guess if I die to Magic then I could get it. Accept.

[Acquiring...]

[Continuing...]

. . .

Opening his eyes, the Blue Dragon finished Blasting her Magic.

"How... Are you... still alive?"

She seemed extremely exhausted.

'I guess she didn't see me get ripped to shreads.'

Taking a step forward, Quin walks towards the Dragon.

She seemed to be shivering in fear.

As he drew closer and closer, she kept taking steps back.

"D-d-don't get any closer! I'm w-warning you!"

Ignoring her warning, he kept walking.

She tripped over the Hole she made in the Wall, and stumbled onto the Grass.

And finally, Quin was directly in front of her.

"Hey..."

She was too scared to speak.

"If you say anything about Trayfi again..."

Getting closer than before, he runs a finger along his neck.

"I'll make sure your life will be a Living Hell."

Terrified, she fainted.

'Ah, crap. I went a bit too far... is what I would have said, but the amount of damage she did was pretty bad.'

Turning back towards Trayfi, he finds a set of clothing under the Broken Bed.

"Hey, Trayfi, is it fine if I use these?"

She didn't respond.

The entire time, she has only had her head down.

Putting on the Clothes anyways, Quin walks towards her.

Before he was next to her, she began to speak.

"Do you not despise me?"

She kept her head down.

"Despise? You? Hmm... Nope, never thought of it."

"Don't lie to me..."

"Lie? Why would I need to li-"

"STOP MAKING LIGHT OF ME!"

She broke down into tears.

She continued to cry.

Quin didn't move.

He let her tears and emotions flow through her.

'Her pain... I don't know how long she has kept it bottled up, but at some point, even the toughest person can break down.'

. . .

A few minutes went by, and Trayfi was sleeping on the grass.

'I'm glad she calmed down. If I tried to rush it, then it might have gone sideways.'

Hearing a rustle, he turns to his other side, which is where the Blue Dragon was sleeping.

. . .