Alister stepped inside, his jaw almost dropping at the sight before him. Plush carpets stretched across the expansive floor, leading to a seating area furnished with armchairs and a low table that gleamed in the soft glow of Holographic lamps.
An entire wall with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a breathtaking mountain view.
This was far from the small room he’d envisioned for himself, considering his rather bizarre request he was sure they would not now give him too large of an accomodation, since it was not specified in the contract.
He muttered to himself, “This is a bit… excessive. I guess they are doing all this because of Cinder, huh.”
His gaze swept the room, landing on a vast, open area that seemed specifically designed for a large creature. Alister couldn’t help but wonder if it was meant to house Cinder. As he marveled at the craftsmanship – he couldn’t help but think there was no way this place was built in a day, yet it certainly didn’t exist before yesterday, or at least he thought so – a voice echoed in the room. freewebnvel.coɱ
“A space fitting for a lord indeed.”
A small tear in reality shimmered beside him, and through it peeked one of Cinder’s massive red eyes. Following the eye, a considerably smaller tear ripped open, revealing Terra’s sapphire blue eye on the other side.
“Spacious,” Terra rumbled, her voice echoing through the chamber, “but I doubt it would be enough for the both of us at full size.”
“I doubt that too,” Alister said.
Having both his summons at full size in this enclosed space might have been a bit much, even for this massive clearing.
“Looks like we’ll have to utilize our shrinking ability, lady Cinder,” Terra said.
Cinder’s booming voice filled the room, as she asked a question directed at Terra.
“Battle form? What are you on about, Terra?”
Terra chuckled, “Battle form. Surely you haven’t forgotten?”
Alister raised an eyebrow, confusion etched on his face. “Battle form? What exactly is that?” Cinder, explained. “My lord, it is an ability unique to royal dragon-kin. We can compress our physical bodies and magical power, allowing us to unleash a more concentrated burst of destructive force. However, it’s best suited for one-on-one battles. While the power is amplified, most royals find the sudden size reduction disorienting. Additionally, our vision is hampered by the shift in perspective.”
“And frankly, the idea of shrinking myself down just isn’t appealing.”
Alister nodded. “While I’m curious to see what this battle form looks like, I don’t want to force you to do something you’re uncomfortable with. The space in the mind realm is more than enough for both of you at your full size. You may only ever need to do so if a battle arises within these walls, which hopefully won’t be the case.”
“Understood, my lord,” both Cinder and Terra said before the rifts in reality flickered shut.
Left alone, Alister turned his attention to the more mundane matter of finding his actual living quarters within this massive space. He wandered the plush halls, finally stumbling upon a massive room. Atop the hovering bed lay a neatly folded guild uniform. He tossed his bag onto the floor with a sigh.
“Seems they prefer it if I change into this upon returning.”
Alister looked around the room, it was advanced and seemed to be equipped with the latest technology.
Across the room, his gaze landed on a curious object: a small black device resting on a side table. It resembled an old smartphone, a relic from a bygone era perhaps even older than the apocalypse, before the holographic displays that dominated modern communication. Alister picked it up, a frown creasing his brow.
“Did someone used to live here before?” he thought aloud. Perhaps another summoner who possessed a giant-class monster, it would explain the already prepped accommodation. Maybe this building was used by them in the past, and the smartphone was simply left behind.
Alister pressed the power button on the old smartphone. The screen flickered on, the display damaged with cracks across the surface, and some parts had gone completely black.
“Looks like that’s why it got left behind,” he said, turning the device over in his hands
looking round it’s back before looking at the screen again.
Then, something caught his attention. The cracked wallpaper on the home screen wasn’t just any random image. It was a picture – a group photo.
Guild Master Yuuto stood in the center, a bright smile on his face. Flanking him were two other figures.
Alister squinted, piecing together the scene. The man on Yuuto’s left had brown hair and bright yellow eyes. A name came to mind.
“Galen… no, Galisk.” he said, recognizing the Union president. But here, Galisk looked much younger, his face yet to be hardened by years of worry and responsibilities.
And Yuuto? He looked exactly the same. Not a hint of age touched him. Alister couldn’t help but mutter.
“The rumors about him being immortal must really be true.”
His gaze drifted to the third figure. They appeared to be a woman with flowing silver hair, beside Yuuto. However, the damaged black parts of the screen hid most of her face. She had on a percular silver necklace of a silver lizard looking creature holding a yellow crystal. “They must have been old friends I guess,” Alister thought aloud, a touch of curiosity in his voice.
The silver haired woman brought to mind Miyu, but the resemblance ended there.
He found himself staring at the black section of the screen, almost willing it to become clear, to reveal the woman’s hidden face.
A sigh escaped his lips.
‘Im standing around too much. I should take a shower, change clothes, and head over to meet the others.’
First, though, he needed to find the bathroom. This place was enormous, and making his way through it was proving to be a challenge in itself. He tossed the phone back onto the table, the image of the woman lingering in his mind.
….
A couple of minutes later, Alister had taken a nice bath and was now heading out of his building. As the massive doors hissed to a close behind him, his main focus was on something
else.
‘In the last daily quest, the durability of my clawed gauntlet got used up, and it instantly broke. If I’m going to go for the daily quest tonight, I need to acquire another one, or else I won’t be able to slowly complete the quest of mastering combat with them.’