KB_Wa

  “The world of Ta is mountainous. The native intelligent species, short humanoids, burrow into the rock and carve spacious halls.” Aurum used her magic to draw in the air, weaving golden threads of mana as if they were a tapestry. “Their works are beautiful and they offer them in exchange for protection,” she said. “My father before me took the natives under his wing a millennia ago when they were still eating moss and bugs. Our family has raised them into artisans worthy of serving as vassals.”

  “The world where I’m from—Where I hatched,” Scale corrected herself, “Was mostly controlled by an alliance of humans and elves. There were records of a species simir to the one you’ve described called Dwarves, but they went extinct long before I was born.”

  “That is fascinating! They even shared the same name. Your world of origin wasn’t bound by the [System], correct?”

  “That’s right.”

  “That’s very rare. Most worlds that can produce intelligent life are bound, otherwise they tend to suffer under threat of invasion. How could such a world not be permanently under attack?”

  “Well…” Scale’s voice trailed off. She gnced briefly towards her mother at the far end of the gathering. Dark lines rimmed her eyes. Perhaps her thoughts showed too strongly on her face because her conversation partner tactfully waved on the subject.

  “But to think your world previously had Dwarves as well,” said Aurum. “Truly a wonder how intelligent life spreads across world boundaries.”

  “Ah. You’re saying intelligent species spread?”

  “You’ve seen it, I assume. The Gates and dimensional tunnels. They’re naturally occurring, and species get caught up in them all the time. Not all Gates lead to simple subspaces.”

  “It never occurred to me as a possibility,” said Scale. “I suppose I never thought about it at all, before.”

  “My cn considers it our duty as dragons to help elevate the lower species, so we’ve studied their migrations across worlds to better learn. Of course, we’re limited in that assistance because of the [System] and its restraints. If we interfere too strongly then we would trigger its defense mechanisms, such as what happened here.” She gestured to the space around them. “If the humans of this world succeed in their climb, the [System] will gather enough power to expel us from this world, and it will memorize our mana patterns and prevent such illegal entry again.”

  “Ah.” Scale sighed. She could feel the nature of the conversation shifting. She enjoyed Aurum’s company but the two were disconnected with regard to their intent. Scale saw nothing more in the golden dragon than a potential friendship—at least for now.

  “But this is your home, correct?”

  “Yes.” Scale tilted her jaw forward, her eyes angling up to meet the taller Aurum’s. Her hair bounced with the soft motion.

  “Then won't you also be expelled? Isn’t that a problem for you?” Aurum’s expression was subtle. The corner of her eyes drooped; the line of her mouth curved in a half-smile, as if to hide two emotions in equal measure. Her voice dripped with both concern but also with a very real anticipation, an excitement she couldn’t fully conceal. After a short moment letting the question linger, she said, “You can always come to visit Ta. We would welcome you there with open arms.”

  “I wouldn’t mind visiting, sometime.” Scale didn’t have the heart to tell the truth. She buried the words in her heart. “But it’s strange you assume the climber’s will succeed.”

  “Is it really?” Aurum’s ugh sounded more like a snicker, quiet and lisped like a librarian making a shushing sound in rapid succession. She leaned close to Scale’s ear and whispered, “I think it might be arrogant to assume none of the dragons here can sense outbound contract mana.”

  “Ah.” Scale flinched; a shiver ran down her spine. A honey-sweet fragrance lingered.

  “And, judging by your acquiescence to Madame’s demand, it seems you intend to keep the peace among us as well, preventing a struggle that would accelerate the breaking. I think that’s rather cute.” Golden light shimmered in Aurum’s eyes like the dawn. Her smile radiated confidence. She brushed a lock of Scale’s hair aside and tucked it behind her ear, twiddling with it in a slow manner.

  “I um, ah—” Scale shifted her seat away in a flustered panic, her eyes shifting rapidly in tight movements.

  “You should visit my home too!” One of the other human-form dragons spoke, frustration rife in his tone. “You’ve been monopolizing her too much, Goldie!” He sniffled. His red hair and young face pockmarked with lizard-scale freckles helped identify him as Fire Wing, the youngest of the suitors present. His human polymorph was a far cry from complete. Small red wings, a long spiked tail, and two majestic horns meant he’d never be able to infiltrate a human society.

  “I have a name, Fire Wing,” said Aurum.

  “You also have a dumb face!”

  “Ah. Please don’t fight,” said Scale. She put on an ingratiating smile.

  “Hmph. I am the son of Hephaestus. I wouldn’t fight with some lowborn metal dragon.”

  “Of course we wouldn’t fight,” said Aurum. “I would never harm a child.”

  “What did you just call me! I’m a grown-up!” He spped the table and the ambient temperature spiked. Strands of red hair floated as mana coursed through them.

  “Oh, I’m sorry~” Aurum bowed. “When you introduced yourself as 13 years old earlier, I assumed that red dragons aged at the same rate as other species. That was my mistake.” There was mirth hidden in her voice like an unsung ugh.

  “Of course it was your mistake!” He crossed his arms. The spots where his hands struck the table earlier were smoking. “Other dragons need 20 years to fully grow up, but I’m special.”

  “Yes you are~”

  “Ah.” Scale cast a thankful look to Aurum who managed to deescate the situation. She received a wink in response. Scale turned back to the red-haired boy and said, “I’m sorry if it seemed I spent too long in my conversation with Aurum. Why don’t you tell us about your home world, Fire Wing?”

  “I supposed I’ll have to!” His tail and wings perked up, wagging like an interested cat. He tried to hide his smile.

  “So we’re tied?” Alyssa pinched her brow.

  “Two to two to one with one abstain. That’s crazy~” Sarah ughed.

  “Anatoly, you’re the only one who voted for your option. How about changing your vote to one of the more popur ones?”

  “Nyet.”

  “Okay, then Hana, instead of abstaining how about—”

  “Don’t feel like it. You guys argue among yourselves.” Hana hadn’t moved from her hammock. Dark circles ringed her eyes. The scenes from the ship pyed every time she tried to sleep. She felt like she was missing something obvious and it distracted her.

  “Okay, Theo, why don’t you expin your reasoning, then?”

  “Well, I think all of the Tower’s tests have been ‘solvable’, to some degree,” said the Chairman. He had taken off his shirt and looked oddly rexed. “So I think there has to be an answer that doesn’t involve just waiting.”

  “But to try to break the altar… What if we can’t fix it? What if it strands us here?” Alyssa’s genuine worry came through in her tone. “There’s no harm in waiting for a while first, right? We have plenty of supplies to st us.”

  “What if it takes too long while we’re waiting? The Tower itself said we only have so long to clear it,” said Heavy, stepping in. His ft voice didn’t seem to indicate strong feelings on the matter, however.

  “I’m on Alyssa’s side,” said Sarah. “We know how hard these fights are if you don’t use the Tower’s intended solution. It’s like picking the wrong option in a video game dialog, except we can’t save-scum to fix it.”

  “That’s…” Alyssa shook her head. As much as she loved her wife, sometimes she hoped Sarah wouldn’t frame every decision like something from a video game—”Wait! Is the reason you thought nding in the water would be safe earlier because of a game?” Alyssa turned to Sarah but the mousey girl had already vanished into thin air.

  “She sure can run fast,” said Theo.

  “Her face looked like a tomato,” said Anatoly.

  “Oh my god…”

  “Perhaps we can wait,” said Theo, shaking his head. “But for how long? We don’t know the timetable for the breaking. If we just sit here on our thumbs then—”

  “That’s why we should go back to the ships and explore more,” said Anatoly, his voice rigid.

  “Can’t you all go argue somewhere else?” said Hana. She covered her face with her emergency bnket and screamed into the fabric. “Fine. How about I stop abstaining? I’ll vote for waiting, but I propose we reopen the votes every two days.”

  “Patience means nothing if we just change our minds so easily—”

  “Nah,” said Sarah, popping back in, “I think it’s a good idea, Alyssa. Let’s wait for now but also keep ourselves flexible enough to change our minds ter.”

  Alyssa paused in thought. Her eyes creased tight. “Fine,” she said. “I’m sure we won't have to wait for too long.” Since the process of the boat was streamed twice, surely the genius minds on internet forums would crack it within a day or two. Hell, her wife got doxxed within a day of appearing on camera.