Hero Of Harmony

It's been a few weeks since Master's unreasonable punishment, and currently, I'm headed toward the mountain, or specifically the dungeon that is inside the mountain, which is actually called the Centipede Dungeon. This time, I'm not here on a request from Master; I'm merely here to participate in combat, which I discovered some time ago increases the rate of how fast my skills level up, compared to just practicing them normally, so ever since then, I've made it a routine to visit the Dungen a few times a week.

While I was walking through the forest, enjoying the chirping of the birds, the scent of vegetation, and the sensation of the wind hitting my body, I heard the sound of wings flapping in the vicinity, which caused me to look in the direction of the noise, only for me to see a relatively small bird, with brown and beige feathers, sharp talons, and a small beak flying directly toward me.

Usually, at such a sight, I'd be confused; however, knowing who it was, I couldn't help but shake my head in amusement while standing in place, waiting for the speedily flying bird to approach me, which obviously didn't take long. Extending my arm, the bird slowed its descent and landed directly on my forearm with its talons, which didn't hurt unless the bird purposefully attempted to cause pain.

"What's wrong with you, Talis? Didn't I visit you just a few days ago? Why have you flown from the other side of the forest to over here? You know doing so is very dangerous for someone of your size." Reprimanded Alexander with a frown while eyeing the joyful bird, speaking to the bird as if it were a friend.

Listening to her response, I didn't know whether to be angry or flattered, so I just merely sighed at my friend's response.

"Because I was bored, and I enjoy spending time with you; besides, with my speed, mostly no one will be able to catch me!" Said Talis in joy while she excitedly flapped her wings, though all that left her beak was chirping, something Alexander could comprehend.

"Mostly no one, that doesn't mean absolutely no one will be able to catch you? What happens if a Wind-Eagle decides it wants to eat Talis for lunch? You may be a very fast flyer, Talis, but you're not escaping a fully grown Wind-Eagle." Said Alexander with emphasis while poking Talis, causing her to nearly fall off his arm.

"I know, Alex, but thanks to my small size, I'm very nimble, so I can just dive into the forest while easily darting around the various trees. A Wind-Eagle won't dare follow me under the canopy of the trees unless it wishes to crash directly into a tree." Replied Talis, lifting her beak as if smirking while gently slapping Alexander's hand away with her wing.

I wanted to reprimand her, but I couldn't deny her words as she had only spoken the truth. I've had the opportunity to fight a Wind-Eagle in the past, and only a suicidal one would enter the forest; their large size and incredible speed make it nearly impossible for them to maneuver effectively in the forest.

"Haa, just be careful next time; you were lucky enough that I saved you once before; you won't always be that lucky." Remarked Alexander while shaking his head as he walked toward the distant mountain with a small bird called Talis.

"Hmph, I think I know more about the dangers of the forest than you do; unlike you, I'm not protected by a powerful person who lives in the center area, which no other creature dares to enter." Stated Talis as she hopped off Alexander's arm and landed on his left shoulder, chirping loudly in his ear.

"First off, the person who lives in the center area is my Master, a Mother, so to speak, so it's only natural that she would protect me from the dangers of the forest. Secondly, Miss. knows-it-all, I was nearly killed by a Direwolf several years back, not to mention I partake in much more dangers than you've ever experienced." Declared Alexander with a triumphant expression while glancing at Talis, causing her to be filled with annoyance.

"I don't believe you; I'm forced to live in this dangerous forest by myself, and do you know how many times I've almost been killed or eaten!? Just in the past six months, I've nearly died sixteen times; what about you? How often have you almost died in the past six months, Mr. I-know-danger?" Exclaimed Talis as she intently eyed Alexander.

"None, but that's simply because I'm strong! Or at least strong compared to my opponents." Replied Alexander with a prideful smile while muttering the last part.

"Hmph, fine, Alex, since you persistently believe you live a more dangerous life than me, let me tag along and personally experience this so-called dangerous life, which I think you're lying about." Declared Talis with a huff as she folded her wings, which, for the record, looked quite comical.

"I'd advise you not; the place where I'm going isn't that dangerous for me, but it'll be like a death trap to you; after all, it's an enclosed space, which means hardly any room to fly." Advised Alexander earnestly, though Talis merely dismissively chirped, not taking his words to heart.

'Haa, alright, having her accompany me should be fine; I'm completely confident in protecting her as long as we don't enter the fourth floor.' Thought Alexander as he neared the mountain.

Approaching the mountain, I walked along the base of it until we arrived at the entrance for the dungeon, which, for the record, was still hidden behind the illusion wall, so I'm sure I looked pretty stupid from Talis's perspective.

"Don't worry, this part of the mountain is an illusion; it's fake, so you can actually walk right through it." Said Alexander, pacifying Talis's confusion as he stepped through the illusion, causing her eyes to widen slightly in surprise.

"Woah, has this cave always been there?" Asked Talis while observing the surrounding cave; luckily, she could see relatively well in the dark, though it wasn't anywhere near as good as Alexander's.

"I don't know, but I'd imagine it's been here for hundreds if not thousands of years; all my Master did was hide the dungeon's entrance with illusion magic." Replied Alexander while walking down the cave entrance until he arrived at a fork in the path.

"Which way, Talis? Since this is your first and possibly last time here, which way shall we go?" Asked Alexander while Talis began pondering about her answer.

"Hmm, let's go right." Stated Talis as she pointed her wing toward the rightmost path while Alexander headed down that path.

While walking down the path, officially stepping into the dungeon, I opened my hands and summoned forth Trina along with her elder sister, who I still don't know the name of, gripping my hands on the soft golden hilts of my great sword, I hoisted Trina onto my shoulder while letting the tip of my other greatsword scrape across the rocky ground.

"Hmm, what are those, Alex? Are they part of your body?" Asked Talis while intently observing the large black greatsword with purple markings curiously.

"They're my means of attacking, similar to your talons, and I suppose you could say they are part of my body; not like I could remove them anyways." Replied Alexander as he lifted his left hand, allowing Talis a better view of his greatsword.

"Since they're your means of attacking, that must mean we're getting close to the danger?" Questioned Talis as she took on a more dignified demeanor, though not like anyone besides Alexander and other birds could notice the difference.

Nodding at Talis's words, I continued walking down the path that had started to expand; as I did so, we began hearing pitter-patter noises in the distance, though the more I walked, the more distinct they became. With my senses on higher alert than usual, since I had Talis to worry about, I could discern a small group of stone centipedes digging through the walls while approaching directly toward us.

Without any warning, I stopped moving and waited for the monsters to arrive, which, like always, didn't take long; exiting from the holes they had just created, the monsters dropped to the ground and released loud, high-pitched screeches as several centipedes quickly approached us.

Glancing at Talis, curious as this would be the first time she'd ever interacted with monsters and other than an uncomfortable expression, she was relatively calm, though, from her stance, I could tell she was prepared to swiftly fly away. Focusing back on the several monsters, I inhaled a large breath and filled my mouth with mana as I used the skill [Fire Breath]; opening my mouth, I released a large firewall toward the incoming centipedes.

Since the skill [Fire Breath] was more of an AOE attack, as people from Earth would say, it didn't kill them instantly; however, taking into account my intelligence and their poor resistance to fire mana, they didn't last for more than three seconds, which by then there were beginning to cook, not like Talis or I had any intention of eating monster meat.

"Ugh, that smells terrible!" Stated Talis in disgust as she covered her face with her wings.

"Tell me about it." Said Alexander dryly, though the smell was much more potent since his perception was relatively high.

Knowing the smell would only get more intense as time passed, I quickly left the area, heading deeper into the dungeon, away from the burning monster corpses.