Chapter 13 - The Second Tribulation

In the form of a little twelve-year-old girl with green hair, red eyes, and wearing only thin pink undergarments, the eldest gave a large, ferocious grin that looked out of place on such a small, snow-white girl. Blood dripped from the girl's small mouth, which, however daintily it may have looked, still had sharp rows of fangs. I almost felt unnerved seeing the eldest in this form, chewing on the meat of a female orc. It became even more gruesome when that little girl hovered ten feet above the ground, as if it were the most normal thing ever.

Furthermore, behind the little, flying girl lay the bloodied corpses of around a hundred green-skinned orcs, consisting of males, females, and children. Some were decapitated, others were cooked well-done, but most were burned beyond recognition; a few had even turned to ashes from the eldest's fire magic.

The eldest had tried both cooked and uncooked orc meat but said that he liked uncooked the best because it tasted far better. I suppose cooked meat was only accommodating to the palate of humans.

You wish to know the reason why I was subjected to such a horrifying scene before my second tribulation? That is because before the eldest would give me his blessing to go on the second tribulation, he said that we should have a last meal together, for one never knows what will happen. So, I suggested hunting down some orcs for their meat.

Delighted with my idea, the eldest teleported us right into the middle of a crude orc settlement, where about a hundred of them lived in wooden shacks. Imagine my surprise when the scenery of the eldest's lair changed while I was mid-sentence to that of orcs surrounding us. It was inconceivable how much magic power it would take for a teleportation when most old-generation dragons could barely cast magic. I suppose one should never underestimate this ancient monster, I thought, looking at the inhumane destruction behind the hovering little girl.

Then the girl's cold yet delicate voice interrupted my thoughts.

“My young Verath, the time limit for your second tribulation shall be two weeks. However, if, by some infinitesimal chance, you manage to finish this trial earlier, then the remaining days will be your break.” The little girl gave me a small, bloody smile. “If you fail, I will personally kill you for disappointing me. I cannot have you muddying my reputation among Astlan dragons, after all.”

I nodded to show the eldest that I understood. “So I just need to get this treasure from the labyrinth?”

“Indeed. I shall even help you a little by teleporting you to a place near this labyrinth. After all, you wouldn’t want to spend a month traveling there.”

Once more, I nodded. The eldest had thoroughly described to me the treasure hidden in the depths of the labyrinth, so I had no pressing need to ask any more questions about my second trial.

“Remember, Verath, just cast fire magic into the blood mark I drew on your stomach to let me know that you have finished. It will remain unseen to other eyes until you do so.”

As soon as the eldest said that, I instantly saw red-colored magic flowing from him and surrounding me in a cocoon.

Then, all of a sudden, the little girl's face and voice turned serious. “Oh yes, by the way, I advise you to change into your human form.”

Without even a second of hesitation—I had become quite familiar with the eldest's sudden tricks—I changed into my thirteen-year-old human form. It barely took half a second as my black-colored magic transformed me. Then my whole surroundings winked out of existence and rushed back into existence, invading my senses. It was a moment of extreme disorientation, which quickly passed.

The uncomfortable feelings subsided after about two seconds, and I opened my eyes to find myself in a surprising place. Looking at my surroundings, I realized that I had been tricked. A little trickle of annoyance took root inside me, and I could not help but curse to myself.

That bastard! I cannot believe he teleported me right into the middle of a human settlement.

Finishing that thought, all the annoyance left me, and indifference, as usual, took root inside me. I silently reviewed the problems I was facing right at this moment in the middle of this human settlement.

1) Although every human in the center square of this small town was currently staring at me in disbelief and amusement, the reason was not due to my sudden appearance in the cobbled square. Luckily, no one had been paying attention, and even if they did, they would not believe themselves capable of such an impossibility. No, the reason I was the center of attention in this town was that I was entirely naked due to my transformation. And I suppose my long, unnatural white hair that reached almost to my waist did not help.

2) The second problem I faced was that I did not want to be the ridicule of this small town, or perhaps even arrested, or even kicked out for streaking naked. Although I would usually not care about such a measly thing, I was hoping to ask for directions since I had not a jot of a clue where I was.

3) The third and final problem I would probably face was from a group of three men, who were giving me small smirks, as I had noticed in my observations of my surroundings. They were standing beside a vendor who had laid a blanket on the cobbled stone floor of the square. Laid out on the blanket were various cheap necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and earrings. But what interested me the most were the bulges near their waists, under their black tunics, which I guessed were hidden daggers. They were most likely slavers who were going to buy cheap gifts for the whores of the brothel they were about to visit until I caught their attention.

It took a few seconds for me to process these thoughts, given that I was fully naked while under the stares of so many people. I suppose standing indifferently like a statue in the middle of the square did not help lessen the stares. In a way, I even found this quite amusing because the reactions I invoked were a multitude of fun to observe.

Slowly and calmly, I started walking out of the town, ignoring all their looks, the whispered voices, the pointing fingers, and the mothers covering the eyes of their children, especially their young daughters. But before I could take even a few steps, a man dressed in leather armor came running into the square. Just as he was about to yell, he saw me, and his mouth formed an “o” in surprise.

The next second, however, the man, possibly a scout or a soldier, shook off his surprise and yelled, “Get to the safety grounds, people! We are going to be raided by goblins! The town guards have been alerted, so stay calm!”

Then the whole square came alive. Dozens of people stopped staring at me and started scrambling toward the place the soldier called “the safety grounds.” None of them listened to the scout's advice to stay calm. Mothers carried their small children in their arms, street vendors quickly wrapped up their blankets, and tradesmen and merchants rushed into their respective buildings to take their valuables. All of them headed toward that place called “the safety grounds.”

Naked and calm, I slowly walked toward the direction where most of the throngs of people were running. It seemed as if I were the only one taking that scout's advice. In a way, I almost felt sorry for that soldier. There were also a few times I had to dodge the incoming groups of families to avoid collisions as I walked toward the safety grounds.

In a short while, I caught up to the leading group, who had stopped outside of town. There were a few town guards there, but I guessed that most of them were on the other side of town, preparing to do battle against the raiders. Although I had walked to this place, I was not the last one to arrive because there were still stragglers who were busy taking valuables with them from their homes.

The safety grounds did nothing to reassure me of its safety. It was just a relatively large clearing with makeshift defenses around the perimeter. Some makeshift defenses included sharpened wooden barricades and wooden spears tied together in a line. Better than nothing, I suppose.

The total number of experienced fighting men consisted of the dozen assigned guards around the perimeter and a few stray men carrying swords. Most of them wore iron chain mail and open-faced helmets that protected only the top and back of the head, leaving a clear view of their faces.

Many people were already inside the safety grounds with fearful looks on their faces. I could also hear some of the children whimpering and crying, while the mothers and fathers tried to reassure them, but the looks of fear on their faces did nothing to comfort me. I walked through the only entrance around the variety of makeshift defenses and calmly stood in the safety grounds with dozens and dozens of people.