The Hero sliced me with his sword from my side. Due to me being distracted, I couldn't respond in time.

{Ugh!}

Pain shot through my back, but due to my 《Mental Fortitude》 skill, it was still bearable. Woah, this guy attacked me with the intention to kill. I'm still not going to kill him because I did not want to be the enemy of human permanently, but I wasn't going to let him off easily either.

Carl: {HEL! Are you okay?!}

Me: {I'm fine! Are you hurt?}

Carl: {No, it missed the cockpit.}

When the Hero pulled out his sword from my back, a glowing red form could be seen burning around the blade, making it seem like the blade was on fire. The red form extended the blade by about a metre, which is probably why I received so much damage. Golden liquid could be seen dripping from the blade. What is it? Is it some sort of poison? I had no time to check, for the Hero was already raising his sword, ready to strike once more. I managed to block the strike with my hook and swiveled my turret to aim at him. The Hero noticed and moved to my back, outside the range of my turret. Tsk, smart move. But too bad for him, I'm not a one trick pony. I activated my Water Magic.

{Water Ball!}

Although I barred myself from using magic spells due to the low efficiency of the mana to damage output, the level of my magic still went up whenever I infuse magic into my weapons. The level of my most used magic, Wind magic, is Level 6. The rest of my magic are only Level 4. 《Water ball》 was a Level 2 Water Magic Spell. All it does is create and launch a ball of water. To be honest, I wasn't even sure if it is capable of being used in a fight since it's damage output is very low, but currently, it was perfect for me. A ball of water 3m in diameter formed from a blue magic circle in between the Hero and I. I wouldn't settle for anything less, since I had invested over 100 mana into creating it. Once completed, the ball launched towards the Hero at considerable speed. The Hero got ready to dash again, however, I was prepared this time. 

Hero: {My.. MY SWORD!}

I managed to get his sword tangled up in my chains. Now, all he could do was to either hold onto his sword and try to resist the attack, or release his grip on the sword, which would leave him defenceless. I doubt that he had time to try anything else. He chose the latter, dashing out of the way of the Water Ball, but he hadn't forget about the range of my turret, making sure to keep out of it.

I kept his sword in my inventory, maybe I could sell it later or something. Honestly, the most important part to me is that he loses his sword, but that wasn't important in the mean time. The Hero was currently defenceless and traumatised by his sword dissappearing into thin air, there is no better time to end this. The Hero attempted a drop kick, probably out of desperation. I easily wrapped his legs up with my chain, followed up by his body all the way up to his neck. He fell onto the ground with a loud thud and groaned. He then struggled to break through my chains by making his body burst into flames, but due to me infusing Earth Magic into the chains, it became impossible for him to escape. I flung him towards my front, within the range of my turret.

{Lock on.}

[Target has been locked onto.]

Quick! A cool one liner!

{Have a safe flight!}

Oh God. That wasn't cool at all. I quickly knocked the Hero unconcious with a barrage of Water Magic Infused bullets. Hopefully he doesn't remember it when he wakes up. I was about to tell Carl to forget what he had just heard, only to find that he was already unconscious, oh well. I shot the King too, quickly sending him into the realm of dreamland. Water Magic is great! I could shoot someone without any consequences! (Other than the pain and the potential mental damage if I use it as a means of torture, but who is keeping track?)  The locking on had great dramatic effect though. I didn't have to do it, but still.

The battle was over. Experience and level ups began rolling in.

[Increased Projectile Damage has leveled up from Level 4 to Level 5.]

[Thread Technique: Glittering Hook has leveled up from Level 1 to Level 2.]

[Magic Manipulation has leveled up from Level 4 to Level 5.]

[Appraisal has leveled up from Level 4 to Level 5.]

[You have defeated the Archmage, Michelle Finch. You gained 1200 experience.]

[You have defeated the Captain of the Royal Tank Battalion, Gregory Dickinson. You gained 932 experience.]

[You have defeated the Hero, Alan Smithson. You have gained 1789 experience.] 

[You have leveled up from Level 7 to Level 11.]

Ignoring the pain, I quickly checked on myself.

{Third Person View.}

Oh no, that wasn't good. On my left was a deep gash, which had golden fluid flowing out of it endlessly. I guess the golden fluid was my blood. As I had never received such wounds that exposed my insides before, I never realised that I had golden blood. Also, OH GOD! I'M BLEEDING SO MUCH! I worked up my courage and opened my Status Menu.

{Open Status!}

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name: Bell AH-1 Cobra Level 11/40 (Level 1 > Level 11) Experience: 740/1050

Type: Intelligent, Evolving Weapon/ Golem
Hp: 3362/4400 [Bleed Effect: -20 Hp/sec] (+7) (+900, Level 1> Level 11, 5 Heli Points)
Mp: 893/1180 [Bleed Effect: -3 Mp/sec] (+200, Level 1> Level 11, 2 Heli Points)

Attack Power: 1034            

Magic Power: 321                

Agility: 792

Defence: 205                       

Charisma: ∞

Weaponry: M134 Minigun (Overheat: 0%) (Upgradable), M129 40mm Grenade Launcher (Upgradable), Two M158 Rocket Launcher (Upgradable), [Additional Weapons can be unlocked for 20 Heli Points.] 
Ammunition: 3931/Nil (2×7.62mm bullets),100/Nil (40×53mm grenade), 14/14 (56 in storage) (2.75 in (70 mm) rockets)
Heli Points: 18 points
Skills: 3D Maneuvering (Flight) Lvl 1 (Evolution!), Lock-on System Lvl 1(Evolution!), Thread Technique: Glittering Hook Lvl 2 (Evolution!, Leveled up!), Physical Enhancement Lvl 4, Driving Lvl 2, Rest Lvl 3, Presence Detection Lvl 6 , Stealth Lvl 9 (Leveled up!), Free View (Third Person View) (Evolution!), Increased MP Recovery Lvl 8 (Leveled up!), Bomb Rack Lvl 4 ( 1 Water 100 lb bomb, 100 lb/900 lb), Mental Fortitude Lvl 2, Magic Manipulation Lvl 5 (Leveled up!), Language Knowledge, Increased Projectile Damage Lvl 5 (Leveled up!), Inventory Lvl 1, Flash Lvl 1, Appraisal Lvl 5 (Leveled up!), Charge Lvl 4 (Leveled up!), Radar Lvl 5 (New!), Camouflage Lvl 5 (New!), Intimidation Lvl 1 (New!), Health Regeneration Lvl 1 (New!), Dance Lvl 8 (New!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Oh... OH... THAT WASN'T GOOD! Although my health wasn't that low, it was still draining quickly! 

{Remain calm! Deep breaths! OH CRAP! I don't need to breathe! How do I calm down then?!}

I decided to bail to a secure place before using 《Rest》. It didn't even need to be very far since 《Rest》 usually only requires less than an hour to fully heal my wounds, no matter how severe. I could completely heal up and plan what to do next and they would probably still have not send troops after me yet. Having made a clear plan, I managed to calm down slightly.

{Shriek!!}

A screech that sounds suspiciously like a Wyvern could be heard from outside.

Sigh...

I was hoping that he went back to the frontlines of the war, and was starting to believe that he did since he did not arrive after I had caused so much commotion, but here he was. I sucked up the pain and flew into the streets.

{Physical Enhancement!}

I did not have the need to use that skill in my previous fight, but I had a feeling this fight was going to be tough. One look and I could tell that my enemy was no simple Wyvern. First of all, it was almost 30 metres long. Secondly, unlike the Wyverns I had fought previously which had skin that was completely brown, this one had a red tinge on its head and back. Thirdly, the amount of killing intent it was releasing was larger than anything I had ever seen before.

(Appraisal.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name: Draxia, Lvl 65

Species: Alpha Wyvern

Description: Surpassing most other Wyverns in strength, it managed to evolve into an Alpha version of a Wyvern.

Hp: 25567/25567

Mp: 670/670

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No matter how futile it seems, I tried to reason with the Wyvern Rider: {Your King is fine! You can check on him if you want, so let me leave peacefully and I won't damage this city any further!}

Fowl: {You dare say that after damaging the castle? I think you have misunderstood your situation. This is now a matter of the Kingdom's pride and dignity. Your attack on the Kingdom won't go unpunished.}

Tsk. This is going to be a pain in the ass. My health and mana was still draining pretty quickly. I decided to try to convince him once more: {Fighting will only bring more damage to the Ash Kingdom. The castle can simply be repaired after being damaged but your life cannot.}

Fowl: {The castle can be repaired but my dignity cannot if I let you leave. Therefore, I have to fight you. However, you are right about the kingdom being damaged by our fight, so let us have a duel outside the front gates of the Kingdom.}

I see, so if I crushed his dignity, he will allow me to leave.

Me: {Very well then, I shall lead the way.}

I headed for the front gates, the Wyvern Rider following close behind. I had to win since Carl, who I dragged into this fight, was inside of me. Also, let's face it, I did not want to die a second time. I did not even get the chance to protect myself before I died the first time, and therefore, I promised myself that I will do anything I have to survive in my second life. I wasn't sure if I could win against the Alpha Wyvern even in my best condition, so fighting the Wyvern Rider currently would be taking an unnecessary risk. Still, I decided to play along for now.

Soon, we reached the front gates. There was barely anyone around except for a party of adventurers who were waiting at the gate, it was perfect. The Wyvern Rider pulled on the harness, causing the Alpha Wyvern to veer upwards. Judging by the rider's look of surprise, the Alpha Wyvern wasn't suppose to do that. Of course, the Alpha Wyvern veering upwards wasn't because it decided to rebel against it's rider, but because it is in a state of confusion. That's right. Throughout the entire trip to the front gate, I was hanging my hook within the line of sight of the Alpha Wyvern, but outside the line of sight of the rider. Thus, without the rider noticing, I managed to inflict confusion on the Alpha Wyvern. The Alpha Wyvern finally halted and looked around groggily. This was my chance!

{Lock on!}

[Target has been locked onto.]

I fired my missiles at once. 4 missiles infused with Wind Magic headed towards the Alpha Wyvern at high speed. Despite being confused, the Alpha Wyvern managed to dodge two of them before the other two grounded it. The rider was toss off the Wyvern with a scream.

The Alpha Wyvern seemed to wake up from it's stupor and looked around in search of his rider. Unable to find it's rider, it roared at me, and I responded with a hail of bullets. The ground surrounding the Alpha Wyvern burst into dust as more and more wounds appeared on the Alpha Wyvern. It shot a fireball at me which travelled almost as fast as my missile. Remembering my past experience, I used

《Charge》 to get far away from it, then destroyed the fireball with a Level 2 Water Magic Spell 《Water Lance》.

The Wyvern flapped its wings and flew towards me. A quick appraisal showed that it had 18,151 health left. Looks like its defence is also substantially higher compared to a normal Wyvern. Taking the Wyvern head on would not end well for me, so I started draining it's health while keeping the Alpha Wyvern at bay with my minigun and grenade launcher with the occasional missile. Whenever it shot a fireball, I would intercept it. I wouldn't always come out unscathed, but it's health was going down a lot more faster than mine.

At around 12,000 health, it suddenly shot towards me with a burst of speed, most likely using 《Charge》 or a similar skill.

(Crap!)

I couldn't dodge it in time, it's gaping maw heading straight for me. With less than a second to react, I angled my rotor blades forward. 

{Krrsshhhkkkk!}

A sickening slicing sound could be heard as blood covered up my entire view. I forced myself to withdraw from the impact and found that both of my blades have been broken in half and my nose has been slashed. I managed to remain in the air by increasing the speed of my rotor blades, but my mana consumption rate has shot up by a lot. The Alpha Wyvern, on the other hand, had a deep wound in it's mouth, causing it's lower jaw to hang limply. It shrieked at me with hatred. 

Alpha Wyvern: {Where did you hide my master?}

What? I can understand what it is saying? Well, I guess I could somehow understand the intention of the first Wyvern I ever fought. Maybe I can somehow communicate with it. 

I undid the stealth on my hook, which was wrapped around the Wyvern Rider. I was keeping him out of the fight so that he does not end up as a casualty as that would make making up with the humans harder, but since the Wyvern asked for him, I shall return him. I slowly placed the rider in front of the Wyvern.

I began to speak in the Wyvern's language, which I have dubbed as Wyvernese: {Since I returned your master to you, how about letting me go?}

The Wyvern stared at me in confusion, but why though? Didn't the effect of my hook already wear off?

Alpha Wyvern: {Why would you return my master to me before asking me to let you leave?}

Me: {Well, I can take him back if you want. Wait, calm down, I'm just joking. Look, I understand how it feels to have a close friend being used to threatened you. It feels horrible, your friend's life is in danger for no reason except because they are your friend. I have recently experienced that myself, how could I do the same to others?}

Alpha Wyvern: {Well, why did you destroy the castle?}

Me: {The King tried to threaten me into obedience using one of my friend. Of course, I taught him a lesson, but I made sure not to kill anyone.}

Alpha Wyvern: {You don't kill anyone? Why? You are clearly capable of doing so.}

Me: {Woah, you have a lot of questions, huh? Let me ask you a question first. You are clearly stronger than your master, why do you still continue being his steed?}

The Alpha Wyvern tilted it's head, seeming to be reminiscing about the past: {When I just hatched from my egg, I found myself alone in the middle of a forest. Everyday was a fight for survival. Due to my lack of strength, I could only scavenge for food. I was doing pretty well off until one day, when a Goblin Archer shot me in my wing. I tried my best to escape but it eventually caught up to me. Just as it was about to finish me off, a knife suddenly appeared in between it's eyes.}

The Wyvern, which had finished regenerating it's wounds, closed it's mouth into a smile: {I still remember the figure of my master on that day. His hands were still shaking after stabbing the Goblin, but he quickly ran up to me to check if I was okay. Not only was he not afraid of me, he even applied medicinal herbs to my wound. He brought me home and took good care of me. That day, I swore loyalty to my master, and till this day, I still serve him with pride.}

Oh. I received an entire essay for my simple question. I didn't mind though. It was a touching story which renewed my faith in humanity. 

I checked on my status to find that my bleed effect was gone. That's a relief.

Alpha Wyvern: {Leave now. The rest of the Wyvern Corps will be arriving soon since my master hasn't return to the camp.}

Me: {Thank you!}

I looked at my surroundings to find over 50 people staring at the Alpha Wyvern and I. They must have followed us from inside the city.

Me: {How about putting on a show for our audience? Roar at me and I will flee in fear.}

The Wyvern looked at the audience before turning back to me and roaring.

And with that as a farewell, we separated. I had to admit that the Alpha Wyvern was pretty cool. I decided to leave this kingdom, but first, I paid a visit to Ter Leaf Village. I still have some unfinished business, after all.

A/N: I have no idea why those highlights are there and I have no idea how to remove them help.

A/N 2: Ayyy I fixed them