The Adventures of Rose Hood

After a week of bedrest, I could move again, but the doctor advised against fighting. I was in the guild hall buying a glass of water.

“Wow, you are moving a lot earlier than we thought.”

Mammon came in the room.

“Yeah, the doctor still doesn’t want me fighting until I am completely healthy.”

“I agree, you pushed yourself to the absolute limit, I still have no idea how you survived Envy, then the push of power would’ve definitely killed you if you weren’t a dragon.”

“Yeah, plus I almost died like 3 times.”

“Exactly. The fact that you are moving in only one week is incredible.”

“The biggest annoyance is that the doctor ordered me not to drink alcohol... like I’m a dragon, booze is just good water.”

“Ha, as a dwarf I agree with you. But alcohol is still not good during recovery.”

“Ehk.”

I cringed as I put my head on the table.

“By the way, I was interested in talking to Sloth if I could.”

“She’s asleep.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah, she would definitely not be happy with being woken up.”

“I’d imagine, so is that why you are that strong?”

“Nope, she actually doesn’t give me that much power. She could, but she doesn’t.”

“Hm... Well, why did you guys make a contract in that dungeon in the first place?”

“Callel was annoying.”

“I see... You know, most people would consider it lucky that you survived three encounters with that man.”

“He died instantly each time. I seriously don’t know how he achieved legendary status.”

“Because he was on par with me.”

“He was?”

“Yes, well at least he’s gone now.”

“Yeah, I’m not buying it. I guarantee he will come back somehow.”

“Eh, maybe. That would be odd though.”

“I agree, but odder things keep happening.”

“I guess.”

I began sipping my water. I swear if I see Callel again, I’m not going to even give him a chance to speak, he’s just gonna die.

“Hey, Rose.”

“Hello Dallel.”

“How’s recovery going?”

“It’s good.”

My body was currently 90% evil entity, I would be fully recovered tomorrow. I was fully concealing my evil, so the only ones who were aware of my transformation were Dallel and Royce. Jalad also suspected something, but he didn’t pry.

Sloth was asleep, so my body was just naturally developing the rest. I hoped that she would wake up sooner than her predicted 3 months.

Then a presence I haven’t felt for almost a month appeared.

“Howdy, Rose. I heard rumors of you across the land.”

“Hello, Asura.”

“Yeah, I heard that people have been giving you titles.”

“Like Big Lizard?”

“Nope, actually they’re better than mine.”

That surprised me.

“What are they?”

“Godslayer, godtamer, Evil slayer, Sleeping giant, Mirror knight, Evilbane, god of good.”

“Those are good titles.”

“I know, I’m pretty sure people are proclaiming you as some sort of god because you were able to threaten all of the shards of the Evil god and make her withdraw. They are saying that you’d have to be some sort of god to do so.”

“No, I just used a lot of trickery.”

“Still, you also survived the possession of one of the shards while simultaneously killing a godly threat Whilderbeast.”

“It wasn’t simultaneous.”

“Still within the same battle.”

“I guess.”

“And even if you used trickery, that would’ve been something even I wouldn’t have even thought of.”

“Well, it wouldn’t have worked, had Envy not launched a surprise attack.”

“Even still, most wouldn’t play those odds if they were told they’d win by a god.”

“It was a necessary risk.”

“Maybe in your book, but most people thought that you all lost the moment you were possessed.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I heard that everyone on the battle lost hope the moment your body was seized.”

I looked around.

“You guys knew we prepared for that opportunity, why would you lose hope?”

“Well, I don’t think any of us were expecting it to actually happen.”

“I guess...”

Mammon spoke up,

“Yeah, I mean, we were told to be ready, but we always sort of expected you’d shake off any attack. You always have. Even when we first realized that you were a dragon and attacked in fear, you shook it off despite the high-level curse. We never actually expected you to lose...”

“That’s a dumb way to be.”

“What??”

“I’m strong, but I am rather weak compared to the shards. I can be beaten without much effort on their part, the only reason I could actually stand up to them at all, was because three of them were on my side. If we didn’t have them, we would've lost fully. If you go into every battle expecting to win by my power, whenever I’m outmatched, you’ll just all collapse. No combatant is indispensable. That is what I’ve been taught since a young age. Think about Calesen, how do they fight? Elren goes in first and causes chaos as his army approaches. If you go into every battle trying to preserve the strong fighters and have no contingencies for their defeat, you’ll either only have the strong left, or have a panic attack the moment they fall. Why do you think I always insist on the front, because I have contingencies in place for my defeat. We are fighting the evil god. Desperately trying to defend me will only get you guys killed. And it may not even be them, remember what Peace said, as an arcane dragon, I am the perfect body for a divinity, so other gods may also make grabs for my body too.”

“Why would other gods go for your body?”

“Because they are power hungry, and having a body gives them more focus over their power, why do you think Envy just started crushing the other shards the moment she possessed me?”

“They are power hungry?”

“Of course, they’ll destroy any stronger than them. Why do you think the evil god wants revenge against them?”

“I see.”

“Yeah, so put that in mind. More powerful beings than the shards will come for me, so what will happen if one of them actually defeats me? Will you all give up and be destroyed, or will you keep fighting and beat them up. If I fall, so what, I’m not the only fighter here am I? If you’d just give up and cry the moment I lose, then get off the battlefield and retire as adventurers.”

I turned back to drinking my water. The guild was silent, their jaws dropped. It was like they’d never even thought about that.

“Huh, well I guess that makes sense. Though I can see why they’d be concerned, I also agree that if they only rely on your strength for everything, they’d just be in the way on the battlefield.”

Asura, as the only S rank in the room, immediately understood what I meant. The weak can fight, but only if they pull their own weight, otherwise, they only inconvenience the strong.

“Well said,”

Dallel, understanding my nature, fully understood my worries as well.

“While I was scared, I still fought full power, because I knew you had something planned, but even if you didn’t, I would still fight. I may be weak, but I won’t be a burden. My pride wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

Mammon nodded.

“A bit harsh, but I fully understand what you mean. In these past few fights, all the guild has done is hold you back. We will work harder and become stronger so we will actually be able to fight alongside you. After all, you are a member of the guild. We’ll fight with ya anyways, may as well actually be helpful.”

I smiled as the guild members began to chime in their agreements. Maybe they weren’t so hopeless after all.