Ball of Nothing

Zero seemed to be busy lately and Bob informed the wood elf that his master was negotiating with the Green Hawks. Although Truen wasn't happy that Zero was talking to those shady businessmen, he held himself back. At least Dwayne was accompanying Zero to the meeting. Whatever Zero wanted to do, Truen was in no position to stop him. He could only assist Zero to achieve his objective and if Zero didn't feel like letting him in on his plans, Truen wouldn't pry.

"How is the girl?" he asked the dragon now that Zero was asleep. The slave girl had gotten a lot more comfortable with Zero within a day. According to the dragon, Zero formed a low-tier magic contract with her to sign an agreement to help her look for her family after she helped them with their journey through Derby Desert.

"Master said that her slave tattoo can be removed at Half Moon Village after the contract is fulfilled. Isn't he trying to find more villagers? Why is he agreeing to send her back to her family?"

Truen was silent and sipped the crappy beer that he bought from Dwayne. Desert Lily was still working on gathering more information about the desert so there wasn't much that Truen could do. His mind was more troubled over his final opponent's request. Monoman the Mammoth wasn't an easy opponent to beat and Truen didn't feel like revealing his trump cards in a silly brawl in the Dirt Ring. Besides, this request wasn't something Truen could accept or reject. It was up to Zero to decide.

"Zero has plans of his own, nobody can hope to understand what kind of grand plans he has. We can only do our best to support him where he needs. For now, let him do what he wants. Have you finished dismantling all the corpses?"

Bob nodded. "Brutus and I worked rather slowly yesterday but today after the meeting with Green Hawks, Dwayne and Zero joined us. It was done quickly with their help. Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

Truen downed the crappy beer in one go and grimaced at the after taste. "I have a match against someone troublesome. Bring Zero along to the Dirt Ring, I have a feeling that troublesome guy wants to see him as soon as possible."

Bob blinked. Troublesome? For someone like Truen with an immortal's body and a divine grade weapon, could anyone other than a few Gods and legendary creatures prove to be a challenge at all?

"Who is this opponent? Is he difficult to win?"

Truen shrugged. "Dwayne is an acquaintance of this person and the Desert Lily is powerless against him. What do you think? I'm using a crappy bow that I bought from the black market so the same trick shots that worked on Griffin wouldn't work on him."

The Eternal Dragon morphed into his human form and sat on Truen's bed, watching the solemn elf's troubled expression under the candlelight. Zero and Jermine were huddled under the blanket and cuddling in their sleep, the picture was cute and soothing for the ruled individuals.

"I heard about some of the monsters that lurk in the desert. It's going to be a difficult journey and I don't think I'm capable of protecting master. I'm sorry that I will only be a burden, unlike Jermine who has the ability to scout what lies underground."

Truen looked at the dejected dragon and sighed. "Don't say that. I'm not any better. On the open grounds, I'm a sitting duck for targets. Besides, I won't be able to win tomorrow's match and Monoman will want to see Zero. It's a request for him and I cannot stop them from meeting up."

"Who is Monoman and what does he want?"

Truen summarised what he knew of the mysterious person. Dwayne told him some interesting facts earlier while Truen ordered beer. Monoman was the leader of another lawless town founded to the far east of Deadman Town. Unlike Deadman Town, it wasn't very popular because the town was a zone that was constantly under attack by either desert monsters, sea monsters or monsters from the Mystic Meadows or Endow Hill. That place was a constant battlefield and it would explain how Monoman got his reputation as the Mammoth. That man might not be as strong as Dwayne but he was tough enough to live there for years.

"Monoman heard about the leader of Half Moon Village and wants to make a request to transfer the people in his lawless town to us, especially the sick, young and old. Every year, the town suffers greater and greater losses from the constant attacks of monsters. It's a lawless town for refugees and Monoman founded that town to protect those who wanted a place to escape. Most of them are runaway slaves."

Bob blinked. "Wait, doesn't this mean that the low population problem could be easily resolved if Monoman's town joins us?"

Truen clicked his tongue. "Not that simple. We don't know who those people are, what they can do and if Monoman wants power. Without any strong combatant in the village to match him and Zero on content travels, I worry for the safety of the current villagers. Then again, this is for Zero to decide. I won't be able to stop them from meeting each other and I won't be able to win tomorrow's match in the Ring."

Nodding slowly, Bob looked at his sleeping master. While it was a good opportunity, it was also one fraught with huge risks. "Do you know what town that is residing in such a terrible location? Why didn't they move out before things became so bad? Nobody sane would build a house in the middle of a disaster zone willingly."

The wood elf started polishing his daggers and Bob stared at him.

"Sometimes, the most dangerous place is the safest place to hide in. If you want to hide a tree, you hide it within the forest. I think the people that Monoman is hiding aren't simple people. Some of them might be more complicated individuals compared to the people we have in Half Moon Village. Unlike the people in Zero's village, Monoman's refugees might pull us into a political battle that we don't want."

Bob was amazed. He had lived and reincarnated so many times but he never understood the thinking of other creatures. Perhaps this was why dragons became so easily hunted by humans to extinction. Truen might be an elf but his wisdom matched those of humans. Enlightened, Bob wondered if Truen would allow him to call him big brother.

Looking at the elf's face, Bob bit his lower lip and stared at Truen until the archer stopped polishing his blades.

"What?" he looked up to see an unusually meek dragon.

"Can I call you big brother?" the dragon asked then blushed slightly, embarrassed by how that sounded.

Truen blinked. Now, this was awkward. As a pampered young master of his previous life, he didn't think that anyone would look up to his crappy existence. Yet, it wasn't a terrible feeling to want to be looked up to and relied on.

"Sure," he smiled. Becoming sworn brothers with a dragon didn't sound like a bad thing.