Dawn- An Age Of Darkness

I stared out the window. The room was up somewhere around three or four floors above ground and there were no houses around this one, at least not this tall. It wasn't the best sign but I didn't have time to waste. Whatever I'd do, I had to hurry.

Footsteps came my way. My time was already up. I had to make a decision. Either feign sleeping or take a leap of faith and jump in the hopes of landing in some sort of bush or thick grass. Neither option seemed all that hot. Actually, the weather was pretty cold.

But there were was a possibility of a bush or at least something. After all, this place seemed more or less like the castle I saw in the middle of the town. 

Almost none of my wounds were healed. Just walking around was painful enough.  So the very thought of jumping three stories was heart-wrenching. And though the thought of bushes did comfort me, it certainly didn't ease my mind when I actually wanted to jump.

"Hey what are you doing!" A soldier walked up, pale-faced. I grinned. His face grew even paler. "Now, now, let's not do anything crazy. Please come down from there. We have prepared dinner. Why don't we head downstairs and grab a bite?" His voice was full of nervousness. He sweated like crazy even in this freezing atmosphere: He was probably about to lose his job or maybe even his head. I kind of felt pity for the guy. But my mind was made up.

Well, I suppose there's no going back now.

I gave him a farewell sign.

I climbed up the window and jumped. Falling to my death never seemed so fun. That jump from the mountains with a certain elf, might have changed my tastes more than I thought.

But the more the ground came closer, and I actually saw the colors, my eyebrows twitched more and more. 

Oh shit…

"He was right about you. You really are brave if nothing else." A voice ran through the wind. It was a quite melancholic voice. I'd heard it before. With that note, I was still falling to my death. 

I gulped midair and prepared myself, for the ground was made of cobblestone. Grass? Bushes? What were those? Only cobblestones were real!

Shit was about to get real, real.

Something flew past me. Something black, and something very fast. It spread its wings below me and caught me before I fell on the ground, flattening myself. It still hurt though.

"I suppose you are a little confused now, but hold on to the questions for later." A woman answered me, she was maneuvering the crow.

We started picking up altitude and before I knew it, clouds surrounded us.

We were high above the clouds and there it was, the glaring night sky and millions of stars. Thankfully I wasn't afraid of heights. But even so, my legs were shaking more than necessary. After all, this was a freaking bird, not a plane!

"You saved my life twice now." I looked around, dazed. I'd been on planes before but I never saw anything like this ever in my life. And because of that, I couldn't really control my shivering either. 

A real mixed experience. 

"Don't mention it. I didn't do it for you. I owed Dick." Instantaneous reply. She didn't think much of it.

I was on top of a very large crow. It kind of felt like a dream. The girl in front of me, who sat with her legs crossed, was the very same girl who grilled the undead dragons alive. They weren't alive though. 

She wore some kind of light armor beneath her robes. It suited her.

I actually remembered her face, though I thought I'd forget it. I guess my jealous brain had more memory than I thought. 

"I see. I still have to thank you though. Can I do anything for you? As long as it's reasonable, I wouldn't mind helping out." I was just being courteous: And more importantly, trying to get my thoughts away from 'what if I fall' thoughts.

As nonchalant as the girl sounded, I'd assumed she didn't care about my help in the least.

After all, she was damn strong herself. 

"I'd like to praise your chivalry. Were you always like this or did this world change you?"

My eyes locked with hers: I felt like I could get lost in those blue eyes of hers. She was quite mature-looking but definitely beautiful. Her blonde bangs fluttered along with the winds. If Dick was telling the truth, then she was summoned just like me. But I composed myself.

My heart was already fixed on a certain elf anyway. 

"This world has changed me in more than one way. But returning the favor was always one of my original qualities." Probably.

"I see. In that case, how about a date? I'd like to see more of this country. Not here though. I hate this city. I would have gone out with Dick if he wasn't such a… well, dick."

"Where'd that come from? And we've barely just met!" I chuckled to hide the awkwardness. 

"So you're all talk about chivalry and no-?"

She pulled a fast one on me. I never thought she'd use my own ideals against me. That was an earthling for you. "Fine. But first I'd have to get my stuff back. And get Lianne out of there. Where's Dick?"

"Dick's outside the town. And as for the woman you speak of, she won't be coming with us. We'd have to raid the castle if we want her out. I have your ring right here. Dick picked it up at the last moment."

She threw my ring at me. I fumbled with it a bit but caught it in the end. I sighed in relief. "In that case, can't we sneak in?"

"I wouldn't say it's impossible but the thing is the castle's pretty well guarded. We have to compromise between your things and the princess. I'd choose the weapons." She was being awfully frank. "Besides, if we could get the weapons, then the king would lose face, meaning negotiations won't pan out. SO though, it'd take time, the princess should be saved."

So you were listening?

"Unfortunately, I'm not you. I choose both." I couldn't just leave her behind.

Besides, I didn't like the way that guy spoke. I didn't know how he looked, but I certainly wasn't letting him touch Lianne.

"Isn't that just being selfish?"

"No, it's being greedy." I sent mana to the ring and brought out a bracelet and a bottle of potion. I drank the potion and it alleviated the pain. Nowadays potions were more like pain killers for me than healing medicine. Maybe I was abusing them? They mostly tasted like cheap wine though: No wonder I always drank so many, so nonchalantly.

I still wanted to drink high potions though: definitely.

I did check inside the ring and everything was in place: I was glad to see the girl being still unharmed and encased in solid crystal. The scepter was here. But the mystic blade, my armor, sword, even the crossbow or Boriosa's clothes for that matter, weren't here. 

On that note, I was only in my underwear. I did have bandages all over my body though. 

The girl looked with curiosity as I put on the bracelet and turned into a girl right in front of her. "Besides, I just came up with a plan." I was mostly nude, but since we were both girls up here, it was no big deal. 

Besides, I was a guy. 

"Yo-yo-you're a girl!" She overreacted. And I thought she was one of the melancholic no care type. I might have been a little wrong. I was wrong about Dick too. Was I really that bad of a character judger?

"No, I'm a guy who can turn into a girl thanks to this." I didn't have time to explain the nitty-gritty behind everything. Next I pulled out clothes and underwear and changed right away. My wounds stung more than I thought they would and it was pretty difficult and awkward to change midair in front of a girl: not to mention there were bandages. "Next stop: the adventurers' guild."

"The guild?"

"Don't worry. They owe me."

And I wasn't going to let this chance slip.

But there was one problem. 

We were now descending and all my earlier emotions made a triumphant return. 

I'm going to die!

"ARHGH!"