Orbis Online
190. Dragon Aura

Reus and Ikshan looked at each other before nodding simultaneously.

   "Can we hear about this Hermit?"

   "Oh, are you interested in him?"

Strainer then explained that this Hermit was a hermit who was too strong, according to the news and historical records owned by Bailendra Kingdom known this Hermit had never experienced defeat, but the ascetic has never experienced defeat, even the king of this land could not survive more than ten of his attacks.

Strainer added that the Hermit is the most respected figure by all residents of Bailendra Kingdom and Menschrein Kingdom. This hermit is said to be human and mastered various deadly magic to be able to repel thousands of troops of these two countries at the same time.

Reus rubbed his chin for a moment contemplating Strainer's explanation of the Hermit.

   'Any, why are people as strong as them not widely known by players?'

Reus scratching his head did not find the exact reason for the question in his mind. It took some time for him to put this curiosity aside and refocus on his mission.

After a brief conversation, Reus and Ikshan's weapons and horses were returned. They were also given a letter of introduction so as not to be intercepted too long at the city gates later given the tightened guard, especially for visitors of the human race.

   "Then, please put this on your left arm."

Strainer handed a white cloth with the flag symbol of Bailendra Kingdom which contained adhesive at each end. Reus and Ikshan did not understand the usefulness of the cloth, but they obeyed the words of Strainer. They wore the cloth on their left arms.

   "This is a sign that you're not a suspicious human being."

He once again explained that the relationship between Bailendra Kingdom and Menschrein Kingdom has been too bad, the public's prejudice against the human race in the country has also increased dramatically.

   "Never remove this cloth from your arms, and be careful."

   "Of course, Captain. Thanks for the warning."

Reus shook Strainer's hand as he said so, followed by Ikshan who then both rode their horses and prepared to continue on.

   "Oh yeah, take this."

Before he could ride a horse, Reus caught something Strainer threw at him. It was a golden badge the size of a fist with a dragon emblem spread out its wings. Reus turned his gaze back to the now smiling Strainer as he waved his hand.

   "If you're still intercepted by the city gatekeeper or you're having trouble because you're human, just show me the badge if your cover letter is missing or ineffective."

Reus looked at the golden-coloured badge for a moment, then smiled and waved his hand at Strainer and his men.

   "Alright, thank you very much, Captain."

Reus and Ikshan immediately drove their horses as fast as possible down the road to the cities of Bailendra Kingdom in search of Nocht Alvarion, a Dwarf who was the target of Aulcrat's mission this time.

When the two humans had been far enough away from Strainer and others, the Lizardmen Strainer men approached the only Lizardmen of the rank of 'captain' with worried faces.

   "Captain, is it okay to give the badge to a human like him?"

   "Why? You doubt my decision?"

   "No-no, it's not that...."

The Lizardmen were bowed down feeling depressed by the tone of voice and aura that Strainer let out. Even if his rank was only that of a captain from the border guards, the strength of the Strainer could not be underestimated even for Reus and Ikshan.

The strainer let out a long sigh finding all of his men dissatisfied, he then looked up at the sky before raising his voice once more.

   "Do you really feel nothing from that human being? Especially the silver-haired one, his name is Reus if not wrong."

The Lizardmen looked at each other not understanding the meaning of Strainer's words, then the Strainer's next speech successfully surprised them.

   "That human named Ikshan even if his level is lower than all of us, he can slaughter all of you without any significant difficulty."

Their eyes were so wide that they almost snatched out of place. They don't believe Strainer's words without this evidence, yet the Strainer itself was higher level than them and had experienced enough battles to be able to assess one's abilities carefully in a single glance. It was impossible for them to reject the reality even though it was bitter.

The strainer then looked at the path Reus and Ikshan had gone through just a moment before.

   "While that human named Reus, if he wanted me to feel that he could annihilate us all without suffering a great loss, even myself was no exception."

Strainer's men were again shocked, this time more than ever. They do not immediately believe in the words of Strainer that may sound excessive.

   "Added, even though the human he had Dragon Aura— might even exceed an ordinary dragon, let alone Dragonewt who was a direct descendant of the dragons in the past."

   "Hopefully no one is looking for them."

After muttering for a moment, Strainer let out a heavy sigh before returning to carry out his duties as the captain of the border guard.

***

A few hours after advancing as fast as possible from the border, Reus and Ikshan arrive at a town but are again intercepted by the gatekeepers. Luckily they both managed to get past the guards without any significant problems thanks to the white cloth on their arms as well as the Strainer-given badge.

Although both of them were getting piercing gazes from the entire townspeople as well as the gatekeepers, Reus and Ikshan tried to hold themselves back and did not attract attention. Their arrival as humans alone was already quite striking, especially if they were looking for trouble.

The two arrived at an inn not too far from the city center. Reus and Ikshan have decided that they will stay overnight in the city to gather information about the Dwarven Nocht Alvarion they are looking for.

   "It costs 1,000 Byl per person per night."

   "Thousand Byl said you?!"

Ikshan spontaneously screamed that he could not accept the lodging rate per person to reach 1,000 for one night. He had experienced staying in several cities before meeting Reus, the price the innkeeper mentioned clearly exceeded his shadow.

   "That's the cheapest room price for a garbage man like you guys."

The officer did not cover up his hatred for humans, making Ikshan even more upset. Just as Ikshan was about to reply to the innkeeper's words, Reus patted his shoulder alerting the man about their current situation.

   "Don't provoke unnecessary commotion."

   "But—"

   "That's okay, money's not a problem."

After speaking for a while Reus managed to quell Ikshan's emotions. He then took a piece of silver coin worth 2,000 Byl out of his pocket and handed it to the officer.

   "One person 1,000 Byl for one night, no less no more."

The officer raised his eyebrows after counting the coins given by Reus, he then turned his eyes to Reus' face with a sly smile.

   "Well, give me 200 Byl for one of your heads then I'll forget about the problem just now."

Ikshan was once again surprised to hear the statement of the officer who used his mistake to benefit himself. He wanted to protest but did not dare to remember because he had this to happen.

   "No problem."

Reus nodded slowly before handing over an additional 200 Byl to the officer before him who was currently smiling widely received the two bronze coins. He once again glanced at Reus with his sneaky smile, this time more blatantly.

   "Oh man master, it turns out you're a generous person. What if you add 500 Byl per head as a special human tax?"

Ikshan almost lost control when he heard the words of the officer, even Reus who had been calm since then now his forehead shriveled violently.

   "The benefactor himself knows that the current Bailendra Kingdom is in a heated feud with the Menschrein Kingdom who reportedly almost declared war openly, right? Such a small race tax is fine for this generous master, right?"

A moment after the mouth of the attendant stopped moving, the innkeeper had already walked up to them with a similar smile. Surely equipped with weapons in hand that are ready to play.

Ikshan immediately took the horses on standby against the guard. Given that he is currently in a country that is not friendly with humans, he cannot just respond to attacks. Wrong just a little bit they could both be in the same situation as in Lavore Kingdom before.

When Ikshan's weapon and the innkeeper's weapon were almost destroyed, a terrible air suppressed everything in the room, except for Ikshan who realized the oddity. He then glanced at Reus who was behind him.

   "I did say 'money doesn't matter', but I didn't say 'ethics don't matter'."

The silver-haired youth radiated Dragon Aura accompanied Conqueror Aura throughout the room which caused both living and inanimate beings to be affected, of course Ikshan who was his companion was an exception.

Both the attendant and the innkeeper were sweating coldly at the same time, especially the guard who was now sitting limp on the floor as Reus focused the Dragon Aura on him.

   "Well, li-five hundred Byl per person every night."

The officer hurriedly returned the 200 extra Byl Reus had given him before not daring to accept plus the original price of each room, he then gave the key and the location of their room.

   "Thank you."

Reus took the key and immediately stepped towards the room he ordered followed by Ikshan whose heart could not beat any slower after Reus deployed Dragon Aura and Conqueror Aura together.