Chapter 27: The gifts

| Sorry guys, only one chapter today |

We were on the carriage to Acira which is our pit stop before we go the the northern mountain range

"I can't believe you got an S-rank armor piece from the Academy, I only crafted one so far, can't believe they just gave you one" Eliza said examining my robe "The color also matches your eyes"

It was a purple robe that is capable of blocking both physical and magical attack

"I know you got a lot of gifts from the academies, but what did you get for ranking first?" John asked

"A B-rank bracelet that have storage magic, which I give to Siege, a B-rank mana orb that I gave to you and 500 gold coins"

"And we got a few A-rank armor and weapons" Dad said

"Me and Eliza got B-rank Storage rings" Olivia said

-Eliza already got a ring, might as well ask her to marry you while you're at it- Dabria commented

-I'm still too young, I will go for her if she doesn't marry in 5 years, which is also when my academy life ends-

"Ace got an A-rank magic scarf" Mom pointed to Ace who is on my right shoulder who is wearing a blue scarf

-It helps regulate temperature to my will and can expand as a shield in the worst case scenario, best feature is that it can fit to any size- Ace said

"We aren't allowed to play with our gifts yet" Emily grumbled

"Yeah no fair" Oliver sulked

"You guys aren't old enough yet, those weapons are for when you're older" Olivia said

"Guys when we arrive at the northern mountains, can I go by myself for a few days?"

"May I ask why?" Mom asked

"Siege is originally from there, we want to see if a few member of his former pack is there"

"3 days" My mom allowed

"And this time, no getting into trouble" My dad lectured

"You guys are more easygoing than usual, is there a reason?" I asked

"Well since you passed the test, we'll be less strict for this trip as a present from us, just don't get into trouble"

"Yeah, you gotta stop giving us news about your near death experience" John agreed

"Not really, I am always sure to fight them only when their guard is down" I replied

"What if they're stronger than you?" John asked

"I'll run away and get my revenge some other day"

"Good answer"

The trip went uneventful and peaceful till we got stopped by some roadside bandits

"Time to get some exercise" I stretched, Siege got up and Ace jumped of my shoulder

-I saw one person with a token that has a red sword as its crest- Dabria commented

-Well seems like we won't be able to interrogate them since we have people here, just kill them without mercy-

-Got it- Ace and Siege replied

"I'll help" Eliza got up

"Us too" Mom and dad got up

"I'll stay behind and protect the carriage" John smiled "Kids cover your eyes"

"Can I take the ones in the front?" I asked

"Leave the ones in the back for us then" Mom said and readied her bow

*****

"We got paid a lot for this, can't believe all we have to do is kill some 12 year old kid"

-Hired by the same noble we beat, so cliché-

-Yeah the author better get original- Ace yawned

-I have to agree with you- Siege nodded

-Poor author- Dabria commented

| I'm trying alright |

I took out an A-rank sword that I got as a gift

"BANKA-" I screamed but got cut of

| I don't want to get sued all right, stop that |

-Here I am trying to make this situation better-

| Well get original |

I surround my sword with dark magic and summoned a few metal spikes mid air and use wind magic to shot it towards the bandits while charging at them

"BLOCK IT" one shouted

They seem to anticipate that, and blocked some of it, some pierced through them. But I also summoned some rock spikes behind them and catch them by surprise and kill them from behind, me, Ace and Siege charged in and killed them quickly.

-Leave one alive, we need them to deliver our message- I instructed

The battle ended quickly, I walk towards the last guy left and healed him

"Tell the marquis or whoever hired you that I don't like bullies, got it?"

He quickly nodded his head and ran away

I got a tingling sensation coursing through my body, mana started to come out of my hands and was turning from dark orange to light red.

"YES" I yelled

-You are finally like us now- Ace congratulated

-Took you long enough- Siege said

"Let's go back now and- WOAH" I saw a black bird whose body is enveloped by black and purple flames falling at the other side of the forest

-That's a phoenix!- Dabria gasped -And a mutant one at that-

-Siege, Ace, let's quickly go quickly, before my parents can catch us, I'll make up an excuse later- I ordered

We then ran in its direction while surrounding ourselves with wind magic to make us run faster

We then arrived to see the giant phoenix being cared for by a handsome young guy who also has white hair, he has light blue eyes and clear skin. He is wearing some sort of white suit, which is a weird thing to wear in the middle of the forest

"Sorry I went a bit too far" He petted the phoenix, he then saw us and got in his stance preparing to engage us

"MY COMRADE!" I yelled

"What?" He looked confused

-Yeah human, what are you saying?- Siege asked

-Finally another character with white hair, I feel so much happier now-

-The phoenix doesn't make you happy enough?- Ace questioned

-He's a weird guy, let him do it, I'm greatly entertained- Dabria said while munching on something

-Is that popcorn?- I asked

-Yeah- She replied with more crunches

"Are you a dragon too?" The guy asked

-A dragon and a phoenix, all in one day, this is the greatest day in my life-

-No wonder his aura is familiar- Dabria continued to munch

-This is super interesting- Ace exclaimed -I want to know more about them-

-They are both super rare creatures, why are they out here?- Siege asked

"No" I answered honestly

"Then why did you call me your comrade?"

"Well it's the first time I see another person born with white hair"

"I get you, every time I'm in my human form and I head into a human kingdom, people always give me strange looks and ask me stupid questions"

"Yeah it's sooo annoying, 'Do you have an unknown deadly disease?' or 'Why don't you go have an early retirement?' "

"You do understand my pain and frustrations...Wait why am I engaging in this silly conversation" The dragon suddenly got serious again "Who are you?"

"Well let's talk some other time, I don't want my family to wait, but can you please tell us where you live?"

"Are you trying to go and hunt me down?"

"WHAT?! No! That'll be stupid, you're a fucking dragon"

"Fair enough, since we both have white hair, which is stupidly rare for some dumb reason, I'll give you this map, but don't bring anyone else"

"Can I bring these 2?" I pointed to Siege and Ace

"Only them no one else"

"Nice meeting you, bye!" I said as I left

3rd person view

"Why'd you give him our location?" the phoenix asked and coughed

"Sorry sis, I hit too hard" the dragon said and healed the phoenix

"It's fine, I have quick regeneration you stupid brother, answer my question first"

"He's odd, instead of freaking out about seeing a phoenix, a mutant one for that matter, he is instead interested in me who has the same hair color"

"So you're saying that due to you both having the same hair color, you wanted to have a talk with him?"

"Well it'll be a while till I find someone similar"

*****

1st person view

-I never thought I'd see someone interact with such a rare creature like that, gotta say, I'm impressed- Dabria complimented

-I want to learn more about the mutant phoenix- Ace said as he ran

-I want to ask the dragon for some tips since they are the best at physical attacks- Siege said

-Well I looked at the map, they live in the northern mountain, we can visit them on the way-

-Got it- Ace and Siege replied

We got back to my parents and Eliza who looked concerned

"Why did you run?" Eliza asked

-She have pretty eyes-

Dabria just sighed

"I saw one bandit and didn't want him to get away

"Tell us next time" Dad said

"Yeah, I don't want to die early because of my worries" mom added

We then head back in the carriage and continued on our way to Acira

-Man, I love this trip already-

-Me too!- Ace said as he is on my lap -We get to see both a phoenix and a dragon, all in one day too-

-Your luck is really amazing- Siege said

-Don't worry, I'll have them bond with us by the time we attend our academy, otherwise, I'll fail at my job as a protagonist-

-You are already a failure- Dabria grumbled

-Well you're sponsoring a failure, who do you think is even more of a failure?-

-Me- she replied

"Why are you smiling son? Are you looking forward to another fight?" Dad asked

"No of course not, I'm just looking forward to visiting the northern mountains" I replied