Once Human, Now a Parasite 36 Chapter 36 : Dragon Rider

Basically, Arthur, Lucy, and Mary need to head far east until they reach the sea separating the 2 continents.

Arthur could have used a teleportation array to lower the distance, but he didn't do so as he wanted to enjoy traveling a little bit and not just straight out rush towards their destination, it would be boring to do so, and it's not like the Clan matter is an urgent thing.

The distance they have to cross is quite big, I mean for a merchant or a normal person, they would need months to reach their destination but for Arthur? if he uses his lightning form a few days would be enough.

To be honest, their speed was neither too fast nor too slow, they would camp at night and let Mary sleep for a bit, as for Lucy and Arthur, they would just stand guard and chat.

Though because of the presence of Mary, they didn't do anything obscene and only kissed a few times.

They didn't travel the same path merchants do, instead, they crossed dangerous forests and places to shorten the time, but it's not like they were in a hurry, nevertheless, Arthur preferred passing by those dangerous places, you never know, maybe he finds a treasure of some sort, after all he found Zodiak's tomb.

The trio did encounter some enemies, from beasts to bandits, but they were all mercilessly killed by Arthur and Lucy.

As for Mary, she was too slow compared to them, this crazy couple would dispose of the enemies before she could even take out her axe, they never ceased to amaze her.

She was even more surprised when she saw Arthur use all kinds of magic, and high leveled one at that.

In fact, Arthur would try out his earth and wind magic on any beast they encounter, he wanted to see if they are decent or not, and to be honest, they were deadly and strong, but just not up to his standard.

In the course of this trip, the relationship between Mary and the couple seemed to get a bit better, especially Lucy and Mary, they seemed to become some kind of friends as they would chat and Arthur would be left alone.

Lucy would even happily tell Arthur every night how she became a friend of Mary, and that this female beastman is truly kind and friendly.

Even for someone like Lucy, she managed to open her cold heart and became her friend, so Arthur's view of Mary slightly changed but he still didn't talk to her a lot except when he needed to ask something.

He usually read books, especially at nights when they were resting, Lucy would sometimes sleep with Mary as she liked sleeping, but Arthur would stay up the whole night either reading books or practicing some magic.

Lucy's POV

It has been 1 week since they began traveling and even though they encountered some annoying bandits, that didn't trouble them much.

Lucy was overjoyed, though not for an important reason, just as she was traveling with Arthur and actually made a friend, it was Mary.

Even though the first few days they didn't talk, that didn't mean it would always be like that.

As days passed, Mary began asking Lucy about magic and other stuff.

It's quite ironic though, one year ago Lucy was a student and Mary was a council member, but seeing how Lucy became so good at magic, especially her control over magma and her godlike physical strength, so she abandoned her pride and asked Lucy a few things.

Actually, Mary wasn't very proficient in magic, her specialty was close-range combat and her strength was considered decent, but after seeing Lucy's strength, she couldn't help but feel depressed.

Lucy didn't actually hate this female beastman, it's true at first she disliked her when she thought she plotted to kill Arthur and her, but after Mary sincerely apologized and even accepted her death, Lucy couldn't help but acknowledge the sincerity of this woman and change her point of view about her.

When Mary asked Lucy about her strength and even demanded to have a little spar with her, she felt elated.

Each time she explained some basic magic to Mary or sparred with her, this beastman would bow her head and say

"Thank you very much for your help, Mrs. Lucy"

Lucy would only chuckle and nod her head when she heard this, Mary was truly too respectful towards her and Arthur, she even didn't dare to look at them in the eye.

First, Lucy didn't mind her attitude, but as time passed she told Mary to act more natural and there is no need to act like that towards her or Arthur, but Mary refused to do that and kept at it even with the insistence of Lucy.

Lucy really noticed that her attitude changed, if it was her past self, she would never talk to Mary, heck! she would not talk at all, but here she is becoming more and more talkative and open to others except Arthur.

She felt ecstatic, her relationship with Mary really became better as time passed, this beastman finally managed to speak freely and get rid of her respectful attitude towards Lucy but when talking to Arthur, she just couldn't talk like that and she would be polite to him.

It truly was not as easy as it was with Lucy, after all, they were 2 females and can be considered friends now, but Arthur rarely talked to Mary, and he didn't seem to be open to her as he is with Lucy.

Though Mary was a little sad because of that, she didn't try anything and just kept things as it is.

...

Lucy was in a tent with Mary as they were heartily chatting, Mary was cleaning her axe as for Lucy, she was hugging a pillow and grinning.

"Hey Mary, why are you cleaning this axe, if you want, I can tell Arthur to give you a better one"

Hearing this, Mary's hand trembled for a second before regaining their posture.

"N-no, it's alright, this one is not that bad, so there is no need to do that"

Lucy really wanted to give a good weapon to Mary, it's been already 3 weeks since they began their travel and their friendship bloomed, even more, they became more intimate and even she, didn't believe that she would open up to someone other than Arthur, she became more approachable and easy to talk to.

To be honest, she felt that Mary is special, apparently, this female beast-man was younger than Lucy, and even though she had a hot temper back in the past, now it seems she changed and became silent and calm.

"Hmpf! it seems you still don't accept me as your friend!"

Lucy snorted and turned her head away from Mary.

In fact, she just was a little bit sad that Mary didn't want to accept her gift, she tried multiple times to give her good equipment but this woman would always decline.

Lucy even unconsciously broke Mary's leg guards but the famed beast-man refused to take any compensations, so Lucy couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.

Hearing what Lucy just said, Mary became a bit panicked and replied

"How can it be like that! I-It's just that I don't deserve to be a friend of Lucy..."

As she said that, Mary dropped her head down and her eyes became watery.

"I told you that was already in the past, Me and Arthur have already forgiven you, so there really is no need to feel guilty, I truly know that you are kind and didn't mean to do that and that's precisely why I want to become your friend"

Lucy retorted with a smile hanging on her face, she didn't feel any disgust, loathe or anything of the sort towards Mary, she somewhat came to understand this baseman's behavior, plus she was a good judge of people after what happened to her in the past and she sensed that Mary was definitely not acting kind to gain their trust or anything like that.

In fact, Mary is a person who is always controlled by their emotions and would act upon them. It's like when she attacked Arthur in the entrance exam, her kin's death affected her and she didn't want to stand there and watch, she just acted on impulse.

"But..but I-I..."

"There are no buts, I'm already considering you my friend, so please consider me yours"

Lucy gently stretched her hand and took Mary's, and shook it as if indicating the start of a friendship.

The best man could only slowly nod her head and softly smile at Lucy, it would be a lie to say she wasn't happy, the guilty emotion really engulfed her, but little by little they began to disappear, and hearing Lucy say that she could only comply and decide to forget about the past little by little, deep in her heart, she decided to fix her mistakes and start anew, as the saying goes 'In looking back, I see nothing to regret and little to correct'

Seeing Mary finally accept her and shake her hand back, Lucy really felt excited, though she already considered her a friend. This was an official beginning of their friendship and it was her first friend since a long long time, so how could she not feel thrilled and overjoyed?

"Since we're friends now then there is no need to be shy or refuse anything, tomorrow, I'll give you a good weapon and good equipment, you cannot refuse!"

Lucy grasped Mary's hand and said excitedly, she already sparred with Mary and saw her style and gears, she indeed had good ones but Lucy already saw what Arthur had and compared to Mary's equipment they were far better so why not give her first friend some good things, after all, she was not like them who had super stats, she was far weaker.

"....Um!"

Mary nodded her head towards Lucy, she couldn't refuse this time, and to be honest, she felt a bit excited to get a new equipment.

Since Lucy told her they had good gears, and she saw that Arthur's sword was insanely strong, she couldn't help but feel ecstatic about what she was going to get, she really felt grateful to have Lucy as a friend.

First she thought it would be impossible for them to get close, but as time passed, Lucy seemed to accept her and completely forgive her, so some hope appeared but she didn't dare step out of the line and consider herself deserving of Lucy because of what she did, but after hearing Lucy saying again and again that the past is the past and she should forget about it just as Lucy did, after all, sooner or later, we've all got to let go of our past.

Lucy and Mary continued to chat for an hour or so before going to sleep, though Lucy didn't sleep near Mary this time, instead she exited the tent and leaned on Arthur who was sitting on a rock near a fire camp and silently reading a book.

Soon enough she fell into his embrace, he brought her to his lap and let her comfortably sleep then he continued reading after implementing a kiss on her lips, she couldn't help but giggle and say

"You don't seem to feel jealous because I left you alone and went to talk with Mary."

Arthur just used his free hand to stroke her hair and calmly replied

"hehe, don't worry, I know you really like that Mary and became friends and you are feeling excited about that, how can I selfishly tell you to be with me all time? plus I know you will never my side"

Lucy didn't reply to him and only pressed her head on his chest and fell asleep.

....

Early in the morning, Lucy woke up only to see she was still sleeping in his embrace and he didn't seem to have moved, he was still reading a book and didn't seem to be bored.

"nnn...good morning"

Arthur noticed her so he kissed her like usual, he already said he would kiss her every morning so he was keeping his promise, Lucy stretched her petite hands and held his warm cheeks and kissed him back.

Only after a moment did she notice Mary sitting on the opposite side of the camp, but that didn't stop her from kissing him, however a tinge of red appeared on her cheeks, she felt a little embarrassed to do that in first of Mary, her friend.

After they kissed, Mary looked up to Lucy with a red face and said with a low voice

"G-good m....morning Lucy"

"En! Good morning Mary~~hehe"

Lucy still didn't calm down and was happy to have a friend.

While lost in thought, Lucy remembered she told Mary that she would give her the equipment so she turned her head to Arthur and said

"Arthur, give me the storage ring that has the weapons and other equipment, I want to give Mary some"

In fact, Arthur had gone through his black storage ring and managed to get some of the weapons he found there into a single storage ring that he also stored in there, he did that to various other things like clothes, furniture, books, gold...

So basically, in his black storage ring, he has several storage rings inside, each containing the same type of thing, of course, he couldn't rearrange everything like the gold for examples but he nevertheless organized most of the things except some scattered things.

The gold was the biggest problem as there really was a lot, even after taking some and dividing it in several other storages, the gold didn't seem to lessen so he could only give up.

"mmm"(Arthur)

Arthur nodded his head, he waved his hand and a storage ring appeared, he immediately put it in Lucy's hand.

In fact, even if she told him to give her the whole storage ring he still wouldn't mind since she wanted to give good weapons to Mary then he wouldn't oppose her, in any case, he was happy to see his wife this excited about having a friend.

There was no need to thank Arthur as it was needed between them two, Lucy soon injected mana to the ring and began seeing the good axes there.

..

Soon enough, Lucy got up from Arthur's lap and headed to sit next to Mary, then she waved her hand and several big axes appeared from the storage.

"Here, these are all the good ones I found that suit you and are on your level"

Mary was surprised to see the axes, each and every one of them seemed extremely powerful and good, her eyes couldn't help but gaze at them seriously and try to pick one, she was really feeling excited, she even began fidgeting and shaking a little as if she didn't choose quickly they will disappear.

Lucy, seeing the state of Mary, could only giggle and pat her shoulder while saying

"Hehe, no need to feel pressured, if you want, you can take them all, after all, we don't need them, they are only laying on the storage so having someone use them is better"

Mary didn't reply as she still felt nervous, all axes were really excellent, and after 5 minutes or so, she finally picked one.

Surprisingly, it was also a work of 'Juda' the famous blacksmith, but Mary didn't know about him, still, the axe really pleased her.

It was just like the spear, and each time she waved it around, flames would come out, plus Mary had a good affinity with fire, so combining her fire skills with this would be extraordinary.

She felt extremely happy as she tested the axe, compared to her old axe, this one is several times better, though it was big and overbearing in appearance, it wasn't that heavy, it was manageable and easy to handle and that only made her appreciate it even more.

Realising she became too caught up with the axe, Mary snapped out of it and turned to Lucy and bowed her head while saying

"T-thank you, Lucy, really!! I like this axe a lot, it's so good!"

As for Lucy, even though she wasn't the one receiving the item, she was pleased with Mary and didn't regret giving the axe, in fact, she wanted to give her a better one, but the ones still in the storage and way too strong for Mary so she didn't take them out.

"Hahaha, I Told you there is no need to thank me! We're friends now so of course, I would help you get stronger, hehe~~"

Mary nodded then excitedly said

"Right Lucy, let's spar, with this axe maybe I have a chance against you..."

Though she said that, Mary didn't believe it, but she only said that to joke around.

"Alright, let's see how you do with your new weapon, but wait I still have to give you other things"

After that, Lucy handed Mary some good leg guards and a good armor which was slightly better than the previous ones, then they began sparring.

Mary felt ecstatic, the axe was beyond her imagination, it's power was really insane and every time she attacked with it, she couldn't help but feel more and more excited, but even with a new weapon and a high strength, Lucy would block her attacks bare handed, her skin was not even scratched.

Mary even used the [berserker mode] but the situation was still hopeless and Lucy was able to win easily, even a full swing of the axe while using a strong skill and being in [berserker mode] was stopped by Lucy's hand as if it was a baby's punch.

She felt 1 part depressed and 4 parts admiration for Lucy, she really idolized her, for them beastmen, they took pride in strength, and seeing someone with this much strength, she couldn't help but deeply admire her and feel proud to be her friend.

Arthur's POV

It has been 5 days since Lucy gave the weapon to Mary, they would spar every day, Lucy did that to train Mary and would sometimes advise her, Arthur couldn't help but shake his head, he taught Lucy and here she is teaching someone else even though she is not that good at close combat.

It was only due to her high stats that she is very good at it, as for him, he was more than good at it, he got all the people's talent and experience in fighting, whether it's with magic or close combat, so his fighting style is nearly perfect and flawless, as for his sword mastery, then that truly was godlike.

He was now trying the necromancer skill, he never used it on fighting, but he remembered getting a notification saying he could now summon the earth dragon, but surprisingly he can't summon Yamak.

He concentrated for a second and then the ground in front of his changed, it was as if it was a dark pit, though it had some kind of ominous aura, very soon a bone dragon came out of it, it was extremely huge, heck! it looked very terrifying, it was the bone earth dragon, it cost him 50.000 mana to summon him.

He looked at the big dragon and appraised him

RACE Dragon ORIGIN UNDERWORLD

LVL 150 NAME NONE

Strength 10.000 Intelligence:: 4.000

Agility: 5.000 Wisdom: 1.000

Vitality: 15.000 Dexterity: 7.000

Health 20.000 Health regen 12/s

Mana 5.000 Mana regen 1/s

Stamina ????? Stamina regen ?????

You have summoned bone dragon : It will follow your orders until it dies, once dead, you can summon it again after 1 day.

Maximum bone dragon number : 3

'!!'

Arthur truly didn't expect to be able to see the status window of the bone dragon, plus why is it this strong? originally the young earth dragon was not this strong, does the summoned monster have a connection with his own stats?

Confused about this matter, he summoned skeleton warrior, and it was indeed the case, this time, the skeletons had special black armors, though they were beyond weak for Arthur, they still felt slightly more powerful than the ones in the past.

The bone dragon howled, then it obediently waited for Arthur's orders.

Mary who was chatting heartily with Lucy, became dumbstruck as she saw the bone dragon, her eyes almost popped out of her head

"Y-You're a..n-necromancer too?..."

She really couldn't believe what she was seeing, adding to what he already got, he can summon this beast, this is beyond common sense.

Arthur didn't reply to her, he smugly grinned and jumped on the dragon to ride him and see if he's decent in flying or not.

Just as he hopped on the dragon, a notification came 'ting'

You earned the title: Dragon rider : When riding a dragon, the flying speed of the dragon increases by 25%

The dragon soon flew towards the sky, he really had a huge frame and looked terrifying, if one saw this bone dragon, he would definitely pass out or piss his pants, the dragons were known as strong existences and none would dare anger them.

The bone dragon's speed in the air was not bad, it truly was decent, though compared to the dark cloud it was far lacking Arthur delighted, he had another method to fly, if he ever can't use the cloud then he can use this bone dragon, plus it's good for fighting, this kind of dragon can probably fight against a bishop.

That day, Arthur decided to travel on the dragon, Mary and Lucy also got that title, Mary was beyond happy, tears of joys even came out of her eyes, it was truly a rare thing to get a title, plus one like this is certainly a good one, I mean 'Dragon Rider' is sure a cool title.

Just like that, they continued their journey towards the east on the back of the bone dragon for some days.....

Chapter end