Point-of-View: Argent Stryker

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"Hey, watch out behind you, Izzy!" I called out, as I cut down a Monster that sprang up in front of me, a Blood Rat, slicing its head off with a swift flick on my wrist.

"Yeah, yeah," She responded indifferently, as she lightly swung her fist backwards, slamming it onto a Blood Rat that had tried to sneak up behind her and then leapt towards her back.

As the back of her fist struck it, it got sent flying back as blood burst out from it as she shattered its bone with a loud crunch, crashing onto a tree with a bloody splat. Well, I suppose there’s no reason to warn her against a Common Grade Monster, even if one did land an attack, it wouldn’t have any effect on her.

A little under four months have passed since I met her, today’s the 26th of Junius, the fourth month of the year 2013. I’ve spent very little time in any towns or villages over the past few months, a day or two at most.

That’s mainly because of Izzy, she didn’t know much about how humans interact with each other, so I was afraid that she might make people suspicious if we stay in one place for too long. If by chance, anyone asks to see her Status Bar, things will get very messy.

After all, since she’s technically a Monster, she doesn’t have a Status Bar, and I can’t exactly have her go through the appraisal process. For two reasons, the first being that it’s a huge crime to not do so within a week after a person turns ten years old, and she’s WAY older than that, even if she doesn’t look or seem like she is.

And the second reason being that there’s a chance it won’t work...what if the appraisal process isn’t compatible with Monsters? Even if I could get away with claiming that she’s only ten years old, which would be a huge stretch since she looks more like sixteen or seventeen, it’ll be pointless if it’s not actually possible to appraise her with a Status Bar crystal.

Oh, and when I said things will get very messy if someone asks to see her Status Bar, I don’t mean for us...I mean for whoever asks. I’ve now got a pretty clear idea of exactly how powerful she is, and she could easily level an entire town in no time.

"You know, I find it a bit insulting that humans categorize both me and these feral pests under the same label of ’Monster’," She mused saltily, as she walked over towards me.

"Well, if you want to get technical, the definition of ’Monster’ would be a carnivorous creature with Magical powers that are structured differently to how human powers are structured. You are carnivorous, and your powers are different to-..."

"Okay, I get it, you can stop. Can we go back to sleep now?" She sighed in exasperation.

She’s become a lot more talkative than she was before, I think that means she’s more comfortable around me? Or maybe she’s just more used to me...hm, is that kind of the same thing?

Eh, I don’t know, I’m tired. It’s the middle of the night right now, we’d been attacked out of the blue by a group of Blood Rats. I’ve learnt how to keep Radar active at a short range, of about fifty meters, while I’m asleep.

It was a pretty rude awakening, I’d planned to handle it myself, but the commotion woke her up too, and she grudgingly helped out, so that she could go back to sleep sooner.

"Yeah, that sounds good. It’s gotten pretty cold, falling asleep again is gonna be a pain," I responded with a slight shudder, as a cold wind blew across.

"Why did you have to say that? Now it feels like I’m noticing the cold a lot more," She frowned, rubbing the sides of her arms.

"Sorry, my bad," I replied sheepishly, as I got back into my sleeping bag and zipped it up.

These sleeping bags were pretty cheap, and don’t do a great job of blocking out the cold. I could start a fire...but I’ll have to go gather some twigs and branches, and I’m way too tired for that.

Well, the cold does make me drowsy, so I’ll probably fall asleep eventually, but this is far from pleas-...

"Move over a bit," Suddenly came Izzy’s voice, as she unzipped my sleeping bag and scooted in, before zipping it back up.

"H-hey, uh...what’re you doing?" I stuttered, as she wrapped her arms and legs around me tightly and I felt my face heat up.

"It’s too cold. I’ve noticed that you emit more body heat than I do, I feel warmer already. This feels pleasant...," She mumbled as she let out a yawn.

"That’s-...c-come on, from what I’ve heard, Dragons hibernate in cold conditions, like snowy mountains, so shouldn’t this be nothing for you?" I responded, my mind starting to go blank as she snuggled up to me.

"Mm...since I’m only Half-Dragon...I’m not cold-blooded...," She muttered sleepily, her voice slowly trailing off.

Is she asleep already? One of her horns is kinda poking my shoulder, it hurts a bit...I shifted about a bit, until the horn was over my shoulder, letting out a quiet sigh.

I can’t wake her now...mainly because it’ll take a lot of work to do so, and even if I do succeed, she’ll be a really bad mood and hard to deal with. Guess I’ll just have to accept this and go with it.

I have to admit...it’s not unpleasant. I’m barely feeling the cold at all anymore, and her holding onto me like this feels pretty nice too. I then tentatively put my arms around her and held her, closing my eyes. Yeah...this is nice...

...

"...ake up. Hey, wake up," Came a faint voice, as I felt my shoulder being shook.

"Huh...? Where am I, what time is it?" I muttered groggily, as I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Come to your senses and get up, I’m hungry."

"Oh, hey...good morning, Izzy," I yawned, as I glanced at her and stretched my arms up.

I think I might be half-asleep still, I’m so tired...being woken up last night by those Monsters really sucked...

"Hey, did you hear me? I’m hungry, so get up...otherwise, I’ll just eat without you," She huffed indignantly.

"Okay, I’m getting up...it’s so early," I mumbled, as I absent-mindedly reached over and patted her head as my eyelids kept drooping.

"Hm? What is this? What are you doing?" She inquired in bemusement.

Huh? Wait, what am I doing!?

"Oh, sorry! I think I was still half-asleep, I’m really tired after waking up last night, my bad," I apologized as I quickly took my hand away.

"Wait, actually...," She remarked, trailing off as she took hold of my hand and put it back on top of her head, "I think that felt quite nice...do it again."

H-huh?

"Er, I don’t think I should-..."

"What’s wrong? Why are you acting the same way you did when you saw my bare chest and crotch?" She inquired with a confused tilt of her head.

Wha-...I’m acting how!? Okay, I need to pull myself together, this is mortifying...

"No idea what you’re talking about, must be your imagination!" I deflected with a laugh, as I patted and stroked her head.

Her hair is really silky and smooth to the touch...I felt my heart skip a beat as she leaned into my touch, letting out a slight hum as she closed her eyes and a warm smile appeared on her face. And then, her stomach suddenly grumbled...

"Oh, let’s continue this later. I want to eat now," She remarked, standing up with an eager, expectant look on her face.

Wait, c-continue? I’m...definitely not opposed to that in the slightest.

"Y-yeah, okay...I’ll go gather some firewood to warm up the canned food, so-...," I began as I stood up and calmed myself down.

"Don’t worry about that, I gathered some while you were asleep. You seemed in a deep sleep, so I decided to wait as long as I could bear before waking you," She replied, as her stomach rumbled again.

She’s started to become more considerate of me lately, it’s pretty nice. Maybe I should prepare a bit of extra food for breakfast today...after all, I shouldn’t make my move on an empty stomach.

Ah, that’s right, I almost forgot to mention...I’m finally making a move against the Nobles, to find out about my father and brother. I stumbled into a great opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up.

A couple of days ago, I returned to Kaygee Town, the town near the Labyrinth. And there were a couple of Knights there, along with a Nobleman. Most people in town were staying out of their way, but I shadowed them from afar.

The Nobleman was a young man, maybe a bit older than me, and had come here to see the Labyrinth, with the two Knights serving as his bodyguards. I overheard them saying that they’ll be heading back to the capital today by train.

We’re about a hundred meters away from the station, hiding in a small grove of trees. The train they’ll be taking is scheduled for two hours from now, I’ll intercept them before they get there.

Dad, Larrk...just you wait, I’ll be coming to save you two soon, I swear. No matter what it takes, I’ll save them...regardless of what I have to resort to in order to do so...

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