It had been all of five minutes since the Draconian adventurer Ondun had beaten Sylvie's first Mon friend. When she asked how one became an adventurer, she'd expected a tale of harrowing adventure, of loss, of love, of kingdoms rising and falling.

  She hadn't expected the much, much simpler answer she actually got.

  "I was 16. In my village, that meant I came of age. Food was scarce due to the stagnant anima. It was a simple choice between trying to hunt and farm in an increasingly infertile area or saving my family a bit of food. So, I set out. I got on a caravan from my home to Eldifia, the nearest city-state. The road was long, and along the way we picked up two people—they eventually became my friends; it's complicated—but ultimately, after a Beast Folk attack, we reached the city. Then I went to the Guild and signed up. That was basically that."

  Sylvie blinked her eyes. "That's it?"

  "Yep. Things are hard back home. I stepped up." Sylvie got the feeling there was much more to it than that, but Ondun wasn't talking. Strudel, his Aquepup, just kept to his side; the young man gave him an absent pat.

  That the adventurer wouldn't talk more annoyed Sylvie a great deal.

  "So, why'd you space out and run into me?"

  Ondun paused a bit longer this time. "I told you. This looks like a place I've visited in my travels and adventures. It's not the same place, granted. I just...I got lost in thought."

  The look on Ondun's face didn't stick around for too long, but Sylvie caught it. Her annoyance at this odd man only grew. She hated people like this. Her eyes narrowed.

  "You know, a man who runs into each other can't be that aware."

  Ondun's eyebrow twitched at Sylvie. "I already apologized. Are you going back on the result of our duel?"

  She sighed. "No, I'm not."

  The two walked on for a few more minutes. "So...Sylvie. What's your story? Why did you become a monster coach? Your friend, Maggie, fought well for you."

  "Yeah, not as good as your pastry puppy, though..." she added dejectedly. Ondun stopped.

  "Look, I have two years of combat experience in three disciplines. I know how to fight. I'm actually kind of good at it. Strudel isn't anywhere near his full potential yet, and neither is Maggie. I was able to show Strudel some of my techniques. Our duel was never equal, despite the conditions. A duel that is equal is a duel that can go either way."

  Sylvie also stopped. She tried to parse all of that...and promptly failed. "What are you saying?"

  "I'm saying you and Maggie gave me and Strudel a good duel. We were prepared for you, and Strudel gave it his all." He gave Strudel another loving pat. "Thanks for the good fight. We learned a lot from it. I hope you did too."

  Sylvie's eyebrows were twitching. "Oh, I learned, all right! Next time, my team's going to pound you into the DUST!"

  Ondun smirked at her. "Spoken like an adventurer." As he walked off, Sylvie and Maggie followed behind, with Maggie trying to calm down her human friend, to little avail.

  The two coaches reached the campground and swiftly went about setting up camp. After a terse "Good night," the two went to sleep in their own tents.

  The next morning, Ondun woke up to another wet lick from Strudel, who was definitely a bit bigger now. "Hey...Strudel...you got bigger..."

  "Aquepup!"

  A quick pat, and Ondun got up and reached for his Memory Gem that held the Shinobi teachings. A brief flash of light, and Ondun was clad in black, with his two long knives at his side. He quickly got the campfire going again with a quick Fire jutsu and began boiling some water.

  A soft mmh behind Ondun told him that Sylvie was awake. "Good morning, princess," he said mockingly. The young woman hadn't completely impressed him the previous day, but she was good in a fight. Had he been some green monster coach with no combat experience, she would've wiped the floor with him. Of course, he wasn't, and his brief training with Strudel in the forest—along with the monster's good judgment it showed during the Lake Yongqi incident—had informed his decision to accept the duel.

  Besides, even if she had been powerful enough to beat me, I have a job. I can make money back. The duel had been nothing but a test the whole time of what Mon battles in this strange new world were like. He hadn't been disappointed in the concept.

  What confused Ondun beyond anything was the way the woman micromanaged Maggie. In the heat of a pitched battle, telling your teammates what to do move-for-move was simply not feasible. It was important to give overall objectives and guidance, of course, but "use this move!" as a battle practice was something not even the least competent Alliance or Imperial commanders did. All-Mother, even the young ones back home would've shown better sense than that.

  "Morning, Scales." She got up and fished out a cereal bar. "Why the fire?"

  "Making cha. Picked it up in Xin-xia, though Wa-xia also sells some good leaves."

  The young woman blinked. "Wait. Are you a time traveler?" Ondun just blinked. "Wut..."

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "Centuries ago, our land was called Xinxia, 'The Land of Waterfalls,' and also the islands to the east of us—an archipelago—were known as 'The Land of Harmony.' Today, we are called Kongming and Yamato; our land is named after a general whose stratagems became famous, more so after an evil scheme by a distant land was overcome by a student of his from that land, who took up his name. Yamato is 'The Mountain Home' in the older form of our language."

  Ondun raised an eyebrow. "You're well-read in history, I think."

  Sylvie just struck a pose and nodded. "I mean, I am the daughter of..." she stopped. "Well...that's not important. The point is, a weird dragon-boy who doesn't know what video games are talks about old-timey things and knows the ancient name of our land? You've got to be a time traveler."

  She scooted closer...too close. "It's always been my dream to meet a time traveler!" she said, stars dancing in her eyes despite the bright dawn. Ondun backed off.

  "It's...it's not time travel. Tell me, Sylvie. What is this world called?" Ondun asked. The girl just frowned. "Monastria. The last time Olympus made Himself known to the Hero of Kongming, he said this world's name. It has stuck since. There's no point in arguing with the Creator himself."

  Ondun nodded. "My world is called Arcanis. We worship a great goddess, always depicted in crystal. We call her the All-Mother. She...she doesn't always make her will known, but when she does, it's hard to ignore it." She has no idea how hard it is to ignore it, Ondun added silently.

  "OH MY OLYMPUS THIS IS BETTER! You're an alien!" she squealed, causing some wild Fledgelev to take flight in fright. Ondun couldn't disagree with the assessment. "Same as my ancestors. You asked why I look like this..." he gestured to his face.

  "My distant ancestors were dragons. They fled some calamity that's lost to time. They were beings of pure anima, though. When they came to Arcanis, they sought to blend in for a time, so they created living forms. They married humans...and the results were the first Draconians. As a result, we look like this—part human, part dragon."

  Sylvie's eyes were wide. "That is so. Darn. Cool!" Ondun didn't know what to say to that. "Tell you what, Ondun. I think I want to travel with you. Besides, I want to see how an alien adventurer who's part dragon, part ninja, part wizard, and a monster coach deals with our boring world."

  Ondun said nothing to that; this woman was coming off less like a bratty teen and more like a bratty noble. This is Alvath all over again, he thought, his mind casting back to one of the two Elfidian twins whose soul had been summoned by that drattable sorcerer. "Well, we're going to be roughing it and training a lot. You could be a lot more comfortable traveling with someone else."

  "Oh, that's even better!" She added, the stars in her eyes back, and her enthusiasm making her glow so much that the Draconian wondered if the woman had a talent for Light magic. "My father...well, he's really into training. Don't worry—I can keep up." As Ondun scanned her face, he saw no evidence of tall tales or hubris. This was just a statement of fact.

  "Well...in that case, I guess we'll see. Sylvie, I'm Ondun. It'll be a pleasure to work with you."

  "That's my line," Sylvie said with a grin. "Looking forward to it...my rival."

  The next two days saw the two youths make their way along Route 41. The way was long, and it was all Ondun could do to not rush, because rushing wouldn't achieve anything. Alice and her people have this. They're the experts, not me, he reminded himself. Sure, it was starting to drive the adventurer a little crazy. At least Strudel was there.

  Sylvie, for her part, had mellowed out a little bit. The first day was rough when she'd been acting like she expected Ondun to grow an extra head or something, but by the second day, she had proved competent at roughing it in the wilds. She'd also begun teaching him the written language. When she wasn't acting like a tough girl, she made an excellent instructor—her lessons were controlled, to the point, and efficient.

  While the help with the language was good, what was more helpful was the focus on language in the context of his smartphone. He was nowhere near fully literate, and the Wayfarer's Brand still wouldn't translate Monastrian for him if someone else wasn't speaking it, but he could more effectively navigate his smartphone, and the first lessons were numbers, so Ondun knew exactly how much money he had.

  As Sylvie was moving on to some pop culture, though, there was a rustle from some nearby bushes and a loud cry that sounded like "Galebul!" that was choked short. Ondun looked at Sylvie, who simply nodded, and materialized Maggie. For extra measure, Ondun embodied the Dragon Knight arts. While he was forbidden from using his blades as part of his deal with Alice, heavy armor could probably turn a few attacks, and a well-placed high jump could get him, Sylvie, or one of their Mon allies out of harm's way.

  The two rushed to the bush, and after parting it, saw a lot of blood and an unknown Mon trying to eat a furiously struggling avian. "Strudel, give that monster something else to chase." Immediately, Strudel rushed the monster, slamming into it and knocking it away from the wounded bird Mon. Maggie flew high and flung a Wind Blade at the monster, cutting a red line on the larger, dark figure's flank.

  The monster warily regarded the two new threats and the humans behind him. Its eyes laid on Ondun, where it froze immediately. Ondun for his part froze too. Then he drew his lance and charged it because it wasn't a Mon. Immediately, it blasted a wave of dark magic at the Dragon Knight and beat a hasty retreat.

  "Ondun, this Mon needs help!"

  Ondun turned to Sylvie. "That wasn't a Mon. That was a demon. Here." He replaced the Lohengrim and switched to the Medicus arts. "Is that what that odd monster meant?" he wondered aloud.

  Sylvie was confused. Ondun shook the thoughts from his mind. While the Daemon did need to be hunted down, there was a Mon who needed healing. So, once again, Ondun released the Spelliths and began channeling energy into the weeping wounds of the injured avian. The last thing the tiny bird said before it fell unconscious was a weak, "Galebul..."

  When Galebul awoke, it was night. Looking around, she didn't see the unnatural...thing...that had tried to devour it. It looked around and saw the Aquepup that had slammed into the monster curled up at his human's side. There was also the other human, though the Fledgelev wasn't anywhere to be seen. The Mons all knew that humans had a device that they used to carry them around. Some Mons who'd been released had relayed their tales of adventures and sometimes of mistreatment.

  Galebul didn't know how she felt about waking up at a human encampment. The fact that it wasn't in one of those capsules was a good sign. The counterpoint was that Galebul had almost been eaten.

  The bird tried to get up, expecting a lot of pain. It found none. Galebul moved her wings first, then her legs. It was as if that...abomination...had never even tried to eat Galebul in the first place.

  Galebul hopped over to the sleeping man and found he was not, in fact, human at all. To the tiny bird, something about him felt like a sleeping dragon...but there was also something much more wholesome about the man. It felt...well, it felt like Olympus, but it wasn't.

  Galebul didn't know what to make of that. So, she did the other thing she had to do. She climbed up on the Aquepup—he was big enough that the bird thought it was most of the way to becoming an Aquehound—and went to sleep.

  Galebul would navigate the humans tomorrow. One way or another, they will show me their true colors.