"Looks like I got myself a new friend," I said, staring at the thing in my hands—a creature that looked exactly like a chibi version of a red dragon.
"So… do you want to be my friend?" I asked it.
"Gwii." It nodded meekly.
"Then let's be friends. Even though I say 'friend,' you're probably just going to hear me monologuing all the time," I told it with an awkward smile, scratching my cheek. "Are you okay with that?"
I needed someone—or in this case, some creature—to talk to. Otherwise, this loneliness would slowly drive me insane.
In all honesty, I rarely talked to myself before. But after those bastards threw me into this hellhole, maybe some screws in my head were came loose, because I'd been doing it a lot lately.
"Gwii. Gwii. Gwii."
The chibi dragon puffed up its chest, its expression unusually determined, and balled its short front claws like it was saying, "Sure, let's be friends."
"Then it's settled!" I smiled. "That leaves the question of what I should call you… Oh, right. My name is Yuu, by the way."
I adjusted my grip, changing how I held the chibi dragon—from grabbing it from behind its neck to letting it sit atop my open palms. Closing my eyes, I tilted my head slightly upward and gives a thought for a moment.
"How about… Verdra? Your scales are vermilion—that's my favorite color—and you look like a dragon. So, Verdra. How does that sound?"
The little dragon nodded vigorously.
"Gwii! Gwii! Gwii!" he squealed in a high-pitched voice, like he was shouting, "I really like it!"
"From now on, your name is Verdra! My brother in arms." I declared with a grin.
For some reason, he didn't look happy.
"Gwii! Gwii!" he shook his head in protest.
"Huh? You don't like the name?" I asked.
He shook his head again.
"Then… you don't like that I'm calling you 'my brother in arms'?"
"Gwi."
He nodded twice.
"How about 'my dude,' then?"
He shook his head again.
Why was he so against it? Wait—
"…Are you, perhaps… a girl?"
He— I mean, she nodded once.
Sorry for thinking all dragons are male.
"Ah… I see," I said, feeling oddly disappointed. "Guess we can't have bro talk, then. That's unfortunate."
I placed Verdra on my shoulder. "Sit there for a bit. I need to check the piece of paper that came with you."
Instead of sitting obediently, she climbed all the way up to the top of my head and lay down on her stomach, gripping my hair with her front legs for balance. Her head dangled just above my forehead.
"Haah…" I sighed in resignation. "Do as you please, Your Majesty."
I turned my attention to the scrolled parchment I'd found inside the chest together with Verdra earlier and picked it up.
When my HUD activated, item descriptions appeared in the form of a small, translucent window if the item possessed any magical properties—like the Minotaur's axe for example.
—————————————————
Mind Scroll
A scroll that will reveal humans' true potential.
(Hold this scroll and focus your mind for it to take effect.)
—————————
The description was very similar to the Soul Slate the elves used to appraise me back in the Elven Kingdom. The difference was that this one specifically mentioned humans' instead of someone's.
I unrolled the Mind Scroll. As expected, it was blank.
"So I just need to focus my mind on it, right?" I muttered.
I focused and thought, Show me my true potential, scroll!
The scroll rapidly filled with text, starting from the top and flowing downward.
—————————————————
Name: Yuu Yanagi (Human)
Lv: 34
Vitality: F
Strength: F
Intelligence: SSS
Agility: E
Dexterity: C
Skill: Cryokinesis (Lv2)
—————————
"Yep. Very similar to the Soul Slate," I murmured. "It also lists my given name first. No mana stats, though… probably because it was made specifically for humans."
I'd heard before that humans in this world was aslo couldn't use magic. Maybe it was because we naturally lacked mana altogether. This scroll also showed my Intelligence stats and Cryokinesis skill—things the Soul Slate never displayed. Neither the Soul Slate nor the Mind Scroll showed my Basic Gaming Features skill, though. That skill really might be an anomaly.
For reference, this was what my stats looked like on the Soul Slate before those bastards threw me here:
—————————————————
Name: Yuu Yanagi (Human)
Lv: 813
Vitality: A
Strength: A
Mana: SSS
Agility: S
Dexterity: SSS
Skill: Hero Stats Boost, Omni-Elemental Magic (Lv8)
—————————
"Well, this scroll is basically useless for me," I said, pocketing it. "I already have my status menu, after all."
The letter grades indicated someone stats growth potential. SSS meant +10 per level, SS meant +9, S meant +8, A meant +7, so on and so forth.
About 30 seconds later, the scroll returned to its blank state.
"Gwii! Gwii!" Verdra chirped cutely, stretching her front legs.
"What? You want to try it too?" I asked, glancing up to her.
"Gwii!" She nodded enthusiastically.
"Can you even use this thing?" I hesitated. "Well… I guess there's no harm in trying. Here—hold it with your hand… or leg, I guess. Then focus your mind on it. Think about something like, 'I want to know about myself,' or anything around those lines."
I handed the scroll to her.
"Gwii!"
She looked visibly happy as soon as she received it. She held the scroll with her front legs—screw it! I'll just call them hands from now on for my own convenience—then sat upright on her hind legs atop my head. Staring intently at the scroll, she let out a long, cute little screech during the entire process.
"Gwii…"
After a few moments, she handed the scroll back to me.
"Gwii, gwii."
"…You're done already? Let me see."
I took the scroll from her, and the result was—Well… mind-boggling didn't even begin to describe it.
"W-wait… is this, for real?!"
—————————————————
Name: – (Txxx xrxxox)
Lv: 1
Vitality: SSS
Strength: SSS
Intelligence: E
Agility: SS
Dexterity: SS
Skill: –
—————————
No name. Race illegible. No skills.
But those stats… were absolutely insane.
I glanced back and forth between Verdra and the scroll, careful to move only my eyes—I didn't want her to lose balance and fall off my head.
"Gwii?" She tilted her head to the side, clearly confused by my reaction.
"How in the world are you this strong?" I asked in disbelief.
"Gwii!" She stood up on two feet atop my head and puffed out her chest proudly, a smug and haughty expression radiating from her face.
I quickly grabbed her and placed her back onto my open palms. "How can you look this cute and still be this strong?" I asked her before muttering to myself, "...why does this scroll even work on her in the first place? I thought it was made specifically for humans."
For some reason, as soon as the word cute left my mouth, she shrank back and looked away.
…What now?
A-are she embarrassed? What is she, a middle schooler or something?
"…"
"…"
"…Ah, right!" I said quickly, changing the subject to dispel the awkward tension. "Do you want to be my party member?"
She looked back at me and tilted her head, confused. "Gwii?"
"If you become my party member, the experience we gain will be split between the two of us, no matter who lands the finishing blow. We'll level up and grow stronger together."
That was the gist of what my Party menu description said. Honestly, I don't even know if I could actually add a dragon into it..
"Gwiiii!!" She screeched excitedly, her eyes shining as she stared straight at me.
"Alright then," I said, smiling broadly. "Let me ask again properly. Would you like to be my party member, Verdra?"
This was the required process. Once someone agreed to my invitation, they'd automatically be listed in my Party menu.
I'd never actually used this feature of my skill before. Back in the Elven Kingdom, I was ordered to raise my level as quickly as possible, and sharing experience would only slow the process down. The elves explicitly told me not to form a party with this skill.
But things were different now.
If I could get myself a formidable ally, I'd take it without hesitation. And honestly, I really couldn't imagine that this cute, little thing over here would ever betray me. Maybe I was judging too quickly—but I'd make sure that never happened.
"Gwii! Gwii! Gwii!" Verdra nodded repeatedly in enthusiastic affirmation.
< A party member has been added >
Verdra suddenly froze, staring at something in midair.
"Gwii?" She pointed at something I couldn't see.
"…Wait. Are you seeing some kind of floating text saying: 'You have joined a party' or something similar?"
"Gwii, gwii." She nodded twice.
"You… can read?" I asked, frowning slightly.
"Gwii…" She crossed her arms, pouting and squinting at me as if to say, "You think I'm dumb, don't you?"
"Alright, alright, my bad. I'm sorry." I surrendered. "More importantly—let's check your status page."
Apparently, once someone joined my party, I could view their status.
"Let's see…"
—————————————————
Name: – (True Dragon)
Lv: 1/3401
Vitality: 100
Strength: 100
Intelligence: 100
Mana: 100
Agility: 100
Dexterity: 100
Remaining Mana: 100/100
Skill: True Dragon Supremacy | Draconic Transformation | Draconic Ecdysis | ?????? | Fire Magic (Lv10) | Lightning Magic (Lv10)
True Dragon Supremacy: Subjugate any inferior dragon.
Draconic Transformation: Ability to transform into a dragon form.
Draconic Ecdysis: Ability to manipulate one's own scales.
????: ????
Fire Magic (Lv10): Ability to conjure fire through the use of mana. Lv10 effect: Range Increased (Large) | Fire temperature increased (High) | Mana usage efficiencies Increased (High) | Chantless casting
Lightning Magic (Lv10): Ability to conjure lightning through the use of mana. Lv10 effect: Range Increased (Large) | Lightning Voltage Increased (High) | Mana usage efficiencies Increased (High) | Chantless casting
—————————
"…Holy guacamolly!"
My eyes widened, my jaw dropping as I stared at Verdra's status page.
True Dragon?!
Lv cap 3401?!
All stats starting at 100!
Lv10 magic across the board!
She was only Lv1, yet she was already leagues stronger than me.
And what the hell is that question-marked skill…?
"So that's why it took extra effort to peel you off my face earlier," I muttered, then looked at her. "Just who are you, really, Verdra?"
She tilted her head adorably. "Gwii?"
Then she flapped her wings and flew right back to the top of my head.
"Well… I guess it doesn't really matter," I said quietly. "As long as I've got a reliable ally."
'Reliable ally' was an understatement. In gacha game terms, I'd basically pulled an super-ultra-rare, giga-power-creep, five-star unit, if you get what I'm saying.
"Just don't hit me, okay? You'd kill me if you did," I added with a dry chuckle.
"Gwii!" She chirped in firm agreement.
"Alright! Let's head back to the first intersection of this floor!" I pointed forward.
"Gwii!" She raised her tiny hand and pointed forward, copying my gesture while lying on top of my head.
…Is my hair really that comfortable?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
On our way back, I told Verdra about my adventure as a Hero—and complained extensively about how the elven Princess and her knights betrayed me at the end. She listened excitedly at first, but went completely silent when I reached the later part.
By the time I finished my blabbering, she was angrily yanking at the strands of my front hair in outrage on my behalf.
I really hope I don't end up bald.
Still, seeing her get angry for me eased the tightness in my chest more than I expected. Maybe having someone—anyone—to talk to about my misfortune was exactly what I absolutely needed to stay sane. Even if all I got in response was a variety of "Gwii." this and "Gwii." that.
"Here we are, Verdra," I said. "Back at the beginning."
We stood once more at the first intersection of the floor. This time, I took the path to the right.
"Gwi." She nodded shortly, as always.
"Alright, let's go!"
Together with my new partner, we ventured deeper into the Hellhole Dungeon…