20- Gather before it is too late - Part 1

"Hurry up! I cannot feel the mark I left on your partner. I am afraid that we might have to get ready for the worst possible outcome. In the worst-case scenario, he might even be—"

Liam did not want to think about how loud a person would have to speak in order to be able to hear someone talking about them from this far away.

But even then, he had a feeling that Bianca's mother was talking a little too loudly.

"Looks like these humans are under the impression that I killed you off by now. And normally, they would be right to assume that. Luckily for you, you are a little more useful than they think. So, what do you want to do now? Want me to take care of them—"

Before Asger could make any more comments, Liam pulled the kid close. He forced his face to make the most serious expression that it could before he turned to look at the half-dragon.

"Act docile and keep the thing about me having magic a secret. I don't have time to explain everything right now, but just make sure no one knows about my magic, alright?"

The dragon looked surprised to hear Liam, and he could not figure out why someone as strong as Liam would want to hide his powers. Humans were foolish creatures, so in the end, he just chalked it up to this human having a quirk about not being found out.

Liam was not sure how much the half-dragon would comply with him, but the calm response he got back reassured him a little.

Bianca crossed the visible line first before her mother followed at a more sedated pace. But they both froze as soon as their eyes fell on the healthy half-dragon.

"Liam, try and walk toward us slowly. That creature is dangerous, so get away from it."

Bianca tried to warn Liam, but he quickly raised his hands to show that he was fine and there was no need to panic.

"There is no need to panic. I talked with this creature, and we are fine now. There is no need—"

Emily Ross did not even wait for Liam to finish speaking before she shot a fireball toward the half-dragon standing at his side. It was just far enough to not graze Liam's side and hurt him.

But the brush of that fire being this close to Liam made him nervous enough to almost let out a curse. He was going to brush it off, but the half-dragon could not overlook it.

"That bitch. I am going to kill her. How dare she try and destroy this great one's food source! This is not allowed."

The half-dragon increased the pressure of his magic, and it was intense enough for even Liam to feel as he tried to understand what was happening.

Before he knew it, the half-dragon had attacked the mother-daughter pair, and a dozen roots headed their way. They were magic-proof, so no amount of fire could burn them.

All Emily and Bianca could do was create a barrier around them to protect themselves.

"Hey, you! Hurry up and run! We won't be able to hold this dragon back for long. So you need to—"

Liam felt like he had enough of this. So he dragged the half-dragon, who looked as old as a child and weighed the same as well, and the magic cast by the dragon instantly disappeared because of the shock he felt.

"How dare you do this to me? I saved your life from these humans out to kill us, and this is how you repay me, you little shit… let me go now. Or I will char you to bits—"

The half-dragon flailed in Liam's grip, much like a young child did when they were picked up against their will.

As soon as the magic dropped, the two females headed toward Liam with almost shocked expressions on their faces.

"What the hell… what happened? Boss, why is that beast not killing you?"

Bianca asked in a shocked voice. The same question was on her mother's mind, but she was the more outspoken one, so she asked it.

"I am not going to kill my food source. Do you know how difficult it is to get quality food out here? That's why I have decided to make this human my servant and have him serve me. If you try to harm him, then I will have to end your life and eat you as well."

Asger roared, but Liam was quick to shake him, and the half-dragon went quiet… for now.

Before any more misunderstandings could arise, Liam decided to clarify what happened to the two in front of him.

"It is not like that. I am sorry for all this confusion, so let me explain to you what happened. I was trying to run away when I tripped over some magical plant and accidentally formed a bond with Asger. Because of this, we cannot hurt each other… so I am fine now. And you all should be—"

Just as Liam spoke this, the dungeon shook violently. It was clear that something was wrong as he could feel magic depleting from the dungeon fast.

"Ah, we should run out of here now. Since I formed a contract with you, I am no longer the boss of this dungeon. It won't be able to sustain itself without a boss, so we better get out."

Asger informed the party a little bit too late. Even Liam could feel the dungeon's collapse happening around him, and his heart skipped a beat in fear.

'System, how long do we have until this dungeon collapses?'

Liam asked for a specific time frame.

[User has 01 hour and 15 minutes before the collapse of this dungeon.]

Well, it was enough time for Liam to make some profit. So he quickly put Asger down and brought out two sacks before handing one to Bianca.

"We have some time before this dungeon collapses. Put whatever you can inside this sack, and we will sort it out later once we are safe."