"You can fly? You are joking, right?" Tracy said.
Arthur could not understand why they were so shocked. A mage like Victor and Emily, who were at the tenth circle, could fly too!
Was there something he was missing?
"Why is it so strange that I can fly, Tracy?" Arthur asked.
He knew her parents were listening to everything from the kitchen, but Arthur asked Tracy, who was before him, then leaving to speak with her parents.
"Dad told me that only powerful mages can fly! He said something about rank three mages, which are rare around here, I guess," Tracy said, trying to remember the information she had heard from her father.
"What?"
After hearing it, Arthur was quick to realize what was happening. The same way his planet did not have the spells to control the familiars, this planet did not have flight spells available for everyone!
That information widened his horizons. He knew Idretera, the biggest planet where the Alliance, George's Monlog family, and the dragons were, had all the spells available.
It was like being the major library of knowledge, and the rest of the planets had pieces of it, but not the full content. So basically, Loothea, the planet Arthur currently was, had fewer flight spells, and only powerful mages had access to them, or could use them.
Also, based on what Tracy said, rank-three mages were rare. Was this place weaker than his previous planet? Was he, someone at the rank-five, the strongest mage?
There was no way for him to know that, but it was nice to know he had the advantage of flight against weaker mages. That would make his life a lot easier.
"Well, big bro here can fly. Wanna come?" Arthur said.
"Yes, yes," Tracy said as she jumped with joy.
By that time, Victor and Emily left the kitchen, going to the living room as well.
Victor was the first to say, "can you really fly? Aren't you joking with us? Please, don't give my daughter false hopes."
As a father, he could see how excited Tracy was to fly, so he did not want for it to be a lie, as that would only make her unhappy.
Emily thought the same way.
"You can trust me, alright? Also, if you want to fly too, I can bring you," Arthur said.
They discussed for some time, and Tracy won after saying many times that she wanted to fly.
"Alright, you can go, but you two must fly somewhere else, and not here in the village. People will see it, and ask too much questions," Victor said.
He also volunteered to show them a suitable spot, somewhere no one went. Arthur agreed, and after they ate their lunch, they left.
Emily wanted to go too, but stayed to take care of Jane, Wisa and Sybille.
Arthur did not feel good about leaving them alone, even if it was only for half an hour, but it was for a good cause.
Why? Well, Arthur would not only fly with Tracy to make her happy, but he also wanted to return to where he fell, and hide the metal balls, as that was his only way out of the planet.
Another important thing was the trust. If Tracy saw how mighty he was, it would be easier to make her follow his guidance, aka practice using the Dragon Meditation Technique, and become another Dragon Priest that would increase Arthur's power.
That was the only way for him to become the Dragon God he wanted to!
"Follow me through this path. It will lead us to a valley, so the mountains will cover you while you fly, and no one will see a thing. The only downside is that you cannot go that high," Victor said.
Victor was trying to hide the fact Arthur was possibly a powerful mage, and Arthur agreed to it.
"I don't want to bring this family trouble. They took care of me and my wives," he thought.
Tracy was the only one that disliked the idea of not flying that high in the sky.
"You said this now, but the mountains around this valley are tall. It will get scary," Arthur said.
They followed through a path. There were no roads, nothing. It had only vegetation.
"Isn't it dangerous? I mean, there could be magical beasts, right?" Arthur asked.
Victor was the one leading the way, alongside Rufus, his familiar wolf. "Yes, and no. There are beasts around here, but most of them are weak, so you should not worry about it."
"I see."
Arthur knew little about the world, so it was understandable from his point of view to be asking such things, but Victor? He saw Arthur as more mysterious by each passing day.
Someone who could cast spells only rank-three mages could, yet knew almost nothing about familiars and the surrounding area. Someone who fell from the sky.
Victor had many questions, but only tell you give him the answers he looked for.
They were walking through the forest when a magical beast appeared. It was not one of the weak ones Victor mentioned, but a beast capable of fighting against tenth circle mages!
For a moment, Victor felt a sense of dread, afraid the beast would hurt his daughter, Tracy. He was already regretting bringing her there, but then he remembered Arthur was there!
The humans may not know, but a magical beast could recognize one of its kind. Arthur had his aura hidden, and his body was not at its correct weight — he was a dragon that weighted a lot!
But with just a thought, his bestial dragon aura leaked, and the beast, which looked like a big fat rat with teeth as long as 1 meter, trembled.
It could sense the majesty emanating from Arthur, and it lowered its head, as if Arthur was his king.
Arthur then made usage of another perk he had for being a dragon; communicate with those beasts, mentally.
"Yo, rat. Were you trying to attack me? No, right? This would be insane."
"It was never my intention. You keep your aura hidden, so it was impossible to tell you were a beast! How powerful are you? Only powerful beasts can assume the appearance of a human," the rat said.
"Aren't you asking too much?"
"I-I am sorry."
The enormous rat trembled once again, afraid Arthur would end his life right there.
Victor was beside Arthur, watching everything, communicating mentally with Rufus, trying to understand the situation.
"Rufus, can you tell me what he is doing?"
"I have a guess, but it is impossible. That would change everything."
"What do you mean, Rufus? Spill it out."
"I-I believe he is communicating mentally with the rat. That could only mean he is a beast in human form, as mages do not understand the language of monsters, at least not the mages I know."
Arthur finished speaking with the rat, sending it away. Then, he turned around to look at Victor, who had Tracy behind his back, wielding his dagger in a combat position.
"Who exactly are you?"
"What do you mean? Why are you acting like I am an enemy?" Arthur asked.
He could not understand what had changed. Could Victor know he talked with another beast? No, that should be impossible.
"Tell me the truth. Are you… are you a beast?"
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