Transcendence by TurtleMe

Author:TurtleMe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TurtleMe

169

A Dwarven Night

I spent the entirety of the first day on Sylvie’s back. Without a word muttered to either of the dwarven Lances, we traveled until night fell and my legs, already taxed from the hours of gripping tightly onto the base of my bond’s neck, could no longer take the strain of riding on bare scale, even with the protection of thick cloth and mana.

So, because of my limitations, we stopped for the night and made camp near the base of the Grand Mountains, just a few miles north of Valden City.

“Please, help yourself.” I held out a skewer of grilled fish toward Generals Mica and Olfred.

The childlike dwarven Lance happily accepted the charred freshwater fish, crunching through the bones as if they didn’t exist, but the older Lance merely shook his head.

“If you have enough energy to cook, perhaps we should leave soon,” he said, ignoring my courtesy. His eyes remained fixed on a book he had brought.

“Don’t mind him,” Mica said, her mouth still full of fish. “The old man doesn’t eat food given by anyone he doesn’t fully trust.”

I nodded, tossing the fish I had grilled for General Olfred to Sylvie. She snapped and the blackened fish disappeared inside her maw. My bond remained in her original draconic form, curled up at the edge of our small camp. With her black scales, Sylvie seemed to almost disappear despite her large frame—the only part of her that was visible were her bright, topaz eyes, which seemed to hover in the dark.

‘These small morsels do little more than get stuck between my teeth,’ Sylvie grumbled in my head.

I know, but you’ll have to make do with these for now. Besides, you can easily go for weeks without eating, I replied, helping myself to a skewered fish. The fish’s charred skin carried a smoky sweetness from the fire, filling my mouth with flavor despite the lack of seasoning.

‘Yes, but I eat for the flavor rather than the nutrients,’ she retorted.

Maybe you can find some mana beasts further north. We’re still too close to Valden.

The rest of the meal was quiet, except for the soft gurgle from the nearby stream, where I had caught the fish, and the occasional snap of a twig in the fire.

Olfred didn’t say a word after rejecting my fish. He leaned back against the earthen backrest he had erected, sitting almost as still as a statue as he read his leather-bound book. The only time he looked away from the book was when General Mica began humming as she combed through her short, curly hair.

I nearly spit out a mouthful of my fish at the look of sheer disgust on Olfred’s aged face as he regarded Mica, still humming the off-tune melody. Fortunately, General Mica was fairly quiet throughout the rest of the night, giving me time to refine my mana core.

Despite being at the mid silver core stage, I felt inadequate sitting there next to the other Lances. With Dawn’s Ballad damaged and my legs debilitated, I felt like I had taken a step back, even after the training at Epheotus.

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