NOVEL NEXT Chapter 35: Favor
"Who is it that you hate...?" asked Vahn, tilting his head slightly. He still didn't get the impression Tiamat harbored any ill will toward him and Asia, so instead of panicking, he determined humoring her was the best course of action.
"An arrogant and conniving thief named Ddraig, known by most as the Red Dragon Emperor," responded Tiamat, finding Vahn's calm curious as she drew closer to him, completely ignoring Asia as she bent forward to sniff him or, more accurately, his clothes.
"Where did you acquire these garments...?" asked Tiamat.
"Are you talking about my clothes...?" asked Vahn, raising his right brow slightly before revealing, "I made them."
"Hooo? Humans who can create magical items are rare, and I've never seen or heard of one so young being able to produce such high-quality items..." remarked Tiamat, narrowing her eyes and adopting an even more predatory smile than before. Unfortunately, she could smell the aroma of the Sitri and Gremory Houses permeating Vahn's aura, and based on the pervasiveness of their scents, he was no mere acquaintance to them.
"You're the Dragon Queen, Tiamat-sama, aren't you?" asked Vahn, taking the initiative to state, "My name is Vahn Mason, and my friend here is Asia Argento. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Well, aren't you a polite one," remarked Tiamat, suppressing her urge to have Vahn remove Asia from his lap and remove his pants. The aroma of treasure was especially strong near his groin, but since Vahn seemed like a good boy, almost completely free of negative karma, she felt it wouldn't be right to bully him.
"What is your relationship with the heiresses of the Sitri and Gremory Houses?" asked Tiamat, wanting to confirm her suspicions before things potentially escalated.
"I'm going to be Sona's Prince-Consort and Rias's husband," responded Vahn, his expression, tone, and the surety of his aura making it clear, at least to Tiamat, that he wasn't speaking falsehoods.
"Mmm...in other words, taking from you would be taking from the Sitri and Gremory Houses..." muttered Tiamat, her eyes narrowing in annoyance as she folded her arms in a way that emphasized her very substantial bosom and deliberated her options.
"You're searching for treasure...?" asked Vahn.
Nodding, Tiamat casually explained, "It is the nature of Dragons to covet and hoard, and as an embodiment of the Primordial Sea, it is my nature to swallow all. At least it was...much has changed since the Great War..."
"Hmm...then, to mark our first meeting, please accept this gift," said Vahn, determining it was better to hand something over than have something be taken from him as he produced a golden necklace similar to his [Necklace of Command] but with a large red gem.
"You're presenting me this...?" asked Tiamat, accepting and inspecting the necklace with sparking eyes. Gold was among her favorite things, and the spirit energy she sensed from it indicated the necklace was a high-quality item.
"Nn, I think it would suit you..." affirmed Vahn, causing Tiamant to hum in amusement as she donned the necklace.
"Oh...?"
Similar to when Rias and Sona donned their respective ring and hairpins, Tiamat immediately perceived a qualitative change in her Draconic Aura, which had stagnated considerably in the past five centuries, the moment she equipped Vahn's necklace. Its effect was a 10% increase in the Power Parameter, and while that might not have been significant to someone like Vahn, it was monumental for Tiamat, one of the oldest and most powerful beings in all of Creation.
"You...you made this...?" asked Tiamat, her expression a rare depiction of open-mouthed shock. As a close associate of Ajuka Beelzebub, regarded as the greatest architect and inventor after the Biblical God, she was well-acquainted with all kinds of powerful magical artifacts. Even he would not be able to create an item that could boost her power meaningfully without substantial effort, so the fact a human could do so was...jarring...
"Do you like it...?" asked Vahn, sporting a confident smile as he knew the answer from Tiamat's surprisingly cute reaction.
Instead of responding, Tiamat reached up and thoughtfully caressed the necklace around her neck. Her Great Treasure Hoarder, an ability unique to her, allowed her to comprehend a treasure's makeup intuitively, and as far as she could tell, there was nothing extraordinary about the materials used in the necklace's construction. That suggested that everything that made it exceptional was a result of whatever Vahn had done to it, so after a lengthy period of consideration, she smiled and asked, "How would you like to become my Master...?"
"What do you mean...?" asked Vahn, taken aback by Tiamat's sudden and very unexpected proposition.
"This is the Familiar Forest," Tiamat stated matter-of-factly, adding, "And many consider me to be the highest grade of Familiar, untamable despite many attempts. I'm proposing to become your, Vahn Mason's, Familiar. In exchange, you will provide me objects of a quality similar to this necklace at least once every ten years..."
"Ten years...?" repeated Vahn, leading Tiamat to believe she was being unreasonable before he revealed, "To be honest, while that was the best item I had on hand, it's not all that special. In ten years, I could produce thousands of higher-quality items..."
Sensing no falsehoods in Vahn's words, Tiamat found herself at a genuine loss for the first time in centuries. Part of her wanted to chastise Vahn for being too forthcoming, but as he was basically suggesting that she wasn't asking for enough, it was difficult for her not to find him endearing.
"Then I'll sweeten the deal," stated Tiamat, narrowing her eyes sensually as she touched her necklace and appended, "If you can provide items of a higher quality than this...let's say, once every other month, then not only will I become your Familiar, I will permit you to breed me..."
"Isn't that a bit much...?" asked Vahn, raising his right brow as he pointed out, "Even if you don't become my Familiar, you can acquire items like that as often as you want if you support Rias and Sona. I don't want you giving yourself to me in exchange for treasures you can acquire yourself..."
Exhaling a faint, scoffing chuckle, Tiamat shifted her hips in a naturally seductive manner as she remarked, "I'm starting to see how you reached this degree of maturity without accumulating negative karma. It's like the concept of greed doesn't exist within your mind..."
"I just think people should be free..." contended Vahn, shaking his head as he added, "If you want to become my Familiar, I would be incredibly lucky to have you. But I don't see the sense in entering a contract when we can just as easily be friends..."
"I see...friends, is it...?" asked Tiamat, her crimson eyes narrowing as she licked her lips in a manner that gave Vahn goosebumps. He suddenly felt like she was about to devour him, but instead, she walked around to his side, bent over, and kissed him on the left cheek, sending a wave of cold energy surging through his body.
"I have just given you my blessing," revealed Tiamat, licking the spot she had just kissed with her long red tongue before explaining, "It will permit me to track you, even across dimensions, and if you call for me, I will tear through them to reach you."
Rising to her full height and hugging herself sensually, Tiamat smilingly appended, "There are some matters I need to attend in the Underworld. Once I am free from my other obligations, I will come for you. Once I do, we can explore our friendship to our hearts' content...ufufufu..."
Seemingly finished with what she had to say, Tiamat turned around, a pair of pale blue, clearly draconic wings unfurling from her back and a notably thick tail unfurling from the gap between her blouse and skirt before she flapped once and ascended into the sky in the blink of an eye. A powerful gale was produced in her wake, causing the surrounding trees to shift and creak violently as if a hurricane were blowing through, but Vahn and Asia were completely unaffected, protected by a faint blue barrier, presumably left as a courtesy or the result of Tiamat's blessing...
-------------------------------------------
[Status]
Name: [Vahn Mason]
Age: 17
Race: Human, Sealed
Title(s): Dragon's Champion(new), Devilish Lover, Object of Envy
Parameters: High School DxD
Power: 81(97)
Guts: 205(451)
Proficiency: 45(103)
Charm: 173(229)
Alignment: Neutral
Soul Tier: 1 (Mortal Soul)
Karma: 1,775->100,492
OP: 135,401
[Skills]
[Tiamat's Territorial Mark(SS)], [Aura of Karmic Protection(S)], [Chainbreaker(S)], [Veil of the Traveler(S)], [Pain Tolerance(A)], [Wound Transfer(B)], [Aura Conversion(B)], [Bedroom Arts(B)], [Spearmanship(C)], [Battle Focus(C)], [Keen Senses(C)], [Treasure Sense(C)], [Meditation(C)], [Martial Arts(D)]
-------------------------------------------
As he had originally only opened his Status out of curiosity, Vahn's eyes widened when he saw he had acquired two new Skills, a new Title, and a startling amount of Karma. Devilish Lover increased his base Charm by 30 points for each Devil Ranked Marquis or higher that he was in a physical relationship with, but his newly acquired Dragon's Champion was far more useful, as it outright doubled his Guts...
Shifting his focus to [Tiamat's Territorial Mark] and [Aura of Protection], a wry smile developed across Vahn's face. Their effects were great, but the description was troublesome. He also wanted to increase his strength on his own, so having protections forced upon him was...unpleasant...
-------------------------------------------
[Tiamat's Territorial Mark]
Rank: SS
Active: If you call out Tiamat's name, she will come flying as fast as her wings and the medium between dimensions permit.
Passive: You are marked as the prospective mate of the Chaos Karma Dragon, Tiamat. Other Dragons and creatures beneath the Rank of King will instinctively fear you, and your physical form will gradually change to facilitate intercourse and procreation with Dragons, drastically increasing stamina, virility, and durability.
[Aura of Karmic Protection]
Rank: S
Passive: The Chaos Karma Dragon has prohibited you from perishing under ordinary circumstances. Your body is impervious to physical and magical attacks from entities beneath the Rank of King.
-------------------------------------------
"Hmmm..."
Sparing Vahn the need to deliberate utilizing [Chainbreaker] to get rid of [Aura of Karmic Protection], Sis promptly reminded (Don't forget that you can disable Skills using the Skill Function, Vahn. A Skill of this Rank is hard to come by, so getting rid of it completely would be wasteful.)
'Sounds good,' responded Vahn, offering a slight nod as Sis opened his Skill Window, allowing him to toggle off [Aura of Karmic Protection] but keep [Tiamat's Territorial Mark]. He got the impression she would come looking for him if it suddenly disappeared, and since his form changed in accordance with his self-image and desires, he was generally impervious to its capacity to alter his body.
Feeling paradoxically more at ease without an invisible bubble that could theoretically protect him from a city-destroying nuclear explosion, Vahn closed his eyes and returned to caressing Asia's back. He found the fact she had slept through his interchange with Tiamat humorous, but it was apparently time for her to wake as a crimson Magic Circle appeared a few meters from their position.
"Oh? Look at you two, getting all cozy~" hummed Rias, adopting a smile that contrasted the slight grimace that formed on Issei's face.
"How'd it go? Was Issei able to acquire a Familiar...?" asked Vahn, giving Asia a few controlled smacks to the back, stirring her awake like he was trying to burp a toddler. In response, she hugged him tighter as if to say she didn't want to release him, but only until she heard Rias confirm, "He was. Take a look."
Suppressing his jealousy, Issei extended his left hand, saying, "Come on out, Munemaru," before a mischievous-looking stoat with two-tone brown fur, brown eyes, and spiky tufts atop its head emerged from the interior of his sleeve. Like Issei, it also sported a slight frown when looking at Vahn, but it still came out and hurried over as if preparing to greet him. Instead, it caused Asia to startle and cry out as it promptly crawled up the back of her uniform and effortlessly unclipped her bra, compelling Issei to hastily recall and shove it into his blazer before apologizing profusely...
...
..
.