Rogue Villain-Chapter 275: Bad Matchup

Trana opened her maw wide and roared Ackster in the face with enough force to rustle the elder dragonling’s beard and send it flying into his face before shouting, ’Die!’ and devouring him. Well, she bit off his lower body and ate his torso and head.

"Trana...Did you just eat that thing?"

Trana glared at Viztar. It was the quickest way to send Ackster to an apparent doom that she could think of. She was about to retort before flying away when she sensed a murderous intent enough to affect even her. Or maybe it was such a stark contrast to the reverence dragonlings usually had toward dragons that she couldn’t help but take note of it.

Trana pinpointed the dragonling directing such hostility toward her.

*Monster, does that...dragonling have something special to do with you?*

Trana projected her voice to Ackster inside her mouth.

"Who?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

*A brown-haired one with...—They are an incredible mage. No wonder they can emit such hostility.*

"Ah. It’s probably Mara. We traveled together for a bit. Well, I kidnapped her and forced her to help me train. Have you heard of the Stockholm Syndrome?"

*...I can’t say I have.*

"It doesn’t matter. Why? Or were you going to kill her for showing you hostility?"

*Nonsense. I wouldn’t kill one of the lost children for such a reason. I was just curious. In fact, I almost want to bring her along. I’ve always wanted a disciple. But I was worried it would conflict with our agreement.*

"No worries. I’ll leave that up to you."

*Great!*

Trana seemed quite happy as she looked started heading toward the spectators. But she turned around and looked at Viztar before she could take a couple of steps.

"The Dragon Slayer doesn’t seem like he’ll cause much trouble in the future. If he does, I’ll take responsibility. Let him go."

"Trana...!"

"Let him go, final warning. I’ve got stuff to do, and if you stand in my way, I won’t hold back."

"Guh!"

Viztar was forced to retreat, and before he could let himself feel any more shame, he took to the skies.

"So you’re stronger than Viztar, then?"

*Well, yeah. But it’s also a bad matchup for him.*

"How so?"

Ackster and Trana continued to chat while Trana approached the spectators.

*You really are but a child, huh?*

"..."

*I didn’t mean to be rude, but people with more...experience tend to investigate us before trying to hunt us.*

"I wasn’t exactly planning on hunting you. It just kind of happened."

*Seemed like you enjoyed it, though.*

"..."

*Anyway, I’m also known as the Dragon of Storms. I specialize in lightning, but conjuring enough rain to turn Viztar into a drowned rat is child’s play.*

"Ha!"

Ackster couldn’t help but let out a snorting laughter.

*What’s so funny?*

Trana grew suspicious as she scooped up the fiercely resisting Mara and plucked the broken handle from Kargas. Both of them were powerless to resist.

"Nothing."

Ackster didn’t feel like mentioning that he was a bad matchup for her since he thrived in watery environments, and Mara’s training had helped him acquire a certain resistance skill that was perfect against Trana. Although they had a cooperative relationship right now, Ackster wasn’t sure what would happen in the future.

Trana would probably figure out his strengths and weaknesses during his training, but he at least wouldn’t tell her himself.

Since Mara wouldn’t stop struggling, Trana put her to sleep while they flew to her lair.

*Do you want to get stronger first, or tell me about the broken trident? I have a lot of time, so it doesn’t really matter to me.*

"I have a feeling it would be a little difficult to train while I’m inside your mouth and we’re flying, so I’ll tell you what I know."

*Sounds great!*

Trana slowed down slightly and didn’t say they could arrive in a matter of minutes or less if she wished. Ackster didn’t need to know that to grow stronger.

And so, Ackster told Trana that he found the broken trident in the old Sea God Temple while it collapsed. He also told her what he knew about the Sea God and what he had done inside the Temple before it collapsed.

*Interesting. The Sea God must have lived a long time ago. I’m sure I would have remembered it if I were alive. I’ll have to check my records. You said you got his Manual as well?*

"Yeah."

*Would it be possible for me to take a peek? Just for curiosity’s sake? It might even help me help you grow stronger.*

Ackster was silent as he thought about what to answer. Revealing his Manual wouldn’t be any more dangerous than entering a dragon’s lair or their mouth. But he was still wary.

"It’s not impossible. But I want to make something clear first. I have trust issues, you see? Why? Why aren’t you using force to convince me or make me tell you what you want to know? You could have snatched the broken trident with ease if you so wished, and I’m sure you know magic to rummage through minds. Why are you being so...polite?"

*Hmm. I see. You don’t know what Covenant is, do you?*

"Yeah, I do. I used—partook in one a while ago."

Ackster had found out afterward that another word for the mana Oath he had sworn with Bo before beginning his training was a kind of Covenant.

*I think it will be easier for me to explain what a Covenant is if you tell me your idea of it first.*

"It’s like a promise with mana, right? You seem a little better at activating it than my teacher. But a promise to help me get stronger in exchange for some information doesn’t do much when I’m wondering why you did that in the first place."

*Oh, you really are a child. Sweet thing, a Covenant is so much more than something as basic as an Oath.*

Trana chuckled slightly.

*I guess it’s understandable. Humans aren’t as closely connected with the world and its mana as we dragons are, so it would be easy for a Covenant to be misunderstood as an Oath and vice versa. But maybe you have heard about Dragon Words?*