Miss Black Dragon Doesn't Want to Be a Mount

"What did you just say?"

"No, nothing."

Ailolin wondered whether Vidian had been joking with her back then. Hadn't she said that magic power could only be transferred through intercourse?

Maybe intercourse was only necessary when transferring magic power to a person...

"Can you transfer magic power directly into my body?" Ailolin asked outright.

"No, that's impossible. How could something like that work?" Likaro had never heard of such a thing. "Xiya taught me how to pour magic power into ordinary containers, but she said it couldn't be poured into living beings."

"Alright, then."

Likaro was certain Vidian had deceived her before. That was truly going too far. Both Vidian and Likaro had been children back then!

If she ever got the chance to see Vidian again, she would definitely have a proper talk with her.

But was it possible that Xiya had deliberately kept it from Likaro?

If intercourse truly was the only method of transfer, then unlike Vidian, Xiya might not have told Likaro about something so shameful and inappropriate for children.

There was no point thinking about that for now.

Ailolin calmed herself and sensed the magic crystal on her staff. At last, she established a connection between her body and the magic crystal.

That way, when she cast magic in the future, she could prioritize using the magic power stored in her staff.

She could finally cast Dragon Language Magic with decent power.

Calamity Descends: Easy Tournament Battles

After arriving at the arena, Ailolin asked Likaro about the lord's features.

"He has a large beard, a short build, and a scar on his left cheek."

After hearing Likaro's description, Ailolin looked toward the arena's VIP stand. It was completely separate from the audience seating and positioned very high up, requiring the climb of many stairs.

Many guards carrying halberds stood atop those stairs. They wore heavy armor and were clearly the most elite soldiers.

With her excellent eyesight, Ailolin recognized the lord in the VIP stand. He was standing in the very center, talking with the nobles around him.

Ailolin believed killing him would not be a problem, but what she needed to consider now was how to escape after the assassination succeeded.

Although the arena had several entrances, all of them were guarded. Once the lord died, every entrance would definitely be sealed off.

Would they have no choice but to fight their way out?

Ailolin roughly estimated that there were at least several hundred halberd-wielding soldiers here. They should all be elite forces. If that many people swarmed her, things would be troublesome unless she returned to her true form.

At the same time, Ailolin was worried about Likaro's safety. As Dragonkind, Ailolin had high defenses, but Likaro was only human. Her body was extremely fragile.

Likaro understood what Ailolin was worried about. "I can cast a magic shield on myself."

"But what if they have counter-magic?"

Although a shield maintained by magic power could indeed block blades and spears, that did not mean it was invincible. Counter-magic or anti-magic equipment could render it ineffective.

"Ailolin." Likaro unusually called Ailolin by name. "If I'm afraid of this and afraid of that, how can I ever grow stronger?"

"Mm..."

"Don't worry about me. Unless I intend to stay home as a noble lady forever, this is something I'll have to experience sooner or later."

"Alright. I believe in you."

Since Likaro could establish and lead a knight order in this country, she was clearly strong enough to protect herself.

While they waited in line at the arena registration desk, Likaro quietly whispered into Ailolin's ear, "Whatever you do, don't expose your Dragonkind identity."

"Mm, I know."

Ailolin now kept her body hidden beneath her cloak. Later, she would have to be careful not to let anyone discover her identity. The appearance of Dragonkind would cause a huge commotion.

But even if she were exposed, Ailolin would not be attacked. She had learned earlier that the Lumbart Kingdom allowed any race to enter, as long as they obeyed the law.

If Ailolin, as an extremely rare race, exposed her identity, humans would definitely react more strongly than they would to other races.

Of course, Ailolin felt that most humans would not recognize her race anyway.

She had actually noticed long ago that humans did not know much about Dragonkind. When Likaro first saw her, she had even called her Lizardfolk.

Human books seemed to rarely mention Dragonkind taking humanoid forms. When most people thought of Dragonkind, they only imagined enormous bodies, overwhelming strength, and the like.

"You should also be careful not to expose yourself. You're still on the wanted list, after all."

"Mm."

After the line ended, Ailolin and Likaro obtained the qualifications to participate in the Tournament. Since they claimed to be mages and demonstrated magic, they advanced directly and did not need to participate in the initial arena battles.

They then went to the audience seating to watch the matches currently taking place in the arena.

The current matches were elimination rounds, divided into solo and team formats. Losers would be eliminated immediately, while winners advanced to the next round.

Most participants were human, but Ailolin also saw many non-human races among the audience. They might have come to participate in the Tournament as well, but because they were powerful, they had also advanced directly.

The Commoner Tournament had a total prize pool of ten thousand gold coins. First place could take half of it, more than enough to attract many capable competitors.

During the first few rounds, there were all kinds of participants. There was practically nothing worth watching.

Only after several rounds of eliminations did the following arena battles become truly worth watching.

At that moment, the bearded lord was drinking in the VIP stand and chatting merrily with those around him. He looked quite pleased with himself.

But Ailolin believed he would not live past today, and Likaro would personally kill him.

"It's my turn."

Ailolin stood up. She had just heard her number called.

"Watch yourself. Don't kill anyone." Likaro did not think Ailolin would lose.

"Don't worry."

Holding her staff, Ailolin jumped directly down from the audience seating.

She had entered a one-on-one battle. Many matches were taking place throughout the arena at once, but most of the spectators' attention had been drawn toward her.

Ordinary people rarely got to see magic, so they naturally paid attention to something so novel.

Ailolin's opponent was a human who looked like an adventurer based on his equipment. He carried a round shield and a warhammer, the very image of a warrior.

This warrior felt terribly unlucky. He had actually been matched against a mage, the type of opponent he hated fighting most.

But that did not mean he intended to give up. After adjusting his equipment, he signaled that he was ready.

"Wind Blast." (Dragon language)

Ailolin spoke the Dragon language words in a voice only she could hear. Immediately afterward, part of the magic power in her staff was drawn out and transformed into the spell she wanted to cast.

The powerful wind directly blew the warrior off the ground. He and his equipment together were quite heavy.

"How is that possible?! You don't need to chant?"

The warrior had not expected the mage opposite him to cast magic the moment the battle began.

Ailolin felt a little sorry for the warrior before her. Dragon Language Magic really did not require a lengthy chant.

She directly controlled the wind and blew the warrior out of the arena, ensuring he would not suffer too much damage.

The battle ended in less than half a minute. The audience had not even realized what happened, while Ailolin advanced directly.

"This is completely unchallenging." Ailolin complained after returning to the audience seating.

"It's mainly because we're not in the later rounds yet."

Likaro believed they would only encounter truly powerful opponents in the final rounds.

After all, Ailolin was not the only one who had instantly defeated her opponent like that.

"Have you figured out how we're getting out later?"

"There." Likaro pointed toward the northern gate. "I observed it earlier. The defenses there are the weakest."

"So we really will have to fight our way out?"

"Are you scared?"

"How could I be? It's just... are you mentally prepared to kill people?"

"Mm. But if we can avoid killing the soldiers, we should. They're only following orders."

Hearing Likaro say that, Ailolin felt relieved.

Likaro had finally understood who the true target of her hatred should be. She should never have condemned everyone indiscriminately.

PS: Ailolin doesn't need to speak Dragon language very loudly, and even if others hear it, they won't understand it. They'll probably think it's some obscure magic incantation or something, so there's no need to worry about her being exposed OVO

Calamity Descends: Elemental Summoning

Ailolin had also thought that if she and Likaro possessed ultra-long-range attack abilities, they could directly kill the bearded lord from outside the arena.

Participating in the Tournament was somewhat time-consuming, but it was not too bad. At least they could still collect the prize money.

They could wait until after receiving the prize money before killing the bearded lord.

When it was Likaro's turn, she also ended her battle in a very short time.

At this point, many of the advancing contestants noticed the two mages sitting together.

They realized they needed to find ways to improve their magical defenses.

Only after that did Ailolin truly encounter an opponent capable of fighting her for a while.

In the next round, a robust orc stood before her. He wore heavy armor covered in runes that increased magic resistance.

This orc had a thick, long tail and appeared to be Tigerfolk. This orc race was highly suited to becoming warriors, as their physical strength was exceptionally great.

Instead of attacking immediately, the orc began chatting with Ailolin.

"Miss Mage, I am a prince of the Northern Orc Kingdom. I am currently traveling around the world. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Ailolin was surprised that he had recognized her gender. He had probably figured it out from her figure. Still, since he had politely spoken to her, she could not ignore him. "Aren't you worried about running into trouble as an orc in a human city?"

"Hahaha, as long as I obey the laws of the human kingdom, anyone who comes looking for trouble will be the one in the wrong." The orc planted the greatsword in his hand into the ground. "So far, no one has been able to defeat me."

Ailolin felt that ordinary humans truly could not defeat the orc before her. The greatsword he carried had to weigh at least a hundred pounds. That alone showed how strong he was.

Notably, the orc's greatsword had no edge. It seemed he attacked by smashing people with the flat of the blade.

Still, if an ordinary human got hit even once, they would probably die on the spot.

"My name is Ruke. What about you?"

"Ailolin."

Ailolin felt that the orc before her was rather straightforward. It was one thing to reveal his real name, but when introducing himself, he had directly announced that he was a prince of the Orc Kingdom.

Did he not understand that a tall tree catches the wind?

"Enough talk. Let's fight. I can tell you're strong." Ailolin signaled that they could begin.

"Very well. Let me remind you that my armor can defend against magic."

"Mm."

Although she already knew that, Ailolin was still considering how she should deal with the orc before her.

Even if the armor had magic runes that enhanced magical defense, that did not mean its defenses could never be broken.

As long as she continued attacking, she would eventually break through the runes' protection.

Ailolin did not plan to use Dragon Breath yet, because that was an ace technique that caught people completely off guard.

Actually, if Ailolin had entered as a warrior, none of this would have been necessary. She could easily wield the orc's greatsword, and her strength would definitely surpass his.

"Let's begin!"

After speaking, Ruke charged straight at Ailolin. Although he wore heavy armor, he ran incredibly fast.

"Summon, Earth Elemental." (Dragon language)

As she mobilized her magic power, Ailolin summoned many earth elemental creatures the size of soccer balls.

"Summon, Fire Elemental." (Dragon language)