Chapter 314 (Patreon)

Chapter 314

Sophia met Cirrus, the Elder Cloud Dragon, within the massive, pearlescent cloud, and got to know her a little better. The tiger also learned more about the titles of the elder dragons and how they're especially proficient in their home feature. Like, Kel needed extremely little authority to create water, and Cirrus could create vapor, mist, and clouds in general without ever getting tired. Naturally, their meeting concluded with a challenge between the blonde and the dragon, even though Sophia initiated things this time.

“How are you able to instantly change places?!” Cirrus was still trying to understand how the tiger had outclassed her by that much. “Don’t tell me you can teleport?! That’s supposed to be impossible!”

“No, I can’t teleport.” Sophia lightly shook her head.

“What is it, then?!” The elder dragon and magic enjoyer wanted to get in on the secret.

“It’s not good for my position to say this, but it’s an overseer feature.” She got a little awkward because she had just insisted on not being one. “I won’t go into detail, but it’s something only they can use.”

"I thought you weren't an overseer?"

“…” The tiger knew she was going to say that. “I’m not one, but I have, in theory, the ability to become one. That feature of mine lets me use many of their abilities.”

“Did someone ever tell you that your argumentation of not being an overseer is built on a rather weak foundation?” Cirrus stared at her for a moment.

“Shush!” Sophia did not appreciate that. “By the way, to change the topic, did you make this place yourself, or did you take it over at one point?”

“The Merid Archipelago was here already. The haze part got added because of me.”

“What about the ruins of the demon city? My friends and I had been wondering how it got up here.”

“Oh, no, those were already there and abandoned when I lifted some of the islands into the sky.” The dragon paused for a second. “I just thought it would be cool to have ruins of a city on top of a floating island.”

“Very fair and valid!” The blonde nodded a few times. “Did you make your lair here because you wanted a floating archipelago, or did you just come across and thought might as well?”

“Mostly the latter, but I ended up liking it a whole lot.”

“This whole area looks amazing, yes.” Sophia agreed with her. “Would this place collapse if you weren’t there anymore?”

“No.” She lightly shook her head. “My clouds are self-sustainable by being powered by the magic in the air around them.”

“Perfect~.” The tiger’s expression changed into a smirk.

“Are you about to get rid of me…?” Cirrus didn’t like where this conversation was headed.

“Ah, no, nothing like that!” She vigorously shook her head after noticing how her wording could have been taken the wrong way. “I have an offer for you~.”

“That only sounds marginally better.” The dragon still wasn’t fully convinced.

“Shush now.” Sophia rolled her eyes. “Kel was a lot more open to it.”

“How about you try and get to the point then?”

“Would you be interested in creating your very own lair in a completely custom biome you could design and shape in however way you could imagine? All while having basically no creative limitations on how to use magic in a place where Mira’s rules don’t apply and you’re able to grow your own authority much faster than you can imagine.”

“That sounds way too good to be true.” Cirrus sounded doubtful. “Especially the Mira part. Her regulations on magic are universal, so there are no places where her rules don’t apply.”

“There are~.” She smiled at her. “Every overseer can make their own places with their own rules.”

“Too bad you aren’t an overseer, huh?” The dragon’s voice turned playful.

“…” Sophia stared at her for a little while. “As I mentioned, I can use some of their tricks.”

“That sure is handy for you, huh?”

“Absolutely~.” She gave her a thumbs-up. “So, are we interested? Kel’s a big fan of his place, by the way.”

“I’m not that easily baited.” Cirrus stared at her for a moment. “You have my curiosity, but I need a little more info from you.”

“I’m a visual explainer, so do you mind a short trip?” The blonde smiled at her.

“There’s just no way there’s this fabled place without Mira’s rules nearby for a short trip.”

“You still have much to learn~.” Sophia’s expression turned into a cheeky smirk before snapping her fingers. A moment later, the entire area was wrapped in the pink and purple particles of her portals. Once they disappeared, the two were in an all-white space with absolutely nothing around them.

“Uhh…” Naturally, Cirrus was the tinniest bit surprised and confused. “What did you do just now?!”

“Welcome to my domain!”

“Your what now?” It didn’t help the dragon understand.

“Every overseer has their own domain, this is mine.” Sophia gestured all around her. “It’s basically my own world that I rule over. Also, yes, there’s more than just this white, I just wanted to show you this first.”

“Do you ever listen to yourself when you talk?” Cirrus stared at her for a while. “There’s simply no way you are not an overseer in training, no matter what you’re trying to claim. You can’t just say you have your own world that you rule.”

"I say what I say, and I claim what I claim.” The blonde shrugged. “Anyway, I gave Kel the same offer, but again, are you interested in creating your own biome and lair inside my domain? Kel’s making his own ocean, and you’d be free to do whatever you want, too. An entire cloud biome would be fun, for example. You can create your own ground, too, or move to an existing biome and make your kingdom above like the archipelago. The only limit is your imagination.”

“I still don’t understand many things, but let’s try another approach. What’s in it for me? What do I gain from building in your place?” She had a similar reaction to Kel back then.

“Well, for one, as I said, you have complete freedom in designing your place, and without the shackles of Mira’s rules on magic. Although, I have to mention that I have my own rule here.”

“What would that rule be?” Cirrus lightly tilted her big head.

“You can’t seriously harm anyone who lives in my domain.” She made a slight pause. “You aren’t just not allowed, you can’t. That does not mean you can’t have fights or challenges, though. After all, else, Kel never would’ve agreed to being here. He also already had a bit of his horn blasted off by a friend of mine. It simply means that you can’t, accidentally or intentionally, use magic or force that would inflict crippling damage or kill someone. Simple and fair if you ask me.”

“Does that actually work?” The dragon didn’t sound too convinced. “That being the only rule, and it being rather vague on top, seems rather optimistic.”

“It has already been tested, so I’m confident about it.” The blonde nodded a few times. “On top of that, I also have two little enforcers in here who make sure to educate troublemakers who intentionally try to go against it, so that it won’t happen again.” While saying so, Sophia lifted both her arms, and Blu and Lime, appearing out of nowhere, landed on each of her palms.

“How are two little birds going… W-WHAT ARE THESE CREATURES?!” It took Cirrus a second to notice the strength of the parakeets.

"Those are Limes and Blu." Sophia smiled at her while the two birds playfully saluted with their wings. “They’re my bestest birds and basically run my domain behind my back.” She looked at Blu specifically there.

“That explains nothing!”

“Do you think you could win against them if you try something shady?”

“NO ONE COULD WIN AGAINST THEM!” The dragon got loud

“Mira and co would be able to.”

“The overseer of magic doesn’t count!”

“I probably could, too.” Sophia tilted her head while looking at the two. “With a lot of cheap tricks and cheating.” After all, stopping time definitely would be cheating.

*Chirrp!”

“Chirp!” The parakeets sounded rather angry over her just thinking about it.

“Other overseers don’t count, either!”

“By the way, Kel’s rather traumatized by Blu, so I suggest not angering him.” The blonde completely ignored her.

*Chirp~.” The blue parakeet sounded incredibly smug as he puffed out his chest.

“…” Cirrus was at a loss for words and needed a moment. “Elder dragons are, after the overseers, supposed to be the pinnacle of creations when it comes to power, so being outclassed by little birds is not good for my ego.”

“Kel had a rather similar opinion on the matter.” Sophia tried her best to stifle a chuckle. “If it helps, the two aren’t regular birds. They can only be born in the domain of overseers because of reasons.” She had no intention of going into detail there.

“Oh?” Her voice became more cheerful again. “If they’re the pets of overseers, that’s a lot more acceptable for my pride.”

“Sure.” Sophia didn’t really think of them as pets, but it worked well enough for her to not correct the dragon. “Alrighty, how about I give you a bit of a tour?” She smiled at the dragon before gesturing around. “There’s a lot more in here than just white. It will probably help you to understand what I’m talking about, too.”

“I’m not sure if that won’t actually confuse me more.” Cirrus was still the slightest bit overwhelmed. “I would be interested in seeing what Kelrax had been up to, though. Learning more about this place would be fascinating, too.”

“Let’s go!” That was all she needed to hear.

Afterward, Sophia energetically clapped her hands, and the two were once more swallowed by the pink and purple portal particles to transport them to their first destination inside the domain.