2.3 A Loser is Given an Explanation
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I stare over at the large sleeping figure of the master of the silent forest. Her body slowly rises and falls as she snores. I don’t know if I should call out to her or what at this point. I could just go for it, I should just go for it, but I'm nervous. My anger is overcoming that, thankfully. Anger? No, maybe annoyance. Frustration, boredom, discomfort. You know what? 

“Hey, dragon!” I yelled across the cave. 

Nothing happened. She just kept sleeping peacefully. I propped myself up. Today I had at least one leg. As if that's good enough.

“Hey! Dragon!” I yell louder, above the sound of the water roaring down to the left of me. 

Picking up a stone I chuck up half the distance between her and I. Well, that was a terrible throw… The rock skidded over the floor making absolutely no noise over the background sound of the water behind me. 

Regardless, she seems to have woken up. The heavy breathing has stopped and her massive body is shifting. Hey, hey! She's just getting more comfortable isn't she?! 

“Hey! Let's make a deal!”

I shout this now that I know she's at least half awake. I don't want to piss her off immediately. I say this after just having shouted awake a sleeping monster but I don't think I can take another day in this place. 

What?" She turned her head to me without getting up, blinking slowly. 

“Well, I uh…” I stuttered, losing what little forward momentum I was previously working from.

“You're hurt.”

M.S.F. looked away from me laid back down. 

“I-I, well, I could heal you, couldn't I?”

She looked back up, now with an expression like a worried dog. She rolled over on her other side and folded her front legs there. She rested her head again, but now looking at me. The dragon was silent for a moment. I pushed a bit ahead on my goal. 

“If I heal those wounds of yours would you let me go?” 

She snorted a puff of fire. 

What a silly human you are. A mage truly is a tricky creature.

You're the one who said I was a mage in the first place. Those words seem almost insulting somehow. Exactly what's wrong with mages?

No.” And with that she rolled back over. 

You could have just said that part. My shoulders dropped as the word escaped her throat. It was worth a shot. And this, this is also worth a shot. 

“Would you let me heal you anyway?”

...” M.S.F. went silent again. Her scales made a grinding sound on the cave rocks as she stood up on her four legs. She turned her head to me.

“For nothing.”

What are you planning, mage?” This is what she hissed out suspiciously in response, squinting. 

“Nothing, I just don't want to see a girl in pain.”

Just let me get on your good side you damn dragon. It's hard to say lines like that when you look like a giant man-eating monster. My sympathy can only go so far at this point.

She looked at me with a curious stare, and with a cloud of smoke forming around her, revealed her smaller, more human form. She truly was beat up. Like this I could really see how much she had gotten hit. What kind of crazy monster could have done this?

She walked over to where I was sitting up and looked down on me. Her arms were crossed under her ample cleavage. 

Hey, hey now, with a view like that the virgin side of me will get the wrong idea. Animals are so brazen… really… The only saving grace I have at this point are those scales of hers but, they don't really cover anything. I could see all I could possibly want to see. I looked to the left awkwardly. 

Like this the dragon girl stood in front of me for a good amount of time even after I avoided her form with my eyes.

“So you were all talk.” She said this as if she hadn't expected me to do anything, “And I told you not to look at me like that.” She said this while turning away. But, M.S.F. even if you turn away there's a pretty good view from the back as well. 

“Actually-” I said, interrupting her disappointment. 

“I don't actually know any healing magic. I was s-”

The dragon turned back around and looked at me with an annoyed look. Her tail was swaying back and forth while curved up behind her head. She looked like she was ready to attack me just because. I stopped in the middle of my sentence with her suddenly putting her full attention back to me. Even if this is a plan of mine it really is difficult for me. 

I really am just pretty bad at talking to people in normal situations. Until now that really hadn't come up. Either it was just for my life or in gratitude for that A goddess I wasn't faced with the one attribute I was truly fundamentally lacking. I really don't have any charisma. 

“I was seeing if… if you wanted… that you could teach me the magic to heal you.”

Her gaze turned from one of impatience and mild discomfort to surprise. 

“The spell that I know would be far too powerful for your puny human form to exert. Though I know of human methods of weaker means I myself only know the spell, “Transcendent light healing”.” She said this simply, but, with a smile. It seems I amused her at least. But, I am a hero after all. A hero who has a crazy luck stat that was summoned to this world to somehow save it. That is the idea at least. A part of me is sure that the “Transcendent Light healing” spell was within the reach of someone like me. Somehow, at least. Well, I was curious. I'll say this part even if I sound like an idiot. How much mana does that spell need? How much mana do I need to cast the spell? How much mana does transcendent light heal require? Ok, with that I'm done practicing. 

The dragon had turned away again.

“How much- uh- mana does the spell need to cast?” I immediately flubbed my words.

Without even looking back at me M.S.F gave a passive response. 

“300 per cast.”

Ah, I guess using video game terms in this world is fine then. That part was bugging me.

“Oh, well, that'll be fine then. I have 5000.” I said this honestly while looking at M.S.F

She turned around. I thought she would be happy but her face was pale. Rather than coming towards me the girl tripped back with that fearful look on her face. 

I look at M.S.F. with a confused expression as she rights herself after a momentary overreaction. That was kind of cute. Objectively that was cute, I'll say, even if this person has been imprisoning and eating me for over a week. She's a pretty girl after all her shocked face is nice as well. 

“You- you must find this hypocritical me strange, don't you, mage?” She said while fiddling nervously with her hair. “But dragons are different from humans on the very basic level of our existence for you to have done that to so many- That is disgusting for you to say it so forwardly. I wouldn't talk about my prey in such a way…”

What is this thing going on about now? Hey, I know I'm disgusting but what does that have to do with you being a hypocrite? Is magic power something obscene in this world? Even if it is she asked in the first place. That's like asking how big my dick is and then getting mad when I answer honestly. Well, that’s unfortunately another story…

She looked at me with cold eyes. 

“Is this why you have such a figure?”

“What are you talking about?!” I managed to get my question out from between the cracks of my utter bafflement though it came out as almost a shout.

The dragon looked away from me.

“The 500 you have eaten.” She muttered. 

The 500 what I did what now? 

The dragon's tail was actually curled down between her legs now. There was a wave of conflicting emotions washing over her face. 

"All those people…"

There was a wave of emotions washing over my face as well for that matter. What do you mean people? Where does magic power come from, exactly?! Excuse me, Miss.Goddess, what the fuck?! That little girl that was still fresh in my mind was the one who created this place, wasn't she?! That little girl's body had to be the mask for some sort of twisted lovecraftian nightmare I'm sure of that now. How- how can I be shocked? I did see that deer thing washing down that crazy stream and this beetle dragon along with that. Who am I kidding, of course I'm shocked. 

So, I'm the hero of this scary sounding would, or something. That's just great. I would say just my luck but that luck of mine is obscenely good. 

“Magic power, that comes from eating people!?” With a newly found hoarseness in my voice I tried to confirm my suspicions. 

“That- that is- of course it does? Well, anything that has magic… So, anything sentient really.” She looked almost as confused as I was when I said that. She strutted through that sentence. 

We both went quiet. 

The atmosphere went from chaotic to awkwardly silent in the blink of an eye. I just wanted to get out of this cave, you know, I didn't want to be gaslit. 

“C-can you let me go then?”

She was annoyed by this, and turned away from me with her hands on her hips. That's a no as well then. Her tail flicked. 

“You are a liar, aren't you? Trying to scare me into relinquishing you.”

Shit, would I have to show her my status? I don't see why not, I just don't know how to do that. She turned around her right hand, the non-dragon one, over her right eye. 

“Identify.”

In the same sort of tone I use the word “Status” and “Info” she said this aloud while pointing at my figure lying on the floor. 

A screen appeared before me. 

 

You are being watched. 

[Dragon] has requested all of your information. 

You have lost the power duel.

 

That's a bit to take in. That power duel part is the most suspicious line. Seems like it's something like: she's stronger than me, so she gets to see my information without any pushback. Another screen popped up in its place. 

Arthur Callow

Lvl: 3

(Summoned Hero)

 

Health: 147/250

Stamina: 291/300

Magic Power 5000/5000

Luck: 1,900,445,106

 

Strength: 10

Agility: 4

Constitution: 15

Intelligence: 11

 

My information showed up.

 

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