Spit it out Rune. She is what?

In the darkness of the night, a young man sat on a tree branch thinking of his life. He now had a clear understanding of where he stood in this world. His survival depended on his fighting prowess

System how do I manifest my dragon?

Pop!

[ It's instinctual, all you need to do is think of the dragon and it will appear]

He did as instructed and a small dragon coalesced beside the tree. It was greyish white in colour, with a crown of ridges on its head.

Rune was ecstatic..he couldn't believe he had a dragon of his own.

Can it speak?

Of course I can speak . A reproachful female voice sounded in his head. He was so startled that he nearly fell from the branch he was sitting on. He had only thought if the dragon can speak, but to his surprise and amazement, the dragon can speak and even read his thoughts.

The small Primordial Rune Dragon sniffed the air testing the elements. It was its first time being in this world. A first of its kind.

Can I return you back into the system?

Of course, you just have to think of me going back into the system and I will go back. And you can retrieve me from anywhere, regardless of the distance between us.

Okay, so can you help me acquire more points? I need to grow strong as fast as possible.

I'm part of your system, and naturally I'm bound to you, the stronger you are, the stronger I become, there should be a balance between us otherwise you will die and I will cease to exist. To answer your question, yes I can help you become stronger. All I need is to do some hunting.

That's great! Let's go hunting. Most people will be sleeping now.

Unfortunately for you Rune, there is little of game in this part of the forest, why don't we go deeper?

Deeper!? Are you crazy!? The deeper you go into this forest, the greater the chances of us encountering more powerful beasts. And as you can see we are not that much strong.

That's the point. Plus together we are much stronger. You may want to dust yourself off and look nice. I'm off hunting!

With that, the small dragon gently took off into the night sky. It flew just above the trees, heading for a heard of antelopes it had sensed with its soul strength.

....

Rune was clueless, he didn't know what his dragon meant. It had been a few hours already and nothing had happened. He didn't know what to expect in this forest, expect for beasts and other contestants that may threaten his life. And he didn't need to look nice and clean to die!

"Rune!" A whisper woke Rune from his sleep.

He frantically looked around looking for the person who had called him.

" Are you alright? get down please?"

He knew that voice. That's right, that was Sigrid! But how did she find him here. He thought he had gone as far away as possible and had erased his tracks pretty well.

Not you again!

He checked if she had come alone.

The last time they were together, he had nearly died from a punch from a jealous boyfriend.

And the reason for that jealous was now here!

Ghmm! He groaned.

I don't want trouble! But there is not much I can do for now. Plus I owe her. Once I repay my debt, I will run as soon as I see her!

What's beauty to me? It's trouble in block letters!

And what is a jealous boyfriend? ..... I don't want to think of that punch.

Sigrid was anxious. She feared he may want nothing to do with her ever again, not that he would blame him.

On his face, she so wariness and some barely perceptible emotions. The darkness didn't help either.

She tentatively reached for his hand, fearing he would bolt.

" I'm so sorry for what happened, I should have done somethi...."

" No need to apologize." He cut her off. " It's my fault I'm weak"

Sigrid pressed her lips together. She didn't want to undermine his masculinity. He needed to grow stronger.

But she didn't agree with what had happened. His weakness didn't mean he deserved to be bullied around.

Ghrrrrfff ghroo!

His stomach made its emptiness known. He was starving. He last ate today morning before he was ambushed by his so called colleagues. Of course he was going to make a come back for them.

Sigrid took out some fresh meals from her storage ring. It consisted of some pasta, beast soup and meat as the main course. There were grapes and some other kinds of fruits that Rune, through the acquired memories, knew were very expensive as snacks.

She served him most the food. After some encouragement, he ate everything without ceremony or etiquette.

Sigrid looked on with a smile. Everything about him just made her feel happy. If it were anyone else who would have eaten like that, she would have chastised them for sure.

But him? Not even the thought of it crossed her mind.

The next morning they moved deeper into the forest. After some walking, they pitched a tent and tethered the horse on one of the starks of the tent.

" Rune, have you ever used a sword before?" She asked as she handed a broad sword compared to the one hanging at her side.

" Not really, I have only seen a few people use them during duels"

" That's fine, we will start from there. I will first teach you the basics. You have to be very attentive okay?". Her tone was different, this time she meant business.

Rune could only nod his head as he took the sword and followed her to a nearby meadow.

She faced off and they exchanged some moves.

"You have grasped the basics, but your footwork is a bit behind. Let's work on that."

And so they spend the whole morning at it. Sigrid would demonstrate some moves and Rune would imitate.

After lunch they did some archery, Sigrid's forte.

She never missed her targets, be they stationary or moving. She always got a bull's eye. The beauty had talent indeed!

Compared to Sigrid, Rune was hopeless. Even though he never missed the target, he never came close to hitting the bull's eye.

But Sigrid was determined to teach him before they go their separate ways. She may not be able to have him because of their differences in social statuses, but she was resolute to make him strong and not live his life being bullied by others.

"There is something I need to tell you Sigrid." They were sitting side by side on a rock outcrop near their campsite.

It has been days since they camped at this site. Day in and day out, they would practice sword art, archery, grappling and tracking during the day. At night they would rest telling stories and laughing.

They had grown very close. Sigrid had even told him of her father's untimely death which she had never told anyone except for her mother.

Today was just like every other day to them. Rune felt he could trust her enough to tell him about his dragon.

Yesterday, he had received a message from his dragon that he had gathered much resources that could boost his attributes, both skill and physical.

" Is that so Mr Handsome!?" She teasingly raised her eyebrows. Rune blushed at that.

" If you continue doing that I won't tell you. And I think it's something that you need to know, it's only fair that you do."

Seeing the seriousness of Rune, Sigrid gathered her frame of mind and looked expectantly at the young before her.

" I have a friend"

Silence

Seeing that he wasn't going to say anything else, Sigrid raised her eyebrow at him in question.

" She is...ahh" he stammered at the end

Sigrid's heart pounded at those words.

Does he mean he has a girlfriend or fiancee? What am I even thinking! Stop it you stupid heart!

She berated her own heart and tried to settle her emotions. But she couldn't stop her thoughts from reaching conclusions and hurting her heart further and further,

She gritted her teeth and determinedly probed.

"Spit it out Rune. She is what?"

She tried to bury her emotions but her voice came out peculiar, far from the nonchalant voice she imagined in her head.

" A dragon" he softly whispered as if afraid of her reaction or what she might say.

"What!? She isn't a person?" She threw her hands around him in a hug and then immediately pushed him away,

" What!? A dragon!? Did you say a dragon?"