"This Princess—such a cringey title. If Alan hadn’t known this was the Mystic Origin Continent, he’d have mistaken her for some Qing Dynasty imperial consort."
Still, speaking of beastkin... his own household had a Little Wolf Girl fiancée. Compared to his puppy-like betrothed, this fiery wolf-or-fox girl before him seemed downright savage.
"HUMAN! You dare ignore THIS PRINCESS?!"
"*This Princess*? This isn’t the Qing Dynasty. Come now, tell me your name." Alan kept his eyes locked on the Dark Mage while chatting with the chuunibyou beastkin girl.
"THIS PRINCESS is CrimsonLotus! She’s MY prey. Human—scram!"
Alan casually cleaned his ear, ignoring CrimsonLotus’s last command. "This is human territory, little fox beastkin. Leave while you can. I’ll let you go—for those beast ears and tail of yours. As for your ‘prey’? Sorry. She’s important to me too. To my eyes? She’s a walking pile of gold coins."
CrimsonLotus froze. *Walking gold coins? This Dark Mage is worth gold to him? Is she really that valuable?* She glanced at the Dark Mage. *If she’s worth money... maybe I should hold back a bit. Capture her, sell her high. I’m a princess, but... I’m broke too.*
"How much is she worth?" CrimsonLotus blurted out, against her better judgment.
Alan blinked. *Just told me to scram, now asking her price?*
"Not much. Sixty thousand gold coins. If you want to capture her too, we can team up. Split the gold fifty-fifty."
"Really?" A trace of excitement flickered in CrimsonLotus’s crimson eyes. *Thirty thousand gold... not bad.*
Alan nodded. "I’m an honest man. I don’t lie to little animals."
*WHOOSH!* CrimsonLotus hurled a fireball at Alan. *Little animal?! Does he think I don’t understand?! Damn silver hair!*
"Instant magic?!"
Alan thrust out his right hand. A cerulean magic array flared to life. "**Icebind!**"
*Crack! Crack! Crack!*
Frost erupted midair, encasing CrimsonLotus’s flames before shattering them.
"Sorry. I know instant magic too." As the flames died, a second cerulean array glowed on Alan’s left palm. "**Ice Prison: Shackles!**"
An ice cage materialized around the female Dark Mage, trapping her midair.
"*My*, you’re impressive," the imprisoned Dark Mage chirped, examining her icy cell before grinning at Alan. "A dual-element mage—ice and light. But didn’t your teachers at Arcane Academy warn you to flee at the first sight of a Dark Mage?"
"Pity. Such talent, wasted on darkness. But... since you’re worth sixty thousand gold coins, I won’t bother preaching redemption." Alan floated closer, his dark eyes glinting with azure light. "See, our teachers always said: *When you meet a Dark Mage, never kill them outright. First, check their bounty price.*"
"Clearly, yours is high. So—redemption? Forget it. I’m counting on people like you to pay my bills."
CrimsonLotus and the Dark Mage exchanged utterly bewildered looks.
*CrimsonLotus: Since when did human teachers become this greedy?!*
*Dark Mage: Are Arcane Academy instructors even human anymore?!*
Below, Layne’s jaw twitched. *When did teachers ever say that?! Did I attend a fake academy?!*
"By the way—your name?" Alan smiled at the Dark Mage, barely older than himself.
"Bacas Medi."
"You’re a Summoner, right?"
Bacas Medi tilted her head, amused. "How’d you guess?"
"Your summon bit my butt. Mind calling it off?" Alan grinned outwardly, cursing inwardly. *Damn it. A Summoner Dark Mage—the worst kind. One wrong word and they unleash monsters. Right now, my tender butt’s trapped in some beast’s jaws.*
Naturally, a Dark Mage’s summon would be shadow-attribute—the most vicious kind. Alan glanced back. Clamped onto his rear was a shadow-rabbit... the size of a full-grown dog.
"You’re dead. Bitten by my bunny, you won’t last three days."
Alan sighed. "No choice. Don’t call me cruel."
An ice blade formed in his left hand. In one swift motion, he slashed downward.
***Squelch!***
The rabbit dissolved into black smoke.
"*Giggle-giggle!* My summons are interdimensional beings. You can’t kill them."
Alan shrugged. "I just wanted my butt back. Whether I kill your pets? I don’t really care."
The summon vanished—but two gaping holes remained in Alan’s trousers. His "tender butt" was unharmed; as a Level 3 Swordsman, his body wasn’t as fragile as a mage’s. He’d coated himself in sword aura the moment he approached, wary of tricks.
***Crackling!***
The ice prison around Bacas Medi twisted violently. Countless ice spikes encircled her. "Bacas Medi—if you don’t want to become a porcupine, open your mouth."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I’ll collect the bounty on a porcupine-shaped you." An ice spike pierced Bacas Medi’s smooth, straight leg.
"*Tsk*. So harsh, little brother~ Fine. I’ll obey."
"Should’ve done that sooner."
As Bacas Medi parted her lips, a thick, glistening ice rod slid smoothly into her mouth—sealing her chants.
*This feels kinda dirty... but it’s practical. No unhealthy thoughts here.* Alan justified it to himself—then caught Bacas Medi’s downward glance at his lower half. Something... significant seemed to have caught her attention.
