The dragon's harem

Chapter 568 Afraid

”Brown worms?” Arad closed the door, ”Those were big,”

”Too big,” Amber grunted, ”Should we get back?”

”No, we have to clear the layer,” Merlin looked at them.

”But you saw that,” Arad pointed to the door, ”Thatʼs huge. None of my spells would even dent its skin,”

”Neither mine,” Amber sighed.

”You two are...right,” Merlin looked down, ”Without my magic, taking those things down is almost impossible,”

”Wait, did you just say those?” Arad stared at her, ”I only saw one,”

Merlin stared at him, ”You shouldʼve read the monster manual at the guild. Brown worms live in groups like maggots. I bet there are tens of them out there.”

”We canʼt win a fight,” Amber stared at them, ”Do you have a solution?”

”We run,” Merlin squatted down and started drawing on the dusty ground.

Brown worms are blind and deaf, but they can sense things with their tremor sense. Their range differs depending on the wormʼs size and age, but itʼs usually fifty to one hundred meters in all directions, on the ground.

She drew a wavy line depicting the sand and multiple thick ones beneath it to depict the worms.

Due to their low intelligence and weak senses, they can be easily baited by mages and wizards.

Merlin drew a cube on the right side, signifying the stairs they were in, and beside it, she made a splash of the sand lying everywhere. Amberʼs flames could create a big enough shockwave to draw the worms toward it.

Merlin erased the worms and drew them beneath the explosion, and in the middle of the air, she drew a bad dragon with two stick figures on it, one with large breasts and one with a wizardʼs hat.

”Why the details?” Amber stared at her. ”Whoʼs who?”

”Aradʼs the dragon,” Merlin replied with a smile.

”That isnʼt what I meant,” Amber growled.

Merlin ignored Amber and drew a stream of fire coming from the dragonʼs butt and a second large cube to the left with a door.

”I do not fart flames,” Arad stared at her, ”But you can fly with us, canʼt you?” She stared at him, ”I donʼt know how youʼll do it, but can you?”

”If I used fire from all of my limbs, that might be possible,” Arad replied.

”The two of us combined would barely weigh as much as you do,” Merlin looked at him with a smile, ”If two fire jets from your feet can carry you, Iʼm sure four can carry double the weight,”

Arad scratched his chin, staring at them.

Merlin followed Aradʼs eyes, finding them staring at her chest and hips.

”What are you thinking about?” She cried.

”As a human, I weigh 200kg,” He replied, ”You look thicker than Amber, so youʼre around 120kg, and sheʼs 80kg.” He stared at Amber, ”Itʼs a problem if you two weigh as much as I do. Even Aella, Eris, and Isdis combined wonʼt weigh as I do,”

”Since when did this become a conversation about our weight?” Amber cried, ”And she said weʼll barely weigh as you do. Youʼre the heavy one here,”

”Weight is subjective,” Arad replied.

”Whatʼs your point?” Amber stared at him.

”Weight slows you down. Acceleration, deceleration, and general speed are important in combat and in dodging small and large monstersʼ attacks.” Arad flexed his leg, almost ripping his pants apart. ”The more weight your muscles have to move, the less likely youʼre going to survive an encounter,”

”You sound like Alcott,” Merlin looked at him, ”If the weight on you is muscles and bones, then itʼs okay since they would help support and move your frame, but if itʼs something else, itʼs just slowing you down,”

Merlin sighed, ”You donʼt value strength,” She approached him, ”You value survivability. You canʼt help but point things out. You donʼt want to see people around you fail to dodge an attack and get killed.”

Arad remembered the first time he went on a quest with Aella, and she got eaten by a giant toad, and how their fight with the bandits ended. The sheer speed and raw strength of Alcott was what saved them.

”Humans are fragile,” Merlin smiled, ”Every bit of advantage is worth going for,”

Arad could remember how Isdis got sniped out of nowhere. She wasnʼt perceptive enough to notice, Aella wasnʼt fast enough to react and save her, and even he wasnʼt good enough to prevent the attack.

”Magic is powerful, but it isnʼt omnipotent,” Merlin sighed, ”Even the best wards canʼt save your life all the time,”

Arad remembered when Vlad attacked, no one was able to stand. Even Merlinʼs magic couldnʼt protect her. Yet, beside him, one was able to move, Nina.

The sheer power and strength in her lean yet dense muscular body allowed her to stand and take a step. If there was only one opening, she mightʼve been able to run away.

”Youʼre afraid,” Merlin approached Arad, patting his head, ”Itʼs not that you donʼt want weak people around you, as if thatʼs the case, weʼre the last race you wouldʼve approached. Itʼs just that youʼre afraid, scared, and terrified of losing those around you,”

”Weʼre the last race he wouldʼve approached?” Amber stared at her.

”Calm down, Arad,” Merlin smiled, ”Weʼre alive. We wonʼt die,” She patted his head, ”We arenʼt weak, we wonʼt get eaten, wonʼt fail to run away,”

Arad stared at her in silence.

”I said we barely reached your weight, but that was just a description. I and Amber combined might not reach 150kg. We arenʼt slow, we arenʼt dense, and we wonʼt get snatched by those worms,” She looked at Amber.

”You can fly with fire, canʼt you?”

”Of course,” Amber replied, ”You can carry me, canʼt you?”

”I should be able to, yes,” Amber replied while being a bit confused as her earlier question wasnʼt answered.

”You heard her,” Merlin looked at him, ”We can fend for ourselves. We arenʼt as fragile as you see us,”

^To a dragon, weʼre too fragile to risk. Arad is like a soldier asked to run across a field filled with hungry wolves, while we two are little kittens hanging on for dear life on his back. Of course, he would be concerned if we said we weigh as much as he does. He would think our claws wonʼt hold up.^

Merlin looked at her drawing. ^Arad didnʼt seem to display fear when fighting with Nina or Eris. He seems to trust their powers. He fought them and understood their powers well.^