Chapter Twenty-Seven

Edward and Leila sat in silence for a few more minutes. The shock of Leila's realization turned her into a silent husk. After a few minutes, though, Leila looked up from her shell. Her green eyes were wet with tears— though most of them evaporated as soon as they dropped from her cheeks.

"Why did you want to speak with me in the first place?" Leila asked. She let her body relax as she looked at Edward.

"I wanted to spread the news, mostly," Edward answered, "but I also wanted to help. We're in the same situation— one that might derail and destroy most of society. Imagine it: Thousands of people with superpowers. Soon enough the world's militaries won't be able to fight back against even one of them."

"So you wanted to make sure I wouldn't go crazy and burn down my neighborhood?" Leila asked, a smile forming on her lips. She was joking to avoid the fearful situation— but Edward saw past her metaphorical mask. Edward shook his head in response.

"That's wasn't a concern. Plus, I didn't think you would get such a powerful skill. I can't do what you can do— at least not yet," Edward said, "My power focuses on the usage of other creatures— I'm similar to a summoner. Most of my strength is found in my tamed dragons."

"Tamed dragons?" Leila looked at Ikarus.

"My title is 'The Winged Legion'," Edward explained, "I think that's because of my abilities. Ultimately, I'll end up exactly that: A legion of winged creatures. Soon enough, I'll have another dragon under my control."

"Will you be able to ride them? I've always wanted to ride a flying creature," Leila confessed, "Though my first thought was a large bird— not something like a dragon. Thank you, by the way. I appreciate you helping me in the way you have."

Edward nodded, then stood up. He saw no more reason to stay here any longer. He had told Leila everything she needed to know— but now it was time for him to gain experience. He put his mask back on and threw on his hood.

"That's good," Edward spoke, "However, I think I should give you one more piece of advice. Level up and do it quickly. I don't know how long it'll be until somebody else ascends. I think we should be prepared for when that happens."

"We?" Leila muttered, surprised. 

"You're still only level one, so you wouldn't know it yet. Leveling up with an Origin this strong will grant you additional stat points," Edward told her, "I'm going to go find some old friends— hopefully they'll help me level up quickly. By the time I see you again, I hope you'll have become strong."

Edward turned around to leave the room, but he was quickly stopped when Leila grabbed his cloak. He turned to look at her and found her eyes glaring up at his.

"Take me with you," Leila told him with a determined face, "I want to level up as well, but I don't think I can do it alone."

Edward turned back around to face Leila. He considered her request for a moment but soon realized he had no reason to deny it. He smiled, then used his menu to send her a friend request. As soon as Leila received it, she beamed and quickly stood up from her bed.

"My legs still hurt a little," She told him, "But I think I'll be able to follow you just fine. Let's go!"

︽

The Forgotten Flame has accepted your friend request!

︾

"Good!" Edward smiled. He turned back around and began to leave the room. This time, Leila was following close behind. Edward made sure to slow his pace— just in case her legs began to ache again, "Although I'm only going to meet them— there's no guarantee they'll help me. If they turn us down— we'll end up on our own until we can find somebody else."

"That's fine," Leila said as they turned the corner. Soon after they began walking down the inn's stairs to the first floor. From here, Edward and Leila walked into the street, "The max party size is five, anyways, so it won't be hard to find other people. XP gain will be disabled if we go any higher than the max. How many of your friends are we meeting?"

'There's a party limit?' Edward thought to himself as he listened to Leila. He hadn't learned this himself, surprisingly, despite having gone through most of the forums. He assumed the knowledge was so common that it was expected to be known.

"Two," Edward answered. He opened his map of Pathe and tried to find his current location. From there, he made a mental note of the route he would have to take to get to his destination. Once he had it all memorized he closed his map and turned back to Leila, "Aren't you afraid of your identity being compromised? Your appearance matches your real face, now."

"Is that why you wear a mask?" Leila asked. Edward slowly nodded as if that information should've been obvious. Had nobody else been worried about their identity? He couldn't have been the only one, "I suppose you're right."

"Let's go to the market before we head to our destination," Edward told her. Leila quickly nodded and followed Edward down the street.

As they walked to their destination, Edward noticed surprised glares and a few disgusted looks directed his way. Almost all of these reactions belonged to solely players, though a few NPCs backed away in fright when they saw Ikarus for the first time. Almost every player they met seemed to hate Ikarus, rather than fear him.

'I guess rumors have already spread?' Edward realized. He ignored all of these people and continued on his way, but they eventually became too annoying to ignore. One person, particularly, was especially angry. As soon as they first caught sight of Edward and his dragon this person ran forward and blocked the sidewalk.

"Oh, it's Dan," Leila spoke, surprised. Dan Butler, the man who had nearly killed Leila in an unfair duel, now stood before Edward with his arms crossed. He no longer wore his armor or carried his great sword, probably because both had been turned to liquid. Instead, he had donned beginner's leather armor and the basic iron broadsword.

"I don't know what sort of mind magic you cursed me with," Dan said. He pointed at Edward, his eyes filled with rage, "But it won't work this time! I'll beat you down for destroying my gear, you piece of shit!"

'Annoying,' Edward thought to himself.

"Burn him," Edward told Ikarus. Despite not understanding Draconic, Dan Butler's face immediately paled. It seemed his last experience against Ikarus scarred him enough to teach him a little Draconic. Ikarus smiled widely— as much as a dragon snout could— before opening his mouth. Orange fire shot forward with force equal to a sledgehammer before completely swallowing Dan.

Dan was lucky this time, though, as he died immediately. The flames were too strong for his leather armor to resist they ripped a hole right through his chest piece. The flames continued forward, burning everything in its way until they reached his heart.

Dan fell to the ground as the rest of his body burned away. A few nearby players stepped back as they gazed upon Ikarus with frightened expressions. Leila stood still, her face expressionless, as she crossed her arms.

'Ah, shit,' Edward realized as he looked at his XP bar climb, 'Was that impolite?'