Show Me Your Stats!

Janus crouched opposite Ayra after seeing her pull out some food from her subspace, and asked, "You’re a mage and you can’t even light a fire with magic?"
Ayra glanced at him as she placed two sausages over the fire. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to light a fire with magic in such a small area?"
Magic had its ranks. Simply destroying things or levitating objects were the basics. Causing explosions and cutting things apart indicated a slightly more advanced skill level, while transforming surrounding materials into something else marked the end of novice level magic.

It was considered more advanced to light a fire in a confined space than to set a whole forest ablaze, and more intricate to sculpt rock than to shatter it. The next level of application involved using subspace after decades in a labyrinth, showing illusions, or creating artificial life. Awakening magic, which one had to be born with, was the pinnacle and essence of application magic.
Although Ayra was a high-level mage who could easily ignite a small fire, she was conserving energy due to her current low mana. While cooking the sausages, she inadvertently glanced between Janus's legs.
"I might actually die if it gets serious with that size. Better break it off before he tries anything."

She handed one of the nicely browned sausages to Janus and brought the other to her mouth.
"It felt pretty good earlier, though... But they say it's better when it’s bigger, is that true?"
Lost in thought and chewing on her sausage, she suddenly noticed Janus's intense gaze. Realizing that looking between someone's legs while chewing might be misconstrued, she quickly shoved the sausage into her mouth. Although swallowing hastily made her throat hurt, she quickly changed the subject to avoid the previous situation.

"It’s a relief, though. So far, no demonic beasts have appeared."
"Hmm, is that good?" Janus responded nonchalantly while sucking the grease from his fingers. Before leaving the castle, Bloom had repeatedly warned Ayra to be careful in Dalum Gorge, known for frequent demonic beast appearances. The absence of any such creatures so far might have been due to the landslide, which slightly disappointed her.
"Actually, it's best if they don't show up."

The worst scenario would be if the merchant had already been attacked by a demonic beast while crossing the gorge. The best would be if they hadn't crossed yet due to the avalanche. Ayra planned the next steps while warming herself by the fire.
She would clear the blocked path, bring the merchant back, pay the interest, and start rebuilding the castle wall. She needed to review and organize the piled-up documents, and check the site of the landslide. After paying the interest, she would somehow need to gather another 300 Cells...
The more she thought about it, the darker the future seemed, prompting a sigh from Ayra.

"I wish a dragon would settle in our territory."
Janus turned his head at that comment. The horses ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) behind Ayra whinnied nervously.
"A dragon?"

"If a dragon settled down, we wouldn't have to worry about invaders."
Dragons were among the most powerful and volatile natural disasters, known to massacre humans and destroy cities or settle in remote areas and kill any humans who trespassed. When they died, they left no corpses, so little was known about them.
No king ruled this world because of dragons. They wandered from place to place, and whenever someone declared themselves king, dragons would swarm and kill them. The only dragon acknowledged as a king was Eolga, the Dragon King, seven hundred years ago. His kingdom fell and was replaced by the Labyrinth of Misdemeanors.
Humans survived these terrifying natural disasters because dragons, when encountering each other, usually fought to the death, reducing their already small numbers. Secondly, dragons always accepted humans as companions.

Once a dragon took a human as a companion, it no longer engaged in senseless slaughter. In places like Southern Amzel with Karakasana or Eastern Lodiya with Heani, dragons protected the land as lords. And since a dragon's lifespan matched its companion's, the land prospered peacefully.
Sometimes, as with Trastasa, instead of slaughtering, a dragon would rule over humans like slaves before finally accepting a companion.
Dragons were thus both feared and romanticized. Children in this world grew up dreaming of becoming a dragon's companion, and among adults, stories of falling in love with a dragon were popular.

Lost in these thoughts, Ayra murmured, "I wish I could meet a dragon just once."
"To become its companion?"
Janus asked with a curious smile as Ayra, lost in a dreamy reverie, replied, "No, if I could just survive the encounter, just a drop of blood or a single hair..."

"Huh? For a souvenir? Or are you thinking of making an elixir of immortality?"
"First, I’d take the sample to Ishail and ask him to replicate it several times."
Confused, Janus tilted his head. Ayra, excited by the thought, clasped her hands and poured out her happy fantasy.

"Ishail can replicate any object in the world. I’d keep the original safe and experiment with the replicas. Most dragons seem not to use magic well according to historical records."
As far as Ayra knew, the only dragon recorded in history as a mage was the one from the Labyrinth of Misdemeanors, the first castle lord’s companion who broke through dimensional walls and caused numerous possessions and reincarnations. No other dragons known to have taken companions were recorded as using magic. Dragons always used their physical bodies to kill humans.
"...Was that so?"

Janus's voice turned slightly uneasy, but Ayra, not noticing, continued.
"If a dragon’s body really lacks magical power, it would show an interesting reaction to the Arturghfus reagent. That reagent becomes more acidic the less magic resistance it encounters, so if I’m right, it would dissolve without a trace."
"That sounds very dangerous..."

"It's safe. It’s mainly dangerous to ordinary mages or demonic beasts. It's expensive, and pouring a cup only dissolves a mass equivalent to that cup. But still... just a hair or a drop of blood isn’t enough. If only a really powerful mage from the labyrinth could capture a dragon for me..."
Regardless of how Janus looked at her, Ayra was lost in a blissful fantasy. If they could capture a dragon, what then? It was a long-standing topic of conversation in the labyrinth. Ayra was among those mages who argued that dragons were a type of demonic beast that took human form.
"I wonder if their internal organs are similar to humans'? How does the digestive and absorption process work? What about their reproductive method? It's amazing that no one knows how dragons are born even after all these years. If I could just look inside once, I’d give up my entire collection for that."

As Janus silently listened to Ayra’s words, he suddenly bowed his head and scrutinized his body.
"Still, since it’s a high-intelligence creature comparable to humans... I’d administer an anesthetic, not sure if it’d work like it does on humans, but I’d make sure to cut it painlessly, then beautifully seal it back up so I could cut it open again..."
Ayra was known among the labyrinth's slaves for being quite kind and caring when handling experimental subjects. Most magicians treated their human subjects harshly as they were typically heinous criminals. So Ayra, if dealing with a dragon, would be even more meticulous and caring.

But fantasies were just that, and after a blissful expression, she sighed deeply. Dragons were rare and, once taking a companion, could not be brought into the labyrinth to be experimented on, making this dream unachievable. The heat from the campfire melted the igloo’s ceiling, and a droplet of water fell on Ayra’s neck, snapping her back to reality. Now sufficiently warmed and with some mana restored, she suggested, "Shall we get going?"
Janus, stroking his abs and staring at Ayra, grinned. Just then, a notification popped up.
[Janus Rehzedet's favorability has increased by 1.]

Current Favorability: 3
Huh? Favorability increased?
Why, though... After a crisis? Because of the sexual activity? Or the conversation about dragons? Common interests often increase favorability, so Ayra, just in case, asked,

"Janus, are you interested in dragon anatomy?"
"No."
His blunt response left her slightly disappointed, but then Janus laughed crazily.

"I'm not interested in dissecting dragons, but imagining you cutting open my stomach was thrilling."
She really was dealing with a madman...