It was loud. Elise was sitting at the back of a tavern she found in the town, named Mama Millio's. The town of Rihona was developing fast with all the monster-hunting tourism. So, the tavern had stone walls and a big fireplace to warm up the noisy crowd of adventurers.
It was way better than most places she had stayed for the past six months. She had come to this town to gain more experience through hunting monsters. Since there was no war in the Kingdom for the past twenty years, she had heard that this was the best place for earning money while fighting. While she was roaming aimlessly for months after she left home, hearing about this place had given her a direction in life she could enjoy. She could be an adventurer.
Although she didn't have the slightest idea about how to be one, this was why she was here, sitting at this tavern full of adventurers. She wanted to listen to their stories and learn things before she got into the forest full of dangers.
She was still wearing her hood, covering her long, black, straight hair and pale face. Even though some eyes were drawn toward her from time to time, she had not wanted to take the risk of being recognized.
Unfortunately for her, there was an adventurer party in the middle of the tavern, celebrating their successful expedition. The Band of Steel, they were calling themselves. They were showing off the giant egg next to their table. It was a Stone Dragon egg, based on their declaration. The soft light of the fireplace was dancing on the surface of the giant egg, like it was a shiny gem made of metal.
They were already drunk and were telling the story of their relentless battle against the dragon. Therefore, they were the talk of the tavern.
Some of the adventurers, mostly the younger ones, seemed to believe and admire them, but some veterans were not giving them friendly looks. Elise also had realized there was something wrong with their story. She was almost sure it was a dragon egg. Elise had seen one in one of the books in her father's library, but she was not sure it belonged to a Stone Dragon.
Between the excited talks and questions among the crowd, she also heard some disapproving talks.
"What liars they are." They were saying. "I don't believe they slew or chased off any Dragon. No one can slay a Dragon without a scratch. Especially a party of four."
"Look, they even brought it here to show off. I don't know what it is, but it does not look like a Stone Dragon egg to me." Just like Elise thought.
The Band of Steel was answering some of those they could hear. Calling them jealous and boosting themselves even more for achieving what the others couldn't have imagined. Some fights nearly broke out as they grew drunker, but they were stopped by the owner, Mama Millio herself, who threatened to throw them out and ban them from entering again.
The adventurers had respect for her; she was the owner of one of the best taverns in the town, and she had a harsh attitude as far as Elise could see. She was managing both the employees and the guests with an iron fist.
As the night went on, she heard one of the conversations of the Band of Steel that caught her attention.
"Jacky!" one of them with two weapons on his belt called out. "Imagine how your father will react when we bring this egg to him. This thing could fortify your place as the heir of your household." He said, excited more than he should be as a result of the alcohol.
"Naah," Jacky, the one with a longsword like Elise, answered. "He wouldn't even care! He only cares about his schemes and whatnot. Things like being a swordsman or adventurer are nothing to be praised about in his eyes." He gulped down the rest of his drink.
Elise looked at his face to see if she could recognize him. He was around her age, 19, and taller than her by a span. Considering she was on the taller side among her female peers, he could be considered tall.
He had a sharp chin and a relatively handsome face topped with messy golden-brown hair. Even though Elise used to play with other nobles' boys more than girls at the events they attended in her childhood, she couldn't figure out who he was.
"Oh, come on! I don't think..." The hefty guy on the table tried to comfort him, but Jacky stood up.
"I don't want to talk about him tonight." He said, barely standing straight. "We fought well and got what we deserved. Let's just drink and celebrate. Next rounds on me!"
He left the table with the cheers of his companions and walked toward the counter. At least he tried. After bumping everything on the way and almost falling three times, he reached the counter.
Only then did Elise realize the man sitting at one of the stools in front of the counter. He had the strangest clothing Elise had ever seen. It was just like rag-like strips of cloth were layered on top of each other. He had no equipment or weapon on him, which was even more weird in a place like this.
He could have been a magician, but as far as she knew, they would also need some equipment. Her knowledge about magic was limited. When her family found out about her Blessing, they had also called a magician from the Capital to check if she had any affinity towards magic. Unfortunately, she had none, so she didn't bother learning any.
The man at the counter was eating a pie, which looked like a pumpkin pie, along with some juice, and chatting with the owner when the drunk member of the Band of Steel came in. Elise saw the man's face when he turned to look at Jacky for a moment.
His long brown hair was loosely tied at the back of his head. His long beard was messy, like he had never heard of a comb and had some red-ish tips here and there. Based on his face, he looked in his early forties. In contrast to his healthy hair and face, his body was looking weak. He was leaning at the counter with a crooked back.
"Oi, Millio! Four more mead for me." Jacky leaned next to the strange man. "Hey, why are you not having fun, old man?" He asked.
"I am having fun eating this delicious pie, thanks for your concern." Said the man, with an empty tone. He didn't even look at the young man.
"Oh, come on, you don't look like you are having fun. You are only eating that shitty thing and chatting with that fat old lady. Come, have a drink. Millio, one more here! On me!"
"Hey, who are you calling fat and old! And my pie is one of the best around here!" Mama Millio was not the thinnest person around, but saying that to her face was a different thing. "Didn't your mother teach you any manners, boy?"
"Boy! Who are you calling, boy!" He was drunk enough to be offended by anything. "I am a man! My friends and I have slain thousands of monsters like flies." He was so drunk. Other members of the Band of Steel were watching him, and they cheered at his words.
"Taking lives is easy," the man said, while canceling the order Jacky gave with a wave of his hand. "The hard thing is sparing lives when you can. And you should learn some manners, as the beautiful lady said." He looked the drunk young man in the eye. "Boy."
The man's voice was a little joyful this time, almost like he was making fun of him. Maybe he was trying to taunt him, Elise thought. If he was, it was not a great idea since there were more of his friends right behind him. They were all drunk and young, ready to fight.
If he was taunting him, it was working. The boy with the longsword on his waist tensed up. Elise thought he was going to draw his weapon for sure. She got ready but hesitated. Why was she even getting ready? She didn't know the man and had nothing to do with this situation. Did she only want to beat that annoying drunkard? Maybe. But the boy didn't draw his sword.
Instead, he got one of the cups of mead he ordered and started pouring it on the man's head.
"Oh, sorry, my hand just slipped. I am deeply sorry for what I have done; it was an accident." He said, with that annoying smirk on his face. "How was it? Was it good enough manners for you?"
A deep silence fell onto the tables around them slowly. People started to notice what was going on and waited for what was about to happen. The Band of Steel had also noticed the situation and gathered around their friend to back him up.
"Hey! Didn't I say no fighting?" Mama Millio yelled, but this time the things had gone too far too quickly.
Elise was on the edge of her seat and ready to interfere. She noticed some adventurers around them were also getting tense. Elise hoped that if something happened, they wouldn't let her fight alone. She also hoped that the strange man would calm the situation and stop the fight before it started.
But he did the worst.
The man just laughed and kept eating his pie. He must have loved it too much to even eat it in this situation. The mead that had just been poured on him left no trace of his robe or hair at all. But it seemed only Elise had noticed that.
"Hey! Are you mocking me, old man?" His face twisted in anger. "I think you are the one who needs to be taught some manners," said the boy as he drew his sword.
Some of the adventurers, along with Elise, jumped up, but they were not fast enough. Even though he was drunk, the young man seemed to be a great fighter. His sword went right at the neck of the man at the counter. Elise rushed, but couldn't reach to stop the sword. But apparently, it was not necessary.
The man was looking at the boy with careless eyes while he caught his longsword between his thumb and index fingers.
Now the whole tavern was aware of the situation, and they were looking at the man who had just stopped a longsword attack from a strong fighter with only his two fingers. It was an impossible feat.
"I see you are willing to blow off some steam before you die tonight, boy." Even though these words did come out like a threat, the man's voice and posture were not threatening at all. The boy who was blinded by anger and alcohol was in no shape to notice that.
"We'll see who is gonna die tonight, old man." He tried to pull his sword back, but it didn't budge.
"Come on, boss, what are you doing?" The Band was standing behind him, ready to block anyone who tried to intervene, but they were also shocked by the situation, just like the rest of the tavern.
"Oh, no, no. You got me wrong. I am not the one who is going to kill you tonight." The man turned his eyes to the giant egg in the middle of the tavern. "That egg's mother is the one who is going to kill you." Now that she was closer, Elise got to see his eyes. Were they changing colors?
The boy seemed to be irritated by the man's words. Elise assumed he was afraid his lies were going to be exposed. "We chased that thing's mother. Weren't you listening? Maybe you are too old to hear. We beat the Stone Dragon!" the young man yelled at him.
"It is not a Stone Dragon egg, you idiot." The man was having fun. "That is a Silver Dragon egg."
The whole tavern was shocked by the statement. "A Silver Dragon?!" "Weren't those just some legend?" "Did anyone see any before?" "Weren't they only in some folk stories?"
Could it be possible? The man did not look like he was joking. His statement also backed up Elise's thoughts about that egg. It was definitely not a Stone Dragon egg, but a Silver Dragon? Here in the Alethani Kingdom?
"A Silver Dragon? What do you take us as? Some children living in fairy tales? Or did you already lose your mind because of your age, old man?" He was still trying to pull his sword back from the man's fingers.
"If you had someone with a proper education in your party, they would have known. Maybe you are not a child, but you are a fool, boy." The man still didn't seem to care about the boy's anger towards him.
"A Silver Dragon usually lives away from most intelligent creatures; they like their privacy. But you disturbed the mother's nest and took her baby from her. Silver Dragons are clever. Not like their green or red cousins. They are ancient and strong. And you lot just made her angry. You didn't only kill yourselves. You killed the whole town by coming here and bringing the egg with you."
The people in the tavern started whispering. They were starting to be afraid of the chance that the strange man's words were true. The boy lost his standing against the crowd, and it made him angrier and desperate.
"It is obvious that you are lying. If you already knew that, why didn't you warn us before?"
The man turned at the counter and put the last piece of his pie into his mouth with his free hand. "You got into this trouble yourselves; it is not my concern." He turned to the owner and asked, "Mama Millio, is my package ready?" he asked, like he was just having a casual conversation.
"You can't just ignore me like that. Do you know who my father is?" The young leader of the Band was still struggling to take his sword back.
"No, but instead of him doing it, I think I should take away this toy from you before you hurt someone."
With his two fingers, he shattered the boy's longsword into pieces. It only took a little movement of his fingers. Just like that, the sword was broken. It looked too easy for him to be real.
At that moment, Elise decided that she needed to know. Who was he? And how did he get this strong? She was going to persuade this man to take her as his apprentice and learn the secret of his strength.
Everyone was looking at the scene with their open mouths. And then, another sound broke the silence. A wild roar was heard all over the town, and the town bells followed it.
"Ah, she is here." The man reached the counter. "Thanks for the pie, Mama Millio. It was delicious." He took the package the lady had prepared and left some silver coins on the counter. He was ready to leave.
"Give back the egg to her, boy. Maybe she will forgive you." He said while he was heading to the door. Screams had started to come from the town. "I doubt it, though." He opened the door and went outside.
Everyone was terrified and couldn't move for a moment. Elise came to her senses before anyone else and ran outside to see the hell that was just starting.