[TWS] Chapter 329 – Undercover Construction

Asterios took a deep breath and slowly released it while his senses gradually returned to him. The gentle noise of the surrounding forest returned to his ears, joined by occasional, pleasant sounds of the nearby birds. He could once more feel the light breeze ruffle his hair and caress his face.

“You are getting faster at moving in and out of your Inner Sanctum,” Althea commented softly as he unhurriedly opened his eyes to her sitting figure in front of him.

“It’s all thanks to your wise guidance,” he replied with a grateful smile.

“Your drive and dedication to learn should not be dismissed either.” She gently shook her head, reciprocating the smile. “Not all people of such talent and potential spend this much time and effort to not only discover the source of their power but also its very meaning.”

“Old habits die hard, I guess.” A reminiscent chuckle escaped his lips. “I might now possess incomparable strength to my past self, but I’m still me. To some extent.”

“You certainly are,” Althea agreed with an amused hum. “And I’ll do my best to assure that you only attain the draconic tendencies and features that align with your very nature. You just need to remember that this nature is no longer as linear as you might have thought.”

“Yes, I know. As Grea would love to say, embrace the Dragon.” Asterios rolled his eyes with a faint smirk. “I’m no longer running away from it. But, I appreciate your understanding of my chosen path not to completely give in to those more evil and predatory urges.”

“As you are clearly aware, it’s in my best interest not to awaken those in you. Especially now that we share a connection. I would rather avoid the future where I end up enslaved by a True Dragon.” She casually regarded him with her deep, emerald eyes. “But, there is no reward without a risk. And I’m afraid we will need to continue poking the bear as you humans often like to say. Let’s just hope that it remains a very understanding and forgiving bear.”

Letting himself laugh openly, Asterios rose from the grass and assisted Althea in getting up with an offered hand. “I’d rather die than intentionally and consciously hurt you. I don’t think you would be so willing to teach me the ropes of being a Dragon in that case.”

“You would have made me, though I might or might not have been able to retain a secret or two of mine from your influence over me.” Patting him on the shoulder and brushing off some evidence of his meditation in the heart of the forest from his clothes, she took a step back. “Now, let us confirm how much progress today’s session brought you.”

Asterios immediately grew serious and let his draconic energies flood his system. No longer than a second later, his right arm was already moving on instinct as the entwined mix of black and red mana surged through it. In a flash, his forearm was in front of his face, and a sharp, metal, throwing star pinged off his crimson scales, piercing into the bark of a nearby tree.

“Good. The difference is noticeable. Please, give me a better view so I can judge it more accurately,” Althea requested with a hint of pride in her voice.

Knowing perfectly well what she desired, he dismissed his spiritual attire and other gear, leaving himself in simple black underwear. It might have been a bit awkward to undress and fight while almost completely naked at first, but he’d quickly grown accustomed to his mentor’s attentive gaze during their assessments.

Besides, even if Althea wanted to appreciate his body, it wasn’t like he saw anything wrong with that.

Any thoughts about possible reasons other than the professional ones had to be shelved aside, unfortunately, as the Dragon lady mercilessly charged forward, her own arm transforming into a bit more draconic appendage. She directed a few lightning-fast jabs at him with her sharpened claws.

Enhancing his senses and vision, Asterios skilfully parried each strike with his scales. He had to bring in his other arm rather soon and used them interchangeably. It wasn’t impossible for him to continue with just one, but only if there were no more additional meanings to their sudden duel.

As per Althea’s instructions, Asterios had to materialize and dematerialize his scales before and after every blow he blocked. It was a simple exercise to further train his transformation speed. Well, simple in its intention. It certainly wasn’t easy not to fumble in the constant juggling while under a relentless barrage. Now and then, he mixed his arms up, suffering some shallow but still painful cuts.

The fight’s intensity rose by a magnitude as Althea suddenly kicked him in the stomach—properly reinforced just in time, of course—and spun around. He wasted no time and mirrored the motion, sending a pulse of energy down his spine. Their draconic tails smacked together with a loud thud, sending them both a few steps away.

His mentor started opening her mouth while still sliding over the grassy ground when Asterios flapped his newly brought-in wings and closed onto her before she even finished the motion. He still barely made it and his powerful hand squeezed her throat, which of course had managed to get covered in tough scales. With a deafening whooshing noise, a torrent of emerald flames passed right by his cheek as he angled his head slightly, holding Althea’s neck firmly in place.

When the fire finally died down, she attempted to kick him in the groin, but he caught her leg with his other hand and tightened his grip even more, putting almost everything he had in himself into that action. He could see her beautiful scales starting to slowly give in as his gorgeous mentor’s expression slowly morphed from determined to pained.

She tapped his forearm soon enough and he immediately withdrew all that pressure, causing Althea to gasp for air. He didn’t fully let go of her but brought the wise lady closer, letting her rest against his chest as she gradually recovered from getting choked almost to death. She appreciatively accepted his assistance, taking slow, deep breaths while in his arms.

“You are not only getting faster… but also stronger…” she managed to say between the gasps. “Such an immense power… And here I thought I had at least a month or two more before you could overpower me so easily…”

He chuckled warmly and flicked his wrist, summoning his greatsword at their side, with its tip shoved into the grass. He grabbed the hilt with his free hand and activated a simple recovery spell, boosted by Tia’s energy. Delicately massaging Althea’s throat, he helped it heal faster and more comfortably.

“You were the one to tell me that True Dragons can easily overwhelm Lesser Dragons. Should you really be so surprised?” He raised a curious brow at her. “Besides, it’s only in regards to brute strength. That flaming breath could have melted my face off in seconds.”

“Maybe, but you were nothing more than a clueless whelp like a week or two ago. Your pace is just unbelievable. I doubt that breath would have brought you that much harm if you managed to transform your face in time,” she replied while finally straightening up. “I’m glad to see you grow stronger by the day. Your control is getting impeccable.”

“Good enough to start tackling the realm-tearing ability?” Asterios asked.

Althea gently rolled her eyes, but not without a dainty smirk curling up the edges of her soft lips. “Patience, young student. You’ll get there in time. A record one, most likely.”

“I am patient, just curious.” He smiled at her. “I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere during my academy years without that patience. Still, new and unknown prospects and paths have always been an exciting thought.”

“It would be a lie if I said that I don’t understand. Even for me, that kind of ability is something extremely intriguing. Your very existence is extremely intriguing,” she admitted openly. “But, overdoing your training will not bring us any closer to our final goal. And we are almost out of time anyway.”

Asterios glanced over his shoulder with a light nod. “Why do we even have to move this far away from the city each time? It’s not like we are really going down with our occasional, testing spars. I’m fairly sure even the castle’s dungeons would be fine, if not the areas nearby.”

“The further you are from your bondmates, the better you can focus on yourself,” she explained, holding his gaze firmly with a delicate smirk as their eyes met. “Plus, being around nothing more than nature for long miles is more natural to a True Dragon than bustling streets above their head.”

He kept looking at the wise Dragon lady while considering her words and the times they had practiced in his chamber rather than outside like in recent days. With a shrug, he recovered his attire to not forget to reequip it before moving to the heart of the city. He had already done that once and the rumors still hadn’t completely died out yet. The main market somehow became even more crowded. Especially with young women.

“There’s a meeting I need to attend so I will excuse myself now. If the opportunity allows for it, we shall practice a little more in the evening,” Althea informed him with a respectful bow.

“I don’t think the girls will be happy if you hog me all to yourself for the night again. Grea is getting frustrated and that’s not a good sign.” He snickered softly. “A meeting?”

“With your mother. I’m afraid she still hasn’t heard every bit of my story. No matter that she’d invited me for tea multiple times already.” The Dragon lady allowed herself an honest laugh.

“Just don’t let her get to you. We both know what she’s trying to achieve.” He shook his head with a heavy sigh. “You are free to go. Let Umbra know if you’d like to be transferred rather than fly.”

“I thought you would have already understood which option is more preferable for us.” She shot him one more delicate smile and jumped into the air, morphing into her full long draconic form in a blink and heading away.

“Yeah, I certainly do.” His own inner Dragon just itched to be let out and soar through the sky. “So, I guess it’s time to grab something to eat from the market.”

But, before he could even begin his transformation, a nearby shadow rippled and started rising from under a thick tree. It momentarily formed a humanoid figure and revealed Guildmaster Suanori, who surfaced with a faint shudder. He stared at his elf friend with mild surprise and confusion for this clearly uncomfortable transfer rather than a simple request directed right to him.

“You are done? Good.” Suanori took a brief glance around. “Should we get a move on Project Dreamland Asylum?”

“Right now?” He frowned lightly.

“What better time than when Althea is busy? Miss Kindra should give us enough time to take care of the majority of things,” the guildmaster answered. “I finished whatever I could at the guild and delegated the rest to Ellie. I’m at your service for the rest of the day, My Lord.”

“You aren’t wrong.” Asterios stroked his chin. “Alright. Let’s just get to it. Same place as we initially discussed?”

She nodded. “Perhaps a little bit further from the walls. Of course, I mean the future ones. If we ever expand even more, we’ll either have to dig an extension of the tunnel or just be comfortable with her taking into the air in the middle of the street.”

“We’ll be moving the entrance indefinitely if we keep predicting the future.” He shook his head. “Hop on.”

“Pardon?” Suanori tilted her head.

Crimson and onyx mist enveloped him and revealed his True Dragon form a moment later.

“What if someone sees us?” she questioned.

“We’ll just say that Venuzathor’s girlfriend is visiting. I’ve been told their females are much smaller.” He chuckled deeply. “Come on. I know you would love to get a ride. Everyone does.”

Deciding that it was pointless to argue, especially since he wasn’t wrong, Suanori hopped onto Ast’s back and they lunged into the air. He didn’t show off too much, keeping their flight moderately relaxing and pleasant, taking a peek or two at the guildmaster’s joyful smile as she watched the forest swim underneath them and experienced the rush of wind in her hair.

They arrived at their destination not that long after and landed still a good distance away from the town. Asterios shifted back to his humanoid form.

“This place is as good as any other,” he said, glancing around. “Perhaps I’ll go and fetch the others while you begin the work.”

“No need! We are already all here!” Radir’s voice captured his attention as he led a small group of people from between the trees with a wry chuckle.

Besides him, Imadil and Cynthia were present too. That made five of them including Asterios and Suanori. He again raised a surprised brow at their amazing timing.

But, since they didn’t exactly know how much time they had, everyone got right to work. The elf duo brought out the plans they had prepared alongside some other people while Suanori reached for her magic. Asterios kept himself close to the guildmaster, channeling his and Tia’s energy into her. The intensity surprised Suanori and she accidentally tore a massive chunk of earth from the ground, about ten times bigger than she’d intended.

After some initial chuckles and laughs, they continued digging the tunnel. It had to be wide and tall enough to fit an entire Lesser Dragon comfortably. As Suanori took care of the earth and mud, Imadil and Cynthia used some weird magical tools looking like a flat metal plate on a long stick to shape the passage and reinforce all surfaces. Asterios used his crystal sigils to push out all the fumes generated by them.

The work was slow and precise. Radir followed after them and carved some intricate designs and formations into the sidewalls and the decorative half-pillars, which served completely no purpose other than visual candy since they were carved out of the surrounding earth too. Some of the patterns were more artistic while others clearly had a magical meaning.

Asterios lost track of time as they cooperated, exchanging a few words now and then. Most of the time, the tunnel was filled with grunts and groans of struggle, and an occasional curse whenever Radir made a mistake or inhaled too much of the earthen smoke, choking on the hot fumes.

“Alright. We are under the castle. Quite deep at that. Hopefully, your defensive arrays will work properly, Radir,” Asterios said, consulting his senses.

“Don’t worry. If someone even manages to penetrate the entrance, they won’t notice when the illusionary formations turn them around in the middle and lead them back to it while they are one hundred percent convinced that it’s actually the exit.” The demon man snickered to himself. “And, if even that doesn’t work, I’ve seen the designs of the traps your elf friends devised. And boy, I pray to never stumble on this passage uninvited. Forget the Dragon waiting for me at the very end, ready to rip me to shreds for invading the privacy of its lair, notified about my presence since the very first step.”

“This operation won’t compromise the town or the castle. I promise.” Imadil bowed firmly.

“I trust you. Now, it’s time to make some space here.” Asterios put his hands on his sides. “Moving all this earth away will be a pain.”

“You want to make this one exactly the same size as the place from your memories, right?” Suanori asked and he nodded. “Well, then. I will need a lot of your energy. Don’t mind me if I faint once or twice in the process.”

“I can practically hear Miria saying that there’s a way to assure that you don’t.” He chuckled and she laughed softly with him. “Too bad I’m not a massive mole or something rather than a True Dragon. But, you gotta work with what you have.”

Resupplying the guildmaster again through direct skin contact, he watched as Suanori confidently moved dirt and earth around, slowly widening the space in front of them. The others just waited and watched since their attempts at help would only get in the way of the former S-rank adventurer. The chance that they would get swept by the waves of rolling mud and stones was pretty damn high.

As the guildmaster had said, she almost fainted after exhausting all her mana repeatedly for a prolonged period, but Asterios nursed her to full rest for as long as necessary. She didn’t take more than fifteen minutes of break each time she was spent, saying that it was great endurance training since she didn’t really have that many occasions to tire herself out that badly. Tia noted that such practice would definitely make the elf stronger. Especially with her assistance.

Bit by bit, the space expanded more and more in the shape of a perfect half-sphere. It was an incredible sight, though Asterios knew it was incomparable to the final result. In a few more hours, they achieved the desired outcome, creating an almost exact copy of Althea’s lair size-wise.

“Ellie will have to carry me around for a week after we finish down here.” Suanori chuckled to herself, resting her head on Ast’s lap. “But, it’s almost like therapy. I had no idea getting so spent could be this relaxing. Give me just a moment and I’ll be up to continue.”

“You can rest for now, Guildmaster. It’s our turn now,” Cynthia said with an excited smile. “Come on, Father. Let’s start with the light crystal. Mister Radir will begin with his arrays and formations in the meanwhile.”

“As they say,” Asterios added, glancing down at Suanori. “Your next part will come later. Groundwork first, landscaping after.”

The two of them watched their companions busy themselves with their responsibilities in the massive cavern until Suanori made an almost full recovery. She was still in disbelief at how quickly that happened with Ast’s spiritual support and the various spells he cast with his new Spellslinger. The only thing stopping anyone from endlessly working as hard as they could was most likely only mental exhaustion, which still could be partially relieved to some extent.

Not wanting to sit pointlessly for too long, she told Asterios to leave the rest to them and jumped to start covering the already processed areas with grass and trees just like in the lair under the Garden of Sinners. He didn’t stop them and took one last glance at everything.

“Well, that sounded like a dismissal, so I guess I’ll get going. It’s pretty late. I bet the girls are waiting for me to eat dinner together,” he mused.

“Not so fast!” Grea’s voice suddenly surprised him from behind.

“What the—”

He caught only a flash of red before she flung him through the gate and they tumbled onto the hard ground who knew where. An almost maniacal giggling accompanied him on the floor as the crimson portal faded away. Grea kept him locked with all her limbs wrapping him up like a traveling backpack. It took him a good moment and a decent amount of effort to wiggle himself around and face her underneath him. She nibbled on her bottom lip firmly while grinning from ear to ear.

“We have some unfinished business to take care of first,” she purred at him before stealing a heated kiss from his lips.

He chuckled into Grea’s delicious mouth and squeezed her sides, eliciting a lustful moan from the frivolous demon lady.

At this pace, he would definitely not make it home today.